Thwarted Demise
Disclaimer: I don't own Xenosaga. I wish I did though
Summary: A re-telling of Episode II's ending by The Little Master himself. There are plenty of spoilers so BEWARE! Oh yeah, this is supposed to be funny, but I insist on writing seriously. Uh…:sweat drop:
Chapter 1: My crazy brother
(Jr. POV)
Space-time anomaly/Former Miltia site
My feet continued to drag me through the reddish space-time anomaly that my demonic half had created with the sole purpose of facing me in a one-on-one battle a la "Old West" style. I didn't like this idea one bit, but, to be sincere, Albedo's little melodramatic scenes were beginning to turn me on, and DON'T GET ME WRONG PEOPLE! I meant it in the sense of infuriating me to the verge of shifting to Red Dragon mode.
Another shimmering portal stood before me and I crossed it, silently hoping that it would lead to the real Albedo once and for all. My body exploded into a myriad of micro particles that assembled with uncanny precision inside a circular precinct of astounding proportions. My eyes scanned the surroundings and I was very surprised to see numerous glass containers encircling me on all sides. On a closer look, I noticed that these containers served as shelters for dormant Kirschwassers, which was…well…weird. I could have sworn that Albedo had busted them all out of boredom during his stay at the Song of Nephilim. Surely these scenarios as well as the decorative Kirschwassers were all figments of Albedo's twisted mind. Or so I thought…
"Glad you could make it, Rubedo", said that damned voice. I turned around a bit startled and saw Albedo sitting placidly on a throne-like structure that not even Nephilim would have known how it got there. And speaking of Nephilim and creepy omniscient ghosts…heck, that orange-haired brat would have never guessed the big ripple I was gonna to cause.
"Take a look at me," he said and I did so, although not very enthusiastic about the idea. I always thought Albedo's fashion sense was a little off, but this was beyond craziness. He had changed his stupid skin-tight suit and the flimsy moth wings for nothing from the waist up, except for a necklace bearing "Father's" insignia hanging around his neck. The rest of his body—if that could be called a body—was a mass of purplish tissue connected to a pipeline that extended itself around the room. I never found out what those pipes were for anyways, but the sight of them adhered to my brother was not nice. "I've finally acquired what I was missing before", he continued speaking, "I may have lost my body, but I feel so much better."
It would have been easier to reason with the hard-headed KOS-MOS, but I still had to try.
"Stop the space-time anomaly, Albedo. There's still time if you do it" I said patiently. Albedo looked at me as though I were a weird bug and then shook his head.
"I'm to repent, am I? I think not. As my duty as an immortal, I've prepared a brand new world view for mankind. When I temporarily linked with U-DO, I climbed the ladder of evolution and saw the leaning tower of culture that humans have struggled to construct .It's not even a tower, really. It's a scaffold of rotting wood, built with meager knowledge and pitiful tools..."
"What the heck is he talking about?" I thought, but I continue to listen to him with a faked interested look.
"….But a nice guy would tell them the truth, would he not?" I nearly snorted sarcastically at this (A nice guy? Yeah suuure…), but managed to keep my face straight, "Hello! You've got it all wrong!"
"What are you gonna do with this region of space?" I asked, preparing my ears for another philosophical speech.
Albedo stood up. He swayed under the weight of the pipes, but managed to recover his equilibrium pretty quickly. He placed his hands on his waist to broaden the look of malign arrogance that was etching through his face. "Who knows?" said the crazy man, "Perhaps I'll cause a shift and shove this whole dimension into a high-order domain and kill everyone along the way." he extended his hands to the heavens, no, to the imaginary ceiling and cried, "IT WOULD BE GLORIOUS! THE TRUE ETERNAL CHAIN! "
That silly thought made him so happy that he started to emit his distinctive purple energy. By the way, Albedo's aura conveniently matched with the color of his eyes and his new outrageous costume. (Were our color patterns programmed too? Shesh…! )
"Happy days are here! They'll name a holiday after m---"
"DAMN! SHUT UP ALREADY!" My patience was screaming in protest. "If you don't stop! I WILL HAVE TO STOP YOU!" I too projected my scarlet aura while the chords of U-DO itself resonated within my ears. Albedo's presence was enough to drive me mad with fury, but I really…
I really didn't want to kill him.
He was my little brother after all...oh well...not SO little but still!
"Come, my positron..." he said, inviting me to come forward. "A weapon need not feel shame for desiring combat. Right now, I'd like to rip you to shreds even though, with that size you have, there is not much to rip off!" Albedo began to cackle evilly while I, still shining as though hell itself was evaporating through my pores, took out my Makarovs and pointed them at my brother's head.
"Don't laugh at my height, YOU BASTARD!"
Fuming, I looked into Albedo's malevolent eyes and he returned the gaze intently, perhaps unaware of what the consequence of such action would be. For a split of second, his voice spoke clearly into my mind, but he wasn't exactly talking to me.
"Ahh…at long last! Rubedo will finally pierce my body with those outdated guns he relishes so much. Soon I'll be free of the chains that bind me to this world; no more cells regenerating against MY WILL; no more 'scary U-DO'; no more loneliness! I shall be purged of malice, lust, greed, envy and all those deadly sins I've committed through my wretched existence. There'd be no better death than that delivered by my beloved brother. Soon I will be welcomed in paradise by seven virgins (1). THAT WILL BE GLORIOUS TOO! MWAAHHAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter snapped me back to reality and I unconsciously pulled the trigger of one of my Makarovs. The bullet perforated Albedo's right shoulder with such force that he fell against the throne and hit his head. A small grimace of pain crossed his face and it was then when I realized that Albedo was in no condition to fight.
There was still hope…
"MWAHAHHAA, is that the best you can do?" cried Albedo, straightening up and crossing his arms over his chest while exaggerated amounts of blood stemmed from the fresh wound.
"Albedo, this is stupid! Look, let's make a deal." I said lowering my guns.
"I don't make any deals with traitors like you! Kill me now! What are you waiting for?" yelled Albedo now genuinely annoyed.
"We'll both duel. If I defeat you, you are gonna stop the anomaly and come with me to the Durandal. If you win, you will finally get rid of me and you'll be free to dominate the world. How does that sound?" My childish side had taken over and, even though this was as stupid as it sounded , I wasn't gonna live the rest of my live regretting the fact that I could have saved my crazy brother but didn't. I had to save him somehow…
Unfortunately I didn't know that Albedo's powers were malfunctioning at that time…
To be continued…
Author notes: So, did you guys like it? I hope I didn't make Jr. sound too OOC and yes I changed the wording of both Jr and Albedo so it would differ from the game.
(1) About the seven virgins, I think one religion claims that there are virgins waiting for you in heaven once you die. I don't remember which one it is at the moment, but I'm assuming that Albedo read about this in an old book and became obsessed with the idea ever since.
Tell me what you think of my English …! I'm practicing after all!
Thanks!
