Albedo was the strangest soldier of Ormus.

He brimmed with an obvious power, as though he was glowing, lit aflame by his own might. The soldiers didn't need to know much of ether magic or combat skill to tell that Albedo was dangerous. There was an incongruity to him that only made him all the more terrifying- the sear of incomprehensible power trapped in the body of a fifteen-year-old.

They feared Albedo. They gave him a wide berth as he trained or ate or slept, only interrupted by the occasional piteous stare.

Albedo much preferred fear.

U-DO has opened his eyes. There was nothing he had to fear with such exhilarating power at his fingertips. Albedo could not be injured. He could not die. He could defeat anyone he so desired.

Any sort of pity, in particular self-pity, was an afterthought. Albedo still harbored his old, pathetic feelings- loneliness stabbed at him occasionally, the need to hear Rubedo's voice, or see the light in his eyes- but it was dismissed quickly by U-DO. Rubedo had betrayed him.

The voices whispered that Albedo could make him pay. Rubedo would feel every bit of pain he had inflicted upon Albedo. He would regret leaving him behind, ignoring how Albedo sobbed for him in pathetic desperation.

How could Rubedo have been so callous, so heartless?

Albedo's hand itched to take Rubedo's, yes, but now to squeeze and claw, to make him feel how badly Albedo hurt inside. Love and hatred mixed in him in dizzying amounts, conflicting and complementary. Albedo thought of nothing but Rubedo- of revenge, and need, and that ache burning within him.

To have or to break, Albedo needed him.

So Albedo did not pity himself. He needed, and wanted, and hurt, but he dismissed the pity some soldiers looked at him with. It only grew rarer and rarer, these days, as Albedo grew rapidly from the woeful child soldier he once was.

Albedo was always growing, of course, such was the nature of his regeneration, but nowadays he grew more quickly than ever. He had gained a foot in height, and the roundness of his cheeks was fast disappearing. It was plain to see when he studied his face in the mirror, much as he did every chance he could.

It was there he could see Rubedo staring back at him. Those were Albedo's weakest moments, the wretched tones of his childhood heart come back to haunt him. He almost faltered as he stared at his own face- yet not his own, one he shared- and longed so for these features' true owner. Albedo had always looked a feeble imitation, a pale echo.

Albedo permitted himself this frailty, perhaps indulgently. He traced Rubedo's features on his own face, imagining how he must look now- this hair turned red, and these eyes shocked blue.

Yet, today the comparison was more faint. Albedo's fingers ran along his lips and chin. Fuzz had begun to appear there, discoloring his skin.

He could hardly picture Rubedo with a beard.

The decision came to Albedo without even a conscious thought. He needed Rubedo back- even if just the shadow of Rubedo which lingered in his face.

Albedo had seen other men shave, though he hardly focused on them, unable to possibly concern himself with the paltry activities of the humans around him. Yet, the materials were provided in the barrack's bathroom. Albedo wetted his face, bringing his razor near, and scraped it against his upper lip.

His face contorted in pain near instantly. It cut deeper than the hair, slicing into his skin. Blood trickled from the wound for but a second before it healed, and Albedo's face twisted in confusion.

How did humans do this? The cuts would linger on their faces, and Albedo rarely saw such wounds.

…you need shaving cream.

Albedo frowned at Nigredo's voice in his head. He didn't appreciate being spied on.

It doesn't matter. It'll heal. Albedo snarled. I don't need your help.

He blocked their link before searching for the bottle and squirting some shaving cream into his palm.

Nigredo was, unfortunately, correct. Shaving hurt far less with the soap, but Albedo found he missed the sting. Perhaps it was more human to avoid pain- Albedo had gotten bald-faced stares for his uncaring attitude towards injuries while training- yet, Albedo wasn't human. The pain felt more real than the sea of nothing that usually churned in Albedo's mind.

Albedo ran his hand under the water, rubbing the shaving cream from his face. He needed the pain. To be nearer to Rubedo, he had to feel it. It was more mortal, more real, more like the throbbing in his heart made physical, external, carved onto his face-

Albedo panted. The blood in the basin may as well not have been his, for the look of his chin, newly healed. Yet the pain lingered still, rooting deep within him, clear in his mind. His heart thumped, wild.

He ran a hand over his chin, now smooth. The hair there hadn't grown back yet, much like on his head, which grew at a strangely typical rate, much alike the mortals around him. Albedo looked more like the memory in his head now, the ghost at his back.

Albedo exhaled, glad to see even a facsimile of Rubedo. He lived still in Albedo's face, a constant reminder. Once again, they were one. They differed only in shade, with eyes and face and build all the same. Their bodies and hearts were the same.

Their pain was the same.


The Miltian government was busy with construction, both for Second Miltia and a more clandestine project Helmer had devised for Rubedo and Nigredo. They had now been dubbed Gaignun Kukai and Gaignun Kukai Jr., the soon to be the child and grandchild of a fictional billionaire. The Miltian government was building a ship paired with a space colony for the two of them, what Helmer called an investment in the planet's security and prosperity. Rubedo- Jr.- came to the construction sites often, peering at what was to be his new home and place of work.

He could imagine what they would look like someday soon. The ship would be red, at his request, and shops and homes would line the streets of the Foundation. He could walk along these streets soon, to visit those shops- a bar, and a hotel, and even a bakery, Jr.'s personal favorite. They didn't get sweets often, in the Yuriev Institute, but he loved them. Albedo did, too- and Jr. would get something for him as well, and something more savory for Nigredo-turned-Gaignun, or maybe split something with Albedo, because he loved to share-

And Jr. stopped. His breath hung in his throat. He hurt.

Albedo was not here. He never would be.

Just for good measure, Jr. shoved some more mental energy into the block in his mind, like a chair propped against an already locked door.

This was Jr.'s ordeal. It was easy to picture Albedo- easy to imagine him, remember him. He was like a phantom haunting Jr., a shadow lurking in his every step.

He saw Albedo coming to his room after a nightmare, quivering like he always did. Albedo would cling to Jr. on the bridge, unable to give orders himself, but lingering so close by that their bodies might touch. He would splash and play at the beach Jr. and Gaignun were planning to build, watching with a mindful eye as Jr. tried to see how far out he could swim. He was there in every place, transparent and phantasmic, there at every step of the way. He was like a ghost haunting Jr., a phantom he could see as clearly as those who were actually real.

It had been 3 years, but still, Jr. couldn't imagine his life without Albedo.

Jr. knew him too well to forget, even if trying intentionally. He thought of Albedo constantly- which foods he would like, which room he would prefer (the one beside Jr.'s, of course), his favorite colors and his aversion to combat. Any and everything could be connected back to Albedo, Jr.'s other half, a man he knew as well as he knew himself.

It was torment. It was torture. There was nowhere Jr. could escape.

The memories were at their worst around mirrors. Albedo was his mirror image, after all. Save for their clashing colors, they were identical. Passing by his reflection, Jr. sometimes thought he'd caught a glimpse of Albedo- sometimes almost hoped he would.

He had discovered quickly that he couldn't afford to age. It was too dangerous, with the red dragon's power, so Jr. stayed the same.

Jr. wasn't changing. He wasn't changing, just like the picture of Albedo in his mind, who he couldn't picture growing like Gaignun had. Albedo froze there as the grip of small, sweaty hands and the glint of tears flooding in his eyes, forever a child who beat the others and glowed with hellish energy, a child who shrunk to a small, collapsed dot as Jr. left him behind.

Jr. made a strangled noise, unable to hold in the frustration any longer. His hands gripped the basin of the sink, knuckles white. What could he do? There was no way to stop the turbulent emotion within him, like a ship spinning out of control.

His eyes ached with exhaustion. It had been a sleepless week. Everything was so much worse with their future fast approaching, with the building sense that Albedo had been left behind for good.

Jr. looked up at his face. With his eyes watering like that, he had never looked more like Albedo. It had to stop. It had to end. He had to find a way to move on.

He stared at his reflection as ideas began to flit through his mind, half-formed. Their hair and eyes were already different. Maybe he could grow his out? That would take too long. He couldn't age. He wouldn't dare tattoo his handsome face.

The idea came to him suddenly as he tilted his head, studying every possible angle. He could pierce his ears. It would look dashing- like he was an action hero.

And best of all, Albedo couldn't replicate it. He would heal too fast for a piercing to stay.

Jr. fumbled around in the drawers for a needle or a safety pin, coming up quickly with one he could use. He had seen characters pierce their ears in movies- read about it in books, too- and he remembered how it was done. He didn't have any earrings, but he could get some tomorrow.

He just had to do this now. He had to do something- had to prove to himself that he would do it, that they weren't the same, that he could make a mark that would never, ever stick on the man he was seeing in the mirror.

Jr. held up a bar of soap behind his ear, to cushion the blow and keep the needle in place. He brought the point to his ear. Before he could think better of it- before the blue eyes in the mirror could blur purple- he jammed it in.

Jr. howled.

He yanked the needle out just as fast, wrenching it from where he had buried it in the bar of soap. His breath came in shallow hisses of pain through clenched teeth. It stung badly. His entire head was ringing. He was pretty sure he saw blood staining the needle he had flung to the floor.

Jr. barely heard the thump of footsteps approaching.

"Jr.!"

It was Gaignun's voice on the other side of the door. Jr. wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words. His entire face was contorted in pain.

"Jr.?! What's wrong?!"

"N-nothing," Jr. fumbled quickly. Embarrassment flooded through him at the mere thought of Gaignun finding him like this.

Why the hell had he thought this was a good idea? None of this was sterile. He was lucky if he hadn't damaged his ear for good.

"I'm coming in."

Before Jr. could protest or try to clean up, Gaignun did just that, pressing the door open. His eyebrows surged at the sight of it all- Jr., half bent over the sink, clutching at his ear, and a bar of soap fallen on the floor beside a bloody needle.

"…did you pierce your ear?"

The scene of the crime was pretty conclusive. Jr. couldn't think of any possible excuses.

"Yeah."

Gaignun sighed, and mercifully left. Jr. busied himself with the mirror again, cautiously moving his hand away to survey the damage.

It was a deceptively small wound for how much it hurt. He turned on the faucet and cupped some water, hoping to clean it out some. Maybe there was still time to prevent the inevitable infection.

"Jr."

Jr. whipped around. He hadn't even heard Gaignun coming back. Keeping with his theme of mercy, however, he had brought an ice cube.

"…thanks." Jr. took it gratefully, pressing it to his stinging ear. It did soothe the burn.

"Are you going to pierce the other one, too?"

Jr. never wanted to pierce anything ever again. "I thought I'd look good with one. Roguish."

If Gaignun doubted his white lie, he didn't make it apparent. Instead he sighed.

"We'll have to get it properly done tomorrow, if your ear isn't infected by then. And you'll need an earring."

"Right," Jr. exhaled, relieved with the lack of questions. He knew this was a strange situation- a suspicious one, even, and he didn't want to explain why this had happened or how he was feeling right now. It was too much, too raw and complicated.

Gaignun led him downstairs in comfortable silence, disposing of the needle and the bar of soap while Jr. hunted for a fresh ice cube from the fridge. The pain was steadily abating, though Gaignun was probably right- Jr. didn't have an earring to put in the piercing, so they would have to re-do it before piercing healed.

Stupid, Jr. thought. He'd been stupid. He couldn't even really remember what he'd been thinking, just a blur of painful thoughts and memories until there was a needle through his damn ear.

Jr. heard the crush of the couch cushions as Gaignun sat beside him, and asked the question Jr. had been dreading.

"…so, why'd you do that?"

He almost thought he'd escaped.

"I thought, y'know." Jr. avoided his eyes, fidgeting with putting the ice cube down on the coffee table. "I thought it might make me look cooler."

Gaignun was silent. Jr. sighed. It was clear he didn't believe him. They were learning fast that Jr. wasn't a very talented liar.

"You decided this at 3 am, Jr.? With an old needle?"

Jr. exhaled in a puff. "Jeez, I know you're gonna be my dad, but you can lay off a bit?"

"Jr."

It was strange. The scariest part of all this should have been Albedo himself- possessed by U-DO, already harboring unimaginable power through his regeneration. Jr. should have been hyper-alert that he may be nearby to take revenge, or execute them before they could destroy U-DO, or something like that. Jr. should have been having nightmares and worries about his narrow escape from Albedo and U-DO's attacks, not about letting go of his hand. The worst part should have been the spark in Albedo's eyes as he rose into the air, unimaginably powerful, or the memories of the blood soaking Gaignun while they fled.

Instead, the worst part was knowing that after all this, Jr. still missed Albedo.

Jr. didn't know why he would ask, because to ask at all was as good as confession. Yet, he asked still. Perhaps if he knew he wasn't alone, it would make this all hurt less.

"…do you ever miss him?"

"Of course."

Gaignun didn't have to ask who. Jr. winced, rubbing at his forehead. He had to mask his thoughts better.

"It's okay to miss people, you know." Gaignun said softly. "We lost a lot on Miltia."

Jr. shook his head. "This is different. I don't miss Dad or anything."

Gaignun fell silent at that. Jr. put his chin in his hands, leaning forwards. It wasn't as simple as longing for their old lives. If anything, he was glad to be free of the Yuriev Institute, the intense training and the orders. He didn't miss the cramped little pods, or the prodding by scientists, or the suspicion of the standard units.

But Jr. did miss Albedo.

"…me neither." Gaignun finally said.

"I just keep thinking about it." Jr. rubbed his fingers into his face, stretching his skin. "It didn't have to happen like that. I didn't have to sacrifice him and the standard units. I should have realized sooner, or found a better way, I-"

Gaignun's hand landed on his back.

"I can't think of anything more you could have done." He said.

Jr. shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself. "Everything we lost was my fault. It's my fault he's like that."

"It's Dad's fault." Gaignun argued. "He's the one who put us there. You stopped worse from happening."

Jr. took a deep breath. Gaignun was making sense- as he always did, he always saw things more clearly than Jr. or Albedo. Yet, even though Jr. understood, even though he returned to Miltia every night in his dreams and couldn't figure anything better, sometimes couldn't even save Gaignun through his panic and tears, the guilt still gnawed at him.

"Do you think he's still there?" Jr. asked, barely above a whisper. "Just… trapped on Miltia?"

Gaignun paused. "…can't you feel him?"

"I blocked our link." Jr. could feel his heartbeat, knew he was alive- because Albedo could never, ever die- but nothing else.

"That must be painful. You two were so close."

"All three of us were," Jr. said, but as the words left his mouth they stung of a lie. They were close, it was true, but none so much as him and Albedo. Albedo relied on him. They had shared a heart, once- still did. Their link was different.

"It's stupid, but when I picture him, he's not that U-DO infected freak." Jr. could feel tears beading in his eyes. "I see Albedo all alone, stranded on Miltia, crying like he always does when I'm not around."

He was small in Jr.'s mind, impossibly dwarfed by the scale of the wreckage around him. He would be so scared there, stranded, surrounded by rubble and corpses, the broken pieces of the lives around them.

"…he isn't on Miltia."

"Okay." Jr. exhaled deeply, wiping at his eyes. At least whatever he had pictured wasn't true. Now, however, his mind flooded with new possibilities- Albedo tearing a bloody path through the galaxy, aflame with U-DO's power, or held in some facility and experimented on for his strange regeneration.

He didn't know what he hated more.

"Don't tell me where he is." Jr.'s hands pressed against his eyes. "I don't want to know."

"Helmer asked me to keep an eye on him." Gaignun clarified.

"Don't give me that crap. You'd check on him either way."

Jr. didn't have to see him to know that Gaignun was smiling. "That's true."

"You're such a softie." Jr. pulled his hands from his face when he was certain the tears had stopped, folding them below where he leaned. "Is he still… I mean, does he…"

"Jr.," Gaignun said softly, "you asked me not to tell you."

"Right." As Jr. stared forwards, his eyes glazed over, unfocused. A part of him burnt to know if Albedo was alright, if there was still any of him left in there. Had U-DO taken him completely, or did Albedo still cry and tremble?

It was a dangerous question, he knew. They'd slain enough of their comrades to know there was no coming back from corruption by U-DO. Even if Jr. could feel his heart beating, Albedo was dead. There was the husk of him, sure, the body puppeteered by U-DO, but hope would only lead to hesitation.

Jr. couldn't afford to hesitate when the time came.

"He's gone." Jr. said, hoping that if he said it aloud it could come true, like a wish.

It was a lie. Jr. knew it. Albedo's heart thumped in his chest, insistent. He was still alive, and Jr. didn't wish he was gone.

"He acted funny even before U-DO." Jr. said, exploratory, as though that might justify leaving him behind.

"He… struggled." He heard Gaignun say.

"He beat up Number 623, remember?" Jr.'s mouth was dry just thinking of it. He'd never seen Albedo furious like that, even when fighting U-DO. "He was always kind of… strange. Maybe this is better."

It wasn't working. The words hurt to say. Even if Albedo was messed up, so were the two of them. Jr. couldn't pretend he knew better- that he understood humans, or any part of life really, when he had been raised to kill and not think twice about it.

Hell, he'd been raised to kill his own kind if necessary.

"Is that why you…"

Gaignun awkwardly gestured to Jr.'s ear, no longer bleeding, but still reddish and swollen and altogether not normal. Jr. winced at the thought of admitting it.

"I still look like how I remember him," he said, a quiet confession spat out too fast to rethink.

Gaignun let it sit for awhile, agonizing. Jr. rubbed his hands through his hair. He hated this. He hated Gaignun knowing how weak he was, upset at the mere thought of Albedo. Jr. wasn't scared. These emotions were worse than fear, more powerful and deceptive.

Jr. didn't know what he wanted. To have Albedo back, certainly, but that was impossible. He knew what he should want, instead.

"He doesn't look like you anymore. He's growing."

"Growing more powerful." Jr. couldn't imagine those regeneration capacities on a fully grown man. The doctors said Gaignun would be over 6 feet tall. "We have to stop him. It's our responsibility."

"Stop him?" Gaignun seemed surprised.

Jr. clasped his hands together, leaning forwards. "Yeah. I'm probably the only one in the galaxy who can kill him."

It came resolute from his mouth, as powerful and cool as Jr. had meant it, but inside it felt like a punch to the gut. Jr.? Killing Albedo? The mere thought felt horrible and wrong, like kicking a puppy. He would kill Albedo, small, constantly terrified Albedo?

Except that wasn't Albedo, anymore. Jr. had to kill U-DO in Albedo's body, this horrifying monster Albedo had become.

The thoughts and emotions boiled up in him like a pot overflowing, like water hitting rising flames with a hiss. Gaignun didn't even need to prod to hear all of it, and his hand landed on Jr.'s back again as his eyes widened with concern.

"Jr., you're-"

"It's not fair! I wish I didn't have to feel like this!" Jr. shouted, brushing Gaignun's hand away. He could see Gaignun's eyes flash with hurt, and he would probably apologize later, but not now.

Jr. loved Albedo, but he had to hate him, and he wanted him back, but he had to kill him. He was scared of U-DO for taking his brother, scared of Albedo for his strange and visceral power, and scared of himself for being able to care about Albedo even after all of the shit he'd done.

"I wish he was dead for real. I wish he were here with us. I wish-" Jr. shook his head, as though to shake his thoughts clearer. "I wish anything but this was happening!"

Gaignun was quiet even as Jr. caught his breath, panting far too heavily for what little he was doing- like he was training, or fighting, not just talking. This hurt way more than anything else. All of the physical injuries Jr. had endured, the exhaustion after training- they were nothing compared to this.

Jr. wrestled with the tsunami of emotion even as it threatened to drown him. Welling up in him, choking him of air, was the empty ache that had started this whole mess.

He missed Albedo. He missed Albedo so much. He wished Albedo was here right now, even, because for all his frailty and vulnerability, he was the best comfort in the world. Jr. remembered the way Albedo's arms would circle around him, deceptively strong for how small they were, how Albedo would rest his chin on Jr.'s shoulder and tell him that he would always be there, and he would always love Jr.

Jr. remembered it like everything else about Albedo. It hurt.

"Do you ever think about if…" Jr. had never sniffled so pathetically in his life. "If he were here with us?"

"Isn't it natural?" Gaignun said slowly, quietly, as much a comfort as he could be. "He was always with us."

Always. Albedo was always with them, and he was even now, lurking in Jr.'s memories.

Jr.'s face hardened as quickly as it had relaxed. He was getting a better grasp on his emotions now. He had to cling to his fear, his frustration, everything he felt about U-DO. He had to let go of his guilt and the lingering, piteous love he felt for his frail younger brother. He'd squash it down it he had to.

"Now he's not. Now he's our enemy." Jr. said, and the words only trembled a little bit. He was resolute, now. "We're separate. We aren't connected like we once were… we're two different people."

His hand brushed against his ear. Tomorrow, he would make good on that promise. They would never resemble each other again, and Jr. would mark in his own blood the differences between them. This body would be his and his alone.

"One day, I'll defeat him." Jr. repeated, and it was easier to say this time- every time, it got easier. "I'll put him to rest. Then, I'll be the only one of us left."

He had to believe those words. He would repeat them again and again, until he finally knew they were true.