tampered | Log; Complete

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: Xanadu Garden

Log; Complete

When; November 5th - Afternoon
Rating; PG-13 [For now. There's bound to be minor violence and definite swearing.]
Characters; Rubedo/Jr. [

red_dragon_666 & Albedo [

the_infinite667]
Summary; After finding out that Albedo messed with Sakura's head and then threatened her, he...'got a little upset' and challenged Albedo to a duel in Xanadu. Fortunately, their fight is away from the festivities, but Jr. is a bit distracted knowing MOMO is also going through something right now, and that Elena's nearby watching.
Log;

He had already been sitting on a bench in Xanadu for awhile before he had initiated his challenge, resting his forehead against his clasped hands, just thinking over everything that had brought him to this point.

"Don't you want to make peace with your brother?"

Shion had asked him that once. Did he? Yes, of course. He wanted to know that Albedo didn't hate him. He wanted to be able to forgive Albedo for what he had done to MOMO and Sakura and all the others. He wanted... He wanted Albedo to forgive him for what he had done all those years ago.

He wanted to understand him.

But that... That wasn't happening. Not anytime soon. Rubedo knew that. Everybody else could hope for them. But Gaignun knew. Rubedo knew. Albedo knew.

There was no hope.

So with his eyes slipping back open, he dropped his hands and stood up, reaching back to pull his pistols from their holsters as he set his steely gaze on the main entrance to the expansive garden, cherry petals fluttering down to land softly within the garden.

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The time was now. He had to put up a fight, but here, now, was when all would be ended in one beautiful, final stroke. A lifetime of suffering, pain, death...all gone. All the fear, his burning, eternal fear of loss and abandonment, put to rest. The thought was beautiful.

Oh, sure, he had to put up a fight. He had some issues to settle with Rubedo. But at long last, even accidentally, he had lit the fuse that would finally set off Rubedo's long-concealed power.

And maybe then, he could say it, when he knew he didn't have to feel the agony of tearing open his heart for long...maybe he could say what he had been thinking for all these years. He wanted Rubedo to suffer. He wanted that little Realian to taste fear and pain. He wanted Sakura to vanish like the insignificant ghost she was. But, at the same time, he wanted his brother to live in peace. To stop chasing a fool's dream. To simply exist alongside his siblings, as he had before.

Before everything fell into chaos and despair.

He wanted to say how much Rubedo had wronged him...and then have it be over. Have him say he just wanted to protect his brother, as Rubedo had protected him. Say that maybe now, he wanted to forgive him, right before he couldn't change his mind, ever.

Maybe he couldn't say it. Maybe he was a coward. Maybe he just didn't want to. But the only thing that mattered now was that the end was in sight.

Amidst the rain of cherry petals, he strode silently through the entrance, amethyst eyes cool and centered on Rubedo's blue stare.

Come out, Red Dragon. It's time to play the final game.

When he saw Albedo step in, he resisted the urge to bite his lip. For a moment, just a moment, he considered rethinking this. Maybe they should try to talk. Maybe they could work things out. Maybe it didn't have to end like this.

Then their gaze locked, and he was hardly able to control himself. His right arm jerked up quickly, pistol immediately cocked and ready to fire. His blood was singing with the desire to shoot, so badly he was practically shaking.

But he held back, lightly squeezing the trigger, just enough so that one more millimeter would let the bullet fly.

"No fancy entrances, this time, huh Albedo?"

The eyes narrowed, glittering in the afternoon light. Rubedo was inches away from unbridled fury, he knew. He had felt the tension in the air like this before. Such a strange, almost beautiful sight -- sight unseen, for now -- the power his brother held in his hands.

"I didn't think I needed one, Rubedo." He extended a gloved hand, his fist uncurling into long fingers tipped with sharp nails. An eerie, smoky glow shrouded the hand, spilling out and flowing toward the boy. "Where's your master, little dog? I'm sure she would love to see this..."

His own eyes widened a bit in opposition, and his brow crinkled a bit as he squeezed off a shot without even thinking to. It just happened. The ear-splitting bang only excited him more, even though he knew it hadn't done much. He just watched as the hole in Albedo's forehead began to quickly close up.

Damnit. Rubedo couldn't control himself. Not around Albedo. He just couldn't. The crimson, smoky aura was beginning to flicker to life, focusing around his pistols as he spat out.

"Bastard. Like I'd force her to watch this. She still cares about you! And all you do is hurt her! And MOMO! This time... This time I'm gonna tear you to shreds!"

"How enchanting." He shrugged once. "Sakura is a ghost. Nothing more than a specter of the past."

A faint sting pricked at his forehead, one he hadn't noticed even after Rubedo had fired; he brought a hand to it and brought his fingers away bloody. "Is that all you can do?" A pale glow surrounded the hole; the same energy dissipated the bullet, repaired neurons, and restored the flesh so that it seemed as if nothing had happened.

"Is that the best you can do?" He drew back his bloody hand, formed a sphere of energy in it, and flung it straight into Rubedo's chest.

Before he could snap out his own retort, he saw the violet energy sphere and was quick to leap back, both guns switching to one hand so that he could use his free hand to catch himself on the bench just behind him. Letting the inertia do most of the work, he just pushed a little with his hand enough to flip back just in time for the crackling orb to go right below him, crashing into a bed of roses.

His boots hit a branch of the sakura tree, and he landed in a crouch, eyes glittering enough to practically glow in unbridled fury as he tossed his pistol back into it's hand, and he aimed both as he stood up straight.

"You wanna see a specter?! Wait 'til I'm through with YOU!" The gathered energy inside of the Makarovs couldn't be contained any longer, and he fired two shots off at once in a streak of crackling red lightning.

He held out both hands, and a burst of energy exploded from his palms and flared out in a massive rippling shield wave. Both bullets ground against it for just a moment before flashing away in twin bolts and blowing smoking holes through a tree and a bench.

"Fast and weak. Typical of a child." He lunged into a surprisingly quick run, sparks flying off his hands. A vicious shout tore from his throat as he took one step onto a rock, vaulted into the air, and fired twin bolts of his own down at the boy.

Almost there...

The celebration was all well and good, but there was only so much Elena really wanted to deal with. It was a little bit more than the simple fact that she had no idea just what the celebration was all about, but if anyone asked, that would be the only reason they'd get out of her.

Chewing idly on one of the toffee apples that had been passed out, Elena wandered through the gardens Xanadu, not really noticing where she was putting her feet. She was just walking and enjoying the quiet.

Or what had been the quiet of the gardens, Elena thought wryly as her ears picked up the sound of voices. And judging from the tone, they weren't happy voices. Raising an eyebrow, Elena didn't even think about it as she started walking towards the voices. One of those 'not happy' voices, had sounded rather familiar.

What she saw when Elena was within range, made the blonde pause and stare where she stood.

Albedo's comments were just pissing him off more and more. The last one was enough to make him growl right as he prepared to lunge. It was then that he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and looked.

...Elena?! Oh crap!

He didn't have enough time to dodge, though he tried to fall and roll to the side on the large branch. One bolt still hit him.

"Augh!" The pain that shot up his arm was almost unbearable, and it nearly made him drop his Makarov. It did slip a little, since right after the pain, he'd felt his skin go a little numb. He staggered and clutched at the arm, the fabric itself actually smoking in places.

"You son of a--" Just as Albedo began to fall back, presumably to land back on the rock he'd lept from, Jr. vaulted at an angle from the position he'd been crouched, just able to turn and swing his leg right in time to hit Albedo's ankle while holstering the gun with his slightly numbed hand.

It was enough. Just enough to knock him off balance in mid-air, and using his momentum as he swung to face him, his hand darted out to grab his collar with the fingers not clutching the pistol, having just enough grip to yank and shove, forcing the taller man beneath him right before they landed.

The resounding crack was almost as deafening as one of his gunshots, but he didn't let it startle him. After all, he's just forced his brother to land backwards on the rock he'd originally propelled from... But he knew Albedo could regenerate. He always did. He just hoped it hurt.

Crouched on top of him with his knees digging into his twin's shoulders, he re-cocked the Makarov with a click, the barrel practically touching Albedo's forehead from this close range.

Was Rubedo grinning? He couldn't help it. He was angry. Wrathful. But... He was having fun.

Oh. He'd already forgotten about Elena. The power in him was humming. It wanted out. It wanted out.

"You better stop talking to your older brother like that or I'll wash your damn mouth out with lead."

The rock felt like a knife driving through his back; Albedo's eyes widened for barely a moment as his spine snapped in half with a rending, blazing pain that shot back and forth through him. For about two seconds, he fell limp over the rock, his eyes glazing over and turning misty grayish-purple. Faint breath trailed from his mouth as it fell slightly open.

Then, just as quickly, they flared brilliant violet, and his bones realigned with a rough grinding that even Rubedo could feel beneath his knees. Even with the barrel at his head, Albedo craned his neck and stared up at his brother, the child that wasn't, man's mind in a little boy's head. He thrust out a hand and snatched Rubedo by the neck, drawing him down, closer, until their noses almost touched, eyes inches away, amethyst and sapphire, the gun still angled at his temple from the side...

"Do you see anything, Rubedo?" He chuckled, a wild white grin spreading across his face. "Do you remember? I hope you're seeing it again...you let us all down; you betrayed us; you left me..." His voice lowered, barely tone, mostly breath. "You're the worst kind of man. Worse than a murderer. You're a deceiver, a traitor..." His hand tightened, its grip surprisingly powerful, and Albedo held the boy toward him as he swung his other arm hard just beneath Rubedo's ribs and into his solar plexus.

The words hit home, and rang so clearly that he felt like he was just stabbed in the heart. The pain in his eyes was only too visible at this close range as he was forced look into those deranged eyes of his brother, and did indeed remember... His own fear had taken hold of him that fateful night.

His own terror.

And then his breath was knocked clean out of him, his entire body spasming for the second it received the hit. At first he could only choke on what little oxygen he was allowed with the solid grip on his neck, and with one hand still weakly clutching at Albedo's collar, he lifted his other hand to grab at the man's wrist, his gun pressed against his sleeve as he tried to regain his composure.

Before he would let Albedo see the tears that threatened to prick at his eyes, he let the energy gather in quick succession, exploding before he could lose consciousness from lack of oxygen. He himself flew back, with whatever was left of Albedo's hand attached to his neck disintigrating before it hit the ground.

Finally, he was allowed to cough and clutch at his stomach, staggering up and aiming with a trembling hand. "That... It wasn't meant to be like that, Albedo! But I had no other choice! If I hadn't cut the link, the whole planet would have been...!"

He shook his head and straightened. "There was no other way! If you'd stop being so SELFISH you could see that!"

It wanted out. He could feel it. It was singing. Humming. Now purring, almost like a sweet seduction in his ear.

He joined with U-DO. Even if it was for a short time, that link can't be broken. He must be destroyed. He hurt them. He hurt them all! HE'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND. IT'S THE ONLY WAY.

The eyes. For a flash of time, shorter than anything that could be imagined, he saw it, liquid azure disappearing in a flash of red light and a burning pain across his arm.

Fear. The fear he had never seen in Rubedo as a child, boring into him, all the terror of years and those seconds where they all felt their hearts would explode from the tension and their power was too weak and their strategies too simple and their entire mission over, it was all over here, but then there was depth, the deep and vivid recollection of the one day, the ring, and he backed away...

I am the infinite telomerase! Albedo's own laughs, tinged with a child's high alto, rang in his ears.

"You doomed us all. You left us to the wolves. And look at you...you're trapped as a child. You could let yourself age, though." He climbed to his feet, his new arm glowing with the remnants of energy. "Or...were you afraid you would become something you feared?" With a broad sweep of his arm, he indicated himself.

"Were you afraid of becoming me? Is that it?" He sneered down at Rubedo, teeth bared, eyes narrowed like an animal's.

I am not an anti-existence! He laughed once through his predator's grin.

"Selfishness...wasn't it you who swore you would protect us and then failed us all because of your own fear? Wasn't it you who killed six hundred sixty-five of your siblings?"

I am the perfect chain!

Now his laughter became a howl. "Look at the blood on your hands, Rubedo! Look at your failure! Look at all the pain you've caused us all! Do you remember carrying Nigredo in your arms? Do you remember Sakura's death? Do you remember me, Rubedo?" His hand rose to the right side of his chest, nails scratching at the cloth there, ripping little trails in it.

"Suffer for your crimes!" He leaned back for a moment, both arms outstretched to either side, his entire form flaring brilliant white. In a blur, he rushed forward, the energy spilling off his arms like wings, only his eyes glowing vivid in the pale light, an unearthly shriek filling the air as he rushed at Rubedo, swinging twice at him with crackling hands that seemed to bend light around them as they moved, warping Rubedo's view, twisting the world like a misshapen mirror.

He wanted to break down sobbing right then. He knew it. In order to save Miltia, in his own way he had ended up destroying it. But could there have been any other way? If they had countered U-DO then... If their chain of power had connected, it all would have been over. For them. For the innocents of Miltia.

For the Universe.

Had all of those sacrifices been worth it? They had been infected with U-DO. Killed. And then those warped by the Song of Nephilim, they...

"No... NO!" His angry gaze snapped up just in time to see one of the fists, his hand shooting up just in time to catch it, though that had been merely by luck. However, the raw energy that had been emanating crackled up his arm, making him cry out just as the other fist connected with the side of his face.

It was enough to make his head snap to the side, and he was lucky it didn't break his neck. But he didn't release his hold on that one fist. His cheek and both sleeves of his shirt and long coat were now singed, but he didn't let himself be knocked away. He didn't back down.

His eyes shut for a moment as the pain worked through him, numbing for a second.

Let it out.

Both eyes snapped open, spotting Elena still in the distance, staring. His lips parted, nearly trembling as he looked right at her and mouthed silently, Run.

Then he looked back up to Albedo, dropping his pistol at his feet to reach up and grab hold of Albedo's other fist. He was not letting go. The only way his younger brother could escape now was if he blew his own arms off.

His eyes were glowing now, but not the clear crystal blue they normally did. Red was tinted there, and it was emanating off of him like flames flicker in a fire, yet it crackled like lightning. Both hands shook as they ever tightened their grip on Albedo's gloved hands and he looked right at him for a long time. "I'll suffer....for my sins... But I won't let you... Not anymore!"

Sakura... MOMO... Guys... I'm sorry...

Even if he was unable to make it out of this one alive, he couldn't contain the power any longer, his shadow warped behind him as the sun began to set, taking the form of a large dragon just as it's namesake kicked in, and he tossed his head back as his energy expanded out far past them, enveloping everything it touched in a crackling crimson sphere.

His scream echoed within the ethereal barrier as it continued to grow. "AL-BE-DOOOOOOOO!"

It was a display of power she'd only caught a glimpse of before. Different from what she'd witness in her own time, with Sephiroth, the clones, and Cloud, but still awe-inspiring and frightening just the same. And the blonde knew better than to get involved, though her mind screamed with a million questions and a million different actions. But that would come later. Afterwards. Elena would have to drag Jr. off someplace safer first.

She watched the fight, transfixed until Jr. turned her way and mouthed something, that, even had she not been able to read lips, she'd understand. Not even pausing a moment to process the message, Elena turned and ran, everything else forgotten as she only thought about putting as much distance between her and the fight as possible. Her survival training had taken over and everything in her was telling her to run.

Later. Later she'd come back, see what was left, and drag Jr.'s sorry carcass off to take care of. Then she'd ask... Or threaten him. One of the two. Later. Now was the time to run though. And run as fast as her legs would carry her, she did.

All his energy slowed to a seething halt as he spun, something catching his arm, but his hand struck flesh and bone and knocked something aside. Only on a second thought did he see that it was Rubedo's face; his brother had him by one fist, swinging him through the air as his momentum kept him moving. The glow gathered, flared, burned at Rubedo's clothes and skin, pushed against the red fire. Rubedo paused, his child's fingers clamped around Albedo's clawed hands. As the boy -- no, his older brother -- looked straight at him, there arose in the violet eyes a strange look, something Rubedo hadn't seen for years and years, an eerily alien expression in the fierce, wild gaze. A slight warmth within the cold crystal.

Gratitude. That's what it was. An odd and foreign peace, and a strange sort of thankfulness, almost as if Albedo had wanted this from the start.

Which, he did. Here was the end. The clock was counting down, slowly, ticking away, second -- by -- second...all space and time paused...the world grew cold and silent...his legs gave way beneath him...his hands loosened in Rubedo's...until he was suspended in the air by the force of his own power against the Red Dragon energy...

And just before Rubedo looked away, a tiny twitch of a smile crooked one corner of his mouth.

Red overtook white. The Red Dragon sphere blasted outward, ripping through him, thrusting even his own great force aside, tearing an agonized scream from his lungs, burning the very essence of his being, knocking his breath from him, blinding him, deafening him--

The explosion rushed outward through the garden, ripping up chunks of soil and flinging rocks into the air, scorching layers off them, searing off the grass and flowers and blowing the trees into showers of splinters. Water steamed off the ground in huge puffs. Lightning lit the air brilliant scarlet, soaking the wind in the smell of ozone, scorching it hot. The sky burned; the ground turned black like Death's robes; flames leaped into the air and embers glittered across the wasteland that was once a garden. The huge blast dissipated into the air far away, fading into first a dome of wispy flames, then a glow, then a shower of sparks that rained down like dying fireworks.

And in the center of it all, for anyone who could see, two brothers joined hands in a union they had felt since birth.

There had been nothing but red, utterly blinding him as his scream continued, almost overtaking the intense clack and boom of the explosion itself.

Then, his eyes shut for a moment. The deafening silence was what made them slide back open to look up at his brother. Rubedo himself was drained, probably as pale as a ghost, and his legs shook just from the task of holding him upright. But still he clutched Albedo's hands, though his grip was now weak, and trembled.

He had seen it. The acceptance. The gratitude. Had Albedo truly wanted death so much? Had Rubedo succeeded? Albedo honestly looked like he was very close to knocking on Heaven's door, so to speak.

Tears overflowed then, silently trickling down to dampen his scorched sleeve as his knees buckled and he weakly croaked out, "...Albedo..."

His eyes slipped shut for what would be a good long time, his entire body collapsing and cheek hitting against Albedo's chest. His arms went slack, though somehow his fingers still remained loosely intertwined with his twin's.

Numb.

Frozen.

Endless night.

The world was cold, dark, and void.

But...a little bit of life...a little bit of thought, just enough to know, rose in his mind.

And it heard.

...Albedo...don't...leave me...

As the Red Dragon power faded, he felt something rest against him in the infinite ether, but he was no longer able to stand. The heavier of the two, he fell back, dragging Rubedo with him, both of them collapsing on the ground. He wanted to let go, release his hold on life...he was already so weak and pained...his mind ached to sleep, and from this he would never awaken...

The words, though...they just kept coming back to him, echoing over and over, back and forth through his mind...

Don't...leave me...

Rubedo didn't loathe him. Didn't want him dead. Maybe he had known that; maybe he hadn't, but seeing this, now...he didn't know. He had always had his own goals, his own plan, ever since he had left Miltia, ever since those days. What, then, of this?

Don't...

And with all the energy he had left, he managed to tighten one hand around Rubedo's fingers.

Bits of dirt and flower parts were quickly brushed out of Elena's hair as she stood up from where she had been knocked off her feet from the shock-waves of the blast. Other than that though, it seemed that she had fun far enough away to escape being harmed by whatever that was or had been.

Dusting herself off in a absent-minded manner, Elena carefully made her way back towards the scene of the fight, wondering what was going on now. Something like that... Well, wondering about it wasn't going to do anything. Though the damage done to the surrounding area was certainly enough to give a normal person pause.

Thankfully, Elena wasn't a normal person and as soon as she could see the bodies she was looking for, the blonde hurried over to see what the outcome was. What she saw though, again gave her pause, but this time, for a different reason.

Weren't they just fighting a moment ago?! Elena wondered, even as she knelt down to check on their current state. Softly brushing a bit of hair out of Jr.'s face, Elena checked him over carefully. The handholding made the Turk blink twice and she knew if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it. Wha?!

Shaking her head, Elena dismissed the bubbling questions and instead focused on doing something productive. Though, she did stop and take a picture with the phone she still carried around, more out of habit than anything. Hey, if she didn't believe what she was seeing, no one else would without proof.

Separating Jr. from, whoever that was, Elena carefully stood up with Jr. tucked safely in her arms. She'd had a little difficultly with separating the two of them since it had seemed like they didn't want to let go, but as they were both unconscious and she wasn't, it just took a little time. Looking down at Jr.'s face worriedly, Elena cast another look at the person he'd been fighting.

Shaking her head slightly, the blonde turned and started walking. Even if she had really wanted to, it would be more than just a little tricky to carry two people back to her place to tend to them. She'd take care of Jr. first and come back for whoever later. .... Maybe. After she also dealt with Jr.'s roommates. But that all came second to taking care of Jr. first.

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