Dehumanization is a Necessity [open]

[albedo]

"Why even bother with a cell?
This human body is prison enough."

<sup>Crimson red eyes gazed up at the starry night sky, knowing that nearly every star represented a different, alien world. Perhaps one of them was Galvan Prime. Not that he could ever go back to his homeworld- especially not in this state. He was stuck in this horrid, foreign, hideous body. Of course, some would beg to differ that his original Galvan form was more grotesque, but it was the form he had been born with. Even though it had only been a few years since he had been trapped in a teenage human's body, it seemed like an eternity for him. Albedo was far too stubborn to admit it, but the exile was homesick. However, it seemed that other residents of this "Traverse Town" had also been forced to leave their homeworlds, though for reasons far from his own. He'd heard from passing civillians that their worlds had been destroyed by creatures called "Heartless". He'd even had a firsthand experience with one of them upon wandering into the Second District. They seemed mindless and nonsentient, attacking without any specific formation or plan. Not to mention they were relatively easy to defeat. He surmised that the worlds they destroyed had been obliterated only by their sheer numbers.

Running a hand through his snow-white hair, he gave a small, frustrated sigh. He wondered how fast the Heartless infested new worlds. How long did it take for them to destroy a world completely? Would it be long before they reached Galvan Prime? The scientist guessed it didn't matter either way- he'd never see it again, at least not anytime soon. He had once been a well-respected man, just like Azmuth. Those days were over, now. He was a criminal, now. Not that this upset him as much as other things about his current predicament did, however. Remorse wasn't an emotion commonly experienced by Albedo. Any illegal, brutal, or downright despicable action he took was justified in his own eyes. He had goals, and no one would prevent him from obtaining them. Briefly, he wondered where his "twin" was, and if he knew of this "Heartless" catastrophe. When it came to the Heartless, he was neutral on them. As long as they didn't effect him in any direct way, he didn't care. Albedo had "bigger fish to fry", as a human saying went.

Currently sitting on a bench in the First District, Albedo looked down at the "watch" on his left wrist. To any unknowing person, it may have looked like a mere accessory, anyway. In truth, it was a device that could bring both extraodinary understanding as well as horrific destruction. It wasn't perfected, shown by the fact that he was stuck as a human teenager. But it didn't stop him from trying to upgrade and improve it. He hadn't always been so power-hungry, though having an Omnitrix could make anyone mad with power. Of course, he wasn't exactly sane to start out with. Albedo's somewhat calm expression became a slight scowl of frustration as he looked down at the ground. One day, he would be himself again. And he would get his revenge.</sup>

[Hades]

If you could count the skeletons in my closet,
Under my bed and up under my faucet.

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Normally it wasn't his thing to wander from his Underworld, but since this Witch had made a deal with him; that he could take over the Mountain of his brothers and crush the royals, so he liked the sound of that. So, he was looking for those who could be swayed to join his cause. If they did, he could promise that in his world at least, they would be nearly unstoppable. Nearly, of course, as long as those stupid Royals up on their hoyty-toyty mountain were in charge. Once he had that mountain, and crushed those heroes, He Would Be UNstoppable! Er, well, those who worked for him and he would be unstoppable of course, that's what he meant. He would include those who helped...a bit. A bit. Yes, a bit.

He knew he looked out of place in this little town, but he didn't care. He knew there would be something, someone here. He didn't have to look long, he could see people around, and he ducked in and out of sight until his eyes landed on a boy. He wasn't sure what screamed "useful" to him about this kid, but something did. He moved through the darkness, watching the kid still. He moved closer, and he decided it was worth looking into. He knew the kid wasn't on the rightously heroic path, so even if he refused him, it made little difference to him, he could see him not going out and blabbing his plans to someone who'd come to his Underworld and pester him, but he could also hope that the kid would join him, he could promise the boy wouldn't regret it, but then again, he was the God of the Dead, he had no regrets himself so he saw them as useless to others around him; even if they did have them.

He could see the kid look at his wrist, and he could see a scowl. Maybe this was his moment to turn that scowl into a more useful expression. He moved from the darkness to the bench beside the boy. He leaned his unnaturally large arm over the back of the bench, speaking casually, "Sorta dead out here, isn't it, or is it just me?" He scratched the front of his robes, looking down at the boy beside him, "Hades, Lord of the Dead." He said, extending his large, gray hand to the boy. He wouldn't say why he was there until he could read the boy better. But, he had high hopes for this one, very high hopes.

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Then you would know I've completely lost it,
Is he nuts?
NO! He's insane!

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[albedo]

<sup>Lifting his head as he heard someone approaching, Albedo was suprised to find that it wasn't one of the civillians- or at least, he didn't look like it. Most of this town's inhabitants had looked fairly human, while this stranger reminded Albedo of an Ectonurite for some reason. Perhaps it was the "otherworldly" aura both of the beings seemed to give off. His look of shock was quickly masked with an analytical gaze, wondering what he wanted- if anything. Of course, Albedo wasn't that naive, people rarely ever got accquainted with someone unless they wanted something in return, or at least that's what he thought. At the stranger's asessment, the exile nodded slowly. "Yes, it is rather deserted. Though I'm not surprised with those 'Heartless' running rampant." He noted, though he knew he hadn't seen any in this district yet. Still, it wasn't unusual that the residents would be frightened of the creatures that had supposedly destroyed so much. Glancing around at the street in front of him for a moment, he looked back at the man. He looked vaguely similar to a human, though not by much. His clothing didn't look like the one's he seen modern humans wearing, not to mention his odd skin tone which seemed unhealthy, and his hair which looked like blue flames. Now he reminded him of a Pyronite, a being which was composed entirely of flames.

As he introduced himself as "The Lord of the Dead", Albedo couldn't help but to raise one of his eyebrows quizically. Taking his hand and shaking it lightly, Albedo decided he may as well introduce himself. "I am Albedo of the Galvan." He informed him, pride evident in his voice. Even if he was imprisoned as a human, he would always believe the Galvan were the most superior species in the worlds- and that he was among the most brilliant minds. If not the most brilliant mind. However, he swore he could feel himself becoming more incompetent every day, stuck in this wretched form. Turning his mind back to the present, he adressed this 'Hades'. "An...odd title..." He muttered quietly, reffering to the way Hades had introduced himself. Albedo had never believed in gods and dieties, always depending on what was tangible and factual. "You are saying that you are a diety with dominion over the deceased?" While the idea seemed laughable to him (or rather, it would have if he had a sense of humor), for all he knew he could have been telling the truth. Upon learning of the Heartless and other various concepts that were formerly alien to him, he'd guessed that more things were possible in other worlds than he'd first imagined. "Forgive me if I may seem skeptical, but the idea of 'gods' is foreign to my kind." He'd never met another Galvan who did believe in that sort of thing.

Albedo wondered if he really did rule the dead, though such a thing hardly seemed possible to him. Death was never much of a concern for him, as he had a naturally long life span which could last up to over a thousand years. Still, such a concept seemed fascinating. Looking Hades over, he couldn't deny that he looked sinister. Nevertheless, he hadn't shown any signs of hostility. Ever since the betrayl of Vilgax, he had been wary of whom he believed and allied himself with. He didn't want to end up in the same situation as last time- forced to turn to his enemy for assistance. Curling one of his hands into a fist at the thought, he returned to the matter at hand. "If I may question you, do you know much about the Heartless? They are...alien to me. And perhaps useful." He added, glancing off for a moment. If the Heartless really did have such destructive capabilities, perhaps he could somehow use that to his advantage, though he hadn't formulated a plan yet.</sup>

[Hades]

If you could count the skeletons in my closet,
Under my bed and up under my faucet.

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He smiled. The boy seemed to be studying. He could respect that. Never trust anyone in their line of work. Granted, nothing told him the kid was like him, he just had that hunch. And, he was pretty good with his hunches. And he already knew of the heartless. Granted, Hades never had much use for heartless in his world, but he did know they were there. He could order them around as he felt the need. He did like that. They liked power, and he had that to offer, and he would offer anything he could to sway the boy to his side if he could prove to be useful. He liked useful. "Yes, well Heartless can do that to the weak." He smirked, looking at the boy again, "Though, if one has the right....appeal, the heartless are more then willing to be of service." He commented offhandedly.

He had his attention. This was good. A good sign. He liked it. The kid seemed alright. "Pleasure's all mine." He said with another toothy grin. His jagged teeth were more like nails then teeth. He glanced around, not wanting passersby ooglinh him. He knew he stuck out, if he got spotted by one of those damned heroes, he knew he'd have to bolt, and he wanted this to go as smoothly as he could make it. For no, he saw no one, and he was pleased by this. He wanted to keep it that way. He looked back as the boy spoke. He smiled, shrugging lightly, "Not too strange where I come from. Humbling really when people fear me." He smiled wider at the thought of fear. "Sheesh, don't make it sound so gloomy! Sure it's a bit dank down there, little musky, but it's a nice place really. Good job. Hours are nice; work when I want, ya know?"

He smiled. He nodded. The kid was hittin on something now, "Yeah, yeah. The Heartless. Killers to normal little people; useless beyond my imagination really. They take hearts and are attracted to power. Certainly have a few running around my Underworld. Like rodents! But, they don't bother me, and they keep the Zeroes running around my world at bay, so one could say we get along alright." He said nonchalantly.

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Then you would know I've completely lost it,
Is he nuts?
NO! He's insane!

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[albedo]

<sup>He noticed the other's smile, and wondered what he was thinking. Albedo wasn't the best at reading others, and was therefore often prone to backstabbing despite the fact he usually didn't trust his allies. All he did was let his guard down once around Vilgax and the next thing he knew, he was at his arch-enemy's mercy. "Appeal? Well, what do they consider weakness? ...Do you control them?" Albedo asked, sounding much like a very interested child at the moment. He was, in a way. He'd probably experienced more in the last few days than more Galvans ever experienced in their extremely long lifetimes. Why shouldn't he find out more about these strange occurances? He found the possibility that Hades controlled these seemingly mindless creatures interesting. If he had that power, who knew what he could accomplish? Revenge on Ben Tennyson was definetly on his mind, among other things.

Albedo shown some minor disgust as he seen Hades' toothy grin, though quickly recovered his composure. His own kind had jagged, sharp teeth as well, but they were never so large and thin- his were almost oversized needles. He'd never seen a being quite like Hades before, and was both confused and a bit fascinated by him. When the stranger spoke of being feared, Albedo also smirked a little. "The word 'humble' doesn't exist in my vocabulary." Nor should it have in his opinion. Why should he be humble? Aside from the fact that he was an exile, he was still one of the most brilliant minds on Galvan Prime. "But, I do know what it's like to have others tremble before me." It didn't sound so threatening from a teenaged human, but inside the body was the mind of a brilliant scientist. A mad scientist, some would call him. He could easily take on a more threatening and sinister form, as he was always trying to improve the device on his wrist. He looked back to Hades as he spoke of his 'job', and Albedo looked a little confused. "A domain over the dead wouldn't really fall into my classifications of "a nice place"." Perhaps Hades just had a strange sense of tastes.

As he explained the Heartless to him, Albedo listened more carefully- the God clearly having his attention. They took /hearts/? How vile, he thought. Still, he was confident they wouldn't give him much trouble, either. "'Zeroes?' So there are the ocassional intruders in your 'Underworld'? How unplesant that must be." He remarked in a voice that sounded rather un-sympathetic tone, though it was quiet possible this was as sympathetic as he got. "If these Heartless are as you say, I could find some use for them in keeping my own enemies from interfereing with my plans." Albedo spoke, mostly to himself, crossing his arms as he considered the idea. "It seems that you and I both have a distaste for self-proclaimed heroes." He noted outloud, looking back to Hades. Maybe they had more in common than it seemed.</sup>