Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The vast expanse of space.

Cold. Desolate. Home.

Wrapped in his wings, Ichi orbited slowly around a blue giant, tails curled around himself as he slept. His body was tired, enduring another growth spurt, and he was riddled with aches and pains. He’s had plenty of these periods since he’s hatched a millennia ago, but this one seemed to really take a toll on his body. Instinct has urged him to locate the nearest, strongest star he could find and he’s done just that. He’s been dormant around this star for the equivalent of four months here on earth, waiting patiently.

His body was taking as much energy as it can from the giant gas ball, working tirelessly to put that energy into his development. He should be almost done, and in his sleep, he dreamed of visiting the next planet. Even at this young age, he was significantly larger than most of the lifeforms he’s encountered on his journeys around his home galaxy. Instinct urged him to seek out stars to feed from and when those stars had celestial bodies orbiting them, instinct had him visit each one.

He wasn’t sure why he felt a strong need to destroy any life that he encountered; he just knew that it was what he was supposed to do and felt immense pleasure in fulfilling this purpose. He liked the feeling of power he had over the alien creatures he’s encountered. How they fell to his feet in futile efforts to appease him with submission before he ended their pathetic existence with a powerful Gravity Beam. Even when he’s met adversaries too large and strong for him and he was forced to retreat, he knew that someday, he would return larger and stronger than ever before. Then, they too would bow before him just as the weaker species has done before he ripped their lives away from them.

But for now, he was content to relive his memories in his dreams.

-

It would be a few days later before he left that star, satisfied with the energy he’s gathered and his new larger size. He had shed his skin by the end of this growth spurt, eating it for the added boost. His scales were exceptionally gorgeous as a result, shimmering in the light and overall, he felt very good about himself. He was eager to resume his conquests around the galaxy and has started on one of the small planets orbiting the blue giant.

It was a lifeless planet, it seemed, but instinct would urge him to keep searching just to make sure. He was currently flying across a vast empty plain when a sudden jolt of immense pain shot through his body. Pain intense enough to tear his focus away from his flight and mission. His jaws open in a bloodcurdling scream, wings flailing as he struggled to escape this agony. But there was no escape as it was coming from within, primarily by the right side of his neck and shoulder. His eyes dart to look at the spot only to find no wound.

Instead, he saw a growth emerging rapidly from his body. Torment continued to rip through him, far worse than any he’s experienced in his short life. He screamed and cried out, to whom he did not know. He’s been alone for as long as he could remember; granted, his memories of his earliest days of life were nonexistent. But he didn’t care, he just needed to scream.

His body, wracked with pain, seized up, his wings useless, and he collapsed onto the dusty white ground. Luckily, gravity here was weak and his scales were durable so no real damage resulted in this fall. Wasn’t much of a consolation as the pain only seemed to get worse as the growth became an extremity, then a neck. Horns sprouted from it, then a snout taking shape of a proper head.

Frozen on the ground, trying to endure, Ichi felt a strange sensation within him. He was hearing something, feeling something, he didn’t know what. His own body was starting to feel alien to him, limbs becoming spastic or impossible to move at times. His heart was racing, but he could feel the same sensation by the right side of his body. Another heart racing along with his. He didn’t understand what was happening, and for the first time in his life, he felt afraid.

Finally, the torment seems to be fading. It was done…

Catching his breath, Ichi looked over at whatever his body has spawned. It was another creature that looked like him. He’s seen his own reflection on his planetary conquests, and he felt like he was looking at one right now. The horns were a little smaller than his own though, not quite as curved. Staring at it, Ichi felt the instinct within him tell him that this was his brother. If he had an instinct for it, then this must be normal. This brother seemed unconscious and completely unresponsive. The new sensation within him, like something simmering beneath his own consciousness, grew more active. New neurons forming throughout his body, completing the process.

At least the pain was over, although his body was still quite difficult to move, still recovering from the massive loss of energy. He’d definitely have to visit that star after this, or spend the day sunning himself at the very least. Probably go above the atmosphere for unfiltered radiation as a compromise between the options. Yeah, he’ll settle with that.

Pulling his wings in to his sides, he gathered his strength and forced himself up on shaky limbs. He stumbled forward a few steps. His heart has calmed down, but the second heart was still racing. His brother began to twitch and the new head suddenly jolted up with a gasp.

First breath of an alien atmosphere, from a lung that did not belong to Ichi.

It was as if his, -their?-, body was testing out the new head and the new parts. With the heart and lung working as they should, Ichi saw the eyes open. Unfocused and… feral. At this point, Ichi felt it, a wave of inexplicable anger as instinct gripped him. It intensified when the new head gained Awareness and looked towards him. His brother felt the instinct too, the burning anger towards the… other. Growls erupted from both their throats simultaneously.

Ichi didn’t understand why; he never experienced this before, and he had nobody to teach him about this. But instinct was there to help, to instruct him on what he was supposed to do here. And what he was supposed to do was assert himself as the dominant brother. Shouldn’t be difficult; he had 1,000 years of experience on this newcomer and a whole body to boot.

The older brother began pushing his neck against the new one, still growling. But the new head was not submissive to this display and pushed back with a louder snarl, making a snap for his snout. Ichi pulled away, teeth grazing the tip of his nose and he struck back swiftly and precisely. He succeeded on grabbing his brother’s muzzle in his jaws and pushed him to the ground. The new head roars in outrage and struggled, refusing to be dominated.

Ichi doesn’t let up, placing his wings on the younger head’s neck to keep him down as his jaws released his snout. He began gnawing at New Head’s scales in a power-groom. He was expecting his younger sibling to realize his disadvantage here and just accept submission. He was clearly the superior, made clear when he bit New Head a few times for not staying still like he’s supposed to. But he was wrong as unexpectedly, his own wing suddenly swiped him across the face.

Startled, Ichi pulled away with a cry and his, -their-, body jolted up. He had no idea what happened; why did his own wing turn on him?! He was given no time to recover from this shock as New Head lunged and clamped down onto his neck. Pain erupted and black blood seeped from the bite as New Head shook and tore his once-flawless scales. Ichi screamed as he was then shoved into the ground. New Head was being too rough. Ichi knew instinctively that this wasn’t supposed to actually draw blood. This escalated the situation as panic gripped him and Ichi whipped his head around enough dig his own fangs into New Head’s neck.

The instant New Head felt the bite, he shook again, tearing the flesh even more. It was almost as if he was intent on ripping a chunk out. Ichi’s panic was replaced with rage and he shook back, retaliating against this brutality with his own. He tasted blood, his brother’s blood, his own blood. His right wing turned on him again and struck his neck, but he doesn’t let go.

Instead, he wretched control of that wing back and had it strike New Head instead. New Head grunted and his grip loosened only slightly.

Ichi ripped away, pulling scales with him but losing some of his own in the process. Blood spilled down his neck. He glanced at the damage, seeing a patch of his skin hanging down from the wounds as his golden scales turned black. The pain was dulled though, by the sheer rage and bloodlust coursing through him. The two heads glared at each other with teeth bared, muzzles stained with each other’s, -their own-, blood.

There was no sign of backing down from either of them, as neither were willing to submit. They both wanted dominance and the control that came with it. In this moment of relative stillness, as the two snarled and glared each other down, Ichi realized the stakes at work here. New Head could control his body as well, that’s why his wing kept attacking him! If he were to lose this dominance fight, he would lose the body he had enjoyed his entire life. This New Head, his brother, was here to steal what he had. New Head had nothing to lose and everything to gain, that’s why he was being so brutal. Ichi did not enjoy that luxury, as he had EVERYTHING to lose.

His resolve to win hardened at this realization. No holding back now.

New Head roared at him, his voice a deep rumble that echoed through the desolate landscape. He responded with his own roar and New Head lunged at him once more. He met him with a strike of his own and their teeth met flesh again, immediately tearing into each other. Blood splattered onto the white ground beneath them, tainting a world once free of such violence. Their body was unwieldy, as the two heads fought for its control. Really, all they could manage was just to keep themselves balanced on their hind legs as wings and tails flailed spastically.

This relentless bloodbath continued for the better part of the afternoon before their body collapsed and the two heads fell still. Ichi kept both wings pressed against New Head’s throat and neck, a safeguard to keep him from lunging again. But New Head only snarled at him through heavy breaths, both of them trying to recover. A temporary truce took place as they laid in a pool of their own blood, their wounds slowly stitching together.

Ichi was utterly exhausted, and the pain of his injuries were no longer dulled. One of his eyes was wounded and his neck held a couple of dislodged fangs that was ripped out of New Head’s mouth during their battle. His brother wasn’t any better off, one of his horns actually snapped off and was leaking blood.

After a few minutes spent catching their breaths, New Head snarled out his words, -his first words-, with frustrated venom.

“Give it up.” he choked out, getting a growl in response.

Ichi narrowed his eyes at him, trying to get his voice to work and keep it sounding strong. “This is my body,” he told him, his words lacking the hateful venom but stern nonetheless. “And I’m not letting you take it away from me.” He could feel New Head try to take the wings off his throat, but Ichi refused to relinquish any power over them. “This is foolishness. We’re only hurting ourselves, because you refuse to yield.”

New Head exhaled sharply, blowing the dirt from the ground into the air as he did. “I will never yield.” He growled, his feral eyes darkening. “We’re hurting ourselves, yes, but I can endure whatever pain is necessary to get what I want. Can you?”

Giving no time for a response, New Head suddenly bites into the wing on his throat, tearing the membrane. Pain shoots up for both of them, but New Head had a higher threshold and he fully intended to take advantage of this. Ichi wasn’t expecting this move and he pulled the wing away, allowing New Head to lunge for him again. Teeth sank into his face and the fight resumed once more, their previous wounds not even healed yet.

This carried on through the evening into the night, the star’s strong rays no longer there to help invigorate their strength. Over and over, they would alternate between tearing into each other, resting and healing a bit in a temporary truce, before tearing into each other again. Their energy reserves inevitably drained to empty and by midnight, they collapsed once more, Ichi’s jaws locked on New Head’s snout. They spent a moment resting before Ichi attempted to power-groom his sibling. But New Head still doesn’t submit and tried to snap at him. Ichi bit him back and they went still again. They could both feel unconsciousness creeping over them, and they try to fight it with the same viciousness they had when they fought each other.

Ichi could recall several notable moments in the past 1,000 years, when he went up against foes that vastly outmatched him and he was forced into retreat. Humiliating, yes, but this… This could safely be considered the worst time in his entire life. There was no retreating from it and it showed no signs of getting any better. Was this how they would spend their eternity? Locked in never-ending combat?

Was this even worth it?

That thought was the last he had, before they both fell into unconsciousness.

-

Morning rose, the blue giant’s rays washing over the landscape and hitting golden scales. Such scales were, at this point, few and far between. Most of them was covered in black blood that gleamed with oil-like iridescence in the sunlight. Laying motionless, the young Ghidorah began to come to life as the star’s energy graced them, healing them of their wounds. It was slow, but appreciated nonetheless.

New Head opened his eyes first, feeling all of the aches and pains of their battle yesterday. A battle still unsettled and he glared towards his rival. Ichi seemed barely conscious, a soft grunt the only thing signalling his wakefulness. New Head growled harshly; even now in their weakness, he was not giving up and he issued the challenge as fervently as he had the day before.

Hearing this, Ichi opened his eye and glared at him. He didn’t want to fight anymore, but he had no choice lest he concedes defeat and lose control of his body forever. So when New Head tried to power-groom him, he shoved him off and roared at him. His throat was sore from all the roaring and shrieking and screaming, but it was still strong. The responding roar was just as powerful.

So the two heads go at it again, tearing freshly healed wounds back open. Their attacks were intense for only a few moments before exhaustion starting catching up with them again. Their body wasn’t ready for this so soon after the last bloodbath. They couldn’t keep going like this, but New Head didn’t care. He was willing to keep fighting until he literally couldn’t anymore. Ichi was struggling to keep the same resolve, but the thought from last night crept in the back of his mind. Maybe this wasn’t worth it. The constant fighting that didn’t seem to end, the pain, the exhaustion. He can make it all stop if he just gave up. Maybe losing control wouldn’t be so bad, especially compared to this vicious cycle.

This wasn’t worth it…

The rage that thought sparked gave him extra strength, temporarily gaining an edge over his insubordinate younger brother as he slammed New Head into the ground with force. He had to win this.

He HAD to win this.

HE HAD TO WIN THIS!

The final blow came without him even realizing it. Instinct, fury, and bloodlust overtook him. He clamped his jaws onto his brother’s throat and pushed him harder into the ground. Instead of power-grooming or any other show of attempted dominance, he shifted their body, forcing it to follow HIS will, and pinned down his struggling sibling’s neck with their foot. With this leverage, his jaws pulled with all the strength he had. The roar from New Head cut off into a gurgle as a sickening ripping sound echoed through the battleground. Blood spilled all over Ichi’s face and he felt a swell in his chest.

He did it…

With his brother’s head dangling from his mouth, he stared at the bloody stump left behind. New Head was still conscious, but the thrashing in his jaws began to weaken quickly. Dropping the severed head, he watched with a blank expression as his sibling gasped uselessly for breath, muscles in his face twitching and blood pouring from both his neck and his jaws. It took a couple of moments before New Head lost his fight and finally fell still, the life in those feral eyes fading into nothingness.

He did it…

He could still feel New Head’s presence within him, and the stump still attached to his body was still active but moving blindly. He ignored it as he instinctively took a deep breath and let out another deafening roar. A victory roar.

Before he collapsed once more into unconsciousness.

-

He was back to orbiting the star again. It took the remaining strength he had just to break free of the planet’s gravitational pull, but after he cleared the upper atmosphere and was bathed in the unfiltered radiation of the star, it gave him the strength needed to return to it.

His wounds were finally given a chance to heal properly. His injured eye was repaired and the blood has been cleaned off his scales with diligent grooming. Despite his pain, he felt good. He won the most intense battle of his life, asserted himself as the dominant brother, not to be trifled with. The neck beside him has calmed down from the angry thrashing and was now slumped passively.

It was only after his body fully recovered from the injuries when another deep pain erupted from his body. His jaws snapped open in a silent scream, taken off guard by the unexpected torture. He thought it was over.

The pain was coming from the stump, radiating like a web deep into his shoulder and chest. He could feel it, a new structure within being pushed up painfully into the neck stump. A fleshy clear membrane formed over the open wound, filled with fluid and beneath it, Ichi can see the muscle tendrils develop and the bony tip of the snout. This too was new to the young Ghidorah, but instinct took him, urging him to rip off the membrane, which he did.

The pain doesn’t leave him though as the skull emerged from his flesh, forming horns and allowing the writhing tendrils of muscle to attach themselves onto it. Skin, scales, eyes developed soon after. Only then did the pain start to ease off and Ichi found himself staring at his brother again.

It was a tense moment, as New Head opened his eyes and glared around to catch his bearings. His eyes locked onto Ichi and the two glared at each other. Ichi would give a snort if he had the air in his lung to do so, but instead made his thoughts very clear in an internal, unspoken message between their neurons.

Yield.

New Head bared his teeth at him, his snarl silent but clear in the internal link they shared. Ichi had no hesitation and pushed his neck against him as he had done before, asserting dominance. This time, New Head did not push back. He only curled his snarling lips up even more as he broke eye contact. The older brother then moved to power-grooming and although New Head clearly didn’t like it, he stayed still.

Submitting.

He yielded.

For now.

Chapter Text

Ichi thought that things would get smoother as time went on. A thousand years ago, his first and only brother was born. A brother that has since been given the name of Ni. It was a terrible day, driven by violent instinct and bloodlust to dominate each other, and Ichi had thought their conflict would be over when Ni finally yielded to him.

He was wrong.

It was as if that angry burning instinct to fight for dominance never left his younger brother. The resentment he held towards the eldest brother was very obvious, constantly defiant to his orders and always challenging him on an almost daily basis to another fight for the alpha position. So far, Ichi has been able to come off victorious each time, but it wasn't a pleasant victory. Each battle was just as horrific as their first, and it was hard to enjoy a win when he knew Ni would stubbornly challenge him again some time next week. It was taking a heavy toll on the alpha head and at times, he wondered what would happen if he were to make a mistake during these fights.

Ni was a keen and observant fighter, he found, and would take any advantage available to him. He would only need for Ichi to slip up just once and he would pounce on it. Sometimes, Ichi was so tired of it that he would just ignore Ni's challenge to him. But his younger brother would take this as an insult and attack him anyway. There was no getting away from this. Why can't this stubborn... brat accept his place? Did he really want control that badly that he was going to fight him on this for their eternal lives? Was it not enough that he could have the body whenever Ichi fell asleep in their travels between planets? Hell, whenever Ichi woke up from these slumbers, it took effort just to wretch his own body back from his greedy brother.

Was it not enough that Ni, like Ichi, can indulge in dominance over the lesser life forms they would come across in their conquests?

Apparently not, because whenever they landed upon a life-bearing planet and Ichi tried to force dominance over the alpha species by challenging their leader, Ni would ruin it! More often than not, these alphas were substantially weaker than themselves and could easily be killed in an instant. But Ichi liked forcing their submission out of them before he killed them, really make a show of it so everyone would know who the superior one was. HE was their king. But Ni would view this activity as a waste of time; he saw no value in claiming dominance over weak insects and thought their time can be better spent destroying the planet and moving on to another that had actual worthy opponents to engage. Without any approval from his alpha, Ni would Gravity Beam the alien leader to oblivion before turning on the rest of the populace. Pissed that his game has been cut short, Ichi would reprimand him with a power-groom but this only led to them getting into another dominance fight.

Those dominance fights were especially dangerous, when they were on an inhabited planet. So far, their victims have been too weak to take advantage of their in-fighting, but Ichi can't help but wonder how long it'll be before that changed.

Shaking his head of the troubling thoughts that was a constant plague to his mind, Ichi focused on their current goal of reaching the next star system. Instinct told them that they really needed an energy boost before their next big growth-spurt. And for their next unavoidable conflict.

-

Two suns graced the landscape of a burning city, amidst of which was the large two-headed dragon.

The heads were in the middle of a very heated argument with each other, a common sight to behold. Their sharp words and venomous insults had yet to come to blows, but it was no doubt beginning to escalate in that direction when it was brought to an unexpected halt by an unexpected source. Before they had arrived on this planet, they had just finished the growth-spurt their instinct had prepared them for with the help of the twin suns. It was an exciting one, as it had brought them close to their full mature size. They thought it was all over and that they were free to test their new strength on the nearest populated planet, but now a sudden pain gripped hold of their body. A pain so intense that it had both Ni and Ichi cry out at the same time, their feud completely forgotten as they stumbled back through the wreckage. While Ni was confused at this and was glaring around for some unknown enemy, Gravity Beam at the ready to fire, Ichi realized he recognized this. This was not the work of an attacking enemy. He felt it before, a thousand years ago when Ni was born. This time, though, the pain was coming from his left side and he looked over.

There it was, confirming his thoughts. The growth that signified the coming of a new brother.

Ichi didn't want another one, Ni was horrible enough, and the thought to try to rip it off came to his mind. But he was aware of his own abilities, and he knew the move would be a useless one. This was happening, and despite his alpha status, he had no say in it whatsoever.

So they endured, Ni soon understanding through Ichi's reassurance that this was normal and just ride it out. The right head did not like this; although he took the pain in better stride than his alpha, he was not eager at first at the idea of having another sibling. But as the pain fades as the process completed itself and his mind began to clear, he realized something. It was clear to him that the alpha position wasn't going to be his in the near future, but maybe he didn't have to suffer the indignity of being the bottom of the pecking order anymore? As he watched the new head inch towards incoming Awareness, he didn't see this thing as a brother. He saw it as a golden opportunity.

Ichi watched patiently as his new brother's limp neck began to twitch, muscles testing themselves. This head too looked like him, as Ni had, but with smaller, straighter horns. And just as had been the case with Ni's birth, the alpha head began to feel the angry instinct rise within him. Ni too felt it, already snarling at the head but knowing to hold back. His Alpha had to make the move first, and even if that wasn't the case, Ni didn't want to attack his new brother while he was unconscious. He preferred to earn his place fair and square. So, like Ichi, he was forced to wait patiently. The new head only now took its first breath, testing its lung, and it slowly opened its eyes. New Head didn't seem to feel the angry instinct as strongly as his siblings, or at least didn't acknowledge it, looking around to catching his bearings instead. When Ichi began growling alongside Ni, the New Head finally turned towards them. His eyes weren't feral, like Ni's had been, and if anything, carried a kind of curiosity towards them.

Assert dominance, was the primary instinct ruling Ichi at this moment. He didn't want confrontation with his new brother so soon after ending one with Ni, but it was an impulse he could not ignore, regardless of the lack of aggression from this New Head.

Ichi began pushing against this new left head, snarling at him. He was prepared for resistance as had been the case before, but to his surprise, the New Head lowered himself, averting his eyes. The middle head almost blinked, but he continued asserting himself regardless, taking his snout in his jaws and pushing the New Head to the ground. His new sibling lets out a soft whine but gave no resistance as he pinned him with their wings and began power-grooming. New Head didn't even wriggle and held still. The message was clear: New Head instinctively recognized him as the alpha and didn't want to challenge him. He was submitting fully.

The eldest brother ceased the grooming, staring at his new youngest sibling, still pinning him. It felt odd that he was giving up so easily, but at the same time, such a relief. Finally, a brother that acknowledged his superiority without him having to beat it into their skull repeatedly. Why couldn't Ni had been like this when he was first born? Would've saved both of them so much pain and rage the past millennia.

He let out a soft snort before removing his wings from his sibling and giving a light nibble on the top of his head between the horns, acknowledging his submission and starting their new bond with a gentle groom. Unlike Ni, this New Head gave no objection to this gesture and let out a soft purr. It was a short moment to indulge, however, as Ichi pulled away. Further business had to be settled. This New Head still had to secure his place in their hierarchy and as this newcomer lifted himself from the ground, his eyes met with Ni's.

Whatever passiveness he held towards Ichi seemed to have gone, for New Head reacted to Ni's snarls with his own growl. It didn't sound or look as intense as his older brother's, but it was a challenge nonetheless. Ni shoved against him firmly, already attempting to power-groom only for New Head to nip at him in protest. It was a soft nip but firm enough to show that New Head wasn't keen on being the bottom of the pecking order either.

Very well, then. Ni was always up for a fight.

He gave no warning as he lunged at this New Head, eager for blood. The New Head pulled back to avoid his jaws from grabbing his snout, making a lunge of his own with the aim of grabbing Ni by the back of his neck. Ni saw this move coming, dodged by arching downward, and clamping his jaws into the underside of New Head's neck, right by the throat. He bit hard with no inhibition, earning a high-pitched squeal from his opponent. That scream only encouraged him to bite down harder, tasting blood. He can feel New Head's pulse against his mouth, felt his opponent's heart racing. Ni's heart was racing as well, living for the thrill of battle even against his own sibling. This was his chance to advance his rank and finally get out of being the lowest! Get out of being miserable with his place in life! He was going to win this or lose his head trying!

Like he had done with Ichi before, he began to shake viciously, tearing the scales. His victim was writhing and trying to pull away, continuing to scream as if that'll help him.

The alpha did nothing to intervene, instead watching silently with a blank face void of compassion as his siblings settled this between themselves. His only movement was that of the body accommodating their battle, shifting a bit among the ruins. He can see the New Head was horrified by the unnecessary blood being drawn, just as he had been a millennia ago, but it didn't cross his mind to do anything about how overly-aggressive Ni was being. If he can endure it, than so too can this New Head.

The brutality doesn't end as Ni slammed the New Head into the ground, snarling loudly as he gave another shake of his jaws. New Head continued to struggle, desperation clear on his face as he's slammed into the ground again. He wasn't even given a second to recover before his head had to endure another impact, this time by his older brother smashing his face into one of the alien's larger metallic structures. The sturdy material barely caved with the impact and blood smeared along the smooth surface, coming from New Head's nose and from the fangs that have broken from his mouth.

He made one more attempt to pull himself free, only for Ni to shift his grip and give another vicious shake. Skin tore off here, dangling limply from his jaws as New Head screamed again. Wide scared eyes met his narrowed glare, as New Head's instinct shifted from 'dominance fight' to 'he is going to kill you'-levels of panic. Irrational, perhaps, but he didn't care! Especially when Ni dropped the ripped off patch of scales and moved closer to him. New Head cowered, his head giving a small wriggle as he shrieked with horns flared. This was a defensive display made from the pure terror of a cornered animal, but Ni didn't back off. It wasn't submission so as far as he's concerned, this fight wasn't over. He struck again, ignoring the teeth sinking into his own scales as his jaws bite into flesh again. He can feel the New Head try to shake like he has done to him, but the move lacked the raw viciousness behind it.

No, there was only desperation.

Ni showed him how it was done and thrashed him around in his jaws, ripping another piece off of him. The resulting scream was cut off as Ni immediately clamped down again on his throat. His eyes catch sight of an alien structure by them, a spire, and there was no hesitation. He slammed New Head down onto it, impaling it through his opponent's neck. At this point, New Head's writhes become sporadic, choking out blood that splattered on his brother's scales. Ni still doesn't release his throat, feeling the heart pump erratically through his grip. After a moment, New Head's writhing died down before going limp and he choked out a pathetic warble, a pleading sound begging for his attacker's mercy. The sound was lost in the gurgling of blood and Ni's snarled as he clamped down tighter. New Head tried again, this time to be as loud as he can but no sound came out and another rush of blood choked him. With no choice, he spoke inwardly through their neurons. Desperately.

Stop. Please. No more.

Ni silenced his snarls and for a moment, all was still. But he doesn't loosen his grip as he growled out his words. "Then yield." A strangled squeak escaped from New Head as he managed a weak nod.

I yield. Please... I yield...

New Head has given up. He won.

Ni let out a huff through his nose, and he shifted his grip a bit to slowly pull his brother from the spire. The horrific damage was already beginning to heal, their body making it the priority over the more minor injuries. New Head wanted to just yank himself free in one go, as the pain was torturous, but his brothers did not allow it. Ichi finally involved himself, ensuring the neck got to heal around the spire before pulling New Head off a bit more. They continued this gradual extraction until they felt confident enough to allow New Head off the impaling structure completely. Ni, still gripping his younger sibling's throat, lowered New Head to the ground before he released his jaws to glare down at him. New Head stayed down, whimpering and crying like a pathetic scared creature. Ni growled at him, before proceeding with a power-groom. His younger brother held still in submission, making true on his forfeit, marking the first time Ni got to display dominance like this without retaliation.

Ni felt a rare smirk grow on his bloodied snout. It felt good, this victory. Sure, he still wasn't an alpha, but now that he had someone beneath him, that didn't seem so bad anymore. His days of misery was finally over.

With the battle now settled, Ichi began cleaning the blood from their scales, lowering their body where it was to rest. New Head laid limp on the ground, waiting for his injuries to fully heal. Even through his pain, and even though he still coughed up the occasional splatter of blood, he was glad. Glad this whole thing was over. Not even born for a full hour yet and already has taken such a massive beating. Winning wasn't worth it. Ichi and Ni may have kept fighting for days if they had to, but for him, those few moments was more than enough.

At least from this experience he learned that this whole 'fighting' thing wasn't for him after all.

-

If you were to meet Ichi just a week ago and asked him about whether he would want another brother or not, he would've answered with an immediate 'no'. Then he would've incinerated you for daring to ask such a question in the first place. But now...

Flying through the cold expanse of space that they called their home, their path taking them towards the distant point of light that marked the next planet, Ichi glanced towards his right side. Ni was keeping to himself, lost in his own thoughts as he tended to do during these long journeys. Ichi was certain that in the past, Ni would be thinking of new ways to dethrone him from his alpha position. Ni was not one to share his thoughts and feelings through their neurons, but his face wasn't exactly subtle, and its angry snarl and seething glare was all Ichi needed to safely make the assumption. That said, what he was thinking about now, Ichi wasn't so sure anymore. His face seemed... content. Almost peaceful even, if that was possible.

Ichi wasn't usually one to push his dominance on his brother unprovoked, as keeping the risk of fights with Ni to a minimum was always ideal. But now, he wished to test his brother's response. He had a feeling that something's changed in their dynamic since their newest sibling was born. So he moved over swiftly, tearing his brother from his thoughts as he began pushing his neck against him. Ni gave an internal growl, but it lacked the snarl that would usually grace his face. No teeth was being bared at him, no feral eyes glaring in his direction. No snapping, no biting. For once, he didn't seem interested in starting conflict with him at all and yielded easily to the show of dominance. A snout-bite or power-groom wasn't even needed for his submission.

It took a moment for Ichi's brain to be convinced he wasn't dreaming.

Deciding to test the waters even further, Ichi began softly nibbling the top of his brother's head. He felt Ni stiffen. This wasn't a power-groom as he no doubt expected, just a normal groom, to bond. Ichi was half-expecting Ni to lunge for him or at the very least, push him off in a show of rejection, but no. Ni was clearly uncomfortable and didn't like this, but he tolerated the gesture for the very first time. Now he had to be dreaming, right? Finally pulling away from the experimental groom, he left his brother in peace as he turned to look at the youngest.

San, as he has been deemed, was looking around with eyes full of wonder. This was his first flight through space and Ichi could feel the childish excitement his new brother was sharing to him. San was such a vast contrast to the rest of them, that Ichi wondered if their body specifically created this brother with the sole intent of ending the rivalry between him and Ni. Was it even possible that their body got so fed up by the amount of damage they were doing to themselves that it gave San life so as to keep the peace? Sure, San didn't want to be the lowest of the pecking order, but it was clearly something he wasn't troubled by either. Unlike Ni, San didn't let his low rank consume him until he had nothing but seething hatred for those higher than himself. Ichi could feel it in San's neurons: he had no intention of ever fighting Ni again and thus had no intention of bringing disorder to their now-stable hierarchy.

That was exactly what this broken family needed, and for the first time in a thousand years, Ichi can finally relax and enjoy himself once more. Things can go back to the way they were before this whole mess started, except this time, he had the size and the extra fire-power he needed to take on even the toughest adversaries this universe had to offer. No longer did he need to retreat from opponents too strong for him to beat, because with Ni and San at his side, such opponents would no longer exist.

So now, if you asked the question of whether he would want more brothers, he would take a moment to consider it, glancing at San as he did, before giving his response. The answer would still be 'no', but for a vastly different reason. There was no need for another brother because now, they finally found stability in their relationship with each other. The thought that he would have to endure an eternity of constant battle with his own blood no longer plagued him. Ni seemed content in his position and their newest brother was all they needed to make this happen. No need to fix what is no longer broken by throwing another head into the mix.

And then, after all that is said and done, all three of them would still incinerate you. Because you were foolish enough to stop and ask Ghidorah a question.