Chapter Text
Sucrose shivered in the mountain's harsh cold. Albedo scribbled down some notes as he watched the reaction occur. "Word should have reached Aether by now." He watched the mixture of bubbling liquids give off a light steam despite only being slightly warm. Sighing, he let out his own puff of steam in the cold mountain air. "Why isn't it changing color?" He lightly tapped a finger on the side of the vial. "Sucrose, this is where we found the residual effects of elemental magic, right?" Sucrose's ears perked up slightly at his mention of her name.
She breathed into her hands to warm them, her thin gloves providing little protection from the cold. "Y-Yes… I don't believe this test has ever failed before… Even when no elemental energy is present, the mixture is supposed to turn black to indicate the absence of it." Sucrose quickly cut herself off, realizing she had explained something Albedo obviously already knew. He didn't react. His back was still to her as he looked at the alchemical mixture, clearly thinking intently. After a few long moments, he turned to face her.
"Let's head back to the camp. When the wind dies down we can come back and try again, the cold air is probably causing issues." He walked over to her and offered a hand to help her stand up. Sucrose looked up at him and blushed, though the redness of her face from the cold made it impossible to tell. As she took his hand, Albedo let out a harsh gasp. His eyes were wide, his gaze fixed on Sucrose. She returned the stare with confusion. Trembling, her gaze slowly descended to see the long blade of a claymore had been driven through Albedo's stomach. Thick blood dripped from the tip, staining the snow below where he stood.
"Albedo!" Sucrose choked as she cried out, tears welling in her eyes. Albedo tried to speak but only managed a pained cough, sending his own blood splattering across Sucrose's face and glasses. His body went limp as he was lifted off the ground by the claymore, the blade cutting farther up into his chest as his own weight pulled him down.
"Su- crose-" Albedo choked out just before the sword was quickly swung to the side, flinging him off the blade and tumbling into the snow.
"Albedo!" His name was the only thought she could form enough to speak. With his blood on her glasses and her own tears in her eyes, she nearly blindly ran to his side. "Albedo! Y-you're going to be okay!" Her first instinct was to apply pressure to the wound but as she attempted to do so the size and depth of the wound made it so she nearly sunk her hands into his stomach. Staring down at her bloodied hands, she began to tremble violently.
As the snow below her began turning a deep crimson, she looked back to Albedo's face. His eyes were unmoving, his mouth hung open in a gasp. Sucrose cupped the side of his face with one hand. "Albedo, wake up! Albedo, please!" Albedo's blood dripped from her hand and down past his ear, turning the snow under his head that same crimson. Sucrose held his cold cheek as she pressed her face into Albedo's chest, sobbing.
A hand reached from the other side of Albedo's lifeless body and began pushing her chin up with their index finger and thumb. Not having the energy to fight back, Sucrose kept her eyes shut. Her head was lifted to face the other person, and she heard a voice that she could've sworn came from inside her own head. "I see. Interesting."
Sucrose opened her eyes to see Albedo, the alchemist poking at the vial of liquid the same way he had less than a minute ago. There was an unfamiliar warmth surrounding her. Staring at Albedo, she realized she was back sitting on the fallen log and watching Albedo work. Looking around, she realized there was no blood on her glasses, looking down, her hands were clean too. Albedo turned around. "Ah, you're awake." There was something different about him. After studying him for a moment, it hit her. His coat was missing. Before she could form her thoughts into words, Albedo spoke again. "You fell asleep and seemed cold. Let's head back to the camp. When the wind dies down we can come back and try again, the cold air is probably causing issues." She looked to the side and found the source of the warmth around her. He had draped his coat over her while she slept. She looked up to see him offering a hand to help her up. She glanced behind him. "Something wrong?" Albedo looked at her, slightly concerned. Looking up at him, she shook her head and took his hand. Sucrose braced herself.
Nothing came.
"Uh… Sucrose?" She opened her eyes, and she was standing next to Albedo tightly gripping his hand.
"O-Oh! Sorry…" Quickly she let go and looked down at her feet in embarrassment. He looked at her with confusion, but quickly shook it off and began leading the way back to the campsite.
"Don't worry about it. Go ahead and put the coat on, I know you're bad with the cold." She watched his back as he walked, staring at the spot where she had seen a massive hole only a moment ago. Shaking her head, she slipped her arms into the slightly oversized sleeves.
As she began to follow Albedo, she hesitantly turned around. On a far off peak, only just barely visible, she spotted a silhouetted figure leaning against a large claymore.