Article by Jessi

Name: Albedo Piazzolla
Age: 26
Character Type: Antagonist, Anti-Hero, Supporting Character

Boss Stats:
Episode I, Fight 1 (ES Simeon)
- HP: 8400
- Weak: None
- STR: 120
- VIT: 100
- EATK: 100
- EDEF: 30
- DEX: 42
- EVA: 36
- AGL: 9
- EXP: 32000

Episode I, Boss Fight 2
- HP: 7400
- Weak: None
- STR: 115
- VIT: 30
- EATK: 90
- EDEF: 40
- DEX: 60
- EVA: 50
- AGL: 12
- EXP: 54000

Episode II Boss Fight 1
-Hp: 7680
-Type: Bio
-W.Atk: None
-W.Atr: Fi/Pc/Sl
-Break: BCCB
-Exp: 21000
-Skill: 1200
-Class: 750

Skills and Abilities:
Albedo is most known for his body regenerating abilities. He can control cell growth, and regenerates bodily damage. He also shows a range of other abilities, including the projection of mirages (as seen when he lures MOMO), the ability to warp, shoot beams and fly/glide. As a boss he is known for playing mind games with the player, such as erasing that status and HP bars, and inflicting status effects upon the party. He is also a skilled ES pilot and owner of the ES Simeon. He appears to display hacking skills.

——————————————————————

Albedo Piazzolla is best described as a misguided madman. Although he is insane do to U-DO contamination, he actually seems to be very knowledgeable when it comes to literature, language and religion, often quoting or referencing works in his speeches, or using languages (more specifically French) for word-play. He also appears to be very calculating, often thinking ahead and setting traps for the main cast.

Albedo was a very timid child. He spent his early days at the Yuriev Institute with his variant brothers Rubedo and Nigredo (now Jr. and Gaignun). He was especially close to Rubedo, his twin, mainly because they were conjoined until the twenty-sixth week before birth. He and Rubedo’s powers stem from the same basic concept. He can regenerate body parts by stimulating cell growth, and Rubedo can pause his physical growth. When Albedo discovered that his ability was unique to himself, he was traumatized. Because he could not die and Rubedo and Nigredo could, his biggest fear was for his brothers to die and leave him behind- he did not want to be alone in the world. Slowly he began to lose mental stability, his hobby became digging practice graves for his brothers- to prepare for their eventual death.

The night of the Miltian conflict the URTV attempted to carry out their mission of destroying U-DO. Rubedo, being the link leader, was in charge of the mission. Albedo was afraid, and when Rubedo saw the danger he cut off the mental link. It was at that moment all of the URTV, including Albedo himself, became infected with U-DO and Albedo lost his sanity. Nigredo, being the executioner of the URTV, attempted to stop Albedo’s rampage. Albedo left him severely maimed. Later that night, according to Xenosaga I & II DS, a Kirschwasser finds Albedo and takes him to Sellers where they escape Miltia inside the Song of Nephilim.
In his later years Albedo becomes a freelance mercenary for U-TIC. In the first episode, the U-TIC organization gives him the task of retrieving the Y-Data from the recently escaped 100-Serries prototype MOMO. He actually volunteered for the job, remarking that he was better suited than any of Margulis’ “dogs” and that the prototype and Y-Data was important to his fate as well. Albedo later kidnaps MOMO by luring her in with an image of her “father”- Joachim Mizarahi, and takes her to the Song of Nephilim. There he scares her with his abilities, and retrieves the majority of the Y-Data from within her. The main party, however; rescues her but is distracted by the Blue Testament allowing Albedo to escape. Albedo then threatens to use Proto Markabah to destroy the federation capital, and is barely stopped at the games end where he escapes yet again.

In episode II, he is first encountered in a cut scene when Gaignun (Nigredo) attempts to contact him via mental link. Albedo warns that he will be “barrowing Rubedo soon” and cuts off the link. Soon after he hacks into MOMO’s examination in a second attempt to steal the Y-Data from her. MOMO erased her own memory to save the Y-Data, and in order to repair her, the party executed an encephalon dive. Albedo intrudes once again, stealing the reminder of the data, which he uses to gain access to old Miltia.

Later, the player sees him once again, but this time he tries to help by combating the Ormus Patriarch who awakens Proto Omega within Old Miltia. The Patriarch beckons the machine and he is disintegrated. However, moments later with the help of the Testaments he is revived and uses his power to fully merge with U-DO. He summons an anomaly and challenges Jr. (Rubedo) to kill him. Jr. initially goes into stop him- not kill Albedo. However, Albedo generates a younger version of himself to taunt him, as well as anger him into his anti-U-DO shift. While in this shift, he successfully eliminates Albedo, and angelic Kirschwassers symbolically ascend him to his afterlife.

EPISODE III SPOILERS BELOW THIS LINE!
——————————————————
This however, was not the end of Albedo. Although Albedo did die by the hand of Rubedo, he wished for more. He wanted to once again be a part of Rubedo’s consciousness, to be half of his whole. So when Wilhelm offers him Testamenthood, he accepts in hopes of achieving this goal. It is thought by some fans that he may have planed to become a Testament all along, given his seemingly close alliance with them. It is also commonly thought that Albedo regains his sanity after his death and rebirth, not only because of his demeanor in episode III, but also because he is supposedly no longer contaminated with U-DO.

As a Testament, however, he almost throws away that goal in order to rescue Jr. and Gaignun, who is possessed by Dmitri Yuriev. He concocts the plan to use the URTV’s U-DO neutralizing abilities to enter Gaignun’s body and send Gaignun’s mind/soul to another dimension where he would be safe. But, Gaignun senses Albedo’s desire and reverses his plan- sending Albedo’s mind inside of Jr. causing himself to die instead. In the end, Albedo achieved his ultimate goal and is assumed to still sleep within Jr. in the games epilogue.