Albedo Piazzolla

Albedo Piazzolla (), called Albedo Piasora in Episode I, is a major antagonist of the Xenosaga series and the primary antagonist of Episode I. He is a U.R.T.V. affiliated with the U-TIC Organization. 
==Appearance and personality==
Albedo is a white haired man with violet eyes who wears a black and white skin-tight combat suit with a white cape in the shape of wings. In his youth, Albedo wore a blue and white jumpsuit.
Albedo is a psychopath, lacking any sense of morality, he works with U-TIC to achieve his goals through any means possible, no matter how inhumane or gruesome. He takes great pleasure in making others uncomfortable and will take any chance he has to mess with Jr. and tries to provoke him at every opportunity in an effort to trigger his Red Dragon ability. A misanthropic loner, Albedo enjoys watching others suffer and die, in fact, Albedo enjoys feeling pain due to his immortality. He calls MOMO 'ma belle pêche', which when translated from French is 'my beautiful peach', indicating some special fixation on her in particular. Ultimately, Albedo has a nihilistic view on life and is sadistic to the point of madness. His insanity is motivated by his fear of loneliness after learning that he cannot die. Even as a child, Albedo is shown to be violent and aggressive, although it was in defense of his brother.
==Story arc==
===History===
====Life at the Yuriev Institute====
Albedo is one of the few remaining U.R.T.V.s. He was a Designer Child specifically designed along with the other U.R.T.V.s to be an anti-thesis to U-DO. Each of the U.R.T.V. variants have a special ability and Albedo's is to regenerate any parts of his body, including his head if it was destroyed.
Albedo was born as a conjoined twin with Rubedo and as such the two have a close connection to each other. Along with Nigredo they were involved in an experiment to access the subconscious domain of Sakura Mizrahi and were successfully able to interact with each other. During a training exercise, Albedo violently attacks U.R.T.V. Unit #623, nearly killing him. When Rubedo and Nigredo confronts him about the incident, Albedo believes it was no big deal, saying all he had to do is regenerate, proving his point by destroying his head which regenerated almost immediately, shocking them.In the Japanese version, Albedo uses a pistol to destroy his head, while the English version uses an energy ball. However, when Albedo learns that he is the only one who is immortal, he broke down in fear, scared of being alone. Albedo is later seen digging a grave at the park as his sanity deteriorates.
When Rubedo and Sakura began hanging out, Albedo begins to resent her, thinking that she's taking his brother away from him, over time, this resentment evolved into hatred. During a training exercise in the Subconscious Domain, he reveals his dark side to Rubedo, Nigredo and Sakura, calling Rubedo a monster as he attempts to make contact with U-DO, but Sakura saved him by jumping in front of him, killing her.
====Miltian Conflict====
Albedo took part in the operation where the U.R.T.V.s tried to subdue U-DO on Old Miltia during the Miltian Conflict. In Labyrinthos, Rubedo panicked when witnessing the potential destruction of the planet and cut the link. This resulted in other U.R.T.V.s getting infected by U-DO and going out of control. Of all the U.R.T.V.s present, Albedo was hit the hardest as he made direct contact U-DO, destroying his already fragile mentality. As a result, he turns on Rubedo and Nigredo who attacked and severely wounded the latter.
====Later life====
After the Miltian Conflict, he was found lying unconscious under the central shaft of the Song of Nephilim by Sellers, who had attempted to escape from Miltia by forcing the Song to surface. At that time, Albedo was half-dead, presumably as a result of being hit by waveforms which had been released by Nigredo, the U.R.T.V.s' failsafe and acting executioner. Once he finally recovered from the attack of his would-be executioner, Albedo allies himself with Margulis and the U-TIC Organization to obtain the Y-Data, in truth Albedo's real goal is to complete his link with U-DO as a means of death.
===Episode I===
Albedo is summoned by Margulis to come to Pleroma and provide assistance in the recovery of MOMO. Pellegri is concerned about them using him, but Margulis dismisses such claims. Albedo utilizes the Song of Nephilim, a giant structure that while remaining hidden from sight, causes a large amount of Gnosis to gather in the area and attack the Kukai Foundation. During the confusion in evacuating the Foundation, Albedo kidnaps MOMO, tricking her into thinking he is Joachim Mizrahi. 
Albedo brings her to the Song of Nephilim where he frightens her considerably, first presenting a dead Kirschwasser to her. He then severs his arm, which quickly regenerates to frighten MOMO. He then decapitates his own head, letting his own severed head continue to taunt MOMO before crushing it under his foot, regenerating it almost immediately.In the Japanese version, Albedo breaks the Kirshwasser's arm before discarding it, in the English version, he lets go of it. Additionally, Albedo wields a small knife throughout the sequence and threatened to slit MOMO's throat with it, this was cut from the English release, leaving Albedo to tear off his own head with his bare hands. Realizing that MOMO knows Jr., Albedo becomes pleased, but also more maniacal and MOMO passes out. Jr. and the others are able to reveal the location of the Song of Nephilim and enter it to take on Albedo. Albedo has been drawing information from MOMO and taunts Jr. In the Japanese version, Albedo puts his hand inside MOMO's body, in the English release, he lifts his hand over her head.. Any ability to defeat Albedo are fruitless due to his immortality. He fights the party in his E.S. Simeon, and afterwards he provokes Jr. into unleash his Red Dragon mode until MOMO is able to stop it. The Blue Testament appears, enabling Albedo to escape. 
Using the information he has drawn from MOMO and the Y data, he revives Proto Merkabah. He is unable to dive further into the Y Data due to protection that is on it. Using the Proto Merkabah, Albedo blasts away the Federation fleet. Jr. and the others make their way into Proto Merkabah to stop him and confront him in the reactor room. After defeating him, Albedo departs, but not before unleashing Sophie Peithos, forcing the party to battle the giant Gnosis. As the game ends, Albedo awaits for MOMO to link up with the U.M.N., believing his objective will be complete at that time.
===Episode II===
Although in far off locations from one another, Gaignun and Albedo are able to communicate with each other through their mind. Albedo says Gaignun's true form is an executioner and taunts him over hanging around Jr. while waiting to carry out his mission. He claims he'll be borrowing Jr. himself soon. Gaignun cuts the communication causing Albedo's arm to vanish, although he immediately regenerates it. When Helmer, Juli and the others try to access the Y-Data from MOMO on Second Miltia they realize that Albedo has laid a trap for them. MOMO cuts off her neural pathway in response to this and falls unconscious. Albedo taunts them, admitting he left a "gift" within MOMO. The party dives into the Subconscious Domain to help restore MOMO to normal and are confronted by Albedo while there. He goads Jr. into getting angry and unleashing his energy. Fearing for Jr., MOMO awakens, enabling Albedo to seize what he needs from the Y-Data, the path to Old Miltia. He and his E.S. disappear. While far away Jr. can sense the heartbeat of Albedo fading.
Albedo appears while the party is at the Ω System, telling Sergius XVII that the power he wields is his and he has no right to it. He offers to help Jr. in fighting him, but Sergius reacts by firing the Proto Omega's cannon at him, disintegrating his body. When the Testaments appear and kill Sergius, they also revive Albedo. Waves from U-DO enter his body, to his excitement. As he links with U-DO, the Ω System disappears, to be replaced by the Space-Time Anomaly. Jr. makes his way into the Space-Time Anomaly where a child version of Albedo goads him further. Jr. finally comes across Albedo in the flesh. Jr. does battle with Albedo once again, killing him and causing the Space-Time Anomaly to disappear. However it is revealed at the end of the game that Albedo has been revived once again, to become the fourth Testament.
===Episode III===
Albedo first appears with his fellow Testaments examining the body of Mary Magdalene at Rennes-le-Château. He later appears after Virgil's E.S. Naphtali is defeated, extracting its Vessel of Anima and helping Virgil flee. Wilhelm and Kevin later sends Albedo to Abel's Ark to retrieve the and . After Dmitri Yuriev and Ω Metempsychosis are defeated by the party, Albedo reveals his identity to everyone before extracting the Zohar and Abel from Ω Metempsychosis and render Yuriev powerless. He urges Jr. to form the link to permanently destroy Yuriev, and reluctantly does so. Albedo plans to sacrifice himself in the process, but at the last second, Gaignun forces Albedo's consciousness out of his body into Jr.'s and takes over, who then proceeds to obliterate himself and Yuriev, thereby fulfilling his true desire of reuniting with his long lost brother Jr.. After Gaignun's death, Albedo's consciousness speaks to Jr. admitting that he hated Gaignun to the very end before saying that he's tired and that he wants to rest. His lasts word are telling Jr. that the Zohar and Abel are on Michtam.
As the White Testament, Albedo wears white full body armor and a wing-shaped cloak. He also wears a bird-shaped mask of the same color.
Albedo's personality seems to have reverted back to normal before his contact with U-DO, even aiding the party in destroying Dmitri Yuriev. Despite this, he is still willing to aid his fellow Testaments in enacting the Eternal Recurrence.
==Lore==
* Albedo can regenerate missing limbs, even his head, making suicide impossible for him.
** He is immortal to the point that even his severed head is capable of speech.
* Judging how he taunts Jr. with a vision of him attacking Sakura Mizrahi in the , Albedo seems to be jealous of Sakura Mizrahi's relationship with Jr..
==As a boss==
===Episode I===
* Albedo (XS1)
===Episode II===
* Albedo (Subconscious Domain)
* Albedo (Space-Time Anomaly)
===Xenosaga I & II===
* Albedo (Song of Nephilim)
* Albedo (Song of Nephilim) (young)
* Albedo (Space-Time Anomaly) (young)
* Albedo (Space-Time Anomaly) (adult)
* Albedo (Space-Time Anomaly) (final)
==Database==
==Trivia==
* "Albedo" is the alchemical process of whitening.
* In the Japanese version, the symbol on Albedo's chest is an "X". In the English release, it was changed to a "^". It is unknown why this change occurred.
** Strangely in the English release, the "X" symbol is still present on his enemy model.
* The cape on Albedo's character model in Episode II is much longer than it was in Episode I.
* Unlike the rest of the U.R.T.V.s, Albedo's eyes are violet instead of blue, the reason why is unknown.
* Strangely, despite being an opposition to the party, Albedo (in his Testament form) is a playable character in the HaKox minigame.
* Across the Xenosaga series, every actor that has voiced Albedo, save for Scott Menville and Megumi Urawa (the voices of child Albedo), has also been the voice of Gaignun Kukai in the same projects they voiced Albedo.
==Gallery==
Albedo and Kirschwasser Art XS1.png|Albedo and Kirschwasser.
Albedo XS2.png|Episode II artwork.
Albedo XS3.jpg|Episode III artwork.
Albedo XS1&2.jpg|Episode I & II artwork.
Albedo XS1&2 Faces Scan.jpg|Episode I & II artwork.
Albedo XS1&2 Scan.jpg|Episode I & II artwork.
==Notes==
Category:Characters (XS1)Category:Characters (XS2)Category:Characters (XS3)Category:Characters (XSOF)Category:Characters (XS1&2)Category:Characters (XSTA)
Category:U.R.T.V.sCategory:Testaments