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.