Hunter stopped, allowing Kyle to grab his arm. Kyle was huffing as he stood still gripping Hunter firmly. "I…*huff* *huff*… finally caught you brat." Kyle looked up at Hunter, he notice that Hunter was crying. Kyle stared at his friend. "Hunter?"
Hunter turned to him; Kyle's eyes widened. "I remember everything that I went through, Kyle."
Kyle stepped back, letting go of his friends' arm. "You mean everything, everything?" Hunter nodded as he fell to his knees, Kyle went to comfort his friend. Yet Kyle felt as if he could not, pulling himself away. "I am sorry, Hunter; I wish things could have been different. Where you never had to go through that hell, Vann put you through every year since you were awakened."
Hunter slammed the floor as he began to wail in agony. Gotama watched as he saw Hunter in a vulnerable state. Gotama could only watch as he saw his son and friend respect each other as brothers. He closed his eyes, acting as if he was never there. Kyle began to quiver before he lost himself in the pain of not being able to help more.
"Hunter, I will be here for you till death takes either of us." Tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. Kyle pull Hunter closer to him, cradling him as if he was a child. "No, matter what, never forget that through everything I was there trying to protect you from their dark grip. I tried many ways to free you, even attacking you."
Hunter began to calm down as Kyle's words touched his heart. "I realize that, after what Gotama told me about you being Shadow, my world felt as if it was going to crumble." Hunter grabbed Kyle's arm, holding like an insecure child. "But when I started to remember how we first truly me and how much you worried, I knew that you want to what was right and that…*hick*… that you would do everything for my stupid ass."
Kyle could tell that something he remembers changed him. "Hunter?"
Hunter gripped harder, "Kyle, I remember that Morris was trying to save me, even if it cost him his life. My first battle I lost, even though Morris sacrificed his time to be with Lovell more, he chose to save me." Kyle snapped his eye at Hunter, shock at what he was say of that day. "I don't know where I should be yet so, please forgive me when I say I want to join the rebels for a time be form seeking out Lovell and his friends."
Kyle rested his forehead on Hunter's shoulder, "I understand because that's how I feel too." They both passed out from exhaustion, sitting on the floor. Gotama walked in and placed a blanket over them. He smiled as he let them sleep.
Hunter walked the streets, feeling out of place, seeing many different people avoiding him. Whispering his name in fear. Hunter could feel the fear and hate as he walked past a child. The child has frozen in horror as he walked away. Kyle walked behind him, watching in heartache as saw how people treated him. He knew before Hunter would not be bothered by this but after breaking free and seeing the truth. Kyle could tell it was eating his friend.
They reached a cliffside looking over part of the town. Hunter leaned over the railing that protected the people from falling over, "Hey, Kyle?"
Kyle sat on the railing beside him. "What's on your mind, Hunter?"
Hunter rested on his arms, "Do you think the people will accept me once they realize I am no longer a soldier?"
Kyle could see Hunter was still conflicted within. "Time is the only answer to that, but I think that once people see you are on their side, they will warm up."
Hunter looked up at Kyle, seeing that his last words were hopeful thinking. "Kyle, do you think Lovell will accept me?"
Kyle sigh, taking his glasses off and began to clean them. "That is something I cannot answer definitively, but I hope he does. Check I even asked him to save you back in Mourn Fortress, when I helped him escape."
Hunter smiled, lifting himself up. "Thanks, but it seems you did the rescuing."
Kyle turned to Hunter, "Well, Terrance and Kito help too."
Hunter looked at Kyle, puzzled at his words. "Who are they?"
Kyle smiled softly, "Terrance is who Azoth original was before Demora cursed him giving way to Darkness Fever, and Kito was Vail, my older brother." Tears streamed down his face remembering that Demora did the same to the thing he did to Terrance to Kito.
"Oh, I had no idea." Hunter could see it was a sensitive topic. "Hey, why don't we head back before sunset. Your father will be waiting and…" Hunter noticed Kyle was in pain, he stood silently waiting for his friend to be ready.
Kyle looked at Hunter, his hair was growing back out. Getting longer with each passing day. Kyle knew the clone's hair grew ten to thirty times faster than the average person. Kyle lifted himself up, Hunter didn't notice as he turned to look over the railing. "Hunter, we need to fix your genetics', so your hair can slow down."
Hunter whipped his head at Kyle, "At least I have more options faster than you!" they looked at each other, bursting out into laughter. They were laughing so hard they fell to their knees.
Kyle flipped over and laid on the glass. "Hunter, I wish we could just disappear, but yet fate would not have us do that." Hunter sat beside him, waiting to hear what he had to say. "Just like us, Lovell trying to fight his fate, but yet he cannot."
Hunter looked over to the edge of the cliff. "What thing is that Lovell is fighting his heritage, his parent's legacy, and trying to find his true calling. For me, that's what I am still going through. Lovell and I, I think, are very much the same. We live for those we wish to protect. Even if we have to distance our selves from those we care about."