Father & Son 6: Shades Of Future Night

The End Of The Line

When the smoke dissipated, King ran for it.

Ran for Purple.

Navy could've erased his memories all over again, but King couldn't care less.

Even if the innocent child doesn't remember him, he's still going to use his life to protect him.

If Purple still doesn't remember him, and won't ever remember him, King still wants to protect him.

King still loves him.

"Purple! Purple?!"

Purple's unconscious form hits the ground, and King fears the worst.

Is he...

No.

No no no.

He's not dead.

"Purple!"

Please don't be dead.

Please Purple, be anything but dead.

Unconscious, comatose, I don't fucking care, just anything but dead!

King slides to the ground next to the child, and he looks physically unharmed.

"Purple...?"

Nothing. Purple lays there unmoving as King dissolves into sobs.

"Please wake up..."

As if it'll do anything. Purple doesn't remember anything so far as he knows.

Purple stirs unexpectedly, catching King's attention.

Yet, he refrains from getting his hopes up. "You don't remember me...do you?"

Purple stares at him in confusion for a moment, seemingly unaware of anything that is going on, before his eyes gleam with a recognition King doesn't catch before he starts crying again.

And suddenly, Purple speaks, a recognizable tone coating his voice and shooting King's hopes higher against his will.

"King..?"

King stares at him wide-eyed.

He remembers him.

He remembers him!

King pulls the kid into a tight embrace. "Purple!"

Purple is understandably confused, yet hugs him back just as tightly.

"I thought I lost you forever...I'm so sorry, Purple, whatever the reason you forgot about us all was, I'm so sorry if it's my fault!"

The one side of him, the logical side, tells him it's not his fault. It's all their fault, and blaming himself is just hurting Purple.

But the other side encourages his half-hearted self-blames and apologies.

He isn't sure which side to believe.

"I've got you, sweetie. I'm not letting go. You're okay..." King sobs to himself, clutching the almost barely conscious Purple a little closer.

He's never letting go.

He almost lost Purple forever because of some asshole parent.

Yet, right now, he focuses on the tight grip he has on Purple's hand, giving him some sense of comfort.

He's safe right now.

For a brief moment, King turns his attention to Red. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks to your buddy's sister."