The Brotherhood

35

Two months. Two months was all Kane got before the bullshit began. There had been fights between the brothers, of course. Brothers fought, that was the way things were. Kane had never experienced anything like this before though. He'd never seen things go to shit so quickly. There was only one person to blame when things happened so horribly, whoever was in charge. Unfortunately for him, that bastard was him. 

Everything went south when Anders decided to open his mouth. That's the way it always went though. It happened everyday. Anders always said stupid shit that he knew would get the shit beat out of him. Except this time he messed with the wrong person. Except this time, he decided to go after Ethan. 

Kane would probably always remember that morning. He would always remember how he got up and immediately felt dread settle down deep in his stomach. He would always remember the look that Baela gave him that said she felt the same way. He ignored it though. If Kane listened to every feeling of foreboding that he got, he'd never get out of bed in the morning. That wasn't something he had the luxury of doing. Not anymore. 

Kane got dressed for the day with every single one of his muscles protesting. He'd spent the day before working on the compound's plumbing. He'd been accompanied by Gerald and Edgar, two of his brothers who knew what they were doing but weren't quite strong enough to get it done. He'd spent hours trapped in a tiny space with a wrench in his hand. It'd made him want to scream and left his body in a wreck. Kane ignored the pain as he flung his door open and came face to face with Ray. 

Kane groaned as he pressed his forehead into the door. "What is it now?" 

"Nothing, I was just seeing if you wanted to get breakfast with me," Ray said with a smirk. Kane wanted to hit him, but contained himself. 

"We always get breakfast together," Kane snapped. "What's wrong?" 

Ray's smile faded quickly. "Fin started a fight in the dining hall. It's getting pretty ugly down there." 

Kane felt anger heat his blood. He was moving before Ray had even finished talking. Fin had started more fights since he'd become Supreme than she had the entire time she'd been here. Kane was sure that there was some sort of psychology reason why she was acting out, but he simply didn't have the time to figure it out. Not without Fin getting herself killed in the process. 

Kane made it to the dining hall in record time. He threw the doors open so hard that they banged against the walls as they flew apart. He was greeted by the sounds of raised voices and chairs scraping against stone. Kane turned toward the voices to see Fin squaring off against Anders. By the looks of it, the fight was just getting started. Kane whirled around to find Ray rushing through the doors behind him. 

Ray smirked at Kane, "I figured it was inevitable. Might as well make sure you're here when shit actually hits the fan." 

It was hard to argue with that logic. Kane found himself rolling his eyes anyway. He moved toward where Fin and Anders took up most of the space with their shouting. By the looks of it, Fin was ready to tear Anders limb from limb. She was in his face and spit was flying from her mouth as she spewed vicious curses at him. Some of them were so horrible that they had Kane flinching. Anders didn't though. He grinned as Fin threw obscenities at him. Kane was about to separate them when someone else beat him to it. Suddenly, Ethan  was in between Fin and Anders, his hand placed on Anders's chest. Kane stopped in his tracks. 

It was like some spirit of fate was whispering in his ear. He should've shoved that voice aside. He should've kept moving forward. He should've interrupted them. He didn't though. And now he would forever have to live with what happened next. 

Kane had watched as Anders had snarled at Ethan, his face twisting with disgust as he beheld Ethan's hand on his chest. That was all the warning Ethan received before Anders threw himself at Ethan. Kane had never seen Anders fight so cruelly or with so much vehemence. Ethan tried to fight back, but he couldn't do anything against the onslaught that Anders brought down upon him. Kane lurched into action, but he was too slow. Kane didn't know if he ever would've been fast enough to stop Anders's brutal attacks. 

Fin was screaming the whole time, begging Anders to stop. Kane watched as she pushed and shoved at Anders. Anders's fist connected with Fin's face and then her gut, and finally he grabbed her hair and twisted in his fist. He rained down blow after blow on her face. Kane's gut wrenched as he watched blood pour from her mouth. He moved faster then, his blood roaring in his ears. Baela growled beside him. 

Kane kept moving as he watched Titan leap toward Anders and bite Anders on the leg. Anders roared in agony. His grip on Fin's hair loosened and she slumped to the ground. That was the only attack Titan got before Anders's bonded sprung for him. The two bondeds rolled together, each brutalizing the other. 

That didn't stop Anders from brutalizing Fin. Kane shoved his brothers out of his way as he ran toward Fin. Baela was faster than he was and she leapt through the brothers' feet to get to Anders before he could do any more damage. She wasn't as fast as Ethan was though. Kane didn't even know Ethan was alive. He looked as if he was barely breathing. He didn't slow down though. He threw his body into Anders's, sending the two of them sprawling across the floor. Ethan got one punch in before Anders took back the fight. Anders got Ethan on the ground and rained down blow after blow after blow. 

Kane finally reached them right as the final blow was dealt. He watched as the light went out of Ethan's eyes. Something collapsed in his chest at the sight. Silence fell over the entire Brotherhood. No one made a sound. 

Then Kane heard it, the sound of a bonded crying out for its soulmate. The sound tore through Kane and made him want to run and hide. There was no escaping it though. The whine and keen of a dog that had lost its master. 

Kane watched Fin's face crumple as she realized what had happened. He watched as tears ran down her face, mixing with the blood that had collected there. He watched as Anders smiled as if the sound of Ethan's bonded wailing brought him joy. Kane had watched for long enough. He had stood by and watched for far too long. 

That was how he justified it. That was how Kane had to justify his reaction. Before he could even think clearly, he walked up to Anders and struck him so hard that he toppled to the ground. Blood spurted from Anders's nose and Kane knew that he'd broken it. He didn't care though. Kane didn't give a shit about Anders. All he cared about was his fallen brother that was lying crumpled on the ground. 

Kane picked up Ethan's broken form and carried him out of that solemn room. He hadn't deserved to die like that. Kane wouldn't let him lie there. He couldn't. So Kane carried Ethan away to the place where he would rest forever. And once Kane was alone with Ethan, he let the tears come. He let the salt wash away the shame. He let the water cloud his eyes so he didn't have to see what had become of his brother. And when Kane could cry no more, he let the darkness take him away.