2X

Sensation

Fox awoke in the world of his mind and sat up.

In front of him sat a reflection of himself but this one had coal black hair. Wait, why was his hair snow white again?

"So you're back."

"I am."

"How was it?"

"Awful as usual."

"Hm."

"You're enjoying this aren't you Hei?"

Hei gave him a solemn expression and shook his head.

"There's nothing to enjoy here Fox. Even now as we sit here we continue to lose."

They both looked down at the reflective surface they were sitting on and watched as Charlie trashed Cain and the rest.

"They'll die."

"Yuno..."

"They need us."

"No, they need you. That's who they keep calling for."

"You're me. No matter how much you hate the idea, you and I are the same person and it's time we started acting like it."

"Tch.."

"I'm sorry for locking you away like you were nothing Fox. You helped me through a dark time in my life and I just cast you aside like a useless part."

"...wasn't your fault for not wanting to be like me all the time. Angry. Sad."

"But there's more to us than that. Together we can be something more. We can be our true self. No more lies, no more imitations, no more dreaming."

"For Sora."

"For everyone."

"Fine, for everyone."

As the the reflective surface began to crack, the two sides of the same coin grabbed one another's hand and prepared for battle.

"Let's go!!"

"Let's go!!"

Cain hit the ground in a crumpled right next to Yuki while Yuno continued to try and fight off Charlie.

"Well this is awful."

"Tell me about it, we're getting manhandled by a child."

At that moment, Hei rose to his feet and started walking towards the fight slowly. But there was something different about his eyes.

They were no longer dead like Fox's or bright like Hei's. They were something entirely new.

Charlie kicked Yuno to the ground and smiled at his original opponent as he stopped in front of him completely unarmed.

"What? Want me to end your suffering?"

"..."

"Cat got your tongue?"

"..."

"Okay I'm not playing twenty questions with you."

Charlie picked up Yuki's discarded katana and thrust it towards Hei who dodged it without even looking.

"What?"

"Heh."

Charlie tried it again and again but Hei kept dodging without ever breaking eye contact with him.

"What the hell?! How are you-"

"You wanna know something?"

"What?!"

"You talk too much."

Charlie tried again but this time he found his arm stopped and his face punched.

"ARGH!!"

"Hurts doesn't it? It doesn't compare to what you just did to me or, what I'm about to do to you."

"You stupid son of a-"

"Shh, naughty children need to punished."

Hei kneed him in the stomach which made him lurch forward, allowing him bring down both his fists on his head before thrusting his knee into his chin.

Charlie hit the ground with a bloody and the look of absolute fury in his eyes.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN DISCIPLINE ME?!"

"Discipline? I said punished. See I find it funny that you say that because that's exactly what they classified your training as. The training that was created by your father who was in fact in charge of the whole program. Where other children failed, you didn't. Not his son. He beat it into you. Made you train endlessly from the time you were fully potty trained. And your mother was just another worthless upper class English whore who cared not for her child or her husband's affairs but rather, her status in the English hierarchy. She discarded you and let him do what he pleased so long as she was happy and lived a lush life. In fact she cared so little that she didn't even mind when you took over her duties in the bedroom."

Charlie was gritting his teeth so hard that they'd begun to crack and break.

"Daddy's little boy was turned into daddy's little toy, in more ways than one. And that's why you killed them. You thought your life would end there when his superiors found out but it didn't. Instead you were immediately put to work as the killing machine you were made to be. No one gave a fuck about you and that's where this whole narcissistic joker personality comes from. But the only joker here is me, because I'm the only one really laughing at your sad excuse for a life. Ha. Ha."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"

Charlie ran forward without thinking and ended up impaled on the same knife he used to kill Sora.

"Ah...ugh..."

"It's over."

"You son of a-"

"There's no need for that now. You don't have to fight anymore. No one will punish you for it."

Charlie's eyes went wide when Hei let go of the blade and wrapped his arms around him.

He was so warm, unlike anybody he'd ever met before.

"I'm sorry this happened to you and I hope that somehow you'll find peace in the afterlife. You deserve it."

"Why...why do you care?"

"Because I know what it's like to be used as someone's tool and what it's like to be discarded. It doesn't feel good and in the end the only thing you can do is crack. But you're stronger than me because if I went through what you did, I would've ended my own life. You chose to live, chose to not let them win. And you won, so now it's time to rest after your big victory."

"I...y-you..."

Charlie had no idea why but he felt safe as his life slipped away and tears fell.

Cain the others gathered around as they watched the exchange and bowed their heads out of respect.

"You're a tough little bastard."

"I know some men who'd wet themselves if they had to fight you."

"I hope I can have a brat like you one day."

As they said their goodbyes, Hei felt his own tears brimming and let them fall in Charlie's hair.

"Do me a favor and check on Sora for me will ya? No doubt he'll be mad at you but he's a good kid and I think you two would really hit it off if given the proper chance."

"...sure."

"Thank you Charlie, for everything."

As the darkness took him, Charlie looked up into Hei's eyes and gave him a small smile before leaving this world.

"At ease...soldier."