halo 'n horns [klance au]

33. Sweet Revenge

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Keith

"The Trials are what Haggar proposed you could perform in case you ever wanted to restart your heart," Shiro began. They were in the training room and Kuron and I were circling each other in the boxing ring. A few Blade members watched in interest.

"I thought I didn't have a heart," I said and swung at Kuron, who dodged.

Kuron scoffed. "Of course you have a heart, dummy. It's just not beating."

Shiro sighed. "He's right, but it's a little more complicated. You see-"

"Save it," Kuron interrupted, coming at me for a headlock but getting a punch to the gut instead. "Just tell 'im what the Trials are."

"Fine," the white-haired twin grumbled. "It's based around the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins. You'd be put in a simulation and have to face 7 challenges, each having to do with one of the sins and each incredibly personal to you in one way or another."

"What's the catch?" I asked, narrowly avoiding a punch thrown by Kuron.

"There is none. There are two outcomes. Either you complete all of the Trials and make it through to the end when you'll regain your heartbeat and your capacity to love, or you die trying."

I grimaced. Devils were semi-immortal, having the capacity to live for approximately 100,000 years, longer in most cases. But they could still die like anything else with enough force. Yes, they had Energy and some extra strength and healing, but I wasn't about to test my resilience against a witch.

"And I'm assuming I can't back out if I don't want to do it?" I asked. Kuron cuffed my shoulder.

Shiro shook his head. "Of course not."

I slid to the ground and kicked Kuron's feet from under him. He fell with a thud and the Blade members who watched us clapped, offering me compliments. I high fived a few as I jumped out of the ring to get some water.

"Well," I said, taking a gulp of water from the fountain, "what do you think I should do?"

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "It's not my choice, Keith."

I raised my eyebrows right back, "I trust you and your guidance, Shiro. What would you do, if you could go up there and be with Adam. And Kuron," the black-haired twin looked up from his spot on in the ring, "what would you do if you could be with Matt?"

Kuron's face went blank for a moment and then, slowly, the sweetest, purest, saddest smile I'd ever seen on him spread across his lips. Shiro held the same expression. "Matt wouldn't want me. I'm over whatever happened with him and that other guy. I just miss him."

I blinked. "What other guy?"

Kuron's expression turned sour. Maybe he wasn't over what had happened anyway. Shiro spoke up. "A friend of ours told us he'd seen Adam and Matt out with other guys. Showed us pictures and everything. It's why we left. I thought you knew this, Keith."

I blinked again, realizing that I hadn't told Kuron and Shiro the truth yet. "We should go somewhere private," I said suddenly, turning heel and leaving the training room. This was going to be a tough conversation.

But, before the Twins and I got very far, we heard shouting voices from the other direction. Simultaneously, the three of us turned around, eager to see what was happening. The closer we got, the louder the voices became and I soon realized that we were heading towards the throne room.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to-"

"You just wanted to fuck everything up? Is that it?"

My father's voice was overpoweringly loud and angry and I looked between the Twins in glee. I knew who he was yelling at.

Kuron pushed the door open to the throne room to a sight I'd been waiting to see.

My father, fuming, with a pathetic-looking Lotor before him. Acxa leaned against the wall with a smirk, arms crossed over her chest. I led the Twins over to Acxa and, when she noticed us, her face broke into a small smile.

"Wow, he's really getting it handed to him," I whispered to her as my father let out another volley of insults at Lotor, pacing.

"It's been going on like this for about ten minutes," she replied, chuckling. I quietly introduced the Twins to Acxa, who looked a little bewildered being in the Underworld, but entertained nonetheless.

"Hey, that's the guy we met in the Midworld. He told us about-" Shiro started, but Father's gaze interrupted him.

Father looked up and noticed the four of us standing against the wall, watching nonchalantly. "Shiro! Kuron! Get over here," he growled, but I knew that he wasn't mad at the Twins.

Sweet revenge, you couldn't have come sooner.

"Lotor, I want you to tell your brothers exactly what happened when you told them about their guides."

Kuron looked at me, dumbfounded, and mouthed, "Brother?" I shrugged in return. He raised an eyebrow at Lotor. He waved cheerily. "Hey, man. Long time, no see, eh?"

Lotor looked like a toddler as he sulked. "I lied to you."

Kuron's cheery smile dropped off his face. "You what now?" he asked, blinking a few times.

"I lied to you about the stupid guides. Doctored the photos," he mumbled.

Kuron stormed forward and, for a second, Shiro reached forward to hold him back, but then sighed, deciding not to. Little shit deserved it.

Kuron promptly lifted Lotor up by the collar of his shirt and held him off the ground, eyes burning with anger. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you. Could you repeat that?" he asked sweetly.

"The stupid guides. They didn't cheat. I lied."

Kuron froze. I watched his shoulders rise and fall as he inhaled deeply, then let it out. The punch was as quick as lightning as he yelled, "Never call Matt stupid ever again, you bastard!" Lotor fell, unconscious.

Back to his old self again, Kuron dusted off his hands, winking at me, before putting his arm around a stoic-faced Shiro and leading him out of the throne room. I think they were both pretty upset after learning what had happened, so I let them be.

Father was looking down at Lotor disapprovingly. The man lay on the stone floor, breathing deeply. After a few moments, Father lifted his head to Acxa and I. He sighed. "Well, that didn't go exactly as planned, but I'm glad it's taken care of anyways."

"Acxa," he said, smiling kindly, "Thank you for everything. I'm sure it was a real pain keeping him in check."

She shrugged. "It's what I do best."

"I'll be keeping Lotor down here, where he belongs, from now on, if you don't mind. After all, I have a feeling that I'm going to be getting very lonely very soon." I was about to ask him what he meant, but he was already handing a giant canvas bag to Acxa. "This is for your efforts."

As Acxa received it, I was able to peek inside- stacks upon stacks of hundred-dollar bills. That's the King of Wealth and Riches, for you. Acxa's eyes went wide as she surveyed the bills.

"Holy shit," she breathed.

Father offered her a crooked smile before telling her it was time to go. I turned to her with a grin. "Thanks for everything, Acxa. It means a lot." We shook hands.

"I hope I see you again soon," she replied.

In an instant, she was gone. Father looked at the place she'd just been with a heavy expression. After a few moments, he spoke again. "I know her mother."

I frowned, "Acxa's mom?"

"Her name is Krolia. I loved her for a very long time. She knew me as a small-town Texan farmer." He looked at me sideways. "You look like her."

I blinked. I knew how I'd been created. The darkest galaxies, densest nebulas, blah blah blah. But I never knew that I'd been modeled after someone as well. A long time ago, I'd gotten the whole thing confused and had asked Shiro if we were brothers to the Angels since Father and Missus had been together at one time. But, thankfully, it was nothing like that. Dad made us from the stars and the sky and everything quiet, beautiful, and dark, then breathed Death into us and we grew.

Missus created her children from clouds and the ocean and the ground mortals walked upon, using items and traits to create uniqueness across them. Just because Missus and Dad had been together at one point, they never had any children together and didn't need each other to have children anyways.

Except for Lotor, I guess. "Is it true that Lotor's half-mortal?" I asked my father suddenly. I looked over at him and my eyes widened when I realized that he was blushing.

"Well, Keith," he said gruffly, "It wasn't very good for my reputation to be a 50,000-year-old virgin, you know."

We laughed until our stomachs hurt and I realized that I would miss my father more than I knew if I left. The decision before me was growing more and more demanding, and the stakes were growing higher and higher as well.

I would have to make my choice soon.

...

update number three of the day bc im alone on new years eve :000 

qotd #3: is a taco a sandwich? and if you put two pieces of pizza on top of each other is it a sandwich?

i<3u