One month later
T.K.O. checked the burns on his arms—they were completely healed, leaving only faint scars. He glanced at K.O., who was playing a video game on his phone. T.K.O. smiled warmly at his counterpart, then felt a sudden stab of fear in his heart. What am I afraid of? T.K.O. suddenly felt suffocated inside the house. He got up and walked out onto the back porch.
As he walked past K.O., he blinked and looked at T.K.O. "Where are you going?" K.O. asked.
"Outside," T.K.O. replied, not looking behind him. K.O. stared at his counterpart. He seemed sad and afraid. K.O. got up and started following him.
T.K.O. sat down on the porch in the backyard. The sun was starting to set, and the sky had turned to a beautiful shade of pink and purple, with a bright orange spreading across the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon. T.K.O. stared at it, feeling tears start to well up in his eyes, then fall.
K.O. followed his counterpart outside, stopping at the doorway and looking at him. "T? You okay?"
T.K.O. didn't turn around. He sniffled, revealing he was crying. "Y-yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
K.O. walked up to T.K.O. and sat down next to him. He looked at the sunset. "Pretty, isn't it?"
T.K.O. glanced at him, then looked at the sunset as well. "I guess."
"You're sad...and scared," K.O. stated.
T.K.O. sighed, half embarrassed and half annoyed that K.O. had read his mind. "I told you to stop doing that."
"I don't have to. I can tell," K.O. told him. "So, what's wrong?"
T.K.O. sighed. "You know when I told you I didn't know what happened to me?" K.O. nodded. "When you showed me what I did, I started to remember. I remember Shadowy Figure's voice in my head, ordering me to do stuff. I...I saw myself attack you and..." T.K.O. stopped and swallowed a lump in his throat.
K.O.'s eyes widened as T.K.O. closed his eyes and started crying again. "It wasn't your fault," K.O. told him. "Shadowy Figure controlled you."
"You don't understand. What if I do it again? What if I lose it and hurt you? What if Shadowy Figure controls me again? What if—"
K.O. suddenly hugged T.K.O. tightly. T.K.O. didn't move, except for a tear falling down his cheek. "That will never happen," K.O. assured him.
"H-how do you know?" T.K.O. asked softly.
"Because I could tell I was getting through to you," K.O. told him. "When I spoke to you, sometimes you snapped out of it. You are strong enough to control your own actions."
T.K.O. stared at K.O., looking at him closely. "Did you really mean it?" he asked, causing K.O. to look up at him in confusion. "When you called me your brother?"
"Of course I did. You are my brother, right?"
T.K.O. thought for a moment, then smiled, tears still in his eyes. "I guess I am." Then T.K.O. noticed that K.O. was thinking about something, clearly conflicted. "What's wrong with you?"
"Huh? I'm fine," K.O. told him.
"No you're not. Something's up."
"Well...I wanted to ask you...what if you stayed with me?" he finally admitted.
"What?" T.K.O. was taken aback.
"Mom already said you could, if you wanted to," K.O. told him. "Besides, I've already figured out you can't really take care of yourself alone."
As much as T.K.O. wanted to deny K.O.'s point, K.O. was right. Plus, T.K.O. knew that there was some part of him that did want to stay with K.O. and his mother. T.K.O. smiled, tears welling in his eyes. "Okay."
"Really?" K.O. asked, clearly excited. When T.K.O. nodded, K.O. gave him a big hug. T.K.O. hugged him back.
Then they sat, leaning against each other, watching the sun go down, and T.K.O. finally realized he was home.
And it's finished! I might want to make a comic book version of this, if you guys want me to. If so, that'd be so much fun, but you'd have to wait a little while for it. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Bye!