Time stopped.
Every fiber in his being pinpointed on the gun, the manicured finger sliding towards the trigger with every intent to pull it, and the merman pressed against the black wall, hand pressed to his chest, and his lavender eyes wide with terror and a goodbye. The purple iris's were glazed over with forming tears.
No.
Lance knew it was a mistake the second he finished his sentence. He knew it was a mistake when that damning finger reaches the trigger. He knew it was a mistake when he launched himself across the room.
He knew it was a mistake.
A boom filled the air. . .
And pain spider-webbed through his chest, cracking holes throughout it body. He felt numb, but unbearable pain. Felt nothing but everything. He knew it was a mistake.
Someone started screaming.
He knew it was a mistake— he made it better. . . Did he?
Suddenly, he became hyper-aware of everything. His back became frozen, the screaming became the only thing he heard, and it became harder to breath.
Why couldn't he breath?
His rasping accompanied the echoing screams in his mind, so loud. Why was it so loud?
His lungs spasmed, desperate to obtain air causing him to let out a broken gasp. He then felt soft hands grip either side of his face and a face appeared in his vision.
They were crying. He wondered why, everything was fine. . . NO! No, nothing's fine he couldn't breathe. The tear streaked face leaned in close to his and began to whisper. What? He didn't know, it was just a jumble of sounds to him.
The edges of his vision began to darken. Annoyed he squinted his eyes up at the pale person above him. They had purple eyes. . . "Keith?"
A tear dropped onto his face.
The face nodded. And placed a gentle hand on his chest and quickly retracted when they felt the sticky substance. When they pulled back red coated his palm, painting the grooves in his skin in a morbid picture. Keith then hid his hand out of his vision and whispered, "Your going to be okay." his voice broke halfway through the sentence.
The darkness around his vision closed in, creating a tunnel with just a prick to see through. To remember, to hold on to. Keith. Only Keith. And only his glittering violet eyes with flecks of lavender swimming in them, could he see.
The darkness then engulfed the rest of his sight, and he saw nothing but black.
Then he felt cold. So cold. He couldn't feel Keiths warm hand pressed against his face, his arm. Couldn't feel the ground beneath him and just felt an overall numbness around him.
He could hear. He could hear his slowing heartbeat pounding, could hear his strangled breath, and he heard the static mumbling of the merman above him. But, then his heartbeat slowed. And slowed. And slowed. . . until he heard it stop beating, heard his body try and take in one last strangled breath, and then heard an agonizing and broken scream before he drifted off and heard no more.
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His already breaking heart exploded; sending thousands of pieces cutting through his chest. The world halted.
Emptiness.
Helplessness.
Despair.
Rage.
A scream ripped through him, destroying every fiber in his being.
His fault.
If he hadn't. . . if he'd just . . . All his fault.
His blood stained hands left streaks and handprints everywhere they touched. Lance's face, chest, arms -- covered in his own blood. Keith tried to do something. Anything.
Please.
Please.
please.
Helplessness.
Heaving, Keith looked up into the leering face of Lotor, who now had the gun aimed at him. He tried. He tried. He tried.
During, the verbal clash Keith managed to slip out of the manacles. He was trying to tell him not to -- he was the one that was supposed to live. . . A sob caught in his throat.
Despair.
Lotor tilted his head, "You know," he paused. "this is my easiest collecting since the beginning. " he then laughed; dark wicked and tailored to perfection.
Keith saw red. He launched himself at the demon, hands reached as far as they could go and claws swinging. The purple glow of his eyes reflected off of Lotor's tan skin and the roar he released echoed around the room.
Rage.
The demon's eyes widened as he took a microscopic step back. His tongue then ran over his teeth and his brow raised, before he glared down at the merman now sprawled over Lance's body. Keith wrapped his tail around Lance's ankle before snarling, "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Lotor tsked before replying in a voice Kieth had never heard. "You won't achieve that, in this life or the next." The demon crouched and picked at his nails; A slight yellow glow began to shine from his eyes. It was Keith's turn to widen his eyes. He knew that glow. He growled before whispering more to himself then anyone else, "This human body isn't your true form is it?" The demon chuckled before replying, "Indeed."
Then, the yellow glow intensified until the luminosity rivaled with the merman's. Lotor smiled and exposed his now elongated canines, his skin transformed into a light lilac. A pair of horns appeared just above his platinum white hair. Even his cloths shifted, as if they were all part of the allusion as well.
His black boots shifted into metal ten-inch thigh high heeled boots, black leather leggings just barely showed over the metal and a black cropped leather jacket shoved off his tones abdomen. And just behind him a pair of wings unfolded; they closely resembled a dragons. "You see," he growled, "my human form is weak compared to this." he opened his arms, gun still clutched in his now clawed fingers, and inhaled deeply. "With this I'm so much more."
Keith trembled as the demon's unearthly aura chilled the room. Despite everything his body was portraying, despite that his very bones shook, Keith snarled again and launched himself towards Lotor, teeth snapping.
Another boom.
The physical pain he felt was nothing compared to his soul. The bullet did nothing to stop his collision course; the merman slammed right into Lotor's chest, causing both of them to crash to the floor. The gun flew from his hand and clattered across the room. Keith, seeing an opportunity, bit the demon's shoulder and immediately rolled to the where the gun lay.
He left a trail of blood.
He may perish like any other.
Keith had just barely gotten his hand around it, when his tail was snatched and he was yanked back. Claws dug in painfully, drawing blood. He was pulled off the ground and a hand found its way around his throat. Booming filled his ears. The hand squeezed, cutting off his airway. It was suddenly very hard to breath.
Lotor's face appeared, "Your death was going to be quick, but now I'm going to enjoy myself." The hand around his throat threw him and he slammed into the wall with a sickening crunch. The merman tried to move, to breath, to do anything.
It hurt. Everything hurt so much.
So when his pain lidded eyes spotted blood seeping out of Lotor's shoulder he laughed; then winced in pain. He laughed again when Lotor's lips curled. The taste of copper coated the roof of his mouth. Red coated his teeth.
His fault.
His fault.
His fault.
He could barely breath, barely lift his arm to point the loaded gun at the demon. Lotor paused his stalk with wide eyes.
Keith just smirked and weakly growled, "You took everything. I think its time that I took something from you." The gun shot.
And-- the demon avoided it.
With a speed that was not possible, Lotor snatched Keith's throat again and shoved him against the wall. "That sort of inferior weapon," he snarled in his ear, "will do nothing against me," then he smirked, "you are out of bullets."
Blood dripped past the merman's lips.
His fault.
He thrashed against Lotor's iron grip, and caught the smallest noise only he could hear. The slightest clink of a bullet in its rifling. He had one more shot.
Dark fuzz lined his vision; it felt as if his limbs were made of lead. So, in one last desperate attempt Keith jerked the gun up to the side of Lotor's temple and whispered, "Fuck you."
The gun went off. Lotor's eyes glowed with rage and surprise before they dimmed and crashed to the floor; Keith following right behind him.
He was shaking.
And sore.
And tired.
So, so tired.
He blinked, the action stealing so much energy. He coughed. More blood bubbled past his lips. Lance was the one who was supposed to live. But, now he's dead. Keith blinked again. He thinks he's dying as well. But, he'll find him again. He always does.
Keith let out one last strangled breath before the darkness closed in.
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Chapter 23!
Hey beans! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to stay for the finale! I really appreciate everyone who has read my book! It feels just like yesterday when I posted the first chapter! And now it has 19k views? WHAT?! Thank you all for reading and thank you for voting and commenting on my story, it means a lot. Make sure to comment, vote and don't forget to Stay Sweet!
Word Count: 1587