"Don't do it Kite!" Hart nearly screamed it, but he was keeping his cool. Dextra couldn't believe the kid was attempting to protect her. That was a big risk he was taking for himself. But perhaps it was worth it? Seriously, they were up for anything to free Kite.
It didn't matter how hard they tried, though. Kite was taken.
"I told you, it's too late!" Kite fired his shot. Hart cried out in pain and stumbled from the tree. Dextra yelped in shock and attempted to catch him, but missed by a little bit. She watched as Hart fell to the ground, clutching his already bad arm. Kite smirked. "Perfect."
The next thing he knew, Hart was being lifted forcefully by the front of his shirt collar again. He looked into Kite's blood-red eyes, his golden ones shimmering with tears that streaked down his face as he gently grabbed his older brother's wrist. It didn't do much.
If anything, it tightened the grip slightly.
Hart wasn't about to give up, though. He weakly gripped the jacket sleeve around Kite's wrist and pulled on it. Kite loosened his grip slightly, but certainly wasn't about to let go.
"K-Kite! Don't do th-this!" Hart chocked out. He allowed the tears to fall as he felt himself being lifted higher. Kite was ready to end the kid.
Ready to end his own little brother's life.
"I am going to take you down. Then, I'll take the rest of the Earth down too." Kite tossed Hart forcefully to his right and shot another energy beam at him. The impact caused Hart to tumble onto the ground and choke up blood, but he didn't stay down. Rather, he stood back up, and held his limp arm as he did.
From where she sat, Dextra watched intently. She'd never come down from the tree branch she and Hart had hidden on. But she knew she needed to. In one swift leap, Dextra was down next to Hart, watching him intently. There was something going on in that brain of his.
She just wasn't sure what.
"Dextra...I have a plan. Just go with it," Hart whispered, barely in an audible tone. Though Dextra wasn't sure how she'd pull this off, she was sure she could. Whatever it was, she knew she'd be able to pull it off.
Because really, she didn't have much of a choice anyway.
Kite darted straight up to where Hart stood, ready to attack. Dextra was about to jump in for him, but the blue-haired boy in front of her shoved her away gently and took another blow. With a thud, Hart landed on the ground, groaning in pain as he did so.
"This is gold in the form of fighting!" Mizael smirked again and threw his fist up.
Vector nodded and watched with an interested face. "Yeah. Looks like Kite can't resist, even to help his little brother."
Durbe said absolutely nothing as the battle continued. Hart had stumbled back into battle, but in a swift, single motion was back on the ground. Dextra watched in horror. She didn't know what to think.
Another blast, and another time Hart hit the ground. His golden eyes were spinning wildly. Not quite part of his plan, but he could still pull it off. If Kite would just slash him or something, it would be convincing enough to put the final phase into action.
"This is too easy." Kite chuckled and walked up to where Hart lay. He lifted him by the scruff of his neck and once again thrust him into the air. Hart choked in a false, convincing motion to make it better to believe and struggled against Kite's grip. He squirmed free, gasping for air. As he stood, he was slashed.
Perfect. Now the final phase of Hart's plan could be fulfilled. Hart staggered backwards, onto the ground. He covered his chest and, in agony, toppled over in such a convincing motion that Dextra even bought it. Blood seeped through in between his fingers as he lay, sprawled in the grass that had been browned by the first few energy shots.
"Hart!" Dextra called out. She had figured out what this plan was of his, but she was sure it would not be completed.
"Unhh...ugh," Hart moaned. He shut his eyes slowly, then stopped breathing all together.
No one spoke a word. Not even the Barians. Of course they'd expected Kite to get his first victim today. They just never thought it would be his own little brother.
This was too much. Kite froze. He stared at Hart. Did he really just do that? Yes, he did, and now that his soul had been ripped too far and his heart bent more times than he could count, the influence over him was gone. Almost as if it never existed.
"Hart...Hart no!" Kite ran right up to his little brother's body. He couldn't believe he'd just killed him! The blond and teal-haired Tenjo dropped to his knees next to the blue-haired one and gently placed his hands on his chest. The Barians watched as he closed his eyes. Tears streaked down his cheeks as he did.
"We're going to go," Durbe said, opening a portal. If Mizael hadn't pressured them into going earlier, they may have had a chance to succeed because Kite wouldn't have been able to see easily. They disappeared. Dextra began to cry, but she was acting flawlessly.
So that had been Hart's plan. To fake his own death in front of Kite. Clever, and Dextra had picked up just in time.
But Kite wasn't aware of this. He thought he'd really killed Hart. So there he sat, tears now streaming down his face as he held his little brother's limp and cold hand in his own.
