Prince Ending

As the two began to clash, matching each other blow for blow, the Prince realized after some time that his sword slashes were not having any visible effect on the Doppelganger and decided to veer more on the defensive, doing the best he could to evade his duplicate's attacks. All seemed lost to the Prince.

But just then, Kaileena's words to him several days ago on the boat immediately started flashing in his mind. 'You'll know what to do when the time comes... Do not allow your doubts and fears to take hold...'

Climbing to the top of a secure platform to escape his bloodthirsty opponent temporarily, the Prince quickly tried to come up with a plan while he still had the chance. Physical attacks weren't going to help in this final fight and knew full well the limited amount of Sands at his disposal would be immediately countered in kind by the Doppelganger's near infinite supply, recalling his first battle with Kaileena within her throne room on the Island of Time.

'Come on, come on. Surely there must be a way to defeat my other self... wait that's it!' the Prince realized in his head as he continued to climb up in order to keep on top of the Doppelganger. 'Despite his immortality and incredible durability afforded to him by the limitless power of the Sands, he's still me. The power Zurvan granted, has shown me that this shadow is not inherently evil. Perhaps I can try appealing to what remnants of humanity are still lingering deep within him and end this battle without further bloodshed.'

Climbing back down, the Prince was ready to put himself on the line for the sake of setting things right, the Doppelganger following back to the ground in kind.

'Stand down! I have no desire to harm you anymore!' the Prince exclaimed, as he continued to block and dodge what attacks he could from the Doppelganger.

'And why is that Prince?' the Doppelganger smugly commented. 'Its because of me that Kaileena is dead. Why so many others are dead. So why not try to kill me and save us both some time?'

'Because I... know what you want. To be... human again, right?' the Prince said in-between narrowly dodged sword strikes and projectiles.

This caused the Doppelganger to stop and second-guess what he had just heard come out of his mortal counterpart's mouth with caution. 'What did you say?'

'You want to be human again, right? To escape from this pitiful form you've inhabited for centuries?' the Prince confirmed once again. 'Welcome to my world. For too long, I've also been trying to outrun and change fate over a mistake we both had a part in creating, death and destruction following us at every turn. But it doesn't have to end this way.'

'What are you suggesting Prince?' the Doppelganger inquired with genuine curiosity.

'I'm suggesting that there's a better way out of the conundrum we've both found ourselves in,' the Prince replied in a more calm and reassured tone, knowing that he'd managed to get the attention of his paradoxical duplicate. 'Separately, neither of us will ultimately accomplish anything in the long term. But together as one, we can finally let go of our collective past and move forward as a more complete person, ensuring the best for Babylon's future.'

The Doppelganger let out a reluctant sigh, as he took a moment to glance out at the sky. 'You sure know how to communicate with your fellow man well when you properly use your head, Prince. But I suppose I should know better myself, considering I am you. Or rather... a time-displaced version of you.'

The Doppelganger continued, 'For centuries, I thought I was doing the right thing. After everything I've done... all those monstrous acts I allowed to happen out of misguided hatred, turned out to all be for nothing. I would have been better off dead then bring meaningless destruction upon our world and become the very thing I'd sworn to stop.'

'It wasn't completely your fault,' the Prince confided. 'It was because of me placing that dagger you hold in your hand into the hourglass within Azad all those years ago, that events were set in motion. This shouldn't be your burden to bare anymore. So let's right this wrong and bring this world back from the brink.'

'Very well. Are you ready to do this then?' the Doppelganger questioned. 'Major events in history aren't made overnight.'

The Prince chuckled accordingly as he confirmed his willingness to proceed. 'OK, on the count of three! One...'

'Two.' the Doppelganger counted.

'Three!' The Princes both said in uncanny sync as they rushed forward, leaping into the air as beings no longer in internal conflict with one another, merging together into one being once more, the Prince on the right landing on the ground carefully (feeling a sense of fullness in his spirit that he hadn't felt in a long time).

And as the 'Doppelganger' memories started to flow within his mind, the Prince knew then what he had to do (pushing the Dagger of Time into the Hourglass like so long ago).

The Sands' essence expelled from it and created a spectral human-like form devoid of detailed facial features, which felt so familiar to the Prince's eyes.

'Kaileena! But I thought you were...' Kaileena stopped him by raising a spectral hand.

'In a manner of speaking, I was,' Kaileena stated to the Prince. 'All the events and strenuous trials you put yourself through, I had seen preordained in the altered timeline long before we arrived in Babylon. Events transpired in a variety of different ways, but I am glad it turned out in the finalized state that it did.'

'But at what cost?' the Prince stated. 'In spite of everything I've done in my quest to destroy the Sands of Time, all I have done is lead myself down the same destructive path where the same events play out no matter what I do. I still end up losing the ones I love, in spite of whatever good intentions I go in with.'

Kaileena floated down to the Prince's level and placed a hand on his right shoulder. 'Have you already forgotten about the ones you've already saved or redeemed, my Prince? Without you there to support them, Babylon's remaining resistance would have long since expired by now. Or your family who would have remained corrupted monsters for eternity if you had not brought them down and sent them to a better place, seeing them off with heartfelt compassion. And what about Mahasti or your own paradoxical duplicate? In spite of their barbaric acts, you were still willing to listen and even give them a second chance at redemption.'

As she continued to express her perspective on a universal scale to the Prince, he was beginning to see now where Kaileena was coming from. 'So tell me. Do you still believe yourself the same man you were on the Island of Time Prince? The man who was so quick to jump in without a second thought and kill any who stood in your way, to achieve what your heart desired in the moment?'

Taking a bit of time to properly think it over, the Prince confirmed to her what he'd been running away from for entirely too long. 'No, I do not. I understand now that death is a part of life and it isn't fair to take charge of others' fates so willingly, simply because you're not ready to let go... I guess deep down, I was still that arrogant youth who was too prideful to move forward onto the next stage of my life.'

Kaileena expressed a distinct smile as she started floating back up.

'But its still because of my actions Kaileena that you were killed again, in spite of avoiding that seemingly inevitable event on the Island,' the Prince said. 'Were I to have never opened that Hourglass in the present, current events would not have occurred and countless innocents would have still been alive now. Perhaps you would have still been alive and living a better existence, than to have spent it with me.'

'It was my choice to fall in battle Prince,' Kaileena sympathetically replied. 'There's no need to blame yourself for my unfortunate demise. You showed me the good of humanity and know well the dangers of altering the past for your own gain... I enjoyed what time we had together on this plane of existence in spite of everything and no matter what happens, I will always love you.'

'Thank you Kaileena. I'm going to miss you dearly,' the Prince said.

'As will I. But there are other worlds out there and I will find my place, just as you have found yours,' Kaileena stated, as she started to heal the Prince's wounds for a final time and drained the lingering Sands across Babylon into her very being. 'Be free now Prince. Your journey is at an end.'

And with that, Kaileena was gone (as the Prince clutched the now-powerless Amulet in his hand, knowing that Kaileena would always be with him), placing the Amulet back in its slot as he started to set off back for the Resistance base to deliver the good news, supportive outcries from citizens in the city streets heard from below.

The Prince smiled. The mass rebuild would not be easy (with a lot of valiant spirits to honor into the great beyond), but somehow, he knew that things were going to get better. And as the sun started to set in the distance, a new era for Babylon could begin with a new King of Persia to lead it into the future.

THE END

Cue the credits song from Prince of Persia: Two Thrones- watch?v=xi06b3XPg-g