I am so sorry for the gigantic delay! I hope people are still reading this… I read it again and I probably could've done better!

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The screeching sound of rusted metal on metal met Kai and Tala's ears, as they ran through the maze of cell-lined hallways. Looking around, Kai gasped in terror as the steel gate to every cell clanged open, revealing the young boys inside. As they advanced, Kai wrenched his hand from Tala's and assumed a fighting stance.

"No!" Tala yelled, "Don't hurt them!"

"We don't have a choice!" Kai grunted as a boy tried to grab his throat from behind. Kai grabbed his arm and grappled him to the ground.

"Please, Kai!" Tala cried desperately, as hands reached out to capture him. "They don't know what they're doing! They're just following commands!"

"Their eyes…" he thought bitterly, "Their eyes are so empty."

"Just like yours, you heartless machine," hissed a voice inside his head. Tala flinched and flicked his head to the side in retaliation.

Kai kneed a boy in the groin and elbowed another in the face before he could kick Tala in the stomach.

"They're too far gone. Run, Tala!" Pushing the remaining young soldiers to the ground, he grasped his lover's wrist and pulled him down the hall. He was going to protect Tala even if it meant dying, dammit.

--

The couple rounded a sharp corner, only to come face to face with the one man they hated most.

"Leaving so soon, boys? It's a shame you're trapped. This door behind me is the only way out!"

"Get out of our fucking way, Boris," Kai spat.

"Oh, such impudence! If your grandfather were still around, he would never stand for this!" Boris could see the blood drain from Kai's face at the mention of his grandfather and laughed.

"But he's not," snarled Tala, "Now move!" Boris clucked his tongue and waggled his finger.

"Patience, my dear," he mockingly scolded. "There is someone I want you to meet!"

A figure advanced from the shadows against the wall. His long and shaggy red hair licked at his face like flames, when he moved. Steel gray eyes peered dangerously from beneath his bangs, like molten silver against porcelain.

"Meet Dante," Boris screeched. "His parents were killed in an unfortunate 'accident,' and he was put in my care. I decided to… experiment with his body. I have replaced his body parts with machinery, much likes I did with you, darling Tala, but he's faster, smarter, and… more obedient. Tala, this is basically an upgrade."

"Then why do you need me?" Tala growled. Boris's face grew eerie, and a smirk spread across his face.

"Because you are too beautiful to throw away, love." He extended a hand and stepped closer to his object of lust. Kai instinctively placed a protective arm around his waist. Boris's eyes narrowed behind his mask.

"Mine…. No one touches you but me! No one will have you but me! Dante, bring them to me!"

Dante launched himself at Kai, aiming a blow to his solar plexus. Crashing to the floor from the alarmingly swift attack, he groaned as he clutched his chest. Smirking, Dante backhanded Tala and pinned him to the ground by the throat with one hand, the other curling into a fist above Tala's face.

"Don't do this," Tala pleaded, clawing at his attacker's arm, overpowered. "It doesn't have to be this way!"

A flicker of sadness passed through Dante's cold eyes.

"I don't have a choice," he whispered, his fist tightening. But before Dante could land his punch, he was shoved to the ground onto his back.

"Don't even think about it!" Kai raised his foot and stomped down on Dante's throat, ripping through his skin, exposing sparking wires and circuits.

"You broke him!" Boris screamed. "You will pay—"

"Aw, shove it!" Kai yelled through his clenched teeth, delivering a kick to the evil man's head. Stepping over Boris's unconscious body, Kai grabbed Tala's hand and ran through the door.

--

Jumping aboard a passing pickup truck on the nearest road, Kai and Tala stowed away until nightfall. The two slipped into an abandoned building and prepared to stay until dawn. Inside, making sure the area was deserted, Kai whirled around to face Tala.

"What were you thinking?" Kai roared, grabbing Tala by the shoulders. "Why didn't you fight back? Don't try and be noble, idiot!" Tears welled up in his eyes, and he hastily brushed them away.

Tala reached out his arms and pulled the crying teenager into his arms.

"I'm sorry," Tala choked, "I don't want to hurt innocent people anymore."

"You are the reason Kai hurt those boys back there, you know," Ian scoffed. "You're not sorry, you just feel guilty."

"You're better off dead," Bryan hissed.

"I'm so, so sorry."

"Then I'll protect you. I refuse to lose you!" Kai cried into Tala's shaking shoulders. He slowly pulled away and stared, wide-eyed at Tala. He raised a hand to his lover's face.

"Tala… You're crying." Tala raised a hand and touched his own cheeks, feeling wetness from his eyes.

"I'm… crying," he gasped.

"I can bring back the boy I was, my friends," Tala swore inside his head, "and I will make all of this right… somehow…"


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My writing has changed a bit since I started this piece, hasn't it? Oh my. I'm going to start replacing some chapters with slightly better sounding ones if I can find the time.

Next chapter is sooner than you think.