And this is the second part of chapter 14. It would have been posted earlier, but I was in Barcelona, Spain with my dad for my sweet sixteen the tenth of November. Hopefully you like this chapter and I hope, SGJBMCfan98, that you enjoy this (if you've liked TKoL's last chapter, you'll enjoy this too!).

SGJBMCfan98: Well, (you mean the kings, right?) Kermen does want to kill them, so it seems only logical and this is what'll happen. I already apologize for the cliffhanger and thanks for being the only reviewer!

Enjoy!

-Writer207

Lanny found it hard to believe Kermen the madman was his father. On the outside, he slowly backed away and on the inside, he screamed. Nobody would hear him scream if he decided to keep it in. He was very tempted to believe this Kermen. He knew the king had a sister, which was indeed his mother - that's what he's been told. Lydia died during the Tarantula Wars and her husband, Lanny's unknown dad, left her for an unknown reason. At least, that's what Mason told him. The big Makoola, which he had begun to see as a father, never told him his father was a dangerous criminal named Kermen Forned, nor had he ever mentioned he had an older brother which he would probably had to kill before he could finally inherit the throne.

The second reaction would be denial. No, this man isn't my father. No, Rean is not my brother. No, I have no family left except his cousins… But there was no proof for what Kermen said, and neither was there proof for what he hadn't said. He was confused, scared and realized the kings were scared, too. Kermen still awaited an answer, or so it seemed.

"That's impossible!" he shouted, "You're not my father!" He didn't think of running away, but staying. Why he suddenly wanted to stay, would be because of the kings. Why he felt such a great responsibility about them, he didn't know. But Kermen didn't care, and just gave him another friendly smile. He could understand why his mom loved his dad – when he could smile as evil as a madman, he most certainly was able to smile as a friend you haven't seen in a while and wanted to catch up with them.

"I know it sounds bizarre, even for me," Kermen admitted, "I didn't even know I had a second son before my nephews told you're their cousin. I honestly thought she'd kill you before you were even born and guessed the infamous prince was my little Rean." Lanny shivered – he hated the way how Kermen talked about Rean, "And now I know you've lived all your life as the prince of Kinkow … I need to ask you something."

Lanny gulped. What could this mad – he would never call him 'dad' or 'father', not even in thoughts – want from him? "What do you want?" It came out harsher than meant, but he didn't regret it. That way, he wouldn't show his fear. Kermen chuckled.

"You are just the prince," Kermen started, "I think there had to be one thought about those two and about what would happen if they suddenly died and you were to be the king. What did you think?" Lanny froze. Out of all questions, he had to ask that question. If he were alone with Kermen, he'd answer truthfully. Alone with the kings, he'd lie. But now both are present, he had no idea what to say or answer.

"I… I…" he stammered. He disliked this choice he had to make, and looked from the king to the madman. Eventually, Kermen cut him off.

"I get it! It's okay if you don't directly know how many times – just let me knew when you remember," Kermen winked at Lanny as if they had known each other for a long time, "You know what? I'll give you my own personal answer. Yes, I have thoughts about killing them. In fact, those thoughts were all present as long as those two are breathing." Kermen walked closer to the kings and grabbed Boomer's chin, forcing the young boy to look at him.

"You should probably see a doctor!" Boomer said, meaning Kermen needed mental assistance, his breath hitting Kermen in the face. The madman stumble back and coughed.

"And you should really consider brushing your teeth once in a while!" Kermen said, "But soon, that won't matter anymore. Nothing will matter. I have waited years for this moment, almost turned insane in prison because I didn't succeed that first time! Luckily, everyone gets a second chance." Out of nowhere, Kermen pulled out a small gun. If the kings were terrified, they new were certainly terrified times ten when they saw the gun.

"I think I just wet my pants." Thanks to Brady's words Lanny knew both were utterly terrified. Kermen stood behind Lanny, having walked back, as to give his youngest son a good view of the deed he was about to perform.

"But I will not do it with my boy watching. He's got to have the honor of doing it." And suddenly the gun was in Lanny's hands. He turned around to face Kermen, being scared too. He was mainly looking at the madman, but he couldn't help but notice Teagan and Rean helping Karell out of this place. Vic was gone, too, so they must have gotten him out already. "What?" was all Lanny could say.

"I'm a wanted criminal, my boy. When they're gone, they'll blame me, even if you were holding the gun and had the blood on your hands. I'm going to prison and they probably don't accept Rean as the king. That's why you're doing it. Make ya dad proud and kill 'em. Two bullets, and it's over. Now, shoot!" Lanny pulled the trigger, but missed them. Pulling the trigger was an impulse after the madman had shouted in his ears.

He aimed for Brady first, but the fingers he placed at the trigger wouldn't move. He knew why he didn't do it: the situation he was in. if they were a few months back, if his plans included shooting a bullet, if he was hiding in the shadows, he probably would have taken the chance immediately. Yet, now, he was forced by a man who claimed to be his father and he had to look at the kings and they were looking at him – this way, he wouldn't immediately react. Lanny turned his head and saw Rean and Teagan return… for him. They actually came back!

Kermen shouted again. "Come on, son! I don't have all day. And when you're done, you'll be the king…" Lanny was almost tempted to pull the trigger. Almost. Instead, he shouted one word Kermen hadn't expected to hear at all.

"Catch!" the prince turned around, took a step away from the lava pit threw the gun at the two other teenagers in here, hoping one of them would catch it. As soon as the gun was in Rean's hand, a hand of Kermen's grabbed the prince's collar. The madman lifted his son in the air, about ten inches above the ground, the boy struggling to get down. Lanny realized he should just have pulled the trigger after seeing that furious look in the madman's eyes.

"You should not have done that, boy," Kermen said, dangerously calm. Without giving a warning, his other hand (made into a fist) hit Lanny in his stomach. He almost lost consciousness but after the many beatings he had gotten used to it. Yet, after the madman gave him another hit at the same spot, he knew that whatever beating he had gotten in the past could have never been worse than what he just got. Kermen dropped the prince, and Lanny landed on his butt. After that, he let himself lie down on the hard ground, a few feet away from the lava pit, and he didn't care. Then, he cared for nothing except this one thing: make it stop. Even though he's had just the two hits and he fell on the ground once, this madman did have more experience and power than the bullies from the past and he made it even more terrible, to hit him hard enough for Lanny to have his misery ended.

Then, Kermen came back and picked him up again. He moved and the heat came closer and Lanny guessed they were getting even closer to the lava pit. The madman's mouth came close to his son's face, "You should have obeyed me when you had the chance, Lanny," were his words – no 'boy', no 'son' –, "It's over now."

Even though his mind didn't perform well, Lanny knew Kermen was right about one thing: it would be over when two bullets were fired. Those two bullets were shot by Rean, who had aimed for Kermen's heart. Yet, he's terrible with a gun having never held one before, and he accidentally hit Kermen's hand.

They fell. The madman had accidentally dropped his son and he himself hell after stumbling backwards; both were on their way to the lava. Kermen screamed out of pain his oldest son gave him and Lanny was silent. He just didn't have the energy to open his mouth and produce a sound; not even enough energy to think and process what was happening. And as Kermen and his youngest fell down under the watchful eye of the older, Lanny close his eyes and he wouldn't open them anymore that day.

Fun fact: kermen is Dutch and it means 'to moan', while boom means the same as 'tree' and een pit is 'a seed'.