"You know, I get that you and Alina are broken up, but do you really have to stay at my place?"

Leo rolled his eyes behind his glasses as he walked through a door with a suitcase in tow. "Great to see you too, Archie. And yeah, unfortunately, I do. I should have made her move into my apartment."

Archie gave out a snort, smirking cheekily at his twin brother. "Well, can you blame her? I wouldn't want to move into that shoddy old place."

"It was five hundred pounds a month." Leonardo emphasised. "Besides, your house was a shithole when you first bought it."

"Well, it's not anymore." Archie pointed out.

"Yeah. Because I came over and helped renovate the place." Leo gave a pointed look. "I even gave you a loan to do the place up. Which you still haven't paid back."

Archie waved it off. "I'll give you it back by letting you stay here until you get a new place."

Leo ignored that as he stepped in, knowing his twin had no intention of giving him any money back. Regardless, Archie was willing to give him a roof over his head until further notice, so he couldn't just discount all that. He needed a home that was close to work, and his brother was the only option.

He'd just gotten out of a pretty serious relationship. That was nothing new, he was used to bouncing from one flame to the next. However, that meant he was having to gather his possessions before he could fully move out, and he didn't fancy sticking around his ex until he found a new place. So, he'd packed all of his essentials and bid her good luck.

Leo fell onto the sofa with a groan. He felt tired. As much as he wanted to blame the whole break up on Alina, it just wouldn't feel right. She wanted to deepen their relationship, and he could tell that involved getting married and starting a family, but he just wasn't ready for all of that.

It wasn't like he hated children or anything, but he was twenty-three and in the prime of his life! His other, older, brother started a family at around that age, and he could tell it was just a little too early.

Archie cut across his thoughts. "Is this all you've got?"

"The rest is at my- Alina's home." Leonardo cut across himself. "I'll get the rest later."

He could hear shuffling, which meant Archie was going through his things. "You brought your dumb games though?"

"Pokemon is not dumb." Leo turned his head and critically corrected. "It's a classic, and you hate it because you're uncultured."

"It's so unrealistic though." Archie brought up his Ds, which was heavily worn down. "If pokemon were real, then battles would be illegal. They're just glorified dog fights."

Leo didn't dignify that with a response, instead rising to his feet so that he could walk over and kneel besides his brother. Though they were twins, he'd always been a good few inches above Archie, and that trend had continued into adulthood.

"I wonder if this still works right." Leo took his DS from Archie's hand and inspected it. "I haven't really played on it for years. Maybe I should pick it back up a little, when I have time that is."

It was strange really, to think the worn out piece of junk in his hands could invoke such nostalgia in his chest, but the smile on his face couldn't be held back. He fondly recalled the memories of his childhood, metaphorically brushing the dust off times passed.

Those countless hours of innocent fun, back when he was just a dumb, immature boy, were some of the best times of his life. Their family was middle class, so he wouldn't be getting a ton of money or gifts, but every year he'd get the newest Pokemon game for Christmas. Without fail. He must have played through each of his DS games a dozen times, and when he was a teenager he'd taken part in a few local tournaments for Pokemon, though he never could quite win.

As Leo began to literally dig through his childhood, smiling broadly the whole way, he found that his relationship issues were taking the backseat. Him and Alina were in a serious relationship and he really liked her- maybe even loved her- but at the end of the day, he was young and there was no need to settle down yet. There would be plenty of other fish in the sea to reel in. Maybe Archie could even help him out, he was good friends with a lot of their female classmates back in high school. He was still in touch with a good amount of them, even if not quite to the extent he was back when they were teens.

A thought for another day, actually. Diving straight back into the dating scene wasn't what he needed right now.

"You're kind of a nerd, you know." Archie commented.

"I'm a Firefighter, it evens out." Was Leo's retort. His brother was snarky as ever. "Besides, I might like games, but you were absolutely obsessed with cars way back then. Don't be a hypocrite."

"That's different though. Cars are cool, pokemon isn't." Archie stuck his tongue out in a show of childishness.

Leo rolled his eyes, but took his twin's words in stride. As brothers in the strongest sense, and best friends, he could confidently state that he knew Archie better than anyone else. He might have been overly sensitive, to an infuriating degree at times, but that was just how he was. Just like how he was trustworthy, stable, and reliable... unless it came to money of course.

"Leo, if you're staying here, you should go out clubbing with me." Archie suggested with a grin.

Leo snorted. "I don't drink, remember? Besides, I don't wanna go out right now."

"Come on, The Wardrobe isn't that far into town. Ya' need ta' blow off some steam."

Leonardo paused. "Isn't that a gay bar?"

"Yeah, a really nice one. I met my old boyfriend there, remember."

He burrowed his eyebrows when he thought back. The guy was irritating as hell, kept sending him weird looks too, and Archie ended up dumping him within the month. Plus, he gave off these shifty vibes that made him seem like bad news, but then again he also didn't know him that well. And he wasn't even the worst of it. His brother was just a horrible judge of character when it came to the dating scene.

"Like I said, I don't wanna go. Maybe another time." Leo stated, going back to look through his old stuff.

Archie accepted that. "Well, suit yourself."

The two of them began to talk about trivial things after than, such as work and how the rest of the family was doing. The two of them had fairly different personalities, so they both made it a point to try and avoid clashing about the little things. When they were little that was actually a massive problem, the constant arguments and fighting drove their parents up the wall, but the two of them were now both fully grown adults that had the capacity to make civil conversation.

Archie would talk about his work as an Architect, complain about how he wasn't being given enough, then go a step further to inform him on what his friends were doing with their careers and lives. In return, he'd tell Archie about his work as a Firefighter. It could be difficult at times, plus the hours were a little on the long side, but it was a fulfilling line of work that more than paid his bills. The two of them would trade questions, eventually halting the scavenging of his old possessions in favour of simple conversation.

The two of them might have bickered, but that hardly meant that they didn't love each other. Their interests did differ immensely, which wasn't a fault of either of them, but a common ground had been reached. Other twins might have been so alike, in both appearance and personality, that telling them apart might have been a struggle.

But, that wasn't the case with him and Archie. They weren't carbon copies of each other. They were individuals. Two polar opposites that mixed about as well as water and oil.

Yet, they somehow refused to separate.

"How long do you think you'll be staying here?" Archie asked with a voice that held an uncharacteristic seriousness. It was the tone he used whenever he wanted someone to give him a straight answer. Whether he knew about this quirk of his was up in the air, but Leon had gotten good at reading him.

Leo gained a thoughtful look. "Probably a month or so, with how utterly shit the housing market is these days. I won't bother you too much, don't worry."

Archie burrowed his eyebrows, looking like he wanted to say something, but was fast to let it go. "Whatever, like I said, you can stay here as long as you need. I'm definitely gonna go out later, I'll be meeting Ada tonight."

"Cool. Say hi to her for me." Leo began, picking up a box and marching into an empty room. Archie soon followed, and he elaborated. "I'll be paying mum and dad a visit."

Archie's mood suddenly took a dip, his eyes turning downcast. "Why do you have to go and see them, anyway? It's not like they're here anymore."

Putting the box down, Leo didn't face his brother. "It's just nice to give them flowers every now and then. Besides, they're listening, I just know it."

His twin didn't agree, though decided to keep silent. The mood from then on was considerably more awkward, with a solemn silence sitting in the air, but Leo had never really bothered with social normalities. He tried to be friendly and polite, but that was just him trying to treat other people with the right amount of respect. A lot of the social expectations he'd been held to throughout his life were just weighing him down, so he eventually elected to just let that stuff go. It wasn't truly worth pondering.

The two of them took their time setting up his currently abysmal amount of possessions in an extra bedroom, and once they were finished he decided not to linger around too much. The mood had been somewhat spoiled, so it would be best if they took a small break. It wasn't early in the day at all, the night was beginning to darken and the clouds lose their white, so if he wanted to go then he had to now.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours." Leo said, not bothering to look over his shoulder as he grabbed a spare key and opened the door. Archie said he was going out, so it was best to be safe.

His brother didn't give him a reply, or if he did then it was drowned out by the creak of a door shutting. Once outside, Leonardo gave out a deep sigh as he shrunk down a little.

Life could be hard sometimes.

"So, me and Alina broke up. She has plans to start a family in the future, and wants to start now, and I just- I'm not ready for that. Maybe later down the line, but not now." Leo was aware that he was practically speaking to thin air, but continued to rant regardless. "Then again, you two were only in your mid-twenties when you had your first son... did I make a mistake for wanting to wait?"

The question was left unanswered, since the dead had a funny habit of taking their wisdom with them when they died. Leo couldn't just go to them for answers like he always had when he was younger.

Right now, Leo was lying against the gravestones of his parents, speaking to them as though they were alive. It had been half a decade since they finally died, a long time when looking at it logically, but time had failed to stitch up that old wound. Them dying shook him in a way he couldn't just let pass.

He was too young to lose them, he had only been seventeen at the time. Some might have called him soft or a wimp for it, but he'd bawled his eyes out like a newborn for days. That scar they'd left was something he had never dealt with.

He always thinks that the loss will sting less with time, but whenever he stood in front of their graves he felt like a child and nearly cries all over again. That wasn't right, a man was meant to be stronger than that.

"You've been gone for six years now." Leo tries to move the conversation along. "Your granddaughter is doing good, she turned ten last March. She's a good girl. Polite, kind, smart. You'd be proud of her."

Again, he gets nothing but silence.

"Archie has been doing good. He's gotten a promotion recently, so he's doing pretty well for himself. You wouldn't believe he was that same anxious mess from all those years ago." He jokes to no one. "He can't find a decent boyfriend to save his life, though. Honestly..." He trails off, not sure what else to say.

Still, he gets nothing but silence.

"I've been doing okay myself. You know, asides from the break up." Leonardo adds that last part with a dry chuckle. "Work has been okay. Not too good, not too bad. You used to say that I had a really kind soul, mum, and maybe you're right. You'd think Firefighters get covered in burns, but a chef would probably get it worse than me."

Again, nothing.

The silence feels like it's gnawing away at his heart, so Leo stands up and looks at his parents' graves directly. They were only five years old, but they showed signs of wear. There were cracks and crevices starting to grow on the stone where their names were carved in, plus moss and mud had stained the once white gravestones a dull grey.

"I miss you." Leo breathes out.

Leo had been pretty lonely since his parents met their end, even if there were people nearby. His parents had left a gaping hole inside him which couldn't be filled by just anyone. It was silly, even when they died he was nearly eighteen, a grown man, so shouldn't he have been able to move on by now? This was pushing it, he knew that, but for some reason he just couldn't stop.

"You left me too early. I wasn't ready." Leo gained his breath back. "You were meant to be there for me until I could stand on my own two legs, until I didn't need you anymore. You were supposed to help me, to lift me up, but then you both left me. I can't do this on my own, the others have their own lives. They've moved on, and I want to do that too." He spoke almost accusingly, but he caught himself. It wasn't fair to blame them. They weren't even alive to blame.

"What can I do?" He whispered softly.

The suffocating silence was expected, corpses couldn't talk afterall, but he still let out a shaky breath.

"Look, I know you're both gone." Leo had never been a religious man, but he brought his hands together as he closed his eyes. "But I'm stuck mourning, and I can't get out by myself. So please. Give me a sign that you can hear me. Anything."

The wind was blowing, and a few trees in the background rustled. Other than that though, Leo couldn't hear a thing. It was utterly silent.

Opening his brown eyes, Leo clenched his fists. His eyes stung, but he refused to let anything escape his eyelids.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." He spoke bitterly.

Gripping the steering wheel much too tight, Leo practically drove on auto-pilot through the pitch black road ahead. Shame gripped at his heart whilst he thought back to what he'd said at the graveyard, even though nobody was around to see him. Going there was a big, foolish mistake that he kept on repeating. It was idiocy really, like walking head first into the same brick wall time and time again.

'Maybe I should go to therapy.' Leo thought with a grimace. These problems he'd been having relating to his parents' deaths were out of control and weren't getting any better. Maybe he needed to seek help for once, rather than expect help to magically drop onto his lap. It might not help, but at this point it didn't matter. Metaphorically speaking, even if he failed, it would have been like pouring a gallon of gasoline into a forest fire. It would have just washed over him.

This always happened, and Leo was beginning to notice a pattern. Whenever he focused too hard on this topic, whenever he overthought this grief, it just made the whole situation worse. Maybe he should take a step back, try to pinpoint exactly what had him grasping at straws.

Leo tried to think of this logically, no longer paying full attention to the road. Yes, his parents dying had left scars of devastation. And yes, losing them had caused him to spiral out of control. But, he knew that this wasn't like him. He wasn't a crier, he was a man who could work through his own thoughts like a functional human being without giving into them. So just what was this?!

With a frustrated sigh, Leo looked up at the open road, only for his eyes to widen when he found that a truck was driving full speed right towards him. It's headlights were turned off, so it must not have noticed him, and he knew that he had to act if he wanted to avoid a crash!

Moving on reflex, he yelped as he swerved a sharp left and the truck disappeared from view and the sound of metal snapping met his ears. He would have relaxed if his body was out of fight or flight, assuming he was out of danger, only for his stomach to sink when he realised... he was falling-

The world around him went dark as the car suddenly jerked, and Leonardo screamed out as his car windows shattered and water began to swarm around him. He must have been driving next to a river, and the dark night had hidden the water from him. Either that or he didn't notice in his brewing.

River water seeped into his mouth, and Leo jerked from cold water shock. His muscles went stiff, and he had to take a moment to calm them. He was used to emergencies, but usually he had to worry about the blistering heat rather than the freezing cold. He could swim alright, but the river water was dirty and stung his eyes!

Trying not to swallow water, Leo fumbled around for his seatbelt. Eventually, he found it, but it felt stuck and wouldn't unplug. Suddenly, he became hyper aware of his lack of oxygen, and his lungs began to burn like molten iron. He was drowning!

Leonardo's head began to grow fuzzy, though he finally felt his seatbelt become undone and he was cut loose. It was only a short relief though, since the water seeping into his mouth and nose felt like a noose around his neck, which was starting to mercilessly squeeze the life out of him. He tried to escape to the surface, but his vision was blurred and in his confusion he smashed his head against the roof of his car.

Suddenly, he wasn't panicking anymore. His body involuntarily went limp, as though he'd been drained of strength, and he could feel his instincts stop flaring as his muscles relaxed. The pain was still pleasant- especially at the top of his skull- but that was beginning to dull as well. Even his vision was starting to fade, but that was more because the dirty river water was dyed red with blood than his life was fading.

Rather than feeling afraid, Leo found himself wondering if this was what it was like to drown. As a Firefighter, water was never what he thought he'd die in, but life had an ironic sense of humour. It wasn't the worst way to meet his end though. It was like low toned voices were breathing into his ear, telling him to let the water inside and embrace the abyss. To let all his troubles disappear, like a bubble on the end of a needle.

It was soothing... but he still didn't want to die.

Life had been a mixed bag for him, a complex mishmash of both the good and bad; neither of which cancelled the other out. However, if he had to pick one... he'd say his life had been pretty darn good. Not perfect, nothing in life was, but his collection of memories he'd say were 'good' far outweighed the bad. His first kiss, younger days with his friends, days he'd spend relaxing with his twin, the list went on and on. His life had been fantastic, if not as long as he'd wanted...

So, Leo had two options. He could embrace the soothing darkness, listen to the whispers in his ear, or he could fight to keep on going and let that building rage in his head out. The part of him that refuses to go quietly.

The only question was this: Is this really how his story ends?

Leo wouldn't get to make this choice though because, faster than he could think, a light enveloped him whole and soon he was falling without a sign of stopping. The dirty, river water he'd swallowed escaped his stomach and lungs as time and space began to pass him by. Thoughts became blurred and muddled, slipping through his fingers, and eternity passed in a second as he was flung across the dimensions.

This whole time he was conscious, completely aware, but for some reason he didn't feel panicked. Maybe he was in shock, perhaps the human mind just wasn't meant to comprehend death, or he was possibly resigned. It wasn't as though he could breathe life back into his own dead body. Death was a force he couldn't influence, and when space and time were just concepts imprinted onto his old vessel, resisting was futile.

So, he simply waited. Counting the eons, letting thoughts escape his grasp, and for the universe to spit him back out.

An instant later, a light appeared at the end of his tunnel.

If you want to support me, then look towards The Magician 565 in the place of patrons. I am a pretty broke student all things considered, so if you want to read additional works of mine then the donations would be much appreciated. I hope to write for you all, and if you could show your support more openly then I'd be happy to crack down!

Additional chapters:

Rising To the Top - 5

Now It's My Turn - 1

An Outlier - 5

The All Mighty Earth - 5

Power Grasping - 3

Dealing With Darkness - 2

God of Destruction - 5

Counterattack - 5

Total - 31