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Corin sighed as he looked out the kitchen window to the small courtyard, watching as two foxes sat there under a tree, one sitting perfectly straight, staring ahead, the other clinging to him and rocking back and forth slightly, muzzle buried into his neck. "How bad is it now?" The lion asked, looking over to the short vixen who was sitting behind him at the table. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, eyes dark with bags underneath, fur matted and messed in places.

At first, she didn't even recognize the question, but she looked up at the lion, sighing and shaking her head, eyes closing for a moment, dry from the tears she'd long since ran out of. "It's getting worse every day... A month ago he still had control... if he focused, he could get a glimpse at events minutes from then, or even an hour if he really focused. But it... just became stronger and stronger... I sent for you a week ago..." She said, rubbing a paw over his eyes and shivering slightly, trying not to cry.

"I know, Jolyne... I didn't get the message until a few days ago, and it took me a while to find someone able to get me close enough here to make it over. Porters are rare enough as is, try finding one who can get you somewhere this remote." He said, chuckling a bit and walking over to her, placing a paw on her shoulder.

"I know, I know. I don't blame you... He's still... well... A week ago, his... telepathy... seemed to take a leap forward... He was able to project his thoughts before, and read someone else's on a direct line of sight... but then he was able to project... commands and emotions, thoughts... he was able to pick up someone's thoughts from town... I've sent for a few specialists... some healers, anyone who might be able to help... But he doesn't let them near... He knows what I'm thinking, what I'm going to do... he started losing control of the visions and the telepathy... Two days ago... his eyes..." She choked a bit, shaking as the lion wrapped an arm around her as he sat next to her.

She shook her head, fanning herself and letting out a deep breath. "His eyes went white, glazed over and he stopped talking for a day. When he finally regained enough control, he just said he was... floating... through time, experiencing the future... EVERY future, he said. Every possible choice, every action, every reaction. His bled from the eyes and nose, and said that the voices were getting stronger, able to pick up on everyone's thoughts. Everyone, Corin. There's millions of people in the world, and he can sense every last one of them. Kaiser doesn't know what to do about it, none of us do. I've tried to get him to eat but... he doesn't move from that spot... He just sits there... not even really... with us..."

Corin frowned, rubbing his paw along the vixen's back, trying to comfort her as he listened to her. "I can't imagine... The thoughts of millions of people in your mind, experiencing everything that... well, everything that is, and will be. Have you been able to speak to him?"

At this, Jolyne sobbed, shaking a bit and starting to cry, hanging her head low. "N-no... whenever I approach the courtyard... he... turns me away..." She said, sobbing a bit more and turning slightly to lean against her friend.

The lion held her tightly, looking down at her and hugging her gently. "What do you mean, exactly?"
"I-I told you... he started to be able to... project thoughts and... and commands to others... he just... wills me to stay... stay away... I lose control of my body... he walks me away and sits me back down..." She said, sobbing heavily, tears starting to roll along her cheeks now.

"Jolyne... how...? How can someone so young be so... powerful?" He asked, looking back out the window at the foxes sitting there.

"He's not, though! I mean, yes, he has this... but he can't even control it! Kaiser has been at his side for the last few days, not eating or sleeping either... Not really sleeping, at least... Just... resting with his brother... I don't know what to do!" She sceamed, paws balling into fists and pounding the table in anger, crying a bit more as the lion pulled her close.

"I... I don't know, Jolyne... I wish I had an answer for you..."
~~~
Kaiser opened his eyes, looking up at Galen's face, whimpering a bit as he looked at the glassed-over eyes of his twin. It had been almost a day since he'd heard Galen say anything to him, and that had only been briefly. Galen had promised him he'd get control and come back to their reality, their time, then he went rigid again. They'd been close ever since they were born, as most twins normally were, but with Galen's power of telepathy, they'd always been connected. Even at a young age, Galen was able to share his thoughts, and they were never alone, no matter where they were.

Kaiser didn't have any abilities, at least none had manifested yet. They'd just turned twelve a few months ago, and Galen's abilities seemed to be getting stronger, but then it appeared to grow exponentially, increasing at a rate which he couldn't keep up with. Kaiser did everything he could to help his brother, to just be at his side while he struggled for normality.

It was while he was thinking this, his own mind wandering, imagining what his brother was thinking or seeing off in his visions, that Galen seemingly came back to life. Galen gasped out, body twitching as he hunched forward, coughing a bit. "G-Galen!" Kaiser shouted, sititng upright and pulling his brother close, turning the fox towards him, brushing his hair from his face.

It had been days since he'd seen Galen's eyes closed, and when they opened, the white fog was gone, Galen's blue eyes shining back at him, making his own tear up and his throat tighten. "K-Kai... I don't... have much time..." He said, shaking a bit and struggling to sit upright, tail curled around his side.

"Wh-what? What do you mean? Much time? Until what? What's going on, Galen?" Kaiser asked, pleading for a answer, hoping to hear that his brother was going to be alright.

Jolyne and Corin had ran out into the courtyard, Corin holding her close as they watched from next to the house. "G-Galen?" She called breathlessly, sobbing a bit and clutching her chest, trying not to break down completely.

Galen was ignoring everything else at the moment, looking up at Kaiser and frowning slightly. "Kaiser... I... I need your help... the voices... they're getting... too strong for me... for me to handle... I need... I need your help controlling it... I... I believe I can... project them... them onto you... at least for a moment... I just need a bit of clarity..." He said, tears starting to roll down his cheeks, paws finding Kaiser's and squeezing them weakly.

"Anything, anything I can do... I'll do it... if you can... somehow let me share your burden, let me share it. Please." He said, choking back a few sobs, trying to remain strong for his twin.

Galen nodded, gasping out and convulsing for a moment, eyes starting to fog back over. "I don't have much time... I have to do this... I'm... I'm sorry..." he said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Jolyne was about to say something again when she felt Galen touch her mind, whispering to her and conveying his emotions of love and caring to her. 'I'm so sorry, mother... I really am...'

Galen leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Kaiser's, letting his brother take his burden, for just a few moments. Kaiser's mind felt like it had just caught fire, hearing his mom's worried and frantic thoughts, Corin's terrified and equally worried thoughts, and then it all just came pouring in. He couldn't focus on any single thought or feeling. It was as if he was standing in the middle of a busy market square, except with more people than he could even conceive of. He screamed out in pain, paws clutching at Galen's, blood starting to run from his ears, eyes, and nose.

Jolyne screamed out, running forward, towards her sons, only to have the ground in front of her split apart suddenly, a fissure opening up along the ground, collapsing half their house. The wind picked up, swirling around them violently, nearly knocking Corin over as he rushed to Jolyne's side, covering her with his body as a rather large branch glanced off of him from the wind. As quickly as the disasters started, they ended, Kaiser collapsing backwards on the ground, blood pooling around his head, fur appearing to be a bit singed.

Galen stood up, panting and looking back at his mother and Corin, hanging his head. 'I'm sorry for this...' He said, eyes closing. Jolyne and Corin lay there, looking up at him before they fell asleep, forced by the fox.
~~~~
Kaiser was the last to finally awaken, and not out in the courtyard. The house had all but been destroyed with the freak-earthquake, though he wasn't aware of anything that had happened when Galen shared his burden with him. Despite what had happened, he felt well rested, free from the aches and sores that had accompanied him from the lack of sleep.

Corin was sitting next to his bed and when he turned his head, the lion just smiled, reaching a paw out and setting it on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.

"I'm... I'm okay, actually. I feel fine. How long... have I been... asleep?" He asked, a bit unsure of where he was as he looked around, not recognizing the room, or the trees outside the window.

The lion sighed and pulled his paw away, looking down. "A few days... Look, Kaiser... there's... something I need... need to tell you..."

Kaiser's head snapped back towards the lion, his eyes widening. He hadn't realized it at first, still waking up, but now he could tell something was different. That ever-present feeling he usually had wasn't there. "C-Corin? Wh-where's Galen?" He asked hesitantly, pulling the covers away and slowly sitting up, legs hanging off the bed.

"Kaiser... he... he's gone. He took his own life... he... he said that-"

"What?!" Kaiser barked, standing up, breath quickening and pulse speeding up. "I... what? No, he... he said he could... get control. He can't be dead." He said, trying to find a way to tell himself that it wasn't true.

"Kaiser. He's dead. He's finally at peace. He said he couldn't live with hurting you like that..." Corin said, standing up and placing his paws on the fox's shoulder. "We tried to stop it but-"

"BUT WHAT!" Kaiser roared, pushing the lion away and stumbling backwards a few steps, starting to hyperventilate as his mind raced, too shocked to respond or think straight. "WHY COULDN'T YOU STOP HIM. WHY? WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN SO HARD FOR YOU TWO TO STOP HIM." He screamed, tears starting to roll down his muzzle as the fox paced along the wall, paws clutching at his face and hair, trembling with emotions he couldn't even describe.

"He forced us to fall asleep... we didn't even know what was going on until we awoke to find him there. He poisoned himself." The lion was holding back his tears as he chanced taking a step towards Kaiser, watching the frantic, young fox tear at his hair and fur.

"Nononono... no, this can't be happening. No... NO!" He yelled, paws balling into fists as he banged them against the wall. Fire burst forth from his paws, engulfing the wall and ceiling nearby, causing Kaiser to fall backwards in fear with a yelp.

Corin screamed out, reaching out to grab Kaiser and pull him away from the fire, shoving him aside and stepping forward, focusing for a moment before letting out a roar that diminished and put out the flames, manipulating the sound to suffocate the fire. He turned back to the fox, frowning a bit, and sighing. "Kaiser... I don't know what happened... but..."

"I... I didn't... I didn't mean to... I didn't know that... Corin, what's happening..." He said, cringing and clutching at his head, crying out as his mind burned, eyes watering from the pain. Then everything went white.

~~~~
"Kaiser." A voice said, softly and calmly.

The fox's eyes opened slowly, looking around at the infinite, bright, white light. He felt like he was floating, but there was nothing that he could see, except the light.

"Kaiser." The voice said again, closer this time.

"Galen?" He asked, turning around and gasping as he saw his twin standing there, amongst the light, naked, looking almost peaceful. "Y-you're... alive!" He said, laughing a bit and choking back some tears as he stepped forward, reaching a paw out to rest on his brother's shoulder.

Galen smiled warmly, reaching his paw up and resting it on Kaiser's shoulder, shaking his head. "No... no, I'm not... I'm dead, Kai... I just... left this thought for you... For only you... think of it as a... pre-recorded message... I know it doesn't mean anything to you, but... in a few hundred years... well, that I won't tell you... I never liked sharing the future..." he said, laughing and rubbing his paw down Kaiser's bare chest, leaving it over his heart.

"But... but you're... here... how did you... never mind... Why are we here...? Why are we naked? What's all this light? What's going on, Kai?" He asked, starting to sniffle a bit as he stepped forward, paws gripping Galen's shoulders, staring into the blue eyes they shared.

"We're here so I can say good bye... We're naked because this is us... this is just us, as we are, were, and will be. This is just how we are... naturally... without all the complexities of life, or the powers that bind us, the powers that hold us... just us... The light? Well... I suppose you could call it heaven, but that wouldn't be very accurate... It's not something I can explain. Not yet, at least... I'm just here to say goodbye, Kai... I couldn't stay..."

"But you said that-"

"I know... But I was wrong. I thought I could get back control.. I thought I could come back from... from my visions and just... live normally... but I was wrong... and if I didn't... take my life... then I would have been consumed by it... So I'm leaving you with this memory, and a gift... I know you don't have power or ability... or so we'd always thought... but you do, Kai. You do. I unlocked it for you... Where I could see time and thoughts, you can see the earth... see fire, water, wind. See the elemants and control them."

Kai's eyes widened a bit and he laughed, shaking his head, laughing again. "What? No... I've... I mean... I... I mean... I've seen people control fire or water... but... I can't do those things..."

"No, you couldn't... your powers were latent... But I saw these things... saw when they would have opened to you... Later in life... and they would have killed you... I opened it for you... just a little... It'll open over time for you... but I had to do this, Kai... or you'd have killed yourself by accident..."

"How can I... do these things? I don't even... understand how..." He asked, hugging close to his brother, worried and afraid, troubled by what he was hearing.

Galen just smiled and hugged his twin tightly. "You'll understand, Kai... I helped a bit... but you'll learn to control it.. and when they strengthen, you'll be able to catch up... I'm sorry I had to leave you, though..."

Kai's eyes watered and he nodded, looking down, trying not to cry. "I'm... I'm going to miss you... I always have felt you with me... even when we were really really little... You were always there, in a way I can't explain... I'm going to miss that... I don't know if I can live without having you there..." He said, letting out a shaky breath, paws holding onto Galen's.

"Oh, Kai.. You'll live... It won't be easy... but you'll live... And you'll feel that closeness again, someday... I know it."

Kai just shook his head, sobbing a bit and leaning against Galen, squeezing him close and whining. "I will never love anyone else like I loved you, though..." He said, whimpering and crying out, unable to hold back.

Galen just held onto him calmly, petting down his back and neck. "No, you'll never love anyone like you did me. We were brothers. Twins. But you'll love someone else. Real love, not just family. Trust me. I have to leave you now, though."

"N-no! Please." Kai said, pulling Galen back when the other fox pulled away. "No... Please just... just... stay with me... a bit longer...?" He asked, sniffling loudly and wiping his nose on his arm, blushing just a bit.

Galen closed his eyes for a moment, paws finding Kaiser's once more and squeezing them. Alright... Just a few more minutes..." He said softly, pressing his forehead to Kai's and just holding them there quietly, neither of them needing to speak.