What the -- WHAT THE FUCK?!

Trader felt her eyebrows had a sudden hidden love for her hairline.

"Wha?..." Cold air tickled her tongue, and she snapped her gaping jaw shut. Her mind was racing faster than she could keep up with.

TwinbrotherKrinKyleNOThaha, that's funny, that's a cruel fuckin' joke.

"Who... who are you? Where's Kyle?" Trader stood in a state of shock, her knees weak. This isn't Kyle. He's still out there somewhere. Trader cursed to herself. You're not done yet. God DAMNIT.

Seeing the look of alarm on Traders face, Krin could feel the icy tension cut the air at the heels of his words, "Like I said, my name is Krin. Kyle is a little....Erm....unavaliable....At.....The moment."

How the hell am I supposed to explain what's happened to Kyle when I don't even know!?

Feeling that he probably wasn't going to get a handshake from Trader, Krin withdrew his hand back, "Look, Kyle is kind of, well, sleeping right now."

Kyle, you had better hurry your ass up. I don't know whats taking you so long, but you need to talk to his woman before I get us both in trouble.

"Sleeping."

That little shit is sleeping. "Wonderful. Where is he?" Trader flinched at the venom in her words. Was she that big of a bitch?

Yes... She saw him put his hand down, and realized she could have shook his hand. Oh well.

She swallowed, put her hands on her hips. Well, what now? Kyle wasn't here, she had just met his twin brother, been attacked by a tree, a fricken TREE, was all bloody and felt like shit.

Whachyagonnado.

Annoyed with being asked the same question twice, having avoided answering it the first time, Krin stared at Trader for a second, attempting to think of something to reply with as to where Kyle actually was.

Great. Ya got away with telling her about you being Kyle's brother, but now she's just goanna think your a loon if you tell her you are Kyle but you aren’t Kyle.

THINK!!!

Finally coming to conclusion that he could only tell her the truth, Krin moved to open his mouth in reply, when suddenly caught by something. Mouth half open, in mid-step toward Trader, Krin's eyes would suddenly clear and relax, his irises constricting to where the small black rings in his violet eyes would be swallowed into his pupil, then expand out to rest on the outer edge of his iris's, the ring then fading into red to become nearly invisible in his iris.

Kyle would blink a couple of times, gazing out at Trader as if she just suddenly appeared there out of no where, then, his knees giving out, he would fall to the ground with a soft thud, "Miss.....Trader?" Would be the last words he would utter before becoming unconscious.

Trader jumped about five feet in the air and ten feet back, a squeeky, messed up, "What the fuck?!" flying out of her mouth.

She put a hand on her chest, her heart almost echoing through the trees. Her breathing was ragged as she slowly crept toward the boy.

He said your name. He said your name. Trader dashed the last few steps, kneeling and gently turning over who she now knew was indeed Kyle.

A very tired, starved, wacked, messed up, unconscious Kyle. Trader wrapped him in her arms, remembering what had happened to his eyes right before her freak-out.

Kyle. Oh, God. KYLE. This was him. Not his twin, this had to be the Kyle, the one she had been looking for for so long, the one she had missed to the point of heartbreak, her Kyle, here in her arms. She felt a tear slither down her face into his hair as she stood, scooping him into her arms. he was so light, so fragile.

So dead. Trader started in a direction. hopefully not stopping until she got back to the University. if this was the direction to go. If not, she was totally fucked.

"Kyle. Kyle." Her voice broke. Her tears stung. Her blood ran.

Her heart sang.

Darkness engulfed him completely now, uninterrupted and glorious sleep seemed to have finally arrived and he was so ready to go now......

Suddenly, a piercing pain would split through the side of Kyle’s head, "OUCH!"

Opening his eyes, Kyle would look up into a black ceiling. He was laying down, he knew that much. And he was naked. Sitting up, Kyle would look around to see where he was and what it was that hit him. He soon realized he was in a room filled with items: shelves, boxes, a latter, scattered junk. Spotting someone laying beyond some boxes, Kyle would stand up, walking to the figure. There was something familiar about the person that he just couldn't put. Kyle thought this as he picked his way here and there through the items to not break anything to make it to the figure. Coming up to the boxes that stood between him and the person, he stopped, his jaw dropped in a kind of horror as he looked at a mirror image of himself standing just over the boxes. Jumping back just in time, Kyle would land a short distance away from his copy as they landed where he once stood, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" the copy would reply, "I am you." The copy would advance forward to Kyle, standing over Kyle as he crouched on the ground, "The names Krin. I'm your brother."

"But I don't have a brother!" Kyle would yell, though his voice would seem distant. The room before him would slowly start to melt away, the sounds of the copy disappearing.

"Yes, you do. And the next time your in trouble, I will be there." Krin’s voice would echo away as Kyle slowly woke up in Traders arms.

Trader's chest heaved.

Almosttherealmosttherealmostthere... The trees were thinning out, she was sure of it.

Thunder crashed overhead, rain drizzling down. She had slowed to a fast walk, doing her best not to go down with Kyle in her arms.

She felt his body tense up and relax righr before he opened his eyes. Trader stopped to look deep into his eyes, right before hers teared up again.

"Kyle...?" Well, his eyes looked the same as they always had. That was a plus. She started walking again, carefully looking between where she was going and Kyle's lovely living face.

She could see lights shining through the trees now. Trader quickened her step.

Hearing Traders voice gave Kyle a small surge of happyness which made him gently squeeze Traders arm.

He would then fall asleep only to next be awakened by someone or something.

She had to stop. The rain was too much, her legs were about to give out, and her lungs felt like she had a vice on them.

And she had gone in the wrong direction. Trader's exhaustion had played games with her, giving her false hopes and images. If she waited until morning, when it was possibley not raining and there was more light, she could perhaps figure out where she was.

But for now, Trader found a nice tree with branches heavy with leaves to huddle under. She parted the mushroomed bottom branches with a foot, ducking low enough for Kyle's feet to brush the ground. Trader was supprised by the cramped space under the tree, where only a trunk and a roof thick with dry leaves met her. She could sit up comforatably, and the trunk was wrapped in soft, dark bark. The ground was spongey and dry as she layed Kyle down, just before she followed suit beside him, but with a louder thump.

Kyle awoke with a start to the sound of birds chirping all around him. Looking around him, he could see Trader asleep with her back against the trunk of the tree and her arm around his chest. Smiling genially, he would slowly take Trader's arm and set it down so he could get up.

As he would slide out of the branches and brambles surrounding him, Kyle would step out onto the forest floor, looking around at their location. Taking a deep breath, Kyle would take in the fresh air around them, having only last remembering the dank decay of that god forsaken castle.

Stretching some, Kyle would then bend down, not much due to his short demeanor, and start gently tapping Traders shoulder to wake her up so they could go home.

Trader rolled over.

She was in a state of awareness, though she wasn't awake. The roll over dribbled consciousness into her bruised body, jump-starting her senses.

God, I feel like shit. She opened one eye, quickly closing it again. And that hurts. She groaned as she reached an arm up to rub her eyes, sore muscles that had gone stiff in the night stretching.

Rolling onto her back, she rubbed her cheek on her shoulder, blindly wiping off dirt and blood.

Trader moaned again as her shoulders and back moved. If Kyle isn't here when I open my eyes, I'm going to kill myself.

"Miss...."

Kyle attempted to speak, but his voice had caught in his throat after looking at Trader laying there on the ground. He had momentarily forgotten just how long it had been sense he had seen her. Seeing her slowly stirring, Kyle leaped forward and hugged Trader around the neck, tears pouring from his eyes, "Miss Trader!"

OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Trader sat up and hugged Kyle anyway. Her eyes were still crispy-glued shut, but the little shudders that make her chest fill with warmth told her all she needed to know.

That voice. That little, chirpy voice. Like a songbird that had been punished for singing wonderous melodies was being let loose into the sky, swooping and telling the world, "This is who I am, and this is what I do. Don't like it? Fuck you."

Her voice was weak and broke with unshed tears when she whispered his name. Trader layed her lips in his hair, holding him tighter.

Please don't ever leave me.

"I...." Kyle gazed up at Trader, his eyes once again filling with tears, "I won't ever again!" He yelled, muffling his voice as he buried his face into Traders chest. It felt wonderful to be this close to her again.

Sitting there for a moment to let it sink in that he was finally Trader again, Kyle then raised his head to look at her once again, "Can.....Can we go home now?" He thought longingly of the food served at the university cafeteria and the warm bed that would surly await him.

Trader steadied her breathing before answering.

"Yeah. Yeah, we can go home now." Her tears had loosened the sleep in her eyes, and she tore her eyelids away to get a first good look of Kyle.

Her assesment was quick, wrapping him in another hug and carrying him out from under the tree. Trader flinched at the streams of sunlight filtering through the trees.

She almost walked away. Almost. She turned to the tree, whose branches were perking up again.

Thank you. She thought as hard as she could, for a few seconds, before turning towards the direction where she knew the University to be.