Battle Hawk's POV
I know John was a proud man. He was strict, I could tell by the way he was with me when I was boy, constantly on my ass, disciplined and of high principal. He was short tempered and did some wrong in his life but he is not a bad man. He had just been washed with bad experience and born more short-tempered than most. He wore his pride like a parapet. I didn't know whether it was to shield him or not let anyone in. His judicious intellect, precise eye and impetuous anger led to a profoundly tarnished reputation amongst his people. I chose the most perfect memory of John and I and cling to it. I chose it because in that moment he was the person he should have been, would have been, had it not been for the stress of life. In that snapshot his unwarped personality was something so golden and sacred I want to keep it forever.
John lay on the ground, his face closed in a grimace, is skin pale and clammy. Every few minutes he would scream, not like one of those guys being tortured, but worse. It had a raw quality, the realness of a person consumed by a pain that knew no end or limit. Then he would go quiet, just panting. I should have been there at his side, at least then he would have known I cared. But instead I walked away, unable to bear it, leaving the others to talk constantly in his ears and stroke his hair until the ice king took over. Then it was Omega that climbed into the place where ice king was standing and disappeared in a whirl of blue light and freezing wind. I knew then I'd lost him, even if he survived. I was the one that stepped away rather than face his suffering.
End of Battle Hawk's POV

John's POV
The pain that once burned like fire had faded away to an icy numbness. Black filled the edges of my vision and the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat. My breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. Seconds passed as I lay there, then, I heard voices. People swarmed all over me, trying to help me, I realized. They wanted to save me. If I could have, I would of laughed. Surely they could tell that it was far to late for me to be saved, yet they were like children, naive to the darkness of the real world. The despair and suffering of the world that took everyone I loved away from me. I would be joining them soon though. I would be able to leave all the pain behind. My eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then I saw nothing at all. My consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space my heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in my ears, alongside fading pleas for help from someone who was holding me tightly. I couldn't tell who it was. But soon that person was the only thing keeping me warm. Feeling in my body drained away until finally all was black.
End of John's POV

Battle Hawk's POV
I kept blaming my self for not staying. But what else could I have possible done? Maybe I should surrender to evil once again. That way I could numb the pain. This is not what he has taught me all these years. I'm just to that kind of though love. But i just needed to get that off my chest. I turned around taking a deep breath hoping it's not too late. I wasn't sure if he could hear me but I held him in arms and told him.
- John... John! Come on you gotta wake up, man! You are stronger than this we both know that!
I hugged him tightly. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel the muscles of my chin tremble like a small child. There is static in my head once more, the side effect of this constant fear, constant stress I live with. I hear my own sounds, like a distressed child, raw from the inside. It takes something out of me I didn't know I had left to give. That's the way it is when people are hard. It's like a theft of the spirit, an injury no other person can see. Perhaps these tears will help wash the blood out. I press my head against his chest to feel his heartbeat. I finally make myself talk.

- John... There is so much to admire, but your raw honesty is the best part. I love how your words spill out real slow as if the truth can take its time. It's as if there is a force behind them, yet the kind that is respectful and quiet. A determination that's observant and patient. And in those words is a wonderful compassion, an awareness of the vulnerability of others, of the sort that is born of painful experience. Which is why you could be heartless with others. But just your though love. You always push us harder. It took me a long time to understand why you did it. Now, I know is because you loved me... So when you tell me of your sorrows, believe me when I say I believe you, because it's right there in everything you are, from your eyes to the pattern of your thoughts. You are as the loving parent, tidying, supporting yet encouraging growth. It takes a great spirit to come through so very much and become the person that you are. So yeah, I admire you and I love you so much, dad