James:

It's pure chaos. Unarmed employees scramble out of the building, thinking they don't get paid enough for this. Stepping out of this confusion is none other than the cause of it. Zach. No amount of time could have prepared me to see what he's transformed into. In fact, it's like he was never the Zach I use to know. His once blue eyes now a blood red with a madness that resembled the monsters we use to fight. His kind smile that brought me out of my depression now a cruel grin that wants nothing but my death. Before he can even take a step towards me, armed soldiers surround him. Leading them is Mary. "Get. Back. In. Your. Cell. Now!" she orders.

"But it's no fun in there!" he whines, then pointing his scythe at me, he says, "I'd much rather stay here with James." I feel every eye stare at me.

"Can I stay too?" Mia growls, tightening her grip on her duel swords. She looks at me with enough rage to kill me with a single glare.

"What is he talking about, James?" Mary demands, breaking me away from her gaze. No words come out of my mouth. I don't want to say it. I don't want to say I know him. Suddenly, I see the line of soldiers break apart. Zach tears through them, taking lives with him. Mary lays on the ground, barely keeping her life.

"Enough talk. I've waited long enough for this moment," Zach growls, racing towards me.

"Use me or die today." the voice says in my head. I sigh in frustration. Today will not be the day I return to the Lord. So I summon him. Instantly, power fills my veins. It corrupts my mind and threatens to turn me into a monster like Zach. To distract myself from the growing hunger inside me, I focus on the feeling of the voice materializing in my hand in the form of a gun. I raise my gun, giving me the perfect shot to put a bullet through Zach's head. This causes him to skid to a stop in front of me. His grin never leaves his face.

"You're just like me and you will always be just like me. You're corrupted. You're a Hunter," Zach says.

Zach:

The moment those words leave my mouth he pulls the trigger. Just as quickly, I move my scythe in front of my face to block the bullet. Then, I jump back to a safe distance. I can tell his shock has turned to anger. He wants me dead, but not as much as I want him dead.

"I am nothing like you!" James yells. "I'm not a murder!"

"Says the one that killed his parents," I respond. I watch in delight as his whole body cringes. There was a time when I hated seeing him like that, but that time was gone and I only wanted to see that expression. "But I don't care about that stuff. I do care about you acting all high and mighty. I think its time I drag you back to reality." With those words, I am racing to end his life. But his smile stops me. Its a small, smug smile. Something he only did when he won. Why would he smile like that? Then, as if to answer my question, I feel someone's breath on neck. I do a smirk of my own. Nice try. I spin around, seeing the Spirit Dancer I faced before. She lifts her sword to cut me, but my blade is faster. My scythe collides into her stomach, opening up a huge gash. Her sword dissolves into mist along with her wolf. I see the woman who ordered me to go back to my cell finally jump to her feet. She drags away the bleeding woman, but I doubt she could save her life.

"This is my fight! Stay out of it!" I yell after them. I feel a thud behind me. James is on his knees. I laugh. What happened to that smirk? Where did all that anger and confidence go?

"Why are you doing this to me? When did you become such...a monster?" he whispers almost to himself. I feel a pang of anger stab my heart. How did he not know?

"Why am I doing this?" I repeat, truly disgusted. "I'm doing this because you abandoned me! You promised we'd fight crime together, but then you left me!"

"I left you because you murdered someone. I mean, I did kill...my parents. But you know better than anyone that it's impossible to control your hunger when you first become corrupted. You killed someone because you got tired of suppressing it. You became a monster willingly." James answers, as if its obvious.

"You really are blind. I was corrupted from the beginning. Every person we saved, every crime we stopped, my hunger grew. The voice became louder and louder until it was the only thing I could hear! I hide it well. You never noticed. Until I lost control once. Just once! And then you left! I gave you so many chances and I only get one? It doesn't seem fair, does it?" I say, laughing bitterly. Finally, I see his eyes soften. His face looks at me like before, just what I wanted for so long, but somehow it isn't enough. I need him to say it. I need him to say: "I'm sorry."

He climbs to his feet. Looking at me, he gives me a sad smile. I know what's coming, but I don't stop it. "I didn't know. It was unfair to abandon you," James apologizes, he raises his gun to my forehead, "I'm sorry for what I did then and for what I'm about to do." Then, he pulls the trigger.

James:

I watch as his body falls to the ground. Blood gushes from the hole in his head. I don't feel victorious, but instead feel endless tears fall from my eyes. This would have been so much easier if I didn't know any of that. Now I feel like the fake hero. "I'm sorry..." I say through sobs.

"Zach!" someone shrieks. Mia scrambles to Zach's body, pushing me aside. She holds him close, her sobs rivaling my own. I take a step to comfort her. "Get away from him!" she yells, pulling him closer.

"It was the only way to save him," I say.

"I could have saved him," Mia growls. She gives me a glare before looking down at the man she loved the most. Caressing his face, her sobs quiet down and her breathing slows. Its as if his face calms her. "Zach, I thought my love for you would be enough to corrupt me, but it wasn't. I know what is enough now. My grief." Her words make me realize her eyes aren't just red from crying. The duel swords are becoming as red as the blood pooling around Zach's head. She's turning into a Hunter.

I am faced with a decision. It has a clear answer, but its not the decision I want to make. As I think this, she is only growing more corrupted. I must act now. I lift my gun for the last time. Mia turns to look at me right as I pull the trigger. "I'm sorry," is all I can say.