A Curse Unbroken

It has been over two months since Hunter had found himself unable to leave the Captain's Suite aboard the Enterprise to return to his Nexus apartment. And since he could not get to the Nexus, but could PINpoint to other places in Jim's universe, it was also two months ago since he moved into Jim's apartment in San Francisco.

Two months since he spent a night with his boyfriend. Two months since he had heard from any of his Nexus friends. Two months since he had access to his art studio.

But since Hunter was also able to sign up for courses at the Starfleet Academy, it had been a very busy two months. The claim was that Hunter was from a technophobe community, and still waiting for his paper records to arrive at the academy.

There were times when he enjoyed going to classes again. Socializing with other people. And in Jim's world... no one stared at him, because of his tattoos and piercings. Especially at the Academy, where many other aliens were studying to join Starfleet. He could be among others who were just as unique as him.

He had decided to take a full course. To learn as much as he could. And part of that studying including learning new languages -- alien languages. Hunter remembered how difficult it had been to lose the translation feature of the Nexus -- and wanted to learn to communicate with others, in case something similar happened.

The good days includes ones when he had a course with Faris and Chanath. Or the days when they were studying horticulture, and he got to get his hands into dirt again. Or the days when he could video chat with Jim over the PINpoint.

The bad days included ones when he struggled with technology, or when he couldn't get a hold of Jim for a few days, or when he forgot how different Jim's world was to his own (especially when it came to social norms -- Hunter had to readjust). And there were days when he felt so alone -- with hardly no one to talk to. Only Faris, Chanath, Jim and some of his senior crew understood Hunter's past. His true background.

Every now and then, Starfleet provided brief updates on the exploration mission that the Enterprise was on. And it was a little surreal... to see how those brief updates would cause such an excitement around campus. Between the real updates and the rumor mills -- some of the crew soon became idols. How people would talk about Kirk and the others was so inspiring at times. They were becoming famous.

Every now and then, Hunter could not get Jim out of his head. And he would lay in Jim's bed... his bed... and just watched the Seven Sisters projected into the air from the amulet that Jim gave him at Christmas. And he wondered if Jim was staring up at space from whereever he was... thinking of Hunter.

Hunter just felt more connected to his boyfriend than ever before. His new life... in Starfleet... was just starting out. And someday he would make his own mark. Somehow.

Two weeks after Halloween, Hunter was finally feeling up for company again. And while much of what happened between him and Karlene (Electra) was still a blur in his head, he remembered the many people who helped him out during the whole night.

And he wanted to reconnect with those who were there. Get to know those who he had not met before. And answer any questions they might have had.

He sends out a few invitations over PINpoint to those who helped. And waited for a response.

It took two days for Hunter to travel from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to Niagara Falls. He was not sleeping well, since the magical attack that had taken place. But he was careful not to drive too long on his motorbike, even if he couldn't sleep. He still needed to take time to rest. And to think.

He still heard her voice. "Find me. Find me." It whispered to him in the darkness.

Hunter could not get the witch out of his mind. Nor could he stop making comparisons between how Karlene acted, and how Kendra treated him.

Kendra had only used her magic on him after he had publicly insulted her. And her 'curse' had only caused him physical pain once. It gave him a chance to learn how to truly accept himself, as a person. And Kendra had kept her promise to aid Will and Magda.

And when kissing Lindy had not broken the curse -- Kendra had not abandoned him. She guided him through other difficulties. She had given him a great gift of being able to bring his artwork to life. And even after her death, Kendra had saved him when Bellatrix had attacked Hermione in his apartment.

"Find me... Inde..." The voice changed the closer and closer Hunter got to Niagara Falls.

Karlene... she had taken his magic without any thought of how it would affect Hunter. She had abandoned him without any answers or clues to what happened. And just when he found her again, she used her magic to hurt him. And the third time he had found her, Hunter had been stabbed. Karlene might have used her magic to heal him, but it felt... wrong. Like she wasn't doing it for him.

And as he thought more and more about it -- Hunter had assumed Karlene was Kendra's sister, because they had looked so similar. He had no real proof of the assumption.

"Inde... Ide..." The voice became so real by the time he reached Niagara Falls.

Camping near the falls, Hunter sat by one of the benches close to the roar of the water. Zunar in his lap, purring contently. He watched the water crash down into river below. There was a majestic pull to the might Niagara Falls. One that Hunter was memorized by for a fall moment.

Karlene only had hurt him over and over again. She was not the woman he thought she was.

"Ide... Die... Die...." The voice became darker in his mind. And Hunter clenched his hands tightly. Zunar licked at his knuckles until he relaxed.

The fear of the unknown witch gripped tightly in Hunter's chest for a while. And then he shook it off. Hunter was not going to let the magic hurt him anymore. It was his magic. And he was going to find a way to get it back. No matter what.

Hunter spent two days traveling up the coastline of Lake Michigan on his bike, traveling from the Indiana Dunes to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was here, that he explored the high dunes and the spectacular views across the lake. And Zunar found several new playmates --lizards -- to chase down.

It was here, that Hunter explored a deserted lighthouse, climbing to the top. Zunar following him, bounding up two steps at a time. And he leaned over the railing of the outer balcony of the lighthouse, looking out to the Great Lake itself. The sun was setting, casting beautiful colors of reds, oranges, and yellows over the greenish-blue hue of Lake Michigan.

From his backpack, Hunter pulls out a photo of his dad. Robert Kingson.

With a chirp, Zunar pounces up to the railing, where he had enough room to settle under Hunter's chin and purred loudly. Hunter stared down at the photo in his hand.

"I never really said goodbye." He speaks to the photo.

"And really, I guess I was still in disbelief. We were just reconnecting again. And in a moment you were gone. And there was nothing I could do to change how we left things."

"Growing up in your house... I never felt like I was a son you were proud of. To this day I don't know if I made you proud ever. And now that I look like the son you had mentored to be your legacy... I feel even further apart from you than ever. Like I am back to that big empty house, just wanting a dad."

"When you pushed me away, because of how the magic changed my appearance, I felt so alone in my world. You were not there when I had the revelation that looks don't matter. You were not there when I finally admitted to myself that I was gay. You were not even there when I found my artistic talent."

"And now you are gone... I wish you were here every day." Hunter felt tears in his eyes.

"I am going to wish you were there the day my art goes on a state-wide tour. I am going to wish you were there when the Foundation opens new branches across the nation. I am going to wish you were there if I get married. I am always going to wish you were back in my life. That we could have had that great father-son relationship that I felt we were finally reaching."

"I hope that maybe... that now you are proud of me." Hunter folds the photo up into a little paper crane. And then lifts it into the air, letting the wind catch the photo and carry it over the lake. "Bye dad."

Hunter's exploration of different National parks started at the Acadia National Park, where he spent three days enjoying the woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks. Then he spent three days in the New Hampshire's White Mountains, and from there he biked down to the Pocono Mountains Region.

It was when he reached the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, nearly 11 days later, that the emotions that Hunter was trying so hard to run away finally caught up to him.

He was exhausted, after hiking the Brandywine Gorge Trail. And had crawled into his tent for a well-deserved night of rest. But sleep did not come.

Everything that Hunter felt he had handled crashed down on him in that moment. The trauma of having his appearance changed in the first place. The struggles of the first year. The devastation when the kiss from Lindy did not work. Then how hard he worked to get comfortable in his own skin for five years. And then accepting himself and finding love.

Then having his magic taken away from him. To have to look in the mirror and see his old self -- Kyle -- and being face-to-face with the mistakes he made in the past. His selfishness. His rudeness. His judgement of others. To hate himself just a little day after day.

Hunter felt the tears come fast and hard.

The truth was that he did not know who he was right now. Was he still the good-looking and suave Kyle? Or was he the poetic and unique Hunter?

And he tried so hard to get answers on what had happened, only for Karlene to run away from him. As he thought about Karlene, Hunter started sobbing hard. He got stabbed protecting her. Twice! And she ran away. He can still remember the sharp pain from the knife in his gut. The worst thing was that Karlene took away everything that he worked so hard for -- and was acting so selfish about not even facing up to her mistake.

Hunter pulled his pillow to his face so he could scream into it. Then cried into the fabric. Soaking it.

He felt so alone right now. He had pushed away Jim, but right now his tears reflected how much he missed the other man. How much it hurt not to see him in person. But that summoned forth a new insecurity, one that Hunter had denied. He has seen how Jim looks at him now. Would he want him to get his magic back? Hunter does not know.

With the distance between the two of them, with Jim on his exploration mission, it was difficult to make sense of what their relationship was. And while Hunter desired no one else but Jim, the Starfleet captain had wanted his own freedom -- it being somewhere between 23rd Century relationship norms or Jim's reliance on his charm when it came to negotiations with other species. Right now, it just seemed as another way for Jim to put up a wall of resistance against the relationship they have found themselves in. And Hunter knew he had not really fought for what he wanted.

And what hurt most was the sudden thought of how hard Hunter had worked on the ring for Jim. And while he gave it to Jim with no expectations... right now it felt so unappreciated. That Hunter truly didn't express what he wanted to say. That he wanted to feel worthy of the other man. Especially right now, when Jim's life had taken him to the grandness of space. To lead a crew into the exploration of new places, to be the first to see the stars, and planets, and aliens that were out there. Jim was at the peak of his career.

And Hunter... felt like a nobody. He placed his head in his hands. He didn't have the Foundation anymore. He didn't have the Art Studio anymore. He had nothing. And really... how could he expect anyone to be happy dating a nobody. His whole body shook with despair. Was he really fooling himself this whole time?

Hunter felt so raw and vulnerable. He didn't know who he was anymore.

With a thud, as he threw the pillow away from him, Hunter sat up. Breathing through the sudden anger and sadness that was overwhelming him.

He sat in his tent, shivering, tears still running down his face.

Hunter had spent several nights at the same bar, the place where he had lost his powers during an innocent night out with his artist friends. It gave him a lot of time to sit and think to himself... about the recent changes to his appearance and how it really affected his life.

He really had no other activities to keep him busy right now. Hunter had really put his heart and soul into the Foundation and the Seven Sisters Art Gallery, and it bothered him to not have day-to-day interactions with his staff. But how would he explain that his appearance had changed... so suddenly?

Slowly, Hunter sipped at his beer, looking around the bar another time. It was a quiet night, which gave him some hope that he would have a better chance of finding clues that might lead to the identity of the young girl, who had reminded him so much of Kendra. He had been here on busier nights, when it had been harder to collect his thoughts (or to politely decline the offers of being joined).

A soft chuckle escaped Hunter's throat at that last thought. With his tattooed-look, not many people were bold enough to approach him. Or flirt with him. But right now, it was sort of flattering to have so many offers of a free drink, or company for the night. Of course, he had turned down the more daring offers that would have led to something more intimate.

And even with the 'permission' from the Starfleet Captain to seek affection elsewhere while Jim was serving his five-year mission, Hunter just couldn't go down that route. His heart belonged to Jim.

It had been so reassuring that Jim had stopped by the other night to check on Hunter's welfare. It really spoke to how that Hunter could count on the other man. And he had not missed the desire in Jim's eyes in regards to Hunter's new appearance. No matter what happened -- he could count on Jim being there.

Suddenly, Hunter felt something on the edge of his nerves that broke his deep thoughts. Looking up, he saw the young woman who had reminded him so much of Kendra. And just seeing her again -- Hunter could sense his magic radiating off her. She looked so much more confident and sure of herself. But at the same time, that even she didn't know what had changed.

Hunter finished his beer, before heading over to where she sat. And he was reminded of Kendra... when the girl looked up at him with the same deep green eyes that pierced his soul.

"I know you..." She whispered. She stood, her eyes wide like a frightened deer.

"Wait..." Hunter took a step back, he could sense the magic in the air, creating a protective force around her. It felt like an invisible fire on his skin.

"No. It is not time..." She moved from her table, preparing to leave the bar. Hunter reached out to try to reason with her, but she whirled and looked at him with those sharp green eyes, and he felt like his whole being was on fire. He slumped down into a chair, watching helplessly as she ran off, not even getting her name.

A flicker of pain ran up his arm, and looking down he could see the thorns of the rose bush return briefly, before it faded. Leaving his arm bare again. He felt like he couldn't breathe... so he struggled to get to a private area of the bar, where he could PINpoint home.

Hunter could feel the fire of his magic dance back to life one moment, and then return to being gone. And it was pure torture. The pain ebbed and faded, leaving him so exhausted that he could barely make it to the couch. Fumbling with his PINpoint, he sent a quick message to the one person that knew the workings of magic better than anyone. And as he slumped to the couch, it was only seconds later that he could feel the reassuring touch of Hermione Jean Granger.

Tonight was an important night for Hunter and the Seven Sisters art studio. A new artist was exhibiting their artwork, and there was finally media attention about the studio itself. The art gala had a number of art critics attending. And many people were learning about the Foundation, and the work that the organization did in the community.

Hunter was preparing some notes, to speak to a small scrum with the media. He had not done something like this for a few year. Not since he was dealing with the media and his father's business.

He felt very nervous. Without warning, his phone buzzed an alert. Hunter spared a quick glance at his phone, noticed that the caller ID was from the hospital, and took a few moments to answer it.

"Mr. Kingson?" The almost-too-pleasant voice spoke to him on the other end. Already Hunter had a dreaded feeling in the pit of his stomach. Almost no one addressed him by his former last name.

"Speaking..." He toned his voice to neutral.

"I am sorry to bother you. But you are listed on the emergency call list for your father, Robert Kingson." Hunter felt weak to his stomach. "He is in emergency room."

"What happened?" He whispered. The still-too-bright answer explaining that his father had a heart attack was barely heard by Hunter. The room around him felt claustrophobic. He tuned back in when the nurse asked him if he could come down to the hospital, and speak to the doctor.

"I... yah... I will be there." Hunter hung up the phone. Downstairs, the party of the art gala seemed to taunt him. He couldn't face the media scrum now. He couldn't face anyone right now.

Hunter told one of his Foundation board members to take over the art gala for him, as his Uber cab pulled up to take him to the hospital. In the back seat of the cab, He closed his eyes, making a desperate wish that everything would be okay. A feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that it would not be.

He pulled out his PINpoint and send a message to Jim. I am on my way to the hospital. My dad had a heart attack,

Hunter had concentrated on taking care of himself during the last two days, ever since he had gotten into that fight during his search for Austin. And after feeling healed, and in a better mental state, Hunter felt ready for the next step in his plans.

He needed to talk to his father. And get a message to the FBI agents that were assigned as Secret Service to Rob Kingson's Senate candidacy.

Hunter had sent his father an email to arrange a meeting, and had actually gotten a reply back. So he hoped that was a good sign. All that was left to send an text to Jim, since the Starfleet captain had offered to come with Hunter during this meeting.

Hey handsome. Time to meet my father. Feel ready?

Hunter has received a few phone calls after completing his memorial to Kendra, and getting the opportunity to display the artwork in his dimension. His goal of finding the other people who might have had Kendra affect their lives had been successful. And now he is ready to go speak to them personally.

But first, he didn't want to go alone. And at the same time, he didn't want those he was meeting to know that he didn't trust them. So he called Faris to join him in the adventure. Hopefully he would be able to put more of Kendra's memory to peace by doing this.

The time has come for Hunter to finally get his completed sculpture shipped out of his house. He had been putting it off for nearly a month now. The sculpture was finished just before Christmas, which had given him some time to sent some hand-made Christmas gifts out to his friends.

He had a pretty relaxing Christmas in general, just tiding up around the house because marble dust had seemed to get everywhere. Plus using a marble wax to put a protective shine over the completed art work. Hunter was pretty happy with how the statue had turned out -- each of the three different animal heads looked like they were about to attack. The body itself was in a protective pose, leaving it up to those who viewed it if the Chimera statue was protecting something, or was just on the attack without reason.

Hunter didn't know why it had taken him so long to make arrangements for the statue to be moved out of his apartment and into a gallery, to be shown to the public. After all, the statue itself was quite bulky, and took up a lot of space in his little studio apartment. But there was a piece of his heart attached to the statue, and so perhaps the extra time was needed for Hunter to make peace about what inspired the statue, and where he was now in his life.

A knock on the door signaled the commissioned movers, who would be taking the statue out of his apartment and to the gallery. The one good thing about PINpoints was that Hunter could get the statue moved out of a portal, instead of having to worry about removing any doors to get the large statue out of his apartment.

He watched carefully as they covered the statue, and made the final preparations to move it through the portal into the awaiting gallery. He took a deep breath as they left with it.

The apartment seemed emptier without it... but at the same time, there was still lots of inspiration around him for future art projects. Hunter felt fortunate that he had found the Nexus, the friends he had made since arriving there, and how far he had come as an artist, and a person in general. It was a good feeling. And he felt confident that this would be a good year.