I can't crawl far enough away from this. War is raging blindly. Those who are restraining him are struggling to do so. Someone shouts for further physical restraints. I see someone run out of the gallery, and return with a mess of something in their hands. Rope. I can see that it is rope as War is tied up. His feet are bound with a measure of rope left slack between them so he can still walk. His hands are tied behind his back, and rope is wrapped tightly around his torso to keep his arms from moving even a little. Elias says a few things, but I don't really hear what he's saying. A few voices answer him. I see that they are tying the hands of a few others. War is led out of the gallery, along with those who just had their hands tied. I watch him, my chest tight and and my heart racing as quickly as my mind, until he is gone from my sight. I scan the room again. Nearly everyone is still crowded around Elias, so I can't really see him.

At War's removal, the noise resumed. So many voices are speaking at once that I can't make out a single one. I hear jubilation in the mess of words and phrases. It contrasts starkly with my panicked state. War…

War is done for. He is powerless. He no longer holds sway over this world. He has been bested. He has been humiliated. Even his murder of Elias was undone.

What do I do now? Elias spoke of freedom for the people...does that mean I would be free as well? I expected to be imprisoned along with War, but here I am, melting into a wall, with not a single person paying me any mind. Was I - am I - really so little of a threat?

There is a lot of touching going on among the others. Many are embracing. One by one, the crowd begins to disperse, until only Felix, Kaija, and Elias are left. Kaija looks at me, and then at Elias. She sighs, then Wraps her arms around him. After a long moment, she lets go, and exits the art gallery. Felix appears more hesitant than Kaija to leave Elias. Elias nods toward Kaija's retreating form, but Felix shakes his head vigorously.

"I'm not leaving you here alone. You were dead not 20 minutes ago. And this piece of filth," Felix glares angrily in my direction, "helped see to that. Nope. I'll stay right where I am."

"Felix," Elias says gently, "I assure you, I am fine. I feel more alive than I have in all the years since the Cataclysm. I also assure you I can handle being left alone with Cachexys. He is...having a difficult time, it seems. I think he needs some direction."

My head starts shaking back and forth, though I don't remember telling myself to do that. I hear a noise. It is low and pitiful, and it seems to be incredibly close. Where is it coming fro- oh. Ew. That noise is coming from me. Since thinking doesn't seem to be doing me any good, I refocus my efforts and attempt to stop the noise. After a few moments, I am successful.

Felix spends many moments looking from Elias to me, then back again. Eventually, his eyes meet Elias's. He nods curtly, then turns and walks out of the room.

Fuck. Now it's just Elias and I. I try to crawl further into the wall, but it isn't physically possible. That feeling in my chest I had earlier when I looked at War returns, and I once again feel bile rising to my throat. I frantically search the room for something, anything, to focus on except for Elias. As it has done all evening, my body betrays me, and my eyes keep stealing glances at his approaching frame.

What does Elias mean, I need direction? I am not a puppet, nor a child. I can direct myself. Can't I? I don't need him. I don't need his new world. I don't want it, either.

None of this would have happened if Kaija hadn't interfered. Elias didn't actually challenge War for so long, and then she came along and ruined everything. She is the cause of all of this. All over a book, it seems, and some intimate moments with Elias. How pathetic.

Elias is in front of me now. He has a gentle look in his eyes, and he is staring down at me with what I assume to be pity. I hate it. I attempt once more to move further backward, but this stupid wall is in the way. Elias stoops down, placing one knee on the ground and resting his forearm on his other one.

"Cachexys," he says calmly. "Are you all right?"

I...am I what? Elias is asking me if I am...all right? I just tried to kill his stupid lackey, Felix, and I have always made my allegiance to War known. Why the fuck does he care if I am all right? Why is he even talking to me? Why wasn't I tied up immediately and led away with the others? Why am I not with War?

I stare at him blankly, unable to form a response.

For a little while, Elias simply returns my stare, although instead of emptiness in his eyes, I see...honestly I don't know what I see. Perhaps it's one of those words Elias uses so often. Kindness? Compassion? I don't know. I'm not entirely sure I care, either.

"Cachexys," Elias begins. His voice is still calm, but there is a serious tone to it. "Things will change. I will no longer stand idly by while so many are oppressed and hungry. Anyone who wishes to cling to the old ways, who will attempt to continue to subjugate or harm those without power, will not be allowed to remain free. While I would like more than anything to create peace among we who have power, and for we who have power to band together and help those who do not, I know I cannot force anyone to do so. We all have a choice to make, Cachexys. You have a choice to make. War cannot control you any longer. He cannot hurt you, and he cannot cause you pain. You can become part of something great, Cachexys. All you need to do is make a choice, but I need to know, right now, what your choice will be."

Elias leans his head to one side, his gaze remaining gentle, but purposeful. What am I supposed to say? Will I die if I make the wrong choice? How is he so sure War will not regain power? How does he know War has been bested for good? What if War is simply playing with Elias, trying to pull him into a false sense of security, before he makes his next move? Do I dare ally myself with Elias when I have no idea what War is thinking? After all, War kept his knowledge of this meeting from me. He could have known more. He could have plotted further. The thought of pledging my loyalty to Elias makes that icky feeling slam into my chest again. I start to panic once more. Even though Elias says I have to make a choice, I feel as though I don't really have one.

"Cachexys, are you with us? Will you choose what is right? I need your answer."

I nod. Barely, but I do, and Elias acknowledges it with a nod of his own. In one fluid motion, he rises. Elias reaches toward me, his hand outstretched. I stare at it. He grasps my forearm firmly, and pulls me to my feet. Standing feels odd after so much time on the ground.

"I want you to know, Cachexys, that I understand what you've been through. I understand why you made the choices you did. War did not make it easy to be his enemy, but neither did he make it easy to be his ally. While I do not agree with your choices, I can empathize with your reasons behind making them. And I want you to know that I forgive you."

White hot rage hits me, spreading from my gut and consuming my being. I begin swinging wildly at Elias, trying desperately to land a blow. Elias attempts to pull me to him, to embrace me as he embraced so many others this evening, but I shove away from him violently, and run blindly toward the exit. As I pass over the threshold, I feel a set of hands on me. I am pulled sideways, and my hands are twisted painfully behind my back.

"Where do you think you're going, you little shit?"

Felix. I hate Felix.