EPILOGUE

::Jake::

The morning sun had the tips of trees tinted orange as I clambered out of my cabin. I took in the sight before me, along with a deep breath. I hadn't really slept ever since I found myself seated on my bed last night.

It could have been a bad dream. But when everyone else had climbed out of their cabins to look at one another, I couldn't have imagined it. Ax had identified the being as belonging to the same race as the Ellimist, but that he was weaker and less able to manipulate, so he could only be a gamemaster to those seeking to fulfill wishes. That was all he said, although I felt like there was more.

Now was not the time to pursue this though.

I took the pile of logs outside my cabin to the middle of the camp area. I took a box of matches out to light the fire, but the box was gently pried out of my fingers. I turned around to see Cassie strike a match and throw it onto the wood. The flames curled upwards, crackling lightly. But I still felt cold.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

I looked at Cassie. Kind, gentle Cassie. But I could also remember what she was like when she was none of those things. Alternate-Jake had lived with that version of Cassie his whole life and still fell in love with her. Would I, knowing this version of her, have made the same choice?

It was all about choices, wasn't it? I made the choice to cut through the abandoned site. I made the choice to think of an alternate reality, giving David and that weird Ellimist-like being to exploit my moment of weakness.

"I guess," I said. "If okay implies coming to terms with my weakness."

"You're not weak, Jake," said Cassie, gently. "You – and every one of the others – are the bravest people I know."

I kicked at the ground.

"Look at everyone else, Jake."

And so I did. The rest were slowly filing out of their cabins as sunrays lit up the grounds. Rachel was clambering onto a bench with Jordan, both of them watching Sara run out to play alongside the little Hork-Bajirs. Marco was by the side of his cabin with his parents, gathering sticks and stones, and laughing. Tobias was making his way to the river with a few empty bottles in hand; Loren was beside him. The two of them walked on, not saying a word. Further down the river, Ax was facing the sunlight with his hands held out reverently and tailblade curved forward.

"They're here, safe and ready to fight alongside you." Cassie's soft voice drifted back.

I looked at her. "How did – how did you manage to get everything to work out?"

Cassie fiddled with her fingers. "I don't know. The gamemaster was strong enough to manipulate time, however weak Ax thinks he is, and he brought me back to the very beginning of David's game plan. The threads of time were undone when David hesitated, and so he ceases to exist anymore. I guess there was always still a little bit of human in David."

"You seem bothered by something though."

Cassie laughed hoarsely. "Maybe a few things."

I waited for a while, before she continued, "The gamemaster called me an 'anomaly'. He said time doesn't bother me. I don't know what that means, but it's got a very strong, unsettling feeling of déja vu."

Then she looked over at Rachel. "And I'm worried about her. She's going to pretend that it never happened, she's going to avoid the black hole that's eating her up."

I didn't have to ask further to know Cassie meant David. I never knew what went down between David and Rachel, but it seemed to have been scarring enough. The mental image of Rachel screaming at Tobias to let David go had been not only shocking, but terrifying in some ways.

Maybe I'd never know. My cousin already had a lot of dark spaces in her heart that I didn't want to open myself up to. I had already fallen into a black hole myself and nearly got everyone else killed. Everyone else whom I loved and had the ability to save.

Cassie put a hand on mine, but I didn't take it. I felt like I could see all sides to each and every one of them, all sides of good and bad that made my head hurt just thinking about it. Her hand, instead of radiating warmth and comfort like it used to, only seemed cold and distant now.

"It will end soon, Jake," whispered Cassie, as she withdrew her hand.

But she didn't say that it would go back to normal, because we all knew it never would. I watched as Tobias and Loren continued to sit by the river, silent and apart. Marco's crinkly laugh as he stacked the logs in the middle of the campsite, tinged with bitterness. Rachel, holding Jordan's shoulder a little too tightly. And Cassie and I, just like that.

I looked up to the sky and closed my eyes, letting the warmth of the sun envelop me.

FINE.

A/N:Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all who have supported this fic so far with your reviews and favourites! It's not been the perfect story because I've been bogged down by a lot of RL commitments and writer's block, but I hope the main essence of this story still appeals - in that it's really a study of all the characters that we've grown to love. Hope you guys have a great time, ciao! (: