Chapter Four: Forgive Me

Zhalia

When I saw Lok fly into the air, I panicked.

Immediately, I turned to see whether or not someone was in the open door behind me and blasted him back. But to my horror, there was no one in the hallway and I was reminded that we were at the end of a dead hallway.

I froze with fear as I looked down at my hands. There had been no one else here... which meant that I-

Oh, what have you done, Zhalia?

It was me. I had blasted Lok. I had just hurt him. It was me.

The thing is, I don't even remember saying anything. I never called on what looked like a Forceblast. All I could think of now was... I wasn't going to hurt him again.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered as I looked over to him struggling to push himself off the ground. He didn't hear me, and I was hoping the cameras didn't pick up on my voice either.

I waited until he was on his feet, and I was about to apologize out of instinct, but I was afraid I may do something to hurt him. Maybe- I had something on me... some sort of relic that was activated by emotion.

I panicked and left the room as soon as I could, sealing the room behind me. I needed a place to calm down, to clear my head and think.

My room.

I turned corners and hallways, all of it becoming a blur as I moved faster and faster. At some point, I started running through the hallways, thankful that they were empty and I wouldn't have to explain any observed strange behavior. I finally reached the elevator and after pressing the button labeled "Ground" kept slamming on the one that "Door Close". Yet, as the door crawled into a close, I still couldn't breathe properly or catch my breath and it wasn't due to the run. I was starting to feel very lightheaded and faint.

Breathe. Just breathe.

And for the first time in a long time, I utilized calm breathing techniques.

Cold-hearted. Do we mean nothing to you? Lok's words rang in my head and kept haunting me even as I felt the elevator begin its ascending climb. You meant a lot to him. He loved you, Zhalia! Dante loved you! And I bet you stared him in the eyes when you killed him.

I couldn't help it. I needed to straighten my mind out. Now.

I looked at the camera in the elevator and whispered, "Darkfog."

A thick, black fog covered the camera lens leaving security blind to my actions. Unlike other cameras installed in the facility, this was just visual. I turned around and pressed a red button at the bottom corner of the elevator stopping it completely, halfway through its journey to the dormitories.

I knew what set me off back in that room. Those words, my knowledge of what really happened, my frustration at this current situation and everything else happening around me. That had caused it all, the guilt, anger, and self-loathing... all of it came to the surface and I had let it out through... unwittingly channeling a spell.

I sighed as I slumped to the ground and leaned my head back against the wall.

I know that I didn't kill Dante. There was no killing strike or twist of the neck. No stab through the heart and holding him as he died. Hell, some stories of his death have been romanticized by some people, at least those were the latest stories I've heard. But it doesn't matter. All of them- Lies.

I. Didn't. Kill him.

But I let everyone believe I did.

At first, I believed just as much as the kids, that he had made it out of that castle alive. And I was readying myself to disappear, because once he came back, there was no going back to either the Foundation or the Organization. I would be branded a traitor and answer to their courts and Council, and if I didn't go there, then instead, there would only be death to face in the Organization. Thus, I was ready to disappear- maybe even fake my death. After all, I could disappear easily.

But then, Dante was listed as MIA by the Foundation and Sophie and Lok were still held by the Organization for much longer than I thought appropriate to leave high valued Foundation assets. Like everyone else, we expected a rescue within a fortnight. Yet, days passed. There was no hope he was alive anymore as time went on.

The more I thought about it each day, the more I realize that I had left him for dead. I left him alone. I might as well have killed him by my hand... but instead, I left him to die without an ally, without a Titan... without a chance. I had left him to die so very slowly in the middle of nowhere. Who knows how long it took for the team to get to him. Who knows whether or not someone could survive- whether or not he lived through that, a Poisonfang seeping through him and killing him slowly...

There didn't need to be a body to prove to everyone that it had happened. His death was the only thing that made any sense... the only logical conclusion to why everything else was happening. Dante was dead because he wouldn't have left Sophie and Lok to rot in the grip of the Organization and he wouldn't have allowed for the Foundation to fall so far that it was now hanging by a weak thread.

I killed him. He loved me... and I killed him.

I screamed as hard as I could as I slammed my fists on the metallic walls of the elevator. My voice echoed around me, rippling in my ears. And for a moment, I couldn't think of anything else.

Loved me? My thoughts whirled as I recalled our missions and our time together. It didn't take long for the self-doubting voice in my head to question whether or not he did. Whether or not it was real.

"Zhalia, there's been… something I've been meaning to tell you." he had said to me on the train when we were on the way to Dracul's castle.

I took a breath as rested my head on my knees. Something was tearing up within me- an emotion Klaus and Rassimov had warned me about… Regret.

And it was getting worse when I thought of what happened to Lok- I had unleashed some sort of power...

Power.

Suddenly, I remembered to whom my loyalties were tied. Klaus was the man who raised me, a father of some sorts, and Rassimov was the most powerful Seeker after the Professor, who would soon pass into the next world. I owed no one else but them for where I was and who I was. I was a strong, dark Seeker with a successful three months of undercover assignment under my belt. I intimidated people that were once my peers, and now I had more power than almost anyone in the Organization. I had a life because of them. And if I ever betrayed them, I'd be nothing but a lie if I tried to be something else… even if I had dreamed of being a noble Foundation Seeker.

My path was set- even if I didn't like the look of it further down the road.

The only act of treason that was pulling me away from it was helping Lok and Sophie. Though Sophie could very well navigate her way out of here, it was Lok who I knew could barrel through almost anything. He would be the one to muscle their escape out and Sophie could get them away and to safety. I just needed a reason to not be in the complex and to leave it vulnerable and so weak to allow for the two to escape and at the same time make sure that the blame would never come back to me. With them gone, I didn't need to worry about treason anymore.

And if they need your help. If they fail to escape that first time. Are you willing to die to let them escape?

The thought rang through my head and I closed my eyes. I ran through each and every scenario. It was a possibility, that no matter what I did they would never manage to get out on their own. If they didn't escape, I would need to help them and at that point, I would never be able to come back from it. I would never be safe for as long as I lived.

I recalled that summer. Of all of us as a team. We had gotten so close to each other. I learned things about them, about myself that I never thought possible-

Yes.

I answered my own doubting question. Yes, I would die for them.

I had already made a mistake that's scarred every single part of me. My mind. My soul.

My heart.

I would not make another. I would die to make sure that Lok and Sophie got away.

Though the dying part- that was not going to be part of Plan A. That would only be if I were to get caught... but if I were able to lay blame on others, credible blame, then I would be able to get out of it.

I was going to think this through. I would need every little secret and every little detail of everyone around me in order to come up with something that both got the kids out of here and kept me from getting caught. I would need every took in my arsenal- spells, abilities...

The event from only a little while ago came to my mind. Abilities...?

What did happen earlier?

I was guessing either I had some secret relic on me... or some sort of hidden ability.

I looked down to my hands. There were no odd marks, no blemishes or anything on any open skin. I was wearing no new jewelry, the only thing I wore were the talismans of Kilthane and Caliban. Though I knew that it was indeed me who had cast the spell, I had done so without even speaking. That was something unusual and strange.

Well, whatever this was, I wasn't going to solve anything by sitting here.

I straightened and opened the control panel to the elevator. When I was a teenager, I was bored and learned how to reprogram the elevator, the lab monitors, and a helluva lot around this place. The control panel was kind of like a mini computer. I programmed a "Cancel" into it's order log and closed off the panel in order to reset it for the next order. I pressed a new level, sending the elevator in the opposite direction away my room. I called off the dark fog spell from the camera and cleared my head of my conflicting thoughts. If I was going to do this, I needed to make sure I knew everything about silent spellcasting meaning Klaus' library.

It would most likely make their escape- and mine if need be- much easier. If I knew everything about this skill.

As soon as the doors opened, I headed away from the crowds and towards the wing I knew all the books were shelved. Once there, I looked around to see if anyone else was here, but a quick scan with both eyes and sense-magic revealed nothing and no one in the library.

Typical.

I was usually one of this places' constant visitors. So, I knew this place inside out. I made a beeline for a section that, in my opinion, should be studied more often since we fight against Foundation Seekers. The section was dedicated to notes and texts of Casterwills, Foundation spells and encounters, and other events. It took up a whole set of three shelves back and front, but I had gone through these books enough to know a general section I should be looking in.

"Unusual Encounters" read one of the spines. There, that was it! I knew it documented all Organization Seekers stories against those of the Foundation in the past couple of decades. It was a long shot, but I could probably find something. I took the black leather tome from the middle of a collection and lay the spine down on the table. It had been bookmarked to a certain place that I realized I had set myself a couple of years ago, yet the bookmark itself had been left untouched. No one's been here.

It's a shame really. These accounts are pretty educational.

I sped-read through the page. It was all about the Casterwill and the powers they displayed along with their close affiliates.

The power of the Casterwills is that of a guardian. A descendant of Casterwill is sworn to protect his honorable name and the innocents in the world from the evil that threatens them. However, they never fight alone. There is always a member of a magical family chosen to help aid each generation of the Casterwills. Each generation a family member is chosen to protect a Casterwill. It is destiny that binds the two of them- never coincidence. They who are chosen are gifted with a power ancient as the first Seekers.

That was not the right bookmark. It was slightly interesting, but somehow I couldn't place why I was suddenly so interested and why I should be. I would have gone through it, but I flipped more pages until I stopped at another one of my bookmarks that was there to bring note to a page... one entitled: Thoughtspeaker.

Seekers of incredible power brought about by series of experimentation in the first generation of Seekers. Thoughtspeakers need only to think of a spell to summon it into the field and use it in battle. However, to do so requires an extreme amount of power and understanding of the spell cast along with proper mental channeling. They also, if properly trained to harness their full ability, can contact a Titan through their mental bond.

Thoughtspeaking? It sounded like me or what I had done. The text went on to mention that only the descendants of certain households of the first generation had the ability to Thoughtspeak. The ability itself wasn't a natural one and instead was man-made which meant that it wasn't inherent. It could only be inherited- only descendants could have this skill.

Hmm... Well, I am an orphan. So, there's really no telling whether or not- I mean...

So, it's possible you could be a Thoughtspeaker, my mind deduced.

I smiled at the thought. It meant that I was part of a Seeker family. The thought was comforting, but I pushed it aside for now in order to look for more books about Thoughtspeakers. I pulled out volume after volume and it was a pretty quick read to look through other possibilities. I was bored by the time I shut the last tome and put it back on a shelf.

What a waste of time. I thought as I walked out of the library and towards the stairwell that I knew was closest to the agent dormitories. I was four floors and eight flights down, but I wanted to blow off a little energy and probably take a nap since there was nothing for me to do really.

Suddenly, my phone beeped, a series of three rings. That meant either Klaus or Rassimov. I immediately checked it and saw it was Klaus.

'Meet me in the lab'. His text read.

Hmm, it was on the same level as the observatory wings and the security level. In the back of my mind, I wondered whether or not he had seen what happened in Lok's room and wanted to ask about it.

As I made my way to the lab, taking the elevator to the level and walking calmly through the halls, I came up with a number of lies I could tell, such as whispering a spell under my breath as I was angry. I couldn't let him know about my ability.

When I reached his lab quarters, I immediately noticed that the screens were filled with data files and he was downloading them onto an external hard drive. I noticed that the files were on Lok.

"Ah, just in time." I turned to see Klaus step out of his room with a travel bag filled with clothes.

Three days. I had three days of solid planning to make sure Sophie and Lok got out of here and I had an iron solid alibi.

"I heard the Lambert boy engaged you in a fight." he said as he walked over to the computer and checked on the data downloading. He always double checked everything, making sure that he took into account every small thing so that his presentation was thorough. "Are you all right?"

I smiled. "It's nothing I can't handle. The boy may be strong, but with all of the gauntlet runs he's been through he's not at his full potential."

He nodded as he walked up to me and took my hand noticing the slight redness from where I had slammed them onto the elevator. I just kept smiling and insisted it was nothing that wouldn't disappear in the next couple of hours.

"The boy is a strong specimen, yes." he agreed as he walked over to a second computer and typed in something, "I would have preferred a different test subject, but alas, that would have merely caused more trouble than it was worth."

I knew he was talking about Dante. Not an experiment goes by where he doesn't wonder how far he could have pushed Dante and how much data he would be able to gather from the same tests. But then he would always remember what happened and then he would smile and say that everything that happened was worth it.

"Now, look," he said as he pulled up something that looked to be a schematic for a new device, "This is the power harvester that I'm going to use in combination with an old Blood Spiral relic that Rassimov will generously donate upon the device's approval. With this, I'll be able to condense all of Miss Casterwill's power into a single crystal."

He heled up what looked like a simple quarts shard, large enough as well as a nice width to be a nice weapon.

"Think of it." he said as he held it before me, "With this, when it pulses, it means that you can draw from the energy it holds. And it's renewable as long as it still glows with slight life."

"Like a self-recharging battery." I stated.

He smiled and nodded, pointing to me, "Exactly, right, my dear!"

It was quite endearing that he still enjoyed discovering new ideas, but what always disquieted me was at what cost was he doing such.

"So, what will happen to the actual person?" I asked as I took the quarts from his hand.

It was rather light and I could imagine belts being made with modified holsters for something like this.

He seemed distracted, "What?"

"The person. What happens to them?"

"Why, their physical form deactivates." He said it so nonchalantly, as if I were supposed to understand that off the start.

"Hmm." I just muttered.

"Imagine this." he said as he started the download for his schematics. "All the Casterwills, all of those remaining. No one left to defy us. The most powerful bloodline, all turned into renewable energy resources."

People being turned into batteries- hmm, I've seen this movie before.

"Casterwills? Plural?" I asked. "Sophie believed she was the last."

He laughed at that, "Last of her branch of the family, but no. Not the last of the Casterwills. There are still many out there."

Huh. That was a new thing to learn. But right now it wasn't going to do much.

Even if there were many Casterwills, Klaus's machine was meant to take a majority of them out. And that thought disturbed me, especially since I knew his ground zero. Seeing that fiery green eyed, accented kid being turned into the light for a quarts crystal. While she herself would never walk again, being only ever used to replenish someone's energy.

I swallowed back the sick feeling that twisted my stomach and made me slightly dizzy with nausea. Klaus didn't noticed as he busied himself packing folders and stuff into an open briefcase.

"Look, you know you are in charge of the facility until I return. If you are called away on a mission, leave it on lockdown or perhaps call Shauna."

I snorted and saw him even smile. "As much as there is enmity between you two, she is the only other one that I trust to keep this facility safe."

If he had been paying attention or knew me as much as he claimed, he would have seen the gears working in my head and that smile that I wore was more a devious smirk as I thought of how to blame her for what I had planned next. Getting her to seem incompetent... now that would be perfect.

"If I get this machine approved," he said before he scoffed, "Well- it would be ridiculously stupid of the Professor to not approve of it. Seeing as how the Casterwills are such a problem.

"I mean, I even believe they're behind the mass exodus of the remaining Foundation members here. They're the only ones with the means of getting around so fast and the only ones who have the magic required to erase and rewrite memories at such a large scale."

Hmm... I never thought of that. But clearly someone has. And it made sense.

"Zhalia," he called to me, breaking me out of my thoughtline. I answered him by a turn of my head, "Make sure the Casterwill girl is rested and at her full potential. I will need to test her abilities at full."

I nodded, "Of course, sir."

"Good," he said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, "You look like you need some rest."

I gave a weak smile in agreement.

"I will see you in three days." he said as I left.

As I walked through halls and reached the elevator and my floor, I could think of nothing but hitting my bed and taking a nap. I reached the housing level, without another distraction, since I bumped into no other person and I walked a path I knew in my sleep. My room was the only one decorated and by decorated I meant had a small sigil I had burned into the doorjamb when I was sixteen. It was a symbol of the moon.

Every other room was just temporary housing almost. People only stayed if a mission required it of them to stay for a certain time that staying in a safe house would crowd the area. This place was almost like a hotel. Hell, even the doors opened via key card.

As I was about to enter my room, I noticed that the entire place seemed a little quiet. On my way to the library, I had passed people, but on the way back, even on the stairs, I hadn't heard an echo of any sound. Also, there were no noises coming from the other rooms. Or people coming in and out... around this time, I would see people, especially since it was early in the afternoon.

I shrugged it off without a thought and walked further into the room. I was closing the door as I flipped the switch...

But the light didn't turn on.

"Oh, c'mon." I started as I stopped the door to let some light in, but something pushed against it with a strong force and I reacted by jumping away before it caught my hand, whispering a Boltflare to life and casting it in the air.

"Who-?" I started as I summoned a Venomhand to me.

The light from the magical flare filled the room and illuminated it brighter than the cheap fluorescents that were installed into the ceiling could ever do. I only needed a glimpse of the tan trench coat hung on the back of my chair and the sight russet hair and a familiar rugged face to make my heart skip a beat. I gasped in shock, finding myself backing away in a panic until I hit the wall of my room, feeling cool metal under my skin. My concentration broke and the Boltflare died and I could feel a slight fear run through me. I was thinking it was some sort of ghost... some sort of haunting spell or something- a trick-

"Boltflare." he whispered, his voice just as I remembered it. It was funny how I felt something flutter in my stomach at the sound of the familiar deep voice.

I watched warily as the light spell danced it's way over to me. And when it hung close by, it was only then that I turned my attention back to him.

I saw him leaning against my desk, an open book in his hand. It took only a moment for me to recognize it as one of my journals. I wanted to scold him for a moment, but I bit my tongue, not wanting to be the first to start things off. I'll play things by ear first, I don't know whether or not this was real.

"Hello, Zhalia." he simply greeted, as he placed the book back down on my desk and turned his attention to me.

"You're not real." I bit out harshly though the fear was full blown, now.

Ghost or not, trick or reality, I was still frozen and hesitant to make another move. A part of me guessed that he wouldn't hurt me but my Organization training was screaming at me to attack him. The thing was- at this moment, I could only stare, watch his every movement, and when I felt enough courage, I looked him in the eyes.

"If you didn't want me to come back you should have killed me." he told me as he approached ever so slowly, as if approaching a deadly viper.

I wished that I could sink into the metal or fade away, anything to get away from that bright amber gaze and to keep a wide space between us, to give me a lot of space to work with.

Being trapped in my own room with him was not ideal to fight him, I could probably beat him hand-to-hand because I knew every inch of my room, but add magic to that and I actually don't know the outcome of the fight. I started to shed the fear as I was trained to and concentrated on getting my muscles ready for battle.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" I asked, partly afraid of the answer he would give me and readying myself. "Kill me?"

He scoffed at that as he continued to walk slowly towards me this time with confidence.

Trap. The thought crossed my mind along with a handful of spells I knew that could change ones appearance.

"Stop." I whispered as I held up my hand that glowed green and purple. "Don't come any closer."

"You won't hurt me, Zhalia." he said, so calm and so sure as he took a couple more steps closer and then reached out to take hold of my wrist. It was then I reacted. I called off the spell and grabbed his wrist with my left hand, twisting underneath his grasp and bringing his left arm to a twist behind his back. With my other arm, I wrapped around his neck and kept him in a headlock, using my weight and size to try to stay on the ground and him at an odd angle.

"You better call off the spell you're using. Or I will kill you." I whispered in the man's ear. There was no telling whether or not this was Dante or someone in a mirage spell sent to test me.

He smiled, still calm and not fighting me. "You really can't see the mark you left me?"

For a second, I didn't know what he meant, but then, I looked at his cheek. I could see the four parallel marks across his skin... from when I hit him.

No one could know to put that image in a mirage spell. The only people who had known were Klaus and me.

"Oh my God." I whispered, shocked.

It was Dante.

He's alive.

My grip had slackened...

"Yes," he said as he twisted out of my grip and turned so fast, grabbing a hold of my arms and pinning me against the nearest wall. "It really is me."

I was winded when I hit the wall and all I could do now was look up at him. I had let my guard down and I paid for it.

"How-?" I started.

"Does it matter?"

Fine, be rude.

I kicked him back, my foot finding its mark and connecting with his shin. It was enough to get his grip to slacken and with that I blasted him back.

"Touchram!"

He was knocked back slightly, but he was back in action and the Boltflare repositioned itself... right in front of me. Blinding me.

"Cheater." I muttered before I called out, "Darkfog."

And rolled over to the side to avoid whatever attack came next.

"Nice." I heard him say, but his voice was too close for comfort.

I felt a hand grab at my arm. "But not good enough."

I smirked. "You're really cocky."

I used a Hyperstride to flip backwards and try to pin him to the ground.

"Especially when you're in an unfamiliar environment." I told him.

"I've had several minutes to study your room." he answered as he used a strength spell to push himself up and enough for me to lose balance and stumble backwards. "I can say that I know you a little better."

I called off the Darkfog and decided to use his trick against him.

"Boltflare." I whispered and shot it at him.

"Who's cheating now?" I heard him laugh, but I caught sight of him and he was standing close to something.

I smirked. This was going to way too easy, and so much fun.

"Hyperstride!" I cried out, running at him at full speed before my knee connected with his gut. I easily winded him and knocked him off balance sending him backwards and onto my bed.

I easily pinned him down and was about to speak, when his hand broke free of mine and he grabbed me around the waist. I tried to break free and out of his grasp knowing that a struggle against him with an advantage was one I wasn't going to win. But instead of doing what I thought he would- once he flipped our positions, he got off the bed and back away, his hands up.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Zhalia." he said assuringly and with a kind, if not amused looking, smile. "I just want you to listen."

I got up off my bed and stood a few feet away from him, tense and ready to engage in another fight if need be. "What do you want?!"

I didn't mean to snap. In fact, I wanted to sound far from angry. But I tended to sound annoyed after fights.

He looked somber and slightly... sad- not as murderous or vengeful as I had expected him to be. "I want-" he paused as he approached me, but I took a step back and held my hand up.

"To keep my promise to you." he whispered softly.

He walked up to me so that he only stood a couple of feet away from me, enough so that I could run my eyes up and down, trying to notice any changes I could see. His hair was still the same, but facial hair wise he looked like he had more of a 5-O'clock shadow with more stubble on his jaw. Beyond the four scratches I saw on his cheek, I noticed there was one scar across his right eyebrow, which looked to be rather fresh.

"What does that mean?" I asked, as I stepped forward and brought my hand up to his cheek.

I noticed that he didn't flinch and he let me run my fingers against his scars. I felt the ridges where my spell-enhanced hand caught him and made a mark. They were so clean and smooth though and not as ragged as I thought it would be. The scar suited him and didn't mar any of those handsome features of his. Hell, I would say this new rugged look along with scars suited him a lot better than anything.

He then moved even closer to me, as if testing how far I would let him come. I felt hot all of a sudden and could feel something of a rush course through me. I had to admit, being this close to Dante... let alone my enemy... was enthralling and very exhilarating. I played along and met him halfway, pressing my body close against his, looking up and meeting his eyes. I was testing him, too.

"It means," he finally answered me and I could hear a slight growl in his voice, "that I keep my promises."

He whispered something unintelligible before he surprised me and caught my lips in a kiss. For a moment, I didn't react, but a heartbeat later, I melted into him and kissed him back. Soon, I was running my fingers through his hair and he broke the kiss to place his lips elsewhere, turning his attention to my neck where he placed a gentle kiss. I was about to make a comment to tell him not to stop, when all of a sudden, I could feel my knees begin to shake.

"What-" I started as I looked at him.

Did he just drug me? Was that a sleeping spell?!

I groaned when I tried to say a word as my knees gave way and I fell into his arms. He sat me gently down on the bed as he returned to the chair by the door and grabbed his coat, slipping it on before returning to me.

"I'm sorry for this," he said as he slipped one arm under my legs and repositioned his hand on my back and lifted me up off the bed. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Dante." I said weakly, at the moment hating him because I knew that it was him. Whatever it was that he had said was some sort of draining spell or some sort of slow acting sleep spell.

"This is the only way, I can get you out of here safely." he said as he opened the door and gently carried me out, making sure I wouldn't hit anything. "Try to sleep, I'll explain everything when you wake up."

I grumbled something along the lines of, "I'm gonna kill you."

I could feel my consciousness slipping from me and there was only one thought running through my head at the moment: Don't pull your neck. I tucked my head closer to his chest and heard him laugh in response to me.

"I expect nothing less." he whispered as I felt his pace quicken. "Just get some sleep, Zhalia. I hope when you wake up, you'll be able to forgive me."

Forgive me.

He was hoping that I would forgive him?!

I- I tried to kill him a month ago! And he was asking for my forgiveness at this- what I'm thinking is some sort of abduction?

How is he asking that of me? Why was he so calm and far from the vengeful Seeker I had expected to counter if ever I came across him again?

A thought came to mind as I attempted to answer my own groggy thoughts. But it must be the spell answering because it didn't make any sense.

It was however, the last clear thought I had before I lost consciousness.

Did he- Does he... forgive me?!