"Why do you never run?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"...You never run. You always walk everywhere."

Will looks down at his desk, where he just finished writing the first draft of the lyrics for a song. He isn't sure what he's gonna title this one yet, but 'Saline Solution' is starting to sound like a good idea. His partner in crime is sitting nearby, resting on the edge of the table and thinking deeply about something. He was snapped out of his thoughts, however, by his companion's comment.

"Ah. So you've noticed. Well, there's a simple reason, Will."

The man turns back, a grin growing on his face. He always grins like this. Always smiles, always laughs. It's unnatural to see him in another state. With that convincing voice of his and that constant charisma, he could convince anyone to pretty much anything. It's one of the reasons they're living so comfortably, after all.

"...It's because if I'm in a situation where I'm forced to run, I know I've already made too many mistakes in life to bother running at all."

The man pauses, thinks, and carries on;

"I always put myself in situations where I'm in control and can't be harmed at all - That's how I stay sane."

"...That's stupid."

Will stifles a laugh.

"What about like, a marathon? What if someone organised a race for some money or something? Would you just walk then, too?"

The man waits for a moment and himself laughs, shrugging.

"Guess I'll just not take part then."

He glances aside.

"But that's mainly the reason, I suppose. I'm not gonna have people bossing me around, and forcing me to run counts. It all boils down to that."

Will grins to himself, turns away from his page and puts his focus on his friend.

"And what if I were to give you a challenge right now?"

"Huh? What the hell does that mean?"

"You hate losing, don't you? I challenge you to a game of tag."

"You wouldn't... you evil, evil bastard."

"Oh, I would... you better start running!"

"Ah! No, get away you-! Will!"

And with a laugh, Will-

-walked forward, his head held high and trying his best to not cave under the pain his whole body was feeling. He shook his head to keep his focus away from the dream - It was in states like these they became the strongest. Waking up after all that had happened was worse than he imagined, with his wounds from the day previous coming back with more power than before. His bandages were getting loose, he could feel his headache intensifying and leaving him dizzy. Still, he walked forward. Because if he ran now, he would officially declare this war over and leave himself as the one losing it all. He couldn't allow that - As the president of this nation, he would stand as long as his legs allowed him to, and stay on the battlefield until he had no blood left to shed. When the group finally entered Lasenberg, the scene they found before them was stranger than anything they could have expected to witness.

In the centre of Lasenberg, Errett was presently crowned king.

The walls were still there, as was the caravan and the foundations for all the other new buildings. Everything seemed somewhat normal - Clearly, Dissonance's group didn't have the time to fully take the land back yet. They had, however, taken down the flag, and it was now laying on the ground, covered in dirt and stained by rainwater. Will could hear Tom gasp when he saw the state of the thing, but still, they carried on. Errett was kneeling on the ground as Dissonance stood above him, slowly lowering a golden crown onto his head. The crown was littered in expensive gems Will had never seen the likes of before, and the soon-to-be-King was still tightly gripping onto the statue he had taken from him in the attack. His eyes were still exposed, glowing with that all too familiar glow. The groups both faced each other for a few seconds, Dissonance being the first to speak.

"And so you made it out! I'm not surprised... seems The Blade really likes the four of you."

The man stepped closer, a new mask covering his eyes but leaving his mouth exposed, his usual grin and confidence returned to him overnight. Will ignored him completely - His eyes set on Errett, who's expression was hard to place. Somehow, it had some regret in it, but it was hidden deeply behind madness and greed, swirling in his eyes and keeping his smirk large and proud.

"...We trusted you, Errett.", Will said, seeing the light in the man's eyes falter for just a moment. He inched closer.

"How could you?"

"...What do you mean? Everything is great!"

The man spread his arms out and grinned.

"I'm a King and you guys are alive! Win win!"

"Are you crazy?!", Tom screamed, making Errett flinch.

"We've lost everything! We have no chance and it's all your fault! And you did it for what, a crown?"

"A crown... a castle... oh, so many things!"

Errett laughed under his breath, his voice trailing off. Clearly, he wasn't sound of mind at that very moment. This didn't ease the group's anger at all.

"...He's lost it... he's lost it completely...", Taza was muttering under his breath. His voice was breaking on every other word.

"Errett, we were friends. Why would you give that up for some gold?"

"...I... well... isn't it obvious?"

Clearly, the man was beginning to struggle to explain himself.

"Because... having power... is great! You're always... uh... above!"

"You may want to start referring to Errett as King Errett right about now."

Dissonance came closer, leaning on the other's shoulder.

"We're gonna have to move your coronation up a bit... sorry about that."

"Oh, it's quite alright."

Errett's strange, greedy behaviour returned to him as the other man came closer.

"They wouldn't understand. It was a sacrifice worth making..."

"You did a wonderful job, Alastair. Don't listen to what they're saying."

"Why thank you, Clay. I'm glad some people around here appreciate hard work."

Those two sentences were like the final bullets right through the hearts of all four of the revolutionaries – The final phrases that finally made it clear to them that Errett never cared, and never would. Errett had never trusted them with his name – Even on their declaration of independence, a document so vital to their nation, he had refused to use it. But to Dissonance? Not only did he tell him his name, he allowed him to use it freely. The highest possible trust one could grant another in this city. Dissonance had returned this very trust – Even Georgie and Sapana rarely used his name. How long had these two been working together? How much had they plotted? While three of the Lasenbergians talked on, Tom stepped forward, his hands in fists and trembling from his rage alone. He didn't say much, but he said enough to be understood;

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"Errett, listen to me, and I mean this in the most pleasant way possible..."

His eyes burned right through the 'King'.

"...You fucked up badly."

Errett's reaction was strange. There was a flash of regret at first – Some of the light left his eyes and his smile dropped, leaving him looking at the blonde with pity. It was clear Tom was holding far more intense emotions than just anger – But that wasn't something very clear to someone as blinded by other things as Errett. The King turned back for a moment, looked at Dissonance, and upon the other mouthing something to him, he put his sunglasses back on and grinned. He turned away, getting ready to leave the country once and for all, only saying one last thing before his departure;

"Farewell, gentlemen."

And so, the King of the City of Dissonance was gone.

"...Now... I suppose we should sort this whole situation out, shouldn't we?"

Dissonance's attention turned to the four, his grin only growing wider as he spoke.

"You are in no position to bargain, I'm sure you can see. So let's settle this quickly and painlessly. You might just escape with your life!"

"We're willing to negotiate.", Will started, a tired look of defeat in his eyes.

He had been through far too much trying to win this war.

"...Terms of surrender?", Dissonance asked with a small smile, but was instantly shut down by Will's swift yet understandable answer;

"We're willing to negotiate.", he repeated, watching as Dissonance's smile faltered and a far more worrying grimace replaced it.

"...Very well. No weapons, no armour. Come alone and meet me at the two towers as soon as you're ready. I'll be waiting."

Dissonance's lips curved into a smile and he turned away, his two friends following behind. They, however, looked very different to what he would normally expect from them. Sapana looked tired and disheartened, his gaze set on Dissonance with a hint of spite. Georgie, on the other hand, looked to the revolutionaries with pity. Even he seemed to feel sorry for them, understanding the pain that the betrayal of someone so close to them could have brought them. As the four were all left alone, there was silence hanging over them so heavy they felt they would crack any moment. Tom shifted where he stood and grabbed onto his shoulder, Taza started kicking a small tuft of grass with the tip of his shoe, and Fonda aimlessly placed his hands in his pockets. It was unbearable seeing everyone like this - Will knew he had to speak.

"I'm gonna go. Do not follow me, are we clear?"

Will's words made everyone standing with him instantly apprehensive.

"No! This is a trap, Willz, you can't-"

Will couldn't fight him. He couldn't argue. He had to do this, and speaking to Tom would only make him rethink it.

"Speak with respect to your President, Mr. Vice-President.", Will snapped, putting an emphasis on 'vice'.

Tom hesitated, stammering.

"Mr... Mr President...", he muttered.

"As your... Vice-President... I don't believe this is a safe thing for you to do... or a smart one, in fact."

"Well, Vice-President.", Will carried on with spite he was not sure the origins of.

"We have no other choice. We've lost everything... walking right into a trap is our only option at something."

"...Just... be careful."

Tom came closer, and from his tone of voice, it was clear he was starting to accept the facts of the situation.

"Please Wi- ...Mr. President."

Before he left, Will hugged his son, whispering something about keeping it together into his ear. Then, he hugged Tom, telling him something about leadership and staying strong. Finally, he put his arms around Taza and reassured him things were eventually going to get better - In turn, the boy told him something about poppies and their fondness of battlefields. Finally, Will rearranged his bloodied and ripped coat, and made sure his title of 'President' was clear and visible. He marched forward, his breathing irregular and panicked. He knew his chances here were slim, and whatever Dissonance would offer, he'd have to accept. He just hoped he could grasp onto the charisma of that stranger from his dreams - The stranger that could scam anyone out of everything, never ran, and lastly, carried the fourth disc. Whoever he was, imagining him by his side gave Will enough confidence to march on. And thinking of how he would handle this situation, he almost felt sure of himself enough to negotiate himself out of this.

And he walked, not ran, just as the stranger from his dreams did.

"And so the President shows his face. I must say, I admire the bravery. Or idiocy."

Dissonance was lying through his teeth. He didn't admire his bravery. He didn't think it was idiocy. But if Dissonance were to show, right here, right now, that he was losing hope in this war ever bringing anything good to either side that would be a victory for Will - And he had sacrificed far too much to lose this struggle now. Almost six months of tireless work, treating his friends like pawns and watching them grow more and more frustrated with him each passing day and still those four traitors stood tall and insisted on creating their own nation. He was furious, obviously. Irritated by all the losses taken by the City of Dissonance and all of its citizens because of a few people who thought, somehow, they deserved more than those who actually contributed to their city. I mean, what did Will ever do? Until Tom arrived, he was constantly inside of his own head and never once did anything of use. Fonda wasn't any better - Between taking care of himself and his father you'd never catch him working for the city. Taza had turned on them and forced them to abandon the city without defences for months - The Blade's arrival and his tendency for monster-killing was a simple stroke of luck. And Tom! God, what wasn't there to say about Tom? From day one in the city, a nuisance to everyone.

Yes, Dissonance was sure. He wanted to win this war. But...

Georgie and Sapana. When did he meet them? It was hard to recall. Alone in the woods, three men met and with nothing else to their name decided to defend one another when they had nothing else. Eventually, they built a city, allowing more and more citizens in. They protected them from the forests, they stuck together through thick and thin. No matter what was thrown at them, Dissonance's group remained untouchable. And of course... they cared for one another. Dissonance wanted his friends to be safe. Georgie wanted them to be happy. Sapana wanted them to live in peace. But with this past year or so, and especially with its climax in this war, things started spiralling so much out of Dissonance's control he wasn't sure how much longer he could grasp onto everything without losing his friends. Eventually, he'd have to choose. Eventually, it would come down to his friends or the city. And before he reached that point, he had to wipe out any further threat of rebellion. If Errett was a taste of his worse, his plan for the next thirty minutes was going to be his magnum opus. His final stand, his final attempt. Because sure, he doubted a lot of his ideas. He doubted a lot of his decisions. But this was one thing he knew for sure;

Will Ash and his little uprising would not get in between him and his friends.

"Dissonance... I trust you didn't lure me out here just to kill me.", the man spoke slowly.

He couldn't help but feel slightly bad seeing him limp, noticing all of the cuts and bruises on his body. It was a necessity, though. The city couldn't stand strong with a revolution right in the middle of it.

"Of course not."

Dissonance outstretched his arms. No potions, no armour, no weapons. Just his green hoodie, his black mask, and black, fingerless gloves on his hands. He had truly put all of his defences away, and told Georgie and Sapana to go take care of another issue. It was just the two generals, facing each other in a final stand for peace.

"...Then... let's talk. And let's try to figure this out."

"Let's do that indeed. I can't wait for peace already."

"...It's clear to me that both of our sides are suffering in this war.", Will spoke, looking aside.

"We have definitely lost more but it's still clear that you, Georgie and Sapana don't want this to carry on either. And you know we won't go down without a fight. Even if we have nothing..."

"You are ambitious. I can appreciate that."

Dissonance paused for a moment.

"But that won't get you far, Will. Ambition is not enough. You need determination, focus, strength... trust..."

The man chuckled.

"I bet Errett has made that part pretty difficult between the four of you."

"Dissonance..."

Will ignored the man's hurtful comments.

"We don't wish for bloodshed. We don't wish for war. We don't wish to show our power in any way. We just want freedom."

Will paused for a moment, seeing Dissonance consider. Then, he tilted his head and grinned.

"...Would you like to hear what I want?"

Before the President could even answer, Dissonance carried on.

"I want white flags. Up inside 'your land'. I want white flags of surrender, declaring Lasenberg is not an independent nation, and that it is a part of the City of Dissonance."

"Then I suppose we're at an impasse."

Will narrowed his eyes, staring right into Dissonance. The man laughed dryly, turned his head to the side and allowed a large smile to grow on his face. Before he spoke, he made sure to lean forward and lower his voice into a more menacing tone;

"If that does not happen in the next thirty minutes..."

He paused, his gaze setting on the distant walls of the nation, its flag noticeably missing from its pole.

"...I will blow up all of Lasenberg."

"You don't have the power or the capacity to blow up the whole nation!", Will instantly retaliated, noting the obvious lie.

The twitch at the edge of Dissonance's lips, however, made him shudder.

"Okay. Let's go see then. Let's go right now."

Dissonance began walking away, leaving Will in stunned silence. The President stammered, moving forward.

"Dissonance? Dissonance, what have you done?"

Will came closer, trying to grab the other's shoulder. With all his wounds, his grip was too weak to stop him.

"What have you done?!"

A scream coming from the direction of Lasenberg was enough to turn his attention away.

And very unlike the stranger from his dreams, Will ran.