Levi found Ace, wide awake and excited like everyone else. He was still tired, but simply happy that most of his teammates were alive. Ace sat in the dorm lobby, with many other people, talking and sharing stories, hugging and happy that they were almost free.

Levi’s palms were sweaty when he found him downstairs. Levi told himself to not overthink it. The lights seemed so much stronger, like he was being interrogated, guilty of a crime he never committed.

After finding the courage to keep his promise, he crossed the rough burgundy carpet and approached Ace, surrounded by many people he didn’t recognize, save for Fenton.

They all turned to look at him as he stood next to Ace’s chair, and they waited for him to speak.

“Hello Acheus,” Levi mumbled.

“hElLo LeViAtHan,” Ace mocked. “Since when does anyone call me that anymore?”

“Sorry,” Levi rasped. “Just nervous.”

Fenton raised his eyebrows and drank his soda, eager to watch the drama unfold in front of him. Everything about Levi’s aura screamed pink, mixed with some faint streaks of yellow, and it showed on his face as well.

“Nervous about what,” Ace asked.

“Doesn’t matter….Come with me.”

Curious, Ace followed him up to his dorm room. Levi walked fast, afraid that if he didn’t make it in time, an alarm would go off, signaling that he was all out of courage.

When they finally got to the room, Ace became nervous as well because Levi locked the door behind him.

Ace was afraid to be alone with anyone, and soon he started to think of different escape plans. Ace was so paranoid, he completely forgot he could just teleport away and leave at any time.

Levi saw the terror on his face and tried to calm him down. “It’s nothing bad Ace,” Levi assured him. “I just, I just wanted to talk since you’ve been gone for so long.”

Levi grumbled and sat on the bed, and it creaked underneath his weight. Ace started to relax when he saw the look on Levi’s face. That he too was nervous, and there was nothing to be afraid of.

“Are you upset with me,” Ace asked.

“I’m not. This is just hard to say.”

Ace nervously sat down next to him, worried that Levi was going to give him bad news after he just learned of Mark’s death and Ryle’s lost leg. He worried that maybe they would be stuck inside their cage forever and that this was just temporary help.

“I.. said I would tell you what I had to say earlier… I want to say it now, but I’m not so sure anymore,” Levi said.

“It's okay. We’re going to live. It matters now. You can tell me.”

“It does,” Levi whispered. He felt like his heart was about to fail from how fast it was beating and he chose his words carefully.

“I’m afraid to tell you, and you’ll never remember. I’m scared that you’ll die or-”

“I’m not going to forget anything ever again,” Ace promised. “I won’t go back. I want to be stronger.”

Levi didn’t understand what he was talking about and was positive that Ace had misunderstood his intentions. He tried again, to get his point across, but Ace was a bit slow on the uptake.

“I know why you can’t remember things. It was all my fault,” Levi whispered.

Ace didn’t want to hear more. He was scared, worrying that another person would be who they weren’t lying to him about everything. His paranoia was making him question if he was real if Levi was real. Was the room not here?

Was this just some horrible dream that went on for far too long?

“Levi, what did you do?”

“My dad… he made you forget things… I’m sorry Ace. I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Ace whispered. “I made myself forget. I-”

“We’ve met a long time ago, and -”

“No! Stop,” Ace screamed.

He got up from the bed, and he started to shake, not wanting to hear more. No more people could lie to him. He needed Levi to make sense because Ace didn’t have to try hard to understand him like he had to with everyone else.

“Ace I’m trying to apologize! Let me!”

“There’s nothing to apologize about!”

Ace started to panic, and he started to breathe fast. The walls were spinning and the floor was shaking. He was sure he was dying. He knew this would be the end. He kneeled to the ground and started to gasp for air like a fish, and Levi came to his aid.

“Ace I’m sorry,” he whispered. “It's okay. I won’t tell you more… it’s going to be okay.”

Levi squatted on the ground and held him close. The warm embrace was too much stimulation for his emotional state, and Ace didn’t know what to do. He wrapped his arms around Levi, and his breathing started to slow down.

Levi had long taken pleasure in making Ace sad, but this time was much different. He wanted to never let him go, to never leave that room. It was what he always wanted, to be honest not just with others but himself.

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Ace looked up at Levi, and Levi knew he was unable to lie to himself any longer. He looked into Ace’s eyes, his favorite part about him, and wanted nothing more than to have him. Levi was staring for far too long, and he was still holding onto Ace, while he had let go.

“Levi, this is weird.”

All his courage was gone, and he crashed back down to reality. Levi remembered his girlfriend, the threats outside, and the people downstairs. He wasn’t ready. Levi looked away and he finally let go.

“I’m sorry. I won’t tell you. I don’t think you can handle the truth."

“I just want everything to stay the same,” Ace replied.

“Do you? Because I don’t like this.”

Ace got up and left. He walked right past Mary Jane, and he couldn’t understand why he felt so guilty. Like Levi, Ace was sure he had committed a crime. The bright hallway lights were buzzing, and the walls themselves were watching, waiting for him to confess.

Mary Jane found Levi still sitting on the floor, dour and hurt. He couldn’t take being told no, and this was one of the few things he couldn’t just force someone to say yes.

“I’ve missed you! Come back down with everyone else! I’ve searched everywhere for you,” Mary Jane exclaimed.

Levi stood up and locked the door behind her.

“Let’s stay here."

Mary Jane tried to hide her excitement as she thought that Levi wanted to finally go all the way.

“Mary Jane, I need to tell you something important,” Levi said. “I’ve been a horrible person.”

“No you’re not,” she said. “Don’t listen to the rumors!”

“There are rumors!?”

“No,” Mary Jane lied.

She stood up on her toes to kiss him, but this time, Levi didn’t lean down. She was distressed, and pouted, gripping the front of his shirt, trying to make him lean over.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Levi said. “I think we should br-”

They tensed up as they heard loud screams coming from outside. Gunshots peppered the air, and Levi looked out the window. The dead had arrived, along with Deceit and her henchmen.

The soldiers at the front easily shot the corpses in the beginning, but soon the bodies started to pile up, making a filthy wall of pestilence. This did not deter the dead, as they crawled over their dead comrades, or tore through their decayed flesh using their teeth and nails.

Suddenly all the corpses stopped moving and they stood still in place. Everyone looked around, worried that something worse was about to happen, but nothing did.

Deceit pushed her way through her minions and stood next to her favorite children. Gruesome, Vile, Trick & Twist. They had taken some of the strongest astrals and abused their corpses, committing their horrid deeds with glee.

Tantrum, Jezebel, Noxious, and Cyanide commanded the drones, in the back, riding their Eldritch skin monsters. They had made many presents for their mother, creating horrible balls of flesh and despair that flew through the sky and crawled on the blistering asphalt.

Deceit was no longer smiling. The place she thought was her kingdom was being invaded by barbarians. Like a vengeful queen, she gave them no choice but to bend the knee.

“Bring me Acheus,” Deceit bellowed. “Bring him to me and I won’t kill all of you!”

No one had any idea who she was talking about, except for Maximillian and Mary Sue. “Give him to her,” Mary Sue grumbled. “He’s more trouble than he’s worth.”

“I can’t,” Maximilian whispered to her. “He has a celestial and I haven’t found it yet.”

“You’re really going to sacrifice everyone for some magic socks or something?”

Maximilian knew that he was again being ridiculous and needed to make the best choice for the greater good. He just didn’t care about the greater good. He grabbed a speakerphone from an officer, ignoring his protests, and decided to make a deal.

“You can have him,” Maximilian announced.

People in the audience booed, and Maximillian lost his temper.

“You want to die for some filthy Ionadian,” he bellowed. “Go first!”

No one was willing to sacrifice themselves for someone they didn’t know.

Deceit opened her mouth, her voice carrying over the eerily silent crowd.

“You have five minutes to bring him to me before I tear your children's heads off and use their skulls as cups, Slater!”

Everyone searched around the building for Ace, but Ace heard the entire conversation outside his window and hid in a closet. No one ever opened it, and he began to sweat, worrying if they could truly defeat her.

Levi found his father, and screamed, red in the face and furious.

“How could you! You already ruined his mind and now you’re sending him to die!”

“Leviathan now is not the time for-”

Levi decked his father in the face. It was a quick jab to the face, as hard as he could, perfectly done, from his years of boxing. Maximilian fell to the ground, knocked out, and Sara grinned.

People in the crowd shouted, now wondering what they would do without Maximillian. Levi didn’t care. He was tired of being bullied. He liked doing it instead.

“Thank you... I guess,” Sara said uncertainly. “But what are we going to do if we can’t give him over or even find him ?”

Levi realized that he had just sacrificed everyone for a young man that wouldn’t return his feelings.

“We’ll find him and even cook the boy for her,” Mary Sue shouted. “I’ll add seasoning!”

“What is wrong with you,” Levi screamed. “Do you not have a soul?!”

“I will sacrifice everyone else before I let my children die!”

Levi looked away, truly afraid of Mary Sue’s strength, and knew she was a hundred percent serious about her words.

“Don’t say that,” Mary Jane shouted. “Don’t use me and Dexter as an excuse!”

Mary Sue ignored her daughter, and weaved through the crowd, right into the training center. She was completely serious about sacrificing him.

So many had died for one boy she couldn’t get rid of.

Mary Sue found him inside the closet just as the five minutes were up.