“I’m not going to admit that there isn’t anything within either of them that’s redeemable. I helped you come back from the edge, I can help them understand it too,” she said, allowing Sebastian to lead for a few moments. His head hung low at her words, a sharp intake of breath at what she said and he simply chuckled, shaking his head.
“The fact that you can even compare what I’ve done to what they’ve done to us, to our people, to you? How can you even assume that they’re saveable?” he asked, turning to look her over, his face echoing his disbelief.
“You killed me, remember?” she snapped, blinking up at him and watching as his face turned even more sour at her words.
“You to—” He stopped, biting down on his tongue and taking another deep breath. “You know, you’re right. I did. I ran you off a road, forced you to trigger and didn’t make it to you in time to join with you. And, while I’m sorry I did that to you, I’m not sorry for everything else. I’m not sorry for being here, for worrying about you, for trying to get you to see the purpose and the truth that you’re so desperately seeking. Now, your dad and my brother did this to me,” he said, showing her the blood soaked shirt rags that were wrapped around his wrists. “Jane is dead. Not including whoever else was killed. For all we know, your own cousin is dead back there because he gave himself up to help us get here. Look at your arms, Cass,” he said, pointing to her hands but she refused to look down. “Look at them!” he said, grabbing them and shaking her forearms so that she had to snap out of her own head to pay attention to him. “Cassidy, this, you killed tonight. That sinking pit in your stomach that you’re feeling right now? I know how that feels. Fuck, I know what that pain tastes like better than anyone.” He swallowed, squeezing her arms until she looked up at him, licking his lips as he watched the terror and hatred and pain swell up within her.
“I love him,” she said, the tear falling over her eyes for a moment before she took in a stumbling breath. “And, he’s my Dad,” she added, the break in her voice happening in the middle of the word Dad. “What am I supposed to do right now?” she asked, moving her arms so that she could clasp his, avoiding the wounds on his wrists.
“You are the strongest person I’ve ever met. And right now, you’re going to confront them and take it one step at a time. That’s the best advice I have for you,” he said, trying to not let the hurt show on his face at the fact that she said that she loves Chase. “We have to get moving, though. If Bryan survived long enough to get to the others, it’s only a matter of time until others go to help them,” he warned, squeezing her arms once more before turning to head back down the hall that he was originally leading down. Cassidy tried to push all the thoughts running rampant throughout her head, begging and pleading with the internal struggle that was going on within her to settle long enough to get through the night. Sebastian was right and she knew that but it wasn’t as simple as just accepting the truth and moving on. This truth brought up issues with two men whom she thought she could trust with her life. She just hoped that when she reached them and found out all the truths that she would be happy with them.
It only took a few more minutes to move into the outer foyer to the main hall. Cassidy’s heart was beating loud enough that she was positive that everyone in a five mile radius could hear it pounding against her ribs. Her blood flowed excitedly throughout her bloodstream, eager to prepare her body for whatever was behind those doors that were in front of her. It seemed as if the past six or so months were meant to culminate to this moment, at this time. She couldn’t look past her terror and excitement in the moment but if she were being honest with herself, she would admit that it was all an orchestrated mess and one that she would get her father to explain, once and for all.
“You ready?” Sebastian asked, glancing over tentatively before Cassidy nodded, grasping the door handle and pushing it open, moving into the entrance of the doors as if she owned the place, her gaze landing on both men simultaneously. It took everything in her body to hide the quick gasp of air that was a natural reaction to spotting them both. The impulsive reaction to seeing Chase pulled at her body, desperately trying to bring them together when all she wanted to do was to keep her feet buried in place. She wanted to stand strong and listen to the truths that Sebastian had just told her but their bond was nearly suffocating her. Her body gave in slightly, moving a few steps closer to Chase to which everyone in the room noticed and it caused the Chancellor to manage a smile.
“Hello, darling, it’s nice to have you back home,” the Chancellor said, his voice even more soothing than ever before, practically drawing her in just the same as Chase’s bond was doing. Cassidy blinked a few times, trying desperately to quell everything that was hitting her senses all at once. To say it was overwhelming was an understatement. Sebastian noticed Cassidy’s unnatural reactions, moving steps closer to her, even if she was trying to distance herself from him. “And you brought home our lost Williams brother as well! Your father would be proud to see you back in these walls, son,” he said, changing his focus to Sebastian who narrowed his eyes at him.
“My father would be turning over in his grave to see Chase and me here. I just hope that by the end of this, no Williams blood will be in these halls anymore.” Sebastian moved, still within protective range to teleport Cassidy out if need be but he was putting himself farther forward to anticipate an attack faster than Cassidy could. At this moment in time, he wasn’t too sure of her attack skills towards the two men in front of them.
“Now now, no need to be hostile. Besides, Chase is here on his own free will,” the Chancellor said, glancing to Chase and then back to the pair before resting his eyes on Cassidy, moving to take a step towards her.
“Take another step and we’re gone,” he warned, gritting his teeth and Cassidy placed a hand on his shoulder, moving to stand even with him and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“It’s okay, Sebastian. I can handle this,” she said, releasing his arm and switching her gaze between Chase and the Chancellor, chewing on the inside of her lip as she tried to figure out where she was going to start first.
“You destroyed their home and... killed innocent people for what? To get peace? I had it covered, I had a way out! You two, betrayed my trust, lied to me, and hurt my friends in the process!” she said, her voice escalating as her own truth came out. Sebastian would be lying if he said he didn’t know of what she was doing while in the League. It was obvious that she didn’t severe her ties with the Exodus after everything for a reason and the best reason was to be spying on them all. Almost the entire group knew it but allowed it to happen simply to win Cassidy’s trust, which they had. “You messed with people’s minds and after everything... how could you do that?” she asked, swallowing back the pit in her stomach.
“This is so much bigger than all of us, Cass,” Chase said, stepping closer towards her which got the red energy sparked over Sebastian’s hands. Chase shot a look to his baby brother for a moment before looking back to Cassidy. “We didn’t have time. What Yvette did, attacking humans, nearly killing them and exposing us in the process, we had to bring everyone in for questioning. It wasn’t our intention to hurt anyone! Those who were killed attacked us first, we just defended ourselves. Cassidy, you know me, you looked me in the eyes and asked if I had anything to do with helping Yvette attack those humans and you said it yourself that I was free and clear. Why won’t you believe me now?” he said, looking the woman over and Cassidy blinked a few times, trying to sort through it all. She hated it when he tried to make sense of all the issues that were going on in her head.
“Don’t- just, stop trying to use our bond, Chase. Get out of my head and just—” She paused, taking in a breath as she shook her head. “I don’t believe you anymore. You used the blind spot I have for you and you exploited it. I can never trust you again,” she said, the pain in her stomach welling up as the words escaped her lips. Despite how much she begged to believe him, despite how much she needed to believe him, she coul
dn’t. Not anymore. The final breath that Jane took wreaked havoc through her memories every single second she closed her eyes. And, never would she allow herself to just sit idly by and watch as someone she cared for died because of her blindspots.
“Cass, come on. You’re gonna believe them over me? After everything? I love you,” he said, taking another step towards her but Sebastian was there, the red intensifying in his hand. Cassidy pulled him back, taking a step towards Chase and the pain was clear as day on her face when he uttered those last three words. It was as if he took a knife and dug it into her side, the agonizing pain ripping through every fiber of her life. The redness burned across her chest, the adrenaline spiking through her blood as she stared at him.
“I’m going to believe that assuming everything is a coincidence is naive,” she said softly, taking in a shaky breath and nodding her head. “I’ve been so clouded being with you that I never saw it. I could’ve prevented Jane dying. Or, from people getting hurt... I could’ve saved everyone so much trouble if I had just never fallen in love with you,” she said, biting down on her lip to stifle any more tears that begged to break the surface. “But, no more. You’ve violated my trust and my mind. How could I possibly get past that?” she asked, glancing from Chase to her father for a moment before returning her gaze back to Chase.
Chase watched her reaction, hoping that the words that left his lips were enough to reel her back in but it was clear that that wasn’t going to happen in the moment. Maybe if Sebastian wasn’t there but with the man protecting her from every little thing, there was no way that he was going to be able to reign her back in to their team.
“Darling,” the Chancellor piped up, clearing his throat for a moment before continuing. “Now, I’m sorry that you’ve lost a friend or two tonight. We managed to lose some too, in case you were curious, even at your hands as I’ve been told,” he said, pointing at her dried bloody hands. “I’m not going to yell, as there is no point to it, but you need to understand what we were trying to do tonight. Exposure is a risk to all of us, regardless of what faction you side with. We were attacked when we got there this evening and we did what we thought was best for all parties. Now, I’m sorry some of your friends were killed in the process but that was always part of the deal. You were there to provide information and intel on how the League worked, how it was set up. You provided the interworkings for tonight’s raid and if it weren’t for you, we would’ve had no idea how to get in, let alone get in successfully. You made it so that we can protect this family that we’ve created, to make us all better and stronger and your sacrifice was not made in vein, darling. I promise you that you will be stronger after this.” The Chancellor’s voice almost made Sebastian get on board with what he was saying, it was so soothing. Something about it simply made you want to agree and nod and just continue on. It was probably that reason that they were so able to get everything they ever needed.
“Cassidy, don’t listen to them. This was their plan all along. You were trying to find your place,” Sebastian said, taking a step closer to Cassidy once more but the woman wasn’t having it.
“He’s right though, Sebastian. I’d go and report to them every few days. What happened tonight was because of me, because of everything that I told them,” she said softly, trying desperately to not think so terrible of herself but she couldn’t shake the feeling. Sebastian glanced back towards her for a second and shook his head, distracted long enough for Chase to use his ability to throw him clean across the room, far enough away from Cassidy.
“Sebastian!” Cassidy cried out, the action snapping her out of her downward spiral of dark thoughts long enough to snap her to the present. Sebastian was crumpled on the ground, moving to stand but Cassidy already had the green energy burning against her skin, a bright red ball of fire barreling towards Chase. The fire caught the arm of his sweater, Cassidy taking steps back towards Sebastian as she was ready to counter anything he tossed her way.
“Enough!” the Chancellor bellowed, staring between all the parties involved before looking to Chase. “Enough of all of this.” Chase calmed, the red subsiding from his skin before laughing softly, the confusion spreading across Cassidy’s face.
“Oh what? Confused, gorgeous? I’ll admit, at least you were pretty. And powerful, I’ll give you that but dealing with your insecurities and all your issues was exhausting. How in the world he managed to do that for years still boggles me,” he said, nodding towards Sebastian and Cassidy’s confusion continued to grow.
“What are you talking about? What’s- what’s going on?” she demanded, staring at all three men in the room with her.
“Are you meaning to tell me that he had all this time but never really told you how he knew you? Before our dad went all scrambled egg on your memory?” Chase asked, watching the both of them for a response before laughing even louder, clapping his hands at the site. “Oh, brother, come on. Too afraid to hurt your precious little prophecy over there?” Chase’s words seared into Sebastian and the man, who was now on his feet, nearly growled at his statement.
“Chase, don’t. She doesn’t—none of that pertains to this. Leave her mind alone,” he spat out but Chase just laughed again, shaking his head proudly.
“Oh, no, this is prime time to have this talk. She might not remember all of it anyway, depending on how this all plays out so, why not at least know now?” he teased before turning his attention to Cassidy, teleporting behind her and grabbing her arms up, red hands pressed one against the side of her temple and one to her stomach. Cassidy squirmed to move away, the green magic pooling around her hands before Chase spoke.
“Ah ah ah, sweetheart. I promise you I’ll be faster in your head than you’ll be harming me, and you’ll just harm yourself in the process,” he said, speaking softly into her ear which caused a shiver to spiral down her back. “Now, where were we? Oh yes, Mr. Moon-Eyes over here,” he said, teasing Sebastian who was ready to pounce the second he saw an opening. “You see, he and I have been triggered since we were kids. We’ve known this life since we were young and while that didn’t matter much to others, it did matter when it came to you. You weren’t apart of this world in an Origin sense of the word but everyone knew who you were. You are Cassidy Hawkins, daughter to Elizabeth Hawkins and Xander Hawthorne, protege to taking over the reigns as Chancellor should you ever be triggered. So many people had opinions on that but, Sebastian over here, whew,” he said, pulling her back against him a little harder as he spoke. “He fell madly in love with you years ago. And, before anyone could really put a stop to it, you two were together.” Chase paused when Cassidy processed his words, gazing to Sebastian who looked so hurt that she was finding all of this out this way.
“Bingo! You two were two peas in a pod, or, at least until your good ‘ole mom had to go and be incredibly unuseful. See, we were told by a pretty powerful Chi that someone in your bloodline, someone close to the Chancellor would fulfill the prophecy and wield all five origins. We swore it was your mother and the Chancellor tried to figure if it was her but, she just couldn’t take it all. So, when the magic he was feeding her ended up killing her, what else could we do but make you all forget it!” he exclaimed, burying his nose into the smell of her hair, closing his eyes for a moment before lifting his head to continue his story. “Losing you was enough to put this one in a disgusting spiral of using and abusing and despair and then when he came upon Holly forcibly triggered by the Chancellor to start building his army, it was only a matter of time till we framed him, stuffed him in the League and continued on with our plan. It took us a while to get all the details ironed out but, once the League was able to track and recover you, we just slipped in after Sebastian managed to get you killed and the rest, the rest is history.” Chase’s voice was smug, that was clear, clearly happy with himself that he helped execute such a convoluted plan. Cassidy continued to squirm in his arms, practically begging and pleading to be released from his grasp.
“Why?” Cassidy asked, trying t
o slip down out of his grasp but Chase bent with her, picking her back up into his arms and holding her hostage.
“Why? Because, if it’s not you who fulfills the prophecy, we’ll just go down the list. Eventually, it’ll happen and the minute that it does, we’ll make that person a weapon and help us ascend to greater heights than ever before. No more hiding. No more waiting in the shadows, no more watching humans get everything we want out in the open. From that point on, our future is no longer questionable.”
“And you think I’m going to help you guys... after all of this?” Cassidy said, still trying to pull herself from his grasp. Chase grinned, leaning his lips closer to her ear as he spoke, his breath warm against her skin.
“You love me, remember?” he said, his voice low but still loud enough for everyone in the room to listen. “Besides, all it takes is a wave of a hand and you won’t remember anymore of this, just like last time. Who’s to say we haven’t been through this a few times already? How can you even trust your own mind now?” he asked, spinning her in his arms, forcing her to stare into his eyes, the red pulsing over her skin and it was clear that she started to melt into his arms as he whispered to her.
“Don’t! Chase! Cassidy, don’t listen to him. I promise you, don’t listen. You can fight whatever it is. You’re stronger, I know you are!” Sebastian cried out, watching as Cassidy nodded at Chase, her back still to Sebastian. She spun on her heel, walking towards him and Sebastian went to teleport but Chase shook his head, staring as Cassidy walked.
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