Chapter 5

Louis found himself standing in a room he was too familiar with.

He looked around the room where Brandon, Kylian, William and Michael all landed on him when they were escaping Aaron Moore. He looked around at the room where his grandfather used to read stories to him, regardless of the time of the day. He looked around at this small room on the edge of a cliff. He looked round and round before he reached for the door knob to explore the rest of his only real home.

All his government and official papers said he lived in a mansion closer to the city, but Louis felt most at home in this small cottage house on the edge of a cliff. With stairs that creaked with every step, he could observe horrible drawings hung up on the wall for all to see. Grandpa always loved his paintings, even when Louis himself didn't know what he had drawn. He loved this house which seemed so quiet since that old man left.

Mother didn't let Louis form a real relationship with her side of the family, so Grandpa was the only grandparent he had, he thought, as he found a blanket on the handle of the stairs and picked it up before sitting himself down on the second last stair. Somehow, it still smelled like him. The smell of snickerdoodle and raspberries with a hint of a cologne which lasted days per spritz.

Just as Louis thought. Hugging the cloth which smelled like him just wasn't the same. It wasn't as warm either. He wondered if he would ever be able to feel warmth like his anytime soon, or rather ever again. He wondered if his days would ever return to how peaceful they were when he was running around the field as Grandpa was tending to his garden. How slow those clouds moved as they sat and counted each one.

How so very slow-

"I got them!" a voice Louis hadn't heard in years called to someone outside right before she slammed the door shut. Louis jumped to his feet, racing after her while clinging to the blanket in his arm as he opened the door to Grandpa's garden. How beautiful she looked standing in the sun as the wind blew her floppy hat off her head and pushed her long wavy brown hair off to one side.

Did the princess always look this beautiful? Did her smile make Louis's heart jump that high every time he saw it? No, he hadn't seen a smile like that before. Oh, once he did, when he gave her flowers he found in Grandpa's garden. Ah, yes. Her smile was just as bright as it was back then-

"Excuse me, my hat." Louis looked down and saw where the floppy summer hat had floated to and immediately picked it up and patted the dust off before handing it back to the princess.

"Thank you!" she said without reacting to Louis at all, and turned to leave again. He grabbed her wrist and apologized for never saying goodbye. He thought if he had said goodbye on that fateful day, then somehow, he may have changed what happened, but he doubted it. He doubted him saying goodbye would've somehow kept her from dying, but he still wished he got to bid his princess a farewell.

Mother didn't move as he talked, but he understood. He himself thought he wasn't worth forgiveness after the way he cursed her soul and name for years. He still wanted to apologize even if it was for his own satisfaction.

"You apologize now? Twelve years after you killed me?"

Huh? Louis didn't kill his mother!

"If you just kept your mouth shut, then I would've lived out my own happily ever after too!"

What?

"Let go of me!"

No!

The woman turned and slapped Louis across the face, making him let go of her hand.

"I hate you. I've always hated you." she said before walking away.

Louis didn't need to look at her face to know she was crying. He had heard the voice to match the face too many times to not know she was crying. It made more sense now. How she was happy without him and how he only brought her sadness.

Louis only brought sadness and anger wherever he went anyway. He was used to it. He was used to losing his friends to his own selfish words. He was used to starting fights and making enemies everywhere he went. He was used to it.

As the tears dropped from his eyes to the ground, his head suddenly shot upwards when he saw those same tears evaporate before hitting the ground.

Before him stood a terrifying beast whose head, chest, back, arms and legs were all made of volcanic rock while lava flowed where its joints were supposed to be. The scenery began to melt as the dragon stood above the young magician, but he wasn't scared. In fact, he was ready to finally leave, he thought as the dragon opened its mouth. He was ready to leave and take all his sadness and pain along with him, he said as the fire from the dragon's mouth headed right for him.

He stared at the flames and closed his eyes as they finally reached him, but he didn't feel anything. Louis couldn't feel the fire burning him at all. Why? He slowly opened his eyes and saw a dog in the distance, jumping around in the flames. He reached out to get the dog out of there before it got burned, but he didn't know the dog's name. He called the dog, but it didn't turn to face him until he whistled.

Grandpa had taught him how to call a dog with a whistle when he was preparing him to take care of the dog he was promised, but never received. The dog caught Louis's attention again as it seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as it got closer to him. At first, he thought he was imagining the woofer's size, but the dog was just that terrifyingly huge, he observed as it excitedly jumped and licked Louis's face over and over again.

What a good dog! Louis exclaimed until it started to dangle a piece of saliva right over his eye. He freaked out a bit, but he couldn't push the humongous dog off him, so he closed his eyes and reopened them to find himself in a cave.

He was lying down, he realised as he tried to sit himself up, but it seemed more difficult than usual. All he had to do was sit up, so why couldn't he? Annoyed, Louis counted to three before forcing himself up onto his butt. Before an old man entered the entrance of the cave.

Who was he?

"Oh. You're up. Great."

He didn't exactly sound like he was happy Louis woke up.

"Oh no. I am. " he added unenthusiastically as he set down a basket of plants onto the floor by the fire and walked up to Louis.

He crouched down before placing his hand on Louis's forehead and closing his eyes. Louis, not knowing exactly what to do in this situation, sat there awkwardly until the man finally opened his eyes and told him, "Lie down."

What? Why did he need to lie down when he just woke up-

The old man placed his index finger on Louis's head and barely used any force to tip his entire torso back onto the ground. "You need to rest." Rest? Why did he need to rest?

The old man simply glanced down at Louis's arm, leading the child to do the same and finally spot the bandaids running around what was left of his bicep.

How did that happen-

It all suddenly rushed back to him. The warehouse. Michael. Britney! Was she okay? He needed to get to them! He needed to help them, Louis exclaimed as he got up again, but the old man simply shoved a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. It was good, he couldn't deny it, but he needed to go-

"I hope you realise that if you had arrived here a second later, you wouldn't be sitting here."

… Oh.

"If you do realise that, then eat quietly and don't disturb my peace."

Louis looked down at the bowl in his hand as the old man walked to the other side of the fire and started to organize his plants. The old man must've treated his wounds, but he started to wonder why Halley didn't do it as he unconsciously ate the porridge. Where were the others anyway? Had Kiara swooped in and saved them all again?

He assumed Julian had found a cure to the water after he passed out, and was content in the thought of everyone waiting for him to get back.

Tap. Louis looked down at the empty bowl and realised he had finished eating. He thanked the old man for treating and feeding him, but he replied, "My name isn't 'Old Man'. It's Jester, and someone already calls me grandpa."

Jester? Nah. Old Man sounded way better, Louis said as he found himself falling asleep once more.

*****

Louis somehow managed to throw the ball over the giant fire dog to his Magi as Ares just barely caught it. He had to be careful or else the dog would catch it first!

"Maybe I should let it, so you get out."

That wasn't how the rules were, stupid. If the ball was passed the line, he would be the one to get out, and I don't think he would have much fun if they were playing Magi in the middle.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

See? Even the dog agreed, Louis remarked as Ares threw the ball too high into the air for Louis to see. What was he doing?

"Wait for it." the Magi said with a grin as the ball headed right for the dog.

Was he deaf? If the ball landed on his side, he would be out.

"It's not on my side, genius." the Magi replied as he pressed his hands behind his head and whistled. Louis, however, wasn't about to lose, so he dove in front of the dog's mouth and caught the ball as the dog caught him.

"You're out!" Ares declared, but technically speaking, he caught the ball not-

Louis stared quizzingly at the dog as it placed him back on the ground before realising he still didn't know the dog's name. Dreams are supposed to be recollections of memories and thoughts, so Louis thought the dog's name was one he had heard before.

"Which one of the thousands is it?" his Magi teased, as Louis realised just how many names he had heard in his life.

Was the dog a male or a female anyway? Louis went to look, but Ares slapped him across the face and sent him flying before declaring, "You must respect the privacy of others." with an expression claiming innocence.

That bastard, Louis thought as he checked if his jaw was broken as he walked back over to them. He had no way of knowing the gender of the dog, so he tried to go for all the gender neutral names he had heard, but none of them seemed to fit.

At his wit's end, he jokingly turned to the dog and asked it for its name, and it barked back a response. Sadly, Louis didn't speak dog, he told the dog before suddenly heard a voice out of nowhere say, "I said why don't you give me a name?"

I say nowhere because Louis couldn't believe the dog was actually talking to him, but Ares didn't seem to care.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! I want a name too!"

A name? Louis suddenly felt flustered as he forced his brain to accept the impossibility in front of him and come up with the perfect name.

He studied the dog for a while before their eyes finally met. He had sort of avoided doing so after the first time because of the numbing sensation he felt run down his spine as he stared deeper and deeper into the void of the dog's eyes. The longer he lost himself, the more his mind screamed out the perfect name over and over again.

Esper.

The dog's blink broke Louis's hypnosis as he watched how excitedly it jumped around at receiving a new name. "Did you hear that son?" Louis still wasn't quite used to hearing a dog talk- Wait, son?

He turned to Ares and questioned what the dragon had just called his Magi, but he simply played it off with, "I'm not sure how it works either, but I don't even really wanna know to begin with."

Louis always loved how much useful information his Magi retained anyway.

"We have a bond now!" Esper excitedly said to Louis, but what's a bond? "You don't need to worry about it now, especially since it's still asleep, but things will start to make sense soon enough!"

Soon? When was soon? Louis wondered when he would learn about bonds, and planned to ask Brandon about it as the dog jumped on him again. A sign.

"We'll see you later, bozo." Ares remarked with a smile as Esper's drool became water from the roof of the cave.

"How's your arm?" Good morning to you too, Old Man, Louis remarked as he got up with ease, and his arm was as fine as it could've been.

He looked down at the place where Michael had ripped his arm off as he stretched himself awake. He touched it to make sure it was real before the Old Man told him to, "Catch this." as he threw a ... knife to Louis! That was dangerous!

"You caught it, didn't you?"

What if he hadn't?

"Then we'd need more bandages."

Geez! How insensitive could someone get! He was the patient! Pa-tien-t!

"Well, Mr. Pa-tien-t," Old Man mocked, "How about you go gather us some more firewood for the day?"

Louis walked to the entrance of the cave to do just that as he complained about how the Old Man should be gentler with him since he was still recovering.

"If you don't like it, I suggest you walk home, young man." he said as he sorted his new "hErbS NoT pLanTs".

Louis did start to wonder why he hadn't gone home already. He was already completely healed, and he assumed everyone would be worried sick about him, so he decided.

As he was collecting firewood, Louis swore he would head home, and come repay the Old Man for his kindness as soon as he possibly could. He started to wonder how much money the Old Man would ask for when someone suddenly whispered, "Boo." into his ear.

Louis screamed as he dropped the firewood he was holding right between his two feet before turning to see Julian. What was that for-

"Shh. I wanna scare him next." he said as he pressed his finger onto Louis's face.

"What now?" the Old Man asked from inside the cave, but Louis simply lied and said he had been frightened by some birds as Julian smiled at the sight of his cooperation. As quickly as he appeared, he disappeared right before Louis's eyes and reappeared right behind the Old Man.

However, right before he was about to scare him, the Old Man said, "You seem a bit big for a bird, Julian."

H-h-how did he? But h-h-he just! Huh?

Louis's brain couldn't figure out how the hell the Old Man realised Julian was right behind him, but he didn't have to anymore as Julian laughed at his comment. For the sake of not hurting his brain, Louis decided not to think of how the abyssus the Old Man did that as he went up to Julian instead.

He asked Julian if he could send him back home, and he was greeted with a confused expression. "Aren't you going to ask how or why we know each other?" Julian asked, but Louis didn't really like butting into other people's business anyway. He looked astonished before his eyes turned judgemental as he looked Louis up and down. He wondered what he could be looking at before realising he wasn't wearing a shirt and ran over to get his blood-stained one.

He stared at it for a bit before he realised-

"You really almost died, huh?" Julian spooked Louis again since he didn't hear or see him walk over to him. "You said you want to go home now, but I can't send you there in this condition."

Louis did think the shirt was a bit dirty, but soon he couldn't think as Julian punched him in the gut and sent him flying until he hit his back against the rugged cave's wall.

Why the abyssus did he do that? "A lot happened while you were dying," he said as he walked over to Louis and smiled as he crouched to take a kick that never came. "Kiara and most of your friends got sucked into a portal and are currently trapped in Mytherra, while William Meelia and Kylian Louvre are being held captive by Richard Mustollini in the palace of the North."

What? Did he really want Louis to believe-

"That the world fell apart as you were snoozing? Yes."

He wasn't snoozing.

"Potato. Potato."

Besides, how could the world fall apart so quickly?

"Dragons." a female voice said from the entrance of the cave.

Why were Britney's mom and Baptiste there? Louis wondered as the 4 year old ran from the woman's side into Louis's arm and cried. What was going on? This prank really isn't funny in the slightest.

"I wish this was a prank," Mrs. Park said as she walked up to them and stroked Baptiste's hair as he cried, "Unfortunately, this useless waste of space opened a portal and unleashed 3 dragons into Wisteria. He and your friends got rid of one of them, but the other two have been on a rampage in the Kingdom of the West for the last 10 days." Why weren't the other kingdoms doing anything to stop them?

Everyone went quiet as Julian said, "The kingdom of the North has already fallen, and the western portion of the Kingdom of the South is under attack as we speak."

What? How was that possible? Who had taken the kingdom? Why?

"Richard Mustollini," Mrs. Park said, "I'll fill you in on the details later, but right now we need to get you to the palace Rus."

Huh? Didn't they just say Richard took it?

"And he's also holding William and Kylian hostage to make them bond with their dragons."

Bond?

"Sounds familiar?"

Louis went to tell Julian all he knew, but he instead kept his mouth shut after a shock shot up his spine. Something Ares did to warn him, so he didn't tell Julian about Esper as he and Mrs. Park explained what he needed to do once he got to the palace.

"Got it?" Yeah, he replied as Julian placed his hand on Baptiste's head and put him to sleep.

"I modified his memories a bit, but I don't think I need to do the same for you." No, Louis didn't need Julian to do anything of the sort.

"Oh, and don't forget. If they catch you, they will kill you."

Where had Louis heard those words before? He wondered as he stepped into a portal and ended up in the forest outside the Northern palace. He took a deep breath before running towards the palace gates.

*****

"What do you think?" Jason asked Louis as they walked down the palace hallway.

What did he think? He thought he was trying to kill him with a training schedule like that!

"It's perfect then."

Was he deaf? Or was he really trying to kill Louis?

"Neither. We need to push you to your limits, remember?"

Did the statement "push you to your limits" always entail the possibility of death?

"All the times I heard it, yeah."

Louis wondered what it would take to push him into Obrussa too. William and Kylian were both broken down to the last fragments of their hearts, and Louis wondered how Richard would do the same to him. His mother and little sister were dead. His dad and Thomas were on Richard's side, so he automatically assumed he wouldn't get rid of them that easily. He tried to think of anyone else Richard could harm, but he couldn't think of anyone.

"What are you doing?"

Huh?

Louis stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned around to see Jason a few meters behind him. "This door leads to the infirmary. That hallway leads to Esros knows where."

Esros? Louis didn't realize Jason was religious, but that statement just made him cackle at the clueless magician, who really couldn't understand what was so funny.

"Esros isn't some religion. It's the Light Creator's name."

Eh? It had a name? How did he know it?

"My grandfather told me, now do you want to visit William or not?"

Oh, right.

Louis walked back to the door of the infirmary and stood right beside Jason as he knocked on the door.

"Come in." Harrison said from behind the door while obviously yawning.

"What did I say about sleeping on the job, Harrison?" Jason asked as Louis noticed a vein popping out of his skull.

"Sorry~" he groaned half-heartedly before turning to Louis. "Are you finally going to let me eat you?" he asked, grossing Louis to a new extent and making him bump into the person behind him as he was backing away from the creep. He turned to apologize, but he simply turned back around once he saw Felix's face.

"What's that face for?" he asked as Jason and Louis shared the same annoyed expression at his presence.

"Oh come on! I'm better than Harrison, at least."

That was debatable.

"What?" Felix said before trying to throw his body weight onto Jason and falling face flat onto the floor as he moved to the side.

Louis walked over to William right before Felix could start complaining again and sat down next to his old friend.

It had been a month since Kylian and the rest subdued him and his Obrussa. Harrison told Louis he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon when he visited the day before. He started to wonder what William was dreaming about, and came to the conclusion he was dreaming about Kiara. Kylian never told him what happened the day everyone else got sucked into the portal, but then again, Louis had barely spoken to Kylian the whole month.

Louis tried to deny it, but the truth is, Kylian had changed. It wasn't a gradual change over the course of the month either. It was a sudden change which came out of nowhere. The softness in his eyes that always calmed Louis down no matter how angry he was was gone. As soon as he touched the water dragon's head, the kindness in Kylian's eyes disappeared into the ocean blue light, but deep down, Louis hoped he was wrong.

He hoped he was wrong, so he wouldn't have to explain to Halley why her boyfriend was acting like a cold-blooded killer. He didn't want to explain why their childhood friend looked like he could kill without remorse to Celestia, Kiara, and Awan. He hated the thought of explaining to William how his older brother was becoming more and more like the fiancé who shut him out of his life.

Louis would have rather died than explain to Brandon and-

"You alright?" Jason suddenly asked Louis, "You haven't moved in a while."

He was fine. He was just worried about William, that was all. Louis quickly got up and asked them what they were talking about, but immediately regretted it as Harrison said, "Felix here has just proclaimed his love for me and has granted me permission to take him up the-"

"The abyssus I did!" Felix yelled as he hid behind Jason's back. "That perverted molester is insane! Don't listen to him, Louis!"

He wasn't going to, anyway.

"Yeah. Not everyone is a stupid as you are." Amelia said as she walked into the infirmary and ran over to Louis. He urgently searched for a spot on the other side of the room, but by the time he had teleported there, the pink-haired magician already had him in her grasp.

"It! Is! So! Good! To! See! You!" she declared as she swung poor Louis around like a ragdoll in what was supposed to be a hug.

"That was fast." Jason said after prying Felix off his back, "Did you find them?"

Who?

"Rich sent me and Star to go find two very special people," she said as she finally let go of Louis, allowing him to breathe again. "You might know them, Lou."

Louis? Who could it be?

"What were their names again?" Amelia asked as she rubbed her chin.

"Clara Sullivan and Elliot Cooper," Jason reminded her, "And stop rubbing your beard, you old lady."

"Who are you calling an old lady?" Amelia said while walking up to Jason as she rolled up her sleeves.

"Oi, old lady," Harrison called, making her turn around, enraged.

"My name is A-m-e-l-i-a. Not old lady!"

"Yeah, yeah," the doctor said, disregarding what she said, "What do those two have to do with Louis, here?"

Louis was wondering the same, but he never really got the chance to ask between everyone fighting each other.

"Does that name not ring a bell?" Amelia asked, but Louis couldn't remember where he had heard that name or whether he had ever heard either of them before.

"Really?"

Nope, he couldn't remember.

"Ugh. Moron. Clara Sullivan and Elliot Cooper are Michaelangelo Sullivan's legal guardians."

Why would he care about them?

"Huh?" Felix asked, "I thought Michael's your friend-"

There was no way Louis could ever be friends with a waste of space like him. If he could, Louis would rip both his legs off just to pay him back for what he did to him and his friends. They could all be dead for all he knew and it would all be his fault. Why did they think Louis would give a single damn about his guardians?

"Speaking of missing limbs," Harrison said after an unbearably hostile silence, "How did you make it all the way to the palace with a kid on your back?"

Louis didn't know. He passed out in the warehouse, and woke up in a small house where an old man treated his wounds. He and Baptiste stayed at the old man's house for three days before they left on the fourth. Louis looked up to see if they believed him, and to his luck, it looked like they did.

"I thought so," Harrison said as he turned around to face his computer, "A wound like that would take weeks to heal to the point your arm is now. Must've been a very skilled healer."

Louis's heart settled down a bit more as Amelia insulted Jason once more with, "You're too big for your own good." prompting him to say, "And you're too old." However, before she could attack Jason in front of Louis, another person opened the door.

"Star!" Felix whined as he ran over and hid behind the little boy, "They're picking on me again."

The 14 year old simply ignored him before turning to Amelia after hurting Felix's feelings. "It's time." he said as Amelia grabbed Louis by the arm.

"Don't worry, Jase," she reassured, "If he passes, I'll bring him back in one piece."

Louis worried about what she meant as Kylian followed Starlight down the hall without so much as looking Louis in the eyes.

*****

"I've decided you two will be the ones to question those two."

Richard Mustollini wanted Louis and Kylian to question Clara and Elliot? Why?

"You two are familiar with Michael, so you should use that to your advantage."

Was he testing their loyalty? What did he want from them? Louis wondered as he looked down at the questions on the paper. When was the last time you made contact with Raphael Sullivan? Raphael Sullivan?

"I will tell you the rules once and only once," Kylian said coldly as his eyes glowed their ocean blue, "If you attempt to lie or fail to give us appropriate answers, you will suffer until our demands are met."

Kylian hadn't used sign language at all either. He kept on using his magic to speak, which wasn't very often considering how quiet he always was. Louis's attention shifted from how Kylian was going to bluff his way through the interrogation to the first question he read.

"I last saw my brother 12 years ago shortly before he sacrificed himself to save me and my nephew."

Good. She was cooperating.

What do you know about PROJECT ANARCHY?

"Nothing."

Good. If they just kept cooperating, Louis would have a chance to get them locked up in the dungeon, which was worlds better than this.

What do you know about the person who killed Raphael and Doria Sullivan?

"Nothing."

Okay, just one more question and they would've been done.

Why did you change Axel Augustine Sullivan's name to Michaelangelo Sullivan?

"I changed Michael's name in fear of being pursued by the person who killed my brother and his wife."

Michael? His name was Axel, not Michael.

"His name is Michael," she persisted, but Michael was Louis's friend. The semi-tough kid with a soft heart which he used to defend his friends with his whole existence. That was Michael. The monster who blasted Louis's arm off without a second thought was named Axel. For all Louis knew, Michael was dead.

"Richard is messing with your mind."

Shut up! The only person who messed with Louis's mind was that bastard, Axel.

"Don't you see how he's lying to you?" Elliot asked Louis and Kylian, but Kylian simply replied in a cold voice, "Aren't you the one who's lying, Ms. Sullivan?"

What? What did she lie about?

"You said you changed Axel's first name to avoid the pursuit of the killer, but what sense would it make for him to keep the same last name?"

Louis hadn't thought of that, but by the time he realised he had let his anger get the best of him, Clara and Elliot were screaming while begging for mercy. What was Kylian doing?

"I restricted the body flow in most of their bodies."

What?

"I actually did that when I first saw them arrive with Starlight, and it's been about an hour since then. They'll survive as long as I don't touch their heart, but that depends on whether or not they are willing to answer the question truthfully."

Louis couldn't believe what he was hearing as Kylian simply gazed at Clara and Elliot as they struggled to breath. He turned to them and asked them why they changed Axel's name, thinking Kylian was using some mind illusion to induce the pain, but Clara refused to answer the question. Kylian's eyes glowed once more as Elliot coughed up blood and Clara begged him to stop.

All she had to do was answer the question! Why did she change Axel's name?

"G-go to abyssus." Clara said as she herself coughed up blood before dropping her head on the table after Elliot. Louis, uneasy about how Kylian had knocked them out, walked up to Clara and Elliot, but their irises were gone.

Careful not to panic, he placed his hand on each of their necks, where Halley had shown him to, but he didn't feel anything.

"If you don't feel a pounding sensation," he remembered her saying, "That means the person is dead."

There was no way. Louis refused to believe Kylian could kill anyone in such a cruel way. He wasn't capable of something so horrible. Was he? With his brain scattered, Louis didn't realise he had grabbed Kylian's collar until he calmly asked, "What's wrong, Louis?"

What's wrong? He just killed them! How could he just kill them? Did he not care?

"No, and you shouldn't either, Louis. Why are you so worked up?"

Because Kylian just killed-

"Don't forget," Louis suddenly remembered, "If they catch you, they will kill you."

Chills ran up Louis's spine as he felt all the eyes of the guards and soldiers outside all on him. He could feel them burning holes in his back as he found himself staring at the ground as he began to giggle. Soon the giggle became full-blown laughter before Kylian asked him, "What's so funny?"

Louis tried to contain his laughter, but it only made him laugh even harder, so Kylian grabbed Louis's collar and slammed him against the wall, and yelled, "What is so funny?" Louis couldn't help himself, though, it was too funny.

Seeing Kylian so upset was just too funny.

Kylian let go at the comment and left the room as Amelia walked in to check on Louis. "What gives?" she asked, but Louis just wished Kylian let him kill one of them.

*****

It wouldn't stop. No matter how much Louis tried, he couldn't stop throwing up. The more he thought about stopping, the more his brain replayed the image of Clara and Elliot's dead bodies just lying there. He just stood there as they were being killed, thinking Kylian was bluffing his way through the interrogation. He didn't think any of it was real as he threw up. He didn't think they would actually die!

"Great job out there." Mrs. Park said from outside the bathroom of the infirmary, "We would've been in big trouble if you broke character."

What? Louis pushed himself up off the floor of the bathroom and marched outside before grabbing Mrs. Park by her collar.

Did Clara and Elliot's lives mean that little to her? Did she not care about Kylian committing murder without batting an eye?

How could she be so calm-

"For the sake of Wisteria," she answered, "For the sake of my family and friends. That's why I'm so calm."

Louis let go as his knees gave way and he dropped to the floor.

Was it really all worth it? Was being a spy worth it if Louis just watched people die in front of him? Watching people die while knowing he had the power to help them? He didn't think he could do it. He wanted to leave everything behind and just disappear.

"Julian will still find you, and I don't think he'll be so willing as to let us soundproof the room with a spell you learned from him."

Louis remained silent as Mrs. Park reached over to help him off the floor.

"Don't worry. When this is all over, I'll let you take the first punch."

Louis couldn't even fathom killing him.

"Killing who?"

Louis and Mrs. Park quickly turned around to face William, who was sitting up in his hospital bed.

"Who are you guys going to kill?"

Louis started to panic at the sight of William being awake, but that panic skyrocketed as the door knob to the infirmary began to turn.