Remington went to the office ready to start his mission. Sigil was there typing at the computer and very focused on his work. Zexich was also there sitting in a chair nearby looking very posh as Remington entered and waited to be acknowledged.

  “Hello Remington.” Zexich greeted him. “How is Lux handling his new life?” He asked, continuing to look very interested.

  “Well…..” Remington began. “…..he seems very distracted like before. He rambles about things and talks to someone who isn't there, but other than that he seems to be fairly settled.” Remington explained.

  “Sounds promising.” Zexich said.

  “Yeah. Could someone contact Dem for me? I am ready to go and see if we can rescue Maxwell now.” Remington said meekly.

  “I will message him.” Zexich said, pulling out his device. It wasn't long before Demetri arrived via portal and was ready to go.

  “Is Lux doing alright?” Demetri asked. Demetri was a very kind person in general and Remington knew he was genuinely concerned.

  “I watched him have a rather strange conversation with someone who wasn't there. Other than that he seems to be alright.” Remington said mildly.

  “Did he say anything about why he killed himself?” Demetri asked, looking concerned but curious.

  “He only told me that it was very necessary. He didn't explain why.” Remington said.

  “Hmm okay well let's get going.” Demetri said. He opened a portal to get to the void.

  “When we get there I need you to do something.” Remington said seriously before pressing the button. Demetri waited for his instructions. “This delusional world is easily manipulated by anyone who is feeling strong emotions, and you will be able to influence the delusion. I need you to make Maxwell as uncomfortable in this delusion as possible. Make it a nightmare he would want to escape from.” Remington said.

  “R-Right.” Demetri said

  Soon they were zooming through space and landing in the delusional world that Maxwell was trapped inside. Demetri now saw Maxwell sitting in the same spot in the big fluffy armchair looking very unhappy. Demetri was emotional, wishing he could hug Maxwell. He imagined very hard trying to make himself a part of this delusional world. Suddenly Maxwell looked up as if he heard something then jumped to his feet to run towards Demetri.

  “Demetri you're here!” Maxwell slammed into him. Demetri quickly reacted, hugging him back and choking back a sob. “I've been waiting forever to see you!” Maxwell was nearly in tears now.

  “Maxwell…” Demetri mumbled in relief. He then realized he needed to stay focused. He gathered his resolve trying to think of what would turn this moment into a nightmare.

  “Maxwell, I came to tell you something.” Demetri said, trying to sound firm.

  “What is it Demetri…tell me…” Maxwell sounded so happy to have his arms around him, it nearly crushed his resolve to destroy this moment.

  “I am not coming back to the common room. I've told Vexzer I can manipulate water and I'm going to start training.” Demetri said. This was step one to ruin the moment.

  “What?! But that's not what happens!” Maxwell nearly shouted leaning away to look at Demetri in disbelief.

  “I also told them if they try to train you that you would only end up killing The Superior. So they aren't going to let you train.” Demetri said, trying not to cringe.

  “Why would you tell them that!?!” Maxwell backed up and shouted. “If they never accept me into training then…!”

  “I'm leaving Maxwell. You are never going to see me again.” Demetri turned to walk away. It wasn't easy to destroy this moment for Maxwell. In fact it was heartbreaking to see him fall into a panic just before he turned to leave. He reached the door to the common room ready to walk out.

  “Squirt! You cannot leave me like this!! I will never see you again!!! I cannot live without you!!!” Maxwell was now hysterical. The ground began to rumble.

  “I'm sorry Maxwell, I just do not see a future for us if I stay here.” Demetri said while opening the door. The ground quaked violently now. “It's much better this way. Please don't follow me. I don't want you too.” Demetri said, breaking his own heart to tell Maxwell something that was so very untrue. Remington watched Maxwell cover his mouth as a sob slipped out and he dropped to his knees as fire began to swirl around him then suddenly there was a very calm moment just before BOOOOM fire erupted in a huge explosion. The force was huge then there was a crashing sound, as the delusion collapsed around them like shattered glass. Demetri felt the heat swoosh over him sending him crashing to the ground but somehow he wasn't burned. He had shielded his head with his arms and felt weight laying on top of him. Slowly he lowered his arms to see that Remington had jumped in front of the blast absorbing most of the impact.

  “Rem!” He shook him gently.

  “Ugh, are you alright Dem?” Remington shifted and pushed himself off of Demetri.

  “Yeah I'm fff..” He began until he noticed Maxwell on his knees covering his face with his hands. Demetri jumped up, ran, smashed into him, and began to sob. “Maxwell!” He cried.

  “Squirt….What happened?” He said softly now wrapping his arms around Demetri. Demetri didn't answer right away but continued to sob into Maxwell's neck.

  “You were trapped in a delusion! We have been trying to figure out how to get you out!” Demetri said finally through his sobbing. Remington sat quietly watching how relieved Demetri was to have Maxwell back and unharmed. He was glad to see them together again, but it also hurt tremendously because he felt like he would never have that same moment. Eventually Maxwell shifted to stand up and finally noticed Remington sitting watching them from not far away. He approached looking rather angry. Remington only sat and hoped that Maxwell would be angry enough to kill him on the spot. Demetri cut in front of him quickly.

  “Thank you Rem….for helping me get Maxwell back. You promised me you would help and you did. I am so very grateful. I think I can trust you a lot more now than I did after the battle ended.” Demetri said very sincerely. Remington glanced at Demetri for a moment then cautiously back to Maxwell.

  “I am glad to help.” He said softly. Maxwell looked more serious than he had ever seen before. Demetri turned to hug him again, nestling into his arms soaking in relief.

  “I'm gonna need an explanation.” Maxwell said firmly. Demetri nodded. Soon they were all gathered into the office and waiting for other key members who Demetri had alerted to join them. Zexich arrived first and quickly ran to Maxwell and hugged him.

  “I am so glad you have been recovered Sunshine!” Zexich squeezed him tightly

  “Me too, Zexie.” Maxwell said, hugging Zexich as he softly cried into his chest. He collected himself and pulled away just in time for Skyler to arrive and smash into Maxwell staggering him roughly backwards.

  “Oof, Creepy!” Maxwell wasn't at all prepared for this.

  “I'm so glad you're alright!” Skyler sobbed. A few others arrived and were very glad to see that Maxwell was safe. The last to arrive was Lucius who approached with Ava trailing just behind him.

  “Ax..” Lucius began. Maxwell tried to smile a bit awkwardly.

  “I needed a vacation.” Maxwell said with a shrug. Lucius grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. It wasn't planned but he couldn't help it.

  “I'm glad you’re safe.” Lucius said in relief. Maxwell sighed and hugged him back for a moment before pulling away.

  “I'm glad you’re safe too!” Ava's soprano voice piped up from behind them as he peeked around Lucius meekly. Lucius stepped back and put his arm around Ava.

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  “Thanks Java.” Maxwell said.

  “I'm sorry for what my brother did to you.” Ava said more seriously.

  “Speaking of…..I would really like to know what happened. It was as if suddenly I was asleep and I couldn't remember much from after the moment I joined the battle, but I was stuck in some neverending moment in time, and I couldn't escape. I really want information.” Maxwell looked around at everyone. Nobody seemed to want to begin the explanation. Remington sat in his normal seat looking to the floor wishing he could be anywhere else but in this situation.

  “Spit it out guys.” Maxwell said, getting irritated.

  “Lucius was able to extract the information of who had killed Ava.” Zexich began. Maxwell waited for the answer. Remington sank deeper into his seat. “It was Remington.” Maxwell looked angrily towards Remington now.

  “Why.” It was nearly a demand.

  “As I understand, it was upon Vezaias’s demand that he kill Ava. We have still yet to learn why Vezaias would make this demand.” Zexich said.

  “What the fuck Rem. So we are just going to let him go about his merry fucking way?” Maxwell snapped angrily. Remington cringed.

  “We have since voted not to kill him, and he will remain a member of the group however on a probational punishment until such a time we feel we can trust him again. As we have come to learn he was being abused, controlled, and manipulated by Vezaias, and wasn't 100% willing to do the things Vezaias forced him to do. We have seen proof of this and so far he hasn't shown any more aggression and he has been very cooperative with our efforts to recover you from the delusion that Vezaias trapped you in.” Zexich explained trying to be as delicate as possible for Remington’s sake.

  “So what happened in battle, where is this asshole so I can fucking kill him?” Maxwell snapped. Remington cringed more painfully.

  “There were significant losses during the battle. You were trapped by Vezaias, and used as leverage for them to escape, but I saw through that negotiation. Vezaias never planned on releasing you. So we continued the confrontation. Rocks gained us a significant critical hit, which disabled Vezaias but then he ordered Remington to kill Rocks, and he did.” Lucius explained very venomously as he exchanged a glance with Maxwell before looking at Remington who sat quietly in his seat listening to the horrible conversation. Maxwell looked at him with disdain. “After he killed Rocks, I initiated a critical hit on Remington then Skyler was able to secure Remington to the ground after I took care of Vezaias.” Lucius said very smugly.

  “So where is he?” Maxwell growled.

  “Vezaias is dead.” Lucius said as if he were proud of his work. Maxwell stared at Remington quietly who didn't look up from the floor.

  “Great job Lu. That almost makes up for that terrible haircut you have.” Maxwell said sourly. Lucius scoffed in frustration.

  “Alright what else happened?” Maxwell said very seriously, still staring at Remington.

  “We have discovered Vezaias has trapped others into a similar delusional world. Remington has been working to recover them as well.” Zexich answered.

  “Why did he do these things Rem?” Maxwell demanded. Remington swallowed hard and carefully looked up at Maxwell.

  “I don't know.” He said softly.

  “You. Don't. Know……..YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW!……….” Maxwell shouted, making Remington jolt a bit in fear. Demetri moved to pull Maxwell as he began to heat up. Maxwell only stood firm looming towards Remington. “Whether you wanted to help him or not…....you still fucking helped him……..and you were there while he executed these things……but you don't know why he did any of them?!” Maxwell shouted. Remington took a deep shaky breath before responding.

  “I guess he just didn't trust me enough to tell me what his motives or plan was.” Remington said softly, looking away from Maxwell’s threatening stance.

  “I don't think I trust you either, Rem.” Maxwell said with a growl. “I think you are lying out of your fucking teeth!” Maxwell snapped.

  “Finally someone sees my point of view.” Lucius said haughtily.

  “Remington is not lying. He has been very truthful in all of his explanations.” Sigil spoke up.

  “It's alright. I understand why he doesn't trust me. I wouldn't trust me either. I have repetitively said that I would have preferred my punishment to be death. I don't deserve any forgiveness, or compassion, or a chance to try and repair the trust I have lost with everyone. I think you are all fucking stupid for voting otherwise, and I've already explained why. Vezaias has completely ruined me. There is no redemption after the damage he has done to me. So by all means, if you feel you must kill me for following his orders, then do me a fucking favor and put me out of my misery!” Remington said standing up out of his chair. “I won't even try to defend myself if you decide to kill me! So what the fuck are you waiting for?!” Remington shouted. He looked to the floor and shut his eye, hoping for the end to happen. Maxwell was fuming and clenching his fists while very tempted to appease the request. Demetri jerked him shaking his head in protest.

  “No, Maxwell…..please……” Demetri begged him softly as he began to gush with tears. Maxwell glanced at him seeing how emotional he was and began to soften.

  “Fine….but he’ll be on my shit list for a while….” Maxwell said as he calmed down and pulled Demetri into his arms. “So, let me guess, the Mushroom got voted in as my replacement. I seriously hope you didn't fuck with my computer settings!” Maxwell announced now with an abrupt mood change into cheerfulness.

  “I am absolutely appalled at what you have done to the operating system on this computer. I am still trying to fix it.” Sigil said very flatly.

  “You better not have changed moo juice in the computer! Any other reference is just unacceptable!” Maxwell announced and the mood in the room lightened now as everyone laughed about the computer situation. Soon everyone began to leave the office and get back to their normal routine. Before Remington could leave, Rocks trotted over to talk to him.

  “Hey, you still need help with the other Ziona?” Rocks asked.

  “Yeah….but I would like to check on Lux first. I need to make sure he is alright before I go anywhere.” Remington said meekly. He wouldn't make eye contact which made Rocks feel uneasy.

  “That's fine. Just come to the office when you are ready.” Rocks said. Remington nodded softly and got up to leave the office. He had to walk, which was fine, until he found the door to his old bedroom, now Lux's new bedroom. He tapped on the door. There was no answer so he tapped again and became impatient and walked in. Lux sat at the desk smoking a cigarette and reading a book. Remington paused glancing at the book for a minute then continued to go sit on the bed. He dropped his face into his hands and cried softly to himself. Lux did not acknowledge him at first but only turned the page and continued to read. He read another page before he finally spoke.

  “The voices are telling me you are in need of emotional support right now.” He said as he paused his reading. Remington cried for a few moments still and rubbed the tears from his eye. “I feel like asking true or false questions will help, so is this true?” Lux asked.

  “Probably.” Remington said softly. Lux was quiet for a moment as if distracted. He then got up from the desk and wandered over to the bed and sat next to Remington. He put his arm around Remington's shoulders and leaned into him.

  “Soooo……what happened?” He asked very nonchalantly. Remington sniffled a bit, leaning into Lux feeling comforted. It was obvious he wasn't very knowledgeable about how to comfort people, but Remington really appreciated the effort he was putting in.

  “I got their leader back. He was pretty angry at me for what I've done. He made it very clear that he doesn't trust me and that he is glad that Vezaias is dead. I couldn't wait to get out of that situation.” Remington said softly trying to steady his breathing.

  “Hmph…...and what part of this made you so upset exactly?” Lux asked curiously.

  “Pretty much all of it. I really didn't want to be there at all or deal with Maxwell's attitude...” Remington said as a matter of factly.

  “Ah, the dumbass leader? You want me to stab him for you?” Lux asked as if it were a chore to add to his agenda.

  “Uh!…..No….…that would be rather counter productive.” Remington said with a jolt.

  “Yeah…..you are probably right.” Lux said nonchalantly. He glanced at Remington for a moment and smiled. This automatically made Remington blush deep red. “So are you feeling emotionally supported yet?” Lux asked in a raspy curious voice.

  “Um.…yeah….sure…..” Remington said a bit awkwardly. Lux smiled again then paused and shifted to mildly irritated.

  “I am doing my best okay? I haven't had anyone that needed me to be emotional supportive in a very long time!” Lux snapped. Remington looked even more awkward now that Lux was talking to who he assumed were the voices in his head. “Ughh! My bad that I'm not 'Mr. Fuckin Supportive' like you are apparently!” Lux retorted to whatever reply he heard. He looked very annoyed by the conversation now. “Fine, yes I will tell him.” He now turned back to Remington. “Vezaias would like me to tell you, that apparently I am terrible at being emotionally supportive, and he wishes he was here to do it.” Lux said very seriously and partially annoyed.

  “Oh, uh……no you are doing alright….” Remington said sheepishly. Remington wondered now if Lux was really talking to Vezaias or if this was just part of his schizophrenia symptoms.

  “Vezaias said the reaction you are having is because you are attracted to me and I make you go 'brain dead' just by talking to you while putting my arm around you like this.” He leaned into Remington more now looking at him much more seductively. Remington was struck, now locking onto Lux's icy blue eyes.

  “Uhh…” He stammered.

  “You know…...I think you're right…...he does look pretty stuck.” Lux said smoothly. Remington swallowed his desire before trying to speak.

  “Are you really communicating with Vezaias?” Remington asked meekly.

  “Hmm……maybe?……or……...I'm gonna go with……probably, but he just up and vanished when you asked about him.” Lux said. Remington couldn't help but lean closer. He swallowed back his desire again.

  “Um, Lux?” He said softly.

  “Hmm?” Lux hummed deeply. He lowered his gaze drawing his eyes over Remington's body slowly.

  “Do you think it would be okay if I kissed you?” Remington said, nearly holding his breath now as Lux drew his icy blue eyes back up to look at Remington.

  “There will probably be consequences.” Lux said as if he was worried.

  “Oh….alright……….”

  “Vezaias told me he is going to make it easier to extract Ziona from her delusion since she is being a fucking bitch and resisting. He wants us to go and check on his father next, after you get your privileges back.” Lux explained.

  “Uh…..sure.” Remington said softly.