The door closed behind Chaewon, and she turned back to see Elliot sitting on the bed in front of her, "We need to talk," She said to them.
"Yeah, we do."
"...Do we know her?" She asked her husband, leaning back against the door, "She seems so familiar, but I don't…"
Elliot seemed to be considering something, "I talked to her at the wedding—Or, I tried to talk to her. She was extremely vague, and I'm pretty sure she outright lied to me when I asked her if we had met before."
Chaewon crossed her hands, "I mean, we must have. If we worked for her goddamn government, albeit not the part that tried to kill her, then surely we must have met her. I mean, she didn't seem like the kind of queen to hide her identity."
"With the way she talked? My guess is that she was pretty familiar with most White Lotus members before she died, both the ones that killed her and the ones that were not involved. For some reason though, she knows us but doesn't want us to know that she knows us," Elliot leaned back on their hands.
The woman sighed, "It's not just that we logically know her. She feels familiar, doesn't she? Like Xander but…Somehow stronger and yet more distant. How is she even a ghost? I didn't even know something like that was possible…"
"I have my theories…I think. I don't know how much we can talk about it though before it gets to us," Elliot sighed, "I think Apocalypse tried to find a loophole, and it didn't work. It must have had to do with the way she died."
"Logically, we shouldn't trust her, right?" Chaewon looked at them, her eyes confused, "I mean, if we heard this from any other person we didn't know, we wouldn't trust them, right? It's so suspicious. She's hiding stuff from us."
"So, why do we trust her?" Elliot asked softly.
She let out a breath of air, "I don't…Know. I just…Trust her. We don't even know her and yet why do I feel like she genuinely cares about us?"
"Not to mention, why Risále? What's the connection there? Maybe…Apocalypse seemed to know how much Leon was involved, and just by coincidence, she ended up residing in Risále's body, who Leon has had a massive crush on and been best friends with?" Chaewon asked.
Elliot stood up, "I think what our real question is, what could be her ulterior motives? If we figure that out—"
"—Then we know why she's doing the things she is," Chaewon finished, "So, what possible motives could she have?"
"The first could be that what she is saying is true, that she really does want to help us out of this situation," Elliot said, "She made a mistake trying to get herself to safety, and she really wants to help us because she doesn't want to see us make the same mistakes."
Chaewon hummed, "Well, she would have another strong reason for trying to help us. She hates the White Lotus more than anyone else."
Elliot nodded, "It would make sense. If the legend is true, then she was murdered by the White Lotus members in her government. She could be trying to help us out simply out of spite, which is honestly still good enough for us."
"The third reason would be that she's using us for the long game. Especially since she seems to know Leon, Risále, you, and I used to be White Lotus scientists," Chaewon said, taking a seat next to them on the bed.
But Elliot shook their head, "But she seems to not care about the fact that Bella used to be a scientist as well. And technically Fenix too. She seems much more focused on the four of us."
"That would lead us to the fourth reason," Chaewon sighed, "She wants revenge on us."
"That…That would normally be the most likely scenario, seeing as we were part of her government and White Lotus scientists but…I don't know why, but I'm almost sure that she doesn't want revenge on us. Plus, why would she give us so much information that from what I know, seems to check out?" Elliot asked.
"She could be trying to bait us into believing her."
"Do you honestly believe that?"
"...No."
"Besides," Elliot sighed, "Remember I said I talked to her at Xander and Kaedan's wedding?"
"Mhm?"
They shifted a bit, leaning back on their hands, "That…That wasn't the voice of someone who wanted to do us harm. That was the voice of someone who has seen too much and been through too much. Her grudge seems solely towards the ones who killed her so—"
There was a knock on the door, and Chaewon and Elliot looked at each other before the younger stood up and walked over, opening it. To their surprise, it was Risále, except…
"Risále needs to be in charge right now, and I was told you two would probably be the best at taking care of Xingxing?" Apocalypse asked.
Elliot took the baby from her arms, looking at her, "Yeah, we can handle that…Is there anything else you need?"
Apocalypse seemed to hesitate for a moment before sighing, "I can tell you and Chaewon have questions. I can answer them to the best of my ability, and I'll tell you what you need to know."
"You don't have to—"
"If it will help you guys trust me more, then I can tell you more. I just…Might not be able to answer everything. For both of our own good," Apocalypse took a deep breath, "You want answers, I'll give you answers."
Elliot looked at her for a moment before opening the door wider and letting her in. Apocalypse closed the door behind her and turned to face Chaewon and Elliot, the latter holding Xingxing, rocking her back to sleep.
"Alright, if you're answering our questions, we might as well begin," Chaewon crossed her legs.
"Whenever you're ready," Apocalypse nodded.
"How did you die?" Elliot asked, softly, "And don't just tell us about the legend vaguely, tell us what actually happened."
Apocalypse kicked the ground absentmindedly, "Guess I'm not getting around this," She muttered, "It was a coup d'etate, or an attempted one. The White Lotus were the ones that put me in charge of Sector 4, but they started fearing that I was gaining too much power and control, especially since I knew what was really going on. So, they wanted to put me down. There…There were a few people who tried to help me and didn't go along with it. Almost all of them were killed by the White Lotus, or I sent them away."
"Is that what happened with us?" Chaewon asked.
"...Yes. Both of you didn't want to go along with the plan made by the White Lotus, and they were planning on murdering you both. I was the one who suggested you send Leon away earlier so he would be out of harm's way, and then I had you assigned to his location so you could meet up with him. Obviously, something happened in between and that's why you and Leon were separated. White Lotus agents overwhelmed me and they…Are you sure you want to know? It's not very pleasant," Apocalypse said, looking at them worriedly.
Elliot nodded, "Tell us. We need to know."
Apocalypse let out a deep breath, "If you're sure. I held off the White Lotus as much as I could but they disarmed me and knocked me out. When I woke up…" She shivered, holding herself, "I was in a coffin, or…I thought it was a coffin. Until the pain started. It took me a while to realize the walls were still moving, closing in on me. I didn't even realize they had a contraption like this. It's a primitive one, it hasn't been used in centuries, even over a thousand years. Have either of you heard of an…Iron maiden?"
"They had one?!" Elliot asked, almost standing up, but quickly remembering the child in their arms. They sat back down, "They had one, and they…Used it on you?"
"Not that exactly…" Apocalypse scratched her neck, "It was…A strangely old model. So, instead of there being spikes, there were holes. And I guess it was manual in a way, because then…"
The realization settled in Chaewon's eyes, and she let out a soft breath, "Oh no, they didn't…"
"Sixty swords. They wanted to show their message, their very own Julius Caesar. Anyone who becomes too powerful, who becomes a threat to them, would be painfully and quickly silenced," Apocalypse said, her voice almost distant as she described it, "But I didn't die. They left me in there, but they didn't actually kill me. Not that they'd know, they never bothered to check."
"You were stuck in there?" Elliot asked softly.
"I got out of the iron maiden. But they'd sealed all the ways out. I didn't really have an option, so I…I ended it."
"Jesus," Chaewon breathed out, running her hand through her hair.
"Yeah," Apocalypse said, her voice tired, "So, no, the White Lotus didn't kill me. I killed myself."
Elliot looked at Chaewon, and she nodded, "Why Risále?" They asked, handing the baby to Chaewon and crossing their arms.
Apocalypse smiled wryly at that, "If I knew, I would tell you. It's not like I chose her either, when I regained consciousness, suddenly I was residing in someone else's brain. Besides, you think I'd willingly choose this one?"
Chaewon tilted her head, "That is a fair point. No offense to Risále but…The girl doesn't remember jack shit. Wouldn't be convenient if you were trying to do something harmful to us."
"She is, in fact, offended, by the way," Apocalypse smiled.
"I said no offense!"
"Anyways," Elliot said trying to regain both of their attention, "You seem to only care that Chae, Leon, and I were ex-scientists, but not Bella, Fenix, or Risále. Why?"
Apocalypse hummed, "Well, firstly, that's not true. I do care about little Rosále over here being a scientist, she was on the same level as Leon with the amount of progress she gave the White Lotus. But she doesn't remember anything important right now, so I don't care that much. Fenix and Bella weren't involved with me at all. You were both in my government and Leon was your little brother and one of the smartest children selected in the special program by the White Lotus. That means he, along with Risále, has the highest chance of stopping," She gestured around, "All of this."
"Why are you helping us? Wouldn't it make more sense for you to want us to die as well, since you died? How do we know we can trust you?" Chaewon asked.
"You don't. My words are all you really have to go off of, but I really don't want any of you to go through what I did. You're all victims, just like me. If the White Lotus were like us, then maybe I would have gone to them to try and deceive them but as you know, they're different," Apocalypse explained.
"Actually," Elliot said quietly, "Your words aren't the only thing we have," He looked her directly in the eyes as he asked, "Do we know you? Before this, back in Sector 4. Did we know you?"
Apocalypse sighed, shaking her head, "None of that matters now."
"So, we did know you. Personally or just as people who worked under you?" Chaewon asked, standing up after putting Xingxing down on the bed.
"Why do you want to know?" Apocalypse asked, her voice letting the slightest bit of pain tinge it.
"Because you feel familiar! And I don't know why and it's driving me insane. Us, insane," Chaewon said, stepping forward.
The red-eyed woman simply stood there before making a decision, "Yes, we knew each other. We had met and talked before. I suppose you could say we were friends. But that was long ago, and nothing can change that, especially since I'm dead. Now, if that's all there is, I'll be taking my leave."
"Wait—"
Before Chaewon could finish her sentence, the young woman's eye rolled up into her head and Elliot moved forward to grab her before she slumped to the ground. As she regained consciousness, her eyes once again brown, Risále muttered, "God, she needs to stop doing that without warning me. Hey, guys."
Chaewon and Elliot looked at each other, "...She was lying again, wasn't she?" Chaewon asked quietly.
But Risále simply shrugged, "It's not for me to tell. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd really like a drink of water, that last possession took quite a bit out of me."