At The End Of It All

Stalemate

Adrien's P.O.V

I woke up restrained to a chair in a dark room. There was nothing around me but four grey walls and a lone door across from me. I could barely see, since there were no windows, and no light. My memory was crystal clear, and I could remember how I broke Mr. Culler's arm. It wasn't the worst part.

I felt no remorse for it. I remembered the sounds of his arm breaking in so many different places, how he screamed and begged for me to stop, and how I smiled all through the whole thing, but I didn't feel an ounce of guilt. Not even fear.

I felt nothing.

But I remembered something else.

Chaos.

I'm here.

I waited for him to laugh. To tell me I failed and take over my body completely. But nothing happened. As the silence became deafening, I became more and more confused.

Aren't you going to take over me?

Do you want me to?

My eyes narrowed. No, of course not, but...I lost, didn't I?

You'd think you'd want to win, he said with an annoyed sigh. However much I would have liked it to be so, no. You didn't lose. You surprised me, I must say, but then again, you always seem to have something up your sleeve, whether you're aware of it or not.

What do you mean?

The deal was that you needed to request for my help, not that you needed to be declared completely insane. You never called for me, so technically, you didn't lose.

What?

Why are you so surprised?

Well, I never thought of you as a person who would keep your word like that. Even up to the technicalities.

Think of it as a stalemate, Agreste. No losses, but nowhere to go.

I figured that he was right. It was strange, having expected Chaos to jump at the chance of getting my body under his control, whether or not I won the deal. He seemed very pleased with himself, though, and that only made me feel more confused.

Then it hit me.

A stalemate. No more possible moves, but no losses sustained. I began to wonder about the reason he said that. Why were there no possible moves?

And...who would sustain no losses? Me?

Or...Chaos?

Oh, and by the way, you were declared a danger to everyone in the facility after your little attack, so it's being decided upon whether you should be moved to a more intensive institution...or put down altogether.

I choked. "What?" I hissed, and Chaos burst into fits of laughter in my head.

What were you expecting? You might not remember, but you broke a lot more than just his arm. Ha, you should see your face, it's priceless. Oh, I'm banking on them killing you, if it wasn't already blatantly obvious.

In that instant, I remembered why I didn't trust Chaos. He was a manifestation of evil that lived in my psyche, so he was incapable of thinking in ways that were not evil. His purpose was to hurt. To destroy. He was called Chaos, after all. The only reason he hadn't taken over my body was because it would be pointless if I was dead, or moved to some place where my every move was watched and restricted.

My fate was inevitable.

But I wasn't going to stand and let it happen.

How long have I been here? I asked.