Bargaining continued to stare at Alton with a smug victorious look as he continued to test the chessboard. "How long are you going to stand there for?"

"Sorry, I'm not here for a good old chitchat."

"Well, yes, I can see that. Look you aren't going anywhere anytime soon so just sit down. We're both like family."

Alton reluctantly accepted walking up the hill standing by the table, seeing a tense game of chess halfway through. Getting a closer look at the board, he noticed black only had six pieces left while white had five. It was then he saw the details represented the people he knew. The black was the garden, and the five stages of grief engraved deep into it while the white was V.I.R.A.L and the streamers. He was one of the black pieces trapped in a stalemate with one white chip. "What is this?"

"Chess." Bargaining cold said, messing with his own piece. "A game trapped in the balance. Who will win the Garden or the streamers? No matter how many times I move my piece, it just goes back. Decided by the fate of the Gardeners."

"Who?"

"My masters. They took a step out to water the plants. They control the game. That's all this is."

"A game?"

Bargaining raised his eyebrows to Alton's seat as he eventually sat down. Holding a cup up to a purple flower liquid oozed out as he took a small sip. "Yes, my masters use it to pass the time. They are as old as the Garden itself. When you are alive for that long, you need something to pass the time correct?"

"So that's all this is? The war 400 years ago and now the return is all just a game?"

"More or less. There is a little bit more than that. This Garden use to be apart of the world at one point. But the old man up in the sky got jealous, he saw what the Garden was becoming and banished it to another realm of existence. Now the Gardeners have no way to return to your world unless they conquer said world. It's all rather complicated, to be honest. They aren't ones to say much."

Alton fidgeted around looking at the chess piece. "What about this child of the Garden?"

Bargaining smirked nodding. "Isn't that the million-dollar question? I'm sure you're more than aware you're not exactly human. Those strange powers and thirst for carnage are none other than the property of the Garden. Children of the Garden have been known for thousands of years, see them as anomalies. A glitch in the system, they are children who shouldn't exist, immune to the manipulation of the Garden. They alongside Salvation are the only beings of the Garden who can stand up to the Gardeners."

"Salvation?"

"The sixth stage of grief, the only way to achieve Salvation is for all the stages to join together to defeat the Gardeners or if someone absorbs each stage. Nasty business though which has never been done."

"Why is that?"

"Well I mean it's not like it's never been done before. Stages have tried turning against their masters. But thanks to the Garden's control never can go through with it. Besides thanks to the stages given to us, we are always working against each other. Denial and Acceptance can never see eye to eye, can they? So, the endless cycle continues whether or not they win or lose is just a game at the end of the day. The Gardeners don't mind waiting 400 years for another try it's all sport for them."

"You said I could stand against the Gardeners."

"Well, I mean you could, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you fancy dying. A single Gardener is worth more than all five stages combined."

"You just said only the five stages combined can stand up to the Gardeners."

"I said stand up, I never said anything about winning. It's all trivial matters. None of it really matters in the end. You're quite lucky though Brantley. Most children of the Garden are taken care of very quickly. You are one of the few lucky ones to escape. You can thank your father for that."

"I'll be sure to thank him next. I see him. These Gardeners how many are there?"

Bargaining frowned placing his drink down. "Eh, you know…"

"You aren't going to tell me?"

"Not particularly. I'm done answering your questions. If you want any more questions answered, we need to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

Bargaining laughed, shaking his head. "Don't look so serious. It's nothing to what you're thinking. It's simply a question for a question. If you want to ask me something you too will have to answer one of mine."

"You have questions for me?"

"Why of course, it's only natural I would want to question a child of the Garden. I've never met one in the flesh. So, do we have a deal on that?"

"Fine."

"Great. Shall I start?"

Alton smirked, shaking his head. "I've already answered one of your questions."

Bargaining chuckled, tapping his finger on the table. "You aren't going to make this easy for me, eh? Fine ask away."

"Why does everyone want me dead?"

"Oh well, that's simple. I thought you would know that one. You're the anomaly in this game. Tell me if someone was cheating in your game, what would you do?"

"Get rid of them…"

"Exactly. To us, you're just that. A clog in the system, until you are taken care of."

"What about Zinnia then?"

"Now just wait a moment. Are you forgetting our deal?"

 Alton snarled leaning back in his chair. "Fine… What do you want to know?"

Bargaining thought long and hard before coming up with a question. "I really only have one question for you, I suppose. If given the opportunity, would you become one of the five stages of grief?"

He stopped for a moment, unsure of what to think. Alton was left speechless. This wasn't nearly what he was expecting. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me right. Answer the question."

"A stage of grief? No… I couldn't even imagine… I would have to be pushed to the very limit to even think of such a thing. That would be going against everything I could ever stand for!"

"A pity. You would have made a good stage…"

Alton felt sweat trickling down his forehead as he cleared his throat. "Now answer my question. What did you do to Zinnia?"

"Now, before you lose your shit, I should have you know this. My stage is to grant a contract with the chosen party. They are no obligated into agreeing and can turn down the offer all the same. So, remember what happened was entirely Zinnia's free will. I simply offered her the contract to protect the people she cared most about. I'll be sincere I didn't expect her to actually accept. I thought she would be smarter than that. After seeing the mental overloads and fighting Acceptance, it was a mere throwaway choice. I will hold up that end of the bargain no matter what, but she too must hold her side."

"By killing me."

"Can you blame me? A child of the Garden is right in front of me. I can't have you meddling with my plans."

"Your plans? You said your plans, not theirs."

Bargaining rested his arms on the table shrugging. "I'll leave that up to your interpterion. It's up to you Alton you can stop Zinnia or let her kill you and fulfil the contract."

"As if it's that easy… Say Bargaining… How about we make a deal."

"Excuse me?"

Alton turned to him nervously taking the risk. "I know there's no way to stop your contract unless through completion or death but if we were to make our own contract then you could cancel hers and save Zinnia correct?"

"Well, now you have my undivided attention. To answer that, why yes I most certainly could."

"Then, Bargaining," Alton whispered, building up the courage. "I'd like to make a deal."

"Very well. I'll put the cards on the table, shall I? I take it you want me to release my contract on Zinnia and leave her in peace."

"Yes. Cancel the contract and leave her mind alone. That's my side."

"That can be done. For my side of the deal, you have to do something for me first. I will only grant you that deal if you do one thing for me. I want you to join the five stages of grief."

Alton flinched eyes twitching as he almost fell from his seat. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Bargaining smirked knowing he had Alton right where he wanted him. "This is no joke. If you want to save your precious friend, you must join our ranks and become one of the five stages. Whether that is Denial, Anger, Depression, or Acceptance doesn't matter. I'll uphold the contract once you join us."

"Why?"

"To tell you the truth from the moment I first saw you, I could tell you'd make a good stage. I haven't quite worked out which one but nonetheless I see it. The ritual is fairly simple. Defeat a stage of grief and prove to the Gardeners you can harness the power you will be granted the influence of the Garden. Plus, it would be interesting to see what happens if a Child of the Garden was able to become a stage. So what is yo-."

"I accept," Alton stated cutting off Bargaining who looked shocked. "If that is the way for you to stop corrupting Zinnia I'll accept."

"My, my. It seems all you Rhapsody members are full of surprises I was sure you wouldn't accept. Things just got a lot more interesting. I must applaud you for such a turnabout to shock the likes of me is most impressive. As a token of goodwill, I will leave Zinnia alone… For now. The contract is still in place, and until you complete yours, she will be tasked to kill you. The next time I tell her too, she won't stop. I'll be interested in finding out how you get around to completing this task. As a final bonus, I'll leave you with a little gift."

Bargaining clicked his fingers as Alton jerked back in his chair, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down at his hands, he felt freezing. "The hell did you do?"

"I undid that seal the girl pulled on you. We can't have the Child of the Garden handicapped, now can we? I must say all of this is rather exciting now. I haven't been this excited about something like this for nearly 400 years. Who will come out on top? The hero of Rhapsody or the Blizzard of Hero's Might? The clock is ticking."

"My powers are back…"

"You can thank me later… Now off you go before the Gardeners get back. If they knew you exist, well that would put quite the dent in my plan."

The world began to fade away as Alton felt a pullback to the real world.

****

Alton woke still holding onto Zinnia. As she woke up, she was still entitled to fight him. With the seal broken Alton acted slamming the ground freezing everything around. Zinnia began freezing up shivering as her force was drained before she gave up falling over weak. Alton took a deep breath cold air leaving his mouth. "The things I do for you girl…"

"Alton!" Scarlett yelled, running over before stopping a small distance from him. "That power. What did you do?"

"What had to be done. The Garden has gotten to Zinnia. Make sure she's alright."

"What are you going to do?"

"Adjusting my wish…" Alton clenched his fist tightly looking at Zinnia with a look of pity. "Don't you worry Zinnia… I promise to save you."

"This has all gotten much more interesting. It's almost time… It's almost time for the main event. Showtime!"