The trepidation further sets in with each step that I take. The sound of my heels clicking down the hallway echoes throughout the outpost, leaving me in silence with my thoughts. Am I really about to risk it all just for the hope that these witches I barely know will keep their promise and save Michael? Did I really just double-cross Michael when I know that he can easily kill me?
My heart begins racing when I hear another pair of footsteps join my own. The distinctive click of Michael's boots grows closer, and I slowly turn towards the side hallway where Mallory was stabbed.
I straighten out, composing myself, as a blood-covered Michael walks towards me. "Michael," I state stiffly, attempting to block out the emotions threatening to seep through the name.
He stops and straightens out as well, facing me down. "Valentina," he replies, matching my tone. "I hope for your sake that what I saw in Coco's mind was not true."
"I think that we both saw this coming," I state.
"We had a deal," he retorts, the betrayal clear in his voice.
"Deals do not bind me to a plan of action," I respond. "Let's just say that I had won the bet; would you have dropped this whole plan?"
He looks down as he shakes his head. "No."
I chuckle to myself bitterly. "Well, maybe you were right; we are more alike than I thought."
He smiles sadly. "So what, are you going to make me kill you? Or are you going to get out of my way?"
"You still have time," I ignore his question. "You can help the witches perform Tempus Infinitum. They can undo the mess of things in this timeline."
He shakes his head. "This is how it has to be."
"Says who? Your father?" I question almost mockingly.
"No, me. Valentina, I am evil, and it's my job to do this."
Fuck, I'm losing him. "We both know that's a lie. You're not truly evil, and your younger self was not at all evil. This isn't what you want and you know it."
"Stop trying to mess with my head!" he yells. "It worked before, but it's not going to happen again."
"I'm only trying to help you!" I protest. "Your father is the one messing with your head!"
"Enough!" he shouts as he presses a hand to his head.
I step forward. "I get it. You're torn between two sides here. You need to listen to me when I tell you that-"
"Don't you get it?" Michael cuts me off. "I don't want to be good. I'm a lost cause. So either get behind me or die with the witches."
I step back as I shake my head. "You aren't a lost cause. Stop being a coward and defy your father for once."
He snaps his head up to stare me down. "What?"
"You heard me. You're being a coward. You're giving in to the problem instead of fighting it. I get it, I'm not as scary as Satan-"
"That's debatable," he shrugs.
I roll my eyes and ignore him. "-but that doesn't mean I'm not correct. I'm right, and you know it."
He shakes his head and looks down.
After a minute, he looks back up at me, realization setting in his face. "You're stalling."
I scoff. "Took you long enough to realize."
He quickly walks past me and turns down the hallway just as Myrtle and Cordelia finish their chant. "Fuck!" he gasps, most likely reading their minds to see their plans of performing the Sacred Taking.
Cordelia and Myrtle ignore him as the floor lights on fire between them. Myrtle hands a knife to Cordelia, tears streaming down both of their faces. I had no clue what this "Sacred Taking" shit was, but now I can tell quite clearly what is about to happen.
"I love you," Cordelia whispers to Myrtle. She smiles as she plunges the knife into her own chest.
"No!" Michael shouts, running down the hallway even though he knows damn well that the damage has been done. Cordelia watches smugly as she falls backwards, down the stairwell. As she hits the ground, the fire extinguishes along with her life force.
I quickly read Myrtle's mind to see that all of her focus is on protecting Mallory so she can rise as Supreme and perform Tempus Infinitum.
Michael reads Myrtle's mind as well and begins running for the bathroom. Myrtle throws out her arm to create a barrier in front of the bathroom, and Michael slams into it.
"You really think that can stop me?" he asks Myrtle mockingly.
She smiles sadly. "Oh, dear, I do not need to stop you; only delay you."
His smug face drops, and he glares at Myrtle angrily. He snaps his fingers and she lights on fire. He turns his attention away from her burning body and transmutates into the bathroom.
"Fuck," I mutter, knowing that now's my time. I sigh as I transmutate into the bathroom, appearing between Michael and Mallory.
"Get out of my way," Michael states angrily, looking past me at Mallory's healing body in the bathtub.
"No."
"Don't make me do this," he threatens.
"I won't," I shrug as I throw an arm out to throw him back into the wall; however, he throws his arm out at the same time and multiplies my energy before reflecting it at me, throwing me back into the wall well behind the bathtub.
As I'm picking myself up off the ground, I hear a loud snap. Shit. I know that I didn't make that sound.
I quickly look up to see Michael dropping Mallory's dead body into the bathtub, her neck snapped.
Shit. All my hopes of undoing this mess were just killed along with Mallory.
He slowly raises his head to glare at me, the anger emanating off of him. I look between him and Mallory's body, thinking the inevitable; I'm probably going to be joining her soon. At this point, the only noise in the room is our heavy breathing.
"Well fuck," I mutter, breaking the silence.
"Oh, you have really fucked up this time," he states mockingly as he charges towards me. Before I can react, he grabs my wrist harshly and pulls me towards the door.
"Get your hands off of me," I state condescendingly as I try to pry his hand off my wrist.
He doesn't budge; in fact, he yanks me forward, knocking me off my feet. He doesn't even wait for me to catch my balance as he drags me into the hallway.
"Let me go, you asshole!" I protest as I attempt to pull my wrist from his grasp. "I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself."
"You have some real audacity to be telling me what to do after betraying me like that," he snaps, his voice taking on a tone of anger I haven't heard before.
We reach his office and he throws open the door before flinging me onto the ground.
"Fuck you!" I yell as I take my wrist in my hand. "I never wanted to be your ally! You should've seen this coming!"
"I trusted you!" he shouts angrily, his eyes on fire. "You said you loved me!"
I pull myself to my feet and turn to face him. "I did, and maybe I still do! I don't even fucking know anymore, Michael! All that I knew was that I wasn't going to let you get away with blowing up the world!"
"If you loved me, you wouldn't have pulled this shit!" he yells.
"No, if you loved me, you wouldn't have forced me to go through with that plan with you!" I retort.
"Maybe we don't love each other!"
"Then why am I still alive? If you don't love me, kill me!" I argue. "Put me out of my misery."
He shakes his head. "You don't mean that."
"Then you don't mean what you said," I retort, crossing my arms.
He sighs and looks down for a few minutes, contemplating what to do. He looks back up at me. "Do you still love me?" he asks, his tone suddenly seeming much calmer.
I scoff and turn away, already knowing the answer. "I don't even know how it's possible; I want to hate you in the worst kind of way, yet I don't."
He nods and we sit in silence for a few seconds.
"Do you still love me?" I ask.
He nods. "I do." He holds his arms out defeatedly. "And now I don't know what the hell to do with you. You've lost my trust."
"Since when did I have your trust?" I scoff.
He rolls his eyes as he walks towards me. "I need you to stay here while I shower."
"Or I could go shower," I suggest. "Thanks to that bitch that stabbed Mallory, I'm covered in her blood."
He rolls his eyes. "No can do. I'm not letting you out of my sight unless I know you won't be going anywhere."
"Fine," I shrug. "I promise I won't go anywhere. Good enough?"
He rolls his eyes before placing a hand on my shoulder. I give him a strange look, but before I can question it, he mutters something in Latin under his breath and shoves me back into the chair behind me.
"What the hell?" I complain as I go to stand up; however, I can't stand up. I try again, but it still doesn't work.
"Now I know you won't go anywhere," he states smugly.
"You asshole!" I accuse. "Did you seriously work some magic to make me stuck in this chair?"
He shrugs. "Consider yourself lucky. I could've made you stuck to the spot where you were standing; then you would've been forced to stand until I came back."
I roll my eyes. "Wow. How considerate."
He smirks and turns on his heel. As he's walking, he tilts his head to the side and my chair falls backward. "Shit!" I curse as the back of the chair slams into the ground, jolting me violently with it.
I hear Michael chuckle from the doorway to his bedroom before closing it behind him.
I groan and allow my head to fall back until it hits the ground. I scoff to myself, thinking the obvious; how the hell do I still love this man?