I quickly grab Coco's arm and begin to rush down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" she asks as she follows me, matching my quick pace.

"We need to get down the stairs before Langdon-"

We round the corner so that we are at the top of the main staircase, and, timely as ever, Michael is on his way to the staircase as well. "Fuck," I mutter under my breath as I step in front of Coco protectively. "What the hell did you do to Venable?" I yell at him, noticing Mead walking behind him.

He disappears and I turn on my heel, knowing that he'll be there.  I'm met with his smug face looking down at me and Coco.  "I killed her, just as I will kill you, witch bitch."

Ok, good.  He's sticking with the plan.  "Fuck," I mutter as I turn to the stairs.  "Run!"  Coco and I begin to run for the stairs, but a force hits me and I fall flat on my face.

Coco turns back to me, already considerably ahead.  "Run, Coco!" I yell.  "The women down there can help you!"  I hope the witches will realize that Coco is innocent and not kill her.

"But Valentina-"

"Go, Coco!"

"I'm sorry!" she apologizes as she turns and runs down the stairs.

I sigh as Michael grabs me and pulls me up to face him.  He looks off to the side, making sure Coco is gone, before releasing me.  "You good?" he asks, keeping his voice low.

I nod.  "I must admit, I think my acting is unmatched."

He rolls his eyes.  "It'll do.  The issue is, it'll take more than good acting to convince the witches that we're enemies."

"What do you mean-"

I am cut off when he throws his arm out, flinging me across the hallway.  I gasp as I slam into the wall, the wind being knocked out of me.

Before I can process it, Michael tangles his hand in a fistful of my hair, and I cry out in pain. He uses his leverage on me to drag me down the stairs. "Let me go, asshole!" I shout. 

I can feel the witches' eyes turn to us as we begin to descend the stairs. I quickly light Michael's shoe on fire, and he releases me. I cradle my scalp in one hand as I use the other to get up. By the time I'm on my knees, he has put the fire out. Unphased, he raises an arm, and I am knocked off my feet. I fly down to the landing in the stairs and land on the floor.

"She's a witch," the older red-haired witch whispers.  

"No shit," a young blonde one responds.  "And it seems that he doesn't like her."

Michael grabs my hair and roughly pulls me to my feet while they're talking.

"You're lucky I haven't killed you yet," Michael states as he pins me against his side.

"Have you really captured one of our sister witches to use against us?" a blonde woman at the front states condescendingly. I remember her from Michael's memories as Cordelia.

"It's more like she came right to me. She was one of the Outpost residents. I knew what she was as soon as I saw her, but she didn't. She fell right into my trap."

"I did not, asshole," I kick him.

He quickly covers my mouth with his hand. "I would've also captured Mallory, but I was unsure of how aware of her powers she was. I was able to sniff out the identity spell you placed on her, so I decided to let the simple humans in this outpost kill her."

"Well, you failed at that," the red-haired one, Myrtle, says.  "We just brought her back."

"Yes, and I was planning on that.  I needed some way to lure you witches here so I could kill you.  What better way than to kill the witch under an identity spell?"

"Let's not forget the witch that you missed," Cordelia interrupts.

He raises a brow. I don't know what Cordelia is talking about either.

Coco steps forward from behind Cordelia.  "Me, asshole."

Holy shit.  Coco's a witch.  Fuck, it looks like Michael won't spare her anymore.

"And you know what, I know that Valentina is one damn powerful witch," Coco continues. "She was able to bring me back to life, and she will easily beat your ass when her powers are combined with ours."

"Wait, but what's even going on between you two?" Mallory asks.  "I thought you were..."

I quickly push Michael's hand off my mouth.  "How many times do I have to repeat that it was a mistake-"

Michael cuts me off by pressing his hand back over my mouth.  "What better way to manipulate someone than win their heart?"

I send him a glare as I drive my heel into his foot.  He winces for a split second but is otherwise unaffected.

"Let the poor girl go," the young blonde, Madison, states condescendingly.  "It's clear she's not into you.  Besides, we're six to one; the extra baggage won't do you any good."  She motions to all the witches around her.

"There are not six of us," Dinah states as she steps forward and begins to walk towards the staircase.  "Cordelia, you should've known that I would only pick one side: the winning side."

"I do know," Cordelia states.  "You were not included in our headcount of six."

Dinah sends her a questioning glance as a voice booms throughout the outpost.  "They needed the help of a powerful Voodoo Queen."  The voice's owner steps out from behind the witches.  I immediately recognize her from the textbooks in this school; she's Marie Laveau.  "That's not you sis."

"Marie Laveau," Dinah hisses.  She opens her mouth to say something else, but Marie transmutates to behind her, machete in hand, and slices straight into her neck.

Dinah gasps as she falls to the ground, dead within seconds.  I must admit, I am not sad at all to see her go; she was a drag.

Marie flips her hair behind her back as she turns to the witches smugly.  "Out with the trash."

Michael quickly turns to Ms. Mead behind us.  "Ms. Mead," he states expectantly.

Cordelia extends her arm and whispers something in Latin, and Ms. Mead begins convulsing uncontrollably. Michael turns to face Ms. Mead, a perplexed look on his face.  "Ms. Mead?"

Without warning, she explodes, sending me and Michael over the railing of the staircase. I transmutate over to Coco as soon as I hit the floor to get out of the way. Coco quickly catches me, and I turn back to look at Michael.  He is laying on the ground, holding Mead's head in his hands.

Madison runs for Mead's arm that functions as a gun.  While Michael is standing up, she swings the gun towards him.

"Sorry about your little toy, bitch."  She smirks as she shoots him multiple times until he backs into the wall before slowly collapsing to the ground. 

"That won't keep him down long," Myrtle sighs worriedly as she walks over to his body.

I read Myrtle's mind and see that they're planning on having Mallory perform Tempus Infinitum and kill Michael when he was younger. I quickly form a plan as she's pulling a few locks of hair from his head for Mallory to perform the spell.

"We don't have long," I state quickly.  "I need to come clean to you."

"What?" Coco asks.

"Just let me talk," I cut her off.  "That whole thing we put on was an act.  Michael and I are actually allies - his father did this whole thing without my consent to make it happen.  I don't want to be his ally; in fact, I want to help you defeat him.  The issue is, if he dies permanently, I die too."

"So why do you want to help us kill him?" Madison asks.

"I can read your minds to see your Tempus Infinitum plan," I explain.  "I'll help you kill him in this timeline, as long as you go back to the old timeline and save him there."

"But would you be allies in the old timeline?" Cordelia asks.  "I don't think his death would affect you."

"I don't know that for sure," I sigh.  "I don't want to take any chances.  Just don't kill him.  Go ahead and find me in the old timeline, push me to him."  I shrug as I look over at his body sadly.  "I guess I love him in some fucked up way."

"I'm just trying to figure this out," Madison scoffs as she shakes her head.  "So you're double-crossing your lover?" 

"Don't make me fucking regret my decision," I roll my eyes.  "It's not often that I take the moral high road."

"Girls, we don't have much time," Cordelia interrupts.  She looks towards me.  "I think you're telling the truth.  Coco and Mallory, you lived with her for almost two years - do you trust her?"

"Hell yes," Coco scoffs.  "Is that even a question?"

"Just one question," Mallory shakes her head.  "Why did you let me die?"

I shrug.  "I had to summon the witches somehow.  Sorry you had to die though."

She looks down, smiling bittersweetly.  "Yeah, I trust her."

Cordelia nods as she looks at Michael's body.  "Somebody has to stay here to keep him dead."

"I'll do it," Madison volunteers.

"You're sure?" Myrtle asks unsurely.  They all know that whoever stays will most likely die.

Madison nods, a few tears in her eyes.  "I love you guys," she smiles, taking Cordelia in for a hug.

As they're saying goodbye, Marie motions for me, Mallory, and Coco.  "Come on," she instructs.  We all follow her up the stairs.  "I can place a boundary spell to keep him away from you guys."

She stops at a doorway and steps off to the side, motioning for everyone to pass through it.  Cordelia walks through behind me, being the last one through.  She quickly hugs Marie.  "Thank you, Marie," she whispers.

"Yeah, yeah, now hurry the hell up," Marie pushes.  We all run down the hallway, Mallory in the front.

Out of nowhere, a man appears from around a corner and stabs Mallory in her stomach.  "Brock!" Coco gasps.  "You fuckface!"

"Revenge, bitch, served cold," he responds.

"Well, I like it hot!" Myrtle retorts as she sets him on fire and sends him over the balcony.  

I quickly push past everyone towards Mallory, ignoring the shitshow going down around us.  I brush her hair out of her face and take her head in my hands.  "Mallory, can you feel anything?" I ask as I try to heal her.

She gulps, clearly in pain, as she shakes her head.  "Oh, god," she mutters weakly as she begins to fall.

"Fuck," I mutter as I hold a hand over her stomach, trying again.  Nothing happens.

"He's coming!" Marie yells at us down the hallway.

"Let's get moving," Cordelia states as she takes Mallory.  "Coco, go help Marie."

Coco sighs and nods.  "Okay."  She quickly hugs me and Mallory before running after Marie.

Cordelia lifts Mallory up and carries her down the hallway.  I quickly run to Mallory's side and help carry her.  Cordelia nods gratefully.

"There's a bathtub down here!" Myrtle calls to us, pointing to a bathroom.

"Coming!" Cordelia replies.  "Let's transmutate," she suggests.

I nod.  "Do it."

We disappear from the hallway and reappear in the bathroom next to the bathtub.  Myrtle and Cordelia help Mallory into the bathtub as I look down the hallway.  Suddenly, I lose Coco's lifeline.  I gasp as I clutch my stomach, backing into the wall.

"My dear, what's wrong?" Myrtle asks, noticing my distress.

I shake my head as I look up.  "Everyone's dead."

Myrtle sighs as she turns back to a kneeling Cordelia.  She looks down sympathetically, placing a hand on her shoulder.  "It appears as though we're fucked, my dear."

"No," I state.  They both turn to face me.  "We still have one last line of defense: me."