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 to the ground, her neck snapped.

Shit.  All my hopes of undoing this mess were just killed along with Mallory.

The room is silent except for our heavy breathing. My heart is pounding as dread begins to set in. Throughout this whole thing, I never once considered the possibility of the witches failing. I never considered the consequences of betraying Michael because I didn't think it was possible for him to win. But now... I don't even want to imagine what's in store for me.

Michael slowly raises his head to glare at me, the anger emanating from him. I look between him and Mallory's body, thinking the inevitable; I'm probably going to be joining her soon.

I suddenly fly back into the wall. When I try to move, I find that my limbs are pinned to the wall. Michael transmutates over to me and immediately grabs my wrists and pins them on either side of my head. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"You know exactly why I did what I did," I reply, my anger present as ever in my voice. "You knew I never wanted to be your ally - you should've seen this coming!"

He turns me around so that my face is up against the wall. He brings my wrists together behind my back and takes them into one of his hands. Between his magic and his strong grip, I know I won't be breaking free. His other hand takes a fistful of my hair to pull my head back toward him. "You knew that I was going to kill you if you betrayed me again - so you should've seen this coming."

He pulls me away from the wall, and before I know what's happening, I'm on my knees in front of the bathtub and my head is being thrust underwater. I immediately struggle against Michael's hold, and I feel his body settle in overtop of mine to hold me down. 

He suddenly pulls my head out of the water, and I gasp for air. My back is pressed tightly against his front, and I can feel him even closer with every breath I take. "Oh, so this is it? You kill me because I didn't want to help you finish killing off everyone else? What a fucking pussy."

I'm submerged in the water again, but he pulls me back out within seconds. "No, I kill you because this was your last warning. After all the shit you pulled with Venable, I still trusted you. You said that you loved me!"s

"I did, and maybe I still do!  I don't even fucking know anymore, Michael!"

I'm pushed underwater again. In five seconds, as soon as he pulls me back up, Michael replies, "Stop lying! If you loved me, you wouldn't have pulled this shit!"

"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!"

I turn my head as much as his grip will allow, and I make eye contact with him. "If we actually don't love each other, then why don't you just kill me already?"

I can tell by the look in his eyes that this one went deep. Tears begin to well in his eyes, but he turns my head away before I can watch them fall. His hand pushes me down toward the water, and I don't resist. I watch as the water gets closer, ready to be submerged one last time.

But then Michael stops. I remain hovering over the water, Michael's body behind mine holding me in place. Eventually, he mutters, "Because I'll kill myself."

"What?"

Michael pulls me back so that I'm kneeling upright, my back pressed up against his chest. "My plan from the beginning was to go through all of the outposts and make sure everybody was dead before killing myself as well."

I slowly shake my head as his hand releases my hair. "But... I don't get... why all of this then?"

"This is by far the longest I've been at an outpost. All of the other ones, after coming to terms with the fact that I despised every person there, I killed everyone off within less than a week of my arrival. I came to terms with the fact that I wouldn't find somebody I liked enough to keep me company, leaving me alone for eternity. So, I decided that after I killed everyone in the last outpost, then I would kill myself. But then... you happened. Even though I hated you more than anyone I've ever met, I could tell you were different. I could tell you would never bore me, would keep me company til the end. So I began to plan to just maybe stick around. The whole Sanctuary thing was bullshit, but I began to plan to make one just for us. You're the first person I've met that made me feel like more than just the antichrist. You made me feel like I could be normal with you after this was all over."

I slowly shake my head, tears in my eyes. This whole time, Michael's grip on my wrists has been loosening, and I pull them from his grasp without any resistance. I swiftly turn my body around as I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in for a hug. He gently reciprocates as each of his hands rest on my back. "I love you, Michael. I'm so sorry for doing anything to make you doubt that for even a second."

We stay like this for a few moments until Michael's hands move to cup my face. He pulls my face back slightly so that he can look at it. His bright eyes stare into mine, a mess of emotion in them. God, why are we both like this? Why does it take him trying to kill me for us to realize how much we love each other? Why is it always after we cross the line that we realize we shouldn't have crossed it?

He pulls my face into his, and soon our lips meet. One of his hands stays holding my face, while the other wraps around my waist to pull me into him. I wrap my arms around him as I melt into his embrace. I feel a familiar tugging sensation in my head before feeling my surroundings shift - Michael must have transmutated us out of the bathroom. 

The kiss remains simple, just my lips on his, until he pulls away moments later. He scans my face once again as he pushes my wet hair out of it. "We both need to shower," he observes with a sigh. "But I can't trust you to be left alone while I shower."

When I look around, I realize that we're in his room. "Or I could go shower first," I suggest.  "Thanks to that bitch that stabbed Mallory, I'm covered in her blood."

He rolls his eyes. "And I'm covered in the rest of the witches' blood, so get in line. In the meantime, I need you to stay here while I'm showering."

"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.

Realizing he used magic to bind me to the chair, I mutter, "Asshole."

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?