Michael didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, alone in the cold of the basement cellar, unable and unwilling to move. He didn't want to live anymore, didn't want to feel the sting of the pain that he felt now. He wasn't sure how he was going to go on without Selene, but knew that the pain would be a thousand times worse if they stayed together. So, in submission, he stayed unmoving, curled up on the bed alone.

Well that's what you wanted you idiot, he inwardly cursed himself. No, he wouldn't watch Selene die for his sake and he instantly pushed the guilt and hurt out of his head and out of his heart. Feeling absolutely no emotion for the first time in weeks, he fell into a deep slumber.

"Again!" Selene instructed loudly. The target shot into the air, the spiraling silver disc glinting in the dim light of the cavern she had come to. After leaving Michael alone in the cellar, she had come to this empty cavern to train, trying to get her mind off of things. She was extremely emotional and training had always helped. Luckily for her, Cartier had agreed to meet her here and help her all he could.

Cartier had been one of her closest allies since she had become involved in the war between Lycans and Vampires. He didn't belong to the coven, but was a solitary Vampire. He alone had seen through the painted view of the coven, to the deception and lies that were buried in beneath, but Selene had never believed him. Until now.

She fired aimlessly at the silver shooting disc and missed, watching it crash and shatter on the ground. Emotionally aggravated, she cursed in anger and flung the pistol at the stone wall, smashing it to bits. She then leaned against a near boulder and crumpled to the floor, her tears now glowing in the iridescent starlight leaking in from the entrance.

Playing the older brother role as he always had, Cartier kneeled beside her and took her hand. "Selene, get up." He ordered.

She shamefully shook her head and stayed sitting, mentally enclosed within four walls, in which no one was ever entering again, never to hurt her again.

"Selene, listen to me." He started. "It may seem like the world is a bit darker now. Perhaps it is. True, you have the whole clan of both Lycans and Death Dealers that are out to get you. And Michael may not see it, but you need each other. But you see that fact as clear as crystal, and that's all you need to make it. True, he may think that you will both be better off alone, but that could be just his head talking, not his heart. Trust me Selene, as dark or as lonely as I may seem, I am a firm believer in love. And I know, with every fiber of my soul, every fiber of my being, that you two love each other. That's what will stop this war, so why not start by working together?"

She didn't want to believe him, but she did and he saw it in her eyes. Handing her his unbroken pistol, he pulled her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, he gave her a little shove and said "Now go. Go back to him and fight, but together."

He smiled as he watched her leave the cavern, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.