Chapter 24

Behind the wall of the abandoned building opposite to the headquarters, Piper sat, peeking out through the murky window. She blew breaths to warm her hands. The sound of gunshots and explosions had ceased for nearly half an hour now. On the outside, the night was cold and quiet. It was as though nothing had happened. But she knew that it was anything but 'calm'. All her friends had gone into the building, and not one of them had returned. Not Alex.

But she promised to come back. She will.

Piper felt useless. Gifted with great powers, she had chosen to stay behind, fear-stricken. She wished that she had been stronger. She wished that she hadn't cowered by just one incidence, but this was something no trainings could have prepared her for. The killing. The life she took. And she would collect more deaths had she followed Alex into the dark. She didn't follow. She didn't want to.

At the last thought, Piper bit her bottom lip, staring down at the floor. This wasn't the first time that she had abandoned Alex. She left Alex four years ago for a better life, a normal life that her family and society expected of her. They were never meant to meet again, like they had died from each other. She had done it before, and she did it again. Tonight, she left Alex to go in and die alone.

A breath caught in her throat, Piper's heart sank as the truth dawned upon her. Alex understood her. Sometimes, the woman knew her better than Piper herself. Alex had asked her not to follow, because she wanted to keep Piper safe. Because Alex didn't want Piper to be there—to see it when it all ended. It had been their farewell, but Piper didn't realize it.

Piper shot up to her feet, coughing as bile rose to her throat. She covered her mouth with both hands, her face heating up, her back sweating. Even if she went in right now, it might have been too late already.

No. Piper spun on her heels and ran out of the building.

Piper crossed the street and hiked over the debris in front of the headquarters. Carefully, she climbed over the broken gate and entered. The lights on the ceiling were flashing, lending the sense of urgency. More debris obstructed the hallway. Dust filling the air, Piper was cautious with her steps. She spotted lifeless bodies along the way. Some were her Litchfield friends. Some were Kubra's men. She stopped and picked up a machine gun from one of the dead men. She checked for ammunition, got herself ready, and continued down the corridor. It was going to be a long night, she could tell.

Once Piper reached the end of the hallway, she turned and found the path leading to the central hall. She glanced up at the dome roof, moonlight shooting down through the rows of windows above. Gunshots and panicky shouts echoed through the hall. She carefully hid behind a mounted pile of debris, her finger ready on the trigger. Her eyes scanned the large space, trying to spot her friends.

Boom!

Piper pulled back, yelping at the curtain of fire hissing past in front of her. It came out of nowhere. She took a few seconds to compose herself, and peeked from behind the barrier.

Lorna was firing inferno at everything around her. There was rage in her dark, vacant gaze. Piper watched her friend burn people alive, stunned.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Bennett cried as he fell and rolled along the floor, his upper body ablaze.

Both hands covering her mouth, Piper's eyes widened at the horror. Lorna must be under some kind of a twisted, mind control. Piper took off her jacket and ran towards Bennett, trying to put out the fire. Another shot of fire whizzed past Piper, and she had to roll away to avoid it. "Lorna, stop! It's me! Lorna!" Another fiery ball was shot at her, and Piper crawled backwards, terrorized. "Stop!" At her command, the ball of fire miraculously froze in midair. Piper squinted at the fireball in front of her face, feeling its angry heat on her skin.

Lorna looked equally stunned, but it was short-lived. The fire conjurer produced a bigger fireball and shot it at Piper.

Fuck! Piper instantly dropped to the floor, hands over her head. She burst the fireball into tiny pieces before it could hit her, the flames dying down as they fell like fireworks. Lorna, however, was sent crashing against the nearest, tall and thick column. Piper swore that she heard a loud crack. She tensed up at the sight of Lorna falling to the floor, the woman's body laid motionless. She counted the seconds for Lorna to get up and deliver another strike at her, but it didn't happen.

"Jesus! What happened!?" Jessica hurried towards Bennett and cast her ice on him, putting out the fire.

"She... she was attacking us..." Piper tried to explain, or, at least, tried to convince herself. She carefully crawled towards Lorna, flipping the woman's body onto her back. It appeared that Lorna had hit her head hard against the column, bleeding heavily on her forehead. She was knocked out cold.

"It was Kubra, wasn't it?" Jessica sounded darkly worried. Piper wasn't sure what was going through the Jessica's mind.

"She's bleeding. We need to get help," Piper said.

"Are you kidding? There's no backup, Chapman. Is she still alive? If not, then don't bother." Jessica cast more ice onto Bennett's nasty wounds.

"We have to help her!"

"By hitting her harder. Put her out of misery. With your powers."

Piper glared at the ice princess, her fists clenched.

"We could start by getting them out of here," Jessica said, smirking as she pointed up at the showers of pebbles falling from the ceiling. "We better hurry."

Piper flinched as she heard the giant's roars from the outside. Howard was trying to break the building with his heavy fists. At this rate, the whole headquarters was going to fall apart by dawn.

"Where's Vause?" Jessica asked as she began to drag Bennett along the floor.

Piper paused before picking Lorna up. "She came in before I did."

"You let her come in alone?"

Jessica sounded desperately worried, and Piper hated it. "She told me to wait outside."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me, Chapman. You let her walk into a mind trap, knowing that they have her mother as a hostage?"

Piper froze. The guilt and worry weighted down on her. She didn't even know if Alex was still alive. She was a coward, camping outside, sitting on the battle, waiting for it to be over.

"You get them both outside. I'll go find Vause," Jessica said.

"I'll do it," Piper countered.

The two blondes turned to face each other, their gazes indifferent.

"I know the ways around here more than you do. I've studied all of Kubra's headquarters for years. What do you know?" Jessica said, smirking.

Piper admitted that Jessica did have a good point, but she wasn't going for a fair play tonight. "I will find her."

Jessica growled at Piper before she said, "Three underground levels. Temporary residence, storage, confinement. There are two staircases, northward and eastward. I wouldn't suggest the elevators at this point. Despite their superpowers, these men are also heavily armed. You do what you have to do to get her back. Safe."

Piper inwardly grunted. She didn't need Jessica to tell her what to do. She turned and ran down the hallway. She could hear gunshots in the background. She could hear Jessica shouting after her.

"Find her!"

Every second passed by like walking through the thick, endless fog. Her body was aching each step she took. Red staggered behind Alex, her vision blurred. Amusingly, the only light she could see now was the blue light from the hands of lightning striker, the person she used to hate—the girl she once left in the dark. Her feet took more wobbly steps, her dignity ruined, her heart hurt. Following Alex along the tunnel, dead bodies fell like withered flowers. Alex spared no one. Red, herself, had spared no soul even her own.

One of the lightning strikes punched a hole through the wall. Red wasn't sure if Alex still knew what she was doing, but she had no energy to stop or try to reign Alex in. Red halted by the wall outlet. The full moon in the sky above caught her eyes, luring her away.

"… bright... so bright," Red whispered to herself. A gust of chilly, fresh air hit her face, blowing back her unkempt hair. She slowly climbed over the wreckage, and crawled out of the building. Completely drained, mind and body, she took a few tottering steps forwards before falling to her knees. Eyes closed, she spread both arms, her face bathed in the moonlight.

Free. She was free again.

Through the windows of the small, control room, Kubra watched the fight unfold down in the central hall. His men succeeded in defending their headquarters, while Litchfield members were turned against each other by his mind manipulation. It was a daring and stupid, move from Howard. The giant had ruthlessly risked his people's lives to reach his goal. The tragedy was that no one saw through how similar Howard and Kubra were. They wanted to same thing, only for their own tribe.

"It's gone."

Danny turned to Kubra. The steel man had been guarding the door. He frowned in confusion. "Master?"

"My source of powers is gone." Kubra gritted his teeth. That traitor. He had underestimated the situation, and Alex had somehow survived and freed Red. That traitor!

Danny walked up to his master, his face grim. "I will get Reznikov back, sir."

"Don't. Stay away from her now, or you'll fall prey to her powers. I have a better idea."

Residence level.

Piper climbed down the stairs. Many were rushing through, gunshots and screams echoing through the whole floor. There must be dozens of rooms on this floor alone. Lights were off, and the only source of light now was the sparks from firing machine guns.

Piper bent low as she sneaked from door to door, moving through with difficulty. She had to use her powers to clear the people of the way, and it took her great concentration to catch those bullets flying around, trying to divert their directions.

Suddenly, Piper fell to her knees, clinging to the door. The air in her lungs suddenly weighted like lead. She opened her mouth, gasping for breaths, both hands on her chest. Before she would panic, she recalled having experienced this before.

Christopher.

It was his death air. He was close. Piper took a sharp breath in, wheezing. "Chris... topher. Chris—"

"Piper?"

Leaning against the door, Piper turned her head to see her friend crawling across the corridor and entering the room she was in. Bullets were whizzing past him.

Out of breath, Christopher sank low beside Piper. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you're close. Those guys wouldn't leave me alone, and I ran out of ammos!"

"It... it's ok." Piper inwardly grumbled. Her heartbeat became regular again. The air in her lungs felt much lighter now as Christopher ceased his death air.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on ground level with Howard?" he asked.

Piper grimaced. The original plan was Alex and her teaming as Howard's backup, but it failed as soon as Sankey and Humphrey interfered. "Well, plan A didn't work out, so here's an impromptu plan B." The ceiling shook in a rhythmic pace, pebbles showering down. It was the giant's punches. "Should he be doing this since we're still down here? He could have buried us alive."

"I guess he's pissed at something. Should we get out of here? Or do we need a certain number of kills before we can stop? And where is Healy? He was supposed to lead us!" Christopher wondered aloud.

"How many have you killed?" Piper asked, her voice coarse as she recalled Humphrey's neck snapping under the invisible force of her powers.

"I only make them grow weak, and leave the tough part to Ms. Claudette."

Piper raised a brow at his reply, but their attention shifted when a shout came across the hallway.

Ms. Claudette was in another room, sneaking up to an armed man from behind, and touching his hand. He immediately fell to the floor, causing his friends to yell in panic. Gunshots erupted inside the room, and people began to run. Out of nowhere, there was a huge thud, a thick cloud of dust fuming.

Ms. Claudette was then thrown out into the whizzing bullets-filled hallway. Danny, in his steel form, emerged from the curtain of dust. He walked up to Ms. Claudette, lifting her up from the floor with a grip around her neck. Ms. Claudette's energy absorption powers had no effects on his hard skin. He then smashed her down at the floor and stomped his foot on her throat.

"No!" Piper reached her hand out, violently propelling Danny into the wall.

Danny was plunged through into another room, his men scattered out of the way in panic.

"It's her! She's over there!" One of Danny's team members shouted.

Piper ducked behind the wall of her room as gunshots raged in her direction. Her back against the wall, she concentrated on her powers and felt the invisible grips on the moving beings. With precision, she slit their arms and legs, temporarily disabling them. Their guns dropped, and they fell to the ground, howling.

Clear of bullets, Piper and Christopher rushed into the hallway and hauled Ms. Claudette into the nearest room.

Christopher helped the old woman lie down on her back. A hand on her throat, Ms. Claudette retched, wheezing for air. "Are you all right, Ms. Claudette!?"

The ceiling shook, more pebbles showering down. It was as though the whole ground would soon swallow them all.

"It's not safe here anymore. We have to go! Now!" Christopher crouched on all fours to avoid the shower of bullets.

"The stairs!" Piper pointed to the left of the hallway.

Christopher slipped his arms under the back of Ms. Claudette's neck and knees, lifting her up. "Let's go!"

Piper edged near the doorway and peeked into the hallway. It was fogged with dust, and the gunshots seemed to have lessened. "Come on," she said, leading the way.

Christopher was about to follow, but a hand had grabbed and pulled his arm back. He howled when the steel hand tightened, breaking his right arm like a twig. Christopher dropped Ms. Claudette's body, crying out.

Piper turned to see her friend fall to his knees. "Christopher!" But before she could reach him, a bullet shot through her right thigh, and she spun off her balance, falling to the ground. The pain shot through the lower half of her body, warm blood trickling down, soaking her jeans. She tried to cover the wound with her hands, but her whole body was trembling.

Danny came to stand next to her, looking down at her. "I'm so sorry, Piper. But you should know when to surrender."

Piper growled through her gritted teeth, fire in her eyes. "Never!"

Danny was shove back, pinned to the wall. His men yelled and gathered, trying to get him down. One of them turned and pointed his rifle at Piper, but Danny commanded, "Don't kill her!"

Piper directed her powers and broke every gun in the squad members' hands, literally in half. The men halted in terror before Piper smashing them into the wall, knocking them unconscious. She watched as the room quieted down in an instance.

"Ah!" Piper whimpered as she tried to sit up. Her wound was bleeding badly. Beads of sweat trickled down her ashen face. She breathed hard, her body trembling from spending so much powers. She put her quivering hands over her wound. Fuck... She blinked slowly, her mind starting to numb. If only she could stop her bleeding.

Then a pair of black boots came into her view. Piper took a moment to register the proximity. Panting, she looked up, her whole body shaking in cold sweat. It was a skinhead, tall man with caramel-colored skin and thick shoulders. His deep, dark eyes were wide, watching, scrutinizing her.

It was over.

Lost.

Her powers were gone. Empty. Wasn't it the moment she used to long for, being freed from the unwanted supernatural powers? The moment was here now, but she was beyond terrified.

"I will show you how your powers should be used," Kubra said. His voice was strange calm.

Danny had been released from the wall. In front of him was the kneeling Christopher, the steel hand fisting his short hair. Her friend's neck craned to the side by Danny's harsh grip. There was fright in Christopher's eyes as he knew what Piper's powers could do.

"Oh, God, no! Please, no!" Piper tried to get up, but instantly fell back down. She couldn't feel her right leg anymore.

Christopher's cry came first, piercing Piper's ears. Then his face twisted in pain as the skin around his neck began to split as though cut by an invisible knife. Her powers were stolen, but Piper could still feel warm liquid trickling down her hands, his flesh against her fingertips, his blood in her nails. His head was ripped off his shoulders, and Piper screamed until her vision turned black.

Lightning sizzled through her skin. Alex felt the heat run through her veins, enveloping her beating heart, becoming one with her. When all she could see was white, so bright and empty, the blue currents within her was the only thing that had kept her company.

Her legs kept trudging ahead, tired and sore, but she had no idea where she was heading. Everything hurt, even in the air in her lungs, the bones in her body—the blood in her veins.

The hot, blue light gathered on her right hand, and it was released again. Again and again. Alex had struck blindly as though trying to break herself from this shell of emptiness. She was stuck, and she was scared.

"Mom... mom..." Alex began to turn, around and around, searching for a sign. She kept calling out, her lips parched, her throat dry. Tears brimmed her eyes. Panic rose as she began to run, sobbing for her mother. But response never came.

"...help... Alex..."

Alex spun around. Her bloodshot eyes widened as she stared into nothingness. "Mom?" Nothing. "Mom." Nothing. "Mom!"

"Alex!"

A tight grip caught her arm, and Alex was pulled down hard to her knees. She winced at the impact. Her head was dizzy, her vision darkened and blurry. Something was happening around her, and she couldn't see.

"Alex! Help!"

Alex cringed at the cry for help. The urgency in the voice frightened her. It reminded her of her mother's plea. It reminded her of desperation—of her failed attempt to make things right. Then she remembered. The blood pouring down Diane's neck wound. The knife in her mother's throat. Diane's wide eyes were filled with terror, eventually sadness.

Alex was sad. She felt it enveloping her like a soaked, heavy cloth hanging over her. The white around her gradually turned gray, and then pitch-black. Darkness crept in, consuming her. They crawled at her feet, eating up her whole. Her mind wasn't functioning anymore. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"ALEX!"

Her eyes snapped open. Alex was left breathless from her daze. She turned around, wildly. The dome ceiling fell apart, shards of glasses showering down upon them. The concrete ground crumbled, half of the floor collapsed, producing a huge opening in the middle of the central hall.

Alex tried to stay on her feet on the quaking ground. Only then that she turned around and saw Jessica crawling nearby.

"Alex—" Jessica yelped when the ground underneath her collapsed.

Alex slid along the floor, catching Jessica's hand before the blonde would be swallowed by the ground. She tightened her grasp and pulled her friend up to the stable ground.

Jessica climbed up, out of breath. Her eyes were wide, her chest hammering. Blonde locks cascaded down her sweaty face. "Thanks. I mean... thanks."

"You're welcome," Alex said. Lying on her back, she gazed up at the wide opening on the dome roof. The moon was full and high, its brilliance shining down at them. She had no idea what had just happened. Her body had acted out of pure instinct. Slowly, but surely, the agony began to set in. The memories of Red in the cell, her mother walking in, the knife in her hand, and the blood that was spilled from her mother's neck. The nightmare relived over again and again. Alex shut her eyes before tears would fall, her fists clenched.

"Where's your mother? Did you find her?"

Alex didn't reply. She couldn't. She didn't open her eyes, afraid to face reality. Maybe if she just lost herself in that nothingness. Maybe if she never woke again. Alex flinched when a hand grabbed hers, a thumb rubbing her skin. It felt real, and she knew that she couldn't run away from the truth.

"I'm so sorry." Jessica planted a kiss on her forehead. She hugged Alex, letting her have a solemn moment. "We have to leave now. This place is falling apart. Both Lorna and John are injured. I have to get them out of here. Help me."

Alex opened her eyes. She nodded as she wiped her tears away. She saw Jessica moving towards the two bodies on the floor. Fortunately, the debris hadn't fallen on them. Alex got up and followed Jessica, helping the barely conscious John to his feet, while Jessica took care of Morello.

Alex put John's arm around her neck, and turned towards the exit across the hall. She noted several cracks on the ground, while minding the constant gunshots nearby.

"Wait. Did you see Chapman?" Jessica asked from behind.

Alex glanced over her shoulder. "She's waiting outside."

"No, she went to the lower levels to find you."

Alex stopped dead in her tracks. Piper.

Jessica looked bewildered when Alex put John down and pushed her way towards the stairway. "Alex, don't go! The building is collapsing!"

Alex ran as fast as she could, but a broken column had fallen down, blocking her way. She had to crouch down for a moment, coughing at the dust. When the dust settled, she looked up to see the giant climbing over the damaged roof.

Howard was bleeding on his left leg, and a big chunk of flesh on his right shoulder had been bitten off. Flying above Howard was the lizard man, Mendez.

Mendez dove down, clawing Howard's left eye out. The giant howled as he slipped and fell down through the roof's opening.

Alex struck a lightning at the lizard, pulling him down from the sky with webs of blue currents. However, she lost the hold on Mendez when the ground underneath her suddenly overturned. She tumbled backwards, almost falling into the hole that was an underground level as she gripped the edge of the cracked floor in time. She kicked her legs in the air, trying to hold on to the upper floor.

Injured, Mendez plummeted to the ground, and Howard took the opportunity to tackle the lizard. The giant grabbed his left wing and tore it off, blood shooting up at his chest, dripping down his chin. Mendez screeched out sharp, horrible sounds before Howard grabbed his head.

Snap!

The lizard man's movement came to a standstill. Howard pushed Mendez's body away, while he himself flopped to the ground, gasping for breaths. His body turned into his natural form, wounded and powerless.

Alex climbed up to the stable ground. Jessica was on the other side of the fallen column. But before Alex could climb over to the blonde, she halted at the sight of Kubra Balik rising up through the opening of the floor.

Kubra levitated gracefully as though it was his natural ability. It was his gift, to steal powers and make them seamlessly his own. But what terrorized Alex was knowing the current source of his powers.

Piper.

Blue electric currents erupted at her fists, crawling fast up her arms. All she could think of was that this man murdered her mother and Nicky, and had taken Piper hostage. All she wanted was to kill him.

Kubra turned midair, staring down at her. There was hate in his eyes—rage from being betrayed. He was the one who never forgave. "You should have died in that cell instead of your mother. You failed her."

Alex took in a breath, but the air cut through her lungs like a sharpened knife. He was vile and despicable, but he was right. She failed both Diane and Nicky, and she would never be able to forgive herself. Tears flooded her heart, and there was only one way to release them.

A lightning bolt climbed down from the sky, but Kubra flew away, narrowly escaping the strike. He raised his right hand, lifting the broken column up and hurling it at Alex.

"Watch out!" Jessica warned.

Alex delivered another bolt of lightning, bursting the column before it could hit her, dust and pebbles showering upon her. She struck back repeatedly, but Kubra was too fast. The lightning bolts hit the walls and columns instead, literally tearing the building apart. Alex grew frustrated at how apt Kubra was with telekinetic powers. It didn't help when her mind constantly wondered where or how Piper was. She couldn't lose Piper. She couldn't lose anymore, or there would be nothing left worth living for. She needed to strike him. Just one strike. But she kept missing. Her concentration kept slipping when it mattered most. As she missed the target, fears began to engulf her, her energy depleted.

"You cannot defeat me, Vause. You are unmatched to me." Kubra glowered down at her as he flew higher into the air. He raised both hands up, and after a moment, the remaining of the roof began to tremble and collapse.

At once, Jessica shielded herself and Alex, along with Howard, Lorna and John under an ice screen. But Kubra slid a huge, concrete block, breaking the ice, pushing Alex off the stable ground.

Fuck! Alex plummeted through the large opening of the floor and landed hard on the residence level. Her head hit the concrete floor. The air was knocked out of her lungs, her vision blackened.

"Alex! Are you all right!?" Jessica crawled towards the edge of the hole, looking down.

For a moment, Alex lied still on her side, Jessica's voice echoing distantly in her ears. Her head turned slightly, and her gaze caught the familiar pair of blue eyes staring right at her.

Piper. Alex absentmindedly noted.

Across the floor, Piper was lying on the ground, her eyes barely open. Her blonde head was messy, her pretty face tarred. There were some bloody spots on her clothes, but the worst had to be what appeared to be a gunshot wound on her right thigh. Piper looked utterly pale even in the dark. She must have lost a lot of blood even though it seemed that Danny, who was standing guard the power source, had dressed the wound by wrapping a cloth around her thigh.

It took Alex a moment to register what she was seeing. Then a wild panic rushed through her. She pushed herself up, panting. "Pipes!"

The constant, loud thuds from the upper floor scared Piper. They were too loud, and the ground trembled at every hit. Her body was weak. She couldn't move anymore. The only thing she could do was wait. She waited for the ceiling to break. And it did.

Piper shut her eyes momentarily, waiting for the dust to settle. She coughed, and her stomach hurt just by the small movement. Cold. It felt so cold, her mind numbed. When the air finally cleared, she opened her eyes again, blinking slowly.

Alex.

Piper's heart stopped when she caught the green gaze. Alex was lying on the floor, looking right at her. It felt like a sweet dream emerging amidst nightmares. Alex was still alive.

Alex got up to her feet, her face pale. She was visibly shaken. "She needs help. You have to get her to the hospital!"

Danny offered no response.

"For God's sake, she's your sister!"

Piper lied still, listening to those words echoing in her head, slowly grasping the meaning of them all. She turned her head and gazed up at her brother. He looked like a lifeless, steel mannequin. She might even detect the sadness in his blue eyes, which strangely mirrored her own.

Piper's attention shifted when her gaze lifted up to see Kubra floating high in the air. His focus was on Alex, his eyes darkened with contempt.

"Ah... ah!" Alex sharply bent, a hand clutching at her chest.

Piper's eyes widened. She wouldn't know what was going on except that she could feel Alex's heart in her hand. She felt her powers reeling, but little to no control over it. The heart muscle was beating faster, fighting against her deadly grip. Horror filled her whole. Piper raised her shoulders, trying to get up, but her body was so frail that she fell back down, breathless.

Alex thrashed on the ground. Electric currents weakly flashed along her hands and arms, but quickly died down. She tried to resist the invisible force, but there wasn't much of a fight.

"Alex!" Piper pushed herself to sit up. She shook her head in disbelief, her chest tightened in panic. It felt wrong. It just felt so wrong to feel Alex's life in her hand, only to be taking it away. She had to stop this. She had to.

Thud!

Piper looked up to see Kubra being congealed into an ice block. His body fell to the floor of ground level, rolling amongst the debris.

Alex had only a moment to catch her breath. Danny was quick to get to her, knocking her down with his fist against her left ear. Alex curled into a ball at his repeated assaults.

"Danny, please! Stop!" Piper tried to get up on her feet, but fell down again.

Jessica tried to freeze Danny, but he could break her ice easily with his steely fists. All Jessica did was buying some time for Alex. To make matters worse, Kubra had broken the ice block, successfully breaking out and flying into the air again. Jessica panicked and shot ice spikes at him, but to no avail. He was on-guard now, effortlessly breaking the spikes before they could hit him.

When Danny was distracted by his concern for his master, Alex blasted the lightning down at the steel man, plunging him through two floors, burying him deep in the confinement level. She turned around just in time to see Kubra raised one hand, and Jessica's throat was slit open.

"NO!" Alex shouted.

Piper froze. It all happened so fast. Jessica's body fell down the crater and landed on the underground level. Horror filled Piper as Jessica stared lifelessly at her. It was her murder. The powers were hers. The blood was on her hand.

Alex glared up at Kubra, her clenched fists trembling in anger.

Kubra turned in midair, but a powerful bolt of lightning blasted down at him. Even though he was quick to fly away, the impact was too great. His flight lost its balance, and he landed hard on the floor. Another bolt of lightning struck the column, bursting it in half. The concrete mass fell on his legs, trapping him at the spot. Kubra's scream of pain was the sweetest sound Piper had ever heard.

Out of breath, Alex looked up at the upper floor, where Kubra struggled, trapped, along the edge of the opening of the floor. Tears and sweat streamed down his face. Panic rose in his dark, wild eyes. He tried to get out. The concrete mass began to tremble, but only slightly as he was severely wounded. His powers were greatly reduced.

Alex conjured another bolt of lightning in her hands, readying to deliver the final strike. However, the blue light suddenly vanished. Gone. It was as though Alex had hesitated. It was as though Alex had changed her mind. Alex turned to catch Piper's gaze, just a moment before a bolt of lightning struck down at her. She slid to her knees and fell to her side.

Piper stared at the still form lying on the floor several feet away from her.

There wasn't a sound of breathing. Alex did not move. She did not get up.

Piper kept staring at Alex. She found it hard to understand. "Alex…? Alex… Al, please, talk to me. Al…? No… No, please..."

Silence.

Piper felt it now. She got her powers back when it didn't matter anymore. Tears welled up her eyes, and she couldn't see Alex now. Was this all just an endless nightmare? When would she wake from this? Someone. Somebody needed to wake her from this. "Alex... Alex! Please...! Wake up..." Piper gulped down her tears. She needed to stop this hurt. She needed to find a time traveler. She had to find the myth and make it real.

Piper snapped when she heard Kubra whimpering. He was on the upper level, and she was on the other side, where he couldn't see her. But she could see him. She felt his presence. Her powers found him, and had a hold of him.

Kubra struggled to get out from the debris, his legs almost torn off completely. All of a sudden, his eyes began to bleed. He jerked out hysterically, scratching around his eyes, realizing what was happening. "Please! Please, no! No! Please, don't—ahh—aaaaahhhhh!" He violently writhed as his eyeballs were crushed, blood streaming down his face.

His cry echoed through the hall, and Piper let him live with it. She wanted to hear him suffer as if it could lessen hers—as if it could compensate what she had lost.

Her eyes determined, Piper crawled towards Alex, grunting as pain shot down her leg. When she reached Alex, she softly pushed her to rest on her back. She cupped Alex's face with both hands. Alex was still warm, and it only made Piper feel like she was only sleeping. She kept calling for her, but there was no response but the echoes of her own voice. It felt so empty, distant—so hollow inside. What had brought them to this? If only she could turn back the time. If only Alex could wrap her arms around her again.

But time travelers did not exist. Time simply passed.

"Al, please, get up… you have to… Please... don't leave..." Piper listened to her own small, raspy voice, her body hardened, her heart despaired. She placed one hand over Alex's chest, a tear falling down on the back of her hand. Emptiness was all she felt. An empty road ahead was all she saw. "Please, don't leave me… I love you."

Then the touch against her fingertips became real. Piper felt it again. She had reached in, Alex's heart in her hold. She closed her eyes and let it all sink it, becoming one with her. She concentrated all the powers and energy she had left. She had to. She must get the heart to start again.

Seconds. Minutes. Moments passed. Everything started to blur, blending together with the hazy background. Piper felt Alex's heart, a motionless organ that would soon grow cold in her grasp. She kept pumping it, powering it as though it were her own. She had lost sense of time. She had lost all hopes. She just kept going, rushing ahead into the dark. It was always where they found each other, a thorny path which had led them together. They both could close their eyes and still found each other. In life, or death.

A pulse.

A breath.

Piper's eyes fluttered open and met with the wild, green gaze. Alex's body jerked into motion. Her heart started beating again in Piper's grasp.

Alex retched and coughed, her face reddened, as though she had just surfaced from deep water. Piper had to grab her shoulders, trying to soothe her. Out of breath, Alex took a few moments to register what was going on. Her bloodshot gaze wandered into the distance before finally finding Piper's blue.

Piper smiled down faintly. "Hey," she whispered, her voice choked. The immense joy to see Alex looking back at her was indescribable. It amazed her how a simple glance from Alex could end her nightmare.

Still a little shaky, Alex struggled to sit up, her body movements slow. She edged closer and wrapped one arm around Piper. Gently, but firmly. Alex let out a subtle sigh of relief as she caressed the back of Piper's head, urging her to lean against her.

Piper rested in the embrace, her head against Alex's chest, listening to the heartbeat. It sang to her like the sweetest melody. She then let exhaustion take over her like heavy chains. Slow breaths. Cold, sharp wind. Numbed mind, and battered body. Blue eyes glanced up at the sky through the broken roof, and saw the first light.

The dawn was breaking.