A/N: I'm updating these because I feel baaaad about being so terrible at updating my WIPs (as I expected). To my defense, season 4 is currently slowly draining the life and inspiration out my muse. It's very painful and frustrating, with a lot of unfinished oneshots, and a great dislike of the couple currently having the spotlight on screen, if you know what I mean (no, it's not Polivia ;_;).
Anyway, nothing very happy tonight, but I'm updating with three pieces (and one is big), so that's something, right? Thank you all so very much for still reading those little stories and for reviewing :))
This is set during 'The Day We Died' and it's as depressing as can be.
BEHIND THE MASK
It was often said that your entire life flashed in front of your life just before you died.
Another cliché Olivia never got to experience, no matter how many times she had almost died. It had always been too sudden, too unexpected, too brutal.
Today was different, though.
It was brutal, unexpected, and too sudden, but the floating second that passed between the moment when she turned around and the moment when he pulled the trigger was the second she had never gotten before.
Her life didn't flash in front of her eyes, though; dread and shock barely had time to squeeze her insides and make her blood run cold, as she stared at the man who had been hugging her warmly less than twenty-four ago.
Except that it wasn't the same man, behind the familiar, worn-out traits. It had always been a major problem with having Alternate versions of yourself or others walking around.
You would notice the differences, eventually, but rarely soon enough.
Never soon enough.
No time to fight, no time to run or duck. No time to beg, maybe -she had done it before. Not even time to have one last thought for her husband, and that was maybe for the best.
All there was was this fleeting instant of recognition. He had the face of someone she loved.
But she saw behind the mask.
She saw Death in his eyes.
And then she saw no more.