Moments Prior…

Keeping this up was exhausting. Yes, she didn't wholly trust the General and the sting of betrayal was raw and fresh in her mind, but she desperately wanted to go home. She wanted more than anything to just tell her what she knew, even though it was remarkably little.

Nicte wasn't visible and she couldn't necessarily sense her there in that space with them, but she couldn't be too careful just yet. Without having enough useful information to give Alder, if Nicte thought for even a second that Tally was talking, then who knows what kind of torment would await her.

Alder stood before her, her blue eyes watching her expectantly. This wasn't easy. She had long dreamed of the General giving her the time of day, and now she finally was. Were the terms the best, no of course not, and truthfully she had yet to even begin to process her feelings about how the General tortured her amongst other things. Many things had happened. Not all of it was readily forgivable, yet nothing had occurred quite so terribly to make her forsake the army, her sisters, and even the General herself entirely.

Recalling Nicte's first little trick, conjuring an image of the General that broke down the door to save her, she knew if the true General were to show up in person to rescue her she would be all for it, even still, even knowing what she knew now. And here the real General was. She was here with her, trying to help her. Maybe. It was all she could have hoped for if she could accept the help.

She shut her eyes tightly for a second, directing all her attention toward channeling her distrust and resentment when she thought about what Nicte had told her. True or not, she didn't know, but it was a useful tool for the time being to help her maintain this aura of anger until she could determine what the truth was. "I don't know what the truth is and Nicte may not be innocent but at least I understand her crimes. And she is not the only guilty one here. Rae and Abigail will have to wait."

Maybe if she was lucky the General would take that with the understanding that something was wrong. It was out of character for her, and she knew it. Abigail and Raelle were her sisters, there was no world where she would abandon them for the spree. But did the General know her well enough to know that? She sure hoped so. "As much as I want to come home, I do not trust you to ensure my safe return. I'd rather take my chances with Nicte than end up in a dark hole somewhere or worse by making the mistake of trusting you," Tally hissed. Not untrue, she supposed it was very possible the General could have nefarious plans for her. Even after what Nicte had told her, of what she could feel of the General now, nothing felt ingenuine, and knowing that made it all the more difficult.

"Tally, please just listen to me, you're making a mistake!" The desperation she thought she heard in the General's voice was crushing her.

Alder stepped toward her but from somewhere inside reflexively, she pushed her away roughly. "No!"

Where did this audacity come from? She was clearly upset, but to lay hands on the General? Goddess. Alder would surely punish her severely for such behavior.

To her horror, the General's footing slipped and her balance faltered. She flailed for a moment but that wasn't enough to keep her from falling toward the water.

Tally's composure vanished as she couldn't handle the thought of Alder falling. Although Nicte might have been aware of the situation, Tally couldn't bear it. Instinctively, she grabbed onto the General's jacket to steady her.

Despite her attempt to hide it, the shock and worry on her face were likely apparent and the General's stare made it even more difficult for her to regain her composure.

"Why?" Alder inquired, but Tally knew she was unable to provide a suitable response and instead averted her gaze.

She had to cover her mouth to stifle a sob as tears threatened to spill over. Emotionally this was becoming overwhelming, and if she wasn't careful she would give something away. To protect herself she had to walk away.

Not now. Not until she could confirm that she could communicate without Nicte's knowledge. She couldn't risk it.

"Tally, wait..." Alder yelled behind her, but she forced herself to look ahead.

When she walked no more than ten meters away, she couldn't stop herself. She turned.

The General was gone. More than that though, the town and water that had been the backdrop of their scene were gone as well.

A fog rolled in around her. Unsure which way was right anymore, she tried to keep going. If there was a fitting way to go through this vision, she didn't know it. The fog only grew thicker as she walked until she could no longer see and she could no longer breathe. Darkness took her and as she fell to the ground, her eyes flew open to see sinister eyes.

Clearly, she was awake now, but she still couldn't breathe. A hand was clamped over her face and as she clawed at them to release her, her eyes met Nicte's. The older witch leaned on a doorframe a few feet away, watching her struggle.

Her lungs burned viciously and she could feel herself gouging the hands with her nails, but she wasn't released. Blinking got harder and harder.

Barely perceptible, she saw Nicte give the slightest nod and suddenly she was let go. Gasping for breath she hunched over the table, holding her head in her hands.

"Look at me," Nicte spoke eerily.

Tally was still trying to catch her breath and had barely heard her. Before she could motivate herself to lift her head, it was lifted for her with a sharp tug on a fistful of her hair. "You will do what she says when she says it! Army rat!"

"Ow!" Tally hissed. More oxygen in her system allowed her to be more perceptible of the scene around her. Her eyes landed on the woman strung up over the fireplace, terror seeped into her.

"Down here," Nicte directed her. Tally didn't have the option to disobey, the hand on the back of her head was not gentle.

"That's enough," Nicte warned the woman who muttered something even Tally couldn't hear before she released her.

"Oh Red, what to do with you?" Nicte shook her head slowly. "How was your little chat with our General?"

How convincing of a liar could she be? She knew she was shit at it. Lucky for her she was smart enough earlier. "It wasn't much of a chat," She seethed.

That seemed to pique Nicte's interest. "No? Do tell,"

Tally narrowed her eyes. She couldn't tell if Nicte was asking to test her or if she truly didn't know what had gone on. "She didn't give me anything concrete, and I gave her even less. You know I don't know anything so I couldn't tell her anything,"

"Indeed. I admit, I am impressed with how you resisted her. Your General responded quite enthusiastically to your refusal,"

"Upset of course, but I would hardly say she was terribly enthusiastic." Nicte was watching her closely and she knew that. One misstep or inaccurate phrasing could send either her or the General to an untimely death. "Unless you have evidence to the contrary? Which you wouldn't have unless you were also around to witness it." Tally challenged hoping to get an answer one way or the other if Nicte really was a hidden presence or not. From the line of questioning, she would say not, but she couldn't be sure.

The sly smile that flashed across the older witch's face and reflected in her black eyes made her shiver. "I'll let you wonder about that, won't I? But I will show you something else that is just as interesting," She whispered something Tally couldn't hear and suddenly the space above the fireplace sprang to life with blurry figures that moved haphazardly about the wall. Tally struggled to pay attention without letting her focus linger on the dead woman.

She did her best though. Squinting, she stood to get a closer look. "Yes yes, get up close and personal with it. It should be a familiar sight," Nicte encouraged.

"It cannot be," Alder was sitting in a chair in the center of the space that she recognized as having similar attributes to the necro facility.

"But it is. Let's see a little further back, shall we?" She was able to manipulate the images. They began to move in reverse until Nicte saw fit. "Here we go,"

Tally clasped her hands tightly together to avoid so obviously trembling. Nicte must have people in Fort Salem. How else could she have this? That meant her friends, her sisters, and the General were all likely in grave danger. "H-how?"

The glint in Nicte's eyes revealed just how proud of this little scheme she was. "I have my ways, just watch."

"Tally… you're…making a mistake!" The General squirmed in the chair, her limbs restrained. "No…Tally wait…Tally!" She wasn't quite yelling, but Tally would consider Nicte's description of 'enthusiastic' to be generally accurate.

She was taken aback by that. The General seemed distressed. Granted she had been when she had seen her as well, but this felt…different. Part of her wanted to jump through the screen, run up to her, and assure her she was okay. The other part wanted to be there too, but maybe to give her a slap in the face for getting her mixed up in this instead of being honest.

This had to be a test. If Tally was ever able to communicate with the General again and she warned the General about the potential traitors, Nicte would know immediately.

Nicte was still smirking. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Tally didn't really know what she was supposed to say. "Very,"


"Enough!" She said aloud with a strangled huff as she relied heavily on her temporary desk to support her and all of her guilt. "We - I need to take a break from this."

She had been at this for very nearly two hours. Just her and her biddies. Analyzing every second of her interactions with Tally and Nicte. Replaying her memories over and over in their eight shared minds. Scrutinizing each and every microscopic detail. Every word, every phrase. Every gesture. Every shift of gaze. And of course, the biddies wanted to spend the longest on the not-quite-so-physical contact when Tally shoved her and then saved her, but her own self-interests would not allow her to linger on that and instead, she was hyper-fixated on the one phrase that stung more than the rest.

Overall it would be safe to say they had examined every moment a minimum of three if not more times and they had now arrived at the inevitable point. Lost in the details, talking in circles. All of her biddies had a different opinion, different focal points, and their emotions were all running rampant. The conflicts, the disagreement, the combative arguments, it was a new level of exhaustion that settled into her.

"Of course, General." Danny agreed though the others were still bickering, although quieter now. "Ladies, quiet down. That means you, Jamie,"

"Excuse me if I don't just roll over and believe that Tally, our Tally, that we all know, would say all of those things and mean them wholeheartedly. I just don't. There are other things going on. Things we won't figure out if we don't keep thinking," Jamie protested.

"You weren't there, Jamie. None of us were. Sure, maybe we did know Tally that way before, but she hasn't been connected to us for some time now. And really, after everything, her opinion could have changed." Jodie challenged.

"It isn't a far stretch," April piped up.

"I tend to agree," Rosa sounded off as well.

"Fine. You all think so, huh? It's a damn good thing it doesn't really matter what we think," Jamie said bitterly.

"Jamie!" Devon scolded.

"What? It's true. It only matters what Tally actually thinks, and what Sarah actually thinks," Jamie continued unphased. "We've thought over and over what happened, which is important, what Tally thinks is important, but only to the extent of what Sarah is going to do next when she sees Tally again,"

"When she is ready to consider serious options, we will be there if she needs us, but for now, as she requested silence, we will all oblige," Danny said sternly.

Alder groaned as she strained not to hear them in her head just for a moment. She was glad there was no one but them around to see her in this state. It was almost embarrassing how she let herself fall into her chair but everything still ached and no matter how long she reflected on everything, nothing had yet resolved itself.

Closing her eyes at least gave her a reprieve from the fluorescent lights that assaulted her, but even the requested silence did not provide any peace, and everything replayed all over again.

"How could you?! You are a monster!"

"General, she said other questionable things that she could very well believe, but that is one thing I know there is no debate on. It isn't true, and for me at least, I don't think there is a world where sweet Tally Craven could ever mean that." Jamie apparently could just not help herself.

Alder couldn't look at any of them. "I know what I am. But to know it and hear someone that I… say it are two different things, and I just don't know how to come back from all of it if she…if I don't, If I can't bring her home safe. And that…sentiment, is the last she has for me." She spoke aloud, and she could feel the trembling of her own voice as it left her. It had indeed been a long time since she had last felt a need to be this open with them, they were her confidants, but that didn't mean she was sharing her sob stories with them left and right. However, when she found herself in moments like these, she had no one else, and she could not keep it in even if she had wanted to.

"General. We will bring her home. Safe. We will. And we are all here to help you make that happen." Danny reassured her. "Have hope,"

"I appreciate your optimism and support. All of you. But hope is in short supply, I am afraid," Alder rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"If I may," Ava interrupted the brief moment of silence surprising Alder.

"Yes, what is it, Ava?"

"Um, on the subject of hope, I just thought I could redirect everyone's attention back to the moment when Tally pulled you back from falling into the water. If she was capable of hating you, she would have let you fall. She still cares about you,"

"Cares? Ha." Alder almost laughed.

"Oh, I mean she…" Ava would have continued but Jamie cut her off.

"Ava is correct, but what she meant to say was that Tally doesn't hate you, and as long as that fact remains true, you can turn this whole thing around and bring her back, so we should all have hope that you can do it," Jamie explained. "It really shouldn't be that hard for you," If she had been speaking out loud, the last bit might have been uttered under her breath.

"Meaning?" Alder opened her eyes again.

"That you are more than capable, General," Danny interjected again, and Alder couldn't help but notice the look shared between Danny, Jamie, and Ava. She couldn't quite read the meaning behind it which was odd.


After Nicte let her in on the fact that she had eyes inside Fort Salem, Tally was scarce for words. That didn't seem to bother her though, the older witch had received some kind of message and left fairly swiftly, leaving Tally under the careful watch of the other few spree agents.

She didn't know the instructions Nicte had left them with, but it was hard to care while they tied her down and placed a rusty collar on her.

She sat silently, waiting and watching. She watched them lower the deceased witch from where she had been tied. She watched as they lugged the man in the corner off the chair and carried him outside as well. She hadn't realized he was dead too, but she really should have known.

She had been so focused on Nicte that she hadn't paid enough attention to everything that was actually going on around her.

"So…do you feel like you're doing good? Were those witches not worthy of your protection? Or do you like killing your own kind just as much as General Alder?" She asked finally, bored with the time passing by so slowly.

"They sacrificed themselves for the cause, a cause they believed in," One of the women spat as she continued cleaning up the mess left by the two bodies.

"Yeah and how did that work out for them?"

"Well the General is still alive, but she is weaker now. So they served their purpose and by the end of this, the General will cease," the other chimed in coldly.

"Cease," Tally muttered to herself. Connecting the dots to the pain she had felt earlier to the now two dead witches with strikingly similar injuries. Her heart rate spiked once again. It had been hours since fear had gripped her last but she felt it once again. "That isn't the way to fix this. Murdering her does not lead to your freedom," She knew she was conflicted, but she didn't want anyone to die.

"No. Murdering her is retribution, justice," The witch stopped messing with the remaining ropes above the fireplace, giving up on her effort to take them down.

"That isn't justice, it's just murder. Killing her will not bring back any witch who has died, and it may not even change the course of the army," Tally continued.

"Shut it. I've had enough of you. Nicte might think it's a good idea to keep you around but all of this disgusting sympathy you have for that monster is sickening," She snarled. "We know your connection affects her, maybe the wrong witches gave up their lives, maybe all we needed was you," She stalked toward where Tally was seated, still bound to a chair.

"Oh yeah? You going to kill me? You think Nicte will thank you for it?"

A sharp backhand struck her across the face. "I said shut it. If the General dies like I'm betting she will, Nicte will certainly be grateful, but it isn't for her, it's for the cause,"

"And if the General doesn't die, as I suspect she wouldn't, then you've killed one more witch for nothing, and then you will die not for the cause but because Nicte seems like someone who could lose her temper over such stupidity," Tally cursed her inability to be quiet once again. They had mostly left her alone until she decided she had to speak.

"I like my chances," The other witch hissed.


Alder wasn't so lucky as to be released to her own quarters that evening. She might have been in charge, but Izadora had the final say in her medical manners and forbade her from leaving the warding circle, threatening to deem her unfit for duty should she disobey. If there was one thing she knew about Izadora it was that her threats were not empty.

It was late now and it was still only her and her biddies in the large bunker-like space. It was not comfortable in any way, but she had been through worse. The pain had still not left her and in some areas had definitely gotten worse, specifically her throat. She thought Collar had fixed her burns, but clearly there was some residual damage that had not yet gone away.

The pain was one thing that she could mostly tolerate, but still as the conversations played over in her head sleep wouldn't find her. Her mind reeled and instead of lying awake, she paced around the inner edge of the circle.

"Please, Sarah, can you try to sleep again?" Rosa asked quietly through the link so as to not disrupt her too jarringly.

"I tried and I cannot." Sarah's answer was immediate.

"Could you sit still at least? It is pitch black in here but you shuffling about for hours on end is starting to creep us out," Another one, Devon, whined.

"Fine. I will sit," She gave in and found her way back into her reclining chair through the dark.

As she sat down and allowed her head to hit the headrest, she felt the pains deepen, but maybe finally she had a sliver of hope that sleep would take her at last from this retched waking state and allow her some rest.

Her eyes fell closed and swifter than she could comprehend she was whisked away, shrouded in sleep's purple cloak.

There was no rest though, as there was often none. This night upon closing her eyes and being welcomed into sleep's embrace, she was greeted by the sight of her office.

She stood in the doorway. The heavy curtains were partially drawn over the dark windows. Only a faint glow of moonlight licked at the glass. The fire cracked and popped as the logs were devoured by the flames. Combined with the lights overhead, a warm hue was cast over the space. Beyond that, there was the smell of whiskey in the air and a slight hum of the record player filling up the space.

"I was wondering when you would get here, good evening," She jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. How she hadn't noticed her sitting there, she did not know. The girl had her back to her.

"Tally? What are you doing in my office?" A dream or reality, her consciousness couldn't tell the difference. This made sense. This was her office.

She stepped tentatively in further as she assessed the state the girl was in.

"I've been here for quite a while, though it didn't become your office until you got here," Tally spoke slowly, evenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh." The girl swirled a glass of amber in her hands before taking a sip. "...I had an appointment, remember, you were going to tell me about Nicte Batan. It's on your calendar,"

Alder rounded the desk to sit down, not looking anywhere but at the calendar lying spread on her desk. Sure enough, Tally's name was written on every day at the same time. "This can't be…"

"Right?" Tally finished for her. "Who's to say what is right and what isn't? You?" The girl's tone was taking a sharper edge. Alder looked up at her then and she jumped right back out of her chair at the sight.

"Goddess," She barely breathed, frozen where she stood. "T-Tally…your face,"

Purple splotches adorned her chin, somewhere behind her hairline she was bleeding and the trail of crimson crept down past her eye, one of which had a deep dark ring encasing it, and her lip was split. Blood from the wound had gotten in her mouth, on her teeth, giving her smile a sinister look.

"I think this is how I look now, I haven't seen a mirror but this is what I imagine." She shrugged. "Sorry," She gave her head a slight shake, and every single bruise and drop of blood was gone.

Alder didn't have a response.

Tally just eyed her intently as she sipped again on her glass of whiskey. "Ah. This is what I needed after the day I had. Besides for the obvious, ever since she forced her way in, I have had a nasty headache," Tally rubbed her temples.

Alder was once again lost for words, she just watched the girl across from her. "That drink isn't going to help with that,"

"This?" She dumped the rest of the drink on the floor without breaking eye contact with Alder.

"Cadet!"

"It's not real, General, relax," Tally said nonchalantly. "This isn't your office, this isn't your fine whiskey, it's an illusion, just like my face,"

Instantly the images of Tally from moments ago rushed back. "Are you alright?"

"You don't really care,"

"I do." She barely whispered as she sat down again.

Tally peered at her. "I find it very hard to believe,"

"You wound me,"

"As if that were possible, General," Tally sighed and looked into the distance as if searching the walls for something to say.

Tally fidgeted with her hands for a moment. "Forgive me." That surprised her but she didn't dare comment on it, instead choosing to wait for Tally to continue. "I need to tell you something that I can't tell you." Tally's voice was quieter now and she appeared much less confrontational than only a second ago. Now she seemed frightened if she had to describe her. "I don't know how to tell you,"

"Cadet, you can tell me anything," She did want to assure her and at this point she would say almost anything.

Tally shook her head with a humorless laugh. A sliver of her teeth was visible and Alder could still see the blood. She winced.

"Do not mistake my wish to not see harm come to you, as trust. I want to of course but I don't. Right now I only trust two people with my life and yours , and you would be wise to consider what that means. Nicte has taught me that you never truly know who is on your side until the time comes for them to prove it and I can't right now, but I know not everyone is on my side. So I can't talk until you can prove it,"

"How can I prove that I am on your side?" A little desperate even to her own ears, but to hell with it, she really was desperate. That image of Tally battered and bruised would be forever burned into her brain. It surely would haunt her.

"I have a message for Abigail and Raelle."

"Of course,"

"Tell them 'I saw through their perspective and I don't know how they got involved, but they are doing more harm than good,' those exact words if you could repeat it back to me,"

Alder thought for a moment. "You saw through their perspective and you don't know how they got involved but Abigail and Raelle are doing more harm than good,' What does that mean?"

Tally shook her head. "No. My exact words. It is very important that you say it exactly as I have and they will understand,"

"You saw through their perspective and you don't know how they got involved, but they are doing more harm than good," Alder repeated but Tally shook her head again to her dismay.

"It'll have to be good enough. You will figure it out. I've said too much already," Tally brought her glass to her lips again, though it was nearly full again. She caught her staring and smiled. "It is still a dream, you know,"

She nodded and cleared her throat, hearing Anacostia in the back of her head. "You must fix it. Whatever you have to say, whatever you have to do, you need to try " After a moment she stood and rounded the desk. "Cadet, uh, Tally, I will give them the message, but please," She sat in the chair next to the cadet, and Tally was watching her every move. "Tell me what else I can do," In a last action that she had not entirely thought through nor completely intended, she grabbed Tally's free hand and held it gently. "Anything,"

Tally looked just as surprised as she herself felt, but after her voice had long disappeared from the air, Tally tore her hand from Alder's light grip and looked away. "Here is something you can do. Do not make this harder for me than it is already,"