Sarah paced around, trying to determine the boundaries of the space, but she encountered nothing. She couldn't even tell if she was walking a straight line. For all she knew she could be walking in circles or perhaps not even moving at all.

She groaned in frustration. There was no telling how much time had passed and she felt like she was getting nowhere. "Damnit Tally, I'm sorry, but you have to work with me here!" She yelled to the emptiness and let her arms fall limply to her sides.

In the silence apart from her breathing, she thought she heard something. Something so faint and distant that she easily could have made it up but that didn't stop her from spinning around to face its approximate direction. Looking around, she only saw the same amount of nothing she had passed already.

Without any further analysis of the situation, she took off sprinting. A monstrous orange wall of intense flickering light grew behind her, bleeding into the blackness that still laid ahead. The faster she ran to get away, the faster all logical thoughts about where she was and what she was running for went right out the window. Just like that suddenly everything felt very incredibly inescapably real.

"General?!" It sounded like a scream but it was no louder than a whisper. It was the girl's voice, that was unmistakable. "Help me!"

"Craven?!" She came to a halt and spun around, instantly being consumed by the horror of the scene before her.

"General! Help me!" Her voice was louder now, though muffled by the chaos.

"I'm coming Cadet! Where are you?!" She tried again but she got no response, just a bone chilling scream that shook her.

Through the blackness, she stumbled over a fallen log into a clearing where a building engulfed in flames stood before her. "Goddess, tell me you're not in there, Craven," She barely breathed, her heart was pounding fiercely in her chest.

It was all familiar; the trees, the building, the shrieks and screams that came from within. It had all haunted her for so long that the scene was unmistakable. Staggering to her feet she took in the sight of it all like she was living it again.

Forgotten was the dark void of the space she had just come from, and now she was back in Liberia and any remaining notion that this was an illusion had left her.

She stood frozen outside the small building that held all those witches, surrounded by forest and fire and her troops.

"No no this cannot be happening, this isn't right, she wasn't here, she's too young," She paced around slowly looking for a way to get inside. "Cadet?!"

"General, please, please, help me, why did you do this?" Tally's voice cried out in thick sobs that could barely be heard over the sounds of other screams and the crackling of the building.

"You're killing them." Someone behind her said with an eerie softness in a familiar voice, but that was not the way she remembered it. She spun around yet there was no one there. "Your heart is black, Sarah," Not yelled but spoken, with menacing sincerity.

"Nicte?!" Alder growled as she looked in every direction until she spotted her standing off in the distance. The instant she made a move in Nicte's direction she was stopped by screams from inside the building.

"Generalll!" Tally wailed, taking Alder's attention back.

"What's it going to be Sarah? Save her or catch me?"

"Please, general, help me," Tally whimpers could be barely heard over the chaotic ambiance, but they pierced her soul nonetheless.

Nicte smirked. Alder groaned, she knew she couldn't reasonably prioritize one soldier over taking down Nicte. But then, that wasn't right either was it? Nicte was on her side here. What was going on!

The only one who seemed to have answers was Nicte, so she ignored her every instinct to run into the burning building, and instead kept her eyes on her enemy. "I'll come back for you Craven, hang on!" She yelled over her shoulder before she took off running.

"So predictable," Nicte let out a deep villainous laugh.

"You are done, Nicte," Alder shouted, then shifted her voice into her lightning conjuring seeds in an attempt to unleash hell upon that damned woman, but it did nothing.

Nicte's laughter continued for a moment. "Aw, did you really think that would work here? You may feel 'all powerful', but in here, I'm in charge," Nicte taunted. "You made the wrong choice as I knew you would. You just cannot help yourself Sarah,"

One of the sidewalls of the building collapsed behind them, and Alder couldn't help but look.

"I'm going to kill you," Alder hissed.

"Not...if I…kill you…first," Nicte smiled and took a few intent steps toward her with each word. "See you in a few, Sarah," She turned to walk away but Alder lunged and tackled her to the ground, arm on her throat, pinning her down.

"No, I am taking care of you right here, it is over!" Adler snarled.

Nicte just sighed. "You really have no idea how wrong you are, this is just the very beginning. What if I told you that of the three of us, I'm the only one who isn't really here," And just like that she was gone and Alder was alone.

Alder's mind was racing once again. There was a loud crash behind her, by the time she turned to look, she watched the roof cave in, forcing a massive ploom of smoke, ashes, and sparks into the air.

Windows were shattered and flames licked at all the remaining walls. If she wasn't dead already, Craven was going to die if Alder didn't get her act together. Without wasting any more time she made her way back.

Head down, shoulder first, she charged the front door feeling it splinter under the force. But as she stumbled into the burning room, she immediately saw the girl's body on the ground, blood spilling from a gash in her side. Her eyes, those pretty, bright, brown eyes of hers were empty, void of light, and staring her down, cold and lifeless.

As soon as she hit the floor and squinted through the smoke, she had every intention of running to the girl and using her best fixing technique, but the building was no longer on fire, in fact, the building was gone completely.

Looking up she saw a blue sky over dusty plains near the edge of a high towering cliff face, the sun glared harshly into her eyes.

"This isn't right either," She muttered to herself, forcing herself to stand, now out of breath. Across the planes, near the entrance to the tunnel under the cliffs, she saw something. "Tally!"

As she got closer, she saw it was not the woman dressed as her sister as she remembered it being, instead the unfamiliar young girl was clad in a cadet's uniform, a scourge she recognized as Tally's wrapped around her throat. "What the hell is this?!"

"Sarah Alder!" It wasn't the camarilla this time.

"Nicte!" Alder glared at the woman who now stood at the top of the hillside, next to her were seven familiar faces, each tied to a stake and gagged. "Release them!"

Nicte smirked. "No, I don't think I will," with the snap of her fingers, two of them went up in flames and horrific screams of pain filled the air. Instantly Alder fell to the ground, crippled as their lifeforce left her.

"Nicte come down and talk!" Alder forced out and Nicte obliged with a flourish.

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, are you having fun yet? Because I am," Nicte stood over her.

Alder barred her teeth and sneered at her. "I will kill you, for that,"

Nicte just looked over her shoulder toward the cliff. "For what?" The scene shifted back to how it was originally, the biddies, replaced by the soldiers who were there that day. "I wasn't involved in this," She waved to the area around them. Everyone stood exactly where they were, but frozen in their places. Two of her biddies, cut down, Collar and Bellweather fighting back to back a few paces away, Tally stiff, mid run toward her, and the camarilla surrounding them on all sides. Alder just gasped and scowled up at her.

"What does this do for you?! Where is the real Cadet?!" Alder asked, still out of breath as she clutched the ground beneath her in an effort to keep herself from completely folding in on herself.

Nicte just snapped her fingers and everything unfroze, dragging her mind back into the illusion.

"General?" A hand on her shoulder and that sweet voice, distracted her from Nicte. She looked around for her briefly but Nicte was gone.

Tally looked back at her, kneeling next to her on the ground and they were both covered in blood and dust.

She knew this moment. It was one that lived in her dreams nearly every night. She looked into those bright brown eyes, instantly happy to see them full of life, but also still feeling all of that fear and sorrow that had gripped her only moments prior.

"Take me," Tally's voice didn't waver, she didn't hesitate, she clearly had never considered if she was good enough, or the possibility of failure, or the potential that her sacrifice could be for nothing. Tally freely gave her life for a chance that they would all make it through this.

She felt a tear in her eye, knowing that this pivotal moment was one of the most important moments, and she was not the hero of it. No. This girl, Tally Craven, was the hero of this moment. She should have treated her like it.

"Are you sure?" Alder looked into her eyes to see if she was sure this was the sacrifice she wanted to make, and there was no hesitation there. The intensity in Tally's gaze was a step beyond determined.

But just as she expected to take Tally as her biddy, the girl pulled away from her. "Of course not! You think I would choose this?! You don't deserve to be saved by me!"

Alder collapsed further onto the ground, watching as Tally backed away from her, leaving her there to die.

This isn't how it was supposed to go, this wasn't supposed to happen.

There was no doubt she was dying. It felt like fire was spreading through her, focused in her shoulders and her hips. A searing tension that tore through her. This wasn't right. All of this was wrong.

Alder yelled out in pain as the tension on her limbs only grew, and Tally disappeared into the distance.

"So this is how it happened? Well, more or less," Nicte stepped out from behind her, a wicked smirk spread on her face. "The connection of the century. The sacrifice that saved the day," She said maliciously.

"Why?!" Alder forced through her teeth, glaring up at her.

"I admit the fire was for fun, but this," She waved flippantly at the scene around them. "I really was curious to see how this whole 'thing' between you and Red got started, and I must say it is so fascinating that still you are able to live with yourself even with everything you do to those that care about you,"

Alder couldn't answer, it simply hurt too much.

"Speaking of your miss Tally Craven, as much fun as this has been, I will have to get back to her before she starts to miss me, thanks for coming, but don't come back, this was just a warning of what I am going to do to you , Sarah," Nicte said darkly.

Alder clenched her jaw tighter if possible at that. "Don't...you…hurt…her!"

"Pssh," Nicte waved her off. She stepped around her menacingly and knelt down next to her, holding her chin roughly. "I know you're connected and all that, but don't worry, I won't let her feel a thing…yet, she is far too valuable. Goodbye now,"

The pain consumed her and everything faded to black.

When she opened her eyes, she was shouting and thrashing, strapped to the chair under the fluorescent lights. The voices of her biddies in agony welcomed her back to reality.

"Get Collar in here," Izadora shouted.

"Inside the warding circle this shouldn't be possible," Verger stood next to Anacostia, both concerned but there was nothing they could do.

"Where do you want me?!" Collar asked as she ran into the room.

"The General," Izadora directed.

Collar got to work, and almost immediately, the pain was alleviated. It still hurt but it was a lot better. "Stop," She muttered, still trying to catch her breath. "Collar, stop,"

"Not yet," The blonde refused adamantly.

"Izadora," Alder called out for her. "Help me get back, I need to go back in,"

"General with all due respect we don't know what else she has planned for you, it was clearly a trap to let your defences down and distract you," The scientist cautioned.

Alder just shook her head. "I don't care. Help me get back there now! That is an order,"

Anacostia stepped closer. "Did you get through to Craven at all?"

Alder looked across the worried faces that stood above her, all waiting on this answer. "No, almost, I don't know. Nicte was manipulating my own memories against me,"

"And what would stop her from doing that again? Is this really the best way to help Tally?!" Collar spoke up, her hands still on the General's shoulders.

"Cadet," Alder warned. "Do not question me,"

"She has a point though, what would stop this Nicte character from just doing the same thing?" Anacostia spoke thoughtfully.

Alder sighed. "She shouldn't be expecting it this time. Last time she was clearly ready, but if she was manipulating me, and Tal-Craven…" Collar narrowed her eyes at the slip. "...at the same time, she would have been using an immense amount of power, now is the best time, she'll be tired and unexpecting,"

Izadora nodded. "That is accurate, strategically and scientifically. If you think you can focus for long enough to return to that space,"

"I have to," Alder said fiercely.

"Collar, can you alleviate her pain while she's under?" Anacostia asked and Raelle nodded.

"Okay…focus…" Izadora stated calmly. The biddies around them naturally sang their seeds once again, and she slipped easily back into the blackness.

Alder felt like she had whiplash as the room around her shifted and morphed around her.

"This is probably weird and wildly inappropriate to say," Tally stood before her, so innocent, tears in her eyes.

"Speak your mind," A version of herself also stood there, speaking as if from a script.

"I miss you so much," Tally smiled as tears spilled over her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"As do I, but this connection will fade in time,"

This moment was one of those few that she cherished, but she began to realize this was not her memory. "Where are you Tally?" She stepped between them but the girl didn't answer. The scene just faded into something else.

"We didn't kill ourselves!" A bloodied ghostly figure had Tally pushed up against a wall. Sarah watched closely, analysing every moment. So this is where she learned more of the truth. 'Dead men tell no tales' unfortunately wasn't a true statement when it came to witches, she just never counted on anyone being smart enough to ask them.

"Who killed you?!" Tally whimpered.

"Sarah Alder," The ghost released Tally to the floor and turned on Alder for the briefest of moments.

"Goddess," Alder gasped.

The scene changed again.

"This isn't about power, is it? You actually care about these people," Tally questioned, her face lit by the dim torches they carried with them into that cave.

"These people have lost everything. They are the last of their people with the last knowledge of their songs, they could be the key to a connection I thought has been lost. They are being hunted and persecuted, this is not about power," She watched herself explain, the emotions not as well hidden as she would have liked.

The scene shifted once more, this time to something clearly much more recent.

"Who is Nicte Batan?!" The girl demanded.

Alder stood at Craven's shoulder, watching her own expressions through the girl's eyes. Shock, anger, confusion, fear?

"Yes come in, sit down,"

"I want answers," The girl demanded sharply.

"And what makes you think you are owed any?" The bite in her words cut through the air.

"We are connected!"

"That time has passed," Sarah grimaced, that was a painful one.

"Then why am I seeing these memories?!" The girl's voice broke and she could hear the raw emotion in her tone.

"Izadora will give you something to make sure the connection is well and truly severed. Dismissed," This was by far the worst one of them all. Every time she recalled this moment she hated herself just a little more.

If this wasn't her own mind then it had to be Tally's. So she had done it, but this was only her subconscious, it wasn't enough. None of the Cadet's memories so far were telling her where Tally was, only that she was conflicted.

How was she going to get through to her?

"Cadet wait," She tried interfering again. This time the girl turned around, and for a split second she thought she had done it. But the disappointment in the girl's eyes, blankly looking through her to the woman sitting behind the desk told her she had not.

The images didn't fade though, the scene didn't change as she expected it to. The girl pulled the door closed behind her and she followed but once in the hallway she was alone. The door to her office shut behind her and there were new voices were on the other side.

A soft whimpering, the sound of pacing footsteps, and her own voice.

"Petra and Izadora, I am ordering you to do this!" She didn't remember that though.

"This is the second time you have shown me this Nicte and I just-it doesn't make sense to me!" The cadet's voice echoed through the hallway. It was Tally. "I can't believe she did this to me!"

"Craven?" Sarah had to get in there.

"Yes, well I tried to tell you, memories don't lie, Red," Nicte stated carelessly, her voice bouncing off the walls around her. "Think of the good you could do if you just told someone about what you know and saw," Sarah pounded on the door and shook the handle.

"No one would believe me, she's the General of the military and I am nothing," Tally sounded distressed.

"We could tell them together,"

"Tally!" Alder gritted her teeth as she tried everything to get into the room.

"And you think they'd believe a cadet and a war criminal? You are delusional," Tally scoffed as she paced around.

"But I am not wrong. What she did was horrible, to me, to those witches, and to you!" Nicte reiterated, just watching the girl.

Tally sighed and looked to the frozen scene before her, into the General's unblinking eyes. Stoic and uncaring, utterly emotionless. "Yes of course, but I don't know, there are a lot of factors here. We have to be smart about this,"

"Of course. Do you need to see anything again?" Nicte moved to stand next to her.

Tally rolled her shoulders out and shook her head silently. What was she supposed to think? The General really had done this to her, she just watched it happen. Could Nicte have really made it all up?

"I just can't believe I was so stupid!" Tally continued pacing about.

Nicte stood back with a small smile and just watched. "Don't feel bad Red, she can be very charismatic when she wants to be,"

"Charismatic, yeah, well, I didn't trust her before we were connected, and I shouldn't have trusted her after," She crossed her arms and sat down with a huff. "You're right, she needs to be stopped,"

Nicte looked at her skeptically. "You believe that?"

Tally shrugged. "I have been nothing but loyal, and she was willing to torture me to keep these secrets safe, and I cant help but imagine that she would do the same or worse to anyone else who found out over the years. She helped create your terrorist group, for goddess sake. She's as guilty as you!" Nicte narrowed her eyes at her and Tally just froze. "Well, I mean, you did kind of kill a ton of people,"

"And she killed the same amount of witches," Nicte reminded her.

"I don't disagree, but that's why you're the same, you're both guilty," Tally stated evenly.

"Whatever you say," Nicte shrugged. "How do you feel?"

Tally crossed her arms, but shifted them back to her sides a moment later, her shoulders ached, but she wasn't about to tell her that. "I don't know what to think, it is a lot, can you show me again?"

"Yes, of course you may," Nicte grinned before she manipulated the scene around them to start at the beginning.

Tally watched intently, taking in every detail.

There was a knock on the door which she didn't remember from before, but the scene didn't stop and neither Sarah, Petra, nor Izadora paid it any mind. It was becoming increasingly annoying to Tally though. "Is someone going to answer that?"

Nicte redirected her attention back to the scene with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about that, it is inconsequential,"

The knocking only got louder the harder she tried to ignore it. It was like she needed to answer it. Something about it felt necessary.

"Don't do that," Nicte sneered but it was too late, Tally was set on seeing who was so desperately knocking on the door.

"Tally! Don't trust her!" The General fell into the room, incidentally taking Tally to the ground with her.

"General?!" Tally groaned and blinked up at her. She was the last person she expected to see, and she definitely didn't want to see her either. "Get off me!" She scrambled out from underneath the older woman who seemed a little bit dazed, herself. "Why are you doing this?!" She turned on Nicte.

"I'm innocent," She pulled Tally to be standing next to her, away from the General. "It's about time you decided to rejoin us, Sarah," Nicte smiled wickedly.