Claire..
I have to save her.
Claire.. Claire..

A light turned on in the farthest corner of the kitchen, just enough for Ander and Claire to notice the massacre before them.

Sebastian, Rick, and Aria lay on the ground, hardly breathing and very bruised. Their hands clutched the key amulets tightly. They were safe, Ander heaved a sigh of relief but not for long.

Tick-tock.. tick-tock.

Jake or rather George stood among the unconscious figures, unstrapping Dora's possessed body.

Claire tightly clutched to Ander's hold. He tensed. She would've figured out Jake was possessed, the reason Dora was smirking with an evil look - Claire was smart enough. But was she strong? After all, she had endured? Ander's hands trembled, his knees shook with terror.

Now was not the time to respond to the guilt eating him on the inside but his body was hot, mad at himself. He was the root of all troubles, all the pain, all the danger he inflicted on everyone around him. How can he meet his eyes with her?

He was so sorry, regretful that it led to this day.

He had fight left in him, enough to get Claire away but for how long? He created such troubles in the first place, forced her through all of these. How can his love be so destructive? All he wanted to give her was happiness. All he gave her was misery.

He didn't deserve love. He didn't deserve this life.

His shoulders shook, his throat preparing to scream, just to let the frustration out when Claire's voice reached his ears, "Don't you dare think loving me was a mistake. Don't you dare regret it? Stop taking the blame. Put your old arrogant ego to work, mongrel. No matter how much I hate you, we're going to get out of this together."

He heard a smile in her voice, a smile that washed over his tight nerves. He smiled, actually and gazed towards his side, seeing the old Claire. "You don't hate me, agapi mou."

Claire rolled her eyes. She beamed, looking straight at Ander and asked, "Do you know the joys of these witch dramas? You get to see your badass lover kicking your ex's ass."

"Ah, it makes me sick to watch those two flirt." Gabriela's voice broke their stare. "Pathetic!"

Ander rolled his eyes, shook his head and concentrated on Claire, "We have to finish exorcism. Try to wake up Sebastian anyhow. Don't let go of your safety charm and don't look at their faces. That's George, Gabriela's lover, in Jake's body. Dora and Jake are gone."

Claire would've cried, let her heartbreak express on her face but she chose not to. Gulping down her tears, she nodded to what Ander said. She would be brave, for Ander, for herself. Dora and Jake were puppets, control by these demons. She had to free them.

'Now's not the time, Claire. Don't fear. Woman up!' she said to herself.

A spark of hope beamed on her face when she spoke to Ander, "They can't be gone. Otherwise, Gabriela and George would be stuck in those bodies -"

Ander stopped Claire from completing her sentence, "No. We can't think of that now," Hope was dangerous. Hope was lethal. "Let's finish what we started. Just do what I told you."

He wished he could convey words through his eyes, tell her everything he desired to say but he dropped his hand and faced forward. Possessed Jake and Possessed Dora stood tall before him as Claire rushed away from them.

"Oh, Andy," Gabriela's voice boomed in the room, "I always pitied you. You were too easy, always easy. And quite stupid too. You think you could win against us? Have you not learned anything?"

"I'm done with this. And I'm done with you, Gabriela," his words were bitter, his voice full of hatred, "I will not let you harm anyone anymore. This ends here."

George laughed, his arms extended pointing to three unconscious bodies around them, "It's too late. Isn't it, sir?"

Claire walked in the shadows, her footsteps light and cautious as she walked around behind Gabriela and George. They moved forward, their lips set in a curve mocking Ander.

He retreated unconsciously, his hands shivered at his side. They had an upper hand, Ander knew that. They had powers, dark powers. One swift blow would be enough to destroy Ander. He was a human now, limited in his skin and bones.

"Poor Booth is frightened?" George taunted as he walked towards Ander.

Gabriela laughed, "He was always a scaredy cat. Always hiding behind his false arrogance."

He didn't reply. He observed Claire in his peripheral vision trying to reach Sebastian. Searching for a distraction, Ander moved towards the kitchen. He had to lead them away from Claire.

She lowered near Sebastian, her hands gently shaking his shoulders. It was a perfect opportunity to kill two crows with one bullet. They have to complete the exorcism.

Sebastian twitched a little. A smile of relief played on Claire's lips.

Gabriela and George had their eyes on Ander, chasing him. "I thought you were smarter than this, Claire."

Before Ander could stop them, two hands tightened around his throat, choking him. All Ander could see was Jake's face turned into an evil smirk, his eyes red as blood. He froze, paralyzed by fear.

A loud thud followed by Claire's scream reached his ears. "Stop it, argh... Stop!" She kept screaming.

Ander tried to pry off George but it was futile. Gabriela was torturing Claire and enjoying it too. Her voice echoed with Claire's screams, "What did you think would happen, Ander? You would stop us and then what? Live happily ever after? With this stupid girl? A boy born a century ago, living in this cruel world, holding onto a girl who would never accept him. No family, no friends, no dreams. You're a very optimistic person for all that you did and endured. Did you learn nothing?"

He wished he could block out her words, stop her from speaking his darkest thoughts. But she was right. He wasn't needed. His time was gone. His existence was pointless. Claire, he loved her with all that he could offer but was it enough? Would he ever be enough? Was depending on someone else for your existence rational?

What else was there in this world for him? What else was in him to offer to this world?

He tried to speak back, argue. It wasn't time to think about that. He would never recover from the trauma, it wasn't that easy. Possibly drag others in his self-sabotage.

"Don't listen to her, Ander." Claire's voice was strained yet she shouted loud enough to truly reach Ander, "You're given a second chance to make things right. Don't blow it. Don't let her win again."

Gabriela had already won. Ander was choking, gasping, fighting to breathe. Claire was probably too wrecked, destroyed, he thought. Dora was gone.

He had wished so hard to contain this sandcastle of his hope but the more he tried, the more he destroyed. It wasn't enough. He failed again. Innocent people dying, Claire, Dora - he couldn't do anything.

Tears welled up his eyes as he watched the world fading out around him. "Clai-" he tried to talk, tell her something but her agony and pain played as a destructive music to his heart, stealing his every last breath.

Only if he tried harder.

Only if he had another chance, he would've done it right.

"You shouldn't miss this scene," George said in his ears and moving away from his sight. Claire was against the front door, her head bleeding, her limbs kicking and fighting the pain as Gabriela stood above her, snatching her hair with one hand and a dagger in another. "You haunted for a century but this will haunt you for the rest of eternity." George laughed and Ander wanted to snatch out his spine.

Their souls weren't attached anymore but damn if it didn't pain him with every cut on Claire, every blow.

Her scream died, her eyes were searching Ander in the dim light. Oh, such hopeful eyes for a hopeless person. She didn't deserve it.

Love was anything but beautiful. It was ugly, pathetic, lethal and probably led one to such a mournful end. But it was addictive the most.

Ander's love led her to such painful demise yet he couldn't help but love her more. His soul pained to tell her the words of his heart.

A crack of bones, that's all he heard before he almost lost consciousness. Gabriela and George said something, laughed but darkness enveloped him ready to swallow.

He was done with this world. It was a 'g-o-o-d-b-y-e'.

But... The world wasn't done with him.

The front door rattled, "Ander!! Are you in there?"

Someone was at the door, banging it, breaking it. "Answer me! Are you alright?"

A very familiar voice that accelerated his dying heart. Vincent Monroe was here.