ROOTS | MICHAEL LANGDON | AHS: APOCALYPSE

NINE: I SPY

SHE HAD HER FUN with the Rubber Man demon and knew Michael would make her pay for it later.

She shook the thought out of her head. Hell, how much she wanted him, craved him. It had been too long. Their years spent apart were nothing in comparison to Hell – Hell was Heaven compared to the agony they felt away from each other.

But the two were different in that way. While Michael's agony made him bitter and calloused and cruel, Eve had turned into a hollow shell in hers. She could feel his anger thrumming in her veins, and he her lingering depression.

How dare she feel this way when it was I who was left alone? Logically, he knew that there had to be a reason behind her hasty departure, but years of trauma left him insecure and made him question who loved him. It was like the fickle rhyme – she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me – over and over and over. Sometimes he questioned if Miss Mead – the human version – even loved him, or did she only worship me? He knew how the congregation felt; they loved the Antichrist, not Michael – no, they worshipped Michael, they worshipped the Antichrist. They didn't love him because he was Michael Langdon, the boy who suffered to the point of breaking only to rise above and become powerful. They worshipped him because he was the Antichrist, the harbinger of the end of times.

Who was to say Eve wasn't the same? All he heard was radio silence from his father. He was left with more questions than answers. How could he know what she spoke was the truth if his father never gave him a sign? His only way of finding the truth was to confront her himself, and he already had it planned. He was in control of his – of their – destiny this time around.

-

Eve's plans on spying on Mallory's interview had nothing to do with meddling with the lives of the occupants of Outpost 3. There was something strange about the girl, and the halfling could feel some sort of energy radiating off of her. She'd even tried entering her mind, only to find that there was a wall concealing who or what the Grey really was.

She didn't dare break it. There was something behind that wall, something that could be dangerous. She couldn't risk breaking the barrier that kept whatever it was in.

Her theory developed when she hid in the shadows.

"The old world lived under a set of rules: Thou shall not kill, thou shall love thy neighbor, etcetera, etcetera; Rules that we're clearly honored in the breach." Michael began. "I want the world without the hypocrisy, with the kinds of people who wouldn't just eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree but who'd cut the fucking tree down and use it for firewood. I think you're made for that world, Mallory." The half demon glared at him from behind the veil of the shadows, watching as he laid his palm on top of the Grey's and reaching to caress her face. "I sense it in you."

"I want to leave." Mallory said, shaking.

"You're afraid." No, Eve thought, she's terrified. I can feel it. It's in her energy. "Aren't you? Of accepting who you are?"

A sinking feeling in Eve's stomach made her feel unnerved.

"I don't know who I am."

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes I feel like there's someone buried inside of me," Mallory confessed. "Someone trying to claw their way out."

Eve's breath hitched. This was bad. If Mallory was becoming self aware, then Eve was right to not break down those walls.

"Who?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking, "I just want to go!"

The Grey stood up and made her way to the door only to be stopped short by Michael. "Let me go." she said firmly.

"Don't be afraid, Mallory, I'm offering you a chance to live."

"I said let me go!" she screamed, sending him flying across the room.

Michael's face changed, becoming that of the White Faces Demon. And in self defense, the witch started a fire just behind him, shocking the two demons in the office.

A witch. She's a witch, Eve realized.

"Who are you?"

"I don't know. Who are you?" She ran.

-

Eve knew by the sound of the footsteps following behind her that it was Michael behind her. She stopped short and spoke, but did not turn to face him. "Do not trust Mallory."

He cornered her, pressing her against the wall of an empty corridor. "You've been spying on interviews."

The girl shrugged. "I like being in the loop."

He glowered at her. "And that stunt with the Rubber Man?"

She pouted, almost mocking him. "There's nothing wrong with a little fun. It's so boring here. Besides, I didn't even get my hands dirty."

"You're going to get them all killed."

She scoffed. "It's not like any of them are worthy of the Sanctuary."

He moved off of her. "Your interview will be tonight after dinner. Don't be late." She knew what he was insinuating. There would be no interview.

With a smirk, she watched as he made his dramatic exit. She loved playing games nowadays, especially after spending time with Nan. If he wanted to ooze seduction and woo every occupant of Outpost 3, she'd play him at his own game.

She was determined to win.

A/N:

thank u tumblr user miss-misty-day for the wonderful meme
i hope ur prepared for the next chapter 😈😈