I stood with Josephine, watching her memory unravel- she and Gabriel dancing, swaying to soft music. Her smile was so unguarded, so human, it almost hurt to look at. Then the ground shook again.

"You can keep this one. But if you ever want to see him again, we have to move now." I said, and she pushed the book closed.

Her eyes lingered on the book in her hands.
"He'll find a way to save us both." I say

"I wasn't always like this." She whispers

"Trust me, I know the feeling. I mean look around you, we can let the bad things that happened to us define who we are, or we can define who we are..... we have to float more." I say

She gave me a look but followed when I walked out, the place rattling harder.

The chaos outside has worsened- memories slamming into each other, sparks tearing across the collapsing library of her mind.

"It just keeps getting worse." Josephine muttered, stepping beside me.

"Brain death. We have to vent it all- come on." I said, keeping my voice steady.

I sprinted to the hatch door, slammed it open, and hit the countdown.

"If I leave the inner door open everything in here will get sucked out at once, including us. We have to get back to the room. Come on! This is how we can save us both!" I said yanking her arm.

We ran. Alarms screamed. Memories tore free like leaves in a storm. I dove into the room, Josephine on my heels, slamming the door shut-

- and then she vanished.

Josephine's pov

I gasped awake. My lungs burned, my throat squeezed tight. Vines- wrapping, choking. I thrashed, panic flaring as spots clouded my vision.

The hatch creaked open above me.

"I knew she'd pick this one. Quiet- they'll hear us" a man's voice whispered.

Two figures dropped down. A girl with sharp eyes. A man with a face I didn't know, but still- I knew who it was.

"Hurry. She can't breathe" the girl snaps

Hands ripped vines from my throat. I sucked in air, coughing hard.

"You didn't show up at the camp. We amused the worst." The man said

It was him. Gabriel.

"Diana-hey, can you walk? Gabriel, come on-help me" the girl said

But all I saw was him.

"Gabriel?" My voice cracked

His eyes widened.
"Josephine?" He whispered

I flung myself into his arms. For a moment, centuries melted away. 

When we pulled apart, he cupped my face, and I clutched his wrists like it was the only real thing left.

"Hey, hey" he smiles

"You still wanna live happily ever after?" I smiled through the tears

He rested his forehead against mine, the ghost of a smile tugging his lips.

But the other girl cut in.
"Hold on. What happened to Diana?" Shes asks

I blinked, noticing he properly.
"Blodrenia. Hi. How do you two- you know what? There's no time. Just help me up." I shook my head

They dragged me out of the hatch.

"Get down. Don't move. They'll see us" Gabriel said, pulling us down.

"Help! I'm here!" I screamed

"What are you doing?" Gabriel snaps

"Seriously?" Octavia groaned

"Don't worry, my love. I won't let them hurt you." I tell him

The sanctum guards swarmed, weapons raised.

"On your knees! Octavia, drop your weapon! Now!" Jade yelled

"Okay, okay" she muttered, tossing it aside.

"Look. Listen to me, she needs medical attention. If I don't operate soon she'll die." Gabriel tried

"Get your hands off her cog" a guard sneered

"Okay, enough talk. Kill the girl, take Gabriel prisoner, and get me home." I snapped

Gabriel's face crumbled.
"No no no no" he mumbles

But before anything else, gunfire cracked. The sanctum guards dropped one by one. A masked figure stood with a rifle smoking.

Bellamy.

Of course.

"Bellamy" Octavia breathed

"Of course it is" I mutter as jade keeps me standing.

Octavia ran to hug him. He hugged her back with one arm- while keeping the gun trained on me.

"Take her." Bellamy ordered Gabriel

My legs buckled. 
"Wait, no, i can't feel my legs." I say

Gabriel caught me before I hit the dirt. His jaw was set, voice clipped.
"We have to hurry. Come on." Gabriel he

Bellamy's voice was steel.
"Right behind you" he said

The tent smelled of earth and old metal. Gabriel laid me on a table, wires snaking over my chest, monitors humming. My body shook violently.

"Two wavelengths, one brain. You mind telling me how Diana's consciousness survived?" Gabriel asked

"Shes got something called the flame in her head. It backed her up like my drive backed me up. Hid itself during the procedure. It's pretty cool, huh?" I rasped

"What can we do?" Bellamy demanded

"Once I remove her drive, I'll need you to quickly bandage the wound before I restart her heart." Gabriel answers

"You're stopping her heart?" Octavia barked

"Death causes her mind to back up onto the drive. I take it out, start her heart." He said

"We get Diana back?" Bellamy asks

I smiled weakly.
"She was right to depend on you. Believe it or not we're actually friends." I say

His jaw clenched.
"We'll see about that if you ever meet in the real world." He says

"Real world?" Gabriel asked

"Yeah. After I use her mind drive to bargain for peace." Bellamy answers flatly

Octavia looked at him sharply.
"What's wrong?" She asks

But I already knew.
"He knows that means I'll be resurrected again. And he's not sure if he can let them take another innocent life." I said

Gabriel froze, needle on hand. My gaze locked on his.

"There's the rub. For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come? But I guess that was ok for you huh old man?" I whispered, my hand brushing his

His eyes softened.
"No it wasn't." He says

"You know that there's another way. If you let me keep this body, nobody else has to die." I say

Bellamy snapped.
"Okay, no more talking. Do it" he said

I swallowed.
"I know that I've done bad things. I don't remember them all, but I do know that you hate me for it." I say

"I could never hate you" Gabriel says

Tears blurred my vision.
"I know it. We can still be together my love. We can take out the drives just like you wanted. We can grow old together." I say

His lips trembled.
"I-I've loved you for centuries..... we had our time.  Now they need to have theirs. I have to let you go now." His voice broke.

The needle pierced my arm.

I held onto his face with my eyes, memorizing every line. My last sight was him. My Gabriel.

Then the world went black.