DEVIL, DEVIL (Michael Langdon)

Michael's reading idea hadn't lasted very long. When they were younger and just content to sit in each other's presence, it would have. But things were different now. It was as if they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. (Which Judas didn't exactly mind. After months of just Gallant, he was happy for the change.) Though it did make things extremely awkward when he was sat astride Michael's lap as the door opened behind him.

While Judas fumbled to try and hide beneath the covers, Michael only smiled, looking at Ms. Venable and Ms. Mead. "Ladies, I'm a bit busy right now," he said.

"This won't take long," Ms. Venable stated.

Michael let out a sigh, sitting up in the bed to look at the pair fully. Ms. Venable's eyes shifted quickly away from him as the blankets fell away from his body. Judas wanted to put his head under the covers and never be seen again, but he was frozen, paralyzed, as he waited to see what Ms. Venable wanted to say. Michael raised an eyebrow as he fully processed the scene. "What's this?" he asked.

"We're making the selections now, Mr. Langdon," Ms. Venable said simply. "And I'm afraid you and Judas here didn't make the cut."

Michael laughed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I wanted to let you have your moment, but I just couldn't hold it in."

"You think this is funny?" Ms. Venable asked.

He shrugged slightly. "I think I'm impressed, Ms. Venable. I wasn't sure you had it in you." He was smiling, now. "You've passed the test. You're perfect for the Sanctuary."

Ms. Mead raised an eyebrow, looking at Venable, trying to gauge her reaction. Venable was smiling. "Ms. Mead," she said, and Ms. Mead, always the dutiful friend, drew a gun.

Judas looked at Michael, who was entirely calm as he said, "I wouldn't do that."

When Ms. Venable just continued to smile, Michael set his eyes on Mead, who raised the gun slowly, aiming it at Michael, who just stared back, a smile playing at his face. "Ms. Mead," Venable repeated.

Michael glanced to Venable, and Judas watched as Ms. Mead aimed the gun at her friend's chest.

Judas flinched at the sound of the gun firing, and Michael squeezed his shoulder gently.

Venable stayed on her feet for a moment, staring at Ms. Mead in a mixture of shock and horror. She took one more shuddering breath before she stumbled backward, hitting the floor with a thud. Michael and Judas watched as she gasped for air, blood draining from the wound in her chest. "I don't know why I did that," Ms. Mead stuttered out, tears beginning to form in her dark eyes. "I was always loyal to her."

"It's all right," Michael said, voice strangely gentle. "You were obeying commands, like you're programmed to do. My commands."

He tore his gaze from Venable to look at Ms. Mead. "Did you enjoy executing the poison apples plan as much as I enjoyed coming up with it?" he asked with a smirk.

Ms. Mead shook her head, voice strained. "You wanted everyone dead?"

Michael nodded, giving a look toward Judas. "Save a select few," he said. "I've never been a fan of getting my hands dirty. Learned that from my Father. Always more fun to entice men and women to dirty deeds. Confirms what I've always believed." He rose from the bed, then, beginning to search for his clothes.

"What do you believe?" Ms. Mead asked.

"That all people, if given the right pressures or stimulus, are evil motherfuckers." He dressed as he spoke, never breaking eye contact.

Ms. Mead was shaking her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. Judas could very nearly have pitied her had it not been for the fact that he knew what she had helped to carry out in the sitting room. "I'm having trouble with this," she managed to say. "I know I'm just a machine."

"Never say that," Michael stated, voice suddenly stern. "You're not just a machine. Not to me. When I tasked the Cooperative's R & D department to have you constructed, I gave them a prototype to model."

"A prototype?" Ms. Mead asked.

"Of someone from my childhood," Michael replied. "Someone very dear to me."

Ms. Mead hesitated. "The beautiful boy," she said.

Michael smiled. "That was me. But I had to keep the most important part of you hidden from your mind."

"Why?" she asked.

"To protect you. And the plan. But now it's time to remember it all. I lost you, and I couldn't bear it." Michael was crying. Judas wasn't sure he had ever seen Michael cry. It was almost terrifying to see. "I can't imagine a new world without you by my side," Michael told Ms. Mead. "Either of you," he looked at Judas now, his expression strangely soft. "The only people who ever really understood me."

"Who ever really loved you," Ms. Mead said.

Michael nodded faintly before he drew Ms. Mead into a hug, her tears falling on his golden hair. "She was the closest person I ever had to a mother," he said. "To this day, I don't know how she found me. I was glad to finally find a real home. She made me feel happy and protected. So you can understand why I gave you her form and her thoughts. I need someone to help me with the monumental task of remaking this world. Who better than the person I never stopped trusting or loving?"

Ms. Mead smiled faintly. She reached to touch Michael's jacket. "Your jacket is stained," she said, drawing away blood.

"So it is," Michael said. "There's another one in the dresser."

He shrugged off the jacket while Ms. Mead retrieved another, this one a deep velvet, crimson, a color that Judas found extremely nice on him. It was then that Judas realized he probably should have been putting on his own clothes, but he distracted by Michael looking between him and Ms. Mead. "What do you both think?"

"Hail Satan," Ms. Mead replied.

"Not quite," Michael corrected. "But I appreciate the sentiment." He looked at her with a faint smile. "Ms. Mead, I do believe you're glowing." And she was, with swelling pride.

"For the first time, I feel I know my place in the world," she said. "By your side."

Michael chuckled, though his smile fell in an instant. "What is it?" Judas asked.

"A powerful presence," Michael said, and as he did, Judas realized he could feel it too. Strong, nearly as strong as Michael.

"What do you mean?" Ms. Mead said. "Everyone's dead."

"Not anymore," Michael said.

He looked at Judas. "I'd suggest putting your clothes on. We're going to be greeting company."

Judas decided it would best to just do as Michael said.