Once and for All- Part Three Of The Conclusion To The United Series

Chapter Two

Max's POV:

I race around the Mariot, trying to find Setràkus Ra. This place is like a maze of rooms and halls. It's impossible to find anyone in here.

I take a left down another random hallway when I bump into someone as I'm turning the corner. I look up and immediately stumble back at the sight of him.

"Maggie..." Remo Helmer trails off. I stare up at him for what seems like minutes as thoughts race through my mind. I want to punch him, hug him and kill him at the same time.

But I don't do anything. I just tear my eyes away from him and continue forward.

"Maggie, wait." Remo calls to me, softly grabbing my wrist and pulling me back to him. I avoid his eyes, instead just looking down at the floor.

"What do you want, Remo?" I ask him, a bit too coldly, and I automatically feel guilty, then angry for feeling that. He hesitates for seconds, still softly gripping my wrist and staring down at me sadly.

"I just... I'm sorry, Maggie..." He trails off.

"Max." I correct through gritted teeth. He purses his lips and without another word, pulls me into a tight, brotherly hug. He does everything that calms me down; he plays with my hair, he holds me tightly, and he even gives me a brotherly kiss on my head. I start slightly shaking in his grip, but not from anger, or tears. From fear.

"I know you're mad at me, Max, and I'm so sorry. No matter what happens, you will always be my little sister, my little Pearl."

I freeze completely at that- pearl. He'd call me that all the time; his little pearl.

He runs a hand through my hair before giving me another soft kiss on my head and pulling away from me. He's so gentle with me, and with this agreement with Setràkus Ra, he won't hurt me. He can't hurt me anymore.

No. I can't trust him. I made the mistake of doing it once, I'm not making it again.

Remo places his warm hand on my cheek, two fingers under my chin, and lifts it so I'm looking directly at him. He smiles warmly at me, his thumb softly tracing my cheek.

I shake my head and push him away from me, backing into the wall behind me. Remo looks hurt yet comforting, stepping towards me again.

"N-No. No, Remo. St-Stop." I order him, my voice shaking violently. I can feel my breath quicken as Remo gets closer to me.

"Come on, Maggie." He whispers to me, placing both his hands on my shoulders. I feel a pain in my chest, almost like it was stabbed. It keeps going as Remo smiles down at me.

I shake my head and my vision starts to get blurry. My heart races faster than a car and I feel ready to pass out. I can't breathe. I don't hear a word Remo says to me.

"Maggie, are you okay?" It sounds like he's talking to me from underwater. I can't take control of my breathing. Every time Remo moves a muscle I feel like he's going to do something to me.

"Hey! What happened?" Another Mog yells from the other side of the hall. I don't bother looking to see who it is. I'm too focused on trying to not pass out.

Before I know it, one of them picks me up bridal-style. I thrash wildly, trying to get away from them as I scream at them to stop.

"Maggie, stop. It's okay." I hear Remo tell me softly and my heartbeat quickens at the sound of his voice. He's the one carrying me. I struggle harder.

Remo carries me to another place and I have no idea where he's taking me. I scream and beg him to just put me down and leave me alone. I think at one point I scream Leo's name, a call for help. It's all just a blur and before I know it, I'm knocked out in his arms.

Jason's POV:

Leo hasn't come out of his room in a week. He hasn't eaten, hasn't spoke, probably hasn't even slept.

I'm lying down on the floor of a random bedroom. I'm sharing a room with John, and of course, Ivan. I'm trying to fall asleep with Ivan sleeping a few feet away from me, rethinking the past week in my head, as I do every night. Everyone's quiet, especially Percy, Reyna, Nico, Conrad, Nine and Leo. Even Ivan stopped talking. We haven't spoke to each other for nearly two months, and it hurts.

I finally allow myself to fall asleep, and when I do, I'm not disappointed.

I'm in the same room as the first dream I had with Max- the caramel walls and wood floor- except there are no drawings on the walls, and the pencils from before are snapped in half and thrown onto the black desk.

I look around, but before I can turn around, someone tackles me in a huge hug, wrapping their arms around my neck and holding me tightly. I barely have to take a glimpse of the mass of curly red hair to know who it is.

"Max?" I call out and she squeezes me tighter. I let out a sigh of relief and hug her back, wrapping my arms around her waist. She buries her head in my neck and I can feel her shaky breathing.

After a few moments, I try to slowly pull away from her, but she just holds me tighter. Her shaky breathing doesn't calm down. I hold her tighter against me to help her.

She takes another shaky breath before whispering two words into the nape of my neck; "I'm scared."

"I know, I know." I whisper back, running my hand through her hair. "It's okay, you'll be okay."

I softly push her near the bed and sit down, then pull her to me until her head is resting on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her again, and she seems comfortable in my arms. She does seem a lot more relaxed, anyways.

Max softly kisses my cheek, and at that moment, nothing else in the world matters. Just Max. And maybe Ivan, too.

"What happened?" I ask her. Her bright green eyes open to look up into mine. I reach over and softly brush a few curls from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She looks down before answering me.

"Remo." She answers quietly. I can't help but sigh in annoyance. Max looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. I smile sheepishly at her and she chuckles, resting her head on my shoulder again. I take another look at her and realize that she's wearing a light gray sweater. That's...not normal. It's always either her leather jacket or no jacket at all.

"What's this for?" I ask her, tugging at the hood of her new sweater. She freezes for a second before staring up at me again, a slightly scared look in her eyes. Uh oh. I know that look.

"Promise you won't get mad?"

Uh oh.

I nod my head but she looks wary.

"It's okay, Max, I promise." I tell her, kissing her head. She smiles warmly up at me before slowly taking off the sweater. And oh. Okay.

On one arm, there's scarily realistic water in black ink with a trident and on the other, all the Garde symbols from her shoulder down to her wrist.

"Oh."

"I...didn't want the Mogadorian tattoos, so I asked Finn to give me these ones instead..." She trails off, almost as if expecting me to yell at her.

I chuckle at her and pull her into another tight hug, kissing her head again.

"You really think I'm going to get mad because you got a couple tattoos?" I ask her and she smiles sheepishly at me. I look down at her new tattoos, examining the water one.

"Finn is good." I blurt out. Max chuckles,  nodding her head. "I want to meet him." I joke, staring at the door. Max shrugs her shoulders.

"Hopefully one day." She replies and her voice sounds distant. I know we don't have much time left.

I hug her tightly and she automatically hugs me back. The room around me spins and Max's touches fade. I wake up in a cold sweat on the floor, feet away from Ivan. I take deep breaths and rethink the dream all over again in my head.

I just wish it wasn't just a dream.