âWhat youâre about to see is real, remember that.â Allison commented. At least, Max would think it was real, but it wasnât. However, getting her to snap out of that and the brunette snapping out of it herself would be quite the challenge and she knew that. Looking down at the weapon in the blondeâs hand, Allison pointed at it briefly before letting her gaze ascend once more. âAnd weapons wonât kill it. We have to overcome our fears together.â she explained, making her way out of the front door and outside. She didnât exactly know where the demon was, but she figured it would enjoy populated places because it meant more victims. As she made her way over to town square, she noticed that it was pretty quiet there. Allison came to a halt and went over the options inside of her mind. Where could it be? Maybe it was inside Mystic Grill? That place was usually pretty crowded. As if on cue, she heard screams beginning to erupt, which prompted her to run over towards the building. Just as she reached for the doorknob, a parade of people in complete panic came busting through, running passed her and escaping as quickly as they possibly could. âItâs inside.â she motioned her head towards the establishment, making her way inside where she spotted the man by the bar, his latest victim dropping dead to the floor. Allisonâs anger flared up right then and there and she was surprisingly more angry than afraid. Who knew how many people this thing had killed by now? And they werenât gonna be next. âDonât look at it for too long, alright? Just long enough for your fears to manifest.â Allison gripped at Maxineâs hand, pulling her along towards the creature. If they were gonna do this together, sheâd hold the blondeâs hand while doing so. âLadies, what took you so long? Care for a drink?â he smirked at both women, but Allison said nothing and simply made eye contact long enough for her fears to become a reality - inside her mind, that was. Her mother soon came out of the corner, all bloodied and her neck having a gaping wound. That was where the werewolf had fatally bitten her and looking at it now made the brunette want to sink right through the floor.Â
âLook at me, Allison. Look at what you did. All of this is your fault. Youâre just a useless waste that I made the mistake of putting on this earth.â Victoria Argent had never been all hugs and kisses to anyone, but sheâd also never talked like this to her own family. Allison already felt a tear slipping from her brown eyes. It felt so real, how could this not be? She could see her mother, it looked like her, talked like her, moved like her and even smelled like her. âMom, I didnât mean to. I should have saved you, I know. I live with that every single day. Not a day goes by that I donât hate myself for letting that thing tear you apart. Please. I need you to believe me.â she couldnât not feel guilty and devastated. She thought sheâd never see her mom again, but here she was and she was angry. âYou tore me apart, Allison. You. Not anyone else. This happened to me because of you.â Victoria spat and unbeknownst to Allison, the demon was smirking, feeding off her fear, which was beginning to affect her body. She was feeling weaker now, as if breathing was becoming more difficult and she didnât know why. âI should have done better. I should haveââ she couldnât finish what sheâd wanted to say, with her mother interjecting. âShut up. And stop crying. Iâm dead because of you.â the woman hissed, watching Allisonâs tear stained face and the tears werenât stopping. âI know! Youâre dead!â Allison screamed, but right after the words had left her lips, she realized somethingâŠÂ âYouâre deadâŠâ she mused quietly, wiping the tears from her face because this couldnât be real if her mom was dead. And her mom had just said it herself - that she was dead. âYouâre dead and not really here. And my mother loved me right before she died. If she didnât, she wouldnât have come running after me to make sure that I was safe.â Allison felt more confident now, stepping towards the female figure until she was right in front of her, smiling through her tears. âYouâre dead. And thereâs nothing you can do about how my mom felt about me. She raised me to be tough, to stand tall and to not take crap from anybody. Including her. So go to hell, youâre not real.â
"Don't ya mean all in my head?" Maxine was confused - if this guy was supposed to make her see illusions, then wouldn't it be fake?
Suddenly Maxine wasn't in the diner, anymore - or rather, she was, but Allison and the demon were gone. It seemed natural, like she hadn't even been there with Allison beforehand. Katherine, however, was there. "You really think I didn't compel you when we had our play date? You poor, fragile, human. This is your fault, you know. You invited them here without even realizing it."
Katherine's words wouldn't get out of her head, and the blonde wondered if Allison had been there to begin with. Could she of been compelled? She was sure she closed her eyes the entire time. But then, why would Katherine let her live? "Daddy!" She let out a high pitch scream, using her childhood name for her father; she hadn't used that word since she was ten. Tears fell from her face heavily, and she ran to her father's dead body. She was told by Katherine how delicious he was, and then given an ultimatum.
Maxine's mother and sister came out, and they had both been fed on by the looks of it. They were both crying, so unsure of what was happening. Max got to choose who would be killed, and who would become a vampire. But she would then be responsible for killing her choice - or the other would be tortured as she was before being turned and staked. "They did nothing to you! Nothing!"
The blonde let out a cry of frustration as Katherine began counting down from one minute. This couldn't be real - it wasn't her fault her family was in danger, right? It wasn't her fault that they were brought into this world. "It's not my fault! It- it's not my fault!" Taking her brass knuckles, she swung and hit the diner counter purposely. "It's yours! It's not my fault!" She hit the counter again. And a third time. "I did nothing to deserve that! It's not my fault!" She yelled the last part loudly, and for the first time, she realized it was true - it wasn't her fault Katherine tortured her. It truly wasn't. And then it was all gone and Allison was back by her side.