A/N: This is the last part of Chapter 46. STRICTLY NO SPOILERS!

LORELEI

"Ah, the QED Four! What a coincidence!"

OF ALL the people we could possibly meet in the hospital, why did it have to be Stein Alberts? It's been a few days since I last saw his annoying grin and heard his voice. Imagine not only my surprise but everyone else's in the elevator upon seeing his face.

The more boggling question right now in our heads was: what the hell was he doing here?

"Sobrang na-starstruck ba kayo sa akin kaya 'di n'yo nagawang makalabas diyan sa elevator?" nakangising tanong ni Stein, napahawak pa sa kanyang dibdib. "Parang nakakita kayo ng multo, ah? Didn't you miss my—"

Looking not so amused, Loki repeatedly pressed the "close door" button. Nagsimulang mag-slide ang pinto at unti-unting nawala sa paningin namin si Stein. But before the elevator got totally closed, ipinasok ni Stein ang kanyang braso sa maliit na gap sa elevator. For a second, I thought that his hand was about to be cut off. But that's not how elevator doors work.

The door slid open again as Stein stuck out his hand. "Why are you so serious?"

"Get your hand off the elevator," Loki threatened him.

"Or else what?"

"I'll let this door cut your hand off."

"Oh, I wanna see you try."

"Guys," Alistair interrupted them. "Baka may iba pang kailangang gumamit ng elevator. Let's talk in the lobby, shall we?"

Nauna siyang lumabas ng elevator. Sumunod kaming dalawa ni Jamie na binabantayan ng tingin si Stein. Loki was the last to leave, still locked into a staring contest with his archnemesis.

"I have to go somewhere, but I guess I can spare a few minutes to catch up with you!" Stein said, rubbing his palms together. Parang kaibigan namin siya na matagal na naming hindi nakikita at aksidente naming nakasalubong dito sa ospital. The only difference was, we do not like to see him again. If possible.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked.

"Answering my question with another question?" Stein giggled. "Is that your way of saying 'you missed me'?"

A realization dawned on me. I was so taken aback by seeing Stein that I forgot something. Luthor's room is on the fifth floor. Stein was just leaving the fifth floor! Could he have paid him a visit before we do? Was he checking if his general is still alive and kicking? Or was he here to personally finish the job? Siya ba ang nasa likod ng paglason kay Luthor?

So many questions running on my mind right now. I wanna see if Luthor's still okay. I hope he is.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked again.

"Obvious ba?" natatawang sagot ni Stein. "Nandito ako para mag-shopping ng mga bagong damit!"

If that was a joke or an attempt to diffuse the tense atmosphere in the elevator lobby, it didn't help. We all looked at him with straight faces. One could play a cricket sound to let him know how awkward that moment was. No one found his joke funny.

"Fine!" Stein sighed, raising both of his hands in surrender. Mukhang na-realize niya na wala siyang future bilang comedian. "I just had my regular check-up. Thanks to you, the doctors had to check monthly if my head is still okay. Gusto nilang malaman kung gaano kadalas sumasakit ang ulo o kung lagi ba akong nakararamdam ng pagkahilo. Post concussion syndrome, you know."

"You had it coming," Loki retorted. "Did they find a few loose screws in your head? Because that would explain a lot."

"Thankfully, none!" Stein replied in glee. "I can still play with you using a hundred percent of my mental faculties. I'd be at a great disadvantage if I were only at my eighty percent."

"At nandito sa fifth floor ang doktor mo?" That's what I found strange. Sa pagkakaalam ko kasi, nasa second at third floor ang room ng mga doktor. On the fourth floor above, 'yon na ang mga private room para sa mga pasyente.

"Ah! I actually got lost here," sagot ni Stein sabay turo sa likuran niya. "'Di ko namalayang paakyat ang elevator kanina. Pagbukas ng pinto, lumabas agad ako at naglakad-lakad sa hallway. Late ko nang na-realize na nasa fifth floor pala ako."

Naningkit ang mga mata ko. Naligaw, huh? 'Yon talaga ang palusot niya kung bakit siya nandito sa fifth floor? I don't buy it. He could think of a better excuse than that. While it's possible that he got lost, the more likely explanation was that he went to Luthor's room and paid him visit. Kung gano'n nga, sana'y wala siyang ginawang masama.

"Looks like you need to have your head checked again." Mukhang 'di rin kinagat ni Loki ang mababaw na palusot ni Stein. "Losing your sense of direction and failing to pay attention to your surroundings might be signs of a more severe illness. Could be brain tumor."

"Grabe, tumor agad?" tugon ni Stein. "But I really appreciate your concern. Caring for your opponent? Very sportsmanlike of you."

"If illness won't get you, then I definitely will," Loki answered. "It's only between those two choices."

"There's still a third choice though—"

We heard a ding! sound again and the elevator door slid open. Nagawi sa kaliwa ang tingin ko at napansin ang paglabas ng isang babaeng may familiar na mukha. My mouth gaped at her.

"Maggie?" I muttered. Maging sina Jamie at Alistair, napatingin sa kanya.

"You guys are here too?" Maggie asked as she stepped out of the elevator. Nasorpresa rin siya na makita kaming apat. When her gaze turned to her left, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Stein. I could read the words "What is he doing here" written across her face. We had the same question in mind.

Stein greeted her with a smile before looking at his phone. "I still wanna chat with you guys, but I have to go now. See you around in school!"

He waved his hand as he walked into the elevator. Sinundan namin siya, baka may bigla siyang gawin kapag ibinalikwas namin ang aming tingin. Patuloy siya sa pagkaway habang dahan-dahang sumara ang elevator door. We only stared at him without smiling back.

We stood for a moment at the elevator lobby, still stunned by our unexpected meeting of him. Parang hinintay muna naming makarating sa ground floor ang elevator na sinakyan niya bago kami gumalaw ulit.

"Ano'ng ginagawa niya rito?" tanong ni Maggie sabay hawak sa bridge ng kanyang salamin.

"He said he just had his regular check-up," walang ganang sagot ni Loki habang nakatitig pa rin sa elevator. He then turned to our execom chairwoman. "You also received a message from my mom?"

Maggie nodded. "Sinabi niya'ng gising na si Luthor at pwede ko raw bisitahin kapag may time ako. Plano kong i-postpone muna ang meeting natin ngayong hapon kaya pumunta na ako ngayon. 'Di ko in-expect na pupunta rin kayo."

Sabay-sabay na kaming naglakad patungo sa private room ni Luthor. Mas mabilis nang bahagya ang bawat hakbang namin. We all looked worried on why Stein was wandering around the fifth floor. Ano ang pakay niya kay Luthor? Dumaan lang ba siya? Bumisita lang ba siya? O may ginawa siyang masama?

He'd be so bold to harm Luthor while in the latter's private room. Nandoon ang mommy at daddy ni Luthor. Meron ding bodyguard na ex-NBI agent na nakabantay sa kanya. Stein would surely have a hard time executing whatever sinister plan he had in mind.

But I couldn't underestimate him or his genius. The person who poisoned Luthor was also so bold, he did it in the secured residence of the Mendez family.

Nagbato ako ng tingin kay Maggie na nakayuko, halos magdikit ang mga kilay at tila malalim ang iniisip. Seeing Stein might have given her something to think about it. Nagkaroon kami ng discussion sa execom office kanina kung saan naitanong niya kung bakit sasaktan ni Stein si Luthor kung wala naman siyang kinalaman sa organisasyon. Hindi ko masabi kung nagkaroon na ba siya ng pagdududa sa taong pinagkakatiwalaan niya.

Thankfully, we had nothing to worry about at all. Munroe was standing outside the room, his hands firmly placed in front of him. He didn't seem to be alarmed kaya wala naman sigurong nangyari kay Luthor. He opened the door for us and let us in.

Inside, we saw Luthor conscious, sitting upright in his bed. Nasa tabi niya si Tita Frigette. Tito Odinaire was not in the room.

Isa-isa kaming nagmano kay tita. When it's Jamie's turn, pinagyabang niya ang bitbit na basket ng prutas ni Alistair. Tita jokingly said na bakit pang-media noche yata ang dala namin, to which we laughed. Jamie did not look offended at all. Nakitawa rin kasi siya.

"Maiwan ko muna kayo," Tita Frig told us before she left the room. Mukhang alam niyang gusto naming makipagkumustahan kay Luthor kaya binigyan niya kami ng privacy. Everyone settled down on couch except Loki who chose to remain standing.

Luthor looked okay now. His jetblack hair was kinda messy. Maybe he did not have the time to comb. Maybe he did not care about his appearance to his visitors. Hindi na siya namumutla, pero mukhang nanghihina pa. Well, his stomach got pumped for the toxins to leave his body, so that might have drained his energy or something.

"Lulu," tawag sa kanya ni Jamie. Lumapit siya sa table kung saan inilagay ang binili niyang basket ng prutas. Kinuha niya ang nakatabing kutsilyo sa may lalagyan ng utensils. "Ano ang favorite fruit mo? I have a variety of prutas here kaya 'di ka mawawalan ng pagpipilian."

"Anything will be fine," Luthor replied in a hoarse voice. "Thank you."

"How sure are we that the fruits you bought aren't poisoned?" Loki asked. "Well, we don't have to worry about my brother getting poisoned again. We're already in a hospital and the doctors are just one call away."

"Ano ka ba, Loki dear? Sigurado akong ligtas 'tong mga pinamili ko," sabi ni Jamie. Ipinakita niya sa amin ang isang mansanas na parang ma-magic-in niya at biglang kinagat ito. "Kung may lason 'to, ako ang unang magko-collapse!"

"So you wanna be like Cinderella, huh?" Loki crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. "She got poisoned after eating that fruit."

Naningkit ang mga mata ko. Something didn't sound right. Maging si Alistair ay napakunot ang noo. "You mean Snow White? Siya ang kumain sa poisoned apple na ibinigay sa kanya ng witch. Si Cinderella naman 'yong nakaiwan ng glass shoe noong papatakas na siya sa party."

Loki shrugged his shoulders. "Aren't they just the same? I can barely differentiate one princess from another."

He's hopeless in these matters. Here's one of the instances where correcting him was futile. The other instance was when he forgets a person's name. For example, their family chaffeur.

Pagkatapos talupan ni Jamie ang ilang prutas at pira-pirasuhin ang mga 'to, hinatiran niya ng isang platito si Luthor. She's taking her future sis-in-law duties seriously, huh? Binigyan niya rin kami ng isang platter na pinagpasa-pasahan namin. I got a few slices of apple before offering the platter to Maggie. She only took one then passed it to Alistair.

Maggie was strangely quiet. Napapangiti lang siya tuwing may nagdyo-joke sa amin. The only time she spoke was when she reported to Luthor about the happenings in the student council and the execom. She looked too preoccupied. Something else was on her mind.

"Binisita ka ba ni Stein Alberts kani-kanina lang?" Maggie asked.

I almost bit my tongue when I heard that question. Napatingin kaming lima sa direksyon niya. Mukhang 'yon ang bumabagabag sa kanya kanina pa.

Luthor only shook his head before taking a bite of the sliced apple.

"Nadatnan namin siya sa elevator lobby ng fifth floor," kuwento ni Maggie. "We can't help but wonder kung ano ang ginagawa niya sa floor na 'to. Naligaw ba talaga siya o may iba pa siyang pakay?"

"I can't think of any reason why he'd pay me a visit," Luthor replied.

At this point, hindi ko alam kung nagsasabi siya nang totoo o hindi. Loki and I know that Stein has a reason to knock on his room and say hello to him. The only question is whether Luthor allowed Stein inside this room or not. Nasa loob ang kanyang mom habang nakabantay sa labas si Munroe. Stein couldn't have easily sneaked inside without anyone's permission.

"I see." Maggie smiled.

Not once did Loki mention about what he found out in his investigation of his brother's poisoning incident. I tried to bring up the topic, but he quickly changed the subject. Parang ayaw muna niyang pag-usapan sa ngayon kaya 'di ko na pinilit.

"Six o'clock na pala!" bulalas ni Jamie pagtingin niya sa kanyang phone. Iniangat niya ang kanyang tingin sa amin sabay sabing, "Gusto ko pa sanang maki-chika, pero kailangan ko nang umuwi."

"Ihahatid na kita," sabi ni Alistair sabay tayo. He turned to me and Loki. "Sasabay ba kayo sa amin?"

I casted a glance at Loki. Kung sa kanilang bahay pa rin siya uuwi ngayong gabi, pwede na akong sumabay na kay Alistair. Pero kung sa apartment na siya uuwi at mag-i-stay pa siya rito ng isa o dalawang oras, pwede ko naman siyang hintayin at sumabay sa kanya. I bet he'd ask their family driver to bring us home.

"I'd be staying here for a while," Loki answered. "I also need to talk to my mom and dad later. I'd be sleeping in the apartment tonight. Freya must have missed me."

Lumingon ako kay Alistair. "Sasabay na rin ako kay Loki."

"All right then." My childhood friend nodded. Sunod siyang napatingin kay Maggie. "Do you want me to give you a ride home? I have my car parked at the basement parking. Pwede ko na kayong isabay ni Jamie."

"Oo nga, Maggie!" dagdag ni Jamie. "Sumabay ka na sa amin!"

"I still have to go somewhere else, pero sasabay na ako sa inyo sa pagbaba," nakangiting sagot ni Maggie na tumayo na rin.

"Be careful," Luthor told them as they bade us farewell. "Thank you for dropping by."

Paglabas ng tatlo at pagsara ng pinto, nagkaroon ng katahimikan sa loob ng kuwarto. Luthor remained seated upright in his bed while Loki chose to finally take a seat after almost an hour of standing and leaning against the wall. Ako naman, nakaupo pa rin sa couch at sumandal rito.

The situation right now is different from the one in the apartment two nights ago. Luthor was not feeling well, obviously. Loki was calmer than he used to be after their confrontation. 'Di ko masabi kung kailangan ko pa bang tumayong referee sa kanila. But I hope these two wouldn't get physical anymore.

"I'd like to let you know that I'm less angry at you now and I'm considering the fact that you look weak." Loki broke the ensuing silence. "So rest assured that I won't be punching you in the face tonight."

"I feel relieved to hear your assurance," Luthor said. I could sense some sarcasm in his voice, no matter how he struggled to speak. "Shall we continue our conversation?"

"Sure, why not?" Loki shrugged. "But I wanna give you an update on my investigation regarding your unfortunate poisoning incident."

Napalunok ako ng laway. That's one of the questions I wanted to be answered. But why did he have to wait for the others to leave? He could have shared it with the six of us in the room. Unless...

"Knowing you're on the case gives me a sigh of relief," Luthor said, inhaling deeply.

"Do you know what poisoned you?" Loki asked.

Umiling si Luthor. Nakatutok ang tingin ko kay Loki. He hasn't mentioned anything about the poison since we met this morning.

"Strychnine," Loki revealed. "The same poison that was used to murder Augustus. I had your teacup examined this morning. I got the results this afternoon."

I gasped as my eyes widened in shock. Luthor only threw a stare at him. Does that mean the third party was behind the poisoning of Luthor too?

"You could have suffered the same fate as Augustus," Loki went on. "But fortunately, the dosage you ingested was not lethal. Even if the drive to this hospital took around thirty minutes, you managed to survive."

"So my poisoner was sloppy in his job." Luthor shut his eyes for a while. "Should I be thankful that he forgot to give me the lethal dosage?"

We should be thankful na hindi siya natuluyan kagaya ni Augustus. Ugh. That reminded me of the late editor-in-chief's face again.

But that sounded strange though. If the third party was behind Luthor's poisoning, how come he failed in giving the same lethal dosage that he gave Augustus? Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that Luthor survived the poisoning. Pero 'di ko lang maiwasang mapaisip. Maybe Luthor was right. His poisoner got sloppy.

"I spent the whole night yesterday asking the household staff," Loki said as he got to his feet. He started pacing back and forth at the center of the room. "I also reviewed the surveillance footages in our house. Because the poison is in your tea—Tienchi flower tea in particular—only those who could have touched the teabags are the suspects. And there's only one person in our house who fit that criteria."

"Who is it?" Luthor asked curiously.

I also had the same question. Finally, we'd get the answer to the question that baffled us. I waited with bated breath for Loki to reveal it.

Loki halted from walking and turned to face his brother. He took a dramatic pause before saying, "You."

"What?" Napatayo ako sa pagkagulat at natulala sa kanya. Was it 'you' as in 'ikaw'? Or 'you' that sounded like 'Hugh'?

No, one of his dad's bodyguards was not in the Mendez residence at the time of the poisoning. So that left us the only remaining possibility. You, as in Luthor.

Was he implying that Luthor poisoned himself?

"Every staff in our house had an alibi the whole day," Loki explained, sliding his hands into his pants pockets. "The surveillance footages were not tampered. Only you went to the kitchen and accessed the cabinet where the box of Tienchi flower was stored. Maggie was there when you were making your own tea. When you two went to the gazebo, no one else touched your teacup except you. Maggie didn't, so she couldn't have poisoned you."

Luthor only gave his brother a gaze. I expected him to refute it. But he didn't say anything.

Lalong lumalim ang pagkunot ng noo ko. I don't understand what's going on right now!

"Here's what else I found strange," Loki said as he resumed pacing around the room. "Upon dropping us off, our family driver had the car ready in the garage. He stood there as if he's waiting for someone else to leave. We'd just arrived at our house so why would he be readying the car already? The answer? He was not waiting for us. He was waiting for something to happen. The moment he heard Lorelei's cry for help, he went straight to the gazebo as if he knew where we'd be."

My eyes blinked repeatedly at Luthor who remained quiet in his bed.

Now that Loki has mentioned it, everything began to make sense. Maggie said that Luthor made his own tea and no one else touched it. She also mentioned that when they were in the gazebo, Mr. Vasquez showed Luthor what I presumed to be Loki's message to fetch us from the apartment. Dumagdag pa ang mabilis na pagresponde ni Mr. Vasquez nang humingi ako ng tulong.

"Pero bakit?" 'Yan ngayon ang tanong na paulit-ulit sa isipan ko. Why would Luthor poison himself? Was he trying to commit suicide? Did the events of yesterday morning affect him so much? I don't wanna believe it.

Loki quickly turned to me. "Initially I thought the whole scenario was absurd. My brother poisoning himself? He'd never do that. Not in a million years. But then I remembered, wasn't he the one behind the white hostel fire? If he did something so complicated, he could have done this too. But why don't we ask the brains behind this trick?"

Nilapitan ko si Luthor sa kanyang kama at tinitigan siya sa mata. Please, say something! "Tama ba ang sinabi ni Loki? Kung oo, bakit kinailangan mong gawin 'to? Bakit umabot sa ganitong punto? Alam mo ba ang kaba namin habang dinadala ka namin sa ospital at inaabangan ang balita mula sa emergency room? Tell me that what Loki said isn't true!"

Luthor and I locked into a staring contest. Hindi ko ikinalas ang aking tingin sa kanya. Hindi rin niya ikinalas ang kanyang tingin sa akin... hanggang sa mapapikit siya at mapabuntong-hininga.

Parang nanlambot ang mga binti ko nang makita ang reaksyon niya. He did not say anything to deny it. He should have defended himself if what Loki said was not true!

But he did not.

"I thought of this complicated plan to accomplish two objectives," Luthor spoke at last. I wonder how he managed to remain calm despite being in this situation. "If the third party is behind the expose yesterday, he might come after me. Inspector Morales told me that there's a chance I might be targeted next. I might suffer the same fate as Augustus. The chances may be slim, but the possibility exists."

"So you decided to preempt the potential threat to your life by poisoning yourself?" Loki laughed as he threw his head back. "You wanna do the third party's job for him? Have you lost your mind?"

"I want to use myself as a bait to lure him out," Luthor replied, unafazed by his brother's mockery of him. "By having myself poisoned, I'd be brought to a hospital for a few days. You know how well secured our house is. There's little to no chance he can do me any harm there. But outside our house, that person can find an opportunity to target me."

"You could have lured him out in the campus once you return!" Loki retorted.

"And put the lives of the people around me at risk? No, I cannot let that happen," Luthor argued, shaking his head. "I decided to lay my trap for that person in this hospital. He'd have more opportunity to harm me here. But I can be well prepared for him. The moment he enters my room and tries to do what he's supposed to do to me, the walls will close in and he'd be surrounded."

"But you did not have—" Loki was interrupted by his phone ringing. He took it out and declined the call. "You did not have to poison yourself just to get to the hospital."

Gano'n din ang gusto kong sabihin sa kuya niya. Hindi na dapat umabot pa sa sitwasyon kung saan malalagay sa peligro ang buhay niya!

"That's where my second reason comes in," Luthor said, still composed. "M has to see that the poisoning incident was real so he wouldn't suspect anything. If I had faked it just as you suggested, he could have asked around this hospital or found a way to know whether I was truly poisoned or not. Besides, he could blame the third party for what happened to me."

"Is that why you chose strychnine?"

Luthor nodded slowly. "Given everything that happened, I needed to be sidelined for a while as I prepare for the final struggle."

"I must say that this is ridiculously complicated—" Muli na namang nahinto si Loki nang tumunog ang kanyang phone. Instead of declining the call, he chose to answer it. "Hello, mom. My brother and I are still having a—Sorry, I can't understand you. Are you in the basement? Why was the signal choppy? Why was there a static noise in the back—"

Loki's eyes widened as he stared at my direction. He leaped to the couch where I was sitting, the same couch where Alistair, Jamie and Maggie were seated. Hinalughog niya 'to na parang may hinahanap siyang nawawalang bagay. He then pushed the couch and picked up something from the floor. A small, black object that looked familiar to me. Saan ko na nga ba 'yon nakita?

Wait a minute. "That's the listening bug in the execom office, right?"

Humarap sa akin si Loki, nanlaki ang mga mata. I could see the word "trouble" flashed in his eyes. "Maggie!"

He rushed out of the room and I followed behind him. Munroe looked so confused as to why we were running. Sorry, we did not have time to explain the situation to him.

So Maggie left that listening bug and eavesdropped to our conversation? But why would she?

"She couldn't be that far!" Loki told me. "Listening bugs such as the one we found in the room only has limited range. She must still be somewhere in this floor!"

He was right. As we turned left to the hallway, we saw the figure of Maggie quickly entering the elevator. I knew it was her because of the shoulder-long hair and the eyeglasses.

"Maggie!" Loki called her, but the elevator door already shut close. He stopped for a while and caught his breath.

"Stairs!" I told him. Maging ako'y hiningal din.

Who would have expected that we'd be running around here? We weren't prepared for this!

Mabuti't nasa tabi lamang ng elevator ang hagdanan. We skipped down the stairs as fast as we could, hoping that Maggie wouldn't get that far once the elevator reached the ground floor.

"Bakit siya nag-iwan ng listening bug sa room ni Luthor?" tanong ko kahit halos hingalin na ako sa pagtakbo. Hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili ko na magtanong.

"I bet she started to get suspicious about my brother's involvement with M!" sagot ni Loki na hinabol ang kanyang hininga nang nasa huling flight ng stairs na kami. "The Clarion expose. The invitation to the campus police. The poisoning incident. Stein's appearance in this hospital. Present circumstances must have planted doubt in her mind!"

There's only one way we could do right now. We needed to clear some things for her. Maybe Luthor should tell her the truth so she'd stop suspecting. We can only wash away doubts with a flood of truth.

We reached the ground floor and almost bumped into the people walking across the hallway. Maggie was only a few meters ahead of us.

"Maggie!" I yelled. "Teka lang!"

Paunti na nang paunti ang agwat namin sa kanya. Nakalabas na nga kami ng ospital. Seriously, I never thought I could run this far! Kailangan namin siyang maabutan at makausap bago pa kung ano-anong pagdududa ang pumasok sa isip niya—

I gasped as I saw a car hit Maggie while she's running across the pedestrian lane. Parang tumigil ang mundo ko pagkakita ko roon. Tumilapon ang katawan ni Maggie ilang metro mula sa sasakyan.

Loki and I stood frozen on the spot. We couldn't believe what we saw right before our very eyes.

This was not what's supposed to happen!

We only wanted to talk to her!

We snapped ourselves out of shock and rushed to Maggie's side. Her head was bleeding and her eyeglasses got cracks all over. Pilit niyang hinahabol ang kanyang hininga.

Nangilid ang luha sa mga mata ko nang makita ang kaawa-awa niyang itsura.

No, this wasn't supposed to happen!

"Maggie! Maggie!" Loki called as he carefully placed Maggie's head on his lap. Hinawakan niya ang mukha nito. He didn't care anymore if blood would get on his hands and clothes.

"Stay with us, okay? Help is on the way!"

"Tulong! Tulong!" I shouted at the hospital staff stationed at the entrance. Please, huwag na kayong tumunganga diyan! Hurry up and bring our friend inside!

Halos maiyak na ako habang pinapakinggan ang sinasabi ni Loki kay Maggie. He's repeatedly telling her to stay strong and stay with us.

Bakit ba kailangang mangyari nito?

Muling nagawa kay Maggie ang tingin ko. Halos madurog ang puso ko habang tinitingnan siya. I could hear her taking deep breaths. Parang nahihirapan na siya. I saw a trail of tears formed on her face.

"Luthor... Luthor isn't... isn't one of them... right?"

Loki bit his lower lip as he looked at her in the eye. His hands began to shake. Maging ako'y napakagat ng labi at pilit na pinigilan ang pagtulo ng mga luha ko.

I looked away. I couldn't bear to look at her anymore.

"Yes, he isn't. He can't be one of them, can he?" Loki assured her.

Maggie forced a smile. Her tears then began to flow. "I... I'm glad to... hear that. I thought... he is... I'm glad..."

Her body went limp as her eyes slowly closed. Hinawakan ko ang kanyang pulso, umaasang may mararamdaman pa akong pintig nito.

I closed my eyes and my tears started to fall on her wrist.

"Hey, Maggie? You know that this is not a good joke, right? Okay, you won! You pulled a perfect prank on me and Lorelei. Just open your eyes now. We'll pretend to be surprised."

"At the count of three. One. Two. Three. Open your eyes now. Say it's a prank."

"Again. One. Two. Three. If you don't stop playing dead, I will be late in tomorrow's meeting. Do you—"

But Maggie no longer had a pulse.

q.e.d.

If you've enjoyed reading this update, share your thoughts or theories on Twitter using the hashtag #ProjectLOKI! STRICTLY NO SPOILERS!