Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Welcome, my dear Ghouls! I’m so glad to be with you tonight.” Sister Imperator greeted everyone, slamming her hands on the table. “Let’s begin our meeting, shall we?” She began, her vile smirk letting each present person know how important the matter was. Her tone of voice could give even the toughest person chills. 

The meeting was taking place in one of the smaller dining rooms of the Ministry. Being small didn’t mean it wasn’t impressive; it was. The place was furnished with old, wooden furniture and filled with numerous decorations. Different candles could be found at almost every flat surface. There was a huge chandelier hung in the middle of the room, just above the long table which could sit about fourteen people. All of the huge windows were currently being covered by long, dark-coloured curtains, ensuring that no moonlight could get through them. 

Said room was located on the other side of the building than the Papa’s living quarters were, guaranteeing privacy. That area of the Ministry was pretty much restricted to the siblings of sin; it wasn’t a written rule or anything, but everyone knew better than to wander around there, especially at night. No one wanted to risk running into an angry Sister Imperator.

“I’m sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here tonight.” The old woman started. “As you may know, you're my most trusted Ghouls. Your work for the Clergy has been nothing but outstanding; you've proven to be reliable and professional on various occasions. That's why you've been chosen for this particular task. It's going to be slightly different from what you usually do for me, but I’m certain you're going to do excellently.” 

Her fingers snapped, and another Ghoul appeared. They seemed to have materialise out of thin air. How come you haven't noticed them earlier?

The creature handed Sister a large roll of paper and, at the sound of another snap, disappeared. She carefully spread the paper on the table, gesturing to the group to get closer to her. 

“Here is the plan, my dear Ghouls.” she pointed at the sheet in front of her. “I know I can trust you with this. Cygnus will be overseeing the whole project to make sure that everything goes according to plan. He’s already been informed of his duties, so there really was no need for him to be called in here with you. Everyone is going to have a part assigned to them and will be expected to execute it without any flaws. Now, let's explain some more details.”

You and the three other crestutes weren't just some random ghouls, you've been carefully picked by Sister Imperator. You were a group only assigned to special missions that required the most intelligent and hard-working ghouls to succeed. You supposed it had to do with the fact you were the most human-like amongst the ghouls. Opposed to other ghouls, you didn't have tails or monster-like features. The only thing making you different from humans was the special connection with the Abyss. Each of you was named after a constellation, just for the sake of consistency. 

You looked over Imperator’s shoulder to see what had been written on the paper. On the top of the page was written, what you had assumed, the operation’s name. It was done in a black, mediaeval-like font. It read ‘Operation UNO’. What kind of a name is that? Is it a card game reference? No, it can't be. It has to be an acronym for something bigger , you thought. You listened closely to the woman’s words, occasionally looking over at the two other ghouls who were also present. (The previously mentioned one has literally teleported out of the world, you couldn't see them anywhere. You never saw them leave the room. You supposed it must've been a magic trick or something. You tried not to give it too much thought, as you currently had more serious matters to worry about.) 

“I’m sure you're all aware of our plans for the future of Cardinal Copia. We all know he's taking over the Ghost Project. But there is just one thing stopping him from doing so.” She explained. 

“And that is…?” one of your fellow Ghouls asked, tilting their head slightly to the side.

“The previous Papas.” Imperator replied with no hesitation. “And this is where our little plan comes to life. Tomorrow, the Papas will be having their usual game night. From what I've been told, they're going to play the card game called ‘Uno’. Not sure what that is, but that's besides the point. You're going to be let in the room before they arrive.”

She pointed at a drawing on the piece of paper. “Papa I is going to arrive about fifteen minutes early. Papa II will arrive on time. Papa III, however,” she stopped to point at another part of the plan, “will most likely be about ten to twenty minutes late. Your job is to ensure that they can not notice you hiding under the table.”

“I’m sorry, Sister, but what exactly is the point of us hiding under the table?” another ghoul asked, clearly confused by the idea.

“Do not worry, dear Ghoul, that's what the next point of the plan is about. Each of you is going to be assigned to one of the Papas.” she explained, before snapping her fingers. The mysterious Ghoul appeared out of nowhere once again and placed three syringes in front of Sister. They were filled with some suspicious, clear liquid. This time the creature stayed right behind her.

You looked at them with a suspicious look, good thing you were all wearing masks; huge advantage of being a Ghoul. And then it hit you. Oh. Fuck.

“I think you can already see where this is going.” Sister Imperator smiled maliciously. “Sacrifices must be made in order for the Clergy to move forward. Do you understand your assignment, Ghouls?”

Everyone nodded their heads. You did, too, despite being completely stunned by your upcoming task; it made you feel sick to your stomach. It didn't feel right. You didn't want to do it. You've never killed anyone and never planned on doing so. You've always considered yourself a decent person; of course you were never perfect, but to do something like this? Oh hell no. 

“Great! Before I forget. Pyxis - you're responsible for Papa I. Crux - you’ll take care of Papa II. And you, Orion,” Sister said, turning her head to look at you, ”you're assigned to Papa III.”

You gave her a thumbs up, not able to form a proper answer. 

“Alright then, I’ll see you all tomorrow at five pm sharp.” she announced, gesturing to the three Ghouls to leave the room.

You wanted to talk to someone about what happened. But who were you supposed to talk to? The two other ghouls? They seemed completely unbothered by this whole operation, while you, on the other hand, have been dying inside ever since learning about it. Besides, you never knew them too well. You left the room and headed straight to your living quarters.

As soon as you entered, you threw your mask on the ground. You went over to your bed and sat on the edge. “I… I can't do this. I'm not evil. I'm not… I’m not a killer .” you whispered, you're voice cracking at the last word. 

You took a deep breath, hoping to calm yourself a little. “Fuck.” the realisation hit you once again; you were supposed to kill your favourite Papa, your biggest inspiration since joining the Ministry. The person who managed to change your life for the better without even knowing it. 

I have to do something , you thought, before standing up and going to your desk to open your laptop. One thing you knew for sure, was that you definitely wouldn't be able to switch the contents of the syringe, as you're only going to get it before the operation sets into motion. You had to come up with something different. With shaky hands, you opened the browser and began your research. You had a long night ahead of you. 

You carefully read numerous articles, taking your time to do so, just to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Of course, you couldn’t forget about checking different forums, reading people’s questions and answers and watching Youtube videos explaining some ideas that you’ve decided were useful. At some point, you took a break to make yourself some strong coffee, as you could feel the urge to fall asleep starting to overwhelm you. 

You pulled out a can of coffee from one of the counters, the small door producing a horrible, loud screech. You flinched at the sound. “Stupid piece of shit…!” you cursed under your breath. You went to the bathroom to fill your electric kettle with some water. When it was done, you turned it on and poured a few teaspoons of instant coffee into your favourite mug. Tapping your fingers on the counter, you waited for the water to boil. That’s when you noticed a tiny moon-beam entering the room through the unevenly closed curtains.

You walked up to the window and opened the curtains a bit, so you could take a look outside. You put your elbows on the windowsill and rested your head on your hands. The world was so peaceful at such a late hour. You took in the sight of the beautiful sky, which was filled with bright stars; not a single cloud could be found. The moon was unusually big. You took a deep breath and sighed. Was the sky more magnificent than it usually is? Or was it the fact that this was most likely your last night here? Whatever was going to happen the next day, you probably weren’t going to keep on living here; depending on how well you executed your plan, you could be somewhere far away, or deep inside the Ministry’s basement, waiting to face the same fate as the Papas. Or an even worse one…  Tears began to prick your eyes, but you were quick to wipe them away and remind yourself that it was time for you to be brave. You couldn’t break down now, you’ll worry about your feelings later.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a soft click coming from the room; the kettle reminding you of the coffee you were supposed to make. You shook your head and went back into the room, closing the curtains behind you. You made your coffee and without wasting any more time, went back to work.

It was well past two am when you were finally done with your plan; papers scattered across your desk, filled with various notes and scribbles, an empty mug stained with coffee standing next to your laptop. Now, all that was left to do was to find an unused syringe and try your best to modify it to make it retractable.

You leaned back in your chair, trying to think of a place in the ministry where you could find one. There was a nurse’s office at the other side of the building. Nope . It was definitely closed and sneaking in through the window wasn’t an option; it’s been cold outside for what seemed like ages, so it was most likely closed. Come on, think of something…

Heureka! You remembered the kitchen Ghouls were supposed to make donuts filled with marmalade a couple days ago. There was a huge fuss with someone buying regular syringes instead of the food ones (which, you had no idea existed until that whole affair took place), which resulted in many people receiving dry donuts with no filling… Yes, that’s it! There must be at least one spare syringe left. You quickly got up, went up to the closet to grab a black hoodie to put on and left your room, trying to be as quiet as possible. 

The corridors were empty, which made sense, as it was the middle of the night. They were lit by small wall lamps, so they were quite dark, but still bright enough to see where you were going. 

It took you only about five minutes, before you reached your destination. It wasn't uncommon for siblings of sin and ghouls to go to the kitchen outside of the meal hours to grab a glass of water or a snack when no one was looking, but you've never seen anyone there this late. 

You walked in and looked around to find the smallest possible light source, which turned out to be a tiny lamp above one of the stoves. As you turned it on, you squinted your eyes and blinked a couple times in order to adjust to the brightness. You looked around the room, trying to figure out where to search first. The kitchen was huge, so you really had no idea where to look. Finally, your eyes landed on one of the drawers, closest to the wall opposite to you. Aight, let's get this done , you thought, knowing you still had a ton of work ahead of you.

You opened the drawer as quietly as you could and started rummaging through it, making sure to leave everything in its previous order. Nothing . You slowly opened the next drawer, which was located underneath the first one. Taking a brief look inside, you tried to determine whether or not it was worth going through. That's when you heard footsteps getting closer to the kitchen. “ Shit…! ” you muttered under your breath, closing the drawer in panic. You ran to turn off the light, but before you could reach it, the footsteps stopped. You breathed out air you didn't know you were holding, thinking you were safe.

“And what are you doing here this late, huh?”

You jumped, hearing a masculine voice coming from behind your back. You slowly turned around; when you recognised the man, your face instantly turned pale. 

Chapter Text

The man giggled at your terrified expression. “Is everything alright? I haven’t seen anyone being up and out of their room this late in a long time… Except for me, of course.”

“Oh… hello, Cardinal.” you sighed in relief. “Yes I’m… fine. I’ve just been getting some extra work done and needed to grab a snack. What time is it?” 

“It’s exactly…,” the man rolled up his sleeve a little and glanced over at his watch.”two fifty six. I see we have a lot in common, no? Only being able to get something done in the middle of the night.” he chuckled.

“Yes, I suppose that’s right.” you nodded, your heart still pounding inside your chest. You put your hands behind your back to hide how shaky they were; you couldn’t let him think you’re suspicious in any way.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before… Are you new or something?” the Cardinal asked, tilting his head to the side. Before you could answer, something clearly clicked in his head. “Ah I see! You’re one of the ghouls, aren’t you? Why aren’t you wearing your mask?” his eyebrows furrowed, demanding an answer.

“I… well, it’s pretty-”

“Nah, I’m just joking, don’t worry about it. I know it’s the middle of the night and you weren’t supposed to be seen by anyone. I’m not gonna tell Sister, just be careful, si? I have leftover pasta in the fridge, want some?” the man asked you, awkwardly clasping his hands together.

“That’s so kind of you, thank you, Cardinal. I think a warm meal is exactly what I've been craving.” you offered him a nervous smile. 

“Alright, give me a few minutes and it’ll be ready.” he made his way to one of the fridges; this one was smaller than the others and had a lock on it. It was probably there because of some of the ghouls not being able to control themselves and stealing other people’s food, you couldn’t blame him for that. “Oh, and you don’t have to call me that, no one else’s around. Just call me Copia.” he announced, unlocking the fridge and taking out the pasta. 

“Okay. Nice to meet you, Copia.” you smiled awkwardly, standing in the same place, still not knowing what to do with yourself. You’re on a mission here, remember? Don’t get too distracted - you reminded yourself. 

“Nice to meet you too.” he locked the lock back and stood up. “Could you maybe turn on some more light? I don’t think anyone is going to be bothered by it; and of course, it would be nice to see what I’m cooking.” a giggle escaped his lips once again; the sound was so characteristic, that you could tell it was coming from him from a mile away.

“Ah, of course! Sorry, I suppose I’m a bit tired.” You finally moved from your spot and headed towards the light switch. It clicked under your fingers, causing the room to finally become bright; the lamps turned on one after the other. The kitchen suddenly became filled with, not only light, but also the distinctive buzzing that this kind of lamps always makes.

“Tehehe, don’t worry about it.” the man reassured you. He truly was a nice person; everyone was right. You’ve never gotten a proper chance to talk to him, you’ve only heard others talking about him. Some people described him as weird, you couldn’t really tell why. He was kind of different, but you supposed that made his personality so outstanding. Anyway, who were you to judge? You’ve only been talking for less than ten minutes.

“Do you need help with anything?” you asked, stepping closer to Copia who was currently trying to pick the right pan to use for heating up the pasta. 

“No no, I’m good. You go take a seat, your food will be right over.” he finally chose one of the pans and put it on the stove, swiftly turning it on. 

“Alright, I’ll go grab us something to eat with.” Yes! That’s it! Finally, you had an excuse to continue on with your little search. You walked up to the counter and opened another drawer. Nothing . You opened the next one. Nope . Then the next one. Still nothing . You were hoping to find what you were searching for before your actions became too suspicious. You opened the next drawer. This one was a little difficult to fully open, you tried not to pull it too harshly, so it wouldn't make too much noise. When you finally did it, you noticed something thin and metallic sticking out from the pile of items that had been carelessly thrown into the drawer. You carefully moved all the obstructions to the side and there it was: a completely new and unused syringe! Hurray! Looks like the fourth time’s the charm, you smiled to yourself. You slowly turned your head in Copia’s direction to see if he was looking at you. Luckily for you, he wasn’t. You cautiously removed the object from the drawer and put it in your pocket. Fortunately, it hasn’t been opened by anyone, so the needle wasn’t going to be a threat to you. You closed the drawer. 

“The forks are over there, you know?” the man suddenly spoke up, pointing at a cupboard at the other side of the kitchen.

“...Right.” you nodded, walking over to where Copia had pointed to. How were you supposed to know? You've never really been to the kitchen before, you had no reasons to be doing so. You opened the cupboard and grabbed two forks and two plates. You placed them on the small table attached to an otherwise the empty wall. As soon as you sat down, the Cardinal walked over to you with the pan in his hand and split the pasta evenly between your plates. He put the pan away and sat on the opposite side of the table, smiling at you politely.

“Buon appetito” Copia grinned, before digging in. Oh, that man was definitely something else, you thought to yourself. 

“Thanks.” you smiled back and began eating the nice-looking dish; it was delicious. “Did you make this yourself?” you asked. You had to admit, you would've never expected Copia to be a great cook. There wasn't a reason for that, but it was just something that you'd find hard to believe, until proven otherwise. Which, he just did. 

“Yes, why?” the man looked up from the plate to meet your eyes, concern growing on his face. “Do you… not like it?” he asked, his voice coming out weak.

“No no no!! It's great, trust me! That's why I’m asking, I was just very surprised, I suppose. I'd love to try more of your cooking in the future.” you winked. You truly wished you could; surely the two of you had the potential to become good friends… If it only wasn't your last night here. Well, you might at least enjoy it while it lasts. 

“Ah, I’m very glad then.” his expression instantly changed; his whole face lit up at the compliment. 

You finished your food in a comfortable silence. Once you were both done, you took the plates to the dishwasher.

“Thanks so much for the company.” You said, smiling at the cardinal. “And the great food, of course! I’ll be off, I better get some sleep tonight.”

“Ah, no problem. I’m happy you enjoyed it. Sleep well my friend!” The man answered, smiling back. 

You said your goodbyes and left the room to go straight to your chambers. You locked the door behind you; you couldn't afford to take the risk of being caught messing with a syringe at three am.

You placed said item on your desk and carefully opened it. You inspected every aspect of it, cautious not to miss any important details. You set your previously written plans in front of you to get a better understanding of what your next steps were going to be. You sat down at the chair and rubbed your eyes; exhaustion was slowly getting the better of you, making your movements slower and clumsier. But you couldn't give up, not now. You’re supposed to save your Papa, remember? Get this done and you can get a few hours of sleep. You couldn't help but wonder what he was up to at that moment. Was he asleep? Or was he perhaps still up doing something? If he was sleeping, what was he dreaming about? Anyway, the poor man had no idea what was awaiting him. You shook your head, reminding yourself to go back to working.

A few youtube tutorials, multiple paper sheets crumbled on the floor and two bleeding fingers later, your project was finally done. The syringe was now equipped with a blunt, retractable needle and it was working perfectly. All that was left to do was to find your old deck of UNO cards and write a message on it. You still hadn't decided on what you should write; it had to be short and transparent - it had to tell the reader everything without the need for any further explanation. 

You glanced at the clock on the wall opposite to you. It read four thirty am. You decided that it was better for you to just go to sleep and do the last part in the morning. You've never been one of those people who can go on without the right amount of sleep, so as soon as your pyjamas were on, you went straight to bed. You grabbed a bottle of melatonin pills from your nightstand and crushed one in half before taking it, just to make sure you can sleep throughout the remainder of the night. 

“Goodnight.” you said to yourself. Or perhaps to all of the things in your room that you were about to leave behind.

***  

The sun shone through the curtains, tiny rays finding their way over to your sleepy face. The night hasn't passed as you would like it to; most of the time you were being haunted by some very realistic nightmares. 

“No, please! I can explain!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, yet no sound seemed to be coming out of your mouth. “I was just trying to help… To save a life. Please, you need to understand!” you tried explaining your motives, before being thrown into a tiny cell with no lighting. The floor and the walls were wet and mouldy; the air filled with an unbearable stench. As the bars closed shut in front of your face, a figure emerged from the darkness. You couldn’t tell who it was. Wait… was that Sister Imperator? You were not sure. All you knew at the moment was that you were scared to death.

“You betrayed us. Your job as a ghoul was to be quiet and obedient, look at what you’ve become. You’re a disappointment, little ghoul; you’re nothing but a tiny, miserable being, unworthy of anyone’s trust.” The figure stepped closer, leaning their against the steel bars of your cell. “This is what we do to traitors like you. This is how your pathetic life ends. You shall burn in hell for the rest of the time.”

The person extended their hand in your direction. They grabbed you by the throat, their claws digging into your sensitive skin and choking you. “You’ve disappointed me.” the voice started to sound too familiar. It was more of a masculine voice now, rather than a feminine one, with some sort of a foreign accent to it, so it couldn’t have been Sister Imperator. Wait a minute. You looked up to see one white, glowing eye staring down at you. Oh no.  

You sat up, gasping for air, your whole body trembling uncontrollably. “Fuck.” you cursed in between pants, your vision slowly becoming less and less blurry. It was just a dream, calm down. Stop being so dramatic.

You shook your head and slowly looked around the room, your gaze stopping once it had reached the clock on the wall. Alright, you weren’t late for anything. That’s a pretty good start. You brushed back your hair and immediately noticed how sweaty it was. Damn, that truly was an exhausting night. You slowly got out of the covers and stood up. Your legs were still shaky, making all of your movements unsteady. You stumbled your way to the bathroom, where you gave your face a quick wash with cold water. One brief look in the mirror was enough for you to determine how bad you were looking. You were glad you had the privilege of walking around in a mask where no one could see your face, otherwise people could become (rightfully) worried.

About fifteen minutes or so later, you were finally dressed in your usual ghoul outfit, minus the mask. It was now time to complete the last step of your plan. You haven’t given it a name and you weren’t planning on doing so. You knew what it was about, so why would you feel the need to name it? Nevermind, it’s not important. You swung open the door to your closet and kneeled down in front of it. “Those stupid cards have to be somewhere…” you sighed, throwing stuff out of the closet for better access. This was probably the worst part of your mission so far. You’ve always hated cleaning and now it was finally backfiring, your past neglect of keeping your things in order coming right back at you. Great .  

It took you about half an hour to finally dig through all of your old clothes and other stuff to find the small pack of cards. You threw the pile of items back into the closet and shut the door, making it a matter of you from the future. You didn’t have time to worry about it now (that’s what you’ve always told yourself, funny how habits rarely ever change).

Sitting at the desk, you took the deck of cards out of the box and laid them out in front of you. You grabbed a black sharpie and one of the yellow cards, as it was the best colour for your message to be visible on. Tapping the marker to your chin, you pondered on what you should write for your message to be short and clear. ‘Dear Papa…’ Oh hell no. This wasn’t a christmas card. Come on, think of something! ‘Please, act like this is one of your cards that you had dropped.’ Okay, that’s a relatively good start . Hmmm… what do I say next? ‘You’re about to experience an insane amount of trauma seeing your beloved brothers die’. OH LORD NO. WHY WOULD I EVEN THINK OF THAT? Oh no, no. I gotta think of something less… cruel. ‘You’re in danger, I’m here to save you. Do as I say and everything will be fine, don’t let anyone know that something’s off. Keep on playing.’ Alright, that’s a pretty clear and straightforward message. ‘I was sent to assassinate you, so when I appear from under the table, I’m going to pretend I’m injecting you with a needle. Act dead. More details to come later.’ Alright, that's acceptable. You flicked the cap off of the marker and began writing, trying your best to fit everything onto the small card's surface.

“Hope this goes well…” you said to yourself, looking at the ‘letter’ you have just written. 

You spent the rest of the time before the meeting doing your regular ghoul duties. This day, however, you were slower than usual, which was understandable, considering the stressful things that were about to take place. You avoided talking to anyone at all costs; you didn't want them to notice that you were acting weird in any way.

At exactly five pm, you and the two other ghouls were gathered in front of the room that Sister Imperator had chosen for the meeting. No one has said anything since your arrival, the silence, becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. You could feel your hands shaking, so you decided that it was best for you to keep them hidden behind your back. You tried to keep your cool, even though you were dying inside. Focused on breathing, you waited for your employer to finally appear.

“Ah, you're punctual as always.” The door to the room swung open and Imperator gestured for you all to get inside. Once you were in, you heard someone locking the door. The woman greeted everyone with a warm, yet terrifying smile painted on her face.

She sat down at the table, next to Papa Nihil, who was apparently also there. You nodded your head as a way of greeting him. Being a ghoul was useful in moments like this; it was acceptable for you to just stay silent, sometimes it was even an expectation towards you.

“I suppose I don't have much explanation to do today, if you have been listening to what I have been saying yesterday.” Sister smirked, laying out three syringes on the table. “Each of you takes one and heads to the assigned room. Ghoul here will lead the way. Once you're there, get under the table and stay there as we have discussed. When you hear Papa and I entering the room, get ready to strike. The moment we leave is the moment you get out of your hiding spots and get the job done. Once they're out cold, you make sure they don't show any signs of life. Then, you transport them to the mortuary and go on about your days. As I mentioned yesterday, Cygnus will be overseeing everything, so if you need any assistance, he’ll be there as soon as possible. Understood?”

Everyone nodded, before grabbing their “weapons” and hiding them safely in their pockets.  

“Very well. Off you go.” She waved you all off. The mysterious Ghoul opened the door so that you could leave and lead the way.

Your mind was racing at least a thousand miles per hour. You couldn't understand a single thought that was currently being processed in your brain. All you knew is that you were terrified of the upcoming events. You had to execute your plan perfectly, otherwise you would probably end up in a situation similar to the one in your dream. Plus, your favourite Papa would be dead and you couldn't let that happen. Not. On. Your. Watch. You clenched your fists and took a deep breath. 

The Ghoul lead your group down the corridor to the room that the Papas frequently used for their game nights. They opened the door and waited for you to get in your places.

You and the two other Ghouls crawled under the table. It was big enough for everyone to hide without being noticed. The only problem was that there wasn't any tablecloth on top of the table that would cover you. All you could do was to pray that nothing would have to be picked up from the floor. You supposed you could always start acting wild and the men could simply blame it on you being Ghouls. Woah, was Sister really trusting you this much or was she just super naive? 

Once everyone was hidden, you heard the door shut. Your heart was pounding inside of your chest, your breath feeling hot against your silver mask. You looked down on your watch. Papa I should be here in about ten minutes according to the information you've been given. You sneakily turned around to see if the other Ghouls had been looking at you. Luckily for you, their backs were turned in your direction, practically touching each other, and the ghoul masks ensured there view was limited. You let out a quiet sigh.

You slowly opened the bag that was on your waist, making sure the zipper didn’t generate too much noise. You looked inside, your eyes taking their time to finally focus on the things that were hidden inside. After all, you were sitting under a table in a dark room, it was difficult to see anything. You took a mental note of where your fake syringe and UNO card were located, just to save yourself the trouble of having to look for them when they were needed and wasting time on doing so. 

Sister was right - Papa I showed up exactly ten minutes later. As he entered, the sound of his slow and heavy steps echoed throughout the room, causing your hands to shake uncontrollably. You finally started to realise the seriousness of this whole ridiculous situation. You were about to be in a room with two, theoretically three , corpses of relatively innocent men. They surely still had some more years to live and you were supposed to just take that away from them. Why is this world so cruel?

Papa I pushed one of the chairs out, not lifting it off the ground. The awful sound filled the entire room for a couple seconds, before it stopped and the man sat down, the chair squeaking underneath him. You tried covering your ears but quickly realised it was pointless given the fact you were in your ghoul mask.  

Your thoughts wandered off to reflect on your life. You've always felt so safe at the ministry. Never would you have ever suspected something like this to go down. You've always viewed the Clergy as decent human beings; people that cared about everyone around here, even the ‘least important’ siblings of sin or the wildest of ghouls. Turns out your whole world was a lie. The family you thought you had wasn't that much of a family, as it turns out. Looks like you’ve been treated well all these years because they considered you to be useful. Who knows what could've happened in the next few years? What if you suddenly stopped being that useful to them? Would they get rid of you just like they were getting rid of the old Papas? 

The sound of the door opening interrupted your thoughts. This time, the footsteps were a bit quicker. You glanced over at your watch: five thirty, he's on time. The man took another seat, but not before greeting his brother. They shared a few laughs, before starting their chit-chat. It was so… casual. So surprisingly… normal? You weren't sure what you were expecting, but you were still surprised by how human they seemed. Of course they were humans, but… You didn't know what to think, you never really thought about the Papas as regular people, their image in your head has always been something totally different. Their casualty wasn't anything wrong, of course! They were brothers after all. You shook your head and reminded yourself to stay focused. The last Papa could arrive at any time, you had to be ready.  

About seventeen minutes of nervously fidgeting with your gloves later, you heard a loud bang of the door being opened with too much force. 

“Oooh, are you seeing what I'm seeing, Primo? Her Majesty has finally decided to bless us with her presence!” Papa II spoke in a serious tone, before bursting into laughter along with Papa I.  

“Bald asshole.” the youngest of the brothers replied, shutting the door. He sat down, his knees sliding very close to your face; you were worried that if you breathed too much he'd be able to feel it. 

And just like that, you anxiously waited for the plan to finally set in motion, your legs sore from crouching for an extended period of time. Your ears started ringing, the Papas’ laughter and lighthearted arguments were starting to become too loud for you to bear. Your vision went blurry and your body began to tremble. 

You looked around and noticed one of the other Ghouls turned to you, holding their thumbs up as to ask if you were okay. You did the gesture back, even though you weren't doing too well. You turned back around, your gaze being met with Papa III’s knees once again. 

“Come on now, I’m so sick of this game; I always lose!” The youngest of the brothers’ cry echoed throughout the room, followed by a slam that managed to shake the entire table. You looked up in confusion.

“That’s because you’re not smart enough, fratellino !” Papa II laughed, earning a loud huff from his brother, who then dramatically leaned back in his chair. 

“Enough of that, boys. Lay out the cards and let us begin.” the much raspier and calmer voice of Papa I commanded. 

“Fine, grandpa.” Papa III teased, rolling his eyes. Of course you couldn't see it, but you could just feel it. You just knew it was there, it was so natural for his dramatic self to have done so. He stretched his legs so much you had to back off, as the tips of his shoes were about to touch you.

The sounds that followed their silly conversation were, what you had assumed, the sounds of them setting up the game. Once they started playing, their bubbly conversation began once again. They fooled around a lot, even threatening to become violent  because of the cards they had used against each other. All jokes, of course. 

You eyed the thin yellow card you had been holding in your hand for a couple minutes now and wondered when it would finally be the right time to hand it to Papa. You had no idea how much time you had left, so you figured you would have to act fast. Praying to the lord below that a chance to do so would be sent your way, you stared at your messy handwriting. 

And just like you've asked, there it was! A play card gracefully landed in front of you on the floor, next to the Papa’s legs. Without any hesitation, you swapped it with the one you had written your message on. Squinting your eyes for better focus, you carefully moved your hand back to your body.

You were quick to call this one a success, until your hand brushed against something .