Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hurracana was a unique place. It has existed for centuries in peace as a lowly village. Until a strange storm that earned it its name. When the hurricane dissipated it left behind two strange features that forever changed everything.

The most wide-spread was Remnant. It attached to everyone it reached. It strengthened one’s soul and spirit. There were no concerns of extreme illness or issues. These were considered to be the purist, the greatest. Humans. Normal. The ones who had nothing wrong with them and blended all in with each other.  

Agony, however, was the strongest. It was like a strange aura that spread out through all the inhabitants and only chose certain ones to cling to and merge with. It’s said that it chose those with the strongest drive and will, but this has never been proven.  However, those it did bond with were drastically changed. Mentally, emotionally, and even physically. These started to form more animal-like traits. Some in outward looks, some in behavior. They became known as the hybrids as they started to change. 

They changed inwardly as well. Becoming more primitive, aggressive, dangerous, evil. They become drawn to and obsessed with the remnant within the others and learned that feeding on it made them stronger as well. And it was then that some of them changed again. Not only did they get stronger but they also started to develop certain gifts and abilities, tied to and driven by negative emotions. 

The hybrids with their animal-like features were nothing like the humans they hunted and tormented. They lived and acted as gods and goddesses above the ‘mere humans’ beneath them. They hunted, stole, attacked, killed, harassed, and tormented innocent souls for decades. The more victims, the more remnant they fed off of and the stronger and more powerful they become. 

They couldn’t blend in easily though. With their animal-like ears, fangs, and sometimes tails there was no way to deny being one. Most of the hybrids lived up to their new name they formed for themselves: the Villains. Demons and monsters that haunted them all. An organized group of evil and chaos. A hierarchy of its finest. With the top ruling through fear and violence.

The others who chose not to join the hierarchy became known as Ferals. Hybrids that were still dangerous and aggressive but kept to themselves or acted on their own. They respected and lived among the Villains and oftentimes mingled with them, but were not part of their group. (In fact they were seen as beneath them as well. Sometimes only seen fit to serve them. It was the Triad, other Villains, the Ferals, and then Humans lower than all of them. Prey for them.)

The wall in front of him laid out that very hierarchy. 

At the very top, one of the most dangerous to have ever lived. William aka Burntrap. He was an evil man who struck fear into all who had ever heard of him. He was the great demon that starred in the horror stories and urban legends everyone shared. He alone was likely responsible for reducing half the population. The monster that crept around in the shadows and struck at night. Or at least he had. In the last few decades he seemed to have taken a step back. He hadn’t been seen or really heard of. They knew he was still out there. Almost a king of sorts. The dark emperor. His telltale besides those evil glowing eyes were a pair of dark yellow rabbit ears. His power was….(well not important anymore. Not that he even ever needed it to inflict damage. What only few knew was that his once great form had been greatly damaged during a powerful encounter. It only served to make him appear more intimidating like the nightmare creature he was.)

His sister Eleanor aka Agony. The Dark Mistress who once plagued the world using one of the darkest powers. Agony was considered a severe form of Black Magic and could only be wielded by a select few. For generations she had used that to turn others against each other and it’s believed she then fed off of those intense emotions after she killed them. As evil and deadly as her brother. It’s said that agony itself was what caused her tall rabbit ears to appear so dark. She preferred to have formed into twisted horns to strike fear into her victims. (However there were rumors she no longer possessed that magic herself. She was still a dangerous formidable foe. Even without it, she could still control all forms of it. And was pretending to care and be affectionate also an evil gift?)

Tiger Rock aka Mimic. No one was really sure which was actually his true name…or even what he actually looked like. He preferred to keep his anthropomorphic white tiger form instead of appearing human. While he could shapeshift and mimic visually and vocally anyone he came across, his true form stayed hidden. (He seemed to be the most secretive all around. Even those closest still knew very little. His manipulation could make them forget they wanted to know. He was probably the most violent as well.)

These three were the Triad of Darkness. For decades they had plagued and ravaged the innocent. Stealing children away at night and leaving other bodies in their wake. Causing waking living nightmares. Inducing fear that they seemed to feed off. 

And then one day, it stopped. There are several theories and rumors, but the most popular one is that the town’s leader had a secret weapon of his own. Something that he kept locked away that was able to keep them at bay. And for years they had managed to live in peace. No more evil to plague or haunt them. (The crystal that blocked all use of powers from within the town borders also kept them trapped behind their own walls.)

Well for a while…. Until things changed….

After all, the only thing more dangerous than a Villain, is their kids. And they all lived up to it. There were several just as there were several Villains besides the main Triad, but four main ones stuck out. 

Vanny. Vanessa the Bunny. Parading around in her white ears with black stripes she knew her way around everything. She could easily manipulate almost anyone and thrived in turning others against each other. The “Queen” of the group. Fearless and lived for tormenting others. The only thing she loved more than tormenting others was having her freedom to run wild. Although she wasn’t the oldest she was the one closest to the hierarchy themselves (and the only way they were confirmed to still exist) to eventually take the empty slot set aside for her they had always been grooming her for. (Little did anyone know that was the last thing she wanted. But since the only other one who could have taken it was gone, it was all on her. She hated the concept of royalty and being involved in it or locked away from the open world feeling trapped and controlled. She wanted to be out running around with her group and used every opportunity to push that further and further back. But she was running out of time and didn't know how to tell the others.)

Rab. Her younger brother Gregory’s black rabbit ears with white stripes may have been the exact opposite of her’s, but his demeanor wasn’t. He was just as ruthless and heartless as his sister. He thrived on chaos.  (Feeling more like a throwaway he had practically raised himself with little to no interaction from his parents as they focused more on his sister and he was fine with that, choosing to find and focus on other skills rather than his own gifts.)

Grim. Jeremy the fox may have technically been born a Feral but he had quickly ingrained himself into the group to shed that label almost becoming a Villain himself. Even without actual powers he lived for violence and hate. No one was safe from being his target. (Except for a select few. They had all made a pact never to use their powers or temper on each other. He was also the most fiercely protective. There was talk of moving him as a guard for the Triad.)

Goldie. Cassidy the bear may have been the youngest but she also just might have been the most brutal. She wasn’t satisfied until someone was hurt or crying (usually both) at her own hands. Her golden bear ears were her pride she always wanted to show off. Most likely a feral (no one really knew exactly) that also integrated into the group. (She was probably the most mysterious. Little was truly known about her but she also fit in perfectly.)

Outside the group were of course others. They were just the most well known. They were wanted, sought after, and feared. And yet that never deterred them from making an appearance and wreaking havoc. They were fearless. Whereas the other Villain’s kids tended to keep to themself they always had to make themselves known. 

Outside of them, but still as (if not more) dangerous was Elizabeth. Circus Baby. She was the most interesting of them all. Few had ever seen her or even knew she existed. She was different from everyone. She stayed away leaving the group to themselves. She presented herself as a young little girl but few who saw it lived to tell about it. (She just might have truly been the most evil of them all. Wicked just because she could be.)

And of course there was one more big main player that almost none ever knew about….way before Cassidy and Gregory, there were three. One most never knew existed

(.....and he was going to do everything he could to keep it that way.)

Chapter Text

It was early morning and almost everyone was asleep. Well except for at least one. A lone small figure darted out from the bushes. She eagerly climbed over the rocks and tables. She loved to explore, especially where there was no one to stop her.

But sometimes that got lonely. And this was no exception. Exploring was more fun with friends. But she didn't really have anyone. Everyone knew her, well knew of her anyways. There probably wasn't anyone in the town that wasn't aware of the young seven year old. But they weren't her FRIENDS .

They were all just random people who were nice to her but that's all. Even the older kids were the same. No one was mean to her or teasing her but they still weren't her friends. She had always wanted a brother or sister but instead she was always alone.

She stopped in front of a puddle of water left behind from the storm last night. She leaned over looking at her reflection. Everyone had always told her she was a cute little kid, but that was boring. I mean, yeah she was definitely cute. Her momma had always told her that. But she was so much more than just little and cute! Why couldn't anyone see it?

Staring at her reflection, she reached up to her purple beanie and started to slowly lift it, watching as her dark tight curls dripped out from underneath it. No one was around. It was okay.

"CASSIE!" She quickly pulled it back down and ran towards the source.

"The thing is, no one ever really understood how a hurricane could even get in this area. Not only are we landlocked but we're nowhere near any coast." The brunette man finished as he took a step back to assess them all.

A short little blonde girl quickly shot up her hand waving it eagerly in the air. Everyone around her groaned over her antics. Their teacher sighed, "Yes, Susie?"

"How do we know it's a hurricane then and not a tornado? Because it's a hurricane that forms over the ocean and that obviously didn't happen." (Her snooty attitude made him really want to reach out and yank those annoying bright curls.)

"Well, the thing is. It doesn't really fall under either category. It formed over water, the lake but not saltwater and it lasted for days, not minutes or hours. The eye sat still for over 24 hours. Technically you could probably call it....." he snatched up a headband with orange bears on it off his desk and snapped it on to his head with big grin, "a HYBRID !" He grinned wildly at his cheesy joke with his arms held out dramatically as most of the class groaned. "Eh, eh. Oh come on. That was a good one."

The brunette girl smiled. "I thought it was kind of funny," she said softly. "Creative."

"Suckup!" yelled someone from the back teasingly.

" THANK YOU , Charlie!", Mr. Fazbear stood up straight and smoothed his orange vest out.

One of the boys sneered pushing back his curly black hair, "Watch it Mr. Fazbear. That kind of action might cause the actual Hybrids to feel offended and cry." The rest of the class tittered. (No, it wouldn’t. If anything it would just give them something to laugh and tease about.)

Their teacher shrugged as he removed their ears, "I don't know. Maybe they'd find it as a form of flattery."

"Flattery? Who would want to use any kind of flattery with them? Why would anyone even want anything to do with those heartless animals anyways? They're just mindless dumb creatures who don't belong anywhere. " (What a completely inaccurate description. If that was true there wouldn't have to be walls.)

Their teacher thankfully wasn't buying into the boy's boldness and simply let out a small laugh, "Well, Andrew, perhaps that's something we'll never know the answer to."

The boy huffed, "Next time I find one I'll be sure to ask. Maybe one will show up for it. That is if they aren't too busy running away like scared animals from humans." (Yeah that's not what was going to happen and as he glanced up and saw the security camera in the corner click and turn he had a feeling that would be very very soon....)

‐

The next morning everyone slowly lumbered towards the classroom. But he couldn’t feel but feel that something was up. There was just something in the air. 

“Mike?” He swung his head back to look at Charlie. The brunette girl was staring at him concerned, “Are you okay? You just seem a bit out of it.”

He laughed nervously, “Yeah. Sorry I was uh thinking.”

She smiled warmly and he was once again reminded of just how lucky he truly was, “Well don’t think too hard. We don’t want to lose you just yet.” Both laughed, squeezing each other’s hand as they continued walking on. “Besides we’ll be out of here and done with all soon before we know it. No more school. Total freedom. Well kind of. At least from here.” (Yeah, freedom…right)

They could hear Mr. Fazbear casually talking away again as he always did before a lesson. He’d talk to himself (was he trying to calm nerves?) practice his facial expressions, slip on his strange hat he always insisted on wearing, straighten his orange vest and then greet them with a tone that was far too cheery that early in the morning. (Was this guy even human?) Entering the room, Charlie threw her arms around him in a big hug before whispering, “Remember, not much longer until we’re free.” He squeezed her back and they gave each other another smile before separating and walking to their individual tables on opposite sides of the room. 

Susie was fretting with her hair in her small handheld mirror murmuring about how the rain made it all frizzy and wasn’t her fault she couldn’t tame it. (From two days ago? She looked like some weirdly drowned and then dried rat.) Charlie rolled her eyes as she sat next to her and gave him a wink as she laughed at her from behind her hand. 

“And remember it’s always vitally important that we remember-” Mr Fazbear carried on from the front with his chair turned away facing the board. His desk and computer were kept on the side as he never wanted there to be any barrier to keep his students from being able to approach him. And once he’d start the lesson he’d slide the chair over there as well. A soft thump from the back of the room caught Mike’s attention and he looked over towards it. It was so soft, faint that he barely heard it. (And probably no one else ever did.)

Feeling a harsh slap on his shoulder he looked up to see who else but Andrew. He was sitting on top of the table next to him in a wolfish grin (ha! That was funny) “Hey now, don’t space out on us, Schmidt. Not sure how we’d get you back down.” Gabe laughed from his other side and he just rolled his eyes. There was another loud thump as Andrew rolled his eyes before looking up and yelling at the group, “Hey someone wanna take care of that rat or whatever in there?! It might ruin our quality education we’re about to receive.” Fritz got up and walked over towards the closet. Charlie followed along after him wielding the first thing she could find, a ruler that she was really hoping she wouldn’t have to use. As Mr. Fazbear suddenly stopped talking, Mike realized it was starting to sound off. A loud gasp caught everyone’s attention and they all jerked their heads back to the closet as their teacher came tumbling out of the closet heavily bound. Charlie threw the ruler to the side as she and Fritz immediately started trying to untie him and remove his gag, helping him up. 

“ Quality indeed…” said an unexpected voice from the front of the room. Everyone slowly turned and looked back up at the chair at the front freezing in place. And Mike’s blood ran completely cold before it had even started to turn around. Well, crap. (He really should have known. All the signs were literally there. How did he miss it?) He shot a worried look over at Charlie. She was frozen and wide-eyed like everyone else with her hands on Mr Fazbear’s arm. Mr. Fazbear looked a little disoriented and surprised, but not nearly as scared as everyone else.

"Well, you know we just always LOVE to come when called". And the chair spun around to reveal HER lounging back in it longwise legs crossed and slung over to one side over the arm rests, hand under her chin pushed up looking thoughtfully. Vanny was one of the few who pulled off malicious and elegant in one look. If it wasn't for those striped ears and fangs setting her apart from them, she probably could easily have had control of the entire room. (Actually she had. Many times. Some all too willingly.)  With her long wavy chestnut and rainbow-streaked hair and deep green eyes most times all she had to do was simply appear and she'd have everyone's attention (and sometimes their will).

He rolled his eyes when he heard everyone’s reactions hoping no one saw him. (And really wanted to kick Andrew for looking so star-struck. Ugh, they never learn.) Things were starting to make sense now. The “Mr Fazbear'' they heard earlier was simply a trick. A skill from one other just as wicked , just as mischievous. (He really should have caught onto that a lot faster. And like always whenever he started to get nervous, he got that itch on his head again. The one he couldn’t scratch and just tried to ignore.) Seeing as how the pack rarely traveled alone, that meant the others were very likely to pop up soon. He looked around quickly trying to spot any sign of them. There were too many good hiding spots, offering obscurity and subtlety. (Why had he missed all those before? He could have easily removed, changed, or blocked them. But nope, looks like he failed again. And now his people were the ones that were going to pay the price.)

Her ears weren’t nearly as long as her mother’s (something she’d always been thankful for) and with one half-flopped with the black zig-zag stripes most would probably see it as something cute and adorable. (But cute and adorable didn’t run the risk of ripping you apart and destroying you from the inside and outside.) The glint in her eyes was all too dangerous. (Just like them.)

Susie huffed as she stood up and stomped over towards the middle of the room. The darker-haired one didn’t even bat an eye as the curly blonde glared, “Why are you even here?! You’re not allowed to be here!”

She rolled her eyes and then grinned, her sharp fangs glinting, “Oh I’m sorry, was I supposed to follow rules ? Or maybe….” she turned to look at Andrew with a smirk, “We were too busy being offended to cry?” The dark-haired boy swallowed nervously and looked away sheepishly. 

“So you were spying on us?! What is wrong with you all?!” No, please, Charlie, don't get involved in that. The brunette stood her ground from the back of the room shooting the bunny girl an angry determined glare. If looks could kill, anyone else would have probably immediately melted. (But Vanny definitely wouldn’t even be bothered by it. None of them would.)  “You don’t belong here. You never will. Why can’t you all just go back where you came from?!” (And man did he resist the urge to wince with each word. Thankfully his poker face has always been top notch.

“Why? Because…..” She sat up a little more with a smug look on her face, “We’re bored.” There was a slight crackle and then the radio seemed to turn on by itself. (Although that wasn’t the case at all.) It switched through different channels and static before stopping on a loud dark sounding tune as the door slammed shut. (Dramatic entrance time…)

A creak in one of the back cabinets causing everyone to look back towards it in unison, opened up as another rabbit slipped out grinning evilly as he sang, “ We got all the ways to be.”

Just as Rab finished slipping out, Goldie popped up from behind the desk in the corner bear ears twitching in excitement , “W-I-C-K-E-D.”

And finally Grim slunk in from in front of the door, “ We got all the ways to be...”

And all three yelled, " W-I-C-K-E-D ” as she finally got up and walked over stepping onto a chair and then onto the tables where the boys were sitting. And their teacher just watched in awe. (Was he dancing?)

Her high-heeled boots clinked as walked across the table like she owned the place as she sang, “ Crashin' the party, guess they lost my invitation. Friendly reminder, got my own kind of persuasion.”

Rab zipped across running by the girls baring his teeth, grinning as they pulled away in horror, “ Looks like this place could use a bit of misbehavior. "Happily ever after" with a little flavor.”

“Bad to the bone, with even worse intentions. ” Grim snapped at Gabe, baring his fangs with a  sneer as he walked paraded around them. “We're gonna steal the show and leave 'em all defenseless!”

Goldie jumped up on one of the empty chairs, “ A fairy tale life can be oh-so overrated. So raise your voices and let's get it activated.” and jumped back down throwing the chair at the group of the girls as they quickly scattered to miss the impact.

As the group started singing together in unison, Mike stole a look back (resisting the urge again to kick Andrew as he kept staring) and couldn’t believe his eyes. Their teacher was actually dancing. He was literally jamming as (almost) everyone else was literally terrified or transfixed. 

“ Long live having some fun

We take what we want

There's so many ways to be wicked

With us, evil lives on the right side of wrong

There's so many ways to be wicked.”

One thing the villains definitely excelled in (besides being evil, mean, decently good-looking and sneaky) was putting on a show. They were like the perfect little drama club with intense dramatic entrances. 

He also knew no one would know they were all in trouble because Rab would have turned off all the cameras. Which meant they were going to have to handle them on their own. And there weren't many in the room that could handle one let alone all four. (Well maybe one but he wasn’t letting out that right now or EVER ).

The other bunny stood blocking the door looking extremely proud of himself. His blue eyes always shone with the mischief and chaos he lived for. His black ears sticking out of his lighter brown and blue streaked hair weren’t as long as his sister’s or mom’s but the few white stripes on the tips made them look elongated as he tilted his head back and forth with an evil fanged grin. One of the biggest differences between the siblings was that she was more calculated and he didn’t care to be. 

The red-eared fox Hybrid grinned, opening his hand to form a small ball of fire. Grim was so far the only Feral who also had a gift (only because of Vanny and Rab breaking the rules to create one for him) making him doubly as dangerous as he originally would have been and almost the entire room erupted in screams. A dark violet energy started to swirl around Vanny.

Goldie picked up another chair breaking the legs and holding a sharp piece in each hand matching his grin. The bear girl also just leaned for violence, and causing as much pain as she could. A literal Feral gremlin. Her black hair was pulled back into split ponytails under her golden-colored ears.

Grim snarled as he leaned into Andrew’s face baring his fangs and he would waste no time in tearing him apart, “You see us running scared ?”

“No”, everyone turned to look at Charlie as she held a chair in her hands, “But we are.” She slung it as hard as she could into the window, shattering it immediately, “Come on! Let’s go!” The other kids went running over ducking away from the four, who rolled their eyes, climbing up on the counter and scrambling out the window with most of them screaming. 

“MIKE!” he shook his head and went running over to her without looking back and helped her out as he slid out himself. The very last one to escape was their teacher. And even as Mr. Fazbear slid through the window, he still had such an excited look of awe on his face.

The teacher wasn’t the only one standing in awe as she watched the scene play out in front of her. “Wow….” Cassie said from her hiding place in the closet as the four kids with animal ears  groaned in annoyance. 

She remained in the shadows watching the lone figure outside. There weren’t many stupid or brave enough to leave the town walls, and almost never alone. So this was definitely a golden opportunity she couldn’t afford to pass up. They were unaware just strolling away near the lake. She smirked, holding her hand up as she closed her eyes focusing on her target. She searched for the remnant inside the old man and felt it trying to draw her towards it like a moth to the light. A small ball of agony swirled in her hand. All she had to do was find his negative emotions. Maybe not a lot of rage, but at least depression, right? There. She felt it reaching for her. All she had to was-

“What are you up to?”

She internally groaned at the voice but refused to let it break her concentration. She almost had it. She was so close. “Stay out of it.” Hopefully he was smart enough to read her tone and back off. 

“Nessa....” No, he did not get to call her that. Or anything. She squeezed her eyes shut, continuing to ignore him as she lost the connection. That was fine. She just needed to find it again. And he needed to go away. 

She continued ignoring him hoping he would just leave her be, “You gave up that right to know a long time ago....”

“Stop. You're not....you're not like them.” Ugh, why wouldn’t he just leave ?! And where was Jeremy to deal with him anyways?

She resisted the strong urge to clench her fists or punch him, “You don't have any right to decide what I am.” There! It reached for her like a baby reaching for its mother. Not that she would ever really know what that was like, but probably something like this. Now, all she had to do was-

“You can't..... you don't know what it was like-” No, no he did NOT just go there. Forget it, this was over. She wasn’t going to get anywhere with it. Letting go of the hold, it slipped back into him. The old man blinked out of his trance looking around in confusion before quickly running out of there. 

She opened her eyes as the energy around her dissipated and whirled around to glare hatefully at him, causing him to flinch wide-eyed in surprise. Did he really not expect that reaction? “But I actually do , Mike. I know ALL too well exactly. And especially thanks to you .”

The brown-haired boy dropped his head, “I'm sorry-” Was he seriously about to cry?

“No. You're not. You weren't then and you aren't now.” Maybe she was going to have to be the one to walk away. Would he just follow her? She turned and walked away. This conversation was done. She was done. 

And yet he spoke so softly that anyone else wouldn’t have heard him. But he knew she would. He knew she did. “I didn't have a choice….”

She snarled, whirling around on him hatefully baring his fangs, “And you think I did?! I was locked away for over two years, Mike. TWO! I couldn't even breathe without eyes on me. Even Gregory and everyone else got to do whatever they wanted. So I don't need or want to hear this from you!”

He glared back, “And what was I supposed to do? What other options were there?”

Where the heck was everyone else? Cassidy could at least come beat him down and she’d freely let her. Even encourage it. How dare he go there. How dare he even bring any of it up. “I don't need to hear this from you. Call it what it was. You gave up my freedom for yours”

.

“That's not why... I didn't-”

“Save it.” And that was it. Her glare was still on him but his had lessened as though he couldn’t bear to hold onto it. Just like the weak little boy he was. Maybe now he would back off. Before it got too deep.

“....dont....don't let them get their claws into you also.”

This was done. It wasn’t going any further. He wanted to keep at it then he could deal with the consequences just as she had to deal with his, “It's too late. I'm only going to warn you once to stay out of our way . You made yours and I made mine. And what difference are you really to me? Except for the coward who ran. Are you not still lying to everyone around you?” She sneered at his reaction. Of all people he was all too aware of her cruelty and for him to ever think it wouldn’t be directed at him was stupid and foolish. Did he really even think there was anything left there? “I guess there are some traits you just can't get rid of. Enjoy it while you can, Mike. Your perfect little world, your pretty little perfect girlfriend. All of it. Before it crumbles. And Mark my words, it will.” Her eyes darkened to deep violet as his own agony reacted to her and started trying to tear out of him.

Mike’s eyes widened in terror. Maybe now he was finally regretting his decisions, “No. Stop! We…we agreed never to use them on each other!”

She smirked maliciously as continued,  “No, Mike. We agreed never to use them on US. And you’re not. Not anymore. Maybe you should remember that.” She finally released him, leaving him shaking in pain as she started to walk away, then stopped and narrowed her eyes without even looking back at him, “Don't pretend to be something you're not . And stay out of our way. We won't hold back. Not at all. Especially not for you.” She snarled before finally disappearing from his view.

He looked after her retreating form sadly. If his ears had been out they would have been completely drooped down and flattened against his skull. (She was wrong. This wasn’t what he wanted. It never had been. She just didn’t understand. She didn’t know. There was no way for her to. She wouldn’t get it. He was already weak, scared, and useless.)

“That wasn’t why….” he whispered softly knowing she couldn’t hear him. He closed his eyes trying not to cry. “I’m sorry…”

Hearing movement he looked over at the wall he had come from. Jeremy was leaning back against him glaring almost as intensely as she had.  

She would never understand. None of them would.

Chapter Text

"Is nothing sacred?!?! LOOK at what they did! Just look at it!!!" Susie dramatically fell to the ground wailing as her curls bounced around her. (Would it really be that bad if he just reached out and yanked them?) Instead he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Leave it to the dramatic blonde to use anything to get attention.

Andrew stepped over and laid a hand on her shoulder patting her in comfort, "It's alright. It's all going to be okay. I'll make sure-"

The blonde jumped up and whirled around glaring and pointing at him, "And YOU!!! What the hell was that?! You just sat there and let those MONSTERS destroy everything! You didn't even try to put a stop to it!"

She jabbed his chest with each word and he genuinely looked scared as he backed up stammering on each word, "I...I couldn't help it. I was...was...under a spell!" He tripped falling backwards and Mike used this as an excuse for a small chuckle. (Yeah that's not how that worked.) She glared down at the dark-haired boy before finally backing up and Gabe and Fritz rushed over to help him up by brushing him off. "Next time though....I'll make sure they know what they're dealing with. I'll-"

"No, you won't." Everyone immediately turned to the commanding voice. Even Mr. Fazbear straightened up nervously as the older man walked in with Charlie behind him. "None of you are going to do anything. This has already proven to be far too dangerous for any of you."

"But Mr. Emily-" Had Andrew always sounded that whiny?

"No, buts. You may think you're older but you are all still technically children. Even as teens. This is above all of you. And maybe above all of us." Charlie glanced between her dad as he spoke and Mike as though unsure what to say. Honestly it was pretty impressive. They had all but burned the place down. And he could see the little parts that marked each of them. Torched remains, claw marks, fried electrical wires, smashed and torn remains. And of course the ever obvious writing on the wall.

Well chalkboard anyways. Carefully graffitied across the entire thing. VANNY with rabbit ears, a fox head, and a bear head. In their respective colors: gold, orange, blue, and of course purple. (Sometimes he wondered if this generation beat out the previous in staging a show.)

Hearing more footsteps everyone turned to the door as more people poured in looking at the damage. Some gasped, some dropped to their knees crying, some promised revenge. There were too many people and it was getting too loud. His sensitive ears were starting to hurt, and if it didn't stop soon he was going to have to make an excuse to go running out

"Enough." Silence covered the room as they all turned to regard their town leader. "I know we all have questions and we are working on getting all the answers as fast as we can. Right now we don't really know anything-"

A frantic cry from somewhere in the crowd cut him off, "I thought they couldn't get in anymore!"

He sighed as he tried to respond and gain control of the crowd, "We don't know for sure that-"

"I mean it's quite obvious, isn't it? We ALL know what happened. Somehow those Villains came back and now they're trying to destroy our lives again!!! What are we going to do????" Various other members of the crowd starting murmuring and crying and their poor leader tried his hardest to try and regain control, "If everyone could just calm down and-"

"I knew they weren't actually destroyed! It's probably not even true that they were ever sealed away."

"I didn't say that-"

"It wasn't them." The entire room dropped in silence as everyone turned towards the ruined chalkboard to stare at the young teen who had spoken. Once he had their attention, he nodded, "It wasn't them. It was their kids, wasn't it?"

"How do you know-" Mike cut himself off before he could continue the question staring at his adopted brother in surprise. The young teen shrugged as the rest of the room exploded again. Mike drowned them out instead watching Evan as the boy looked back at the artwork.

If there was anyone he really never wanted to get involved with it was Evan. (He could never handle the disappointment if he ever found out.) The young kid had been the first one he had connected with when he arrived. He'd been eager to bring him to his parents and for whatever reason they had not only bought the story of the poor orphaned boy who had been found outside the gate, but willingly took him in as their own. The entire town immediately felt sorry for him and soon there were rumors that his family had been the latest victims by the horrible Villains (and the sheer IRONY and truth in that) with the twelve year old boy  being the only survivor of what must have been such a traumatic night.

A few years later both their parents would die and leave Mike, the poor lost disgraced fool, to carry on for them becoming the kid's only remaining family. The boy had always looked up to him. (If he were to ever find out....) Wasn't going to happen. He'd make sure of it.

The brunette boy shrugged, "I've uhhh seen them around before." But the strange look in his eyes as he stared at the bear head and golden-colored G set him on edge.

"EVERYONE STOP" This time Henry managed to quiet everyone. "Look I know we're all scared and worried here. But there's no reason to panic at this time. School will be dismissed for a few days while we work on repairs." He narrowed his eyes looking at the teens, "That doesn't mean go on any crusades yourself. Work on things around the home, help with repairs if you like. But do not get involved. Let the adults handle it. We will triple security and look more into this. If anyone sees anything amiss, report to my office immediately." With that he dismissed everyone walking away as he discussed plans for the repairs leaving the teens behind once the crowd followed him out, still clearly in panic mode.

Tony shook his head, "Something tells me they aren't going to figure anything out."

"Of course not," Andrew added as he walked in front of the board addressing the group, "They don't know. And they don't care to know. All they're worried about is repairing everything and trying to keep on with normalcy. Meanwhile those animals could be out plotting who knows what. If we just sit here and do nothing they'll just come back again. Look, we were caught off guard before. But not this time. This time we'll take the fight to them and catch them off guard. We'll scare them and make sure they know we aren't the ones to mess with!"

(And that's what you call a suicide mission....) Mike exchanged a look with Charlie. He knew she was torn between following her father's orders or sticking with the group. He gave her an encouraging look and she nodded as they turned back to listen to the other teen. (Yeah, this was going to be something all right.)

The younger teen just stared at her quietly. He had his parent's strong will. (even if that was the only thing he got from them) He could wait it out. And he would, for however long it took.

Maybe he wasn't supposed to care (actually none of them apparently were), but that didn't matter. He already didn't fit any of their molds anyways. He always thought his striped ears and fangs were just mockery. (A reminder of what he wasn't and would NEVER be).

The difference though, was that Gregory DIDN'T CARE. Not about any of that. Don't get him wrong, he LOVED it. He was glad not to be a plain ordinary boring human. Creating chaos and sparking fear was his drive. He thrived on being a Hybrid. He may technically claim the Villain title but the truth is he was probably just as much, if not more, Feral than Jeremy and (maybe?) Cassidy. Ironic seeing as he was the one of the three with two Villain parents. (Not that he's ever felt that.) But as he regards his sister, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

She'd never say anything, but she didn't have to. He was smart, he could see it right away. She was hiding something. Something from all of them. Something big. And something he would almost bet his life on involved THEM. (It usually did.)

She finally turned and looked at him, "What?" He knew her annoyed expression was an act, a simple mask she plastered on.

He rolled his eyes, "Just wondering when you're gonna stop being all mopey is all." He shrugged and looked away. Two can play the non-caring emotionless pretending game.

She narrowed her eyes with an offended huff, "I'm not being mopey!"

"You literally are." He crossed his arms, turning away with a smirk. "Sitting there all quiet and sad like and staring off into nothing. Dude, that's basically moping."

"I'm not!" And he had to fight the smile that tried to form at her reaction. Guess she'd finally snapped out of whatever was going on. "I'm just....contemplating."

"What? On how to mope accordingly?"

"Will you stop? I'm not-"

At her silence he spun back around. She had a blank look on her face and her eyes were closed with her ears perked. He knew what that meant. She'd been called. He sighed and looked back down, "See you sometime I guess."

Although he could never say it, sometimes he really hated THEM.

"Will you stop? I'm not-" and then everything went hazy for her as her sight and hearing started to blur. A dark feminine voice gave her shivers as she spoke but she knew she couldn't  resist. She couldn't even react. She was being summoned.

Vanessa, come. Everything slowly went dark as she found herself sinking again into the dark purple haze. She couldn't even try to resist. It wasn't fair.

As she slowly came to, she could feel the fibers under her hands and legs and their intense stares directed on her. She tried everything to resist opening her eyes but she knew it was pointless. They were waiting on her.

Reluctantly and she finally opened her eyes but kept staring down at the floor as she gripped the fabric under her hands. She hated this place. (She hated all of it.)

It was of course her mother who spoke first, as always, "Stop trying, Vanessa. We're aware of it." ("I'm not" she thinks as she stays on her knees.) But as strong as her stubbornness is (she is their child after all), theirs is much deeper. With a sigh she finally lifts her head up to look at all of them.

Their king, (their god??); the dark emperor himself is the first to stand up as he's the one directly in front of her.  (She hates this. She hates this. Their eyes keep boring into her and she can't handle it. She just wants to go.) He doesn't walk towards her, not yet at least and she's silently thankful but doesn't dare take her eyes off him as she stays in place. (They trained her well after all.) He lets out a soft but dark chuckle, "I see what you and your friends did caused quite a stir. Most excellent work." (Friends right. Did they just all purposely forget they even had another kid?) And she knew he wasn't lying as she could hear the genuine impressed tone in his voice. "Such a fitting end, don't you think?" He turned to look at both of their parents and they nodded in response.

Her blood ran cold. No. No, it couldn't be. Not now. Not yet. "But it's not. We're not-" Her ears dropped as she mumbled quietly. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything.

Burntrap (because she hated referring to them by their actual names unless ordered to) spoke softly and sincerely, "You have done a fine job during your run. However, it's time to hang that up. And you know it."

"But I....I...can't. Not yet. What about them? I can't just leave them."

She knew they didn't care about any of it, but maybe just once she could have a  chance. He simply shook his head, "Your time with them is up. We have been patient but this has gone on long enough. At this point it's over."

No, it  couldn't be over. They couldn’t just come in here and sweep her away again. They can't take make her drop everything like it was meaningless, "If Jeremy is supposed to become a guard and Gregory and Cassidy aren't strong enough yet to lead-"

She couldn't stop the flinch when her dad sneered from the side of the giant demon rabbit,  "It's never been fully decided that he would be given that role. Most likely not. Ferals are meant to be pets, tools. Not to attain high status." How hypocritical of him, sitting back like he was higher than anyone else while wearing his chosen tiger skin.

Agony nodded from his other side looking down in disappointment at her daughter for merely having such a thought and association, "Then maybe it's time to disband that fantasy. It's been going for far long enough. You've learned how to lead and command a group. It's unneeded now."

"But they are-"

The redhead rolled her eyes in disdain, "It's bad enough you gave a Feral their own gift. This has never been done before for a reason. You are lucky we turned a blind eye to it this time."

Their leader nodded with a smile, "And that was mostly because it was just more proof of what you could do. How special you are. That you belong here. With your family."

Special. She's always hated that word. Special here didn't deserve any praise. It meant careful eyes watching you your entire life to keep you in line. "But-"

Tiger Rock snarled as he stood up, "You think we care about a throwaway and two useless Ferals?" (Throwaway? Did he just purposely forget he ever had a son?!)

"They're my friends!"

Agony waved her hand in annoyance. "You don't have friends, Vanessa. You're a Villain. All that matters is behind these walls." (What kind of family is that where you don't even consider your own younger child part of it?)

Her ears dropped as she trembled and looked down trying not to cry, "I'm not ready..."

"You think we don't see what you're trying to do? Stop stalling. You're not a child anymore. It's time to grow up."

Before she could respond to her father's comment, she felt a presence next to her and froze as her mother affectionately caressed her face speaking in that soft purring, comforting tone "This is what you were born for. What you were created and trained your whole life for. You're beyond ready, sweetie."

"You had your time to run free. It's over. You were warned about this. Several times in fact. While we allowed you to have your little childhood fantasy." (Does her dad even know what a childhood should be like? Do any of them?)

"But I...I...we haven't finished yet. We're so close. We can get that crystal, I know we can. I have a plan and-"

Agony sighed and stood up walking away from her daughter as her father growled in warning,  "No. Enough of that. It's over."

"Elizabeth will take care of it instead." She froze as heard Burntrap's heavy steps walking towards her. No, not Liz. Anyone but her. She sees the same views as her own father, all of them really: that Ferals are beneath them, Gregory is just some back up they don't plan to use unless absolutely.... Her crew wouldn't just be disbanded. The girl would stomp all over and then kick them to the side.

The dark lord stepped in front of her and leaned down gently lifting her chin as he spoke softly, encouragingly. (She hated when they did that. Pretend to be something they're not.)  "Don't see it as failure. It was always her job to handle complicated issues such as this. Yours is here, where you belong. With family. You laid out the foundation, reminded them we're still here and kept them in fear. You've already succeeded as we all knew you would. It's time to move on."

She bit her lip, unable to turn away as he kept his hold, firm but gentle. Her ears lifted almost on command "But...I'm not ready...."

He sighed releasing her, "I see." She could feel her mother's glare on her as her father growled from his spot. Her uncle stepped back and turned away and it only made her feel weaker, "I do understand your hesitation but it will fade once you are in your rightful spot. However, you are right." Her parents immediately gasped starting to protest until he held his scarred hand up silencing them, "Although you have known this was coming, it was still sprang on you and was extremely life altering. So let's make an arrangement. I understand there are those important to you that you worry about. So, say your goodbyes, and if you're so determined to prove yourself so badly then have one more chance to finish it. One year. ONE." He turned back around to look at her and the intense threatening look in his eyes chilled her from top to bottom. There were the Villains that struck with no mercy. "From today. One more attempt to finish what you all have started. Continue bonding with your group. Help them find something else to do after the disbandment. We'll even allow the little fox to keep his ability." His eyes narrowed as he looked down at her, "But make no mistake, Vanessa. Succeed or fail you will be back here either way. One year. Understood?" All she could do was nod softly. This wasn’t a choice, this was a promise. A guarantee. A threat. She'd be back whether it was her choice or not. There was no running this time. "Good." He reached out gently, patting her between the ears, "Don't worry, Bunny. This is your right path. You're just young. You don't see it yet. Now, go on. Go get started. I know you're eager to get back out there. "

She slowly stood up still looking down. She couldn't handle seeing any of their expressions right now, "I understand." She turned and quickly walked out, resisting the urge to run until she was out of sight.

He sighed watching her retreating figure before turning back to the pair's angry glares and glared back dangerously, "You know damn well that is how it should be handled."

Eleanor huffed, "You've always coddled her, William. More than your own children."

"And that is exactly why! I left Elizabeth to her own devices and she still comes when I call. Look at Michael. Pushing and demanding just sent him away. And only led to more trouble. "

She sneered, "Michael was always weak."

He chuckled darkly, "Indeed he was. But don't delude yourself into thinking we couldn't have built him into something better if we had succeeded. However, those tactics didn't work. Beating into submission, demanding, and forcing don't get anywhere either. Now tell me this, when has manipulation never served us before? Let them try to do our work one more time. Now they have a drive to motivate them. Either way works out in our favor." 

Mimic growled but knew his limits, "We've been patient. We can't keep enabling this. We need her, William. The longer she stays out, the more a risk it becomes and we'll just fail again. And have to start over again."

"And we won't. You're right. We've been patient. And we can be patient for a little longer before you rip the child from her world again. This is indeed the last time."

The demoness huffed, "And what if she does the same? Or worse, they figure it out?"

"The only reason Michael has ever succeeded is he caught us off guard. She knows she has nowhere to run. We've already guaranteed she won't be a flight risk. You know this is easier without resistance.  A deadline's been set. It's up to them how they handle it."

The bear hybrid closed her eyes concentrating. She flexed her claws and aimed at the tree and- Her eyes snapped open as she heard approaching footsteps. She slung her arm as she spun around behind her just coming inches from his face. He still had that stupid look on his face. “Hey, Cass.”

She sighed, dropping her claws, “What do you want?”

The brunette boy grinned brightly, “I just came to check on you. I heard, and saw, what you did. And thought-” God, why was he so annoying? More importantly, why was he here ? No one in their right mind actually sought out Hybrids. Especially not ones proven to be dangerous. 

“Ugh, That was a rhetorical question, genius.” Seriously?

“Oh. Well of course. But still, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And I-”

“Oh course I’m okay, Evan! I’m a Hybrid, duh!” Man, you use a human for one stupid scheme and they seem to think they’re now attached to you. Well, probably not most humans. But this one for sure. He just always seemed to pop up wherever she went. And always with that stupid look on his face. “Look I don’t know what you’re doing out here, but you do realize it’s over, right? I USED you to get what I wanted and did my damage and it’s all done. So you can just go running right back over to you know, your people.”

He just shrugged, “Oh, I know. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be ummm…what about partners?! I could help you out again-”

She rolled her eyes so dramatically her head rolled with it sending her long black hair rippling with the effect. “I don’t need a partner. In fact I don’t need any stupid humans-”

“YO, EV! What did that animal do to you?!” The two turned to the voice to see the black-haired boy from the school glaring at her. 

She mumbled under her breath, “Are you freaking kidding me?”

He nodded at the group with him before turning back to her, “What’s wrong little teddy bear? All alone?”

A series of low growls erupted as the two male Hybrids slipped out from the bushes behind her. “Try again, loser.” Gregory bared his fangs as Jeremy smirked. Evan finally walked away still giving her that look.

She lowered with own growl and malicious grin. This was going to be fun.

Mike looked back and forth between Andrew and the other group. He was still trying to process in his own mind why his little brother was out here. Did they do something to him? If so, why was he still alive? Andrew and the boys pulled out their knives and weapons and he just shook his head. This was going to be interesting.

And unknown to all of the teens, there was one more watching from the bushes. The little one had followed the rabbit boy out here and now she was going to get to watch them all fight. (How exciting!) Cassie adjusted her beanie again before sitting back down. This was going to be good. 

Meanwhile, Vanessa leaned back against the shadowed wall in the hallway. She had to come up with a plan soon before everything fell apart. She slowly slid down onto the ground dropping her head and squeezing her eyes shut grabbing her hair in frustration. 

When are you going to tell them?

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the strange figure that she had just convinced herself she was never going to be rid of. (Not that she ever wanted to.)

“I won't. I can't. If I do it'll just be bad. I'll just….tell them we have one more chance to pull something off. And then just…”

Disappear? He tilted his head and his own greenish ears twisted with him.

“I don't have any other choices! No matter what it ends in a year. My uncle won't budge on that and we're lucky he even gave us that. If they actually knew that, they'd get distracted and mess up. But maybe, just maybe…”

You can prove you're all needed to stay together and not be separated?

She nodded in determination, “Exactly.”

He seemed to consider it for a few seconds thoughtfully before looking back at her. So, what's your plan? .....you do have one, right? Didn't you say-

And she was actually surprised he hadn’t caught onto that. “I lied, okay?! I have no idea where to even start. I panicked and lied because I didn't know what else to do!”

Hmm. So what are you going to do?

That was the question of the year. If she had the answers she probably wouldn’t be in this mess. But she was desperate at this point. Desperate for any chance. “I.... I don't know. I need to..... I need to go talk to Mike. He's the only one who would understand.”

Her imaginary friend pulled away wide-eyed in surprise at the mention of his name. You know he won't turn on his friends.

The teen gritted her teeth and clenched her fist in anger. Why did he have to mention that? “We were his friends first! Just because he was a coward and ran. It's because of him, I'm in this mess.” And yet, even as she tried to convince herself of it, she knew it wasn’t true. 

So all his fault, what he did even after you covered for him?

Leave it to him to be the only one to see right through her. (Maybe that’s what happens when you deal with something that may or may not be part of yourself? She relaxed her body and sighed, “.....no, it's not. I can't blame him for that. It's my own mess that I have to deal with myself. Well, with the others.”

He nodded. So what's your plan?

(Work on it as they go along?) “Get and destroy that damn crystal. Maybe if they can wreak havoc on that town again they'll just forget about me and them.” If the teens were able to remove the thing keeping them at bay maybe that would put them in a better mood. Or at least provide a distraction so they could all slip away before they could find her. (Or at least she could hope.)

The taunting grin on his face made her really want to punch him. You really think that?

She was getting really tired of him calling her bluff, “No. But it's the only option and hope I have.”

Even to let them destroy a land of innocents? Hell of a time for him to grow a conscience.

“ I don't have any other choice! I can't be locked away for the rest of my life behind those walls again! Who knows what will happen? What they'll do to ME !”

.....then how are you going to do it? Finally they were on the same page. Now if he could just be a bit more helpful of a guide they could possibly get somewhere.

“Well, if we can't physically get to it, then we'll need someone who can.” That town was full of contenders. She could easily single one out and focus on them. Most of them had already fallen for Vanny’s tricks and under her manipulation after all. It wouldn’t be anything different. 

He snorted. I don't know that Mike-

She shook her head with a glare. She wasn’t that stupid, “No, that's too risky even if he did agree to help. I'll have to get someone else that no one would ever suspect....”

He stayed quiet for so long she wondered if he had just given up before he finally gave a resigned sigh. ….you're going to manipulate and influence someone fully under your control? I thought you hated that.

And well, he was right. Completely. Slightly manipulating someone to act on their negative emotions or influence them to consider certain things was one thing. She had never been able to bring herself to fully control someone. (Not like her mother.) She knew she could. Or at least strongly suspected she could. In fact she had been constantly pushed to try it. But every time she got close she stopped it. Even if it was someone she hated she’d never take away anyone’s free will. (She knew all too well what it was like on both ends of it after all.)

“I do! But I don't have any other choice! I have to do this! We can't fail! I-”

But….this was different. There had never been an ultimatum before. Never pushed into a corner she couldn’t get out of. No, this time she was going to have to push herself to cross that line. She also couldn’t just find some random person. She was going to have to find someone that would be easy to influence to start responding to her powers. (which meant no adults.) Also someone no one would suspect which would normally be easy but it was the last one that would be the hardest.

She’d have to choose someone that had an excuse to be near the crystal. The town leader would be too difficult. The Villains had shared many warnings about how aware he was of them and what they could be. She wouldn’t even get a chance to try anything.  So probably a kid or teen, just like them. There was always Andrew. He was quite easy and proven helpful before. But that would just backfire on her and probably be all too obvious. Maybe that whiny little blonde. Ugh, that would be lowering her own standards. She needed someone who wasn’t an emotional mess but easy to get to. And more importantly she was going to really need to be careful about covering her tracks so no one would figure out anything.

She shook her head and stood up wiping her legs off, “I've got to go talk to Mike.”

You know he won't help you.

Her eyes flashed dangerously with a deep violet hue as she bared her fangs, “No, but I'm going to warn him to stay out of my way.. ...” He actually pulled away in fear at her response. He looked around nervously then started to say something but she wasn’t going to give him a chance. She knew the malicious smirk on her face was a mirror image of her mother’s and uncle’s. (Burntrap and Agony would be so proud right now.)

“If we can't get to that crystal, then I'll have to make someone else get and destroy it for us. In fact, why stop there? I can go ahead and use everyone's negative emotions against them with agony. If everyone’s so busy running around with all  these uncontrollable reactions they’ll miss all the obvious signs out there. I'm sure that place has a lot of pent up rage and hate that's just bursting to come out. So I'm going to help them to release it. I'll make them all see red....” She turned that evil grin back to him. “Thanks, Glitch. You really are helpful after all.” 

She turned and walked away in determination. All she had to do was convince the others this was just a special mission and she needed to find a victim. Actually, no. They didn’t need to know about that part. (They definitely wouldn’t approve of her using her powers for that, but it wasn’t their choice.) They just needed to know that she would blow everyone’s emotions wide open. And while they were helping to channel those flames, she could work on her special project that none of them needed to know about.

He watched sadly as she walked away and dropped his ears completely. You really are just like them….

Chapter Text

“Eleanor.” The green-eyed woman glared at their leader as he addressed her. “Release her.”

She growled, “William. This is a sore mistake.” Why didn’t he out of everyone get it? Didn’t he remember what had happened last time they had allowed any slack? Did he just ignore everything they had done to prevent it all? To assure their victory, His yellow ears stood straight up in a threatening stance. Her own uncurled matching him and they stood staring each other down. Mimic merely sat back watching silently. He knew it was best to stay out of their disagreements. 

She finally backed down, lowering her ears in submission. Even putting on a show he could call her bluff. It wasn’t at all fair and why was it his decision to make? That was her’s. It was all supposed to be her’s. That was the agreement after all.

But even she knew when to cede. Hopefully his decisions wouldn’t cost them again. Then again they still had to wonder if their first loss this time was really that important at times. Or was it just thinning of the weak? 

After all, their elaborate plan had changed a few times throughout the years out of their control. But in the end their goal was still the same. And if they didn't tread carefully they would lose it all again. 

William, after all, had survived many years for a reason. He was a bit of a control freak and despite everything he'd ever encountered had still continued. This was all his elaborate plan he had concocted. Mimic and Agony had pledged everything to him and followed his orders as agreed. So far those decisions had mostly led then in the right path. He had been fighting this war longer than both of them. Even with the unexpected factors things were still on track. 

“Fine.” She nodded and let the girl return back to the outside world. The world that would soon be theirs once again.

Vanessa let out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes. She still had a piercing headache and she was pretty sure she could thank her mother for that. Her words to Glitch came back to her. Little did anyone know that she hated the very things she was meant to do. But when push came to shove (and it was definitely more than just a shove now) she would do whatever she had to. 

Her ultimatum came down to this. Her freedom or someone else’s. And her’s had already been sacrificed before against her will. She wasn’t going to let it happen again. Not this time. She’d enslave and control everyone in that pathetic town if she had to. Call her selfish, call her evil. It’s who she was already. Who they all were. And no one came before her. No one.

As she started to think about a plan, a yell caught her attention and she tilted her head as her sensitive ears picked up a conversation in the distance. Great, just when she needed her crew they were busy dealing with others lesser than them. She’d never felt herself this important or more of a priority before (that was always her mother) but right now she’d wipe them all out just for coming before her. 

Ugh, they didn’t have time for this! And knowing Gregory he’d continued instigating it, and Jeremy would never back down from any fight until he won or his contender had fled. Why did they all have to be so childish?! Even Cassidy would rather throw punches then ask questions later, if ever. There was too much at stake for such stupid and pointless distractions. She had to end this now. 

And as she felt a strong rage build up in her she started to wonder if maybe she was finally growing up (even if no one else was.)

Grim grinned, flicking his fox ears as Andrew continued glaring and wiped off the scratch on his cheek. “Well, well, I do always forget how easily humans bleed. Almost as if they’re meant to.”

The dark-haired human snarled, “I bet you bleed just as well you mangy mutt!”

“And yet I’m not the one with a scratch on him.” A chill ran through him as his ears pricked at a sound in the distance, right about the same time the annoying blonde girl started screaming.

“Oh my god! It’s a monster!” She screamed pointing behind the trio. Monster? There’s no monsters?

Yet, slowly creeping up towards them all was something that could only be described as a monster . A dark rippling form stalked toward them. The shape was hard to make out but whatever it was had a form and it was huge. Its eyes were open voids and it let out a roar as it got closer. The human teens screamed and scattered as it approached fleeing the scene racing back towards town. The trio stood in shock not quite sure what to do. The substance the creature was formed of was a familiar swirling of shimmering black and violet but it wasn’t like anything they had ever seen before. 

As it approached them it slowly started to dissipate until nothing remained as it would have reached them. Standing back a few feet away, Vanny stood with her eyes closed and hand outstretched as the substance that had made up the creature slowly swirled back into her hand. 

“Whoa” her brother raced over to her in awe. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

Her eyes opened and the strange purple hue from her eyes disappeared as she looked at them in shock, “Neither did I.”

The fox grinned, “Well whatever it was looks like it’s going to be coming in handy.”

And yet something about it all didn’t sit right with her. Had that somehow come from her rage ? Did she use agony to create something that powerful? (What else could she do?)

More importantly.....what did it feel all wrong? 

Henry held back his groan as he tried to drown out the yelling and accusations around him.

"You told us this couldn't happen anymore!"

"Now our own children are in danger and nothing can be done???"

"We trusted and followed your guidance for years because we thought it would be safe. Look at where that has gotten us? Attacked from behind with no warning. Perhaps it is time to focus that loyalty and support elsewhere now?" Of course Mr. Burrows would use this chance to turn it into a political circus. He had always sat eyeing Henry's spot. All for the fame and glory. His ways and ideas were a tad bit questionable however and the current leader would do everything he could to keep him out of that chair.

"Now everyone hold on!" He stood up as the room went silent. "Need I remind you all that while yes we've dealt with something similar before, this time we are more knowledgeable and prepared. Also it's far too early to jump to conclusions yet. We still don't know entirely what we're dealing with yet."

The other man scoffed as he crossed his arms, "Oh I think it's pretty obvious to everyone in this room EXACTLY what we are dealing with. This is a repeat of history and if we just sit around twiddling our thumbs we're doomed. Those monsters are targeting our children as we sit here and debate what's quite obvious.”

"I understand you are all frustrated and scared, but we need to think rationally about this. We need to take the time to really decipher everything and then come up with a plan."

"Thinking rationally didn't save my son, did it?" All eyes in the room turned back to the oldest man in the room as he spoke quietly staring down. "None of those monsters wasted any time in snatching him. All they saw in my boy was an easy target just waiting for him." David Murray was one of the first victims. The young boy had been outside playing under the watchful eyes of his parents when they looked away distracted by something for just a few seconds..... And that was all it took.

Henry's eyes softened at Edwin's words. The poor man had been so distraught spouting stories of monsters and shadow creatures that no one had believed. Not at first. Not until little Jeremy was taken a few weeks later in the same manner. And after a few months, it wasn't just children. Soon any and everyone became a target of these nightmare creatures that tormented them for decades.

He tried to block out the memory of young Sammy calling for his mother who would never return. The day all he could do was hold his children helplessly lost in a haze. So yes, he understood all their fears, their loss. But this shouldn't even be happening. He had made sure of it.

Then again, was it actually happening? Or was it something else? The crystal held strong and no alerts had triggered. Those alerts would have gone off the moment Burntrap or Agony came within miles of the place. But nothing had. So what or who exactly had infiltrated the gates and how were they able to?

"It's not them though..." The teacher, Freddy, looked down nervously, squeezing the small hat he always liked to wear. "It wasn't. They were different. Younger. Kids basically."

Mr Burrows scoffed, "So now we have confirmation they're just churning out more killers at a young age. And we're supposed to just ignore that?"

"N...no! I mean, I was there. I saw it. I saw them. They weren't this evil group storming in. They were just....kids. Like the others."  There was a strange pensive look in his nervous blue eyes. He knew he was going against the grain.

"Our children don't sport tails and ears and act like uneducated and uncultured animals hellbent on destroying everything we care about." Funny hearing that from someone so anti-kid.

Freddy looked down again before looking back up in determination. He may have been the youngest one in the room but he had still earned his place and deserved it just as much if not more than anyone else there. "Just because they look and act different doesn't mean they're some evil monsters. They could have done all kinds of things to our kids, but they didn't. They could have hurt any of them badly. But all they did was show up and act out. I may not have been old enough to remember what those Villains were like. But I'm pretty sure they were more than show and intimidation." The teacher held his stance.

Henry was knocked silent for a different reason than the rest of the room. He wasn't just shocked to hear someone speaking out, but that Freddy of all people was the one doing it. Sure, he may have been overall fairly naive, but he'd always been a good judge of character. So why was he defending a group everyone else was willing to crucify?

He cleared his throat, regaining everyone's attention. "Nonetheless I will remind you of how we all got here. It wasn't by chance but by skill and knowledge. For now we will continue to monitor the situation before acting out. I will increase security and you are all welcome to assist with that. There will be no more arguing or group discussion until we know more. If you are so concerned then why not take the initiative to actually watch your own children closely?"

He ignored the growls and grumbles from everyone in the room. Well, almost everyone. The teacher gave him a relieved smile.

Why was Freddy so bound and determined to advocate for someone he didn't even know?

"You can't be serious."

Ugh, why did he have to make everything so difficult? She glared as her brother crossed his arms and stared back. "Well, I am and maybe you should accept that."

Gregory growled as he threw his hands up, "You disappear for hours harboring all your secrets and then come back with this lame ass ultimatum? That, I remind you, we shouldn't even care about?"

"It's not an ultimatum!" Vanessa snapped back. Even though it actually is but they don’t need to know that. "It's just a step up from the original plan."

"From what?? There never has been a plan. It's always just been about having fun! And now you want us to go throw it all away and risk everything just to retrieve some stupid rock?!"

"It's not a rock! It's a specialized crystal and it's not stupid! It's actually very important."

"Who cares what it is! It's still just a dumb risk! And pointless. We don't need to get involved in anything like that."

"Ugh! Maybe it's time to grow up and realize not everything is just about fun!"

That caught the attention of the other two and they immediately turned towards the siblings. It was Cassidy who spoke uncertainly, "You don't actually mean that, do you?"

The older bunny rolled her eyes, "Of course I do. Don't you think it's time to give up on all those childish notions and move on? What's the point of all these stupid little pranks and appearances anymore? We're being all talk and no action. They'll eventually figure out we're just weak and useless and not even bat an eye at us. Is that what you want??? We should be out there showing them who we really are. Remind them of what we can do. Give them reason to actually be scared of us. Don't you agree?"

The golden bear stood quietly for a few minutes, "Actually, that's all the exact opposite of what I want." Biting her lip she quickly turned and walked away ignoring Gregory's calls to stop her.

He turned back to Vanessa glaring daggers at her. "Are you happy now? Is THIS what you wanted?"

His older sister just scoffed and he briefly wondered what had gotten into her. None of this sounded like her. She was way off course and didn't seem to be correcting herself anytime soon. "She's still young and stupid. Of course she doesn't understand. Maybe she never will. Doesn't matter. Let her go off and sulk. Everyone needs a dose of reality to see the world around them."

"What the hell is your problem?!"

She actually looked offended before snarling and baring her fangs at him. "Me? What's MY problem? What's yours??? You've been on my case for days and won't back down and now you're questioning my decisions and priorities??? Who do you even think you are???"

He stopped his angry retort as he noticed the subtle changes. Her eyes had a strange hue and the white on her ears had started to darken into an unusual shade. He'd never noticed that before. It couldn't be anything good. He swallowed anxiously, staring at her in concern, "Ness....your ears..."

She either didn't hear him or didn't care because she just growled, "All you seem to care about is running around and acting stupid. But there are more important focuses and getting rid of that crystal is one of them! It keeps everything at bay and protects them. Once we destroy it they won't have anything."

"It doesn't even work on us! So why the hell would we care about some stupid lame crystal-" Gregory froze in realization. "We don't care about it. You don't care about it. They do." Jeremy's eyes widened as he crept closer to the pair finally clued into the situation quietly trying to calm the situation.

"Exactly. And that's why we have to take care of it instead. Since they can't."

"We shouldn't even be going anywhere near that. YOU shouldn't be having ANYTHING to do with that. This shouldn't even be a discussion at all!" Had she lost her mind? That stupid crystal was likely the most dangerous thing that existed. (For them at least.) Remnant at such a high concentration could block agony and it some cases direct it to break down agony. Getting anywhere near near it was bad enough and a very deadly risk. So why was she so willing to jump to get it. “You literally can’t even get close to it.”

“I’m not going to be the one to do it…” The sinister grin on her face was very close to making him sick.

“So what, you’re planning to do the one thing you hate and control someone to FORCE them to get it for you?” At her silence he completely stared at her like she had grown a second head. “You can’t be serious! There’s no way!” Even Jeremy looked shocked and caught off guard. Had they actually understood that correctly? She was actually going to do it?

"This is why you're not ever involved in any of this! You're so selfish and you never even try to see the bigger picture or understand what's important! You're too busy being such a bratty kid you miss everything! Don't you get it? This is a chance to finally prove ourselves and be something. Instead of just weak useless kids!" No, this was a chance to prove they really were monsters. Evil nightmares like THEM.

Gregory clenched his fists and teeth as his ears twitched. He didn't even recognize the creature in front of him right now. None of those could have been Vanessa's actual words and yet she swung them all around so heartlessly. "Well. Maybe not all of us want to be their little loyal lapdog running at their beck and call. Especially if it makes us act this stupid." He had to get out here before he came back with something he'd regret. He didn’t know what was going on but it was all wrong. This wasn’t his sister. And right now both of them were ready to throw everything at each other. He ignored Jeremy as he stormed past him.

Normally, the girl would have realized when she went too far. She would have immediately backed up and begged for his forgiveness. Instead she just snarled at his retreating back, "At least it's actually something important!" She ignored Glitch's desperate pleas to her also.

Her brother could be so blind and childish at times. She saw why her parents hadn't bothered with him.

It didn't matter either way. She didn't care anymore. It was either her freedom or everyone else's. She'd slaughter and enslave the entire town if that's what it took. None of them mattered. None more than her. She rolled her eyes as she felt Jeremy's intense stare on her. Don't say he was leaning to that side also. Of all of them she figured he'd at least have her back and support, not his pity.

She spun around to stare at the fox and he took a step back from her intense glare. "Let me guess. You agree with them also?"

He didn't know what was worse, her glare or her tone. This wasn't the girl he'd grown up with, good or bad. "It's just.... Maybe they do have a point. Maybe it's not as....important as you think?"

She growled, "How would you even know?! None of you could possibly understand any of it!"

"So let us, Nessa. Help us understand where you're coming from. Instead of just throwing around these demands and plans, tell us WHY. Why is it so important? That's all we ask for. You know we'll follow you wherever. We always have. We just want to understand why you're so intent on taking a risk that's not going to benefit any of us. So why do you even care about it?"

Her eyes softened and her stance loosened lightly, "I...." She spoke softly, looking away.

"We just want to make sure you're making the right decisions that YOU want. Not anyone else. I know you. We all do. If you want to take a risk there's a reason. What is that reason? And is it yours?"

She closed her eyes thinking softly. Jeremy was right and she knew it. They had the strongest loyalty. (Then again she'd thought that with Mike and look where that went.) They'd always been and would be there for her.

....no, no they wouldn't. In less than a year, either way they were all going to be disbanded. If she didn't pull this off, they wouldn't have anything soon. Gregory would likely just be pushed off to the side doing menial tasks. Jeremy probably stripped of what they broke the rules to give him sent back to live as a lesser Feral, and who even knows where Cassidy would end up.

And she would.... Well whatever awaited her wasn't good she knew that much. Family or not there was something far too sinister behind those doors. Course there was always the route Mike took and just running. But something told her they wouldn't allow the same mistake twice and she wouldn't get far if at all. Plus what would come of Gregory? Would they just throw him next in line as her replacement?

No, that wasn't an option either. She HAD to pull this off. It was the literal last chance. She knew if they were aware of why they would immediately jump into whatever she needed. But that would mean  they knew. She couldn't let them know. Not ever. Not until after she failed and was taken away. And even then maybe it would be better for them to think she was just another runaway.

At least if they didn't want to help her they wouldn't be aware of what she was doing. She needed to do it alone didn't she? If she just pushed them away they wouldn't know and try to stop her.

She had to do this. Maybe one day they would understand and forgive her. Maybe she’d be successful and they’d never know the truth. Maybe they’d just forever blame her for everything falling apart. Either way, she didn’t have a choice. 

She shook her head leveling her gaze at him, “No, Jeremy, it’s not important for you to know. It’s not anything any of you could ever understand. There’s no point in even trying to explain it to any of you. If none of you want to do it, then fine. I DON’T need any of you and likely never did. In fact I’m probably actually much better off on my own without all of you.”

She had to turn quickly and avoid the hurt look he gave back. Likely the same look Gregory had. He just needed to go and let her finish this on her own. He let out a deep sigh, “If that’s how you really think you feel, Vanessa. Keep telling herself that. Just go ahead and push everything away if that’s what you want. No one can tell you what to do. Or at least I thought that was the case once….” When she didn’t make a move to turn back he nodded softly and turned walking out the same way as the other two. 

She stayed in place even as his footsteps finally faded. She didn’t need them. She couldn’t need them. 

Because she was about to lose them.

Chapter Text

As the fox hybrid walked away he kept glancing back. But Vanessa still stood with her back to him, refusing to even look at him. He had really hoped he could reach her when Gregory had given up. Whatever the bunny girl had going on it was all too obvious she wasn’t willing to open up to them.  Part (well most) of him wanted to run back, shake her, and demand to know what was going on. But the last thing anyone could afford to do was make anyone in that bloodline mad. It never ended well. He’d seen it plenty of times himself after all. 

He'd always felt such a strong connection with the cousins for as long as he could remember. Seeing both their best and worst. But never anything negative directed at him. 

He'd heard a few theories as to why. The Villians saw the Ferals as beneath them. They were their servants, their warriors, their maids. Each had their own special pet that came at their beck and call. Acting as their messenger, their bodyguard.

And he'd always felt something with the duo. Perhaps it was a destiny they were born into, immediately connected. He'd always loyally followed and supported Michael, always standing at his side. And from the moment he saw baby Vanessa he'd known he would follow the girl to his death and protect and care for her as though she were his own sister. 

At times it felt like it. He viewed her as his baby sister. When Michael had run off leaving the younger girl to bare the consequences he'd all but broken that tie to him. He knew if Vanesssa ever asked for him to rip out Michael's throat he'd do it instantly for her.

So fine, if he was her body guard of sorts that meant protecting her from everything, even her own family. 

But he couldn't do much if she shut him out and blocked him. Except keep trying. Part of him felt like a failure. He'd keep trying though until she let him in and embrace it.

So all he could do for now was to just let it go. And hope that she would come to her senses soon. Their crew had already been torn apart once by a traitor. Would history repeat itself? As he stepped out into the night air, a putrid scent caught his attention and he growled lowly. Humans.  

Those wretched creatures had been near their sanctuary. 

Fritz and Gabe had run as fast as they could hoping the hybrid wouldn’t hear or catch them. Once they’d seen him walking out of the cave they had taken off hoping to remain unnoticed. They hadn’t heard exactly what had been said but there were a lot of angry voices and matching body language between each of the non-human creatures. 

Honestly it hadn’t been intentionally. They’d noticed that young girl that was always running around town and followed her out in the forest. (Really they were trying to catch her before something back happened to her, but that kid could outrun probably anyone.) They’d lost sight of her but heard something bigger coming towards them and hid. It was then they saw the rabbit ears and extremely angry teen who didn’t even seem to notice him.

As they had been ready to come out of their hiding spot they then heard the dark-haired girl with bear ears and she screamed and yelled and broke many branches in her path. And as she got closer to them that left them scrambling to find a new hiding spot. They just hadn’t expected to hear more angry voices from within. 

Andrew was of course thrilled to hear. From the sounds of it, the group was very likely fighting amongst themselves and splitting up. Maybe they couldn’t deal with all of them but one on one, the Hybrids wouldn’t stand a chance if they dared to show back up. Even Charlie thought it was probably a good thing. In fact there was only one individual who had a different view on it. 

Mike smiled and nodded but inside he was panicking. What could have sent the group into such a frenzy with each other? Had it been from anyone else, he wouldn’t put much trust in it. But Fritz and Gabriel wouldn’t have shared something if they hadn’t seen or heard it for themselves. 

He looked out past the gates towards the entrance of the dark forest. Unlike anyone else within the barrier he was all too aware of what exactly laid out there waiting with gaping jaws. And even beyond that. The very thing he’d run from and would keep running until his dying breath. He could still hear their dark voices and glowing eyes breathing down his neck. The nightmares he lived every day and night.

Until he couldn’t take it and ran. He ran and ran. Until he’d ended up here. And even then for months he couldn’t sleep and couldn't enter any space where he didn’t have an entire vantage point. Every dark corner he waited for the claws to reach out and snatch him, dragging him right back. Back to more nightmares and even worse punishments. But to his surprise they never came. In fact it stayed quiet. Way to quiet. Had they really just given up on him?

When he’d first seen Vanny and Grim outside the gates a couple years later, he had panicked. Had HE sent them to fetch him back? How would he deal with them? But they had simply ignored him. They knew it was him just as easily as he knew. Instead all he was met with after that was glares and hostile looks. The two younger ones didn’t recognize and probably didn’t even know about him. As though he wasn’t anyone. One of them.

After all, knowing his father and lack of response to his last action, he wouldn’t be surprised if everyone had just written him off. Michael who? All that work, everything, just gone? But judging by the conversation with his cousin a few days ago maybe it wasn’t as simple as he had thought. Her anger and hatred towards him had completely caught him off guard. This wasn’t the same little girl he had known. (That he had left behind.)

You think they did something to her? The little voice in his mind popped up. Luckily he’d learned years ago that humans don’t have little creatures that live inside their minds and wouldn’t appreciate him talking to air.  So he could respond inwardly without even batting an eye to the outside world.

I…I don’t know. He’d replayed their conversation over and over again and had found himself back to restless nights. What had she meant? What had they done to her? What were they going to do to her?

You’re feeling guilty. 

What if that’s why? She wouldn’t make that up. What if by running away I just made things worse? Is that why no one had come after them? Were they too busy working on a Plan B? Too busy guaranteeing they had a Plan B?

Eleanor doesn’t have agony anymore. That’s why she couldn’t haunt you. That’s true. When Vanessa had been born, the villainess had somehow lost most of her control of it leaving her much more powerless. It made sense though. When he was born, he ended up somehow stealing one of his own dad’s abilities. He’d always wondered what Gregory had taken until he watched him one day. The younger boy couldn’t shapeshift but he could mimic voices and sounds perfectly. Plus he was pretty skilled in copying an ability after seeing it only once or twice. And Vanessa…. 

You think that’s what they’ve been doing? Sure they definitely weren’t ever in the running for parents of the year, but if he was right… Well, first of all he wasn’t entirely surprised. But still. Do you think she knows? If she did, why hadn’t she run away yet? Why didn’t she follow in his footsteps? (What if she couldn’t?)

He was silent for a few minutes and it took everything in him to keep Mike from being sick as it occurred to him. Vanessa had Eleanor’s agony. She was now the one that could manipulate and use it. And in just the last few days he had seen that her abilities had grown exponentially. Doing things no one ever could have imagined. No longer was she just manipulating negative emotions in others. If her mother could ever harness or control that same power, directly or indirectly….there’d be no barrier or crystal keeping them at bay. They’d be limitless and no one in that town would survive when they were done.

….that’s why they kept her close. They made sure she couldn’t repeat his move because they couldn’t afford to lose her like they did him. 

The small pastel-colored bear nodded his head. They’re going to make sure they still have their control over agony….anyway they can.  

Helpy’s words sent his head spiraling. When he had run he’d never stopped to think about what he was leaving his baby cousin behind to. He hadn’t bothered to take the time. All that mattered was his freedom and getting away. They’d never batted an eye towards anyone else, just him. As far as he was aware. And for weeks after, he’d considered running back to grab her and Jeremy but he couldn’t bring himself to actually do it. He knew once he stepped foot anywhere near their grasp they would have just snatched him back and he’d never have another chance. So he just pushed that guilt to the side and ignored it as long as he could.

Was it true then? Had he sacrificed her own freedom for his? Did he take away any escape for her? And now, were the others abandoning her also? If she was left alone, she’d be vulnerable and that much easier for them to get their hooks into.

Michael Afton was twelve years old when he had finally run away from his father and the rest of the Triad. Vanessa was ten. He’d lived a lie as a survivor victim being taken care of while she was locked away for two years as the real victim. And came back out different. Maybe she was controlled by her own agony. Maybe it was something else. 

Whatever it was didn’t matter. He had to put a stop to whatever they were up to before it was too late. If he tried to involve Jeremy he knew the fox wouldn’t even give him a chance to say anything and the other two had no idea who he was, much less any reason to listen to him. So he was going to have to figure out a way to keep her away from them. No idea how but he was pretty good at figuring things out along the way. The first thing he needed to do was find and keep an eye on her. 

And he got the chance to do so a few days later. He had been searching. Sneaking off into the woods at night looking for any sign of any of the Hybrids. And found no trace of any of them. Had they all just gone back home? Was that the end of it? 

He was starting to think so until something caught his attention. It started as a soft irritation in his head. Something he recognized all too well. A high concentration of agony causing his own to react instinctively. And seeing as how William and Eleanor couldn’t even get out of their own prison, that only left one other possibility.

And sure enough she was there. Blending as she always did when she wanted to. Her brown cloak may have covered her head but he knew her eyes were the strange violet hue without even having to look at her. He didn’t know who her target was, he didn’t care. She was so focused on them that she never even heard him, until he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back into the alley with him, letting out a soft surprised gasp instead as the purple mist in her hand dissolved. It was a skill he hated and had resisted the urge to use for years. That unnatural movement and strength he kept so well-hidden. 

He let out a wince as his force knocked his own back hard into the wall pulling her into him. The wide surprised eyes that met his were back to their emerald shade. No one would notice them here. He took a moment to breathe and recover and her expression quickly went from shock to anger as expected. 

“What the hell?!” She tried to rip her arm away from him but he tightened his grip. “Mike, let go!” She hissed quietly but he just shook his head. She tried to jerk away and the movement caused the hood to fall back revealing bright blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. (Maybe she hadn't only inherited her mother’s abilities.) If he’d gone just looking for her he never would have even noticed her if she walked back past him. Had she also learned how to hide her animal attributes? Was it the same way he had? 

He took another deep breath before meeting her eyes again, “Nessa, look, I-”

“Save it!” Her fangs flashed promising violence but he refused to back down himself. Not this time. Not until he could at least talk to her. But he needed to find somewhere he could talk to her without worrying about anyone else around. “I told you to stay out of my way. I warned you.” Her eyes slowly changed to that strange haze again and he knew he had to react quickly.

“W….wait! Ness! Hang on-”

“Mike?” a soft feminine voice froze both of them in place and her eyes immediately went back to normal as two pairs of footsteps rounded the corner, “What’s going on? Who’s this?”

This time when she pulled her wrist away he let her as the two turned around to see Charlie and Henry standing at the end of the alley. Charlie looked confused and concerned but Henry looked worried and slightly suspicious. His cousin looked shocked and caught off guard and he realized they were likely in big trouble thanks to him. How the heck was he supposed to explain why he was grabbing some strange girl? Henry would immediately know she didn’t belong here. If he figured out who she was it wouldn’t be long before they’d figure him out. Despite how much he’d grown to love his new home and family, his original family would always come first instinctively and the moment anyone took a hostile approach towards his cousin he knew he wouldn’t be able to control his own reaction. He really would become the monster they claimed them to be. His heart started beating frantically as he tried to come up with an excuse that would save both of them. 

“Mike?” Henry asked as he narrowed his eyes. 

He swallowed anxiously as he could feel that nervous tick starting up. It had gotten better recently but when faced with his extreme stressful situations he still felt that need to grab at and rub his ear. As he’d always done as a child. Which he wanted to do right now. His head started to itch and all he wanted to do was let it out and grab his ear and cling to it like a baby with a pacifier. 

He started to slowly move his arm to reach up before he felt a tight clamp on his wrist yanking it down. It caught him so much off guard he looked at her in surprise. But she wasn’t even looking at him. Instead she put on that fake smile and expression that she excelled so well at as she looked at the other two. 

“Oh, hi! Sorry, didn't see you there and I guess you can say you startled us. Anyways.” He didn’t even try to hide his reaction as he stared at the young villainess in all her fake warmth as she continued speaking.  “I'm Mike's cousin...Vanessa. Nice to meet you.” Wait, what ? 

Charlie tilted her head and narrowed her eyes matching her dad’s expression. “His what ?”

The older man immediately gave a tight smile and she released her grip on his wrist as he addressed her, “Oh, I'm sorry. We didn't realize Mike had any family nearby….”

Although she never showed it, Mike knew Vanessa was just as worried and stressed as him. Neither of them could afford getting caught. Henry didn’t seem all that convinced and Charlie could definitely tell he was hiding something . If he didn’t pull this off then they were in serious trouble. Trouble that would likely send them scrambling out to somewhere where the Triad could grab both of them. Part of him felt guilty for keeping something else from them. But after years of it, what’s one more lie?

So he plastered a matching fake grin that he prayed was believable enough, “Yep, that's totally my cousin. I've been writing to her and never realized she would actually take up my suggestion to come visit. Considering she always just kept saying she wasn’t interested in traveling.”

The blonde giggled lightly and he was reminded of such simpler and better times, “I thought it would be nice to just be a surprise so I didn't tell him I would be coming. He also didn't tell me exactly where he was so I've been kind of just randomly visiting different places in the area.” Her eyes widened in guilt as she left out a shocked gasp, “I'm so sorry though! I didn't think to ask if advance notice was required. If I had, I would have let him know.” He had almost forgotten how skilled she was. How they all were. Just one more thing he had locked away tightly trying to forget from his own life.

How easily they could manipulate and fool people. 

Henry smiled warmly with a soft nod, “Oh, it's quite alright. We always love to have visitors. We were just caught off guard because we didn’t know to expect anyone. It’s fine though. No trouble at all. Well, welcome Miss Vanessa. I do hope you'll enjoy your stay. Mike, a word,please?”

He swallowed nervously as the other man started to walk away with Charlie watching her dad curiously. “Um, yeah, sure. Coming”  He felt that itch on his head startup. Before he could move, Vanessa squeezed his hand tightly and although her smile and warm gaze didn’t leave Charlie, he knew she was still focusing on him in concern. He squeezed back just as tightly as a reassurance. A silent language they had always learned to use in a world full of demons and nightmares when speaking wasn’t safe. 

He trotted quickly after the town leader hoping he could keep his own excuse (and also for once the truth) alive. “I'm so sorry, Mr. Emily. I had no idea she'd actually come find me. If I had, I would have-”

The old man chuckled lightly, “No, no, no. Don't worry about that, Mike. It's fine. We can’t always be responsible for the actions of others. And no, of course I don’t blame your cousin either. No one would ever have any reason to think they couldn’t just freely come and go anywhere after all, right?”

“I….guess?”

Henry nodded as she he looked over at the two girls who were talking quietly to each other but stepping closer to him with a lowered tone, “I do, however, have other concerns. Especially about her in general.” 

Oh, no. Had he figured her out? Did he suspect she was up to something? Dangerous? “I promise she's not a threat, she's just....weird.”

“Oh, no no. I'm not worried about that. Trust me, any intense amount of evil this close to it would....trigger the security system.” So he doesn’t know that it doesn’t react to them. Or at least as far as Mike knows that’s the case. It had never alerted to his presence and the others had freely come in and out undetected. But he wasn’t about to correct the man and let him know he knew more than he was letting on. So instead he just nodded and continued listening. 

“Truthfully, I'm more concerned about the fact that a young woman who looks close to Charlie's age has been out traveling alone. Especially here. We all know the dangers but I doubt she does. I just can't in good conscience let someone like that back out where it's so dangerous.” It took everything in Mike not to laugh. No one in that town had any idea that two of the deadliest threats were already currently within their walls. “Please, do everything you can to keep her safe. Whatever it takes to convince her to stay for now. At least until we can guarantee the other day was just an isolated incident. I just can't bear the thought of letting someone innocent back out there until we know for sure that it's truly safe again.”

That’s exactly what I’m planning to do. He nodded sincerely silently thanking the older man. “I'll do what I can. I'm sure Evan wouldn't mind.” Actually Even would probably be crazy excited to get to meet someone else. Especially if that someone was related to his older adopted brother. Heck, he could probably even convince Evan to make sure she stuck around. And Vanessa sticking around meant he could also easily keep an eye on her without worrying they could get to her. 

After all, they hadn’t been able to get to him, right?

Charlie watched Mike trail after her dad before turning back to the young blonde woman. She was young, probably close to her age. She couldn’t tell if she and Mike shared any physical traits but they had seemed familiar with each other so this wasn’t just some random girl he had run into. True, they had never really discussed his family. Just accepted that he had been the sole survivor of the attack that killed his family. It wasn’t that weird for him to have extended family elsewhere. 

Vanessa, was that her name? tilted her head curiously as she looked back at her. There was no trace of malice or negativity in her expression or her eyes, just curiosity. “Yes?”

Charlie bit the inside of her cheek, “I'm sorry, I just- Mike never told me he had any relatives. I'm just surprised, that's all.”

“Oh, I see.” The other woman looked away quietly, “Yeah, he probably doesn't like talking about his family much in general.” So she must have known what had happened to him. 

“I can understand. Bad memories and it seems like it was pretty traumatic. What happened and all.”

The blonde nodded slowly, “Yeah, I would guess so. I mean he never told me what actually happened but I'm sure it was pretty bad.” Well that took away the idea to find out more from her. She didn’t even know what she was hoping for. That his cousin would just spill the entire story that he kept so tight-lipped about?

“He's never told me either.” Charlie couldn’t explain it but there was something about Vanessa that she couldn’t understand. Similar to when she first met Mike. She was well-versed in meeting new people as it was part of her duty because of her dad. But with them it was something more. She wanted to get to know her, just like she had with Mike. She had lots of friends, close or not, but something about the two just really pulled at her. The cousins seemed to have a tight bond. Was that why? 

Before she could say anything else she was interrupted by her dad’s approach. Mike followed behind and had a strange look on his face. Almost….like a satisfied look. No, more than that. Triumphant? 

Vanessa smiled again at the group, “Well, it was nice to say hi and meet the rest of you but I should probably get going before it gets too late you know?” She threw up a small wave before a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Charlie looked at her dad’s action in surprise. Mike looked smug. “Actually, we'd really prefer if you'd just stay here for a while. You see there's a uh really big bad storm coming in and we just want to make sure you don't get caught in it. And it will be dark before you know it and woods are never a good idea for someone traveling alone.”

The blonde froze looking at him in surprise before turning to her cousin. He gave her a strange mischevious look as he responded in an unusual tone, “Oh, I agree. It’s far too dangerous out there. Total surprise that nothing already happened. Much better in here. You’ll see.” 

Honestly, Charlie was so inwardly thrilled at the idea she missed the entire silent exchange the cousins had with each other. She really wanted the chance to get to know as much about Mike and his previous life as she could. And if he had more family, then she wanted to know them as well. Something about the blonde pulled at her just like the first time she met the lost and scared twelve year old boy. She couldn’t explain it and didn’t know why, but she wanted them both here where she could watch it and help them. 

Vanessa finally nodded nervously, “Oh okay. Sure. I guess.”

The brunette clapped her hands in excitement, “Great! We'll introduce you to the others. Once you get all settled in, first of course. They mean well, but they can all be….well you’ll see.”

Mike grinned as he wrapped an arm around Vanessa pulling her into him and walked away from the other pair, “Yes, sounds like a great idea. We'll catch up with you tomorrow. Come on. Evan's going to love meeting you.”

Vanessa surprisingly managed to keep up the act until they were well away from any prying human eyes and ears before pulling away with a hiss “What the heck are you doing ?”

He simply grabbed her arm again, keeping her walking with him, “Keeping your cover. You're welcome, by the way. It wasn’t even my suggestion at first. Henry actually came up with it because he worries and cares so much.  And more importantly keeping you close. Because I  won’t give you the chance to hurt any of them. Not if I can help it. I don’t care about your warnings or threats. I won’t let you hurt any of them. No matter what you’re up to.” And most importantly proving a point.  

The look on his face and in his eyes was almost enough to chill her. It was so similar to those dangerous eyes she had to look into so much. One of the pairs that haunted her and crept into her mind. The ones promising violence and suffering just like her mother’s. For the first time, Vanessa finally saw William in his son and it was almost terrifying. It would have been for anyone who wasn’t Afton and experienced with it themselves.

Nice work getting in. She hissed to herself clenching her fists as she heard her uncle’s voice in her head. But like it or not, she was trapped. In more ways than one now. Whether Mike had planned this from the beginning or not, he had actually come out on top this time. And she knew he was going to be true to his word. She had tried to just slip in unnoticed so she wouldn’t have to deal with him. And it had backfired big time. It was okay though. Her stubbornness was just as strong if not more than his. And she had a lot more riding on this to lose. He’d slip up somewhere and she’d be ready. 

Those cold calculating eyes immediately brightened as he wrapped his arm around her again acting like the loveable idiot he had grown into. “Besides, you’ll see things differently here. I promise. And I wasn’t lying. Evan is going to totally trip when he meets you.”

“Evan?”

“My little brother.” He grinned widely at the concept of finally bringing his two families together. (Well the ones he still claimed anyways). 

“YOUR WHAT??”

“Yep. He’s pretty great. He’ll probably drive you crazy with excitement but that’s just him. He loves getting to know new people. And you’ll grow to love him too. And everyone else.”

She scoffed rolling her eyes, “You can live in your daydream all you want but I assure you I won’t be staying here long. So accept it.”

He shrugged. “We’ll see. After a few days, who knows what will happen. Everything could totally change. Or your plan, whatever it is could be successful and everything comes crashing down. All we know right now is I’m definitely keeping an eye on you and will stop you once I can.” He added the part so quietly she didn’t even hear him. “And most importantly, you’ll be safe.”

There was however one set of eyes watching from the shadows, narrowed and glowing in anger. Gregory growled deeply baring his fangs. “What is Mike doing with my sister ?”

Chapter Text

“William.”

He slowly turned to face the woman. Mimic stood quietly behind her. 

“We need to discuss this.”

“About what, Eleanor? I recall you telling me you had this under control.”

“Of course I do. There’s never been a doubt of that. But we have other factors we didn’t consider that are now very much in the path.”

“It isn’t my fault if you can’t manage to handle one weak little child. A child that we went to great measures to ensure was a broken caged creature. So that we didn’t have a repeat of the previous…problem.” The towering rabbit glared down at the agony witch. “A task I believed I placed in your willing hands.”

Eleanor growled baring her fangs, glaring at him, “Do not question my abilities. I am far more than capable of what you think. Remember, you wouldn’t even be here were it not for us and my ‘talents’. You’d be nothing but a shriveled corpse laying at the feet of your own-”

“ENOUGH.” 

The two rabbits turned towards the tiger who had stood quietly in the darkness. His eyes glowed brightly in the dark room. They were no longer dealing with the Mimic, but the dark entity that resided within him. A darkness older than time itself. They immediately backed away from each other, turning to face the other figure and bowing quickly in submission.

Eleanor was the first to speak, “Malhare, I-”

“Silence from both of you . This bickering is bothersome.” The large tiger crossed across the floor pass them to stare out the window of their prison. “ This childishness is reserved for the mere children under your thumbs. Children that you should by now have strengthened an iron hold on, collared to our cause. You may have let one slip away, but that was the birth of your approach was it not? Need I remind you how our original defeat was at the hands of mere pathetic children beneath us? Of course not, neither of you are fools. Otherwise we never would have gotten this far and I never would have placed my gifts in such incapable hands.”

Both villains tried not to tremble in fear at the words of their true Master. Their lord of pain and misery. Hiding behind the quiet mysterious Mimic inside the appearance of a white tiger. “It’s true that time is important, but not nearly as much as quality. We must be assured that everything is fully under control. That godforsaken boy still does not realize he’s not truly untouchable. Running away like the coward he is. However, remember even he is still needed. As are the others. In order to be successful the pieces must all line up and fall into place perfectly. If even one is out of place then everything will only come crashing down, and I highly doubt either of you have it in you to fully start all over again, do you?”

He finally turned back to face them and they quickly shook their heads speaking in unison, “No, Malhare.”

He nodded sagely, “As I thought. It’s true that those other creatures are simply extra pieces that have attached themselves. And they do indeed need to eventually be cut loose, however even now they can serve a purpose. Mindless and foolish as they all are. My dearest, Eleanor, you have indeed done your duties magnificently as I expected, but you can’t be so quick and eager. Impatience doesn’t suit you. It’s true that Michael did manage to run, but don’t think for one moment that he has truly cut those strings. We have all merely allowed him to think that. The girl knows she never can. You have done well to instill that within her. Despite how much she hungers for her freedom as he did, Vanessa knows who holds her leash and allows it. She has already gone above proving her loyalty.

I see your concern for the others, but remember they were just added extras, unplanned but useful. If you truly believe they may be a hindrance then perhaps it is time for them to move on, by their own decision. Alienation is a powerful tool after all. You’ve created a world based entirely on illusions and lies modified by what we need. It’s just time for them to see they no longer belong in that world.”

William straightened up and tilted his head in thought, “By pushing them away or leaving on their own?”

She grinned evilly, “Why not both?”

“Indeed. Perhaps it is time to use the young boy. He has been left in the shadows for far too long. It’s time to find a purpose for him as well.”

“But, he was never intended to be involved anyways. Just an addition that was never planned for.”

“Then see it as nothing more than a gift, Eleanor. Use him as what they all are: mere tools for our ascension. Besides, if there is anyone who may end up bringing trouble, it would likely be him. Send him on another path of his own.”

The mangled rabbit nodded thoughtfully, “Perhaps it is time to involve him. He’s been here long enough.”

“Give the fox what he truly wants. It’s within the nature of all creatures to obtain what they desire most no matter the sacrifice. Allow him to focus on something else.”

“And Liz? Should we still call her as well?”

“Leave her for now. We will call her in if needed. For now, we will carry on as planned. I can rest assured you are still quite capable in your responsibilities?”

Eleanor’s fangs glinted and her ears twisted, “Indeed. You may be the dark master, but we are still the king and queen of manipulation. Those foolish children may have no idea, and never will of who they truly are, except what we’ve created them to be. Thinking they have any free will or power.”

William glanced over at the stack of small plush animals that laid on the counter: a white rabbit, an orange fox, a black rabbit, a red fox, and a yellow bear. He turned back to the other two with his own dark fanged smirk, “And, until we finally release them, they never shall. Not until we finally succeed and get what we want. And, even then, only maybe….”

Marionette

“I made you, built, split and painted

Every little ounce of my love un-wasted

Babe hush now

Let's face it

You and I both know that this was ill-fated

Don't think too much or you'll end up like them

Like the others in the webs, at the cellar door stairs

So take a second and take a breath slow

'Cause before you know, we go on with the show

Now dance for me

Can't you see?

Everybody's waiting for your eulogy

Rip stop, tip top, rigor mortis bone drop

Swaying like a corpse in my endless sea

I chose you - yes you, out of all of thе others

And this time it's differеnt...

I know this time I've got a

New plan, new way now to make you stay

Pull the strings, take a bow, drop the curtains please"

“Dance for me, dance for me like a puppet, my dear

Cut the strings, cut the strings and you'll disappear

Every twitch

Every breath

Every move that you make

I'll decide, I'll decide, when to break those bonds

'Cause you belong to me, control you in my hands

Manipulate you with my symphonies”

“Strings tied tight as you fight back

Think you might break free?

Think you might take up the slack?

But that's crazy

Every step you take, every move you make

Every little breath you're drawing in and letting out? That's me

Lips loose

I pull the threads, you follow

Your thoughts are hollow, your time is borrowed

And you don't even realize that my hand guides you

Pulling all the tides in, tides out

SHH.... don't cry, don't shout

That's it - breathe in, breathe out

Don't sigh, don't pout

You know that you can run, but there's nowhere left to hide

I'm gonna twist your arms and I'll bend your knees

I'll make you beg, and I'll make you plead

You think you're free, but you forget

That you're my marionette!”

“Dance for me, dance for me like a puppet, my dear

Cut the strings, cut the strings and you'll disappear

Every twitch

Every breath

Every move that you make

I'll decide, I'll decide, when to break-

Dance for me, dance for me like a puppet, my dear

Cut the strings, cut the strings and you'll disappear

Every twitch

Every breath

Every move that you make

I'll decide, I'll decide, when to break those bonds

'Cause you belong to me, control you in my hands

Manipulate you with my symphonies”

Gregory stretched and looked around the room. A dark room he didn’t recognize. “What the hell?” He jumped up out of a bed he definitely hadn’t been in earlier. Something was wrong about all of it. There was a haziness surrounding him, in dark silence. “Dream world sequence. Cool. Guess I just, what, follow it around to wherever it leads?” He reached up to scratch one of his black striped ears and found nothing but air.

“What the heck?” He quickly patted his head with both hands but nothing was there but his hair. “Definitely weird dream logic then.” He shook his head then turned around to survey his surroundings. The bed he had been laying in (or at least he thought he had) was nowhere to be seen; just a long halfway dimly lit with lighted torches on the walls. Nope, definitely didn’t know this place. 

And yet, something about it pulled to him. Also like a sense of familiarity…. Before he could dwell on that, he heard a soft voice and spun around, “Hey, who’s there?! Trust me, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.” Nothing but silence greeted him. 

That, and a now open door. 

“Well, I guess I know where to go then…”

Saying that Evan would be excited to meet her was a severe understatement. Apparently, in the time it had taken them to get back to Mike’s current home, the two she had met outside had already stopped by to inform them of her arrival into town. The moment they had walked in the door, the kid had practically shoved his ‘brother’ to the side to get to her. 

“Vanessa!” He gripped her into a tight hug. She stared down at the brunette boy in confusion. This was definitely something she wasn’t used to. She looked over at Mike, who gave a sheepish shrug not at all trying to help.

“Do I…know you?” She gave him a curious look.

Evan pulled back with the biggest smile and for just a moment she was hit with a pang. Instead of Mike’s super eager little (FAKE) brother, she saw an entirely different little boy in his face. Her own brother. The resemblance was almost too much until he finally spoke. 

“Nope. Well not yet. But I guess, yeah now you do. I’m Evan. Mike’s little brother. Adopted, but still counts. And since you’re his cousin, that makes you my cousin also! Adopted, but still also counts!”

“Uh huh….” For once the cruel villiainess was hit with silence. She didn’t have any idea how to respond to this, any of it. Any touch that wasn’t only gentle but a hard sense of…affection? Was that even a thing? The boy wrapped back around her pulling her down and she shot a look over at Mike.

He was hunched over trying not to laugh. When he met her eyes though his flashed dangerously in warning. Sending a very clear message that he would waste no time to protect this lowly weak human he seemed to have claimed as his own. One thing she was actually familiar with, the overprotectiveness that radiated from Michael Afton. 

The one time he was brave and fearless was when he was protecting those he cared about. He wasn’t scared to bare his fangs and rip out throats if he had to for someone else. She felt a brief pang of jealousy from the human still wrapped around her. That protectiveness that had once been reserved for her had been granted to a pathetic lowly human. 

But, he didn’t deserve any of her jealousy for him. He was the one who had left and taken everything with him. Mike was the reason she was in this mess. This brat could have all of his attention and protection. She didn’t want anything to do with any of it. 

Evan finally released her, completely oblivious to the mental showdown that had occurred in front of him. 

“Anyways, I’m so glad to meet you finally. Even if I didn’t even know you exist, but that’s okay. Mike can keep his secrets all he wants.” If only that stupid child knew exactly what those secrets were….

Mike finally cleared his throat, walking over and gently taking her hand to pull her away, “Okay, Ev. Vanessa’s kind of had a long day. And I know she’s just as excited to meet you, but maybe we could tone it down for right now, alright? Besides.” He grinned widely and she could almost see his fangs, “She’ll be here for a while. No worries. Plenty of time to get to know her.”

The younger boy nodded, “Okay. I bet you probably are tired. And I know that everyone else is going to be excited to meet you also.”

She blinked in confusion, “Everyone else?”

“Yep! By now I’m sure Henry and Charlie have probably already told everyone about you being here. Word travels fast, and uh, due to certain circumstances in the area we don’t get many guests out here. So, believe it or you, you’re kind of a big deal already.”

Great. So much for her plan of laying low and sneaking around. Damnit, Michael. That sly fox was playing a dangerous game interfering with her plans. 

The kid gave her one more big bear hug that easily rival the actual bear Cassidy (if she ever actually chose to give hugs that is) and smiled warmly, pulling away with a warm smile. (Something else she wasn’t used to.) “Bye, Nessie! I’ll see you in the morning. I’m glad you came. We’re all gonna have so much fun!”

“Good night, Ev.” Mike waved as his brother disappeared down down the hall and shook his head with a slight chuckle, “Sorry, tried to warn you. He can be a lot. But he really does mean well.” He turned back to the blonde who looked lost.

“...Nessie?” She practically squeaked out and he simply shook his head and laughed again. 

Hey, Nessa. You think there’s something familiar about him?

What do you mean, Glitch?

I swear we’ve seen him before. 

Have we? Probably just one of those annoying kids in the school.

Maybe. But I feel like there’s something else really familiar about him. Oh, I know! He’s that kid that Cassidy always talking about. That won’t leave her alone.

She finally turned to Mike, “Your ‘brother’ is Cassidy’s stalker?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t really call him that…but yeah, I think he uh does have history with her.”

“History?! He won’t leave her alone! He shows up everyone all the time bothering her. No matter how many times she tells him to go away?” Her eyes flashed protectively over one of her own. Even if the gold bear didn’t need it.

His flashed back with the same intensity, “Then maybe she shouldn’t have messed with him in the first place and she wouldn’t have that problem.”

She growled and both sized each other up fangs slowly appearing for each. 

Evan knocked on the door from the other side, “Everything okay?”

Both immediately recoiled back, “Yes!”

Mike cleared his throat, “Sorry, uh got a little distracted. Don’t worry we’re all going to bed.”

He sleepily yawned as he headed back down, “Okay. Night, Mikey. Night, Nessie.”

The older boy sighed, “We really don’t have time for this. And…it…it’s got to stop.”

“You’re the one that started it all. AGAIN!”

“Yeah, yeah, I got that. But just chill for a minute. I know you don’t want to be here. And I don’t want you out there hurting anyone. And the moment you try anything, everything is up for both of us. So, for right now, you’re stuck here. Whether you like it or not. We both just need to deal. Can I at least trust you enough to not run out and kill everyone to stay in a room by yourself.”

She narrowed her eyes as she followed him, “No promises.”

He opened the door for her to go into the empty bedroom. “Close enough.” And as he shut the door, both knew neither would be getting any sleep that night.

Henry sat quietly in thought staring at the faintly glowing item on the table in front of him. His own secrets were running thin and he knew it was only a matter of time before they all came unraveled. All the players trapped unknowingly in the webs around them. He could only hope it was enough time to come up with a breakthrough move. It had been foolish to hope to keep everything as it was, even as it still wasn’t right. 

Charlie slept soundly in her room down the hall, blissfully unaware of the turmoil within. How close the evil that had taken her mother and brother was moving. That had destroyed everything once before and was preparing to again. Mike was safe, settled away in his house with his brother and cousin; for now. Everyone else in the area; none of them with any idea of what was to come. As it had once before. He’d noticed the stirrings, the signs he couldn’t ignore, and yet he had still tried to. To pretend that things were as they seemed. 

Everything he had done to protect his family and still never enough. Would never be enough. Was never enough. He’d always been aware of that risk; a foolish attempt on his own part. Hopeless wishing and thinking. Hoping for a different outcome. 

He sighed leaning closer to the pulsing crystal. “Oh, William, what you have done….”

“Okay, this is getting just stupid now.” Gregory groaned in annoyance. He’d felt like he had walked for hours following through the open doors and still found nothing. He just wanted to give up. But giving up was pretty pointless since it seemed he also couldn’t wake up from this strange labyrinth.

“ Gregory…”

His mouth snapped shut and his head shot back, “Hello?”

“Greggy, come on!” A child’s giggling voice came from the next open door he found.

“HEY!’ He yelled as he raced in and the door closed. Instead of a dark room he found himself in a furnished room of sorts. Everything seemed hazy and still covered by this strange substance so he couldn’t make out anything specific but he was hit again with that sense of familiarity. Where was he?

“There you are!” 

He spun around to face the direction of the voice and found a pair of eyes peeking out over a small door. Childlike bright emerald eyes sparkled with glee, “Greggy. Been waiting for you.”

“Um, hi?” Maybe it was an enchantment or something else but he felt himself drawn to those eyes. Eyes that he felt he knew. “Who are you?” She giggled again and suddenly the entire world brightened around him. Guess the dream was over.

Except those eyes were still there. And now he could see more. A young girl who definitely couldn’t be any older than him. Maybe even younger. She was hiding behind a small door that was barely big enough for him to fit through. He hadn’t been around any young kids and yet something about her pulled at him, as though trying to pull something out of him. Her gold locks framed her face and the smile on her face (well the edges of it he could see that wasn’t hidden by the door) seemed genuine. An excited innocence. “Who are you?”

Slowly those green eyes started to change shade until it was a pair of blue eyes and a much smaller child, no longer hidden by a door.

“Hi, I’m Cassie!”

Chapter Text

"Hi, I'm Cassie."

The girl in front of him smiled widely. 

Gregory promptly tumbled right off the bench he had been laying on. "AHH! What the hell?! You can't just go around scaring people like that."

"Sorry." Her creepy expression didn't change as she spoke.

"Who are you? What are you even doing here?"

"I'm Cassie."

"Well, yeah I got that. But why are you out here? And alone?"

The younger girl looked around in confusion. "But I always am. Should I not be?"

He stared at her flabbergasted. From the moment they could walk, everyone was informed of the terrors that lay outside the gates and never to be alone."Of course you shouldn't! Don't you have any idea of how dangerous it is out here? Especially for a weak kid like you?"

She shrugged, undeterred. "I'm not scared. Besides, I came to find you!"

"Me? Why?"

"Because you're like me!"

Uhh, yeah he didn't see anything remotely familiar or similar about her. Great, the crazy creepy kid was also delusional. "Yeah, sorry kid, but I really don't think so-"

"Yes you are. Look!" She pulled her purple beanie off and long thick curls tumbled down cascading over her shoulders. And, at the top of her head, two furry pointed lilac-colored ears popped out on each side. 

He almost fell backwards in shock. No way. He thought they knew all of them. Especially as Villians. They needed to know where their ‘servants’ were at all times. But no one had ever mentioned a wolf pup. Foxes, sure. But no wolves that he was aware of.

"You...you're a hybrid!"

She nodded eagerly, causing her ears to shake, "Just like you."

"Yeah yeah you're right about that. Does anyone else know about you? I've seen you running around the town and they um....they don't really like hybrids." As he spoke he realized that he was actually genuinely concerned. 

About this random kid that he’d never met before. 

A hybrid. Just a random hybrid.

….a random hybrid who was out running around by herself in a world that wasn't exactly fans. None of them must have had any idea of what she was or they wouldn’t have been letting her run around so freely. 

She shook her head sadly, "No one else knows. Mama Roxy tells me I have to keep my hat on all the time and I can't even tell anyone I'm one."

Okay, so he had no idea who Roxy was either, but he could definitely understand that. Little kid or not the humans wouldn’t play nice with any hybrids they came across. Yet, somehow in all this time, this kid had been running freely in a far too dangerous situation that no one had discovered. How? Was someone actually knowingly protecting a hybrid? 

He could worry about that later. Right now he had to figure out how to help Vanessa. She was acting way too off, even for her. Which meant she was either hiding something. Or up to something.

Or, most likely, both. And that annoying Mike suddenly getting involved couldn’t be anything good either. 

But first he needed to get rid of the kid. 

"That's pretty sound advice. So, why tell me if you're not supposed to tell anyone?"

She giggled, "It's okay with you. Because you're like me." She let out an excited gasp, "Maybe you're my brother!"

"Uh no. Sorry but I'm pretty sure I'm not-"

The little girl squealed in excitement, tightly hugging him. "I knew I had a brother somewhere!"

"But I'm not your-"

She smiled snuggling with him, "I'm so happy to find you, brother. And now I'll never ever leave you again."

Welp, so much for dropping the kid. Looks like she wasn't planning to go anywhere. He groaned in defeat. He didn’t have time to focus on this anymore. He could worry about dealing with her later. With luck maybe he’d find a way to leave her somewhere (safe) on the way. "Fine then. Come on I guess."

She giggled in excitement eagerly chasing after him, after slipping her hat back on, “Where are we going?”

“To go find the others and tell them my sister's been kidnapped.”

He had to cover his sensitive ears when she squealed in delight, “We have a SISTER also?! That's even better!”

Jeremy and Cassidy (and Vanessa if she was in her right mind) are gonna flip out. Hopefully he could ditch her before then. 

The blonde girl flicked her thick curls back as she admired herself in the mirror again. Batting her eyelashes in an attempt to appear so young and innocent.

“What are you waiting for some kind of magic spell to change the way you look?” 

With an annoyed growl, she lowered the mirror to spin around and glare at the dark-haired boy. “No one asked for your opinion, Andrew. You’re lucky to even be invited here at all.”

He simply laughed and shook his head, “Alright, Susie, if that’s what you believe. That set on trying to make yourself seem like someone that important?” He ran his hand through his hair as he leaned back against the wall grinning as she turned almost as pink as her ridiculous flowy ball gown she sported. 

“You better watch yourself. After all it’s only a matter of time before my daddy finally does take over. And when he does, I just might have to be more particular about who I allow in my presence.” She set the mirror down on the wall next to her as the other girls tittered. Shooting him another glare she stepped behind the wall hidden from the rest of the group as she slowly started to slip the dress out with two of the girls helping. “And then it will require a lot more in order to fill one of those slots. Maybe even extra work.”

Andrew snorted, “Oh, no, a horribly difficult challenging competition in order to be in Princess Susie’s favor?” He mock grabbed his chest in horror and stumbled forward gasping. “Oh, please no, Ms. Burrows. Please forgive my transgressions and don’t exile me out into the abyss forced to leave your blessed kingdom. Whatever would I do?!”

Her glare intensified as she came back out, flanked by the girls still trying to straighten her slightly more plain dress she now wore and touch up her hair. “Very funny. You sure do know how to make yourself seem so ultra important.”

He grinned, “That’s because I am.”

“Really? Cuz I still have yet to see you actually prove it. Oh, I’m sorry, I guess you’ve been too busy running away like a coward.”

His eyes narrowed, “Try again. We’ve been biding our time. See what we can learn about them and when they least expect it, BAM. Right, guys?” Ellis nodded with his mouth full and Tony just shrugged. “In fact, that’s exactly what the others are doing right now. Spying and seeing what they can learn.”

She scoffed, rolling her blue eyes, “Spying? Really? No one can leave the gates right now so how exactly does that work? What, you expecting them to come sneak around and catch them in the act? Sure, sure if that’s what you believe. Keep up the great work. What would we do without you?” She flipped her hair back and crossed her arms. “Don’t forget we’re practically adults. It will be us taking over soon anyways. The old people can only last so long.”

“Taking over? Taking over what exactly? Your dad may be a member of the board but it’s not like he’s actually anyone important. Therefore that makes you also basically…. nobody . In case you seem to have forgotten again, Mr Emily is the one in charge. Not him. Which means, I’m pretty sure that makes you also no one. Just a random board member’s kid. Not exactly princess material now is it?”

“I’ll have you know that’s only a matter of time! It’s pretty obvious that Mr. Emily definitely isn’t up for the job. He keeps failing time after time. And soon, he’ll just be run out of town. With Charlie . And you can’t tell me you have a problem with that. She’s just as weird as he is. They just think they’re so important and in charge.”

“Because they are in charge? Mr. Emily is literally-”

“That doesn’t matter! Not for much longer. Right now the rest of the board are all getting upset and worried that he can’t protect them. If my daddy was in charge, like he should be, then we wouldn’t have any of these problems. And anyone with eyes can see that. So yes, Andrew , it is only a matter of time before the Emilys are out and Daddy takes over. And then, not if but when when, I will basically be the princess around here. And no one, no one is going to get in my way. Especially not Charlie of all people.”

He snorted shaking his head, “I’m sure Mike would be thrilled to hear about you running off his girlfriend.”

“I’m not the one running anyone off, they’re going to do it to themselves. Those creatures have already gotten in once, and what did Henry do? Nothing ! That’s right. I guarantee you the board has already been considering how to handle them. Charlie and Henry just sat back and watched it happen. The people want someone who will actually do things. Who will go face those rotten hybrids and show them just how pointless they are. When Daddy is finally in charge, we won’t have to worry about them anymore. We’ll make them realize how beneath us they are. Until they’re begging us for forgiveness and mercy. Not only that. For far too long, Henry has kept us locked away from the rest of the world. He tries to keep us so primitive when there’s a whole world out there that we don’t get to indulge in.” She took a sip of her glass before handing it to one of the girls who quickly took off with it to go refill. “All those wonderful glamorous things that he’s tried to keep us from. With his delusions that living simply and safely is the way to be. But it’s not! Think of all the things my daddy has been able to import that I’ve never heard any of you complain about. Right, Ellis?”

Ellis immediately froze and lowered the cookie he had been eating, “Um…”

She giggled, “It was a rhetorical question, idiot . But just remember, that if the Emilys had their way none of you would be able to experience any of it. None of the fine clothes, or food. Or our private water spot down on the bank. When we manage to kick him out, Daddy plans to open up a trade program where all of this came be available anytime. All this and more,”

Ellis’s eyes twinkled in awe, “All this?”

She grinned widely, “And more. ”

His eyes widened and he dropped the cookie as he stared ahead, “And more….”

Andrew nudged him and he shrugged apologetically looking at the other two. 

“Okay, okay, we get it. Mr. Burrows takes over and he and the wonderful Princess Susie make the world a much better place and bring in all the great gifts. Nice little fantasy you have there. Great way to make sure you win the popularity contest.”

She grinned wickedly, “And no one and nothing is getting in my way.”

Tony cleared his throat then shrunk away when she glared at him, “I mean you know we’re all in full support of you and all. As well as the others, but what about….anyone else?”

“You mean specifically Henry, Charlie, and Mike? Ha, who’s worried about them? What exactly are they going to do? It doesn’t matter. Besides, when it comes to me and Charlie, we all know who everyone is going to pick. Everyone knows who can give them the finer things after all….”

Fabulous

“ Its out with the old and in with the new,

Goodbye clouds of Gray, hello skies of blue

A dip in the pool, a trip to the spa

Endless days in my chaise

The whole world according to moi

"Excuse Me, Thank You"

Iced tea imported from England,

Lifeguards imported from Spain,

Towels imported from Turkey,

Turkey imported from Maine,

We're gonna relax and renew,

You, go, do!

I want fabulous,

That is my simple request,

All things fabulous,

Bigger and better and best,

I need something inspiring to help me get along,

I need a little fabulous is that so wrong?

Fetch me my jimmy choo flip flops,

Where is my pink prada tote?

I need my tiffany hair band,

And then I can go for a float.

A summer like never before

I want more!

She wants fabulous,

That is her simple request,

All things fabulous,

Bigger and better and best,

She needs something inspiring to help her get along,

She needs a little fabulous is that so wrong?

Fabulous pool, (yo) fabulous splash,

Fabulous parties even fabulous trash,

Fabulous fashion, (no) fabulous bling,

She's got to have fabulous everything.

Nothing to Discuss

Everything's got to be perfect for me

She wants fabulous,

That is her simple request,

All things fabulous,

Bigger and better and best,

She needs something inspiring to help her get along,

She needs a little fabulous is that so wrong?

This won't do, that's a bore,

That's insulting, I need more!

I need, I need,

I need, I need,

I need, I need

I need fabulous (I want fabulous)

Fabulous hair, fabulous style,

Fabulous eyes and that fabulous smile.

Oh, I like what I see,

I like it a lot

Is this absolutely fabulous?

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous?

Absolutely... not! ”

Right as she finished singing, Susie Burrows spun around to see the group approaching them. Mike, Charlie, and… instead of that pathetic little annoying loser Evan, there was a pretty blond girl that she had never seen before trailing behind them. Immediately all the boys straightened up and she resisted the urge to punch that stupid look off Andrew’s race as he quickly rushed to stand by her and greet them.

“Mikey! Char! And who’s this?” He grinned widely looking at the newcomer. The blonde girl looked around her in confusion, hesitation, and maybe something else. Her green eyes looked uncomfortable and Susie couldn’t decide which of them looked more out of place.

Charlie smiled widely, jumping in front, “This is Vanessa, Mike’s cousin. She-”

Susie and the boys didn’t even try to hide their shock as they responded in unison, “ Cousin?!” The blonde girl flinched quickly looking down.

The brunette laughed lightly, “Yeah, I know. Dad and I were pretty surprised as well. Anyways due to um, certain things outside the walls. Like bad incoming storms , she’s going to be staying with us for a while. So I thought we should definitely introduce her to everyone.”

Susie looked between the two girls. Charlie was already a problem she had to deal with. And now Mike just happens to have a mysterious cousin that shows up? A girl cousin. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she heard the boys practically tripping on themselves to introduce themselves to her. 

Andrew grinned that stupid look as he mock bowed, “Hi, I’m Andrew. And this is Ellis and Tony. And Susie.”

The new blonde looked at him curiously and then back at Mike. The two cousins stared at each for a few seconds before she finally turned back and smiled warmly, “Hi, I’m Vanessa.” She tilted her head and Susie really thought Andrew was going to flip out in excitement at getting any ounce of attention.

Tony nodded, “Hi.” while Ellis just gave a small wave. Susie wanted nothing more than to stomp her foot and remind them of who she was but she knew it was pointless.

Here was a new stranger in a place that never got visitors. The entire place was going to be breaking their necks to get to know the outsider. With her being Mike’s cousin, likely Charlie already had her claws in her. But as she watched, she noticed the two girls stood away from each other. Vanessa even seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable being around the two. 

Hmm, maybe Susie could use this. Besides, it would be nice to have more girls around besides just Charlie. She quickly shoved Andrew out of the way and gave that big wide beauty queen smile she would plaster across her face and giggled childishly, “Ignore those idiots. They just don’t know how to act around any girl. I’m Susie and I just can’t tell you how excited we are to have you here! Allow me to speak for everyone and officially welcome you, Ms. Vanessa.”

“It’s um…just Vanessa, please.”

“Well, of course. No need for us to be so formal after all. Leave that to the boring adults and such. Anyways, if there’s anything, and I mean anything you need just feel free to ask. I know how to get things. Things that you could only dream of. Here, I’ll show you. How about a batch of the finest, most filtered juice?” She nodded and one of the servant girls quickly darted back into the building.

“Um, what?”

Susie quickly stepped closer to her, moving in between her and Charlie (and maybe shoved the latter back just a bit, totally by accident of course), “Oh trust me on this. You’re gonna love it. It’s like nothing you’ve ever had before. I promise.”

The girl quickly came running back carrying a clear glass filled with a deep red liquid. Andrew quickly snatched it away and strode over the girls, “Allow me.” He held it out and the newcomer slowly took it holding it up to inspect it. 

Mike scoffed, reminding everyone that he was still there as well. “Careful. She has a boyfriend, ”

Vanessa froze holding the glass before her eyes darted off in thought. She immediately brought it to her face, “We broke up. A long time ago.” She quickly took a drink and eyes widened in surprise. She pulled it from her lips and nodded at Susie, “That….was pretty good. Thank you.”

Susie giggled, clapping her hands together, “I told you. That’s just the beginning. What else til you see what I have. To share of course.” She spun away from her in excitement. It wouldn’t be hard at all to win her favor after all. “You should definitely come with us all when we go out in a few days. We have our own private spot on the shore and you’ll just love it I know. Plus we’ll make sure to bring everyone else so you can meet all the others as well. This is going to be so much fun!”

Of course, everyone else was so intrigued listening to the curly-haired girl drone on that they completely missed the glare shared by the two cousins directed at each other.