As I always say, sincere thanks to anyone who reviewed. I'm glad many of you seemingly enjoyed the opening chapter, and I hope this one doesn't disappoint.

Chapter Two -
It Was Nice Knowing You

The strong, afternoon sun was beating heavily down on a small, friendly Portuguese village, going by the name Bondade. Groups of people were conversing contentedly on the street, and families were making the most of the daylight in their backyards, either hosting small barbeques or playing in their small paddle pools.

However, even though the town was very beautiful and the people were nice and kind, Gru and Lucy couldn't have been more miserable. Not just by the horrible jet lag that was left behind by the tedious seven-hour flight, but also because of the possibility that they may never return home, where their three beloved children were fearfully waiting.

They sat inside their designated AVL coach, staring out of the window at the quaint corner-shops and small town-houses. Even though the atmosphere around the village was one of friendliness and optimism, there did seem to be an air of fear hidden below, evident by the clear fake expressions of joy placed on the resident's faces.

Once the couple had spied the many, many different missing person posters that were littering the walls, the reason why quickly became clear…

Eventually, the coach pulled up into a very small and dirty parking lot, one that was situated right outside of an equally small hotel. However, it didn't look like any other standard hotel. It was one made mostly out of titanium and marble, making the whole place both shiny and secure. Stood outside of the building, were dozens of large and intimidating henchmen, each one donning muscles the size of large rocks. The bold 'AVL' letters were printed on a sign above the entrance, proving who owned this strange building.

"Woah." Lucy mumbled, that word being the first to leave her mouth for almost an hour. "I didn't realize the AVL owned hotels."

"Can yoo even call dis a hotel?" Gru questioned, who accidentally made eye-contact with one of the brutish guards at the front doors. He immediately looked down at his feet after doing so to avoid a confrontation, since he figured these guys were on strict orders when it came to anyone acting suspicious. "Dis place feels more like a prison…"

After a very small wait, a short man with combed black hair and dark glasses stepped onto the coach, a strong smell of deodorant accompanying him. He offered the couple a welcoming smile, but since way too much fear was lodged inside their heads, Gru and Lucy failed to reciprocate, and only responded with a blank stare.

"You must be the Gru's." He spoke happily, extending his hand out for a handshake, which the two solemnly met. "My name's Zach. I'm the American representative for the AVL branch over here in Portugal. I hope you had a good flight over."

"Does eet look like we had a good flight?" Gru responded sharply, maybe a little too sharply considering the man's innocent, outgoing attitude. Zach dropped his head and shrugged, immediately seeming more sorrowful.

"Yes, well, apologies for that. But, though this may be frustrating for you both, it's all for a good cause. The people around here have been terrified as of late, and the quicker this cult is dealt with the better."

"What exactly have they been doing?" Lucy inquired.

"Jeez, where do I even start?" Zach replied, rolling his eyes a little. "Residents have been kidnapped, innocent people have been murdered, families have been torn apart. And that's only the beginning. If you'd follow me, we can go inside and discuss this horrible situation further."

Gru and Lucy shared yet another fearful glance, which must've been the tenth one they'd shared that day, and stood up out of their coach seats. They stepped down from the vehicle and followed Zach through the dusty parking lot, ignoring the fearful looks they received from multiple residents around them.

"So, has eet really been dat bad?" Gru asked.

"Unfortunately." Zach replied, somberly nodding. "I've never seen such an awful situation in my entire life, and I've been on the field for almost twenty years. You guys really are brave for agreeing to this."

The couple dropped their heads sadly in unison. Brave, or just plain stupid?

Was this even worth it? Was going through with the mission that could very well permanently separate them from their daughters a good idea? Yes, they could lose their jobs, but being fired and forced to find a 'normal' job was a lot better than never seeing the girls, Dru, Dr. Nefario, or the minions ever again.

Lost in their consuming, fear-driven thoughts, Zach dragged the couple through the huge, high-tech reception, and up a flight of stairs to their room. Their hotel room was a lot different than they'd anticipated. They were expecting a small double-bed and possibly a TV set if they were lucky, not a large room full of computers, machines, weaponry, radars, research documents, and a few pieces of standard furniture here and there.

"So, this is your room." Zach said, stating the obvious. "Every room here at the AVL hotel is full of everything you need to complete your mission. Computers, scanning devices, weapons. We've got you covered!"

"Wow." Gru replied, surprised by the sheer number of unexplained devices surrounding him. Now he knows what it must've been like for the girls, when they stepped into his huge, confusing lab for the very first time. "Dis ees…insane."

"It sure is." Zach agreed, nodding as he spun his gaze around the room. He'd seen it a million times before, but yet, he could never tire of the room's massively impressive design, nor could he tire of the guest's reactions upon seeing it. "Now, relax, take a load off, get yourself acquainted with the room. The main office downstairs will call you when they're ready to see you. They'll tell you everything you need to know about 'The Surto', and exactly what you guys need to do to stop them."

"Um…thanks." Gru muttered, his mind still a million miles away. This whole terrifying situation was becoming more and more clear in his mind as time went on, and thinking clearly was becoming more of an arduous task.

Zach, who could feel the evident tension in the air, responded with a faint nod before promptly leaving the room. He understood that they were both worried and stressed, and honestly, he didn't blame them. If anything, they weren't nearly fearful enough, considering the lethality of the mission ahead of them…

Once he disappeared out into the hallway, the couple stood dead still for a minute, simply analyzing their large and baffling surroundings. With every new turn of the head, they found another machine or item of indeterminate origin, and the pressure weighing on their shoulders grew that little bit larger.

Finally, after a few seconds, which felt like an eternity to Gru and Lucy, they turned to each other and let out a long and much-needed sigh.

"Well, I guess we should…" Lucy started, pausing to shrug slightly. "Make ourselves at home."

Delaying his response, Gru turned and inspected the many computers and devices that surrounded him yet again, and once he spotted a list of kidnapped people on a nearby monitor, he turned back to his wife and handed her a doubtful look.

"I don't theenk dat's gonna happen…"

Back over in the US, a white-donned blonde villain woke up to his cold underground bedroom in a less than fantastic mood. In fact, he woke up in a lot less than a fantastic mood. Even though that wasn't very characteristic of him, it was pretty understandable in this case.

How could he be in a good mood when his twin brother and sister-in-law were in an entirely different continent, fighting some cult that had apparently stolen the lives of many, many people? He was obviously terrified, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop imagining the horrific possibilities that stood ahead.

His brother could end up dead. His nieces could once again be orphaned. His whole life could very soon tear apart.

Though, even though his brain was completely filled up with negative thoughts, he could not let it show through his facial expression. The girls must be just as terrified as him, and if they were to see their own uncle in just as an upset state, it would only add to their already extensive fear.

Once he'd made it upstairs and walked through the kitchen doors, the intense upsetting atmosphere hit him unexpectedly hard. Sat at the table, the three sisters were resting their heads uncomfortably in their hands, staring off into the distance at something that was seemingly a million miles away. They were all abnormally quiet, with not a laugh, shout, or argument in sight, and the air was filled with a horrible eerie silence.

Suffice to say, Dru despised it.

Putting on one of the fakest smiles that he could possibly conceive, the villain bounced over to the table and practically jumped into the empty booth space, trying with all of his might to lift their spirits.

"Morneeng, gurls!" He exclaimed, scaring the living daylights out of them. "Sleep well?"

"Uhh…not really…" Margo mumbled, dropping her head once again, her sisters soon following suit. Just like her uncle, she just could not push those negative thoughts out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. That was one trait that she absolutely hated about herself, the fact that she could never stop imagining the worst possibility from every bad situation.

Dru let out a quiet, annoyed huff under his breath. He wasn't annoyed at the girls or anything, he was annoyed at himself. How could he ask such a stupid question? Of course they weren't going to sleep well. Not with last night's news on their mind.

"When are mommy and daddy getting back?" Agnes asked, looking up at Dru with the most pleading expression he'd ever seen. The sight almost tore his heart-strings apart.

"Um...I'm not sure, Agnes." Dru murmured, wishing he had an answer that would appease her. "Not too long hopefully."

All three girls sighed sadly in unison, dropping their heads that little bit lower.

"I miss them." Agnes muttered, her voice drained of any happiness.

"Yeah, me too." Edith added, her face a mix of a frown and sorrowful pout. "This sucks."

Unable to withstand the girl's dejection any longer, Dru let out a small, unhappy sigh before leaning in closer and speaking to them with an assuring tone, one of which that hid the one of desperation.

"Look, I know dat Gru and Lucy being so far away ees pretty scary…" He started, unable to hold eye-contact with any of his nieces, mostly because he just couldn't stand that hopeless look on their faces for another second. "But…everytheeng's gonna be okay. I mean, everytheeng always turns out well een de end. Remember when Balthazar put yoo guys up on dat buildeeng. Eet deedn't look like yoo were gonna be getteeng back down. But we were wrong. Yoo guys were fine, and likewise, Gru and Lucy will also be fine. Trust me, dose two will be walkeeng back through de door een any second."

Finally, he edged his head up a little, just to perceive their reactions from his small reassuring speech. Margo still looked extremely uncomfortable, which had him a little more upset, but the worry on both Edith and Agnes's face had seemed to deter slightly. This time, there seemed to be a lot more hope and optimism in their expressions, which Dru had sincerely missed the sight of.

"You're not just saying that are you?" Edith questioned, lowering her head a little. Dru let out a wide, toothy smile before responding.

"Of course not!" He exclaimed. "I am being 100% serious! I know dat dose two will be totally fine!"

"Pinky promise?" Agnes inquired, quickly extending out her pinky, her voice a little more high-pitched than usual. Dru's smile softened to a warm grin, as he too extended his pinky and wrapped it around his youngest niece's.

"I pinky promise." He assured, watching as Edith and Agnes's face lit up brightly. He didn't cast a look at Margo, since he just couldn't handle that doubtful, concerned expression that she always donned in these sorts of worrying situations. He doubted this time would be any different.

If she was still upset, then he did want to give cheering her up another go, but at the same time, he also wanted to avoid upsetting himself. His own speech had also seemingly reassured himself as well as the girls, and he didn't want that prior fear returning. Although, just thinking that very thought had his mind racing away again for a moment.

He was forced to shake it off to avoid sharing his uneasy look with the girls again...

"Now, what do we all want for breakfast?"

Looking out over the balcony, Lucy stared across the moderately sized village and the huge woodland that surrounded it, unable to ignore that hint of terror in the air. The time of day was now ticking on, what with the sun slowly starting to set and the residents retreating to their homes, and the dreaded mission that could cost her her life was edging closer and closer.

Letting out a small sad sigh, the redhead lowered her gaze to stare down at the hotel's pool. Obviously, it was completely empty, since only professional AVL agents were staying here, and they weren't particularly concerned with swimming when they all had missions to complete. One had to question why on earth a pool was even here in the first place.

A few minutes later, Gru came trudging through the glass doors to stand beside his spouse on the balcony, the couple staring out over the horizon together in silence. He wrapped his arm around her side and pulled her closer to him, the female agent electing to lull her head against his shoulder. Maybe it was the sight of the stunning sunset or the fact that they were right beside each other, but right now, they were clouded with a strange mix of emotions.

It was a combination of happiness and total terror, two feelings that didn't really work well together…

"Yoo know we're goeeng to be fine, right?" Gru spoke quietly, finally breaking the warm silence that had unwillingly built-up. "Yoo know dis cult aren't goeeng to stand a chance against us, right?"

"I know…" Lucy mumbled, subconsciously getting closer to her husband. She wasn't one for getting upset in front of people, since it was something that the AVL had trained out of you, but when she was beside Gru, she felt a lot more comfortable in letting her thoughts roam free. "But…I mean…there's always a chance that-"

"No, Lucy, do not theenk like dat." Gru interrupted gently, holding her in a slightly tighter embrace. "We gotta believe een ourselves! Eef we theenk we're goeeng to die, den we will die. Yoo know we always end up kickeeng butts. We've been trained to kick butts. Just…don't worry about eet, okay. We'll be home weeth de gurls een no time, I know we will…"

Lucy smiled a little at the mention of the girls, but found it quickly fading away at the thought of losing them. She just couldn't handle this. Usually, villains were no match for her or Gru. There was practically no chance of death when they took them on, since they were way too skilled and experienced for any bog-standard wannabe bad guy to defeat them.

But, a cult? A cult full of dozens of talented villains? A cult that are apparently out of control? A cult that had killed many, many trained AVL agents before?

You would need to have no nerves at all to not be at least a little bit frightened by that…

Just as the evening sun was about to disappear behind the horizon, an unexpected phone call from inside the room startled the two from their encompassing thoughts. Shaking his head free from a momentary daze, Gru speedily jogged inside to answer it, Lucy following on behind.

"Hello." He spoke, as he picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.

"The head-staff are ready to see you now." A man with a very strong Portuguese accent responded, skipping the pleasantries. "Please come down into the lobby and wait for further instruction."

"Oh…uh…sure theeng." Gru replied, placing the phone back down and promptly turning to his wife, who seemed a little nervous. "Looks like eet's…" He couldn't help but pause for a moment, struggling to release the final two words. "Go time…"

The AVL couple stood inside the hotel's ground-floor lobby, observing their busy surroundings with a keen eye. Many agents were darting in and out through the front entrance, each one either leaving to pursue their next target, or entering to rest up for the night.

Eventually, after a five-minute wait, which felt like an eternity to the two of them, Zach appeared from behind and tapped Gru's shoulder, startling him a little. The couple turned around and inspected the representative's wide and elated smile, of which the two could only respond with a small, apprehensive frown.

"So, are you guys ready to take this cult down once and for all?" He boomed, punching the air a little.

"Uh…you betcha!" Lucy replied, frantically attempting to replace every remnant of fear with forged determination. "We're…we're SO ready!"

"That's the spirit!" Zach exclaimed, his smile somehow growing even larger. "If you come with me, we'll head to the main office, where the head-staff are waiting to brief you on your mission. No need to worry, they're very friendly people."

"Hmph…well, dat's a change." Gru muttered, receiving an odd look from Zach in return. Obviously, he had never met Valerie before in his life, considering that he spends every working moment in Portugal away from her, hence he could never know exactly how much of a terrible person she was. Gru couldn't help but feel jealous. He sincerely wished he'd never met that nasty witch either.

Traipsing through the lobby and down a small corridor, Zach lead the married couple to an impressively high-tech door, which donned a digital sign that read 'Escritório Central'. He waved his hand across a barely visible light beam, which made a touch-screen panel emerge from the wall and demand a passcode. He inputted an indeterminable eight-digit number, right before a loud, high-pitched beep was sounded, and the high-tech door promptly opened up.

The three emerged into an averagely sized room, with a more-than-average amount of crazy-looking devices. A series of photographs of the surrounding village lined the shiny, metallic walls, and an assortment of overflowing cabinets were placed on the ground beside them. Radar systems, security cameras, and other unknown machinery were stationed at the very back of the room, each one constantly blurting out different beep sounds.

Finally, placed dead-center inside the unusual office, a long desk with three suited, olive-skinned agents stood directly in front of them. One of them was a middle-aged man with brown, combed hair, the other was a thin, black-haired young woman who donned a very toothy smile, and the other was an elderly, stocky man, who was completely bald apart from the odd strand of grey hair.

"Greetings." The woman welcomed, her voice thick with a heavy accent. "You must be the Gru's."

"Uh…that's us." Lucy replied, returning the woman's overzealous smile.

"Very nice to meet you." The elderly man spoke, his voice just as accented. He gave the couple a polite nod, which they promptly returned, before flaunting his hand in his associate's direction. "I am Mr. Afonso, this is Miss. Cotta, and at the end there, is-"

"Mr. Renaud." The final man interrupted rudely, spinning around in his seat and giving the couple a violent frown. He also had a strong accent, but unlike the other two, he didn't seem to be of Portuguese descent. If Gru and Lucy could take a guess, judging on his accent and his surname, they'd say he was probably French. "If I may be honest for a moment, you are pretty crazy to be taking on dis job Mr. and Mrs. Gru. You must have heard of all of ze murders and kidnappings, no? May I ask why you would be so stupeed to accept such a dangerous job?"

Caught off guard by the question, Gru and Lucy gave each other a confused look, before later handing it to Zach, who immediately became sheepish. It seemed that one of these head-staff members wasn't as friendly as he'd claimed…

"Um…well, we deedn't have much of a choice." Gru replied, shrugging. "Eet was either dis or lose our jobs."

"And yes, we have heard of all the murders and kidnappings," Lucy added aggressively, putting her hands on her hips. "But we ain't bothered! Things like that don't scare us."

"Pfft, very nice try, Mrs…uh…whatever your name was again," Renaud replied, leaning in closer to the two agents. "But I can see it in your eyes dat what you just said was a complete lie! I can tell dat ze two of you are very clearly terrified."

"Terrified?" Gru questioned, smirking humorously. "Of what? Some stupeed leetle cult dat keednaps a bunch of weak agents. Dose guys are no match for de two of us!"

"Ugh…zere's one thing I hate above anything else, Mr…uh…Goo, and zat's over-confidence!" Renaud retorted, shaking his head in apparent disgust. "Besides, you cannot lie to me. I know zat ze two of you are scared. I know zat ze two of you do not want to go through with this, probably because you do not want to orphan zose three little girls of yours."

At the mention of the girls, Gru growled and strutted up to the desk, looking down on Mr. Renaud's snobbish expression with an extreme frown.

"Furst of all, de name ees GRU, not Goo…" He stated darkly. "And second of all, how de hell do you know about my daughters!?"

"Ze US branch sent over all of your details, Gru, so I know every little god-damn zing about you." Renaud responded sharply, seemingly unfazed by the man's threatening demeanor. "I know about your daughters, I know about your villainy history, and I also know about your complete and utter incompetence on the field. You have been placed on probation, no? How pathetic. Truth be told, I do not zink you are qualified enough to complete zis job."

"Yoo don't theenk I'm QUALIFIED enough!?" Gru exclaimed angrily, resisting the urge to punch the belligerent idiot right that second. "Why yoo've gotta be takeeng de-"

"Mr. Gru." The elderly man interrupted, standing up from his seat. Gru stopped and turned to face the other head-staff member at speed, giving him a mixed look of ire and befuddlement. "Before you continue and say something that you might regret, I must add that Mr. Renaud's thoughts and feelings do not represent everyone here at the Portuguese AVL branch. Me and Miss. Cotta have read up on your profile, and we believe you are more than capable enough to sufficiently complete this job. Now may I politely ask for you to take a seat and calm down?"

His anger softening, Gru turned back and complied with the man's polite demands. Lucy shortly followed suit, however, not before sending Renaud her own irate frown. They sat down upon two of the seats in front of the desk and gave Mr. Alfonso and Miss. Cotta the calmest possible expression they could conceive. They elected to completely ignore Mr. Renaud this time, since chances are, he was still wearing that prior harsh scowl.

"Thank you." Miss. Cotta cooed, dipping her head a little to express her gratitude. It's very clear that taking this cult down was very, very important to her, just be the relief in her face alone. For whatever reason, Gru and Lucy decided against questioning it, fearful that they may end up treading in a sore spot. "Now, even though we have complete faith in your ability, we must stress how difficult this mission is. Our reports have confirmed that over one-hundred deaths, and also over four-hundred disappearances, have been linked to 'The Surto' in one way or another."

"Wow…" Lucy muttered, glancing at her husband, who handed her a clone of her uneasy expression. "That's…a lot of people."

"It certainly is." Mr. Alfonso added. "That's why it's imperative that the two of you are fully-concentrated throughout this entire mission. One little thing goes wrong, and it's almost certain that you'll be kidnapped, or worse, killed. But, if you stay focused and keep your guard up at all times, things will be totally fine."

"We won't let yoo down…we promise." Gru spoke, handing his wife a determined look, who sighed quietly and nodded.

"What do we need to do?" Lucy quizzed. Before responding, Miss. Cotta leaned down beneath the desk and began rummaging through a hidden pair of cabinets. Sitting up straight again, the young woman retrieved an A4 document and handed it to the couple, which displayed a well-drawn map of the nearby forest, complete with many annotations and printed pictures of the locations.

"A few miles inside the surrounding wood is 'The Surto's' abandoned village, which they're using as a discreet hideout location." She explained, pointing at the illustration of the aforementioned village. "We believe this is where the leader resides and where the hostages are being held. What we need you two to do, is to drive to the location, enter the compound, abduct the leader, and bring him back here so he can face his penalty. Once we have him locked up and away from the premises, we are safe to attack the location without having too many casualties. You see, the man is very devious and cunning, and we don't believe we will succeed in taking the place down while he's still there."

"Seriously?" Gru questioned, giving the two head-staff members a look of shock. "How cunneeng ees he den?"

"Um…well…we don't know how to explain this to you, Mr. Gru, but…" Alfonso started, seemingly racking his brain while he spoke. "He has these…ways…of just defeating us without trouble. We don't know how he does it, but every time we conduct an attack on the location, he makes every trained agent disappear without a trace in moments. It's…incredibly perplexing, to say the least."

"Uh…that sounds a lot more than just…perplexing." Lucy responded, giving Gru a look of complete despair.

Now, she didn't want to be a part of this. She usually flew into every mission with determination and excitement, ready to kick every evil butt in sight with flair and vigor. But, on this occasion, what with the information they'd just received and the fact that her daughters will now most likely be orphaned again…

…she couldn't feel an ounce of determination anywhere in her entire body.

Handing Gru the most petrified expression that she could possibly produce, she practically pleaded him to turn the mission down, grab their suitcases, head back for the airport, and get back to the comfort of their whole, happy family. But yet, even though he read her expression correctly and couldn't help but agree with that proposition, Gru nodded and gave Alfonso and Cotta a faint smile.

"Got eet." He informed promptly. "I…I presume yoo'll provide transport to de village."

"Of course. We're not going to make you walk all the way there, now are we." Alfonso replied humorously, extending his hand for a handshake, which Gru quickly met. When he spun and did the same to Lucy, the redhead could only stare at him for a few seconds, unable to control her thoughts. She knew that nothing good could come out of shaking his hand. She knew that going through with this would be the worst decision of her life. She knew that agreeing to this would confirm their deaths once-and-for-all…

But yet, after managing to ignore every threat that her mind conjured up, Lucy met the handshake and forced out a smile, trying desperately to hide the acute panic inside.

"Thank you again, Mr. and Mrs. Gru." Miss Cotta said, standing up from her seat, everyone else in the room soon following suit. "We have no doubt that you will complete this mission for us, but in any case, we wish you good luck."

Gru and Lucy responded with a very swift nod, simply because they were absolutely sick to death of talking about this awful situation, and started towards the high-tech door once again. Just as they were about to leave and enter the hallway outside, Mr. Renaud cleared his throat and spoke, gathering the couple's attention at the last moment.

"Gru's, just one last zing before you leave…" He started, smiling with a wicked grin.

"It was nice knowing you..."

Hope you enjoyed. Will return ASAP.