Guest: Responding to you here because I can't PM you. That's actually the entire reason I wanted to interpret Magenta here as I did. She is, in almost all the stage shows and fanfics I've seen, the more stable out of the two siblings. I decided I wanted to try something different and make her (for now) the one who's having the more major issues. Riff Raff is definitely going to get his, because let's be honest the guy has plenty of problems, but at this point in time it's Mag who's having more to deal with. And thanks; I rarely see hitting discussed anywhere, so when the idea of using it as one of Mag's self-destructive coping strategies came along, I couldn't resist.

Anyway, chapter seven is now up! We are now officially about halfway done with this story! And you guys, I feel like absolute RHPS trash right now; my five year old sister now knows all the lyrics to Time Warp because I've been playing it so often. What have I done.

Trigger warning for self harm, sexual assault, and violence. You guys are probably aware that this is a thing by now, but I'm still going to keep the TW.

RHPS belongs to the fabulous Richard O'Brien.


Chapter 7: New Day's Dawn

Her face had turned a shade of white that had nothing to do with the pale foundation she was using. Her eyes bulged a bit, her breathing shaky, her arms looking ready to collapse and let the baby fall to her lap. . . .

Riff Raff moved to gently take Sienna out of Magenta's grasp, and Magenta didn't protest. Once he had the softly whimpering infant in one arm, he opened her purse, and reached in to take out a small bottle of pills. Benzodiazepines; Magenta's anti-anxiety drugs. Prescribed specifically for these flashbacks.

"Do you need one?" he asked calmly, opening the bottle.

She didn't respond for a second, but then slowly her eyes turned to the pills. "I won't. . . . be able to. . . . drive if I take that. . . ." she said, struggling to inhale and exhale. One hand snapped upwards, halfway to her face, ready to hit - but then she redirected it to the steering wheel and gripped it instead.

"You're hardly in a state to drive now."

Her eye twitched a bit. "I'm breastfeeding. . . . I can't. . . ."

"I know," Riff Raff said. "But we have enough money to go back and pick up some baby formula, if we need to. What do you want to do?"

Magenta stayed quiet for a long moment before finally whispering, "I think you should drive."

So they switched places, Riff Raff stopping to put Sienna back into her car seat, before he started up the hovercraft again. Magenta seemed to have calmed down; she still refused to take a pill, but she was breathing more steadily. "I'm sorry," Riff Raff said after a pause. "I never would've brought that day up if I knew you'd get a flashback."

"I'm fine," Magenta said. "It was simply a. . . . painful experience, to say the least."

"We don't have to talk about this anymore if you don't want to."

"No," Magenta said, leaning back a bit and closing her eyes. "No, I want to. I don't think I've ever completely opened up to you about it. . . ."


Dark. The room was so fucking dark. She couldn't for the life of her find a light switch, and while normally she loved the darkness, tonight it felt like it was trying to choke her.

Choke you, just like he tried to, just like father tried to. . . .

She felt her organs swirl around inside her again, and then it was hard to breathe, the dark really was choking her, and her head felt so light. . . .

Magenta had spent the last thirteen hours going in and out of this panic. It never fully left, just like she herself couldn't leave the room. This dark ass fucking room, no goddamn windows or light, what kind of room doesn't have windows or a light?

The pantry, that's what kind. She discovered via feeling her way around that that was where she was. The door was locked from the outside, no way to leave. She was surrounded by shelves, stocked with cans and packages of food. At least I won't go hungry, she thought. Not that she wanted to eat. She knew she would just puke it back up again.

She laid down on her side, curled up against the comfortingly cold floor, and pushed one hand against her cheek. Pain shot all the way down through her neck. She'd lost track of all the times she'd hit herself today, and she knew that her face probably wasn't in the best of shape. Still, the ache was comforting.

The door unlocked. De Lordy's form filled the doorframe.

Her breathing sped up so suddenly that she almost passed out then and there. She couldn't see his face as he shut the door behind him, but she felt his hands, one grabbing her roughly by the arm and the other catching her hurting face. He yanked her up into a sitting position, and suddenly his face was right in front of hers, the smell of his rotting breath violating her nostrils.

"I'm gonna be going to school now," he said, his voice a harsh and ragged. "But I want to feel you first."

With that his mouth crushed hers, his tongue flicking his nasty saliva all over her lips. One of his hands went to her neck - Father why - and the other one roughly grabbed her breast, his nails cutting through the cloth of her shirt and into her skin. She flailed her arms, punched him in the shoulder and the sides of his head, and he grunted against her. His hand on her neck tightened, while the one on her breast started to travel lower. . . .

She began to thrash her entire body in protest, not caring if she injured her neck in the process, and De Lordy only stopped when she managed to knee him in the groin. His putrid gasp filled her airways as he let go of her neck, and he took his hands off her completely. She scrambled backwards until she was standing up, and aimed a kick at him, but he grabbed her ankle and yanked her back down.

Father, why are you doing this, don't hit me again, don't set my stuff on fire, don't call me by Mother's name, oh fuck, Riff Raff where are you, Riff Raff, big brother, please -

But Riff Raff wasn't there to save her this time.

De Lordy's fist hit her right in the nose, not hard enough to break it, but enough to have it burst like a dam with blood. "Stupid bitch," he growled.

I am, I know I'm a stupid bitch, I tell myself that every fucking day, I don't need you to tell me that Father -

De Lordy got up. She was briefly glad that he couldn't see his face in the dark, but then wished she could, because this shadow of a man leering over her was Father now. She could see Father's green eyes, almost identical to her own, glowing deadly and poisonous. . . .

"I'll be back after school, slut." Was it Father speaking, or De Lordy? She couldn't tell. "And when I come back, little rose, you won't be able to walk when I'm done with you."

He locked the door behind him, and she was stuck in that dark room alone again.


Riff Raff was concerned when Magenta didn't come home that day, but not as concerned as he was frustrated, angry, and hurt. And of all people, she had to go to De Lordy, and he knew, he just fucking knew she'd done it to spite him.

Pearl had been hearing about this endlessly as she drove him back to his house. He wasn't even sure anymore if she was listening, but his tirade continued anyway. "Why the hell would she go to De Lordy? Fucking De Lordy? She knows I hate him, she's always hated him too, I swear on my grave that she did it just to get under my damn skin. Well, she got her wish, fucking Magenta, why him? Why that miserable excuse for a life form? She doesn't get it, she doesn't fucking get how much better she deserves, she's always treating herself and me and everyone else like crap! Damn it, De Lordy, why fucking De Lordy -"

Pearl looked pensively out the front window as she drove. A couple times she bit her lip, opened her mouth to say something to him, but closed it again in nervousness. A bit of his frustration aimed itself at her, for not saying anything, for not offering any sort of opinion, but he kept his rant purely on Magenta.

When they pulled into his driveway, right in front of his apartment, he had reduced himself down to deep breathing and angered grumbles. "Thank you for driving me home," he said, his voice still showing audible rage. He leaned over to peck her on the cheek, robotically, doing it more because it was expected of him as a boyfriend than because he wanted to.

Pearl was chewing on the inside of her cheek nervously, and when he was about to get out, she said, "Can I suggest something?"

Riff Raff sighed, grateful that for once she was going to voice a second opinion, and not just sit there and look nervous like she always did when he needed to vent. "Yes?"

"Do you think. . . ." she trailed off, moved to say "nevermind," but a wave of his hand to keep going made her continue. ". . . . I mean, I'm not saying you are, it's just an idea. . . . I'm not sure how to say this. . . . I don't know how you'll react. . . ."

"Just say it, Pearl," he said, letting a bit of annoyance leak into his voice.

"Do you think. . . . you could maybe be. . . ." she took a deep breath and looked away from him. ". . . . jealous?"

He blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what she'd just said. "Jealous? Of Magenta?"

"Of. . . . De Lordy. . . ." she gripped her steering wheel tighter, still not looking at him. ". . . . I think you sound like you're jealous. . . . that he and Magenta are going to go do whatever." Here, she finally got the courage to look him in the eye, and he found that they were shining with tears. "You. . . . you sound like you wish it were you instead. With her."

Riff Raff found himself unable to respond. The thought that he could be jealous never crossed his mind. Angry, hurt, confused, concerned, and rather sick to his stomach, sure. But certainly not jealous.

Was he?

"I'm sorry," said Pearl, a few small tears escaping. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything, but. . . . Riff Raff, I notice. I notice the way you talk about her, and how much you miss her, and I see the way you look at her. Like she's an angel. . . ." Pearl sniffled and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "And I notice how you feel about me. You never look at me the way you look at Magenta. You don't put any effort into kissing me, you don't like to talk too deeply with me, and when we make love, you're just not all there."

A few open sobs were making their way into her voice now. He went to put a hand on her back, but she waved him away. "I love you," she said. "I'm in love with you, and I've told you this before, on the phone, in person, in bed, and you never. . . . you never once said it back. Because you don't love me. You love Magenta. . . . I'm sorry, Riff Raff, but I have to go now."

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but she cut him off with a "Please!" and he got out of the car. He watched as she drove away, a million thoughts racing through his head.

Me? In love with Magenta? That's not true. She's my sister, I could never. . . . that's just wrong. Why would Pearl ever think. . . ?

He slowly walked into the apartment. Alone; Father wasn't home yet and Magenta wasn't back either. Probably still with that scumbag De Lordy, I bet he won't even try to get her off, he'll probably just go until he comes and then shoo her away -

He stopped himself right in the middle of that thought. Why do I care if she comes or not? What is it my business what she does in bed? His fists tightened as he went to their room and dropped his book bag on his bed.

Then, slowly, he thought to himself: Maybe Pearl has a point.

Not about him being in love with Magenta. No, that wasn't true at all. . . . but he supposed he could see why Pearl would think. . . .

I do talk about Magenta a lot, he thought, more than I do anyone else. And I. . . .

And I what?

He sighed deeply and went to the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, long and hard. And I. . . . I do think she's pretty. Beautiful, in fact. The most beautiful woman in the world -

He cut himself off sharply at that thought. He thought Magenta was the most beautiful woman in the world? He realized, with a widening of his eyes, that he did.

. . . . I can't think about this anymore. His thoughts strayed to Pearl instead. . . . she was absolutely right about one thing. He didn't love her. He didn't even feel remotely attracted to her, even after over a year into their relationship. He thought at first that he could force it, could learn to love her if he just spent more time with her. . . .

He'd been wrong. Riff Raff liked Pearl very much, but not romantically. He thought she was pretty, but not enough to physically lust for her. When they had sex, he'd felt the basic pleasure, but it still hadn't been very. . . . memorable. She'd thought of it as "making love," he'd just seen it as something to do when she wanted it. He'd inwardly assumed that he simply didn't like sex as much as a lot of other Transylvanians.

Riff Raff had known from the very beginning that he wasn't interested in her, so why had he ever. . . ?

Magenta.

Of course it went right back to Magenta. The first time he'd kissed Pearl, it had been to piss Magenta off, hadn't it? And when he'd decided to ask Pearl out on another date, he remembered being sure his sister was within earshot, so that she could hear him. . . . And had he not been like that the entire time he was dating Pearl? Talking loudly on the phone so Magenta could hear him. Making sure to kiss Pearl whenever Magenta was around to see. Never once telling Pearl those words - "I love you" - not only because it would've been a boldfaced lie, but because they felt like they were reserved for someone else -

"Fuck," Riff Raff said. I don't have feelings for my sister. I don't. She's my sister. She's my sister.

The most beautiful woman in the world. . . .


Seven more hours until he came back.

Seven more hours to prepare herself for the assault. The violation. The thing that would likely send her from suicidal thoughts to actions.

Seven more hours of panic, anxiety, screaming and banging at the door until her arms bled, trying desperately to break it down. Of hitting herself in the face even more, until she could feel the swelling and taste the blood in her own mouth, trying to clear her head, but it wasn't working. . . .

Seven more hours of sitting on the floor, gripping herself by the hair, rocking back and forth, very deliberately not crying.

Seven more hours of total and absolute darkness. Nothing to see, she was completely blind. There was, she eventually concluded, no fucking lightswitch, but she realized she was glad, because she didn't really want to see the room that she was going to be raped in.

. . . .

Six more hours.


Riff Raff knew something was wrong when he saw De Lordy in class the next day. He looked disgruntled, frustrated, yet a bit satisfied. And half of his face looked like a beast had clawed it open.

Riff Raff's sense of ominousness increased when he didn't see Magenta at school at all that day.

He spent his day with Pearl - who seemed to be pointedly not bringing up their conversation from yesterday - and he knew he was visibly distracted. So when Professor Starlite called him up to talk to them shortly before lunch, he at first figured it was about this.

"Sit down, Vitus," the professor said. They looked visibly irritated.

"Good afternoon, Professor," he said. He took a deep breath to explain himself. "I realize why you called me up, and I just want to say that there's a lot on my mind -"

Starlite held up their hand and Riff Raff stopped. "I know there's a lot on your mind. There's a lot on my mind, too." They leaned in closer and looked Riff Raff straight in the eye. "And right now, I'm talking to you, not as your teacher, but as the parent of the girl you're dating."

Riff Raff suddenly remembered. He'd let Pearl go home crying yesterday. And Starlite was Pearl's parent, her beloved Zaza, to whom she was very close. . . .

Shit.

"When my daughter came home crying yesterday," Starlite said. "I wanted to drive straight back to your house and break down your door and give you a good long piece of my mind." They reached up to rub their temples. "But I didn't. And it may be highly unprofessional, what I'm doing right now, but I want to hear your side of the story. Pearl wouldn't tell me anything. What happened?"

"It was a brief. . . . conflict, Professor," Riff Raff said. "It was never my intention to make Pearl cry, and she left without letting me try to comfort her." Not exactly a lie. "But we have worked it out." Straight up lie. "I never intend to make her cry again." Nothing but the truth.

Pearl herself walked into the room that very moment. "Zaza, have you seen - Riff Raff?" She stopped and took in the scene before her, her eyes widening. "Oh, am I. . . . am I interrupting something, Zaza?"

"No, Pearl," Starlite said. "Actually, I think it would do well for you to come sit down and discuss this with us."

And with that Riff Raff settled into one of the most uncomfortable conversations of his life.


"I'm really sorry about that, Riff Raff, I didn't think they'd. . . . I didn't want to bring it back up again. . . ." Pearl trailed off awkwardly as they walked down the hall together.

"It's fine, Pearl," he said, scanning the halls for De Lordy. "I feel a bit odd for having to lie so much to your Zaza."

They'd ended up telling Starlite that their argument was about whether or not to move in together once they left for Strangelove University. If they both got accepted, that is.

She shrugged. "I didn't want to have to tell them. . . . I mean, that's your business. . . ." she looked up at him suddenly. "By the way, I spoke with De Lordy."

"You what?" Riff Raff's head jerked toward her.

"I talked to De Lordy. Asked him about. . . . her," Pearl said, seemingly unable to bring up Magenta's name. "I asked if they'd had a good time yesterday, and he said. . . . well, Riff Raff, he said it had been a little rough, but he planned on having an even better time with her when he got home. He also said to tell you that she. . . . she agreed to marry him."

Riff Raff felt the blood drain out of his face. So she's holed up at his place, huh? Waiting for another fuck? Having lots of fun? Wearing a traditional Transylvanian engagement earring? "Well, he can take that smug attitude and shove it up -"

He stopped when he saw the look in Pearl's eyes. Hurt, pure hurt, a type of sadness that was gnawing at her deeply as she looked away from him and down to her shoes. He stopped walking and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a gentle kiss. He wasn't sure why he did; she knew he didn't love her. But, by the way she gripped the front of his blouse and kissed him back, she didn't care.

"You're a lifesaver, Pearl," he said, feeling nothing but stabs of guilt as she looked at him with such adoring, pained eyes.


Half an hour left.

Magenta had taken to knocking over the cans and packages of food, still not hungry despite having been locked up for nearly a good twenty hours. She supposed it was the anxiety clinging to her mind and body that was keeping her from wanting to eat. She was feeling light headed, her body ready to just give up and kneel over, her heart still ready to bust itself out of her chest. Her face was aching too much for her to want to hit it again, so she took to making a big mess instead.

She stepped on a can and it rolled her foot out, leading to her falling right onto the piles of food. She let out an airy, insane laugh; surrounded by food, and not the slightest desire to eat.

A sweaty hand curled itself over a what felt like a can. She ran her fingers over the top. It was one of those cans with a tab to pop it open. . . . without thinking she turned and reached over to pop it, faintly smelling something like canned beef as she opened it. She tossed the can and food aside, instead taking the top, feeling the sharp edge cut into her palm. . . .

Would this be sharp enough to kill me?

I could find out right here, I could cut my throat open now and see how De Lordy would feel about working his dick up for a corpse. . . .

De Lordy.

She squeezed the sharp can lid in her hand again and got an idea.

Thirty minutes later, she could hear the heavy, clunky footsteps of De Lordy coming to the pantry. For the first time in twenty hours, she was calm. Her heart felt. . . . not normal, but slower in her chest. She took deep, slightly shaky breaths, and her head felt just a little better. She kept her hands - each grasping a can top - behind her back, and leaned backwards against a shelf, sitting with her knees up to her chin. She'd taken her heels off, set them aside after wishing them farewell.

The door unlocked. "Little rose," came his voice, "I'm back for you."

When the door opened, the entire house behind him was dark, but her eyes could see enough to make out his huge, shadowy frame. He walked in, kicking the food aside, and knelt down in front of her. His hand reached out to stroke her face, and she almost flinched at how soft and squishy it was. "I've been waiting for you all day, pretty rose, are you ready to -"

And then he screamed as her arms lashed out and pierced both his eyes with the can lids.

His hands shot back to his face, and she didn't hesitate to jump to her feet and hop over him; vaguely, she heard one of the can lids hit the floor, which meant the other one was still stuck in his eye. . . . she ran, her body being pushed on nothing but adrenaline. It was so dark, but the house, unlike the pantry, had at least a little bit of light. She crashed into a few bits of furniture - the table against her hip almost hurt enough to make her stop running - and she tore open the door and sprinted outside.

The large Transylvanian moon was high, but there was just a tinge of pale blue light in the distance of the otherwise starry sky. The ocean was like a flat black space of nothing in the distance, and the trees were jagged, shadowy skeletons in the distance. She made a break for them, taking only a millisecond to breathe in the fresh air, appreciate the beauty of the outside world in a way she never had before. She could hear De Lordy's screams behind her - "Damn it bitch, you fucking blinded me, you stabbed my eyes out, you slut, you fucking worthless slut -"

It got fainter and fainter as she sped through the trees, alongside the road, until she could no longer hear him at all.


Riff Raff was about to bed Pearl when he got the call.

They was naked in his room, on his bed, him bending over her, her moaning as the tip of him poked her entrance, when the phone went off loudly and mood-breakingly. In truth, Riff Raff was a bit glad; they'd just gotten back from school and he was truthfully only doing it to make her feel a bit better. She'd been so clingy, so needy with the kisses she gave him today, and the hand that was holding his in the car on the way to his home had started to wander. He'd given up and invited her into his room, hoping it would get his mind off Magenta and De Lordy. Even as he was on the edge of penetrating her, it didn't.

Pearl let out a grunt of frustration and gripped his hips tighter, but he muttered "We never get calls unless it's important," and got up. Father was still at work, maybe it was him calling to tell Riff Raff to go pick up some groceries that he'd forgotten (again.) He looked at the caller ID. . . . Payphone, about nineteen miles outside of the city. A bit confused, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Riff Raff?"

The voice on the other end was his sister's. And she didn't sound right at all. Her words shook, her breathing was quick, and the fear was almost tangible through the phone.

"Magenta?" He said, and suddenly he was gripping the phone tight against his ear.

"I need you to come get me." She was audibly trying to keep her voice steady, but failing. "I'm. . . . Fuck, Riff Raff, I don't know where I am. I'm not in Aldous, that's for damn sure. I just found this payphone. . . ."

"I'll come get you," he said without hesitation. "I have your location from the caller ID. Magenta, what are you doing so far away?"

"I don't have much more time to talk. It's three minutes a silver dollar and I left my book bag in his hovercraft, I only had one in my pocket. Please, just come get me Riff Raff, I'm -" she cut herself off, but he knew what she was going to say. I'm scared.

"I'll be right there. I promise."

"Hurry." She hung up.

Swearing, Riff Raff turned to go back to his room, but Pearl was standing in the doorway, now fully clothed and looking at him intensely. "That was her, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Riff Raff said. "I need to go get her, I don't know what happened, but she's scared out of her mind and she's not in the city anymore." His hands went to grasp at his hair in frustration. "I don't even have a way to get there, Father's got the car, maybe I can hotwire something -"

But Pearl waved her hand to silence him and said, "You don't need to. My car is right there. Get dressed and we'll go."

"Pearl -"

"Don't." She said, shaking her head and heading to the door. "Please, just don't -"

"I'm sorry."

To this, she said nothing, and only went to start up the vehicle.


As she hung up the pay phone, the fear crept its way back into her body.

Magenta was alone at the side of the road, and she slipped slowly back into the woods, moving to sit down against a tree. The shadows surrounded her, but she could at least see now, the sky slowly turning from black into a dark shade of blue. Everything felt heavy; her limbs, her head, her eyes. She longed to let herself drift into sleep, but she couldn't. What if Riff Raff drove right by and didn't see her sitting there?

What if De Lordy drove by and did?

She felt the panic lick at her again and had to remind herself that De Lordy couldn't see anything now. She'd blinded him, cut each eye right in half. A pang of guilt hit her, but she told herself that he deserved it. He was going to rape her.

He deserved it. Right?

Maybe he didn't. Maybe I deserved it. I said I'd go with him. I accepted his ring. I'm the school slut, the whore, it's not like I don't put out already. I've heard the stories, the old stories that girls like me deserve it. . . . We ask for it. Did I ask for it?

Her short skirt. Her fishnets. Her high heels. Her makeup. Her flirting. Did she deserve it? Was a near rape what she got for acting like this?

Wouldn't put it past me. I deserve a lot of the stupid shit that I get.

She deserved these bruises on her face. The cuts on her hands from the can lid. The flashbacks to Father beating her. The constant desire to die. Why wouldn't she deserve this, too?

Riff Raff, coming to get her. . . . she didn't deserve the most beautiful big brother in the world. Especially not with the sick feelings she harbored for him.

She almost wanted to cry, but what was the point? She didn't even deserve the satisfaction of tears.

The headlights almost blinded her as the car pulled up next to the pay phone.


"Magenta!"

Riff Raff opened the car door and found himself hopping out of the moving car as he saw his sister, ignoring Pearl's shout of "Careful!" behind him. The sight of Magenta, as the light of the car hit her, sitting against a tree, almost made him stop. He choked a bit on his own spittle, horrified at the sight of her.

Palms slashed. A large amount of blood staining the front of her dark blue shirt, crusted around her chin and cheeks and arms, clinging to her nose. And her face. . . . every inch of the skin on her cheeks and jaw was covered in black and blue splotches. Her green eyes were so blank he feared for a second that she was dead; but she let out a strangled sound and got up, her body moving like the marionette of a very amatuer puppet master.

Magenta stumbled to Riff Raff and collapsed into his arms. When he heard her mumble "Riffy. . . ." in a broken tone, he found a few tears escaping his eyes.

"Magenta, you're. . . ." Okay? Hurt? Alive? He didn't know how to finish that sentence. All he knew was that De Lordy had done something, he'd hurt her, De Lordy had harmed his angel and he would pay. He would pay hugely. Riff Raff scooped up Magenta bridal style and carried her to the backseat of Pearl's car, opening the door to slide her in, not hearing Pearl's shouts of "Is she okay? Why is there so much blood?"

His Genta was injured. She was injured, but she was alive, and as he slid into the backseat with her, he'd never wanted to hold her tighter, never wanted to kiss her more -

Kiss her?

This thought echoed in his head as he felt her leaning into his shoulder, as he felt the light of the new day's dawn gently enter the windows. Yes. Kiss her.

Pearl was right.

Riff Raff was in love with Magenta.