It was the middle of the night, the sky was clear and the moon shone brightly to illuminate the almost non-existent path as a group of Riverdale's youth crept through the dark woods near Sweet Water River towards the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Jughead and Veronica lead the group down the small trail where Kevin had first spotted Betty. They reached the edge of the property and Jughead hastily thought up something to say to rally his troops before the mission began.
The Serpent King spoke, "This is it guys, everyone knows what they are supposed to do. If all goes well and we stick to the plan, we should be in and out of there in no time. Split up into your teams and let's go save Betty from this nightmare."
The duos separated. Toni and Cheryl headed off to the right to secure the service door, and the team of Jughead's most trusted Serpents divided into teams to surround the rest of the building and prepare to breach. Jughead, Veronica and Kevin were left standing together at the property line, waiting the planned 3 minutes that it would take for everyone else to get into position.
Veronica stared at her watch, urging the second hand to tick just a little faster. She had a bad feeling that had been plaguing her all day, and she wouldn't be able to relax until they had Betty back safe and sound.
"Okay Kev, Jug and I are going to head in through the service entrance once Cheryl and Toni have made sure it's safe. Once we get inside, I will send you a text and then you can give everyone else the signal" Veronica said.
"Yeah, got it. I will be in touch if I see anything weird."
Kevin gave Jughead and Veronica a nod as they headed off to their entrance into the building. When they reached the door, Cheryl and Toni were leaning calmly against the brick of the building's exterior next to the already open door.
"That was quick. Nice work Deadeye" Jughead said.
"You underestimate us Jones" Toni replied stepping away from the wall and gesturing with her arm for them to enter.
Jughead went first through the door into the dark building. Through the door was a hallway leading to another metal door. The air was stale and damp, and the silence was creepy to say the least. He and Veronica made their way through the second door and found themselves in the Basement of the Sisters of quiet Mercy. Boxes filled with canned foods and racks stacked high with bed linens lined the walls.
"Looks like storage" Veronica said.
They didn't linger for too long, exiting the space into a dark hallway in the basement. A few doors down to the left they noticed the infamous door with the X that had served as an escape route for many other kids who fell victim to the Sisters archaic practices.
They walked over to it and were surprised to find it unlocked. Jughead pulled it open and came face to face with the brick wall that Betty had encountered when she had first tried to escape this place.
Veronica spoke, "I guess that explains why Betty never managed to escape."
"Yeah, that's one mystery solved I suppose" Jughead replied.
He closed the door again and they headed towards the stairs. They made their way quietly through the dark hallways of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Nobody seemed to be around, and all the rooms on the first floor were dark and silent.
Jughead had planned for three teams of two to infiltrate the Sisters. As he and Veronica continued their search for Betty, their friends would be searching different sectors of the building. It was approximately ten minutes into their search and Jughead checked his phone for any updates. There had been no communication from the rest of their team since they had sent out the initial text to begin their search of the building. Jughead frowned as he tucked the phone back in his pocket and continued to follow Veronica down another dark hallway towards a door that appeared to be straight out of a horror movie.
"What the hell do you think they have been doing in there?" Jughead asked.
"I don't know but I hope that it's not Betty we find on the other side of that door."
Jughead opened the door and they stepped inside. Both of them gasped when they came face to face with the gargoyle statue that inhabited the stone room.
"Is this what everyone taking Fizzle Rocks thinks the Gargoyle King is? This pathetic statue in what is basically a creepy dungeon?"
Veronica was seething and her words were heavy with sarcasm. This whole thing made so much sense to her, especially if her father was behind it all. She followed Jughead beyond the hideous stone statue to the back of the room.
"Do you think any of the drugged-up patients ever noticed that there's another door over here?"
Veronica walked over to where Jughead was, and sure enough there was a door, tucked cleverly away behind a curtain much like the other ones lining the walls.
"I don't think those kids would have noticed much more than that statue, never mind the interior décor" she replied.
The door led them down a hallway lit with occasional kerosene lamps. They could see stairs leading upward down the hallway ahead of them. They trudged onward without any concern for what would be waiting for them at the end of the passage. With any luck it would lead them straight to Betty. When they reached the top of the stairs Veronica suddenly froze and stopped Jughead from going any further. She pulled him down and they crouched near the top of the steps.
"There's somebody up there, next to the door" Veronica whispered.
Jughead slowly peeked over the top step and saw the man that Veronica was talking about. She was confused when he continued to stand up and started walking towards the man at the end of the hallway.
"What the hell are you doing?" She whispered angrily at him.
Jughead turned and said, "don't worry. This guy won't be a problem for us."
Veronica followed him up the stairs and saw what Jughead meant. The man was passed out, slumped forward in a chair. In the brief moment she had looked at him she failed to notice anything about him. Next to him on the ground was an empty liquor bottle, which would account for why the man was in such a state.
The pair didn't waste any more time and continued through the door the man had presumably been meant to guard. The door opened, revealing what looked like a throne room, and there perched high enough to provide a view of the entire room was a throne. They had found the Gargoyle King's throne.
"This would be cool if this place wasn't one of my father's egotistical imaginings come to life" Veronica said.
"Why are you so sure it's your Dad?"
"Jughead, just look at this place. Now that I know my father really is Riverdale's resident villain this seems like exactly the kind of thing dear old Daddy would do."
They kept walking, surprised that there seemed to be no one around. The room was a mess, as if someone had held some kind of gathering there and hadn't cleaned up yet. Champagne glasses littered the few tables that sat off to one side of the room. The chairs were strewn around and there were still cards on a few tables from abandoned games of poker.
"Let's go through the fancy door over there."
Jughead turned and looked towards where Veronica was pointing, and he saw what she was referring to. The door was large and wooden, and the handles were two large gold rings like a castle door from the medieval era and painted onto it were images of the Gargoyle King.
"That does seem promising." He whispered and followed Veronica through the door.
"How big do you think this place is?"
"Apparently its big enough to hide Hiram's whole operation right under the noses of the entire town." Said Jughead.
They walked past the multitude of doors along the hallway until they heard voices. It sounded like a woman and they quietly approached the door careful not to arouse suspicion. Veronica pressed her ear to the door and had to stop herself from puking when she heard her father's voice commenting on someone's naked body. Presumably the body of the woman who's voice they had heard just moments before.
With a glance and a quick nod to Jughead, they both burst through the unlocked door and stumbled into a scene that neither of them could have ever imagined to be possible. There, lying nearly naked on a king-sized bed was Betty Cooper along with another girl they didn't know. The most horrifying part was how Hiram stood there shirtless at the edge of the bed with his hands still entangled in the belt he had been about to remove.
"What the hell is going on here?" Veronica yelled, taking a few rage fueled steps toward her father.
Jughead looked on in horror as he began to process what was about to happen. The part that didn't make sense to him was why Betty was still lying there seemingly compliant with the whole thing. Her eyes did not even come to meet his as he stared at her lying there on her back with her head propped up on a pillow. Something was wrong, he had never known Betty to look so despondent and compliant.
"Mija, I don't know how you found this place, but you have made a terrible mistake by coming here. Especially with him." Hiram snarled as he motioned to Jughead.
"Honestly Daddy you have clearly lost your mind. What you are doing here is disgusting and daughter or not I want you thrown back in jail where you belong. We are taking Betty and getting the hell out of this fortress of insanity. You have gone way too far this time."
"What makes you think you can stop me? Nothing you or the pitiful so-called Serpent King have done so far has come close to stopping me. And now here I am with the Serpent Queen, lying patiently in my bed, awaiting my touch. The touch of a real king with real power. Not some half assed gangster from a trailer park with no hope of ever beating me. This is my game. Everyone else is merely a pawn within it. Isn't that right Hellcaster?"
Jughead's vision went red as he lunged at Hiram. The older man was obviously startled by the attack as they both tumbled to the floor in a mess of tangled limbs, and Veronica looked on in horror as the two kings of Riverdale wrestled awkwardly with one another in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Jughead threw an elbow that luckily connected with Hiram's face and he took advantage of the moment of confusion to wriggle away from the older man. Jughead stood up and made a move towards Betty before something caught his ankle and he hit the ground hard.
Jughead caught his breath and rolled onto his back ready to get up and keep fighting but his plans were derailed when his eyes locked onto the black metal object that Hiram had pointed down at him.
"What are you going to do now Hiram? Shoot me? Go right ahead. It will just be another one of your crimes to add to the list, this time with your own daughter as a witness." Jughead said defiantly as Mr. Lodge loomed over him.
"You know Mr. Jones; I almost respect you for your commitment to your cause. But I fail to understand how you can't see who really has the upper hand here. I am pointing a gun at your head, and in a second, I am going to fire this gun and kill you. The not so heroic end of the Serpent King. Or should I say the death of a kid from a trailer park on the Southside who nobody ever really cared about, not even his own parents. Your death will be a privilege for both me and you, so you better thank me now because you will never get another chance."
Jughead stared back at him defiantly as Hiram moved his finger to release the safety on the gun and cocked it. Any second now he would pull the trigger, and everything would be over. Hiram adjusted his aim, and Jughead shut his eyes and whispered an apology to Betty under his breath before Hiram pulled the trigger and the gun fired.