Chapter Seven
Run
February 8, 2014 12:00 A.M.
Crystal Cove Caverns
"Are you sure those teens went this way? How could you possibly tell that they really went this way?" Seraphim asked, for the billionth time in a row. She had finally earned a glare from Angelo as he crouched down.
He gave a nod to his head as he touched the ground. "Yes, I am sure Seraph." Angelo grumbled, finally finding a footprint which seemed different from the ones he'd recognized from his associates. "They went this way alright, but tracks for some inexplicable reason end here."
"Impossible!"
"Now now, my little spark… Don't use that tone with me. They couldn't have gotten far enou-"
Seraphim smacked his head hard. "They could be anywhere in the world by now! There's no way the two of us can find them now!" She snapped.
"Oh Seraph, you're thinking too much about this. Let it go… It'll be alright."
"What?"
Angelo smirked, "We don't need all the kids…" He admitted. "Who we need is the one who made this mess a reality. The one who set us free out of their own will. The one true minion…"
"I'm surprised you even admit it." Seraphim laughed loudly.
Angelo scoffed, standing up. "I have to, she beat me to the entity. The master has interest in her. They WANT her by his side all the time, I'm more surprised about the fact that she escaped so easily."
"Hmm…" Seraphim rubbed her chin softly.
"I hear an idea coming…" Angelo commented. "Care to share it with me? Oh my dear devil?"
Seraphim laughed darkly, "I was just thinking… That child, Marcie Fleach, is also looking for her… Why don't we give her what she wants?"
"What?"
"We give her the slippery teen, and once she's in our grasp…" Seraphim began, her hands flickering with fire as she explained her plan to Angelo. "Bam, We destroy the teen completely."
"Ah, a trap. I like your idea.. But how do we get the slippery one?"
Seraphim smirked. "We draw her out like we always do. Manipulating her to the point where she shows up wanting something… After all, she did end up wanting to stay close to Marcie until the end!"
Angelo laughed darkly. "Brilliant! Yes, it's perfect! Manipulating the child until she shows her true colors! Couldn't have thought it better myself!"
"We're coming for you Velma Dinkley, just sit tight and wait for us… You won't know what hit you until it's too late…"
She sneezed suddenly, looking behind her quickly for the second time in the past few minutes to see no one was behind her or following her. Relieved to know she was safe, she turned her attention towards Sovrano.
"You must be careful, Velma. They have already discovered your trail, this is as far as I can take you… At least… For a bit."
Velma nodded, understanding the situation. It was going to be rather difficult to figure out where she was though, but she was willing to take a chance at survival. "I understand…"
Sovrano nodded, holding its trident tightier in their hands as they looked around. "Let's see how long you can stand without alerting the entity...Or it's minions, either ones will be bad as you know..."
Velma didn't reply, she pulled the hood on. Hiding half of her face from the demon. "I still can't believe you're helping us… After what you've done these years throughout."
"What's past is past, Besides… You shouldn't be speaking after what you did. I wonder… How will you fix this mess..."
"... Hmm…"
Sovrano stared at the teen, walking towards the water. "I must return to my duties, please Velma… Be careful, especially around these parts."
"I'll be fine, thank you very much…"
"Do not thank me yet… Your friends convinced me into saving you. Do not make me regret it."
Velma nodded again, this time turning away from the minion. She looked around, trying to find a sign or a clue to where she was. Not really finding anything of importance, she quickly turned back.
"Could you at least tell me where-" Velma finally asked, but it was too late at this point.
Sovrano was gone. She didn't even hear the water splash or anything, he just disappeared like nothing.
"Tsk, dramatic much maybe?" Velma commented, walking away from the docks. Looking around the area again, it wasn't the Crystal Cove docks… That's for sure.
Then, where did Sovrano send her?
She stopped suddenly, remembering she still had her phone on her. "Surprising, but very fortunate. Just hope it actually works and it's not cracked…."
Velma quickly searched for her phone, finally taking it out. Sighing in relief that the phone had very much survived and still had charge.
She read the information on the screen, quickly frowning as she continued to go further with her reading.
"You're fucking kidding me… You're fucking joking me."
The time seemed to align with how the day corresponded, which was 3:30 A.M. What seemed mostly out of place for Velma, was the location where the weather forecast app read as.
Panama City
70° Cloudy
75° /66°
Feels like 70°
Marcie held her backpack a little tighter as she walked down the streets of Crystal Cove with Alice and the Blake twins. Looking around, the area around them was deserted. "Well, this place looks like a ghost town at night…"
"Honestly, with the whole end of the world and a manslaughtering Parrot? I'd also want to hide under my bed." Daisy said, then continued. "So, Alice was it? What happens when we finally find what you were looking for?"
Alice looked back towards her. "Not sure what kind of question is that, I'm just helping you guys out with the end of the world."
"We have a long way to go before we figure it out…" Marcie muttered, mostly to herself. Her mind lost to the thoughts that were running through her head.
Where's Velma?
Was she safe?
Why does she keep evading the question?
Delilah frowned slightly. "So, we're just gonna walk to a creepy company that's probably radioactive at this point and just trust our instincts that there's something that Daphne and the others left behind? How does that make any sense?"
Alice stopped. "Marcie, you didn't mention it? Marcie?"
Marcie was only a few feet away from them, staring at the doors to the Crystal Cove High School. "Did… Did we check in here?" She asked, walking up the stairs towards the double doors.
"H-H-Hey! We're not supposed to take a detour! Marcie!" Alice screamed, running after the teen quickly into the school.
Both Delilah and Daisy looked at each other.
"Should we…?"
Daisy shrugged nonchalantly, going to the steps.
"Hey! At least talk to me dammit!" Delilah exclaimed, running after her sister into the school.
The school was dark and in disarray, like somebody had been looking for something valuable. Lockers and homerooms were opened, even the principal's office's door had been left open.
"Been a while since we came here huh, sis?"
Daisy nodded. "Yeah, it almost feels weird. Like you aren't supposed to be here anymore."
"Well, we already graduated from High School. I guess we are supposed to feel like outcasts or at least like Outsiders…" Delilah muttered.
Marcie walked towards a set of lockers. Tilting her head slightly at the numbers on them.
410, 412, 414, 416… Oh, Bingo.
"We should search the lockers." Marcie quietly muttered.
"What?"
"I said we should search the lockers. There's probably something that was left behind by them…" Marcie explained.
"You want us to break school property? Daisy asked.
Alice chuckled slightly. "We're already breaking and entering."
"..Touche." Daisy said.
"DAISY."
"She's got a point Delilah."
"Okay, yes… sure, but Breaking and Entering is a crime. Illeg-"
Alice stopped her before she could continue. "Crime or not, we have a situation on our hands." She explained. "It's the end of the world, remember? It's right on our heads."
"And yet again, they are right. Look, I know mom told you to look after me and everything. But I can take care of myself." Daisy admitted.
"You don't have to protect me like everyone else."
Delilah's eyes widened, the sudden realization of the words hitting her like a truck. It reminded her of the times with Daphne.
"Leave. Me. Alone." Daphne said, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine as it is."
Delilah shook her head. "No, You're not. You have scratches all over from that stupid stunt you pulled."
"... Didn't stop you from fighting in the war…" She muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Daphne quickly blurted out.
Delilah sighed, sitting down next to her. "Daphne, I'm worried for you. You're going out with your friends more than focusing on your studies."
"Delilah, I'm still getting straight A's. Try harder, I'm not even failing." Daphne commented.
Delilah rubbed her neck. "Okay, I'm not worried about the grades. I'll admit it, that's mom and dad's worry… I'm more worried about your safety."
"I can take care of myself Delilah. I don't need you." Daphne replied.
"Listen to me.."
"Here we go again." Daphne groaned, laying on her back on the bed. She grunted in pain and decided that sitting up was the way for a while.
"See what I mean? You're hurt."
"So? I fell because of the Man-Crab. Big whoop, you fell on worst heights."
"They didn't involve a Giant Man Eating Crab."
"It wasn't even a real crab…" She muttered.
"Real crab or not… It still got away with hurting you, Daphne…" Delilah explained as much as she could with Daphne.
Daphne rolled her eyes. "What do you suggest then? Leave my friends? Stop going out of my way to solve a mystery?"
"No."
"What?"
Delilah stood up, looking at her younger sister. "Let me help you. Let me teach you how to protect yourself."
"You mean train me? Do you even know what you're implying?" Daphne asked.
"Daphne, What do we have that most people would want?" Delilah began.
"Money."
"What would people do to get it?"
"Anything?"
"Anything." Delilah nodded. "So, In order to not be called Danger Prone or get kidnapped easily I suggest that I teach how to defend yourself. I want you to be strong and to fight anyone that tries to hurt you. That's all that I want."
Daphne looked away from her. "I'm not so sure about this Delilah…"
"I know, It's very sudden. But from my point of view, it can help you in the long run."
Daphne hummed softly, rubbing her knuckles softly as she thought about it more. "What do I have to lose?"
Daisy snapped her fingers in front of her twin, getting her attention quickly. Delilah rolled her eyes as he rubbed the back of her neck.
"What?" Delilah asked.
"You spaced out on me." Daisy replied, explaining what had happened. "Are you okay?"
Delilah looked away, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just remembered something unimportant that's all. Let's just continue with the search." She went to Daphne's locker, The locker's number being 414. She inspected it intently as if she could already see what was inside the locker without even opening it.
"Are you uh… Gonna open it anytime soon?"
"It's sealed shut Daisy. Look." She pointed at the lock that kept the personal locker sealed in its place under its grasp. "And we don't have anything to break it open."
"We can't even punch the damn th-"
Marcie grabbed the lock with the bandaged arm, slowly putting pressure on the security device to crush it completely.
It broke under her, dropping onto the floor defeatedly.
Both Daisy and Delilah were in disbelief of the idea that Marcie could do such a thing. Daisy began to make a sentence, or at least tried to as she tried to process what had happened.
"H-How?"
"I'm- I'm not sure actually… I just thought it would… You know… Work?" Marcie tried to explain as much as she could, but she was in disbelief also. She shrugged her shoulders with a nervous chuckle.
Delilah quickly opened the locker to see the contents that Daphne had left behind.
Daphne kicked an arm away from her face, already rolling her eyes at the snarky comment. "I told you all millions of times. I'm not dating him, and I'm not going to."
"And why not?" Daisy asked, reading a magazine in one of the sofas.
"Because he looks like a Jerk, and probably acts like a jerk too." Daphne explained. "I'm not going to waste my time with someone like him."
"Hmm, You sure do waste time with those kids you hang out with though." Daisy sarcastically commented, receiving a pillow thrown at her face hard.
Dorothy snorted, trying to contain her laughter at the mishap.
Delilah cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone. She looked towards Daphne and asked. "What do you want to do then?"
"... I don't even want to even see his crummy face… If I do I swear to fucking go-"
"Hey, watch your fucking mouth."
Daphne gave a sigh. "Unnoticed. I don't like him! So could you please just tell him I'm out or something? I don't care which one of you tells him off. I just don't want him around me please!"
"Woah, she actually said please."
Delilah nodded. "Alright baby sis. We'll tell him to take a hike if he ever comes."
Daphne's shoulders loosened finally, she plopped onto the sofa and gave another sigh. "Finally. Thank you, I know probably not oka-"
"It's more than okay, if you don't like the guy- you don't. You don't have to give him a chance if you don't want to. Mom and dad shouldn't decide for you." Dawn explained.
Dorothy kept looking at her phone for a bit before bluttering out. "That's why we left in the first place… Mostly…"
Dawn quickly punched her in the stomach, "Shut up, you fucking dork."
"Wait what?"
Delilah sighed, beginning to explain. "It was a heat of the moment thing. I left because I wasn't taken seriously as being mature. Dorothy left because she wanted to ride a motorcycle."
"It's a career and I stand by it losers!" Dorothy exclaimed, groaning as she still felt the punch.
Daphne tilted her head slightly. "So, you're saying… You left because you wanted to teach mom and dad a lesson? Or to prove a point?" She asked.
Delilah hummed, shrugging her shoulders. "Both I guess?"
"I feel like we're giving her some bad ideas here." Daisy threw the pillow onto her back and raised her hand. "Everyone thinking this is a bad idea say aye."
No one said anything, they just stared at the oldest sibling like she had said something stupid. Another pillow was then thrown at her.
"Okay, don't come to me when Daphne's hurt because of the guy. I'm warning you all now!" Daisy exclaimed, shrugging as she continued to read.
"Daisy, we throw you the pillow. It should have shut you up at this point."
Daphne sighed again, almost willing to pull her hair out before she heard the Mystery Machine's honk. It finally gave her the exit she needed.
"Yes! Finally! Okay, I'm out of here! Don't wait for me!" Daphne exclaimed, quickly running outside.
"She's gonna get herself killed one day."
"Daisy, Shut the fuck up."
"What is that?" Alice asked, eyes glued to the book on one of the twin's hand. "Looks ancient."
Delilah stared at the book for a second. "I think it's a diary… It's not hers though. This one's older, much older."
"Open it then, it could lead us to Daphne or at a clue about what happened to her." Daisy said, eager to know what the diary had to offer.
Delilah began to open the book, but she stopped abruptly when Ferralle slammed the locker shut. She gave a scream that it was almost surprising to her.
"Surprise Kinder!" She yelled, swiping the book away from the redhead quickly. She made a run for it, turning a corner to the gym.
"Hey!" Delilah yelled.
"After that… Uh… Freak- I mean… Person- Monster thing!" Daisy exclaimed, pointing to where Ferralle had gone.
Alice gave a smirk as she ran after the demon. "You're not very good at this and it completely shows!" She teased.
"Ugh! Shut up, I'm trying!"
The three girls ran except for Marcie, who stood in front of Velma's locker for a while now. Staring at it intently as if by doing so, it would open itself to her.
She grabbed the lock, crushing it under her hand with all her might. She pulled the door open completely, ripping it off of it's handles.
Looking inside, Marcie saw what appeared to be plans. Something to build for Velma to counter Pericles' plans maybe? She quickly grabbed them and threw them into her bag to look at them later.
"Marcie?"
She stopped, looking back to see Velma standing behind her. Not what she was expecting actually…
"What the hell are you doing?"
"V… I can explain…" Marcie began, but was cut off.
Velma shook her head. "Going through my stuff… Through my locker… That's new."
"Now V… We- I'm doing this because I want to find you, and this is the best way to do it. Nothing else." Marcie explained, then continued on. "I wouldn't be bursting through a locker if it was something else, you know that."
Velma nodded. "I know, and you're doing great on it."
Marcie smiled a bit at that. "You think so?"
"I believe so…"
"Good then…"
"That book that Ferralle took away is important, it has everything you need. You have to get it back." Velma warned. "If Ferralle disappears with it…"
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."
Velma nodded, "You know what you have to do then."
Marcie shook her head, quickly regaining consciousness. She sat up, groaning as she rubbed the back of her head. "Dammit, Ferralle hits harder and harder each time I meet the bastard…"
As she stood up and checked her bag, she heard a scream coming from the gym. She cursed under her breath and towards the double doors that held the gym. She pushed both of the doors, doing a roll to dodge a clawed hand that was aimed towards her throat.
"Welcome back to the world of the living Marcie." Ferralle teased, holding onto the book tightly in her hands. "Perhaps you're wondering why I took the book in such a haste."
"Not really but it would answer some questions."
"This book or as you have surmised, this Diary… Is from the one and only Marianne Blanchard. One of the members of the Benevolent Lodge of Mystery. Whose adventures started in the mid 1800s and ended towards the start of World War II… The war where everything changed."
"Give us back the book Ferralle, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"You're threatening me?!"
"Listen, that thing you follow? That Entity? It's just using you! And when it's done using you for whatever you're doing, you're as good as dead. Trust me." The brunette stated, starting to walk towards the demon. "I'm not here to play games."
"Oh Marcie… You don't even know what you and your... group are getting themselves into. Give up, let the bid boys handle it."
"No, I won't stop. I'm not gonna let monsters rule over our lives." Marcie said, growling a bit.
"It won't be so bad, we take out the military, the government, the leaders even. And the only ruler will just be the Entity. It'll be that simple. Besides, who's going to believe a bunch of kids- Or better yet… A town full of demented locals?"
"You're a monster."
"You don't have to treat me like this Marcie, I was once human like you! But of course, I had to let my emotions cloud the best of me… I'm doing this because in a way, it helps the world. It makes it better… We can work together-"
Marcie shook her head, growling more. "No, I already worked with a maniac once. I won't fall for it again."
"You're making a grave mistake Marcie."
"YOU DID A GRAVE MISTAKE! YOU DID THIS TO MY ARM!" She exclaimed, ripping the bandages off of her arm. Showing the blackened arm, in its entirety. "I would be insane If I ever worked with you!"
Ferralle growled, putting the book down. "Very well, If that's your decision then so be it. You will die, just like the rest of us."
"Bet."
Ferralle went after the brunette, claws out towards Marcie. She gave a battle cry before she launched her attack.
Marcie dodged, rolling to her left as she went to get the book. It would be reckless, she knew that. But it was better than wasting time fighting her. She dodged another set of claws, hitting Ferralle in the gut by kicking her off of her.
Ferralle dug her hands through the wood, scratching the surface completely to leave deep marks on them. She growled again, taking a deep breath as she raised her clawed hands towards Marcie.
The ground shook violently, the gym's floor breaking apart completely as Marcie ran. She jumped whenever the floor split open slightly far than it had to in a small scale earthquake. Marcie brought her hand out towards the book, smiling as she grabbed it with ease.
But of course, victory was short lived when the ground in front of her opened violently. Almost catching the teen off guard completely, she quickly grabbed the edge of the broken wood panel. Quick to pull herself up. "You think you'll win! But I got the book!"
"Of course I've won Marcie, tell me where have your friends been all this time?" Ferralle asked, pointing up towards the ceiling of the gym.
Marcie looked up towards the ceiling, eyes widening slowly as she finally noticed Alice and the twins struggling to be free from the binds of the Gym's ropes. It took a while for Marcie to snap out of her trance.
"Why the hell do you want the book so bad?"
"Because you're not supposed to have it"
"That's not a definitive answer, give me the real reason Ferralle… Or I drop the book." Marcie threatened, holding the book tighter.
"You wouldn't…"
Marcie chuckled, her voice sinister by the minute. "Oh, I can… And I will if you don't tell me the real reason…" She said, clenching her teeth a bit.
Ferralle growled but in her eyes, it looked more like she was trying not to actually show that she was afraid of the book ever taking damage.
Marcie took notice of it very quickly, lowering the book down. "Let them go…"
She nodded lowering down her hands as the ropes untightened around the suspended three. The ground slowly returned to its original state, all except the wood which had been ripped apart by Ferralle's magic. "Very well… You've won… Just… Just don't damage the book please… You've won this battle…"
"I plan to win the war though…"
"Good luck with that, you will need it." Ferralle muttered, slightly angered by the stunt Marcie had pulled. "The book please… If you will…"
Marcie stared at the diary for a bit before giving it to the demon. "Fine, take it. We don't need it."
"What?!"
"You can't be serious! We found that fair and square!" Alice exclaimed, quickly climbing down and grabbing the book from Ferralle's hand. "Besides! She's the one that stole it from us!"
Ferralle shook her head, slightly irritated again. "Oh no, it was already stolen before it was even on your sister's hands…" The demon admitted. "You see, Burlington had a knack for keeping everything as important. Even after the war, he had saved everything in his library for anyone… Including your little friends to look into."
"By theft… You mean?" Delilah questioned.
"Danny Darrow stole most of the archives from m- Excuse me, from Oswald Burlington in his quest to find where the "treasure" was hiding… Of course, the quest ended with him instead."
Marcie grumbled. "And then Mystery Incorporated showed up…"
Ferralle nodded. "Yes, until THEY showed up…"
"... Alice, give her the book."
"N-"
"I'm not asking, I'm telling you to give it to her." Marcie said, looking at the blonde. A slight growl escaped from the brunette as she stared at the book like it was a cursed object. "We've got a lot more things to worry about than to read a dead woman's diary."
"The offer still stands though, we could work togethe-"
"No, we aren't going to work together."
Juneau, Alaska
February 9 2014, 3:30 AM
She struggled to walk through the snowy forest, almost giving up finally staring face to face with a town just a few walks away from her. She gave a sigh of relief, her breath almost giving sparks like a firework beginning to explode.
"Finally, civilization…" She muttered, mostly to herself as she began the difficult walk again. It wasn't easy of course, since she wasn't yet wearing the proper get up on a trip like this one. Even if it wasn't even planned to begin with.
She just showed up, in the middle of nowhere with no guidance except that she would "Find" her way home. Whatever that was.
At least she was alive, and that's all that mattered to her at this point on. Even if Sovrano had probably sent her so far up to the coldest reaches of the world. She was happy to be alive, and she was looking forward to what would be thrown at her next.
Shivering, the teen sped up their pace. Not wanting to stay in the cold anymore, all the warmth that they could conjure up from nothing somehow spent by keeping herself from not dying of hyperthermia.
They were finally in the town, looking for some kind of hotel or inn to stay in for the time being until she felt ready to travel back. She stopped, looking over at an inn.
"Breakwater Inn, huh? Well… What do I have to lose?" She shivered again as the wind blew over. "Yeah, my life if I don't hurry the fuck up." She muttered, mostly to herself as she went inside.
It wasn't even a minute before she already felt a bit better, finally out of the cold into an environment with a heater was something that she had taken for granted these past few… Hours? Days? She's already lost track of time…
"Huh… Felt more like hours though… I can feel it somehow…"
"Are you just coming in?"
Turning around, she saw a man waiting for her by the reception desk. She went to the man, looking around the area for a bit before replying. "Maybe."
"I've never seen you around these parts of town, figured you must be looking for somewhere to stay and warm up. Especially with the get up you're wearing… Might want to look for something for warmth and concealment around these parts of Alaska."
"I'm sorry, you said Alaska right? As in… THE Alaska?"
"You're in the capital of Alaska, actually. Juneau to be precise."
"Jeepers… I was right, I'm way too far from home…"
"What's your name, little lady?"
"Daphne, My name's Daphne Blake."