It was evening at the Tate residence and everyone was somewhere around the house doing their own thing and enjoying themselves. Except for one very paranoid and fearful man. "Please, Allen! You must listen to me!" Philip shouted. He then lowered his voice once he remembered where he was. Quietly he went over to the door of his and Katheryn's bedroom and peeked out to see if he had attracted anyone's attention. To his relief no one seemed to have heard. He shut the door and continued his somewhat one-sided phone conversation with Hale.
"The man's psychotic, Allen," he went on more calmly. "He's absolutely insane. Is that what you meant to happen?"
"I didn't mean for anything to happen," Allen responded. "Maxwell was never right in the head. I thought you knew that."
"This still can't be him."
"What makes you so sure? Maybe he was always this deranged. You remember what I discovered so long ago don't you? Not to mention everything he's put you through, the experiments, and, of course, his children. Clearly he's-"
"Dammit, Hale, don't be so... so..." Philip sighed in frustration at his loss for words. "Easygoing," was the best he could come up with. "You kept asking me about Maxwell's behavior, so don't act like you had nothing to do with this."
"I'm not acting. I haven't stepped foot in Memorial for over eight years. What could I have possibly done to him?" Allen smiled to himself as he listened to Philip's mumbled complaints from the other end of the line. He was so easily fooled, it was no wonder Maxwell bothered to keep him around. After all, it would be incredibly easy to go about one's own agenda when they could easily trick those around them. Although by the sound of it he was no longer kept so far in the dark.
"You can lie to me all you want but I won't believe any of it. I know you've got something to do with all this." For a while there was nothing on the other end but faint static. Then, just as Philip was about to say something, light laughter sounded from the phone.
"Alright," Allen said, still chuckling softly. "I'll tell you something."
"What?" Philip asked, suddenly fearful of the answer.
Right into my trap, Allen thought with a smile. "The Curse."
"C-curse?"
"The Maxwell Curse. Don't tell me you've forgotten."
"Of course I haven't forgotten. What about the curse?" Philip already knew where this was going but he asked anyway.
"That must be the cause. It's the only logical conclusion for Maxwell's behavior, isn't it?"
"But if it's the curse then that means..." Philip paused to take an unsteady breath. "Anyone involved with the Maxwells will fall prey to the curse as well. You don't think-"
"That we're cursed? I doubt that. Unless, of course, something unfortunate has happened to you. However, even if something has, there's no proof. After all, I still think it's all a hoax." Allen had to bite back a laugh. Philip could be such an idiot. What a superstitious fool, he thought. It wasn't very difficult to lead him along.
"The statue," he said, glancing at the door as though it would be there.
"I've told you before: the statue doesn't have anything to do with the Maxwells' magic."
"Then what was it doing buried?" Philip was on the verge of freaking out. If Maxwell's insanity really was caused by the Maxwell Curse then that meant that it was all true. Everything about the Maxwells was real, including their powers. What if Maxwell decided to use them?
Knock Knock Knock
"Hey, dad, you in there?" Michael was right outside the door and he sounded impatient.
"Just a moment!" Philip called. He then lowered his voice to a whisper and cupped his hand around the phone's mouthpiece to speak to Allen. "I'll call you later, Allen, and we WILL discuss this curse business. Do you understand?"
"Oh yes. Completely," came the mildly sarcastic response. Allen then hung up.
Philip set the phone down and went to open the door. "Do you need something, Michael?" he asked, although once he saw the papers in his son's hands he already knew the problem. "Math homework?"
"Yeah. I kinda need some help with these problems." Although his son hated to admit it, he was never very good with math. Despite this, however, he wanted to try something in engineering, or anything science-related really. He liked cars and videogames and did have some respect for what his father did, so it was only natural that he'd want to try to look at the different aspects of how they worked. Philip often laughed about it, but in an amused fatherly way. He found it kind of adorable how someone as young as him could decide so soon on what they wanted to be. He also had to admit: Michael may not be good at it yet, but he was more than determined to overcome the hurdles and blocks that came with life and was often hard at work trying to progress his understanding of math and science. It impressed both him and Kathryn.
"Alright, son," Philip said with a warm smile. "Let's go to the table where we'll have more space for all that stuff." He wasn't really in a great mood after his talk with Allen, but some time with family should be enough to bring his spirits up.
Allen hung up and slammed the phone on the receiver. Who did Philip think he was, talking to him in such a way? The man surely wasn't above him so he had no right to order him around like that.
Okay, so maybe his methods were a bit unorthodox but even so, he was a far better human being than Philip. After all, he was still assisting Maxwell with those horrific experiments of his. And why? Because he was too damn afraid to take matters into his own hands. At least he was doing something about the situation. Philip was doing nothing more than being a lapdog, a mindless and spineless soldier for Maxwell to have doing his dirty work.
Thinking more on that, Allen couldn't help but wonder. Hadn't he realized it yet? That he was nothing more than a tool and the moment Maxwell no longer needed him-or even more likely, the moment he broke-he'd be thrown away? Discarded like all the others Maxwell had no need for. How could Philip possibly miss that? He's surely seen it happen to countless others. The scientists who screwed up, got in the way, or just didn't support him were all 'fired.' The doctors who questioned things a little too closely had it kindly 'explained' to them in one of the labs. The patients seen as unimportant and tagged as 'Won't Be Missed.' Who knows, even police might not be safe at this point. Philip would be no exception. Maxwell would consider the man useless once his morals finally caught up with him and he too, like all the others, would be 'relieved' of his position. Maxwell would then have some other loyal lackey fill the spot and that would be that. Done. No more Philip Tate, or any Tate for that matter. They'd all be murdered, no doubt, and all so that monster could keep his secret plan in motion.
Allen cursed himself for still not knowing Maxwell's true intentions. He could just be highly genocidal, but for a man as intelligent as he was that didn't seem likely. Why go through all the trouble when he could've just worked up a simple formula for chemical bombs or something? He had the money, time, brains, and the mood for it. He seemed like the type of man with the mentality of pure hate and disgust toward fellow human beings. He'd gotten that impression from his eerie demeanor and his habit of talking down to people as though they were absolute scum. Even his superiors, Allen thought angrily, remembering his time at Memorial during Maxwell's early days.
"Dad...?"
Allen whipped his head to the side and saw Alyssa standing there, looking very uncomfortable. Although slightly annoyed with the interruption of his dark thoughts Allen couldn't fight the loving father in him. "What's wrong, Alyssa?" he asked, leaning down in the chair so he could meet her eyes.
She looked down and scuffed her feet on the floor, trying to think of what she had originally sought him out for. She'd come into his room to ask him something but when she saw the look on his face, something just... flipped. She couldn't get rid of the knot in her stomach or the tightness of her throat and somewhere in the back of her mind she felt a faint shift from Bates. Almost as if he were trying to console her for some reason. She wasn't sure though, the amulet blocked him out.
"Alyssa? Are you okay? You're not feeling sick, are you?" He reached an arm out for her forehead but she flinched back before looking away in shame that she'd done that. The sick feeling she had right now was no illness, her instincts told her. There was something... different... about it. It was a feeling she felt only occasionally but the causes frightened her. Bates always said she was special, and as such could sense special things, like the time she took a different route home from school and passed a house. It wasn't abandoned and was actually kept up quite well, with kids running and playing-some of which she knew-and parents watching with amusement in their eyes. Except for one. One of the fathers, while he smiled outwardly, hid something deep within his eyes. As she passed she met them, and couldn't help but shiver. He raised his arm in a friendly wave but even then there was still that off look. There was a darkness in those eyes, something she wasn't sure if anyone else could see. But she saw it, and did not like the feeling it gave her. It was similar to the one now, like something bad was going to happen. The next day at school as she passed the office she heard some of the adults quietly talking about the death of a family. The father had killed them and then committed suicide. She threw up.
"I, um, forgot what I wanted, Daddy. Sorry," she spoke just above a whisper and Allen had to strain a bit to hear her.
"Okay... Are you sure you're feeling well? You look a little pale." He was deeply worried but was trying not to show it too much. He didn't want to make her panic. Still, it was very unlike his daughter to fall so silent in front of him. Had they been out in public this would have been completely normal. She was a very shy girl and didn't do well with strangers. In their own home, however, she was usually much more outgoing. Unless...
"You haven't been talking to Bates again, have you? You know you're not supposed to do that," he said sternly.
"Daddy no! I was just-It's nothing, never mind." She raised her voice defensively before bringing it back down. She didn't want to make her father angry.
"No, go on." He wanted to see where this was going. Something told him she was lying and he wouldn't stand for that.
"I said I forgot," she tried.
"Then why tell me it was nothing?" Allen leant back in the chair and crossed his arms, all the while keeping his gaze locked on Alyssa. She'd tell him sooner or later.
"I don't know..." she whined. The feeling was turning into nausea and she was starting to feel faint. She pulled the amulet out of her pocket and held it in her hands with the hope that it would make her feel better.
Allen saw her gripping the amulet tightly and suddenly became worried that Bates may be trying to find a way out. Immediately he stood up-a movement so quick that it startled poor Alyssa-and walked briskly over to her before kneeling down and bringing her in for a hug. Alyssa said nothing, too surprised at her father's sudden change in mood. She slowly brought her arms around his neck, still helplessly lost but not at all complaining about his lack of anger. Eventually she started to feel a bit better, and it was around that time that he let her go.
"I'm sorry I got angry with you," he said. "You just had me worried there with how you were acting." He adjusted his glasses and remained slightly above her eye level, kneeling on one knee with his arm resting on the other.
"I'm sorry I made you worried, Daddy, but I honestly did forget." She looked at him, hoping he'd accept her apology. He did, but he still didn't seem convinced.
"I don't suppose you remember now?" Alyssa thought a moment before shaking her head. He sighed lightly before standing up. "It's alright if you don't. You can let me know once you do remember." He ruffled her hair before sitting back down in his chair. She nodded and left, glad to be out of that situation.
As she was making her way to her room, Alyssa felt the slight pull of Bates's presence. He clearly had something he wanted to let out. Sighing, she stopped and listened to make sure her dad wasn't walking out his room and then went into the bathroom. Following her usual routine for her conversations with Bates she watched the reflection in the mirror and waited for him to start blurting out his usual nonsense.
He didn't. She could clearly see him, and he her, but he remained unnervingly silent. At first she thought that maybe she'd been wrong, that he didn't want to talk, but then remembered how the amulet kept blocking him out before. She looked at it in her hands. Setting it down might cause Bates to take over. What if he did something awful again? She shook her head and glanced into the mirror. He looked impatient, not violent. Pissed off was his default expression after all. Slowly she brought the amulet up to the counter and, giving it a worried look, placed it next to the sink. Bates immediately started up.
"You aren't trying to deny the fact that you got a bad feeling from 'daddy dearest,' are you?" He said it with such a repulsive face that she scrunched up her own in response.
"I didn't say anything about that feeling," she said quietly, fearful that her father would hear.
"You didn't have to. I am a part of you, you know. I can sense your emotions."
"I don't suppose you know anything about it?"
"Hm." Bates uncharacteristically froze. Here was very dangerous terrain and he had to tread lightly. If he didn't choose his words carefully-something he hated doing because people didn't need things sugarcoated, it made them gullible-Alyssa may never forgive him and might not even listen to him anymore. She didn't know it, but she was more than capable of blocking him out. The amulet was nothing more than a worthless trinket some crazy old loon in a shrine passed on for a few bucks. Even Hale himself had to know that it held no mystical powers, nor did it have the ability to block him out. It all depended on Alyssa's current mental state. If she panicked, he could let himself out. If she remained completely calm and in control of her emotions, then he was powerless.
If there was anything Bates both hated and admired in people, it was the fact that they could be unbelievably strong and fragile at the same time. Alyssa, like many others, has a strong will. Combine that with her still-dormant ability to work with the supernatural, and you've got a pretty unstoppable force. Bates could sense the power in her despite it still being weak. She had potential, but he wouldn't tell her that. Nor would he tell her that the amulet's power was all in her head. It might shatter her to know it was all a lie. Imagination could be quite powerful, especially for a daydreamer like Alyssa. She could easily delude herself into thinking that the amulet was magic, that it was something special that would protect her from the forces of evil. It pissed Bates off because if she kept believing that nonsense then she'd end up like their father. Their real father. She'd carry the stupid thing around all her life thinking it would keep her safe, eventually finding out too late that it all depended on her.
He suddenly got an idea.
"I do know something about it, Alyssa," he said, trying his best not to sound suspicious. "I'll tell you about it, but first I need a favor."
"A favor?" she asked. This was new. Normally he just told her to let him out for a bit so he could 'stretch his legs.' He'd never asked anything of her before. "What kind of favor? I hope it isn't something bad."
"Of course not." He tried a friendly smile, but upon seeing her eyes widen in shock he switched back to his usual scowl. "All I need you to do is let me take over for a bit."
"No!" She hadn't meant to shout and her father had surely heard her but she couldn't believe Bates. "You'll try to hurt Daddy again..." She was beginning to tear up. Allen had heard her and was already rushing in her direction. He'd be so angry with her for talking with Bates. Hopefully he wouldn't ground her again because she hated having to stay in her room away from him when he was already gone so much.
"Alyssa?!" he shouted, quickly nearing the small bathroom.
"I'm fine!" She tried to sound calm but she was crying and panicking and he was almost there. He was going to be so angry with her. Suddenly a dark presence clouded in her mind. Realizing too late that Bates would take this perfect opportunity to gain control she reached for the amulet only for her arm to stop stiffly where it was. Not even an inch away from the small item. She blacked out just as Allen made it to the doorway.
"Alyssa! Are you alright?!" He saw the amulet lying on the counter and figured out what was happening. "Alyssa Hale," he started, knowing the use of her full name would tell her just how much trouble she was in. "What have I told you about talking to Bates?" He practically hissed it. The fact that such a presence could ever even exist infuriated him. But within his own daughter? Why did it have to be that way? Bates was possibly a bigger threat to his life than Maxwell. "You know he's dangerous." Allen stood dauntingly in the narrow doorway waiting for Alyssa to respond.
"But Daddy, he's just so kind to me sometimes," Bates said, trying-and failing-to imitate Alyssa's voice.
Allen's face took on a look of complete horror. He'd come too late. He took a step back and subconsciously brought his arm to the injury he last sustained from his daughter's second personality.
Bates chuckled, the sound rumbling from Alyssa's chest and throat in an unnatural manner. There was nothing more disturbing than the sight of Alyssa's sweet face contorted into one Bates would make and the sound of his deep voice resonating from her vocal chords. "What's the matter?" he purred. "Scared I'm gonna hurt you again? I just might."
"What do you want?" Despite his fear Allen was still quick to express his disgust to Bates, even when it was the constant cause of any injury given to him by the darker persona.
"Watch it, Hale. Your smart ass mouth might be the death of you one day." He wasn't kidding. Bates hated the man in front of him with such passion that he rivaled even Maxwell's determination. One didn't have to think hard to find where that sort of personality came from. "How dare you," he growled suddenly.
"What?" Allen narrowed his eyes. "What reason do you have to be angry with me?" At this Bates laughed. It was a horrid, bone-chilling sound that echoed off the walls and directly into the former scientist's spine.
"A better question might be why I wouldn't be angry with you. After all the shit you've done it's a damn miracle I haven't killed you yet. If it weren't for Alyssa's incessant pleading you'd have been dead from the very beginning." He briefly glanced at the mirror as he said this. Fixing his gaze back on Allen he continued. "I have to say: you're real slick, tricking everyone like this. It'll get you far but it'll also be your downfall, old man. Nice touch with the amulet though," he added, gesturing to the item still lying on the counter.
"What do you mean, 'nice touch?' That amulet-"
"Is a piece of shit and you know it," he said harshly, without adding any of his smart remarks. He was hoping that would show just how serious he was.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Allen crossed his arms and glared. Bates simply smirked and shook his head. To him, Hale was acting like a complete child. He still couldn't understand how Alyssa became so attached to this man.
"Don't play stupid. If you keep this up I might have to stab you until you talk." His eyes lit up at the thought.
Allen was going to keep arguing but decided that it wasn't worth it. Bates-surprisingly-was a good keeper of his word and would no doubt try to lodge the nearest blunt object into his skull if he didn't relent. "Fine," he huffed. "So what if the amulet's fake? It doesn't change a single thing about this whole situation." He was actually still trying to figure out why it mattered.
"Actually, dumbass, it does. And it changes way more than just this. If you keep lying to Alyssa-"
"I'm not lying to her about anything!" Allen quickly caught his breath and looked at Bates to see he was none too happy about being cut off like that.
In reality, Bates was outraged by the fact that Hale was acting like he was being totally honest with Alyssa. Who was he trying to fool here? "Just what are you going on about, you bastard? Did you really just say that you weren't lying? HA! That's funny." He began to take menacing steps towards Allen, who was already backing away into the hall.
"Get away from me," he said. It was almost comical, the way he was taking calculated steps away from an eight-year-old girl. What made it frightening was the fact that the person he was dealing with was no girl, and likely no child either. It was something monstrous possessing that little girl.
Bates quickened his pace causing Allen to flat-out flee and lock himself in his room. Normally he wouldn't have done that. Bates, despite all his talk, wasn't much of a threat. Sure, give him a knife or a gun or even a fork and you're screwed, but by himself he couldn't do much damage. What scared Allen so much was how he was acting. Most of the time it was death threat then swearing, followed by more threats and swearing, but this time was different. The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes was something that said this was no 'casual Bates talk.' This was something truly infuriating to him, and possibly even personal. If that were true then Bates may actually kill him this time unless he could manage to talk his way out of it.
"Open the door, Hale, we aren't finished here yet." This was followed by sharp banging against the wooden door.
"I've got nothing left to say to you, now leave my daughter alone!" He was against the opposite wall watching the door intently for the first sign of it being forced open.
"Your daughter? Last time I checked you didn't fucking conceive her, Hale. The only thing you've done is lie to her so you could play vendetta!" He was getting increasingly pissed and Allen was beginning to worry he wouldn't get out of this one alive. "You lie to her about her family," BANG! "You lie to her about yourself," BANG! "You lie to her about me," BANG! "And you even lie to her about herself!" The door continued to shake in its frame with each pound after that. Allen could feel himself beginning to sweat. If Bates did break the door down then he was as good as dead. He couldn't fight back, not with the knowledge that Alyssa was still there somewhere and that he'd be hurting her.
Taking a breath to steady himself Allen tried reasoning. "Okay! I am lying but it's for her own good!" His words were coming out shaky and he didn't like that. It might give Bates more motivation.
Chuckling could be heard from the other side of the door. "For her own good? Really? Do you even know what'll happen if you keep this up? Sure, you can lie to her about family, I don't give two shits about that one, but you can't keep up this house of BS without something falling apart somewhere. Especially about the amulet. If you keep letting her think that it's magical she'll end up dead you know."
"Dead how? I don't believe you." He couldn't help some of the relief he felt now that Bates seemed to cool off some. Still, he wasn't taking any chances. He was staying where he was.
"She wouldn't either."
"You told her?!" He almost ran over to the door and ripped it off its hinges just to see if Bates's expression gave anything away.
"No," he said after a few moments. "And I have no intention to. She NEEDS to know, but not from me. If I tell her she'll just think I'm lying." The truth was he was worried she'd hate him forever if he ever broke her trust in Hale. She had no one else and, despite all his hate and disgust for the man cowering in his room right now, he was only ever kept back by the thought of poor Alyssa being all alone in the world (although that small margin of safety Hale had was progressively getting thinner). He couldn't take care of her, not the way a physical person could. At least with Hale she had a home, something he'd never be able to provide. All he could do was protect her from physical harm. He doubted his 'talents' would actually get them anywhere good in the world.
He was also curious about where this was all going. He knew Hale had some beef with Maxwell, that much was blaringly obvious unless, of course, you were one Alyssa Hale who just liked to sit around and pretend the world was okay. What Bates couldn't quite grasp was why. Sure, it was all to bring down Maxwell in the end, but why in this particular manner? There was something more that Allen was hiding, the one thing he couldn't figure out. At least not yet.
"If you told her something like that she'd probably just come to me... Why won't you just tell her yourself if you're so concerned?" When he received no answer, Allen cautiously approached the door and opened it. Bates had left at some point while he'd been pondering and he sighed in relief. However, he was still a bit rattled by the unusual display of emotions he'd just seen. It was unlike Bates to throw fits of wild anger like that, and with such ferocity too. Was it really that upsetting to him? Allen couldn't wrap his head around why it would be, but there was one possibility that he hoped wasn't true. If Bates really was Alyssa's twin brother then what in the world is he doing here when he was found dead? And in his sister no less.
Allen shook his head and quietly stepped out of his room and headed down the hall to the bathroom. He needed to check on Alyssa.
Bates glared at the amulet on the counter, knowing full well that Alyssa put more faith into it than nearly anything else. It was both unhealthy and somewhat conventional. Still, he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. Not yet. Sighing he picked it up and then receded, allowing Alyssa to regain control and believe that it was the amulet that had done it.
"Alyssa?" Allen stood in the doorway ready to bolt at a moment's notice when she turned and smiled nervously up at him. He exhaled shakily, letting out the previous tension.
"Daddy... are you okay?" she asked quietly. It was obvious something bad had happened but he wasn't bleeding anywhere so maybe she was wrong.
"I'm fine, Sweetie. Are you okay?" She nodded. "Good. Come on, why don't we have some dinner now?" He offered her his hand and she took it, but not without noticing how moist the palms were. Something did happen and he wasn't telling her. Why didn't he ever tell her in times like these?
A/N: This took so long to get done, but now it's finally up. Sorry about the wait. I hope Bates didn't seem out of character but I honestly think that he'd be pretty mad at Allen for all the lies he gives Alyssa. I also think that maybe the amulet is a lie because it just seems a little too convenient and even if it really did block out Bates that doesn't explain why he only ever takes over when something scares her. There's also plenty of other things it doesn't really make clear. She probably just THINKS it helps her because Allen said so and because Bates just simply allows it. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, which came out much longer than I anticipated.
