A/N: - Hi! I can't believe we're almost at the end! I hope you enjoyed Imploding the Mirage, that chapter was an ode to the album that got me through lockdown last year and the title was so fitting for it! I know I really put you guys through the ringer but I wanted you to experience the action firstly as Devon thought it was playing out and then with the reveal for the plan so you could share in the gang's triumph. As this chapter title depicts very nicely, this whole chapter is very much a long time coming as Devon finally faces his comeuppance. It's a shorter chapter than of late for me but there's no let up on the drama. I think this might contain the most swear words I've written in a chapter. It was certainly fun to hear read out loud! Please enjoy.
Devon Blake knew he had been violently played by the kids as he stared at them emerge from the darkness behind Daphne; for once he was feeling truly speechless. Daphne looked victorious, and as usual when it came to her, he felt a smattering of admiration for her taking him on at his own convoluted games. Somewhere along the line they had obviously seen through his desperate bluff but he knew they couldn't have managed this feat alone and having recovered from the initial deception, he turned his attention to the two imposters.
"Well, what a turn up for the books this is," he chuckled. "I take it that you gentlemen are NOT Nick and Paolo? I should have realised from the sudden show of sheer competence on display."
The one he had believed was Paolo stepped away from the kids towards him. He didn't speak but suddenly grinned and produced a phone, thrusting a photo in his face. Devon stared at the image with a sigh as he looked at the real Nick and Paolo. They were lying unconscious in one of the containers in just their underwear, taped up together and gagged. Fucking amateurs he thought dejectedly but he smiled beseechingly at the 'werewolf' he now knew beyond any doubt was an imposter. Despite his frustration, he couldn't help but be a little impressed at what they had pulled off. They had got him well and truly.
"Oh you better bet your life that we aren't!" 'Paolo' mocked him savagely. "Turns out things are really not what they seem after all..."
The four human members of the gang were stood watching on, all looking righteously smug. Three of them were absolutely drenched to the bone but they sure as hell didn't have any blood pouring from any bullet holes. You fucking idiot Devon a voice chastised him inside his head and he tried to push the mocking voice away. Why couldn't you see it was all just TOO easy! How humiliating for you!
"Impressive," he commented in a droll tone and if he could have clapped them all sarcastically in that moment, he totally would have done. "So I guess all that," he gestured to the gang, "was entirely just for show! Bravo kids! Why don't you take a fucking bow," he sneered.
Fred smirked, pushing a hand through his soaking wet hair as water still dripped down his face, he sounded a little breathless at first as he stared Devon down who was still held fast by the other imposter. "And there's your biggest weakness Devon, laid bare all over again," he told him in an unbearably pompous tone. "You keep on underestimating us time and time again." Still smirking, he stepped closer to Devon whilst dripping water everywhere. He held up his wrists to reveal the threadbare frail rope now hanging from each one. It was a sure-fire sign that they hadn't been tied up tightly at all and the confirmation that this was a carefully planned deception, but what really caught Devon's eye was the red-raw scarring on the blond's wrists. Clearly the piss-poor rope hanging by a thread hadn't done that and Devon took a little comfort that he wasn't the only one out to get the insufferably holier than thou leader. There had been rumours he wasn't the only one to target Daphne and Fred when they arrived in China but he hadn't put too much stock in it. The clearly recent marks nevertheless were intriguing to Devon. Fred continued to taunt him, nodding at his friends, who also stepped forward confidently now.
"Psych," he mocked him gleefully and Velma and Shaggy lifted up their wrists too, showing the same deliberately frayed rope, and Devon laughed bitterly to himself, furious at how they had actually embarrassed him so badly.
"That's right Devon," Velma told him in a similarly conceited tone to Fred's. "We found out all about your big bluff. We knew you never had her. The fact is you have NOTHING!" she spat.
"You really fucked up when you rigged that warehouse," Daphne joined in the verbal kicking now. "Even for complete scumbags like you, that was just too much. They all abandoned you in their DROVES. Killing your own is just too much for even the most hardened of your underlings to stomach!"
Devon laughed loudly now, chilling the gang. "You think I care about the people who work for me? I stopped caring about anyone but myself the moment your slut of a mother betrayed me." He saw Daphne flinch but she didn't rise to his baiting. "Sweetheart, it's dog eat dog in this world. If I cared about anyone else I wouldn't have left Cain to burn in the factory that night," he revealed callously. He saw her recoil but still she didn't react. She shook off his taunts to revel in their victory now instead.
"I'm almost embarrassed at how easy this was for us. You bought it hook, line and sinker," she crowed. "We certainly fooled you uncle," she added bitingly, nothing but contempt in her voice for him.
Devon squirmed in frustration and fury and he felt the fake 'Nick' push the blade tighter onto his throat as he moved. "Well yes, aren't you quite the little actress Daphne!" he spat. "I have to admit you had me going good and proper there and yeah I underestimated you all again. I guess I should have known Fred Jones was made of fucking Teflon – fair fucks to Mystery Inc! But it's not like you did all this by yourself is it? So come on then, who are you really?" he drawled, directing his question at the imposter werewolf standing protectively alongside Mystery Inc.
"Oh with pleasure," the werewolf said scornfully, now sounding absolutely nothing like the snivelling Paolo. Stepping back a little to give Devon a proper look, the imposter stood directly in line of the kneeling Devon and swiftly removed the werewolf mask. A young dark-haired man stood staring back at Devon defiantly and it took a few seconds but Devon eventually recognised him as the very young cop he had seen on press reports, and who had helped to shield Daphne and the others in the early days in Coolsville.
Given the cuffs, what he assumed were blank rounds that were used to 'shoot' the kids, and the brutally professional way they had taken him down, Devon figured it had to have been a cop who was helping them but was surprised to find it was one so relatively young.
"Ah well," he smirked at them evilly. "I guess Kindergarten Cop was pretty much all I left you with after that nasty little bombing issue wiped out your precious Detectives," he said vindictively and was instantly cheered that the comment cut deeply with everyone but especially the cop who looked suitably furious.
"You are the fucking scum of the earth Blake..." he shouted, ready to launch into a rant but Devon cut him off quickly with another chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah, yada yada, bored of you already kid. I'm far more interested in who your friend is here," he referenced the one holding him tightly with one arm on his shoulder and the other holding the knife at his neck. He tried to twist around to look at him but he was held firmly in place. "I'm guessing from the grip on my neck that I must have really pissed you off," he genially addressed the second imposter and got a stinging cut for his troubles as the steel nicked his throat.
"Oh you have no idea," the imposter spoke calmly. "Rory, come and give me a hand?"
The cop, Rory, who had completely shed the entire costume now, strode over to Devon quickly, he quickly took over from the imposter as the knife pressure on Devon's throat was briefly removed and then reapplied as the cop took him in a similar stranglehold grip.
Meanwhile, the second imposter had walked around directly in front of Devon and crouched to the floor. "I want to get the best view of the look on your face," he told him, clearly going to relish in the unmasking.
Devon was burning up with curiosity but he was assuming for sure it would be another of the cops who had miraculously survived the bombing and in his head he was already contemplating that somehow it was Barnum from the smug, taunting manner. However, as the mask was lifted off and he saw his face clearly, 'miracles' didn't even come close to describing the identity of the man grinning in front of him right now.
For a good long minute, the man who had a wisecrack for every occasion was genuinely stunned into silence; it defied every single shred of logic and reason and Devon found himself merely staring at his face in absolute sheer disbelief unable to form one word on his lips, and the man laughed coldly at his reaction.
"What's the matter Devon?" The man teased him. "You look like you've seen a ghost?"
Devon was absolutely white-faced now and he found himself looking towards Daphne and Fred for their reactions. When they barely even flinched, it became obvious this was a reveal long in the making for him, and they themselves had known for some time despite him ensuring Daphne received news of what happened in China. He finally exploded in absolute fury now, knowing that his own plans had somehow failed spectacularly along the way yet again and Rory had to hold him tight as he tried to break free to attack the man.
"Fucking hell Ethan!" he addressed his very much alive nephew who jumped back and merely grinned at him in response. "I thought Jones being made of Teflon was bad enough, but you're a fucking cockroach I just can't squash! I made sure they shot you! Right through the fucking head and over a cliff! There's no way on earth you could have survived that."
"You're right uncle," Ethan sneered, his grin now gone, replaced by a dark anger. "I couldn't. No man could survive such a cold-blooded murder plan. It's just another reason why this moment now is going to be so sweet. You see, your hooded hyena's didn't even make sure they killed the right man! I wasn't on the bike that night, my friend was. And they killed him. And sure it was a twist of fate that I wasn't the one riding that night but yet again it's a show of your cowardice. Getting your underlings to do the dirtiest work that you can't actually bring yourself to do."
Ethan got up and stepped out of the suit, he pulled out the gun and tipped out the blank rounds, reaching into his pocket and reloading the gun with real bullets.
"And you think you can?" Devon laughed raucously at his defiant action now. "Boy, you don't have the guts to pull the trigger. None of you do," he sneered as the rest of them came to stand alongside Ethan now.
In response, Rory pushed the knife tighter against his throat and Devon rolled his eyes.
"Oh you tease Boy Wonder," he scoffed. "But we both know that you can't do it either. You don't have the stones to cut my throat," he taunted. "And you dear nephew, you won't shoot me either!"
"Don't be so sure," Ethan replied evenly, keeping a steady and composed hold on the gun. "Right now this entire yard is surrounded. This is how it ends uncle, you are not walking away from this this time."
"So end it then! End it properly. You have me exactly where you want me at last! You can't tell me you haven't dreamed of this moment. All you have to do is pull the trigger Ethan. We both know I deserve it. I tortured you, I cut you, hit you and whipped you, and the only reason I even kept you alive after all that was for bait. I felt nothing for you. Twice I have believed you were dead, and twice it left me with nothing but a song in my heart. You tell me it was a friend I had killed instead? Well I guess that's good because it hurts you more!"
Ethan's nostrils flared in fury and Fred gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him get to you Ethan," but Ethan shook the hand off and Devon delighted in the aggression. making a mental note of the tension between Ethan and Fred.
"Oh Freddy, maybe it should be you instead!" Devon said happily, turning his attention to the blond now. "You and I go way back of course. I often think about the time we spent together! Do you think of it too? About how different your life could have been if you accepted my offer!"
Fred looked embarrassed and Devon smiled as the others all looked at the leader in shock.
"I never even considered it for a single second," Fred replied defiantly.
"Oh that's right, you believe you turned your life around when you kidnapped Daphne. I've heard of some fucked up relationships in my time kids but you two?" He addressed Fred, and Daphne, who was now right by Fred's side. "How could you ever trust him my dear! Or the rest of them for that matter!" he said, glaring at Shaggy and Velma now. "Oh how I laughed when I saw how you had formed your little mystery club. How gloriously ironic that the moral crusaders who were do-gooding their way across Coolsville were criminals themselves!"
This was obviously news to no-one but Rory, and Devon was satisfied as he heard the cop gasp a little in disbelief behind him. "Oh yes Robin, sorry Rory, your much cherished crime-fighters have a very chequered past between them. I guess they weren't keen to broadcast that!" He saw the doubt appear on Daphne's face and went in for the kill. "Oh no doubt you have convinced yourself that they've changed Daphne, but they can never change who they are deep down, no matter how many plaudits have been lauded on them. You really think you're heroes now? That you captured the big bad Devon Blake? It's not enough for you Freddy and you know it's not! You're a killer. You might have convinced yourself that what happened on that cat-walk was an accident but we both know it wasn't."
"You're wrong," Fred said, shaking with anger now but Devon knew he was pushing his buttons now and continued to taunt him delightedly.
"As if you could ever hope to have a future with her! Deep down she knows what you are, you can convince yourself you're 'good' now with your do gooding ways but I saw the real you! You can't change who you are – you have a dark, dark soul Fred Jones, it's why you were able to kill so easily! Do you think she can just forget that!? Your relationship is fucking doomed!"
Fred felt like Devon had ignited a fire within him and he felt Daphne tense at his words.
"Just because you couldn't keep a woman happy it doesn't mean nobody else can love."
"Big talk Fred but that doubt will always exist for her. You two are cursed."
Ethan had had enough of the taunting and smashed him in the face furiously. "Shut the fuck up, you know nothing about love. I doubt she EVER loved you!"
"You have no idea what Eve and I had, it was your father that was the one that started all this!" Devon hit back furiously at his nephew's taunt.
"He started this?" Daphne said in disbelief. "You were the one that started all this when you murdered your wife and brother, you fucking psychopath!" she spat in response, utterly furious that he was blaming her father.
"Because they betrayed me!" Devon shouted back furiously. "She wasn't Matt's to take! She was MINE!"
Both Daphne and Ethan stared at Devon in disgust.
"And because you couldn't have her, you made sure nobody else could," Daphne replied scornfully. "I thought I couldn't hate you any more but then you blew up an entire warehouse filled with police, with friends," she choked out.
"Ah, well that was one of my finest hours," Devon bragged sickeningly and Rory tightened the grip on him considerably as his own anger grew.
"You are one sick, sick fuck you know that?" Rory said into his ear.
"Thank you," Devon said cheerily and the members of Mystery Inc. all turned away in disgust.
"It's not a compliment, you bastard!" Rory said, close to losing it now. "I lost friends in there! Brave men and women who only wanted to bring your reign of terror to an end! You slaughtered them all and for what?" he asked him desperately.
"Fun," Devon replied sinisterly, and Rory did lose it now, he punched him hard in the side of the face and Devon slumped to the floor as Rory began kicking him in a desperate fury now, blinded by nothing but hate.
Shaggy and Velma stepped forward to pull Rory off Devon. Rory lashed out wildly, the knife he had pinned to Devon's throat was dangerously close to Devon's handcuffed wrists now and Daphne quickly kicked it out of reach, watching as it slid across the wet decking, straight into the dark water.
Fred and Ethan had pulled Devon back onto his knees and Shaggy, Daphne and Velma had helped to calm a raging Rory and had taken him a short distance away.
"It can't be like this Rory," Daphne had pleaded to him. "He knows exactly what's he doing, you can't rise to it. We have him now, as soon as Justin gets here with everyone else this will all finally be over."
"You're right, Daphne," Rory said, calming now. "God he just really got under my skin then. If you guys weren't there, I think I might..."
"Believe me Rory, we've all been there."
"Where the hell is Justin anyway?" Shaggy complained, his teeth chattering from the dunking he had earlier.
"I don't know," Velma said, "but I'm starting to get suspicious all over again, was he really the best option to send for help?"
Daphne was beginning to have doubts herself but tried to pushed them away. "No Ethan vouched for him, we have to have trust, maybe he just got held up."
Velma nodded uncertainly and Daphne saw her friend's entire body shiver involuntarily.
"God, you guys are freezing! We didn't think this through. Maybe you two and Freddy should go back to the Mystery Machine to warm up? This is over now. Ethan, Rory and I have got this."
"Rory? Are you sure?" Velma said sceptically.
"Stop looking at me like I'm a headcase Velma," Rory said tiredly. "I just lost it for a moment, I'm fine now. I'm not going to kill him."
"Good," Velma nodded. "That bastard needs to suffer the full extent of the law, the whole of the town needs to see him sent down for life for his crimes."
"Besides Daph, we're fine, sure the water was a little cold but it really wasn't very long. Justin will be here soon and we'll all be able to go back and celebrate at last!" Shaggy smiled but then looked a little confused. "Hey, what the hell happened with Fred? Velma and I were underneath the pier waiting, but there was this massive pause before you screamed and then he hit the water like WHAAAAAMMMM!" he gestured with his hand. "It took him a while to re-surface and we were a little worried for a moment."
Daphne went pale remembering how their perfect plan had almost unravelled so fatally for Fred, she gulped.
"Devon decided that being shot was too good for Fred and suddenly produced that bitch of a knife from nowhere and started to charge towards Freddy. The scream you heard then was absolutely for real. If it wasn't for Ethan's quick reaction..." she shuddered at the memory of the crazy-eyed Devon's murderous stalk towards Fred. "He shot him like we planned but he was standing right next to him, he was far too close. That's why he hit the water with the impact he did. I was so relieved when I saw all three of you!"
"Wow, so Ethan saved his life then," Shaggy surmised and Daphne nodded.
"I guess that makes them even now."
"I guess it does." They all looked over to where Ethan and Fred were both guarding Devon and then they all walked back with Rory.
Devon acknowledged their return. "About time! Now isn't the time for a little pep rally! Isn't it about time you unmasked me? That's what you love to do right? That's the moment of triumph for you, am I right?"
The gang looked at Devon in shock and he laughed again. "What's the matter, afraid to see what's really underneath? It's only fair that you get to properly see what you've done? The state you left me in!"
Before Fred could stop himself, he wrenched the black mask from Devon's face and then tripped backward, sitting on his backside staring at Devon's fully exposed face with a look of utter horror on his own face now.
They had all seen the burns on the TV screen but it was nothing compared to the sight close up. The scarring was so deep and lurid, Fred couldn't take his eyes away from the truly grotesque sight. His face got even uglier as his lips turned up in a sneer.
"Oh what's the matter Freddy boy? Ashamed of what you did? Can't bear to see the sight of the real me?!"
Fred was rendered speechless by the full unmasking of Devon Blake and sat on the pier decking, shaking and shivering from the cold that that was seeping into his bones now.
The others all stared in horror too, but it was Fred who seemed to be the most affected, he couldn't tear his eyes away or even move, sitting numbly a few feet away.
Devon licked blood from his lip and looked around at the group. Ethan still held a firm grip on him, Rory, Shaggy and Velma were standing close by and Daphne was trying to get Fred up from the deck.
"You know what gang, you're boring me now. Quit all this foreplay already and just get this thing over with! I'm tingling from the tediousness of it all. One of you should just grow a fucking set...unless..." the thought slowly occurred to him and his ruined lips half turned up in amusement. "Unless of course you're truly stalling for something or someone. You surely don't have any more ridiculous resurrections back from the dead up your sleeve? Honestly, the twists here are getting pretty silly now. At this stage, I half expect you to wheel out dear old Matty, but...he's definitely charcoal."
He looked to Daphne and Ethan immediately, delighted it got the rise he was looking for. The siblings looked virtually murderous at the mention of their father again.
He suddenly felt Ethan push the gun into the back of his head.
"Go on do it. Do it!" he goaded and everybody held their breaths as it looked for a second like Ethan truly would but with a yell of frustration at himself he pulled the gun away.
"Just as I thought," Devon said victoriously. "You can't do it. Even after everything I've done to you, none of you can do it! Boy, to say this place is surrounded they sure are taking their sweet time. If I didn't know better I would say you are bluffing. They better hurry up for your sake. How confident are you really, that no-one is left on my side? Pretty bold call to make!"
They all looked around uneasily. Justin had been gone much, much longer than planned. They were all starting to have doubts, even Ethan but he wasn't willing to admit that in front of everyone, not least Devon.
As a few more minutes passed, where they had to suffer some more of Devon's taunting, Fred had recovered from the shock of seeing Devon's burns up close and was angrily pacing now. "For fucks sake, I knew we couldn't trust him Ethan!" he angrily lamented, getting Devon's attention right away.
"He'll be here soon, Fred, just relax," Ethan tried to calm him but Fred wasn't having it.
"He should be here ALREADY Ethan! You promised us we could trust him, looks like another broken promise of yours."
Devon whistled loudly, putting them all on edge again. "Oh my! Did you boys have a little tiff! My, my! Didn't see this one coming!"
Fred gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Can we please find a way to gag him already?" he pleaded. "I can't take much more of this!"
"Wait!" Daphne said, jumping to her feet. "I think I can see him!"
She raced down the pier towards Justin in relief but then stopped dead in confusion and alarm as she reached the shadowy figure.
"Oh god, is it not him?" Velma fretted aloud, immediately remembering Devon's threat that he wasn't alone.
As the figure walked towards the lit pier alongside Daphne, they were all relieved to see that it was indeed the young cop, Daphne's alarm had given way to confusion and they soon realised why as he and Daphne had almost reached them now.
At first, Ethan thought Justin may just have been further ahead of the others as he led them to the correct place but as Justin stepped onto the pier with Daphne, with his eyes immediately fixed firmly on Devon, it became crystal clear to Ethan now and his heart sank, a glimmer of uncertainty and fear forming in his stomach as they came to terms with the undeniably sinister situation right now.
Despite leaving them nearly an hour ago; Justin had arrived alone.
A/N: Okay! Final theories for Justin and his intentions? All is revealed next chapter! Thank you for the continual reviews! Your support means so much :)