Despite all the things that had happened to complicate her life, when it came down to it, Lucy Collins was a very simple person. She had simple needs, simple habits, and simple morals.

She was not above breaking laws and hurting feelings; her own survival had always been more important than worrying over the fate of the person who's car or wallet she was stealing, or whoever's innocent world view she was spoiling by playing the sweet down her luck little girl act while secretly robbing them blind. The world had never been just with her, why the hell should she follow its rules?

She did have her lines though. She didn't take from or hurt people who were like her; victims. She was a soft heart deep down, always giving up her bed at the women's shelter for somebody younger, always dropping a few dollars in the cup of a homeless person sleeping on the street.

Another group that had her camaraderie were those who actually helped. They were a rare breed, and she'd met very few outside of Manhattan, but they were there. Nearly all of them were victims themselves of a sort, but unlike her they choose to try and put some good back in the world, to keep giving a shit about morals and being just. It was a fool's game and a constant uphill battle, but they fought anyway. Lucy honestly thought they were wasting their time, but she admired them for it nonetheless.

Kevin and his alters had always been a gray area for her. Well, that wasn't true, they were as black and white as the rest of her life. They were people that for some bizarre reason looked at her and saw something worth sticking around for, something worthwhile. They were her family, and they always had been.

The gray came in when she tried to draw lines. At first it was just lines for them; they had a habit of putting themselves on the line in ways that could backfire and get them hurt. The only defense offered every time was that they were themselves on the line for her, as if that justified any risk. Then came the lines now, the Wong voice in her head telling her what was healthy human behavior and what wasn't. Sometimes she wished she hadn't met the man. She had been much happier before she knew how to identify red flags.

But even the uneducated Lucy Collins would have called murder — cannibalism, god she was never going to be able to stomach that — a red flag. The idea that anyone could kill anybody didn't sit right with her, but to do it to a stranger, someone who hadn't even wronged you, who at this point in their lives hadn't really gotten the chance to wrong anybody yet? It just didn't seem right, no matter what the supposed pay off was going to be.

Which brought her back to this Beast. Lucy wasn't really sure what to make of him. It? Who knew. Whatever this thing was, it sounded like a fairytale. A real one too, not one of those that Disney had gotten his hands on. This one did not censor or hold back any of the gory details. An avenging angel. Someone fighting the good fight. Perhaps someone who could actually win too.

As stated, Lucy was a very simple person with simple habits. With a life that had offered very little by means of support, she always found a way to gravitate back to the people who she could count on the most, even when they were presumed dead.

Which was why, after who knew how long, the door to her room cracked open slowly she didn't pretend to be asleep. She instead sat up instantly, knowing who had the light with one look, as she always had.

"Hedwig?"

"H-hi Lucy..." the boy stuttered nervously.

"What's the matter?"

"I-I had a bad dream. M-Ms. Patrica said I thouldn't come in here...b-but I thought..."

"You can always come to me Hedwig." Shifting to the side, Lucy patted the place next to her on the bed. The boy farted for it, the door slipping shut behind him. For once Lucy paid no mind to it.

Hedwig wound his arms around her and curled up tightly into her side, holding onto her like a lifeline. He had his face buried into her hair, so Lucy could feel more than hear the shake in his voice when he spoke. "...L-Lucy are you...a-are you thcared of uth?"

Lucy blinked at the question in surprise. "...What gave you that idea Hedwig?"

"M-Ms. Patrica thaid that you didn't like the Beast. Thhe thaid you weren't gonna be our friend anymore..."

"Hedwig, I've always been, and always will be your friend. You, Kevin, Dennis, and Patrica. I've told you before."

"Y-Yeah, but t-that wath before —"

"I love you." She cut him off. "I'm not scared of you. I'm scared for you. I don't wanna see any of you get hurt."

"...I love you too, Luce..." something wet hit her neck and she twisted to see tear trails staining her friend's cheeks. "I-I don't want you to not be my friend. I didn't want you to leave the firtth time!"

"I didn't wanna leave the first time!" Lucy brought her hand to his cheek, wiping the tears away with her thumb. "I would have never stopped looking till I found you! Just...when I made it back to Pueblo...I saw the blood stain...And Kevin's mom said she killed you..."

"Thhe almost did..." Hedwig looked down. "The hothpital saved us. Mr. Dennis thnuck uth out, and thince they had uth under 'John Doe' they didn't look for uth..."

"Aw sweetheart, you must've been so scared..." Lucy pulled the child in a man's body closer to her, her heart breaking. The Dr. Wong in her mind was saying something, but the voice sounded like it was underwater. She was too overwhelmed by the protectiveness and attachment she had spent a lifetime building with the original four personalities in the body of Kevin Crumb.

Yes, when it came down to it, Lucy Collins was a very simple person.