Living without sin is hard for anyone, but especially if you're a Serpent, you're brother and his best friend have been roped into a drug run, your friend is a literal witch, and you have to visit the leader of a rival gang in prison. Sorry Black Hood, Riverdale never stood a chance.

Chapter title is from Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

NOTE: Sabrina (from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) is mentioned, but this is not a crossover, and you don't need to have watched the show to understand (I haven't even finished it yet lmao). All you need to know is that she's a witch and she and Amy are lowkey bros

WARNING: Malachai being Malachai, but that's about it

(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter

Time Has Found You Out

A week had passed since the street race debacle, and Amy was finally back on speaking terms with Archie, although her relationship with Jughead had been strained since he and Betty got back together that night. Despite the tension, Amy was sprawled on the Jones' couch, head in Sweet Pea's lap, feet thrown over Jughead's, the position she'd been in since school ended, when Toni and Fangs slammed the door open.

"What's up, Tiny?" Sweet Pea asked, getting a glare for the nickname.

"What's up? What's up is that the Black Hood just called Pop's fucking choc'lit shop and said that if everyone in Riverdale could go one day without sinning, he'd stop killing."

"I mean, he's only actually killed one person," Amy pointed out, "and there's no way that we can live without sinning."

"Yeah, least of all today," Jughead scoffed.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, sitting up quickly.

"Penny Peabody."

"What about Peabody?"

"She's calling in a favour," Jughead explained.

"You fucking… you made the deal with her, didn't you? Right after Fred got shot? The one I specifically told you not to make?"

"Yeah, I did. I know it was dumb, but god, Amethyst, Fred had just been shot. I couldn't handle the thought of my dad going away for good."

Amy sighed, taking one of Jughead's hands in hers. "I know, Jughead, I get it. I don't think I can get you out of this one, but I'll make sure that she knows you're off limits from now on."

"How can you do that?"

Amy's soft smile turned sharp, dangerous, with just a glint of her canines. "Safer not to ask," she said.

Jughead blinked, clearing his throat loudly. "Right, well um… She wants me to make a delivery to Greendale. Archie said he'd come with, so we can load the crate in the truck."

"Of course he's involved. Okay, hold on." She typed away at her phone, and waited for a moment. "He's on his way. So, where's the drop?"

Jughead rattled off an address, which Amy was certain would be some empty warehouse, and she typed it into her phone.

Archie arrived shortly after, sitting in the empty kitchen chair.

"So, what's going on?" He asked.

"I heard about your delivery. Look, the Snake Charmer is good at what she does, and I'm not letting her get her claws into you. Either of you."

"So what's your plan?"

"I already told Jughead, I don't think that I can get her to call this one off—I don't have that kind of cash on hand right now—but I know her tricks. First of all, you both need to not dress like yourselves. No Serpent jacket, no varsity jacket, and for god's sake Red, cover your hair. See if you can grab a sweater from Fred, and maybe a jean jacket. Jughead, absolutely no beanie. Baseball caps for both of you—Red, I know you still have some from Little League."

"I do," Archie agreed. "Is that it?"

"No, it's not. Look, knowing Peabody, whoever is picking up the delivery knows your names already, so you need to come up with fake names and backstories, and stick with them. Don't talk to anyone, just drop it and go, but if anyone does use your names, or you run into any strangers on the way, give them your fake names. If it's at the drop, say that there was a change of plans. And most importantly, Greendale isn't Riverdale."

"Well yeah, obviously not," Jughead agreed.

"No, I mean… Greendale is something else entirely. It's history is way older and way darker than Riverdale's. On a normal night, it's more dangerous than Riverdale ever has or ever could be. If you run into trouble, or you feel like something is off, send me a text. I've got a girl in Greendale who can look out for you."

"You do?" Archie asked.

"Her name is Sabrina," Amy explained. "We met over the summer, she was researching the history of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy while I was there. She's… dangerous, but I trust her."

The boys both nodded, so Amy grabbed her phone to message the girl in question.

Snake Bitch: hey sabrina- my boys have been roped into some shady shit in greendale, can you be on call in case shit goes south?

Witchy Bitch: yeah sure, just having a movie night with the girls, shouldn't be hard to ditch if you need. Is this the sort of shit where you might need some footage destroyed?

Snake Bitch: holy shit can you do that?

Witchy Bitch: of course I can. Give me the address and I'll take care of it

Snake Bitch: you're the best!

She sent the address to the other girl, relieved to know that someone would be looking out for them if she couldn't be, and she didn't need to ask to know that neither boy would agree to letting her come with them.

"Okay, she knows you'll be there. She's going to stay available, so for real, if anything sketch happens, let me know."

"We will, Ames, I promise. We should probably head back to my place to sort out our outfits though, right?"

Amy nodded, "Yeah, you definitely should. Text me when you leave, when you get there, and as soon as you get back, okay?"

Both boys agreed, so Amy hugged Archie goodbye, and they all left. The two boys towards the Northside, and the partners towards the Wyrm.

"Oh shit," Amy hissed, coming to a realization.

"What's wrong?" Fangs asked, eyes scanning the area for a threat.

"I've been meaning to go and visit Malachai. I've been putting it off to let him cool down, and to let my ribs get a bit better, but I really should go."

The other three looked at each other. None of them knew exactly how close Amy was with the Ghoulie, or how it had happened, and none of them had ever asked. A quick wordless conversation confirmed that none of them wanted to be the one to ask, so instead Sweet Pea sat back on his bike.

"I'll ride over with you," he told the girl.

"Thanks, Sweets. T, tell Hog Eye I'll be late?"

"Of course," Toni agreed.

"Ride or die," Amy told them, starting her bike back up.

"Ride or die," they replied in unison.

Moments later, Amy and Sweet Pea were driving across town to the prison, pulling to a stop in their usual spots.

Amy signed in while Sweet Pea took a seat in the waiting area.

Malachai appeared almost immediately after she sat down, picking up the phone with a sneer.

"What, so the princess finally decides to visit little old me?"

"I've been recovering from cracked ribs and a concussion, Mal, getting here wasn't exactly an option."

"Or you thought that calling the cops would mean that you were rid of me and now you feel guilty?"

"What the fuck, Mal? I didn't call them."

"This is exactly the kind of trick you'd come up with."

"Okay, it sort of is," Amy admitted, "but not with the fucking pigs! Especially not a day after that fucking raid."

"Well then who did?" the Ghoulie demanded.

"Andrews," Amy insisted, "he fucking admitted it in front of everyone, ask your boys."

"So what, you just told him to do it?"

"I didn't have anything to do with this, Mal. The race was FP's idea, Jones insisted on having Andrews as his second, and he didn't even ask me before offering up the Wyrm of Sunnyside. Why would they suddenly care about my opinion on this?"

Malachai looked surprised for a moment, before shaking his head. "I don't believe that for a second, Princess. I know you, and underhand schemes are your thing. Just," he waved a dismissive hand, "get the fuck out of here, and don't come back. You're dead to me, you hear? Dead."

Amy blinked. "Mal?"

"You heard me, Princess."

With that, the Ghoulie hung up the phone and walked away from the window, and Amy barely made it to the bathroom before the tears spilled down her cheeks. She and Malachai weren't even friends, exactly, but they'd always respected each other, and to hear that he blamed her for Archie's fuck up hurt more than she expected. Or maybe it was his refusal to believe her, or even just his parting words. Malachai had respected her even before most Serpents, and to lose all of that because Northsiders couldn't stay in their own lane was bullshit.

She stormed out of the bathroom, grabbing Sweet Pea by the arm and dragging him to their bikes. She didn't give him a chance to speak before shoving her helmet over her head, revving her engine and taking off towards the Wyrm, the boy following behind her.

She was still upset when she got to the Wyrm, though more angry than sad, and quickly swiped in, making her way to the bar. She pulled a flask—her favourite flask, a gift from Toni which read 'Well behaved women rarely make history'—out of her holster, gulping down the rum inside.

"What was that about, Doll?" Sweet Pea asked when he finally caught up to her.

"Mal. He blames me for Archie's stupid idea. Told me not to visit again, that I'm," she took another long swig of rum, relishing the burn, "that I'm dead to him."

She slammed the now empty flask on the counter, letting Toni wrap a reassuring arm around her.

"He's an idiot, it's not your fault, and he'll get his head out of his ass eventually," she promised.

"Yeah, well… he'd better. In the meantime, I can practically feel the glares, so we should probably start doing our actual jobs."

Toni laughed, pulling away. "Yeah, we should," she agreed.

The boys left soon after for their shifts at the auto shop, and the girls spent the evening keeping the older Serpents' drinks full. The boys finished their shifts first, which wasn't unusual, getting back to the Wyrm just after Amy had gotten two texts, from Archie and Jughead respectively, letting her know that they were heading out. She forwarded the information, along with Fred's license plate, to Sabrina, turning the volume up on her phone before getting back to work.

It was dark out when they finally left, close to eleven o'clock. Amy hadn't heard anything more from the boys, which she hoped meant that they were okay and not that they were being too stubborn to ask for help. Of course, almost as soon as she had thought that, her phone went off.

Red: car broke down, jug & crate getting ride from stranger, smth feels rlly wrong

Ames: that dumbass. Ok where are you exactly.

Archie replied, with both the highway and exit number, and Amy copied the information, pasting it into another chat and sending it to Sabrina.

Snake Bitch: so the car broke and my dumbass accepted a ride from a stranger. This is where my boy red is, can you help out?

Witchy Bitch: just got home from movie night, should be no problem

She didn't know what exactly Sabrina did, and wasn't going to ask. She knew that Sabrina, like herself, dabbled in some pretty grey morality, and that plausible deniability was always the safest strategy. Thankfully, she got another text from Archie saying that the car was working again, and that he had Jughead.

They got to the riverbanks, so she put her phone away to help set up the trunk of the Jeep, where they had decided to spend the night. Changing into pajamas was unpleasant in the biting winter air, but soon they were all dressed and in the car, and Sweet Pea was closing the trunk behind them. They rolled the front windows just slightly, to get some air circulation, before piling onto the mattress. Amy refused to go to sleep until she knew that Archie and Jughead were safe, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Archie sent another text.

Red: drop done- left it right inside the door and got out b4 we saw anyone

Ames: perfect- drive safe, ily

Red: ily2

She texted Sabrina, getting confirmation that the footage was destroyed, and let herself be pulled down by Sweet Pea. She felt him wrap himself around her, felt Toni tuck a leg between hers, and felt Fangs throw an arm over both she and Toni, but even surrounded by her partners, she knew that she couldn't relax until the boys were back in Riverdale. Thankfully it only took another half hour for Archie to confirm that they were back and stopping at Pops, so she finally turned off her phone, buried her face in Toni's neck, and drifted off to sleep—and for one shining moment, she forgot; about Malachai's rage, Penny's schemes, the Black Hood, all of it. All that mattered was that she was safe, her loved ones were safe, and her partners were right there with her.

Gahhh okay I'm really sorry that this chapter was so short, but I'm already working on chapter 8 which will hopefully be out soon (maybe I can even make it 5 updates in 5 days), and has a whole heck of a lot going on, so please forgive me for this one feeling like a bit of a let down!