Expect a little change in tone in this chapter. Let's just say, the fluff and filler chapters were getting boring to write.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Six:
The End Of His Tether

Walking through a small foyer, the Gru family approached a large set of glass double doors and their neighboring huge windows, both of which had signs strapped to them reading the word 'Pool'. The girls were giddy with glee as they approached them, the excitement of swimming in a hotel pool for the very first time being the reason why.

Even Jack was very clearly filled up with excitement, though he was trying very hard to disguise it behind a masculine attitude.

Walking through the doors, the sudden blaring noise of twenty other families shouting, screaming, and cheering struck them all unexpectedly. Of course, it didn't bother the girls in the slightest, since the sound of other people having fun was only further hammering in their own want to have some fun.

But for Gru, it was a different story.

Though he had only been standing there for three seconds, Gru was already developing a stern headache from the sound of around thirty screaming kids. If it was in his power, he wouldn't hesitate to make them sit down, stop screaming, and just be quiet for the rest of the day, since the high-pitched voices of children drove him more crazy than anything else in the world.

Well, apart from own children of course, since their voices were special and did the exact opposite.

"I'm SO excited!" Agnes exclaimed as she bounced up and down with joy, unable to stop herself from thundering forward towards the pool. As soon as she did, the others soon followed, leaving Lucy to stand there with a more than satisfied expression on her face.

"I'm really glad we came on this trip, y'know." She said happily, watching as the rest of her family leaped into the pool and immediately started annoying a few of the people nearby. "It's just been so much fun…"

"Yeah…" Gru responded unconvincingly. "Eet's been…yeah…a lot of…fun."

"We should probably go find some sunbeds." Lucy suggested. She was lost so deep inside her own sense of happiness, that she didn't pick up on Gru's obvious sarcastic tone.

"Yes…uh…good…good idea."

He had to admit it at this point, he was struggling to enjoy himself, and right now, he didn't exactly know why. He was at a hotel pool, his daughters were playing happily, his wife seemed elated with everything. Usually, that recipe was more than enough to ensure his contentedness, but at the moment, he was far from that description.

He seemed pretty void of vigor. It felt like one more bad thing would push him over the edge of a metaphorical cliff, and god forbid did Gru want to know what was at the bottom of said cliff. It didn't help that he only got about an hour of sleep last night.

All he wanted, out of everything else in the world, was to just relax and have some fun with his family, but even though this was his chance to do that very thing, his mind was racing with thoughts of frustration, stress and just plain fatigue.

He slumped down on the empty sunbed that Lucy had chosen and looked around the whole pool. As the seconds passed, the voices of other people's children seemed to raise in volume, and with it, so did Gru's headache. Every moment when he felt like the pain in his head couldn't get any worse, it somehow proved him wrong and upped the intensity.

Putting his hands on his head, he pushed down on his skull, as if he was trying to stop his brain from exploding.

Looking sideways at her husband, Lucy finally noticed the disheveled expression on Gru's face and gave him a very odd look. Pushing down on your own head like that was certainly a little peculiar…

"Gru?" She spoke, startling him a little, even though she made sure to keep her voice quiet. "Are you…feeling okay?"

"Okay? Of course, I'm feeleeng okay! Why wouldn't I be feeleeng okay?" He replied, his mouth acting like a submachine gun, shooting words at a blurred speed. Lucy was now looking at him as if he was some sort of psychopath. "We're at de pool, de gurls are happy, de noise eesn't…dat bad. Everytheeng ees fine, everytheeng ees great, everytheeng ees brilliant, everytheeng ees-"

"Gru!" Lucy exclaimed, interrupting his mad ramblings. "I can tell there's something wrong. You can't fool me. Talk to me…"

"I am talkeeng!"

"Yes, but so fast, I can barely understand you."

"But in theory, dat ees steel talkeeng."

Even Gru was noticing how stupid he was sounding now. Not only were his words coming out like high-speed trains, but his desperate attempts at hiding his stress and sounding happy were just making him look more suspicious than ever. Realizing that continuing this conversation was probably a bad idea, Gru defied the weariness in his leg muscles and sprinted towards the pool, calling behind him as he ran.

"Race ya!"

Lucy's look of concern didn't let up, but as he ran and cannonballed into the pool, unleashing a huge splash of water across a whole nearby family, she just couldn't help but jump in after him. Maybe he was just rambling because he was super excited to finally spend some proper time with his family…

She would later realize just how wrong she was…

Vector was speeding down the highway at an illegal speed. His eyes were switching between the road and the tracking device, constantly checking to see if the co-ordinates changed to a different location. Thankfully, the numbers had been idle for a few hours now, so it did seem like he had finally stopped somewhere to rest for the night.

Vector also managed to get some rest last night as well, however, not in the way he'd anticipated. That guy seemed to possess one hell of a punch, since after knocking him out with one clean swing, he'd remained unconscious on the dirt path of Hunchback Mountain all night. For whatever reason, not a single passerby decided to call an ambulance.

Although, not even his own father would call an ambulance in that situation, so why should he expect some random stranger to care enough to do so?

Letting out a small sorrowful sigh, Vector's stomach growled at him in irritation. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd eaten. It must have been around nineteen hours. He turned his head and spotted a sign for a diner at the next service stop, and after deducing that taking down Gru would be much more difficult when hungry, he turned off the highway.

Parking outside the diner, Vector exited his vehicle with a frown and sent dagger-like looks at anyone nearby, ensuring that he retained some sort of intimidating appearance. He walked inside, slumped down at the nearest empty table, and stuck his nose inside the menu, evaluating his possible choices.

At a nearby table, three young children were screaming and shouting at the top of their voices, clearly attempting to get the attention of their stressed-out parents. Vector couldn't help but wince. He had to question why anyone on earth would have kids. They were just annoying blockades in life that soaked up your money and annoyed you until you literally couldn't take anymore.

Thinking about it, his father probably held the same opinion…

"Hi!" A woman screeched happily, startling Vector out of his thoughts. "Welcome to Barry's diner! Can I take your order?"

"Oh…uh…yeah." The young villain replied glumly, looking back down at the menu. "I'll have a…bacon sandwich and a coffee."

"Okay-dokey." The lady responded, as she wrote the order down on her notepad. "Do you take sugar in your coffee?"

"Uh…yeah, just one." However, just as he spoke, a small pain at the back of his eye made itself abundantly apparent, and his choice suddenly seemed a lot less desirable. "Actually…make that four."

"Sure thing." The waiter replied, making the adjustment on the notepad before taking the menu from the table. "It shouldn't be any more than ten minutes."

Nodding in a barely noticeable manner, Vector crossed his arms and turned to stare out the window, watching a few couples chat as they returned to their cars. He didn't understand relationships. Once Gru was dead and he was free to ditch villainy forever, he was planning on spending the rest of his life alone in his lair, playing video games and eating junk food.

That sounded like a much more enjoyable life compared to wives, children, and the company of other humans.

At that point, a man and a young boy passed by his window, the two of them holding fishing rods and bags full of random pieces of equipment. They entered the diner laughing about something indeterminable, which if Vector could take a guess, was some stupid dad joke the father had made. He couldn't help but stare at them with an acidic gaze.

"Thanks for taking me out today, dad." The young boy said, as the two sat down on the table in front of Vector. "You were right, fishing is a lot of fun."

"See, I told you." The dad replied. "Once you get the hang of it, it can be a barrel of laughs."

"Yeah." The boy spoke while chuckling. "The best part was when you thought you caught a huge fish, but it was really just somebody's boot."

"Ugh, that was not funny." He said sarcastically, while smiling and chuckling along with his son. "I was really happy for a moment…"

"Your face when the boot came out was brilliant!" The boy mocked through laughs. "You looked like you wanted to cry."

The two were now simultaneously laughing pretty loud, and at this point, Vector couldn't hold his frustrated scoff any longer. The sour expression on his face grew more bitter as the seconds passed. He honestly couldn't wait to get out of this joint, since he felt really out of place around these families and happy civilians.

"I love you, dad." The boy cooed happily, as his laughter died down.

"I love you too, son."

Suddenly, Vector's anger completely vanished. His sour gaze morphed into one of dejection, and his head subconsciously dropped. That hit him a lot harder than he would've ever expected. It felt like a sharp needle jabbing its way into his heart.

He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd heard those words. Had it been ten years? Twenty? Had he ever heard them? He had no recollection of ever hearing them, so possibly not.

If his father was to ever use them now, then they would be coupled with a sarcastic tone and a look of absolute disappointment, as another method to kick him while he was down. He had no clue as to whether or not his mother had ever used them, since she abandoned him and his dad when he was only three-years-old. He highly doubted she would use them if she was willing to leave him at that age…

Feeling the small sting of tears at the back of his eyes, Vector shook himself out of his thoughts and reignited his previous harsh frown. He looked down at the floor and gritted his teeth, growling words under his breath to ensure that no-one else could hear him.

"Get it together, Victor. Just focus on Gru…"

Gru was now finally starting to enjoy himself. For the past two hours, him and Lucy had been playing every swimming pool game imaginable with Agnes, including a holding your breath challenge, a swimming race, a unicorn game, and, what they were playing right now, a game of catch. The look of absolute joy on her face while they did all those activities was enough to calm the director's stress levels to a comfortable level. He was just hoping that nothing would counter that antidote.

Meanwhile, Margo had found a few friends her age and had been hanging out with them the entire time, Dru had been switching between splashing around like a child and racking up a pretty big tab at the food bar, and Jack and Edith had been getting on everyone's nerves by creating any kind of mischief they could. So far, it had been the perfect day, and no problems were visible on the horizon.

"Okay, I'm bored now…" Agnes said, as she threw the ball back to her father for the last time. "Let's play unicorns again!"

"Ugh…" Gru mumbled, a slight smile on his face as he looked sideways at his wife. "Unicorns are just so much fun, aren't dey…"

"Obviously." Lucy replied, chuckling a little. Gru rolled his eyes and turned to Jack and Edith, frowning as the two were punching the water and giggling, splashing everyone that was in their vicinity and receiving a multitude of glares from other parents.

"Guys! Would yoo stop doeeng dat!" He exclaimed. "Yoo're getteeng on everyone's nerves!"

"Aww, but it's fun…" Edith sulked, continuing to punch the water while she spoke.

"Look, just…play weeth dis." He said with a sigh, throwing the ball over to them. "Dat should keep de two of yoo out of trouble."

"Alright then." Jack muttered, as his sister caught the ball and eyed it with a frown. He created a bit of distance between the two and smirked with a challenging smile. "First to drop the ball is the world's biggest loser."

Ignoring him, Edith smiled menacingly and threw the ball with all of her strength, leaving Jack to helplessly watch it as it flew over his head and landed near a couple's sunbed.

"Fetch!" She shouted, grinning proudly.

"I'm not a dog!" Jack shouted back, crossing his arms.

"You look like one."

"Ha, ha, ha." He slurred, laughing sarcastically. Sticking his tongue out in a playful manner, Jack turned and ran off to grab the ball, going quick so that nobody could get there first and steal it.

A moment later, while Edith stood there in the water, punching the surface again to see how big of a splash she could generate, another young girl, that looked around the same age as the tomboy, wasn't watching where she was going and crashed into her, causing the ten-year-old to almost lose her footing. Of course, the water would take all the sting out of the fall, but nevertheless, the fact that some girl almost knocked her off her feet angered her somewhat.

"Hey, watch it!" Edith exclaimed, giving the girl a dark frown.

"You got in my way!" The girl shouted back, reciprocating the frown. "So, how about you watch it!"

As she spoke that last sentence, the girl jabbed Edith with her finger venomously, catching her off guard. This only added to Edith's anger, evident by the fact that her frustrated expression upgraded into a purely irate one.

She thrusted forward and pushed the girl with all her strength, sending her crashing dangerously into the shallow water. She just about managed to avoid bumping painfully onto the hard pool floor, but the unexpectedness of Edith's push was all it took to frighten her away from the confrontation.

At this point, a muscular teenage boy, who was standing near the pool's edge, spotted what was going on and turned to yell at Edith.

"Hey, kid! Don't push my little sister!" He exclaimed belligerently. Edith turned to face him with a look of frustration and crossed her arms, seeming unfazed by his shout.

"She started it!"

"I don't care! Just leave her alone, or there's gonna be a problem!"

"And what problem would that be then?" Jack inquired threateningly, butting into the conversation and looming over the teenager. At first, he was caught off guard by the eighteen-year-old's fiercely intimidating expression, but after regaining his composure, he brought back his original frown. "Because if you know what's good for you, you won't be starting any problems with my little sister…"

"Pfft…well, if you know what's good for you, then you would get out of my face." The boy replied, crossing his arms and craning his neck upwards, in an attempt to look more frightening. He was failing. "My dad owns this hotel, so if she touches my sister again, I'll get you kicked out."

"…and apparently he's been lifting weights for eleven years." Margo explained, as her new friends listened closely while she talked about each member of her family in detail. "So, he's got these really big muscles, and because he's so strong, he thinks he's, like, really cool. But, if we're being honest, I think he's just annoying."

"So…" One of them responded, looking across the pool as he spoke. "Is that him over there?"

Margo turned and spied Jack as he was angrily looming over another teenager, tensing his muscles as he did so to add to his intimidation factor.

"Oh, no…" She muttered under her breath, sighing while she did so. Turning back to her friends, Margo addressed them quickly before setting out across the pool. "I'll be back in a minute."

She dashed through the water as fast as she possibly could, trying to get within earshot of Jack in order to stop him before he did something he would regret. She highly doubted that she'd be able to persuade him, since she'd never managed it before, but it was certainly worth a shot.

"Jack…" Margo exclaimed, paddling up to him so she could try and calm him down. "Please don't-"

"Are you threatening me?" Jack questioned in a low, demonic voice. "If I was you, pal, I really wouldn't do that. You see, you really don't know who you're messing with..."

"Kick his butt, Jack!" Edith exclaimed, punching the air excitedly.

"Shut up, Edith!" Margo yelled, giving her a momentary angry gaze before turning back to her brother. "Jack, think about thi-"

"I already know who I'm messing with!" The boy interrupted, getting in even closer to Jack. "I'm messing with some kid who thinks he's really strong because he has big muscles, but is probably just a big wuss! I mean, what're you gonna do if I do this!?"

He attempted to push Jack into the pool and embarrass him in front of everybody, but unfortunately for him, he couldn't really budge him that far at all. However, he did get an answer to his question pretty quickly, as the eighteen-year-old hammered the kid's head so hard, that he would probably wake up later on with some variant of memory-loss…

Vector had finally arrived. After a terrible dinner at that horrible diner, with all those exasperating families surrounding him saying sickly sweet things, he was finally standing in front of the six-story hotel building.

According to Fullbyte's device, Gru and his daughters were currently here, staying in one of the rooms. That very thought brought a wide and vicious smile to Vector's face. He couldn't wait to barge his way through the doors and watch the bald idiot's terrified face as he shot him dead on the spot. And this time, there wasn't a chance they were getting away.

He would make sure of that.

Practically kicking down the front doors, Vector charged his way into the hotel's main reception, where a bored teenager was currently half-asleep at the front desk. He strutted up to him and hammered his fist on the table, startling the teen out of his trance-like state.

"Woah, dude…not cool." He muttered, giving Vector a dark frown. In no mood for aggressive retorts, the young villain unleashed the pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the teen, who squealed in shock and dived behind his chair. "Woah, woah! Please! Don't shoot!"

"Which room are the Gru family staying in!?" Vector exclaimed loudly, jabbing the air with his pistol, which served to intimidate the teen further.

"Uh…um…" The teen panicked, quickly clicking buttons on his keyboard to find that piece of information as quick as possible. "627! They're in room 627!" He quickly grabbed the keyboard and held it in front of his face, wishing sincerely that it could shield him from the bullet. "Just please don't shoot me!"

Vector gave the young receptionist one last devilish look, before turning around and thundering his way for the elevator. Once the 'out of order' sign caught his attention, he couldn't help but growl loudly under his breath. Not wanting to waste any time, he dashed for the stairs and ran up them as quick as he possibly could, leaping up two steps at a time in order to cover more distance.

After a minute of frantic stair-climbing, Vector made it to the sixth-floor hallway and immediately rushed his way down it. Scanning every room that he passed, the villain searched each door for the numbers '627', the excitement threatening to burst from his lungs.

Finally, those numbers caught his eye, and he came to a halt almost immediately.

Another evil smile spreading across his face, Vector shut his eyes and took in a large breath, preparing himself for this moment. The anticipation was running like a wildfire through his veins, the prospect of blood, screams, and violence being the source of them.

Creaking his joints and taking in one last breath, Vector took a few steps back from the door before thundering forward and kicking it off its hinges. He aimed the gun around the room, and once he'd laid eyes on his target, he pulled the tri-

The room was empty.

No possessions, no suitcases, no…humans. Absolutely nothing, apart from odd pieces of furniture, was inside.

This wasn't happening. He couldn't have escaped a third time. It just wasn't possible, especially with someone like Vector on his trail. Fullbyte's device was still referring to this exact location, so they MUST be here!

In a moment of frantic annoyance, Vector tore his way through everything in front of him, searching desperately for a sign of his target. He threw the mattress's off of the beds, kicked the sofas to the ground, and ripped the doors off of all of the cupboards.

Nothing.

Screaming with anger, Vector pulled the glass door open at speed and practically jumped out on to the balcony, yet again searching everything with his laser-like gaze. When he was yet again met with nothing but a small set of tables and chairs, he sighed in defeat and slumped his head onto the metal bar, having to resist the urge to cry like a small child.

He absolutely couldn't believe that he kept on getting away from him. Maybe his father was right. Maybe he was totally useless at being a villain. Why did he even bother getting back into the profession? He could imagine a million other things that he would rather be doing than pointlessly searching across the state for Gru.

But, then again, seeing Gru's terrified face would be worth all the trouble in the world, especially after what he'd did to him.

With another bolt of determination bolting through his heart, Vector lifted his head again and looked out across the balcony. His eyes widened when he saw Gru's minivan in the parking lot below, and even wider when he saw Gru loading suitcases onto it, wearing an irate expression.

How did he miss that thing when he was walking in!? And for that matter, how did he get past him when he was coming up the stairs? There must've been another staircase somewhere. But where!?

'This is no time for questions, Victor.' He thought to himself, instantly darting his way back through the room and out into the hallway.

Speeding at a pace that probably made his legs a complete blur, Vector darted through the sixth-floor hallway and practically leaped down the steps, just trying to get to his target before he escaped in that damn mini-van again.

However, as his mind filled up to the brim with thoughts about Gru, he mistimed the next step and lost control of his footing, sending him painfully sprawling down the stairs. He couldn't help but yelp slightly as his arms and legs bashed against the marble steps, his muscles practically begging for gravity to stop and let him float to safety.

Then, just as he reached the floor below, his head collided against one of the last steps, instantly knocking him unconscious for the second time in two days…

He didn't have enough time to scoff in annoyance about how tiresome this very situation was becoming…

The whole family were now back in the mini-van and driving away from the large hotel, a huge silence clouding the interior. Gru was holding back a variety of curse words as he barreled down the road, his grip on the steering wheel being almost frighteningly tight.

After Jack had knocked the teen unconscious, a nearby lifeguard immediately reported it to the hotel's manager, who gave the family an hour to pack up all their things and get out. They even threatened to call the police, but Gru's expression was so stern, that it scared them out of doing so.

He hadn't spoken a single word since they'd been told to leave, and at this point, Lucy was very panicked for his mental condition. Not only that, but his tight grip on the steering wheel was probably damaging his wrists…

The rest of the family were sulking glumly, and occasionally sharing a dark look with Jack, who was obviously to blame for this situation. The teen elected to just keep his head down and not make eye contact with anyone, since not only did he kind of regret his actions, but he was also worried about just how angry everyone was with him.

At least Edith didn't seem that angry. She had actually been smiling ever since Jack had punched him.

"So…what are we gonna do now?" Agnes asked, breaking a very awkward twenty-minute silence. Nobody decided to respond to her, both because they didn't know the answer, and because they were too upset to speak. Eventually, when she realized that she definitely wasn't getting a response, she sighed sadly and sunk into her seat. "I wish we could've stayed at the pool…"

"Well, we know who's to blame for dat, don't we…" Gru muttered irately through gritted teeth. Jack frowned darkly and perked his head up at speed, but before he could retort, Lucy butted in and attempted to keep things calm.

"Alright, I know things aren't great. But, how about we just find another hotel and-"

"Is that it, Gru?" Jack interrupted, seemingly not even hearing any of Lucy's sentence. "Have you got anything else to say or are you just gonna keep mumbling under your breath!?"

"Alright, then! How about dis!?" Gru exclaimed loudly. "Why do yoo have to be such an absolute idiot!?"

For a moment, Jack was caught a little off-guard. He was honestly expecting Gru to just stay silent, but after he did actually say something, and at a pretty loud volume at that, his mind took a few seconds to register the situation.

"Idiot!?" He finally exclaimed, balling his fists up. "For what, defending my sister!?"

"Look, can we please just-" However, before Lucy could finish, she was interrupted yet again.

"Dere are other ways to defend her dat don't eenvolve violence, Jack!"

"Are you braindead!?" Jack shouted, his voice getting louder with each shout. "This is coming from Gru, the man who PUT A MAN ON THE MOON in order to defend his daughters!"

"Dat was DIFFERENT! Deir LIVES were at stake! All dat was at stake here was your stupeed inflated ego!"

"What!? I don't have an ego!"

"Ugh, yoo really are an idiot eef yoo theenk dat! Yoo're de most egotistical, ignorant, conceited person I've ever met een my life!"

"Guys! Stop it! You're scaring the-"

"I DARE you to call me an idiot one more time…!"

"Pfft…yoo're not gonna do anytheeng! Yoo're just mad because everytheeng I've said ees 100% TRUE!"

"Well, you're just mad because you're an OLD MAN who's on his last legs!?"

"Dat ees NOT true!"

"Oh please, you let a bit of PAPERWORK stress you out! Not to mention you couldn't even stop some rookie villain on their first ever heist the other day, you complete MESS OF A HUMAN BEING!"

"Comeeng from Mr. 'I've-had-a-bad-upbreengeeng-so-eet's-okay-for-me-to-be-a-complete-PSYCHOPATH' over dere."

"WHAT did you just say to me!?"

"Margo, I'm scared…"

"Yoo heard me! And anyway, dat guy was just a FLUKE!"

"Listen to yourself, Gru! This isn't you! I mean, for an old guy, you sure talk like a CHILD!"

"Yoo can't say much! All yoo ever DO ees act like a child, talk like a child, make excuses like a child! WHY DON'T YOO JUST GROW UP AND STOP BEING SUCH A COMPLETE PAIN EEN DE ASS!?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Lucy exclaimed, finally ending the argument before Gru ended up losing control of the wheel and crashing the van. Jack and Gru were both violently shaking with rage, and even though she was fairly sure they wouldn't physically hurt each other ever again, she was genuinely worried about an actual fight breaking out in front of the girls.

Talking about the girls, they were in complete shock. Agnes was at the point of tears, Edith was frightened into silence, and Margo was half holding Agnes, and half holding Dru. Meanwhile, Dru had spent the entire time trying to think of a way to stop the argument and bring back a sense of peace, but just like the girls, he was way too scared to say a single word.

Complete silence filled the van again, this one being a much more uncomfortable one than the first. There were way too many descriptive words for the atmosphere inside the vehicle, that it was impossible to just settle on one. It was like a mix of rage, fear, and guilt.

Eventually, and pretty unexpectedly, Gru spun the wheel dangerously and turned off down a pretty baron road, the only things occupying the area being trees and abandoned houses. It was actually a very creepy area, but considering that the anxiety levels were already at their peak, it didn't scare anybody in the slightest.

Going way over the speed limit, Gru thundered his way down the road, making multiple cars swerve off to avoid a possibly fatal collision. After five minutes of perilous driving, he came to a halt and parked outside a battered building, one that looked like a perfect home for rats and cockroaches. There was a broken sign on the roof that was supposed to read 'Motel', but now looked a lot more like 'Mtle'.

Without a word, he rose up from his seat and exited the car with his head down, vaguely motioning for his family to follow him inside. Dru gave Lucy a puzzled expression, hoping that she could answer the question on everyone's mind, but she only returned the exact same thing.

What was happening?

The family wearily followed him through the front doors of the ugly looking establishment, where they were immediately met by a horrible damp smell, and another smell that was probably best undescribed. Gru dashed off ahead and boomed up to the main desk, where a scruffy middle-aged man gave him half a greeting.

"Welcome to our Motel. What do y-"

Before he could finish, Gru reached into his jacket and unleashed the freeze ray, a weapon he hadn't used in a very long time. He pointed it dangerously at the receptionist, who didn't have enough time to question what was happening before he got interrupted.

"Eef yoo do not get us a room een TWENTY SECONDS, den yoo will be frozen een dat spot for three weeks straight…" He grumbled lowly, giving him a more than dangerous expression. "For context, dat ees plenty of time for yoo to starve to death…"

The man didn't reply. Instead, he leaped onto his ancient looking computer and rapidly pressed at a few buttons, the keyboard practically crumbling under his hard jabs. Eventually, a beep sound came from the machine, and the man handed over a set of red keys with the number '16' on them.

"There! There's your room!" He ducked under the table at quite an impressive speed. "Please don't shoot me…"

The director snatched the keys venomously and turned back to his family, all of whom were giving him a look of total and utter disbelief. He marched up to Lucy, who was desperately trying to figure out how to calm him down, and roughly handed her the keys. Giving his wife only a momentary look, he continued past her and headed for the front doors, his every step being a huge thump.

"Where…where are you going?" The redhead questioned, giving him a mixed look of anger and sorrow.

"None of your business." He muttered in response. "Take care of de gurls."

"Wh…I…you…what do you mean it's none of my business?"

"I mean dat eet's none of your business! Do I have to say eet another time!?"

The look on Lucy's face was one of total bewilderment. At this point, she didn't even know who she was talking to anymore. In any case, it certainly didn't feel like her husband…

"Brother, please calm dow-"

"Stay out of dis Dru!" Gru exclaimed, interrupting his brother. Startled by his shout, Dru didn't respond and turned away instantly. It took a lot of courage to get those words out, and after a response like that, it would most certainly take a lot of time to build up that same courage again. "I'll see yoo all later…"

"You're…you're actually just gonna leave!?" Lucy exclaimed, stopping him right before he walked out of the building. "Wh…what are we supposed to do!?"

"I'm sure yoo weel figure eet out…" Gru jabbed, giving her an uncomfortably dark expression. "I mean, eet's about time yoo helped out weeth SOMETHEENG on dis treep, don't yoo theenk!?"

He pushed through the doors without another word and stormed off, leaving the lobby in yet another insanely uncomfortable silence. Every part of Lucy's brain shouted at her to chase after him, but for whatever reason, she couldn't move an inch. Instead, she just stared at the door, shocked that this whole situation was even happening.

Only two hours ago, everything was completely fine. In fact, it was more than fine. It was borderline perfect.

But in just that short amount of time, things were suddenly looking pretty bad. She wished sincerely that she confronted Gru about his behavior this morning. She wished more than anything that she persisted after Gru had avoided her questions. She wished with all of her heart that she solved the problem and did something about it before it was too late. Because now, it seemed…

…Gru had reached the end of his tether.

Perkins sat at his large desk, laying back in his office chair in silence as he awaited his next meeting. He hadn't anticipated this meeting when he woke up this morning, but after being somewhat frightened by a few possibilities that were sat on the path ahead of him, he knew he had to do this as a precaution.

He let out a brisk sigh of fatigue, turning his head around the room to admire a few of the portraits he had hung up in the office. They may have been there for around nine years at this point, but since he had got so accustomed to their presence, he had forgotten how truly magnificent they looked. The paintwork was practically pin-perfect.

That's why it was imperative that he avoided failure in this crucially important plan…

Gru was single-handedly destroying villainy. Not only that, he was also destroying the Bank of Evil. Considering that a few of his original schemes had actually brought in a large profit for the bank, it was crazy how much of a transition he had made from aiding the finances, to strangling them to the point of death.

Every big-named bad-guy that Perkins could've got on his books to put a few million dollars in the bank's treasury had been either scared off or defeated by Gru. Because of this, he had been forced into selling many of their most prized decorations, in order to keep the bank from going completely broke. These portraits were the next to go if he wasn't stopped.

Originally, he wanted to give his son another chance, to be the person that Perkins had always hoped he'd grow up to be. But it was very clear that Vector had other intentions on his mind. He just wanted to spill Gru's blood on the floor and be done with it. But, Perkins had more ambitious ideas of revenge…

So ambitious in fact, that carrying it out would surely cost the bank a six-figure sum, something that they could barely afford as it is. But, that amount of money would be totally worth it to see the complete look of horror on Gru's face, right before he got rid of him once and for all.

Because of this, he really needed things to go right. And, knowing Vector, it was certainly a far cry to assume that things would actually end that way. His incompetence had pushed him past a second chance, and after dwelling on it for a few minutes, Perkins had decided to hire someone else to complete the job, all ready for the inevitable moment when his son messes things up.

After a few more minutes of slightly tiresome waiting, the buzzer beside his speaker sounded, and his secretary alerted him to his new recruit's arrival. Smiling with anticipation, Perkins sat up in his seat as his office door opened.

In walked a tall muscular man with blonde spiky hair and dark glasses. He wore a black, beaten up vest top adorned with a skull, and jeans that had way too many holes for Perkins to count. His arms were littered with scars and tattoos, and his knuckles were red and bruised, as if he'd just punched a brick wall to death. He walked towards Perkins's desk with such a fierce stride, that the floor beneath his feet was shaking to the point where it could give an earthquake a run for its money.

"My, my…" Perkins admired, creaking his neck upwards to meet the man's indifferent facial expression. "You certainly didn't exaggerate in your advertisement."

"Nope." The man spoke, his teeth clamped firmly together as he spoke. He sounded like a classic high-school bully, except for the murderous and slightly demonic atmosphere surrounding him of course.

"Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Bandit." Perkins said, as he rose from his seat to shake the large man's hand. He ensured to get it over with quickly to avoid any damage to his wrists. "I'm sure you're wondering why I invited you here?"

"Uh-huh." Bandit replied, every word laced with a strong venom. "What do you want?"

"Right, you see, from what I've heard…" Perkins started, as he signaled for the man to take a seat. Considering that he didn't move an inch, he either didn't understand the signal, or elected to completely ignore him. Perkins decided to just let it pass and continue. "You're very good at…uh…how should I say…physical persuasion."

"You mean I'm good at knocking people's block off?" Bandit responded, looking like he was having withdrawal symptoms from not punching anybody for five minutes.

"Uh…sure…I guess you could put it like that." Perkins replied, getting a little skittish under the brute's intense gaze. "Anyway, there's been a certain slender bald idiot named Gru that's been causing me a little bit of trouble, and I'd appreciate it if you could help me get some revenge. You see, what I need you to do, is to beat him unconscious, bring him to me, and then help me in getting my long-awaited vengeance against him and his family. Do you understand?"

"Mm-hmm." Bandit spoke as he nodded, his mouth bending into a cruel smile. "Where is this guy then?"

"Well, he's apparently been speeding around in a mini-van, so it's anybody's best guess…" Perkins answered, as he leaned back in his chair again and smiled. "But it's lucky I know someone who's got us covered. It looks like we'll need to stop off at my friend Fullbyte's house before you get going."

"Why do we need to do that?" Bandit questioned, grinding his knuckle into the palm of his other hand. "I'm itching for a pounding."

"Yes, yes, I know." Perkins responded, nodding as he swiveled around in his chair. "But I need you to get to Gru quickly, and Fullbyte will help you track him down. You see, I've already sent my son after him, but he's been completely useless thus far. If we're being honest, I'm tired of playing games with this guy…"

"I just want Gru now…"

I really hope you enjoyed. Things took a little bit of a turn in this chapter, I know. But I've just had a complete change of mind and have decided to completely alter the story's original plot.

If we're being honest, I wasn't too happy with the last chapter. I think I maybe could've done a better job of it, and I'll probably end up re-writing it at some point. But, I did get some very nice reviews, so I'm glad that you enjoyed it nonetheless.

If you decided to review this one, or if you reviewed the last chapter, then I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. I say it literally every time. That's cuz it's true.

Also, sorry if you noticed any mistakes. I'm proofreading this with a pretty bad hangover, so there's probably some stupid typos somewhere.

Will return ASAP :)