Alas, I have returned. And with a ten-thousand-word chapter as well! This was never meant to get this crazy long, in fact I originally thought it was going to be one of the shorter parts, but I just kept writing and writing and writing and...well, here we are.
As always, just want to give a quick thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. In fact, even thanks to those who are just reading along. It does mean a lot to see that there is some interest in this story and its characters. Makes me super happy :)
Anywho, sincerely hope you enjoy. Let's go!
Chapter Nine:
Margo's Theory
"No! No! No! Dis ees not a good idea!" Dru screeched, as he watched Jack and Vector from behind the armrest of the crocodile couch. He'd fearfully leaped behind there the moment that Vector stepped out of the lab elevator. Ever since then, he'd been shrieking on about how ridiculous and dangerous this was, so much so that his cheeks were beaming red from fatigue. "We cannot trust dis guy! What eef he does sometheeng evil? What eef he hurts me? What eef he hurts de gurls!?"
"Dru, for the fifth time…" Jack replied, frowning out of both frustration and extreme boredom. "I won't let him hurt any of us. Trust me, everything's going to be fine."
The eighteen-year-old cast a momentary look on Vector as he spoke, which the villain was expecting to be hostile. However, it seemed fairly indifferent, as if Jack was just hoping that he agreed. Vector was more than glad it wasn't a venomous one, since judging on his earlier encounters with the teen's facial expressions, he could pull one hell of a dark look.
You could definitely tell that he was a former IVB agent, since that look was only ever seen on those who underwent their intimidation training.
"But he's a villain! Yoo know we can't trust villains!"
"Alright, well, by that logic, it looks like we can't trust you." Jack refuted, pointing at his uncle accusingly. "I mean, since you're also a villain, how do we know you won't do something evil?"
"Because I'm een de family! I wouldn't want to hurt any of yoo guys! Dis Vectro guy, on the other hand, he doesn't care eef we get hurt! He'll probably be de one hurteeng us!" Dru exclaimed, his voice so high and screechy, that it was a wonder how all the glass in the room hadn't smashed. Raising his head over the armrest slightly, the blonde attempted to call for backup, while also making sure that Vector wasn't close enough to possibly cause him harm. "Lucy, help me out here!"
Lucy had been sat silently on the couch ever since Jack and Vector had resurfaced from the lab. Well, actually, according to Dru, Lucy hadn't said a single word since her divorce confession. It was really starting to worry the blonde, since not only was staying silent like this totally unlike her, but saying silent while a threat to her family was standing inside her house was borderline impossible.
At the mention of her name, Lucy lifted her head somewhat, but after a moment or two, quickly dropped it again. She had finally stopped crying, but that absolutely devastated look on her face hadn't subsided at all yet. Both with that expression and the gleam of dried up tear streams on her cheeks, she looked as helpless and distraught as a lost child.
Even though he did feel infinitely sorry for her, and even though he completely understood that she was never going to get over the divorce in a few hours, Dru couldn't help but get just a tad frustrated by her lack of assistance.
"Look, Dru, I don't wanna get Vector involved either…" Jack started, regathering his uncle's attention. "But you gotta realize that we really don't have much of a choice. Gru's ditched us and gone completely AWOL, and right now, we need every ounce of help we can get in finding him. Sitting here arguing about it is just wasting time."
Peeking his head up again, Dru stared Vector down fearfully for a few seconds, analyzing every inch of this situation. It was a huge risk to put Vector anywhere near the girls, that was glaringly obvious. Vector purposely getting in the way and trying to sabotage the rescue plan was also a clear issue. And also, if they did manage to find Gru again, there was a huge risk that Vector could take that chance to get his revenge and kill him on the spot.
But, at the same time, Vector had been stripped of all his weapons when they kidnapped him, so him actually finding a way to harm the girls was practically impossible, especially with Dru, Lucy, and Jack keeping a very close eye on him. He also wouldn't see many positives in getting in the way either, since that would only prolong the time he was stuck being abducted.
And also, with every second that Dru stood there thinking about this, was another second that Gru was still missing...
"Okay, fine…I guess yoo have a point." Dru replied, as he slowly stood up from behind the armrest. Both Jack and Vector smiled a little as he did so. "We really do need all de help we can get. I mean, Lucy ees too distraught to even speak right now, let alone help weeth trackeeng down Gru."
"Thank you…" Jack replied, sighing a little out of relief. "All we gotta do now, is wait for Nefario to reset the signal scanner, track Gru down, and then get him to come back home."
"Pfft…well, dat ees a lot easier said dan done! How een de hell are we gonna persuade Gru to come back home?"
"Well...maybe we can just…uhhh…" Jack started, putting his head down as he racked his mind for ideas. He really hadn't thought that far yet. He was far too busy persuading people about Vector to think of a well thought out plan. "We can…just say…please."
Instead of responding, Dru loudly huffed, giving Jack a hugely deep look of doubt.
"Okay, fine! I don't know how! We'll just have to think of something…"
"Well, how about you pretend that those girls are in danger or something?" Vector cut in. "I mean, when I kidnapped them last year, Gru looked like he was ready to rip my head off in order to save them. Might be worth a shot to bring him back home."
For a few seconds, all Jack and Dru could do was stare at him in disbelief. Was he the one to just say that? When they said about Vector helping out in saving Gru, they really didn't think he would actually be of significant assistance, that is if he even assisted at all.
"That…that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea…" Jack marveled, turning away a little. Maybe his theory about Vector was correct. Maybe bringing him upstairs was actually a good idea...
"Nice job, Vectro." Dru replied, smiling a fraction.
"Uh...it's...it's Vic-"
"Right, that's step one complete!" Jack interrupted loudly. "Now all we gotta do, is figure out where Gru is, how we can put the girls in fake danger, how we can make it seem like it's real without actually hurting them, and finally, if we manage to get him back, how we stop him from getting stressed and disappearing again..."
"Okay, so...not dat much den..." Dru commented sarcastically, biting his upper lip nervously. The very chance that this plan would come to fruition was practically a far cry, but since they were bereft of other ideas, this was the best chance they had at saving the family. "Anyway, I theenk we should probably get some sleep before we start planneeng anytheeng. Otherwise, I doubt we're gonna be able to theenk straight."
"Good idea." Jack grabbed Vector by the arm, startling him somewhat, and began dragging him softly towards the living room door. "Come on, you can sleep on the floor in my room. That way I can keep an eye on you."
Just as the three were about to disappear into the hallway and make their way upstairs, the obvious presence of another unmoving person forced them to turn back. It didn't even look like Lucy was perceiving the world around her at all. It seemed like she was trapped firmly inside her own head.
"Uh, Lucy...we're...we're goeeng to bed." Dru spoke, hoping to gather her attention. Again, Lucy lifted her head a little, but it only took a second for her to drop it again sorrowfully. Sighing, Dru moved back over to the crocodile couch and sat back down beside her, looking into her cloudy eyes with a saddened expression.
"Come on, Lucy, yoo need to get yourself together." No response. In fact, she didn't even blink. Dru had no idea how he was going to get through to her, but just like the plan to get Gru back, giving it a shot was all he could really do. "I...I totally understand dat Gru divorceeng yoo was pretty unexpected...really unexpected. But yoo're not de only one who's upset by dis. I mean, I'm absolutely terrified right now. I could lose my brother, and de gurls could lose deir dad..."
Lucy's pupils moved slightly in his direction, but only for a fraction of a second. Even though it could barely be called a movement, Dru accepted this as some form of progress.
"And eef yoo keep sitteeng here mopeeng about eet, den how are we goeeng to get heem back, huh? Please, Lucy...I really need yoo right now. We all really need yoo right now..."
Finally, Lucy turned her head completely to face him, a few fresh tears surfacing in her eyes. However, in order to hold onto her composure, the AVL agent blinked them away and nodded, attempting to smile. It was very difficult to do, and it came off as completely fake, but she still managed to release a tiny one, which made Dru's whole face light up.
"Dere we are..." He spoke soothingly, as he slowly stood from the couch. "Now...let's go get some sleep."
"Yeah..." Lucy replied in a suddenly upbeat voice, joining Dru in standing up from the couch. "Let's..."
Somewhat impressed, Jack smiled and gave Dru an approving nod, before pulling at Vector's sleeve again and motioning for him to follow him out of the room. Dru returned to his underground bedroom, while Lucy, Vector, and Jack climbed up the stairs, one of them obviously unwilling to do so.
Way too absorbed by carefully directing Vector into his room, the teenager never noticed the bespectacled twelve-year-old peeking at him through the slightly opened bedroom door...
"Oh my god...Vector's escaped!" Margo announced, turning to her wide-awake sisters with a frightened look.
"What!?" Edith exclaimed, sitting up in her bed at speed.
"Is he coming to get us!?" Agnes questioned loudly, as she griped her unicorn toy tightly out of fear.
"No, he's...he's in Jack's bedroom." Margo replied, peeking out through the door crack again, to double-check on Agnes's theory. "He just put him in there..."
"Oh, well, it's fine then..." Edith replied, lying back down again and closing her eyes, desperately attempting to fall asleep, something she'd been really struggling with since returning. It was understandable of course, what with Gru and everything, but it was still extremely frustrating for her.
"What do you mean 'it's fine'?" Margo questioned angrily. "Vector is literally across the hall from us! You do remember what he tried to do, right?"
"Pfft...obviously," Edith stated as-matter-of-factly, turning over in her bed to glare at her older sister. "But if Jack's got him, then we'll be fine."
Margo stared her little sister down for a second. Her faith in Jack was way too strong. Even though there were times where he had succeeded, he had also messed up many times before in protecting people against threats. It just wasn't enough to keep the older girl calm.
"But what if Jack makes a mistake?" Margo questioned, starting to build herself up into a large panic. "What if Vector escapes? What if he hurts Jack? What if he's already hurt dad and that's why he was at the motel earlier?"
"Margo, shut up!" Edith snapped as she sat up again, startling the eldest sister a great deal. "What if Jack's made sure he can't escape? What if Jack stops him before he hurts anyone? What if Vector's actually done nothing to dad and that's why Jack let him out of the lab? Y'know, not every 'what if' is bad!"
Margo turned her head away in thought. She wasn't wrong. In fact, that was the exact same thing that Margo herself had said to Jack the night prior, when he was upset about everything that could've gone wrong in his life. And now here she is, getting upset about things that could go wrong. Maybe she should start listening to her own advice...
"I'm scared..." Agnes muttered suddenly and quietly, tightening her already monstrous grip on the unicorn, threatening to pierce the fabric.
"Me too." Edith spoke at the same volume level, sighing as she put her head down to stare at the floor. She was clearly ashamed of herself for being afraid, but considering that her father had now been missing for almost eight hours, she just couldn't help it.
Margo turned back to her sisters and felt a pang of both sadness and guilt. Standing there going over every negative outcome was obviously not helping this already pretty dire situation. In fact, she was making the situation even worse. With no other choice, Margo realized exactly what she had to do, the thing she always used to do before Gru had adopted them...
She had to be the big sister.
Moving over to Agnes's bed, the twelve-year-old climbed up and sat beside her youngest sibling, who instantly jumped into her with a frightful cuddle. It didn't take long for Edith to follow suit and join them.
After a very long five minutes, both Edith and Agnes had fallen asleep into Margo's side, and with them holding onto her so tightly, it was only a short amount of time before the eldest sister joined them. But, right before she did, she looked out into the night sky behind the nearby window, and as the tranquility of the outside world sent her further into sleepiness, she whispered under her breath...
"Please come back, dad...
"Please..."
Dru's idea of getting a nice night's sleep before planning anything difficult seemed brilliant at first, but after a long struggle of trying to fight the fears in his head, he soon realized a fatal flaw...
Actually falling asleep...
Sluggishly looking at his watch, which read '8:11AM', he could now confirm that he had been awake all night long. He was envious of the many minions who had easily fallen asleep around him, since they didn't know about Gru's disappearance and were hence not fearful in the slightest. On the other hand, Dru just couldn't stop thinking about every detail of the past few days.
Something just didn't add up. Not only was divorcing Lucy and ditching his daughters beyond unlike something Gru would do, but doing so over something as silly as one little argument was absolutely and completely absurd. It simply didn't make any sense.
But, at the same time, considering the amount of stress that Gru had been under over the past three months, there were a lot of things that were changing about him. That prior optimism and general glee had been slowly disappearing from his face for some time, to be replaced by a tired, void cloud of pessimism.
It was like he was being overtaken by...some sort of demon...
'No...' Dru thought to himself. 'Dat's ridiculous...'
But if that wasn't it, then what was it? Yes, he had been stressed out, but was that really enough to make him ditch his entire life and rejoin villainy? Maybe Jack's assumption on the motel road yesterday was correct. Maybe they hadn't been a good enough family...
Sick and tired of negative thoughts, Dru scoffed and slowly rose from his bed, which looked a complete mess after the many hours of tossing and turning, before making his way out of the room. He listlessly traipsed his way through the mostly quiet lab, where a few minions were simply killing time by being their usual energetic selves, and over to the thin, blue elevator.
Even though the house was usually pretty quiet at this time of the morning, Dru could just feel that blank, hopeless atmosphere. Instead of feeling like a tranquil garden, it now felt like a deathly graveyard, even with the morning sun shining brightly through the windows. He hated it beyond comprehension...
Sorrowfully trudging down the hallway and into the kitchen, the blonde uncle found Lucy and Jack, one of whom was cooking quietly, and the other energetically cleaning every single surface in sight.
"Morning, Dru!" Lucy exclaimed cheerily. Dru jumped back a little with shock at the sound of her gleeful voice. "Such a lovely day out there today, isn't it? Maybe if we've got some free time, we could have a barbeque or play catch or go on a trip to the park! It's been a while since we've done that!"
Totally befuddled, Dru turned to Jack and handed him an interrogating expression, one of which prompted a clueless shrug from the teenager. It was obvious that he was just as perplexed about Lucy's overzealous attitude as Dru was.
He knew that it was common for people who were going through the grief process to experience a denial phase, but was there need to grieve right now? It wasn't like Gru was confirmed dead or anything. Maybe she was just losing hope. Maybe she just had to keep herself happy to avoid having a breakdown.
Either way, knowing that Lucy's wide elated smile was just a ploy to trick herself into thinking everything was fine, Dru was finding this whole situation extremely creepy.
"Hmm...yessss..." He replied, giving her a very forced smile in response, desperately searching for an excuse to leave the room. "Uh...well, I guess...uh...I'll go wake up de gurls and...wait, where's Vectro!?"
"Don't worry, I handcuffed him to the wardrobe in my room." Jack replied, not taking his eyes off the food he was cooking. "There's no way he can escape."
"Are yoo sure!?" Dru questioned, stress overtaking him. "Because...because de gurls are up dere...and...and eef he escapes den...he could...he might-"
"Dru! Calm down." Jack interrupted sternly, sighing out of annoyance as Lucy bounded past him and wiped down the kitchen counter for the fourteenth time. "I told you not to worry. I know for sure that he won't escape."
"But what eef he does!?" Dru yelled loudly, putting his hands on his stressed head.
"He won't," Jack replied simply, shrugging. Dru was totally lost for words at this point. "And anyway, even if he does, I know he's not gonna hurt the girls..."
Without another word, the blonde villain dashed out of the kitchen at blinding speed, almost falling over the wooden floorboards. He raced through the hallway and made his way upstairs, tripping up every other step on his way, before finally making it to the girls' bedroom door, which he almost barged off its hinges.
The girls were still cuddled up on Agnes's bed, but with the noise of Dru's eccentric entrance, they were no longer asleep. Instead, they were wide awake and confused, giving their uncle a peculiar expression.
"Phew...thank god yoo're okay." He said out of relief, gasping for breath. "I thought Vectro might've hurt yoo guys..."
"No, we're good..." Edith replied, rubbing her tired eyes before turning to her older sister and frowning a little. "I told you we'd be fine."
Returning a quick frustrated glance, Margo turned back to her uncle and irately questioned him, as she and her sisters climbed out of the small bomb bed.
"Why would you let Vector go!?"
"Oh! Um...well...uh...dere's a very good reason for dat, Margo..." Dru lied, knowing full well that he didn't have a reason. Jack's sudden trust in Vector was ridiculous and frightening, so how could he ever defend it convincingly? As he simply stood there, racking his brain for a reasonable answer, the impatient look on Margo's face grew deeper and deeper, threatening to consume the entire world within it. "We just need all de help we can get right now, Margo. De quicker we can find your dad, de quicker dis whole ordeal ees over weeth."
"But we can't trust Vector." Margo rebutted, her face falling downcast. "He kidnapped us! And almost killed us."
"Yes, yes, I understand dat, Margo, but...but...but..." Again, his response was short-lived. There really was no 'but' to this situation, and he knew that full well. "Okay, okay, look, eef eet was up to me den I would've never let heem go, but Jack is adamant dat eet's a good idea! I tried persuading heem to tie heem up again but he won't budge! Eet's not my fault!"
Narrowing her eyes angrily at Dru for a moment, who was clearly becoming very flustered and afraid, Margo turned to her sisters, who quickly looked back at her, and motioned for them to follow.
"Come on, we'll go persuade him."
Edith and Agnes nodded and followed their older sister out of the room, while Dru simply stood there, watching them perplexingly. Once they'd left his line of sight, he quickly paced over to the door and peeked his head through, fearful that Vector had escaped and was trying to hurt them. Once he could see them safely walking down the stairs, he sighed with relief again.
Dru had a strange feeling that this was going to be a pretty stressful day...
The moment that the girls took a single step into the downstairs hallway, Lucy came bounding out of seemingly nowhere and started wiping the floor around their feet with a cloth, trying to keep every surface absolutely spotless.
"Heyyyy, there's my favorite girls!" Lucy exclaimed cheerily. The three sisters were a little caught off guard as she picked them up off the floor in a big, consuming hug, but obviously, they didn't protest. "Did you all sleep well!? Oh, please tell me you did! Or I'll have to go upstairs and give those beds a big talking to!"
Margo and Edith shared a look of total befuddlement, while Agnes simply giggled, clearly just enjoying the hug she really needed from Lucy.
"Ummm...yes, we did...thank you." Margo answered, her face twisted in confusion. The three watched in silence as she put them back down and returned to wiping every surface, including some parts of the wall. Washing the walls was certainly a little...strange, to say the least. "Mom, are...are you feeling okay?"
"Well, of course I am, sweetie!" She replied loudly, doing a little dance as she moved at lightning speed around the room. "How could I not be okay on such a sunny, bright, happy day like this!? Ooooo, I know what we could do today! How about we bake some COOKIES!? Ahhhh, that sounds like so much funnnn! It's been sooooo long since we last did that!"
Margo soon realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to respond to that. It was clear that Lucy was having some sort of breakdown, one of which the twelve-year-old was finding both confusing and absolutely terrifying.
Unfortunately, Edith didn't figure that out.
"But what about finding dad?"
Suddenly, for an uncomfortable amount of time, Lucy went dead silent and stopped prancing around, as if somebody just punched her right across the head. Her expression didn't change at all, but considering the sudden loss of energy, it was obvious that Edith's question triggered something in her head.
The girls watched her with a great deal of concern for a few seconds, before suddenly, she jumped up and started bounding with energy again, startling the living daylights out of the sisters.
"Or maybe gingerbread men! Oooo, we haven't had gingerbread men in soooooo long!"
After that Lucy sped off into the living room with a huge joyful grin, presumably to give every surface in there a big clean as well. Once she'd disappeared, Margo and Edith could do nothing but stare at the living room door with a look of total shock, while Agnes simply turned to her older sisters with an expression of complete glee.
"Mommy seems really, really happy! D'you think daddy's come back home?"
"Um...I'm sorry Agnes, but...I don't think so." Margo responded despondently, watching as her younger sister's face fell again. "I think she might be...pretending to be happy."
"It's really creepy..." Edith commented, as she spied the many pools of soap bubbles spread across the floor and walls. "And why is she washing everything? I don't think I've ever seen the house this clean before."
"I don't know, Edith." Margo muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Look, let's just go talk to Jack. Things are getting way too weird around here..."
The three made their way through the spotless hallway and into the equally pristine kitchen, where their older brother was still working on breakfast. There was a very clear look of stress on his face, which was either from Gru's disappearance, or Lucy's overly hyperactive spirit.
Most likely both.
"Jack, are you insane!?" The eldest sister questioned instantly after entering the kitchen, her voice a lot more aggressive than what was custom of her. The teenager, caught a little off guard, looked up and gave her a dubious look, unsure of what he did wrong. "Why did you let Vector go!? That guy is really dangerous! You need to tie him back up now!"
"I haven't let him go! What are you talking about!?"
"I saw you take him into your room last night!" Jack simply gave her an odd look.
"Yeah, so?"
"So you've let him go!"
"No, I haven't!"
"Yes, you have!"
"Well, he's currently handcuffed to my set of wardrobes, so would you call that being let go!?"
Margo opened her mouth to respond, but after that reveal, she found herself lost for a decent response. He was handcuffed? Nobody told her that. She thought he was just sitting in the room without supervision, completely free to leave and cause harm. Thinking a little more clearly now, she realized that Jack was not that stupid to let him be free with them around.
He definitely wasn't smart, but he also wasn't a complete idiot.
"He is?"
"Of course he is, I wouldn't let him hurt you guys." Jack replied, as he picked up a spatula and started flipping over some bacon in the pan. Margo sighed a little, and turned away, relief washing over her. "Anyway, I know he won't hurt you anyway. Trust me, I can see good in that guy...he really isn't as bad as you think."
Okay, take that back, he is a complete idiot.
Instead of responding, Margo stepped back, a large frown spreading across her face. She really didn't like the fact that Vector was in their home. She'd much rather he was tied up down in the lab. That way, there was practically no chance he would get to her and her sisters and cause them harm.
She was still confused as to why Jack would let him come upstairs. Yes, he was handcuffed and unable to move, but surely it would be safer to keep him downstairs, even if he was 'helping out' with finding Gru. And now, he was even labeling Vector as 'not that bad'. Was he on a deathwish or something?
But then, it hit her...
It would sound completely absurd to most people, but considering the mass amount of crazy weapons in the lab, and the strange events that had happened in this house over this past year, then her theory became more than just a possibility.
If Vector had found a way to get out of the interrogation room and into the lab's weapon unit, and if Jack then came down to interrogate him, then Vector coming upstairs without Jack having a problem with it would make total sense...
"Mmm...that smells really good." Edith announced, as the enveloping aroma of bacon and eggs overtook her senses. Just before she could take a step towards the table to sit down, Margo grabbed her arm and pulled her back, trying to keep her as far away from Jack as possible. "Hey!"
"Come on, you two. Let's...let's go play upstairs..."
"What? But I don't wanna play upstairs!" Edith sulked, feeling her stomach growl venomously. "I'm starving!"
"Me too!" Agnes added, joining in on the sulk.
"We can eat later okay! Just come on!" Margo exclaimed quickly, as she carefully dragged the two out of the room, ensuring to keep an eye on Jack the whole time. Meanwhile, the eighteen-year-old simply stared at the three with a puzzled look on his face, completely unsure as to why Margo suddenly looked in such a hurry to leave.
However, he didn't bother questioning it, since he was really sick and tired of strange behavior this morning. Honestly, the quicker Gru returned and brought order back to the house, the better...
A warm grin across his face, Vector let out a small, satisfied moan as he finally woke back up, happy to get himself a nice night's sleep. Even though he slept on the wooden floor of some crazed teenager's bedroom, it was still a much better bed than the hike trail at Hunchback Mountain, or the marble steps in that huge hotel.
However, unfortunately for him, his grin was short-lived, since once he noticed the entrapping handcuffs around his arm, he felt the frustration in his head rise tenfold. Immediately, he pulled at it, hoping that the cuffs were made of a weak material, even though he knew deep down that they wouldn't be. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't proved wrong.
Immediately after that, he spun his head around the room at speed, trying to spy someway to escape. And then, he saw it. The handcuff key was on the dresser across the room, the light from the window reflecting from it brightly. He reached out his arm to try and grab it, but considering that he was locked up against the wardrobe, it was absolutely impossible for him to get it.
Growling with rage, Vector started pulling aggressively, trying with all of his might to get free from the handcuffs.
"Why...can't...something...just...go...RIGHT!"
And then, as he pulled with every ounce of his strength, a large 'CLUNK' sound penetrated the air, followed by Vector falling back onto the ground with a painful bump. At first, he thought he'd broken his arm or wrist or some bone somewhere, but once he realized that he was now able to move his arms and legs freely, he spotted that a chunk of wood had snapped from the wardrobe, the exact part that the handcuffs had been tied to.
Standing up with an evil smirk, Vector moved over to the keys and unlocked the handcuffs, officially setting him completely free.
Now the question was, what did he do next? Did he escape the house? Did he try and kill the family? Did he follow his father's wishes and kidnap them all? It would certainly make things easier if he did what his dad had asked, that way he wouldn't get chastised relentlessly. But how did he go about kidnapping them?
Tip-toeing across the room, the villain creaked open the door and cast a look out into the hallway, ensuring that the coast was clear. Indeed, there wasn't a Gru in sight, exactly what he wanted...
As he slowly started his way down the upstairs hallway, the sounds of childlike voices caught in his ear, and the villain immediately attempted to identify where they were coming from. Thankfully, he identified the source as behind the sticker plastered door to the girl's bedroom, meaning he could easily sneak past.
Although, considering that he couldn't hear any adult voices from inside, this was the perfect chance to get the easiest part out of the way and kidnap the children. They were surely entirely helpless in there, so what could possibly go wrong?
However, just as he turned to plant a hand on the doorknob, he quickly came to a realization.
If he started attacking the girls first, then it would surely make escaping the house with them all a lot more difficult. If they started screaming and panicking, which they would obviously immediately start doing, then Dru and Jack would be alerted and things would become a whole lot more arduous.
No, it was best to get the adults out of the way first. That way, the girls will be 100% entirely helpless...
Of course, the question was, how did he deal with all three of them in an appropriate manner? Did he try and fight them all? That seemed like a bad idea, considering that two of them currently worked with the AVL. Did he try and persuade them that he was no harm? Again, that seemed like a bad idea, since he doubted they were that stupid...
So, how did he deal with them? Then it hit him. That underground lab looked like it had some crazy weapons and potions and gadgets and...everything ever needed for everything ever. So, surely there was something down there that could help him out here.
Well, standing here idly thinking about it was not going to answer the question...
Continuing down the hallway and beginning his way down the stairs, Vector was still keeping a very close ear out for any noises or traces of human activity. To his dismay, he caught onto the sounds of gleeful humming from the living room, and suddenly, Vector was in a very difficult position.
He slowly started walking backward up the steps again, hoping desperately that whoever was in there would not come to check upstairs. As that thought crossed his mind, the villain almost had a heart attack as Lucy came racing out of the living room door and through the downstairs hallway.
Right now, if she started up the spiraling stairs, then he would be done for. She was a much better fighter than he was, and even if he did find some way to beat her, then all that noise would definitely alert Dru and Jack, and then it would become an unfair fight...
But thankfully, there wasn't any need to worry, since she turned left and started towards the kitchen, yet again leaving Vector completely alone and free. Sighing a deep sigh of relief, he completed the descent down the stairs and slowly made his way towards the living room doorway, not before checking if the coast was clear of course.
He walked inside the large room and inspected every nook and cranny, trying to relive the events of yesterday evening. What button did they press to get the lab elevator up? He remembered it being somewhat big and red in color, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where it was situated.
Then, the rhino chair caught in his gaze, and the red button on the armrest soon followed suit.
Determination overtaking him, the villain dashed at speed towards the chair, and without a moment's hesitation, hammered his fist onto the button. The cannon dropped down with a thud, one of which he hoped sincerely nobody had heard, and the light blue elevator opened up. He instantly leaped inside, and after a moment of waiting, watched as he fell into the floor, beginning his descent through the lab.
Keeping his head down, he hoped more than anything that none of those yellow things would notice him. It was still pretty early in the morning, so hopefully the majority of them were either still asleep or too tired to notice. Thankfully, his theory was true, since the lab was practically entirely empty, and the only minions who were actually awake didn't pay the elevator a moment's notice.
He could also see that blonde villain guy conversing with the old-looking professor guy, in what seemed like a fairly heated argument. If he could hazard a guess, he would say that the argument had something to do with the supercomputer in front of them, since the old guy kept pointing at it every other second with anger.
Thankfully, they were way too consumed by their aggressive conversation to pay him or the elevator any notice.
Once he'd completed the descent, he quickly scanned his eyes across every nearby shelf, hoping to find something that would aid him in any way. His eyes came across poison darts, lava arrows...even something called a 'fart gun'.
Surely, that didn't shoot...?
No, he seriously doubted Gru would have a reason to make something like that. He was obviously a strange guy, but...surely not that strange.
Finally, his eyes landed on a small vial of light blue liquid, which held a label titled 'Paralysis Serum', and the smile on the villain's face was impenetrable. This was perfect. If he put this serum inside the family's food, then they would be completely unable to move, making them exceptionally easy to kidnap.
What could possibly go wrong?
Grabbing the serum and darting for the elevator, the villain wasted no time in making his way back up to the house and into the living room. Thankfully, no-one had re-entered the room while he was down there, otherwise, things could've been derailed pretty quickly.
He carefully traipsed back into the hallway, still keeping a keen eye and ear out, making his way for the kitchen. There wasn't any sign of that redhead woman or the crazy teenager so far, so if things stayed how they were, then his plan would surely succeed.
However, he spoke way too soon...
As the villain took a confident step inside the kitchen, he almost collapsed out of total fright when he saw Jack's eyes looking right back at him. Thankfully, he hid the serum behind his back just in time, otherwise, this already pretty suspicious situation would look even worse.
"How...how the hell did you escape!?" Jack questioned aggressively, moving from behind the counter to stare Vector down. The villain swallowed back his fear and took in a breath, trying to act casual, as if it was somehow expected for him to escape the bedroom and start traipsing through his house unsupervised.
"Uh...um...let's just say..." He began, shrinking down a little. "You're gonna need a new wardrobe."
Vector expected Jack to kill him right there on the spot. Or at the very least, cause him a considerable amount of pain. But instead, the teen gave him a dubious look, as if he was analyzing every inch of his face, and nodded impressively.
"Hmm...well...I guess you're a little more skilled than I gave you credit for." He commented. Vector's mouth dropped open out of shock. "Well, I was going to get you in a few minutes anyway, so just grab yourself a plate and sit down, I guess."
Jack motioned towards one of the seven plates of food on the counter, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, Vector turned to him with a look of awe.
"You...you made me breakfast?" Jack shrugged as he took his place at the table.
"A man's gotta eat."
"But...aren't you gonna punch me, or kill me, or...at least yell at me?"
"Nah, don't think so." Jack replied through a mouth full of bacon, turning away from him to look down at his plate. Vector could do nothing but give him yet another shocked expression. He felt the urge to pinch himself, just in case this was all just a dream. It surely had to be a dream. Why would anyone ever treat him with kindness? After a few seconds of Vector's silent staring, Jack looked back up at him and gave him a very odd look, as if there was totally nothing wrong with this situation. "Do...you want me to?"
"No, no...uh..." Vector quickly replied, casting another glance at the plate of food that was made specifically for him. Suddenly, this paralysis plan seemed a lot less desirable. "Th...thank you..."
Jack smiled.
"No problem."
As the teen returned to his food, Vector gave the vial behind his back a short glance, debating the options in his head. He could either drug the food, kidnap the family, and receive a most likely sarcastic compliment from his father, or ditch the vial, stay with the family, and let his father handle his 'plan' on his own...
Frowning darkly as his father overtook his thoughts, Vector shoved the vial into his back pocket and walked over to the table, sitting down opposite to the teen. It was strange being near another human being and not holding complete resent against them. It felt wrong, but at the same time, kinda felt right...
At that moment, Dru came wandering absentmindedly into the kitchen, a stressed tired frown planted firmly across his face. That level of stress quadrupled when he saw Vector sitting opposite to Jack at the table, eating food from their kitchen.
"Oh my god! Jack! Vectro's escaped!" He exclaimed loudly, as he leaped backward to create more distance between him and the villain. "Quickly! Punch heem or sometheeng!"
"Dru, Dru, calm down..." Jack replied soothingly, as his uncle began hyperventilating at a frustrating decibel level. "I can see that he's escaped, but...how about we just refrain from punching for a little while, okay?"
"But...but...what eef...what eef he hurts de-"
"No-one's gonna get hurt, Dru." Jack replied, speaking as calm as he possibly could, giving Dru a very odd smile. "Not me, not you, not Lucy. And definitely not the girls. You just gotta trust me, understand?"
Dru could hardly hold back the expression of cataclysmic shock. He turned to Vector fearfully, who decided not to pay him any attention, and stared him down for a moment. Something was very very wrong here. Definitely very very wrong!
Finally, the blonde turned around and sprinted out of the kitchen again with a loud shriek, just like he had done the last time he thought the girls were hurt.
This time, Vector couldn't help but turn around to look at him, since that screech could probably be heard all the way down the street.
"Does he have like...a megaphone in his throat or something?"
"Wouldn't surprise me." Jack replied, shrugging as he took another bite of his breakfast.
Margo marched back and forth through her room like a soldier, trying to determine a game plan in her head. There had to be some way to prove her theory, but how did she go about doing it without getting hurt? It seemed practically impossible, but alas, that had never stopped her before.
Edith and Agnes were lying down in their bomb beds moping, both with saddened famished looks on their faces. It didn't help that the smell of bacon was wafting through the door and mocking them either.
"Margo, can we pleaseeee go have breakfast?" Agnes pleaded, sitting up in her bed. "It smells really, really good."
"No, Agnes, we have to stay here." Margo replied, not offering her a single glance. "Remember what I told you. It's just not a good idea to go downstairs right now."
"Jack's not gonna hurt us, Margo!" Edith responded aggressively, getting sick and tired of the hunger. "In fact, you're the one trying to starve us to death!"
"He won't have a choice, Edith!" Margo replied, finally turning around to face her. "If Vector tells him to, then he won't be able to control himself. How many times do I have to tell you this!?"
Sighing very loudly and roughly, Edith slumped back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She was really regretting failing that math test now. Maybe if she hadn't, Gru wouldn't have lost his mind and the family would've never gone on the road trip, meaning he'd still be here right now...
Suddenly, she felt very guilty.
However, she didn't have very long to dwell on that thought, because for the second time this morning, their door was almost hammered off it's hinges by their overly energetic uncle.
"Dru, you need to stop doing that..." Margo chastised, frowning. "You're gonna break the door."
"Gurls! Sometheeng very weird ees goeeng on around here!" He exclaimed, giving the three girls only a momentary glance before turning around to analyze the outside hallway for danger, which was gleaming with soap bubbles. Edith watched with a very keen eye as he did so.
"Tell me about it..." She replied listlessly. She really didn't have the energy for psychotic conversations anymore. "Dru, can you tell Margo to stop being insane? She won't let us go downstairs."
"No, no! Yoo need to stay up here!" Dru commanded, throwing the door closed after one last careful examination. Rolling her eyes, Edith sighed aggressively for what had to be the millionth time that morning and slumped back on her bed again. "I theenk dere's sometheeng very wrong weeth Jack! He's just sitteeng down dere, eateeng breakfast weeth dat Vectro guy!"
"I knew it!" Margo exclaimed, punching her palm. Dru gave her a perplexing look. "I knew this was gonna happen!"
"What? What are yoo talkeeng about?"
"Dru, I think I have a theory on why Jack is acting so weirdly..." Margo responded, seeming very concerned. "You see, ever since last night, he's been weirdly kind towards Vector. He's let him come upstairs, he's been saying nice things about him, he doesn't seem concerned that he might hurt us. And now, he's even making him breakfast! There's surely only one explanation, and although it sounds really farfetched, a lot of things sound really farfetched in this house, so I think I might be correct, because by looking at all the evidence-"
"Oh for god sake, she thinks he's been brainwashed!" Edith interrupted loudly and angrily, sitting up at speed.
"B-b-brainwashed!?" Dru repeated, now looking twice as frightened as he had done before.
"Yeah, stupid, right?" Edith mumbled, resting her head in her palm irately, giving the two a very fatigued expression.
"Well, it's happened before, hasn't it?" Margo stated, putting an arm on her hip in a bratty manner. "The IVB had found a way to brainwash Jack when he was there. And Venin had managed to create a brainwashing gun and use it on Jack! What if Vector's done the same?"
Edith huffed and looked away from her eldest sister, still seeming unconvinced. Or maybe, the tomboy was just telling herself that it wasn't true in order to avoid getting even more afraid. She was already at risk of losing her father, she didn't particularly want to add her brother to that equation...
"Oh my god! What are we gonna do!? What are we gonna do!? What are we gonna dooooo!?" Dru exclaimed, bouncing up and down a little out of nerve.
"Dru! Dru! Calm down..." Margo exclaimed, snapping the blonde out of his small breakdown. "Don't worry, I think I have a plan to test my theory, but...we're gonna need your assistance."
"Yoo are?" Margo nodded. Dru gave her a frightful look. "Een what way?"
"Well..." The twelve-year-old began, dropping her head nervously. "We need you to find out...
"If Jack is really on our side..."
The three girls and their uncle stared intently through the slightly opened living room door, watching their teenage brother and current arch-nemesis as they sat on the sofa. Jack and Vector were simply watching TV silently, the latter seeming both content and confused as to why he was even there.
Margo felt like this sight was evidence enough for the brainwashing theory, but she needed something more concrete before they escaped the house to search for help...
"Okay, Dru...do you remember the plan?" Margo whispered quietly. Her uncle took a few seconds to respond, as if he was taking some time to build up the courage. It was understandable, considering the risks...
"Mm-hmm..." He replied, nodding. "I just go een dere, annoy Jack, and den see eef he...tries to attack me."
"And what if he does?"
"Run like de wind." Dru answered, getting an approving nod from his eldest niece.
"Good."
"This is stupid," Edith added, refusing to whisper, much to the annoyance of Margo, who was desperately making the shush signal with her finger. "Jack's not brainwashed. Otherwise, he would've tried to hurt us by now..."
"Maybe Vector's told him to bide his time." Margo theorized, still watching the two men in the living room. "Maybe they're just waiting for the right moment to strike."
Dru let out a deep huff, both out of frustration and fright...
"Come on, let's just get dis over weeth..." Dru replied, closing his eyes and taking in a confidence breath. Clearing his mind of any fearful thoughts, the blonde villain pushed the door open and stepped inside, desperately attempting to ignore his blindingly quick heart rate.
The moment he stepped in, both Jack and Vector turned to face him quizzingly, but after a moment, Jack sighed and leaned forward in his seat.
"There you are, I've been waiting for you for ages." He spoke, as Dru approached in a threatening manner. "Are we gonna get started on this plan, then?"
Instead of responding, Dru frowned and picked up the nearest toy on the floor, which happened to be a fluffy elephant doll, and threw it at the teenager aggressively. For a moment, Jack simply stared dubiously at the toy that had bobbed him in the head and rested in his lap, but once he collected his thoughts again, he looked up at Dru with the exact same puzzled expression.
"What...what are you doing?"
Dru continued to pick up nearby toys and throw them at Jack with an angry high-pitched grunt, but since they were all as soft as pillows, Jack was simply staring at his uncle with a total look of uncertainty. His brain just couldn't capacitate the amount of strange behavior he'd experienced this morning, and so, he had absolutely no response.
After about a minute of watching this strange scene, the girls were both relieved and confused with Jack's nonchalant reaction. This gave pretty strong evidence that he in fact wasn't brainwashed, but at the same time, generated a lot of questions as to why Jack was giving Vector freedom to wander the house.
Eventually, utterly sick of hunger, weird behavior, and watching some of her toys being thrown abashedly, Edith darted forward into the room and made her way towards Vector.
"EDITH! NO!" Margo yelled, trying to reach out and grab her, however, to no avail.
Building up a really quick pace, the ten-year-old sprinted over and smacked Vector across the head fairly hard, instantly moving past him and darting towards the television right after. Both surprised and peeved, the villain rose from his seat and sent Edith a dark look, one of which brought back a few memories from the dance recital...
"Why you little-"
However, just as he stood up and gave the tomboy that look, Jack did the exact same, except in Vector's direction and with a much more fierce and frightening frown. Vector immediately realized the risk, and without a moment's hesitation, wiped the look from his face and sat down in an obedient fashion, not wanting to risk a surely fatal fight.
Margo, Dru, and Agnes were watching the sight with total fear, but once Jack had stood up and frightened Vector back down, they all breathed a long sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Edith had simply held a wry smile the whole time, happy to prove her older sister wrong. Yes, she did have to risk her life to do so, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jack would protect her.
He had done so many times before, and he promised that he always would...
Once Vector had sat back down, seemingly now devoid of anger or resentment, Jack calmed down and brought a fairly faint smile to his face. Deep down, he knew that he should kick Vector's butt simply for frowning at Edith, but he could tell by the look on his face that that wasn't a good idea. He knew this guy wasn't like the other villains.
He was an expert at realizing that, of course...
"How about we don't punch Vector from now on, okay?" Jack spoke with a grin, turning to his little sister, who returned the smile contentedly. "Now come on, you must be starving."
With those words, Agnes followed in Edith's footsteps and bounded into the room, with Margo again unable to stop her before she did. Lucy soon appeared out of nowhere and ran into the room, where started cleaning a few sections of the crocodile couch.
Everyone then started conversing causally, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with this current situation. The eldest sister was now totally confused as she watched her family, who all seemed pretty content with being in the same room as a guy who had kidnapped them before...
But, though she couldn't exactly pinpoint which ones, worryingly watching her family converse with someone who was a danger to them did bring back a few faint memories...
The abducted Gru woke up that morning with a pounding headache. He had an absolutely terrible night's sleep in that wooden chair, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to explain why. Unsurprisingly, lumbar didn't provide much support, especially without pillows.
As he slowly re-entered an awakened state, Gru looked up and around at his surroundings in a bit of a daze, where he caught sight of Perkins and Fullbyte around the supercomputer. The two of them weren't paying him an ounce of attention, seeming extremely concentrated.
What were they up to? He had been trying to figure that out for some time, but he simply couldn't pin-point it. It was obviously something devious and evil, that he knew without a shadow of doubt, but what were they achieving by simply sitting around a computer for hours on end?
When he and Nefario used to conduct their own evil schemes, the only time they ever had to use a computer was to do some location analyzing, or blueprint research. But whenever they did that, it would only take about an hour at most, so what were these two doing that was taking them so long?
He wanted to know, but at the same time, really didn't...
Finally, after around a minute, Perkins turned to face him, clearly just checking to make sure he hadn't escaped. When the burly man saw him awake, Gru expected to receive some sort of evil or witty insult, but instead, Perkins just gave him a dark smile.
Somehow, that made the AVL director feel even more uncomfortable...
"Complete! It's complete!" Fullbyte announced, his voice full of cheer and relief. Perkins instantly turned away from Gru and faced the computer screen, his whole attention enveloped. "Finally, the entire area is mapped out! Looks like the main-building is absolutely full of security cameras, so getting him in there undetected while they're all active seems borderline impossible..."
"Ugh, fantastic." Perkins scoffed sarcastically, frustrated. "It's imperative that he isn't detected, otherwise the whole plan will be ruined."
"Not to worry, old chap." Fullbyte announced gleefully, spinning in his chair to face his villain partner. "I've connected into the security camera database and the automatic re-enforcement system. With one click of the button, I can switch them all off and turn the entire vicinity into one huge blind spot. Plus, without the automatic re-enforcement system, no-one will be able to call for any backup."
"Wonderful! Just...wonderful!" Perkins replied with a large air of elation. "I have the undeniable urge to hug your right now, byte! But...well, I don't even hug my own son, so..."
"Yes, well...I'd prefer it if you..." Fullbyte looked the large, muscular man up and down. "Didn't touch me..."
"Right..." Perkins nodded, giving him an odd look. "Anyway, while this is all fantastic on its own, I do have one last request."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"Well, instead of switching all the security cameras off, do you think you could divert the feed to another location?"
"As in...transfer the feed to another monitor?" Instead of offering a vocal response, Perkins simply nodded. "Um...yes, that shouldn't an issue. Just give me the IP address and it's done. Although, may I ask, what would be the need of that?"
"It's just...there are a few people that should probably see this," Perkins responded, casting a darkened look upon Gru, who was still eyeing the two of them with suspicion. "And I wouldn't want them missing out."
"Oh...okay..." Fullbyte replied, offering him a peculiar glance. "What's the IP?"
"It should be in here. Under the name 'Felonious Gru'." Perkins stated, reaching into his suit pocket to reveal a black notepad titled 'Contacts'. Fullbyte took it, and although he was very curious to know exactly what purpose this held, began the transfer protocol silently. "Now, talking about Gru..."
Perkins turned and approached the AVL director at speed, handing him a beyond evil glare. He looked like a vampire that was about to devour the blood of his victim, that victim being Gru. The father-of-four watched him closely, unsure of what to say or do, but when he noticed him beckon that Bandit brute forward, who had been silently waiting in the corner for some time now, he began yelling out of pure fear.
"What de hell ees happeeneeng here, Perkins!?" He exclaimed. Perkins's smile grew wider. "Just...look...I...I swear to god, eef yoo take another step forward, yoo weel regret doeeng so weeth every atom of your being!"
Perkins grinned a poisonous grin, right before taking that dared step forward confidently. He stared Gru down with a 'what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it' expression, which angered the director a huge deal. Obviously, there was nothing he could about it, and that's what was enraging him so much.
"Just...what do yoo want weeth me, Perkins!?"
"Come on, Gru, keep up. I've told you all of this before..." The large man stated, kneeling down to look straight into Gru's terrified eyes. "That old life you hated so much is gone, Gru! It's time for things to change! It's time for you to finally push forward and follow your destiny! It's time for you to rejoin villainy, once and for all..."
Before Gru could reply with whatever helpless threat he could conjure, Perkins nodded his head commandingly, instructing Bandit to punch him square across the head, instantly knocking him unconscious.
Staring down at his comotosed victim with a mixed grin of fulfillment and rage, the bank owner stood back up and turned to Bandit, who was looking back at him with an elated expression.
"Untie the ropes and carry him on your shoulder for me, would you?" Perkins requested, which Bandit followed without complaint. "Our next stop...
"The NASA headquarters."
NOW, we're getting started!
So, clearly, this was, for the most part, a filler chapter, but it was quite important filler. Vector's character and storyline have become a whole lot more complex than I had originally planned for him, but now that a few things have changed, this chapter was pretty imperative. Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoyed it.
Some huge stuff will go down in the next installment, which should possibly (emphasis on the word possibly) be out at the beginning of January. I will get started on it right after Christmas, so I can't see how I won't get it out soon!
Speaking of Christmas, hope everyone has a really, really good one, that is if you're celebrating, of course. Obviously, all reviews are appreciated, whether they're praise or criticism. See you soon!