This idea might sound familiar to a few of you. It's of Tall Boy's daughter who left the Serpents and joined the Ghoulies, the details of which and whether she left willingly will be revealed. It was a story I was working on a few months ago and then dropped, and I decided to use the idea and form it around Lane. But, this is a VERY different Lane. It heavily features Malachai, as well as your boy Sweet Pea (cause I can't resist these two together).

VI. Queen Of The Dead - part one

He woke with her beside him, a hand curled under her chin, her hair fallen in her face. She was usually awake before him, but he'd woken to her for so long he wasn't sure it was possible to exist without her. There was an unusual softness in the way he brushed the hair out of her face, his thumb grazing her warm cheek.

"Morning," Malachai said at the sight of Lane's pale green eyes as she blinked.

Her sleep addled brain was too slow to catch her smile, feeling the ghost of his lips on her cheek. But the moment passed, as all moments do, and they hardened in the only way they knew how to be to each other.

Climbing over him she felt his hand graze her thigh – on a good morning she'd smirk and settle on top of him with her legs spread around him, on a bad morning she still would. But that morning she grabbed her robe and maneuvered around the sleeping bodies tangled together on the floor.

He found her in the kitchen making coffee, and he moved to her back with his hands grasping her arms and his mouth on her neck kissing the bruise he'd left the night before. Pulling the robe off her shoulders so that it slipped down her body gathering at their feet he bent her over the table, and she laid there feeling the hand he'd set on the back of her head curl into a fist around her hair. She waited for him to finish, but instead of letting her go and leaving he laid over her with his mouth against her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked, knowing it always surprised her when he bothered to notice.

She almost told him, she opened her mouth and the truth almost fell out. But it held fast to her tongue refusing to let go, and she told him instead, "it's a feeling."

He hated her feelings, they almost always turned into something. As if on cue a throat cleared to their left. Malachai made the mistake of sitting up to address them, giving Lane enough room to snatch her cover-up off the floor and put it back on. Before she could tie it his hand fastened around her arm pulling her back to the table and pushing her so that she sat on the edge of it. With a gleam in his dark eyes he told both her and the one who'd interrupted them, "she hasn't come yet."

With a sigh she watched his curly head sink between her thighs, and she slammed her hands on the table behind her to keep from falling when he suddenly pulled her legs over his shoulders. She could feel him grinning against her. An almost satisfied breath left her parted lips as her head fell back. "What is it?" she asked turning with glazed eyes to where Gray stood waiting.

He hesitated as he looked between them, and had it been any other information he would've kept his mouth shut until Malachai was done with her. "The Sheriff's office raided the high school, they grabbed everyone they could get their hands on – ours and the Serpents."

"What?" Malachai cried as he stood, addressing his second in command.

As he stalked off to see what damage had been done Lane slid off the table and calmly continued making her coffee. An hour later she sat in the bathroom of the pharmacy staring at the chipped stall door as she waited with even breaths, at her feet lay an opened box for a pregnancy test. Her phone buzzed as the timer ran out and she looked down at the test in her hand seeing the unmistakable second line.

Releasing a heavy breath she tossed it and the rest of the kit she hadn't paid for in the trash before leaving. For the past couple weeks, the past few days mainly, she'd noticed a change in the air, a sense of tension – a feeling. It wasn't until she got home and climbed out of her car seeing Gray standing opposite a tall man with long hair donning a Serpent jacket that she finally understood.

"He wants to talk to Malachai," Gray told her, having been about to send someone down.

Passing the Serpent without a second glance Lane replied, "I'll let him know," and went inside.

Malachai was sitting back in his chair wearing the robe she'd had on earlier, and he smiled when he saw her. "Hey birdie," he greeted, the sharp curve of his mouth making it clear he wanted to finish what he'd started. But his expression quickly fell when hers didn't change.

"My father wants an audience," she informed him, watching as he first tensed then coiled.

For several long seconds he was quiet, today having been a long time coming, but he took a breath and looked to the first person he saw behind her. "Bring him in," he commanded and turned back to Lane. He moved and without word she complied, sitting on the armrest feeling his arm come around her waist possessively.

Her alliance was made clear the moment Tall Boy saw them, the boy was slouched back in obvious control but she sat regally at his side with her legs crossed and her arm around his shoulders. They listened to his call for the gangs to unite against the Northside, inciting war, and then Malachai countered looking for how it benefited them when they still outnumbered the Serpents. All the while Lane sat a quiet observer, Malachai was greedy and he was looking at this as a way to take from the Serpents, but her father was something else – wanted something else.

The last three years now seemed like a lifetime to Tall Boy, if she didn't look so much like her mother he might not have recognized her. Her once round youthful face had thinned elegantly, no longer his little girl. Eighteen was still impossibly young but there was something about her eyes that made her look older. That pale haunting stare.

"That'll be Jughead," Tall Boy said when his phone rang.

Considering her options Lane sat up sliding out of Malachai's grasp. "I'll get him," she said before he could grab her. "Let's give him a friendly face."

Jughead walked through unfamiliar worn down territory feeling several pairs of eyes on him the further he went. From the ripped jeans and studded jackets Jughead knew exactly who he was now dealing with, the question was why. A heavy metal door creaked as it was forced open and he paused catching sight of an impressively tall girl only a few years older than him, and the closer she came the more familiar he found her.

"You're FP's kid," she stated, not needing to ask. She could see the resemblance. And she watched his eyes narrow as he tried to figure out why he knew her. "It's been a while Bug."

His eyes widened slightly at hearing that nickname for the first time in at least ten years. "Lane," he said realizing hers was the name that went with the story. "You're the Serpent who joined the Ghoulies."

Her smile was anything but nice. "Is that what your father's saying?" She wasn't looking for an answer and she didn't wait for one, she turned giving a short, "keep up," and made her way back to the building that served as her home.

"What happened?" he asked sticking close to her back as she moved easily through the Ghoulies that now crowded around the door.

It was wrenched open for her and she stepped inside where all light was snuffed out, and she turned to Jughead who looked at her in the shadows. "You're not here for me," she said before leading him downstairs, where they were enveloped by the warm glow of candlelight.

As Lane leaned against the wall beside him Jughead looked around realizing this was the heart of the Ghoulies, their home, their base of operation. Holding her tongue, as expected of her, Lane listened to their back and forth as Jughead slowly understood what Tall Boy was asking for. She liked the kid's nerve.

"The Northside declared war today," said Tall Boy, done with childish arguments. "Your old man ain't here to call the shots. And yeah, I'm his right hand, that makes me de facto leader here and now. Things are changing, Jones. Either you change with them, or suffer the consequences."

Jughead stared at the older man in quiet understanding, betrayed. Malachai smiled. "Evolve or die, baby," he told the Serpent prince. "Evolve or die."

A hand on his arm had Jughead flinching and he turned seeing Lane's unreadable face. "I'll walk you out," she offered quietly, and Jughead shook his head refusing because he couldn't leave it like this. "You won't get anywhere today."

He found that to be true, it was clear Tall Boy's mind was made up and Jughead's allies were currently sitting behind bars. So he followed her back upstairs, finding that after even a few minutes in the stifling dim the sunlight almost burned his eyes. "Where do you stand in all this?" he asked, unsure whose side she was on. She didn't dress like a Ghoulie, and she held herself with an air of calm that wasn't befitting of one either.

"No," was her simple, curt, reply as she took him back to where he'd parked his bike. She turned to see him unhappily staring back at her, thinking she was refusing to answer. "What do you really wanna ask me?" she posed instead. And when his mouth opened she quickly covered it with her hand. "Think about it."

His brows drew together confused, not knowing her well enough to figure out what she wanted from him. He didn't really know her at all. The obvious question was whether she was with the Ghoulies, and he was gathering that she didn't want obvious. So he thought harder, smarter, and arrived at a question that would tell him more. "Do you think I should agree to this alliance?"

He watched the corner of her mouth curl, that was the right question and she'd given her answer – no. Before he could think anything further she turned her back to him. "Don't waste time leaving," she told him as she walked away.

.^.

Lane found herself awake early the next day, the kind of early that couldn't be considered morning but too late to still consider night. His head was on her chest and his arms around her, and she lay with a hand in his hair enjoying the weight of him over her. As though needing him to hold her down.

He woke hours later in the warmth of her arms, it took him a few tries before consciousness stuck with him and when it did he turned into her pressing wet kisses over her chest. Her hands on his shoulders forced him back and he released a heavy breath as he watched her climb off the bed without a word.

She showered and made breakfast for the others, and was standing in the kitchen sipping her coffee when she felt him at her back. And they stayed that way for a time, his arms around her and his cheek warm on her temple as she leaned against him. But a breath too deep passed between them breaking the spell and he turned her around holding up a striped straw.

Looking from it to Malachai she took it from him and ripped the top open, and he opened his mouth letting her feed it to him. She kissed him, open mouthed, licking it off his tongue. And when there was nothing but the taste of him left she pulled away catching her breath.

"There's my smile," he softly said gazing down at her pretty pale eyes with her pupils blown. His arms came around her as he pulled her closer, watching her blink slowly up at him.

He could be so sweet sometimes, but she almost hated him the rest of it. Or maybe she hated herself – some days she couldn't tell the difference.

They were dancing when the call came, hips swaying in time with an old crooning song she thought her dad used to play in the car. He spun her around and she settled with her back against him feeling him slide a hand up to her chest while the other settled low on her stomach to keep her pressed against him. A warm choked breath was forced from his lungs and it curled around her ear in a way she almost shivered, and from the way his rhythm fell off beat she knew they wouldn't last til the end of the song.

"Serpents are on their way for another meeting," Gray told them, almost able to hear how loudly Malachai sighed at another interruption. And from the dark way he looked at him Gray knew he'd pay for it this time.

Kissing her shoulder Malachai let her go and stepped away, hesitating in the doorway as he watched her still dancing. Uninhibited and alone. A small part of him noticed she didn't seem bothered by the loss of him. A larger part of him, closest to her, wanted to stay. But in the end he left her, like he always did.

When the song ended she replayed it, her body still swaying to the sad pleading voice. "If you ever change your mind about leaving," she sang along, her voice a lighter sweeter melody, "leaving me behind. Baby, bring it to me. Bring your sweet lovin Bring it on home to me." And she turned as if in knowing and looked at her father.

"You always did love this song," Tall Boy said remembering the impassioned way she used to sing it when she was younger, eyes closed and with all of her soul.

She looked at his old weathered face, it looked like more than three years had passed for him. I know you laughed when you left. But now I know I only hurt myself. Baby, bring it to me "Why didn't you fight for me?" she asked in a voice so quiet she sounded young.

"I tried," he offered with a half-hearted shrug.

What little softness in her that she'd saved for him turned to stone, not caring for his pleading eyes. "Why didn't you try harder?"

He'd been asking himself that since he saw her yesterday, seeing for the first time the misery he'd left her to. The only comfort he'd been able to find was a lie – she never wanted this. And there would be no words for her, she'd never forgive him. She'd never forgive them. A door opened upstairs and he swallowed. "That'll be Jughead," he said stepping back.

It curled a cruel smile on her mouth seeing past his guilt to the part of him incapable of admitting what he'd done. "Yeah," was her cold reply as she turned the music off and moved around him.

It was easy to find her in the dark gothic candlelit room, she sat atop a coffin they used as a table in a powder blue robe with her legs crossed and her hair down. She looked soft, she was the only thing there that did. But a long lanky skull-wearing form stood in front of Jughead and he looked up at Malachai, who didn't like the way the kid was looking at his girl.

"Me and my boy want to challenge you to a race," Jughead said, standing with a cautious Archie at his back. The faintest of smiles graced Lane's lips, knowing who gave Jughead that idea – it wasn't a nice smile because she also knew how FP felt about her. "If we win," Jughead continued, "the Serpents remain autonomous and you quit dealing at Southside High."

She watched Malachai consider that, knowing he'd never back down. It wasn't in his blood. "And if we win?" he posed, wondering what the Jones kid had in mind. If it was enough to whet his appetite.

"We fold," Jughead reluctantly admitted. "And you will continue polluting the Southside with your little straws of death."

It wasn't enough. Malachai glanced at Lane out of the corner of his eye seeing her watching him, waiting for his next move. "So, the mighty Serpent prince has some stones, but not much else," he all but sneered. "So unless your highness wants to put some of daddy's territory on the table, I got no reason to agree to this race."

Almost before he finished the door was forced open and Vern charged in as two well dressed girls were dragged in behind him. "They were following me, trying to get in the garage," he explained to Malachai as he stopped in the place between him and Lane.

The four out of place teens greeted each other with a mix of alarm and surprise asking what they were doing there, both girls and boys having come with vaguely similar intention.

Lane observed the scene before her, reading between the lines until she figured which girl went with which boy. Malachai of course was furious, not only that the girls had gotten this close but in his mind Jughead and his boy had brought them. "Why don't you take your skanks and get the hell out of here. Until you make me a better offer there'll be no race."

Jughead needed this, with Tall Boy wanting an alliance and having more say with the Serpents he was bound to convince them. The Serpents would never recover. "If you win, we'll give you the Whyte Wyrm. You can expand your drug-dealing horizons and upgrade out of this literal hellhole." It was the only chip he had to bargain, or the only one he thought he had.

"We'll take the Wyrm," Malachai agreed, but he was greedy and he wanted it all, "and Sunnyside trailer park."

That'd leave the Serpents with nothing, not even their homes. But Jughead was quickly realizing with the Ghoulies it was an all or nothing kind of game, and as though drawn his eyes flicked to the left of the older boy where Lane waited with a calm patience. He remembered what his father said when Jughead asked about her; leave that girl exactly where she is. But there was something about her eyes, about her warning him against aligning with the Ghoulies. "And we'll take back what's ours," Jughead added.

Malachai's brows drew together as he looked behind him, following Jughead's stare, to see Lane. It wasn't exactly what she thought would happen but it was more or less what she wanted. But his agreement took her by momentary surprise, and she watched Jughead and Malachai share a heavy look and a curt nod before he and his three Northsiders left.

When they were gone Malachai turned back to her seeing a sharpened edge to her stare and he knew he'd made a mistake. But he was arrogant, believing he was the one calling the shots and that she was still just the Serpent pawn. Without a word she grabbed the front of his robe and pulled him into her with her legs wrapped tight around his slender hips, and she looked up at him through her lashes seeing him swallow heavily – one of these days he'd figure out which one of them was the pawn.

…

She climbed out the car looking between the Ghoulies and the Serpents and the Northsiders, all staying within their collective units. These were things she usually didn't care enough to attend, but as she was part of the deal she found herself standing beside Malachai feeling his hand in her back pocket as he sized up Jughead and his ride.

"She'll stay with me," came a low gravelly voice.

They both turned to address Tall Boy but before Malachai could snidely refuse Lane gave a quick, "fine." She turned to her curly headed boy seeing the faintest hint of hurt feelings behind his angry eyes and she gave him a playful smile. "Fraid you're gonna lose?"

He grinned having nothing but confidence and smacked her ass as she stepped away. As soon as her back was turned her face straightened to one of such unfeeling that if not for her watchful burning eyes she could've passed for a corpse.

She looked more like a Ghoulie, wearing ripped jeans and a dark shirt with sleeves that hung off her shoulders. The Serpents tensed at the sight of her, only the older ones actually knowing her but a lot of the younger ones who'd joined after she'd gone knew it was her from the way she stood next to Tall Boy.

"That is a lot of woman," Toni mused looking from her wide hips to her generous chest, finding the only part of her she'd gotten from Tall Boy was her height. She had to be close to six feet tall. Sweet Pea sat on his bike in front of her not falling for it.

A red cup appeared in front of her and Lane turned to a blonde bearded boy she thought she might've known, but it seemed like so long ago. She took his offer of beer without thanks and turned back to the group in front of her, her gaze continuing to stray to the redheaded Northsider Jughead brought with him. There was something about the way he looked around them, cagey.

"Let's do this," Tall Boy called stepping forward. "Get those cars up on the road."

Lane stood quietly while Malachai flashed her a toothy grin and climbed back in his car, sparing the brief thought of warning him something was up. But the selfish part of her she hated most held her ground. When they were in position he and Jughead shook hands agreeing once more to the terms of the race before they were behind the wheel again. Another thought to warn him, louder this time and more desperate. But still she stayed. The signal was given and with the squeal of tires they were gone, and she released the breath she'd unknowingly been holding.

"Why's the traitor with us?" Sweet Pea demanded when he and the others made their way back to their designated ground.

Lane found herself staring at the darkest pair of hateful eyes, and she looked away knowing her lack of care would only ignite him further. "She's part of the deal," Tall Boy answered for her, hearing their unhappy murmurings. He had half a mind to take her now, skip town and do away with it all. But Lane had gotten her selfish greed from him, and he wanted the Serpents for himself. He wouldn't give it up, not even for her.

They were quieted when one of her boys came running. "Everyone scatter! The cops are rounding up Ghoulies."

Serpents and Ghoulies alike started running, knowing how hard the cops would come down on them – and most of them had just gotten out of jail after the school was raided. Lane was struck by a sudden wave of sentiment, but before she could step towards where Gray was rushing to her Tall Boy grabbed her arm pulling her back. "She stays with us til this is sorted," he told the other boy through grit teeth. He didn't see the look his daughter shared with the Ghoulie that had him leaving, all he knew was they were now gone and she was still with him. He shoved her toward the nearest Serpent, which happened to be Fangs. "Get her to the Wyrm, she's not to leave."

Fangs looked up at her, finding she was a couple inches taller than him, thinking if she wanted to get away he probably wouldn't be able to stop her. But she climbed on his bike and settled at his back with her arms loose around him, letting him drive off with her. She made him nervous, it was the quiet way in which she stared that had him feeling like a bug realizing too late it was about to be stepped on. He held the door open for her and was left stunned by her pretty smile as she thanked him before walking into the near empty bar, he had to clear his dry throat before following her.

"Hey little bird," was Hog Eye's slow greeting, cautious. He slid her a shot of tequila, her usual.

Serpents began trickling in as they arrived from the race, waiting for Jughead who'd started it to tell them what to do because the Ghoulies were likely to come after them for calling the cops. Suspicious glares were thrown at her, not so quiet whispers spoken, and she sat with a haughty grace nursing a cigarette casing the place.

Tall Boy stormed in making a beeline for her, their best bet at making it out of this unscathed. "Can you call your dogs off or do we need to prepare for war?"

Her eyes were the kind of cold he felt the temperature around him drop – he was willing to bargain her for peace with the Ghoulies, again. "From what I've seen Jughead's vote holds as much weight as yours, and he's not here yet." Her tone was a sweet coo, and it had his hand tightening into a fist as he scowled. But he backed off, or at least he stood behind where she sat quietly and ignored the want to touch her.

Finally Jughead came in, having dropped Betty off with the promise to talk later. And he made his way to Lane the moment he saw her, with Sweet Pea and Toni flanking him. "I had nothing to do with setting him up, I swear," Jughead was quick to tell her, not entirely knowing where her loyalty lay.

"It was your Northside rent boy," she calmly replied.

He hesitated at that and released a breath as his brows drew together confused. "You knew?"

She shrugged. "Not the details. But your boy's an easy read."

"And you didn't warn Malachai?" He was trying to goad her into the answer he wanted, that she'd done it for the Serpents, that loyalty hadn't been burned out of her vocabulary. The Ghoulies would be discussing retaliation, they could have the proof it wasn't a Serpent and they'd still come after them for the principle of it all – she was the Serpent's only hope.

"And ruin my only chances of getting out?" she posed instead, seeing the moment realization dawned. She slowly rose to her feet noticing the small way he leaned back. "Yeah, Bug, you got played," she said with contrived sympathy. "Good thing we wanted the same thing."

He took that in stride needing her more than he wanted to dislike her. "So what do you want now?"

With a small unamused laugh she shook her head. "I'm already out, now you're the one wanting. So let me make this easy for you; we can barter a temporary reprieve with the Ghoulies, but if you sell me to them for peace the way your father did I will tell them you're responsible for Malachai's arrest." It was that simple, and she blinked expectantly at him as he thought it over.

There was a lot to digest: she was willing to call the Ghoulies off, she wouldn't be left with them, and she hadn't gone with them willingly the first time. Her eyes stared so hard he could almost feel their weight on his face. "Okay," Jughead relented seeing her brow raise in question. "I'll say we're keeping you as a retainer."

She almost smiled; it's what FP had called her three years ago. Gray would know what it meant, and after they left he'd tell the others she was still their girl.

"You, myself, and Tall Boy will meet with them."

But she shook her head. "No."

From her right came a gruff seething voice. "You've got a lot of nerve, traitor, thinking you can come in our house"

"Don't interrupt," she snapped in a low firm voice turning to the tall dark boy, holding his eye with an unyielding stare. And while his nostrils flared his mouth closed, and she turned back to Jughead. "Not my father," she told him.

Tall Boy scoffed behind her, thinking for a moment she was being a brat. It was a mistake trying to handle her like one. "In case you forgot, little girl, I'm the only one they know."

Her gaze remained set on Jughead not acknowledging the man at her back. "He wanted the alliance."

And there was no way of knowing whether Tall Boy would try to call for it again, and even with Malachai gone the Ghoulies still outnumbered the Serpents. So Jughead turned to Sweet Pea, whose size alone was intimidating. "You good to do this?" Jughead asked him, and waited as Sweet Pea nodded curtly. And then he turned to Lane, who still waited with the same dead-faced expression. "Are you fine with him?" At her uncaring sure he nodded and took a breath as though there was any way to prepare for this. "I'll get my dad's truck and pick you guys up."

Lane watched Jughead leave, and instead of looking to her father who was glowering behind her she turned to the boy with the dark eyes who was still seething. "Thank you," she told him softly, "for letting us finish." She watched his angry face slacken with wary confusion, and she softened her own face in a way she knew made her look almost pleasant. "What's your name?"

"Sweet Pea," he answered through clenched teeth, waiting for the snicker or contempt that always came when he said his name. It didn't. Without warning her hand was suddenly holding his chin, tipping his face more towards her as though she were appraising it. He didn't think anyone had ever looked at him this close.

She felt him swallow, uncomfortable. "It's nice to meet you, Sweetie."

"Sweet Pea," he corrected, his voice uncharacteristically quieted.

She smiled at him and gave an amused, "okay." Releasing her hold on him she gently nudged his chin, as though telling him to raise it high. As he blinked bewitched and unknowing, she turned her back on him and returned to the bar looking for another drink.

With her pale haunting eyes finally off him Sweet Pea was able to shake himself out of whatever daze he'd fallen in and remembered he was supposed to hate her. Clearing his throat he felt his chest warm as he moved closer to the bar, waiting with her for Jughead to drive them to the House of the Dead.

If anyone is actually interested in reading more, part two would have more of Sweet Pea as these two feel each other out. as well as fleshing this Lane out more And depending on how long it is (which come on it's me, it'll be long) this might be a three part one shot. Maybe even a four part if anyone is actually interested in me carrying it over to what's going on in season 3.