A/N: So, re-reading parts of the story, I noticed that it was Noose, not Ghoul, that seemed the most concerned about Yellowjacket in the first half of the story. That was obviously before I decided to make Ghoul think of herself as a mother-figure for Yellowjacket. Anywho...
NexusOscura: Just glad you're back.
Al Drin Hoshizora: Meh.
Razorback 234: Burglary? Where?
MrScourch: Well, the Others did have a major numbers advantage. It does make sense that a portion of them would outnumber the Hideout's defenses. I mean, they did number in the hundreds of thousands.
Korrasami 88: What?
Js: Well, you'll find out.
Antha1: Well, she also hasn't seen her husband in some time.
I am a burglar: Seriously?
"Why did you abandon me to die?!"
The question speared Bill and Jill's hearts like a sword. As they stared into their daughter's eyes, they saw a look of anguish that only someone in the utmost pain could make.
By now, all eyes were on the three. The previous fighting that had taken place had been pushed to the side in favor of this new development. Most of those present had no idea what was happening, including Yellowjacket's friends.
Bill knew that remaining silent wouldn't solve anything. "Riley, it's not what you think," He said, taking a step forward and reaching towards his daughter. 'We can-"
Yellowjacket moved away from him. "Oh?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Was you leaving me alone in the forest while I begged for your help just imagined? Or the fact that after a year, you didn't bother coming back home to see if I was still there. It was only pure luck we stumbled upon each other."
"Riley, what are you talking about?" Mary asked, moving away from her brother and friends. Ghoul and Noose stood behind Yellowjacket, confused as well.
"But we found you," Jill pointed out, trying to shine some optimism in the situation. "We took you back."
Yellowjacket picked out Margaret (or as she knew her, Meg) out of the crowd. "What about her?" She asked. "Her mother stayed with her. She never turned into a mindless monster because she was with her. If you'd stayed with me, I'd never have hurt all those people."
Bill and Jill looked like they wanted to say something, but they remained silent.
"I could've been a zombie forever, mom," Yellowjacket said, turning to face her mother. "What if I forgot who you were entirely? I'd never see you again!" Tears trickled down her cheeks, her blue eyes watery.
Bill and Jill collapsed at Yellowjacket's feet. Putting a hand on Yellowjacket's cheek to sooth her, Jill whispered, "Riley, we know you'd never forget us. No matter what happens to us, we're family."
Yellowjacket sniffed, wiping the tears out of her eyes.
"We're sorry, Riley," Bill confessed. "That night. . . we thought you were gone for good, but I just couldn't put an end to it. But now, I see that I was wrong."
Yellowjacket had stopped crying, but her shoulders were slumped. She looked to the floor, forlorn.
"I know what we did was horrible, and there are no excuses," Bill said as he held his daughter's hand. "But please, I just hope you can forgive us." He wrapped his arms around his daughter, and held her close. Jill did the same, tears streaming down their cheeks.
At that point, Ghoul walked close. "Yellowjacket," She whispered, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know if this will help, but if they hadn't done what they did, we never would have met, and I wouldn't have a reason to still be here."
"You helped us regain our. . . humanity," Noose said, smiling.
This time, George stepped forward. "If it wasn't for you, we'd never have become friends with those Fr-" He was cut off by Mary elbowing him, and he said, "Your parents."
"Yeah, what he said," Rob said.
Their kind words brought comfort to Yellowjacket's torn heart. She suddenly returned the hug, and whispered, "I missed you, mom and dad. . ."
And as she finally embraced her parents, she could feel a glow emitting in the bowels of her mind...
(In Yellowjacket's Mind)
The five emotions stood at the console, watching the embrace. "Oh, I can't stay mad at them!" Star confessed, her glow returning to her. "I'm not supposed to get mad, anyways."
"Word," Nerve agreed. It was then that the emotions noticed a glow emitting from behind them. Slowly, the five turned around to see the core memory console. To their shock, the dim core memories were starting to glow their original color.
"What's. . . going on?" Brick asked, a little perturbed. Star definitely wanted to find out, as she raced to the tray as the core memory console was activated, and the memories glowed brighter than they had ever had before.
One memory in particular was glowing brighter than the others. Star noticed that it was both blue and yellow. She soon realized that it was the memory that had first glimmered when she met her parents for the first time in a year.
Slowly, she tenderly picked the memory up. As the emotions gathered around it, they saw clearly what was happening.
In the memory, they saw Riley. Not Yellowjacket, but Riley. She was embracing her parents in their former house, her eyes filled with tears.
They didn't know why, but the five emotions instantly remembered.
"I miss home."
"Home," Star whispered, her glow brightening.
"I miss Minnesota."
"Minnesota," Star whispered once more. As her eyes widened in shock, she looked up. "Riley. . ."
Slowly, she set the memory back in the tray. As she did, the memory surged, along with the other core memories. Almost instantaneously, the Headquarters brightened, and the emotions saw the other memories on the memory tray gleam with life.
"Wow. . ." Teardrop said, a smile shining on her face.
Star heard something happening outside the Headquarters, and she rushed to the window, the other emotions trying to keep up with her. Before she even go to the window, she saw it happening.
Family Island was coming back. And so were the other Personality Island. She saw Hockey Island, and Tragic Vampire Romance Island. There were a few she'd gained as an Other, including Adopted Island, powered by her first meeting Ghoul and Noose.
As the emotions watched on, everywhere outside the Headquarters was suddenly brought back to life after being dead for a year. After so long, they were returning. The Long-term Memory, the Dream Productions, Imagination Land... they were all returning.
Staring outside the window, Brick said, "I don't get it."
Star, however, did. "Anger, don't you see?" She asked. "We're coming back!" Suddenly, she realized that she remembered her name.
Joy.
"Sadness," She said, turning to Teardrop.
"Me?" Teardrop, or rather, Sadness, asked. Star turned to Nerve and Pixie and said, "Fear! Disgust! We're back now!" Her aura glowed as she began to return to her original form.
"We. . . we are?" Fear asked, a nervous smile appearing on his face. As realization sunk in, the emotions slowly gave a shout out in joy.
Riley had come back.
Jill and Bill held their daughter close, and as they did, they could feel their daughter's skin turn warm. Slowly, they broke out of their daughter's hold, and their eyes widened in shock.
Yellowjacket didn't look like an Other anymore. Her skin, her eyes, her hair. . . they had all returned to the way they were. Nearby, Ghoul's eyes widened in shock as she witnessed Yellowjacket's change.
She wasn't the only one.
"OMG," Mary whispered, covering her mouth. The crowd all stared at Yellowjacket in shock.
Yellowjacket slowly stood up, and she looked around, then at her hands. She let out a gasp when she saw that they were normal-colored.
"Riley. . ." Jill whispered, not believing her eyes.
Slowly, Yellowjacket looked up, her eyes a bright blue color. "I. . . I remember," She whispered.
"What?" Bill asked, as if he'd heard incorrectly. Slowly, they saw a smile shine on Yellowjacket's face.
"Mom, dad, I remember!" She said, her eyes lighting up. "My name is Riley Andersen!"
As Bill and Jill gaped in shock, Riley dove towards the crowd and picked out Blackjacket. "Jordan!" She cried out to him, pulling him into a hug. "You're name is Jordan!"
"It is?" Blackjacket, or Jordan, said in shock. Then, he shrugged and said, "Figures."
"Meg!" Riley said, turning and pointing to Margaret in the crowd. "You're Meg!"
"Well, it's short for Margaret," Meg's mother corrected, then added, "But, I digress."
Whirling on her parents, Riley said, "Mom! Dad! I remember everything now! I remember Minnesota, and the time we spent together! I remember school, the hockey, everything! You're my mum and dad!"
Jill and Bill stood still for a moment, still comprehending everything. Finally, realization sank in, and the two suddenly cried out in joy and rushed towards their daughter, scooping her up in the air.
"Riley!" Bill said, tears of joy streaming down his face. "Your back! Our monkey's back!" He planted a kiss on his daughter's cheek. Near them, the crowd all smiled, touched.
Even Pale Girl smiled a bit.
"Oh, I'm so happy!" Riley said as she was set back on the ground. "I could just-"
Suddenly, a man dove through the demolished entrance, a panicked look on his face. "Zombies are coming!" He shouted out in a panic, interrupting the Andersens and directing everyone's attention to him.
". . . What?" George asked, looking around in confusion. "We. . . we're already here."
"A swarm of savage zombies are coming this way!" The man cried out in a panic. "They're coming towards the building! We're doomed!"
The crowd, Others and Freaks, all let out a gasp. "The feral Others?" Mary said in shock.
Pale Girl stared at Mary, her mouth agape. She turned to the Boss, and pointed a finger at him. "You. . . didn't create them?"
"Yeah, not gonna lie, I'm as lost as you are," The Boss confessed, shrugging.
Ghoul and Noose ran to the forefront of the crowd. "They're being led by a man named Sawbones!" Ghoul explained to the crowd. "They were locked up in some loony bin, but he must've broken them all out!"
"These guys were crazy before the apocalypse struck!" Noose added. "They're crazy even by our standards! Sawbones must've sent them to attack us in the first place!"
"Why would he do that?" George asked.
Riley stared at Ghoul and Noose for a moment, then gasped. "It's because we're changing!" She exclaimed to the crowd. "Sawbones saw that we were turning human again, so he must've broken those ferals out to re-infect us or something!"
"But you can't infect an Other," Ghoul pointed out. "Unless their Freaks, it won't do anything!"
"Yeah, but that still puts everyone in danger!" Shelley retorted. "We got to do something, quick! Before they arrive!" The crowd all began to murmur among themselves, trying to decipher what to do. Things were about to descend into chaos, but the Boss raised an arm.
"Everyone, we need to calm down!" He called out to them. Surprisingly, even though everyone knew he was a zombie, they listened.
"We need a plan, here," The Boss explained to the crowd. "And I think that may require. . . all of us."
Pale Girl instantly snapped a look at the Boss, who noticed it. He realized that she still didn't trust him. However, he added, "If we don't, we all may die."
Riley stepped forward, and grabbed the Boss' arm. "If you mind my suggesting," She said. "I might have a plan."
The Boss turned to stare down at her. Riley looked up at him, and turned to the crowd, declaring, "Remember everyone; we have the advantage here! We can find a way to persevere and defeat them! It may be hard, but we'll find a way. We're human; it's what we're best at!"
The crowd all turned to stare at her. Riley took a deep breath, but Ghoul suddenly stepped in.
"I know this may seem crazy, but I think the kid has a point!" She said to the crowd. "We are changing! We can work together! I know we're all scared, but if we can stick together, we can win!"
The crowd was silent for a moment. Then, a voice murmured out, "So, what do we do?"
It was Jordan.
Riley thought hard for a moment. Then, she gained a determined look on her face. "I think I have a plan," She said, a smile appearing on her lips.
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