Chapter Seven
MR. V
Before he realized it, the hours of the night passed and rolled into the hours of the morning, however the moon still remained in the sky and Mr. V still worked. If the weather ever changed, or if the sun ever returned, or even if there was a single twinkling of a difference in the sky Mr. V more than likely would have gone to bed at some point in the night. However, since only the moon and darkness only ever existed in this world, Mr. V went another night without sleep. It was only when he heard Ms. Scatter's heels clicking on the floor did he realize he had worked the night away. He quickly removed his written work from the typewriter and placed it carefully in a folder and carefully placed it inside his front drawer as Ms. Scatter entered his office.
"Good morning, Mr. V!" She beamed as she walked over to his desk.
"Morning, Scatter," He smiled and absentmindedly reached for the hat that was usually on his head. He only grasped at air as he slowly remembered he had left it on the filing cabinet and patted his dreads instead. "Sleep well?"
He failed to hide a yawn and Ms. Scatter frowned at him. He tried to avoid her gaze and kept his eyes glued to his papers. "I slept just fine." She crossed her arms tightly over her clipboard, "But I see that you decided to work the night away for the third night in a row!"
Off in the other room small snorts and chortles could be heard from Ms. Villa and Mr. Po. He frowned knowing that the other two were awake and laughing about Scatter confronting him about his workaholic tendencies. He chuckled easily and reached for his self-refilling coffee, "I get distracted when I work."
"You know, there's a saying," Her brows are wrinkled and furrowed. "That a person will go mentally insane after staying awake for a whole three days."
"Well, I think that saying doesn't really work around here, Ms. Scatter." He casually sipped his coffee as she stiffened. "Since we, you know, live in the shadows of the real Disney World."
Her mouth became a firm line and it took everything in Mr. V not to say something about how it would age her, or how it made her look like an old woman. She merely stood and glared at him with that line of a mouth. He merely smirked at her and her brow line relaxed, "What's on the agenda today, Ms. Scatter?"
"We have breakfast with the other Recruits in exactly one hour." She began to read off her long-detailed list of to-dos to him. "After that you have to explain to them what their missions will be, give them the port keys, and start the training process."
"Sounds simple enough." He shrugged and sat back in his chair. He really began to regret having stayed up again. He pulled his mug to his lips to drink the coffee and Ms. Scatter gently but firmly put her hand over the lip of the mug.
Her eyebrow twitched in frustration, "How many of these have you had?"
"I didn't keep count." He shrugged and moved it out from under her hand. "I had planned on this one being my last one before breakfast."
"I see." Her eyes went cold as she frowned and removed her hand from the mug. Mr. V continued to drink his coffee and Ms. Scatter snatched his coaster from the desk.
"Hey!" He tried to snatch it back, but she was already walking away. "Scatter!"
"It has taken me a while to figure out how to stop your coffee addiction." She stopped and held the coaster tightly in her hand. "I never, in a million years, would have guessed that you had cast a spell on a coaster to make our instant refilling coffee. But now that I have it, you will have to go to sleep this evening!"
She bolted for the doors and the doors almost seemed to chuckle as they closed behind her. Mr. V groaned and rubbed his eyes as he heard Ms. Villa practically cackling at his demise. He glared after her and glared at the doors where Ms. Villa and Mr. Po were hiding behind. "This is going to be a looooooonnnnnggggg day."
He stood with a yawn and walked out of his office. The moment he snapped open the doors from his office to the lobby area both Ms. Villa and Mr. Po jumped from the clattering of the doors against the walls. He paid them no mind and turned his full attention to Ms. Scatter to see her locking his magic coaster in her drawer of no return. She turned around to him, adjusted her glasses, and smiled sweetly at him. The smile was sweetly evil. Both Villa and Po gasped and had their hands over their mouths as they watched Scatter being so bold. He had never understood how she managed to survive in this world, but now he knew; she killed people with kindness! He did not bother holding back his glare as she did not bother hiding that smile on her face.
Acting as if nothing was wrong and that she hadn't taken away his magic coaster, she had a skip in her step as she walked to the elevator. "Are you ready, sir?"
She pressed the button that would take them to the first floor and seemed way too happy for having confiscated his magic coaster. Mr. V merely followed behind her and tried to ignore her happy humming. He rubbed his face irritably before glancing over at the other two Hosts. "Are you two coming?" They both jumped and quickly shook their heads.
"We need to clock in," Mr. Po answered quickly, "then we'll be right down."
Mr. V grunted in response as the elevator dinged and the doors opened to take him and Scatter down to the first floor.
MS. VILLA
When she and Eito were on their way into work to clock in, it was a great surprise to see Ashe Scatter waiting for the elevator. Ashe Scatter was always an early bird and was usually working with Mr. V before either of them actually got to work, so to see her "late" into work was quite the sight to see. Per usual she was well put together and far too happy for the start of the day. Eva, on the other hand, desperately needed a cup of coffee to be more civil this dreary morning.
"Good morning, Ms. Scatter." Eito nodded his head in greeting to her as they stood beside her in waiting for the elevator.
"Ah, Eito, Eva." She nodded to them with a smile. "Good morning, you're up early?"
"No ma'am." He shook his head with a polite smile, "We got up at our usual time."
"Then that would mean that I slept in." She frowned with a sigh. "Well that's not very good. . ."
"There's nothing wrong with that." Eito tried to sound encouraging, but the smile didn't quite return to her face. "Every now and again it is all right to sleep in."
Ashe threw on a quick smile, but nothing that met her eyes and nothing that came close to her real smile. The elevator doors dinged and opened and the three of them all got on. All the while Eva couldn't help but keep an eye on Ashe. For someone who was normally a morning person she seemed to be rather standoffish from her usual behavior. Eva tilted her head from side and saw the frown on Ashe's face deepen until they got to the top floor. The moment the elevator doors opened her face became a clean slate and a smile reappeared on her face.
Eito slipped his hand to Eva's back and helped guide her off the elevator and over to the sitting area while they waited for the time to get closer to their clock in time. While they took their seats on the couch, Ashe immediately clocked in and went to her desk. As she approached her desk, though, she came to a full stop and glared at the doors leading into Mr. V's office. The lights were on in his office and that meant one of two things, he either got in early, or he pulled another all-nighter.
"Uh-oh." Eito winced as he watched Ashe march to the doors and entered the room. "Think he stayed up all night again."
"Most definitely." She grimaced and nodded. "Ashe is not going to like that."
They both sat quietly on the couch and listened to what was going on in the other room. The other two Hosts were not speaking too loudly so Eva had to strain to hear them when Ashe suddenly raised her voice. "But I see that you decided to work the night away for the third night in a row!"
She sounded far from happy or pleased with Mr. V, and neither she nor Eito could contain their laughter. Eva held her hands over her mouth while Eito rolled his lips in to try to bite back his laughter. They could just barely make out what Mr. V was saying and knew no matter what defense he tried to use it would not win her favor with him.
"One would think, after the second day of being caught you wouldn't risk the third." Eva snorted as she stared at the door trying to hear more.
"As intimidating as Mr. V," Eito chuckled, "he sure does break down easily when it comes to Ms. Scatter."
"Oh please," Eva scoffed as she leaned back into the couch and crossed her arms. "Ashe may act like a pushover, but she can easily carry her own when she needs to! Even Mr. V knows better than to cross her."
Eito sat back against the couch and threw his arm over the back of the couch and Eva leaned into him as they waited for the other two Hosts to get loud again. Eva's eyes lazily rolled over to the time clock and saw that they still had a good fifteen minutes before they needed to clock in. A yawn escaped her as she snuggled into Eito's chest and she could feel the effects of staying up too late catching up with her. Both she and Eito had stayed up working on a few new concept ideas for a new line of purses, watches, and dresses for a Disney Villain line and what to make that would be most successful for their project.
While Scatter and Mr. V were the ones orchestrating the whole program, it was reliant on Eva and Eito to properly finance this program. While the princesses and heroes had promoters for their lines of merchandise, there wasn't quite as much for the Villains. Eva took great pleasure in being the one to design so much and keep the thrill of Villains alive and appreciated all the Villain lovers who bought their merchandise. After seeing all the Recruits, she was hit with a wave of inspiration and simply had to get the designs drawn out or written down while they were still fresh.
Now that she no longer felt fresh her eyes were fluttering closed as she struggled to stay awake. Not to mention that Eito was warm and she could easily take a quick nap during those fifteen minutes. That was until there was a flurry of papers and the rushing of heels as Scatter ran from Mr. V's office back out into the lobby. "Scatter!" Mr. V called after her and she laughed evilly.
Both Eito and Eva sat up and watched as Ashe had a wicked smile on her face like a wild child stealing a cookie and hurried to her filing cabinets of doom. Any time she confiscated something from one of the Hosts and locked it away in her filing cabinets, it was to never resurface again until they were forgiven. They turned and stared at the doors expectantly as they heard Mr. V's stomping footsteps, and both covered their mouths to contain their laughter. Instead of laughing, however, they both jumped because both doors opened and both doors clattered against the walls. He paid them no mind and turned his full attention to Ms. Scatter to see her locking his magic coaster in her drawer of no return.
Scatter turned around to him, adjusted her glasses, and smiled sweetly at him. Both Villa and Po gasped and had their hands over their mouths as they watched Scatter being so bold. It was her evil smile and she was acting completely against Mr. V at the moment. Acting as if nothing was wrong and that she hadn't taken away his magic coaster, she had a skip in her step as she walked to the elevator. "Are you ready, sir?"
She pressed the button that would take them to the first floor and seemed way too happy for having confiscated his magic coaster. Mr. V merely followed behind her and tried to ignore her happy humming. He rubbed his face irritably before glancing over at the other two Hosts. "Are you two coming?" They both jumped and quickly shook their heads.
"We need to clock in," Mr. Po answered quickly, "then we'll be right down."
Mr. V grunted in response as the elevator dinged and the doors opened to take him and Scatter down to the first floor. As soon as they were in the elevator, Eva had her mouth covered by her hands while her shoulders shook as she tried to contain her laughter.
"Eva, please!" Eito laughed with her. "It isn't good to laugh at others misfortunes!"
"It is when it amuses me." Her laughter only grew as she held her sides. "In this dark world that we live in, we have to laugh when certain things come your way."
"Are you aware that he can dock your pay if he so chooses?" Eito reminded her as his laughter slowly died out. Her laughter was quickly zipped as she looked at Eito.
"If he docks my pay then he will have a dock in the quality service that I put into my work!" She snapped and hopped up. She marched over to the time clock and punched in. Eito sighed as he walked up behind her and clocked in as well.
"You know he wouldn't risk that." Eito hummed as they walked over to the elevators. "He'd lose a great asset."
"Of course, I know that." She smirked and threw her head over her shoulder. "Come now, darling, we should go join the others for breakfast."
MR. V
Ms. Scatter was all too happy humming at her victory while they were on the elevator and Mr. V could feel the lack of sleep catching up with him and making him irritable. Mr. V leaned over her shoulder, "You do realize that coffee keeps me from committing mass murder, don't you?"
She raised her eyebrow with a smirk at him, "In a world full of villains, do you really think that the threat of you committing murder is going to faze me?"
"I could always fire you." He growled in response and she giggled.
"But then you would have more work to do," She rolled her shoulders back in confidence. "And you would have to deal with the other two on your own."
He knew that she referred to their fellow Hosts and as much as Mr. V wanted to argue that he could handle the two alone – as he had years before she arrived – he knew that she was right in that merit. They were great Hosts and associates, but they were beyond a handful when left to their own devices. He rolled his eyes with a groan as the elevator doors opened to the first floor.
"I've done it before." He scoffed at her sudden sense of confidence. "I don't need you here to put up with them."
"Perhaps not." She gave a shrug as she scribbled a few things down on her clipboard. "But I do make things a little easier.
"I will give you that." He smirked down at her then looked away just as the elevator doors dinged behind them.
"Besides, you won't find anyone else that has the same sort of experience when it comes to dealing with the other Villains." She hummed and double checked something on her clipboard. "How else do you think I was able to make so many connections for your own personal research?"
"Oh, please, Ashe," Ms. Villa scoffed behind them. "If I really wanted to, I could have charmed the Villains into coming to us for our little program."
"Before or after you insulted their fashion taste?" Mr. Po sighed with a heavy slump of his shoulders.
"Eugene!" Ms. Villa gasped in disbelief. She smacked his arm and puffed out her cheeks.
"What?" He rubbed the spot she smacked. "You have a bad habit of insulting others' fashion sense before you get on their good side!"
"How dare you!" She began to ramble on about her great achievements and the entire Villain fashion line that she designed and how it has made them millions.
"You win this round." Mr. V sighed and earned a snort from Ms. Scatter. The four bickering Hosts entered the dining hall where the Recruits were all sitting and waiting for them and all came to a full stop.
"Finally!" Joe groaned with a yawn. He scratched his arms irritably. "I thought you were never going to show up. I'm starving!"
Mr. V glanced at Ms. Scatter, "You made them wait?"
"I figured you wanted to make your announcement before they were distracted with food." Ms. Scatter shrugged.
"It has seemed to be the most effective way lately." Mr. Po agreed beside him.
"Besides, the little beasts look like they need to eat something." Ms. Villa turned her nose up as she looked at the weary and tired faces of their new Recruits. "They might just eat you if you don't."
"Fine." Mr. V's hand went to his neck and he rolled it trying to pop it. "But I think I should make my announcement while they eat."
He snapped his fingers and breakfast foods of all sorts - eggs, breads, yogurts - appeared on the tables for the Recruits to feast upon. Mr. Po took his chance to escort Ms. Villa to her seat while Mr. V escorted Ms. Scatter to her seat and took his seat beside her. He reached for the entire plate benais and began to stuff himself with sugar. Ms. Scatter gave him a look but said nothing as he ate himself into a better mood. After the third one he was in a much better mood, though his mood would really improve with a spiked coffee. . .
"All right everyone." He wiped his mouth and stood up. With mouths full of food, heads turned towards him. Hopefully they wouldn't ask too many questions. "Listen up while you're eating. Last night when you all retired to your rooms, you should have found a journal and a portkey."
"By port key, do you mean the oddly shaped amulets?" Ember, who sat at the end of the table with her head resting in her hand, spoke up and rolled a teal flame shaped amulet between her fingers.
"Yes." He nodded his head and he watched as they each pulled on a chain that was either around their neck or in their pockets and examined them. "Those are your portkeys. They will get you from here to your home with your Villains, as well as to come here in between your missions."
Ember perked up with a smirk, "So, you mean I can go back to work any time I so choose?"
"So long as you are completing your missions." He frowned and Ember wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
"That's fine by me." She returned to her breakfast ever so happily.
"Speaking of missions," Jack Heart hummed happily as he ate his waffles. "What sort of missions will we be doing?"
"Well, you will of course be doing the mission of that of the Villains." Mr. V put his hands behind his back and began to pace. "For the first few missions that y'all will be doing, you will just be getting intel on the situation before you take any sort of action."
"Why would we do that?" Jamila put her finger to her lip and tilted her head. "That's a little weird since I'm used to having to jump into things."
"Think of this as a sort of training course to prove your worth to your Villains," Mr. V sighed, "as well as a way of looking before you leap."
"But where's the fun in that?" Dalmatia crooned. "Life is so much more entertaining when it is a surprise. There is nothing wrong with being spontaneous!"
"Unless it gets you killed," Joe sneered as he ate his calamari. "I just feel like it is too much work."
"You can do this at your own pace," Mr. V shrugged and returned to his seat. "There is no set time schedule and I don't care how long you stay here. Your Villains signed the contracts saying that you are here until you each individually have fulfilled an Ending."
"An Ending?" Jane spoke up and everyone became silent. "What exactly is supposed to be an Ending?"
"An Ending is the way you so choose to end the story that you have involved yourselves in." Mr. V paused for a moment and realized that his words would only cause more questions. "Think of it as . . . The happy ending to your mission. IF you succeed there is a happy ending, should you fail things remain they are for your Villains."
"What do you mean for our Villains?" Her eyes narrowed. "What happens to us if we fail?"
"Well," Mr. V dragged his hand down the back of his neck. "Depending on how your story played out, you may or may not get a second chance."
They all just stared at him and wondered, but Jane glared at him. His fellow Hosts shuffled uncomfortably at the head of the table beside him and he could tell that Jane was going to be the most difficult to deal with. Jane intertwined her fingers and glared at Mr. V, "Just what is this second chance supposed to be?"
"Y'all just don't make this easy, do ya?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. A small hand rested on his shoulder and Ms. Scatter stood up.
"Ladies and gentlemen." She adjusted her glasses on her face. "What Mr. V is offering the ten of you is an opportunity of a lifetime. For once in your life you will not have to entirely abide by the rules of your Villains but can make a name for yourself and get out of the Anti-World. If you want to change the lives of your Villains, you can but if you want to find your own happiness you have a one-way ticket to your own happy ending."
"Precisely." Ms. Villa spoke up. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a chance to have your own name stand above the rest!"
"Or to just know what it is like to live a life without your Villain." Mr. Po included. "Things will be quite different here than when you were with your Villain, so take this chance and do something you want with it."
They all sat in silence, as if what she had just said was nonsense, but Eight Foot Joe looked as though he heard the best thing he could have ever asked for. The silence dragged on as the words began to sink into their thick skills and they all shifted uncomfortably.
"Thank you, Scatter, Villa, Po." Mr. V cleared his throat as he gently grabbed Ms. Scatter's elbow to have her sit back down and he stood up again. The other two Hosts followed suit and all the Recruits looked at him. "I think my fellow hosts explained that better than I could since it shut all of you up. Now no more 'why' questions. I'm getting tired of repeating myself."
He rubbed his temple as the headache from lack of sleep was beginning to kick like a bull inside his skull. Adam raised his hand. "So, when do we start these intel missions?"
"Today." He huffed and looked at them all. "Since we're all done with breakfast, let's just get things started, shall we?"
Ms. Scatter was the first to stand and everyone stood after twirled his cane and all of the dishes disappeared from the table. Jamila groaned as she was not able to grab any leftovers for the road. "Just follow me then."
Footsteps echoed throughout the castle as they walked to the second floor. He could hear the murmurs of the Recruits talking about how creepy the place was, how empty it was, how ancient it was, how it was either just like home or entirely the opposite of home, and they kept asking if there were any servants or ghosts. Thankfully Ms. Scatter was able to do her job quietly and efficiently and tell them that they had both servants and ghosts. The ghosts acted as the best security team and the servants were well hidden and placed throughout the castle to be ready at a moment's notice to provide anything that they should need.
They reached the end of the hall to another set of double doors. Mr. V held out his cane and gently knocked on the door and it opened with rolling groans. There was a small gasp behind him as they entered the room. A giant 17th Century Italian wardrobe sat in the center of the circular room.
"Is this what I think it is?" Malfie whispered as he walked the closest to the closet.
"Well it's most definitely not the wardrobe that takes you to Narnia," Ms. Villa laughed as Mr. V respectfully walked forward.
"This, my dear Recruits, is the Door Between Realms." He twirled his cane and pointed it at the Wardrobe. "There is one in each Realm, but they are tucked away into special places where they are not to be frequently used."
"We have this one due to some of the jurisdictions and restrictions from the Heroes and Surface dwellers," Ms. Scatter quickly explained. "We don't necessarily like to have it around since it means that just about anyone can enter this and it will take them here if they go through the right door."
"The right door? Like in Wonderland?" Jack asked with a tilt of his head.
"I suppose that is the best way to explain it," Ms. Scatter nodded. "But I think that I will have to let Mr. V explain further. . . I'm not allowed in there anymore."
"What do you mean that you're not allowed in there anymore?" Farja asked.
"I'm very accident prone . . ." She nervously scratched the back of her neck. "I may or may not have broken a door in there."
"That's enough, Ms. Scatter." Mr. V cleared his throat. He held up his own emerald portkey. The doors to the wardrobe opened and he turned to the others who were standing behind Ms. Scatter. "All right, everyone follow me."
He stepped into the wardrobe and looked over his shoulder to make sure that they were following. Adam and Jane were the first two behind him and the others followed; Malfie was the last to enter. Mr. Po followed in after they all filed in before looking over his shoulder. He looked as Ms. Villa and Ms. Scatter stayed behind, "Aren't you two coming?"
"And have to file in with the rest of them?" Ms. Villa scoffed. "No, I think not. Besides, Scatter and I have a few things we need to take care of before you lot return."
Scatter's brow furrowed as she looked at Ms. Villa, but didn't say anything. Instead she just smiled at Mr. Po. "Have fun!" Ms. Scatter waved to him as he finally entered. "We'll be out here waiting for you!"
The door creaked behind them and the two lady Hosts stood there waiting for their return.
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you like the story so far!
Please remember to leave a comment or review and tell me what you think!
Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!
KO-fi/SarahtheWriter