Chapter Nineteen

MR. V

There was a loud thud and falling of bodies on the outside of the door at her words. Cursing and not so well whispered shushing could be heard on the other side of the door. Ms. Villa and Mr. Po were definitely up and eavesdropping outside the locked door. Mr. V couldn't believe his ears. His eyes were wide, his mouth fell open, and if the wind would have blown, he wouldn't have kept his hat from flying from his head. Mr. V dropped his cane, "What?"

"Well, maybe not a two weeks' notice." She put her hand on her chin as she thought about it. "But I'm going to take time off to figure this out."

Her words still hadn't sunk in yet and the shuffling on the other side of the door got worse. Mr. V blinked incredulously at her. "You're quitting?"

"No." Her brows pinched and she winced. "Well, maybe. But it is complicated at the moment. I don't want to quit, but depending on how things turn out, I very well might have to."

There was a gentle knocking outside the door that they both ignored as they looked at one another. Varuo's tail flicked and he hissed, "Ashe."

"Right." She shook her head with a frown. "Right, I'm getting all scatterbrained again. Sorry." She looked to Mr. V again. "This is a very complicated situation, Mr. V, and since I'm here, you've been researching my background, and my father's name has been brought up one too many times within the last few weeks -"

"He is your father?" Mr. V could not hide his surprise.

"I'm not blaming you for this." She continued and ignored his question. "But I think your research has helped invoke my father's presence; that or somewhere in the Realms something or someone is trying to either do me a favor or make my life miserable."

"What do you mean?" A flurry of questions began to grow inside of him. "Who would try to make your life more miserable?"

"Oh, trust me, Mr. V," she chuckled darkly and ran her hand through her hair and began twisting it up in a ponytail. "There are plenty of people who would want to make my life more miserable than it already is. All of my previous employers, just to name a few, though they are nothing to be concerned with in comparison to the others."

"I wouldn't." He said rather defensively, heatedly as he spoke without thinking. "Hell, I'll even cut back on the paperwork if I need to."

Who was he to keep her here? After all the secrets she'd kept from him and the others, and after what he witnessed tonight, he knew that he shouldn't keep her here if it meant her safety. Still, some part of him was greedy and wanted to keep her here, thinking he could protect her from the demon that was her father. He really needed to lay off the alcohol for a while. . .

"I know." She gave him a sweet smile that pricked his heart and his anger. "You are possibly the first and the only one who doesn't; however, I'm pretty sure that my fiancé is the main one who would want to make my life pretty miserable."

Mr. V blinked. Scatter had a fiancé. Since when? For how long? Not that she didn't deserve her own eternal happiness with someone in a shared union, but after her time of employment in the Anti-Castle, now she decides to bring it up. Fiancé. God, he hated that word. Fucking hated that word. Granted, Tiana and Naveen kind of skipped that step, but hated that word. The fact that Ms. Scatter was spoken for also made him feel angry; there was a growing heat in the pit of his stomach. Varuo was giving him a rather amused look. Mr. V repeated dryly, trying to swallow some saliva to wet his throat. "Fiancé?"

"Yes," Ms. Scatter groaned and rolled her eyes. "Demon that is Lucifer's right-hand man, of sorts." The knocking outside the door was more rapid and impatient. Mr. V kept his back to the door while she winced as she looked at it. "Long story, not a fun one." She huffed, "Not telling it."

Though she was spoken for, she obviously did not like it; that provided him with a little piece. Part of him wanted to know the details, the smarter side of him knew better than to prod and thankfully he listened to reason. He rubbed his mouth to ensure no foolish questions would sprout from his mouth, "Fair enough."

The knocking got louder, more determined in their impatience before Ms. Villa finally spoke up, "Ashe, darling, it's me!"

They both looked at the door, half anticipating it to fall from its hinges before looking back at one another. Mr. V wanted to provide some sort of words of comfort to her, but he could see the determined look in her eye and knew that she had to do this. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. V," Scatter sighed and clutched at the folds of her dress. "But I'm going to have to ask you to leave so I can get dressed."

"Of course." He nodded and immediately left her room with, oddly enough, Varuo following behind him. He made sure to close the door as quickly as he opened to keep Villa from entering Scatter's room, even if it meant running into them immediately.

Curses spewed from their mouths as they became a jumbled pile of limbs on the floor. Varuo merely rolled his eyes as he watched them disentangle themselves from one another and fix themselves.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. V?" Villa snapped as she tightened the knot on her silk bathrobe and set her glasses correctly on her face again.

"Eva, they just got back." Mr. Po hissed as he rearranged his glasses as well and tried to smile and be polite.

"I don't care!" She hissed, her magenta hair whipping around furiously. "I heard something about Ashe quitting!" The magenta hair whipped around again as she cast a glare at Mr. V. "You, sir, have explaining to do!"

"I, madam, do not have to explain anything to you." Mr. V spoke through gritted teeth, the anger and frustration within him from tonight reaching a peak. He anticipated this sort of controversy with Villa at some point, but he had hoped that it would not be this evening.

"You do after the way you barreled out of her room!"

"Eva." Eito's voice held a sharp firmness that made her snap her mouth shut, though the glare remained on her face. With a groan, Mr. Po rubbed his tired face. "Mr. V, would you kindly tell us what is going on?"

"Ms. Scatter is leaving on an indefinite time period." He answered as simply and as calmly as he could, though the sentence felt as jarring as it came out. "Due to the circumstances of tonight's events, the mystery Villain that was revealed to us this evening, was her father."

"What?" Villa gasped, eyes bolting to the door as if ready to barge in there. Mr. V held up his hand to silence her.

"Due to the fact her father has made an appearance here in the Anti-Realm," Mr. V continued rather robotically, "she no longer feels safe in this Realm and will be moving to another one that she does feel safe in."

"You can't be serious." Ms. Villa's brow pinched, her head shaking in disbelief.

"I am afraid that she is completely serious." Varuo spoke up, all three humans turning their heads to look down at him.

"What could her father have done to her to make her fear him so much?" Villa asked unabashedly.

"That is none of your concern, Eva." Varuo answered bluntly. "If she is willing to tell you, then she will. However, I don't think she will have the time tonight."

"She can't leave." Villa stomped her foot and swallowed hard. "It's the middle of the night!"

"It's always the evening here." Varuo scowled up at her. "And don't even bother mentioning the weather, because we are all aware that it rains daily here."

Villa's cheeks puffed up, pink and angry like her magenta hair as she balled her hands up into fists ready to pummel the cat. Mr. Po gently placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her and she instantly melted into his touch. "Eva."

"Is she at least going to say goodbye?" Villa held her head high, though it was obvious that she wanted to cry.

"She will." Varuo looked to the side and gave a brief nod. "You'll need to wait in the Wardrobe Room."

"Fine." She harrumphed and turned on her heeled house slippers and marched down the hall. Both men stared after her before Mr. Po gave him a forlorn look.

"Are you ever going to explain any of this to us?" There was a sharpness, an annoyance, in his eyes as he crossed his arms and looked to Mr. V.

"As soon as I'm allowed." Mr. V huffed and glanced at Varuo who sat calmly, facing forward waiting for the humans to leave.

"I can live with being in the dark," Mr. Po admitted with a shrug, "it's Eva that you're going to have to worry about after all is said and done. She has grown rather attached to Ms. Scatter."

"As we all have. . ." Mr. V sighed and rubbed his eyes. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, yet the night was still young, and he knew that this wasn't going to end on a good note. When his hand fell to his side, Mr. Po merely gave him a quick look over before turning on his own heel to go after Villa. His green dinosaur feet squeaked with each step that he took, and if it weren't for the grim circumstances, Mr. V might have laughed at them.

Finally alone in the hall with Varuo, Mr. V rested his back against the wall before sliding down to the floor. They merely sat out in the hall to wait for her. Mr. V had no idea what to make of this situation. So many secrets, so many questions, so many things all happening at once, and now he was about to lose his best and only assistant. The next few days, weeks, possibly months – he really hoped she wouldn't be gone for months – were going to be an absolute nightmare with her gone. She did so much and with her abruptly leaving he had no idea what she did, what she had scheduled, how to handle the female Recruits, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed.

"Although she says that this isn't your fault," Varuo spoke up as he glared up at him, tail flicking angrily. "I think that it is."

He glared back and crossed his arms. "I didn't do anything."

"You were trying too." He hissed and his tail flicked in agitation. "I told you not to, yet you still didn't listen."

"There is no way my reading a book did this. It didn't even have any information on this!" He held out his arms. "It was more like information that would be on the back of a book or a movie with a general summarization of whatever happened!"

"You still went digging." He growled in the back of his throat.

"I did." Mr. V nodded with a sigh.

It grew quiet between them and the grandfather clock ticked annoyingly in the hall. Varuo sighed softly, "You know we're going to be gone for a while."

He glanced at the cat, "Any idea how long?"

"No idea." He groaned and laid down on the ground. "If we're actually going to try to go to the Fantasia Realm. . ." he used his paws to rub irritably at his face. "I have no idea how long we'll be gone for. Time travels differently in every Realm, Fantasia being no exception. But this is a rather special situation. . . If the Realm is still standing, I don't know if we'll ever come back."

A lump caught in Mr. V's throat. "Well that is going to royally suck."

"For you." Varuo gave a shrug without a care. "Do you have any idea how long she has been away from her Realm?" There was a tightness in Mr. V's chest at the question because he knew so little about Ashe Scatter and the life she succeeded in keeping from all of them. "She turned the Realm inside out and practically destroyed it; we both thought that she did." Varuo continued, "But if her father is here, that must mean something started working again. . ."

"Is that demon really her father?" Mr. V asked honestly.

"Yes." He gave him a nod. "Haven't you ever noticed? She's half demon."

"I suppose that would explain a lot. . ." All of her magical and somewhat possessed furniture that kept his things from him; how she could get so much done; how she could speak Demon. He dragged his hand from the back of his neck. "She just looks so -"

"Human." Varuo sighed. "I know. It caused her a lot of trouble growing up. More than likely still does."

"Ugh," he groaned. "I have so many questions."

"Don't even start." Varuo scowled and his tail flicked. "There is too much to answer and not enough time to answer everything; surely you realize this."

"I do." He sighed and ran his hand through his dreads. He loosened the braids that he had looped them into earlier and felt some pressure relieve itself from his head. "I have no idea what I'm going to do. . ."

"You could always hire extra help." Varuo suggested half-heartedly.

"Absolutely not." He turned his nose up. "There is no one that will be able to reach her standards or match up to her skills or talent. Besides, I've already experienced enough job interviews to last me a lifetime."

When Facilier was still around he made Mr. V do all of the job interviews since he would have been working with them. He met just about every ruffian, incompetent fool, cackling witch, whore, maid, butler, sea horse, and other mystical and mythical creatures that wanted some sort of job here. It took months. Ms. Scatter was the only one that had any reason at all, even if she was scatterbrained. She lasted more than a week and even stuck around after Facilier was gone.

"You'll figure it out." Varuo stretched and stood up just as Ms. Scatter left her room. She wore nothing but black: pants, turtleneck, boots, gloves, and even a cape. Her hair was still in a ponytail, but her makeup was gone, though her eyes were still puffy from crying.

Mr. V stepped aside to allow her to step out of the doorway. He hadn't realized how short she was since she almost always wore heels, however, he was a whole two heads taller than her when she wore flats. She actually had to look up at him, not just merely look him in the eye, she had to look up at him. As she looked up at him, her eyes were brown with flecks of gold and she looked as though she had things she wanted to say to him, however, she held out her clipboard to him instead. "Here." She said in a shaky voice. "This is my clipboard."

His brow furrowed as he looked down at it, confirming that it was indeed her clipboard. "Yes?"

"Whether you believe it or not," she pointed to it. "It is magical. You won't have to worry about arrangements, meetings, the girls or much of anything for at least three months."

"Three months?" He looked at her. That was a long time ago. . .

"I always work things out three months in advance." She waved his concern. "But in case I am gone for that long, it will give you a chance to get adjusted to it to learn how to use it and make it work for you until I come back."

"You're coming back?" He blinked and there was a familiar tightening in his chest.

"Yes, that is my clipboard." She looked at him confused. "I made that clipboard. That is mine. I'm coming back for it."

"And not for work?" he gulped.

"I don't know yet. . ." she sighed, her brow furrowing. "It will honestly all depend on how things are in my Realm."

"Take all the time you need." He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'll take care of things here until you get back." Her shoulder slumped with relief. "But I expect a full story, report, and answers to all of my questions when you get back, Scatter." He winked at her.

"I promise I will." She gave him such an earnest look. "You've been so good to me, you deserve that much."

"Well," he chuckled and twirled his cane. "Shall I walk you to the Wardrobe?"

"Yes." She nodded her head and clutched her cape.

"You are aware that the other two are waiting there to say goodbye to you, right?" He offered her a quick warning and took notice of her wince.

"I had hoped we would have been more quiet in our return," she admitted, "but I expected as much. Eva is not going to like this. . ."

They both hesitated from moving before gradually turning and walking down the hall. They remained silent during the walk and only their footsteps and the tapping of Mr. V's cane. The ghosts seemed to have dissipated for the evening, the Staff was nowhere to be around, the Recruits literally seemed to not be returning this evening, and the overbearing sense of loneliness blew through the halls like the whispers of the wind. Mr. V didn't like it. He was used to being alone, normally it would not have bothered him. In fact, he purposely kept everyone at a significant distance - his friends, his family - he hated the way he felt after Tiana got married to Naveen; that was possibly the worst feeling he had ever felt. Then again when you just let your childhood sweetheart and best friend simply marry a man who was better than you, could take care of her better than you and could always keep her safe without having to worry about the Friends from the Other side trying to keep tabs on things and demand a proper payment.

Yeah it was always better to keep everyone at a distance. No good relationships meant that they could not hurt good people or get too attached to people; then there was Scatter. Ms. Scatter did not try to worm her way into his life, not intentionally anyway. She always kept things professional, she didn't allow her emotions to get overly high – mostly to keep her eyes from flashing gold – she didn't try to befriend him and merely respected him. She was actually rather boring at first, too professional, too much of a stickler for the rules, he actually couldn't stand her at first. She merely ignored most of his antics and pranks he would occasionally try to pull on her, but he only managed to unnerve her anytime he complimented her or flirted with her. It was a slow progress at first, but he was glad he was able to get to know she had a personality; she really ended up livening up the place after that. She turned out to be a great coworker, a great employee, and he even wanted to deem her a friend, though sometimes there were instances where they were a little more intimate.

The halls felt longer and although they were walking at a regular speed, he could not help but feel as though they were walking slower somehow. Not that he minded, he really did enjoy her company. It was oddly calming to walk with her for what he knew would be the last time for a long while. "Are you all right?" he managed to ask. He didn't like the way his voice had wobbled. It wasn't his voice, more like a memory of his past self; a part that he never really liked.

"No." She whispered, forced a laugh, and shook her head. Her hands gripped her cloak tighter. "No, I'm really not."

Varuo crooned as he hopped up on her shoulder, "But we'll be fine. . ."

"I know. . ." she sighed and her brow furrowed again.

"You will be fine." Mr. V confirmed and carefully placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know how you are. I know you'll be fine. You always come out on top."

"Thanks," she forced another smile. "I just - I just don't know what to expect."

"Well," they were suddenly walking down the hall that led them to the Wardrobe. "You won't know until you get there."

"I think that is what scares me worse." She took a deep breath but didn't let it go. Mr. V extended his arm and let his arm reach around to her other shoulder and pulled her close into a side hug.

"Don't think like that." He spoke in a voice just above a whisper. "Though I don't know everything about you, I know that you're stronger than this."

"I'm glad you're so sure." She sounded so weak. He hated that.

"You wouldn't have made it this far in the Anti-Realm," he squeezed her shoulder, "if you weren't. The weak don't survive here, you know that. . ."

She only nodded her head before she rested her head on his shoulder. They came to a stop as they stopped just outside the Wardrobe room. They had finally made it here. Neither of them moved and they only stared at the large doors.

"I always hated this room," she hissed as she pulled away from him and pulled her cloak tighter to her.

"Why?" He asked and placed his hand that had been over her shoulders on his cane. "What did the Wardrobe do to you?"

"It always reminds me of what I have done." She gulped, squeezing her hands tightly shut before releasing them again. "Never feels good. . ."

"No, it doesn't." He agreed, slightly understanding the feeling. "But that's what happens when you're a Villain, right?"

Her face grimaced and she took another deep breath. "I guess I got to do this. . ."

Their fellow Hosts were inside anxiously waiting for them. Ms. Villa, wrapped in her silk bathrobe, paced back and forth, her heels clicking against the floor impatiently while Mr. Po sat on the bench, his leg bouncing so quickly it blurred. The moment the doors opened up, their heads snapped up and Ms. Villa bolted across the room to Ms. Scatter.

"Bloody hell, woman!" She roared as she grabbed Ms. Scatter by the face. "Do you even know the amount of anxiety you are giving me?"

"I'm sorry, Eva." Scatter's voice was weak but sincere.

"How could you go and leave me like this?" She threw her arms around Scatterr's neck and held her tightly. "You're leaving me with these two! Eito I can handle, but him?" She scoffed, her tone trying to be playful and light, but even Mr. V saw the large tears building in Villa's tear ducts.

"Trust me, if I had it any other way, I would stay." Scatter's voice shook, like she was struggling not to cry too. "Things just aren't that simple in my life though. . ."

Villa held Scatter's face in her hands, her black eyes darting back and forth, looking for some sort of lie to magically use as an excuse to keep Ashe here, but when she found none, she gently released her face and went to Mr. Po's side. He easily wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as he offered her a handkerchief. She wordlessly took it and applied it to her eyes and nose which steadily grew redder the longer she avoided crying.

"We will miss having you, Ms. Scatter." Mr. Po offered his own farewell and bowed his head respectfully to her. "I promise to keep a good eye on Eva here until you get back."

A more genuine warm smile sprouted on her face and she squeezed his hand before turning to the Wardrobe. She took a step forward and walked to the Wardrobe, and much to her surprise, Mr. V was right behind her. He didn't say anything, even when she turned and looked at him, she didn't question why he was following her. He could go into the Wardrobe with her to the Door Between Realms, though she was not sure if she wanted him to, but she didn't tell him to stay so he would follow after her for as long as he could.

They entered the Wardrobe, into its deep darkness, and for a few moments the stain glass lights hesitated to flicker on for them. Mr. V tapped his cane, though, and the lights appeared and had one path lit. The one path lit to the Door Between Realms that would take them to that shattered door. Ms. Scatter led the way, though Mr. V could see her shaking nervously with each step that she took. The giant rectangular door was a sad monochrome shattered floating mess before them. Mr. V watched as Ms. Scatter pulled out her pendant and saw how terribly shattered it was as well.

"Some part of me hoped I'd never have to come back. . ." She admitted weakly and held the pendant out to the shattered door. A fire literally erupted from the pendant. The fire swirled around Ms. Scatter first, enveloping her in the flames. He couldn't see her. He could only see a small pillar of fire. As Mr. V watched, the fire eventually rolled itself back to her hand, but her wardrobe went back to her sexy black Villainous dress. Her hair was blown out of her face and the ends of her dress were being blown back by the immense heat waves that roared from her hand. She spread out her hand and the flames suddenly shot out to the shattered door and all of the pieces began to come together. She wielded the fire with such superiority, she was not scared of the fire, nor did she looked as though she were one with the fire. Suddenly her cape that was around her shoulders caught fire and gave her wings of fire.

The shattered pieces clinked as they welded themselves back together and reframed themselves into a solid rectangle. Mr. V could only watch in awe, with Varuo sitting at his feet, watching her wield such a magnificent power. "The Firebird. . ." Mr. V whispered to himself in realization. She, Ashe Scatter, was the Firebird from the Fantasia Realm. "The chapter left unwritten. . ."

"It was left unwritten because there was no one left to write it." Varuo spoke softly. "You did too much digging."

With the powerful fire quietly dying away and returning back to the pendant in her hand, Varuo pawed his way over to her and grew in size. He stood next to her making her look like a wild and exotic princess with her wild beast ready to ride off in the wind. As if finally realizing that he was staring at her, Ms. Scatter turned her face to look at him. Her right eye was brown, but her left eye was glowing gold.

"I'll see you soon," She gave him a sad smile, a sad smile that was also so beautiful, before she and Varuo disappeared through the door. Mr. V watched as the door swallowed them up and immediately shut itself off from the Between Realms as it turned into a giant piece of cooled volcanic rock. Left alone Mr. V merely stood staring at the door that was now finally put back together floating in the air.

"Please come back soon." He whispered before turning on his heel and leaving the Wardrobe.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wow this one has been quite a roller coaster to write, but as luck would have it the story is actually writing itself as it has grown a mind of its own. If you get the chance would you please let me know what you think of this story so far?

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

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