I haven't had nightmares of that night in a long time.

Another happened just last night. It was a shock to Siobhan, and at her age, even the slightest shock can give her a heart attack. Thankfully, my screams didn't wake Moray, or else the whole house would have never heard the end of it.

I hate when the nightmares occur. They remind me of the weakness I had seeing that thing. The hesitation I never should have had. The fear that crawled on my body like a serpent coiling around its prey.

How can I possibly set a good example to my family by being weak like that? That question haunts me like a damn ghost.

After that night, I made a vow to never become the weakling I was in that moment ever again. And I hope my daughter and my grandson never become something like it either.

Clawthorne Estate

"Did you have to break the damn door!?"

Eda's comment made everyone's heads turn as Spawn just blinked at her and let out a sigh as he ignored both her words and the fact that the door was hanging off its hinges, "Sorry for the door, but this is urgent."

"Everyone! Get behind me!" Gwendolyne yelled out as she dashed forward, her staff glowing yellow. A few others pulled out palisman staffs of their own, forming a defensive position as all their staffs were pointed at the hellspawn. Even Dell, in his old age, was surprisingly quick to form into one.

"Not this shit again…" Al growled, slamming the door behind him. To say he was sick of these hostile encounters would be the understatement of the century.

"Why have you returned, monster!?" Lilith yelled out, "Have you come to finish the job?"

"No. I'm here to keep you all safe." Al growled as he reached towards the blindfolds behind him and folded them down.

"Keep us safe, huh?" she chuckled, "you can start by leaving."

"Very funny."

"And keep us safe from what, exactly?" Dell queried, his old voice now booming with decades of authority.

"From both Belos' forces and the Syndicate's own."

A few gasps emerged from the elder witches as the Hexside kids looked on in confusion.

Willow tilted her head, "Okay, Belos is bad and all, but the Syndicate?" She scratched her head, "who are those guys?"

"Long story short, a criminal empire." Eda decided to speak, now lacing her tea with the most potent alcohol from a flask she snuck in while everyone else who weren't in the know gasped.

"What!?" Willow freaked out.

"A criminal empire is targeting us!?" Gus freaked out, "Oh, man, I thought this would happen to my dad, not you guys!"

"I… actually had a feeling this was gonna happen to me sooner than later," Amity sighed, earning a few weird looks from her fellow students, "What!? My family is rich, getting in trouble with the mob is basically a guarantee!"

"ALL THIS STRESS IS GONNA MAKE ME THROW UP!" Hooty yelled before making a heaving sound and upchucking an entire mound's worth of garbage onto the floor, earning many disgusted groans. It was like something out of a shark's belly; Deflated beach balls, license plates, a suit of armor, entire instruments, even a mysterious letter that miraculously remained dry.

After Hooty's gastric evacuation, everyone quickly turned their attention back to Spawn and they were not happy.

"How dare you!?" Gwendolyn yelled, clenching her staff so hard, she could have broken it, "How dare you bring this to our house!?"

Spawn sighed and turned around, "lady, I don't have time for this-"

"Do not turn your back on me, monster!"

He let out another sigh. How he was so tired of this.

It wasn't long before accusations and angry words were flying left and right like bullets in a combat zone and almost all fingers were pointed all at him.

"You led them here to me, now to the rest of my family!" Lilith barked.

Al retorted, "Lady, I'd show more gratitude if I were you! You'd be dead already if it wasn't for me!"

"You forgot Steve was there to help you!" She slyly added, which he didn't respond to.

A panicked Gus clenched his arms, "Where are we going to hide!? We can't be here forever!"

He reassured the young witch the best he could, "As long as I'm here, kid, they won't lay a finger on any of you."

"Says the one who got us in this mess in the first place!" Amity retorted.

While the argument was going on, Hunter just looked at all his new captors seeing as how he couldn't do much being chained up like this. He recognized the Clawthornes, either in person or from photos, but aside from the Blight girl, Luz's friends were new to him. Gus and Willow were their names from what he could deduce from his eavesdropping.

Gus was undoubtedly the younger of the two, probably around thirteen at the most. Way too young to be hanging out with these scoundrels.

Willow looked to be around Luz's age, but she was… Interesting. Her twin pigtails, the little green streaks in her hair, and her glasses that looked just a bit too big for her really brought out her eyes. Something about her really called to him. She was… cute.

But frankly, he couldn't concentrate on that. Because the yelling just got louder and louder to the point where his ears were starting to hurt and it was breaking his concentration. He looked to see mostly everyone yelling at the hellspawn, with the exception of Eda, Luz, and Hooty. The former two were either sipping tea or looking on dejectedly, while the latter was still reeling from his barfing earlier.

Al was backed into a corner, exhausted from verbal and physical fights, yet the group continued their yelling at him, "God, I'm getting a headache," Spawn muttered, putting his hands to his head as everyone continued to yell at him. He clenched his head with enough pressure to bend steel, "Shut up…"

The cacophony of confused and angered yelling continued. "Shut up…" He said again to no avail. The tidal wave of anger simply would not relent.

The yelling brought him back… to awful times. It reminded him of when he and Wanda would yell at each other in the final days of his life. They fought over the fact that he hadn't retired from being a mercenary. They fought from the fact that they couldn't have children like they wanted to. They fought over the fact that they just couldn't have a normal life.

But that wasn't all the yelling reminded him of. It reminded him of the few times his mother and father were actually together when he was growing up and it was rarely pleasant. They were always angered over the state of their marriage, how they haven't found a better home, how they regretted ever having him and his brothers. All those times, he had to learn to fall asleep to the sounds of yelling.

He hated being reminded of this. As if his head wasn't already a mess as it was, the last thing he needed were more reminders of his past like this, but they just wouldn't relent.

"Shut up!" He raised his voice, but if they heard it, they certainly didn't listen.

They didn't listen.

They didn't listen!

Then, like an arrow through flesh, one voice pierced through all the others. A voice that was loud enough to shake the room itself.

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

But it was not his voice that did so.

Everyone turned their heads to Luz, face as red as hot metal, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

The teenager's entire body was shaking as she caught her breath. She can't recall ever yelling that loudly in her life before. Her fist was clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white and if her nails were any longer, they would draw blood from her palms.

Amity took a step forward, "Luz…" she softly whispered before her girlfriend had one last thing to say.

"Five minutes…" she seethed, a few tears of frustration flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks, "let's all act like civilized people… FOR FIVE MINUTES!"

Her accentuated yell made a few ears ring.

Everyone backed away from Al, who was just as surprised as everyone else that her voice was capable of reaching that octave. Luz just put her palms together and inhaled deeply, "Al," she whispered, "explain everything."

Al just sighed before explaining everything that happened since they arrived at the estate. His talk with Eda, his first encounter with Hunter, him killing the brigadiers, which impressed Lilith given the level of skill required to take them down would be second to the Coven Heads themselves, and how he carried Hunter all the way over here, much to the Golden Guard's embarrassment, and all of it leading to this moment.

Everyone was on edge even after he fully explained the circumstances. It was clear, even among the elder Clawthornes, that regret leaked with every word from him. Of course, a lot of them had a very hard time believing him at all.

He let out one last sigh as he finished his sentences, "I led you all in this mess," the vigilante grimaced, "it's only fair I protect you from it."

While the tension has somewhat died down, for some, this was still an unacceptable excuse. Lilith stepped forward with a huff, "At the risk of repeating myself," she started, "If you truly want to protect us, hellspawn, I suggest you leave."

Spawn scoffed, "And leave you all alone to face the might of two empires? I don't think so."

"You're the one killing them," Willow muttered, hoping he didn't hear that. He did and gave her a soul-piercing stare which made her look away with an innocent whistle.

Gwendolyn tapped his staff, getting everyone's attention, "the young girl is right," she stated, vindicating Willow, "you're the target that both the Syndicate and Belos' forces are after. Why choose to stay here and endanger us, hellspawn?"

"I've faced and toppled dozens of criminal organizations and corrupt cop networks before and if I've learned anything from them is that they are not above using your own modus operandi against you." The undead crossed his arms, "I've seen a lot of hostage situations and the like done to draw me out of the shadows."

"You aren't exactly helping your case as to why we should trust you." The old woman snarked.

Al clenched his fists, "lady, being with me is a lot safer than being without me. I am your only chance against this!"

"Reassuring words from one who left an entire precinct murdered."

The vigilante chuckled, "lady, I seem to recall you being there and helping drive the vampire scourge away from us. No moral qualms against bloodsucking parasites?"

Gwen clenched her hand around her staff yet again, "Listen here, you-"

"Enough!" Luz raised her voice, putting herself in front of Spawn and trying to push him away. Instantly, he calmed down and went with the pushes, which surprised those who weren't in the know, especially her friends.

"Woah," Gus whispered, amazed at this feat.

The tensions were still there, even after Al calmed himself, but more simmering instead of boiling. Silence was all that permeated, aside from the occasional throat clearing from Hooty, ejecting that much junk from your stomach was hell on one's throat after all.

After a long silence, the younger Clawthorne sibling spoke up, "He's right, you know." Eda said, just loud enough for everyone to hear and stop them in their tracks.

"Edalyn, what are you talking about?" Her sister asked.

"He's our best, really only, shot against this." The witch clarified, "our ace up our sleeve. Let's be real, what happens when the mob gets to us? Or Belos? You wanna know what's gonna happen?"

No answer. So she did it for them. "We all get whacked or petrified. That's what happens. And then spooky over there is gonna be all angsty about it, no doubt."

She ignored Al's growl at that comment.

She sighed as she continued, "as much as I hate to say it, his logic is sound. Whether we like it or not, he's going to ensure none of us get the worst of what's to come. Besides, he never actually hurt any of us."

She paused, remembering her fight with him that ended badly, "well, not unless we were asking for it," she added, practically feeling the smirk Al made, "nor has he hurt anyone else that weren't criminals or cops. Need I remind you, he could have easily killed you, Lil? Let alone all of us as he no doubt keeps saying?"

Her sister grumbled, "no..." while Spawn grumbled at the fact that he had to constantly repeat himself.

"Exactly," the renegade said with a finger gun point, "'sides, he's... okay when you talk to him for at least a minute. Not gonna call him a friend, though."

She took another sip before finishing what she had to say, "you ever heard the phrase 'the enemy of my enemy is my... begrudging ally?'" She got a few nods before continuing, "well, this guy is the enemy of two of our own enemies, so that has to count for something. I'd rather him than those other tools, that's for sure."

A few looked away, a few grumbled, a few even muttered about her being right. Whatever the case, it was clear that this was gonna take some getting used to...

She then formed a small smirk, "but whatever the case, he's got no right being a total jerk, that's for sure."

Spawn then pointed at the witch as a chuckle or two from the younglings emerged, "You're supposed to be on my side, dammit!"

She did not respond, she just sat back down and sipped her tea nonchalantly as Spawn huffed.

Al let out one last tired sigh. He was exhausted with all these verbal spats, so he turned away from all of them and looked towards the window while everyone else just looked at each other in awkwardness. The matriarch and patriarch of the estate just turned away and headed to the kitchen while Lilith and Eda stayed behind in the living room.

Hooty then slinked next to Eda, "Can I watch over him?" He asked, Eda just rolling her eyes and motioning the request. The tube thing then slithered over to Al, who never moved from his spot behind the window.

"Kids, King," Eda said, getting their attention, "go upstairs and do… whatever."

Luz protested, "but Eda-"

"Go." The witch said with a stern voice. One that was clear that she wasn't going to repeat herself. With that, all the teens and King went up the stairs.

"Take the Golden Brat with you," Lilith added, her eyes never leaving the Hellspawn as Hunter made muffled noises behind the duct tape.

Willow and Gus picked up the chained up duo of Flapjack and Hunter and carried them up the stairs, the metal chains clinking with every movement.

"Wow, you're heavier than you look." Gus commented, earning a muffled 'Shut up' from Hunter.

The Emperor's Palace

The emperor was pissed, to put it lightly. Hunter hasn't reported back in almost a whole day. Not one update. This was unlike him. He was always punctual no matter the situation.

He paced in front of his throne, back and forth, back and forth. He was impatiently waiting for Kikimora to report in for him. He needed answers. Now.

The doors to his throne room finally opened and he turned to see Kikimora's impish form make its way through the room. He took a deep breath and sat back down on his throne.

She bowed, "My Lord-"

"Did you find the Golden Guard?" Belos interrupted with a query, receiving a shaken head from the imp, "Then why do you waste my time?"

"Because the brigadiers are all dead."

"And?"

"The Golden Guard is nowhere to be seen."

Belos curled a lip upwards in frustration beneath his mask before he stood up from his throne, "I told him not to intervene…" he seethed to himself, just loud enough for Kikimora to hear him and smirk beneath the collar that covered her mouth.

He raised a hand to her and ordered, "Find him at once!"

Normally, Kikimora would grit her teeth at the idea, but this was the perfect opportunity for her to enact her plans. "As you wish, my Liege." she responded with a smile and a bow before turning around and stepping out of the throne room. There, Flora was waiting for her.

"What did he say?"

"Find him at once." The imp quoted verbatim, "I think it's time we do that…"

While anyone else would be weirded out by the sinister undertones of Kikimora's voice, Flora only gave a small smirk as she followed the imp out of the palace.

Back in the throne room, Belos resisted the urge to pull his long gray hair out. Hunter would be discarded at the end of this, yes, but he needed him to maintain the illusion of his plans. Without him, everything was falling apart.

Every day, he could hear more and more of the coven's whispering amongst themselves. These whisperings were the result of suspicions. Suspicions of him being weak. Those suspicions would mutate into investigations and those investigations would lead to discovery.

He can't have his plans ruined. Not when he was so close.

The Safehouse

The safehouse was a place only known to the closest members of the Syndicate. Located in the right glenohumeral of the Titan, it was built using the tunnels of an abandoned and dried up mineshaft, so no one was truly the wiser that it contained an underground bunker.

Griffin had it commissioned years ago in the event the Syndicate was ever compromised. Using one of the mine shafts as a way to install a fast travel railway towards the bunker that directly went to and from his laboratory, meaning he was always just five minutes away if anyone required his services.

Knowing he was that close unnerved the crime bosses.

In the bunker, there were five bedrooms. Each of them personalized for the family heads; Orlok's contained a simple coffin filled with his native soil, Draven's contained an altar that had strange runes from a forgotten language carved into the base of it, Wilkes' was extravagant, with fur rugs and lavish mirrors, same with Morningstar's. The late Crowley's room resembled an office set, and Griffin's, of course, was full of chemistry sets and an operating table.

There was also a kitchen room. Aside from a lackluster rec room, it was easily the largest in the bunker. It contained all the basic non-perishables and long lasting items like canned foods or salted meats. With plenty of purified water and aged alcohol to boot.

On a large table sat three crime lords, looking bored out of their minds.

The family heads had new clothes donning them. Wilkes was draped in the comfiest alabaster bathrobes she could buy that were made from the finest silks available. Morningstar donned a simple black turtleneck sweater with blue jeans. Orlok replaced his black long coat with a beige hunting coat and with a fur pelt that draped over his shoulders.

Morningstar held a glass of whiskey, Wilkes a glass of wine, the former tapping the rim of his glass in boredom while the latter finished her glass and held it up for more. Wilke's servants served her request of fresh wine, their red masked faces hung low in submission.

On the other side of the room, Tyran held a leg of meat with his arm and ate it with little regard for everyone's concern over his lack of table manners.

Orlok did not eat the raw meat available (the salt dried out the blood in it) so his only real option for meaningful sustenance were the blood bags stored in the cooler. He silently sipped from the tube like a child drinking from their juice box.

Finally, someone broke the silence, "Where the fuck is that bag of bones!?" Morningstar shouted, nearly spilling his drink as he threw his hands up in the air, "He said he'd be here!"

The volume of his outburst made everyone flinch slightly. "Calm down, you big baby." Wilkes said, spinning her wine glass, "It's not unlike Draven that he might be busy."

"Doing his secret bullshit, no doubt." Morningstar responded, downing his glass in one gulp.

"I do not appreciate Draven's penchant for secrets either, Morningstar," Orlok added, "but whinging about it won't help anyone."

The businessman raised a brow, "'Whinging?'"

Orlok pointed, "You're moving your lips and complaining. That's whinging."

"Just say 'whining' like everyone else, you old coot."

Orlok bared his teeth in a slight hiss before looking to the side, knowing he isn't worth his scorn.

It wasn't long before they heard a buzzing alarm in the distance from where they were. That was the alarm of the door being opened, loud enough to alert everyone in the bunker. Following the sound of the buzz, the noise of the footsteps grew closer and closer to the kitchen.

They all turned their heads to see Griffin, still garbed in his bloodied lab coat with his hands folded neatly behind his back. "Gentlemen." He said in his monotonous tone of voice, "Lady."

All of them either waved or bowed to him indifferently. The scientist carried on, "I have both good news and bad news."

"Start with the bad news." Orlok muttered, already exhausted and wanting to get this over with.

"Draven is unfortunately unable to be here with us at this moment." Griffin said, immediately hearing sighs from the others, "He must complete several personal tasks that he cannot share at the moment."

"I wonder why…" Morningstar snarked, which Griffin ignored. "Well, what's the good news?"

"Until he returns, I will act as the de facto leader of the Syndicate per his request."

"What!?" Wilkes yelled, followed by a "Are you shitting me!?" from Morningstar, which was accompanied by a confused and angry snarl from Orlok.

"I know you may not like it, but this is his request and I will honor it," the scientist said, unfettered by their protests, "Unless you wish to take your chances with the Hellspawn and the Emperor's forces…"

All three of them shut up.

"With all that said, if you need me, I'm only a buzzer call away." Griffin said before heading back the way he came, but not before Morningstar interjected.

"When Draven comes back I want the full story." He stated, brow furrowed in anger, "No sugarcoating it, no half-truths. The full story."

Orlok snarled in agreement, "I too grow tired of this clandestine nonsense."

"Hear, hear." Wilkes added with a bored drone.

"We've tolerated each other for years, Griffin," Morningstar intoned, "but Draven has been pushing our patience for far too long now." He sat back down, "this is a non-negotiable statement."

Griffin paused before nodding. "I shall inform him of this when he returns. No doubt, he would be hesitant in sharing his secrets, but… we are very close to achieving our goals. I'm sure he'll realize there's no point in secrecy anymore."

He resumed his trek to the exit, not even noticing the glares on him as he walked away.

"Oh, and Tyran," The scientist remembered, turning on his heel to face the ogre, "it's almost ready."

The ogre smiled. Griffin left without another word.

"What was that about?" Morningstar asked Wilkes.

"Experimental prosthesis," she bluntly answered. "Odalia Blight is funding it."

"Oh, that bitch?" The businessman muttered in slight amazement, "Wonder how he convinced her to do it."

"Beats me."

The mood became even more awkward, with a sprinkling of resentment and frustration.

Orlok sighed, standing from his seat, "I'm going back to sleep." He told them all, "Don't wake me unless you need me."

With that, he marched on over to his room. Wilkes and Morningstar exchanged quick glances at each other, "I can't believe this shit." The latter said.

Wilkes shrugged, "It's better here than out there."

"That's not saying much."

Wilkes agreed with that with a grunt and another sip of her drink.

Frankly, Morningstar was too pissed to have a conversation. He went to his room with a huff, leaving Wilkes behind. She sighed, finishing her drink and snapped her fingers for her servants and Tyran to follow her into her own room.

The Laboratory

Griffin exited the railway and entered a hallway that led back to his lab, passing by a corridor in the hall leading up to the stairs toward his lab. He stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly towards a dark and damp corridor on his right. At the end of said corridor lay a featureless door that was composed of reinforced metal as gray and lifeless as a gloomy day.

His basement.

He hummed, "Not today." He then turned his head back towards the stairs and headed up and onwards back to the main floor and to his lab.

The door remained there. Undisturbed.

Edge of the World

Draven appeared on the sands standing atop a teleportation glyph and began to walk towards a bone finger taller than most buildings jutting out of the ground like a mountain. There, he noticed a winged figure wearing a skull helm that awaited him. Or rather, awaited someone else, given his change of posture and disappointed sigh.

"Draven…" Tarak muttered in a somewhat unamused tone, "It's been many moons."

"Tarak." The lich dismissed him with a wave, "I will do us both a favor and skip the pleasantries. I need access to the island."

The winged demon simply nodded and escorted him to the bone. "I assume you've made them aware of your arrival?"

"Of course."

As they walked along the tiny island, the necromancer looked to the side, his eye sockets seemingly changing shape to signify them narrowing at what he saw. "Why is he here?"

"He" in question was a clown currently sitting on a rock, eating from a popcorn bag that had worms and spiders crawling in-between the food, "Well that's just rude!" He spat, both words and pieces of kernel, "I have a name, you know!"

Tarak sighed and explained, "He's here to ensure the final details are right." He rolled his eyes as he continued, "I don't very much like him being here either, but we have little choice in who they send."

Draven growled while the clown just adorned a big smile that revealed yellow teeth and giggled at his obvious annoyance, munching down on a handful of kernels and bugs as he did so. The lich turned around and continued to follow Tarak.

The clown's red eyes briefly shined as he got up and tossed aside his snack and followed the two, "Wouldn't want to meet this quarterly meeting, now would I?" He asked no one in particular before letting out a spine-tingling giggle.

The three then went up a seemingly impossibly long staircase carved into the finger bone before arriving in a small alcove. Carved into the wall was a sigil pattern with a rock that was missing from the piece. Tarak reached into his pocket and pulled out the missing piece, letting the cracks in the wall glow with a sonic boom that rippled the waters and parted the clouds.

"I thought you lended that piece to the mutt?" Draven asked.

"Don't you know anything about house rules, ya bag of bones?" The clown laughed, "Always keep a spare key."

The three were then enveloped in a blue light that encompassed the entire finger and hovered upwards towards a portal in the sky. Before one knew it, the light disappeared entirely, leaving the tiny island where it was.

Thank you for the fanart, Kgaro75

https/kgaro75/art/Awesome-capes-1084626688

And thank you for the shoutout, u/Headmaster_Monokuma

https/r/TheOwlHouse/comments/1bx6z4u/this_crossover_fanfic_deserves_recognition_gosh/