Chapter 13: OK, I'm Sick

I do not own Monster High or any of the songs used in the making of this story.

This wasn't the first time Cleo had heard screaming coming from the Gorgon house, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She'd walked into arguments and even a fire that got out of hand in the kitchen. But never before had she witnessed a panic attack.

The mummy had just made it down the driveway to the porch when she heard the screaming. She lifted her fist to knock on the ornate door but hesitated. Maybe this isn't a good time.

Viperine opened the door, her eyes wide and her skin paler than usual.

"Cleo?" she stuttered. Her eyebrows rose, creating a crease in her forehead. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"I was supposed to go out with Deuce today." She peered behind the gorgon girl to the stunning marble staircase. "Is now a bad time?"

"No, no..." Viperine turned to look behind her at the staircase. Madison scurried down the stairs just as the albino gorgon turned her head. Viperine looked back towards Cleo. "You can come in while you're waiting." She let Cleo walk into the mansion before shutting the heavy, marble door behind her.

Madison hurried towards Viperine, leaning in close to her face. "He's managed to stop convulsing, but that's as much as he's gotten so far," Madison said in a hushed, solemn whisper.

Cleo remained silent as she listened to the two cousins mutter to each other.

"That's good at least. Did you give him anything?"

"Xanax. Baby had it- gods, help him- and although it seems extreme, it works so quickly. Plus, his Zoloft wouldn't work. Takes a little while to get in your system, y'know?"

"Is it? Too extreme, I mean."

"I didn't want to do that to him, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And if I'm being honest, I'm just surprised he accepted it. We both know he would never be okay with that usually. His sweet Lawful Good self."

"Did he know what it was?"

"I'm pretty sure. The boy's smart enough to not accept just any drug we push his way. It'll help, and he knows it."

A scream rang through the air. Cleo gripped the cushion underneath her on the sofa.

"I need to go back up there," Madison said in her usual voice. "I came down for water anyway."

"Can he even drink it?" Viperine questioned.

Madison shrugged. "I don't know. Deuce says it helps." Viperine nodded. Madison darted towards the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. "If you need me, just holler," Madison said as she started to disappear up the stairs. "Actually, on second thought, don't. It'd probably scare him more."

Viperine nodded again. "Will do."

And with that, Madison was gone.

Cleo turned to face Viperine. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," she said. "Deuce has it all under control."

Deuce knelt on the floor besides his brother. Gabriel was hyperventilating, struggling to breathe as tears streamed down his face. Deuce stroked his hair with his right hand. Gabriel squeezed his left hand like a stress ball.

"It's going to be okay," Deuce drawled. "You're safe." He nudged his side gently. "Can you lay down for me?"

Gabriel unfurled from the fetal position he was in. His heart was still pounding a hundred miles a minute, and his chest ached uncontrollably, but he could at least lay down.

"Good...you're doing so well..."

The door opened, and Gabriel squeezed his hand harder out of fear. Deuce turned his head to see Madison walking into his bedroom. She closed the door behind her before handing Deuce the cup.

"How is he doing?" Madison asked. She knelt down on Gabriel's other side. "I see he's not curled up anymore."

"Yeah," Deuce agreed. "And his breathing's getting better. He's not hyperventilating anymore."

"That's good."

Gabriel squeezed again.

"Hey, it's okay," Deuce soothed. "It's just Maddie. She brought you water. Do you want some water?"

The angel whimpered quietly. Deuce rubbed his back.

"You're doing great. It's going to be alright. Can you take a deep breath for me?"

Gabriel tried to breathe, but his hyperventilation wouldn't allow it.

"Focus on your breathing."

Gabriel tried again, and this time, he was able to take in a deep breath, albeit a shaky one.

"Good job. That was so good." Deuce moved his hand up to pet his hair again. "Can you do that again for me?"

He tried to take a deep breath again, but this time, he staggered. He began crying harder.

"No, you need to focus on your breathing. Don't think about anything else. Just breathe."

After a few minutes of breathing, Gabriel began calming down. He opened his eyes to look at his siblings.

"Hey..." Deuce soothed, continuing to stroke his hair. "Madison got you some water. Do you want to try drinking it?"

Gabriel nodded, and Deuce helped him sit up and lean him up against his bed. He gently handed the angel the cup, and with shaky hands, he began to drink the water.

"Good. You're doing so well."

He gave Deuce the cup back before slumping against him.

"Do you want to lay down?" Gabe nodded. "Okay, let me help you." Deuce helped guide him to the floor again. Gabriel put his head on Deuce's lap, and the gorgon stroked his hair again.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Y-yeah," he uttered. His voice was hoarse, and it hurt to speak, but Deuce was grateful he was talking at all.

"Good. You did so well, you know that?"

"How long...?"

Madison unlocked her phone to check the time. "Twenty-six minutes."

Gabriel nodded.

Someone knocked on the door. All three siblings looked towards it before Deuce called, "Come in!"

Gwendolyn entered the room, Evangeline on her tail. "Hey, Gabe. Feelin' better?"

"Yeah...yeah, I am."

"Good." Gwendolyn sat down next to Madison, near the angel's legs. "You scared us."

"I know," Evangeline said with a smile. "But we're glad you're alright."

"Was that your first one?" Gwendolyn asked. Her green eyes revealed the concern and fear that she masked in her face.

Gabriel ran his fingers through his sweaty, caramel hair. "No."

Madison patted his knee. "It's scary."

Gabriel nodded in agreement.

Is everyone still waiting outside?" Deuce asked.

Madison nodded. "Yep. And you've got another person waiting as well."

Deuce looked at Madison with knitted confusion before a look of realization washed over his features. "How long has she been waiting?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. A few minutes? I came downstairs, and she was already waiting."

Deuce turned to look towards the angel. "Are you going to be okay?" Gabriel nodded, and Deuce stood up and darted downstairs.

"That boy's a wreck," Gwendolyn said.

Cleo heard pounding coming from the staircase. She whipped her head around to see Deuce trudging down the stairs.

"Hey," he said. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"Are you okay?" Cleo asked. Her aquamarine eyes bored into Deuce's hidden ones.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Was that you screaming?"

"What? No. That was Gabriel."

"Oh...is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's alright. It's not his first panic attack, so he's kinda used to them by now."

Cleo nodded as she took her boyfriend's hand. She knew what it was like to have panic attacks, especially since she lived with an older sister who took pleasure out of stealing and breaking her nightlight.

"As long as he's alright."

Frankie picked at the seam on her calf. She was more than happy about her grade and the surprise event at the party, but something else was bugging her. All of Deuce's siblings were getting sick, and she couldn't shake the feeling that it was her fault. After all, they were fine before they left the Other Side. But now, they were all feeling ill, and oddly enough, each sickness was reminiscent of how that monster died. It made Frankie's skin crawl to think about.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jackson asked.

Frankie turned her head to look at him. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know. You just seemed kinda distant recently."

"Yeah, I agree with Jackson," Clawd said. He threw a tennis ball up in the air and caught it. "You've been acting weird. It's like...ever since the party, you've been different."

"I don't know..." Frankie said. She slumped to the shag carpet rug of Jackson's living room. "Does anyone else feel weird about how all of Deuce's siblings are getting sick? And how they're all getting sick in similar ways to how they died?

"What do you mean?" Clawd asked. He caught the tennis ball, but this time, he didn't throw it up again.

"I mean they're all in pain, and that pain is somehow related to their death," Frankie answered. "I mean, think about it. Evangeline died because of food poisoning, and she spent the whole party puking her guts up. And Lacie burned in a fire, and she was turning really red and was burning up." Frankie's multi-colored eyes were wide with worry. "That can't be a coincidence."

"I notice this too," Abbey said. "Seems weird to me."

"Huh...I didn't even think of that," Clawd said. He knitted his thick, bushy eyebrows in thought. "Do you think they'll get better?"

"Not likely," Jackson said. "If anything, they're getting worse."

"Hopefully, we're wrong though," Frankie said. "I'd hate to keep them here if they're going to be sick."

"You're f*cking sick!" Lamia screamed. She chucked her water bottle at Seth, who dodged it just before it could nail him in the skull. Water spilled out the open bottle as it flew across the room, and upon hitting the floor, it emptied completely.

"Aw, look what you did!" Seth said, kneeling down to pick up the bottle. "You just had to make a mess."

"And you just had to make that comment."

"Hey, you've made dirtier comments in front of Yiayia Ceto."

"She doesn't care! She's got a filthy mouth too! And Papou Phorcys' got a filthier mind."

"Shut up. That doesn't mean you can-"

"Can you both shut up and let me think for two seconds?"

Lamia and Seth silenced immediately. Viperine ran her fingers through her hair, both the snakes and her platinum blonde hair. Many gorgons had mutations in their DNA when it came to their hair. It was why she had a mixture of both snakes and human-like hair and why Deuce only grew a single line of snakes vertically down his scalp. Viperine liked her mutation though. It fit her. Plus, she thought it looked better than that of her cousin Rhodanthe, who had human-like hair with snakes that resembled bangs and highlights.

"We need to figure out what's happening with summer," the second eldest said. "When we go to Greece."

"Well, they're pretty much all from Greece too," Lamia said. "Why can't they just come with us?"

"Because the reunions are pretty much maternal side only," Viperine answered. "They're on the triplets' paternal side."

"That doesn't make them any less of family," Seth reasoned.

"Well, the family has always been...selective...over who comes," Viperine said. "Although they welcome anyone with open arms, they don't welcome everyone, if you know what I mean." She sighed. "It's for safety purposes. I mean, the Graeae aren't allowed, and they're still family."

"I mean, Theía Pemphredo-"

"You better not let Mom and her sisters hear you call her 'theía,'" Lamia warned. Her light blue eyes flashed, and at that very moment, they resembled ice, light-colored, cold, and hard.

"Well, still," Seth said. "She's trying to reach out. Trying to make things right. So are Deino and Enyo."

Viperine crossed her arms. "They betrayed the family."

"And do you think these kids are going to do the same?" Seth asked. "Do they really think they're loyal to Mark?"

"Maybe not, but do the others know that?"

"Anyone who listens to Deuce speak knows that," Lamia interjected with an eye roll.

"Regardless," Viperine said, looking back at the pink paisley planner that rested in her lap, "we still need a plan."

"That's even if they make it to summer," Lamia said. She twisted a black mamba around her index finger, the white serpent spiraling around her pale skin tightly. "I mean..."

"No, I get it." Viperine brushed her hair back with her fingers. "I get it."

"It'll all work out," Seth said. "It always does."

"Do they even want to come?" Lamia asked.

"Of course," Viperine said. "Especially since most of them are from Greece. But we all know Deuce will want to take them to the island, and we really can't have that."

"Well, still," Seth said. "Deuce is reasonable. He listens and doesn't just do whatever he feels like. He's not the kind of person that believes his opinions and wants are facts and needs."

"I know that, but I just don't want to let him down."

"Oh, please," Lamia said. "After everything, this would cause him to be let down? This is nothing."

Viperine sighed and put down her paisley pink planner. "Whatever you say."

"I told Cleo not to invite her. But what did she do? Invite her. I can't believe she didn't listen to me. You know, the last time she didn't listen to me, she was grounded for a month! I'm surprised she doesn't take my advice more. She thinks I'm naive, but I really do know what I'm doing. Like do you remember that one time that we were at her party back in March of our sophomore year when Heath snorted Pixy Stix, and I told her, 'Don't let him go near the garden,' and she didn't pay attention to me or him and let him wander through the garden, only to have him burn down those flowers that were passed down from her great-great-great-great...are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Clawdeen asked. She flipped one of the pages in her magazine. The model was wearing a sheer Alexander McScream jumpsuit with Boochi slides, and as much as she loved those designer brands separately, the werewolf didn't think the model pulled them off well together. "Yeah, totally."

Draculaura sighed. "She just seems really distant lately."

"Hey, she'll come around eventually." She peeled open the tab and sniffed the sample of Miss Die-or perfume. "Just give her time. Her wraps are just wound a little tightly right now."

"I guess that's true." Draculaura slumped on the bed next to her best friend. "It's just a shame because the end of the semester is here, and usually that means it's time for relaxing. Not for worrying over things that you can't help."

"Yeah, but it's Cleo. She'll definitely find the time to relax."

"Good point." Draculaura leaned over to peek at Clawdeen's magazine. "Oh, my ghoul! Those Boo-lenciagas are to die for!"

"If you think those are good, check out these." A purple-painted claw pointed to a page with a model posing in studded, crimson Christian Loubootin sneakers.

"Ooh, but imagine Clawd wearing those!" Draculaura pointed to a male model dressed in a pale blue tee and light-wash jeans with plastic panel cutouts over the knees.

Clawdeen made a gagging noise. "Gross! I'd rather see Howleen in a bikini!"

"You know there's a sale going on right now at Ascarican Eagle for bathing suits, right?"

The werewolf perked up. "Wait, really?"

Draculaura nodded. "It's like buy two get one free."

Clawdeen grabbed the vampire's keys by the fuchsia bat key chain, almost knocking down a lipstick tube on the dresser. She tossed them to their owner, who barely caught them. "Guess where we're going."

Draculaura grinned. Her fangs flashed as brightly as the sun that she'd never get to soak in. Even if she did buy a bikini.

Out of all the things Ianthe liked best about the living world, she liked Jinafire best. Maybe it was because she'd been cooped up for so long with her rowdy, crude siblings, or maybe it was because she'd never had a real friend outside of family members before. Regardless, she loved it.

It was the little things, like the sound of her laugh and knowing that it was her who made Jinafire burst into a fit of laughter. Or like how her eyes would squint slightly and her nose would crinkle whenever she smiled. Or how she always smelled like citrus and cinnamon.

She loved having someone to confide in (someone who wasn't related to her) and someone to confide in her.

Having Jinafire beside her just felt...right.

As Jinafire laughed at the bad joke that Jason definitely would've rolled his eyes and grumbled at, Ianthe could feel herself grinning madly, completely enamored of the lovely dragon with the hair as soft and sleek as silk.

"You know," Jinafire said, a smile still pulling at her cheeks, "that reminds me." She whipped out her phone. "I found this video the other day, and I thought you'd like it." She pulled a video up on BooTube and handed the device to Ianthe. The phone was warm and felt good upon her cold-blooded fingertips. "Just press play." Ianthe pressed the button in the middle of the screen and watched as the video began to play. Jinafire leaned in close to her, close enough for Ianthe's snakes to slither into her hair playfully.

Suddenly, Ianthe doubled over in pain. She dropped the phone on the bed she was sitting on, grabbing her scalp in pain. Her snakes hissed wildly and snapped at anything in reach.

Jinafire reached over to Ianthe and grabbed her shoulder to balance her. "Are you alright?" Her voice was an octave higher than usual thanks to the sudden increase of fear that pumped through her veins.

Ianthe tried to murmur an "I'm okay", but the shooting pain made her resist. It wasn't as if Jinafire couldn't very easily see through the lie anyway.

"I'm going to get you help." The dragon bolted off through the doorway to grab her keys.

Yeah, she definitely liked Jinafire best.

Frankie took a deep breath as she readjusted the plastic bag on her arm. As she, Abbey, Clawd, and Jackson dispersed, she told Abbey she'd meet her at her house; she just needed to pick something up at the store first. Although the walk from Jackson's house to the convenience store wasn't a long one, it was certainly a trip from the store to Abbey's home at the Bloodgood residence. She wished she'd asked Abbey to come with her. Some company sounded pretty good right about now.

The simulacrum was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear her name being called nor did she register the figure standing in front of her. She did, however, snap out of her thoughts when a blinding ray of sun was aimed directly at her.

"Ow! Hey!" Her bolts sparked.

"Ooh, yeah, no wonder Jason doesn't like getting close."

Frankie rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times. When she opened her multi-colored eyes, she was able to focus on the set of twins in front of her.

"Lacie? Roxie? What are you doing here?" Frankie asked.

Lacie shrugged. "We're just taking a walk around, looking at all the houses on the street. All that."

Frankie nodded. "I get it." Forgetting her mission, she decided to walk with the two air elementals. "Y'now...you kinda remind me of myself when I was younger."

"Really?" Lacie asked. "How so?"

"Well, you passed away so early that you didn't really get to live, and what you did get to experience you don't really remember all that well. So now...it's like being reborn as a teenager. I remember when I was born, skipping the days of my youth and heading straight into teenage years...it was a lot," she explained. "I felt like everything was so new and great, but everyone else my age thought I was crazy for thinking that way. but it's only because I wasn't used to it; I never experienced it like they had. And now, you...you're the same way. Reborn as a teenager but finally getting to experience all the things you should've in your youth."

Lacie nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

Roxie scoffed. "I thought it would be that you both seem to be the pretty, perfect ghouls that everyone seems to like," she deadpanned.

Lacie glared at her twin. "Roxanne."

"Roxie," Frankie spoke gently, "I'm not here to hurt you. None of us are. We aren't trying to be hostile."

Roxie glared her way. Frankie felt as if she was searching through her soul. She squirmed uncomfortably.

After a few seconds, Roxie sighed. "I know," she said.

Frankie raised an eyebrow. "You know?"

She nodded. "I can see it in your future."

This caused Frankie to perk up even more. "What are you talking about?"

"Whenever someone dies and they go into the Other Side- rather than going to heaven, hell, the Ghost World, et cetera- they receive a...gift...of some sort. So Gabe can take away people's pain when he touches them. And Gwen can still use her monster powers, like creating fire, in the living world even though she remained in the Other Side. Ianthe can communicate with the living or undead. That's how she was able to speak to you and no one else was when we first met. She's also who Deuce was talking to directly after Maddie's death...back when Lamia and Seth and Viperine just thought he was delusional. And Iris can sense when someone is there from miles and miles away. That's how she sensed you were there before Ianthe spoke to you upon our first meeting. She was also the first one to figure out that Madison was pre-"

"Lacie," Roxie interrupted. She glared at her sister, who immediately silenced.

"Well, Roxie can see into the future," Lacie said, stopping her initial train of thought.

"Really?" Frankie asked. "That's so cool! How does it work?"

Roxie shrugged. "I don't know. It's kinda weird. It's like...people's pupils are strange now. Ever since I died, they look different. They kinda remind me of the tunnel in Coraline, that one human movie that's supposedly for kids. It's almost as if I can go into them, and I can see exactly what happens in their future at any given point. It's one clear path from the pupil to the timeline of someone's life, their future."

"That's so awesome!" Frankie said with a spark.

"I guess."

"So what's your gift?" Frankie asked the blonde twin.

"So Roxie can see exactly what will happen in the future. I can see the Butterfly Effect."

"The Butterfly Effect?"

"Yeah. So I know all the different paths someone can take because of a decision. I know if Clawdeen drinks at the party on October 29th in her freshman year of college, she'll get knocked up. If she doesn't drink, baby free."

"Wait, really?"

Lacie nodded. "I don't know what she chooses though. So what Roxie and I do is we map out what will happen based on both of our gifts. So we know which decision she'll make and the outcome."

"So does she get pregnant?"

"Unclassified information," Roxie said. "We can't tell you. It can change the future."

"Got it. Are there any downsides?"

"I mean, yeah. You can't see your own future," Lacie answered.

"Plus, you can be really judgmental because you know what someone will do. If they'll murder someone, if they'll release a plague, if they'll shoot up a school- I don't know. But you get it," Roxie said.

"So when you were glaring at Lamia's boyfriend? Gergen?"

"He...does some terrible things in his future. It's hard to like him with that knowledge."

"So...if you can still use your gifts outside of the Other Side, can Deuce? He...died...right?" Frankie asked.

"Well, yes, but he was brought back to life using gorgon blood," Lacie said. "We weren't. We were brought back here using a chemical. So technically, Deuce is alive, but we aren't. And if he's alive..."

"Then no gift," Frankie concluded.

"Precisely."

"What was his gift?"

"He could absorb and basically mirror our gifts."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So he could take away pain, communicate with the living-slash-undead, use that lovely monster power of a petrifying gaze although he was dead, see into the future, use telekinesis-"

"Telekinesis? Whose gift is that?"

"Maddie's."

"Whoa."

Evangeline wasn't a huge fan of ponytails. She didn't think they worked well with her face shape. She personally preferred having her hair down with two pigtails on the sides of the top of her head. But now...at this very moment, a ponytail sounded pretty good right now.

She was currently leaning over a toilet in the restroom of a library, holding her hair back as she spilled her guts. She'd promised Kira that she and Gwendolyn would go to the library to pick up a book for her, since her stepsister was on bed rest after an unforeseen heart attack. Although the two made it to the library, she'd told the demon-human hybrid to go on without her after the familiar wave of nausea hit her. She didn't know what had came over her, but whatever it was...it sucked. The fairy couldn't seem to keep anything down, and frankly, she was getting sick of getting sick every seven minutes.

When she felt like she didn't have anything left to throw up, she shakily stood up, trying to balance herself against the stall walls. She took a few deep breaths. It's alright. I'm going to be alright.

She stepped out of the stall and looked around. Grateful that no one else seemed to be in the restroom at that time, she trudged over to the sink to wash her hands and fix herself up. She popped a piece of spearmint gum in her mouth, knowing well enough it wouldn't matter, since she'd find another way to get sick again within the next ten minutes.

Evangeline headed out of the restroom and to the young adult section of the library. Peering around the bookshelves, she scanned the aisles, trying to find the girl with the reddish-tan skin.

After no positive results, Evangeline shrugged. Might as well get what I came for. She typed a few words into the computer on a small desk, and after getting the location of the book, she went off to search for it. The fairy walked to the last aisle, which was the section that included books written by human authors. She trailed her thin, pale finger along the spines of the books as she read their titles. Finally, she stopped on one. She lifted it from the shelf and gazed upon the thin white words "we are the ants," all in lowercase letters. She opened it up and read the summary on the inner flap. She knew this was the book Kira wanted, but she was still curious what it was about.

She was quickly ripped out of her thoughts when a warm yet clammy hand grabbed her shoulder. Evangeline whipped her head around, her golden curls swinging wildly behind her. She was met by the gaze of Gwendolyn, who was gripping her temple in pain. Suddenly, she plummeted to the ground.

Evangeline dropped the book she was holding and knelt down beside her sister. "Oh my gosh! A-are you okay?!" Evangeline sputtered.

"C-call..." Gwen paused to inhale sharply. "Call Deuce."

Evangeline nodded as she pulled out her phone, dialing his number as she gripped Gwen's hand.

Lagoona came up out of the water with a gasp, even though she could breathe underwater just fine. She flipped her wet curls back behind her. She always felt like Ariel every time she came up. Even though she wasn't a redhead. Or a mermaid. Or naive to give up everything for a guy.

Well, maybe that last part wasn't true. She remembered the whole fiasco when Gigi first arrived, how she became freshwater for Gil and his family and totally neglected her own.

Huh. Maybe she was closer to Ariel than she thought.

"Lagoona!"

The sea monster was ripped from her thoughts. She turned her head to look at Ghoulia running towards her. Well, running as fast as a zombie can, anyway.

"Ghoulia," Lagoona questioned. She hurried out of the pool and wrapped herself in the pink towel that waited for her on the bleachers. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"I think there's a flaw in my chemical," she moaned. "The one that resuscitated Deuce's siblings!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...what are you talking about?" Lagoona's large eyes widened in confusion and fear of the unknown. It wasn't often that the zombie was this shaken up, Something serious had to be going on.

"The chemical!" Ghoulia panted. "The longer away from the Other Side they remain, the more pain they are facing."

"And all of their pain..."

"Correlates with their death," Ghoulia completed. "I don't know how to fix it, especially considering they're already out and living with the alive and undead." She sighed. "I don't understand."

"Maybe you can create another chemical to fix it," Lagoona wondered aloud. "If a chemical caused it, maybe a chemical can fix it too!"

"I hope...I'm just...apprehensive that I screwed everything up."

"Aw, don't blame yourself, love." Lagoona laid a webbed hand down on Ghoulia's shoulder.

"I just need to fix this," Ghoulia groaned. "Then, everything will be alright."

Madison laid a cold, damp rag on Ianthe's forehead. She groaned in pain. She was so weak that not even her snakes would slither; instead they stayed slumped on the pillow. Maddie stroked the Green Mambas. "Feeling better?"

Ianthe nodded stiffly. Madison gave a single nod and turned to look at Deuce, who was tending to Iris, who was motionless save for her twitching fingers.

"She's going to be alright," Madison said to her brother, speaking for Ianthe.

Deuce nodded. "Good." He walked towards Evangeline and put a water bottle down beside the bucket she was throwing up in.

Suddenly, Jason slammed the door open. Madison and Deuce whipped around to look at him. His eyes were wide and panicked. Ashton was thrown over his shoulder.

"What happened?" Madison asked.

"I don't know!" Jason heaved, having just ran several blocks to the Gorgon household, plus up multiple flights of stairs. "He just...stopped breathing!"

Deuce cleared some clothes off the floor to allow room for the satyr to lay the other down. He wanted to keep all the siblings together, but they were running out of chairs and beds.

He put his ear against Ashton's chest, listening closely as Jason bit his thumbnail in worry. "He's got a heartbeat."

Suddenly, Jason's muscles tensed unnaturally; he jumped and dropped to the ground. His skin became scalding, and burns began developing on his skin. He immediately lost consciousness.

Madison's eyes grew to the size of saucers, and Deuce froze up, his breath stopping in his lungs. Madison went to go help Jason but was stopped by Deuce's yelling. "STOP!" Madison turned to look at him, her eyes still wide. Deuce shook his head as he continued to take deep breaths to calm himself down. "Don't touch him just yet."

"W-what's going on?" Madison faltered. "What's happening with everyone?"

Deuce ran his fingers through his snakes in an effort to relieve some stress. "I have no idea."

Frankie closed the door to Abbey's bedroom gently. "Sorry, I'm late! I was on my way over here when I met up with Roxie and Lacie. Who knew that you get powers after you die?" Frankie rambled. "Anyway, Headmistress Bloodgood let me in, so—"

"Frankie." The simulacrum hushed as Abbey looked over at her. "Chill. Is all cool."

"Alright." Frankie tossed her purse on the floor near Abbey's desk and sat on the bed next to her friend. "So are you still good to go to the maul tomorrow? There are plenty of sales going on, especially considering what time of year it is. I wouldn't want either of us to miss them."

"Yes, I still go," Abbey said. "Just need to finish project first."

"Project?" Frankie peered over Abbey's shoulder to look at the laptop screen. "What kind of project?"

"Is for English class. Have to write autobiography. Is due the last day of the semester."

"Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, just need to finish this paragraph. Should be done by tonight. I will proofread tomorrow."

"But that shouldn't take long."

"No. I be done by time of lunch."

"Great!"

"So what was you saying about powers after death?"

"Oh, right! Apparently after a monster dies—for real, dead dead, not undead—he or she gets powers! That's why Madison and them can do all sorts of cool things that don't necessarily relate to their monster types. Cool, right?"

Abbey nodded. Her long fingers clicked away at the laptop before finishing the paragraph, saving her work, and closing the top. "There," she said. "Am done now."

"That's good," Frankie said.

The two girls heard Frankie's phone ding. The mint green girl reached down to pull her phone out of her purse and check it.

"Who is it?" Abbey asked.

"It's from Deuce." She opened her text and read it aloud. "Hey, ghoul, can you come down to my house? It's urgent."

"Urgent?" Abbey repeated. "Wonder what happened..."

"I'm texting him now," Frankie said. She sent a quick text to Deuce, who replied almost instantly. "Things are outta control. Everyone is getting sick and having symptoms, and we're all panicking."

"Who's over there?" Abbey asked.

Frankie typed up her friend's message with rapid speed before hitting send. She waited about thirty seconds before getting another response. "Cleo, Ghoulia, Lagoona, Caleen, and Jinafire are already there," Frankie read. "So are most of his siblings." She stood up and picked her purse off the ground, her eyes still glued to the phone screen. "I'll call Draculaura and Clawdeen. We need to get over there!"

Abbey nodded. "I will tell Bloodgood." She left the room, and Frankie ran a hand through her hair.

"I hope they're alright..."

"Okay, okay! This one..." Draculaura twirled around in a circle inside the dressing room, "or the other one?"

Clawdeen stared at the bikini her friend was wearing. This one was a strappy two piece with a simple black top and a pink and black floral bottom. The other one, which was hanging on one of the wall's hooks, was a white monokini with pink bat silhouettes and ruffles.

"Hmm...I think the one-piece. You don't have a white bathing suit." Clawdeen looked in the mirror at herself. She wore a marigold bikini top and high-waited black bottoms with sunflowers all over them. "What do you think of this?"

"I like the floral," Draculaura said. "You don't wear it a lot, but it suits you."

Clawdeen nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, a peppy pop song began playing in the small dressing room.

Thought I'd end up with Sean, but he wasn't a match.

"Is that your phone?" Clawdeen asked.

Wrote some songs about Ricky. Now I listen and laugh.

"Yeah, I changed it a few weeks ago," Draculaura answered, digging through her purse. "There it is!" She pulled her phone out and hit "answer." "Hello?"

"Draculaura? This is Frankie," the simulacrum said, even though the vampire's phone showed Frankie's name and picture when she called. "Go to Deuce's house."

"Why?"

"What's wrong?" Clawdeen asked. "What's happening?"

Draculaura put her phone on speaker and lowered the volume, as not to disturb the other customers.

"I don't know. Deuce just texted me. He said everyone is having crazy symptoms, and no one is doing well."

"Alright, we'll be right over," Draculaura said, peeling the bathing suit away from her skin. "I'll see you soon. Smooches!" She hung up and tossed her phone back into her purse.

Clawdeen took the three bathing suits and slung them over her arm. "I'll pay for them. You get the car. I'll meet you out front."

Draculaura nodded. "Sounds good."

Jackson had his head buried in a book. It was nothing new, but every time the semester came to an end, teachers would pile on the projects, the tests, and the homework. It was his first time having free time in a while, and he was milking it while he could.

Currently, his nose was in some boring nonfiction book, a biography about the life of Alhazen and his contributions to science regarding optics and visual perception. It was the size of a college textbook and just the kind of book that would put most people to sleep. However, Jackson was no normal person, and he loved books like this.

Reading also distracted him from the headache that was building up in his temples. Holt hadn't come out a whole lot recently, and to him, the party was simply a tease. Jackson knew he needed to be let loose every once in a while and couldn't be chained forever, but Jackson didn't feel like he'd gotten a lot of spare time in a while. After all, he needed to relax and enjoy life just as much as Holt needed to.

Flipping the page, he wondered what had happened at the party. With Holt in control, he never could remember what went down on those Friday and Saturday nights, and the stories his friends would tell never sounded familiar. This time was different. Frankie told him that Deuce's brothers and sisters were facing injuries that corresponded with their deaths. As intriguing as it was, he didn't quite know exactly what she was talking about.

It was times like this that he wished he and Holt were two separate people. Then, he wouldn't have to miss important information like this.

But in the same sense, even if they were separated, Jackson wouldn't have gone to a party regardless.

Oh well. I guess it's just a no-win situation.

Seth opened the door to the Gorgon house. "Come on in. Everyone's upstairs waiting for you."

"Thank you," Frankie said. She walked through the door and up the staircase, followed by Draculaura, Clawdeen, and Abbey. Seth trailed behind them. The five teenagers headed to Deuce's bedroom.

"Holy sh*t..." Clawdeen muttered.

Bodies in varying states of agony were scattered around the room. Iris and Ianthe were lying on Deuce's bed, while Kira sat beside them. Gwendolyn sat in the chair at his desk, her head tucked in her arms. Jason and Ashton were slumped on the floor. Madison and Deuce were tending to their stepsisters as Caleen made sure her brothers were alright. Gabriel sat spread out, trying to touch as many people as he could in an attempt to take their pain. Ghoulia had her head in a notebook, writing down symptoms and checking everyone's vitals. Jinafire sat next to Ianthe, gripping her hand. Cleo stood awkwardly to the side.

"What happened?" Abbey asked.

"Something went wrong with the chemical," Ghoulia groaned. "It seems most of them are going through symptoms that reflect their deaths."

"Is anyone...dead?" Draculaura said slowly.

"Not that we know of," Jinafire said. Her eyes were locked on Ianthe's face, watching for any kind of movement. Her grip on the gorgon's hand was tight enough to break bones, but neither girl let go of the other.

"That's good."

"Where's Evangeline?" Frankie asked. She scanned the room in search of the girl with the unmistakable blue wings.

"Bathroom," Deuce answered. "Lagoona's in there with her."

Frankie nodded.

"It seems that everyone comes and goes in waves," Madison said. "They'll be fine one minute, and the next they're doubled over. And then they're fine again."

"Yeah, the only one that seems to be nonstop is Evangel," Caleen said.

Lacie and Roxie rushed into the room. Viperine and Lamia followed them in the room.

"Oh my gods!" Lacie shrieked. She knelt near Jason, who remained unconscious.

Roxie's eyes were wild like a fire, and they held the same angry passion. "What's going on?"

"The same thing that happened at the party," Deuce said.

"But tenfold," Caleen said.

"Sh*t," Roxie muttered.

"How...how we do stop this?" Lacie asked.

"No one knows," Lagoona said from inside the bathroom. The door was left open for her and Evangeline to hear the conversation.

"Well, great," Clawdeen said.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Frankie asked.

Without skipping a beat, the gang heard choking and coughing. They all turned to look to the floor where the noises were coming from.

Ashton sat up, trying to take in as much oxygen as he could. His lungs burned as if they were on fire, and it seemed as if no amount of air was enough. After about a minute, he had returned to normal, and his normal breathing patterns had resumed.

"Ash?" Caleen said. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm...I'm alright."

"Ashton," Gabriel panted. Every word hurt to speak, but he was too selfless to dwell on it. "If you can come over here, I can take some of the pain." The satyr hesitated, seeing the pain the angel was in. But his thoughts were interrupted. "Come on!"

Ashton, still weak from his lack of oxygen, crawled to Gabriel, who held Ianthe's and Kira's hands. He had his knee on Jason, and his head on Gwendolyn. He already seemed to be in agony from taking the pain of the other three. But Ashton complied to Gabe's orders and placed his hand on the angel's leg. Gabriel screamed. It was excruciating, and the combination of their pain showed on his face through the sweat and gritted teeth.

Ashton immediately removed his hand.

"I'm fine," Gabriel said. "Put it back."

"Gabe..."

"I said put it back." His voice was so uncharacteristically stern that Ashton immediately put his hand back on him. He tried to ignore his brother's cries of pain.

"Gabriel, don't try to take everyone's pain," Deuce said harshly.

"I'm alright."

"No, you're not."

"Really. I'm okay." He spoke through gritted teeth, and his words were angry from the pain he was in.

"Gabriel. Quit lying," Madison demanded. "It's a sin, and you know it." Her eyes were sharp as she glared at her older brother. She knew it was his weak spot. His cognitive dissonance was enough of a punishment.

Gabriel's jaw tightened, and his eyebrows sank.

He knows I'm right, Madison thought.

Roxie dropped to her knees. Her pallor became more distinguishable because of her raven hair, and her veins seemed to darken. Her heart rate and blood pressure dropped.

"ROXIE!" Lacie screamed. She bolted to her twin sister, who fell face-first into the floor. "Please! Somebody help her!"

"Lace..." Madison said. "There's nothing we can do. We have to let her ride it out."

"Gabe..." Lacie's eyes were desperate, and Gabriel couldn't resist stretching his leg out to touch Roxie's leg. He put his foot on her right side.

The second he met her body, he shrieked. His eyes became glassy and unfocused. He began choking, which turned to hyperventilating. He dropped Ianthe's and Kira's hands as he went under.

"Sh*t, Gabriel!" Deuce screamed.

But it was too late. He watched the older boy succumb to the symptoms of his own death.

"I can't do this!" Madison shrieked. She stormed out of his brother's bedroom. Deuce stood up to follow her, but instead, he decided to watch her leave.

After all, he had people to take care of.

"Come on, pick up the d*mn phone!" Clawd stared down at the iCoffin in his claws. Neither Draculaura nor Clawdeen were answering his calls, and he was starting to become anxious.

"Language, Clawd!" Harriet said. She stood near the oven cooking dinner for the very large Wolf family.

Clawd sent both girls a text before running his hand through his hair. They were getting bathing suits. How long was that supposed to take?

"Don't worry," Harriet said as she stirred an immense pot of macaroni noodles. "They'll be home soon."

"Maybe their ringers aren't turned up," Howlmilton said, stealing a soda from the fridge.

"That's impossible. Draculaura never turns off her ringer. She always has it all the way up. Even during boovies!"

"She's just ignoring you," Barker teased.

"Howldon! Howlston! Clean this mess up!" Harriet yelled to the young boys. She pushed their toys to one side of the kitchen table.

"Sorry, Mom," Howie said. Don simply helped clear off the table wordlessly.

Clawrk walked into the kitchen after his nose had led him there. Work was tiring like usual, but instead of relaxing on the couch, he decided to check out what was for dinner. "What are you making?"

"Burgers, hot dogs, mac and cheese, potato salad, and corn," Harriet said, accepting a kiss from her husband. "Pawla, go check on Weredith for me, will ya?"

"Alright, I will." The young werewolf girl stopped watching television in the living room and went to her baby sister's room.

Clawd sat at the table after Howie and Don were finished cleaning off all their toys. "It's just weird. I feel like something's wrong, and no one's answering me, so I can't even ask."

"You can try my phone if you'd like," Harriet offered. "Pawl! Get down from there! No, sir!"

Clawd helped his younger brother off the counter and grabbed his mother's phone. He called Clawdeen's number, and after several seconds, she finally picked up.

"Hey, Mom, I really can't talk right now," Clawdeen said.

"It's Clawd. Why weren't you answering my texts or calls? But you answered Mom's!"

"I won't get in trouble if I don't answer you," she said. He could almost hear her rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I can't talk. We have a...a situation."

"Where are you?" Clawd asked.

"I'll call you later. Bye!"

"Wait, no! Don't hang up the-"

Click.

"Phone."

"Ha, ha," Howleen said. "Looks like she was just ignoring you."

"Shut up," Clawd snapped. "How old are you? Eight?"

"Eight inches deep in your mom!"

"CLAWNOR! Go to your room!"

"Sorry," Clawnor mumbled as he got off the bar stool and trudged to his room.

"We have the same mom..." Packlyn said.

"Madison?"

The gorgon girl turned to see Frankie peeking through the doorframe. "Is everything alright?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah, everything's...fine." Madison always thought she was a pretty good liar. After all, she'd had several years of practice from life with her dad. Curious monsters and normies alike always asked where she got this bruise and that black eye. She'd perfected the art of storytelling. But Frankie already saw the tragedy that laid scattered amongst her brother's bedroom. There was no point in lying; she couldn't hide it now.

Frankie sat beside her. The floor was uncomfortable, but it didn't matter. "I know what you're going through. Maybe not in the traditional, literal sense, but I still get it. It feels like you're watching all your loved ones crumble around you, and you can do nothing to stop it."

"Yeah, that's exactly it." Madison sighed and rested her chin on her hands. "I just feel so helpless. I want to help, I really do! I just don't know how. And I'm anxious as hell, and that's helping no one."

"Yeah," Frankie agreed. She stood up. "But even your support is helpful." She held out her hand for Madison to grab. The gorgon stared at it for a few seconds before accepting it. She grabbed her hand, and Frankie helped pull her up to her feet. "Come on, let's go back inside."

The two went back to Deuce's bedroom, where the majority of the teenagers were feeling a little better. Gabriel was still reliving his death, and most of the others were still in pain, but for the most part, they were alright.

"Good to see you back," Ashton said to Madison. She gave him a tight smile and knelt beside Gabe. His hands were cold and clammy, but that didn't stop her from grabbing the one Deuce wasn't holding.

"Everyone's mostly alright for the time being," Deuce said. "We had some help. Isn't that right, Trouble?" Sarcasm dripped through his voice like venom, but he didn't receive an answer. "Trouble?"

Deuce turned his head to look at Seth, who had his face in his phone screen, his thumbs typing away madly.

"Talaiporía?"

He continued to type.

"Seth? Seeeeth?"

Still no answer.

"Seth-oscope? Seth-amphetamine? The Black Seth, deadly disease and killer of a third of Europe?"

"Shut up, Deuce-bag," Seth said, still looking at his phone and typing, "I'm trying to finish this text."

"Who are you texting?" Clawdeen asked.

"Mom," Seth said distractedly. "And she isn't answering me."

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. Madison raised an eyebrow.

"Who else could be here?" she asked. Deuce shrugged and got off the sofa to get the door.

"So is this just going to be a normal thing?" Jinafire asked. "To just...relive your deaths over and over until you die again?"

"I hope not," Jason grumbled. "I'm not putting up with this sh*t if I don't have to."

"Same here," Roxie agreed. "I'd rather just commit suicide."

Lacie smacked her sister's arm. "Don't say that!"

"What? It's true! Dying once was enough. Dying several times a day? Who wants to live like that?"

"I get it," Evangeline said quietly, walking out of the bathroom and gripping Lagoona's arm for support. "I hate to admit it...but I think I'm the same way."

"No!" Ianthe yelled. She jerked forward to sit up but did so too quickly, and she hissed in pain. "I've seen what happens when people try to kill themselves. It's nasty business. You all have seen it too. You know just as well as I do, and I don't want to see you guys go through it too." Her eyes were glistening from tears, and she tried her hardest to blink them away. Yet, some escaped and slid down her cheeks.

"Violet, I'm not spending every day in pain," Roxie said. "Not if I don't have to."

"Same."

"Me too..."

"Shut up." Lacie wiped her eyes violently. "Just shut up."

Deuce walked back into his bedroom, and behind him was a tall girl with sapphire blue snakes atop her head and matching eyes. Royal blue scales were littered across her jawline and stopped right before her chin. They also crawled down her arms and spine. Her legs were replaced with a long, snake-like tail, and she slithered rather than walked to the others.

"Bhavika?" Seth said, standing up to meet her gaze. "What are you doing here?"

"Bhavika?" Lamia said with a grin. "Vicky? Baa Baa Black Sheep of the Family?"

"Shut up, Llama," the girl- Bhavika- said in a foreign language the others didn't understand. "Calling me the black sheep of the family? Have you looked in the mirror recently?"

Lamia shrugged. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. But that doesn't change the color of your wool, now, does it?" she said in the same language.

"Um, hey, sorry!" Frankie interrupted. "I don't mean to cut you off, but...who are you?"

"And what language are you speaking?" Draculaura asked. "I don't recognize it." She had lived throughout many centuries, and she'd heard many languages, but this one, she'd never heard before.

Bhavika raised an eyebrow at the group before turning to Deuce. "Are they serious?" she asked in a different language than the first. Cleo recognized it as Greek.

Deuce nodded. "Welcome to the lovely world of the curious America," he said, matching her language.

Bhavika rolled her eyes. "Lovely." She turned to look at Draculaura. "Hindi," she said, this time in English.

"Oh," Draculaura marveled. "It's beautiful."

Bhavika smiled, close-lipped and tightly. "Thank you." She looked back towards Lamia and Seth and began speaking to them in rapid Greek.

Frankie nudged Deuce with her elbow. "Who is she?"

"That's Bhavika," he answered. "She's my cousin, Lamia and Seth's half-sister."

"I didn't know they had more siblings."

Deuce nodded. "Yeah, they're the youngest of ten."

Frankie's eyes grew wide. "Seriously?"

"Of course." He turned to look at her. "That's what happens when you're immortal. You wind up getting married a few times." He looked back towards his cousins. "Theía Euryale got married to a naga- Jivaj- and had four kids. Then, after he died she remarried a manticore, had another three kids, remarried Theíos Luke after her previous husband died...you get it. Three more kids."

Frankie raised an eyebrow. "Three?"

Deuce pursed his lips grimly. "Jenny."

Frankie knitted her eyebrows in remembrance and muttered an apology as she turned away.

"Did you hear about Luke?" Bhavika said in Greek. "Did Ma tell you the news?"

"Yeah, we heard." Seth turned his eyes downward as he answered.

"He got home two days ago," the gorgon-naga continued. "He's doing pretty well considering he lost a leg. He has a wheelchair and everything."

"What's happening with all of the stairs?" Lamia asked. "Are we getting ramps in the house? Or those old person chairs that go on the side of stairs and carry them to the top?"

"Neither. We're getting an elevator."

"Okay, that's pretty neat!"

"Lamia!" Seth snapped.

"Sorry..."

Seth sighed. "Is he going to be alright?"

Bhavika nodded. "Yeah, Ma's taking care of him. He'll be fine."

Seth nodded. "Alright..."

Bhavika smiled. "Don't worry, Talaiporía. It's going to be okay. He lost a limb, not his life."

Seth nodded again, a frown settling into his features.

"Was that all you flew down for?" Deuce asked.

Bhavika nodded. "Basically. Ma knows this one's a worrywart," she said, motioning to her brother.

"Meh," Deuce said. "Less worrywart and more just crippling anxiety."

Bhavika shrugged. "Whatever the case may be, he dwells on things...and she wanted to make sure he was okay. And you know better than anyone that our family would rather send others to show up in person rather than make a phone call, Moró." She glanced down at her phone. "I gotta go. Aaryahi keeps texting me. She and her husband are having problems, and Lakshin doesn't know what he's doing and can't give good advice." She tightened her jaw and shook her head. "Don't get married. Aaryahi's a grown woman, and my husband still doesn't know how to father." She rolled her eyes. "I love that dumba*s though." She blew a kiss to her family members. "Take care now!"

"Have a good flight back to India!" Lamia called.

Bhavika scoffed. "Greece. You know Ma won't let me leave so soon."

Her sister nodded. "You right, you right."

"I'll see you back on the island," Bhavika told her siblings. "You two be safe."

And with that, she was gone.

No, no, no! Ghoulia slammed her hands down on the table she was working at.

This was the nineteenth concoction that she had developed, and this one hadn't worked either. She'd created portals, stink bombs, diamonds, ooze, and even a cure for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but nothing that could fix the hybrids' pain.

Maybe...maybe this'll work. Ghoulia reached into the cabinets above her and grabbed several ingredients. Heating a beaker filled with swamp water, she added yeti hair and basilisk saliva. She let it steep for a few minutes before including a phoenix feather, an ogre eye, and griffin skin into the mixture.

While she let it sit for a few minutes, she flipped through book pages and websites in hopes of finding a cure. After several minutes, she sighed and closed the pages. She squirted a few drops of squid ink before pouring the mixture onto a large sheet of honey-covered wax paper. She sprinkled alaea salt onto the finished product.

Suddenly, the mixture transformed into a strange goop that began swallowing the wax paper. It grew into the size of a small dog before solidifying and crystallizing. Ghoulia picked up the light blue brick of a chemical. Inspecting the sparkling crystals within the product, she sighed and put it to the side with the other rejects.

And there goes number twenty.

Most everyone had gone home, and now, it was just the gorgons, Frankie, Cleo, and Jinafire still at the Gorgon residence. All huddled in random parts of the living room, lounging on the couches, chairs, and floor. Ianthe, however, was digging through the closet to see what she could find. There were several shelves of movies, and she was responsible for picking the one the would watch.

"Pick a kids' movie," Madison offered. "Something Disney or Pixar."

"Nah, go for dumb humor!" Seth said. "Napoleon Dynamite, Revenge of the Nerds, or Scott Pilgrim vs. The World!"

"I have never heard of any of those movies," Jinafire said.

"That's what you get when you hang out with a bunch of hybrids," Lamia said. She ripped one side of a straw wrapper off and put it against her crimson-painted lips. She blew into the straw, and the wrapper flew off and hit the side of Seth's head. However, he was facing the other direction and didn't notice. "You get a mixture of monster and human movies."

"What monster movies do you have?" Frankie asked.

"Uh..." Ianthe skimmed the titles. "The Fang Gang, Night of the Undead, Freakshow, Graveyard Shift, Moontide-"

"Ughhhhhh! Moontide is such a trash movie!" Madison said. "Why do we even have that?"

"When I was in the hospital, they picked up a bunch of random movies to keep me from being too bored," Deuce answered. "That was just one of them."

"Gross."

"You think that was bad?" Seth laughed. "Try Living Ghoul. You know the one about the werewolf who turns into a vampire? That one sucked balls!"

"Honestly!" Viperine agreed. "The special effects makeup team was garbage! They just used those cheap fangs in that you can find at party stores around Halloween."

"You right," Deuce said. "I've seen more realistic vampires on cereal boxes."

"Oooh, Count Chocula slaps though," Seth said. "I could go for a bowl of that sh*t right now."

"You know what's really funny? Those monster movies that are a complete rip off of their normie counterpart," Lamia laughed. "Fright Club, Bat to the Future, Scare-ris Boo-ller's Day Off, Ghostboosters, The Boonies...those are hilarious in that dumb, terrible way."

"Those are the worst," Cleo said. "I'm not watching those."

"Hey..." Ianthe said, trailing off in awe. "You know what we should watch?"

"Oh, gods. Don't tell me...old videos of us?" Madison sighed.

Ianthe gave a sheepish grin and pulled a cardboard box out of the closet, one that was full of old tapes."

"Is that a telekinesis thing?" Frankie asked Maddie, remembering the air elementals' conversation from earlier.

"No," Madison said, "it's a triplet thing."

Deuce laughed. He knew she was right, but to him, it was just funny the way she said it.

"Are you up for it?" Ianthe said, pulling out a tape and shaking it gently.

Jinafire shrugged. "Why not?"

"If it's anything like the flash drive-"

"Whoa, wait, you saw the flash drive?" Seth interrupted.

"Uh, doy," Cleo said with an eye roll. "Viperine gave it to us."

"Oh gods," Deuce said.

"Hey," Lamia said, "I didn't record hundreds of hours of footage for nothing!"

"What, to embarrass us with?" Deuce asked.

"Nope," the oldest gorgon said. "As a memory in case you died."

"Gruesome much?" Ianthe said.

Lamia shrugged. "It came in handy, didn't it?"

Ianthe pulled the box out completely and carried it to the living room. She put it on the floor before grabbing a tape and sliding it into the player. "I don't know which one is which."

"They have dates on them," Viperine said.

"But I don't know what's on them."

"Only one way to find out," Madison said. She grabbed the remote off the ottoman and pressed play.

The tv revealed Lamia, maybe twelve years old, leaning into the camera. "It's early February," she said, "and we just got to America. Things are going swimmingly so far. Mark just finished, and Viperine already tripped up the stairs and hurt herself. So far, things are pretty normal."

"I swear," Lamia said as she watched herself on the screen, "I was basically an OG vlogger."

"You're not wrong," Seth agreed, watching his sister's younger counterpart as she turned the camera around and revealed the stark white bedroom of the old house, the bedroom that used to belong to Madison and Deuce.

"Anything you want to tell the camera?" Lamia asked Viperine, who was sitting on the floor, pulling shards of glass out of her knee with a pair of tweezers. Frankie gagged as she watched; when Lamia said Viperine tripped and hurt herself, she didn't think she meant that Viperine landed on a broken beer bottle that was laying on the floor.

"The reason that people say 'don't drop the soap' instead of 'the shampoo'—even though shampoo bottles fall in the shower way more—is because most men in prison have little to no hair and therefore no use for shampoo," Seth said off camera. Lamia turned the camera around to face him, and he held up his index and middle finger up in front of his face.

"Wise words from Confucius himself," Lamia said.

"You'd better believe it," Seth grinned.

Lamia angled the camera towards the bathroom, where Madison and Deuce stood leaning over the counter to get closer to the mirror.

"No, stop! Don't do that!" Deuce said.

"You're never going to get it out if you don't try," Madison said.

Deuce fanned his eyes before leaning closer to the mirror again.

"Are you good?" Lamia asked from behind the camera. The twins turned to look at their older cousin. Deuce had a black eye that was swelling rapidly. The whites of his eyes were red with pooling blood.

"He can't get the contact out," Madison said.

"Why didn't you just wear sunglasses?" Viperine asked.

"I do when I need to," Deuce said. "My previous black eye just went down, so I was like, 'I'll take advantage of it and wear contacts.' But that didn't stop Dad from giving me another."

Madison grinned. "As if you thought he wouldn't."

"Honestly," Deuce agreed. He put his finger up to his eye again, and after several tries, he was able to remove the contact. He took out the other contact with ease and put his sunglasses on before the others had a chance to blink.

"You guys are just struggling over here," Lamia said behind the camera.

"Hey, it's much better than the alternative," Deuce said with a shrug.

"That's what I'm saying," Madison agreed. She opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a silver sheet with pills inside. "Speaking of, I'm going to need more birth control soon." She pushed one of the pills out of the sheet, and popped it into her mouth, swallowing without water. "You know, a stellar solution would be to not eat as often and to ration better. I drop the weight enough that I don't get my period anymore and can't have babies." She waved the silver sheet gently. "But noooo. That's unhealthy."

"Shut up, wh*re," Lamia said. "You don't get to say sh*t like that."

"Whatever," Madison said. She put the medicine back in the drawer and slammed it shut. "Do you know how much money we'd save?"

"Enough to buy more socks," Viperine said off camera. Lamia panned the camera to the second oldest gorgon, who was digging through the sock drawer to find something. "How are you supposed to hide things in your sock drawer if you don't have socks to fill the drawer?"

Seth snorted. "That's a d*mn good point."

"And tell me why all the socks you have have holes in them!" Viperine cried out. "If I can stick three fingers in it-"

"Hey, try not to mix them up, will ya?" Deuce asked. "Left side is Mock's. Right side is mine. I have bigger feet than her, and she'd kill me if I stretched hers out."

"That is true," Madison said. "I don't have a lot of socks to begin with, and I'd appreciate if you didn't ruin them."

"Wouldn't you know whose are whose though," Seth said. "How do you not know?"

"Well, when they're all black!" Viperine said, pulling three pairs out, all similar shades of black.

Seth and Lamia bust out laughing, and Deuce cracked a grin. Madison smiled to herself.

Suddenly, the scene flipped. Lamia, who was fourteen years old, faced the camera. "Welcome back, I'm here with Madison-" She moved the camera to the left to reveal Madison sitting on the bed behind her, "and Viperine." Viperine leaned next to Maddie to be in the view before waving to the camera. "One of our aunts was complaining about how we always spoke English on the videos instead of Greek. Tell me why that is, Maddie?" The camera zoomed in on the youngest gorgon girl.

"Because their English isn't great, and we'd get in so much trouble if she heard what we were saying," Madison said, looking up from her book. She was reading To Kill a Mockingbird. It was one of her favorites, and she'd read it several times before. It would soon be the last book she would read; if she knew at the time, she'd laugh at the irony.

"Because we agreed that we need to practice our English, and we figured America was the best time to do that," Viperine added. She had a magazine in her lap and was flipping through the glossy pages, cutting pieces out to inspire her for later creations. Currently, she had her scissors to a page that had a woven pattern, one not unlike a wicker basket. That would be such a cool addition to an eye shadow look! she thought.

"But isn't it great talking about people right in front of them?" Lamia said in fluent Greek, sharp and quick.

"Not when racist, old, white women tell you to 'speak American,'" Madison shot back in Greek. Hers was softer, and her words were closer together than her cousin's was, like cursive to Lamia's print, a legato to Lamia's staccato. Both were lovely, but in different ways.

Viperine and Lamia laughed in agreement.

"You're certainly right about that," Viperine agreed. She lost count of how many times she was berated by strangers when she spoke Greek to her mother or Spanish to her father when visiting her family in America. They were always members of the older generations, and the majority of the time, they were white. She thought monsters to be more accepting than humans, but in this case, there wasn't much of a difference.

Seth immediately burst through the door, a large grin stretching his cheeks to the maximum. "Okay, okay," Seth exclaimed, bouncing slightly where he stood, "guess what we did."

"What?" Madison asked. She didn't know if the question was meant to be rhetorical or not, but she didn't want to seem like she was ignoring Seth either.

"You'll never guess what Deuce and I came up with."

"Oh gods," Lamia said.

"I present to you-" Seth paused to open the door. Deuce strolled into the room, modeling his and Seth's creation. "The best idea we've come up with since the oil games!"

"What the f*ck is that?!" Madison screeched.

Lamia bust out laughing. She fell off the chair she was sitting on and hit the floor with a bang.

Viperine peeked up from her magazine to check on her older cousin before looking at Deuce. Her eyes widened. "Oh, dear gods!"

"Cute, huh?" Deuce tilted his feet to model his shoes. They were white Crocs with Christmas lights sticking out through the holes like a porcupine. He stomped his foot, and the lights lit up.

"Why the f*ck-" Madison started.

"No, more like how. How the f*ck?" Deuce took off his right shoe and held it up for the others to get a closer view. "Seth and I decided to combine the two most controversial shoes using the power of motion-sensor, battery-powered Christmas lights and your typical everyday Crocs."

"You bet!" Seth said, kneeling on the floor and slipping on his own pair. Unlike Deuce's, his shoes were black.

"Is that even a thing?" Viperine asked. "Motion-sensor, battery powered Christmas lights?"

Seth shrugged. "I don't know. We found some, didn't we?"

"Why would you create this...ungodly thing?" Madison asked incredulously.

Seth stood up and stomped his right foot like a little kid throwing a tantrum. "They're Twinkie Toes, b*tch!"

Deuce whipped his head around to look at his cousin and laughed wildly. The others joined in immediately.

"Twinkie Toes?" Deuce repeated, wiping a tear from his eye. "Twinkie Toes?!"

"Shut up," Seth said. "Twinkle Toes. You know what I meant."

"Twinkie Toes...you are a twink, Seth," Lamia said.

Frankie turned to look at Seth and Deuce, tears falling down her cheeks. "You really created a crossover between Crocs and Twinkle Toes?" she asked between laughs.

"Of course!" Seth said. "The only problem is that they won't let me live that-" he pointed to the screen- "down."

"They're Twinkie Toes, b*tch!" Deuce said. "It's our favorite inside joke."

"Ooh!" Viperine said. "What's another good inside joke?"

All of a sudden, Lamia yelled, "Cock!" She pronounced it "cow-ck" or "calc," but she spoke while curling her upper lip up tightly and scrunching up her nose, producing a nasally sound.

The Gorgon family all bust out laughing.

"Yes! That's a good one!" Madison said.

"What even is this family?" Cleo asked herself.

Jinafire shrugged.

"What's a twink?" the thirteen-year-old Seth asked. This made the others laugh even harder.

"Stop!" Viperine cried. "I'm going to pee!"

"Do it, coward!" Lamia said.

"Look it up on Urban Dictionary," Madison said through her laughter. "Just...don't do it in public."

"The best part is that Seth is so far from a twink. But you know what he could be?" Deuce said. "Definitely a power bottom."

The gang laughed harder. Seth stood in the center of the room, looking at everyone in confusion.

"F*ck, yessss," Lamia laughed. "Haven't had me one of those in a while."

"Stop that," Viperine said. She grabbed a pillow off the bed and hit Lamia with it. "You're fourteen."

"That's old enough to get some!" Lamia said with a grin. "Especially when you got a good p*ssy."

Seth gagged.

"Don't you ever say that again," Deuce said. "You're our cousin."

"Sister!" Seth groaned.

"What makes it so good?" Madison asked jokingly. She leaned closer, resting her chin on her fist.

"Don't provoke her!" Deuce said.

"Tastes like fruit, not fish!" Lamia said, quoting the Swedish Fish slogan.

"NO!" Deuce yelled.

Meanwhile, the family cackled on the couch, curled over holding their stomachs.

"I forgot about that!" Viperine laughed.

"You guys are so weird," Ianthe said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Welcome to the family!" Lamia hooked Ianthe's neck with her arm and dragged her down. She rubbed her fist on the youngest triplet's scalp as she fought off the older girl. Ianthe tried to push Lamia off of her to no avail. Luckily for her, Lamia let go after a few seconds.

"Is this just something you do for fun?" Frankie asked. "Watch old videos of yourselves?"

"Not usually," Viperine said. "It's mostly for you guys."

"This is true," Lamia said. She grabbed her drink off the coffee table and took a few sips. "I know how we acted. But you don't."

"The project is over, is it not?" Jinafire asked. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

"It is, but if we're all about to be friends, shouldn't you know what you're in for?" Seth asked with a sly grin. The family was crazy and crude, and to outsiders, maybe even a little intimidating. He thought maybe it would be better if they knew before getting in too deep.

"If you think anyone wants to be friends with you," Lamia said with a laugh, "then you'd be highly mistaken."

"Says the ghoul that doesn't even have friends, just f*ck buddies."

"What are you talking about? Two-in-one!"

"You're so disgusting. That's how you get an STD."

"Sl*t shamer! Shut up!"

"Do it."

"Make me."

"You guys," Viperine said with an eye roll. "Are we really going to fight over this?"

"Bicker is a better word," Lamia said. She gently moved her wrist to make the soda in her cup spin slowly, like a mini tornado.

"Regardless, we have company over. And I don't think they want to hear you jabber away."

"We're basically crackhead parrots," Seth exclaimed. He hit Lamia on the arm, making some of her drink spill on the floor. "What's not to love?"

"You're so ugly," Lamia laughed. She accidentally put her foot in the wet spot on the floor, but she didn't seem to care. Her family, her friends, were back.

"Aaaaaand ACTION!" Iris cheered. She watched the scene through the box she made with her fingers. Her thumbs and index fingers made L's as they touched, resembling a mini camera.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kira said. She flipped the page of the book Evangeline and Gwen got for her. Even though she had just received it, she was already halfway through.

Iris groaned. "Have some fun, will ya? We've been locked away on the Other Side for years- literal years, and now that we're out, all you want to do is-" she grimaced, "read."

Kira smacked Iris with the book, closing it for a better weapon but simultaneously using her finger as a bookmark so she didn't lose her spot. "Let me live."

"But you did the same thing when you weren't living!" Iris exclaimed. "Why don't we have some fun? Huh? Sister bonding time."

"Mmmhmmmm," Kira said, her suspicion clearly evident. Her eyes squinted as she stared at her sister, trying to see what she was hiding. "And what exactly would you recommend?"

"I don't know." Iris fell backwards onto her bed. She put her legs up in the air and let them sway gently. "Anything other than sit here in boredom."

"You're too antsy," Kira sighed. "Tell me what you want to do, and maybe I'll join you. Maybe. Depending on what it is."

Iris grinned happily. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She hugged Kira, squeezing her tightly.

"Ow, ow, ow! I can't...breathe..."

"Oh, sorry," Iris said, letting go of her older sister.

Kira inhaled deeply in an attempt to regain her lost oxygen, but she couldn't seem to breathe. No matter how hard she tried, the air just wouldn't enter her lungs. Her heart screamed in her chest, pounding wildly against her chest like a crazed drummer. She grabbed her chest. Her heart was pounding. She was in so much pain. She closed her eyes and tried to take a few breaths to calm her down, but her body refused.

"Kira?"

Oh my god, it hurts so bad.

"Kira, are you okay?"

Please, oh please, not again.

"Kira, no!"

Ir-

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"You can borrow my dress if you want," Viperine said.

"I don't think I'm going to fit," Madison admitted. "I mean, I'm not suuuuuper skinny, but-"

"Madison, you literally have the same body type as Yzma," Lamia said. "I don't wanna hear it."

Deuce's jaw dropped. He slowly turned his face to look at the two, his O-shaped mouth slowly morphing into a grin as he began laughing.

Seth, however, didn't need the time for the insult to settle in, and he immediately started guffawing madly. He clenched his hand into a fist and put it up against his mouth. "Oh, sh*t! She really did her like that!"

Unlike Deuce, when Madison's jaw dropped, it remained that way. Her eyes were wide in shock. "I-, I-" She was at a complete loss of words.

"Ooh, d*mn!" Seth said, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "I mean, we insult each other a lot, but sh*t, you didn't have to do her that dirty."

"Yeah, that insult went hard, didn't it?" Deuce said.

"It's not like I could've helped it," Madison snapped. "You try growing up with a dad that doesn't feed you but once a month. And that was only because Kira died, and he didn't want CPS crawling up his a*s."

"Aw, really?" Lamia said. "That's tough. Try growing up with a dad that's never there."

Deuce and Seth stopped laughing, noticing the change in tone. "Hey, you guys-"

"As if. Ever heard of neglect? Do you need me to spell it out for you?"

"Um, seriously, you guys-"

"Oh, please. You're the one dramatizing and romanticizing your little situation. And for what? Your pathetic pity party?"

Viperine's eyes darted back and forth between the two. "You both need to stop."

"You wanna call my sh*t pathetic?" Madison riposted. "You're the slut that f*cking liked being raped. So what did you do? Go off with literally every guy that gave you the time of the day."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you, considering you were on the streets looking for dick more than I was."

"So being trafficked is my fault?"

"You're the stuck-up b*tch that refuses to ask for help!" Lamia scoffed. "Not to mention, you liked the attention. You could've stopped what was happening to you any time, but you didn't."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I did ask for help?"

"Maybe you just weren't trying hard enough, Mrs. Things-Aren't-Going-My-Way-For-Once-So-I'm-Just-Gonna-Quit-Trying."

"You don't know what I've been through!" Madison screamed. "You don't know that the cops arrived, and everyone who was being pimped off started crying tears of joy because we all thought we were saved. But no. They started raping and recording us, telling us to comply to their sick requests, otherwise they would expose the videos to our family. You don't know that that kinda sh*t happens daily! To get that glimmer of hope only for it to immediately be snuffed out. You don't know anything!"

She suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream. She clenched her chest. Her heart was palpitating. It was being ripped open. Right into two. Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods.

She could hear Deuce's voice. "Shh, it's alright, Mockingbird."

She felt arms wrap around her and pull her into a strong figure. She breathed in Deuce's cologne, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself and quell the pain. Suddenly, she screamed again. Oh my gods.

Her back. It felt like it was torn open. Bursting into flame.

Deuce squeezed her tighter. He put a hand into her hissing snakes and stroked them in an attempt to calm her.

"It's okay, Maddie. Take a deep breath."

Lamia scoffed. "Look there she goes. Faking it for more attention."

That was the last thing she heard before blacking out.

The title is from the song "X ANA X" by Badflower.

The song used in this story was:

"thank u, next" by Ariana Grande