Hey everyone! So, this story sort of came out of nowhere. I've been wanting to do a Devil's Carnival/Repo: The Genetic Opera crossover for a while, but I did not expect for The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls to get into the mix! I guess this is a big rock-opera mashup then. If any of you are familiar with my story 'Broken Crown', this story is similar. It's an AU with characters from different fandoms working together, with many crossover ships. It's also a bit OOC for the characters from The Asylum, seeing as the story takes place in the future instead of the past and their dialect has changed. This story takes place in the Repo universe, but rest assured I'll write a crossover taking place in the carnival at some point. I'm not good at finishing chapter stories, and reviews help encourage me! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

"New lesson, multiplication. What's three times twelve?"

"June, we've already gone over this. Thirty-six."

June sighed as she rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger. "Right, right…sorry, I keep forgetting. How about you go watch TV or something, and we can start a new lesson when Cora gets home?"

Emily shrugged and raced over to the old television set, happy to get out of homeschooling. She turned on her favorite movie, an oldie from her mother's childhood, Sucker Punch. June had no idea why a ten-year-old would want to watch a movie from forty-five years ago, but decided not to question it.

"Remember to practice the violin later."

Emily chuckled. "How could I forget?"

June smiled. Emily loved her grandfather's violin more than anything she owned, except maybe her favorite (and only) stuffed animal, Suffer the bear. Originally, June had been averse to giving Emily a beat up, patchy old bear for Christmas, but seeing as it was all June could pay for, she took the risk of buying it. Luckily Emily loved it. Sometimes, June wondered if Emily had faked loving it at first. The poor child knew that in this day and age, 2056, money was hard to come by, and June of all people was lacking in it.

June sighed as she looked at Emily's violin, Emily was such a magnificent player, she deserved a violin that wasn't so weathered and old. However, considering June could barely scrap together enough money to buy groceries on a day-to-day basis, what with her father blowing all their money on street zydrate, her grandfather's violin would have to do.

As June sat in the kitchen of their cozy Victorian house, she reflected once again on just how grateful she was that her mother had paid the entire mortgage on their house before passing. Now, they were living off the money left to June and Emily (the money that their father hadn't stolen), and the little money Cora made singing with her group 'His Ladies of Virtue'. June shuddered, thinking that Cora was probably performing at some bar her father was in attendance to, getting harassed by scalpel-sluts. Cora would never complain, though, knowing June already had too many worries. Cora was more focused and better at homeschooling Emily as well, while June managed their financial situation.

After Cora's parents died from organ failure (the same way June's mom, and half the population, died), Cora moved in with June and Emily to help financially. She ended up having to sell her house and use her inherited money for groceries, although that was already burned through. June's father hardly cared, after all, he was rarely home, often spotted in the sewer making out with some teenage girl hooked on the knife.

As June tried to erase the image of her father and a woman twenty years younger together, Cora burst through the door. After removing her gas mask, she shouted enthusiastically, "I'm home!"

June ran up to hug Cora. "Cora! I'm glad you're back. Can you-"

"Help Emily with her studies? I'm on it," finished Cora. June chuckled. Cora knew her too well. Cora, unlike June, never mixed up the lesson plans. Cora shoved a bag into June's arms. "Here, I bought dinner while I was out."

"Great, I'm starving," murmured June. And it was true. The fridge was practically empty during lunch time, so June had to make Emily a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with possibly-moldy bread, while June ate nothing, claiming that she was 'not hungry', so Emily wouldn't worry.

"Emily, over here," shouted Cora, voice dripping with fake-enthusiasm.

"Aww man," teased Emily, though she clearly wasn't unhappy. She ejected the DVD from the player (yes, they were incredibly old fashioned with a DVD player, since they didn't have money for any modern technology beyond holographic watches) and placed it with her other favorite movies, Rocky Horror, Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Black Swan, etc.

As Cora began Emily's lesson and June unpacked dinner (a particularly scrawny chicken and some frozen vegetables), June though back to junior high, before all the schools were shut down. Before the organ crisis was so bad, people could no longer mingle in crowded places around possibly diseased individuals. Before every child became homeschooled and friendless. A nostalgic smile crossed June's face as she remembered seventh grade, the last year she would attend school. She was removed not just because of the epidemic, but also because her father refused to pay tuition any longer.

School had been…difficult, to say the least. There was no 'recess', which her mother told her was an ancient tradition where children played outside, before the air became toxic. The sky was always dark as it had been for as long as June could remember, so staying awake was a daily challenge. The sun was a fairytale she only knew existed because of her mother's stories. June, unlike all the other children, preferred to wear bright colors as opposed to black and white, and often wore fanciful and vaudevillian clothing as opposed to drab Victorian-dress. Her mother had encouraged her individuality, but after being called 'scalpel-slut' for half of junior high, June stuck to white corsets and wrap skirts, using glitter to express herself. At least it was better than black. She had been so carefree and ambitious and flamboyant back then. Nowadays, June had to sew her own clothing, not having enough money to even buy cheap thrift-store clothes.

June was snapped out of her thoughts by Emily complaining. "Why can't we move on to English? Math is boring, and I want to finish Jane Eyre!"

Cora sighed. "Emily, you already speak better English than both me and your sister, and you're ten years younger than us. Math is more important right now."

June sighed. She knew the truth: Emily had already blazed through Hamlet, Lolita, The Lady of Shalott, Aesop's fables, To the Lighthouse, A Room of One's Own, Wildthorn, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Girl Interrupted, House of Furies, Ten Days in a Madhouse, and some book about the resurgence of the bubonic plague in Victorian England. There was quite literally no other book in their house beside Jane Eyre. The library was too far for June to make the journey and the walk would be too dangerous, what with the poison air and raving ladies of the night. Not to mention, June didn't have the money to buy books, let alone have them shipped to her house. The only time the journey would be worth the risk was to buy a book as a Christmas present, which was sadly the only time Emily got new things.

Luckily, Cora's reasoning was enough for Emily, and she didn't question her as Cora continues the lesson.

Half-way through, however, Emily started to cough. June hoped the coughing would end quickly, but the coughing only got juicier and louder as it carried on. Cora quickly ran to get Emily a cup of water, while June hurried to Emily's side to rub Emily's back. "Are you feeling any better, Em?" asked June, softly.

Emily couldn't speak, and continued to cough. After about five minutes, Emily choked out. "I'm fine. Just a bad cold."

June frowned sympathetically. Emily tried not to show the pain on her face for fear of worrying June, but June knew better. These coughing spells used to be rare, but they were becoming more frequent as of late. One thing was for sure: This was no little cold.

June didn't know what to do. The nearest doctor lived ten miles away, and although June would gladly make the journey for Emily's sake, June was pretty sure the doctor couldn't write. Crucifixus was a poor area after all, and the people were desperate enough to accept a man who could read with herbs and a lab coat as the 'town doctor', without any regard for medical training or even a college degree.

June pressed a kiss to Emily's forehead, as Emily took a swig of water. "Is your throat still dry?" asked June.

"No, I feel better now," said Emily, her voice still a bit rough.

"Okay," June sighed in relief.

"How about we start up a movie?" Cora suggested. "Skip the lesson plan for today."

Emily looked thrilled by Cora's suggestion, and June couldn't deny that smile. "Can we watch 'If I Stay'?" Emily loved movies featuring string instrument players.

June wasn't too fond of the idea of her younger sister watching the sexual and depressing scenes, but if it took Emily's mind off her growing sickness, who was she to say no? "Sure sis, whatever you want."

Ten minutes later, June, Cora, and Emily were snuggled on the couch in front of the television, eating some slightly-stale popcorn Cora had found in the pantry. A blissful smile crossed June's face: These moments, the moments when they could just relax as a family, were the only moments June didn't stress about being broke and unemployed and uninsured.

When the movie finished, the girls prepared for dinner, and June already knew their father wouldn't be coming home that night. June set the table and lit some almost-melted candles in the dining room with all its gothic splendor while Cora and Emily washed their hands. Just the thought made June worry about how she'd pay for plumbing and electricity in the coming months – if June didn't have a TV to distract Emily from their financial crisis, what would June do? How would she wash the dishes, when god knows she couldn't pay for a constant stream of disposable silverware? Maybe she'd have to sell their holographic watches…but she wouldn't feel safe, unable to contact Cora.

When they started eating, Emily praised June's cooking and Cora's good judgement in picking a chicken, but June knew the sweet girl was lying. June herself could barely choke down the meal: the chicken seemed to be all fat and bone with burnt skin and tough meat, while the frozen vegetables tasted like insulation.

Once the meal was finished, Cora offered to do the dishes while June helped Emily prepare for sleep. Emily knew she was probably old enough to get ready on her own, but she enjoyed the moments alone with her sister when there weren't lessons to learn or clothes to fix or various other things to do.

Emily threw on a white nightdress with a little red heart patch over where her actual heart was, with a pattern of holes along the hem. The nightdress came down to her waist on her left side, but draped over her leg on her right side.

June sat on Emily's bed, smiling wistfully but lost in thought. Emily must've noticed this, because not long after she'd finished changing, Emily came to sit beside June. "June, are you okay?"

June blinked in surprise, snapping out of her reverie. "Yes…I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine too, you've just…seemed kind of worried today," Emily said, softly.

June sighed. "Don't worry about me, Cora will help me figure out a few things."

Emily nodded silently and climbed into her bed, which was covered with a plastic tarp to prevent toxic air from seeping in while she slept. June and Cora had one over their bed, too. June smiled, and lifted up the plastic tarp to plant a kiss on Emily's forehead. "I love you, Emily. You're the best sister in the world." And it was true. Emily rarely complained, and, if June was honest with herself, the need to care for Emily was probably the only reason she hadn't gone mad and ran off into the night already, like the majority of her peers.

Emily smiled, and pulled Suffer the bear closer to herself. "Love you too, June."

With that, Emily closed her eyes and June stood up to leave. As June flicked the light switch, flooding the room with darkness, June took one last look at Emily, knowing she would do anything for the young girl behind the tarp.

"June, ready for bed?" called Cora, softly. June whirled around to find Cora climbing the stairs, and slowly closed Emily's door.

"Yeah, I'm ready," June murmured.

"What's wrong?" asked Cora.

June sighed. "I'll tell you when Emily's out of ear shot."

After putting on their own nightgowns; long, white, and silky as opposed to Emily's shorter cotton nightdress; Cora turned on the ancient radio in their room. Some Mozart concertinos began to play, and June was brought back to the days when Emily would play the violin with her friend Sachiko, before Sachiko died from the epidemic. Cora and June sat beside each other on their bed, avoiding the bucket meant to catch leaks in the roof.

"I'm worried, Cora," whispered June. "I wish we could learn how plumbing works, or how electric circuits function, or how to fix a leaky roof, but let's be honest: The resourced just aren't available to us. The library is miles away, and there's no way we could afford some fancy lesson. Beside the middle-grade textbooks Emily has, we're basically cut off from the world's knowledge."

"You can look up information on the holographic watches," suggested Cora.

June shook her head. "I already tried. Sanitarium's leaders control what information gets to the outer regions, and it would seem Crucifixus is on the scarce side of knowledge. Besides, even if I could fix the plumbing or electricity or roof, I don't have the materials to work with. No hammer, no nails, and the only wood we have is for the fireplace, and even that's diminishing. Do we even have an axe in this house?"

Cora sighed. "Not that I know of."

"Exactly," sighed June. "Living off my mother's will money has worked for now, but for how much longer? We only have a few hundred dollars left, and the banks around us have all shut down."

"Damn economic crisis…" murmured Cora. "What if I try to get a job as a waitress in the clubs I perform at?"

"You know it's not safe to have prolonged exposure to the air, even with a gas mask. You'd go as crazy as the scalpel-sluts."

"Hmm…" Cora pondered their options. "What if we sell furniture?"

"Who would buy from us?" cried June. "All the furniture is weathered and moth-eaten and probably forty years old. Besides, most of the people are homeless and crazy. What would they need furniture for?" June shuddered. Homeless. That was a fate worse than death in Crucifixus. Those with weaker lungs could die from the poison air, and for those that didn't die, they'd usually become so crazy and desperate that they'd either resort to eating freshly buried bodies or become hooked on street zydrate. The only safe place would be the sewer where the poison air didn't seem to reach, but even then there would be foul water and rats crawling everywhere. No, June could not allow her family to end up on the streets, but if they ran out of basic human resources, or they couldn't afford insulation that was resistant to toxic air and the house became uninhabitable…then what?

As if Cora read her mind, she responded. "June, we're not going to become homeless. Your mother already paid mortgage, remember?"

"Cora, we already have a leak in the roof," said June. "If we get more holes, the toxic air might seep into the house, and then we'd be forced to evacuate. Not to mention, if we run out of money for food, we'll have to join the scavengers on the street or move and find cheaper-"

Before June could continue to spiral into a panic, Cora grabbed her hand. "June," she strongly said. "Calm down. Take a deep breath. We'll figure this out, like we always do. Just get some rest and we can talk about this in the morning, when you're feeling less stressed."

June sighed. Sleeping wouldn't quell her nerves: she never told Cora, but she often had nightmares about their future. "Sleeping doesn't magically make our problems go away."

Cora pulled June into a tight hug. "We'll figure something out. If worst comes to worst, I'll become a waitress and we'll find a job for you. Emily's almost old enough to be home alone, and it's not like anyone's going to care if she's alone. Heck, there's twelve year olds getting plastic surgery all throughout Crucifixus. Have you seen the news lately? Girls as young as eleven have been prostituting. The cops have bigger issues than one girl home alone. We'll also find a way to sell the furniture. We make our own clothes, right? We can make some neat stuff and fix up whatever is worn out and host a garage sale."

June gave a tiny smile. "Thanks Cora, you always know what to do. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Cora blushed. "Oh, you'd survive. You're smarter than you think."

June chuckled. "Well, I don't know about that…"

"Let's get some shut-eye," Cora murmured with a yawn, as she turned off the antique lamp beside their shared bed. Cora wrapped her arms around June as they fell asleep, and for once, June didn't dream of the disastrous future that may lay in store for them.

In the morning, June woke with a yawn and a stretch. She looked around, but Cora wasn't beside her. A sizzling sound and the smell of eggs wafting through the thin floorboards confirmed that Cora was making breakfast. June smiled, and rose to change out of her nightdress.

After throwing on a cream-colored blouse with a cute lacy collar and a long, sparkly, layered white skirt, June tied a lace choker around her neck and stepped into some dainty white slippers.

June exited her room and decided to wake up Emily, after checking her holographic watch and seeing that it was nine o' clock. Cora let her sleep in, bless her soul.

June knocked on Emily's door, whispering. "Emily? Emily, are you awake?"

No response. June sighed and slowly opened the door. Emily laid asleep, still in bed. June sat down on the bed beside Emily and lightly shook her shoulder. "Emily? Wake up, sleepy girl. Time to start the day." To June's surprise, Emily still slept on. June shouted a little louder, shaking Emily a little harder. "Emily?! Emily!"

"What's going on?" screamed Cora, from downstairs.

June took a few panicked breaths before screaming. "Emily won't wake up!"

Oh no! What do you guys think is wrong with Emily? Leave your thoughts in the reviews, along with any suggestion for the story. I already have an idea of how things will go, but I can still change things. Anyway, I bet some of you are wondering why Emily is a child, right? Well, I de-aged all the Asylum characters, because it felt right. I don't want a bunch of teenagers running around doing stuff, it's nice to have a mix of ages. Plus, being younger will be very important in future chapters…By the way, I am aware that Emilie Autumn has said some negative stuff about Sucker Punch, but the movie is so like the Asylum I just had to make it Emily's favorite movie. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed! I'm hoping to post chapter 2 soon, but I'm going to a wedding so some chapters may be delayed. Bye for now!