Rest in Peace, Luke Perry.

Thank you for bringing Fred Andrews to life on the silver screen.

You live on the hearts of all your fans, friends, family and loved ones.

"Dad, are you okay?"

Fred Andrews stood by the kitchen window the next morning, tugging at the silver horse pendant around his neck as Archie walked downstairs.

"I should've known," he answered in a grim voice "I should've known Clifford Blossom killed that boy."

"Dad, no one could've seen this coming," Archie insisted gently. "How could you have known?"

"Because I know him, Archie. Knew him," Fred corrected, still coming to terms with the fact that Clifford Blossom was dead "We grew up together, just like our fathers grew up together. Your grandfather practically dragged me and your uncle Owen to Thornhill every week for Sunday dinner until I was your age."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" Archie asked "Why didn't you tell me you and Clifford were friends?"

"Clifford Blossom was never my friend," Fred scoffed "Claudius was."

"Who?"

"Claudius Blossom. Clifford's twin brother." Fred felt the faintest of smiles tug at his lips as he recalled the long-buried memories of his childhood at Thornhill, playing with toy soldiers with a shy, red-headed boy on the Blossom's living room floor "He was my best friend."

"What happened to him?"

"Clifford happened," Fred answered with the hint of a snarl "Before we started high school, the Blossom brothers went camping up by Shadowlake. Claudius never came back. Clifford said he ran away, and since he was the town golden boy, everyone believed him."

"Except you," Archie realized "You really think Clifford Blossom killed his own brother?"

"Now more than ever. Claudius was ten minutes older than Clifford. Which meant the position of Blossom Maple CEO was supposed to go to him. Clifford killed his brother for money. Just like he killed his son." Fred sighed as he ran a weary hand over his face. He and Mary moved back to Riverdale to make his transition from war life easier, to get away from the shadow of death that seemed to follow him everywhere since Iraq. Now it seemed that shadow had finally made its way here. "It's getting late," he told Archie "You better get going to school."

"What about Mickey?"

"His flight won't land for a few hours. No need for both you boys to miss school."

"So, they wouldn't let you go either, huh?"

"Nope."

Betty Cooper walked side-by-side with Archie as they made their way to school, the childhood friends both disappointed in their parents refusal to let them meet their siblings and Reggie at the airport.

"My mom let my dad move back in," Betty informed sourly "They dug our old cribs out of the attic for the twins. Started to talking about turning their home office into a nursery.

"You don't sound too happy about that."

"Because it's not real Archie! My parents are acting like the last three months didn't happen. Like we're some perfect family," she criticized "and it's driving me cra-,"

Archie frowned as his best friend quickly cut herself off, the frightened look on her face making him worried. "Betty, what's wrong?"

"It happened again. The blackouts."

Archie felt his stomach twist up in knots she showed him the fresh cuts on her palms. "When?"

"Last night, I think. When I woke up this morning, my room was trashed and I was holding an empty bottle of my dad's gin. I took my medication, Archie. I've been taking my medication," she insisted in a trembling voice "every day since Everwoods forest, I swear. But the blackouts keep coming."

Fear wasn't enough to describe the look on Betty's face. This was terror. Pure terror. And it killed Archie that he didn't know how to stop it. "We need to tell your parents."

"No."

"Betty, you need help. What if you have another blackout?" Archie feared "What if you get out the house? What if you come to in another town? What if-?"

"You promised Arch," Betty reminded in a trembling voice, her soft green eyes begging her best friend to keep his word "You promised."

"And I want to keep that promise. I want to help you. But I can't," Archie confessed painfully "and you need someone who can."

"Polly. She's been researching my symptoms for weeks. She's thinks she's close to a diagnosis. Just give her a little time Arch, please."

Archie felt his willpower crumble at the look on Betty's face. "One week. She's got one week," he repeated strictly "to find a diagnosis. Or we tell the others. Mickey, Kevin, Veronica, Jughead. Deal?"

"Deal."

Archie wrapped a hand around his best friend's shoulders ad she took a shaky breath. "Everything's going to be okay Betty. I promise."

"Ahh. Home sweet home." Reggie Mantle took a deep breath as he walked out of the Riverdale airport, grateful to be back home and far away from Vancouver and Blossom drug cartel. "Next time we go on vacation, let's go to Hawaii," he requested "Nothing bad ever happens in Hawaii."

"Guys." Mickey drew his friends' attention to the curb, where Fred, Alice, Hal, Marty and Melinda Mantle were waiting for them. The blue-eyed twin felt his stomach start doing flips as he stood less than foot away from his father, the look on his face bringing Mickey to a grim conclusion. "You know."

Fred nodded.

"How?"

"The US consulate called," Fred answered "Told us how proud we should be that our kids took down a drug-trafficking ring while on vacation."

"We do the man a favor and he rats us out?" Reggie questioned.

"We're grounded for life, aren't we?" Polly assumed.

"You should be," Alice said in a stern voice "But right now, we're just glad you're all safe."

The three teenagers let out a shared sigh of relief as their parents pulled them into a series of warm hugs.

"Wait until you get home Polly," Alice told her, leading her child through the parking lot as the Andrews and the Mantles did the same "Your father dug out your cribs for the twins. And we're going to turn the office into the most beautiful nursery, and I found these beautiful color swatches at the-,"

"I want to go back to school."

All eyes fell to the expecting mother as she blurted out her sudden request.

"Please? Just until the babies are born?" she stipulated "I miss my friends. I miss...feeling normal."

"Polly I understand," Alice told her in a deeply sympathetic look "believe me, I do. But baby, you are very pregnant. And if the kids at school see you like this-,"

"Anyone who tries to give her a hard time is going to have to answer to us," Mickey promised.

"We just flew to another country, took down a drug cartel, and brought your daughter home without a scratch," Reggie reminded "You think can't handle some high school bullies?"

Alice sighed. She didn't want to say yes, but also didn't want to risk driving Polly away again. "Okay. I'll get the registration papers from the school and you should be able to start tomorrow," she agreed, causing Polly to give her another hug.

Fred chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Mickey's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, son. But no more secrets, okay?"

"Does that mean you want to know about this?"

Fred tilted his head as Mickey drew his attention to the bandage on the corner of his forehead. "Yeah?"

"Cheryl's crazy aunt hit me with a gun."

"You're bluffing."

"I'm telling you it's the truth," Mickey insisted. The blue-eyed twin sat in the principal's office with Fred and Archie, the blue-eyed twin wearing his brown leather jacket over a navy blue Riverdale baseball hoodie, dark jeans and boots. He'd been telling all that had happened all that had happened while he was in Vancouver.

There was just one detail Archie couldn't seem to wrap his head around. "There is no way you met Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist."

"Then how did I get you this for a birthday present?" Mickey reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone for his brother to see, showing him a recording of the blonde actress in her costume outside her trailer.

"Hi Archie!" she said with a warm smile "Thank so much for watching the show and I hope you have very happy birthday."

Archie's eyes widened as Melissa blew him a kiss during the final seconds of the video. "You are the best brother ever."
"I know," Mickey said with a smirk. His brother had been crushing on Melissa since the show first started.

"Glad to know you kids had some fun while you were chasing bad guys," Fred said with a chuckle "Listen, I wanted to talk to you boys about the custody battle."

Mickey winced, remembering how he promised to side with Mary at the trial. "Dad, before you say anything-,"

"It's over. There's not going to be a trial. Your mother and I had a little talk," Fred explained "we decided to sign Mickey's settlement."

"I thought Mayor McCoy wrote the settlement," Archie commented.

"I gave her a list of my ideas. Asked her to add some lawyer words and make it official. We'll have to spend the summer in Chicago but for the rest of the year," Mickey's face was locked in a state of disbelief "We get to stay?"

"You get to stay." Fred confirmed.

Archie was stunned. "How did you get Mom to back down?"

"I didn't. Veronica did. I don't know what she said to Mary but it was enough to get her to-," Fred's eyes widened as Archie shot up from his seat and walked out the office "Where's he going?"

Archie's heart raced as he marched from the principal's office to the cafeteria, where he spotted Veronica sitting down for lunch with Betty, Kevin, Jughead, Reggie and Josie, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest at the sight of her. "Ronnie."

The New York native barely had time to look up as the brown-eyed twin called her name, right before he gave her kiss that made her heart race and her eyes see stars, while their friends looked on with dropped jaws.

"Oh my God," Kevin gasped.

Before it could go any further, Mickey caught up with his brother and pulled him back the collar of his shirt, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "That's just Archie-Boy's special way of saying thank you, Veronica."

"For what?" she asked, trying to ignore the growing blush in her cheeks as she gasped for air.

"Our mom backed down. We don't have to move to Chicago."

"Whoo!" Reggie's face broke into a massive grin as he pulled his best friend into an ecstatic hug. "This day just keeps getting better, baby!"

"You mean it?" Veronica felt a smile pull at the corners of her lips as she looked into Archie's eyes "You really get to stay?"

"Thanks to you," he confirmed, looking at her like she was made of diamonds. "Whatever you said to her, it worked."

"I just told her how I felt. I wasn't expecting to change her mind."

"But you did. Thank you, sìthiche," Archie told her, in a deeply grateful tone.

"So does this mean you two are a thing now?" Jughead asked.

Veronica felt her cheeks turn red hot at the look on Archie's face. "Yes, it does. B," The New York native gave her best friend a deeply apologetic look "We didn't want you to find out this way."

"It's okay V," Betty told her with a reassuring smile "If you guys want to be together, I'm happy for you."

As Veronica smiled, Archie felt a strange feeling settle in his stomach, remembering how he couldn't bring himself to pull away when...Elizabeth tried to kiss him. "Thanks, Betty."

"Okay, now that Betty has given her blessing, we need to get a double date on the books," Mickey insisted, gesturing between himself and Archie "Cheryl has been waiting for you two to get together for-," the young baseball player's eyes nearly fell out of his head "Oh my God."

"What is it?" Archie asked.

"Cheryl. She thinks I'm moving to Chicago. I got to go tell her!"

"She's not here."

Mickey stopped moving after he got up from his seat, looking over his shoulder after Josie spoke. "Then where is she?"

Cheryl Blossom stood with her mother in the Thornhill barn, her cheeks covered in a river of tears from her father's funeral.

"Why are you crying?" Penelope asked with a scoff "You hated him."

"Don't say that Mommy," Cheryl protested in a weak and timid voice. She did love Clifford. He may have been distant, but at least he never hurt her. Until now.

SMACK!

The gothic heroine let out a whimper as her mother slapped her across the face, her cheek still sensitive from her last beating.

"Never tell me what to do," Penelope hissed "or I'll give you something to cry about," she promised causing Cheryl to shrink into herself as Penelope began to pace around the barn, the floor still sticky from the male syrup Sheriff Keller and his men spilled when they raided the house.

"This family is cursed," she said bitterly "ever since the original murder, when brother butchered brother. Who will the grim reaper take next? You? Me? Maybe Clifford had the right idea. Better to just end it all then spend a lifetime in this miserable limbo."

As her mother headed back inside, Cheryl felt her gaze drift up to the rafters, watching the rope her father used to hang himself as it swung back and forth.

"The Blossom family has been selling and mass-producing drugs for generations. Authorities are already rounding up Cheryl's relatives and they've seized all their accounts, digging into every crevice and corner of their lives." Veronica sighed as she recalled how ruthless the authorities were when they knocked on her door in the New York "and they're only just getting started."

Mickey ran a guilt-ridden hand over his face. "This is our fault."

"No it isn't," Archie insisted.

"Bro, we took down a boatload of bad guys," Reggie reminded, wearing his varsity jacket over a black hoodie, jeans and high-tops.

"And turned Cheryl's life upside down after we drove her father to suicide less than a minute after she found out he killed her brother," Mickey groaned as he rested his head on the table. "She's never going to talk to me again."

"Cheryl loves you," Veronica reminded "and when she comes back to school tomorrow, I'm sure you two will work things out."

"In the meantime, maybe you could help us with another problem?" Betty requested.

"My dad says that the Riverdale drug trade should've gone comatose after the Blossoms went down," Kevin explained "but every C.I. says there's more dope on the streets than usual."

"Must be a new player," Micky theorized "Someone trying to take Clifford's spot as king of the hill."

"That was fast," Reggie commented.

"Whoever it is, they've got their own private army of dealers," Jughead added "whoever's selling this stuff, it's not the Serpents. My dad told me and Sheriff Keller himself."

"But you wouldn't know that if you talked to mayor McCoy," Betty criticized "She won't even admit that Clifford Blossom was the one behind Jason Blossom's murder. She's putting all the blame on the Serpents."

"Maybe that's because she knows it'll do more harm than good," Josie defended, raising her head off of Reggie's shoulder "The 75th Jubilee is less than a week away. If it doesn't go well, Riverdale's economy won't survive long enough for SoDale to create long-term jobs. Who do you think's going to spend money at a party celebrating a town founded by a family of drug-dealing child killers?"

"Since when is the truth less important than making money? If no one else is going to stand up for the Serpents, then I will," Betty decided, pulling out a pen and notebook from her bag "I'm going to write an article and I'm going to put in the Blue & Gold."

"You have got to be kidding me." All eyes turned to Reggie Mantle as he spoke, his eyes burning with a long heated hatred "Those low lives got one of my Bulldog brothers killed and you want to defend them?"

"My father didn't kill Jason Blossom," Jughead reminded sharply.

"He sold him out!" Reggie shouted, shooting up from his seat "Served him up to Clifford Blossom on a plate. And he's the leader of a bunch of Harley-riding, Neo-Nazi psychos!"

"What did you say!?"

"Jug, don't." Archie tried to keep his best friend from shooting up from his seat, his arm slipping right through his grasp.

"I said that your father is a racist, boozed-soaked thug," Reggie snarled "who got one of my best friends killed, a seventeen year-old kid who was ten times the man FP Jones could ever hope to be. And I hope the judges give him the electric chair."

Mickey's eyes widened as Jughead lunged at Reggie from across the table, causing the Andrews brothers to quickly pull them apart.

"Cool it!" Mickey snapped "Both of you!"

"You're on his side?" Reggie questioned "After what the Serpents did to my family?"

"I'm not on anybody's side. Reggie!" Mickey sighed as his best friend turned around and marched out, shoving his way past Moose and Midge.

"I cannot stand that guy," Jughead huffed "and where does he get off calling my father a racist?"

"For two of the smartest people I know, you can be really stupid sometimes," Josie told Betty and Jughead "Reggie's brother was attacked by the Southside Serpents when he was our age. Two of them had Nazi tattoos."

"No. No," Jughead repeated fiercely "No way my dad would let guys like that into the Serpents."

"But he did," Mickey disputed grimly.

"And how do you know that?" Jughead questioned angrily "Because Reggie told you?"

"Because I was there. Reggie and I were in the back seat of Oliver's car when the Serpents beat him half to death." Mickey felt his hands ball into the fists as the gruesome memory replayed in his head "We saw the whole thing."

"Hey tiger. You okay?"

Josie found Reggie alone in the gym, a visibly shaken and angry look on his face.

"I'm fine," Reggie lied, not looking up from the floor.

Josie stayed silent as she sat down next to him, eventually asking the question. "Why didn't you tell me you saw the Serpents attack your brother?"

Reggie shrugged, not even bothered that Mickey had told her. "Most people wouldn't understand."

"I'm not most people. Do you have any idea how much hatemail my mom gets from the Southside everyday?" Josie asked "How scared I was when I first found them hidden in her desk when she was running for office?"

"Sensitivity isn't too popular in the Mantle house. My stepdad has a saying: be like stone, don't cry."

Josie reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You don't have to be stone around me," she whispered "How old were you when-?"

"Eleven," Reggie answered "Ollie was on his way back from getting us popcorn. The Serpents, they came out of nowhere. They had beers in their hands and they...threw their snacks at him. And when Ollie tried to fight back, they started hitting him. And when he fell down, they started, they started laugh-," The varsity quarterback quickly cleared his throat as his voice started to tremble, blinking rapidly as his eyes stung with tears. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Josie. I can't talk about it."

"Okay honey." she permitted, gently rubbing his shoulders. The look on his face…it reminded her of when her grandfather talked about the beatings he got during the civil rights marches down south "The Pussycats are singing Astronaut at the Jubilee. I have the recording of our last rehearsal on my phone. Do you want to hear it?"

Reggie nodded, let out a soft sniffle as Josie placed one of her headphones in his ear, allowing him to hear the Pussycats' rendition of the song. The leader of the Riverdale Bulldogs stayed silent as he took a deep breath, letting the song wash over him, his face softening he finally raised his gaze from the floor and met Josie's eyes, her dark brown orbs looking back at his, a genuine connection shared between them, right before they shared a soft, gentle kiss.

"Betty, you got a minute?"

Archie found his best friend working alone in the Blue & Gold, working on her Pro-Serpent article.

"Sure. What is it, Arch?"

"I just wanted to check on you. You know, the last time you said you were okay with me and Veronica-,"

"Even though I wasn't." The blonde-haired girl smiled at the her best friend's concerned expression "But this time I am. I promise."

"Good. That's good," Archie repeated as his shoulders relaxed.

"So, you and Veronica?"

"Yeah." The brown-eyed twin felt a smile appear on his face at the mention of the raven-haired princess "I like her, a lot. She's amazing. About as amazing as the girl who helped me through my mini-depression attack last night," he added, causing his best friend to blush "You know Betty," Archie felt his heart speed up as he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, wrapping his fingers around the old Chronicles of Narnia book "A little part of me always thought-,"

"You know, we're both so lucky," Betty interrupted quickly, the look on his face causing her nails to dig into her palms "Don't you think? That we've both found the people we've the people that we're supposed to be with? And that we're all friends? I mean, who would've thought at the beginning of the school year?"

Archie let go of the book as he forced a smile. "Yeah. Who would've thought? I'm, uh, I'm going to get to class. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay. Arch?" Betty gave her best friend a warm smile as he stood in the office doorway "I'm really glad you're staying."

Archie smiled. "Me too, aingeal."

As he walked out, Betty reached into her backpack and pulled out an old photograph of her and Archie, their faces encased in a massive heart drawn in pink lipstick.

Archie sighed as he leaned against the lockers across from the newspaper office, the Chronicles of Narnia book feeling as if it suddenly weighed ten tons in his hands, staring at the USB drive taped to the inside front cover. It was a copy of the song he'd written for Betty. He wanted to her have it in case he had to move to Chicago. But now that he was staying...dear God, what was wrong with him?

With a deep sigh, the brown-eyed twin ripped the flash drive from the inside of the book and threw it in the trash, slipping the book into his backpack as he headed down the hall. This was for the best. Things were better this way. Betty had Jughead. Archie had Veronica. And the four of them were all friends. Best friends. Betty and Archie may not end up as some great love story, but their friendship would be one for the ages. And that was enough. It had to be enough.

As he walked down the hall, Archie founds his steps leading him to Veronica's locker, where the raven-haired princess was grabbing books for her next class. "Hey."

"Hi."

Archie felt his smile widen as he played with her fingers. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Little homework, helping my mom get ready for Daddy's return."

"Think you could spare a couple hours to have dinner with me at Pop's?"

Veronica gave him a teasing smile. "Are you asking me on a date, Archiekins?"

"If I was, would you say yes?"

"Absolutely."

Archie smiled as the two of them a soft yet passionate kiss, ready to face his future with Veronica and leave his feelings for Betty in the past.

Fred Andrews was not happy. After dropping Mickey off at school, and making sure that the joint custody settlement had been filed, the former Army Ranger made his way to work, where he found his entire crew had been replaced. There was only explanation: Hermione.

The construction worker marched into his office, his eyes blazing like a raging volcano as he glared at the raven-haired mother sitting at his desk. "You have got some nerve."

"What is it this time, Fred?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the papers stacked in front of her.

"My crew," he snarled "You replaced my. Crew. Why?"

"The mayor and the Sheriff have declared open season on the Southside Serpents. I had to secure us a workforce that didn't include Riverdale's most wanted," Hermione explained logically.

"Those men stood by me when no one else did. I don't turn my back on people who support me. And where did you get so many men so fast?" Fred asked.

"I made a call to my brother. He had some employees in Chicago looking to leave the city behind."

Vincero. Of course. "This is my company, Hermione," Fred reminded sharply " You can't just make decisions like you own the place."

"Last time I checked, Andrews Construction was under the employment of Lodge Industries," Hermione countered "And I will do whatever it takes to ensure its success."

"You gave me twenty percent of the SoDale shares. That gives me more than a right to say how this project is run."

"Funny you should mention that," Hermione commented, rising from her seat "I'm going to need those shares back. It's not like you need them anymore, now that the case is over. And do you really want to be stuck in a bunch of business meetings with my husband and my brother?"

Fred leaned across the desk as his blood began to boil, his eyes like an ancient volcano about to erupt. "I'm not afraid of Hiram. Or Vincero. Not now, not ever. And if you really want my shares, have your lawyers make me an offer. I'll consider it."

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked as he turned around and headed for the door.

"To get to know my new crew."

Hermione jumped as Fred slammed the door on his way out, silently twirling a pen between her fingers. It seemed that her time in the Andrews family's good graces had come to a close. Fortunately, Veronica's hadn't.

Polly Cooper sat alone at her bedroom desk, going over all the material from Principal Weatherby to help prepare for her return to school. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay in school for long, but the more classes she passed before the twins were born, the easier it would be to her GED once things settled down. It was finding a job in Riverdale that was hard. So far, all she could find was either waitressing at Pop's or begging her parents to take her on as a secretary.

"Polly?"

The expecting mother turned away from her books at the sound of her little sister's voice, finding her standing nervously in the doorway. "What is it Betty?"

"I need your help."

Polly's eyes widened as Betty showed her the fresh cuts on her palms. Dear God, not another blackout. "When did this happen?"

"Last night. I went to bed last night and when I woke up," Betty's stomach sank to her knees as her face turned pale "Come see for yourself."

The leader of the Riverdale Blue & Gold lead her sister across the hall, making sure that their parents weren't in sight before she opened her bedroom door.

"Whoa." Polly's eyes widened as she walked into her sister's room, the sight similar to a town torn apart by a tornado.

The bed was covered in pictures and magazines. The vanity desk had desk looked like it'd been raided. And all of the clothes from the closet had been piled up on the floor in two piles: Pink and not pink. The expecting mother felt a chill run down her spine as she stared at the pile of non-pink clothes, a short black wig sitting on top. "Is that-?"

"The wig I wore at Ethel's when Veronica and I investigating Chuck," Betty confirmed timidly "But I don't remember where I found it. Or how I even got it."

Polly stayed silent as she walked over to the bed, shuffling through the magazines her sister had gathered. Some were fashion magazines, with covers promising a series of instructions for full, bouncy hairstyles, a select few circled in bright pink lipstick. The rest of the magazines were shopping catalogs for high-end stores and boutiques, with tops, skirts, dresses and shoes all circled in the same lipstick. "Looks like you wanted to go shopping."

"When have you ever seen me wear anything like that?" Betty asked.

She was right. The items that had been circled were tighter and shorter than anything Polly had seen her sister in. They looked liked they belonged in Cheryl and Veronica's closets.

The young expecting mother felt her eyes narrow as she inspected the pink lipstick marks covering the magazine pages. They were the same shade, which meant it was the same lipstick, but the color...it was hot pink, bright, bold and vibrant. Far more than anything Betty had worn before. And it smelled sweet, like candy.

"Bubblegum Baby."

Polly gave her sister a confused look. "What?"

"The lipstick. It's Bubblegum Baby," Betty explained, pulling it out of bag and handing it to her sister. "I was wearing it when I woke up. But I don't remember where I bought it."

Polly stayed silent as she rolled the black lipstick tube back and forth between her fingers, the product's name on one side and the company brand on the other. Dior. Now who did she know that wore Dior?

Tabling that question for another time, Polly took another look around the room, noticing the empty gin bottle in the trash can by Betty's desk. "Did you drink that last night?"

"And I've got the hangover to prove it," Betty confirmed.

"Betty, you were drunk," Polly said with a relieved smile "You raided Dad's liquor cabinet, went on a bender and tried to give yourself a makeover."

"Since when do I break into liquor cabinets?" Betty hissed in a panicked whisper "And where did the lipstick come from? And the wig? And this?"

Polly's eyes widened as her sister quickly dug in her bag, pulling out a lacy black push-up bra and a matching sheer skirt.

"I found this in that pile," said Betty, jabbing a finger at the stack of non-pink clothes "But I have no idea where it came from. Or the lipstick or the wig. Polly," The young reporter looked at sister with terror-filled eyes as she asked "What is happening to me?"

Polly said nothing, her mind racing to put the pieces together as she inspected the pictures on Betty's bed. They were pictures of Archie and Betty. Together. Their faces surrounded in lipstick drawn hearts.

"Look on the back," Betty instructed.

Curious, Polly obeyed and turned the picture over in her hand, revealing a series of childish romantic phrases: Mr. & Mrs. Andrews. Mrs. Archie Andrews. Mrs. Elizabeth Andrews.

"Elizabeth." Polly's eyes widened as she remembered "Betty, when you blacked out Jughead's party, Archie said you kept asking him to call you Elizabeth."

"That doesn't make any sense. The only one who calls me Elizabeth is mom and that's only when I'm in trouble."

Polly remained quiet as she stared at the photo in her hand, going over all of her sister's symptoms in her mind: blackouts, uncharacteristic behavior, using a different name. Dear God, there was only one explanation.

"Polly," Betty felt her panic start to grow at the look on her sister's face "What is it?"

"I don't think you have schizophrenia," she answered, hoping to give her sister a sliver of comfort "I think you have dissociative identity disorder."

Betty felt sick to his stomach. "You're saying there's another person inside of me?"

Polly felt her throat close up as she nodded. "A separate identity. An alter. Who goes by-,"

"Elizabeth." Betty felt her eyes fill with tears as she sank to the floor. "Oh my God."

"Betty," Polly hurried to her sister's side as she started to cry. "Betty, it's okay. It's okay."

"I'm crazy," she sobbed.

"No you're not. You're not," Polly repeated, gently stroking Betty's face as she wiped the tears from her face "You're just sick. But it's going to be okay. I'm going to make you better," she promised, trying to keep her voice level.

Betty had done so much for Polly. She moved heaven and earth to get her home, to free her from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. To find her a safe place to stay. Polly owed Betty everything. The least she could do was this.

Betty sniffed. "How?"

Polly was quiet for a minute, trying to come up with a response. Just because she wanted to be a psychiatrist didn't mean she was one. But this was her sister. Her baby sister. She had to fix this. "I need to talk to her."

"Talk to her?"

"Betty, you created Elizabeth for a reason," Polly explained "If we can figure out why, we can make sure you stay in control."

"Polly, how are you supposed to talk to her?" Betty questioned "I don't even know how I turn into her."

"I do." Polly took her little sister's hands and turned them palms up,,running her thumbs over the cuts on Betty's palms. "You have these cuts every time you come to from a blackout, right? I think they're some sort of switch," she theorized "that lets you change between you and your alter. So tonight, you and I are going to make Elizabeth come out and she is going to have a talk with her big sister."

Archie, Jughead and Mickey walked into the front door of their home late that afternoon, finding Fred speaking in the kitchen with a stranger.

Mickey did not like the look on Fred's face "Dad, what's going on?"

"Boys, this is Miss Weiss," the single father introduced, gesturing to the strange woman standing next to him "She's Jughead's social worker."

"Social worker?" the dark-haired boy repeated.

"I know this has been an overbearing week for you Mr. Jones," Miss Weiss acknowledged in a formal yet sympathetic voice "Your mother is over-extended in Toledo. And your father is facing decades in prison. We just want to make sure that you're taking care of."

"Jughead can stay with us," Archie offered quickly "as long as he wants."

"Your father already made that offer, Mr. Andrews," Miss Weiss informed "unfortunately, due to a lack of finances and his DUI-,"

"DUI?" Mickey repeated "What DUI?"

"It was two years ago," Fred explained "when your mother left."

"Which is why the state will be sending Jughead to foster home on the Southside of town. He will need to transfer to Southside High," Miss Weiss added, packing up her things as the boys looked on in shock "It will take some time for the paperwork to process. Jughead won't have to move until the end of the week."

"End of the week? Dad." Archie gave his father a greatly desperate look.

"Boys, I don't like this anymore than you do. But this out of our hands," Fred insisted sadly "Jughead, I already called your dad. Told him what's going on."

The Southside native nodded silently, a dazed and defeated look on his face. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Jug." Archie grabbed his best friend's arm as he turned toward the door, remembering how he tried to run away the last time he got bad news about FP.

"I'll be back," he promised, recognizing the worried look on Archie's face "You just get ready for your date with Veronica."

As the dark-haired boy headed out, Fred gave his son a teasing smirk. "You've got a date with Veronica?"

"Yeah. I'm taking her to dinner at Pop's. I just came home to freshen up. I won't be out long," he assured as he headed upstairs.

Fred sighed as the social worker walked out, grabbing a soda and beer from the fridge. "Looks like it's just you and me, Mick."

"Guess so," the blue-eyed twin commented before taking a long sip from his drink. Mickey frowned as he noticed that the look on his father's face. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"Hermione. She replaced all the Serpents on our crew. Had Vincero fly in a bunch of guys from Chicago. And now, she wants to buy our shares in the SoDale project."

"Our shares?" Mickey repeated.

Fred nodded. "You and I are partners. Any decisions about the business, we make them together. So, what do you think? Should we sell shares or hold onto them?"

Mickey was quiet for a moment, tugging at his beloved bronze necklace as he weighed the options before him. Selling the shares would mean give them the money they needed to keep custody of Jughead. But… "You said the new guys were sent by Vincero Santiago?"

Fred nodded, tilting his head at the look on Mickey's face as he took a sip from his beer.

"Today at lunch, Kevin said that the Riverdale drug trade should've slowed down after the Blossoms went down. But it hasn't. And Cricket Blossom told me that her family sent Hiram Lodge to jail because they were worried that he and Vincero would run them out of business."

"And now Vincero's thugs are in our town. On my crew." Fred's eyes began to see red as he slammed his fists against the kitchen counter. It happened again. Hermione played him. Again.

"Dad, we can't stop the Lodges if we sell those shares. But if we keep them...,"

Fred raised an eyebrow at the tone in his son's voice. "You want to go to war with the Lodges?"

"I want to stop them. Like we stopped the Blossoms. Keeping those shares give us a seat at the table," Mickey explained "a way to stop the Lodges and Vincero Santiago before they can hurt anybody else."

Fred should've seen this coming. Mickey had always been bold. But now he was creeping on arrogant. "You got lucky with the Blossoms. And you nearly got shot."

"But I didn't. Hiram Lodge is a monster, Dad. So is Vincero Santiago. You and Mom know that better than anyone. And they are coming after us whether we do something or not," Mickey insisted "All I'm saying is that we watch them. And the second they step out of line, we call Sheriff Keller. And when that happens...Dad, we could be rich. Think about. Hiram and Vincero are both on parole. If they get sent back to jail, the only SoDale partners left standing would be-,"

"Us," Fred realized "We'd own it."

"We could make it into whatever we want. Something that could change Riverdale for the better. Like this."

Fred gave his son a curious look as Mickey handed him a brown leather sketchbook from his backpack, allowing the single father to see what was inside.

They were blueprints. For big city staples that a small town like Riverdale could only dream of. A major publishing house. A football stadium. A grand concert hall. Glistening skyscrapers.

"I don't just want to build buildings, Dad. I want to design them. I want to be an architect. I want Andrews Construction to be Andrews Construction & Design," Mickey revealed ambitiously "and I want you to do it with me."

Fred felt a tug on his heartstrings as he paused at one of Mickey's designs, this one of a major office building for their family business. "If we're going to do this, we need to be very careful," he stipulated "The Lodges and the Santiagos are extremely dangerous. And with the exception of Veronica, they hate us. So if we're going to take them down, we cannot afford to show our hand until we know we have them dead to rights. Got it?"

"Got it," Mickey echoed "So what's our first move?"

"We clean house."

But before Fred could even begin to explain what that meant, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Mickey offered, heading through the living room to the front of the house, where he found an unexpected face standing on the porch. "Josie? What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," she answered, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him onto the porch. "While you were away, Penelope came after Cheryl again.

Mickey's stomach sank to his knees. "When?"

"Yesterday. After she found out you snuck Polly out of Thornhill. She choked her," Josie revealed with a lump in her throat "gave her a black eye."

Mickey could hardly breathe. His blood turned to ice. His face turned pale with guilt.

"This isn't your fault. Mickey." Josie gave the blue-eyed twin an insistent look "this isn't your fault. Cheryl helped you get Polly out of Thornhill because she knew it was the right thing to do. And right now, she needs our help. The feds took all of her family's money. Her trust fund is gone. If we don't figure out something soon, she's going to be stuck with Penelope with the rest of her life."

Mickey stayed silent as he tugged at the bronze pendant around his neck, trying to come up with anything resembling a plan. That's when he remembered the inscription on the back. Strength in numbers.

"What are you doing?" Josie asked as Mickey pulled out his phone.

"Getting reinforcements."

"You're quiet. Is everything alright?"

Veronica blinked as she sat in a booth at Pop's with Archie, an apologetic look spreading across her face. "Just a lot of things on my mind."

"I know what you mean. A social worker came by the house. Said that Jughead has to move the Southside. At least it's not Chicago." The brown-eyed twin frowned as he noticed the uneasy look on his new girlfriend's face. "What is it?"

Archie, your father is a partner on the SoDale project."

"I didn't know that," he commented, casually taking a sip from his strawberry milkshake. It didn't really concern him, anyway. Mickey was the one going into the family business, not him.

"My mother gave him twenty percent ownership to keep him on the project. But now she wants the shares back. She wanted me to," Veronica paused nervously as she struggled to find the right words "convince you to make a case to your dad."

"Like, talk me into it?"

"More like seduce you."

Archie laughed. Then she realized she was serious. "Why would your mom ask you to do that?"

"Despite our parents...flirtation, it seems my mother's love for my father is still as strong as ever. She wants to repair her marriage with Daddy once he gets out," Veronica explained.

"Which is going to hard with my dad and my brother sitting across from them during business meetings. Do you want me to talk to them?" Archie asked.

"What I want is for us to be together," she answered, reaching across the table to take his hand "without the shadow of an inevitable family war looming over our heads. I want your family to like me, Archie. I want my family to like you."

"Ronnie, my dad and Mickey already like you," Archie assured with a smile "and I'm pretty your mom likes me."

"What about my dad? What if he blames you for what happened between my mom and your dad?" Veronica feared "What if your mom can't see past all the terrible things my mother put her through in high school? What if Sebastian and Mickey can't go five minutes without fighting?"

Archie frowned at the mention of his girlfriend's cousin. "Sebastian lives in Chicago."

"For now. But my uncle Vincero is a SoDale partner too. He's even thinking about moving his family down to help my parents get things started. If that happens, Sebastian would finish his senior year at Riverdale High with us." Veronica let out a weary sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair "Sometimes it feels like we're on the path of this Shakespearean tragedy like-,"

"Romeo and Juliet. You said that before. Ronnie, do you know why Romeo and Juliet ended the way it did?" Archie asked "Because Romeo and Juliet were scared that their parents would try to tear them apart, they never stopped to think them being together could actually get their families to stop fighting. If our parents really care about the way they say they do, then they won't try to keep us apart."

Veronica stared at Archie for a moment, amazed by his unwavering hope and compassion.

"I have something for you." Archie felt his cheeks grow red as he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket, revealing an audio recording saved under a simple label: Veronica.

"I'm still working on the lyrics, but I finished the chorus. Do you want to hear it?"

Veronica nodded, smiling brightly as she took one of her boyfriend's earbuds and placed it in her ear, letting the Latin-inspired melody was over her as the song began, remembering what instantly came to mind the first time she heard it.

"Dance with me," she requested.

"What?"

"I have been wanting to dance to this song from the moment I heard it, Archiekins. Now that I know it's about us, you cannot deny me this."

Archie chuckled as he allowed his girlfriend to drag him out of the booth and onto the diner floor, the two of them swaying back and forth to the music as the chorus began.

"Take my hand, let's dance the night away

Ignore the world and what they say

Forget your fears and just trust your heart

Shining bright like a star in the dark

Never imagined I would have a chance

You're pure elegance, I'm Aladdin

But to lose you now would be tragic

Promise to fill your days with sweet magic

Could spend forever wrapped in your light

My New York fairy of the night."

"Fairy of the night, huh?"

Archie blushed at the teasing look on Veronica's face. "It came to me in a dream. Do you like it?"

"I love it," she told him in a soft, intimate tone.

As the two young lovers attempted to share a kiss, Archie felt a hand suddenly grasp his shoulder, prompting him to turn around and face Reggie Mantle. "Really bad timing, man."

"Are Josie and Mickey here yet?" the varsity football captain asked impatiently.

"What are you talking about?"

"They texted us to meet them here," Reggie explained, surprised at the confused looks on his friends' faces "You didn't know?"

"No, we came here for a dinner date," Veronica informed, crossing her arms as she realized it was over.

At that moment, Mickey and Josie walked in, grateful to see their friends already assembled.

"What's this about bro? My mom's at home making me a hero's feast for taking down the Blossoms," Reggie informed to get home "And you know you cannot reheat homemade chicken dumplings."

Mickey got to the point. "We need to get Cheryl out of Thornhill."

"Mickey, what are you doing?" Josie demanded "We promised Cheryl."

"I promised Cheryl I would protect her. And I can't do that if I keep my mouth shut." Once Josie gave him a permissive look, Mickey went on "Cheryl's in danger. If we don't find her a new place to live soon, she's going to get hurt. Bad."

"Hurt?" Archie repeated "By who?"

"By her mother," Josie answered.

Veronica let out sharp gasp as the mayor's daughter pulled out her phone, revealing a picture of Cheryl's face covered in bruises. "Cherry."

"Penelope has been beating her kids since they were seven years old. Cheryl's been trying to hold out until she's eighteen so she can take of Nana Rose. But the Blossoms lost all their money after Mickey and Reggie busted their drug ring."

"This is why you had Cheryl spend the night after Polly's baby shower," Archie realized "isn't it?"

Mickey said nothing, his gaze locked on the image of Cheryl's beaten and battered face. His blood boiled. His hands balled into tight fists. His eyes saw red. To put it simply, he was furious. "I'm going to rip Penelope's head off."

He wasn't the only one. "Not before I shove my Louis Vuitton heels down her throat," Veronica snapped.

"Guys!" Archie quickly ran in front of his brother and girlfriend as they made a march for the door. Once he saw their faces, he wished he hadn't.

If looks could kill, Veronica's gaze was like a bullet to the head. "Archie, Cheryl's mother is hitting her! We can't just leave her in Thornhill."

"We also can't barge in and drag her out of there either," Josie countered "I've been helping Cheryl keep this a secret for two years. No one wants to save her more than me. But if we go in their without a plan, all we'll be doing is putting Cheryl in more danger."

"Penelope did that to Cheryl because of me!" Mickey snapped, his voice full of self-loathing "because I took Polly out of Thornhill. I promised Cheryl I would protect her and all I've done is get her hurt and screw up her only chance at a life away from her mother. So if anybody's a better plan besides wringing Penelope's neck, I would love to hear it."

Reggie placed a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder. It didn't take a genius to see how much this was killing him. "Babe, you have pictures. Why don't we just take them to the cops?"

"Cheryl won't go anywhere without her Nana Rose. If we take these to Sheriff Keller, she'll just say that Clifford did this to her. We need to find a place for Cheryl and her grandmother to stay, where Nana Rose can be taken care of. Which means hiding the two of them in Mickey's attic or your pool house is out."

"What if they move into the Pembrooke?" Veronica suggested "or your house?"

"My mom is in the middle of a re-election campaign and my dad is on tour. They can't take care of Nana Rose. And do you really think your dad is going to let a pair of Blossoms into his house after they tried to send him to prison?" Josie asked.

"Somebody please think of something!" Mickey demanded.

"Family."

All eyes fell to Archie Andrews as he spoke, his face alight with inspiration. "Cheryl and Nana Rose can stay with their family."

"Archie, Cheryl's family can't take her and Nana Rose," Veronica disputed "All of the Blossoms are underground."

"I wasn't talking about the Blossoms."

Mickey's eyes widened as he realized what his brother was thinking. "Archie-Boy, you're a genius."

Toni Topaz stood behind the bar of the White Wyrm, cleaning up the mess the latest pack of drunks had left behind, when Sweet Pea came barging in, kicking pinball machine with a grunt. "What is your problem?"

"My brother lost his job, that's my problem. FP's Northsider buddy cut all the Serpents from his crew," Sweet Pea answered with a frustrated growl "My family can barely make ends meet as it is, how are we supposed to cover the rent for our trailer now?"

"Relax," Toni told him in a soothing tone "FP will know what to do when he comes back."

"You mean if he comes back."

The pink-haired Serpent felt a wave panic wash over her. "He's coming back."
"Toni-,"

"He's coming back!" She repeated, trying to control the fear creeping into her voice "and if those Northsiders won't let him out, we'll break him out." She had been planning the escape for ever since FP had been arrested.

"No we can't," Sweet Pea gave his friend a nervous look as he revealed "Joaquin's gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"He left town last night. Said he was heading west to lay low. He's the one who helped FP hide Jason Blossom's body," he revealed in a whisper.

Toni could not believe this. Her entire plan to free FP hindered on Joaquin. Him and his relationship with the sheriff's son. Without him… "I'll figure something else out."

"Toni-,"

"I'll figure it out," she repeated, silently daring Sweet Pea to question her again.

He knew better. Out all of them, Toni and Joaquin were the most loyal to FP. Although the leader of the Southside Serpents had been a father to all of them, Joaquin's grandmother and died two years ago. And Toni's grandfather didn't seem that far behind. Fangs and Sweet Pea still had a few relatives in the Southside, but if FP went to prison…,

"Hey Toni."

The two young Serpents turned towards the door as Fangs Fogarty walked in, a teasing smile on his face as he handed the pink-haired Serpent a large bouquet of roses. "Look what your Northside boyfriend sent you."

Sweet Pea raised a curious eyebrow. "You're dating a Northsider?"

"Dude, I don't even know anybody from the Northside," Toni insisted.

"Oh, he's from the Northside," Fangs argued playfully "Who do you know on the Southside named Sebastian?"

Toni felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of the boy from Chicago, finding a letter attached to the front of the bouquet, addressed to her from him.

"See?" Fangs grinned knowingly at the look on her face "She is dating a Northsider."

"He is not a Northsider," Toni corrected, setting the roses down on the bar "He's from Chicago, he was here visiting relatives and we had a one night stand. That's all."

"So how come Mr. Windy City's sending your flowers?" Sweet Pea asked protectively.

"Got me." No one had ever sent Toni flowers before. At least, not after spending only one night together. The pink-haired Serpent removed the letter from the bouquet and opened the envelope, silently reading the not inside: Thanks again for an unforgettable night in Riverdale," it read "Never forget that you are a precious gem in a world full of coals. Hope our paths cross again, Sebastian."

Precious. He called her precious. Toni's father used to call her that.

"So," Sweet Pea smirked as he joined Fangs in ridiculing their friend, the blush creeping into her cheeks making it too easy "When's your boyfriend coming for another visit?"

"Or did he ask you to come visit him this time?" Fangs wondered.

"Don't make me cut you," Toni threatened, answering her phone as it began to ring "Hello?"

"Hey Toni."

"FP." the young bartender felt her eyes widen at the sound of the gang leader's voice. "Did they let you out?"

"Not yet. But I'm working on it," he promised, trying his best not to worry her "But I need a favor from you and the boys until then."

"Name it."

"You have got to be kidding me" Alice Cooper stood in her living room with her daughters, staring at Josie, Reggie, Veronica and the Andrews brothers in shock of their request. "You want us to do what?"

"I want you to adopt Cheryl," Mickey repeated "and Nana Rose."

"And why on earth would we do that?" Alice asked, legitimately questioning the children's sanity.

"Because Penelope Blossom is a monster," Veronica answered "who's been physically abusing her children for a decade."

Polly brought a hand to her stomach at the mention of the father of her children. "Jason...was beaten?"

"For a while," Mickey confirmed sadly "until he started doing sports. But it only got worse for Cheryl."

Polly was speechless. This was why Jason didn't want to leave Cheryl alone in Riverdale. Why he wanted to keep their children as far away from the Blossoms as possible.

"The reason she hasn't run off is because of Nana Rose," Josie explained "I have more than enough evidence to put Penelope away," she assured, having photographed ever cut and bruise for the nearly three years "but Cheryl won't tell the police the truth unless she knows her grandmother is taken care of."

"Please B," Veronica pleaded "You guys are the only family Cheryl has that's not facing drug charges. If Cheryl and Nana Rose move in with you, at least they won't be taken away from their friends."

Betty said nothing, her eyes dark and distant as her nails dug into palms. The young reporter blinked as she felt Polly take her little sister's hand, pulling back towards reality.

"Cheryl doesn't know that you're here, does she?" Betty asked.

"No," Mickey confirmed "She doesn't."

"So what makes you think she'd even want to live with us? She hate us."

"Cheryl does not hate you. She's jealous of you. Because you two have a mom who fights tooth and nail for her kids," Mickey explained, giving Alice a respectful glance "and all her mom does is hurt her."

"Betty, I know you and Cheryl don't have the best track record," Archie acknowledged "but she is in serious trouble and you guys are the only ones who can help her."

Betty felt her darkness subside as she stared into her best friend's eyes, his dark brown irises pleading with her to help. "The Blossoms and the Coopers are family. I think it's time we started acting like it."

"It killed Jason to leave Cheryl and Nana Rose behind when we planned to leave Riverdale. Now I know why. If we have a chance to help them, we should do it," Polly agreed.

Alice looked at the united front from the children and sighed. "I can't make any promises. But I will discuss it with Hal when he gets home. I don't even want to think about how we'd all fit in this-aah!" The blonde-haired mother let out a yelp as Mickey ran towards her, scooping her up in his arms and giving her a massive arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he shouted.

"I didn't say she could stay yet!" Alice reminded, letting out a huff as she straightened out her clothes once she was back on the ground. "Just know this Mickey Andrews: I will not raise two pregnant teenagers in my house. I saw you sneak Cheryl into your house after Polly's baby shower," she revealed "but I don't see a reason to tell your father. So long as you keep it in your pants."

Mickey's face turned bright red. "Yes, Mrs. Cooper."

"How long have you known?"

Josie walked side-by-side with Reggie as they made their way to his car, raising an eyebrow at his sudden question. "Known what?"

"About Cheryl. That her mom was hitting her," Reggie elaborated, careful not to upset her "You said you had known for years. How long?"

"Do you remember when we were in the seventh grade and Mickey left Cheryl a letter asking her to meet him a Pop's for Valentine's Day?"

Reggie nodded. "She never made it because Nana Rose fell down the stairs."

"She didn't fall, Reggie. She was pushed," Josie corrected "And it was my fault. I convinced Cheryl to take some of Penelope's jewelry for the date," she explained in a guilt-ridden tone "When she heard her mom coming, Cheryl hid me in Penelope's closet. I didn't know why until I heard Penelope start slapping her daughter. Nana Rose was there to help take care of Jason, he had caught the flu playing ice hockey with his friends. When she heard Cheryl screaming, she tried to stop Penelope."

"And then Penelope pushed her down the stairs," Reggie finished.

"She lost her legs and an eye. Because of me."

"Josie." Reggie placed a gentle hand on the side of her face, the self-loathing in her eyes twisting his stomach in knots "You know that's not true. You didn't know what Penelope was going to do to Cheryl. Or Nana Rose."

"I should've done more. I should've convinced her to go the police. I should've asked Jason to go with her."

"You did everything you could. You patched her up and you got enough evidence to make this a slam dunk case. And together, we can make sure Cheryl is safe," Reggie promised.

Josie felt a wave of fear run down her spine as she asked. "What if we can't?"

Jughead Jones needed a drink. He had never touched a drop of alcohol a day in life but today, he was seriously tempted. His father was facing life in prison. His mother and his little sister wanted nothing to do with him. And now the system wanted to tear him away from the only people left who actually cared about him. Which was why he was walking alone through Sunnyside trailer park, hoping that Sheriff Keller and his men hadn't taken FP's booze when they raided his home.

The Southside native came to a stop as his childhood home came into view, where the door was wide open. Curious, the dark-haired boy tentatively walked into the trailer, where he found a group of teens in Southside Serpent jackets. There were three of them, two boys and a girl, their backs to Jughead as they went about their business, cleaning up the mess the police had made.

"Hey," Jughead said in his best intimidating voice.

The girl, a petite young woman with pink-dyed hair, was the first to speak as the three young Serpents turned around. "Forsythe Pendleton Jones III."

"It's Jughead," he corrected, cringing at the sound of his full name. The aspiring novelist felt his eyebrows knit together as he stared at the Serpents, an old and hazy memory slowly coming to mind. "I know you."

"You used to," the girl confirmed "before your parents sent you to school on the northside. I'm Toni. This is Sweet Pea and Fangs," she introduced "We were just making sure your dad's place wasn't a mess when he gets out."

"If he gets out," Jughead corrected, oblivious to the pained expressions on the Serpents' faces "So is this part of the Serpent's initiation? Cleaning up the boss' trailer?"

"We're Serpents, not maids," Toni corrected "We were just doing something nice to FP."

"Why?"

Toni starred into Jughead's eyes, the bluish-green irises full of doubt and suspicion. He really had no idea. The pink-haired girl reached into her bag and pulled out an old yet carefully preserved camera.

"This was my mother's. She sold it when I was little to make the rent. But FP tracked it down and gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. When Sweet Pea turned sixteen, FP took him to a basketball game in the city. He said he was going to take Fangs camping at Letchworth park, like he did with Joaquin. But then the whole Jason Blossom mess happened. I know that you and your dad don't really get along," Toni acknowledged "but part of the reason FP wasn't there for you and your sister the way he wanted to be was because he was trying to take care of us."

"Oh God." Jughead's eyes widened in disbelief as he pulled the beanie off his head, finally realizing what had driven his mother to Toledo.

Toni's eyes widened as she watched Jughead collapse on the couch and pick up a half-empty whiskey bottle off the floor, snatching it from his hands as he tried to take a sip. "What are you doing?"

"I need a drink."

"No you don't," Toni protested, fully aware of the Jones family weakness for alcohol.

"Look, I appreciate you guys trying to clean up," Jughead snapped "but I'm really not in the mood for a heart-to-heart with my father's secret Serpent bastards right now."

"Wait you think that we're-?"

Sweet Pea laughed. "You wish, Jones."

"FP is not our father," Toni assured Jughead, sitting down next to him on the couch "He's just closest thing any of us have had to one."

"Why?" Jughead repeated "My dad could barely stay sober long enough to be there for his own kids. Why would he care about you guys?"

"Our parents grew up together," Fangs explained "joined the Serpents together."

"And your dad is the only one who isn't locked up or dead," Toni chimed in "So, he looked out for us. Protected us. Did everything he could to make sure we didn't feel like total orphans."

Jughead was amazed. He had only ever known FP as a deadbeat drunk, but these kids talked about him like he was father of the year.

"Here." Toni reached into her bag and pulled out a worn black leather jacket with a familiar patch on the back "You're going to need this when you start at Southside High."

"I'm not a Serpent."

"Maybe not, but we all promised FP we would protect you until he comes home," Toni revealed "and that's what we're going to do."

"I should've known." Veronica walked side by side with Archie into the Pembrooke, a deeply remorseful look in the raven-haired princess' face. "I spent a weekend in Thornhill. I watched Cheryl shrink into herself everytime her mother walked in the room. I should've known Penelope was hitting her."

"This isn't your fault, Ronnie."

"Cheryl's my friend, Archie. She's my friend and she's been hurting this entire time and I didn't even see it. Why didn't I see it?"

"Because she's been hiding it her entire life. I should've know something was wrong," Archie confessed "after Mickey let Cheryl sleep in the attic. He didn't sleep for a week after that. But all I saw was my brother wanting to spend time with his girlfriend. Cheryl and Jason had us all fooled. But now, we have a chance to help."

Veronica stared at her boyfriend in amazement. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Keep hoping. No matter how dark things get you always see the silver lining. How?"

"Because of you," Archie answered "You lost everything when you left New York. Your home, your friends, your father. And instead of wallowing in self-pity, you saw moving to Riverdale as a way to be a better person."

Veronica felt her heart raced as he looked at with eyes fulled with adoration, leaning in and giving him a quick fiery kiss. "You are on your way to be the greatest boyfriend ever, Archiekins," she whispered.

"Does that mean I can walk you to school tomorrow?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

"I'll be here at seven thirty."

"I'll be waiting." Veronica smiled as she walked into her apartment, where Hermione was waiting for her in the living room.

"So mija, did you talk to Archie about the SoDale shares?" she asked.

"Yes I did."

Hermione became impatient as Veronica became quiet. "And?"

"And we decided to keep our relationship and our family drama separate," Veronica announced "So if you want to convince Fred and Mickey to sell them your shares, you can do it yourself."

"Veronica-,"

"I don't want to hear it Mom," Veronica snapped, still unnerved from learning the truth about Cheryl "I am not going to let you and Daddy turn what Archie and I have into some weapon in this family feud. What Archie and I have real, pure and good. And if you love me, you will respect that." And without another word, she marched into her room and slammed the door.

"What if I don't come back?"

Betty Cooper stood in her room with Polly late that night, getting ready to summon Elizabeth. The door was locked. Alice and Hal were asleep. And Polly was hooking up her phone to a tripod stand to record the whole thing.

"What do you mean?" Polly asked, making sure to keep the entire room in the frame.

"Elizabeth was in control for hours last night. What if this time...she stays in control?"

"Betty," Polly gave her sister a protective look "That will never happen."

"How do you know?"

"Because I won't let it happen. When Elizabeth comes out, I will be there to bring you back. No what happens," she promised "I will be there to bring you back."

Betty smiled, grateful to have her sister back at her side. "I missed you, Polly."

"I missed you too. Now, are you ready?"

Betty nodded, her heart racing as she balled her hands into fists, her nails quickly finding their place in the grooves of the cuts in her palms. Betty hissed as she applied the briefest bit of pressure, a jolt of pain shooting up both her arms. She wondered how many times she felt that pain, but never noticed it. Having come too far to turn back now, Betty ignored the pain and pushed through it, digging her nails deeper and deeper until she drew blood and her vision blurred.

"Betty!" Polly ran across the room as her little sister's eyes the back of head, catching her just before she collapsed. "Betty?"

"Guess again."

Polly felt a chill run down her spine as her sister opened her eyes, the green orbs filled with a swirling darkness. It was her. Elizabeth.

"I've got to admit Poll, I'm impressed," Elizabeth praised, standing up as she undid the bun in her hair, running her fingers through her blonde locks as they tumbled down her shoulders "out of all the people in my life, you were the only one who figured out how to bring me out of little miss perfect."

She held her head higher than Betty. Her smile more mischievous and mysterious. Her voice proud and sultry.

"We need to talk," Polly told her.

"You don't have to explain your little therapy session to me, Poll. I know what's going on. I see what Betty sees," Elizabeth revealed "I hear what she hears. Ask me anything you want," she offered "The longer you and I play nice, the longer I get to be in control."

"Okay," Polly paused, surprised by the compliance of her sister's alter "You chose the name Elizabeth. Why?"

"Elizabeth is the name of a powerful queen. That's what I want to be."

"Interesting, " Polly commented "because when Betty hears the name Elizabeth, she thinks about Mom yelling at her when she's in trouble."

"So what? A queen can't be naughty?" Elizabeth asked with a chuckle. "Queens make rules, Polly. They don't follow them."

"Let's move on," Polly decided "Why did you tear your room apart last night? Steal a bottle of gin from Dad's liquor cabinet?"

"I was trying to figure out my look. And I took the gin because I was thirsty,"Elizabeth added shamelessly.

"You separated the pink clothes from everything else. Did you want to get rid of them?"

"Pink's my favorite color."

"Really?" Polly was surprised "Isn't it a little to goody-goody for an unapologetic, slightly naughty queen?"

"Only when you the same shades as a six year-old's playroom. But pink can be sexy," Elizabeth assured "when it's bold and daring."

"Like this?" Polly asked, holding up the hot pink lipstick "When did you buy this, Elizabeth?"

"I didn't. It was a gift. From a distant relative."

"The same relative who gave you this?"

Elizabeth scowled as Polly pulled out a familiar black wig. "I bought that at Spencer's. When I was still...discovering myself."

"You're the one that nearly drowned Chuck Clayton," Polly realized "Why why did you think you were me?"

"You inspired my creation, Polly. You and Veronica."

That explains the black wig, Polly thought.

"You can get rid of that wig if you want," Elizabeth permitted with a shrug "I'm done trying to be like Veronica. She took the one thing I want most."

"Archie."

"I love him, Polly. I'm in love with him," Elizabeth insisted, with a hint of Betty creeping into her voice.

"What about Jughead?"

"Jughead." Elizabeth laughed "Jughead Jones is comfort food. Something to distract Betty from she really wants but is too afraid to chase after. That's why she created me," she explained "To help her claim all of her darkest desires without fear of judgement or consequences."

"And just what is it that you want?" Polly asked "Besides Archie."

"I already told you, I want to be queen," Elizabeth repeated "The queen of Riverdale High. I thought Veronica was going to help me, that we could rule together. Until she stabbed me in the back."

"Veronica never meant to hurt you."

"She lied to me! She promised she would stay away from Archie and she stole him the second my back was turned." Elizabeth closed her eyes as she took a calming breath, knowing what Betty would do if she slandered her so-called best friend for too long. "Forget Veronica. I've found a new mentor."

"Who?"

"The one gave me my new favorite lipstick," Elizabeth answered "The who told me pink could be sexy. If anyone can help me become a queen bee and get Archie, it's her."

"Say you finish this mean girl transformation," Polly granted "Do you think it'll make Archie leave Veronica?"

"Archie doesn't love Veronica, he loves me! He loves me," Elizabeth repeated with a snarl "We are meant to be together. We're the same. Twin flames," she insisted "There's a darkness in Archie. Just like there's a darkness in me."

She wasn't wrong. Archie looked ready to kill Chuck Clayton at Jughead's birthday party after he insulted Betty.

"He just needs someone to help bring it out of him."

Polly's eyes widened as her sister made a run for the door. "Where are you going?"

"To make Archie mine."

"Betty-,"

"Betty's not here!" Elizabeth snapped, causing Polly to jump "Betty is timid, submissive and weak. My name is Elizabeth. And I'm not going let the thing I've wanted most since I was eight years old slip through my fingers. Archie dreams about me. It took less than five minutes for me to have him wrapped around my finger at Jughead's party. One kiss and he will be mine. Forev-," The blonde-haired girl's voice trailed off as her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she unclenched her fists, her fingertips dipped in blood as she knees started to buckle.

"Betty. Betty." Polly hurried to her sister's side and caught her she started to fall, holding her trembling body close, the darkness in her eyes replaced with confusion and terror. "You're back Betty," Polly whispered, gently stroking her little sister's face as she started to sob "You're back."

Veronica walked silently to her locker at school the next morning, where she found an unexpected face waiting for her. "Cheryl? What are you doing here?"

The gothic heroine forced a smile as she turned to face her friend, her eyes empty and hollow inside. "I needed to talk to you. I'm stepping down from the Rivervixens," she announced "And I want you to take my place as captain."

"What?"

"I also want you to have this." Cheryl added, reaching into her purse and pulling out a familiar HBIC t-shirt. "These last few days...they've put things in perspective," she explained, noticing the look on Veronica's face.

"I, understand. Cherry?" The New York native felt her mind go blank as the scarlet-haired bombshell attempted to walk away. She wanted to hug Cheryl. To tell her that she knew about the abuse. That they working on a way to protect her. But she couldn't. Veronica and her friends promised not to tell Cheryl what they were up to until all of the Coopers agreed to take Cheryl in. Mickey and Josie didn't want to give false hope.

"Do you want to have a sleepover at my house?" Veronica offered "I could use some company with my father on his way home from jail. And it could be good for you too."

"I have to help take care of my Nana," Cheryl politely declined "She's been...upset ever since my father…,"

"I understand. But if you personally need anything-,"

"Veronica. I'm fine," Cheryl assured with a thin smile as she headed off to class "I'm done shedding tears for the Blossom men."

"Dissociative what?"

"Dissociative identity disorder," Betty repeated. The girl next door sat with her sister and Archie in the cafeteria, sharing lunch as they discussed Polly's first session with Elizabeth. "It's the new name for multiple personality disorder."

Archie knew what that meant. "So when asked me to call you Elizabeth at Jughead's birthday party, that was-?"

"My...alter," Betty confirmed, still getting used to the term "I guess you could say she's my inner mean girl. The part of me that wants to be more like Veronica."

Archie tilted his head. "Betty, you're one of best people I know. Why would you want to be someone else?"

"The first day of school, Veronica stood up to Cheryl for me. Forced her to let us both onto the Rivervixens. After Chuck posted that stupid sticky maple photo online, Veronica marched into the boys locker room and demanded that he take it down. She was ready to go to war, and all I wanted to do was tell a teacher. Veronica taught me to be brave and confident."

"You're brave too," Archie insisted gently "Betty, you solved a murder investigation. You asked the hard questions and you didn't let anyone stop you from getting to the truth. That makes you pretty fearless in my book."

Betty smiled at her best friend's unwavering support.

"So is there anything I should look out for?" he asked "in case Elizabeth takes over outside of your sessions?"

"Curly hair, pink lipstick," Betty listed off "pink clothes."

"Betty, half your clothes are pink."

"Not like these." The blonde-haired girl nervously reached into her backpack and pulled out some of the magazines from the night before, allowing Archie to look over the clothes and hairstyles that Elizabeth had selected.

Archie felt a wave guilt wash over him as he flipped through the hair magazine. "Why do think Elizabeth wants to do her hair like this?"

"Before she got really sick, Grandma Barnes used to do our hair when she was babysitting," Polly explained "Betty always wanted curls, but Mom thought it looked too mature."

Betty started to squirm as Archie looked back and forth from her and the fashion magazines. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Because I can't see you wearing anything like this. This isn't you," he insisted, showing the Cooper girls a picture of a form-fitting black dress "This is-,"

"Veronica?" Betty finished "Girls that wear things like this, they're sexy. Veronica is sexy. Whether she's in a new dress or covered in sweat after cheer practice. And I know that I'm pretty," she confirmed "that I'm cute. But I've never felt sexy. Perfect girls aren't supposed to be sexy. They don't date guys their parents don't approve of. Or talk back. Or sneak into a nightclub with their friends. Sometimes I feel like, like Betty is who everyone else wants me to be," she explained "not the real me."

"Betty, if I ever made you feel like you had change to make me happy, I'm sorry," Archie apologized "When I called you perfect, it wasn't because you get straight As, or never miss curfew. You're perfect to me because when the people you care about are at their lowest point, you make them feel like they're the most important person in the world. And that's not going to change if you cut class or sneak out of the house to go to a party every once in a while. That's why I said I couldn't be with you after the Back-To-School dance," he explained "Because you deserve someone who can make you feel as special as you make the people around you feel. And I just didn't think I could do that for you."

Betty felt her nails scratch at the bandages on her hands at the look on Archie's face. You can do it Arch, she thought You're doing it right now.

"But if you think spicing things up is going to help you be happy, I think I know someone who can help with that. Ronnie!" Archie shouted.

Betty's eyes widened with embarrassment as her best friend turned around at the sound of her name, getting up from her seat next to Jughead and making her way across the lunch room. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you the chance to walk on the wild side. Betty wants you to give her a makeover," Archie told Veronica.

The New York native's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, yes! I am beyond ready for a some teenage normalcy. Let me see your ideas," she requested, grabbing the magazines before Betty could pull them away "Love it, love it, this would look so good on you," she commented, flipping through the pages "Love it, I think I have this skirt in my closet. You would look so hot with these curls and what is this lipstick? It would look so perfect on you."

"Bubblegum baby," Betty answered, realizing it was too late to talk her best friend out of it now "It's Dior."

"Dior? Did you get it from Cheryl?"

"Cheryl?"

Veronica nodded. "They're the ones who make her Maple Red. It's pretty much all she wears."

Betty's eyes widened as a forgotten memory suddenly appeared in her mind. "Yeah. She gave it to me after we went to the spa, the day after they found Jason Blossom's body. She called it the sexy side of pink." It all made sense. The obsession with a signature color, the thigh-high boots circled in the magazines, the makeup that made her lips look like candy. Cheryl was Elizabeth's new inspiration. Elizabeth wanted to go to war with Veronica, to wrap Archie around her finger. And who better to help her than Riverdale's HBIC, the girl who stole Mickey's heart at the same time Archie stole Betty's?

"B?" Veronica became concerned at the look on her best friend's face "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, quickly forcing a smile "I'm just, worried about Cheryl."

"So am I. Guys, she made me captain of the Rivervixens," Veronica revealed. "Cheryl loves cheerleading, why would she quit?"

"Who quit?" Mickey asked, the blue-eyed twin wearing a green and black flannel shirt with black jeans and sneakers as he sat down to join his friends for lunch.

"Cheryl made me cheer captain this morning. And she gave Jughead her beloved spider brooch," Veronica added.

That didn't sound like Cheryl. "Maybe it's atonement?" he theorized "Her family tried to send your dad to prison and she smacked Jughead around after FP was arrested. Maybe she just feels guilty."

"Something's wrong, guys. I can feel it," Veronica insisted "I asked her to spend the weekend with me. Give her a chance to breathe easy away from her mom."

"You didn't tell her about the Coopers, did you?" Mickey asked worriedly.

"Of course not. We agreed we wouldn't say anything until Hal agreed to let her move in."

"That might be a little harder than we thought," Polly warned "Our parents were fighting about this all night. Dad was raised to hate the Blossoms and he was barely on board with letting me keep the twins in the house. Mom wants to help," she assured "but our house already going to be crowded with a pair of babies. Not mention another teenager and a wheelchair-bound grandma."

"Foster parents get financial support from the government. I'll have my mom sent me an estimate on how much," Mickey promised, pulling out a large stack of papers from his backpack "And I'm already working on the space problem."

"What are those?" Archie asked.

"The blueprints to my house," Polly answered "Mickey asked for them last night. I gave them to him on the way to school."

"I wanted to see if there were any walls we could knock down to make room for Cheryl and Nana Rose," Mickey explained "Haven't found any yet. But the Coopers' attic is twice the size of ours. We could turn it into a mini apartment for Polly and the twins," he theorized "if we move everything that's up there to the garage or build a shed in the backyard. Nana Rose needs to be on the main floor of the house, so she could move into your parents' office and they could move the office into Polly's room. Which leaves Cheryl sharing a room with-,"

"Me," Betty finished "wonderful."

"I know that you two don't always get along, but trust me, under the whole HBIC tough skin, Cheryl's a big marshmallow."

Betty scoffed. "Maybe when she's around her Teddy Bear."

"Guys." All eyes turned to Kevin Keller marched in, a panicked look on his face. "You need to see this."

The teenagers followed the sheriff's son into the hall, where a group of kids were surrounding Betty's locker. It was covered in copies of her latest article, defending FP and the Southside Serpents, the words "Southside Serpent Slut" written over them in what looked like blood.

"Dude." All eyes turned to Reggie Mantle as he walked over with Josie, slightly impressed with the skill it took to pull a prank like that and get away unseen "That is sick."

"You," Jughead looked ready to tear the varsity captain apart "You did this."

"Did what?" Before Reggie could even attempt to respond, Jughead forced his way through the crowd and punched him in the face.

"It wasn't me." Reggie sat with Mickey, Polly and Josie in his living room after school, holding an ice pack to his cheek. Reggie had to give the Jones kid credit. Jughead could throw a punch. "Yeah, I hate the Southside Serpents and Betty's article ticked me off. But I wouldn't trash her locker."

"We know Reg," Mickey assured him.

"Try telling that to Principal Weatherby." Thanks to Jughead, the head of Riverdale High was all but convinced that Reggie was responsible.

Fortunately, Mickey bought his best friend three days to find the real culprit. Or Reggie would be suspended. "People don't trash lockers just because they disagree with a news article. This was personal."

"It could be someone from the West Side," Josie theorized "The Serpents have been hitting homes over there since the Blossoms shut down their maple factory."

"Thirty percent of the kids at school come from West Side," Polly reminded "We need to narrow it down or we're going to be looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Slut." Mickey felt his hands ball into fists as he explained "Whoever trashed Betty's locker called her a Southside slut."

Reggie shrugged. "So?"

"So I can only think of one person with a score to settle with Betty and a habit of calling girls sluts."

Toni Topaz walked over to FP's trailer later that night, where she found Jughead Jones waiting for her inside. She had left a note with her phone number in the pocket of the leather jacket for him, just in case he needed to contact her. "Wasn't sure you'd call."

"Wasn't sure you'd come," Jughead commented, pulling a copy of the Blue & Gold out his backpack.

Toni's eyes widened slightly as she read the front page headline: FP Jones Innocent, Serpents Slandered. "You wrote that?"

"My girlfriend. Someone read it and left a message on her locker. Written in fake blood."

"You want us to keep an eye on her?"

"I want to know if she stuck her neck out for nothing," Jughead corrected "A classmate of mine claims his big brother was attacked by the Serpents. Said they had Nazi tattoos. You know anything about that?"

Toni sighed. "Tall Boy."

"Who?"

"He's one of the Serpents' senior members. Back in the day, he was sent to prison down in Louisiana," Toni explained "We didn't have any Serpent charters down there, so he made friends with these guys who used to ride with a white supremacist club. When they all got out, Tall Boy vouched for them to join the Serpents, said they were done with all that white power B.S. And they were. When they were sober."

Jughead felt sick to his stomach. "My father let racists into his gang?"

"FP wasn't in charge back then. And when he found out, he kicked those guys out of the Serpents and he's watched Tall Boy like a hawk ever since."

"He should've served them all to the cops on a plate."

"Hey, I'm black and Native American. Do you really think I'd join the Serpents if I thought they were a bunch of racists?" she asked "Despite what the Northsiders say, not everyone on the Southside is a monster."

"Pickens Park." Jughead felt his jaw clench up as he explained "You said we used to play together as kids. Our parents used to take us to Pickens Park, right?"

"Yeah," Toni confirmed, touched that he remembered "We still went there after you started going to school on Northside."

"I remember. I also remember that after I made friends on the Northside, there were these kids from the Southside who tried to beat me up everytime I went back to that park. I guessing that was you," Jughead accused "and your friends Sweet Pea and Fangs, right?"

"Wow." Toni shook her head as she gave him a deeply disappointed look "Those Northsiders really did a number on you. We never tried to hurt you, Jones. We were asking you to play with us. But every time your Northsider buddies saw us, they picked a fight. After that carrot-top knocked out half of Sweet Pea's baby teeth, we figured it was best to just leave you alone." Toni's eyes burned with pain and betrayal "Because no matter how hard we fought you, you always chose the Northsiders."

"If I'm such a turncoat, why'd you promise my dad you'd protect me?" he questioned "Why'd you come here tonight?"

"I came here because I missed my friend. But it looks to me like he's long gone."

Jughead sighed as Toni marched out of the trailer, blinked slowly as a wave guilt washed over him. He hated the Northsiders for looking at him like he was some thug, and he was doing the same thing to her. "Wait." The dark-haired boy called as he chased after her "Wait!"

"Why?" Toni snapped as she turned around "So you can dump on me like your Northsider buddies?"

"I can count one hand the number of real friends I have on the Northside. And both of them have had more faith in my old man than I ever had. Look, I'm sorry," Jughead apologized "It's just...the FP Jones you talked about, the one who took you to basketball games and camping trips and tracked down old family cameras, I don't remember that guy. I don't know that guy. The FP Jones I know could barely spend five sober minutes with his family. And that was assuming he wasn't running from the cops or overseas. And maybe I'm being selfish," he acknowledged "but it kills me that he was better father to you than he ever was to me."

"You hate him." Toni wasn't even surprised "He wanted you to hate him."

"Why would a father want his son to hate him?"

"Because he doesn't want to hold you back. FP never wanted to be a Serpent," Toni revealed "he wanted to go to college on a football scholarship, build a life outside of the Southside. But your grandfather wouldn't let him. Your dad joined the military because he found out your mom was pregnant with you. He thought it would give him a chance to make an honest living, and make his son proud. But all being in Iraq did was leave him with ghosts that followed him everywhere but the bottom of a bottle."

"I didn't know that."

"Because he didn't want you to. FP's father was an anchor," Toni described "who dragged him down his entire life. He didn't want do the same thing to you so, he let you build a life on the Northside. Even if it meant you'd have to leave him behind."

"And here I thought he was trying to leave me behind." Jughead sighed as he sat down on the steps in front of his trailer, causing Toni to do the same. Even though he could barely remember her, opening up to the pink-haired Serpent felt right. "Were we close before?"

"Thick as thieves. I even had my own little nickname for you: FP3. Thought Jughead was lousy nickname. Still do. I remember when you found out your mom was having Jellybean, you were so excited," Toni let out a faint chuckle as she recalled "You asked me if you could have one of my baby dolls so you could practice changing diapers."

"Really?" Jughead almost laughed "Did you give it to me?"

"I did. After you traded me your Batmobile for it."

"My Bat-?" Jughead's eyes widened as Toni laughed "You stole my Batmobile?"

"I didn't steal it, you gave it to me."

"Yeah? Well I want it back."

"Fine. Soon as I get my babydoll back," Toni stipulated.

"I think I gave it to Jellybean."

"Then I'm keeping the Batmobile." The pink-haired Serpent smiled fondly as she and Jughead shared a laughed "I missed you."

"Yeah? I'm starting to think I missed you too," Jughead confessed "What about the others? Fangs and Sweet Pea, did I get along with them too?"

"You could ask them yourself. I'm supposed to meet them at the White Wyrn pretty soon. Want to come? You can help figure out how to bust your dad out of jail in case the judge throws the book at him."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Maybe," Toni said with a teasing smile as she rose to her feet "So you coming or what?"

Jughead sighed as he started into the young Serpent's eyes, a familiar yet unidentifiable light in her dark brown orbs as he stood up. "The Wyrm better have good burgers."

Mickey marched into Pop's diner along with Reggie, Polly and Josie that evening, spotting a familiar face sitting in a booth alone, with a half-eaten burger and a book. "Clayton."

The former leader of the Bulldogs looked up from his food at the sound of the blue-eyed twin called out to him, his body going rigid as Mickey and Reggie grabbed him and pinned him against the wall. "Hey, what is your problem?" Chuck demanded.

"I don't know what makes me more sick," Mickey confessed "The slut-shaming bull you left on Betty's locker or the fact that you wrote it in fake blood."

"Wait, you think I?- I didn't do anything to Betty's locker," Chuck protested "That's not me anymore."

"Betty got you kicked off the football team after she outed your slut-shaming scorebook," Polly reminded "and then you tried to humiliate her at Jughead's party."

"After you tried to attack Josie," Reggie added with a snarl.

"He attacked-?" Mickey's eyes widened "Oh, now you're really in for it."

"Yes, I did all that stuff, but I didn't trash Betty's locker," Chuck repeated "I'm different now."

"Give us one reason why we should believe you," Josie challenged.

"I found God."

Reggie scoffed. "Give me a break!"

"It's true. Look, after Jughead's party, my parents dragged my behind to church," Chuck explained "I've been going every Sunday ever since. I've changed, I swear."

Mickey felt his grip on Chuck's shirt loosen as he listened to the former football player's words, the sincerity of his voice reminding Mickey of how religion helped him conquer his own demons. "Where were you when Betty's locker was trashed?"

"In Weatherby's office. But not because I was in trouble," Chuck assured "I asking him to let me start a Bible study group at school."

"Yeah right. The rest of the school might buy the 'born-again Chuck' act," Reggie mocked "But not us."

"Wait." Mickey placed a warning arm across his best friend's chest as he finally noticed the book Chuck was reading. A King James Bible. "Let him go, Reg."

"Dude."

"We can check with Weatherby to confirm Clayton's story. If he's telling the truth, the last you need is to get into a fight."

"And if he's lying?"

Mickey gave Chuck a warning glare. "Then he better pray his parents find him before we do."

"What's this for?"

Betty stood in her room with Polly early that morning, the leader of the Blue & Gold staring curiously at the gift in her hands, a hot pink leather diary with a tiny gold padlock.

"I was doing some more research last night and I read that some D.I.D. patients use journals to communicate with their alters," Polly explained "this way, you can find out what Elizabeth is up to the next time she comes out."

Betty resisted the urge to ball her fists at the mention of her alter, tossing the diary into the wastebasket next to her desk. "Pass."

"Betty, I know you're scared," Polly acknowledged, pulling the diary out of the trash "but you and Elizabeth have to figure out a way to coexist-,"

The high school reporter felt her heart rate speed up as her nails scraped against the bandages on her palms. "Don't say her name, Polly."

"Betty."

"Don't." The youngest Cooper sister gave her sibling a haunted look "Don't say her name. I couldn't sleep at all last night. Do you know why? Because ever since I found out about my alter, I can feel her inside me. Fighting, clawing to break free," she described "so she can erase me and take over my life. I'm not scared, Polly. I'm terrified."

"Betty, I know this is a lot. But Elizab-," the expecting mother quickly cut herself off as her little sister started to flinch "your alter isn't trying to replace you. She's here to protect you. But if you keep trying to fight this and keep her buried inside you, things are only going to get worse."

"How am I supposed to live like this? How am I supposed to let share a room with Cheryl knowing my alter wants to imitate her? How am I to be friends with Veronica knowing my alter hates her? How am I supposed to be around Archie when we-?" Betty quickly stopped herself from going any further, her nails scratching against her bandages.

"You've been doing that a lot," Polly noticed "You know, we've talked about your alter's feelings for Archie."

Betty said nothing, her stomach twisting up in knots as she sat down on the edge of her bed. "Ever since I started dating Jughead, Archie's been...distant," she described "Like he doesn't know how to be around the two of us anymore. And when it's just the two us, I can tell something's changed between Archie and me. We keep having these...moments."

"What kind of moments?"

"The kind that make me afraid to be alone with him. The night we found the video of Clifford Blossom killing Jason, Archie tried to say goodbye to me, in case his mom won the custody case and he had to move to Chicago. He was so scared Polly. He looked like, a little boy," Betty described "trapped in his worst nightmare. So I hugged him, and I promised him that we would all find a way to stay in each other's lives. I don't remember when we fell asleep on the couch. But when we woke up, we were still in each other's arms. Jughead looked at us like we were naked in bed." Betty's eyes filled with tears as the guilt became overwhelming "Elizabeth isn't the only one with feelings for Archie. But I can control my feelings. I can't control my alter's. If she tries to give us what we both want, I could lose three of the best friends I have ever had. I have to get rid of her Polly," she insisted in a terrified voice "Please help me get rid of her."

Polly said nothing, her stomach twisting up in knots at the look on Betty's face. She wasn't a real therapist. And even if she was, dissolving an alter was next to impossible.

"Girls?" The young sister jumped as Alice Cooper poked her head through the door, a concerned look spreading across her face when she noticed Betty was crying. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," Betty lied, as she quickly wiped away her tears "We were just...talking about Cheryl. I can't imagine what she's been through."

"Speaking of Cheryl, she dropped these off for you two," Alice announced, walking in with a box full of books "She said they were Jason's."

Polly felt the familiar sting of heartache as she rummaged through the box, her voice starting to tremble when she found a hardcover copy of The Three Musketeers. "This was his favorite. We used to take turns reading it to the babies."

Alice wrapped her arms around her oldest daughter as she became lost in her grief, holding the expecting mother close as she took a shaky breath. "I'm so sorry Polly," Alice told her "For everything. For sending you to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, for trying to separate you from your babies, for being so hard on you girls for all these years. It's just," the blonde mother felt a lump form in her throat as she explained "I wanted to keep you from making the same mistakes that my mother did. That I did."

"What mistakes?" Betty asked.

"You have a brother?"

Mickey sat with his friends in the Student Lounge later that day, wearing his brown leather jacket over a warm blue Riverdale High hoodie, dark jeans and boots, his eyes wide from the Coopers' recent revelation.

Polly nodded. "Mom got pregnant when she was our age. She went to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and gave her son up for adoption."

"How positively Dickensian," Veronica exclaimed "I adore a long-lost sibling story. No doubt your mystery brother a blonde Adonis."

"Should I be jealous?" Archie asked in a teasing tone.

"Oh my God," Betty's eyes widened as she read a jaw-dropping text "Jughead's at Southside High."

"What?"

"He transferred early. He said he doesn't want to fight the change anymore."

Archie's heart started racing. FP warned him about this. He told Archie that Jughead would try to cut himself off.

"Go," Mickey told his brother, recognizing the look on the brown-eyed twin's face "We'll cover for you."

As Betty, Archie and Veronica took off, Polly gave her best friend a glance. "You don't want go with them?"

"Jughead's the Southside Serpent prince in a school full of Southside Serpents. He'll be fine," Mickey assured "Archie and the others just need to see it for themselves. Besides, we still need to figure out who trashed Betty's locker."

"It wasn't Clayton. Mick and I checked with Weatherby on the way here," Reggie informed "he was in Weatherby's office for half the period pitching his bible study club."

"Then we better figure out who did do it before my man is suspended." Josie blinked as her friends all stared at her "What?"

"You just called me your man," Reggie answered puffing out his chest.

"Shut up."

"Maybe we made the attack too personal," Polly theorized "We thought it was Chuck because he hated Betty. But what if whoever did this did it because they hated the article?"

"The day before Betty published the article, Reggie called the Serpents Neo-Nazis," Mickey remembered.

"So?"

"So when I was in Chicago, a white cop killed a black accountant who was speeding on his way home from work. Two days later, there was a riot in Oakland. Whoever trashed Betty's locker felt the same way as those people in Oakland. So who would get that mad at about an article defending a biker gang with suspected Neo-Nazi ties in a town that was founded in the middle of World War Two?"

"A Jewish student," Polly answered "but I don't know any Jewish kids that go to Riverdale High."

"I do."

Archie, Betty and Veronica ran to Southside High as fast as they could, racing past every student and teacher as the three of them made a mad dash for the cafeteria, knowing that was where they favorite burger-devouring writer was most likely to be.

The brown-eyed twin came to a sudden stop as he stopped his best friend sitting in a table with two dark-haired boys and a pink-haired girl each of them wearing a Southside Serpent jacket, laughing like they were all lifelong friends.

It was enough of a sight to make Archie's head spin. "Jughead."

The aspiring novelist casually glanced over at his old friends. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey Midge. You got a minute?"

The short-haired girl turned around as she walked hand in hand with Moose in the halls, smiling at the sight of Mickey, Polly, Reggie and Josie. "Hey guys. What's up?"

"We wanted to talk to about what happened to Betty's locker yesterday," Josie answered nervously "We thought maybe you might know something that could help us find out who did it."

"Sorry guys. I was in health class when it happened."

"That's not what we want to talk about. We think whoever left that message on Betty's locker might be Jewish," Mickey explained "I remembered you mentioning going to Synagogue-,"

"And you thought what?" Midge asked "That I know every Jewish kid in town?"

Mickey's face turned pale as Moose gave him a protective glare. "Um…,"

"I'm kidding," Midge assured with a laugh "We live in a town with only one Synagogue. There's about twenty Jewish kids who go to school here."

"Can you think of any one of them that might leave that message on Betty's locker?" Mickey asked "Anyone with a personal grudge against the Serpents?"

"Just one."

"I didn't tell you I was transferring early, because I knew you would try to stop me. But, I am fine," Jughead assured "really."

The Southside native stood with his friends outside the front door of Southside High, trying to convince Archie and Betty not to drag him back to Riverdale High.

It wasn't going well. "Who were those kids you were with in the cafeteria?" Betty asked.

"That's Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea. They're my friends."

"Since when are you friends with the Southside Serpents?" Archie asked, staring at his best friend as if he had lost his mind.

"Since before I met any of you. But we lost touch when I transfered to the Northside. Their parents were my dad's original Serpent crew," Jughead explained "Joaquin too. And he's basically been playing surrogate father for them ever since they lost their real parents."

"That's why Joaquin helped him hide Jason Blossom's body."

Jughead nodded. "There's a whole side of my dad that I never knew about. Maybe the best part. And these guys might be the only way I can ever really know him. Plus, they're actually pretty cool," he said with an excited smile "Toni's really smart and wiz with a camera. Sweet Pea's the captain of the basketball team, but he's not a prick about it, you know? And Fangs is like this super-environmentalist. It's amazing all the stuff he knows."

As Jughead defended his new friends from his old ones, Toni Topaz watched from the steps of Southside High, holding an old photograph of her parents at the White Wyrm, along with their childhood friends: FP, Gladys, Fang's father Jose, Joaquin's mother Lucia, Sweet Pea's dad Pretty Ricky, and a blonde girl known only as Brass-Knuckles Barnes.

She was the first of them to become a Serpent. The one who taught them what it meant to wear the jacket. The best friend of Toni's mother, Vanessa. And judging by the way he talked about her, the first love of FP Jones' life.

He never said what happened to her, only that she left long before Toni or any of her friends had been born.

And Jughead's girlfriend was her spitting image.

Ethel Muggs sat in the library early that afternoon, casually reading when Mickey and Reggie walked in and sat down on either side of her.

"Hey guys," she greeted, frowning at the grim expressions on the boys' faces "What is it?"

"You trashed Betty's locker," Mickey accused.

Ethel laughed. "What? Why would I do that? Betty's my friend."

"Because she wrote an article defending the Southside Serpents," Mickey answered "The same gang that mugged your father when he was working at the Blossom's maple factory before it shut down."

"Some of the Serpents don't think Hitler was all that bad," Reggie commented "But your great-grandparents did. They moved halfway around the world to get away from him."

"My Mom calls that motive. And she calls you having a free period when Betty's locker was trashed opportunity," Mickey added "And thanks to Kevin, we know that you're the drama club's best special effects artist, which means you could mix up a batch of fake blood in your sleep. Put it all together, and you've a perfect prosecution strikeout."

Ethel's face quickly shifted from calm, to nervous, to defensive. "Do you really think Weatherby will believe any of this coming from the two of you?" she asked "The Mad Dog and Riverdale High's most infamous playboy?"

"Former playboy," Reggie corrected "And he may not believe us, but he will believe them."

As if on cue, Polly and Josie walked into the library, with Principal Weatherby by their side.

"Glad that's over."

Mickey sat with his friends at lunch, ready to put Ethel and her little stunt behind them.

"You're telling me," Polly agreed "the last thing Betty needs is more stress right now."

"What do you mean?"

The single mother became uneasy as her friends started to stare. "What happened with her and Chuck, I'm trying to figure out why she did it, why she can't remember."

"Any luck?"

"A little. But that's all I can say."

Mickey nodded, respecting the bond between Polly and her sister, when felt his phone go off in his pocket. It was a text. From Cheryl. Mickey hadn't said a word to her since he got back from Vancouver. How could he? His actions lead to Clifford Blossom committing suicide, condemning Cheryl to a life with Penelope. But he couldn't hide from her forever. So with a deep breath, he unlocked his phone and read the two sentence text. The first sentence gave him hope. The second sentence filled him with dread: I love you. But I'm going to be with Jason now.

"Josie." Mickey's blood turned to ice as he glanced at the leader of the Pussycats, the look her face making it clear that he had gotten a similar text.

Reggie didn't know what was going on, but he knew it wasn't good. "What is it?"

"We need to get to Sweetwater River," Mickey ordered "Now."

"Cheryl! Cheryl!" Mickey's heart pounded against his chest as he lead his friends across the snowy shores of Sweetwater River, desperate for any sign of Cheryl Blossom. How did he not see it? Quitting the Rivervixens, giving away all her stuff, he should've seen it. But he was so blinded by guilt, he didn't realize he left the love of his life feeling isolated and alone during the worst week of her life. Thank God the river was frozen, it bought them some time. But if they didn't find her soon…

"Cheryl!" Mickey shouted louder.

"Dudes." Reggie drew their friends' attention to other side of the woods. "We got backup."

Mickey's eyes widened as he spotted his brother and his friends searching the opposite side of the forest, running over to them with Reggie, Polly and Josie right behind him. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Same as you," Veronica answered "trying to let keep Cheryl from shaking off her mortal coil. Please tell me you found her."

"No." Mickey was so worried he could barely see straight "Guys, we have to find her."

"Over there!" Betty's eyes widened as she pointed to the middle of the river, where a head of bright red hair could be seen in the frozen river.

"Cheryl!" Mickey ran to the edge of the river as fast he could, his fear quickly turning to dread as she came into view: She was wearing the same white outfit from the Fourth of July, punching her way through the ice with a rock. "Cheryl, don't do it!"

"Mick, stop!" Archie and Reggie grabbed Mickey by the arms, holding him back as he fought to run onto the ice. "The river isn't solid."

"He's right," Jughead agreed, tapping the ice with his foot and causing it to crack "Too much weight, and we could all go under."

But Mickey didn't care. "She's trying to kill herself! CHERYL!"

Cheryl silently turned around at the sound of his voice, an utterly hopeless and broken look spread across her face as she stood alone in the middle of the river.

Mickey wanted to run to her. To hug her. To tell her that he wasn't going anywhere and that he loved her. Instead, all he could do was watch as Cheryl fell through the ice as it cracked.

"NO!" Mickey broke through Archie and Reggie's grasp as he charged across the ice, praying over and her. "Don't let her die. Please God, don't let her die."

The blue-eyed twin came to a panicked stop as he reached the hole in the ice, looking for any sight of Cheryl beneath the surface. Nothing. He saw nothing. But he couldn't just let her die. Realizing there was no other way, Mickey glanced over his shoulder at Archie and their friends, right before he threw his jacket on the ice and jumped into the water.

"MICKEY!" Archie's heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he watched his brother dive under the frozen river, bolting across with his friends chasing behind him, the brown-eyed twin coming to a skidding halt as he finally reached the hole in the ice, looking for any sign of his brother or Cheryl, only to find nothing but a cold dark abyss.

"The current has them," Jughead told him "Everybody spread out and look!"

Cold. That was the first thing that came to mind once Mickey was underwater. Freezing, mind-numbing, blistering cold. It was so cold Mickey wanted to scream. Focus, he thought Cheryl. You have to find Cheryl. The blue-eyed twin quickly steeled his nerves and began to swim with the current, spotting Cheryl drifting limply with the current.

Cheryl sat on the grassy shore of Sweetwater River, her clothes completely dry as she sat under a clear summer sky, her eyes widening in awe as she noticed a red-haired boy in white standing over her. "Jason?"

"Hey sis."

Mickey quickly swam to Cheryl's side and took her in his arms, gently rocking her back and forth as he tried to see if she was conscious. She was out cold. He had to get her to the surface. But the current, it was taking everything he had just to keep from getting swept away with it. But if he couldn't go back...Mickey felt his heartrate speed up as he looked at the thick sheet of ice blocking his way to the surface. Time to put all those workouts with Reggie to good use.

"It's so peaceful here." Cheryl smiled as she sat with her brother along the bank of Sweetwater River, watching the waves gently lap against the shores as the sun began to rise.

"This is just the in-between," Jason told her "Everyone else in town, on the other side of the woods."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Cheryl tilted her head at the conflicted look on her brother's face. "What is it?"

"You can't stay here, Cheryl."

Archie's heart pounded against his chest as him and his friends searched for Mickey and Cheryl, looking for something, anything, that could tell them where they were. But there was nothing. Nothing. That's when he heard strange sound coming from below.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Archie quickly fell to his knees and cleared away the snow from the ice, his eyes widening as he found Mickey trying to punch his way through the ice with one arm while holding Cheryl by the waist with the other.

"They're here!" Archie shouted. The brown-eyed twin raised his fist high and slammed it against the ice, ignoring the pain shooting through his arm as he repeated the action while Mickey did the same from below.

"Archie." Veronica cringed as her boyfriend continued to punch the ice, his hand quickly becoming covered with blood.

But he didn't care. Archie's heart was racing, his vision became blurred in a red haze. And nothing short of God himself would stop him from saving his brother. "Come on, Mick!" he shouted "Come on!"

Over and over, the brothers pounded on the ice from both sides, the impacts of their fists mimicking the beating hearts of everyone above and below the ice.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-Thump. Thump-CRACK!

Archie dove his hand under the water as the ice finally broke, pulling his brother his girlfriend to the surface.

Mickey gasped for air as his head came above the water, tightening his grip on Cheryl as he lifted her up and handed her to Reggie and Jughead as he crawled onto the ice. "She's not breathing," he managed between ragged breaths "She's not breathing." The blue-eyed twin watched in agony as Reggie began performing CPR on Cheryl, desperately waiting for her to wake up.

"I don't want to go back."

"It's not up to you Cheryl," Jason insisted, trying not to upset his sister anymore than he already had. "Or me. It isn't your time."

"I don't care. I want to stay here with you. Give me one reason why I shouldn't stay," she asked "So I can spend the rest of my life without you? So the town can gossip behind my back about how my father murdered my brother in cold blood? So I can spend the rest of life as my mother's punching bag?" Cheryl choked back a sob as she started to cry. "I don't want to live anymore, Jay-Jay. It's too hard. I'm all alone and it's just too hard."

Jason gently wiped the tears from his sister's face. "You've been through more tragedy in these last six months than most people see in a lifetime. And I know that you want the pain to stop, but this isn't the answer. And you're not alone. Listen."

"Rosie."

Cheryl's eyes widened as she heard a distant, familiar voice. "Mickey?"

"He's waiting for you. Over there." Jason smiled as he pointed across the river. "You have a new family now, Cheryl. One who will never hurt you like Mom hurt you or Dad hurt me."

"I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't. I'll always be with you," Jason promised "You're the strongest out of all us, Cheryl. That's why you're going to rewrite our family's legacy and show the world that the Blossoms can be a force for good."

Cheryl smiled at her brother's unwavering support, throwing her hands around his neck and hugging him tight as the tears rained down her cheeks. "I love you, Jay-Jay."

Jason placed a gentle kiss on her temple. "I love you too, sis."

"Rosie, come back." Mickey sat less than a foot away from Cheryl on the ice, watching Reggie continue to give her CPR. She hadn't moved. "Come back," the blue-eyed twin repeated with a trembling voice "Come back, please."

Cheryl's eyes snapped open as she coughed up the remaining water in lungs, her heart racing as her vision started to clear.

Mickey felt his heart finally start to beat again as he took a breath, grateful to God beyond words that she was still alive.

Cheryl Blossom stared silently at the roaring flame in the fireplace in Thistlehouse, the words of her brother echoing in her mind.

"Rewrite our family's history. Show the world that the Blossoms can be a force for good. You're the strongest out of all of us."

"I brought you some hot chocolate." Veronica Lodge walked in from the kitchen with Polly, Betty and Josie behind her into the living room, smiling as she handed the red-headed girl a warm mug "with a hint of peppermint liquor."

"Thanks." Cheryl stayed silent as she took a long sip from her drink, the sweet, steamy liquid slowly warming her from the inside out.

"Are you hungry?" Betty asked nervously "Polly and I made some soup."

"I'd rather know why you're being so nice to me." She expected this kind of concern from Josie, Polly and Veronica. But not Betty.

"Cher," Josie felt her stomach twist up in knots as she revealed "Mickey and I told them about your mom."

Cheryl wasn't even surprised. Veronica seemed so uneasy when Cheryl made her captain of the Rivervixens. Now she knew why.

"Why didn't you tell us, Cherry?" Veronica asked, deeply hurt that her friend didn't chose to confide in her "We could've helped you."

"I was ashamed. Ashamed and scared. I still am." Cheryl pulled the blanket closer to her as the image of her mother appeared in her mind "I never want to set foot in Thornhill again."

"You might not have to. Cheryl," Polly paused, glancing at her sister before she revealed "We want you to live with us."

Cheryl was stunned. "What about Nana Rose?"

"She is more than welcome to come too," Betty assured her. "Things will be a little crowded once the twins are born, but we'll make it work."

Cheryl truly could not believe her eyes. "You really want me to live with you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because we're family," Betty answered, as if that clarified everything.

Cheryl was speechless. For so long, the thought of a life away from Penelope seemed like a fantasy. But now…

"Cherry?" Veronica quickly became concerned as her friend began to cry "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just," The gothic heroine let a small sniffle as she began to smile "I always wanted sisters."

"Well doc, how have I got?"

Reggie chuckled as he stood in the bathroom with Mickey, Archie and Jughead, wrapping his best friend's bloodied hand with a medical bandage. "Best I can tell, it's just a sprained wrist. It's a good thing you two double-teamed the ice. Otherwise one of you would have broken a hand."

"Thanks. And not just for the medical treatment. You saves Cheryl's life," Mickey reminded in a deeply grateful tone "I owe you. But if you ever kiss her again, I swear I'll kill you."

Reggie laughed. "Not if Josie doesn't kill me first."

The young men walked down into living room, where Veronica, Josie and the Cooper sisters were caringly surrounding Cheryl by the fire.

"So, how are our handsome heroes?" Veronica asked.

"A little banged up. But we'll live," Archie assured her with a smile.

"It's getting late," Cheryl commented "You better going if you're going to make it to the Jubilee."

"Cher, you shouldn't be alone right now," Josie insisted.

"I'll stay with her," Mickey offered, causing Cheryl to glance his way.

Archie nodded, walking over to his brother's side whispering into his ear. "I talked to Dad. I told him you and Cheryl fell in the water ice-skating."

"Thanks."

The brown-eyed twin pulled his brother into a tight hug, grateful beyond words that tragedy had not turned him into an only child. "Next time you want to play Aquaman, do it in the summer, okay?"

Mickey suppressed a shiver as he sat alone in the corner of the room, struggling to get warm while so far from the fire.

"You can come sit with me if you want," Cheryl offered. She had barely seen him since he returned from Vancouver. And now that they forced to be in the same room alone together, he barely said a word to her.

The blue-eyed twin got up and walked over to the couch, letting out a deep sigh as he felt the warmth of the fire wash over him. "Thanks," he told Cheryl, as she draped half of her blanket across his shoulder.

"Thank you. You saved me."

"Guess that makes us even, huh?" Mickey joked.

Ten years ago, Cheryl saved Mickey from drowning in Sweetwater River. And now he had saved her.

"The Coopers want me to live with them," Cheryl commented "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?"

"I might've mentioned it. Figured it was the least that I owed you."

"Owed me?"

"For Vancouver. For sending your family underground," he explained in a guilt-ridden tone "For making your father commit suicide."

"Is that why I've barely seen you these past few days?"

Mickey felt a lump form in his throat. "I didn't know how to look at you knowing that you hate me."

"I don't hate you Mickey," Cheryl protested "I love you. And If you'll have me, I want us to spend as much time as we can together until you have to move to Chicago."

Mickey face broke into a massive grin. "I'm not moving to Chicago."

"You're not?"

"My parents worked things out. You have to share me with my mom during the summer but for the rest of the year-," Mickey's voice were cut short as Cheryl smashed her lips against his.

She couldn't help it. Cheryl loved Mickey. With all her heart and soul. And now, there was nothing keeping them apart.

Mickey had always loved Cheryl. Ever since he was a little boy. And to know he hadn't lost her forever filled him with a joy he could barely contain.

The blue-eyed twin felt his heart race as he kissed Cheryl back passionately, a jolt of sensual electricity coursing through his body as her hands began to roam his chest, quickly unzipping his hoodie as he began to unbutton her shirt.

Archie stood behind stage at the Jubilee as he prepared to perform with the Pussycats. Playing guitar was not easy with a sprained wrist.

"You sure you should be performing, Archiekins?"

The brown-eyed twin smiled as Veronica Lodge walked in, a concerned expression on her face. "Ronnie, I played an entire football season with a taped hand my freshman year. I can figure this out."

The New York native nodded, noticing the distant look on her boyfriend's face as he looked over his music sheets. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just...I've been thinking about what happened at the river," Archie explained "How Mickey was willing to do anything to save Cheryl. And I realized, I want to be that for you, Veronica."

The New York native grinned at the adoring look on her boyfriend's face. "A soulmate? A broad shoulder I can cry on every now and then?"

"Yeah."

"I'd love that, Archie," she whispered.

"Me too." The brown-eyed felt his heart race as Veronica leaned in close, giving him a soft, intimate kiss.

"Ahem."

The young lovers jumped as Josie McCoy made her presence known, with Valerie and Melody by her sides. Should we come back?"

"Uh no," Archie said as he cleared his throat "No, that's okay. Listen, Val-,"

"It's okay Archie," the songwriter assured with a small smile "We're good."

"Archie," Josie gave her friend a deeply grateful expression "What you and Mickey did for Cheryl-,"

"It was nothing."

"You saved her life. That is the exact opposite of nothing. Which is why we want to sing your song for the Jubilee."

"Really?" Archie was stunned. When he suggested his song at rehearsal, he thought it would take a miracle to sing it at the Jubilee.

"Hello?" Reggie Mantle poked his head through the dressing room door with one eye open "Everyone decent?"

"Come on in Tiger," Josie permitted "And don't act like you weren't trying to sneak a peek with your one eye open."

"I neither confirm nor deny," Reggie stated, earning a laugh from the lead singer "Drink this," he instructed, handing her a warm thermos "It's green tea and honey. It's good for your voice."

Josie smiled as her cheeks grew warm. "Thank you."

"Where's ours?" Melody asked.

"I'm her boyfriend, not yours. Anyway, Mayor McCoy said you guys are on in five minutes," Reggie informed.

As the young performers headed onstage, Veronica brought a hand onto Archie's arm and whispered. "Come find me after the show."

Archie tilted his head at the lustful, playful look in her eye. "Why?"

"So I can sneak you into my bedroom, of course."

Cheryl lay with Mickey on the couch later that evening, with nothing more than a blanket between them, resting her head on his chest while Mickey slept, watching the embers of the fire slowly go out, remembering her late brother's request. She would rewrite their family's legacy. And she knew just where to start. There was just one problem: Mickey.

He was warm, too warm. His face was pale. And he was shivering in his sleep even though he was sweating. She didn't want to leave him, not after all that he'd done for her. But Cheryl didn't do this tonight, she feared she never would.

The scarlet-haired bombshell grabbed one of the spare blankets off the floor and draped it over her shoulders, carefully slipping off the couch as she headed upstairs. Thistlehouse had once been Nana Rose's home, until her life-changing fall down the stairs. The Blossoms used to spend weekends here during the summer, but only on rare occasions. After finding one of her favorite dresses in the closet, Cheryl got dressed and headed downstairs, ready to face her mother once and for all.

"Cheryl?"

Cheryl paused at the sound of the Mickey's voice, looking over her shoulder to see him staring at her from the couch with half-open eyes. "I have to go, Mickey. I'm sorry."

"No," he protested in a groggy, raspy slur, reaching out to take her hand "Stay."

"I want to. But there's something I have to do first."

Mickey fought to stay away as his said the words. "Coming...with you."

"You're sick. You're need to rest."

"I'm...fine," Mickey lied. His throat was sore and he was freezing. But he was not letting Cheryl out his sight. The blue-eyed twin attempted to sit up, only to stop when his head started to spin.

Cheryl placed a hand on Mickey's chest as she forced him to lie back down, pulling the blanket closer to his chest. "You are no condition to go anywhere, Teddy Bear."

"Rosie...stay," Mickey repeated "Please."

Cheryl stared into Mickey's eyes, the pale blue irises distant, dazed, and groggy. Not that she could blame him. While bandaging his best friend's hand, Reggie had given Mickey two Advil and a shot of Dayquill. But underneath all those drugs and the fever, Cheryl could tell he was scared. For her. "You don't have to worry about me Mickey. I'm different now. I feel...reborn," she described "like a phoenix."

"Phoenix," Mickey repeated, fighting to keep his eyes open as he tried to remember a hazy memory "Dragons...darkness."

Oh yeah. He was definitely feeling the drugs. "I heard you, you know. When I was on the brink of death, I heard you calling for me." Cheryl smiled softly as she gently stroked his cheek "I won't squander the second chance you've given me, Teddy Bear. I'll be back as soon as I can," she promised "I just need to check on Nana Rose."

"Nana Rose...Grandpa Artie...sitting in a tree."

Cheryl suppressed a giggle at her boyfriend's drug-induced response, tossing another log on the fire. "Rest. Get warm. I'll be back. I love you."

"Love you too," Mickey responded hazily, slipping into a deep sleep as Cheryl walked out.

Fred smiled as he applauded Betty finished her speech at the Jubilee, deeply proud of both her and Archie. The construction worker rose from his seat and headed the exit, suppressing a scowl as Hermione walked over to him. "What do you want?"

"Just to give you this." The raven-haired mother reached into her purse and handed her high school boyfriend a yellow folder. "An official, formal offer for your shares of the SoDale project. Just like you asked."

Fred handed the folder right back to her. "No deal."

"You haven't even looked at it."

"I don't have to. I talked things put with my son last night and we decided that the potential profit of SoDale outweighs whatever immediate satisfaction you could offer."

"I see." Hermione pursed her lips as she placed the folder back into her purse "Are they any other business decisions you and your sixteen year-old son have made that I should know about?"

"Just one. Polly." Fred felt a smile tug at his lips as the Cooper family walked towards him. "Mickey mentioned you were looking for work, is that right?"

Polly nodded, the single mother wearing a lavender wool peacoat over her swollen stomach and a confused expression on her face.

"Well, it just so happens that Mrs. Lodge has decided to step down from Andrews Construction," Fred informed, causing Hermione to raise an eyebrow "to focus on her marriage and help her husband transition from prison life. And she insisted that you take our place as our new bookkeeper."

"Oh my God!" Polly became ecstatic as she threw her arms around her neighbor's neck, pulling him into a massive hug.

Alice Cooper stayed silent as she stared at Hermione, her usual cold and hateful glare softening significantly. "Thank you."

Hermione felt something stir inside her at that moment, her thoughts drifting back to her childhood, when she and Alice were sisters in all but blood. The raven-haired mother took a moment to steady herself as the Cooper family headed home, giving Fred a provoked yet impressed glare. "That was quite the little power play you just made," she praised.

"I learned from the best."

"Although, I could suddenly choose to keep my job," Hermione threatened "unless you sell your shares."

"Not a chance."

"Then what's to keep me from putting Polly Cooper out of a job?"

"Alice," Fred answered with the utmost certainty. "You caused so much pain in high school," he reminded in a deeply disappointed tone "just because you could. Without a single ounce of remorse. But there was always one thing you wished you could undo: sleeping with Hal Cooper. Alice was your best friend. Your only friend. That's why you let Polly stay with you. It wasn't a favor to Veronica, it was an olive branch. So can you can stay on as my bookkeeper," Fred dared "And risk driving Alice away forever. Or you can step down and pray that it gives you the chance to win back the only real friend you have ever known." Fred felt a dark sense of satisfaction as he saw Hermione conviction waiver "Your choice."

The single father smiled smugly to himself as he turned around and headed for his truck, pulling out his phone and dialing Mary's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's me," Fred said, smiling at the sound of her voice "I just felt you should know, Mickey was in an accident this afternoon."

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine. He's fine," Fred assured quickly "The boys went ice skating on Sweetwater River with some friends. Mickey and Cheryl were the first on the ice and they fell in. But Archie got them out and they're okay."

"Good. That's good."

Fred frowned at the shaky tone in his wife's voice. "You okay, Mary Grace?"

"I'm fine Fred." Mary stood alone in her bathroom, her eyes locked in a state of disbelief as she stared at the positive pregnancy test in her hand. "Everything's fine."

"This is a bad idea T." Sweet Pea walked with Fangs and Toni across Sunnyside Trailer Park, walking towards a familiar mobile home. "We don't even know this guy."

"He's our friend," Toni reminded sharply "that's all I need to know."

"He was our friend. When we were four. Now he's just some kid who's been playing Northsider for the past twelve years," Sweet Pea counted "We can't trust him."

"He's FP's son. We promised to keep an eye on him and we need a fourth man. And we are don having this conversation," Toni stated in a steely voice right before she knocked on the door.

Moments later, Jughead Jones came and answered the door, pulling a sweatshirt down over his chest. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We need your help. The rent's due on Monday and none of our family have the money."

"Okay," Jughead tilted his head as he stepped onto the porch "I know I'm the unofficial prince of the Serpents, but I don't know how to get that kind of money in a weekend."

"Your dad taught us how to get copper wire from the abandoned houses on the Westside," Sweet Pea explained "But we need a fourth man if we're going to get everything that we need."

Jughead's eyes widened in shock as he whispered "You asking me to help you rob a house?"

"We're asking you to help us keep our families from being thrown out on the street," Sweet Pea justified "I told you we couldn't trust this guy."

"The house we're going to is abandoned," Toni repeated "No one's is going to miss the wiring and no one's going to get hurt. The rent's due on your trailer too," she whispered "and our fence is going on vacation tomorrow, which means we have to do this tonight. If you want your father to have a home to come back to when he gets out, this is the only way."

Jughead stayed silent as he weighed his options, letting out a frustrated sigh as he made to a decision. "Give me a minute."

The Southside native quickly hurried back into the trailer, his stomach twisting up in knots at the sight of Betty Cooper.

"Juggie, what's wrong?"

"I have to go."

"Go?"

"I'm so sorry," Jughead apologized, grabbing his Southside Serpent jacket from the closet. "The rent's due and if I don't have it by Monday, the landlord will tow the trailer. Toni has a way for us to get the money, but we have to do it tonight." The dark-haired boy the blonde reporter's face with both hands and pulled her for a quick and sudden kiss. "I love you. I'll call you tomorrow," he promised. Right before he ran out the door.

"Sugar

Oh, honey, honey

You are my candy girl

And you got me wanting you."

Mickey smiled brightly as he spun Cheryl to the music on the auditorium floor, along with Fred and Mary, Moose and Midge, Reggie and Josie, Betty and Jughead, Archie and Veronica and all the other residents of Riverdale enjoyed the Homecoming dance. The scarlet bombshell giggled as Mickey pulled her close, leaning in for a kiss when music suddenly stopped.

Mickey's eyes widened as he realized that the dance floor was completely empty except for him and one person: a fair-skinned blonde with short hair, dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and black leggings, with matching boots and a headband. Sabrina. "Hey Paladin."

"What are you doing here?" Mickey asked.

"We need to talk."

Mickey's eyes narrowed as he realized what was going on. "This is dream."

"So?"

"So, you're not real."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not," Mickey repeated "This is a dream. Which means, all this is in my head. Which means, you're not real."

"Yes this is a dream. And yes, I'm in your head," Sabrina confirmed "but I am real. And we really need to talk."

"I don't think so. This is a dream," Mickey reiterated "Which means I can do whatever I want."

To prove his point, the blue-eyed snapped his fingers three times, causing a trio of Cheryl Blossoms in cheerleading uniforms to appear.

"G! O! M! I! C! K! E! Y! Go Mickey!" they cheered enthusiastically before Mickey made them disappear with another snap.

"And for my next trick, I will make Sabrina disappear."

The blue-eyed twin grinned as he snapped his fingers again, causing the auditorium to refill with the residents of Riverdale, pulling Cheryl close for another kiss, only for her and everyone to disappear once again.

"Nice trick, Inception."

Mickey clenched his jaw at the sound of Sabrina's voice, spotting her sitting on the edge of the stage.

"But my tricks are way better. How did you do that, anyway?" she asked.

"It's called lucid dreaming. I've been having stress nightmares since I was kid. My best friend taught me how so I could get good night's sleep before a big test at school. I'm pretty much pro now. Although some dreams are trickier than others," he explained, giving her an irritated glance "If you won't leave, then I will," he decided, snapping his fingers.

Mickey sat behind the wheel of a green '67 Thunderbird, dressed in his brown leather jacket, a white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, cruising down Route 66 with Cheryl by his side on a bright and sunny day, when he noticed Sabrina sitting in the back seat.

"Sweet ride."

SNAP!

Mickey kissed Cheryl passionately as they two of them stumbled into the empty locker room, the blue-eyed twin wearing his Riverdale Sluggers uniform while his girlfriend wore her Rivervixens outfit, where Sabrina was waiting patiently as she leaned against the lockers.

"Seriously? The cheerleader and the jock hooking up in the locker room? How cliche can you get?"

SNAP!

Mickey grinned mischievously as he playfully chased Cheryl into the Andrews Construction trailer, the blue-eyed twin wearing a light wash denim shirt, dark jeans, boots and a hard hat while Cheryl wore a form-fitting pure white blouse, a short red shirt and black thigh-high boots.

The scarlet-haired bombshell pointed in Mickey's direction as she leaned against the desk, wiggling her finger back and forth as she gestured for Mickey to come closer.

"Ahem."

Mickey threw his hard hat on the floor when he spotted Sabrina on the other side of the trailer, making herself a cup of coffee.

"Really? Sex in the office desk? What are you, fifty?"

"That. Is. It!" Mickey shouted. Time to pull the plug on this dream.

SNAP!

Mickey's eyes popped open as he sat up in his bed, letting out a deep breath. Thank God. No more Sabrina. Wait a minute. He didn't fall asleep at home.

"Finally."

Mickey slammed his head into his pillow as Sabrina walked through his bedroom door.

"A dreamscape that doesn't include you trying to bang your girlfriend. I know they say all boys think about is sex, but I was really hoping that was just an exaggeration."

Mickey groaned. "Leave me alone."

"Not until we talk."

"Fine. Fine," the blue-eyed twin relented as he sat back up "Let's hear what the figment of my imagination has to say."

"I am not a figment. I'm a witch."

"A what?"

"A witch," Sabrina repeated "You know, spells, curses, incantations?"

Mickey laughed. "Yeah right."

"It's true. That's how I got into your dreams," she explained "I used a dreamwalker spell to project my astral projection into your subconscious."

Only Mickey wasn't buying it. "If you're a witch, shouldn't you look like this?"

Sabrina scowled as she realized her clothes had suddenly changed, the girl from Greendale now wearing a long black dress, a pointy hat and holding an old wooden broom. "Well you're Scottish, shouldn't you look that this?"

Mickey's eyes widened as his pajamas turned into a kilt and bagpipes. "Touche. Look, just tell me what you want so you can go."

"He's coming."

"Who's coming?"

"The dragon," Sabrina stated obviously "remember? Black scales? Green eyes? Seeks absolute destruction?"

"Right. I'll make sure our dragon insurance is renewed when I wake up."

Sabrina's eyes widened as Mickey got out the bed and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

"As far from you as possible."

"Wait!" As she chased him down the stairs, Sabrina's dress changed to her regular clothes, while Mickey's kilt turned into a dark wash denim shirt, black jeans and sneakers. "The dragon is the first of the three waves of darkness. He could be here any day now," Sabrina insisted "You're the only one I can stop him."

"Because I'm a Paladin, right?" Mickey recalled, grabbing a Pop's root beer float from the fridge in the kitchen.

"Yes! Your ancestors were soldiers in the holy war," Sabrina explained "That's why the darkness hasn't corrupted your family."

"Holy war? You mean the Crusades?" Mickey realized "That's a family myth I heard in Scotland when I went to bury my grandfather. There's no proof that it actually happened. And even if an Andrews really did fight in the Crusades, it wouldn't make me a holy knight."

"I told you Sabrina."

Mickey's eyes widened as a little black cat hopped in through the open kitchen window. It was talking. The cat was talking.

"These Christians are a stubborn lot," the cat went on with a cockney British accent "They only listen to little girls with wings and halos."

"Okay, that does it." Mickey brought two fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle, causing the Andrews family dog to come running in barking through the front doggy door. "Go get him, Vegas!"

"Bad dog! Bad dog! Leave me alone!" the cat pleaded, letting out a panicked meow as Vegas chased him through the back door.

Sabrina gave Mickey a protective glare "What did you do that for?"

"I hate cats. I'm allergic."

"That's just Salem's astral projection. It's not going to make you break out or anything."

"Doesn't mean I want a talking cat running around in my dreams. Look, I heard what you had to say and I'm not buying it. Now will you leave me alone, please?"

"You're not listening me! Please," Sabrina begged in a wavering voice "I'm trying to make things right. The witches of Greendale have been practicing black magic for decades, never once considering the effect it might have on the outside world. For the past seventy years, Riverdale has been soaking up all the residual dark energy like a sponge. It's corrupting the people's hearts and minds like toxic runoff from a nuclear power plant. That's what made your girlfriend's family so cruel. That's what happening to your friend next door. That's what created the dragon. I can change the Church of Night from the inside. I can make sure nothing like this happens again," she promised "But I can't do that and stop the dragon. Not without you. Please. All descendants of the Knights Templar are covered by the blessing of the sacred cross. It makes them all natural warriors to fight the darkness. Your father has lost the will to fight and your brother's heart is clouded by self-doubt and indecision. Which means the only who can do this is you. Look I know I'm asking a lot, but you don't stop the dragon, innocent people are going to-,"

"There is no dragon!" Mickey snapped "There is no dark magic contaminating Riverdale, and there is no Sabrina the teenage witch! You're not 're he part of me that actually had fun through this whole Jason Blossom mess."

He got to help solve a murder mystery. He traveled to another country and take down a drug cartel. Today, he saved Cheryl's life and made love to her by the fire. And when the Blossoms were shooting at him in Vancouver, he never felt so alive.

"My stupid hero complex," he identified, finally admitting that Polly was right "Cranked up to eleven. You're a part of me, so I will make you deal: I will talk to my dad about joining the military. I will talk to Sheriff Keller about law enforcement. I will find a way to spend my life helping people after graduation," Mickey promised "And for the next two years, you leave. Me. Alone."

Sabrina sighed as she blinked slowly, a steely yet regretful resolve on her face. "I tried being nice. But it looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way."

Mickey jumped at the sudden sound of a baby crying filled his ears, turning around to see a crib standing in the middle of the living room. It was similar to the ones Mickey and Archie had when they were little. Only this one had been repainted pink. Curious, the blue-eyed twin walked over and approached the crib, inspecting the tiny life inside: a fair-skinned redhead with familiar features, wearing a pure white onesie. Around her neck hung a rose gold pendant on a red leather chord, the image of a robin etched into the center, surrounded by Celtic knots. She looked like Mary. The baby slowly started to settle as Mickey picked her up and began to rock her back and forth, staring back at him with pale blue eyes as she wrapped her tiny hand around Mickey's finger, causing a strange feeling to stir in his heart. "Who is this?"

"One of the chosen few who will survive," Sabrina answered grimly "unless you help me."

"Survive what?"

Sabrina drew Mickey's attention to the kitchen where a stranger dressed in a black cloak suddenly appeared from the shadows, his piercing green eyes boring into Mickey's soul. The baby quickly started crying again as the stranger began to change. His body doubled in size. His arms turned to talons. His cloak turned into scales. Mickey's eyes widened as the stranger turned into a massive winged dragon who could barely fit in the room. The creature opened his jaw to reveal his razor sharp teeth, unleashing a massive plume of emerald fire.

Mickey's eye snapped open as the dream came to a fiery end, his heart racing and chest heaving from the shock. That dream...it was unlike anything Mickey had ever experienced before. The fire felt so real, he was sweating. A lot. Mickey groaned as he sat up on the couch, realizing just how bad he really felt. His throat was burning, his head was spinning and despite the sweat he was freezing. Cheryl was right. He was sick. Wait.

"Cheryl?" The blue-eyed twin called in a weak raspy tone. Great. He lost voice too. Just great. Before he could even try to call her again, Mickey broke into a coughing fit that left his throat feeling like it had been attacked by a jackhammer.

The blue-eyed twin felt his head start to spin as he sat up on the couch, the morning sun shining across his face through the window. Morning. Oh God, it was morning. Mickey searched around and found his phone, checking his messages to find that Fred had texted him three times and called twice.

I'm a dead man, Mickey thought. As he scrambled to get dressed and meet his father at Pop's, Mickey noticed that he wasn't the only one Fred had asked to meet him at the diner.

Veronica Lodge lay in bed with Archie that peaceful morning, the sun softly shining through her bedroom window as a cell phone started buzzing, stirring the raven-haired princess from her sleep as she blindly reached for the phone and brought to her lips. "Hello?"

Veronica's eyes snapped open the caller starting coughing violently. "Hello?"

"Put Archie on the phone Veronica," a raspy voice insisted.

"Who is this?"

"It's Mickey. Now tell Archie to come out your legs and put him on the phone."

"I am going to let that slide solely because I can tell that you're ill. He's sleeping. Give me a second." The New York native gently rocked her boyfriend's chest back and forth with her free hand. "Wakey-wakey Archiekins," she whispered.

The brown-eyed twin took in a deep breath as he woke up, looking up at Veronica with a smile as the morning sun surrounded her face like a halo. "Hi."

"Hi." Veronica gave Archie a soft, playful smile as he leaned in for a morning kiss, placing a finger on his lips as she waved the phone in her hand back and forth. "It's your brother. He sounds sick."

Concerned, Archie took the phone in his hand and held it to his ear. "You okay, Mick?"

"AAAH-CHOO!"

Archie winced as his brother let out a massive sneeze through the phone. "Guess not."

"We're dead Archie-Boy," Mickey said with a sniffle "We are so dead."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dad knows we didn't come home last night."

"Oh God." Archie's heart skipped a beat as he jumped from the bed and started getting dressed. "I texted you. I texted you," he repeated as he pulled on his pants "and I told you to be home before Dad got back from the Jubilee. And I asked you to cover me."

"In case you couldn't tell, I have a major cold from fishing my girlfriend out of a frozen river," Mickey reminded "I've been in a mini-coma all night. Look, Dad wants us to meet him at Pop's. I'm heading there now. Where are you?"

"At the Pembroke. I can be there in ten minutes."

"Don't tell Dad anything until I get there. Our stories need to line up...up...AAAH-CHOO!"

Archie winced as he brother let out another massive sneeze. "You sure you don't want Dad to pick you up?"

"Dude, I'm still at Thistlehouse. The last thing I need is for Dad to find out I spent the night at my girlfriend's summer home. Look, just stall him," Mickey pleaded "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay." As he hung up the phone, Archie turned around and gave his girlfriend a deeply apologetic look. "I have to go."

"I know. But I'm keeping this," Veronica stipulated, gesturing to the dress shirt she was wearing "It reminds me of you."

Archie smiled as he leaned over the bed and gave her a single kiss, the soft sensation of her lips sending his heart soaring for the stars. "I'll call you," he whispered.

"You better."

101.6. That was Mickey's temperature when he left Thistlehouse. 101.6. Before he headed off to meet his family, the blue-eyed twin raided the medicine cabinet for anything that would make the walk to Pop's more bearable, taking a pair of aspirin and couple shots of cold medicine when he noticed the thermometer and decided to check his how bad his fever was. 101.6. He should be in bed with a bowl of Mary's chicken soup, not hiking back halfway across town in the snow. Yet here he was, struggling to stay warm as the winter wind whipped at his face, causing him to shudder, sneeze and cough.

At least he knew why Sabrina showed up in his head last night. Talk about a serious fever dream. Still, he couldn't figure what that baby had to do with anything...

First things first. Mickey and Archie had to smooth things over with Fred so he didn't ground them until graduation. Then, Mickey had to find Cheryl.

She never came back to Thistlehouse. She called, but she never came back. On the way to Pop's, Mickey decided to check the rest of his messages. Mary had learned about the accident and was just glad he was okay. Polly was beyond grateful for the job bookkeeping job. And Cheryl was at the hospital.

She didn't say why or what happened, all her voicemail said was that there had been an accident at Thornhill and that she was okay. Which is why Mickey needed to convince Fred to take him to the hospital. If Penelope had hurt Cheryl again….Oh God.

Mickey's heart nearly jumped out of his chest when the iconic Riverdale diner came into view, spotting a green-eyed man in a mask through the window. Pointing a gun right at Fred. Mickey's heart started racing. His blood started boiling. His vision blurred into a red haze and without a moment's hesitation, he charged into the restaurant.

Three shots were fired before the man who would come to be known as 'The Black Hood' ran out of Pop's, leaving the Andrews family beaten and battered inside.

Mickey winced in agony as he struggled to sit up in the corner by the door, a bruise on his forehead and a bullet in his shoulder, staring at Archie as he sat in the middle of the diner, holding Fred's head in his lap as he lay in a puddle of blood.

The End

Author's Note

Just wanted to thank you to all the readers who followed, favorited and reviewed my fic. I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I had writing it.

Feel free to tell me which chapter was your favorite and what you would like to see in a sequel.