At last, we have a new RON chapter! I sadly had to put RON on hold for a bit due to just needing a bit of a break from social media, but we are BACK and ready for the adventures to continue!
I recommend catching up on the series or rereading past chapters since it’s been awhile! You can scroll down to the categories and see Ready or Not! Click that, and you’ll see every RON chapter since the beginning!
Chapter Five; 100 Bad Days
I woke up curled up on the couch. Xavier was already awake, sitting at the table. His hands were covering his face.
Enough is enough. I won’t let my family suffer any longer. I won’t allow myself to tear this family apart. Without looking back, I opened the doors and walked right out into the lobby. I heard the door quickly open behind me, but I kept going.
“Mariah?” I heard Xavier call out. I sighed, stopping my stride.
“ I’m sorry, but this is for not only us, but for the greater good.” I explained, but he looked at me with pride.
“That’s my daughter. Just promise to return home in one piece, okay?”
“I only promise to try.”
***
I stopped when I reached The Alpha Headquarters. I wanted to see if Olivia left any sort of clues of her whereabouts. I opened the doors, noticing it was empty. I tiptoed around to avoid any secret surprises I might find. I bent down, avoiding all the caution tape.
“This is a crime scene you know.” I heard a familiar voice call out.
“Sir Gilbert? I-” I started, but he held his paw up.
“Your father already let me know. I thought you’d come here first. I have a few details in the war room that I wanted to show you.” He explained, leading the way and opening the door for me. I thanked him quickly, picking up the trail of my dress.
“This is all of the information we’ve been able to gather.” Gilbert explained. I noticed a few photos on the table and some papers.
“Did Olivia leave anything behind?” I asked, making my way to the table. Gilbert handed me a small, folded piece of paper. I opened it cautiously.
“Hi, Mariah. I can’t wait to see my beautiful girl once again. It’s about time I get the respect and payback I rightfully deserve from EVERYONE who’s wronged me. See you soon.” I read outloud. Gilbert had already read it, so it wasn’t much news to him.
“It’s most likely written by Olivia, but Hatchi told her what to write down. I don’t see my mom using her as a vessel at this point. Olivia is going along with this on her own, so there’s no need to possess her.” I explained.
“When do you think we should expect her arrival?” Gilbert asked. I shrugged.
“Not sure. I’ve never freed someone from a necklace before. All I can say is be prepared for it. I’m going to find Olivia and try to stop her from doing whatever will free my mother from that necklace.” I explained. Gilbert nodded, collecting everything else on the table. I wasn’t even sure where to start looking for Olivia’s base.
“Nobody knows where Olivia is. They checked your old lair already. They’ve checked everywhere in and out of Jamaa’s parameters. Nothing.” Gilbert explained, opening the door for me.
“Unless we wait for her to come to us.” I said, turning around.
“You think we should wait for Hatchi or Olivia to come to us? That’s too dangerous.”
“Think about it. Nobody knows where Hatchi or Olivia are. Heck, Hatchi could already be freed. We have no idea. Instead of going on a wild goose chase, we can wait for Hatchi to come to us and set up some sort of a trap.” I explained.
“I don’t know, Princess. That sounds very dangerous. But it’s also very clever.” Gilbert admitted. I nodded.
“If we set it up in the castle, that’s where she’s going to go.” I explained. He nodded.
“I’ll talk to the other Alphas and your father to see what I can do. I’m on board with this. For now, you go back home. Spend time with your family. They need you.” He smiled, opening the final doors to the exit.
“Thank you, Gilbert.” I smiled, making my way back up the trail to the castle.
***
“People often asked what went wrong. What went wrong with the phantoms? What went wrong with Mira and Zios? Now, they’re asking what went wrong with their own Princess Olivia.”
“What happened that made her entire personality and morals shift? Who- or what- helped her do this? Why would she want to do this? And my dear, there’s one common answer to those two questions. Mariah. Everything she’s done, everyone she’s been near, has turned to chaos. That’s why they call her the Destroyer. She can ruin bonds, friendships, lives, without even knowing it.”
“She causes nothing but problems wherever she goes. She’s brought you nothing but pain and anger. Don’t you agree, Olivia?”
“I do. She deserves what’s coming to her. She deserves to feel the same way I have for the past year. And soon, the entire world will know her little secret.”
***
“I don’t know, Gilbert.” My father said hesitantly.
“Trust me, dad. This is going to work.” I explained. Liam stood up.
“I’m in. I want to bring my sister back home safely.” He chimed in. I nodded.
“If you can assure me this will be safe-”
“I can’t.” Gilbert sighed, looking at me.
“But, I know it has to work.” I added. Liam looked at Xavier, pleading with him to agree. Lucy looked at Liam and me, and looked back up at her husband.
“I say we do it.” She said quietly, her face still stained with tears. Xavier sighed, finally looking back at Gilbert.
“Alright. So, what’s the plan?”
“We have everyone in their rooms. Mariah will be alone in her room. Liza and myself will be stationed in her closet. Hatchi- or Olivia- should teleport to the center of the room, so she wouldn’t expect it. Mariah will have to act the part, but she’ll convince her to wait long enough for us to send Peck, Greely, and Cosmo the signal to come in. If we play our cards right, we should be able to capture Hatchi with the freezing spell.” Gilbert explained, pointing around on the map on the wall of the castle.
“It sounds good, but will it work?” Xavier asked, looking at me. I nodded.
“It has to. We don’t have any other options here, dad. It’s this or-” I looked over at Gilbert. “You know, let’s not finish that statement.”
“I can’t risk you or Olivia getting hurt.” Xavier sighed, rubbing his paws over his eyes. I could tell he was exhausted.
“We won’t let that happen. You have my word.” Liza came in with her armor on. Thank
you.
“Alright, alright. I’m in.” Xavier sighed, looking at me. I gave him a nod before dashing off to my room to prepare. It’s time for a showdown.
***
I sat on my bed, doing some school work on my laptop. I needed to get it done anyways, so why not actually do it while waiting for my possessed half sister to show up?
I shuffled around, groaning. Why isn’t she here yet? What is she planning?
“Well well well.” I heard a voice whisper. Gotcha.
“Olivia.” I whispered back. She cackled, coming out of the shadowy portion of my room. Classic move. Predictable.
“You know, your mother is truly incredible. I’m not sure why you gave her up for this cushy life.” She began. I watched her, allowing her to speak her monologue that I knew was coming. I continued to type slowly on my laptop. School assignments aren’t going to wait for my mother.
“You chose this over me.” I heard my mother’s voice ring. What? Both of them?
“Mom.” I whispered slowly. She appeared in front of my bed, causing me to jump. She laughed, causing me to shiver. Man she’s scary, but I couldn’t let my guard down.
“I chose a parent that cared for me over one who used me.” I corrected her.
“You really think he cares about you? Do you know what actually happened, or the lies he filled your head with? I could hear everything, daughter. Every word you thought. Every conversation you had. I heard it all. You’re naive to think I didn’t tell your father about you.” She challenged, putting her paw on the poll of my master bed.
“W-why would he lie to me?” I asked, shuffling out of the bed. I needed to be ready for anything.
“He wanted revenge, just like I do.”
“Revenge on who? You?”
“Yes. He was upset because I wouldn’t leave you here with him. After I revealed myself to your father, he wanted me to leave and leave you here. But I refused to let that happen. May I remind you that you are the Destroyer. I wasn’t going to let you waste away here. Too bad you chose that path for yourself as a little Princess. There’s so much you don’t know about your father, and it’s pathetic that you actually believe him.” My mother pushed. My head started to spin. What don’t I know? “He hates phantoms. He hates us. He doesn’t have any care in the world for you.” I shook my head as she approached me. Olivia stood behind her holding Liza’s staff. If I could just grab it..
“That’s ENOUGH.” I heard Xavier’s voice growl from outside my door.
“I will not sit here and let you fill my daughter’s head up with lies to manipulate her.” He barged in with a sword. My mother cackled.
“Pathetic.” She flicked her wrist, and the sword flew out of her hand and to the door of my closet.
“You left me. You left me to die, Xavier.” My mother began, tears filling her eyes. This is my chance! I inched closer to Olivia, who was busy staring in awe of my mother. I noticed the amulet around her neck. She wouldn’t have that on her unless.. She really IS possessed. I instantly kicked the staff out of her hand, snatching the necklace from her neck. I threw it onto the ground, stomping on it with my shoes. It cracked into pieces. Before my mother had a chance to turn around, Gilbert and Liza bursted open the door. My mother tried to use her magic to obtain the staff, but Liza was too quick. Olivia had fallen to the floor, and Xavier rushed over to hold her.
“Nice work Mariah!” I heard Peck cheer. The three other alphas stood at my door with their armor shimmering. Yes!
“No!” My mother screamed, realizing her plan had failed her.
“You’re done lying to me.” I told her as the Alphas lined up to perform a powerful Freezing Spell. My mother laughed.
“Oh, Mariah. Sweet, naive, pathetic, little Mariah. Do you really think I could be stopped that easily? You might’ve won this battle, but I will win the war. I’m already five steps ahead of you, and soon, you will fulfill your destiny.” She cackled, disappearing into the air. I slammed my foot down.
“It’s alright, Mariah. We got Princess Olivia back. That’s enough.” Gilbert assured me, watching as my father picked up his limp daughter. Liza walked over, holding her staff to Olivia. It glowed.
“She will be okay, your Majesty. She just needs rest.” Liza informed my father, who started to make his way out.
“I’m so proud of you.” Xavier smiled, looking at me. Thankfully this time, contrary to my battle with the Phantom King, I was in good shape.
“Dad one thing-” I started, right before he left the room.
“Was what my mother said true?” I asked. He looked at me.
“I didn’t hear a lot of it, hon. We can talk about it later, okay?” He nodded, walking towards Olivia’s room. I sighed.
Is that code that it was a lie, or that there’s some truth in what was said? Either way, I’m not sure I want to find out. Things were fine, or as fine as things can get around here. Hopefully Olivia will have some answers once she wakes up. For now, I just need to be there for my family. My family. Dang that feels nice to say. Whether there’s something hidden from me is irrelevant right now. Right now, I need to be focused on my family and my family only.
A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties
