"RICKY, PLEASE, ONE MORE QUOTE-"
"Nope."
The car door slammed shut right in the face of the desperate reporter, cutting him off mid-sentence along with the flurry of camera shutters and shouted questions that followed.
They all surged forward anyway, a chaotic storm of bodies and voices, but their frenzied rush toward the revving black car didn't falter because of the boys in blue.
It stopped because of the mobster, standing calmly behind the officers.
Bam
Bam
Lily Tony tapped the roof of the car, a silent signal for Marino that Ricky was cleared to drive off, before that same right hand slowly slipped into his coat.
However, Franky, along with all the other reporters still scribbling every detail of the chaos around him, were all suddenly yanked aside.
"WAIT, WAIT! WHAT ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEGRO, THURGOOD MARSH-" the reporter screamed, voice cracking as his eyes locked onto the departing car.
"Aye."
The single, calm word cut through the maddening shouts, freezing the man mid-step.
It was as if his entire body stiffened instinctively just before the police barricade, his eyes widening with horror as Lily Tony casually pulled out a cigarette.
"You go cross that line, and you're not gonna be a reporter." Tony said with a slow chuckle, bringing the cigarette from his right pocket to his lips.
"You're gonna be a deep-sea diver." Lily Tony muttered, lighting the end of his cigar before flicking it to extinguish the flame.
"You'll be swimming with the fishes, as they say." Lily Tony added, exhaling a lazy plume of smoke as the man slowly inched backward.
"Capesh?" Lily Tony asked, strolling forward deliberately, his gaze locking onto the reporter's face, until he was right in front of it.
It felt like a flash to this journalist, who gulped hard at Lily Tony's suddenly brown eyes staring directly, almost forcing him to bow his head before it.
"I said, capesh?" Lily Tony repeated, and this time the words were stripped of all humor, almost unmistakably serious.
"Y-Yes," the reporter stammered, his face twitching as the first tears welled in his eyes.
"Good." Lily Tony said with a low chuckle, patting the man's cheek almost mockingly before turning and walking alongside the other mobsters waiting at the side.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Lily Tony stopped, then spun back with a grin that looked like it had been painted on.
"The next person who calls Slick a devil in their papers is getting their fingers cut off." Lily Tony warned, tapping his temple with a theatrical smack that made the motion almost playful
"W-What?" The Reporter blankly said, isnticvlty tucking hsi fingers into his pockets.
"What do you mean by that-"
"I'm just warning you that sharks get real hungry when they smell blood in the water." Lily Tony said with an amused laugh, continuing his slow stroll.
As the mobster did, people seemed to bump past, brushing against journalists who barely registered them.
Then it happened.
The entire crowd suddenly became painfully aware of their surroundings, like fish realizing the predators circling them in a crowded sea.
They only now noticed that the reporters standing shoulder to shoulder with them weren't just journalists.
They were mobsters.
Blended so perfectly into the press while watching, listening, and most importantly, taking notes.
Panic rippled through the journalists.
They froze mid-step, eyes widening as they registered not only the guns holstered at the mobsters' sides but also the notebooks tucked into their coats and the pencils they casually slid into their pockets.
Every whispered observation, every careless comment they had made, had been ironically recorded for their own 'stories'.
One by one, they trickled out of the crowd, following Lily Tony at a careful distance.
It was only then that the reporter, the one who had sparked this entire realization in the first place, spoke, almost as if he were voicing the thoughts of the entire world of media.
"Uh oh."
However, while these reporters were left with an anxiety that would no doubt cause sleepless nights for some of them, it barely registered in the mind of the perpetrator behind it all.
"Where to, boss?" Marino asked, turning around with a toothy grin as Ricky unbuttoned the lower part of his suit to ease his tension.
"To the Luciano family manor." Ricky replied, letting out a sigh, his tired features softening as he finally took a moment to relax.
The ride was smooth, almost hypnotic, as Marino guided the car with a precision that let Ricky lose himself in the motion of the drive.
Resting his head on his hand, he allowed himself the rare moment to think through the next course of action the family was about to take.
But as his concentration tried to hone in on these next steps, his eyebrow twitched as Marino continuously shot him painfully obvious glances through the rearview mirror.
It looked as if he was trying to say something, anything, but slowly swallowed the words, repeating the gesture over and over again.
Until, finally, Ricky interrupted the loop with a heavy sigh.
SIGH
"What?" Ricky asked simply, turning his gaze toward Marino, who immediately coughed, caught off guard.
"N-Nothing-" Marino stammered, flinching, completely hesitant to confront him.
"Stop being such a f*cking sissy and tell me what you want," Ricky interrupted again, gesturing for him to speed it up as a thought clicked in his mind.
"It's just-" Marino sighed, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter, while Ricky absentmindedly started to pat his suit, searching for something.
"I've been thinking, you know, about my place in the family," Marino admitted, eyes flicking back to Ricky, who wasn't angry at all.
In fact, Ricky was starting to look genuinely confused, which Marino mistakenly took for curiosity, giving the young man a bit more courage to continue.
"And don't get me wrong, boss, this is a great gig." Marino laughed, nodding toward the road ahead.
The very same road that paid him a wage nobody in his family had ever earned in a lifetime.
It filled him with a gratitude he couldn't quite put into words, but he knew it was a debt he desperately wanted to repay.
"But I feel like-" Marino paused, hesitating at the very last moment.
HUFF
'C'mon Marino, just f*cking say it with your chest.' Marino thought, heaving out a breath to shake loose the frozen nerves wracking hsibody.
"I'd like a chance to prove myself, to be made-"
"Sure, fine, whatever." Ricky said nonchalantly, frowning instinctively as he reached into his pockets.
But instead of the little live furball he had expected, all that seemed to litter his palms were sunflower seeds.
"Aye, have you seen a gerbil around here?"
Meanwhile at the Luciano family manor,
"You're pathetic."
Alexander's words cut through the air of the food pantry, his scowl pressing down on Garfield, who sat slouched amid a haphazard fortress of tomato paste cans.
SNORT
"No pineapple on my pizza?" Garfield snorted himself awake, his fat eyelids flapping open as his grotesquely rotund body jiggled upward.
"Oh, it's you-"
"Hit him." Alexander commanded, gesturing toward the flock of crows idling behind him and in an instant, they dove at the fat cat.
SMACK
"What are you-" Garfield yelped, immediately clutching his cheek after the crow slammed into his head, while Alexander's frown only seemed to deepen.
"Again."
SMACK
Garfield's face jerked to the side, spit flying as his entire body collapsed like a crumbling building, its weight crashing into the floor with a force that only made Alexander scowl further.
"What happened to you?" Alexander asked, recalling Garfield as someone completely different from the abomination before him.
"I-I lost to Asterion, so I'm trying to train-"
"You're lying." Alexander's frown deepened, disgust flickering across his features as he realized this had nothing to do with a loss.
It was rooted in despair.
"Just leave me alone." Garfield interrupted the narrator, still sprawled on his side, his tongue flicking across a smear of dried tomato paste on the floor.
"Go off on one of your adventures and become even more loved by the readers." Garfield scoffed, turning his expression away from Alexander, whose features slowly relaxed.
"What is this about, Garfield?" Alexander asked, sensing that Garfield needed a gentler approach.
"Well, let me tell you what it's not about." Garfield sighed, holding up a can of tomato paste.
"How come Ricky has so many millions, but still buys this off-brand paste-"
"Garfield," Alexander said again, but this time his features softened into an expression of understanding as he reached his hand out toward him.
"Tell me."
SIGH
"You'll just laugh-" Garfield lazily said, casting his gaze over to the side to draw smi-cirlces int he paste with his nail.
"Never." Alexander said seriously, his steeled gaze leaving no room for doubt.
"...."
"You can't understand-" Garfield tried again, only to have Alexander walk over and sit down on a nearby empty can.
"Then say it in a way that I can." Alexander prompted, his voice calm but insistent on exploring this despair.
Garfield paused, the silence stretching as he wrestled with the words he knew he had to say.
But even at the obvious answer to his question, he still couldn't stop himself from voicing it.
"Why does everyone like you so much?" Garfield finally asked, his tone tinged with confusion and frustration, unable to grasp how people could like Alexander so easily.
"The read-" Garfield paused, suddenly realizing that someone trapped in the third dimension could never truly understand the fourth.
"The family seems to love you so much, even when you're not even trying, and whenever I do something, anything, I'm just despised." Garfield rephrased, explaining in a way he knew Alexander would be able to understand.
There was a reason Garfield had been so reclusive from the story as of late.
Not because he was busy, not because the author had nothing for him to do, but because he wasn't wanted.
Although Garfield had always been able to break the fourth wall, to talk at the reader and speak through the screen, that gift came with a curse.
He saw everything.
Every line typed.
Every comment written beneath it.
Every word of praise, and every spat of hate.
He heard when readers said his scenes were boring.
When they said he didn't fit.
When they said the story didn't need him.
And Garfield couldn't help but let it get under his skin.
Because, in any story, some characters simply aren't loved enough to survive the plot.
They only drift in like extras when it's convenient, filling the silence when the main character isn't in the spotlight, and doing what's asked of them until the author quietly sets them back to side.
Someone who existed in the story to remind the reader that he was still alive.
That's what Garfield had become: a placeholder.
So, after realizing that depressing fact, he stopped talking to the reader.
He stopped pretending that the fourth wall was a bridge and started treating it like nothing more than a window.
He could still read every word written about him, he just refused to respond.
Because what do you say when you realize your voice is nothing more than an object of hate?
What do you do when even the author forgets to mention you, and the readers scroll past your name as if you never existed?
Garfield had realized something cruel but true: he wasn't wanted in this story anymore.
And so, he stopped trying to be part of it.
He drifted through the chapters like a ghost, visible only to those who still remembered him, and even then, only for a moment.
But sometimes, when the story quieted and no one was watching, Garfield would lift his gaze from the corner of the page.
Sometimes, he stared at the reader through the cracks in the fourth wall.
And though he says nothing, there's a flicker in his eyes, a question the author never answered.
"Do you ever remember me?" Garfield asked, his gaze snapping to Alexander, who was caught off guard at the weird question.
"When you're out there, do you ever wonder where I am?" Garfield asked again, genuinely this time, his words reaching not just Alexander but the reader as well.
"I've never forgotten a single comrade-" Alexander said, taking offense to the statement, thumping his chest toward Garfield.
"Then what about Ricky?" Garfield interrupted, watching the accusatory expression freeze at the question.
"What about everyone else?" Garfield continued, gesturing toward the crows, who awkwardly turned their gazes away from the pitiful scene.
"Exactly." Garfield sighed, slumping against the wall as he reached for an unopened can of tomato paste.
"I'm just a side character-"
"ALEXANDER!" Ricky's voice cut through the pantry from outside, calling for the gerbil who had, despite everything, always been crucial to the plot.
Garfield, the familiar so often shelved, stayed in the food pantry, where at least his presence could be noticed.
Even if only a little.
"Just go." Garfield scoffed, flicking his paw at Alexander, who stared at him for a long, quiet moment.
"We're all side characters in another's story," Alexander finally said, hopping off the can and standing before him with a meaningful gaze.
"But that doesn't mean we have to be one in our own." Alexander said, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he lowered his gaze toward Garfield.
"I swear to you, I will bring you into the light, into the family." Alexander continued, his voice steady but carrying the weight of promise.
"I have never left a sworn comrade behind, be it in the throes of war or the harsh nature of sociability." Alexander added, gripping Garfield's paw firmly, his eyes locked on him with unwavering intent.
"I will never give up on you." Alexander promised, smiling at the cat, who couldn't help but reciprocate the sentiment.
SIGH
"And it's why what I'm about to do will hurt me more than it will you." Alexander sighed, his tone soft yet edged with inevitability.
Garfield's entire body froze, pupils dilating, breath catching, as he realized the next lines were beyond his control.
"Alexander-"
"You've violated your diet, Garfield." Alexander's gaze hardened, his words cutting through the pantry like ice, sending a shiver through the cat's fur as every hair stood on end.
"I specifically gave my crows word to only feed you celery-"
"It's not enough-"
"It will be." Alexander replied, stepping back slowly, his small frame silhouetted against the light spilling into the pantry.
Behind him, the crows began to crawl in one by one, their black feathers rustling, moving with a silent obedience as they slowly surrounded the fat cat.
"I WAS KIDDING, I DON'T REALLY CARE-"
"I do." Alexander said, eyes glinting with a fierce intensity as his paw held the door, trapping Garfield with the encroaching crows.
The only breach of light was the narrow entryway, until Alexander cruelly began to close it.
"I told you that your training would be with Wraith, I simply forgot to tell you it was mine." Alexander chuckled dryly, closing the door as the darkness slowly crept over Garfield's trembling form.
"I'll see you in 48 hours."
Click
Closing the door on Garfield, the pantry was instantly swallowed by darkness, washing an inevitable dread over him as the cat let out a nervous chuckle.
"Hey guys-"
CAW
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Outside the pantry, Alexander turned his back, not on Garfield entirely, but only on his desperate cries for help, as the gerbil lightly scurried into the hall.
"Good, you're here." Ricky said, motioning Alexander over as his inner circle had gathered in the mansion's foyer.
"Now, we can finally start." Ricky said, gesturing towards everyone from his inner circle as they all slowly nodded.
Although on the surface, the press conference had seemed to mark the start of the narrative against the president.
In truth, it was merely the opening act of the veil method.
Every flash of the cameras, every whispered question, every gossiping journalist had actually served as a distraction.
It was a way to keep the world and his enemies fixated on Ricky's demeanor while his inner circle quietly entrenched itself deeper into the country.
Using the press conference as a guise, all of his inner circle and their men had quietly slipped into the sprawling mansion, a structure literally built to house the entire Luciano family.
"And before we start, I gotta tell y'all that I haven't been to most of the cities I'm sending you to." Ricky deliberately paused, letting the weight of his words sink in as everyone hung on his tone.
"But my beautiful assistant has." Ricky revealed, dramatically gesturing toward the side like a magician as Agatha stepped gracefully out from the hallway, giving a small, controlled wave to the audience.
CLAP
"So, any questions?" Ricky asked, his toothy grin widening as he scanned the room, excitement flickering in his eyes at how smoothly his plan seemed to be unfolding.
"Yeah, I do." Mouth said, stepping forward, his discomfort written across his face as he gestured behind him.
"I'm sorry, Slick, but is dragging around these f*cking things really necessary?" Mouth asked, casting a sidelong glance at Midget Merlin, who had been assigned to him and was awkwardly carrying the cumbersome load.
"Yeah, it is-"
"But why do I gotta have the one with fur?" Bug Eyes piped up, nodding toward the snarling Werewolf Merlin at his side.
"Trade you for this weird fanged one." Shades quickly offered, pointing at the Dhampir Merlin, who scowled in response.
"It does look like a very considerate fellow." Bug Eyes muttered, rubbing his chin as he studied the pale, almost luminescent skin of the Dhampir.
"Aye, I got a question-"
"No, I do-"
"Just say it together," Ricky interrupted, already knowing they would as the twins shrugged at each other and turned their gaze back to him.
"Why is ours so f*cking small?" Leo and Gio said in unison, gesturing toward the tiny Imp Merlin as Ricky pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"Yeah, why do we get the small ones?" Neck added, stepping forward to join the sudden debate with Pixie Merlin hovering behind him.
Within seconds afterwards, the room erupted into chaos.
Ricky's entire inner circle started bickering over who should get which Merlin, each argument louder than the last, until even their men were drawn in, vying for the creatures like children fighting over toys.
"A werewolf is cool as f*ck-"
"Not as cool as a vampire-"
"Oh f*ck you-"
"NO, F*CK YOU!"
The mobsters started taking their capo's sides, their loyalty shining through even in the dumbest moments.
Pushing Ricky to the point where he was pinching the bridge of his nose, realizing he couldn't take this nonsense any longer.
"ENOUGH!" Ricky yelled, his green eyes flashing as the mobsters around him flinched, caught off guard by the sudden roar.
"Honey, relax." Agatha said with a soft chuckle, stepping up to his side and smoothing out the wrinkles on his suit.
"Just tell them like I tell our babies: you get what you get and you don't throw a fit." Agatha added, her voice carrying calm authority despite the playful smirk on her lips.
"Exactly." Ricky said, leaning down to kiss Agatha's cheek while gesturing toward everyone, signaling them to quickly accept his choice.
"And we aren't inanimate objects-" Werewolf Merlin protested, his voice sharp as he bared his teeth slightly.
"Could've fooled me." Mouth scoffed, crossing his arms and prompting him with a smirk, clearly unconvinced.
"You know-"
SIGH
A heavy sigh escaped Ricky, his patience thinning as the Merlins, stubborn in their own rights, began bickering with their assigned Capos.
But before he could intervene, Agatha's lips curved into a knowing smile as her grimoire pulsed with a purple glow.
CLAP
The sharp clap of her hands echoed through the room, and suddenly, five shimmering portals materialized, hovering in the air.
Each one a gateway to one of the five cities they were to be sent to.
The inner circle fell silent, mouths closing mid-argument, as they turned their attention to the portals.
"Just get in the portals." Ricky scoffed, gesturing toward them all as if trying to herd a flock of unruly sheep, desperate for a moment of peace.
"But which one-"
"Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Detroit, and Miami." Agatha cut them all off smoothly, pointing to each portal.
Snap
With a snap of her fingers, each portal shimmered with a sign, carefully inscribed above to prevent confusion and ensure everyone knew their destination.
"They'll drop you off in secluded spots I specifically picked out," Agatha explained, taking the lead as if it were her second nature.
This was what Agatha had been using all her spare time for lately, when she wasn't scheming.
Finding these safe areas as a favor to Ricky, a way to smooth over their recent argument.
Finally, one by one, the inner circle and their men began to step through, seeping quietly into the far corners of America, each finding their place and their assigned Merlin.
Until, at last, only one Capo remained.
"What's the hold up, Eldric? The product's been prepared, and Morgana needed it yesterday, so-"
"We have a slight hold-up." Eldric interjected, motioning to the side as he carefully lifted the drape to reveal Vito still outside.
However, Ricky's scrunched brows softened when he noticed Moxie, sniffling and clinging tightly to the mobsters leg.
"Moxie, buddy, I have to go-"
"B-But why?" Moxie asked, tearfully wiping his eyes on his pant leg as Vito felt almost touched, his expression softening because of it.
"Cause I gotta do my part for the family." Vito smiled warmly, pinching Moxie's cheek as he slowly lowered himself to the child's level.
"But your injured-"
"That's part of the job, buddy." Vito replied calmly, reassuring him as he patted the young boy's cheek.
"But why?" Moxie asked again, his small brow furrowing as childlike curiosity peeked through.
"Cause your father has done so much for me, for my grandmother, and given me a family I could only dream about back in Sicily." Vito replied, his voice warm, tinged with gratitude as he met the boy's wide eyes.
"But for everything I was given, now, it's time for me to give back." Vito explained, but it only made Moxie even more confused.
"Why-"
"Cause that's what family is, give and take." Vito continued, watching quietly as Moxie touched his new stub, using it as an excuse to avoid his gaze.
"And we'll always be family." Vito added, a small, reassuring smile playing across his lips.
"So no matter what, whether you wanna come see me or just want me to shake someone down." Vito's voice softened, letting the sentence hang just a little longer, drawing Moxie's gaze upward.
"All you ever gotta do is ask and I'll be there." Vito finished, brushing a stray tear from Moxie's cheek with his thumb, grounding the boy in the certainty of his promise.
"Alright?" Vito asked, unknowingly becoming Moxie's first ever friend.
"A-A-Alright." Moxie sniffled, stuttering the words as his small hands slowly let go of the man he already considered an uncle.
"But before I go, here." Vito chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a single dollar bill.
"It's the last payment from David." Vito laughed, handing it to Moxie, who slowly smiled as he accepted the dollar.
Sniff
"Hehehehehehe~" Moxie giggled, wiping his nose while clutching the bill tightly in his small palms, before taking a careful step back.
"See ya later, kiddo." Vito said, waving at Moxie as he headed into the house, only to freeze when he noticed Ricky staring at him.
"Take care of him, Eldric." Ricky smiled, nodding toward the warlock at his side, silently giving his respect to Vito, who puffed out his chest in acknowledgment.
"I'll try." Eldric muttered, gesturing toward the portal as the other coven members slowly followed behind him.
However, their gazes remained fixed on the ground, while Agatha silently endured the pang of watching the people she cared for so deeply being entrusted to someone else, someone who wasn't her.
Until, as always, only one Capo remained.
"Ricky, could I have a moment with Agatha?" Eldric asked, attempting to catch her gaze, but the witch deliberately looked away.
"Sure." Ricky shrugged, casually walking out toward the lawn where his kids were playing, leaving the two of them alone.
"Agatha-"
"Save it, Eldric." Agatha's scowl sliced through the air, her eyes fixed elsewhere, deliberately refusing to meet him.
"Nothing you can say-"
"I'm sorry," Eldric admitted, his voice heavy with sincerity, bowing his head toward the ground in shame.
"I-"
"I won't stand here and say that I didn't mean to betray, because I did." Eldric hesitant, the words trembling as they left his lips.
"I did betray you." Eldric's voice cracked, but he pushed through it.
"Although my intentions weren't the same as the others, the outcome was the same."
"And I won't ask you for anything, including your forgiveness." Eldric paused, letting the silence stretch as his heavy heart continued to weigh his head down.
"I only ask that, as a parent, you understand." Eldric said, his voice trembling with raw honesty as he spoke from the heart.
With that single sentence, Agatha's scowl began to falter, the sharpness in her eyes softening as his words slowly broke through her defenses.
"F-For once in my life, it feels as if I have meaning again." Eldric chuckled softly, the corners of his eyes watering as he quickly rubbed them away.
"But I will never forget who pulled me out of that gutter." Eldric said, raising his gaze back to Agatha, whose eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"I would've killed myself if it wasn't for you." Eldric smiled warmly, watching Agatha gaze at the boy she had watched grow into the old man standing before her now.
"Thank you."
The words came softly, carrying everything he wanted to convey as Eldric slowly turned toward the portal.
His body trembled as he walked towards the shimmering gateway, not because he feared her response, but because he meant those words more than anything he had ever said before.
For a man like Eldric, gratitude didn't come easily.
He was one of those old, bitter men who had to have even the slightest bit of emotion torn out of him.
Yet now, standing before the woman who had refused to let him die, the words flowed as naturally as breath.
And in that final moment before stepping through, he looked back at Agatha.
For a heartbeat, their eyes met.
But it wasn't forgiveness that passed between them or even guilt, just understanding.
In truth, the scars on Eldric's arms weren't earned in any battle with Merlyn or gold cloaks.
They were the remnants of a single, hopeless night, one in which the grief of his daughter's death became unbearable.
All he truly remembered was drinking until he nearly lost consciousness, and the blur of his own hands against his arms.
His memory remained fragmented, scattered in pieces but one image stayed with him: the way Agatha had found him.
The blood.
The look on her face when she saw the truth of what he had done.
She hadn't spoken right away; she'd just held him, like his mother had before, her hands trembling as she pressed them against his wounds, whispering his daughter's name like a prayer that might anchor him back to life.
That was why Eldric fought so desperately to make Ricky understand.
Why he pleaded for leniency on her behalf.
Agatha hadn't just saved him from dying, she had given him a reason to keep living.
When everyone, including the world, moved on, she had stayed at his side.
Agatha would always tell him, again and again, that his daughter was still alive somewhere.
And he believed her.
He lived because of her words.
And, funny enough, she was right all along.
So, as Eldric stepped into the portal, he moved forward with a sense of anticipation, turning the page of his life not with dread, but with genuine excitement.
Behind him, Agatha lingered in the silence that followed, her gaze fixed on the rippling light until it finally dissolved into nothing.
Her tears fell soundlessly, one after another, until she finally let herself smile.
"You're welcome, Eldric."
Outside, while Agatha wiped silent tears from her eyes, Ricky was curling both Zatanna and Sarah like oversized dumbbells.
"Faster!"
"FASTER!"
The daughters cheered in their own voices, their giggles echoing through the yard and almost forcing Ricky to keep up with their playful demands.
"Daddy?" Danielle asked softly, tugging at his pant leg. Ricky turned toward her, a warm smile spreading across his face.
"Hey, princess, I'll give you a turn in a sec-"
"Not that." Danielle murmured, her finger pointing hesitantly toward the side, a sad frown tugging at her lips.
"That."
It became clear that Danielle had been trying to draw attention to Gus, who sat staring blankly into the distance, lost in a world entirely his own.
Henry, in particular, tried desperately to pull him back, to include him in their laughter and play, but Gus remained distant, trapped in thoughts so deep it was as if he couldn't hear a single word.
"Aye, Alexander, you're up," Ricky muttered, setting the two girls down carefully on the lawn before stepping to the side.
"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww-" Zatanna and Sarah whined, flopping onto the grass as Alexander eased into his godfathering role.
"Now, now, girls, let us talk about how important it is to kill the enemy-"
"You've already talked about that~" Zatanna complained, collapsing dramatically onto the ground in protest, dragging Sarah with her.
"Then I shall speak as to why the mind is so important-"
"YOU'VE SAID THAT!" Sarah shouted, crossing her arms and plopping down in defiance, her frustration mirroring Zatanna's as Alexander frowned.
"Then let us talk about self defense-"
"Um, Alexander," Danielle said softly, approaching her godfather with a sad smile.
"N-No, I couldn't have-"
"Last week, sorry." Danielle admitted, her expression heavy with guilt, fully aware of how much joy Alexander derived from instructing them.
"Well," Alexander muttered, plopping down beside the princesses of the Luciano family, all of whom stared up at him expectantly.
"Who wants to hear a violent, bloody, and gruesome story?" Alexander suddenly asked, tilting his gaze toward the children as their eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.
"Me."
"Me!"
"ME!"
The responses echoed in rapid succession, each voice distinct yet harmonizing in their shared anticipation.
Alexander settled before the three little girls as they turned eagerly toward their shared godfather, hanging on his every movement.
"You see, what people don't understand about my revenge on Bessus was-"
As Alexander recounted his brutality to the others, Ricky slowly drifted away, his footsteps crunching softly against the gravel path.
He walked up to Gus, sitting alone on a bench beneath a peach tree, staring up at its branches like the answer to some question might fall from them.
"Lucky planted that when he brought me here." Ricky said, lowering himself onto the bench beside him and draping an arm around Gus.
"Father, I didn't-"
"He used to say, 'It's gonna grow the way you're gonna grow this family,'" Ricky interrupted, his amused chuckle slipping through as he gently drowned out Gus's words
However, instead of trying to speak, Gus ducked his head in utter shame.
"But, like any plant you don't know how the hell to take care of, it almost died." Ricky continued, waving his hand as if to hurry along the story himself.
"It struggled a lot and even now, it still hasn't produced a single damn peach." Ricky frowned slightly, gesturing toward the tree towering above them.
"This isn't about the tree, is it?" Gus asked quietly, stopping Ricky before he could continue his words of wisdom.
"No, it's not." Ricky chuckled under his breath, ruffling his son's hair and pulling him closer.
"Buddy, what are you doing out here all alone?" Ricky asked, smiling warmly at Gus, wanting to be the kind of mentor he never was in his past life.
"It was right." Gus murmured, looking off to the side, a pained expression tugging at his features as his heart ached at having to admit it.
"What was?" Ricky asked, though he already had an inkling of the answer.
"The crown." Gus said softly, lowering his gaze to his hands, which were clasped tightly together.
"I mean, I don't like baseball." Gus clarified, turning his guilty and tearful gaze towards his father as if he didn't understand these emotions,
"I lied to Henry and Grandfather." Gus's voice trembled as he spoke, confessing the truth to his father who he trusted with all his heart.
"I told them I loved it, that I liked keeping score and watching the games, but I don't." Gus said, wiping at his eyes quickly, failing to hide the tears gathering at their edges.
"I lied to them and-"
SIGH
"And?" Ricky let out a long sigh, asking Gus with a wide smile as he wiped the corner of his son's eyes.
Instead of the stern reprimand Gus expected, Ricky's tone was calm, almost teasing, as the smart child shook his head at the answer.
"I lied to Grandpa and Henry." Gus muttered again, his voice barely above a whisper, hoping Ricky would understand how bad he felt.
"I lie to Grandpa and Henry all the time," Ricky said flatly, leaning back on the bench with a relaxed ease that caught Gus off guard.
"But-"
"Gus, do you love your grandpa?" Ricky asked gently, turning his warm smile back toward his son.
"Yes."
"And your brother?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then, buddy, listen." Ricky said, turning his whole body to face Gus, leaning forward as if sharing a secret meant just for him.
"Sometimes in life, we do things we f*cking hate for the people we love," Ricky explained, his tone gentle but edged with the weight of his own experience.
"It's not wrong to want to spend time with your family, and it's certainly not wrong to want to spend time with me." Ricky said, his grin widening just enough to break the heaviness between them.
That drew a small, breathy laugh from Gus that was half chuckle, half sniffle, as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.
"I mean, c'mon, everyone wants to get a little closer to me." Ricky added, nudging him playfully with his elbow.
As expected, he finally earned a small laugh from Gus, and although itwas a shaky, tear-laced chuckle, it still made Ricky grin.
"But what about the venom part?" Gus asked after a moment, his voice quieter now, almost childlike.
"We're all venomous in our own ways." Ricky replied simply, waving it off with a casual flick of his hand, as if it were nothing worth worrying about.
"Even you?"
"Buddy, especially me."
"I'm the worst one, in fact, I'm like a king cobra-"
"The king cobra isn't the most venomous snake, Father." Gus corrected softly, a trace of a smile curling on his lips.
"Oh, who cares?" Ricky waved a hand dismissively, brushing the thought aside with that familiar mix of carelessness and warmth.
"Listen, the point is, I love ya." Ricky revealed, his tone shifting just enough to make Gus glance up.
"No matter what you do, no matter who you become, I'll always love ya."
His words hung there for a moment, gentle but firm, the kind that sank deep without needing to be repeated.
"So don't be afraid to speak your mind," Ricky added, giving Gus a light pat on the back to urge him to stand up.
"I mean, you're so smart, but you gotta get out of your own head." Ricky said, standing alongside him and patting his shoulder.
"Just tell them you wanna do something different for once." Ricky easily said,
"Like, right now, don't think. What do you wanna do?" Ricky asked, giving his stomach a playful tap as if to force it out of him.
"I-I-"
"Say it-"
"I want to have some fried chicken." Gus blurted out, his face twisting with confusion at why that was the first thing to slip from his mouth.
"There ya go-" Ricky laughed, patting his son on the back with pride as if Gus had just solved a life mystery.
"F*ck, there you are!" Lucky's voice suddenly bellowed across the yard, his heavy footsteps pounding against the grass as he stormed over.
"No time, it's an emergency," Ricky said hurriedly, rushing over with a convincing look of panic plastered across his face, every muscle in his expression sharpened by Raven's acting skill to sell the urgency.
"W-What?" Lucky flinched, his whole body tensing up, eyes darting around in alarm as he instantly believed it.
"You need to take Gus and Henry out for fried chicken-"
"I WANNA GO!" Sarah screamed from the side, somersaulting forward across the grass before anyone could stop her.
"Me, me!" Zatanna giggled, sprinting over and dragging Moxie and Johnny along with her, both boys still mid-swing with their wooden swords.
"Who else wants to go?" Ricky called out, his grin widening as the chaos multiplied around him, every little voice suddenly shouting to be included.
Then, all of Ricky's children barreled straight toward Lucky, swarming him like a pack of excited puppies.
His rage dissolved instantly, replaced by helpless exasperation as tiny hands tugged at his coat and legs.
"This ain't over, Slick!" Lucky barked, half-dragged away by his grandchildren while shaking a fist at Ricky, who only grinned and waved smugly at him.
"Daddy, are you also hungry?" Danielle asked, her wide eyes flicking between her siblings rushing toward the fleet of black cars, but pausing first to check on her father.
"I actually have a snack here that I've been dying to have again." Ricky chuckled, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Danielle smiled brightly at that, the kind of smile that made Ricky's chest feel lighter before she dashed off to join the others.
Watching her run to catch up with Sarah, who was practically bouncing off the walls waiting for her, they locked hands with Zatanna and dragged Lucky along in their excitement.
Then, Ricky's eyes shifted to Gus, and as his son turned back, he gave the boy a knowing wink.
With it, a genuine smile finally broke across his face as Bob slung an arm around his shoulder while Henry joined on the other side.
Together, the boys laughed and walked out of the manor with Carmine being dragged along.
Finally, he turned back towards the mansion, his gaze falling on Agathta who stood by the doorway, staring longingly at him before flinching as their eyes met.
'Oh yeah~'
[Side Story: Alexander]
As Alexander scurried after his godchildren, the translation ring glinting faintly around his furry body, a bird-like figure suddenly descended above him.
"Y-Your Majesty!" One of Alexander's younglings cried out, his battered form crashing onto the lawn.
"Philotas, what has happened to you?!" Alexander exclaimed, rushing over to the young owl who could barely stay conscious.
"T-The pigeons-"
COUGH
Philotas let out a heavy cough, his head drooping until Alexander caught him, holding him upright to preserve what was left of his pride as a warrior.
"Take your time, young one, take as many breaths as you can-"
"Alexander!" Lucky yelled, interrupting their intense moment with his dissatisfied expression.
"You coming or what?" Lucky asked, spreading his arms in exasperation while his granddaughters dangled from them.
"In a minute-"
"Hurry the f*ck up, these kids are animals in there!" Lucky yelled, beckoning toward the black car where Sarah bounced around uncontrollably.
"Go on without me!" Alexander smiled, gesturing to the injured owl as Lucky stared at him for a moment, until his expression slowly hardened into a deadpan.
"Wait." Lucky muttered, a frown forming as he slowly raised his furry eyebrow.
"This ain't the thing were you leave dead birds over my lawn-"
"N-NO!" Alexander yelled hurriedly, panic lacing his voice at what this would most likely devolve into.
"Uh-huh." Lucky muttered, slowly sliding into the black car while squinting at Alexander.
Alexander planted a picture-perfect smile on his face, his posture stiff and commanding as he stood protectively in front of the battered Philotas, ensuring that the black car had completely driven out of sight before fully turning his attention to the injured owl.
"Philotas, who has dared lay a finger, let alone a wound on you!?" Alexander urgently exclaimed, bending to his knees and gently probing the injuries to check that they weren't fatal.
"T-The Pidgeons~" Philotas stammered weakly, his feathers ruffling in distress.
"They refuse to acknowledge your rule."
"They dare-"
"Your majesty, it is not just them." Philotas continued, his voice faltering as he struggled to lift his gaze.
"The dogs, the cats, the bats, the ducks, the geese, and the rats, have all refused your sole claim upon this neighborhood." Philotas
"The cats have already allied with the pigeons, killing our messenger squad that was to deliver their response-"
"They've already given it." Alexander muttered grimly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Philotas bow his head.
"You were their messenger bird," Alexander whispered, his eyes scanning the pigeons landing across Lucky's property and cats scaling the walls with deliberate menace.
"I-I didn't-" Philotas stammered, feathers trembling at the realization.
"I know," Alexander said softly, the edge in his tone softening as he beckoned the youngling to his side, understanding that no fledgling could truly grasp his actions.
"Go and retrieve my banners-"
"Your majesty-"
"Go." Alexander said, slowly dawning his adornment skill as his battle armor clung to his body like a second skin.
"And tell my banners to bring trash bags." Alexander added, standing firm, facing the encroaching chaos with nothing more than a pointed spear no larger than a toothpick
"For all the bodies I will litter atop these fields today."
"What do you want."
Author's Note: Decided to take one of the Q&A request and make like mini side sotires for some of the chartcer taht really dont influence the plot. Also I don't know what to name this chap so if anyone has a good name, you can drop it or something.