Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PROLOGUE: REMEMBRANCE

*****

`“One year ago on June 22, 2016, the world was thrown into turmoil when YouTubers Joey Graceffa, Andrea Brooks, Shane Dawson, Oli White, Eva Gutowski, Matthew Haag, Timothy DelaGhetto, Sierra Furtado, GloZell Green, Bart Walker, Benny Smith, Justine Ezarik, and Lele Pons, along with SciFi actress Dawn Hatcher all went missing for three months.

`“During those three months, the Los Angles Police Department did an exhaustive search for the missing YouTubers and the missing actress, refusing to give up even after the normal 24 hour period had passed, and just when the families of the missing people had given up hope, it was then that an organization that called itself the Society Against Evil, found four of the missing people alive.

`“According to a representative of the secretive Society, a man named Arthur Kenneth had lured the group to a house, and had held them prisoner for those three months. He was the leader of a sadist cult and had tortured and killed ten of the missing people by the time that the Society Against Evil had arrived, saving the lives of Joey Graceffa, Oli White, Eva Gutowski, and Dawn Hatcher.

`“Thanks to the Society, Arthur Kenneth and two other cult members Sarah Belkin and Marvin Trask, were stopped and killed. Why this cult went after these particular people remains unclear, but it is clear that whatever the reason, the survivors have been moving on with their lives despite the horrors they’d gone through during those three months of hell.”`

*****

In one of the safe houses for the Society Against Evil, James McCoy clicked the TV off after the memorial report about the 1920s house incident, which was based on the cover story that the Society had provided after retrieving both the survivors and the dead bodies of both the victims and the bad guys.

‘And that’s the story that Joey, Dawn, Eva, and Oli are sticking to,’ he thought, sipping his tea and turning his attention to the stack of reports waiting for him on his desk. He knew that most of the reports were the standard ones about the training of new agents that were either descendants of the first twelve families, or had been recruited, possible sightings of those who served the Cursed God, or even the birth of new potential Light-bearers.

But the reports that he was primarily focused on were the ones that had updates about Joey and Dawn. So far, the Darkness that’d infected Joey when he took the deed from the 1920s house was slowly growing inside the boy, and this was worrisome. Of course, the reason that it wasn’t growing faster was because of Dawn’s presence as she and Joey did spend quite a bit of time together when she wasn’t busy with her acting career, and when he wasn’t on tour for one of his books or some YouTube-related project.

Dawn still didn’t know about the Light that resided inside her, although James figured that she was starting to suspect because of what had been told to Tim and Matt when they had been held prisoner by a cat-like woman back at the 1920s house. Due to an order made by the Council of Elders over a century ago, all potential Light-bearers were to learn of the Light and summon it on their own before they could start training on how to use it and control it, and because of this, the recent generations of Light-bearers have proven to become more powerful as a result.

‘The Council of Elders want me to tell Dawn the truth,’ James thought, putting down his cup and seated himself behind to desk to work on the reports, ‘but I was able to convince them to let her have time to recover from the incident, and that the order must be followed.’ He figured that eventually he would have to tell the actress the truth, but he only would do that if there was a second incident that would end up involving both her and Joey, and if that did happen, then that meant that the ancient prophecy would be coming to pass.

‘I really hope that the 1920s house incident is a one-time thing and there isn’t any repeats,’ James thought, but one of the entries in the journal that’d once belonged to Arthur hinted that there was someone else out there, seeking to do what the Evil hadn’t been able to do, and that this person was going to be targeting Joey and Dawn. ‘Not all visions come to pass, and hopefully whatever Vincent had seen won’t come to pass either.’

*****

In a hidden location, someone else had been watching the same memorial report, but this person was watching by way of a glowing crystal ball. When the report ended, the figure waved a hand over the crystal ball, and the image of Joey Graceffa appeared on the surface.

‘Ah, so he has the Darkness growing inside him,’ the figure thought, pleased to have found what was needed for the person’s plan. ‘And when the Darkness is ripe, I will summon it to me, and who knows, Joey might be able to provide additional aid for my plan. Yes, he will be quite helpful.’

The unknown figure had been waiting in hiding for over a century to finish a plan that would give her the means to enter the modern world and conquer it in the name of the Cursed God. She had come very close to getting the power to take over the world, but the arrival of two agents for the Society Against Evil interfered, taking away the power source.

She had been furious at their interference and had learned from them that only souls from the future could help regain the power, but that a Light-bearer would be her final downfall. She refused to believe that she would be defeated by a Light-bearer and had instead focused on learning how to freeze a location in time by torturing the two Society agents for information, and had since been searching for the means to get back what had been taken from her.

Now that she knew about the Darkness growing inside of Joey Graceffa, she just had to wait for it to grow enough for her to bring it to her, and once she had the Darkness, she would be one step closer to fulfilling her plan of conquering the world for her master.

Yes, once she had the Darkness and the souls from the future, then she would be one step closer to taking over the world.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ONE: REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

*****

It’d been a year since the 1920s house incident and the families of the late YouTubers were having a memorial service to remember their dead loved ones. Although they had mixed feelings about attending, Joey Graceffa, Dawn Hatcher, Oli White, and Eva Gutowski decided that they were going to attend after receiving repeated requests from the parents of Shane Dawson, Justine Ezarik, Benny Smith, and Lele Pons, and a request from the mayor himself to be present.

*****

“You don’t have to drive us to the memorial service, Daniel,” Joey told his boyfriend, Daniel Preda, as they got into the car to pick up Eva and Dawn from their respective homes before picking Oli up at the airport, having been coming from all the way from England for the service.

“I know, but I want to,” Daniel replied, giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips. “Anyway, if I do this, then that jerk Jermaine Whitehouse won’t be able to pester you guys as much if he happens to show up at the memorial service.”

“Good point,” Joey conceded as they buckled in and Daniel started the car, backing out of the driveway and onto the street. He really didn’t want another run in with the newspaper reporter/blogger Jermaine Whitehouse, who’d been overly persistent about what really happen last year, and only the threats of being sued and restraining orders had managed to get him to back off.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t stopped the jerk from blogging about the incident, questioning the cover story provided by the Society Against Evil, and raising questions about the Society itself of why the members had taken it upon themselves to stop Arthur and rescue the four survivors. It’d been hoped that Jermaine would eventually drop the topic, but he hadn’t, and it was feared that he would show up at the memorial service to pester everyone.

*****

Forty minutes later, they pulled up in front of the house that Dawn Hatcher had taken to living in whenever she was in California, finding that it was cheaper to rent to own a house instead of staying in hotel rooms, and Joey got out of the car, heading up the walkway to the front door. Having called ahead to let the brunette know that they were coming, he figured that it would probably take her a few minutes to get to the door after he rang the doorbell.

As Joey waited by the door, hearing movement on the other side, a sign that his best friend was going to be coming out soon, his head suddenly started feeling pressured and he put a hand to his temple, wincing and unaware that his eyes were turning black or that black veins were appearing on his face. It only lasted a few moments, and the pressure soon faded.

‘What was that?’ he wondered since it’d been happening on and off for the past year, ever since leaving the 1920s house with the deed that was locked up somewhere by the Society Against Evil, and what was really unnerving that it was happening whenever he was on his own and no one else was around. He started a little when the front door open and Dawn stepped out of the house, closing and locking the door behind her. “Hey, Donny.”

“Hey, Joey,” said the brunette as they hugged and started for the car. “You doing ok?” she asked since her best friend was looking a little offish.

“Yeah, just had another long night with Lark is all,” Joey replied, referring to his and Daniel’s newest puppy, who wasn’t as prone to waking them up as much as Wolf and Storm had when they had been puppies, but she had woken them up once or twice during the night, generally because of a full bladder, and would then drop back off to sleep once that had been taken care of.

“Just the usual then,” Dawn guessed and he nodded as they got into the car, where Daniel blew her a kiss, and she blew him one back before buckling herself into the seat so that they could get going with picking up Eva and Oli. “Hey, Daniel.”

“Hey, sister.”

The brunette stuck her tongue at him, and they all dissolved into giggles over one of their many running jokes, this one being that Joey and Daniel have decided that she was their sister, and she made a silly protest of not wanting to adopted by her friends again.

*****

It didn’t take very long to pick up Eva from her place or to get Oli from the airport, and before long, they were pulling into the parking lot of one of the high schools, where the memorial service was going to be held in the gym that’d been rented out for the occasion. By this point, they all were feeling nervous, especially, Joey, Dawn, Oli, and Eva.

They knew that by attending the memorial service for their dead friends was running the risk of opening the emotional and mental wounds from the incident, and yet, as Daniel had pointed out, it was also a chance to do more healing, too. None of them had really talked about what had really happen, having chosen to stick with the cover story version of things, and had been sticking with it for the whole year.

*****

When the group entered the gym, they were immediately greeted and hugged by Teresa Yaw, Shane Dawson’s mother, who proceeded to herd them all over to where the other families were seated, having saved five seats for them, even for Daniel. As they sat down, they weren’t too surprised to be receiving cold looks from Gloria and Ozell Green, the parents of GloZell Green, and GloZell’s husband, Kevin Simon, or from some of the other parents or relatives of their late friends.

They knew that the looks weren’t entirely of blame for what had happen, but largely because the four of them had survived while the other ten hadn’t survived, and having negative feelings toward the survivors wasn’t all that unusual and was just a part of the healing process.

*****

Once everyone was seated in the rows of folding chairs, Mayor Eric Garcetti stood from his seat on the makeshift stage and approached the podium to speak to those gathered. “Good afternoon and thank you all for coming,” he said into the microphone, nodding to the gathered men, women, and even a few children. “Although this is a sad occasion, to have so many come to remember those who died last year at this time, is a sign that we all are healing and letting go of the grief of those three months of not knowing the fate of those who had been abducted.”

As he spoke, the quartet happened to look at those seated at the back of the stage, recognizing the city attorney, Mike Feuer, the city controller, Ron Galperin, police commissioner, Steve Soboroff, police chief, Charles L. Beck, and much to their surprise, they saw James McCoy, who they knew was one of the leaders for the Society Against Evil, seated up there as well.

‘Why is he here?’ Dawn wondered while exchanging perplexed looks with Joey, Oli, and Eva. The last time she and Joey had seen James, had been shortly after the funeral for Benny Smith, and to see him there at the memorial service was a little startling, especially since none of them had had any contact with the Society since that day. Deciding not to let his presence rattle her anymore then it already had, she returned her attention to the mayor, and her friends did the same.

“…although we all wished that the ten who died had been found alive, too,” Eric continued, “knowing that they are no longer suffering, and that their families and friends have each other to support each other through the healing process is what is important. I will now step aside to let the respective from the Society Against Evil to share a few words with you all. Mr. McCoy.”

As the mayor did step aside from the podium, James stood and, after placing his fedora on the chair, stepped up to the podium, shaking hands with Eric before addressing the audience. “Thank you, Mr. Mayor for those kind words,” he said with a polite smile. “Yes, this has been a long year for everyone here and especially for those who the Society was unable to save from the late cult leader Arthur Kenneth. Why he targeted a group of eleven YouTubers and a single actress is a mystery that will probably never be solved, but knowing that he can’t ever hurt anyone else again, that is a good. Thank you.” He then went back to his seat, picking up his hat before sitting down again.

*****

More people spoke and when the mayor asked for one of the survivors to come up to speak, Dawn was shaking in her trainers as she ascended the steps onto the stage. When she, Oli, Joey, and Eva had been asked to attend the memorial service and for one of them to speak, none of them had wanted to take on the task of speaking at the service, and in the end, somehow, she’d been talked into doing the speaking for the service.

She shook hands with the mayor before facing the podium, taking out and unfolding the speech that she and her agent had written up that would help her stay on track and, hopefully, keep her emotional stable long enough to get through the ordeal without having one of her infamous emotional breakdowns.

“For those of you who don’t know me,” she began, doing her best to remain calm. “My name is Dawn Diana Hatcher, and while I am one of four survivors of those three months of hell, I am also a victim of that horrific experience, just as are the families and friends of those who didn’t make it. I hate that the men and women I knew as friends didn’t survive those months, and having seen them be killed in such horrible ways has lead to many sleepless nights and unpleasant dreams. Even after a year, I can’t forget what happen, and nor do I ever want to forget. Much like the September 11^thattacks, I choose to remember and not to forget what happen at the hands of Arthur Kenneth, Sarah Belkin, and Marvin Trask.

“Why we were all targeted by this cult is a mystery that I can honestly say that won’t be solved, no matter how much time passes. I do wish that the others hadn’t been tortured and killed, and that they could be here today. But while they aren’t here physically, they are here in spirit, watching over all of us, and I know deep down that they want us all to remember them as they were when they were alive, and move forward, knowing that they all are in a better place. Thank you.”

Fighting back the tears that were threatening to leak out of her eyes and swallowing to get rid of the lump that’d formed int her throat, Dawn left the stage to the applause of the audience, and was about to return to her seat when she was stopped by Gloria, who’d risen from her own seat toward the end of the speech.

Time seemed to slow down as the two women faced each other, and then, much to the surprise of the brunette, Gloria hugged her and whispered into her ear. “Thank you for your honesty.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Green,” Dawn whispered back, the tears now leaking out of her eyes as she hugged the older woman back, and then they returned to their respective seats, using tissues to wipe their eyes as other city officials took their turns to speak, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire place after that, especially when it came to the part where the names of the fallen were read out as their photos were projected onto a screen located behind the stage.

*****

After the memorial service was over and the gathered all exited the gym to return to their cars and go home, James McCoy watched from a distance as the quartet, plus Daniel, got into their car and drove off after just barely managing to avoid Jermaine. He had been toying with the idea of speaking with them, but opted not to, suspecting that they most likely didn’t want anything to do with him or with anyone else with the Society Against Evil.

‘I will have to eventually speak with Joey and Dawn again,’ he thought as he got into the SUV to head back to the safe house. ‘Especially with the reports I’ve been getting concerning about the Darkness that’s still growing inside Joey, even after a year, and I may have to speak to them soon from the looks of things.’

When James had been on the stage and saw the quartet enter the gym, he’d immediately sensed the Darkness that had infected Joey close to a year ago when he’d taken the deed from the 1920s house in order to make sure no one else would fall victim to the confined Evil, and he could tell that while it wasn’t at full strength just yet, knowing that if he could sense at all, that there was definite trouble ahead.

‘I need to let the Council of Elders and the other leaders know about this development,’ James thought, ‘and figure out how to remove the Darkness from Joey before it can overwhelm him completely. I just hope we still have time to make that happen before someone or something figures out about the Darkness, and targets him as a result.’

Little did he know, however, someone already knew about the Darkness growing inside Joey, and that person was making plans of their own.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TWO: CODE RED! CODE RED!

*****

In a hidden location, the woman was spying on Joey by way of her crystal ball, observing his day-to-day life, who he interacted with, and the growing Darkness within him. She’d been keeping tabs on the Darkness and it’s progression of growth, which had been hampered by the presence of a force of purity and goodness – a certain Light.

She knew that the Light could only come from one source, and that was a Light-bearer, which meant that Joey was spending time with a Light-bearer. But which of the people he spent with was the Light-bearer? She’d never encountered a Light-bearer, but she knew of them, and if there was a Light-bearer anywhere near Joey and the Darkness, then that was both a good thing and a bad thing when it came to her plan.

‘It doesn’t matter whether he’s friend with a Light-bearer or not,’ she thought, watching the YouTuber in the crystal ball. ‘Both he and the Light-bearer will be able to move my plan forward, and that’s all that matters. And soon enough, that Darkness will be ripe for the taking, and I will have that Darkness for my own uses.’

*****

It’d been five weeks since the memorial service and James was in the study of the safe house, making arrangements to have Joey and Dawn brought there to remove the Darkness from the YouTuber with her help, even though it meant that the brunette was going to be have to told the truth about the Light inside her, and her being the Light-bearer.

James hadn’t been keen on this plan, but the Council of Elders had been insistent since it was clear that the Darkness inside Joey was growing, even with the time he’d been spending with the actress and the exposure to her Light, and recent reports have shown that the YouTuber himself was starting to become aware that there was something wrong with him.

‘I would much rather have Dawn figure out how to summon the Light on her own,’ he thought, going over the plan for bringing Joey and Dawn to the safe house, making sure that all the details were accurate, ‘but it’s clear that waiting isn’t an option any longer, and this may be the only way to ensure that the Darkness doesn’t overwhelm or kill Joey.’

Little did he know, but someone else was interested in the Darkness, and this person had a different plan for it.

*****

‘It’s time,’ the woman thought, once again watching Joey moving around his bedroom after doing something at his laptop, and she was once again watching him by way of the crystal ball, ‘the Darkness is strong, and the time to bring it to me is now.’

“Come to me, Darkness,” she commanded as she waved her hand, which was now glowing purple, over the crystal ball, and the purple magic was absorbed into the crystal. “Come to me, vessel that carries the Darkness. Come to me, Joey Graceffa.” And she watched, pleased, as her magic made itself invisible as it flowed toward and into the young man without his knowledge, and the Darkness started reacting to the dark magic. “Yes, come to me. Come.”

*****

Meanwhile at the safe house, James suddenly stiffened, sensing that something was off somewhere, and he stood up when there was frantic knocking on the double doors. “Enter.” And the doors burst open as a younger man rushed inside with a frantic expression on his face, clutching a piece of paper in one hand. “What happen? Is it the Darkness?” he asked, hoping that he was wrong, and that they weren’t too late to help Joey.

“Sir, there has been a spike of Dark activity at the residence of Joey Graceffa and Daniel Preda,” the younger man answered, proving his boss right. “It only lasted a few seconds, but our agents in the immediate area detected dark magic right before the spike occurred.”

‘This is bad,’ James thought, wishing that he’d done something about the Darkness sooner, ‘this is very bad.’ “Did Joey contact anyone before the spike?”

The younger man checked the paper and nodded. “Yes, just as the buildup started, he called Dawn Hatcher,” he responded, handing over the paper. “It’s very likely that she will be heading there to check on Mr. Graceffa.”

“Given their friendship and her strong empathy toward others, then she will definitely be wanting to make sure that Joey is ok,” James agreed, coming a decision that he knew wouldn’t make the brunette too happy with him, but with this current twist of fate, it was important that he see her, and this was the only way. “Alert our agents to be ready to enter Joey Graceffa’s after Dawn Hatcher arrives and enters the place,” he ordered. “And since it’s likely that she will be in quite an emotional state, make sure that they have sedatives ready should she prove to be unwilling to go with them, and have her brought here as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

James sat back down at his desk while the younger man left the study, and he looked over the report on the paper, noting the time of when the Darkness spiked, and it’d been at the same time that he’d sensed that something was wrong. ‘Dawn will be angry with me for having her sedated and for what is happening to Joey,’ he thought, putting down the paper and picked up the nearby phone to alert the other leaders and send word to the Council of Elders about what was happening.

*****

The woman was gleefully watching the scene in the crystal ball: she watched as Joey was nearly knocked over by the Darkness rising up inside him, making the desperate phone call to Dawn, trying to warn her, and then collapsing to the floor, unconscious as the Darkness overwhelmed him completely. “Yes,” she whispered as her magic engulfed the young man, and he disappeared from the house. “Yes, come to me, Joey, come to me.”

‘The girl that he was trying to contact,’ she thought, turning away from the crystal ball, and headed out of the room she was currently in, ‘it is possible that she could be the one with the Light, and if so, then I am sure that I can get her identity from Joey once he arrives.’ Yes, if that girl was the Light-bearer, then she would fit perfectly for her plan.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER THREE: GRIM NEWS

*****

Three black SUVs, all bearing the symbol for the Society Against Evil on the doors, drove toward the house of Joey Graceffa and Daniel Preda when the call came in that they were to wait for the arrival of Dawn Hatcher and bring her to the safe house, even if they had to sedate her in the process. Following the orders, they parked a few blocks away from the house to wait.

*****

Five minutes later, a blue Ford Taurus 2015 pulled into the driveway of the house, and Dawn got out, heading for the front door. The agents watched as the brunette knocked on the door several times, trying to get a response before she took out a key from her pocket and unlocked the door, entering the house.

The agents waited several minutes before driving the SUVs down the street and parked in front of the house. Exiting the vehicles, the twelve agents headed up the walkway to the front door, used a special key to unlock the door, and they also entered the house.

*****

Once inside the house, the head agent silently gestured to the other agents to quietly make their way up the stairs, where they could hear the actress walking around, clearly searching for Joey since the only thing of his was his cellphone that was on the table, and the head agent pocketed it, figuring that there could be something useful on its’ data chip. He followed his men up the stairs and positioned himself near the top of the stairs, certain that the actress would head that way.

*****

One of the agents entered the master bedroom, finding it empty of people, and went to the open laptop to check the contents while keenly aware that the actress had hidden herself in the closest, and having become familiar with the blueprints of the house, he knew that there was a small doorway that connected that closest to another closest in the bedroom next door.

‘She’ll go through it in order to escape, and the others will be waiting,’ he thought, finding the journal entry, and produced a USB drive to download the contents of the laptop for study.

*****

The head agent didn’t have to wait very long when he heard the commotion of fighting, and sure enough, he could see Dawn fighting the agents and trying to get to the stairs to escape. He patiently waited until the brunette ran to the head of the stairs, and that was when he managed to grab her, wrapping an arm around her throat in order to restrain her, but not hurt her.

He wasn’t surprised when the brunette started clawing at his arm, trying to get him to let her go, and was screaming as she did everything she could to break free.

“No! Let me go! No!”

The head agent was quick to pull out a syringe that he uncapped, using his teeth while Dawn’s struggles and protests increased the moment she saw what he was holding from the corner of her eye. He quickly injected her with the sedative, and it didn’t wasn’t very long before she stopped struggling and went limp, falling unconscious.

*****

Over at the safe house, James and Dr. Caroline Green were in the study, having a serious discussion about the spike of Darkness earlier and to have Dawn brought in if the agents couldn’t find Joey at his house.

“I don’t like this, James, I don’t like any of this at all,” Dr. Green stated, pacing around the study. “Things are moving too fast, and if the Darkness has taken Joey, then that means what happen at the 1920s house isn’t a one-time incident at all.”

“I’m aware of that, Dr. Green,” James said as calmly as he could, given the situation. After giving the agents their orders and alerting both the other leaders and the Council of Elders, an emergency meeting had been called, and it’d ended a few minutes ago with the conclusion that if Joey wasn’t found at the house, then that meant that a new threat had taken him and the Darkness somewhere for some evil reason. “And so is the Council of Elders. But until we know more of what has happen to Joey and Dawn is brought here, there’s nothing more we can do at this time.”

Dr. Green stopped her pacing and sighed, facing him. “James, I get it, I really do, but I think that you may have to tell Dawn the truth,” she pointed out, “for after all of this, she’ll want to know, and she needs to know.”

James opened his mouth to respond to that when there was a knock on the doors. “Enter.”

A younger man entered. “Sir, the agents are on their way back with Dawn Hatcher, who’d been sedated, and they say that there’s no sign of Joey Graceffa in his house, but they did finding strong traces of both Darkness and Dark magic.”

“Thank you,” said James and the younger man left as he looked back at Dr. Green, who was looking grim-faced, and he knew how she felt. “Have your team on standby for their arrival since even I don’t know what kind of affect the sedative will have on Dawn.”

Dr. Green merely nodded before leaving the study, and him to his thoughts. Things were definitely spiraling out of control, and the odds of there being another incident were increasing at an alarming rate, which meant that they didn’t have a lot of time on their hands.

*****

When the three SUVs pulled up in front of the safe house a short time later, followed by the blue car, James and Dr. Green came out with her medical team as the agents exited the vehicles, some of them showing signs of having been beaten up during their attempts to get Dawn, who was still unconscious in the lead SUV.

“Put up a fight, I see,” James commented as the head agent got the brunette out of the vehicle and onto a stretcher that’d been set up by the medical team.

“She did,” the head agent agreed while Dr. Green checked the actress over, shining a penlight into the girl’s eyes to gage the pupil reaction. “I didn’t give her a full dose of the sedative, so she should be waking up soon. Right, doc?”

Dr. Green didn’t answer right away, checking the brunette’s pulse before finally giving her answer. “Yes, Dawn should start regaining consciousness in the next hour or so,” she confirmed, “but she’s likely to have a headache in reaction to the sedative.”

“I’ll have the proper tea prepared to help with that,” said James, gently brushing aside some of Dawn’s bangs from her forehead, wishing that this wasn’t happening. “Take her inside to my study and I will be in there shortly.” He then turned to the head agent while the other agents headed inside with Dr. Green, the unconscious girl, and the medical team to get themselves patched up. “What did you find in the house? Any sign of Joey?”

The head agent shook his head, giving his boss both cellphones and the keys to the actress’ car. “No, sir,” he answered. “It’s likely that the Darkness took Joey away well before any of us got to the house, based on the traces of Darkness and Dark magic found in the entry hall.” He also handed over the USB drive and a blue data crystal. “The contents of the laptop has been downloaded to see if he stored anything useful, and a full scan was made of the house itself.”

James nodded, taking the items. “Good, write up a full report for me to give to the Council,” he ordered and they both entered the safe house.

*****

After giving to the tech team the USB, Joey’s cellphone, and the data crystal, James headed to the study, where he found the tea waiting on the low table, and lying on the couch, still asleep, Dawn. He knew that she didn’t really look her age, due to both good genetics and relatively healthy living, but seeing her like this, she looked even younger.

“I wish none of this was happening to either you or your friends, my dear,” he said softly, brushing his fingers through her curls before sitting himself on a chair on the other side of the table to wait for her to wake up.

*****

Some time later, James watched Dawn drive off in her car after they had talked about what could’ve happen to Joey, and she’d reluctantly had agreed to let him know if and when Joey would reach out to her, so that they could, hopefully, get him back alive and safe from whenever he’d been taken by the Darkness. As he’d expected, after the brunette had woken up and dealt with her headache, she’d been furious at him for having her sedated and, in her mind, kidnapped like that.

James also hadn’t been too surprised when Dawn brought up about why this had happen and if she had something to do with the Darkness taking as long as it had to harm Joey because of what could be inside of her. This had been an opening where he’d could’ve told her the truth about the Light and her being the Light-bearer, but he hadn’t taken it, and had told her that it was best if she figured it out herself while promising to be of help when that did happen.

He’d also programed a certain phone number into her cellphone so that the brunette could call him once she’d gotten word from Joey, who he figured would try to reach out to her for help, and when that happen, then he would be able to assemble a team to help rescue the boy from wherever he’d been taken by the Darkness.

‘I just hope that Joey can be rescued and that they won’t go through a similar incident like last year,’ he thought, sipping his tea when one of his aides entered the study. “Yes?”

“The tech team has found something that you need to see, sir.”

“Of course.”

*****

Entering a room that was filled with all types of technology, including the steampunk type and the type that ran on magic, one of the technicians shared their discovery of what they had found on both the data from Joey’s laptop and from the scans that’d been made of the house, and what they found wasn’t good news.

“Mr. Graceffa has kept a detailed account of what he’d been feeling for the past year,” the technician explained. “Both in written word and in private video recordings that he didn’t upload onto YouTube. It’s in the last five weeks that he started to suspect that what was wrong with him may have had to do with the deed that he’d taken from the 1920s house, and he was hoping that Dawn Hatcher would be able to help him figure out how to stop it. They were due to meet for lunch today.”

“And the Darkness kept that from happening,” James guessed, earning a nod of confirmation. “Damn, I should’ve brought them both in sooner before this could’ve happen. What did you find on the data crystal?”

“Thanks to the scans taken at the house, we were able to recreate what happen when the Darkness spiked,” the technician answered, activating a projector and the scene played out before them of Joey walking down the stairs to the entryway, heading for the front door when he was first beginning to be overwhelmed by the Darkness, making the phone call to Dawn, and then blacking out as he was fully overwhelmed. Moments later, they watched as a purple glow formed around the young man and he disappeared right before their eyes. “That was the Dark magic that was also detected, and I know only of two beings who uses magic that is that shade of purple.”

James nodded, grim-faced. “As do I,” he agreed, not liking the image that was forming in his mind. “And with one of them hidden in a different reality, the only other one is hiding somewhere in time, and she’s the one minion that uses the same magic as that of the Cursed God himself. Clearly she used her magic to summon the Darkness to her, taking Joey as well.”

“Indeed. What should be done, sir?”

James sighed. “I need to let the other leaders and the Council know of this,” he admitted, not looking forward to that particular meeting. “Prepare a report with all the data, and have it ready within the hour.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER FOUR: CALLING FOR HELP

*****

A full month had passed since the disappearance of Joey Graceffa and both the news and the internet were filled with reports, theories, and rumors of what could’ve happen to the YouTuber, and whether it had anything to do with the incident of last year or not. James, representing the Society Against Evil, had been questioned and interviewed a number of times about Joey’s disappearance, and while he knew the truth, he’d been careful of how he answered the questions, including the questions asked by Jermaine Whitehouse.

While he himself didn’t know if this had to do with the cult that’d been lead by the late Arthur Kenneth or not, he had assured them all that the Society was going to do everything possible to help locate and rescue Joey from whenever he’d been taken to, and from whoever was responsible for taking him in the first place.

*****

One day, James was being driven back to the safe house after yet another interview about the disappearance of Joey, when the cellphone that his bodyguard was carrying started to ring. The bodyguard took the phone out, checked the caller ID and handed it to him.

“It’s Ms. Hatcher, sir.”

James took the phone and answered it. “Ms. Hatcher, how are you?”

`“James, I just got an invitation and a package earlier,”` said Dawn’s voice with a hint of urgency in it, `“and the invite was written by Joey, plus he signed it. I think this can help us find him.”`

James straightened up when he heard this. “Dawn, are you at your home?” he asked and when she confirmed that she was, he knew that he needed to see the invite and the package in person. “Stay there, I’m coming to you.”

`“Why? I could bring it to the-”`

“No,” he said firmly. “Stay put, it’s best that I come to you, Dawn.” And he clicked the phone off when she tried to protest. “Change of plans, we’re going to Dawn’s house right now.”

The driver nodded and turned at the next light, heading in a different direction. James gave the phone back to the bodyguard and settled back into his seat to ponder this turn of events. He’d figured that Joey would try to reach out to the brunette if possible, and it looks like he’d been able to. But this felt like a possible trap being set by whoever had taken the boy last month, and he needed to be sure before moving forward with a rescue mission. Plus, this would allow him to give something the brunette that would help her for whatever it was she might be going up against.

*****

At her California house, Dawn had just changed back into her normal clothes and placed the outfit back in the box when the doorbell rang, and she went to the door. Peering through the peek hole first, she then opened the door to let James inside, along with his bodyguard, who had dark skin.

“You know, until this moment, I haven’t realized just how much you look like James Spader when he’s playing Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist,” she remarked, leading him into the living room, where she had both the open package and the invitation on the table. “Your bodyguard wouldn’t happen to named Dembe?”

“No, his name is Jonas,” James replied, taking off his hat as he seated himself on the couch with her. “And I’ll take that James Spader remark as a compliment. So, who brought these to you?” he inquired, picking up the invitation, noting that there was traces of Dark magic on it, but not enough to do them any harm.

“A woman dressed in what was clearly Victorian clothing, but more gothic since even her makeup was black,” the brunette answered. “She told me that my presence was urgently requested, gave me these, and then left. I know for a fact that Joey did write this, but I don’t think he did it willingly.”

James picked up the invitation and read it to himself before looking back at the actress. “Yes, this is clearly not writing willingly,” he agreed, impressed that she’d picked up on that. “And the outfit?” he asked, nodding to the open package.

“Clearly Victorian,” Dawn confirmed, picking up the dress. “Not what I would normally wear to be honest, even with it being steampunk, and according to the invite, I’m to be the detective.” She sighed and set the dress down. “This is starting to sound a lot like what happen last year, and – um, something else happen after I read the invite, but before I called you, James.”

“What happen?” James asked, putting down the invitation.

The brunette sighed again and then told him about video chatting with Eva and Oli, who had also received invites and packages, and how they had no intention of going to the masquerade ball. They had also tried to talk her out of it, she’d been insistent to the point that she’d banged her right hand on the desk, and had been shocked to see that it’d been glowing white for several seconds. “…and that’s never happen to me before,” she concluded. “James, please be honest with me. Could my hand glowing like that have anything to do with this Light that’s suppose to be inside of me?”

‘I could tell her the truth, I really could,’ James thought, seeing this as another opening to tell her that she was the Light-bearer, and took her hands into his. “It might have something to do with the Light that you believe could be inside of you,” he said, repressing a chuckle at the exasperated look that the actress was giving him, “but it could also be a fluke. For now, let’s focus on how the Society Against Evil can help you rescue Joey from wherever he currently is, and figure out who else could’ve been invited to this masquerade ball.”

“Fine, whatever you say, Gandalf,” Dawn grumbled, pulling her hands free while the older man was amused. “Ok, so it’s clear that wherever Joey has ended up, it’s clearly in the Victoria Era, and as to who else could’ve been invited, I really can’t say for sure since I only know a certain number of YouTubers that I’m friends with due to my friendship with Joey. Plus, I suspect you might already know this, but I’m near-sighted and I’m not sure how I’ll be able to make my way around in a place that I haven’t been in before,” she added sheepishly.

James chuckled. “I do know about you being near-sighted, Dawn,” he said and gave her a case, which she opened to find that it had several sets of contact lenses inside it. “These are special contact lens that can work in any era and are used by the Society, which will in turn help you in the Victorian Era. Now, let’s start with the YouTubers that you are friends with and go from there to any others that you know of.”

“Ok.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER FIVE: PROMISE BROKEN

*****

When the day for the masquerade ball arrived, James and a team of Society Against Evil agents were parked some distance from Dawn’s house, waiting for the arrival of the carriage that would be taking the actress to the location with the intention of following so that they could get her, the YouTubers that had been invited, and Joey out before there would be another incident like at the 1920s house last year.

When he’d told Dawn about this, she voiced the concern that they probably wouldn’t be able to see the Victorian carriage unless they were in the period clothing, and he had assured her that the Society had its’ ways of gaining access to those kind of places without facing the same restrictions, plus they had the special contact lenses to help them see the carriage when it would arrive. He and the brunette had also determined which other YouTubers had been invited, and she confirmed that she knew Tyler Oakley, Jesse Wellens, Liza Koshy, and the twins, Artie and Ernie Goldsmith.

Dawn had had a few interactions with Alex Wassabi and his girlfriend, Lauren Riihimaki at the YouTube Creator Summits, but she knew almost nothing about Andrea Russett, Tana Mongeau, Gabbie Hanna, or even DeStorm Powers, other then that he, she, and Jesse were all roughly the same age, having all been born in 1982 with DeStorm and Jesse being a number of months older then her respectively.

*****

At the time mentioned in the invite, Dawn exited her house in full detective outfit, the special contact lenses in her eyes so she could see, locking the door behind her to ensure that no one would break inside while slipping the key in a hiding place before going to the curb to wait for the arrival of the carriage. It wasn’t long before she heard the hoofbeats coming down the street. She looked round and saw heading her way was a black/gold carriage being pulled by four horses, and the driver was dressed in Victorian clothing.

‘This must be my ride,’ she thought as the carriage stopped in front of her and she pulled the door open. She climbed inside to find a plush peach velvet interior, and she shut the door. Soon the carriage was in motion, and she was on her way. ‘Ok, Joey, I’m coming.’

*****

“She’s inside the carriage, sir,” Jonas informed James as the carriage turned and started back the way it’d came.

“It’s time,” said James, and soon the entire team of SUVs were following the carriage from a safe distance.

The Society agents could see the Victorian carriage thanks to the specialized glass built into the SUVs, and each agent were wearing specialized contact lenses so that they would be able see and access the location locked in the Victoria Era.

*****

As the team followed the SUVs from a safe distance, and it wasn’t long before ten additional carriages, all of them were black/gold, caught up with the one that the brunette was in. It was clear that they were all going to the same place, and it was also apparent that the YouTubers were in the carriages, too.

*****

The trek continued, leaving L.A. far behind, and the sun was starting to set when a pair of tall iron gates appeared, connected to a stone wall that disappeared into either direction into the forest, and the gates opened as the carriages approached.

“Hold back until the carriages are through the gates, and then followed,” James ordered into a walkie-talkie and the SUVs slowed down, keeping out of sight of the gates until the last carriage went through, and then they started forward again, aiming for the gates.

However, before the vehicles could get through, the gates slammed shut, and there was a flash of purple light that made the agents shield their eyes as they struggled to stop before slamming into the magical barrier that’d just gone up.

Once the last of the SUVs had stopped moving, James climbed out of the lead car, trying to blink the spots that were dancing before his eyes, due to the bright light from mere moments ago. Being able to see properly after a few seconds, he cautiously approached the gates, reached out with one hand, and when his fingers were mere inches away from the gates, the barrier flared purple.

James jumped backwards with a hiss of pain and waved his hand, his fingers stinging from the contact with the Dark magic, and muttered a curse under his breath since this was more then the standard Dark magic he’d been trained to fight against.

“Are you all right, sir?” Jonas demanded, reaching the Society leader with the agents.

“I will be,” James responded, frowning at the gates. “However, this isn’t the standard barrier. Somehow, this is a mixture of both Dark magic, and Life Magic.”

Perplex expressions were exchanged among the agents, how was it that their enemy could use Life Magic, which was one of the strongest magics used by the Society Against Evil against the minions of the Cursed God, and the Cursed God himself?

“How can this person know how to use Life Magic?” one the agents asked. “That shouldn’t be possible, right sir?”

“Normally it shouldn’t be,” James agreed. “But I fear that this is the Sorceress that two Society agents went up against over a century ago, and somehow, she figured out how to use Life Magic, and if this is the case, then it would explain why we haven’t been able to find this place before now.” He sighed. “We need to get back to the safe house and go to work on figuring out how to get through this barrier before anything bad happens to Dawn, Joey, and their friends.”

Realizing that he was right, they all returned to the SUVs, and started back toward the city. No matter how long it would take, they were going to get into that place, and save the group that was now trapped in there…hopefully before any of them died.

The end…for now.

*****

I have so many, so many regrets.

So many lies, so many broken ties.

I wish for my old life.

Wish I could fix my strike.

Cause no one truly escapes the night.

Oh, won't you help me escape the night.

Oh baby help me escape the night.

Escape the night.