Chapter Text
The moment it happened, the moment Rio felt it, it was almost as if everything in the world abruptly halted.
Rio was in the middle of work, in an abandoned house near a lake, where some idiots decided was a good place to ditch a body. Annoyed, and disgusted by the condition of the cabin, but overall it was a less busy day, which is rare in her line of work.
And then it happened.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips. A shiver sent down her spine. A wave of warmth poured into her hollowed heart. Something in the air shifted, she can feel it now, she can feel her now. For the first time in 172 years 6 months and 23 days, Agatha Harkness's presence pierced her senses like a stab in the chest - ticklish, painful, exciting, and familiar.
Rio is not easily fazed, but since Agatha walked away and abandoned her in the worst way imaginable, she has been trying everything, everything to find her whereabouts. She wanted to find her, talk to her, hug her, and mourn the loss of their son together. She wanted to go through it all with her, be there for each other, and get back on their feet, together, like they vowed. But she couldn't. After a while she decided to bury herself in work, every time there was a new body to reap, she wondered if it would be that familiar face she used to kiss goodnight every night. She is terrified of the idea, but not as terrified of the thought that she might never see her face again.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! " Rio screams angrily until every last bit of air is drained out from her lungs. Everyone within a 5-mile distance will be able to hear her, luckily there is no one remotely nearby.
She stumbles onto the ground from the sudden blood pressure change, her chest pumping rapidly, fighting for air. She pats down her waist to make sure her dagger is still in place. "Ok, Rio, think!"
She quickly regains her composure, as much as she can, at least.
Rio looks at the Mr. Where's his face next to her on the floor. There is no time for this.
I have to find her.
Shit .
Rio remembered something. If she can sense her, they all can. God, fucking Witch Killer.
When Rio snapped back to reality, she was already inside her car.
I have to find her, before they do.
"Fucking Agatha." She clicks her tongue, stepping all the way on the pedal.
Rio tries to take in some deep breaths and focus on the steering wheel, but her mind says otherwise.
Fragments of their life start piecing themselves together - Nicky's laughter when they play hide and seek, Agatha's fingers combing her hair, the forevers they pictured together tumbling through her guts. What is at Westview? Has she ever regretted it? Has she ever thought about me? About us? Felt sorry for leaving and hiding? Has she ever wondered? What has she been doing? Is she still trying...to bring Nicholas back? Or has she moved on? Are the wounds all healed? Did she start a new life? Did she find someone else?
Rio cursed silently at the thought of that.
Her eyes narrowed, trying to focus on the road as she changed between different lanes and overtook everyone blocking her way.
It still took her a few hours to make it to the Westview interchange, despite the fact that she was driving way above the speed limit.
"Welcome to Westview." Rio reads the word on the big sign. Maybe Agatha Harkness has changed, why else would she live in a small town like this? But why did she stop hiding? Did she forgive her?
A loud bang brings her back from her thoughts, her eyes widen to see she just rear-ended someone at the worst timing.
An old lady in a floral dress steps out of the car, yelling something at her.
Ugh! It didn't take Rio more than a split second to decide to tighten her grip on the wheel and drive off the road. "Sorry, I don't have time for this!" she yells back while driving away from the scene. She can't be dealing with this right now, especially not after she panicked at the lake house and threw her work into her trunk.
Rio slammed on the brakes in front of Agatha's house. A sigh of relief slipped out of her, but it didn't last long.
What am I supposed to say? Hi, remember me? No!
Rio bumps her forehead on the steering wheel a few times trying to keep herself together.
There is no time to waste, she just has to put on her usual act as best as she can.
"Here we go." She stops in front of the door, the thought of another person being with Agatha disgusts her, but after a short conflict, she decides to knock instead of breaking in.
Knock, knock.
It feels like another hundred years have passed waiting for that door to be opened.
"Ah, you."
Here comes the woman she hasn't stopped thinking of for the last centuries. God, she looks...just like she remembered. Rio wants to pull out her dagger and stab the woman in the stomach right here right now, but she can't.
Way too many emotions and memories are flashing through her head right now for her to sense Agatha's weird demeanor. Still, she managed to squeeze out a little "Hi."
"Agent Rio Vadal," Agatha let Rio in the house with her arms crossed, "What brings a hotshot like you in our crappy small town?"
Rio's heart stopped. No way. No way- Agent? Does Agatha...forget? Everything?
"Oh, I see." Agatha takes her to her study and sits behind her desk with papers and photos scattered around. "You're here for the case."
Rio opens her mouth, but the words fall back from her tongue once she realizes Agatha is not pretending. Frustration and helplessness washed up on her and formed a tight knot in her throat. This is not Agatha. Not her Agatha.
"I'm-" Rio pinched her thigh to stop her voice from shaking, "I'm here for the case, yes."
"Well, the forensic team is running a test on the blood sample, but here is what we have so far." Agatha hands Rio some local supermarket advertisements. "I'll let you know when we have more to tell. Now, get out of my office."
Rio blinks twice after Agatha shoves her out of the room and closes the door on her face.
She looks down at the paper in her hand, in big bold font, " Wanda ", " Darkhold ", and " The Scarlet Witch " is written all over it.
"Well." At least one question is answered.
Rio spins around, trying to make sense of where exactly she is. The house is....not Agatha, not even if she is insane or under a spell, or both. She walks around the house trying to gather more information. Her heart drops when she sees the name on the door down the hallway.
'Nicky'
Rio questions herself as she stands perfectly still, unable to move a limb, but the thought is quickly shaken off her head, she knows better, she took Nicky herself. And she doesn't make mistakes.
Still, her shaky hand on the doorknob gives her away. With a few deep breaths, she opens the door.
"Nicholas..." The name leaves Rio's lips for the first time in centuries.
The room is set up like she remembered, every piece of drawings she didn't even know she remembered until this moment. Her fingers brush over the edge of the drawings, she can almost hear Nicholas' little voice saying 'Mama, look! '. Her heart clenched together. Grief comes at her like a heavy punch in the gut, every tiny decoration reopens a wound and burns her heart, forcing her to sit silently on the bed. Somehow Agatha managed to preserve a memory she thought was lost forever.
Rio doesn't realize she is crying until she sees the wet teardrop stain on her pants. Breaking down in her deceased son's room while Agatha's mind is trapped under a spell is not the reunion she always imagined - she has to break her out, she has to play along.
Rio picks up the plaque Nicky got when he sang at the children's choir, the corner of her mouth tugs up. He was so nervous that day, it was his first time performing in public, but Rio told her to keep his eyes on her and Agatha when he was on the stage, and he would be fine - which he did. They stopped by the ice cream shop on their way home to celebrate his award. They were so proud of him.
Rio wipes the tear off her face with her fingers after putting the plaque back. A ceramic rabbit catches her eyes. She picks it up and flips it over.
' Happy 3 year old birthday, Nicky. Love, mommy & mama '
Rio bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from making any weeping noise. She puts the ceramic rabbit securely in the pocket of her jacket.
She looks at the room one last time before closing the door behind her.
Now, she has to break Agatha out of the spell before all her enemies find her.
Rio closes her eyes, picturing herself as Agatha's 'Agent Vidal', and when she opens her eyes again, she is already wrapped in an FBI type of outfit.
"Well." She unbuttons the top three buttons on her shirt before knocking on the door of Agatha's office. "Where's the blood report, detective?"
Agatha looks up and eyes a folder on top of the stack of files. "Came back thirty minutes ago, nothing unusual. No DNA match."
"Hm." Rio opens the folder to find some Ikea furniture instructions. This isn't going to work, she needs to try something stronger.
Rio pinches the bridge of her nose. Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, Darkhold. Now, she knows Wanda Maximoff is dead because she personally- This is it!
"Detective, can you show me photos of the crime scene?"
"What, your fancy bureau doesn't provide you with anything?" Agatha raises a brow and throws Rio, who's now sitting across her, another folder.
"Thank you." Rio tosses the first folder back into the pile of folders and opens the new one. Drawings of a stick person with two x as eyes and a p as their mouth, of course.
Rio digs up a red pen from Agatha's desk and adds long hair to the stick person. Just for the dramatic effect she also adds droplets of blood coming out their mouth. She then flips the paper over, and draws the exact painting of the stick person on it, with the name 'Wanda Maximoff' written below it.
She picks up a notepad nearby and puts it next to her ear, "Vidal. Umhm. Yeah, I see. Thank you."
"Please tell me you have good news." Agatha stares at Rio.
"We ID her, she's in one of our databases." Rio hands the folder back to Agatha with the picture she just drew. "Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch." Agatha's quiver at the name mentioned doesn't slip Rio's eyes, but she continues, "Wanda Maximoff is dead, Agatha."
"I'm not-" Agatha stops and mumbles quietly, "Agatha..."
Agatha's hand trembles as she grabs the drawing and stares for a good moment before finally looking up at Rio, eyes full of tears, "Wanda...Scarlet Witch...is dead?"
Rio nods slowly, "Dead, and taken by death."
This is not the first time Rio saves Agatha, and if she allows it, it won't be the last time either, at least not when her enemies can be breaking in any minute now.
Agatha tries to stand up but immediately falls back into the chair, her head is too dizzy trying to process the information.
An annoying red and blue light flashes through the window, reminding Rio of the car crash earlier, and Mr. Where's his face is still folded in half in her trunk. Rio knows it's only a matter of time before Agatha figures it out. For now, she has to handle her business.
"I have to go, Agatha," Rio peeps outside the window and looks at the still-shocked Agatha. "I'll be back in an hour or two."
"Te veo." Before Rio leaves the room, she remembers something. "Stay where you are until I'm back. Please."