It was a feast, but it didn’t really feel like a party. Angelica’s mother had done her best to cook some nice food, meaning no green bean casserole in sight, and the two were seated at the long dinner table in Angie’s ranch house. But the Leggy Blonde of Legend found herself too distracted to enjoy the pot pie, or even be pleasant company.

Mary noticed her daughter’s rather sulky attitude. Indeed, how could she not? The otherwise so spirited and cheerful Angelica had been stabbing a Guinness sauce-glazed mushroom with her fork for the better part of five minutes in silence.

Mary thought she knew why Angelica wasn’t her talkative self, recounting everything her cats had done today, or talking her ear off about her next XWF opponent. After all, tonight was a Thanksgiving feast, but it wasn’t THE Thanksgiving feast. The “real” one was tomorrow, up in Lacklanland. The Thanksgiving parties of the Lacklans were as legendary as they were indulgent and extravagant. But Angelica hadn’t been there in a while… and while she was technically royalty over there, she was also an outsider still, in spite of having been welcomed into the family years ago when her biological father was proven to be Jean-Paul Lacklan.

”Not enjoying the dinner, sweetheart? You loved this pie last time I made it.”

Angelica snapped out of her daydream and looked over to her mother. Her cheeks blushed with embarrassment as she was caught out.

”Oops. No, sorry mumsie, I do like it. I’ve just been elsewhere. My mind, I mean.”

”And where, pray tell, might that be?”

Angelica put her cutlery down, and sighed before looking over at an empty chair across from them.

”It’s just that… I’ve been thinking. About… ‘dad’.”

Mary frowned. She hadn’t brought him up in years.

”Your ‘dad’. You’re not talking about Jean-Paul, I take it.”

Angelica shook her head.

”I’m surprised, Angelica. I thought he was a subject, and a person, you were all too happy to leave behind in a past that no longer held power over you.”

”I thought so, too. But then I got paired up with John Madison Junior, and let’s just say that he and his father have… issues. As in, his father is in jail and from what I can tell, he treats him like… well, like ‘dad’ used to treat me.”

”Is that what he told you?”

”Well… Funny story, that.”

---

”Wow, this is where you go to school? Why is there dog shit in the corner?”

John Madison Jr looked around at the place as Angelica pulled him by the arm to keep him from awkwardly standing in place and gasping at any and all bystanders. He seemed to flinch slightly as she touched him, and really had to pull because he was stronger than he looked. But so was Angelica.

”Come on, Jay Emm Jay, can’t stand around here all day! It’s lunchtime, we need to get to the cafeteria before they run out of the chicken fingers, they’re the only good thing they sell there!”

As they entered the building, Angie’s taggie couldn’t hide his excitement.

”Wow, this place smells like mold AND wet cardboard. I could feel right at home, here.”

”Well, if you want to enroll, I’m sure the dean will be more than happy to have TWO XWF Superstars and Champions on campus. Come on now! I’ll introduce you to my sorority.”

”Sorority?? You mean there’s MORE like you??”

Angelica rolled her eyes and dragged him into the cafeteria. She walked over to the table where Pamela, Sandra, Rita and some other Kappa Alpha Tau members were, already munching on some much-desired chicken fingers. They greeted their sorority president as she approached them.

”Hi, girls! Please tell me those weren’t the last chicken fingers!”

“Don’t worry”, Angela said as she shoved a plate towards Angie. “We saved you some.”

”You gals are the best!”

“Who’s the guy? Your boyfriend?”

”NOBVS!”/ ”Sure am!”

”He’s a colleague from work. You know I told you about winning the XWF tag team championships? Well, he’s my taggie.”

“He looks a bit odd.”

”Angie, I’m confused, are these your sorority sisters? They aren’t like you at all, they’re way old and not as pretty.”

Angelica’s head turned the color of a tomato as her sorority sisters puffed their cheeks and crossed their arms.

”J-Madz! You can’t say stuff like that, it’s really rude!”

”But you said I should always be honest.”

”And if you don’t have anything nice to say, not to say anything at all, but you forgot about THAT part, didn’t you?? Now shoo, we’ll eat separately.”

As John Madison Junior shrugged and walked to another, empty table, Angie turned to her sisters.

”Sorry, gals. He’s… a piece of work. I’ll have him send you flowers to make up for it.”

The Kappa Alpha Taus didn’t seem fully convinced, but at the very least they trusted Angelica, who went over to her tag partner’s table with a plate full of chicken fingers and some spicy dipping sauce.

”That’s wasn’t very kind, John.”

”Look, if I’m going to be your boyfriend, they’ll need to respect my opinions.”

”Boyf-? You’re not my b-… Oh heck, why do I bother with this.”

”So I am, right? Knew it. Persistence is key! My dad once told me that. And some other stuff.”

Angelica’s eyes turned to slits as John grabbed half of the chicken fingers at once and ate them all without barely even chewing. But it was the first time he had mentioned his father in such a casual conversation, and they’d had their fair share of talks after winning the titles. Photo ops, a small promo tour, some interviews,… He always seemed to act weird around her, though. Maybe that was just who he was. But everybody was who they were because of their upbringing.

”Do… you and your dad get along? From what I’ve seen and heard, he’s not exactly the type to give a ton of motivational speeches. He’s more like someone who would crush your spirit, or…”

”Crush? I don’t have a crush! Not on you! Definitely not! Hehe.”

”What? No, I meant that from what I’ve read about him, he’s not exactly a kitty cat you can pick up without mittens.”

”Smitten? I’m flattered, Angelica.”

”WHAT? I meant that he’s more like the devil in disguise, horns and all!”

”Horny, huh? Well, I’m sure we can find a janitor’s closet somewhere.”

”John Madison Junior, I am very close to throwing my soda in your face. Stop being an utter creep for one second, and pretending like you’re mishearing my questions. What’s up with you and your dad??”

He looked at Angelica for a second, and then grabbed the remaining chicken fingers.

”Hey, those were mine!”

”You’re making me emotional with all your questions! I get hungry when I’m emotional. So yeah, my dad and I… What about it? He’s in jail. I just wanna make him proud, though, I guess. He’s my dad still, after all. There’s not much more to it than that than I can tell you. Don’t you want to make your dad proud? Or at least, you know,… Visit. I dunno.”

As he munched away on the remaining fingers, Angelica leaned back. He said it so casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world. She had long given up on pleasing her fake father, and she was pretty certain biological dad would be proud of what she had accomplished in her career so far (although there was hopefully a lot more to come!) But in spite of their difficult relationship, John Madison made it seem like you couldn’t possibly burn a bridge with a parent. Not completely. No matter how abusive or one-sided the relationship was. Maybe there was a lesson to be learned from him after all, even if he didn’t know he’d taught it.

”Okay, I guess I see where you’re coming from. Thank you for being honest. Now, let’s talk Bad Medicine…”

---

”I see…”

Mary listened to Angelica as she told her the story, and leaned back in her chair, being finished with her own meal.

”Look, sweetie, if you want to reopen old wounds in order to heal a scar, then that’s your choice, and I can’t stop you. But it’s a dangerous road you’re going down, and I’d hate to see you get hurt again.”

”I know, mom. But I’m stronger than I used to be. I’m doing this because I want to, not because I feel I have to, or because I’m scared of what’ll happen if I don’t. I feel like it’s a chapter I can only finish if I write the last few sentences. But I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.”

”That man caused the both of us, as well as your biological father, a lot of harm and grief, sweetie. I’m not sure why you want to do this. Forgive him? Punish him? If it were up to me, I’d let him rot in whatever dungeon Le Bord de Dieu is keeping him in.”

”He’s a specter looming over us, mom. The only way we get rid of him is by humanizing him and making sure he can’t hurt us anymore. Aveline can’t do that for us. It’s something we must do ourselves. As far as Bordy is concerned, he has outlived his usefulness, but unless we, or I, can confront him one last time, it’ll always be like his vice grip over us hasn’t truly dwindled. I want to do this, so I can finally banish him from our minds, as well as our lives.”

Mary sighed and poured some wine in her glass.

”If it’ll help you, then by all means.”

Angelica perked up a little. Knowing she had her mother’s blessing definitely made her feel a little bit better. But it wasn’t going to make the task at hand any easier.

---

It was home away from home, but didn’t really feel like it right now. Still the Thanksgiving party was about to kick off, and judging from the excited text messages from her sister, they were in for one heck of an evening.

Quote:”Sis, we have the biggest bird in a decade coming up! It’s been brining and cooking for DAYS! And the creamed onions! So. Many. Creamed. Onions! And I HOPE you haven’t forgotten to bring the SPECIALLY designed dress I sent you a week ago that matches my outfit. The rags you sometimes dress in, I cannot even! Hurry up! Kenzi’s hungry as flame, and Step Mumsie is getting drunk already.”

Angelica smiled. Sarah sure seemed excited, but she had some business to take care of first.

She entered the main hall, but rather than take the grand staircase up to the dining room, she turned left to a hidden side alley that led to the compound’s dungeon. As soon as she did so, the temperature seemed to drop by quite a few degrees, and the walls of stone were cold and damp. The torches in their sconces weren’t lit, and so Angelica had to use the flashlight on the phone to guide her.

Eventually she arrived at the dungeon(s) proper. The cells were empty, but one door was guarded by two stout Lacklanlanders dressed in ceremonial garbs. As Angelica approached, they crossed their spears, signaling that none were to pass. But Angie wasn’t going to take that as an answer.

”Hi! This is the door to Richard Vaughn’s cell, isn’t it? I have business inside, please let me through.”

They looked at each other hesitantly. They obviously knew who she was. But their orders were clear.

“Many apologies, Your Highness. But this area is off limits. Orders from the Queen herself.”

”My friend, I am going through this door, and I would rather ask the forgiveness of Aveline Lacklan, than ask for her permission. If Le Bord de Dieu wants to punish me for my transgressions, then she can try to do so. But you will not stop me. Now would you kindly move aside? This doesn’t need to get more complicated than it is.”

After a few more moments’ hesitation, they eventually lifted their spears, allowing Angie safe passage. She nodded appreciatively and went through the door. What she saw there, was… not what she had expected. The place seemed like a library. It was spacious, the walls were lined with shelves, and rows upon rows of old books and scrolls were stacked upon them. In the center was a table, where an old man sat. He was short and stout, his glasses resting on the tip of his nose. The years had not been kind to him. His skin had a pale, yellowish hue, and the remainder of his hair was little more than a few thin threads hanging from his temples and the back of his head. As he looked up and recognized Angelica, his mouth shrunk as if he had just bitten into a lemon. Angelica stood tall, however, not letting the sight of the man who had ruined her childhood get to her.

”Father. How do you do?”

No answer came. Instead, he just slammed shut the book he was reading and looked at her with disgust. The same disgust she’d seen in his eyes for the first decade and a half of her life.
But Angelica now saw him for what he truly was. He was broken. Harmless. He wasn’t a specter, he was a wisp, waiting to be snuffed out.

”You’ve aged. You’re a far cry from the man who convinced my pregnant mother to abandon my birthplace and birthright. Seeing you like this doesn’t give me pleasure, but it does give me peace. My partner Maddy may not be able to set his abusive father free, but I do possess that power. Tomorrow, you and I walk out of this place, and you will leave to never return. You will not speak to me, or of me. I have arranged a cottage in New Zealand for you to live out the rest of your life. You’ll be sent a monthly stipend that you’re free to complement however you see fit. You’ll be able to live comfortably, and without worry. Some might say that is more than you deserve, but if we can’t find it in ourselves to forgive those who wronged us, then maybe we’re not as gracious as we think we are. This is farewell, father. Thank you, for finally going away for good.”

Angelica turned around, and left the broken man behind.

---

”Hi-hiiii~ my precious Vaughnstars! Angie here, as you can see, and I’m here in Lacklanland, making my way up to another EPIC and TOTES AMAZEBALLZ supes legendary-as-flame Lacklan Thanksgiving dinner party! But before I get drunk on creamed onions and overeat on punch, let me address you guys for a bit, because there is a LOT we need to get to!

I won my first title in the XWF recently, and as all champs must do, they have to fend off challengers. And as my theme song goes: I WILL DEFEND, I WILL DEFEND! And defend it I will, against James Raven and Atara Themis. One’s a bonafide Hall of Famer, the other is a mainstay in the XWF Top 50 of all time! Considering how many excellent superstars have passed through the XWF over the years, that alone makes Atara a fearsome challenger.

So James AND Atara Raven? Wel, that ain’t no A Flock of Seagulls, my friends, and this ain’t no A Flock of Seagulls concert. It’s an Unkindness of Ravens, or so I believe it’s called. Now, a lot has been said about that name, as I’m sure you’re all aware. That’s what a group of Ravens is called, after all. But do any of you know *why*?

Well, a quick search on birdfact dot com, learns us that they were called that because ravens never seemed to care about their young. Sometimes, they’d expel them out into the real world before they were well and truly ready.

Now, I know you’re both new parents, James and Atara. And for what it’s worth, I think you’ll both do a job that is totes amazeballz, and that kid is lucky to have two such supremely talented parents. Honestly, I do. But as far as Maddy and I go, we did grow up in an Unkindness. We had parents that didn’t care about us, and both of us were expelled out into the real world before we were well and truly ready. And we’ve had to face the real world, and its harsh reality, head on. And I dare say the both of us did a great job.

So Atara? James? If that Unkindness couldn’t stop us, what on the face of this big blue ball that we call Earth makes you think that you can? We’ve faced tougher challenges than you, although maybe not inside of that very square circle that has four corners.

Now, I know my taggie is a weirdo and a bit of a creep. I know he’s volatile and unpredictable, but he’s also very talented. If he performs like I know he can, then honestly? You don’t stand a chance. I know I will need him at my back, because I can’t do it all by myself. That’s what good teams do, they complement each other. In the end, that will be the deciding factor of this match. We’re either on the verge of something special, or a thing that “could’ve been”… I choose to believe in the former. I didn’t come this far to go down without the fight of my lifetime. So prepare for the #Vaughnemous, because it’s coming, and it’s going to kick your head in.”