ѕerpenт qυeen - Jughead Jones

XXV.

Betty, Ava, Jughead, Toni, and Kevin was in the trailer trying to decode the cypher together. "These symbols look so familiar to me." Ava said. Betty nodded, "I've seen them before.It's driving me crazy I can't figure out where." Betty said. "Maybe if you loosened your ponytail." Toni mumbled which caused everyone to look at her. "What? That was a joke, guys." She said. Kevin blinked shocked at Toni, "Betty's ponytail is iconicand beyond reproach." He told her. "Kev, it's fine." Ava said smiling softly. Ava kept looking in all of the books. "At this point,I'm willing to try anything." Betty said letting her hair down. Ava looked at her, "All you need is a Serpent jacket all you would be set... It's a joke, Jug." Ava said before she saw Jughead glare at her. 

"Per Mrs. Paroo's books, I've been looking forcommon-letter associations, like T-H, A-N, I-N-G." Jughead said. "I'm looking for doubles. Double L. Four-letter words like kill." Toni told them. Ava nodded as she kept looking at the symbols. "That's morbid." Kevin pointed out. "We don't know if it's in English. Could be an anagram." Jughead said. "Like, literally on the top of my brain." Ava mumbled as she kept looking at it. "Let's go back to the basics. What do we know about him?Who is he?" Jughead said. "He's a white male, in his 40s. Like almost every serial killer ever." Toni told them. "No, I mean, like, why...? Why is he killing people? Or at least, why now?" Jughead said. Ava blinked and put together the pieces. She began writing what all the victims had done. Fred Andrews... Had an affair with Hermione Lodge... Ms. Grundy.... Liked younger students of hers... And Midge and Moose was doing a drug. "We know the Hood'sobsessed with cleansing the town of sinners and hypocrites, right? And he seems to be attacking anyonewith ties to the Northside." Betty said. Toni shook her head. "Here we go with the fake news again. You Northsiders and your privilege. All you do is demonize the Southside, so of course you thinkthe Black Hood's from there." Toni said. 

Ava shook her head, "Toni, Betty, we don't know if the Black Hood is from the Southside or Northside... Not yet, however." Ava said. "What about Northside Neo-Nazis,the Red Circle? The Red Psychos, you mean.I'm surprised you haven't said it yet." Toni said. "Said what?" Betty asked. "That you think the Black Hood's a Serpent. We know how much you hate us." Toni said. "Okay... Toni, stop." Ava said. "I don't hate the Serpents." Betty said. "Yeah? Then why is it your boyfriendlies about sitting with us at lunch?" Toni said looking at Jughead. "Toni. I think you should go..." Ava demanded. Toni looked at Ava and nodded. She left and didn't even say goodbye to her. Kevin looked at them, "I think I'm gonna go." He said. Ava nodded looking down. The door opens then closes to signal they have left. "Listen, Betty, I sit with the Serpentspurely for reasons of survival." Jughead said sitting on the ground with Betty. "It's okay. Let's justkeep working on the cipher. The clock's ticking." Betty said. "What clock?" Jughead asked. "This could be his laundry list." Jughead told her. "Or kill list." Ava told them then continued to work on the millions of cyphers she was working on. 

Ava got up the next morning to see some of Betty's notebooks on the ground. She picked them up and a note... a letter dropped out. She picked it up and began reading it. "Jug! You might want to see something." She called out to him. Jughead walked to her, she gave him the books and letter. "It's a letter from the Black Hood... I think it came with the cypher." She said looking at him. Jughead nodded, "Thanks Av... I'll talk with her later today." He said. Ava nodded and walked off to think of why Ava and Betty knew the cypher... Then it came to her. They were the only ones to know why it was familiar because it was something they did when they were young. Ava rushed out of the trailer to find the one book she knew it was from and complete the cypher.

Ava called Betty, which she answered. "Betty, I know why it's familiar... and I solved it." She said. "Nancy Drew, come to my house." She said. "Okay, be there in five." She said before hanging up. Ava walked inside Betty's house and waved to Jughead and Betty. They all went to the library to see the book Betty would check out every day every week. "When I was a kid, I used to check outthis book obsessively." Betty said. "And, I was obsessed with it too so me and Betty would always use the Cypher to talk with each other without anyone knowing." She said. "Betty..." Jughead mumbled seeing the book. Later in the night, the two of them were completing the cypher while Jughead watched them. "Oh my God..." Betty and Ava said in unison. "I will strike next where it all began." Ava read out loud. "Your speech... Town hall. Come on." Jughead said. They rushed to the Town Hall and walked inside. "Everybody needs to leave now." Betty yelled to them. "The Black Hood's coming here." Jughead said. "He said this is his next target." Ava said to everyone. Alice went to them, "What are you talking about? What do you mean the Black Hood's coming here?" Alice asked. Ava looked at them then to everyone else. "Cipher says he's coming to the town hall." Ava and Betty said. "What?" Alice asked before the power went out on all of them. Betty ran to the fire alarm, she pulled it so everyone got up and walked out of the Town Hall. Later on, the three of them were sat while they asked for the letter. 

And the town of Pep... Wouldn't be called that anymore...