✿
"How was your meeting with your lawyer?"
Mickey leans back in her seat, smiling. "Veronica and I got the speakeasy and diner back—with our mother having fifty percent, of course. It's better than not owning it at all. The best part is that Archie gets to keep the gym." Her smile falls, "How about you? I know the last few days have been chaotic."
Jughead snatches his beanie off of his head and uses his other hand to rake through his dark hair. "I refuse to accept what Ethel said. Jason Blossom isn't the Gargoyle King."
"But his coffin..."
"We saw the video, Mick. Ethel and the lady who claimed to see Jason with his mother are mistaken."
Mickey senses the frustration oozing out of him and gets up from their booth. "I'm gonna get us some milkshakes." She touches his shoulder as she walks away. Once around the counter and at the milkshake machine, Mickey notices something sticking out from under the register. She pulls the thick pieces of paper out and sees her name on one and Veronica's on the other.
Jughead turns to see her walking back over to him without the milkshakes, but sits up when he sees the look on her face. "Mick—"
"I found these under the register," she holds up the folded, dark green notes. She slips back into her seat.
He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a similar note—with his name on it. "I found this earlier at my trailer, but I thought it was just something stupid." He would've opened it at some point tonight, but the earlier hours have kept him preoccupied.
The two of them unfold the notes and read them silently.
"I have to call Veronica," she states.
Jughead already has his phone out. "If she got one, I'm assuming so did Archie. I'll call him."
✿
It's not long until Archie and Veronica join Jughead and Mickey at the diner.
"Someone left mine at the door," Archie sets his invitation down in the middle of the the table with the others.
"Mine, too," Jughead tells him. "My dad or Jellybean could have found it."
"Are we sure they're not fakes?"
Jughead says, "I don't think so."
"I've tried Betty a bunch of times," Veronica informs them. "She's not answering."
Mickey sighs. "Well, we can't bring our phones and we aren't supposed to tell anyone about where we're going."
"So it's a trap."
Jughead frowns. "Was there ever a doubt? We don't really have a choice. We're going to a dinner party."
✿
Mickey is tapping her foot nervously as she sits next to Jughead and across from Veronica and Archie. She can't stop thinking about how they always get put into these odd situations.
All of their heads turn when Betty pops up and begins to descend down the stairs in her pink gown.
Betty's eyes are weary. "Guys?"
Penelope stops cutting up her food to marvel at the blonde, "Elizabeth. Pretty," she compliments. "Good evening. Come and join us, why don't you?"
Betty reaches the head of the table, opposite of the deranged woman. "Penelope. What...what is this place!"
"This is the Blossom Hunting Lodge on the grounds of Thornhill."
"How did I get here?"
Penelope says, "I bought you from Mr. Evernever. Just as he was about to cut you into butcher's parts." She wants gratitude. "Now, Agatha here will show you to your place."
The nun appears with a gun and sticks it into Betty's back.
"Sister Woodhouse," Betty remembers the older woman.
The nun whispers, "You naught, naughty girl."
"Agatha was one of my mentors," Penelope looks back on. "She cared for me when I was an orphan at The Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Taught me everything I know about poisons."
"The murdered nuns. You did that?" Betty is seated at the table now and looking at the nun.
Penelope rolls her eyes, "Oh, loose ends. Such a bother, aren't they?"
Agatha moves to stand in the corner, threatening all of them with her gun if they misbehave.
Veronica gives Penelope a dirty look. "'Loose ends?' Is that what we are?"
The teens all turn to look at Penelope for an answer, which she says, "Oh, gosh. No, not you. You are featured players. The sons and daughters of the original Midnight Club."
Jughead, without breaking his focus on Penelope, whispers to Mickey, "I've almost figured out what's happening."
"Oh, have you?" Penelope smirks, "Because if anybody could, it would be you, Mr. Jones. But first, two more guests." She picks up her bell and rings it. "I believe you know them already."
The Black Hood and the Gargoyle King enter the dining room.
Penelope chuckles darkly. "Black Hood and King, come in." Then she snaps, "What have I told you? No masks at the dinner table! Take them off."
Hal takes off his mask and moves to his seat.
The Gargoyle King moves to remove his mask to reveal his identity, but Penelope stops him, "Oh, my God. Wait, King. Before you do—" she turns to Jughead, "Hellcaster. Care to take a stab?" She digs her knife into the wood dining table.
"Sure," Jughead responds. "Arthur Conan Doyle famously said, 'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' In which case, whoever it is underneath that mask must've had a connection to Hal and to you, Penelope. But it's not Jason, because he's dead. Even though his corpse is missing."
Penelope seems perturbed by this information.
"The one corpse that hasn't been accounted for and who was last seen by the Black Hood..."
"—Chic." Betty and Jughead say simultaneously.
Chic removes the mask, standing there in an apathetic state.
Archie is the first to comment. "What the hell?"
Veronica asks, "Since when does Chic have red hair?"
Jughead replies, "I'm guessing since he started working with Penelope. Doing her bidding. But this was after he got the Gargoyle symbols tattooed on his back. It's why Ethel said the Gargoyle King was Jason. Because you called him Jason. 'Cause you dressed him up like Jason."
Betty stares at her father, "You didn't murder Chic. After you chased him through the woods, you—"
"I recognized a kinship in him," Hal explains, "and I spared him. He begged for mercy and pledged his life to me in service of my mission. "
"But it wasn't just your mission, was it, Mr. Cooper?" Jughead accuses. "Maybe not at first, but eventually, you started working with someone else who also had a grudge against Riverdale."
Betty builds on that by saying, "In the middle of all that stuff with the Black Hood last year, my dad was having an affair with Penelope."
Penelope confirms, "Yes, I did cultivate your father's...murderous impulses, it's true. To take my revenge on a town that allowed me to be sold as a child bride to the Blossoms. Your parents knew. I told them. And they did nothing but mock me. And years later, when my Jason was murdered in cold blood, do you think one of them reached out to me? No, they were too busy ignoring the rotting, fetid truth that Riverdale is a hideous and cruel place, twisted and cursed." Her rage is evident in her even tone. "And the Black Hood and I, we were doing quite well. Exterminating its sinners."
"Until my dad got arrested."
"Yes, but that was fine because Hal's disciple came to me, lost, and I gave him purpose. To continue our great work."
"But not as the Black Hood," Jughead says. "So instead, you made him dress up like the boogeyman."
Betty says, "The Gargoyle King. You introduced G&G to our parents years ago, and then reintroduced it this year to Chic."
Penelope interrupts the two teens putting the pieces together, "His name is Jason!"
Betty continues, "Who gave it to—"
Jughead finishes, "Ben Button. Who started playing with Dilton Doiley."
"Then Ethel Muggs. And then G&G spread like a virus or a poison."
"And the true mastermind behind it all...the true king is you, Penelope."
Penelope raises her chalice. "Oh. Well done. Well done. But now, it's time to play one final round. With you, the Midnight children."
Mickey asks, "To what end?" She knows it can only end terribly—or fatally.
"Say it's to reveal your true nature. To prove that you are as dark-hearted as the town that birthed you."
Archie asks, "And what? If we win, we escape?"
"You won't win," Penelope tells him, not a doubt in her voice.
Veronica questions, "So what happens if we lose?"
"Well, then, your parents will feel the pain that I felt. The death of a child. Could there by anything more dreadful?"
"You're nuts," Mickey insults her.
The bells toll on the clock and Penelope rises from her seat. "Come to the lawn for gathering."
When her friends rise, Mickey does the same. She takes Jughead's hand and they all go outside. She can feel her blood running cold even before they step into the cool air outside.
Once they're all gathered outside, Penelope stands in front of the beautifully dressed teens. Hall, Chic, and her Gargoyle gang stand behind her. "The task before you is simple. Make it through the woods, survive the night. You will be tested, each of you. Refuse my tests or try to escape, and my Gargoyle minions will kill you. May the final quest begin!"
The five of them exchange looks.
"I'd start running if I were you," Penelope warns them.
Then they're off running into the woods.
✿
"The good news is, if Penelope wanted us dead, we would be. She wants us alive." Jughead is being optimistic as they trudge through the woods with their flashlights."
Betty says, "Well, at least long enough to complete her bizarre social experiment."
"Yeah, or die trying," Archie scoffs.
Veronica stops, "We don't even know where to go."
Jughead points his flashlight to a wooden sign painted with an arrow. "Actually, Enchantress, we might."
"Come on, let's go." Archie gets ahead of them, leading the group until they're in front of a tree with a Red Paladin card on it.
Jughead announces, "Archie, this quest is for you."
Archie takes the scroll and reads it, "'The Red Paladin must conquer the grizzled beast. He must battle alone in the Pit to save his home.'"
"What is a grizzled beast?" Veronica inquires.
Distant roaring catches all of their attention. Archie's especially. "Oh crap. Not again." The redhead is frightened. As they follow the roaring, he swears he can feel the bear claw marks on his upper half burning.
When they reach a pit surrounded by fire, there's a man dressed in bear fur with paint on his face. He's ginormous and feral looking.
Veronica moves closer to Archie when Archie starts to take off his suit jacket in preparation for the fight. "Archie. Don't do this. That guy is eight feet tall and jacked."
Archie takes off his vest next. "It's just a fight. I've been fighting all year. Don't forget, I survived a real bear attack, remember? If I don't make it, tell my mom and dad I love them. And you guys." He glances at his friends one last time before entering the pit.
The man gets the first hit, dropping Archie first. Once that happens, he's throwing Archie around.
Somehow, Archie recuperates.
Mickey squeezes her eyes shut, not wanting to see any more of the scene. She can hear the grunting and growling of the brutal fight. It's not until there's one final hitting sound and then quietness that she opens her eyes again.
Archie's the last one standing. As they retreat from the pit, Archie limps. He wraps his arms around himself, clearly in pain.
Jughead places Archie's suit jacket over Archie's shoulders.
Veronica grabs Archie's arm. "Come here." She hugs him.
Archie winces.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Apart from every inch of my body," he jokes weakly.
"What do we do now?" Betty asks.
"We gotta keep moving," Jughead says. He points his flashlight to another marked wooden board. "Penelope has already left us more clues. Come on."
✿
The next quest is Mickey's, as told by a scroll pinned to a tree. She has to dig up dirt to find an item that's needed for the next quest. Another part is she must do it alone.
"I guess this is my karma for our late night gardening the other night, Jug," Mickey quips.
The other four are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for her to finish. It's not until she's nearly done digging that they stand.
"Of course this is what my quest has to be about." Mickey gets on her knees in the dirt and removes the rest of the dirt with her hands. She pulls it out to see a Lotus card taped to the glass bottle.
"Mickey," Veronica steps forward.
Mickey holds her hand up to stop her sister from saying anything else. "If we're all gonna die at the end of this..." She takes a swig of the liquid and starts walking away from her friends to avoid their comments and looks.
✿
The five of them feel like they've been in the woods for hours. Their walking has slowed and Mickey has finished half of the bottle. She moves in front of all of them, stopping them. "Why the hell are we going along with this? I just wrecked my sobriety for this stupid game!" Her words are slurred slightly. "I can't do this anymore. This town has just dragged me down since I got here."
Jughead is surprised when she forces the bottle into his hands. He hands it off to Veronica and holds his girlfriend up as they continue forward. "Come on, Mick. I got you."
✿
A wood stump being used as a smooth surface for chalices, the Enchantress card, and a scroll stops them.
Jughead reads the scroll, "'The Fate and Fortune Challenge. Before you are six chalices, each filled with Gargoyle blood. The Enchantress,'" he glances at Veronica, "'must choose her closest companion. They will each take turns spinning the bottle and drinking from the chosen chalice. But beware, for one of the chalices contains a lethal, rapid-acting venom."'
Veronica scoffs, "Seriously? Spin the bottle?"
Archie huffs. "More like Russian roulette."
"I guess that's why we needed Mickey's bottle. That's suicide. I refuse."
Jughead finishes reading, "'Refusal to participate in the challenge results in the immediate execution of all remaining party members. Remember, we're watching.'"
Mickey laughs bitterly when they all look at her. She takes the bottle from her sister and downs the rest of it. "Drink or die, right?" Then she's stumbling backwards.
Jughead catches her in his arms. "Mick, come on. You have to play." He can tell she's out of it. Her eyes are glassy and unfocused and she can barely hold herself up.
"If I drink anything else, I'll puke."
"Vee, I volunteer as Mickey's replacement," Betty steps up.
"Betty, no," Archie tries to stop her.
"It's okay. I have faith. And what's the alternative? We get shot in the woods by snipers?"
Veronica spins the bottle first, picking up the chalice it lands on. She takes a small sip, swallows, and pours the rest out.
Archie asks. "How do you feel?"
"I think I'm fine."
Betty goes next, swallowing the liquid with disdain. A few seconds later, she announces, "I'm okay."
They continue this until there are only 2 chalices left.
Veronica spins, whispering, "Fifty-fifty odds." She drinks from one of the chalices. Nothing happens to her.
Both girls' eyes fill with tears. The air fills with a feeling. They all know what's about to happen. They're about to lose Betty. Even Mickey seems to grasp it.
Then Veronica does the unexpected. She picks up the final chalice and downs it before anyone can stop her.
"Veronica!" Mickey gasps.
"Why did you do that?" Betty cries.
"Because I love you, Bee. And you're my best friend..." Veronica sobs.
"I love you too, Vee."
Veronica shrinks into Archie's arms for comfort.
Penelope appears with her minions. "Remarkable, Enchantress. You've completed your challenge, and proven your loyalty."
"What?"
"Of course." Jughead says, "It was a character challenge. The game was testing if you had honor and loyalty. None of the chalices were poisoned."
Penelope grins, "On the contrary, all of the chalices were poisoned. It's slow-acting, but the only way to obtain the antidote is to finish the game, and even then, you might not make it. Tick tock"
They run.
✿
"Mickey, stop." Jughead grabs his girlfriend's forearm. Her silence was too loud for him.
When she spins around to face him, tears shine in her brown eyes. "My sister is going to die, Jug. Hell, we're all probably going to die."
He wipes her fallen tears with his thumb. "You're not gonna die. Do you hear me?" He rests both of his hands on top of her shoulders. "We're gonna win this sick game, get the antidote for your sister, and get home. Our stories don't end like this, remember?"
Mickey cries.
"Hey, hey," he wipes the fresh tears on her cheek. "We're gonna graduate and go to college, remember?"
"And we're never gonna come back to Riverdale, Jug?"
"We'll go to New York or anywhere else you want to go. I'll write and you'll do whatever you want to do."
Mickey opens her mouth to say something, but something behind him catches her eye. She points her flashlight at the tree. "Jug, it's your turn."
Jughead calls for their friends to circle around the tree with his card and scroll. "'The Battle of Kings. Only one shall leave the Kingdom of Eldervair.'"
They walk until they reach another pit.
Chic walks into it from the other side and sees the axe stuck in a tree stump at the same time as Jughead. He gets to it first though, swinging at Jughead.
Jughead ducks. "Why are you doing this?" he asks once he's backed into a tree. "Why be the Gargoyle King?"
Chic shrugs, "Who doesn't wanna be king? Who doesn't want blood sacrifices made in their name?"
"Wow. Okay."
Chic loses the axe in the midst of them fighting but still gets on top of Jughead to start choking him.
"Jug!" Mickey moves to get closer, but Archie stops her.
Jughead manages to knock Chic out with some hard bone he was able to reach for on on the ground. He gets up and puts his hat back on.
Mickey hugs him.
Archie is surprised when Veronica leans into him. He wraps his arms around her, knowing she's feeling weak. "Jug," he calls out to his friend. " It's Penelope's poison."
"We gotta keep moving."
✿
After a couple more hours of wandering through the woods, Archie starts to think aloud. "Wait, I still don't get it. Chic got red hair because Penelope's pretending that he's Jason Blossom?"
Veronica asks, "Can we explore the craziness that is Oedipus Riverdale after we get the antidote and out of these damn woods?"
Jughead says, "Maybe figuring out how all of this is connected is exactly what we should be doing. Hal, Penelope, Chic—they created this unholy trinity with direct links to everything bad that has happened in the last three years. It's like Jason Blossom's death begat the Black Hood, which begat the Gargoyle King."
"But the Gargoyle King existed before Jason was killed."
"Then it's a case of a serpent eating its own tail. It's a vicious cycle of never-ending madness that turns back on itself over and over again until someone breaks the chain."
In that moment, they reach another quest.
"Looks like it's my turn," Betty says knowingly. She even turns around to look at Jughead. Then she moves to the stump with a gift box on top of it. She opens it to reveal a gun. It's not until she sees her father that she picks it up.
Hal takes off his mask, "You know how this has to end. You have to kill me, Betty. That's your heart, that's your truth. You can't deny your destiny." He takes out his own gun and points it at her.
She raises her gun, "Don't make me do this, please."
"Either kill me and get the antidote, or I will kill you and your friends. You have till the count of three. Either shoot me or I'll shoot you. One... Two..."
Both of their guns click, but Betty shoots first.
Hal groans and falls to the ground, being only shot to be crippled.
"I will never be like you, Dad."
"Enough!" Penelope emerges with her Gargoyle minions. "Good God, Hal. You can't be trusted to do anything. You were a terrible serial killer, and you still are today. Useless."
It happens so quickly, none of them can catch their breath before Penelope takes out her gun and shoots Hal in the head.
Betty drops to the ground, sobbing and screaming incoherently.
Veronica is at her side quickly to hold her up.
Archie takes advantage of the moment to snatch down the antidote from a tree branch.
Penelope asks him, "And what do you think you're doing?"
"He's claiming our prize," Jughead states. "We won, didn't we? We survived the night. We proved that we're better than this town."
Penelope shrugs. "That may or may not be true." She looks to her minions. "Kill them. Kill them all!
Jughead shouts at his friends, "Come on!"
It's not until that second that Mickey realizes she can see the ground more clearly because the sky is lightening up.
Mickey is sighing in relief when Cheryl, the Poisons, and the Serpents arrive in trucks and vans. As they start shooting arrows, the five of them duck until they're safely behind the vehicles.
"Here," Archie gives the antidote to Veronica, who drinks half and then gives it to Betty to finish off.
After the Gargoyles are beat, Cheryl announces, "All clear."
The five of them laugh and group hug.
Then Betty breaks away, looking at Cheryl. "Cheryl. Cheryl. Why aren't you at the Farm? Where's my mom?"
Cheryl frowns, "She sprung me from that Jonestown-like nightmare and told me to find you. Edgar was planning to ascend tonight."
"Oh, my God. We have to save her."
"Come aboard, cousin. Get in."
Quickly, they all get into the pick up truck with Toni and Cheryl.
✿
Once they're at the Farm's meeting place, they all run into a big room at the end of the hall.
"Kevin?" Mickey looks down at her friend with concern.
He's sitting alone surrounded by white shoes lined up perfectly. "They left me." He's sad and tearful. "I wanted to go, but they said that someone had to stay behind to explain what happened."
"What did happen?"
"The worthy ascended, of course."
Betty needs clarification. "Who did? Where's my mom and Polly?"
"Gone," Kevin declares. "Everyone is. And we'll never see them again."
✿
The next afternoon, after hours of rest, Mickey and Veronica emerge into the dining room.
Hermione is on the phone. "You're sure? How could he have hid this from me?"
"Hid what?" Veronica makes their presence known.
Mickey can't believe this. She can't believe they're already going to have to deal with another crisis. Chic is in jail and Hal is dead. Their father is in jail. Penelope's on the run, but things are supposed to be settled now—at least for a little while.
"I... I gotta go," Hermione says into the phone. She hangs up and places the phone down. "That was our attorney."
"What was Daddy hiding?"
Their front door is kicked open and agents flood in. "FBI! Hands up, now!"
The three Lodge ladies put their hands up.
Mickey scrunches her face up, "Agent Ardelia? What the hell is going on?"
As Hermione is being cuffed, Ardelia says, "Hermione Lodge, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder. Your own husband's."
As she's dragged out, Hermione says, "Girls, listen to me. It's going to be fine. Call Sowerberry. Talk to him. I love you, mijas."
"We love you, too, Mom."
✿
"Woah."
After Betty and Jughead tell the story of the guest who showed up at Jughead's house, that's all Mickey could say. Apparently, he wanted to speak to Jughead and Betty.
"Wait," Archie leans forward in his seat. "Back up. Your brother's alive. And he's an FBI agent?"
Jughead makes a disgusted face, "It's our half-brother. And it's pretty crazy, right?"
"Oh, and my mom is also working for the FBI, undercover at the Farm," Betty adds.
"Actually, that kind of tracks," Veronica shrugs.
"What about you, Mickey and Veronica? Any word about your mom?"
Mickey can feel Jughead place his hand on her thigh. "She's trying to cut a deal with the DA, but in the meantime, Smithers is our legal guardian."
"Guys, let's make a vow," Archie clears his throat. When Betty laughs, he says, "Another one. We've got senior year ahead of us. Let's enjoy it. Let's vow to be done with death cults, and murder mysteries, and gremlins.l
Jughead corrects him, "It's gargoyles."
"Our senior year could be the last time we're all together in the same place. And I don't want to let anything ruin that."
Veronica smiles at Archie, "Agreed. I'm in. I'm so in."
"Me too," Betty beams.
Jughead, sarcastically, says, "Well, it sounds a little dull, but sure."
Mickey holds up her milkshake, "Let's toast." They all clink their glasses together.
"To the future!"
"Friends forever!" Mickey exclaims.
"Friends forever," they all repeat back.
✿
Four of them stand by a fire in the middle of the woods. Each of them are covered in blood and dirt.
Mickey is muttering to herself, "Senior year isn't supposed to go like this." Their spring break has definitely taken a turn for the worse.
Veronica is trembling—either from the cold or the situation.
Archie is spaced out. Even though his eyes are on Jughead's signature beanie that he's holding, his vision is unfocused.
Betty tries to get his attention, "Archie. Archie. Archie! Are you listening to me? "
"Yeah," he says lowly.
"We have to burn all of our clothes, including Jughead's beanie. We'll wash off the blood in the swimming hole. After tonight, we never speak of this, ever. Not to each other, not to our parents. No one. We finish our senior year and graduate, and we'll go our separate ways. That is the only way that we won't get caught. Do it," Betty directs him.
Archie throws the hat into the bonfire.