Police cars lined up the front yard as Dani limped out of the house behind John and Mikey. With a wheezing cough, she leaned up against the wall and held onto her stomach with a wince. Although he had taken the bullet out of her and used his abilities to heal her, it was clear Henry had still wanted her to feel pain as he hadn't taken away the feeling of being shot. That, combined with the energy she had wasted on fighting Alice had made her feel much weaker than she had when she had first arrived.
Which sent her even more on edge than before.
"Nell!! Hey, hey, are you alright?!" Jack questioned while running over to Dani.
"I...I'm fine," she said and held onto Jack's arm when he wrapped it around her waist.
"No, no, let's get you to a paramedic, okay? Come on," Jack told her softly while picking her up in his arms.
"Mikey," Dani mumbled as she watched her boyfriend be lifted into the back of an ambulance.
"He's going to be fine, okay? Let's make sure you're going to be fine too," Jack reassured her as he placed her onto a stretcher.
A groan left Dani's mouth as her side suddenly flared up in pain, which caused Jack to widen his eyes.
"Nell?! Are you okay?! What's wrong?!" he asked, but Dani pushed him away as she leaned over to pour out the contents of her stomach. "Oh my God!"
Dani groaned while wiping at her mouth before her eyes widened in horror as she pulled her hand back to see it covered in blood.
"You think...because you stopped me that it's over?" Alice's voice suddenly called out, which made Dani look up to see her smirking at her as she was being pulled away by more officers.
"You of all people should know that Henry doesn't go down without a fight. Let's see if you're smart enough to figure out what his next plan is," she spat before being pushed into the back of a police car.
Dani's breathing became heavy as she looked back down at her hand in fear. "Jack...Jack, I have to get home," she mumbled with her gaze still on her hand. "Let me go home. I need to go home!!"
"What?! No, Nell, you need to go to the hospital!" Jack said before furrowing his brows as he groaned softly and held onto his head. "Nell..."
"Jack, please!! Please let me go home!!" Dani begged as she began to rise from the stretcher.
"Nell," Jack mumbled again as he stumbled on his feet. "Nell, I can't...Ugh, my head."
Finally hearing his words, Dani looked up with a frown and grabbed onto Jack's arms as the man stumbled again. "Jack?!" she questioned. "Hey, are you okay?! What's wrong?!"
"My...My head, Nell," Jack said. "I'm...I'm so tired...Why am I so tired? I can't sleep...You need my help."
"You're tired?" Dani asked and shook her head as he began to close his eyes. "Hey...Hey, no, Jack, look at me!! Can you do that?! Can you look at me?! Please, Jack, look at me!!"
"I'm so tired, Nell," he mumbled. "I'm sorry."
Dani cried out as Jack fell unconscious on the ground, and as she parted her mouth to call out for help, she looked up and gasped in horror at the sight of all the remaining cops and paramedics passed out on the ground.
"No!" she cried out and dropped down to hold Jack in her arms. "Jack?! Jack, please, wake up!! You have to wake up, Jack, please!!"
Almost Showtime, my little beauty.
Dani looked up with tearful eyes and shouted, "What did you do?! What the hell did you do?!"
Oh sod off, Henry said, They're all fine. Just having a little nap.
Dani narrowed her eyes before breathing out in relief as she looked back down to check Jack's pulse and felt that it was still normal. "I'm going to make this okay again, Jack. I promise," she told him softly and kissed his cheek.
With a deep breath, Dani slowly rose from the ground and began to walk the trail towards her home.
As fast as she could, she limped her way through the forest as her hand dug into her pocket to take out her phone that she had grabbed from John's cruiser since he had left with Mikey.
Pulling up the contact, Dani pressed call and raised it to her ear. "Chio!! It's me, El! I stopped Alice in time, but she told me that it wasn't going to stop him!! She said something about him having another plan, and I'm scared he's going to go after Frankie-"
A shaky breath left her mouth as her body suddenly felt weakened entirely, and her breathing slowed down as she placed a hand over her heart while leaning against a tree.
"What...What the hell?" she questioned as her vision started to blur. "Oh, God..."
Her attempt at picking herself back up had ultimately failed as she instantly stumbled on her feet.
"No...no, no, no, no, Dani," she whispered as she forced her body to start moving again. "You have to get to Frankie...You have to...You have to.."
The words repeatedly left Dani's mouth in a whisper as she stumbled through the woods.
And a breath of relief flowed past her lips as she could faintly make out a light coming from up ahead that signified she was close to home.
"Come on, Dani...Come on," she encouraged herself as she pushed her body to go farther.
A soft groan left her mouth as her body hit the side of the house while she fought the urge to pass out.
"El?!" a male voice suddenly called out, and Dani squinted her eyes to see a tall figure as it made its way towards her. "El...El, are you alright?!"
Finally realizing who it was, she threw herself into her brother's arms as her eyelids began to grow heavy.
"Chio?... I feel sleepy," the girl mumbled to him as she felt her body being lifted.
"No, no, no, El, stay awake!! You have to stay awake, okay?!" Pinocchio said, but to Dani's ears, he had sounded completely far away.
"I know...I know, I just...I'm going to...take a little nap," the girl mumbled before everything around her went dark.
"No, no, no, Hey...Hey El, wake up for me!!" Pinocchio begged as he lightly tried to shake his sister awake to no avail.
"Damn it!!" he then groaned in defeat.
As Dani was going after Alice, Pinocchio had left to retrieve a book he had forgotten at home when his father had suddenly appeared beside him in his car and informed him that in order for evil spirits to gain access back to the real world, they'd have to fight the soul who owned the body and defeat them to gain full control and bring themselves completely back to life. Since Henry had already made it clear who he had wanted to inhabit, Pinocchio had quickly turned his car around to go after Dani. Though his actions seemed to have come too late as she was already showing signs of losing control over her body.
With a heavy sigh, Pinocchio carried his sister's unconscious body to the front door of her house.
Upstairs, Michelle worriedly paced out in the hallway as she tried to reach her husband again. The man had gone out to get their daughter, but it had been almost an hour since he had done so, which made her worry as John had called her and told her the police had shown up to Janine's place, and he had never mentioned David's name.
"Momma?" Frankie called out while walking out of Dani's bedroom.
Michelle looked over with a frown and bent down to her son's level once he made it over to her.
"Frankie baby, what are you doing up? You should be asleep, honey," she told her son as she picked him up in her arms.
Frankie yawned as he laid his head on his mother's chest. "I couldn't sleep, Momma...Ellie and Daddy aren't home yet. I don't wanna sleep if Ellie's not with me," he told her with a pout as she placed him back into bed.
Michelle sighed as she tucked him back in while saying, "I know they aren't, honey, but they'll be home soon, okay? And you know sissy wouldn't want you to stay up past your bedtime waiting for her."
"But Momma," Frankie dragged out, causing Michelle to sigh again, but before she could say anything else, Pinocchio's voice called out to her from downstairs.
"Michelle!!"
The woman in question frowned as she could hear the worry in Pinocchio's voice and looked back to her son, who stared up at her in curiosity.
"You stay right here, okay? Momma will be right back. I promise," she told him softly and kissed him on the head.
"Michelle!!" Pinocchio called out again as he fully opened the door, which he had found to be unlocked. "Michelle, we have to-"
As soon as they stepped over the threshold, Dani's eyes opened with a sudden gasp.
Pinocchio's eyes widened as he looked down at her in worry and said, "El?!"
Dani groaned as Pinocchio helped her to her feet, and she said, "Well, that was a doozy."
Pinocchio stiffened and narrowed his eyes as he immediately noticed the difference in his sister's tone of voice. Usually, she would sound gentle and warm whereas then, her voice had sounded hard and cold.
"Henry," Pinocchio mumbled as he stepped back from Dani's body in slight fear.
Dani tilted her head with a smirk and said, "Surprise," before her features fell as she threw her hand out, which sent Pinocchio flying across the foyer and into the dining room where he bumped against the wall and fell to the floor.
"You know, I must admit. Little Red has a stunning figure," Dani said as she checked out her body with a smirk.
Pinocchio looked up at Henry with a disgusted look on his features.
"She's much easier on the eyes than that awful stepfather of hers," her voice continued to say before she let out a dry chuckle. "Can't believe I even thought for a second to take over his body. Truth be told, I quite like the poetry behind taking over my precious Red's body."
"My God, do you ever shut the hell up?!" Pinocchio groaned out in annoyance, already feeling fed up with Henry's presence.
Dani shook her head with a smirk and said, "No. No, I do not actually."
She then raised an eyebrow at him and said, "You know, you're not too bad on the eyes yourself. If I weren't in this body, I'd definitely give you a try."
"Disgusting," Pinocchio mumbled with a scoff, which made her smirk again.
"Pinocchio?! Dani?!" Michelle called out, causing Dani's smirk to grow as she stared at Pinocchio.
"Down here, Momma!!" her voice shouted before whispering to the man, "I've been studying her for a minute."
Pinocchio scoffed again as he tried to get up from the floor.
Dani's head tilted as her lips pursed, and she said, "Nah ah ah mate. Not just yet," before throwing her hand out again, which caused him to fall back down to the floor with a groan.
"Dani!!" Michelle called out in relief as she came down the stairs to see her daughter standing in the foyer.
Dani turned her head with a wide smile and ran into Michelle's arms. "Momma!!" her voice exclaimed as Michelle hugged her tightly.
"Oh Dani baby, I'm so glad you're okay!" she said before frowning as she pulled away. "Wait, where's your father?! Is he not with you?!"
Before Dani could answer the mother's questions, Pinocchio yelled out as he tried to get himself off of the floor again.
"Michelle...Michelle, get away from her!!" he warned and winced as he slowly got up to his feet.
Michelle turned her head to him with a frown and asked, "Excuse me?!..and what the hell happened to my dining room?! Why are you on the floor?! What happened?!"
Dani chuckled as she turned her head to Pinocchio, who looked at her with a glare, and noticing the change in the girl's voice, Michelle looked back to her daughter in concern.
"You're just always getting in the way, huh mate?" Dani's voice asked with a tilt of her head.
Pinocchio narrowed his eyes as he finally stood back up and said, "Leave her the hell alone, Henry!!"
"What?! Henry?!" Michelle asked. "What are you talking about, Pinocchio?! What the hell is going on?!"
Dani chuckled again as she turned her head to Michelle, who gasped as her daughter's eyes had flashed blue before they turned back to brown.
"Dani?!" she questioned.
"Oh, I'm sorry, gorgeous. But I'm afraid your daughter can't answer the phone right now," Dani said with a smirk.
Tears formed in Michelle's eyes as she gasped again and said, "No...No, my baby!! What have you done?! Where is she?!"
"No hard feelings, love. But you've been asking way too many questions and I'm beginning to get a bit bored," Dani said. "Nighty night."
Michelle furrowed her brows before she gasped as her body was suddenly flown to the wall and she fell to the floor unconscious.
"Michelle!" Pinocchio exclaimed before he too fell to the floor unconscious as Dani flicked her wrist.
"Who knew the Devil could be so helpful," Dani smugly said to herself as she looked down at her hand with a smirk.
Her ears suddenly perked up, and she smirked again as she heard a small voice call out from the stairs.
"Momma?" Frankie questioned as he stood at the top of the stairs.
He knew he had been told not to get out of bed, but he had heard his mother scream, and it made him afraid.
"Momma...Momma, are you okay?" he asked as he slowly began to walk down the steps.
Dani tilted her head at that as Frankie walked down the last step and into the dining room, gasping when he saw his mother lying on the floor.
"Momma!! Momma, no!! Momma, wake up!!" the boy exclaimed while running over to his mother's unconscious body.
And he began to cry as the woman refused to wake up. "Momma, please wake up!! I'm scared, Momma...I need you!!"
Dani's smirk turned into a frown as she slowly walked over to Frankie while saying, "Oh no. What's the matter, Frankie?"
Frankie gasped at the sound of his sister's voice and immediately turned around to look at her through tearful eyes. "Ellie!! Ellie, it's Momma!! Momma won't wake up, and I don't know where Daddy is!!" the five-year-old cried as he ran over to his sister, who knelt down to capture him in her arms.
"Oh no...that's horrible," Dani's voice said with a pout as he wrapped his arms around her.
Frankie pulled back with a sniff but gasped as he finally took notice of something different about his sister. "Ellie," he mumbled. "Ellie, what's wrong with your eyes?!"
Dani frowned in genuine confusion as her head tilted. "What do you mean, Frankie? There's nothing wrong with my eyes."
To everyone besides Pinocchio, Dani's eyes should have appeared to be brown unless Henry decided to flash them blue to reveal himself.
Frankie frowned as he instantly caught on to something else. "I'm not Frankie," the boy said with a pout as he shook his head.
Dani's eyebrows furrowed as she felt even more confused.
"I'm not Frankie," he then said again. "I'm Bud...I'm supposed to be your bud, Ellie."
Dani's features fell at his words as Frankie took a step back.
"And your eyes are supposed to be brown, Ellie...like mine and Momma's...they're not supposed to be blue," he mumbled while continuing to step away from his sister.
He then frowned in anger and asked, "Who are you?! And what did you do to Ellie?!"
Dani's stone-cold expression soon broke as she began to chuckle, which caused a shiver to run down Frankie's spine.
That wasn't his sister.
That wasn't his Ellie.
"You're quite smart for your age, aren't you mate?" Dani's voice asked with a shake of her head as she stood back up to her feet. "I mean...you're practically a child genius!!"
Frankie's breathing quickened as something clicked in his brain and told him exactly who took over his sister.
"You...You're the...the Big Bad...Wolf Man," he stammered as his widened eyes never left his sister's body.
Dani's eyebrows rose in shock before she held up her hands in mock surrender and said, "Guilty as charged!"
"No!!" Frankie cried out as tears formed in his eyes. "No, stay away!! I want my Ellie back!!"
Dani's lips curled up into a smirk before she said, "Oh, don't worry. You and your Ellie will be reunited again...Just not in this lifetime."
Something about the look in his sister's eyes told Frankie that he needed to run
So he did just that.
Dani rolled her eyes and muttered, "They always run," before she yelled out, "Get back here you little runt!!" and quickly took off after the frightened five-year-old.
"NO!! NO, GET AWAY!! GET AWAY FROM ME, GET AWAY!!" Frankie shouted while running down the hall.
Dani followed right behind him before her body was suddenly thrown against the wall.
"Stay away from my brother, you sick bastard!!" her voice exclaimed, which caused Frankie to stop at the sound.
The tone in his sister's voice made him turn around to see that her eyes had turned back to their normal brown.
Tears rolled down Frankie's cheeks as he said, "Ellie?!"
Dani turned her head to him. "Frankie baby, run!! I need you to run, okay?!"
"I'm scared, Ellie!! I need you!!" Frankie cried out as he longed to run into his sister's arms.
Tears formed in Dani's eyes as she nodded and said, "I know you are bud. I'm scared too, but I need you to be brave, okay? Can you do that for me?"
Frankie cried out upon hearing his nickname before he nodded.
Dani smiled softly as she said, "I love you so much, bud. I need you to hold on to that, okay? Know that sissy loves you with all of her heart and that she's going to fight the Big Bad Wolf Man to her very last breath so that he doesn't hurt you ever again...Now go! Run!!"
Frankie looked at his sister one last time and said, "I love you, Ellie!!" before he took off in the opposite direction.
As soon as he turned the corner, Dani's body was thrown to the other side of the wall, and she let out a scream as her eyes flashed over in Henry's icy blue.
"You incessant little wench!! I will destroy everyone you love with your own hands! Do you hear me?! I'm not letting you win again!!" Henry yelled before he groaned as Dani's eyes glazed over with emotion.
"Get out of my head, you weak bastard!! GO TO FUCKING HELL!!" Dani screamed as her body was thrown back to the other side of the hall.
"NO!!" she yelled as her body involuntarily began moving towards the direction Frankie went off to.
She groaned while grabbing onto the doorway that led to her mother's office. "NO! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!"
"Shut up, you annoying little bitch!!" Henry yelled as Dani's eyes flashed over in blue again.
Dani screamed again as her body flew out into the main hall before she rolled on the floor as her eyes changed from blue to brown.
"I'm not letting you win Henry!!" she yelled out as she held onto her head. "Do you hear me?! I'M NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FUCKING FIGHT!!"
Dani howled out in pain as her body suddenly felt like it was on fire, and she placed her hands on the floor so that she was sitting on all fours as she began to growl. Suddenly, her hands changed to claws and her eyes flashed to glowing blue as her head shot up with one long growl.
"I killed you once, Little Red," Henry growled out as Dani's body rose to her knees.
"Don't think because you came back once that you'll come back again. I am Henry fucking Wolff. NO ONE CAN DEFEAT ME!!" Henry spat out before Dani's hands changed back to normal, and her eyes flashed back to brown as she stood up from the floor.
She turned her body around with a blank, emotionless look across her features and walked across the living room towards the kitchen to grab a knife off of the counter.
"Oh little brother," her voice taunted as she made her way towards the staircase with a menacing smirk on her lips. "Come out, Come out from wherever you are."
✧
Upstairs, Frankie sat with his knees up to his chest as he hid behind a big box in Dani's closet. The teddy bear his sister had gotten him when he was two clung to his chest as he held on to it tightly with tears streaming down his cheeks. The five-year-old could hear the commotion coming from downstairs, and knew that only so much time would pass before they were headed upstairs...and it scared him.
He was terrified.
The one person he wanted most in the world at that very moment was being possessed by a man he had thought to be long gone. He didn't know what to do. His mother was downstairs, still lying unconscious. His father was still nowhere to be found.
Frankie felt hopeless.
Frankie felt alone.
So, he called out to the only other person he could think of at that moment.
"Grandma...Neenie..?" he said in a quiet tone as he continued to cry. "Grandma Neenie, I..I...I need you...I-I need...h-help, I'm...I'm scared."
As if on cue, a light feeling settled over the little boy that immediately caused his body to relax. The small space in front of him glowed before he was met with the sad face of his grandmother.
"Oh honey," Janine said as she raised a hand to her grandson's cheek.
"Grandma Neenie," Frankie cried out as he looked up at the glowing woman with tears in his eyes.
Janine sighed sadly as she continued to hold a hand up to Frankie's cheek and said, "I'm here, little one. Grandma Neenie is right here, and she's not going anywhere."
Frankie sniffed and said, "E-Ellie...I want Ellie back, Grandma."
"I know you do, baby...I know, but this is Dani's fight to win. Grandma Neenie can't help her now. It's up to her. The only thing I can do now is protect you, which is exactly what I'm going to do," Janine told her grandson as she moved over to wrap her arms around him.
Frankie jumped in her arms as he suddenly heard a thumping noise coming from the staircase, which caused him to start crying again as he realized that Dani's body was coming upstairs.
Noticing her grandson's demeanor change, Janine quickly shushed him by saying, "Shh, shh baby. He's not going to get you, alright? Grandma Neenie is not going to let that happen."
Frankie nodded his head as he snuggled into Janine's body.
Out in the hall, Dani heavily stepped onto the second floor with a smirk still on her features, which made the young boy in the closet flinch as he squeezed his eyes shut and held onto his grandmother's waist tightly.
Dani chuckled darkly as she slowly stepped into the hallway and said, "Ready or not. Here I come."