"Momma!!" Frankie exclaimed as Pinocchio placed him down on the floor once they made it downstairs. "Momma, Momma, Momma!!"
"Oh, my baby!!" Michelle exclaimed as she bent down to her son's level and hugged him tightly. "Oh, you're okay, sweetie. You're alright. Momma's here."
"Momma," Frankie mumbled as he began to cry. "You're okay!!"
Michelle nodded. "I'm okay, baby. Momma's okay and so are you."
Frankie then slightly pulled away to hug his father, who had bent down next to them, and said, "Daddy!! You're here!!"
"Hey, bub!! I'm here. Thank God you're okay," David said and pressed multiple kisses to the side of his son's face.
Mikey entered the room with a broken expression on his face as he carried an unconscious Dani to the couch.
Michelle looked at her daughter's body sadly and mumbled, "Oh my sweet Dani baby."
"Now that she's unconscious...It's up to El to fight him in her mind and win," Pinocchio informed the group as he stood by Mr.W.
Frankie jumped out of his father's arms to run over to his sister and hold her hand.
Mikey closed his eyes as his jaw clenched, and a lone tear fell down his cheek. He believed Dani was strong enough to fight off Henry, but his biggest worry was that she didn't believe it herself.
Inside Dani's mind, she glared at Henry, who stood across from her with a smirk.
"Well, well, well," Henry said as he held his arms out. "Here we finally are."
"Get out of my head, Henry," Dani spat as her glare on the man hardened.
"Gladly," he said as his smirk deepened. "Right after I kill you and take over your body."
"Not a chance in hell," Dani bit back.
"Oh, I've been there before, sweetheart, and I'm not particularly fond of the idea of going back," Henry stated with a shrug.
Dani rolled her eyes. "I have had it up to here with you and your pretentious bullshit!!" she spat. "You have been obsessed with me for an entire decade!! Let it go already!!"
Henry's eyes flashed blue with a low growl. "I don't think I like your tone there, Little Red," he told her as his lips curled up to show off his canines.
"No? Well, I haven't liked you at all since the day we met, but what else is new?" Dani countered back before she changed her stance as she noticed his eyes had remained a bright blue.
"You want to fight, big boy?" she asked with an eyebrow raised before her lips curled up into a smirk. "Come and get it."
Henry growled again before he used his wolf speed to run towards Dani, who screamed as she ran towards him.
"I should be there with them," Greta stated as she paced back and forth with her arms folded. "Mikey needs me there with him...Her parents...Frankie...Why?...Why does no one ever want to include me when something happens to her?"
Not too long ago, Mikey had called the girl and updated her on everything she had missed out on. To say Greta was pissed would be an understatement.
She felt betrayed.
Again.
She couldn't understand why her best friends were so insistent on keeping her out of things when it came to either of them being in trouble. She knew they didn't do it intentionally to hurt her...but that didn't mean it still hadn't.
Goldi sighed from where she sat beside Hans, who was deeply concentrated in a puzzle, and said, "Trust me when I say that Dani would absolutely want you to be there with her...but she knows that there will always be someone who needs you much more than she ever will."
Of course, Goldi had been right. At the end of the day, Hans would always come first in their eyes because they knew that neither one of the siblings could live without the other.
Greta rolled her eyes and huffed in annoyance. "That doesn't mean I can't at least try to help," she said as she turned to Goldi, who looked at her sadly.
Greta then sighed as she walked over to sit beside Goldi and said, "From the moment we met, Dani and Mikey have always been there for me when I needed them most. And now I just...I feel like I'm failing them as a best friend because I can't be there for them when they need me."
"You know that's not true," Goldi told the girl softly. "I may not always see eye-to-eye with Dani, but even I know that she loves you just as much as you love her...In fact, it's part of the reason why I introduced her to Pinocchio.."
Greta looked over to her ex in shock and asked, "You did?"
Goldi nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm not that heartless," she answered with a slight laugh.
Greta laughed, which caused Goldi to smile before it fell as she said, "She's been through way more than I've ever even thought about going through...and when I saw how bad she was getting at my mom's office that day...I couldn't just let her walk away knowing I knew someone who could help her...She didn't deserve that," she shook her head, "None of you deserved that."
"Wow," Greta breathed out before a hint of mischief flashed across her features. "When did you get a heart?"
Goldi rolled her eyes playfully as Greta laughed at her reaction. "Oh Ha Ha, very funny," she said before they both turned their heads at the sound of Hans speaking.
"Mm, I can't get the puzzle right," he said with a frown as he looked up to the girls. "Can you guys help me?"
Goldi smiled at him as Greta got up to sit on the other side of her brother and said, "Of course, we can, Mausi."
✧
Back at the Richards home, Mikey paced in his spot as he bit his lip in worry for his girlfriend. Michelle clung tightly to David, who had his arm wrapped around her just as tight. On the floor, Frankie still sat by his sister's unconscious body as he gripped her hand with tears rolling down his cheeks and looked at her body in sadness.
Pinocchio sighed as he flipped through the pages of his notebook and mumbled, "This wait is killing me...I've never really been the one to be patient."
Mr.W frowned from where he stood beside Pinocchio and said, "If there's one thing my younger brother taught me."
Dr.S smiled sadly at the mention of their brother and quickly joined in as he knew what was coming next, "Patience is a virtue, and when the thing you are waiting for is worth it, you will learn that it's not such a bad thing to have after all."
Pinocchio nodded with furrowed brows before he pointed between the brothers and asked, "Do you guys always do that?... And do you always sound so wise?"
"Yes," Mikey answered with a small smile as he stood across the couch with his arms folded.
He then looked up to Pinocchio and shrugged as he said, "You get used to it after a while, but boy was Mr.B the worst of them all."
Unbeknownst to everyone in the living room besides Pinocchio, Mr.B scoffed from where he stood and said, "I wasn't that bad."
Janine snorted from where she stood beside the male pig and playfully said, "To who? You were a Yoda 2.0."
Frankie looked up at the sounds of their voices and smiled as he saw them in the corner of the living room. "Mr.B!! Grandma Neenie!!"
Everyone's eyebrows furrowed at Frankie's words before a look of realization crossed over Pinocchio's features. "Oh my God," he whispered in astonishment.
Mikey frowned as he watched Frankie jump up and run to a corner of the room, where Janine and Mr.B smiled widely at the boy as he stood in front of them.
"Hi, my sweet boy," she greeted him as she bent down to his level.
Frankie grinned as he threw his arms around his grandmother, who hugged him tightly. "Grandma Neenie...Is Ellie gonna be okay?" he asked as Janine held him by the waist.
"You can bet your high horses she will," Mr.B playfully said as he knelt beside Janine, who rolled her eyes at him as Frankie giggled.
"Frankie," Pinocchio said as he slowly walked over to them. "You...You can see them too?"
"See who?" Mikey asked as he watched them with a frown still attached to his face.
Frankie grinned at Pinocchio. "Uh-huh!! They said Ellie's gonna be okay, Pinonoko!!" he told the man excitedly, feeling all of his worries for his sister slowly melt away.
Pinocchio smiled softly as he bent down beside Frankie. "That's right, little buddy. They did say that," he said with a nod.
"What's going on?" Michelle asked while looking at her son in worry.
Pinocchio turned his head as the smile remained on his face. "I'm not too sure how...but your son shares the same gift as I do," he told them.
David and Mikey's faces dropped in realization as they both said, "He can see spirits."
"Well," Mr.W mumbled in astonishment. "That's certainly something you don't see every day."
Dr.S snorted as he turned to his brother and said, "Our entire lives are something you don't see every day, Dub."
Mr.W sighed and turned his head to his brother to give him a look.
"It's amazing actually," Pinocchio stated while turning back to Frankie. "He can see, hear, and feel them apparently...but it only seems to be when he needs them the most."
Janine nodded. "That's right. He first called on me the night Dani went after Henry," she told him. "We can only come to him in times of emotional distress."
Pinocchio smiled at that as he looked back to Frankie and said, "You're a very special boy, you know that?"
"I am?!" Frankie asked in surprise, which caused Pinocchio to laugh.
"Yes, you are," he said with a nod before his smile slowly fell. "Do you feel that?"
Frankie nodded with a frown. "I feel cold...Like when Ellie felt cold."
Annie suddenly appeared with a worried look on her features as she looked at her brother and said, "Bubbie!!"
"Sissy?" Frankie questioned, which caused David's eyes to light up as he instantly realized who his son was talking to.
"Bubbie! You need to get Mikey and talk to Ellie!!" Annie told the boy.
Frankie frowned and shook his head as he said, "But Ellie's asleep, sissy. She can't hear us."
Mikey perked up at that as he looked at Pinocchio and asked, "What's going on? And what does it have to do with Dani?"
"Annie wants you and Frankie to talk to her," Pinocchio explained to Mikey and the rest of the group with a frown before he turned to the young girl. "How would that help?"
Annie turned to Pinocchio and said, "Because they're the key!! Mikey was the first person the Big Bad Wolf Man killed in Ellie's dreams, and Frankie was the last person!"
"Because he knew their deaths would hurt her the most," Pinocchio said as the realization hit him.
"Good job, Annie!" he then told the girl, who smiled at him with a giggle.
"What'd she say?" David asked as he felt a bubble of pride at the thought of his angel helping her sister.
"Let's just say," Pinocchio turned around to face the group with a look of hope in his eyes, "We've found ourselves a way to get our girl back."
Dani let out a loud shout as she eased her leg up to kick Henry as hard as she could. She watched as he flew in the air and landed on all fours before he looked up at her with a growl.
She then spat out blood before she crouched into a fighting position and glared at Henry as she said, "Is that all you got, you ugly son of a bitch?!"
Henry growled again and ran towards her at the same time Dani ran towards him. The man easily gained the upper hand as he tackled Dani, which sent them both tumbling to the ground. Dani screamed again as she pushed on Henry's shoulders to prevent him from biting her with his canines, and headbutted him with all her strength. She quickly changed their position and threw multiple punches to his face.
"YOU PSYCHOTIC ASSHOLE!!" she yelled before throwing another punch. "I HATE YOU!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
Henry growled before rolling her over so that he was on top of her. "As if I care what you think of me!" he spat as he gripped on her neck, which caused her to gasp.
"Didn't you used to love me?" Dani questioned in between her gasps. "Isn't that why you went after Mikey first? Because you were mad it wasn't you that I was under?"
Henry growled again and slapped her in the face, but the action hadn't fazed Dani for even a second as she continued with her taunting.
"Because it would be his name I'd scream out instead of yours? I wonder how many times you witnessed him getting me off instead of you!" she said through gritted teeth before kicking him off of her. "You want to go after me? Fine! But you will never harm a hair on my family's head as long as I'm still living."
"Well, it's a good thing you won't be living for long," Henry snarled before he ran towards Dani again.
"Not this time, you ass," she muttered before bringing her leg back to kick Henry as hard as she could.
Before he had a chance to get himself together, Dani quickly lunged for him and wrapped her hands around his neck. "I WON'T LET YOU WIN AGAIN!!" she yelled as she brought her arm back to punch him in the face.
She then howled out in pain as Henry gripped her wrist before he twisted it harshly and flipped her over so that she was on her back.
"This is MY world, you little bitch!!" he spat as he raised her by the throat.
Dani gasped out as she clawed at his hand.
Frankie had made his way back to Dani's body, where he gripped her hand tightly as Pinocchio explained his and Annie's plan to the adults in the room.
"Since Dani was the last spirit to inhabit her body, she should be the one to directly hear your voices," he said to Mikey, who nodded before he glanced over to his girlfriend and her brother.
"What if it doesn't work?" he asked as he turned back to Pinocchio. "What if she doesn't hear us?"
"No, no, no," Pinocchio said while shaking his head. "Don't think like that. It'll work, okay? You both just have to focus your energies on nothing but her...And from what I've seen? You and Frankie are exactly what she needs to boost her strength. She's heard both of your voices separately and managed to find the strength to gain control of her body then, if she hears you both at the same time, it'll be more than enough for her to realize what she'd be leaving behind."
"What's in it for you in all this?" Mikey asked in suspicion. "Don't think I've forgotten what you keep calling her. Why are you so willing to help her when you barely even know her?"
"Mikey," David said in a stern tone. "This isn't the time."
"No," Pinocchio softly said. "It's okay."
He then sighed as he realized that the time to tell everyone had come sooner than he was prepared for...and he desperately wished that he could have told them with his sister by his side as they had planned to do.
"We wanted to wait until this whole thing had passed over to tell everyone," he said in a saddened tone while looking at his sister's body.
Mikey changed his stance and narrowed his eyes as he asked, "Tell us what?"
He then softened his features a little as Michelle placed a firm hand around his arm.
Not at all bothered by the boy's hostile tone, a small smile grew on Pinocchio's face as he said, "El's my little sister."
Everyone's eyes widened at his words before Michelle said, "What?!"
She then frowned and said, "But I've known you since you were a little boy...before I even met Dani's father, and he doesn't have any kids older than her...How is that possible if neither of us are your parents?"
"To make a long story short," Pinocchio said as he finally averted his eyes back to the group. "The boy I used to be was named Nicholas. Nicholas had a little sister named Suzi, who died a couple of days before he did of the same bad case of Tuberculosis...The day we first met, El and I tried to figure out why we connected so easily.."
A soft smile curved on his lips as he continued, "When I started to tell her the story of Nicholas, she called me something that only Suzi ever called me...and then she said something that only Suzi used to ever say..."
"Dear Lord," Mr.W said in astonishment. "Are you saying that Dani is Suzi's reincarnation?"
Mikey's eyes widened at his words. "What?!"
The smile remained on Pinocchio's face as he nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying," he said and turned to Dani's parents and boyfriend. "I apologize if my intentions with her came off as suspicious, but I promise you that I will never harm a hair on her head...She's the only family I have. I just want a relationship with my sister."
Michelle smiled softly as she stepped up to him and said, "And you'll both get that chance to fully reconnect when she opens her eyes again...You're a very sweet boy, Pinocchio, and I can see it in your eyes how much you care for her...How much you care for them both..."
Everyone's gaze averted to the little boy who still held a tight grip on his big sister's hand.
"Ever since she was a little girl, Dani's always wanted a big sibling to look up to...To protect her," Michelle continued as she turned back to Pinocchio. "And I'm so happy that she's finally getting what she's always wanted."
A wide grin spread on Pinocchio's features as he realized the hidden meaning behind her words before a small voice suddenly shouted from behind them.
"Ellie?!" Frankie called out, making everyone's heads turn towards him.
Their eyes widened before Mikey quickly ran over to pull Frankie away from Dani's body as she suddenly started to convulse.
"What's happening to her?!" Michelle asked as her eyes stayed glued to her daughter.
Her features then fell in horror, along with everyone else's, as she screamed, "No!!" when Dani started coughing up blood.
"No!!" Michelle screamed again as David held her back when she tried to lunge for her daughter. "No, no, no!!"
"What the hell is going on?!" David and Mikey asked at the same time as Mikey tightly held a crying Frankie in his arms.
"We need to do it now!" Pinocchio shouted. "Mikey! Frankie! Grab onto her hand!!"
Not wasting any more time, Mikey quickly rushed over to Dani's body, where both he and Frankie grabbed onto her hands. As soon as their hands came into contact with hers, Dani's body stilled entirely.
Dani screamed as Henry threw her in the air before she landed with a gasp as her body hit the ground, and she lay on her back as she began to cough up blood.
Henry stood across from her with a heated glare on his features. "I should've ended you ten years ago," he spat.
Dani coughed again as she tried her best to sit up on her own before she paused as she suddenly heard a familiar voice in her head, and with it came a lightness that hit her chest.
"Dani!!" Mikey's voice called out, causing her heart to flutter. "Dani...if you can hear me...Baby, you can't give up, okay?! I need you to fight him, Dani. I know you can do it."
Dani cried out at the sound of his voice as she slowly tried to sit up again, while the pain in her chest slowly dissolved the more she heard it. She cried out again as another voice soon popped into her head.
"Ellie?!" Frankie's voice said, and tears instantly formed in Dani's eyes at the sound. "Ellie...You promised me you wouldn't leave, remember? You can't let him win, Ellie!! I still need you!!...I'll always need you, Ellie! Please don't leave me!!"
Dani breathed heavily as she glared up at Henry through her tears. "You took my grandmother from me," she spat as she rose to her knees. "You took Mr.B from me..."
Henry stepped back in astonishment as he watched Dani stand to her feet.
"But you will never...ever...take me away from my brother!!" she shouted and lunged for him again.
Henry's eyes widened before he groaned as Dani landed on top of him, which caused them to slide across the ground.
Pinocchio's eyes widened as he could see the color coming back to Dani's skin along with her cheekbones slowly filling back in. "It's working!!" he announced, and everyone's hearts in the room lept at the information. "Keep going!!"
Dani screamed again as she threw a punch to Henry's face, who groaned at the action.
"No!" he yelled as he could feel his strength weakening. "What's happening?!"
"That's it, baby! Keep fighting, Dani!!" Mikey's voice reappeared in her head, which made her punch Henry again with another scream.
"You're not taking me away from him again!!" she yelled as she gripped her hand around Henry's throat.
Henry gasped as his eyes widened, and he tried desperately to claw at Dani's hands.
As Dani started to gain more weight in her body, Pinocchio turned to Mr.W and said, "Now!!"
Annie appeared beside her brother and exclaimed, "The knife, Bubbie!! Tell her to get the knife from her pocket!!"
Henry growled in frustration as he used his remaining strength to push Dani onto her back, who gasped as she was taken by surprise.
"No!! You will not beat me again!!" he said as he wrapped his hand around Dani's throat, though her hand was still gripped tightly around his. "If I go down, you're going down with me, Little Red!!"
"Ellie!!" Frankie's voice suddenly exclaimed. "The knife, Ellie!!"
Dani's eyes widened as she realized what he was talking about and discreetly moved her other hand behind her back.
"Our father, who art in heaven," Mr.W began as he held out his cross towards Dani's body.
Mikey pulled away with Frankie in his arms as Dani suddenly started to float.
"I am Henry fucking Wolff, Little Red!!" Henry spat as he held Dani up by her neck.
She coughed out for air as she desperately tried to grab hold of the object in her pocket.
"Don't you understand?! No one can defeat me!! Absolutely-"
Dani let out a war cry as she brought her arm up and stabbed Henry in the chest.
His eyes widened as he looked down at Dani's hand that was still wrapped tightly around the knife. Slowly, he let go of her neck as they both fell to the ground. Though while Henry fell to his knees, Dani stood on her feet.
"And I am Daniella fucking Richards, you sick bastard," she said as she glared at him in hatred.
Henry gasped out for air as he stared up at Dani.
"This is my world. Now go rot in Hell, you incessant son of a bitch," she said before she roughly brought the knife out from his chest.
Henry repeatedly gasped as he grabbed at Dani, who stepped back and watched as the life had finally vanished from his eyes.
"I hereby declare this vessel to be cleaned!" Mr.W shouted as he still held the cross out to Dani's floating body. "Cleanse her!! And may all dark spirits inside her be sent back to Hell!!"
Quickly, Mikey covered Frankie's ears and they both closed their eyes as Dani suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream. Michelle began to cry in David's arms, who held her tightly as they watched their daughter scream out in pain.
Dani's screams suddenly darkened in tone as her eyes flashed blue, and along with it, the lights had started to flicker. Frankie buried his head into Mikey's shoulder as he began to cry.
"Shh, it's okay," Mikey whispered to the boy as he held his head down with his eyes still trained on his girlfriend. "It'll be okay."
"Cleanse her!!" Mr.W shouted as he threw holy water at her body. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost! I hereby send you back to Hell, you demonic spirit!!"
Dani continued to scream darkly before the screaming stopped altogether, and she closed her eyes. The room was deathly silent as everyone watched her floating body in worry.
"Ellie?!" Frankie called out as his eyes went back to his sister.
Dani's eyes suddenly opened with a loud gasp before she fell to the couch, unconscious. Pinocchio breathed out in relief as Frankie let out a cry of happiness.
"Ellie!!" he exclaimed and lunged forward in Mikey's arms, who stopped him by holding him back.
"Not yet, buddy. Just a little longer, okay?" he told him.
"But I saw it, Mikey!" Frankie cried. "I did! Ellie's eyes weren't blue anymore!"
And like a switch, the worry in the room was quickly replaced by relief as everyone relaxed and watched.
They watched and waited as Dani's body remained still on the couch before Pinocchio's eyes suddenly widened and he rushed forward with a bucket at the same time Dani gasped awake with widened eyes. She then turned over and hurled into the bucket as her brother pulled her hair back.
"You're okay," Pinocchio murmured. "You're okay. Everything's okay."
Dani pulled away with another groan once she felt like she was done. "Why do I always do that?!" she questioned while wiping her mouth. "That's so gross!"
"Ellie!!"
Instantly, Dani snapped her head up at the sound of her baby brother's voice, and tears pooled in her eyes at the sight of him rushing over to her with a bright smile on his face.
"Ellie!!" Frankie exclaimed again and wrapped his arms around her. "Ellie, Ellie, Ellie!! It's you!! You're back!!"
Dani tensed at the feeling before she slowly wrapped her arms around her brother and closed her eyes as he nuzzled his head into her neck.
"It's me," she whispered. "I'm here...I'm back."