I sleep on the floor, Victoria in her makeshift crib as Archie is in the bed. Little did I know Betty was awake, looking around the bunker.

"How are we gonna get out of this mess?" Betty whispers. I groan slowly in my sleep from discomfort. However, how I feel doesn't matter when Jughead jumps down into the bunker, causing me to shoot awake.

"You guys." He says, I slowly sit up, my hair a slight mess as Betty turns around. "I saw him." The boy with the beanies face is coated with sweat from possibly running. "The Gargoyle King."

I then quickly stand up, my bare feet cold against the ground. "What?"

"Jug, what the hell? Just now?" Betty asks.

"As I was walking home. I followed him into a clearing. Betty, there are others. There's, like, ten of em. They look like his disciples. Like, they were worshiping the king."

The blonde looks over at me. "Oh my god."

"They had on these masks, like they were a gang of gargoyles." He continues.

"Then let's go after them." I say, pointing towards the bunker ladder.

Jughead stops me and Betty. "No. We shouldn't push our luck. Not until we know more." He says.

Betty looks at him with exasperation. "Well, who could they be, Jug?"

"Joaquin." We turn around to see Archie, awake. I rush to sit by his side, placing my hand on his chest as he takes off the towel on his forhead. "Joaquin told Kevin about a new gang. And then Joaquin ran into the woods." I look up at Betty and Jughead.

"We know Warden Norton is playing G&G, and Joaquin was doing his dirty work." Betty says in thought.

Jughead scoffs. "It's just another piece of damning evidence that Warden Norton could be our Gargoyle King." Betty looks at me, sighing. I turn to Archie, cupping the redheads face.

I make it to Thistle House instead of the Cooper House. Cheryl shoots up from the couch, hugging me tightly. "Emmy, about the other day, I am so so sorry-"

"Cheryl I cant believe you're playing a game that's killing people and almost killed Archie!" I shout. Toni walks in from another spot of the house, rubbing her hands on her jeans. "I came home with Tori and then you two are playing G&G? Not to mention you're playing with Sweet Pea, who you both should be encouraging to stay out of it!" I snap.

Toni sighs. "Em, we didn't know the game was that big of a deal, we're sorry." She says.

I cross my arms over my chest. "I'll talk to you guys later. I came to get some clothes for school."

(ignore madelaine whoops teehee)

I go to Jughead's after school, Victoria in her stroller as I somehow get into Jugheads trailer. To my surprise, Sweet Pea and Fangs are there as well. "Why, what a surprise." I gush. "Nice to see you boys." I stroll past them sitting on the couch, taking Victoria out of her stroller, placing her in my lap, and beginning to feed her with a bottle.

"Why do you always have people's babies?" Fangs asks.

If only he knew.

Jughead walks out of the only bedroom. "Hey, guys." He says awkwardly. "What's up?" The boy walks over, cracking open the door.

"Minettas trashing tent city, Jug, looking for Archie." Sweet Pea says.

"It's not like he's here, so what's the problem?" I ask.

Sweet Pea scoffs. "The problem is our homes are gonna be gone-"

"Alright. I purpose a manhunt of our own. I want every Serpent on the ground searching for Joaquin. I don't want a stone left unturned."

"Jug, as much as I'd like to help Toria has an appointment-"

Jughead nods at me. "I get it, Em, but you and I will go together."

"You know, Serpents don't just shiv other Serpents." Sweet Pea glares.

Fangs looks up. "Then what the hell do you think got into him?" He retorts.

"Well, according to-"

I cut Jughead off, standing up and putting Tori in her crib. "Listen here, dumb, dumber, and dumbest." I say. "Joaquin did it for Warden Norton. And when Norton talked to Betty, he didn't call Archie 'Archie."

"He call him the Red Paladin." Jughead continues. The two other serpents make eye contact. "Plus, the Warden poisoned himself with cyanide and blueberry Fresh-Aid. And he worked for Riverdale High before the Detention center."

I turn to Jug. "The question is, was he playing G&G with someone, or for someone?" I point my acrylic nail at Jug, a smirk on my face.

"And since Warden Norton's dead, Joaquin's the only one who can know the answer." Sweet Pea sighs.

Jughead agreed with his statement. "Joaquin may not be alone. Kevin said that he may be rolling with a new gang."

"Those Gargoyle creeps you saw?" Fangs asks.

I cross my arms over my chest. "Exactly."

"And if the gang is working for the King," Jughead begins.

"Then they're gonna take us right to him." I hum. Jughead and I make eye contact, a smug look on our faces.

Fans coughs. "It's kinda weird when you guys just know what the other us thinking or planning." He says.

Jughead and I furrow our brows in confusion. "What do you mean?" We say at the same time.

Me and Jug get back from Victoria's appointment, she still cried from her shots. "Em, I have a question." He says as we stand in the kitchen.

I raise a brow. "Like?"

"Mel's okay, right?" He asks. I open and close my mouth a few times, unable to answer. "She must have some issues right now." He chuckles.

Instantly, I react the only way I could. Going along with it. "Jughead, please don't say anything-"

"I won't." He cuts me off. Suddenly, his phone begins to vibrate while he stares at Archie's wanted poster. He answers his phone. "Fangs. Did you find Joaquin?" I bounce Tori in my arms, kissing her cheek trying to calm her down.

"Centerville Serpents spotted him at the Last Resort Youth Hotel. We're on our way now" The other line says.

Jughead looks up at me, giving a thumbs up. "Grab him. Take him to Fox Forest bear the foot bridge. Em and I will meet you there." Jug finishes the call as someone walks into the trailer. I look behind me to see FP Jones.

He walks towards us. "Goin somewhere, Boy?" He asks Jughead. He takes Tori from my arms, rubbing her back.

"Yeah, we're gonna go meet the Serpents." Jughead says.

FP puts Tori in her stroller. "Yeah? Like hell, you are." He grabs Jugheads wrist, attaching him to the kitchen fridge with handcuffs.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I snap.

"Are you out of your mind?" Jughead shouts.

FP locks the cuffs. "What I should have done the second I saw you playing." He grabs my wrist, dragging me to a counter. "You're addicted, Jug! And you're dragging Emmy into it too and endangering her and her kid!" Jugs eyes grow wide and I yank on the cuff, which is now attached to the lower cabinet. "G&G's like a drug. It's gotten into your blood." He shouts back at Jughead.

"I'm not addicted." Jughead says lowly. "I just need to ascend, so I can find the Gargoyle King, and out an end to all this."

I grab a lollipop from on the counter top, unwrapping it. "You're addicted." I say, putting the candy in my mouth.

"You're right. You sound nothing like an addict. My mistake." He says, tossing Jughead's phone on the table. "I'll take Victoria to Alice, but you're both pushing it." He squishes Jugheads face. "It's time for you to sober up, boy, for your own good." And then he leaves with Toria.

I roll my eyes, "Nice, going." I retort.

"You're the one hiding your kid." He says.

"That's TOTALLY DIFFERENT." I snap.

He tilts his head to the side. "Really? How so?"

"I did it to protect her and that was the best thing I've ever done now that you idiots started playing G&G." I say. Jughead sighs, leaning his head against the fridge.

After a hot minute, a knock on the door causes us to shoot up. "Jughead? Emmy?" Betty walks over, her green eyes growing wide.

"Betty!" I smile.

"Want something to eat?" Jughead says, opening the fridge with his cuff. I hold up a donut the he had given me.

Betty's eyes widen. "What the hell, guys?" She says, walking towards her boyfriend.

"You don't happen to have one of those trusty bobby pins on you, do you?" He asks her. She whips it out of her hair.

"Did your dad do this?"

He nods. "He doesn't like me playing G&G." He says. "And I'm apparently putting Emmy and her kid in danger, which nobody told me about."

"Thats because Alice decided it would be better if less people knew." I say. "And FP decides he didn't want to risk me playing G&G."

"That's my fault. I'm sorry." She says sympathetically. "It came out when I was talking to all of our parents."

I snort. "How'd that sit-down go, Miss Marple?" Jughead smirks at my retort.

Betty looks at me. "Penelope Blossom said Daryl Doiley is the one who poisoned the chalices." She tells us.

Then Jughead cuff unlocks and he pulls his hand out, sighing in relief. He rubs his wrist, looking up. "Dilton's dad? You think-"

"Dead? Yeah." She says. She hops over to me, working on my lock. "Pretty convenient, right? The one man who can't confirm or deny Penelope's story." Betty gives me a sad look. "Sorry, Em. I know she's your mom."

I wave her off. "I don't buy my mother's story. She's a adultering snake." I tease.

"Neither do I, Em." She hums. "So, I called Dr. Curdle Jr., and asked if he could pull Mr. Doiley's autopsy report for us all." My cuff unlocks and I stand up, observing the redness around my small wrist.

I bite my lip. "Jug and I were actually going to go find Joaquin."

Jughead nods. "Do you think you can handle this one by yourself?"

Betty nods. "Just be careful, guys. You both tend to get hurt enough by yourselves together seems semi terrifying." She says awkwardly.

I gather Jug and I's stuff as they wrap up the conversation, heading to the bathroom to put some lotion on the irritated skin on my wrist. I look at myself, I don't look anything like a serpent. The fancy shirt pencil skirt, black lace top, and my fancy red coat and thigh highs. The only thing that could tell someone I'm a serpent is a small gold bracelet with a snake. Even that you probably couldn't tell.

I walk out and Jughead sighs. "You ready?" I nod, waving bye to Betty before following him out the door.

When Jughead and I walk into the forest, both of our energy's confident and furious. Fangs and SP pull up Joaquin who groans in pain. I smirk. "Hello, boys." I smile, kissing Fangs cheek softly. "Well, if it isn't Joaquin." I say, bored.

"Look what we found on him." Sweet Pea holds up a gargoyle mask, causing my eyes to turn into a glare. Pea tosses it at Jughead, who observes the rubber mask.

"So you jumped ship for the Gargoyle gang?" Jughead tosses it to the side, squaring down. "You have a lot of explaining to do." He says. Fangs rips off the gag on Joaquin, who begins to grunt and cough. "So why don't we start with why you shivved Archie instead of protecting him, like you were supposed to."

Joaquin, who looks tired and out of it likebhes in never land closes his eyes. "The Warden said I had no other choice." He looks up at me. "You don't know what it was like in there. You do anything to survive. For me, it was being the Wardens pawn. A...a chess piece." He stutters out. "In some ways, he was a pawn, too."

"What does that mean?" Jughead asks him. I stand behind them all, my arms crossed over my chest.

"I saw him with these game cards that...that told him what to do. Whoever sent them to him wanted Archie dead." I suck in a breath. "From the moment he was locked up, he was already marked." Joaquin says.

Jug pulls a sharpie of of his pocket, drawing the same symbol Archie had burned into his hip. "Marked with what?" He shows it to Joaquin. "This symbol, the Warden branded on Archie's hip?"

"This is some scary vampire shit." I whisper.

"What does it mean?" Jug asks, completely ignoring my statement.

Joaquin shakes his head. "No. No."

Anger begins to boil in my body, my fist curling and uncurling. "Pick him up." I say.

Sweet Pea protests, "We only listen to Jughead." He says.

Jughead snaps his head at Pea. "Listen to her, Sweet Pea." He snarls. The two serpents sigh before pulling their former friend up. Fangs gives a sympathetic look as I approach Joaquin. Sweet Pea knowing what's about to go down.

He liked to make me mad.

I approach Joaquin, my face close to his. My acrylic nail glides along his cheek before I pout. "What does the symbol mean?" I ask softly.

Joaquin's eyes, which are quite beautiful, look up at me. "Sacrifice." He says, finally. "It means that... It meant that Archie had to die." I step back, astonished. He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Jug. I know he was your pal. I-"

"Oh, Archie's alive, Joaquin." Jughead says. I laugh, covering my mouth, letting Joaquin feel stupid.

"Then it won't be for much longer." He says.

I approach him again, "Who's giving Warden Norton his orders?" I shout.

Joaquin begins to stop talking, that's when Jughead pushes me aside and pulls out his blade. "I don't think you understand, Joaquin,. I can't let you go until you talk."

And you will never believe it...

But he claimed it was Hiram Lodge.