Tw: kidnapping, abuse, language

Pandora sighed as they walked home. They'd declined the offer for a ride, needing time to think. What could they do, anyways? They had no idea of any way to help. It wasn't like any of them would believe them anyways, except maybe Patton.

Perhaps Janus as well... They got the sense that he seemed to know something was up. They weren't sure though, which annoyed them. Pandora felt they needed to know. Not wanted. No... They knew that, if given the choice, they'd leave as soon as they could.

They sighed as they got home. "I-I'm home," Pandora called out, setting their keys near the door. They wanted to leave, really. "Father?" Pandora got no response and frowned. He was normally home at this time. They only shrugged it off and went to start on their homework.

About an hour or so later, Caligula came up the stairs from his lab. He looked happy, giddy. But Pandora could see the sinister look in his eyes. They didn't dare speak until they were spoken to.

"Did you not start dinner?" Caligula hummed, walking over to them. Pandora went to answer, but got stopped as their cheek started to burn. They let out a small whimper as they held their face, watching their obviously pissed off father. "Pathetic," he mumbled.

"I-I was g-gonna," Pandora whispered, wincing as they got slapped over again. "I p-promise!"

Caligula growled. "Stop that damned stuttering," he hissed. "I did not raise a wimp. Now make dinner. We have guests downstairs tonight." He stormed off as Pandora processed what he said.

"Guests...?" They mumbled. Pandora's eyes widened. They knew exactly who he had meant.

~

Roman grinned as he got home. "Momma!" He called out. He ran around, looking for her. He frowned as he didn't find her at all. "Hey, uh... guys? Did Momma say she was going out today before school ended?"

Patton went in with Emile. "No," he said, frowning. "That's weird. Is she not home anywhere?" He helped look around, as did Logan and Emile. However, their mom was nowhere to be found.

It was odd. She never went out without telling them or leaving a note or something. Logan sighed. "She may have simply thought she'd be back by the time we got home," he said as gently as he could. He knew his brothers were scared, and he was too. But he also knew he needed to keep himself level headed for their sakes. He sighed and just started on some homework.

Patton whimpered and started working on dinner. He normally made dinner with his momma, but he guessed he would have to do it alone tonight.

Roman paused and pulled Emile and Logan to join him. "Let's all make dinner tonight," he said gently. "Ok? That way Patton doesn't feel so lonely."

~

Remus went in as he got home. He plopped onto the couch as Remy tackled him. Both of them laughed and started wrestling. Virgil just took Dixie to his room. He had almost had three nervous breakdowns at school, he was exhausted, honestly.

Janus went to start dinner. He knew his mom would be home soon from work, and he wanted to help her by having things ready. He hummed as he started the meat for burritos and sat with Remus and Remy. "Did you two have a good day?" He asked.

Remy nodded. "Yeah," he chuckled, pushing Remus off of him. "Though seeing someone who looked like Re was... odd to say the least." He sighed and sat up. "Was it to you?"

Remus nodded. "I didn't believe you guys much until I saw him in a mirror," he admitted. "But it's eerie. Maybe we are related. I mean, all of us four are adopted, right?"

"It is possible," Janus sighed softly. "We would have to ask Mom, though, honestly. She might know if you had a twin or not. She should be home soon," he said. "But I don't know."

The night wore on, everyone ate dinner. Virgil had even emerged from his room for dinner, but frowned as he didn't see his mother anywhere.

All of them knew it was unusual. But none of them knew what bad things were to be coming their way.