Mabel wandered the halls of the Northwest Manor at a quick pace, her task weighing on her heavily. She didn't dare go back to the party room, or go anywhere near it, lest she run into Gideon's father again. But Gideon was probably with his father. So she was at an impasse.

She didn't really know where she was going, but she skidded to a halt when she saw a faint blue glow coming from a room up ahead. She moved closer, getting her hopes up. Please let him be in there. Or let him not be in there, so I don't have to steal his amulet.

By the time she slipped into the room and saw him, she was very torn on whether or not she wanted him to be there. But he was.

He sat in the center of the room, staring at the wall. The only light in the room came from his amulet. The mood of the room was hushed and anxious, but Gideon sat as still as a statue, his expression full of worry and sadness. Mabel was seized by a desire to leave him alone, or at least refrain from getting his attention.

She stepped softly across the floor, trying to be as silent as possible. She waited until she was a few feet away before calling his name softly. "Gideon?"

He looked up at her, startled. "Mabel? Where's the servant?"

She gave him a half smile. "I gave him the slip. May I join you?"

"Sure."

Mabel sat down next to Gideon, her feelings about him conflicted. On the one hand, he had kept an entire cult secret from her, one that followed her enemy. On the other, she just kept thinking of the time they had spent together earlier in the graveyard. And the hug. She might have been embarrassed, but it felt good while it was happening.

Gideon lifted his eyes back up to the wall, and Mabel followed his gaze. Her stomach flipped over as she realized that it wasn't the wall at all — it was a portrait of Gideon's father. A metal plaque that read "Gaston Northwest" shone underneath it. His face was devoid of a smile, and he looked at the camera with fierce, hard eyes. His skin was smooth, but Mabel still felt like he was glaring out at her.

"Oh," Mabel said softly. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "How did you get away?"

Gideon laughed bitterly. "Oh," he said, "Father wouldn't dare punish me while we have guests over. He'll wait until they're gone." He sighed. "I'm supposed to be in the party room mingling, but I came here. It'll probably just make it worse for me later, but I needed to get away and be alone."

"Yeah," Mabel said in understanding. They fell into a silence that Mabel found extremely awkward, but she didn't know how to tell him about what she'd learned.

"Gideon," she said after a few minutes, "I summoned one of the ghosts and talked to it."

Gideon's eyes widened, and he immediately turned to look at her. "What — what did it say?" he asked, sounding nervous.

Mabel's eyes drifted to the floor. "Um. . . it told me — it told me about the Order."

Gideon looked like he could hardly breathe. "Mabel — I'm not — we can't — I don't have a choice."

She found herself fighting back tears. "Really? Because your father makes you?"

"I — yes, he does, but — I don't worship Bill, I swear!"

"You'd better not!" Mabel choked up when she said it, and her voice betrayed her emotions. "You have no idea what he's put me through! I still have nightmares!"

"So do I," Gideon said, his voice soft and clear.

"Then — then why do you help?!"

"Because I have to, okay?" Gideon snapped. "Because there are more people than just my father who will be mad if I tried to get out of it. When I said I don't have a choice, I meant it."

"Well, this is the perfect excuse to get out of it," Mabel said, her voice wet and pleading. "Tell them a pack of ghosts haunted your family until you gave in and distanced yourself. You have to get out, Gideon. I don't care who would be angry, you can't help that — that demon anymore. B-Bill is the absolute worst, and he causes pain everywhere he goes. A-and — "

She had to stop, because she was trembling too badly. Multiple tears had slipped down her cheeks as she talked.

"Mabel. . . what — what happened between you and Bill?" Gideon asked it hesitantly, like he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Mabel was too upset to answer.

She waited until she was stable enough to speak and took Gideon's hand in hers. "You can get away from the Order," she said, her voice shaky. "I have an idea. Just — just smash your amulet and they'll leave you alone."

"No," Gideon said immediately. "That's not an option. This amulet has been in my family for generations, and I absolutely cannot lose it."

"Why not? Because of what happened to Pacifica?"

Mabel knew it was a low blow, but it was the only reason she could think of.

"No," Gideon said softly, sounding hurt. "Because my father will know, and he'll make me pay."

"Look," Mabel said, "I know your father gives you good reason to fear him, but can't you see that this is more important than that? Bill is so dangerous! If you give him anything, he'll take ten times more!"

"Don't you think I can handle — " Gideon began, but he was cut off.

By distant screaming.

Mabel felt the blood drain from her face. "The party guests," she said quietly.

She leapt to her feet. "Come on!" she said to Gideon. "Come tell the ghosts that you'll leave the Order."

"Mabel, wait — "

But she was already gone.

~~~~~

Gideon watched Mabel go and got to his feet. "Mabel," he said to himself, frustrated, "don't you know that the members of the Order are the party guests?"

Apparently she didn't, because she seemed just as worried about them. He ran after her, growling under his breath.

When he got to the party room, the first thing he noticed was his parents, standing alone in the center of the room near Mabel. The guests had all disappeared, but a quick look around told Gideon that their reflections were in the mirrors. Panic seared through his chest, and he looked around the mirrors for Pacifica. He couldn't find her, which meant she might've escaped — or she was behind a pillar. Which meant she probably couldn't see Mabel either. Gideon couldn't hear her screams, and he took that as a good sign. Some of the guests were screaming, though, and others were trying to plead for help, though it just came out backwards.

"Gideon!" Geneva called. Her voice was full of fear, and Gideon wanted to hurt whoever was making her feel afraid. "Thank goodness. Help us, please!"

Gaston, though, just looked angry. Very angry. Gideon wondered to how much punishment that level of anger translated.

He tore his eyes away from Gaston and to Mabel and the ghosts, which were visible and transparent. Mabel gave him a pleading look, and he reached up for his amulet with a shaky hand.

"Young Northwest," the nearest ghost said, "you know you can stop this if you break your amulet."

"What?" Gaston spluttered. "Destroy the amulet? No! Gideon, don't you dare put one scratch in that!"

The ghosts looked annoyed. The one nearest to Gideon's parents lifted its hand and zapped them with a bolt of ghostly white energy.

Gaston and his wife disappeared.

"No!" Gideon shouted. "Where'd you send them?"

The ghost that zapped them simply pointed to a mirror on the wall to their right.

Gideon turned and immediately regretted it. They were in a mirror a little bit higher than Gideon was tall. Gaston was glaring out of it in fury. He looked just like his portrait, and Gideon's knees nearly buckled in fear.

"Destroy your amulet, Gideon," one of the ghosts commanded. But Gideon didn't look at it. He was staring up at his father.

"Gideon," a voice whispered. Mabel's voice. Gideon latched onto her voice and drew on it for strength, tearing his eyes away from Gaston and turning to her. "Gideon, you can do it."

"Yes," the ghost said, "she's right. You can. It's for the greater good."

Gideon gripped his amulet tightly, about to take it off.

"Yes, yes," the ghost urged him. "Take it off. Smash it on the ground."

Gideon's hand trembled.

A loud, piercing noise ripped through the air.

Its effect on Gideon was immediate: He cried out, let go of the amulet, and knelt on the floor, covering his ears with both hands. No — no — please don't hurt me! Phantom pains coursed through his body — replicas of the pain his father had put him through while conditioning him to the sound of the whistle.

The whistle died, making a strange noise at the end because the mirror made its sound backwards. That didn't matter, though. Gideon still heard it loud and clear.

Silence fell hesitantly over the room, but Gideon's ears were still ringing with the sound of the whistle.

"G-Gideon?" Mabel asked. She'd run over during the whistling and knelt by him. "What was that?"

Gideon didn't answer. He instead stood up shakily and planted his feet firmly on the ground. His hand went to his amulet and gripped it tightly. Mabel gasped softly next to him.

The amulet lit up and sent out a blast wave of teal light that pushed the ghosts away.

"I won't do it!" Gideon shouted. "Free my people and be gone!"

The ghosts started yelling at him in outrage. Mabel looked betrayed. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide. Gideon looked away from her in shame as the ghosts started to move towards him. They were murderous, but he didn't care anymore if they zapped him into a mirror, as long as he was safe from his father.

Mabel stood up and threw herself in front of Gideon. "Stop!" she yelled at the ghosts, her voice shaking.

Gideon looked up at her in shock. He couldn't understand why she was doing this. Hadn't he just betrayed her?

"Please," Mabel said. She sounded like she was about to cry. The ghosts had all stopped and looked down at her in annoyance. "I-I know he didn't do what you wanted — what we wanted — b-but that doesn't mean he deserves to be forced into a mirror!"

"This was our one chance to be set free," one of the ghosts said, "and he ruined it."

"I-I know," Mabel said. "A-and you must be terrified. You can't move on, and you can't touch things o-or talk to people. I — I know how that feels."

The ghosts looked confused. Gideon knew he was.

"I. . . I've been a ghost. And it was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. So I'm sorry, I'm sorry you're in this situation."

She glanced at Gideon over her shoulder. "You're afraid of Bill, and I understand that. Bill is — I know what he's like. I've. . ."

She took a deep breath. "I've been possessed by him."

Gideon gasped.

"I was in his way, I guess. It was. . . it was terrifying. And it taught me firsthand how awful he is. And — and it made me want to fight against him. To stop him from ever hurting me or my family again."

She stood tall and faced the ghosts. "I don't know how to set you free," she said, "but I can promise to fight against Bill with everything I have. And — and Gideon can use his amulet in the fight, too. I'll stop Bill, and I'll stop the Order." She took a careful step forward. "I know how badly you want to move on. And once you're gone, you'll leave behind a group of people who know how dangerous Bill is and are willing to fight him. If. . . if my family and Gideon and I promise to lead the fight against Bill, will that help you find peace? Will that set you free?"

There was a long silence as the ghosts considered what Mabel had said.

One of the ghosts drifted towards her. There were tears in its eyes. "Thank you," it said. "We did all we could in the fight against Bill when we were alive, but we can't help any more. Bill has been growing in power, and I worried that he would meet no resistance. But your promise gives me peace."

"I'll try as hard as I can," Mabel said. "I promise."

The ghost reached out towards Mabel, and she put her hand out. Their fingers couldn't touch, but Gideon thought for a second that they were grasping hands.

The ghosts started to glow with white light. One by one, they turned into small balls of light and drifted up towards the ceiling and out of sight.

Gideon and Mabel watched in awe. It was simply beautiful.

A feeling of peace descended on the ballroom. Even the people in the mirrors were quiet. Gideon couldn't remember the last time he had felt this so strongly.

But the feeling was shattered by people reappearing, becoming free from the mirrors. Gideon's stomach dropped, and he grabbed Mabel's arm.

By promising to defeat the Order, she had just rescued the entire Order.

"What?" Mabel asked as more and more people were freed. Gideon tried to pull her away, get her out of there before it was too late. But she just looked at him in confusion and didn't move.

The party guests were talking and laughing in relief. Gideon scanned the room for Pacifica, his nervousness increasing.

He didn't have to look for long, though, because just moments later there was an ear-splitting scream.

Pacifica was standing across the room, screaming at the top of her lungs. She sounded more afraid than angry, as if Mabel was going to hurt her. Gideon knew Mabel would never do that, but Pacifica was too unstable to understand that.

Everyone went quiet as Mabel and Pacifica locked eyes.

Mabel's eyes were filled with shock, Pacifica's with hatred. Then Pacifica spoke. Her voice was quiet, but it filled the entire room. Gideon's stomach clenched as he heard the two simple words.

"Get her."