***

Emma ran out into the hallway with Ray, Norman, and Alex behind her. The three of them were walking so it was hard to keep up with Emma. The girl was running at top speed toward the direction that Don and Gilda had taken off in. They rounded a corner and the two they had been searching for stood there. Don was hunched over and he looked more sad than upset now. Gilda stood with him and her head turned to them when she heard Emma running toward them.

"Don, Gilda!" Emma exclaimed.

"Emma..." Don and Gilda said. They looked at her in shock. They probably weren't expecting her to run after them after everything that had happened in the dining room.

The orange-haired girl stopped in her tracks, "I'm sorry! I was being naive. I made such a stupid decision. I should have trusted you guys!" The last part of what she said surprised the two of them. "Thanks for having faith in us... And making me realize how wrong we were."

The other three walked up from behind Emma. Norman was the first one to speak up, "Apologies from us, too."

"Yeah, we should've had more faith in you guys," Alex stated. They thought not telling them would protect them and it only hurt them more. Them finding out the truth the way they did was something they could've avoided if they had come clean about everything from the beginning.

"Ah! No... Uh..," Don was still fairly surprised by the sudden apologies. It took him a bit to be able to think of what exactly to say, "I'm sorry too, for getting too heated and punching you guys! You guys oka-" Don cut himself off. He started marching to Norman and Ray, "Well, obviously not! Let's head over to the infirmary now!"

Norman waved him off, "Haha, we're fine!"

Don joined Gilda's side. The two of them looked like they were upset still. "We're sorry for acting on our own, too," Gilda told them. They were no longer upset with the other four, but with themselves. What they had done was definitely risky and it could've ruined everything if Mom had found them.

"Yeah..," Don agreed, "Ray definitely has all the rights to be mad after what we did."

"Just... We're really..." Gilda trailed off. Both Don and Gilda were trembling. They were basically hunching over because of how much guilt they felt for not listening the first time.

"Don't worry about it," Alex shrugged, "It's too late to change it now." She then smiled at them to make them feel even a little bit better.

Norman turned to Ray with a grin, "Come on, Ray."

The said boy scratched the side of his head, "Ahhh, whatever. Forget it! I'll make sure to cover for you guys if anything happens," His hand rested on the back of his neck, "I'm... Also sorry for... Stuff I did."

The happiness that Alex felt was immense. She was glad that everything was finally being resolved. She was also happy that Don and Gilda didn't seem to be holding any kind of grudge against them. They were being so understanding of the situation. Alex didn't even feel like they deserved it after lying about something so big. Alex looked to Norman and Emma. They all shared a smile.

"From here on, petty lies are going out the window... So let me ask again," Emma started. Emma stood up straight, "We're dead meat if we screw up. There are terrifying demons outside of this place. But are you two still willing to come with us?"

Don and Gilda exchanged a look before smiling, "Of course!" They exclaimed.

"That's great!" Alex clapped her hands together with a smile.

"We'll also do our best to become worthy of your guys' faith," Don stated.

"So let us do anything we can to help out!" Gilda added.

Emma took Gilda's hands into her own, "Thank you so much!"

"I'm happy we don't have to keep secrets anymore," Alex said. It was nice to know that they didn't have to worry about them finding out anymore. They knew everything now so there was nothing to hide from them. They could actually be open about everything for once.

"All right," Norman said, "Now, we'll have to start planning for the next step: inspection. I already have a task I'd like to ask you two to carry out for me." Norman explained their task to them. After he was done, everyone decided to part ways. The only people that hung back were Alex, Norman, and Ray.

"I'll help you treat your bruises." Alex turned to Norman and Ray.

"It's fine," Ray waved her off. Alex wanted to sigh. She didn't though. Ray was never the type to ask for help. He always tried to do things on his own, "I need to report to Mama anyway so I'll see you guys later." Ray left the dining room which left only Alex and Norman.

Alex grabbed Norman's hand with a gentle smile, "I guess it's just us then."

"I guess it is." Norman grinned back at her. She led him to the infirmary so she could treat the bruise on his cheek. Not much happened while she helped them out. They really just talked the whole time and it was honestly really calming. Alex hoped that they could have more nights where everything was just calm and nothing chaotic happened.

***

It was once again time for all of the kids to do their chores. Norman, Alex, and Emma were doing the laundry together. Ray was not with them today seeing as he was currently talking with Mom. They had fabricated a story about why Norman and Ray had bruises on their cheeks. The story was that the two boys had gotten into a fight which was what Ray was currently telling her.

Emma held a shirt in her hand which fluttered in the window, "I really do feel a lot better, now that we've come clean."

"Agreed!" Norman smiled.

"We don't have to worry about slipping up accidentally in front of them since they already know everything," Alex stated. It definitely took one burden off of their shoulders. If only they could take the others off that easily too. Norman and Alex were stuck in their thoughts for quite a while.

"Hey, Norman, Alex!" Emma called out. Both of them got out of their heads to see what she was wanting, "Got time to hear me out for a bit?"

"Yeah?" Norman's reply was more of a question than a reply.

Alex nodded, "Sure. What's this about?"

"So I've been thinking on my own for a bit... On how we'll manage to get everyone out," And so, Emma explained her plan to the both of them. By the end of it, Norman had brought his hand up to his chin in thought. Emma was starting to look a little anxious, "Is it too risky?" Norman replied with a 'Yeah,' to which Emma continued with, "Still, I think it's definitely possible to catch Mama off guard this way. Also, I think this is the only plausible way for us to all escape at once!

"Yeah." Norman nodded.

"It's actually a pretty smart idea," Alex smiled, "Good job, Emma!" It didn't take them long to get done with their chores. They all headed inside where they knew that Don and Gilda would be waiting for them. It was time to see if they were able to fulfill the task that Norman had given them last night.

As expected, they pulled it off. Don tapped Norman's shoulder with an item in his hand, "I went and managed to swipe what you asked for! Laundry powder and herbicide... What do you even need this stuff for?"

Norman took the laundry power and herbicide from him, "They'll be useful for when we carry out our investigation." They all went back outside again so they could talk.

"Hey..," Gilda trailed off. She was looking pointedly at Norman, "When you say 'investigation,' you mean climbing over the gates and checking out what's outside, right? But what about our trackers?"

Emma piped up, "About that... We just need to divert the adults' attention!"

Norman nodded, "Exactly. All we have to do... Is to distract Mama and Sister Krone so that they don't check our location."

"It's going to be a little hard, but we have faith that it'll work out," Alex assured them. It was going to be hard to come up with a good enough distraction. They were hoping the one that they made up last night would be good enough to keep Mom distracted.

"We're going to create a situation where those two definitely won't be looking at their pocket watches..," Norman explained, "And quickly execute our inspection while those two are looking elsewhere."

"But how?" Don asked.

"Ray's already got Mama under control," Norman responded, "He's currently feeding her some false intel." The false intel being the story they made up and also that Norman was planning to kill Mom. Being told that there was going to be an attempt on your life would definitely be distracting, right?

"The only one we'll have to focus on is Sister Krone." Alex resolved.