Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PROLOGUE: REFLECTION

*****

In the study of the Society Against Evil safe house, James McCoy watched through the window as Joey Graceffa, Dawn Hatcher, Oli White, and Eva Gutowski were escorted to the car that would take them to the police station, where they would be reunited with their friends and families after being declared missing for three months. Both Joey and Dawn did pause to look back at the safe house before getting into the car with their friends.

‘The council won’t be happy with the decision that I chose to make,’ James thought, turning away only when the car was out of sight, and he sighed, not looking forward to that particular conversation.

He was one of many leaders for the Society, and, like him, they all answered to a council of elders that represented the twelve families that were the foundation of the Society itself.

After the four survivors had managed to escape the 1920s house after sealing away the evil and finishing the mission that Shane Dawson hadn’t been able to do before his untimely death, James had been instructed by both his fellow leaders and the Council of Elders that he was to tell the truth to Dawn Hatcher about her being the Light-bearer and start her training to use the Light for the battles to come.

He understood why, but he’d been reluctant to push the brunette into such a situation so soon after surviving hell in an evil house that, to her, Joey, Eva, and Oli, seemed to have lasted a single night, but had really been three months.

Instead, he had chosen not to tell Dawn the truth, wanting to give her the time she needed to recover and heal from the horror, and time to let go of the guilt for those who had died because of what the evil had forced them to do.

James went to the desk that had a sizable pile of folders on it, and he was opening the first folder when Dr. Caroline Green entered after one quick knock on the door. “I see that they found everything that Arthur had on the group.”

“That and information on other possible targets,” Dr. Green added with a nod. “Did you tell her the truth?”

James shook his head, flipping through the folder, which just happen to be about the girl in question. “No, no I chose not to,” he answered and sighed at her surprised expression, sitting down in the desk chair, still holding the folder. “Dawn needs time to heal and cope with what they all just went through, especially her and Joey.”

“Do you think there’s anything to that event that the council is obsessing over?” Dr. Green inquired.

“I doubt it,” James replied with a snort. “Sometimes I think the elders jump the gun when it comes to those kind of events when something happens that looked like it might be connected. For all we know, this could be a one-time event, and these four will be able to move on with their lives without any of them going through it again. Especially Dawn and Joey.”

Dr. Green understood where James was coming from. For the past century, the council had jumped to conclusions more then once with certain incidents involving the evil of the Cursed God that they’d been battling for centuries, and that had nearly lead to disaster each time. “Let’s hope that it is just a one-time incident.”

They both knew that the last time had been toward the end of World War II, which had resulted in a series of bad decisions that lead to the disappearance of a number of Society agents and a Light-bearer, along with an entire town, and even now, no one in the Society was likely to forgive the council a second time if what just happen was another one-time incident.

James nodded, not wanting to think about the Darkness that had infected Joey when he took the deed from the house. ‘Given how much time he spends with Dawn,’ he thought, ‘it’s likely that the Darkness won’t grow strong enough to harm either of them, I hope.’

There was a knock on the door, which opened to reveal another Society member. “Sir, it’s time for the council meeting.”

“Thank you,” said James, giving the folder to Dr. Green as he stood up, straightened his business jacket, and then headed out the door to meet with the rest of the council about the incident, knowing that they weren’t going to be happen with his decision about not telling Dawn the truth about her being the Light-bearer. ‘Out of the frying pan and into the fire.’

Dr. Green watched him leave and then looked at the open folder in her hands, where a photo of Dawn Hatcher was looking up at her from the front page. “I hope James is right and your Light won’t be needed,” she said softly before shutting the folder and placing it on top of the others before leaving the study to return to her work in the infirmary.

*****

As James walked down the hallway that would take him to the chamber for the council meeting, he paused for a moment outside an open doorway that lead to a large room, and most of the walls were covered with portraits of fallen Society members, along with fallen Light-bearers, and fallen members of their many sub-groups.

He knew that the portrait of Shane Dawson would be added to the Remembrance room after his funeral, as per custom of the Society.

‘To die before completing his first mission and to die so young,’ James thought sadly as he resumed walking, not wanting to be late for the council meeting since he knew that if any leader was late for a council meeting, they would get chewed out by the council of elders and reassigned to a bleak post in either the far North, or some other place that wasn’t very appealing, and bring shame to their entire family in the process. ‘But it has happen before, and it will continue to happen until the evil of the Cursed God has been wiped out.’

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ONE: JOINING OF THE TRIBES

*****

In ancient times, before history was first written down, the world was overrun by dark and deadly creatures, many of which served ancient beings that had fled the destruction of their own universe to enter this one at the moment of its’ creation. The most powerful of the ancient ones was a being known as Cthulhu, or the Cursed God, and it sought to plunge the entire world into endless darkness.

*****

Humanity struggled to survive during the dark times, some figured out how to defend themselves from the dark creatures, while others would offer up other humans as sacrifices in order to protect themselves, or even become allied with the dark forces for their own personal gain.

Those who sided with the dark forces, would attack other human settlements to either make them slaves or as human sacrifices, and take over the settlements to expand their own lands. To them, this would help them grower more powerful and keep the favor of the Cursed God and the other ancient beings.

The ones who figured out how to defend themselves from the dark forces, they formed alliances with others seeking to rid their world of evil, growing stronger as a result, and then one day, they learned of a man with twelve sons, who had access to a unique source of magic, and the fighters against evil sought them out.

*****

The company of men rode through a grassy landscape toward an encampment while passing herds of sheep and the shepherds that looked after them with their sheepdogs. As they drew closer, they could see that the encampment was a series of tents of various shapes and sizes, and from the largest of them, a man stepped out.

He was tall with brown hair, dark eyes, a brown beard, and he wore a white tunic covered by a sleeveless red robe, red belt, a red turban on his head, and on his feet were brown sandals. Behind him, were four women in either red or blue clothing, which included scarfs to cover their heads, one could see that they were all dark-haired and beautiful in their own way.

The man raised a hand in greeting as the company reached the center of the encampment and came to a stop. “Greetings, and peace be unto you all,” he said with a smile and nodded his head slightly.

“As unto you as well,” said the leader of the company as he got off his horse and his men followed suit. “You are the one called Jacob? Or is it Israel? I never met someone who goes by two different names before.”

“I answer to both,” Jacob responded. “Please, let my people attend to your horses while you join my family for some food, it is noon, and there is more then enough for everyone.”

“Thank you, Jacob.”

*****

As the men dined with Jacob and his family, they came to know his two primary wives, Leah and Rachel, and the other two were Zilpah and Bilhah, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel. They also learned that Jacob had a daughter, Dinah, and twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naptali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

*****

After eating, the leader, a man named Rashi, explained to Jacob of why they had sought him and his family out.

“We’ve heard that you and your sons possess a unique magic that can keep the Darkness of the Cursed God at bay,” said Rashi. “And we’re hoping that you can tell us how you came to have such magic, and whether you can teach it to us in our fight against the Cursed God, his dark creatures, and those who serve him.”

“The gift that my sons and I have, it was given to us by the one true God,” Jacob informed them. “And as to whether it is magic, that depends on the point of view of the people who have seen us use it. If you wish to call it magic, then call it Life Magic. I don’t know if we can teach you and your men how to use it, but we can do what we to help you figure out if you can summon it.”

Rashi smiled. “Any help that you and your family can give us will be wonderful.”

Just then, one of the men that patrolled the encampment rushed into the tent. “Master Jacob! They are coming!”

Jacob sighed and looked at his sons, who were already reaching for their respective weapons, and he looked back at his guests, who were gripping their own weapons. “It looks like, my friends, that you all will see the Life Magic first hand,” he stated and accepted the bow and quiver of arrows from Rachel. “Come.”

*****

The fighters against evil followed Jacob and his sons to the edge of the encampment, where the shepherds were already busy herding the sheep into pens before fleeing to the safety of the tents, and there were more men waiting with their own weapons at the ready. In the distance, they could see that the sky, which had been a clear blue, was darkening, and that was always a bad sign since it meant the servants of the ancient ones were coming.

“Reuben, what do you see?” Jacob asked of his eldest son.

Reuben peered out toward the darkness and his eyes seemed to glow golden as he saw further then was physically possible. “Dark riders,” he reported, “and other dark creatures are with them. They’re being lead by Moldark himself.”

“The high priest of the Cursed God,” said Rashi and his men shifted uneasily. “Why is he coming here?”

“To wipe out my family and our Life Magic,” Jacob answered grimly. “Because of him, my twin brother, Esau, and his whole family were nearly wiped out, and that was when we first used the Life Magic to force the Darkness back. This magic calls upon our very life force, but with the help of the Lord, we will win this battle. My sons, to your positions!”

The fighters against evil watched as Jacob, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin formed a line with their men positioning themselves behind them, and, with a nod from Rashi, the fighters against evil did the same.

The Dark Riders drew closer and closer until they were only a short distance from the encampment, and then they stopped when their leader, Moldark, raised his hand. He was a tall thin man with pale skin, black hair, black eyes, and he wore very, very dark purple robes. He looked at what was waiting for them, and he chuckled.

“Israel, I see that you have made some new friends,” he commented. “But are they type of friends who will aide you and your foolish mission, or will they stab you in the back?”

“What do you want, Moldark?” Jacob asked, refusing to rise to the taunt in the evil man’s words. “Why risk coming here again?”

“With the same offer that I have offered before, Israel,” Moldark responded. “To join with the Ancient Ones and have ownership of the world. Why follow a single God that you never see when you can serve and rule by the sides of ones that you can see?”

“You know why, Moldark,” Jacob retorted, “and my answer is still the same. We will never join with false gods for any reason. Now leave.”

Moldark shook his head and tsked. “Shame, I had hope that you would see reason, Israel, but now I see that you are a fool, like those who have joined you.” His expression then turned dark and he raised his hand again. “Attack!”

The Dark Riders and the dark creatures surged forward, the sky darkening further, and when they were only a few feet from the front line, Jacob and his sons began glowing a golden color as their Life Magic surged into their weapons, and when they struck against their enemies, it was with explosions of golden light and the dying screams of the dark creatures and the Dark Riders.

“Forward!” Rashi shouted, and he and his fighters joined in the fray, helping push back the Darkness, and he saw Jacob strike down Moldark himself before the fight was over.

*****

News spread far and wide of the defeat of the Dark Riders and the death of the Cursed God’s high priest, and soon many were searching out the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the fighters against evil.

As time went by, it was decided that both the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the fighters would join together to form a single organization that would continue the fight against the Ancient Ones and their minions.

*****

“From this day forward,” said Jacob at the first official gathering of the united forces. “We all will be known as the Society Against Evil. United as one to fight the Darkness and the Ancient Ones. Together, we will protect our world and from those who would dare unite with that evil.” And this got cheers from those gathered.

*****

Since that day, the Society Against Evil had been fighting against the Ancient Ones and their minions, gradually taking back their world until the Ancient Ones were forced to retreat back to their own realm, saved for the Cursed God, who continued the fight until the Society found new help in the shape of the first twelve Light-bearers.

Because of the twelve Light-bearers and their descendants, even the Cursed God was forced to retreat to the realm of the Ancient Ones, and he vowed revenge on them all.

Although he fled, many of his minions remained to try and take back the world from both the Society Against Evil and the Light-bearers, and so the war continued to this very day.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TWO: THE MEETING

*****

James entered a large chamber made out of stone, where there was a large round table in the center of the chamber, surrounded by high-back wooden chairs covered with red velvet, and he seated himself in one of the chairs.

A large pale blue crystal orb that hung over the table began glowing and beams of light shot toward the remaining chairs, and transformed into men and women of various ages and skin tones, but they all were wearing business outfits of either black or grey.

`“This meeting of the council will come to order,”` said the First Elder, a white male with thinning white hair and green hazel eyes, as they all stood and made the sign to warn off the Darkness, and then resumed their seats. `“James McCoy, what say thee?”`

“The survivors of the 1920s house are on their way back to their homes and families,” James reported. “The cover story will be sent out shortly, and the victims’ bodies will be returned to their respective families as well, including that of the late Shane Dawson, whose mission was completed by the following: Joey Graceffa, Dawn Hatcher, Eva Gutowski, and Oli White.” As he said the names, their images appeared over the table. “They were the only ones to come out alive, and according to Dr. Green, they will recover physically from the experience.”

`“What of their mental and emotional states?”` the Second Elder asked, a woman with black skin, long silver hair pulled in a tight bun and piercing green eyes.

“Only time will tell of how they will recover emotionally and mentally from what they experienced,” James replied. “I need to bring to the attention of this council that a discovery was made within the dinner coat that Joey Graceffa had been wearing during the incident.”

`“And what in the dinner coat?”` the Third Elder, a Japanese man with hair that was a mixture of black/grey and brown eyes, inquired.

James summoned an image of the deed. “This is the deed to the 1920s house, which I found in the dinner coat,” he informed them, agreeing with their startled expressions. “It’s been sealed away in an iron box, but the evil that tainted it has infected Joey Graceffa, and I do not know how long it will take to grow within him or if will grow at all.”

`“This is a concerning development, McCoy,”` said the First Elder gravely. `“What of the others? Has the evil tainted them, too?”`

James shook his head. “No, at least not in any way that could harm them,” he responded. “With the amount of time that they have spent with Dawn Hatcher, any taint left from the house will be washed away by her Light.”

`“Then, we must hope that the Light-bearer will be able to purge the taint from Joey Graceffa as well,”` said the Fourth Elder, an older woman with red hair, grey eyes, and she was of Irish descent. `“As to the Light-bearer, did you tell her the truth about the Light within her?”`

“No,” James answered and waited as the expected rumbling of questions and protests from the council died down. “I know that it was the wish of the council that Dawn Hatcher be told of her heritage, about the Light, and start her training as the Light-bearer,” he continued. “But, given what she had just gone through, I thought it best to give her time to recover, to heal, and to deal with the guilt of what she and her friends had had to go through during that long night that they were in that house, fighting the evil of the Cursed God.”

The First Elder had a grim expression on his face. `“That is quite a gamble that you are taking, McCoy,”` he remarked in a grave tone. `“I know that our ancestors have been careful when it comes to the bloodlines of the Light-bearers for the past century, and yet, Dawn Hatcher is the descendant of two of the strongest Light-bearer bloodlines. She needsto be told the truth and trained for what is to come.”`

“Sir, I know that you speak of the prophecy that the Society has been keeping safe this whole time,” said James, having expected it to be brought up. “And if I will remind this council, the last time that there was such an incident, it turned out to be a one-time event, and it’s likely that this, too, will be a one-time event as well.”

`“But can you be sure of that, McCoy?”` the Fifth Elder, a Native American woman with long black hair that was turning white and dark eyes, questioned. `“There has been signs that those who serve the Cursed God are on the move, and the incident at the 1920s house is proof that the prophecy will be coming true this time.”`

James sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I know that it looks like it,” he agreed. “But we have only just retrieved the paperwork and other stuff that Arthur had had at the house, and we need time to go through it before it can be certain that this is either a one-time event or if it is connected to the prophecy. If it does turn out to be connected to the prophecy, then I will personally see to it that Dawn Hatcher is told the truth about her being the Light-bearer, and start her training. But, until that time, I ask this council to give her the time she needs to heal from the experience.”

`“Very well,”` said the First Elder. `“And what of the other three survivors? Will they need to be watched?”`

“Of the three, the one that I believe that needs to be watch will be Joey Graceffa,” James answered. “Until we can be certain that the evil taint isn’t growing within him, he will need to be monitored, and should the Darkness overwhelm him in any way, then that will be the time to move in and stop it, hopefully without killing him.”

The First Elder nodded. `“Very well,”` he agreed. `“Until such time that it is determined of whether what occurred is a one-time incident or connected to the prophecy, the Society will continued to watch over Dawn Hatcher as we have since her birth, and we will also keep watch over Joey Graceffa, too. This council meeting is over.”`

Once again they all stood, made the sign once again, and then the orb powered down so that James was left alone in the chamber. Sighing, he exited the chamber to return to the study to go over the folders and other paperwork that had been recovered from the 1920s house, and he knew that there was a lot to do in order to make sense of what had led to the incident.

‘The odds of a Light-bearer encountering the evil of the Cursed God like that,’ James thought. ‘Especially one who has no idea that she carries the Light within her, are very unlikely, and yet, Dawn encountered the evil, and she pulled through despite not knowing the truth about herself.’

Chapter Text

CHAPTER THREE: A DISTURBING DISCOVERY

*****

Returning to the study, James picked up the folder of Dawn Hatcher and sat down before opening it once again.

As he read through it, he frowned since there was information in the folder that a man like Arthur shouldn’t have access to, and his concern grew the more he read through the folder, plus he was starting to feel fear for the girl.

‘How can he know anyof this?’ he wondered since there was information in the folder that practically screamed that the girl was a Light-bearer, and that shouldn’t have been possible since any and all information about the Light-bearers was suppose to be in the possession of the Society Against Evil or of one of their many sub-societies. ‘He shouldn’t know anyof this at all. No one outside of the Society should have any knowledge of this!’

Setting the folder aside, James went through the rest of the folders, and as he did this, the puzzle pieces began falling into place.

*****

By the time James found what turned out to be the diary of the late Arthur, the image that the puzzle pieces were forming wasn’t pretty, and it was starting to look like the incident at the 1920s house wasn’t what he had expected it to be.

`“Vincent has been having more visions about some kid that the evil is trying to lure with the nightmare. Why the evil is trying to bring in someone new when I have proven that I serve it after I took out my own brother, this is troubling, but this might be the thing I need in order to take control of the evil and take possession of the house itself. I hope so, for if I can use this boy, then I can get rid of the four owners, and then I can control the evil while being the sole owner of the house.

`“I must question Vincent about the boy in the visions and find out as much as I can about him. I was right, this boy is what I need to make the evil work for me! Somehow, this boy has a unique female friend, who is more of sister to him then anything else, and this is intriguing since they come from such different backgrounds. I must do more research on the boy and his female friend, for there is something more to the girl other then her acting career, I’m sure of it.

`“I have convinced the boy, Joey Graceffa, that he is to inherit the house and he has invited the girl, Dawn Hatcher, to stay here with him. Thanks to my own research and Vincent’s visions, I now know more about Joey and Dawn then they know about themselves, especially Dawn, and the Light inside her that even she doesn’t know about.

`“The evil is scared of the Light, but I highly doubt that she’ll be able to summon it before she, Joey, and the friends that are coming in a few days have completed the little gamethat I have planned.

`“Tomorrow the guests will arrive and Vincent has been having some strange visions that even I am have troubles making sense of, and that has me a bit concerned since I had had to work hard to make sense of his visions in the first place. Of late, his visions have been of a mansion frozen in a different period of time, and that a Sorceress is living inside it.

`“Apparently, this Sorceress is waiting for the time to come when she can lure in an innocent taken by Darkness, and use this innocent to lure in souls from the future, including the keeper of the Light.

`“What is really confusing about all of this, is the innocent that this so-called Sorceress is waiting for sounds a lot like Joey, and it seems like the keeper of the Light is Dawn. I’m choosing to ignore these visions since it’s unlikely that this Sorceress will ever set eyes on either Joey or Dawn after I have taken control of the evil with their help, help that they don’t even know that they are going to give me.”`

This was the last entry in the diary and James dropped the book, feeling uneasy since there was only one Sorceress that he knew was hiding away somewhere in time, and if this was the same Sorceress, then his decision of not telling Dawn the truth about the Light and her being a Light-bearer was probably going to backfire on him if this all turned out to be true.

‘This still could be a one-time event,’ he thought, getting up to pace around the study, mulling over what he’d learned. ‘It’s still possible that what occurred at the 1920s house isn’t going to happen again, and it’s still possible that both Dawn and Joey are going to be able to heal and move on with their lives. I just hope that I’m right.’

*****

James waited until the last funeral for the victims of the 1920s house was done before he went to see Joey and Dawn, catching them at the cemetery shortly after the ending of the funeral for Benny Smith, and he wasn’t surprised that they weren’t happy to see him.

Especially since he was aware that they, Oli, and Eva being pestered by a newspaper reporter named Jermaine Whitehouse, who’d also been posting on his blog questions about the Society Against Evil, and while this was worrisome, he didn’t expect the reporter to find out the truth…hopefully.

Although he’d assured them both that he was just checking up on them, and not stalking them, he knew that the Society was keeping tabs on them both.

After talking with them both, James had given to Dawn the letter that he’d written after reading through Arthur’s diary and some research of his own, and when they both left, his driver had taken him to the new safe house that he was to stay at for the remainder of the year.

He’d been tempted to tell them the truth about what was about to happen, even though he was hoping that it wouldn’t happen, but he hadn’t, and he was hoping that this decision wouldn’t come back to haunt him come next year.

*****

James hadn’t been at the safe house very long when there was a knock on the door to the study. “Enter.”

When the door opened and Teresa Yaw, mother of the late Shane Dawson, entered, James immediately stood up and moved around the desk to greet her properly. “Teresa, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“I know that I should’ve called ahead, but with everything that’s been going on, I needed to see you about what happen to my son,” Teresa said curtly as they sat down on the couch. “James, out of all the agents you have access to, why did you send Shane into that place? And just what is so special about that Dawn Hatcher girl to merit so much attention from the Society?”

James had expected this and was ready with an answer. “Teresa, I understand why you’re asking me these things and how upset you are over Shane’s death, and the truth is that I chose him for this mission because of his friendship with both Joey Graceffa and Dawn Hatcher,” he explained. “You see, Dawn is the descendant of two of the most powerful Light-bearer bloodlines, and the Society has been watching over her ever since her birth.”

Teresa’s eyes widened. “Oh my,” she whispered. “I had no idea that she was one of the potential Light-bearers.”

“Not many do, and those that have figured it out are either Society members or are currently dead, like Arthur,” James stated. “Now, you can see why Shane was given the mission, and had he been successful, I would’ve shared this information with him, but as it is…”

“I understand,” Teresa reassured him. “As upset as I am that my son is dead, I now know why this happen, and I will do whatever is needed to make sure that Dawn remains safe. Does she know that she is the Light-bearer?”

James shook his head. “No, and the Council of Elders had wanted me to tell Dawn the truth and start her training,” he responded. “However, I convinced them that she needs time to rest and heal from what she, Joey, Oli, and Eva all went through during those three months in the 1920s house.”

“Hopefully what happen is a one-time event and won’t happen again,” Teresa agreed.

“Here’s hoping.”

The end…or is it?

*****

I have so many, so many regrets.

So many lies, so many broken ties.

I wish for my old life.

Wish I could fix my strike.

Cause no one truly escapes the night.

Oh, won't you help me escape the night.

Oh baby help me escape the night.

Escape the night.