House of Chaos ~FemaleOC x Joy Mercer~ (Seasons 1-3)

House of Reunion/House of Memories

"Max, listen-" Fabian started as he entered their room later that evening, but he froze when he saw her packing. "What are you doing!?"

"Going home." Max snapped. "I've had it with all of this. I'll find my brother on my own."

"B-But what about the quest!?" Fabian questioned in disbelief. "What about Sibuna!?"

Max scowled. "Sibuna will be fine without me Fabian, I haven't done anything so far, why change that now?"

Fabian grabbed her arm to make her look at him, he looked desperate. "Max, please, Nina has quit Sibuna as well, but if you two give up then everything will remain a mystery forever!"

"Why is that bad!?" Max exclaimed. "Maybe we should've left it alone! Maybe our involvement is what's causing problems!"

Fabian's grip tightened. "Max I'm begging here, just stop and think for a moment. Sarah chose you and Nina for a reason, and if we give up now and left Victor and the others do as they please...everything is for nothing. Joy and Rufus will remain missing, Victor and the other teachers will achieve eternal life, and who knows what else that'll cost to get, Alfie will have been put in the hospital for nothing and your brother might never be found again for all we know!"

At this, Max's resolve weakened slightly, and she winced. "William..." She muttered softly.

Fabian gripped both of her shoulders tightly, looking her in her eyes. "Max, please. You saw the locket; I think it's connected to your ring somehow. If you give up, the quest is over for good, and if that happens then everything is done for. I don't know a lot about Rufus, but I know he's your uncle and you care about him, and I did know Joy...and Joy is worth saving." His grip tightened even more as he began to tremble. "Please...help us."

Max hesitated greatly, looking back and forth between her suitcase and Fabian. She chewed on her lip as she tried to make a decision.

And then she thought about her brother, her brother who would tell her to never give up.

Taking a deep breath, Max spoke softly. "Do...Do you really think there's still a chance? That...That we can do this?"

Fabian grinned. "It's the only thing I'm still sure of."

At this, Max began to smile. "...Thanks Fabian."

~~~

"Amber read my lips, I'm going to the hospital." Patricia snapped. They were in Amber and Nina's room. Trudy was allowing Jerome and one other person to go visit Alfie, and the two were arguing over who should go.

Fabian huffed. "Guys, focus. The place where yesterday always follows tomorrow..."

At the repeat of the clue, Max looked at Nina who was reading a magazine. She yanked the magazine away from her. "Hey!" She snapped.

Max scowled. "Stop it. You're in this too as much as I am, if you really want to make it up to Alfie, then don't throw away all we've worked for. If you quit now, it's all for nothing, right?"

"But if we keep going, we risk hurting others!" Nina snapped. "We've done enough damage; I've done enough damage! Why do you even care? You're the one who quit first!"

Max frowned, and sat down on the bed next to her. "I've never...really had to think about other people before. Before you guys, I didn't have anyone but my brother, and after he disappeared...I could only rely on myself. Sometimes it makes me...really stubborn." The others looked at her. "But this isn't just about me Nina, it's about Joy, Rufus, the teachers, the police, Sarah, this whole mystery. It's up to us to solve it."

Her frown began to turn into a smile as she glanced at Fabian. "Sometimes there's just things in life that you can't do by yourself." Fabian returned the grin.