{1} Tempest {Sweet Pea}

XXIV

"I can't believe that he published it, that article about us." Sweet Pea was saying to Storm as he paced quickly all around the garage.

"If you're gonna get angry and need a target, not the face." Storm said as she sat on the couch with a open root beer in hand and he chuckled quickly.

"He shouldn't have published that article, and I'm done." Sweet Pea says, dropping down onto the couch next to her, and grabbing the root beer bottle.

"Hey!" Storm says indignantly but he had already taken a sip of it and she'd smack him on the shoulder before she went to get her own, again.

"Pool?" She asked and he grabbed the offered cue stick from her hands, just a second before pounding knocks was heard on her door.

Sweet Pea looked at her and she shakes her head, as she grabbed for the baseball bat that was on the couch that she didn't sleep on.

Sweet Pea held his switchblade in one hand, as the pounding knock continue to sound through the soundproofed of sorts garage.

Storm nodded and she opened the door to the garage, causing Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Thomas Topaz, to all fall into a heap on her mat.

She lowered the bat and Sweet Pea lowered the switchblade and the cue stick that he still had in his other hand and Storm looks at the small Serpent pile of people, the bedraggled heap.

"Oh sure, come on in everybody at once." She says and they all stood up with grunts, and Storm shakes hands with Thomas once again, and nodded to Toni and Fangs, who were both also now there.

"Okay now I ask you all, to what do I owe this honor of having literally all, of you guys in my garage at this very, rather awkwardly timed moment?"

She asked.

"What, were you guys having a makeout session?" Fangs asked and Storm slams her hand into the table hard.

"Fogarty, you seem to think that you're being funny. Let me enlighten you. This is my property, this is even my room, my house if you would. I'd rather have all of you in here then my own family. Got it Fanys? So, I'd watch your tone of voice Fogarty or you may not be invited back." Storm says and a blank look was on Fogarty's face, after that.

"And it was a game of pool, in case anyone else was wondering." Sweet Pea finished the intended answer to the question from Fangs, as he plops himself down onto the couch again.

"So, to what do I owe this honor?" She asks again, and they all looked at each other as they began to talk, to explain, everything that they had planned.

The next day on Picken's day, Storm walked with the Serpents as they all were carrying signs and had duct tape on their mouths.

Storm felt the looks of fury and betrayal from every side, as the other Northsiders saw her walking among a crowd of Southside Serpents, who had been the enemies of the Northside, for a long time.

They all walked through the crowd, together, in some cases even pushing through the crowd, to get to the front of the crowds of people, who were all here to celebrate Pickens Day, the day of a murder who massacred children, women, and the Uktena.

"Toni? Jughead? Storm? What the hell is going on?" Veronica asked as Toni is one of the only ones without duct tape on her mouth.

Toni pulled out a megaphone as they all stood tall and silent, in front of the crowd to let Toni speak, and already a lot of people were murmuring about a Northside girl amongst the Serpents.

"We're here representing the dead and the silenced. Pickens Day is a big lie. General Pickens slaughtered the Uktena tribe, my grandfather's family, and this land, the land that we are all standing on, the land that it will soon give way to the new Southside, was stolen from them. And we can't bring them back. But we can and we must honor them."

Toni says into the megaphone, just before Hiram Lodge jumped behind them onto the stage.

"Hey, folks, hi. Uh... I think we can all be proud to live in a Riverdale, where young people stand up for justice."

"In where, a young woman can be counted on to defend the honor and legacy of her grandfather. And where we can celebrate the living legacy of the Uktena, who contribute to the rich tapestry that is Riverdale, that is their Southside, and that will be SoDale. So let's hear a round of applause for that, am I right?"

Hiram asked the crowd loudly and then as after a few seconds, everyone was clapping now, and everyone pulls off the tape and walked away.