Chapter Text
"I still don't understand, auntie. Why did she left all of her stuff for me?" asked Gregory for like, the thousandth time. "Didn't she have any relatives?"
"Greg, we already went through this" sighed Veronica. "She did not have a good relationship with her kids, her parents are unknown and all of her lovers went missing. She loved you as her own, Greg. That's why."
"Yeah, loved me like all of those other kids..." he mumbled sarcastically.
"Watch your tone, young man. We don't talk about that."
"Anyways, where is aunt Hortencia? I'm bored!" whined Gregory. The woman sighed loudly.
Veronica and Gregory were waiting in the atrium of the Pizzaplex for an hour now. The boy's other "aunt" was late. She was never late before. They were starting to worry.
The woman sighed again, her light brown eyes scanning the atrium yet again. That was when she saw her.
Hortencia O'Leary was running to them at full speed, while tying her long ginger hair into a rushed ponytail.
"I'm so sorry! There were these customers who just couldn't understand that we don't sell Spiderman figures, and-"
"Don't worry, you're forgiven. Now, come on! We need to get there before it starts to rain."
Hortencia was nodding repeatedly while trying to catch her breath. Veronica couldn't stay mad at her for long. She also worked as a cashier at the gift shop before she got the opportunity to be a technician at the arcade instead. She knew how tiring and annoying Hori's job can get.
Suddenly, Gregory ran up to the redhead and tackled her in a hug.
"Finally, auntie. Let's go!"
While on their way to the car, Gregory ran a bit further from the two women. This allowed them to speak about things that may not have been suitable for the little boy to hear.
"I- I still can't believe what Renee did" mumbled Veronica. "I should have seen it coming, I-I... Should've made her get help or quit being a night guard and beta tester, I-"
"It's not your fault. Nobody's fault. At least... Not any living being's." Hortencia shuddered. The image of that grinning rabbit still haunted her dreams. Its voice still telling her to obey and kill.
Just as Renee, she became a beta tester, too, but was smart enough to quit after the first red flags. Her friend on the other hand, whom she considered as a younger sister, was a little bit of a daredevil. She ignored, no, taunted the creepy bunny, and kept playing. Until it was too late. She fell for his mind manipulation. The rest was history. She got that horrifying rabbit costume, started killing kids, sometimes even by her own free will. Then Gregory, who had already been living in the Plex for a month by then, found out, and stopped her from doing anymore damage.
The cops, along with psychiatrisches interviewed Rene. Only a couple of sentences were needed for the diagnosis: She had schizophrenia. The woman was sent to a mental institution right away.
And after two months, came the sad news: Renee died in an illness. Her will only contained three people. Gregory, Veronica and Hortencia. The two women and the little boy got her house, but, as Renee specified in her will, its attic was only Gregory's. Saying that it had some interesting stuff that a kid his age would like.
Gregory and his adopted aunts choose this late afternoon to visit the place. However, judging by the darkness of the clouds and the faint sounds coming from lightning strikes, they may have to stay overnight.
They finally got to the house. Opening the door, they stepped into a rather messy-looking living room. Clothes and pieces of paper on the floor everywhere, books in the most unexpected places (one of them was thrown on the top of the flatscreen tv). And the whole place smelled awful.
"Jeez. I know Renee was a messy person, but this..." Veronica breathed, voice shaking. Then, she turned to Gregory."Okay. How 'bout auntie Horti and I clean up the place? Meanwhile, you can go and check out that attic."
"Sounds good" Gregory shrugged.
Veronica stayed behind to start cleaning immediately, while Hortencia and the little boy went to find the entrance of the attic. They did not have to go far. They found a trapdoor at the end of the first hall they've entered.
"Go, Greg. Have fun!" his adopted aunt turned back and returned to Veronica.
He closed the trapdoor after he got up. He did not wanted to be disturbed.
Meanwhile, it started raining and the sky darkened.
Gregory took his time looking through all the stuff. There were plastic fruits with and old bowl and a plastic oven. He also found a creepy red doll. Around the attic, there were three clocks, several shelves filled with either books, pots full of dirt or something random. There also were a lot of cardboard boxes. He found a small, old TV on the top of a table as well, which seemed to be missing its pause button. And it must be too old to work, right?
However, the most interesting he found was a photo and a note addressed to him.
He grabbed the picture first. It had his three adopted aunts in costumes. It must have been Halloween. Auntie Hortencia was dressed as a ghost, Veronica as a vampire. And there was Renee. She had a more creative costume on. She was dressed as a famous creepypasta, Kate the Chaser. Everything's handmade. Gregory heard that she managed to scare auntie Horti so much she almost became a real ghost. That incident became an inside joke, and Renee gained a new nickname: Kate.
Gregory, while exploring not long ago, found a picture that showed how she looked without makeup, and cosplay. She had blonde hair that reached a bit below her shoulder, fair skin and chocolate brown eyes. And she had that stupid, but super comfy red pullover on.
The boy sighed. Even if she was insane and a threat to everyone, he still missed her.
Then, Gregory looked at the note. It said:
"To: Gregory
Watch the tapes, then destroy them all. Help her. Help him. Help all of them. Experience all five fates.
Auntie Renee"
The handwriting was a mess. She must have been in a rush writing it. But what did she mean by this? Help her, him, all of them? How could watching some tapes and then destroying them help anyone? And what did she mean by 'all five fates'?
Gregory put the note down, then looked around. The old TV was turned on. What the hell? Wasn't it too old to be working?
Next to it, there was a tape. Oddly enough, Gregory did not notice it lying on the table when he first looked around.
He grabbed it. It was labeled 'Amanda the Adventurer: In the Kitchen'
Gregory chuckled. "It sounds like a Dora the Explorer rip-off. Alrighty, let's watch it."
He put the tape into the player. It started playing immediately.
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The pictures of the Aunties
Hortencia O'Leary:
Veronica Probatio:
Renee "Kate" Ventura:
Yep, originally, they were my sims. All of them participating in the 100 Baby Challenge.