{Narrator's POV}

The men circled around the sandy brunette and subtly reached for their guns, spooked and unnerved as well. The horrific laughter that boomed and echoed through the quiet house had sent all of them into high alert... Except for Gabriel.

Much to the monochrome clown's surprise, the young man remained calm.

"I know who you are!", the brunette standing in the center spoke out confidently, "And I know what you are... My father knew it too", he said. Gabriel turned his head and looked over the men to find the demonic creature standing in the corner.

The men followed his gaze and confusingly stared in the same direction as him, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Jack chuckled and slowly stepped out of the shadows, his claw rubbing against the wall and emitting a high-pitched squeal—much to the men's horror.

"Haha... Just like Charlie, always so... Persistent..", Jack muttered under his breath as the light revealed his monstrous form. Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the clown as if he couldn't understand what he was saying. "Why did you..? My father's name was Charles!", he said angrily as he took a step forward.

Jack's grin widened even farther as he gazed at the sandy brunette and pointed out several similarities of him and his father in his head. The psychotic clown took note that Gabriel and Stan shared many of the same qualities... But only one interested him the most... Their share of cowardice.

"Oh little Gabby, I apologize if I offended you! Didn't mean to be rude! It just slipped... Your father was one of my closest 'companions' after all", Jack cooed at the young man as he trembled where he stood. Jack chuckled and looked over the men dressed in black, "We also did enjoy our games of Cat and Mouse. He brought his friends along too actually... Sadly, they were never enough against mine..", Jack trailed off as his dark eyes suddenly turned to the top of the stairs.

Gabriel hesitantly followed his gaze and was stunned to find the scene before him.

The men, fearful and perplexed about their surroundings, decided to once again look in the direction their boss was staring at...and much to Jack amusement, they saw what little the clown permitted them to—a horde of undead children.

Gabriel gawked at the children standing at the top of the stairs and watched in horror as organs spilled from their small mutilated bodies. Blood pooled around them and trickled down the stairs. 

With their fragile bodies cut open and plagued with fresh wounds, the children merely gazed impassively at the men and Gabriel.

Gabriel's eyes scanned over all the children and he recoiled from his staring once he made eye contact with them...

Their eyes.

The poor young man didn't even think those eyes were real. Possibly mere orbs of pitch darkness and sorrow, nothing of innocence or compassion.

"Alright children, let's play a 'fair' game of hide and seek!!", Jack exclaimed as he smirked at the men, "They can hide... And we'll seek!!", he beamed as the men fidgeted in their spots.

Gabriel quickly grasped the intensity of the situation and swiftly pushed past the men. He held a note in the air and stubbornly escaped the protective circle.

"It's for you!", the young man surmised as he gripped the note. Jack rolled his eyes and stretched out his arm to an abnormally long distance, and picked the note out of Gabriel's hand.

The brunette's eyes widened as he noticed the unnatural phenomenon, while Jack merely shrugged it off as if it were nothing special.

"What is this?", Jack furrowed his eyebrows and tightened his grip on the paper as he scanned it over. Anger and pure confusion surged through him and his once jolly attitude was replaced with hatred.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!!", he exploded as his arm extended again from where he stood and snatched Gabriel off the ground by his throat. The men stumbled backwards and stared in awe as their boss 'hovered' in the air spontaneously.

Pulling out their guns once they saw fresh blood spilling from Gabriel's neck, the men started shooting blindly at the air.

Jack suddenly lost his composure and felt his claws twitching simultaneously with his anger. He jerked his head and turned toward the undead children with a dark expression, "KILL THEM ALL!!", he bellowed. The children didn't hesitate to follow his orders and jumped over the railing.

Gabriel eye's widened in horror as he watched the children race after them, "Shoot at them you idiots!!", he blurted as they froze on the spot.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows and glared daggers at the sandy brunette as he watched him hide behind his guards. "Leave the one in the middle to me, he deserves my full attention", Jack remarked as his menacing eyes peered at the gory scene happening before him.

The children took his orders seriously and slaughtered all the men surrounding Gabriel. Without weapons or strength to eliminate them, the kids merely sunk their teeth into the guards and ripped their flesh to pieces. Blood and guts flew everywhere and left (Y/N)'s living room reeking with the smell of death.

Gabriel gawked at the corpses littering the floor and trembled in utter fear as he gazed down at this body. He was completely covered in his bodyguards' blood and bits of their flesh clung to his clothes.

A soft chuckle echoed through the living room and caused the sandy brunette to tense up.

"'Round and round the cobbler's bench, the monkey chased the weasel...", Jack grinned evilly and stalked his way toward the man. Gabriel knitted his eyebrows and began to fumble through his pockets as the monochrome clown gazed at him in lunacy.

"The monkey thought t'was all in fun...", as the climax slowly arrived, Jack curled his claws and smiled sinisterly as he focused on his prey.

"Pop! Goes the—"

"WAIT!!"

The madness in Jack's eye faded and he frowned confusingly at the young man. Gabriel showed the bright screen of his phone and let the psychotic clown gaze at whatever he was showing him.

The clown's eyes widened and his urging hunger for bloodlust dissipated as (Y/N)'s form appeared on the screen. She seemed troubled and worried about something as she paced back and forth inside the white room. Her beautiful features soothed the monochrome clown and calmed down his agitation to kill Gabriel.

"Where is she?"

"I can't tell you that... You'll kill me and go after her anyway."

"Yes, but I'll kill you if you don't tell me."

"I can take you to her instead."

"I don't trust you."

"Then she dies."

Jack clenched his jaw and glowered at the sandy brunette. He held absolutely no faith or trust for the young man and doubted everything he said...but if he was telling the truth then the only person he cared about would end up dead because of him. With a malicious snarl, Jack walked ahead of him and crossed his arms, "Alright", he remarked angrily.

Gabriel's fear and tension soon faded from his body and he quickly smirked at the clown's cooperation. Jack noticed his sudden mood change and scowled at him as he walked towards the door.

"Come on kiddies, the fun's not over yet~!", Jack jibed as the small children cocked their heads in unison. They looked amongst themselves and shrugged their shoulders before walking obediently towards their master.

Jack grinned from ear to ear as he saw their blood-drenched bodies and emotionless dark orbs. A sense of pride flowed through him to see his old playmates taking an interest in his 'hobby'.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow and quickly sped out of the children's way as they passed them. He gawked at the monochrome clown in confusion. Jack returned the gesture with a smile clouded with amusement and mischief, "Did you honestly think I would come alone? My, my, as idiotic as your dead father I see", he mused.

The sandy brunette glared at the clown, "Aren't you concerned about me revealing your identity? Is it such a good idea to bring zombie kids along too?", he retorted.

Jack gazed back at the screen and glimpsed at the woman's soft eyes and gentle features, "I don't give a damn, all I need is her", he muttered to himself as (Y/N)'s frame brought a sense of happiness and relief toward Jack.

Gabriel knitted his eyebrows, "But she isn't like you. She's human, has a family that cares about her, and a normal life... How can she have all of that if she gets thrown into a jail for conspiring with you?", he questioned the monochrome clown harshly.

Jack's eyes widened and he sudden felt remorse well up inside of him. All this time, Jack had never given much thought to how he was affecting (Y/N).

When it came to his victims, Jack never cared about their lives. He merely befriended and killed them afterwards, but before ridding himself of the witnesses, such as parents or other siblings... But as Jack thought back on the times he's spent with the woman, the moments when he watched her smile, the occasions when they would enjoy each other's company...it made his heart race.

A feeling of warmth and love flowed through the dark clown and filled his heart with regret...painful regret.

"What should I do?"

Gabriel gazed at the monochrome clown and scanned over his expression to see if he was serious. A devilish smirk crept onto his face and he beamed at Jack.

"I have a few suggestion."