Chapter 13: Fractured Words

The mansion was eerily silent as TSOTI walked through the hallways, his footsteps echoing off the old wooden floors. He had been trying to keep his thoughts in check, but the pressure of the situation was wearing on him. Emmy had been slipping further away with every passing hour, and it was eating at him. Every time he saw her with Tango, every time he saw her pull farther into his web, TSOTI felt his control slipping, and he couldn't stand it.

He found her alone in a small, dimly lit room near the back of the mansion. The walls were lined with ancient portraits, their eyes seeming to follow him as he stepped in. Emmy was sitting in front of an old vanity mirror, twirling a lock of her purple-highlighted hair between her fingers. Her gaze was distant, unfocused, as though her thoughts were far away.

"Emmy," TSOTI began, his voice quieter than he intended, though there was a hard edge to it. "We need to talk."

Emmy didn't look up at him immediately, but there was a slight change in her posture, a subtle shift that told TSOTI she'd heard him. She gave a soft hum, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. "About what?"

"About Tango," TSOTI said, his frustration bleeding into his words. He took a step closer, crossing his arms as he watched her. "This... whatever this is, it isn't healthy. He's using you, Emmy. You've got to see that."

Emmy finally turned to face him, and her eyes flickered with something—was it defensiveness? It made TSOTI's chest tighten. She looked at him like he was a stranger. A stranger who didn't understand.

"You don't get it, TSOTI," she said softly, but there was a sharpness behind her tone. "Tango and I—he cares about me. You wouldn't understand, you never will."

TSOTI's heart sank, but his frustration was quick to rise again, anger boiling beneath the surface. "No, Emmy. You're not seeing this clearly. He's manipulating you. He's a ghost, for God's sake! And you're just falling for it. Falling for him, like he's some—" He cut himself off, his words heavier than he meant.

Emmy flinched at his harshness, her face twisting with a mix of confusion and hurt. "I'm not falling for anything. He loves me. He understands me, TSOTI. You're the one who doesn't get it." Her voice cracked, and she stood up, backing away slightly, her shoulders slumping. "You don't know anything about him. You don't know anything about me."

The words hit TSOTI like a punch to the gut. But instead of taking a step back, instead of letting the moment breathe, the anger within him snapped. "I'm trying to help you, Emmy. I care about you. And I won't stand by and watch you let some manipulative ghost ruin you."

Emmy's eyes flashed with hurt, then with something deeper—something darker. She turned away from him, her back rigid, her voice trembling. "Then why are you always treating me like I'm wrong? Like I'm some kind of fool for caring about him?"

TSOTI opened his mouth, but no words came out at first. He stood there, seething in frustration, but the words were like knives on his tongue. His heart raced, his breath quickened. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to drive her further away from them.

And yet, that's exactly what he had done.

Emmy's shoulders shook as she let out a shaky breath, her face streaked with the first signs of tears. "I don't need your help, TSOTI. I don't need any of you to tell me what's right for me. Maybe Tango's the only one who really gets it." With that, she turned and stormed out of the room, her footsteps loud and heavy as she fled from him.

TSOTI stood there in the silence, the weight of the moment crashing down on him. His chest ached, the pit in his stomach growing with each passing second. He had just lost her. He could feel it. She was slipping further and further into Tango's grasp, and now it felt like there was no way to stop it.

"God, what have I done?" TSOTI muttered to himself, running a hand through his messy hair, his breath shaky. He felt a lump form in his throat as guilt and anger twisted together inside him. "I just pushed her further away..."

The sound of the door opening behind him made him flinch, and he turned to find Violet standing in the doorway, her face concerned but soft. She stepped inside slowly, her eyes full of understanding.

"You didn't mean to," Violet said gently, her voice a soft balm to his raw emotions. "But you've got to understand—this isn't about logic. It's about Emmy."

TSOTI let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "You think I don't know that? I just... I just want her back, Violet. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Violet walked up to him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "You've got to be patient. You can't fix it with anger. We all know that. She's under Tango's spell right now, and it's not going to be easy to get her out of it. But we're in this together, TSOTI. You don't have to do this alone."

Before TSOTI could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Shade appeared at the door, Leefy right behind her. Both of them stopped, seeing the wreckage of the moment. Shade's eyes softened as she took in the situation.

"Emmy's gone, isn't she?" Shade asked quietly, her voice heavy with understanding. "I... I tried, but we all knew this could happen. Tango's pull on her is strong."

Leefy stepped closer, their eyes gentle but full of sympathy. "You didn't do this, TSOTI," they said softly, their voice calm and reassuring. "You care too much. That's the problem. You just want to help her, and sometimes that... that clouds the way we act. But you're not alone. We've all got each other."

TSOTI's chest tightened again, and this time he let out a long, shaky breath, finally allowing himself to feel the weight of it all. "I messed up," he muttered, his voice cracking slightly. "I didn't mean to push her further away."

Violet gave him a small, sympathetic smile and squeezed his arm. "We'll fix this," she said softly. "We'll figure it out. Together."

Shade, always the anchor in moments like these, stepped forward, her voice firm but warm. "We'll get through this. And we'll get Emmy back. We just need to keep trying."

TSOTI nodded, his throat tight as he tried to swallow the weight of his guilt. "I don't want to lose her," he whispered.

"You won't," Violet said quietly, brushing a strand of his hair back from his forehead. "We'll make sure of it." With that, Violet gave TSOTI a small kiss on the lips, and he smiled. Even in all the chaos, he really was so lucky have her.

And for a brief moment, as the four of them stood together in the silence of the mansion, TSOTI allowed himself to believe it. That maybe, just maybe, they could still save Emmy—and keep the darkness of Tango from swallowing them all whole.