“Mom?” Sunset asked tentatively as she pushed open the door to her den, “Mom? Sonata? You guys okay in here?”

Sonata looked up, squinting from the light. She was awake, while Adagio was napping against her, “Yes… Mommy just fell asleep a while ago.”

“Okay… we heated up the pizza she brought and made some cinnamon buns,” Sunset whispered, “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know… She hasn’t said anything for… a while,” Sonata murmured, stroking Adagio’s hair, “She stopped crying before going to sleep…”

Sunset looked down sadly at Adagio, sighing as she came in and knelt down beside them, stroking Adagio’s hair along with her, “The poor thing…”

“I’m glad I could be there for Mommy… But I feel so terrible… she should be yelling at me and grounding me, kinda. Not… not like this…” Sonata whimpered.

“I’m sure she will once she’s recovered,” Sunset said, stroking Adagio’s cheek, “You really hit her where it hurts. Like when Twilight killed Ascentia’s spider.”

“I-I know…” Sonata whimpered, stroking Adagio’s hair gently, “I just hope she doesn’t spank me… That won’t work because I’ll enjoy it. But I won’t say anything if she slaps me… I deserve whatever punishment she gives me.”

“...I don’t think she’ll be that hard on you,” Sunset sighed, “She still loves you, Sonata.”

“I know… I’d feel the same way if it were reversed,” Sonata murmured.

Sunset reached over and stroked Sonata’s hair, “...I’m not going to pretend that what you did wasn’t… horrible. But… like Adagio said about Ascentia. Let her punish you.”

“I-I will…” Sonata nodded, “I’ll take whatever she punishes me with.”

“Alright… wake her up, we have supper ready,” Sunset smiled as she stood back up.

Sonata nodded, “Okay,” she leaned down, kissing Adagio’s forehead, gently gripping her shoulder, “Mommy? Mommy, wake up… supper’s ready if you’re hungry…”

Adagio weakly opened her eyes, still reddened from her crying, and gingerly lifted herself up, “Sona? What… what happened?”

“You fell asleep,” Sonata murmured, getting up from the couch, “Sunny wanted me to tell you supper was ready.”

“Oh… right I… brought Pizza…” Adagio sniffled as new tears started to well up in her eyes.

“Yeah, they warmed it up. ...Are you hungry? Do you want to go eat?” Sonata asked, reaching a hand toward her.

Adagio was about to refuse, when her stomach roared out in protest, “...Yeah… Mommy’s hungry…” she said quietly as she took Sonata’s hand and pulled herself up.

Squeezing her hand, Sonata led her out of the room and to the kitchen table, where Aria and Sunset were setting it up. The two looked up, giving relieved smiles at the two.

“Hey, Ma. Come have a seat,” Aria pulled out Adagio’s usual chair for her.

“Thanks…” Adagio said quietly, sniffling as she sat down in the chair.

Sunset placed a slice of pizza on a plate in front of her, along with a glass of water, “Here you go. Enjoy it, Mom. Let us know if you need anything else, okay?”

“Thank you, Sunny,” Adagio said quietly as she propped herself up on her elbow and slowly munched on her pizza.

The four of them all sat around in silence as they ate, aside from the occasional “Pass the salt” or whatever. Aria and Sunset exchanged worried gazes, Adagio didn’t really look at anyone, and Sonata had her head hanging miserably. It wasn’t uncommon for family dinners to be quiet, as they happened every so often. But tonight, it was a whole new level of awkward.

“Ari… could… could you help me… clean up the… pieces later?” Adagio asked quietly, not looking at her.

“Sure, Ma, I’ll help you out,” Aria nodded.

“Thank you…”  Adagio said, taking another bite of her Pizza, “...Sunny… can you manage the club for a few days?”

Sunset smiled in understanding and nodded, “Of course I can. I’ll take care of everything as long as you need me to.”

“Thank you,” Adagio whispered, taking another bite.

Aria looked over toward Sonata, who was still eating her pizza without looking up, “Sonata, can you do the dishes once we’re done and clean up?”

Sonata nodded, but didn’t respond.

Sunset winced at the discomfort around the table, but continued eating. Shifting a little closer to Aria just so she didn’t feel like she was stood out in the wind, she reached under the table and took ahold of her fingers, squeezing them gently.

“So, uh…” Sunset spoke up, hoping to make conversation, “I uh… have a funny story to tell about what happened in the club earlier today… if anyone wants to hear.”

Sonata was the first to look up, “What happened…?”

“One of the patrons was kind of tipsy, and she got onto the stage with the strippers. Everyone was staring at her, and our dancers were wondering what was going on. Just as I was going to get security to get her off the stage… she grabs the microphone, and starts reciting some jokes from classic comedians!” Sunset explained, giggling slightly.

Aria glanced over, “She just broke out into stand up comedy right on the stage?”

“Oh yeah, it took everyone by surprise,” Sunset nodded, “It was especially funny how she did it just so casually. Like it was an everyday thing. No build up, no questions, she just took the mic and said, ‘So what’s the deal with airline food?’ and just goes from there. Everyone was laughing after a little bit, though. I don’t know if it was because of the jokes, her delivery of them, or just the absurdity of what happened.”

Aria stifled a chuckle behind her fist and squeezed Sunset’s fingers more tightly, “Oh my god… did you get her name?”

“I’m trying to remember… I’ll let you know if I do,” Sunset said thoughtfully.

Sonata gave a little giggle, “That’s funny. Wish I could’ve seen that…”

“Me too…” Adagio said quietly, her eyes to the table.

“I bet some of the patrons had video of it,” Sunset said, “I’ll look around YouTube and see if it’s up there.”

“Thanks…” Adagio looked up, giving Sunset a weak smile.

“No problem,” Sunset smiled too, “She was cute, too.”

“Aww…” Adagio whispered, looking back down to her plate and taking another bite of her pizza.

“How about you, Aria? Anything to share?” Sunset asked.

Aria paused, then shrugged, “Well, I was on a campaign in World of Warcraft with Twilight… It wasn’t for long, but we did get up about… I don’t know, three or four levels.”

Sunset chuckled, “I still don’t know why you play that game.”

“I’ve played it for years, it’s fun,” Aria shrugged, “Well, when my mother wasn’t home, rather.”

“Wouldn’t even let you play video games?” Sunset asked.

“Unfortunately,” Aria pouted, “She said they were a waste of time and rotted your brain out. The only way I could play was when I’d either go to Sonata’s house, or I’d save up my allowance money to get one of those crappy handheld games and hid them.”

“Ugh, Tiger electronic games? Those things were awful…” Sunset winced, “All that beeping, couldn’t hide those worth shit.”

“I had a couple of those, too. They were sucky…” Sonata chimed in, wincing too.

“Urgh, no kidding,” Aria made a face, “They were better than nothing, but boy I couldn’t stand them.”

“Forget 8-bit or 16-bit. These were quarter-bit,” Sunset groaned.

Aria gagged, “My cousins had the wristwatch games, and another cousin had that console Tiger made.”

“Ugh, how were they allowed to stay in business?!” Sunset gagged.

“I’d rather play with the old Mac paint program than those…” Sonata agreed, shaking her head.

“At least with that I could draw boobs on everything,” Sunset scoffed.

This made Aria gape, while Sonata softly giggled.

“You perv,” Aria teased.

“I tried that once with Etch A Sketch…” Sonata confessed, “They always came out square.”

“I swear, those people who could draw perfect breasts on an Etch-A-Sketch…” Sunset sighed.

Aria whistled, “I kept trying to draw a gun on it, never worked out.”

“Prude,” Sunset and Sonata both said at the same time.

This made Aria pout and then stick her tongue out at them, “Well excuse me. When you lived in a house where sex was required like going to school had been; where you had to lie back and make out your grocery list, you don’t exactly have that much inspiration.”

“...Are we talking about sex being an obligation, or so common it becomes mundane?” Sunset asked, “...Because I could get into the second one.”

“Sadly, the former,” Aria rolled her eyes, “You know how there were times when women enjoying sex were considered whores? Mother had that mentality. She saw it as only a purpose for reproduction and anyone who did it for pleasure were idiots.”

“Yeah… I’d prefer the latter,” Sunset giggled.

“Me too,” Aria agreed, “One time, I called Mother, and recorded all of us having sex on the answering machine. No names, just moaning. She left an angry message on my voicemail… So worth it.”

“Oh my god, what did it say?” Sunset laughed as she almost spat out her drink.

“I still have it on my phone, here, I’ll play it,” Aria pulled out her phone, accessed her voicemail, and turned up the volume.

“You wretched girl! How dare you leave such a horrible message! You should know better than to engage in frivolous sex! It is no wonder I have disowned you! Should you ever do this again, there will be consequences! You’re an absolute shame to this family! Screw all of you!”

Aria rolled her eyes and pocketed her phone, “Gotta say, first time in years she spoke out of the monotone.”

“Dayum… did you ever find out what those consequences were?” Sunset asked.

“Calling her lawyer and whining to him,” Aria snorted.

“Oh no! The horror!” Sunset laughed.

“I… I remember one time… I was at Aria’s house, and her mother was talking to her lawyer on the phone. She was complaining about a kid who left his banana peel on her front lawn. She wanted to sue the kid’s parents…” Sonata said.

“Jesus christ,” Sunset scoffed as the phone started to ring, “Let the machine get it.”

“Sounds good to me, not in the mood to answer,” Aria agreed, drinking down her water.

The four of them all ate as the machine clicked in, and the last voice they could ever want to hear came through the answering machine’s speaker.

“Aria, this your mother speaking…” The message began.

“Aw, fuck…” Aria groaned.

“We were having a good supper, why’s she gotta ruin it?” Sunset asked.

“I know you must be there, Aria. You pick up the phone at once. But of course you won’t, will you? You’re still fornicating with that foolish degenerate of a friend and your pedophile girlfriend. What she has done to you is warrant for serious punishment. Then again, it is only fitting that she remain barren and childless. It is no less than she deserves. Cradle robbers such as herself are absolute unfit parents and deserve every miscarriage and stillbirth coming to them. Especially her.”

The was a click afterward. All four of them stared at the answering machine for a solid ten seconds.

“...Did she just say…” Aria said quietly.

“...I think she did…” Sunset said, her jaw agape.

“That…. FUCKING BITCH!!!” Sonata screeched, shooting up from the table, clutching at the edge tightly, “How DARE SHE! She can go sit on a cactus, swallow a tire iron, and go jump off a fucking cliff! Or better yet, yank out her uterus, stomp on it, and make her EAT IT!”

“My god! What a foul excuse for a human being,” Sunset said, looking at the answering machine in disgust.

“She can say whatever the hell she wants about me, I don’t care anymore! But she does not have ANY RIGHT to speak about my girlfriends like that! Especially about Ma’s condition!” Aria snarled, “That is it! I’m issuing a restraining order on that woman and cutting the apron strings!”

“Can’t we just take a leaf out of Asy’s book?” Sunset suggested with a snarl.

“As awesome as that would be, we can’t just-”

“I am knifing that BITCH!” Sonata went and retrieved a kitchen knife. A large one.

“Sonata, put the knife down,” Aria scoffed.

“Oh, I’ll put it down. IN HER CHEST!” Sonata said, squeezing the handle.

“Sonata, if you’re trying to be threatening, it’s not working. You just look silly,” Sunset said dryly with a sigh, “And I was just kidding.”

Shaking, Sonata dropped the knife, then collapsed to her knees, beginning to cry, “I just… want it to stop… Mommy didn’t do anything wrong… She doesn’t deserve this bullshit…”

“No, she doesn’t,” Aria said softly, “But freaking out like this isn’t going to help anyone.”

“Let’s go with your idea, then. We’ll issue a restraining order and prevent her from ever calling again,” Sunset said.

“Absolutely,” Aria nodded, picking up her phone and looking for the number for her lawyer, “If she contacts us again, she can rot in prison… lousy bitch.”

“Oh, how dare you make me rot in prison, Aria. Only scumbag daughters do that. You are absolutely stupid and insolent…” Sunset said in a stiff monotone voice, “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go sit on that cactus over there. I have to maintain my uptight persona, after all.”

“Maybe letting Sonata shank her isn’t such a bad idea…” Aria muttered.

Sonata crawled back over toward the table, getting back into her chair, “Like I’d be able to…”

“The both of you, stop talking like that…” came Adagio’s voice from where she sat.

Sunset looked at her in surprise, “Huh?”

“You heard me. Don’t talk like that,” Adagio said, her voice hoarse and shallow, but nonetheless firm.

“Sorry, Ma…”

“Sorry, Mommy…”

“Sorry, Mom…”

“Thank you…” Adagio said, looking back down at her empty plate, “Aria… could Mommy have more pizza?”

Aria placed the phone down, nodding as she went to the kitchen counter with her plate. She placed another slice of pizza onto it, replacing it at Adagio’s spot, “Here you go, Ma.”

“Thank you, sweetheart…” Adagio smiled weakly as she took another bite.

“It really is great pizza…” Aria remarked, sitting back down in her seat, “Don’t think we’ve tried this one before.”

“Mm-hmm, it’s better than the place I used to work at,” Sunset said.

“It’s a small place out on the highway,” Adagio muttered, “Doesn’t see a lot of business…”

“Awww… it’s so good,” Sunset pouted a little.

“Thanks…” Adagio said quietly.

“They just got more business from us, at least,” Aria finished her latest slice, “Mmm… I’m done.”

“Me too,” Sunset nibbled on the crust of her piece.

Sonata pushed her half-eaten slice away from herself on the plate, shaking her head.

“I’m glad you girls liked it,” Adagio said quietly.

“One of us sure doesn’t seem to,” Aria said dryly, “Sonata, eat your food.”

“I lost my appetite,” Sonata muttered, “It’s good, I just don’t want it now.”

“Why not?” Sunset rolled her eyes.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Sonata, what’s wrong?” Aria asked, looking down at her.

“Everything…” Sonata whimpered, choking up.

“Sona?” Adagio said, looking up, “...C’mon, talk to us.”

This made Sonata wince, to which she sniffled and squirmed, “I hate seeing you so sad, Mommy… It hurts… And it’s even worse because it’s my fault… And there’s nothing I can do to fix it…” She whimpered, tears running down her face.

Adagio looked at Sonata, then to Aria and Sunset. Pushing her chair back, she stood up and slowly made her way to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. This made Sonata begin to cry, burying her face in her hands. She then stood up, walking aimlessly around the room. Sunset and Aria tensed, making sure she wasn’t going to the bathroom. Instead, Sonata went to the corner of the living room, curled up in the fetal position, and cried into her knees.

Sunset looked to Aria, “...Which one do you want?”

“I’ll go talk to Sonata, you talk to Ma,” Aria said, getting up.

Sunset got up and went to Adagio’s bedroom, pushing the door open, “...Mom? Are you okay in here?”

“...Come in, Sunny…” Adagio whispered from her bed.

Sunset did so, closing the door behind her, “Are… Are you okay?”

Adagio sniffled and shook her head, “...No… I’m not…”

Going over and sitting on the bed, Sunset gently touched her shoulder, “Did… what she say upset you?”

“It isn’t what she said…” Adagio whimpered, “It’s what she did…”

“What do you mean?” Sunset blinked.

“I told her not to go in there…” Adagio whispered, on the verge of crying again, “...Why didn’t she listen to me?”

Sunset sighed softly, squeezing her shoulder, “According to Aria, she said she wanted to… talk to her brother. I do that sometimes with my father, after he died. Sure, I know he doesn’t answer back, but… it makes me feel better. I guess she was trying to do that… Still, she shouldn’t have gone in there, much less touched the urn. I’m so sorry…”

“Those ashes were all I had left of my son…” Adagio cried softly, “...And now they’re gone…”

“I know…” Sunset sniffled, stroking her hair, “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through…”

Adagio’s crying broke down into the same shivering sobs she’d had when she first discovered what had happened to Timbre’s urn. Sunset sniffled, laying down behind her and spooning her, nuzzling her hair in comfort.

Back in the living room, Aria knelt down next to Sonata’s quivering form. She wasn’t sure what to say or where to begin, all she could do was place her hand on her shoulder.

“G-Go… Go ahead… yell at me… call me a moron… and an irresponsible bint…” Sonata  whimpered amidst her sobs, “I’m a despicable human being…”

“Well I can’t now, you just did it for me,” Aria frowned. While she knew she should probably be comforting Sonata, she quite frankly didn’t want to. She’d warned her not to go into Adagio’s den in the first place, and now it was taking all of her self control not to shout ‘I told you so!’

“I know, you told me so,” was all Sonata could say, sniffling, “I shouldn’t have gone in there. I shouldn’t touched his urn. I shouldn’t have tried running away. I’m an idiot who doesn’t listen to anyone, I don’t have any consideration for other property, and I’m scum. Pure scum. I made Mommy lose her baby all over again,” she sighed, then squirmed away from her touch, “Now go see Mommy. She needs you more than I do. Just go…”

“Well I drew the short straw so it looks like I’m stuck with you,” Aria frowned, sitting down on the sofa.

Looking hurt, Sonata looked away, “You don’t have to be here. I know you don’t want to. I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here.”

“And so am I. Last time I left you alone you took off,” Aria frowned.

“Fine, but I’m not talking to you,” Sonata sniffled, looking away, “I have nothing else to say.”

“Good, just behave yourself,” Aria said, quietly adding “for once.”

Sonata heard it, but said nothing about it. She continued staring blankly at the nearest wall, feeling numb all over again. As hurt as she felt, she knew she deserved every bit of it. She sighed, wiping her eyes and squeezing her knees tighter. All she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die. Burden. All she could think of was how much of a burden she now became.

‘Burden… You’re just a little burden,’ Sonata thought, shaking a bit and sniffling.

Aria shifted in her seat and glanced toward the door, where she could hear Adagio sobbing from inside, wincing as she looked away and tried to focus on anything else.

‘I moved here to be taken care of, not take care of people,’ she thought to herself.

Hearing Adagio’s sobbing, Sonata whimpered and began to cry all over again.

‘I wanted to make Mommy happy after what she’s done for me… and all I’m doing is making her miserable...’

Aria stood up and made her way to the kitchen to fix herself some coffee, sighing as she tried to block out the sound of Adagio’s sobbing. For a few moments, Sonata remained where she was, nearly falling onto her side. Feeling a sense of thirst, surprisingly, she stood up. Slowly she went to the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out a juice box. She stared at it, remembering how Adagio bought them special for her. How they’d reminded her of her elementary school days, with her favourite juice boxes during lunchtime. She whimpered, putting the box back in the fridge and instead taking a water bottle.

Returning to her spot, she drank some down, leaning against the wall as the sounds of Adagio’s crying hit her ears. She wanted to block out the sounds, as they were the most painful sounds she’d ever heard. Yet, she wouldn’t do it. She had to listen. She had to.

Inside, Adagio had turned over and had buried her face into Sunset’s neck, sobbing uncontrollably as she shook in Sunset’s arms. Holding her tightly, Sunset stroked her hair, occasionally whispering to her soothingly. All while trying not to cry herself.

“I’m sorry, Mom…” Sunset whispered, sniffling, “I’m sorry…”

Adagio only sobbed harder, squeezing tightly to Sunset’s shoulders as her eyes were blurred with tears. It became too much as Sunset began to cry as well, only quietly so that Adagio wouldn’t know. She couldn’t let her know it, not when she needed strength and comfort. Sunset shook with despair, both for Adagio’s sorrow and especially in how things had become damaged between them all. At least in some regard.

Sunset took a deep breath, nuzzling her hair. She would not let that happen any further.

“We’ll get you through this, Mom… We’ll do everything we can,” Sunset whispered, “We’ll get you through this…”

Adagio shivered and clung tighter, “No we won’t…”

“...What?” Sunset uttered, “Mom, what do you mean?”

“Sona wants to leave… Aria’s so angry… we’re falling apart…” Adagio sobbed, clinging tighter to Sunset’s shoulders.

Sunset sniffled, and squeezed her, “I know… I know we’re all really down about what happened. But it’s going to be okay. We’re not falling apart. We’re just having a tough time due to unfortunate circumstances. I’ll make sure Sonata doesn’t leave anyone’s sight and I’ll calm Aria down. I don’t care what I have to do, but I am not letting this family fall apart. We came this far… I’m not letting this tear us apart.”

“...Do you promise?” Adagio asked, shivering softly.

“I do promise,” Sunset nuzzled her, “We are not letting one accident, no matter how emotionally devastating, tear us apart. We’re going to get through this. Of course it won’t happen overnight, but we will.”

“...Thank you…” Next Chapter: Tried, Tested, And True Goodness Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 3 Minutes