For some supernatural reason, the Terror curse never affected the brides who were coaxed into marrying such unmanly men. Sure, staying close to them had induced terror into them, but a pure bloodline had its unique benefits.
"Third time's the charm?" Mrs. Lilly Terror suggested, elbowing Mr. Terror.
"You get some girl," chuckled her mother-in-law. "Ain't gonna help, but you go get some."
"People on the bench always have such good ideas," Lilly snapped at Tsuna. "Too bad they never get picked to play."
Mrs. Lilly Terror—the long-suffering glue of the family—had once been a woman of dreams, ambitions, and patience. Still, years of marriage to Mr. Terror and raising two Terror children had drained her emotional bank dry. She was one of the few scammed into prolonging the Terror lineage, deluded enough to think she could drive the "terror" out of a Terror's.
Unlike the rest of the family, she didn't scream when scared; she gritted her teeth and muttered prayers under her breath. Her face is naturally pretty, though her tired eyes and constant exasperation age her beyond her years. She wears simple blouses and jeans, the type of casual wear suited for someone who always expects to be yanked into some ridiculous situation at a moment's notice. Though she sighs more than she speaks and rolls her eyes more than she smiles, her family is her priority, no matter how much of a lost cause they might seem to others.
Glue might eventually lose its grip under constant stress, but she has yet to show signs of giving up.
She wielded sarcasm like a sword, ending most arguments with a one-liner and walking away victorious. Despite everything, she refuses to abandon hope that maybe—just maybe—one of them will grow a backbone, get Junior to stop embarrassing them, and keep Metelda from walking off and abandoning them altogether.
Her mother-in-law, on the other hand, is an old woman with an attitude sharp enough to cut through steel. She is short but fierce, and with a crooked back that still somehow radiates an air of dominance. Despite being frail in body, she's the loudest in the family, capable of out-screaming even the ghosts haunting them.
She only became part of this stupid family by losing a silly bet with her girlfriend, which she never fails to remind her husband of, and now that he's no longer among us, she dangles the same sword over her son and grandson.
Wrinkled but lively, her mischievous eyes are always glinting with amusement, as if she's constantly laughing at an inside joke no one else gets. Her silver hair is usually tied back in a loose bun, but strands always escape, making her look delightfully unkempt. She wears bright floral dresses and clunky orthopedic shoes, an odd contrast to the chaos she regularly encourages.
Unlike her son, who crumbles under pressure, Tsuna thrives in it. She's the type to sass a serial killer mid-murder attempt and somehow live to tell the tale. She has a love-hate relationship with fear, finding joy in the idea that she's too old for the supernatural to bother killing her, so she openly mocks ghosts when no one else dares to.
Though she doesn't have the physical energy to run anymore, her mind is as sharp as ever, and she has no qualms about meddling in her family's affairs purely for entertainment. She is, in essence, a wild card: sometimes helpful, sometimes chaotic, but never predictable.
Since Metelda joined the family tree, the supernatural had taken a backseat, and once she left for boarding school, they came back stronger than ever, ready to dish out some punishment with incurred interest.
The Terror family's timidity led them to invest in safe stocks and in stocks forced upon them. They did lose a lot to scammers, but since then, the police have used them as bait to catch many more, recovering their lost funds through their role as bait, while also gaining widespread recognition—a myth among the scammer community.
Scared to reinvest or remove their funds from people who didn't realize they existed as shareholders, the Terrors accumulated quite the wealth. And since Metelda took over their finances, their wealth has only grown exponentially. Being scared kept them in cheap, one-bedroom flats, close to a company whose presence, even if unhelpful, was much appreciated.
"Check the halls," whispered Mr. Terror.
Mrs. Terror, Lilly, signaled Tsuna, who checked the motel's security cameras for anything unnatural.
Of course, they didn't mind paying the motel to tap into their feed, but suspicion made them illegally wiretap every location they visited.
"Nothing on our illegal feed," Tsuna said, giggling.
Tsuna's hearty laugh made her fake dentures slip out and hit the keyboard. The camera feed switched to another channel as she focused on recapturing her slippery teeth rather than the approaching shadow.
"Clear!" sighed Lilly, slowly cracking the main door open. "I am going to look outside," she told herself and her husband repeatedly. "Have to... got to... look—look!" She held her breath and swung the door open.
Junior stood outside, about to knock, expecting nothing to happen until he knocked, while Lilly expected a clear hall. Finding each other without expectation jerked both of them away from each other, as they screamed at the top of their lungs.
Lilly's scream startled Mr. Terror, and his first instinct was to surpass Lilly's pitch. His scream drove Tsuna into a frenzy of screams. Watching his mother scream from a different direction, Terror screamed even harder, which forced Lilly to scream louder, and Junior to match their combined screams.
Metelda shoved Junior off the balcony and into the swimming pool below. She retrieved a crumpled paper already present in her pocket, shoved it into Lilly's mouth, and glared at Mr. Terror to shut him up.
She had a bit more compassion for her grandma, considering her senile state, so she shut the door on her, allowing her to scream herself into exhaustion.
The sealant on the door and two cotton swabs in her ears reduced the sound enough for Metelda to stay indifferent. "When will you be out of my life?" she asked in a dull, low tone.
"You mean the timidness, right?" Dad reached out to hold Metelda from behind, but she kept moving away. "Right... right?" He turned with tears to Lilly. "Right?"
"She meant grow old and then be gone, dear," Lilly said, patting him on the back. "Remember, the doctor told us to be positive."
"A psychiatrist isn't a doctor," Metelda mouthed, sinking into the sofa.
"From not a real doctor, to not a doctor at all. Yikes," Junior said, blowing bubbles.
"Why are you soapy?" Lilly asked.
Junior removed two sachets of liquid soap from his pockets. "My little sister must have thought I stink."
"I had those in my pocket yesterday," Dad cried onto Lilly's shoulder.
"Well, it wouldn't kill you both to shower now and then." She rolled her eyes.
Lilly's comment forced Terror to snarl and relocate onto the sofa. "Now I know where she gets it from," he said, wailing.
He tried to reach around Metelda for a bear-hug, but she had already predicted his move and shifted herself, making sure her feet met dear old dad's soaking face.
"Pre-rinse!" she called it.
"One can only wish," Lilly chuckled before turning serious. "Why are you two back from school so early?"
"Got kicked out," Junior tried to slip in, wanting to let them know and to blame them later for never listening.
"Again!" both parents exclaimed; one more muffled than the other.
"What happened this time?" Dad rolled upright on the sofa, his mustache twitching with anticipation.
Junior looked at Metelda, who waved away the question, not wanting to waste energy by explaining. "In short... I wet my pants, it became a big issue, but I swear I saw more of that ghost haunting us."
"How much more?" Lilly asked, hugging Mr. Terror tight to keep him still.
"First the head covered in hair... then a foot..."
Terror tapped out. "Can't breathe," he gasped for air. "And why are you describing it so low?" he yelled at Junior. "Spit it out in one go, dude!"
"I do, then you folks ask for specifics during the night. I prefer the sun as my protector when I am—"
"—Naked!" Metelda intruded.
"No!"
"Wet?" Lilly asked.
"NO!"
"Sorry, didn't see any other side of ya'..." Metelda chuckled into the sofa.
Mr. and Mrs. Terror held back a chuckle, concentrating on the story.
"Anywho! The ghost scared me when I was doing my business—" Junior mumbled.
"Like always!" Metelda added.
"That is a bit weird," Dad nodded.
"Seriously?" exclaimed Junior.
"I think so, too," Lilly said, raising a hand.
"So do I, Mr. Terror pee-boy," Tsuna said, finally coming out of Metelda's room.
She flipped Metelda onto the floor and took her place on the sofa. "We've moved way too many times. I am too old to keep this up."
Metelda stayed on the floor; the effort required to get back up seemed too much of a hassle, while she had to redirect her energy toward retorts. "Slow birds get left behind the flock." She took a jab at Tsuna while simultaneously reminding others that they didn't have much choice in the matter.
Junior chuckled. "Burn! Also, she is right," he said, straightening up. "School gave us notice." He looked around for the paper and found it all slimy.
"She used 'that' to shut me up?" Lilly clicked her lips, the taste of paper and ink still fresh in her mouth. "And I think I am weirdly starting to like paper!"
Metelda shrugged on the floor, her face still implanted into the carpet as she mumbled, "One stone, entire flock."
Lilly turned her fury on Mr. Terror. "This is your fault," she said, waving a finger between him and Metelda.
"Hey! It takes two to rumble," Terror winked.
"And one to get us kicked around," Tsuna frowned at Junior.
"Ewh!" Lilly cringed away from Mr. Terror. "Ewh!" She held back a frown, stopping her son from hugging her with a single finger to his forehead.
"It wasn't me this time," Junior threw his hands up in defeat. "I was forced into making a mess..." He glared at everyone beforehand, making them shut up. "...Even the school was supportive as they know our history."
"Then?" Tsuna asks.
"They kicked us out because someone wouldn't give a flying rat's ass to any of their questions or concerns."
They turned as one, glaring at Metelda.
"She stood like a statue and somehow broke everyone's patience, kindness, and whatever it was that kept us here!"
"That's..."
"New!" Tsuna completed Lilly's thought.
"Yet..."
"Makes a lot of fucking sense!" Tsuna completed Mr. Terror's thought.
"Now what?" they asked each other, none the wiser.
———<>||<>——— End of Chapter Forty-Five. ———<>||<>———