#okay this got way too long | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

phoenixcatch7 · 7 months

Text

Kintsukuroi

'What if I put a clock pendulum in my torso' was the sort of question Bruce had come to expect when visiting Oracle.

"Pendulums are dependant on a stable base," he replied, because the last time he'd assumed they were being unserious Tim had tried to fit a chemistry test lab in his mouth and accidentally leaked the fumes through his mask.

"It'd be so aesthetic though," said Barbara, not looking up from the dozen screens she was surrounded by. "Listen. It would look so cool - Spoiler, robbery on fifth and main - Especially if I put a clock face over my heart."

"I thought you were trying to fit a super computer in it?"

"I was, but progress is slow. It's hard to fit it and enough padding to protect it plus leave enough room for ventilation. If I add the pendulum I might at least get inspiration." She gave a heavy sigh and pushed away from the desk, gliding in her chair to where her doll body was resting on a table, the glue separating the two halves of the smashed torso still glistening. Bruce followed, peering over her at the many scanners and wires hooked into it, flashing and beeping.

"Any luck?" he asked, and they both knew he wasn't talking about the computer anymore.

"Nothing."

He squeezed her shoulder, and she leant into it. They stayed there for a long moment.

"I just don't understand!" Barbara finally burst out, hands clenching on her chair arms. "I glued nearly every single piece back together! I made sure every splinter I could find went exactly where it should! I know the contract is still there. She's worked with more missing pieces before. But she's just not responding!"

"It's not you," Bruce soothed. "You've more than enough determination and strength to puppet, and we know the human body's state doesn't affect performance."

"That's the thing!" Barbara threw her hands up angrily, nearly smacking Bruce in the face. There was a chatter over comms, and both reached for their own. "One second," she said tightly, and wheeled back into the glow of the monitors. "Copy. BW, you're nearest? Thanks. Try and avoid the sniper this time. Wing, backup is in five."

She muted again and spun around, pinning Bruce with a heavy stare. "Is there anything, anything you can think of? We've - nothing I've tried has worked."

"Well...." He trailed off, one hand coming up to rub at the chin of his mask - a quiet night meant the opportunity to forgo the practical but muffling gas mask for his favoured plain black.

It was far from the first time a doll had been horrifically damaged. The incident with Bane came to mind - Batman had been in a very similar condition, body shorn clean in two and tossed to opposite corners. It was an awful memory, but the expression on Bane and the audience's faces as his bloodless body fell apart like a rotting tree trunk and then kept moving was a silver lining he'd always treasure.

But he'd been repaired and back on his feet in weeks, if bearing the incandescent fury of the doll for several more. It had been months for Barbara, and still nothing was happening.

"There's something we're missing, and I doubt it's on your side."

"I know THAT-"

"Listen," he demanded, and her jaw clicked shut mutinously. "There's something we're not seeing. Batgirl is in no shape to demand it herself, it seems. So its inaction is something we can't fully rely on."

"You've got the most experience with the dolls of all of us. Can you.. I don't know, sense anything?"

"Nothing more than the usual, with the Patriarch Doll, but we might get more if we return to the doll house -"

"No." Barbara interrupted again, but Bruce did not take offence. "She's not going anywhere. She doesn't want to head back to the cave."

Oh?

"She doesn't want to, or she doesn't care to?"

"I say she doesn't."

Interesting. This was likely a case of the doll exerting its will. The bats were well versed in avoiding the few lines their wooden bodies drew in the sand, treating them with the wary respect one would give a favorite blade or a highly trained attack dog. They could work together, share the highs and lows of life with them, but never get complacent. The dolls were forever a foreign, inhuman presence, and as with all wild creatures they would never be so arrogant as to assume full understanding. For Barbara to so strongly decide for the doll meant she was most likely not the only one deciding.

Which meant the solution would not be found in the cave.

"Perhaps there are upgrades she wishes to have?"

Oracle paused.

"Maybe," she conceded. "But there's practically a limitless amount of things I could do, and I wouldn't know where to start. And I could more easily do them when she's up and walking."

Not that then. If the doll wanted something to change but not receive upgrades or heal, than what?

... Not heal.

Batman hurried to the table. Oracle watched him with hawk eyes, but another call on the comms turned her away with a final warning glance.

Recovering every single splinter from a damaged wooden object and perfectly reattaching it was nigh impossible on a good day, never mind in the dead of night with a moving target. The dolls always returned to the cave to regenerate scratches and nicks they couldn't buff out, or accepted plaster to transmute with whatever supernatural power guided them.

The batgirl on the table, divested of all covering and armour, was still as chipped and scuffed as the day nightwing recovered last splinter.

The pieces fell into place.

"She doesn't want to be perfectly rebuilt," he realised. "She doesn't want the damage to disappear as it normally does... She wants it to remain visible. A different type of repair, then."

Oracle spun in her wheelchair to face him.

"Why?" she asked, something sharp in her eyes. Bruce chose his next words carefully.

"Perhaps she thinks such damage doesn't need to be hidden away," he said, slowly, and didn't comment when she turned away. Though she put on a strong face, and the doctors had recently released her full time, it would be a long time until the young hero was able to truly heal her mind.

"She doesn't need to do that for me. She's just causing me trouble."

"I don't think she is," he tried. "Dolls tend to reflect their puppeteer even after they accept us. You can't deny your trajectory has been changed."

They both sent a significant look to the enormous super computer taking up the wall.

"You've said you almost feel better able to protect Gotham now, with your reach and skills. Do you really feel that way?"

"I - I don't -" her mouth worked silently, and Bruce waited. "I mean I guess... But a part of me always assumed it'd be temporary, you know? Once I fixed batgirl.. It'd all return to normal." Her voice wobbled, and Bruce didn't hesitate to crouch before her, wrapping her in a long armed hug. She buried herself in his chest, regardless of the chilled metal.

"It's okay if you don't," he whispered into her hair, and held her as she shook. "I'm just throwing ideas around."

"I do though," she rasped. "I think I do feel that way. There's so much that can't be solved by violence, and it feels good to be out there but... I think I can help even more people, this way."

"That's good," he praised, "that's good. You can do whatever you set your mind to."

"You stole that from a parenting book verbatim."

"It's applicable to the current situation."

"Fine," she sighed, and pushed him away to roughly scrub at her eyes. "I'll give the doll another chance. Find some glitter glue or something, I don't know."

"Any materials you need will be provided," he promised. "I wouldn't recommend glitter glue or our usual tar."

He moved to pat her on the hair as the emotions of the moment faded, making sure to keep his unsheathed claws out of her hair.

"Once you fix her, though, I would recommend you puppet the doll during night hours still," he told her. "It wouldn't be good to put your body through twenty hour days."

"I've got a good system set up for now, but thank, B-man."

The computer dinged with another alert, and oracle spun to squint at it with a muffled curse, typing furiously. Batman escaped to the other side of the room, where the folders he'd originally come looking for lay. She waved, distracted, as he left, and although the doll could not smile, he could feel it on his face all the same.

@puppetmaster13u I summon thee dear mutual ^^

#I don't know which of us came up with the kintsukuroi idea but it worked brilliantly #Unexpected discussion of clinging to the idea of normality as something that can be returned to despite thinking you're okay with your #Life altering chronic condition diagnosis 🫠#Off screen nightwing is just not having a good time #I'm still testing out my characterisation of b but I'm pretty happy with him. Good dad b but also pre/no Ethiopia so he's healthier as it i #Oh btw the dolls don't have gender being inanimate the bats are anthropomorphising them #In the same way sailors call their boats she or my mum decided the roomba is a he #Some world building! I stuffed a lot in lol #I like the idea of the bats having different masks. Like the gas mask is for arkham breakouts or gas villains or ivy so it's the famous one #But they also use plain cloth masks or ceramic ones or decorative ones when the occasion calls. They've got scuba ones too #long post #batman #world building #worldbuilding #bruce wayne #possessed doll au #haunted doll #cryptid batman #cryptid batfam #batman au #dc oracle #barbara gordon #batgirl #I'm trying to keep the dolls as mindless but watchful as possible #Like they don't have opinions or ideas or anything. You could do literally whatever you wanted as long as you follow The Rules #I don't think the bats really know about the contracts. I think b has inferred something. But it's more trial and error #One idea I had is that the dolls are powered by the life force of past users mutated into... Whatever tf from all the curses.#So by entering the contract you lose a significant chunk of your ability to enter the afterlife.#Yes this would only be noticed by the jl going to the future and trying to find the souls of everyone or smth for whatever reason #And the bats don't have much of anything. Leading to the further impression that they aren't remotely human

173 notes · View notes

jasmines-library · 1 year

Text

Cry, Little Sister.

- - - - -☽───⛧ ༺♰༻ ⛧───☾ - - - -

“Drink it. Be one of us.”

———————————————————————

Summary: You’d lived in Santa Carla all your life and it was boring. That was until you and your brothers discovered that there might be vampires about. When an attempt to kill the lost boys goes awry, and you end up becoming a vampire yourself, things become very messy when you join your brothers -who are vampire hunters- in a second attempt to rid your town of killers where you sacrifice your secret to save your friends, your brothers are not forgiving.

Warnings: Near death experience, blood, violence, killing, vampires, staking.

Word Count: 6.1k

Note: It’s finally here! This was a result of my poll that I posted a few weeks back, I’m sorry it’s taken a while. This is a lot longer that I planned but overall I’m pretty proud of it. Apologies if there are any major mistakes, or the formatting is off, it i was doing this on my phone and it was playing up. I redid it a few times but by that point it was 1am and I couldn’t be asked. Please let me know. I hope you enjoy.

Santa Carla was odd. You’d lived there all your life and yet you still couldn’t shake the weirdness that clung to your skin as you roamed the streets or the strange smell that lingered in the humid summer air. The boardwalk was busy during the day, but it was Santa Carla’s night life that really captured your interest. Everywhere became filled with colourful lights and interesting people and the sound of engines revving that ricocheted down alleyways. They were all unique characters and they appeared to be around your age. They were spritely and even in the few times you’ve encountered them there never seemed to be a dull moment. You never seemed to see them anywhere other than the boardwalk; that was unless you were looking for them intentionally. You’d spoken to them a few times, you’d occasionally bump into them on your break, though not much was ever exchanged between you. It was a rare occasion for them to come into your store. It made sense though, you didn’t think that comic books would potentially interest someone of their physique, but nevertheless here they were, running their fingers across the rows of coloured paper. As they moved, others seemed to slink away; there was an unsaid air around these boys. Your brothers thought they were vampires. You could see their harsh gazes from the other side of the store: firm and unforgiving. They were both in their mid-teens and wore a constant expression of fatigue on their face; a result of staying up too late brainstorming stupid ideas to take the vampires down. You and your brothers spent a long time researching and planning. You knew there had to be an explanation to the hundreds of missing posters plastered on every nook and cranny of the boardwalk. It was fun, sure, but you seeked something else. Your body itched for something different. A release. You knew it wasn’t a waste of time though. Vampires were tricky, they struck when they wanted and when you least expect it. They’re difficult to survive, but not impossible. You just have to be smarter than them. As they crept around the store, you found your hand edging its way towards the vial of holy water you kept tucked in between your belt. One of them, who had wild blond hair and looked almost like Twisted Sister, chucked a handful of 25c comics into the counter. He leaned forwards onto the splintering wood with a grin on his face. As he pulled out a handful of coins and tossed them next to his comics, his friends sauntered over. They were all tall, wild and their eyes twinkled mischievously. You slipped the change into the register and began to package the handful of comics when Twisted Sister had begun to lose interest, and took to wrestling with another blonde who wore a bold patchwork jacket. One of them glanced at the others before taking a long drag from his cigarette. This one wasn’t as tall as some of the others. His hair was bleached to the point it was almost white and it was cut so that his mullet rested just above his shoulders and clung to his neck.

“So. What’s your name doll?” His voice was husky and something about it compelled you to answer.

“Y/N.”

“Y/N.” He drawled, rolling your name around his mouth. “Hm.”

“You gonna tell me yours or…?”

“David.” He breathed, taking another drag. “That’s Paul. Marko. Dwayne.” He gestured to the other three. At the mention of his name, Paul rushed over and scooped up his comics, winking at you. Your fingers traced the rim of the holy water. It was cool to the touch and you could feel the individual rivets of the plastic lid as you circled it. Your hand slid back into your pocket.

“You free tonight?” David asked suddenly, cocking his head. He paused for a minute as though he was trying to find the right words. Or make up the right lie. “I only ask because we were thinking of having a little fun by the boardwalk. You look bored.”

Edgar and Alan edged closer, weaving between the boxes of comics, craning their heads to listen in. You smirked. “I get off at 10.”

“Perfect.” David said smugly. “We’ll see you at 10.” With that, the four of them turned and left, Paul swinging the plastic bag beside him. People scattered away to form a path out of the shop. The whole store seemed to sigh in relief once they were out of sight. It didn’t take long for your brothers to approach with volatile looks set firmly upon their faces.

“What the hell Y/N?!” Edgar slammed his palms on the counter, causing the wood to rattle on its uncertain frame. His face was set in a hard stare, his eyes bore into yours, covered slightly by a loose bunch of hair that spilled over the top of his bandana. “You’re not only conversing with the enemy now, but you’re partying with them too?”

A smile crept onto your face and you shook your head, pulling loose the clear vial and placing it in front of him. “Think smarter. Not harder, little brother. You doubt me too much.”

~~~

By the time you’d finished your shift, and you had managed to convince your brothers to go home, the crowds had died down slightly, though you could still feel the heavy rhythm of the bass that shook the ground coming from the concert on the boardwalk and the screams of thrillseekers on the roller coasters. The smell of food lingered in the air and the soft hues of cracking fires danced around the beach. You found the boys gathered around a fire just besides the pier. Rock music blared from the stereo half buried in the sand as you arrived. Paul and Marko were prancing around, banging their heads to the fast pace of the music, kicking sand around as they went, sometimes aiming it at each other if they felt spiteful. David stood, brooding in the corner, obscured by the light, he seemed deep in concentration. His blue eyes darkened when he saw you approaching. It was Dwayne who welcomed you, moving over from his perch on a log to make space from you. Marko slid in beside you, snatching a joint from Paul before offering it around. You took a drag and passed it on.

“So. Y/N.” Dwayne said. “How long have you been in Santa Carla?”

Someone's arm snaked around your waist, the leather was cool, but the hand that came from it was icy cold and caused your skin to prick up. “I’ve lived here all my life.” You told him simply.

“Uh-huh. And uh,” he furrowed his brow, turning to face you, “how long have you been hunting Vampires?”

Your heart dropped into your stomach. Marko removed his arm from behind you and pulled out the vial of holy water. “You really think this is gonna stop us?” He pouted mockingly before unscrewing the lid, tipping out the contents into the sand and throwing the bottle back at you with an unexpected force. It landed harshly in your lap. You scrambled back, reaching for the small pocket knife your brothers insisted you keep on you. It wouldn’t do much but maybe delay them for a couple of seconds. Your hands patted around aimlessly for it in your pocket, frantically searching for it until David dangled it in front of your face. Trying to turn and run, your body collided with Dwayne’s chest.

“Leaving so soon?” Looking up, you were met with his golden eyes and bared fangs. He gripped you by the arms tightly, whipping you round and pulling you close to him so you couldn’t move. You struggled pointlessly in his grasp, trying to get away from the wild faces that mocked you. David traced the knife along your jawline.

“Such a pity.”

“You’re such a babe Y/N. It’s a shame you’ll go to waste.” Paul said, circling round you, studying you closely. “I bet you would have fit right in.”

“It’s a shame you stuck with your brothers.” Marko said. “You would have made a powerful ally.”

Something in your mind clicked, and it was almost as though the world had suddenly become clear, as though this was the obvious answer to everything. “So make me.”

You shifted the bottle between the palms of your clammy hands. It felt foreign, yet so right at the same time. The jewels glistened in the light of the fire, distracting you from the crimson liquid that sloshed around inside. David's eyes bore into yours, it made your skin crawl and your body shift uncomfortably. You could feel the other three pairs of eyes on you, soaking in the anticipation of your next move.

“Drink it.” David urged. “Be one of us.”

You twisted the cork from the top of the bottle and watched as the people around you perked up at the smell of it. You placed the cold glass to your lips and without a second thought, took a swig from the bottle.

“Bravo!” David cheered, pulling the bottle away from your lips and taking a sip of it for himself. There was something about that moment that made you feel whole. The thrill you had been wanting, this was it. Your face lit up with a wild grin and Paul slung his arm around your shoulder.

“Welcome to the club.”

It was a strange feeling. The world seemed different, sharper like someone had begun to focus a camera. The rest of the night went by in a blur, you remember partying and music, but not much else besides that. You don’t know how, but soon you were wiped out in your bed.

~~~

“Get up.”

The sun that pierced through the window caused your head to throb and your eyes to burn as you struggled to adjust to it. Alan stood over your bed, a pillow raised in his hands as Edgar tugged open your curtains letting the remainder of the light flood into the room. You groaned and covered your eyes with your arm as the headache increased tenfold.

“Jesus, Y/N.” Alan complained as you sat up slowly. “What the hell were you doing last night?”

“Hmm?” you asked groggily. The light was messing with your head.

“Did you get them?” Edgar asked, rather excitedly.

“No.” You shook your head, fumbling towards your bathroom. Your brothers were close behind. “Give me time. I’ll get to know them.” You stood in the doorway to the bathroom, leaning against the frame. Edgar narrowed his eyes at you and watched you closely. “Can I go?”

His gaze lingered for a moment, but he grunted and turned away tugging his older brother with him. When you closed the bathroom door, turning the lock behind you, you splashed your face with water from the sink. It was cool against your skin and trailed off in little droplets. When you peered up at your face in the mirror, it was paler than usual as though it were winter and not the scolding summer Santa Carla was currently facing. Besides a slight paleness in your skin, you looked fine, though your head was pounding like a constant, droning beat of a drum. You squinted, trying to remember last night's events. Something about it made your skin crawl. You had this gut feeling that something wasn’t going to end well, that someone was going to get hurt. You swallowed thickly. Your brothers were safe. You could protect them if the time came. If you failed.

It took a while, but when you finally left the shelter of your house, the sun had long gone past its peak point in the sky and was dipping below the horizon. How long had you been asleep? It was Saturday, the peak of the summer and so the boardwalk was crammed. The shop was busy and the small fan at the back of the store did nothing against the sweltering heat. Your eyes kept dancing around the room in search of wild blond hair, or the sheen of leather but to your avail, they only glazed across mops of mousy hair and beach wear. One person did catch your eye however. He was young, perhaps your brothers’ age and was browsing the superman comics. His face was soft and adorned with freckles. It was his clothes however that struck you the most. They were sheek and brightly coloured, with odd patterns. Clearly not from around here. You watched as your brothers approached him closely, trying to engage him in conversation. Outside, a group had gathered, pushing and shoving each other wildly. Emerging from behind the desk, you made your way closer to them and the teenage boys.

“Where the hell are you from,” Edgar asked rather unenthusiastically. “Krypton?”

“Phoenix. Actually.” He replied. You stopped in your tracks near them, listening in discretely. Edgar moved, with his hands in his pockets, towards a row of comics. He plucked one from the rack and handed it to the boy. It was a pale blue edition of ‘Vampires Everywhere’.

The boy tutted and tried to hand it back to him. “I don’t like horror comics.”

“You’ll like this one, Mr Phoenix. It could save your life.”

Alan opened his mouth to speak, but the group outside noticed an opening and grabbed a handful of comics, taking off down the street. “Hey!” You cried, running after them. Edgar and Alan were right behind you, abandoning their new companion.

When the night had finally dulled down, you took a stroll along the beach. The sand shifted between your toes as you wandered. You weren’t entirely sure where you wanted to go, you were restless, wanting to be nowhere and everywhere all at once. When you saw the bikes knelt up against the railing however, you paused making your way over to the four boys. “Incoming.” Dwayne’s head snapped up as you approached, alerting everyone else to your presence. His eyes glistened under the moonlight. Paul and Marko were onto you within seconds, guiding you over to where they stood.

“Look who finally decided to show up.” David smirked. He seemed in a better mood tonight. Perhaps he felt less threatened now you were a half.

“I never received an invite.” You said, leaning against the cool metal of the railing.

“You’re welcome anytime, babe.” Paul smirked. You rolled your eyes.

“How you feelin’?” Marko chuffed, watching you closely.

Nodding, you smiled. “Ok.”

David swung his leg over his bike and took a seat. “You up for a ride?”

Out of all the places you expected David to take you, this was not it. It was an old hotel, sunken into the cliffs of Hudson's Bluff. It had clearly been like this for a while, you had heard the stories when you were younger, yet you had always heeded by the keep out signs posted out front. Clearly those didn’t interest the vampires as they whisked you straight down the narrow stairs, lighting barrels with a splint. When the fire cast a warm glow around the cave, you could really study its beauty. In the centre of the room was an old fountain, once a feature of the hotel. Though the room was messy, there was a sort of structure to it, with beams and tunnels leading off into the darkness. There were posters and cassettes strewn all over the room, likely Paul or Marko’s and the odd books neatly filed away. David took his perch on a wheelchair in the centre of the room. What surprised you the most about the space was the young, dark haired girl who made her way out from behind a lace curtain when she heard the rhythm of the guitar. An even smaller boy, no older than 10 clutched the ruffled of her purple skirt.

“Star.” David called out to the girl. She made her way into the room. “Come and join us. This is Y/N. The girl we told you about.”

She nodded at you bluntly, guiding the small boy into the room. His hair reminded you of your brothers, it was dark and fell over his face. To your surprise he came and sat down beside you. “Hi.” He grinned a toothy smile up at you.

You smiled back at him. “Hi.”

The boy cocked his head as though he were trying to purge you of your secrets. “They all seem to really like you.” He blurted. “David told me that-”

“Laddie.” Star interrupted, reprimanding him as you would either of your brothers. “Leave the poor girl alone. I’m sorry.”

“No, No. It’s okay.” You reached out a hand for her to shake. “I’m Y/N.”

“Star.”

There was an awkward silence that passed between you two, despite the fact that the room was filled with laughter and loud music. The small boy, Laddie, had stood up to prance around with Dwayne.

“Can I ask you something?” Star blurted out.

“Sure.”

“You’re a hunter, right?”

“I guess… I was.”

“Then why’d you drink it? Knowing what they are. What we are?”

“I wanted to protect my family, but…” You hesitated, unsure how to phrase how you felt. “When I'm around these people, I feel… whole. Like the excitement I've wanted my whole life has finally happened. When I’m around these people, I feel that.”

Star said nothing, just watched you close. She couldn’t understand why anyone would willingly put themselves through that, yet she seemed to soften a little at the thought that you wanted to protect your brothers. From across the room, David watched from his throne. He watched as you and Star exchanged stories, listening with his keen ears to the way your voice fluctuated when you got excited. He found a smile creeping onto his face. Perhaps you were more than they bargained for.

~~~

Tension was high in the air as the old blue Ford pulled up to the cliff. Sam and Michael had ‘borrowed’ it from their grandpa. The sun was high in the sky and your head was pounding. Your eyes drooped as you fought to keep them open beneath your sunglasses. Each day it grew harder and harder to fight the pull of the moon and the urge to slink away from the sun. Michael, who everyone knew was a half was struggling nearly as much as you. He slumped against the wheel slightly as he drove, his sunglasses firmly covering his eyes. Michael had been turned just after you. The boys had Star lure him in; orders from their sire. Though you weren’t there at the time, they were keen to tell you how he had drunk from the bottle and hung it from the train tracks. It had been a few weeks since Michael turned. And you had gotten to know him and the other vampires very well. A heavy weight sets itself upon your shoulders as you clambered out of the car. With your knowledge of the cave and closeness to the vampires, your brothers had relied on you to devise the ultimate plan. Ironically, they sat squashed in the back with you, refusing to ride next to Michael, claiming that ‘They didn’t ride with Vampires’. You were entirely unsure how your brothers hadn’t caught on. You’d passed your tiredness off as late nights getting to know them. Michael knew differently. Either he’d figured it out himself from the time you spent with the vampires, or your symptoms, or Star had caved and told him when she slipped away for help. As you watched your two brothers fumble away with Sam and their stakes, you slipped your arm under Michael, helping to support his weakened body. You had had the privilege of drinking blood from the bottle as much as you needed, or when the boys insisted. Surprisingly, they were relaxed on your resistance to turn fully. It came up occasionally in all of the time you spent with them; It still surprised them at the outcome of your impulse turning. As the pair of you hobbled after the younger boys, who were keen to threaten Michael, and up the stairs, you could feel the burning sun causing both of your heads to pound and muscles to ache. You could also hear the pounding of your heart and you were sure from how loud it was, your fellow vampire could hear it too. Michael glanced at you sideways. “Y/N?”

“Mmh?” You kept your head down, focusing on the steps in front of you, not daring to meet his eyes.

“They don’t know yet. Do they?”

“Know what?”

“Y/N,” He sighed, “Don’t play that game. You know what I mean. I can clearly see the sun’s effect on you”

You huffed, struggling up the stairs, “No. They don’t know yet,”

“How long?” Michael asked. How long since you were turned.

“Not long before you.” You reached the top and began to make your way through the cave’s entrance, “Don’t say anything.” You pleaded. “Please. They’re already mad enough that i’ve been hanging around with them. The only reason they let me do it was for this moment. They’ll be even madder when they realise that I turned wi-” You stopped yourself before you went too far. Michael already knew too much. “Don’t worry about me, okay? Just try not to get yourself killed,”

Michael nodded reluctantly and not another word was passed between you as you made your way down the narrow steps and into the darkness of the cave.

The younger boys were already inside, poking around in curtains and shifting items. Edgar tugged back a thin curtain to reveal Star. She was wrapped tightly in a thin sheet, burying her face in it.

“Here’s one!” Edgar cried excitedly, gesturing to you and Alan, grappling for one of the wooden stakes at the hilt of his belt. They were as thick and as long as your arm, carved half hastily. They would still do some nasty damage. “Come on, let’s stake her!”

“No!” Michael hurried down the last of the steps, gripping onto a loose vine to help keep himself upright. “Don’t you touch her! You stay away from her!” He lurched forwards out of your grasp, causing you to stumble, and skidded to a halt in front of her, forcing the Frog brother away. He dropped to his knees beside her, desperately trying to rouse her from the sun's pull.

“Come on, vampires have such a rotten temper.” Alan glowered, before retreating, slightly taken aback by the sudden outburst before heading off in the opposite direction. “Y/N!” Alan yelled when you continued to stand in your place. “Help us look, God damnit, you’re supposed to be the expert here.”

There was no need to look. You knew exactly where they were, and soon would your brothers. You headed off in the opposite direction, trying to divert their search to where you were. Your heart dropped when you heard Alan yell once again.

“I feel a draft! I think there’s something up here!”

“Let's check it out!” Edgar said running up the stairs, “ Y/N. Sam. Come on,”

Sam followed closely behind with you shortly after. As your brothers began pushing their way through thick layers of cobwebs, Sam called out something to Mike about being back soon.

The tunnel was claustrophobic. It barely stood over a metre in each direction. Roots and cobwebs dangled limply from the ceiling, and a rotten stench filled the air. The five of you continue to crawl down the tunnel, edging closer to uncertainty. The smell got worse and you knew you weren’t the only one who could smell it because Sam screwed up his face in disgust and asked the obvious question.

“What’s that smell?”

“Vampires, my friend. Vampires,”. Edgar patted him on the back. You dropped down off a ledge into a small, circular pit. It was colder there, and you knew that they were definitely in here somewhere. You all looked around, albeit found nothing. You released a breath you didn’t know you had been holding.

“Looks like a dead end. Let’s head back” you urged, trying to get them to leave before they found the vampires. Maybe if you left now, everyone would make it out alive… or as close to alive as a vampire can be. However, you knew how relentless your brothers were, especially when it came to vampires, so you weren’t surprised when Edgar wanted to keep looking.

“They must have hidden the coffins around here someplace.” Edgar persisted, hovering the lights across the walls.

“There’s nothing here, let’s go guys,” Sam tugged on Alan's sleeve and turned to shuffle back down the tunnel. Then the three boys looked up.

“Jesus!” one of them cried out. You weren’t sure who, you were too busy looking at the figures that hung no more than 10 feet above you, their hair dangling in ribbons by their ears. Sam screamed, only to have his mouth covered shut by one of his friends.

“I thought they were supposed to be in coffins!” Sam cried, clinging to the other two boys who were also cowering in fear.

“That’s what this cave is. It’s one giant coffin.” Edgar regained his composure and began hauling himself and his gear up a ladder, beckoning for you and Alan to follow. Sam stayed below, shining a torch on the vampires’ faces. “Right now they’re at their most vulnerable; easy pickings.”

“Remember, we just have to kill the leader,” Sam prompted. You could tell by the way the light wavered in his shaking hands that he was desperate to leave. You swallowed thickly as you placed your foot on the first rung of the ladder. The old wooden frame shifted under your weight. As the three of you climbed, it creaked and groaned softly.

“We don’t know who the easy one is,” Edgar shrugged, pulling himself onto the rocky platform in the cave. It was narrow, barely three feet wide and there was a fairly sheer drop below it. “I guess we’ll just have to kill them all,”

You climbed onto the platform next to Alan, who was wedging free a stake from his pack.

“We’ll start with the little one.” He smirked. “First come, first staked,”

“What was that?” Sam asked, shining the light on Marko’s face. “A little vampire humour? It wasn’t funny.”

The three of you stood face to face with Marko. His eyes were closed and his lips were puckered softly. He was still wearing his patchwork jacket. Like this he looked so peaceful. Your stomach tossed and turned and Edgar hefted the stake that your brother had passed to him between his sweaty palms. Everything moved slowly when he raised the stake aloft and reared his arm back. You could feel your blood pumping in your veins like an echoing alarm, you could hear your heartbeat pounding against your chest, so hard you thought it might burst.

“No!” You caved, rushing forwards and grabbing your brother’s arm, pulling him behind you, which caused the stake that was in mid pursuit to clutter to the ground. The sound echoed throughout the room.

“Y/N! What the hell are you doing?!” Alan hissed. He pulled Edgar beside him, trying to keep his distance from you. He held out one of his weapons. Your breath shuddered. Above you, the four vampires began to stir. Dwayne's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Despite being underground, you could still feel the pull of the sun. It made your whole body want to curl up and shut down on itself. You wondered how it felt for David and the others. You watched as Alan’s gaze flickered up to them and he squared his jaw.

“Leave them alone.” You told them.

“You’re one of them! Aren’t you?” Alan cried at you, once he had finished looking you up and down. He had finally pieced it together. When you failed to say something, he shook his head in disbelief, “My own sister is a shit-sucking vampire. And a Traitor.”

“Stay away from us,” Edgar said coldly, raising a stake towards you.

“Boys…please.” You took a step towards them, only to have Edgar shove his weapon closer to you. “Please. If we leave now, no one has to get hurt. Just..Just put the stake down. I’ll explain, I promise-”

“Okay.” He grunted. Edgar lowered his stake and you lowered your guard, relaxing just a little bit more. And that was all it took, one tiny moment of trust. Quickly, he spun around, Shoving you harshly towards the edge of the platform and raised his weapon once more.

“Goodnight bloodsucker”

A gut wrenching scream ricocheted across the stone walls.

You stumbled backwards, fingers trying in vain to find a grip on the uneven wall. Your footsteps were uneven; all out of beat and losing time. You slipped onto the ground. It was cold and damp beneath your body as you writhed in pain, Rouge tears pooled across your cheeks as you craned your head to spy the offending weapon. The motion made your head swim. It was square, barely as thick as your arm and carved from an aspen tree that once stood in your parents' garden. The four wooden sides sloped together to form a deadly point, now embedded in your stomach, a few inches across from your left hip. You screamed, an agonising, loney scream, but it got lost somewhere between the roaring of the vampires; descending quickly from where they hung, eyes wide and golden with fangs bared, and the screams of the three boys whose eyes were wide with a complexion of shock and terror as they scrambled back down the wooden framework to leave the cave. Your breathing came in quick, short pants as you struggled against the white-hot agony. A figure dropped down next to you as you writhed. A face that was usually so peaceful, hovered into view. His eyes were flecked with gold and were laced with concern and panic.

“Y/N…” Marko breathed, his voice cut clearly through the chaos. He dropped to his knees, hovering over your body, before pressing down onto the red slick that was blossoming between the stake and the threads of your shirt. You groaned in pain. “You’re okay. You’ll be fine. Just stay with me please.” He pleaded, easing you into his arms. When he lifted you, although cautiously, the stake shifted, tugging at your raw, torn skin. A strained whimper escaped your lips and you screwed your eyes up, trying to curl away. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” he hushed, dropping down to the ground of the cave. Paul and Dwayne were quick to rush over to their counterpart. Paul’s eyes were wild, wide and frantic as he reached you. Dwayne’s fangs were still barred, and his hair that was normally so well kept was a mess atop his head. They didn’t care at that moment, seeing you balled up weakly in Marko's arms, something inside of them shifted. The brunette's hands found their way into your hair as you were eased back to the ground, laying across Marko’s chest. When his hands left your hair, you felt them press firmly around the weapon, replacing Marko’s who were now painted with crimson. Although the stake hadn’t gone all the way through, it was close to it. The boys grimaced at your cries of discomfort, faces contorting as though they were the ones feeling your pain too. Paul knelt by your head. He was silent, but took your head gently in his hands, afraid that he might hurt you more. He turned it softly to face him. Your eyes were struggling to stay open as you fought your laboured breathing.

“Y/N?” He questioned. “Hey? Hey. look at me.”

You flitted your eyes up to meet him, They had shifted back to the deep blues of his irises, but the panic on his face still hadn’t melted away.

“Paul?” Your voice was a fraction above a whisper. Ragged and weak. “It hurts.” You whimpered.

“I know. It’s okay. We’ll fix this.”

Blinking slowly, you watched the blonde shift above you. Your eyes felt cumbersome and you suddenly became aware of how tired you were. When black spots began to obscure your vision, you let your eyes flutter shut to blink them away.

“No. No no no. Hey open your eyes, look at us.” Marko panicked.

When your eyes were closed, you felt like you were floating. When your eyes were closed there was no pain. But something was missing. They snapped back open and the whole room seemed to sigh with relief. Above you, someone new had entered the room, David’s face was distraught. And tear stained. His focus shifted from you to the offending stake that still protruded from your gut. His hand ghosted over the top of it.

“We need to take it out.” Paul said.

“No.” When David spoke, it was firm and calm. It mirrored nothing of his expression. “It’s the only thing keeping her from bleeding out. We take it out now and we kill her.”

“We have to do something!” Marko implored. He watched the way your chest staggered up and down. The room was uncomfortably silent for a moment, besides the harsh gasps of your lungs.

“She needs to kill.” Dwayne spoke up.

David nodded solemnly. “We know. But she can’t. We can’t go out there and she’s in no condition to go on her own.”

“Then what the hell are we going to do, David. Huh?” Paul asked. “She’s going to die if we don’t help her.”

They all watched you closely, Your eyes were drooping slowly closed, struggling to hold themselves up. Black spots filled your vision until you could no longer see the blurry shapes of people above you. Your eyes slipped closed again. There was the sound of shuffling and the nauseating smell of more blood mixing with yours. You felt the warm blood ooze down your throat and cool, smooth glass on your lips. When you found enough strength to pry your eyes open, you saw David with the bottle of his blood clutched in his grasp.

“We leave as soon as the sun goes down.”

David left the minute the sun had slipped beyond the horizon. He was bleary eyed and drowsy, but he pulled himself to the nearest part of town to find anyone. The other boys stayed crowded around you. You had gotten worse quickly. The bleeding from the stake had slowed down, however so had your breathing, and your body had paled. You lay limply on Marko’s lap as Paul and Dwayne traced soothing lazy circles on your skin. Their focus never left you. The three of them tried desperately to keep you talking, bringing the glass bottle upto your lips whenever your body wandered a little too far, though eventually the effect of David’s blood began to wear thin and your words turned into little hums and groans of pain. When David finally dragged the struggling man through the entrance to the cave, all bodies perked up. The four vampires helped ease you up, urging you towards the man. Your fingers found flesh.

“That’s it Y/N.” David spoke softly. “Come on, you know what to do.”

You had seen them do it plenary of times. You let your mouth sink into the man’s skin, your teeth piercing the flesh and drawing blood. You swallowed it thickly, it tasted sweeter than you expected. More addicting. As you drank, the fire in your stomach dwindled down to a throb. That was, untill it was forced from your body. Gasping in pain, your hands slipped from the still man in front of you and your body slumped to the ground.

Part 2 • Masterlist

#okay so update. I’ve only just realised that the last part got cut out so uhh it’s back on there now and it’s not just left randomly.#part 2 is on its way #this took me way too long to do #writing #the lost boys #marko #paul #dwayne #David #the lost boys 1987 x reader #the lost boys x reader #lost boys x reader #the lost boys 1987 #near death experience #fan fiction #angst #angsty

186 notes · View notes