Chapter Text
David knew it was only a matter of time before Max came to get them; he couldn’t just let them go. It wasn’t in his nature. He kept his boys on chains, and he liked to keep it that way, and he had for years, constantly toying with David, a game of cat and mouse where David was the mouse, constantly trying to escape to his home in the wall, only for the cat’s claws to drag him out. Max hurt the boys to keep him in line, killed any mortal David got close to. It’s why David turned Star and the Lost Boys, but it wasn’t the same with Michael. David saw himself in Michael, the bruise on his stomach, the rough exterior of a boy who was hurt. He couldn’t do it to Michael. He wouldn’t take him out of a cage just to put him in another one, couldn’t watch his smile fade over time like he had with Star. He couldn’t fuck it up again.
David was dreading it: every conversation with Lucy over coffee, every question he answered when Sam asked something about vampires, every time Michael would thread his warm fingers with his cold ones. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop; he was waiting for Max to finish his business. David was sleeping when Max’s voice finally rang through his mind.
“David…” Max’s voice echoed through David’s head like a ghostly apparition that refused to move on. “You can’t run away from your problems, David. I thought I had finally gotten through to you with our last lesson. You got in with the family, and I applaud you for that, but you still aren’t obeying.”
David tried to pull himself away from Max’s voice, to sever the link. “Fuck off, Max. You can’t do anything to us anymore. I’m sick of just letting you get away with it, and you can’t get them to join you. They know what you are now, a monster.”
Max laughed, “A monster? We are the same, son. Can’t you feel it? My blood is in your veins. You are mine.” David could almost feel Max’s claws digging into his skin, pulling him back to the shadows.
David thrashed in his sleep, subconsciously trying to get away from a threat that wasn’t even physically there. “What could you possibly do to us?” You can’t even enter the house without automatically giving us the upper hand. You wouldn’t be invited in.” He almost laughed at his own realization. Max wouldn’t have the upper hand for once if he entered the house without an invitation; he would be powerless.
“I will kill him, David. Don’t think I don’t know about your little relationship, and as cute as it is, it’s clearly preventing you from doing your job.” And with that, Max’s presence suddenly disappeared just as fast as it had come. David jolted awake, nearly falling off of the cabin’s rafters, which caused Nanook to start barking.
Fuck.
What was he going to do if Michael was out of the house at night? Max could get to him if any of them left the house. Max could get to them, but he couldn’t tell three and a half vampires, three humans, and one dog to get inside the house as soon as the sun set, especially the Lost Boys and Star, they loved the boardwalk life too much to give it up.
No one was home. Michael and Lucy were at work, Sam was probably at the comic store with the Frog Brothers, and who knows where Star was, probably sitting on the billboard down the road.
Fuck, he needed to tell Lucy, or the other Lost Boys, really just anyone who could help him get a plan to kill Max, because he was done with this shit. He has spent too long playing Max’s game, and he isn’t going to let him anywhere near Michael.
He flipped off of the rafters, petting Nanook, before pacing around the house, trying to find anything that could kill Max. So far, he had only found a set of mounted black deer antlers that looked promising, but they would miss Max’s heart if he wasn’t precise enough, an old cross that seemed handcrafted, and a stake, which was a bit odd to find, but Sam lived here, and he brought the Frogs around all the time, so really in retrospect, it wasn’t all that odd. He watched as the sun moved across the sky slowly, unable to fall back asleep. He could practically feel the time ticking down as the shadows became darker and the sound of crickets echoed through the forest. No one had come back to the house yet.
He suspected that Michael was doing extra hours at the beach to buy that new weight set he was looking at. David thought it was a waste of money because he thought Michael looked perfect, but he was quite biased, and whatever Michael wanted, David made sure he got even if that meant secretly sneaking in money from the shows into Michael’s stash.
He was broken from his obsessive staring at the sun when he heard the door open. He grabbed the bat by the couch and quietly walked to the door. Sure, a baseball bat to the head wouldn’t kill Max, but it would hurt. It would hurt a lot. The door slowly creaked open; the light from the setting sun peeking through the door as a silhouette took up the doorway. He wound up the bat about to hit who he thought was Max when Lucy flicked the lights on. “David?”
David nearly dropped the bat. “Oh shit,” he put the bat back down. “Fuck, I thought—” he inhaled shakily. “I don’t even know what I thought.” He looked outside the window. The sun was dropping just below the tree line, the sky filled with blues, purples, and pinks. He would say it was pretty if he hadn’t been so worried about what was waiting in the shadows.
Lucy looked at him with confused worry. “David, why are you so on edge? Usually, you aren’t even awake at this time.” Lucy reached out to touch his shoulder, but he flinched harshly.
David muttered, “He said he was coming.” He stepped away from the door, getting away from the night he had once thrived in, seeing it as a threat.
“Max?” Lucy didn’t need his confirmation to know the look on David’s face was enough. “He can’t get to you here. I promise you, no more monsters.” She put her bag down to pull David into a loose hug, one he could escape if he wanted. She only tightened it when he reciprocated.
“He said he was coming to kill Michael. He’s pissed I didn’t finish the job.” David’s nails gripped the back of Lucy’s dress. “We have to kill him. I’m tired of being stuck under him.” His tone became darker. “Stab him, burn him, electrocute him. I don’t care how it’s done, but he has to die.”
David could feel Lucy tense up at his words, with them being as dark as they are. David couldn’t blame her, but they were the truth. Max needed to die. “Ok.” She said it like they weren’t about to plan a murder; she was calm and collected. “If that’s the only way to end this, we’ll need to be prepared.”
David pulled back, looking Lucy directly in the eyes. “No one can leave the house at night until he’s dead, they can’t get hurt.”
“I’ll call Michael’s boss and see if he’s still working. Sam should be coming back home soon, and he should know all sorts of ways to kill vampires.” Lucy walked to the phone in the kitchen, dialing the trash collection group Michael works for, only having to wait two rings until the man picks up. David could hear the conversation from across the room.
“Who ya looking for? Emerson? Oh yeah, he’s still out picking up trash,” the man sounded gruff and tired, presumably because he had been out on the hot California beach all day. Lucy asked him to send Michael home. He made a surprised sound. “You his mom? Yeah, yeah, I’ll send him home. Have a good night, ma’am.”
“He should be back soon, David. Try to relax for now,” Lucy smiled at him, but David could hear her heartbeat. She was just as nervous as him. They both jumped when the door opened, immediately turning to see who it was, only for Star to look at them both slightly confused.
“Are you two OK?” Star stepped in, closing the door behind her, before looking at David. “It’s barely sunset; why are you up already?”
Star could practically see the tension radiating off of David. His stance was rigid, his hands clenched so tight that his knuckles were practically paper white. “Max is coming.”
Star walked to David; her heeled boots clicked on the wood. She reached out and held his hand. “David, we can kill him. We can end this. It’s four vampires versus one. He doesn’t have a chance against you and the band.” She cupped his cheek. “We can make it through the night.”
David leaned into her before pulling her into a hug. “I hope you’re right.”
Eventually, Sam came back to the house. Nanook immediately ran to the door; his tail nearly knocked over everything that was in the vicinity. “Why is David awake so early?” Sam asked curiously.
Lucy turned to her youngest. “We’re going to kill Max.” She crossed her arms, thinking through all their options as she looked up to the rafters of her dad’s house, seeing the other three vampires still asleep.
Sam went for the phone, dialing someone. Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Who are you calling?”
Sam barely looked up. “The Marines.” He began talking to someone, actually, two people now that David was really listening, one boy and one girl who sounded awfully familiar.
The boy spoke first; he sounded dead serious. “Okay. Where’s Nosferatu?”
Then the girl spoke in the same tone as the boy, “The Prince of Darkness.”
“The nightcrawler. The bloodsucker.”
“El Vampiro.”
David didn’t understand how Sam could still have a stern expression and not burst out laughing at the antics of the voice he could definitively say were the Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan.
“Guys, we know who the head vampire is, and he’s going to come here. Get your supplies ready; we’re gonna kill him.” Sam hung up the phone dramatically. “Backup is coming.”
David laughed under his breath, but when Sam turned to him, he tried to cover it as a cough before looking at the sky, now almost night, and turning to Lucy. “Why isn’t he back yet?”
“David, honey, we live on the outskirts of town. The beach is at least twenty minutes away, and it’s tourist season. He might just be stuck in traffic. We shouldn’t panic,” Lucy squeezed David’s arm, guiding him to the couch and made him sit down.
David kept looking out the window every five seconds, waiting for the distant sound of Michael’s old red bike. The rest of the group knew Michael was down the street when David jumped up and walked outside to the porch like an excited child waiting for their best friend to come over.
Michael pulled into the driveway, switching off his bike as he rolled into his usual spot and put the kickstand down. “Hey, Dave, why are you outside?” He hopped off his bike and walked to his boyfriend.
David pulled Michael closer and dragged him inside. “You can’t go outside at night anymore,” he nearly crushed Michael in a hug.
Michael’s voice is muffled by David’s jacket as he spoke, “Can someone explain what’s happening?”
Lucy laughed quietly at David’s overprotectiveness before her voice became more serious as she explained the whole situation to Michael. To this, Michael got an expression of wide-eyed worry. “We’re going to kill a vampire? How do we even kill a ‘head vampire’?”
“With a lot of willpower and brave stupidity,” David looked up to the rafters to his brothers. They should be awake soon, but knowing that Max was out there waiting terrified him. He brought them all into this mess in the first place because he didn’t want to be alone forever with Max’s shadow constantly looming over him. David wanted someone to belong to. He wanted to be the other half of something. He wanted a distraction from the chains Max had him in, but Max was never far behind. There wasn’t anywhere to escape, even during concerts. Max was always there with his camera, filming them, constantly watching them.
David heard the distant sound of bikes pedaling before he saw the Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan. Both had backpacks full of stakes, garlic, holy water, anything that could possibly be used to kill a vampire. David raised an eyebrow at them when they entered the house, though his arm stayed wrapped around Michael’s waist. “You think you have enough supplies?”
Alan missed the sarcasm and answered, seriously insulted that David would even insinuate they aren’t prepared, “Of course we have enough supplies to kill a bloodsucker.”
Edgar started to pull stakes and squirt guns out of his bag. “I think I should warn you all: It’s never pretty when a vampire buys it. No two bloodsuckers ever go out the same way. Some scream and yell. Some go quietly. Some explode. Some implode. But all will try to take you with them.”
Sam stepped toward his friends. “I told you we are only killing one vampire. The Lost Boys aren’t enemies.” He dug through the ludicrous amount of supplies the Frogs brought.
Edgar leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, “I don’t trust ‘em. I say we terminate ‘em while we can.” He glared at David suspiciously; his eyes flicked up to the other three vampires before looking back at Alan, exchanging suspicious looks.
“You know I can hear you, right?” Edgar flipped around to see David waving at him. Michael pulled tight against David’s side, huffing a laugh at the Frogs.
“Boys, please, we don’t have time for this,” Lucy stepped between them. “We need to get ready to kill Max and only Max.”
The Frog brothers exchanged a silent conversation but nodded. Alan spoke first. “Yes, ma’am, we’ll make an exception this once.”
Edgar nodded along. “Only Max.”
The Lost Boys woke up when the sun finally fully set, and all the other nocturnal creatures came out of their hiding places. When they looked down, they saw David already awake. Star sat on the couch, and the Emersons all had worried expressions. Marko hopped off of the beam first. “What’s going on?”
“We’re killing Max, you guys in or out,” David crossed his arms as he looked at his brothers with a fire in his eyes they hadn’t seen before.
The other three boys looked at each other, smiling. Paul laughed, “Oh, hell yes.”
The group prepared everything the Frogs gave everyone except the vampires: holy water-filled squirt guns and garlic.
Paul looked at the garlic with confusion. “Why garlic? It doesn’t work.”
“It doesn’t?!” Both Frogs exclaimed in unison.
“What do you think kills vampires?” Marko asked incredulously.
The Lost Boys and the Frogs went back and forth, trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t. The Frogs were appalled that their comics weren’t completely accurate. To the side, David pulled Michael against him, whispering, “I don’t wanna lose you.”
Michael hugged David tightly. “You won’t, Dave, I swear,” he pulled back to kiss David on the cheek. “We can end this once and for all. Max won’t hurt you again.”
David exhaled slowly. “I hope you’re right, Moonbeam,” he rested his chin on Michael’s head, bringing him closer.
They wait for Max, everyone ready for a fight, expecting Max to come in fighting. Everyone pairs up and goes to different rooms in the house to cover all bases. Michael and David stay in the living room, but when they hear noise over the roof and the sound of glass shattering, they feel like they are surrounded. “David…” Max’s voice echoes through the room.
All of the light cut out; no one dared to move. It was eerily still and quiet. The front door slowly opened on its own; the old hinges creak and echo in the complete silence. The outside air slowly creeping into the house like fog. David pushed Michael behind him. “Afraid to show your face, Max?!”
The lamp next to the couch flickered. David whipped to the light, but then the front door slammed shut, trapping everyone inside. The sound of Max’s laugh came from the other side of the room. David turned, but there was no sign of him. Max is fucking with them. He made sure Michael was still behind him, acting as the barrier between Michael and Max. Then Max’s laugh was behind him… David turned again. Nothing. Then the laughter came from the kitchen, then the stairs, then the rafters, ping-ponging around the house.
“There’s no way out, David. One last chance. Make Michael join us,” Max’s words echo around the house. The others rushed down the stairs towards the sound.
Just as they run down the stairs, Max appeared in the air over Sam. Right before he reached Sam, the Frogs warn him. “Sam! Look out overhead!”
Sam looked up, and the Frogs pulled him down the stairs to the safety of the kitchen. Michael watched Max quickly fly back up and out of view. Max’s laughter filled the house as he flew away into the shadows again.
There is a moment of silence. David frantically looked around the room, trying to spot Max. He and Michael are still in the center of the room. Michael holds a stake at the ready. Then, a hand reached around Michael from out of the darkness, pulling him into the shadows and wrapping a hand around Michael’s throat. Max’s claws scrape against Michael’s skin.
David immediately turned around. “Michael!”
Max smiled, coming out of the shadows. His hair was disheveled, his eyes glowed red, and an eerie, unnatural smile stretched across his face. His fangs were bared. He turned to Lucy. “Forgive me, Lucy. This was all my fault…” His grip on Michael’s throat tightened, causing Michael to choke out a whimper. He glanced at David with barely contained agitation. “David. My boy. You never would listen. Always the rebellious one.” He looked to Lucy again; his expression softened. “It was all going to be so perfect. My boys needed a mother. Yours needed a father. All David had to do was turn Michael and Sam, then everything would have been perfect.”
Max laughed, “Boys are foolish, aren’t they? Always so disrespectful and reckless.” He looked at the Lost Boys, sneering in disgust at their perceived lack of obedience.
David looked at Max, eyes full of fury, before pouncing on him, claws extended. “You son of a bitch!”
Max takes control of David’s body, stopping him mid-air. David is frozen inches away from Max’s face, close to tearing his eyes out. Lucy gasped, stepping forward, stake extended, but Max froze her too. “It’s for his own good, Lucy. Boys need chains.”
Marko lunged forward, only for Max to throw him against the wall, laughing. “You think simply acting like feral animals will help you?” Max unfroze David only to send him crashing into a wall of mounted antlers that narrowly missed stabbing him. When David tried to get back up, Max sent more taxidermy flying his way, pinning him to the ground. Then Max looked at Lucy, unfreezing her as well. “Lucy, please join me, and this will all be over. Everything can be fixed if you listen to me. Join me, Lucy. You’ll be free from the pain of the past, free from the world.” He extended his free hand to her.
Lucy walked towards Max slowly. Michael shook his head frantically, eyes filled with tears, as he managed to speak, “Mom. Don’t. Please.”
“Promise you’ll keep them safe,” Lucy looked Max in the eyes, but her gaze quickly shifted to the shadows behind Max before returning to him.
Max smiled, feeling victorious. “Of course, my love.”
Lucy took Max’s hand.
From behind Max, Dwayne and Paul grabbed his arms, taking him down and pinning him to the wooden floor. Michael fell to the ground, grasping at his neck and gulping down breaths.
Max thrashed under them. “What—”
“I can raise my kids on my own, asshole.” Suddenly, Lucy plunged her father’s cross into Max’s chest. Max was completely taken by surprise. Max looked back and forth between his boys and Lucy, and the wound on his chest began to smoke. His claws came up to cover it, desperately clinging to his power and life. There was a massive explosion of smoke and sulfur, then Max disappeared, leaving only scraps of burnt fabric and ash behind.
David peeled himself off the floor, throwing the taxidermy off of himself, his back radiating with pain from being slammed into the wall. Marko sat up as he rubbed the back of his head. David stood up and pulled Marko up to his feet. They both walked toward the pile of dust and cloth. Marko breathed in shakily, “He’s dead?”
David barely glanced at the remains of Max, relief flooding through him, knowing his warden was gone and hopefully rotting in hell. He rushed to Michael’s side as he dropped to his knees, looking at the damage to Michael’s neck, five small puncture wounds that were leaking small waterfalls of red, and he pulled Michael close to his chest.
Lucy nodded slowly. “He’s dead.” Lucy looked at the cross in her hand as she murmured, “Thanks, Dad.”
Edgar and Alan look at her in awe. Edgar laughed triumphantly. “Mrs. Emerson… That was wild.”
Sam smiled, “That was amazing, Mom!”
Lucy dropped the cross onto the floor and hugged Sam for a moment before gesturing at the rest of the group to join. The Lost Boys looked at each other hesitantly before joining, then the Frogs, then Star, then David, and Michael. “We’ll be okay,” she smiled before pulling back. “Alright, is anyone hungry?”
Everyone raised their hands, and Lucy laughed, “Roger that.” Lucy makes her way into the kitchen to start a late-night breakfast.
The Lost Boys, along with Alan and Edgar, start to awkwardly make their way to the door. David hesitated before helping Michael up and moving to join his brothers. Lucy saw from the kitchen and looked confused before she called out, “It’s a family meal. Find a spot and sit down.”
The Lost Boys look around at each other hesitantly, but Star grabbed Marko by the wrist and pulled him to sit down on the couch; the other two Lost Boys following behind. Sam grabbed the Frogs and sat them down with him on the carpet, Nanook licking their faces. Michael smiled at David, who was standing awkwardly at the door, before reaching out his hand. David huffed a laugh, walked to Michael, taking his hand and kissing the back of it. Everyone found a spot and had conversations going in no time.
Lucy looked out to the living room and smiled. The Frog brothers smiled and hugged Sam. The Lost Boys all laughed with Michael as he told some stories about school. This might have been the first time they’ve ever sat down with people for breakfast. Everyone made a start to set the table. Lucy looked around at the strange and wonderful expanded family and teared up; her family finally at peace and together.