Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The daytime was always a boring ordeal for Tommy, always too busy but somehow he never felt more alone. People will pass him on the street, not even batting an eye at the filthy homeless peasant that claimed an alleyway for his home.

There were no orphanages to flee to, not that Tommy would want to live in one anyways. He’s heard horror stories from street kids who lived in one from a different city. They always complained about the adults never giving two shits for the kids or worse, beat them.

Therefore, staying away from child prisons and fending for himself sounded like the more poggers option.

Besides, if Tommy had a guardian looking after him, he wouldn’t be able to do fun stuff. For you see, Tommy hated the daytime, but he loved the night.

It started out as rumors, if you go too far into the forest when the moonlight was just right, you’ll walk into a world unlike our own.

One night, Tommy couldn’t sleep because of his constant shivering so he decided to see if the folktales were true, low and behold, they were.

The story goes that there’s a haunting market deep into the woods where all creatures can buy and sell their products without having weird supernatural feuds between species. Vampires and werewolves got along, fae didn’t play with people’s minds, and witches didn’t try and test potions on others.

Tommy found it, the mythical market is filled with creatures both horrid and beautiful. From werewolves to fae to gnarly witches, they were all here. Fairy lights danced from stall to stall, lighting up the dark night with energy. There were so many colors here, so many smells, Tommy’s senses were overwhelmed when he first entered.

These creatures existed outside of the market, of course, but the neutral ground of the plaza was something magical in itself. This was also where Tommy chose to spend his sleepless nights.

A week has passed since his first visit and now he didn’t get odd looks whenever he arrived at the market. Tommy wouldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t afraid of the monsters, in fact he vomited from nerves the first twenty minutes in, but now he was more comfortable.

What made his nerves less severe were the two friends he made inside the enchanting market.

Tubbo, a werewolf that ran into Tommy after he stole a rabbit from the butcher and dragged Tommy along for the ride. After acquiring his partner in crime, Tubbo made Tommy jump over fences and stalls to avoid the very angry faun that ran the butchery. Their crime-filled night forged their friendship and they became friends.

Ranboo was another friend Tommy made while hanging out with Tubbo. Tubbo was trying to work out a new way to steal from the butchery when he got the brilliant idea to hire a witch. That witch was Ranboo. Apparently, he and Tubbo were old acquaintances and Tubbo desperately wanted Ranboo to turn them invisible to steal. After some peer pressure, Ranboo agreed. Now Ranboo won’t leave their side because he worries they might get into trouble without him.

Tommy stepped into the market again, the crisp air getting warmed up by the bakers and cafes that started to prepare their meals for their nighttime guests. But the food wasn’t Tommy’s main goal right now, it was finding Tubbo and Ranboo.

He zipped and swerved through the crowd, looking for a short spunky brunet and a calm witch with red and green eyes. The creatures of the night allowed Tommy to run wild around the plaza, none of them were disgusted by his presence, unlike humans. Humans might’ve even purposefully tripped Tommy for the fun of it, but that never happened here. Here he was free.

Soon enough, Tommy’s targets were spotted and he lunged at them. The blond was only able to tackle one of his prey to the ground, unfortunately, it was the werewolf.

“Oh Tommy, lovely seeing you here,” Tubbo laughed as he was pinned to the ground.

“Really Tubbo? I’ve heard werewolves have a great sense of smell, how did you get tackled so easily?” Tommy smiled until Tubbo wiggled out of the hold.

Tubbo returned a tackle, easily overpowering Tommy in strength, stupid werewolf perks. They play fought on the ground and Tubbo weakened himself to give Tommy a fighting chance. Ranboo hovered over them with a broom, enjoying the fight but keeping a close eye to make sure no one got hurt.

They tired themselves out eventually, neither of them winning but it was fair to assume that Tubbo won. Both teens were huffing and puffing on the ground with Ranboo floating above them, a disappointed smile hiding behind his mask.

“Can we finally get something to eat or do you two want to go for a second round?” Ranboo whined.

“Sorry, Boo, I’m pretty sure Tommy broke my bones, I am crippled and paralyzed!” Tubbo exclaimed, lifting his arms up to Ranboo that said ‘carry me’.

“Tubbo, you’re a werewolf, I doubt a human can inflict any damage to you,” Ranboo reasoned but only got puppy dog eyes.

Ranboo sighed and pulled out his wand. With a flick of the stick, Tubbo began to fly sightly off the ground and was lifted to Ranboo’s broom.

“Hey, Ranboob! I want to fly too!” Tommy yelled too.

Ranboo sighed, “You can walk because you can’t call me by my proper name.”

“Aww come on Ranboob!” Tubbo chuckled, “Let Tommy fly with us, I can even sit on your shoulders for space for a third person.”

Tubbo started to climb on Ranboo’s shoulders, “AH! Tubbo! I can’t balance this thing with you shifting your weight around!”

While Ranboo struggled to keep himself and Tubbo from falling off of the floating broomstick, Tommy sneakily hopped on the broom. Tubbo noticed Tommy safely on the broom and grinned.

“Okay Ranboo, we can go now,” Tubbo said as he slid off of Ranboo and sat back down on the broom behind Tommy.

“I hate you guys,” Ranboo said with the two teens giggling at their successful plan.

Ranboo smiled with a plan of his own and decided that if his friends wanted to fly so badly, then they wouldn’t mind flying upside-down. He flipped the broom over and cue the screams from Tommy and Tubbo holding on for dear life.

They finally made it to the cafe and Ranboo helped a very dizzy Tommy off of the broom. The teens walked into the place with plants covering the walls, flowers blooming with fireflies shinning inside the buds to create a peaceful atmosphere.

A fae with glass butterfly wings approached them, her light pink hair flowing above her shoulders. She smiled and pulled out three menus from a shelf. She skipped along, beckoning them to follow her. She led the trio to a booth with cushioned seats and a glossy table, the wood appearing to look like glass.

“Just ring the bell when you’re ready to order,” she spoke softly, her voice carrying a sweet melody to it.

Upon opening the menus, Tommy noticed that each page was dedicated to a different supernatural species, having dishes for every dietary restriction. There were some for witches to boost their magic regeneration, werewolves were offered more raw meals, faes were vegetarians, but the one thing caught Tommy’s eye, there was nothing for humans.

“Not much for humans,” Tommy chuckled nervously.

Tommy glanced at his friends and a look of regret washed over them. They appeared to forget that Tommy was human and couldn’t eat most of the things sold in the market. Ranboo’s eyes overflowed with pity and Tubbo whined in shame.

“Oh, it’s okay,” He reassured his friends, “I don’t even have money to pay for any of this. You two enjoy yourselves.” Tommy smiled but his stomach disagreed. 

He was so hungry, maybe hungry enough to eat a raw steak from the werewolf section, but that might make him sick. Tommy only ate in the market whenever the group went somewhere human-friendly, back in the city Tommy was lucky if he managed to dig out moldy bread.

“Are you sure Tommy? We can always go somewhere else,” Ranboo suggested but Tommy shook his head.

“It’s really fine, I had a big dinner before coming here so I’m good,” Tommy lied and smiled through it.

Ranboo and Tubbo relaxed and rang the bell. The fae came back with a pen and paper. Ranboo and Tubbo placed their orders, the werewolf getting a whole rabbit and the witch getting a silver leaf pie. The fae nodded and left, her dress flowing beautifully.

Even after Tommy told them that he was fine with not eating, they still pitied him.

“Tommy, why don’t you join my family,” Tubbo said bluntly, “I’m sure Dream wouldn’t mind. If you were a wolf we can go to all of the restaurants around here and not worry about human food.”

Tommy laughed tensely, “No thank you Tubbo, I love you but I don’t want to be a werewolf.”

“But why not,” Tubbo whined, “You said yourself that you don’t have a pack of your own, you should join mine!”

Tommy smiled thinly and shook his head gently, “Sorry Tubs, but sleeping in a cave isn’t the life for me.” Tubbo frowned but was promptly getting his head scratched by Tommy. Tubbo’s smile returned and leaned into the touch.

“Well, what about-” Ranboo tried to speak.

“No, I don’t want to be a witch either. I’ve heard you complain about rules and studying. It sounds stressful,” Tommy interrupted with a kindhearted smile. 

It was nice to know that his friends worried about him but he was fine. Tommy wasn’t born into the supernatural world like his friends and if he were to join the mythical world, then he would get cultural whiplash.

If Tommy were to become something supernatural, he would want to become something that was as close to human culture as possible. Werewolves were too wild, witches were too strict, and fae were too mysterious. There were other races in the market, but he didn’t know much about their lifestyles.

Tommy sat patiently as his friends’ food arrived. The pie was silver had weird sprout things poking out of it while the rabbit was skinned but kept intact.

Tubbo shifted in his wolf form and ate his plate on the ground, crunching the bones and tearing the flesh of the bunny. Ranboo was the opposite, picking up a fork and eating gracefully. There was nothing for Tommy to do but wait for his friends to finish.

His eyes surveyed the restaurant they were in. There weren’t that many customers, two fauns sharing a plate of grapes in the corner, a witch covered from head to toe in robes drinking tea. Tommy’s eyes stopped when he gazed at the other end of the dining room, there sat three pairs of glowing red eyes.

Tommy’s eyes widened, they were vampires! He didn’t know that there were any vampires in this area but yet, there they were. Each one of them were drinking from a glass filled with what must be blood. Sharp fangs poking out each time they took a sip, a few drops dripping on their luxurious clothing.

Sharp red eyes stared back at Tommy making the boy quickly look away, they say that if you gaze into a vampire’s eyes long enough, they’ll steal your soul. Tommy does not want to test out that theory.

__________

What Tommy couldn’t see was that the vampires curiously analyzed the blond. They were trying to figure out why a human child was in a place like this, with supernatural friends to add. All humans were either Hunters who slaughtered their kind, feared them, or didn’t believe that monsters existed, but here’s the kid. The blond teen hung around two very deadly creatures like it was nothing and seemed very comfortable in this magical place.

The elder vampire rang the bell and summoned the pink fae to their table. He rolled up his long green sleeves as the fae came up. She smiled, not muttering a word.

“Very sorry to bother you, Niki,” the vampire spoke with a whisper, “but would you happen to know who the human boy is over there.” The vampire’s sharp nails pointed at Tommy.

Niki’s smile softened when she glanced over at the blond, her eyes overflowing with love and compassion, “That’s human Tommy, he’s quite the talk around here. Just show up out of nowhere and befriended the two younglings over there. He’s quite endearing, if not a bit chaotic, and most elders want to claim him but the human refuses to choose a guardian. I’ve even offered but the boy simply smiled and refused politely.”

Another vampire sharing the same pink hair as Niki scoffed, “Maybe the orphan doesn’t want to be adopted, I mean, he is human after all. All humans are stubborn and hateful to creatures like us.”

Niki slowly shook her head, “I tend to disagree. I’ve seen a couple of times when he refuses adoption offers and although Tommy smiles, I sense great pain within him that increases with each offer he refuses. He wants a home, he’s just hasn’t found the right one yet.”

With that, another bell chimed and Niki excused herself to help her other clients. The vampires were left to ponder over the new information given to them. The pink-haired vampire took another sip of blood with the elder vampire focused on the human.

“Pst, dad,” a brunet vampire whispered, “I want a baby brother.”

The pink-haired vampire almost choked on his drink at the comment, the elder vampire held in a laugh, “Do you not want to be the youngest anymore mate?”

The brunet exhaled in annoyance, “Pleaseeeee, I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“We’re not kidnapping him,” the elder proclaimed before taking a sip of blood. The brunet pouted and the elder smiled, “If you want him so bad, we can talk with him about it. And NO hypnosis, you have a habit to use your powers greedily.” The elder vampire warned but the brunet was beaming with happiness that his Sire considered his wishes.

The pink-haired vampire huffed, “I am curious as to why almost everyone in town wants the brat, he must be something special.”

The elder smiled, exposing his fangs, “Well, we’ll just have to ask him then.” 

The elder looked up and noticed that the human and his friends left. No matter, they were vampires, tracking down a human is nature to them.

__________

Tommy left the restaurant with an empty stomach and alone, it was getting close to dawn and that’s when he could steal bread from the bakers near his alleyway. Tommy rushed out of the cafe, quickly said his goodbyes, and returned back to his realm. It was still dark out but the stars started to fade away from the sky, the sun was slowly rising. 

Tommy was tired, he stayed up all night with his friends and he was starving, not eating for a few days. The teen staggered and came upon an alleyway, he walked into it but soon realized he waltzed into the wrong side street.

A figure stumbled towards him, holding a glass bottle, mumbling to himself. Warning bells ringed in Tommy’s head, sure drunks were common at night but this was very early morning and why was the guy standing in an alley?

The man turned around, big and bulky, he definitely could snap Tommy in half. The man’s lazy eyes fixated on Tommy, the scrawny sixteen-year-old that had little muscle on his body to put up a fight. The drunk powered walk towards Tommy with Tommy retreating in response.

“You fuking twats!” Jumbled words slipped out of the intoxicated man’s mouth, “You think you cann ran from me Josh!”

Whoever this guy was he was confusing Tommy with was named Josh, which was a very bad sign. This guy clearly had aggression for ‘Josh’ and Tommy was unlucky enough to cross this guy’s enraged path.

The man screamed angrily and bolted at Tommy, slamming him into a wall. The sound of a glass bottle smashing made Tommy struggle faster, trying to push the muscular man off of him. This wasn’t like the wrestling that he and Tubbo did, this was real.

Something sharp twisted in his side, a pained shriek hollered out of the blond. The man relaxed his grip enough for Tommy to see what happened. The man broke the whiskey bottle and used one of the glass shards as a knife, the shard was jabbed in his side and he was bleeding quickly.

The man let go of Tommy and the teen fell to the ground, the pain and dizziness were becoming unbearable. The man breathed heavily and a crooked smile curled on his face, he was proud.

“Fuc you JOSH! That is what yo get for sleepin with ma wife,” the man slurred, almost laughing at himself.

Tommy’s eyes grew heavy and his blood was pooling on the ground. He always imagined that this is how he’d die, alone on the filthy streets. Tommy just couldn’t believe that it happened so fast.

__________

“Are you sure he went this way Techno?” the brunet complained, the sun was almost up and he didn’t want to ruin his flawless skin again.

Techno huffed, “I’m not a witch, Wilbur, we have to go the long way if we want to talk with him today.”

Wilbur groaned, “Ahhh Phil, can’t you turn into a crow and find him?”

“Nope,” Phil answered while popping the ‘p’, “Besides, it’s been a while since we’ve ‘hunted’ as a family.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes, he supposes that this family activity isn’t that bad. They walked along, going into the more rundown and poor neighborhoods until Techno stops abruptly.

“Mate, what is it?” Phil questions but this wasn’t a question that needed to be answered.

Around the corner of this alleyway had a smell that reeked of blood, this was also the path where Tommy’s scent leads to.

Wilbur was the first one to rush into the dirty alley and his mind froze at the scene before him. There lay Tommy, the innocent blond teen that was just hours ago was smiling without a care in the world. Next to him stood a man holding the lip of a glass bottle, Tommy’s blood stained his hands.

The brunet jumped on the unstable human and went for his throat, he bit down hard, making sure that he can feel the same pain Wilbur felt. Unfortunately, Wilbur was a great killer so the bite that was meant to prolong his suffering accidentally killed the bastard on the spot.

Phil knelt at Tommy and lifted his chin, Tommy’s shallow breathing falling on the vampire’s hand. Techno stood off to the side, this was too much blood for him.

“Hey,” Phil cooed as he tried to wake up Tommy, “Mate, I need you to try and wake up.”

Tommy forced his eyes open, his vision was blurry, only seeing simple shapes and colors. He felt warm hands cupping his face and he felt at ease, maybe an angel came to collect his soul.

“Okay, now Tommy listen carefully. I can save your life, but you’ll turn into a vampire. You can either die a human or live forever as a vampire, what do you want?” Phil gently said, he was hoping that Tommy’s blood loss didn’t make the blond deaf yet.

“Vam…” Tommy whispered, his eyes trying to focus on the people in front of him.

“Yes, we’re vampires,” Phil said, combing through the teen’s hair.

Tommy whined, his face growing colder and losing more color by the second. Phil is almost tempted to turn the kid without his consent but Phil promised himself he wouldn’t do that.

The blond didn’t want to die, Tubbo and Ranboo expect him to return to the market tomorrow. If he died now, they wouldn’t know what happened to him, they might even blame themselves. Tommy doesn’t know what being a vampire entails, he just hopes he isn’t making a mistake.

Tommy let in one big inhale and forced out a “Help...vampire...me”

Phil smiled and with the kid’s approval, Phil tilted the blond’s head and ran his finger along the boy’s neck. He found the vein he was searching for and bit down.

Tommy’s body shuddered at the introduction of a new sharp object piercing his skin. Whatever blood was left in him was sucked out from his neck, his beating heart making the blood exit faster. 

Then something that felt like fire poured into his neck making his fingers twitch. The substance made the blond want to move, maybe even resist the liquid, but he was so weak that he let the fire consume him. All Tommy could hear were soft coos and someone holding him like a baby, rocking him back and forth.

“Shh, fledgling, you’re safe now,” the voice cooed, “You can rest now.”

With those words, Tommy drifted into sleep.

Chapter Text

The night was cool with crickets chirping at the border of the market with light rain drizzling down the tree leaves. At the entrance of the market, a wolf anxiously paced in circles with his tail tucked in between his legs. The wolf was waiting for someone, someone who was taking too long for the wolf to be comfortable with.

Above the wolf flew a witch, coming from the innermost parts of the market, a look of unease on his face. The wolf perked up his ears at the sudden arrival but lowered them when the witch frowned and shook his head.

“He’s not in the market and he didn’t come back yet?” Ranboo asked the wolf.

“Whine, whine, bark,” ‘Ranboo I’m scared, why isn’t Tommy here yet?’ “Whine” ‘He told us he’ll be back tonight and I even found a human place to visit.’

“I don’t know Tubbo, I hope he’s okay,” Ranboo answered looking down at his friend hiding in his wolf form. When werewolves get emotional they revert to their instincts and Tubbo definitely was feeling nervous.

“Yelp, woof, whine,” ‘I hope so too, he was so thin last night. I thought I was going to break one of his brittle bones while we wrestled.’  “Bark, whine, bark,” ‘I swear, when we find him, I’m taking him back to the pack. I know he doesn’t want it but he’s hurting himself by refusing. I’m sure he’ll forgive me after he gets a proper meal inside him.’

Ranboo hummed, “Tommy might hate you for forcing a transformation on him.”

“Snarl, growl, grumble,” ‘I don’t care! He can hate me, FINE! I just want him to live, I can’t stand by and watch him starve himself. Puppies need lots of food to grow and he’s not getting any!’

Ranboo sighed, “I guess… you’re right. It’s not like he’ll be any happier living as a witch. I think he’ll make a great alpha werewolf.”

With that Tubbo wagged his tail and barked, ‘I know right!? Tommy can become an alpha like Dream!’

“Okay then, let’s go find him,” Ranboo grinned and gestured towards the human town that settled at the edge of the enchanting forest.

“Whine,” ‘Dream said not to go there, we might get caught and killed!’ Tubbo warned and slowly backed away and went more into the market.

“Tubbo, we’ll be fine. If we run into any trouble I’ll use my magic to teleport us away,” Ranboo suggested. Tubbo frowned and hesitantly followed Ranboo out of the forest.

Normally, Tubbo would never agree to leave the safety of the forest without his pack but with Tommy missing, the wolf made an exception. Ranboo swirled his wand and changed his witch robes into a hawaiian t-shirt and jeans, he still kept his black and white mask on. His broomstick also disappeared, no need to fly and get shot down by Hunters.

Now, they looked like a human walking his dog without a leash. They walked into town and Tubbo tried to track Tommy’s scent. It was hard because the rain is washing away Tommy’s smell and it’s been a day since Tubbo sniffed the blond.

Ranboo looked at the buildings as they searched for Tommy, all of them were barely standing with holes on every roof. It was a miserable sight, is this where Tommy was living? If Ranboo had seen the state in which Tommy lived, he would’ve dragged his malnourished ass to Ms.Puffy and used magic to get him a change of clothes.

Tubbo stopped at the edge of an alleyway, his nose twitching at a smell that horrified the wolf. It was overwhelming, too many scents but most of them were from Tommy.

It smelled like blood, Tommy’s blood, and there was a lot of it. Tubbo ran inside of the alley, sniffing around to try and disprove his hypothesis. 

“Whine,” ‘No no! Where is he?’ Tubbo cried as he frantically sniffed around, please let him be mistaken, this wasn’t Tommy’s blood, please not Tommy!

“Tubbo what’s wrong?” Ranboo panicked and tried to look around for any clues to what was making Tubbo stressed out.

“Whine, yelp,” ‘It’s blood Ranboo! Tommy’s blood! And someone else was here too, they were bleeding too! Oh my god, Tommy!’

Tubbo let out a loud howl that echoed through the dark streets of the town. The wolf continued to howl, hoping that Tommy would howl back to let Tubbo know he was alright. 

The howling was loud, too loud. Ranboo started to hear human chatter coming from the main street, holy crap.

“Tubbo shut up,” Ranboo pulled out his wand and created a muzzle for Tubbo. The howling ceased and Ranboo grabbed the wolf and hid behind a dumpster. A group of humans walked past the teens, which was too close.

Tubbo shifted into his human form and tears were flowing down his pale cheeks. He clung tightly to Ranboo for comfort, his sense of smell never lies but why was fate this cruel?

“Tubbo?” Ranboo whispered just in case the group of humans were still around.

“Tommy lost a lot of blood here,” Tubbo sobbed, his tears soaking through Ranboo’s shirt, “Humans can’t… he lost so much blood.”

Ranboo furrowed his eyebrows and stood up. He waved his wand and muttered something under his breath.

“What are you doing?” Tubbo asked.

“I’m casting a spell to find Tommy, his body isn’t here so maybe he went to a human medical place,” Ranboo explained and a spark came out of his wand.

A glowing orb left the tip of the wand and floated around the area, hovering to where Tommy’s blood was the strongest and then stopping. Ranboo’s eyes widened.

Tubbo panicked, why was Ranboo suddenly nervous, “What is it?”

“I… I casted a spell to locate our human Tommy but… that was the place he breathed his last breath…” Ranboo trailed off and stared at the alley wall that was stained with something dark.

“No, please,” Tubbo begged through sobs, “He’s not… you must’ve casted the wrong spell. Tommy isn’t dead, he can’t be. He didn’t die here, not alone.”

Tubbo covered his face with his hands and shifted back into his wolf form. The wolf collapsed on the ground and let out a weak howl, it was the only way Tubbo knew how to mourn. 

Ranboo joined in the small funeral with tears. His spells never fail, Tommy was dead. It didn’t matter if they found the body or not because Tommy’s last breath was right here, in an alleyway filled with his blood.

If only the light rain wasn’t crying with them, Tubbo might’ve noticed three faint scents that were barely present in the alley before getting washed away by the rain. Leaving only blood and salty tears to fill the dark alley.

Chapter Text

Something was soft under the boy, like being in a mountain of warm feathers. The blond rolled on his side, trying to find the right angle to fall back asleep. His head touched another plush pillow and Tommy nestled his head into it, it smelled washed and clean.

Wait… clean?

Since when did Tommy own anything clean?

Tommy forced his heavy eyes open as light crawled into his irises. Who knew a dim lamp could be so blinding. Tommy adjusted his eyes and looked around, he was in a bedroom, a big fancy one at that.

He laid on a bed three times his size, it was massive! The red fluffy blankets and squishy pillows almost made Tommy fall asleep again, but Tommy resisted, he wasn’t done looking around.

A wardrobe was across the room, it was tall and had designs of leaves etched into it. The floor was partially covered by a long rug that went all the way up to the burning fireplace in front of the bed. Of course, there was a side table next to the bed with the lamp shinning on top of it.

The teen blinked, rubbed his eyes, pinched himself. Was this a dream? All Tommy owned was a ripped cardboard box for a bed, nothing to this scale. Tommy blinked again, was he kidnapped? What happened last night?

The blond thought hard, trying to recall the events leading up to this point. So he got stabbed by some bitch, okay. He fell on the dirty ground, okay. He thinks that people were trying to talk with him but he can’t remember what they were talking about and then nothing.

Well, that didn’t help much, just back at square one. Maybe he can find some clues to where he is.

Tommy tried to get up, he lifted the warm blankets off and slowly moved his legs to the edge of the bed. His body felt sore and sluggish, moving his limbs was more of a workout than he initially thought.

The teen tried to stand up but then immediately fell back down, the room was spinning. He dropped to the floor and his head ached, he felt like he went on a rollercoaster with loops and high drops.

The room was too much, from the panic of not knowing where he is to the gentle snaps of burning logs, Tommy didn’t have time to process any of it.

“Are you okay?” A calming voice asked. Tommy looked up to see a man with green robes and golden hair, his smile was gentle and his eyes… they were red!

“Vampire,” Tommy gasped in disbelief. The teen has encountered almost all supernatural creatures at the market, all except vampires.

The man’s crimson eyes soften as he knelt down to Tommy’s level, “Yes, I am a vampire. Now, let’s get you back in bed.”

The vampire picked up Tommy and place him back into bed, all of Tommy’s progress to leave the room reset.

Tommy stared at the vampire and how he moved with grace, every movement flowed without hesitation. Kinda made him look like a snob.

“So, I take it that I’m kidnapped?” Tommy asked as the vampire tucked him into bed. Not that Tommy could refuse the massive amounts of blankets getting thrown on him, he was too weak to fight it.

“I wouldn’t put it like that,” the vampire argued, a friendly smile staying on his face, “I’ll call it taking care of you.”

Tommy rolled his eyes, sometimes supernatural creatures like to mask their malicious words with sugar-coated phrases, “Does ‘taking care of me’ mean that I’m going to become a blood bag for you? Cause let me tell you this now, I’m the Big Tommy Innit! Biggest of men, furious warrior! If you hurt me I’ll hurt you back tenfold!”

The vampire tilted his head until he exploded into laughter, “Oh excuse me for laughing, I just didn’t expect that response.” The vampire combed through Tommy’s hair, “And don’t worry about me drinking your blood, we’re well past that point now.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Tommy pestered and a wide yawn escaped his mouth.

“Awe, do you need to sleep more?” The vampire cooed, a sound that Tommy hated himself for enjoying. With the gentle touches and being babied, Tommy felt loved.

“Stop patronizing me,” Tommy muttered in annoyance, he hopes that the vampire wasn’t using some weird mind control bullshit to make Tommy feel all fluffy inside.

The vampire looked at Tommy with fond eyes until a sudden realization hit him, “Oh since you’re awake, we should get you some food. I bet being all skin and bones isn’t fun.”

“Fuck you too!” Tommy hissed, he really didn’t need his physical appearance being judged by a strange vampire.

The vampire chuckled at the swear and pulled out a flask from his coat, “Here, drink up!” The vampire offered the container to Tommy with the blond unsure of it.

“Uh… sorry to disappoint Mr.Vampire, but I’m a minor. I can’t drink alcohol,” Tommy said but the vampire still pushed the flask into Tommy’s hands.

“You can call me Phil,” the vamp-... Phil smiled, “and don’t worry about being a minor, the liquid isn’t alcoholic.”

Tommy intensely stared at the flask, hopefully, the vampire isn’t lying. With a gulp, Tommy ingested the fluid inside the flask and surprisingly, it was sweet. Tommy couldn’t believe what he was tasting, how did something this amazing exist? The teen drank the entire flask, his belly being full for the first time in a while, it almost hurt to feel his stomach expand.

Tommy has a hunch that if this liquid was warmer, then it would taste even better instead of being cold.

“I’ll be sure to get you a proper glass next time, but I didn’t know you’d wake up so I’m a bit unprepared,” Phil laughed and Tommy, feeling all bubbly from drinking and his previous experience with Phil’s touches, joined in the vampire’s joyful laughing.

Phil smiled deeply at Tommy and ruffled the teen’s hair once more, “Now, get some sleep. You need to conserve as much energy as possible.”

Tommy smirked and closed his eyes, Phil’s hands massaged his headache away and the teen fell into a deep slumber.

__________

Tommy woke up to something poking his cheeks, he angrily opened his eyes and was confronted by another vampire with pink hair.

“Ah good, you’re awake,” the monotoned pink head said.

“How am I suppose to sleep with you fucking harassing my precious face?! Of course, I’ll wake up to such a crime!” Tommy yelled and swatted away the vampire’s hand.

The vampire huffed, “Heh, you act just like Wilbur, he’s going to love you.”

“Who the fuck is bitchbur?” Tommy was annoyed, he was okay with Phil but Tommy had no clue what this other vampire’s motives were. And now he’s talking about some other vampire fucker, great.

“Is Tommy awake Techno?” That was Phil and he walked into the room holding a pair of clothes.

“Yeah, I’m fucking awake! This bitch violently woke me up!” Tommy exaggerated but it seems like Tommy’s sarcasm didn’t translate, Phil’s happy face morphed into disappointment.

“Techno please, be gentle with him. He’s still very weak,” Phil softly told Techno, Techno frowning at being scolded.

Phil’s attention went back to Tommy, “Now then, let’s get you washed. You’re filthy and can use a new change of clothes. Techno can you help Tommy to the bathroom. Gently this time?”

Techno sighed and supported Tommy’s weight since the blond couldn’t walk yet with his sore muscles. They waddled to the bathroom, inside were the common sink and toilet but what shocked Tommy was the mega huge shower and bathtub. The bath seemed to be one of those hot tub baths and the shower had a built-in seat to sit on.

“Holy fuck,” Tommy didn’t even know he thought aloud until he heard Techno chuckling.

“Yeah, we’re a bit rich,” Techno said nonchalantly but Tommy could hear the slightest indication that Techno was amused by his reaction to the bathroom.

Tommy frowned, “You know, I’m sorry man.” Techno raised his eyebrow in confusion making Tommy panic to explain, “Uh, about, you know, getting Phil mad at you. I didn’t mean for my joking to be harmful. I’m sorry.”

Techno huffed and didn’t reply. He guided Tommy to the shower seat, told him how to adjust the water temperatures, and left. He left Tommy alone to awkwardly think to himself, did Tommy just make Techno more upset?

Phil came into the bathroom and place the pile of clothes on the counter. He glanced at Tommy and noticed the teen’s troublesome thoughts.

“What’s wrong Tommy?” Phil cooed and gently carded Tommy’s hair.

“I think I made Techno more upset with me. I wanted to apologize for making you angry with him but he didn’t say anything, I messed up,” Tommy answered and leaned more into Phil’s touch, he needs comfort if he did anger a vampire.

“Don’t worry too much about it mate,” Phil explained, “Techno is a bit shy and probably didn’t know how to accept your apology. I’m sure he’s grateful for it, if he wasn’t, he would’ve told you that you made him uncomfortable.”

Tommy hummed in acknowledgment. Phil gives a light pat on Tommy’s head before leaving the bathroom so Tommy can start bathing.

The blond got undressed, not like his thin, worn-out clothes were a much hassle to get off, and stepped into the warm shower. Tommy needed to use the built-in seat because he still couldn’t stand but the warmth of the shower filled him with energy.

After finishing, Tommy dried himself off with a soft towel and put on the new pair of clothes. Phil had given him a yellow turtle neck sweater and a pair of jeans. Tommy was thankful for the turtle neck, even though Phil said that he wouldn’t drink his blood, it was still nice to have a barrier between his exposed neck and a vampire’s fangs.

Tommy stumbled out of the bathroom and into the hallway, he was left alone. Tommy knows that his room is directly in front of him but there was no one here to stop the energetic teen from exploring.

Off he went, using the wall as a support as he walked down the hall. The corridor was long with a few doors branching into separate rooms. Tommy tried to go to a room on the opposite wall but as soon as Tommy left his support wall, he fell on his face. All of the energy he got from the hot shower melted away and left Tommy crippled.

“Do you need help, little Tommy?” Someone snickered above him. Tommy turned to see a man with brown fluffy hair grinning at Tommy’s shortcomings, he also had red eyes.

“For your information, I am a Big Man, I will not tolerate being called ‘little’ in any context,” Tommy demanded but he seemed to only make the vampire grinned wider, revealing his fangs in the process.

“Awe, but you’re so little, you can hardly stand,” the vampire cooed making Tommy very frustrated.

“Oi! Fuck you too bitch! I can stand if I want, I fell on purpose!” Tommy justified but this vampire wasn’t buying it.

“Hmm, okay then, if you can walk, then go back to your room. You obviously need more rest, especially with those weak little muscles of yours,” the vampire teased but only added fuel to Tommy’s stubbornness.

Tommy stared into the vampire’s eyes out of spite and struggled to get his legs to move. He was going to prove to this vampire that he’s a stupid vampire and that Tommy is a big man.

Unfortunately, Tommy failed and fell back down before taking more than two steps. The vampire burst out with laughter and Tommy flipped off the vampire.

 “Okay you fucking gremlin, let’s get you back into bed,” the vampire said before scooping up Tommy like a sack of potatoes and carried him back to the room.

“Why can’t I move my body anyways? I already know you vampires kidnapped me so you might as well tell me if you’re drugging me too,” Tommy said while the brunet placed him on the bed.

The vampire giggled like Tommy told a joke, “Well you did lose a lot of blood, plus you’re malnourished, PLUS the turning process sucks a lot of energy out of you. With all of those three things mixed together, yeah, I’d assume you’d feel like shit.”

Tommy froze, a nervous laugh tried to comfort his mind, “What do you mean… by turning process?”

The vampire blinked, “What do you mean ‘what do you mean’? Tommy, you asked Phil to turn you when you were dying in that alley, do you not remember?”

“Uh, no. I remember getting stabbed, hearing voices, and then nothing,” Tommy tried to think, what else about that night did he forget?

The vampire’s face melted with pity and brought Tommy in for a hug, “Oh Tommy, we thought you knew. I hope this doesn’t make our relationship awkward, we’ll make sure that you do not regret vampirism and joining our coven.”

Tommy let the vampire try and console him over the loss of his humanity but that wasn’t the thing Tommy was worried about. He was concerned over the fact that he knew nothing about vampires or what they did besides drink blood.

Tommy thought of joining the supernatural world so he could hang out with his friends properly without being the weak human of the group. Tommy’s scared that becoming a vampire would change his relationships with his friends.

The main reason why he never took Tubbo’s or Ranboo’s offer to be adopted to their families was because he didn’t want the other to feel jealous for not getting chosen. He didn’t want their bonds to be strained or broken. Tommy hopes that being a vampire won’t affect Tubbo and Ranboo negatively.

Chapter Text

After being bedridden for two extra days, Tommy finally got enough strength to walk around his room. Even if he could only walk for five minutes before collapsing, he still enjoyed the few moments of freedom.

Phil would regularly visit him, always bringing three meals a night for Tommy to chug down. 

"I'm surprised how fast you've gotten used to drinking blood," Phil pointed out one night while Tommy eagerly sipped his food.

"Pff, it's because I'm the Big Epic Tommy Innit! I ain't no bitch!" Tommy exclaimed but his wide smile drooped slightly.  "I just count my blessings," Tommy admitted.

"Blessings? Care to elaborate?" Phil asked as he took away the empty cup. This was Phil’s chance to bond with his youngest, a gentle eager smile encouraged Tommy to talk.

Tommy fiddled with his fingers, seemingly embarrassed, "Well, it's not rocket science Phil. From what Wilbur told me, you saved my life and I'm grateful for that. I'm not about to commit suicide because I'm not human anymore, I'm just optimistic."

Tommy paused, his heart growing heavy, “Can I tell you something, Phil?”

“Anything,” Phil responded worriedly upon seeing Tommy’s expression drop.

Tommy took a deep breath, "That's also why my best friends are a witch and a werewolf. I'm not stupid, I've heard the stories of witches torturing humans for their experiments and werewolves violently slaughtering humans, but they were the only ones to treat me like, well, human."

Phil’s expression softened and pained, "I hope you know that the market you always hang around in is neutral grounds. They might've wanted to hurt you but couldn't because of the market laws."

Tommy frowned and held his legs close to his chest, "Yeah, I know." Tommy's voice quivered as tears tried to leave his eyes, "But even if they… wanted to chop me into pieces, at least I would've had the illusion of friends for a while."

His tears betrayed him as they fell and created damp circles on his shirt. Tommy's been keeping in his fears for so long and here he was, spilling his secrets to a vampire he hasn't known for more than a week.

Tommy was all too aware of the dangers with befriending supernatural creatures because rumors always stemmed from something true. He's sure that Tubbo and Ranboo wouldn't hurt him but staying paranoid has kept Tommy alive for this long, he wasn't about to ignore his human instincts. It was common sense that Tommy was playing with fire while hanging out with his friends. The market may have been a safe haven but they could’ve easily followed Tommy outside and killed him without anyone knowing.

Through his wet eyes, Tommy noticed Phil wrapping his arm around Tommy’s shoulder and brought him into a loving hug. It was stupid to trust someone so quickly but Tommy really needed the comfort right now and Phil is the closest thing Tommy had to a father figure. Phil rubbed the back of Tommy’s head, making Tommy feel safe and cherished.

"You don't have to worry about anyone threatening to hurt you anymore. I promise as your Sire that you will be safe for all of eternity," Phil said with Tommy snuggling into his embrace.

Phil smiled at his tired fledgling and hummed a lullaby, one he always sang for Wilbur when he was younger. The sleepy teen looked so peaceful and precious, a fragile baby that needed to be protected.

The elder thought back to Tommy’s concerns, to the troubling werewolf and witch Tommy spoke of. Phil can vaguely remember the two creatures with Tommy at Niki’s establishment, they seemed harmless but looks can be deceiving.

He carried Tommy back into bed and tucked him in. Once Tommy was snuggly wrapped in blankets, Phil left the room. He would have to do research on these friends and see if they're good for his fledgling.

__________

Tommy managed to make it past the bedroom door and now his next destination was down the hallway. It’s his tenth attempt to walk down the corridor but something tells Tommy that today will be the day he leaves his room and explore.

The blond dragged his feet across the hallway floor as each step got heavier and heavier. He's already bested his personal record but it was nowhere close to his planned walking distance for today. 

His hand landed on a doorknob, maybe there's a chair to rest on inside and recover his strength. Tommy pushed open the door to find the pink-haired Techno reading a book on a black leather couch, slouching with his feet kicked up on a coffee table.

The room he entered was a large study. Bookshelves covered the walls, filled to the brim with books, and at the center of the room were a couple of couches and a desk with a laptop.

Tommy walked unevenly to the empty couch and fell on it, his muscles gave out as soon as they touched the surface. Somehow even Tommy’s arms were tired, man, this is not a good day for the Tommy Innit community.

"Look at you, making it all the way here on your own," Techno annoyingly said, "I'm impressed." He didn't sound impressed.

"What do you take me for? I am the best man that ever lived! A little walk barely made me exhausted," Tommy lied.

Techno scoffs, "Yes, of course, that's why you're almost sleeping on the couch. Totally not from fatigue."

"Yup, now if you will excuse me, I'm going to relax a bit before starting my intense training to attract all of the women," Tommy smirked and finally closed his eyes, he would only rest his eyes for a moment, and then it's back to exploring.

The teen fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed, Techno huffing in amusement. This orphan was strange but a good strange.

Techno went back to his book with the kid’s barely audible snoring as background noise. He would carry Tommy back to his bed later, for now, Techno enjoyed the silent company.

The door clicked again and Techno raised his head, Wilbur walked in and froze when he saw the sleeping blond.

"Is he sleeping?" Wilbur whispered as to not disturb the child. Techno nodded.

Wilbur tiptoed to Tommy and sat on a space of the couch not taken up by the sleeping beauty. An evil smile appeared on his face and Wilbur pulled out a marker from his trenchcoat.

“What are you doing?” Techno questioned. Wilbur didn’t answer and only held up his finger to his mouth in a shushing position, telling Techno silently that he was about to do something sneaky.

Techno rolled his eyes, “Don’t make me call Phil and tattle on you.”

“Come on Technoblade, I swear I’m going to be harmless,” Wilbur reasoned while taking the cap off the marker.

Techno hummed, "Sure, I highly doubt that you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart Wil."

"Oh come on, it'll be funny," Wilbur responded and he started to draw a black circle on Tommy's face.

"Why are you doing this anyway? I never took you for petty drama," Techno asked, his mind trying to understand Wilbur's insanity.

Wilbur stopped his assault and smiled crookedly, "It's just in my nature to cause chaos, my dear coven brother."

Techno sighed and went back to his book, "Just warning you, if Phil gets angry with you for messing with Tommy, I'm not going to try and defend you."

"Of course, I expect nothing less from his second in command," Wilbur praised and went back to drawing cat whiskers on Tommy.

Techno huffed but didn't try to stop the vampire, if Wilbur wanted to feel the wrath of Phil later then who is he to stop the fool? They did their separate activities in silence, only being interrupted by soft snores and little giggles.

Just as Wilbur was finishing his masterpiece, the blond started to stir awake. His quiet snoring became annoyed grunts until his eyes gently opened.

Wilbur, who was startled by Tommy waking up, didn't have enough time to hide the marker. Tommy blinked at the marker, unsure why a marker was so close to his face. Wilbur, like the fool he was, became a deer in headlights and didn't even try and hide his crime.

Tommy went to rub his eyes awake until his hand brushed against his cheek and touched cold wet ink on his skin.

"Wh-what the fuck?" Tommy tried to make sense of his situation until he looked back at the marker.

"Oh you bitch," Tommy mumbled before tackling Wilbur to the ground, Wilbur was too stunned to jump out of the way so Tommy got the best of him.

"Hey, Tommy how about we talked about this?" Wilbur begged as he pretended to be pinned to the ground. The fledgling was still too weak to hold him down but Wilbur admired the blond’s fighting spirit.

A low laugh came from Techno, he was enjoying the show but decided that it needed something to add flair to the brawl.

"Tommy, here," Techno called out and in his hand, he offered Tommy a black marker, "Make Wilbur suffer."

Techno grinned when Tommy accepted the marker without hesitation and lowered the ink to Wilbur’s pale face.

It would be easy for the ancient Wilbur to scoop up the child and not get his face defiled, but seeing the smile on Tommy’s tired face was worth any torture the kid had in store.

Wilbur willingly let the blond draw on his face but if the fledgling got too carried away, then Wilbur would stop it.

When Tommy was done with his revenge, Wilbur had squares, circles, and other miscellaneous shapes on his cheeks and forehead.

All of the energy Tommy restored from sleeping was used to tackle Wilbur and he was getting tired again. He rested his head on Wilbur's chest and noticed how the vampire didn't have a heartbeat nor did his chest move to breathe.

"Do you want to sleep in your room, Tommy?" Wilbur cooed, his hand playing with the blond’s hair.

Tommy hummed sleepily, "Yes, thank you, Wilby."

The vampire snorted, "Wilby? Did you just call me fucking Wilby?" But Wilbur’s question would go unanswered because Tommy was already knocked out by exhaustion.

Wilbur fondly smiled at his new brother and carefully carried him to his room. After getting him in bed, Wilbur wet a rag and wiped the ink off of Tommy’s face. Now with all of the marker ink gone, he let the kid rest peacefully. His mission to befriend the gremlin was a success.

Chapter Text

In a hut, a short distance from the market was a witch picking herbs from a garden. The hut itself could barely be considered a decent shelter but it didn't need to be.

Inside bubbled a cauldron with darkness overflowing in the boiling liquid. The witch stared at the liquid before adding more roots and berries of various types to thicken the horrid soup.

The witch wasn’t alone for long for a short brunet walked into the wooden hut. The boy was carrying something wrapped in paper, he tried to keep his cargo hidden but the smell was putrid.

"You’re late," Ranboo said, his voice was stale and his hands were messy.

"Dream was being extra protective today, he's worried that I might be depressed after… well, you know," Tubbo explained with a frown.

It's been a week since Tommy's death was made public and the whole town was in mourning. Everyone expected his two friends to suffer the worst of it but Ranboo brushed it off and Tubbo would shoot daggers at anyone who mentioned Tommy.

Ranboo glanced over at Tubbo, he didn't like how the wolf was over-emotional about the situation. There was no need to be sad or angry, all they needed to do was get Tommy back.

"Whatever, did you bring it?" Ranboo impatiently asked, staring at the object wrapped in paper.

Tubbo looked down at the thing in his hands and handed it to Ranboo, "Y-yeah, freshly killed before coming here. I have to say, the human farmers are getting smarter."

Ranboo unwrapped the paper and a bloodied baby pig was revealed. The witch smiled and walked over to the cauldron, holding the pig like a baby.

He submerged the pig in the liquid and chanted a phrase Tubbo couldn't understand. The soup mixture simmered and turned into a shade of bright red.

The friends stared into the pot and waited for something. All of a sudden, a pig's front leg squirmed to the surface and kicked with life. The teens smiled sinisterly at their creation. 

Tears spilled from Tubbo’s eyes and Ranboo smiled for the first time after a week.

"Tubbo we did it!" Ranboo exclaimed and brought Tubbo into a big hug, "We figured out how to raise the dead."

The pig was lifted out of the pot and placed on the ground, its legs didn't try to run like a normal pig. It just sat there obediently.

"Is it supposed to be acting like that?" Tubbo asked while he gave the pig a push, the pig was unresponsive.

"Well, the spell isn't perfect Tubbo. We can bring back the body but not the mind. I thought that's what you wanted?" Ranboo asked as he tilted his head.

"I…" Tubbo trailed off before his mind became determined, "Yes, I want this. I don’t care if Tommy doesn't have a mind of his own, I just want to see him again."

Ranboo smiled behind his mask and went back to the cauldron, adding new ingredients to the soup mixture. He gave it a slow stir, making sure that everything was well blended, and then called for Tubbo to approach the pot.

Tubbo hesitated but soon got the courage to stand over the liquid that reeked of death. The reanimated pig only blankly stared at the movements of the boy. Ranboo pulled out a knife, a beautiful dagger with a serpent design twisting around the handle and blade.

“Hold out your hand,” Ranboo instructed.

Tubbo took a step back, anxiously holding his hands close to his chest, “Uh, why?”

Ranboo sighed, agitation slowly entering his mind, “Tubbo, I need to slit your hand. We need to put our blood in the potion. When I cast the spell, Tommy’s body, wherever it is, will reanimate and will follow the scent of our blood back to us. You want Tommy to come back to us right?”

Tubbo looked at his hand, his smooth and soft skin will be cut for black magic. Niki had always warned against blood magic, saying that it was more of a curse than a blessing. That only the desperate and the foolish attempted to use it. 

The werewolf inhaled and offered his palm to Ranboo, he was desperate.

Ranboo gently held Tubbo’s hand and pressed the sharp metal into the brunet’s skin. It ripped and split open allowing his red life force to drip into the magical concoction. 

“Keep your hand over the cauldron, let as much blood fall into the mixture. Do not remove your hand until I say it’s safe,” Ranboo ordered before cutting his own hand, letting his blood join the mixture.

With his other hand, a green glow surrounded it and Ranboo placed his magical hand into the bubbling liquid.

“From death did you part, 

From a corpse, you shall rise, 

Rise and be with the parted,

Let earthly chains break their hold,

Let heavenly bonds shatter their hold,

Bring back the creature to life,

Bring back our Tommy,

Let our blood be a guide,

Smell our blood and return home,

To us.”

Ranboo’s words floated on the air like a dangerous song, a bittersweet melody to bring back what was taken from them. Blood continuously leaked from their hands, the liquid changing color as the chanting stirred the magic within the cauldron. Tubbo’s wound started to burn like a snake was injecting venom into his cut, but Tubbo needs to stay strong, he can’t move until the ritual was over.

The pain was immeasurable, Tubbo thinks that getting a fae to play with your mind was more pleasurable than this. When was it going to stop? His hand felt like it was about to rot off, become nothing but decomposed flesh. Please, Ranboo, say that we can stop.

“...boo?” Tubbo mumbled, he was starting to get dizzy and his hand was in agony. He wanted the lights to go out, he wanted sweet release from this blaring pain.

“Tubbo, slowly remove your hand,” Ranboo unemotionally stated, the witch seemed unaffected by the magic and to his friend’s anguish. An eerie calm was the best way for Tubbo to describe Ranboo’s behavior. He showed no remorse, only focusing on the task at hand.

Once Tubbo removed his hand he felt life itself return to his fingers, all pain experienced from the procedure escaped him. That was hell and Tubbo is glad it’s over. Ranboo slowly removed his hands after Tubbo and wasn’t sweating, unlike the wolf. 

Tubbo knelt on the broken hut floor, a surface Tubbo will never rest on willingly but his body was tired from the blood summoning. The witch walked over to the werewolf and cleaned up his bloodied hand, wrapping it in bandages and healing lotion.

“Now we wait for Tommy to come back to us,” Ranboo whispered to the tired Tubbo, Tubbo giving a weary smile in reply.

“We should name the pig for helping us getting Tommy back,” Tubbo stated.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Ranboo questioned as he glanced over at the undead pig.

“Hmm, I think Michael is a good one,” Tubbo smiled and gently picked up the baby pig, “Hey Michael, because you died we were able to save Tommy too, thank you.”

The pig was unresponsive.

Ranboo grinned, “Yes, thank you, Michael.”

The pig was unresponsive.

The teens smiled at their new toy, if the ritual was successful at locating Tommy’s corpse then Tommy will be just as unresponsive as the pig. He wouldn’t be able to leave Ranboo and Tubbo, making sure that he’s kept safe within the area surrounding the market. They will protect him this time, protecting the image of their friend and keeping him from ANYONE who dares to lay a finger on him again.

__________

Screaming could be heard just outside of a young fledgling’s room, desperate cries and screeches attacked the peaceful sleep that the vampire family once had. Phil ran to his child’s door, his heart hanging heavy at what could’ve made his precious son cry with terrifying pain.

When the Sire opened the door he didn’t see Tommy physically hurt, as he expected, but instead Tommy was sitting on top of his bed, crying and hyperventilating. Phil rushed over to his disturbed fledgling to try and calm him.

“Shush, Tommy, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Phil cooed softly and wiped tears from Tommy’s frightened face. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“P-Phil,” Tommy sobbed with his nose running, he was a mess, “I had a d-dream that I was drowning. And...and green hands were trying to keep me from breathing, they were holding me down… and two people were trying to grab me!”

“Mate, we’re vampires, we don’t need oxygen so we can’t drown,” Phil jokingly said but that only made Tommy tremble and cry louder. 

Phil’s eyes widened at Tommy’s panic and brought Tommy into a big hug, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I know that you’re scared, but it was only a nightmare. You’re safe here, you’re not in water nor are you drowning. You are in my house and you are in your dry bed.”

Tommy clung to Phil like his life depended on it and the Sire held his fledgling tight. Phil noticed how violently his kid was shaking. Phil helplessly couldn’t do anything to relieve Tommy’s pain, the most he could do is reassure his son that he wasn’t underwater. 

“Phil?” Tommy choked out from his sobs.

“Yes?” Phil replied while brushing his child’s blond curls.

“I don’t want to be left alone,” Tommy begged, a childish request that Tommy’s pride hated to admit. He was scared and wanted someone to protect him from his night terrors.

Phil smiled gently, “Do you want to sleep in my room this afternoon?”

Tommy didn’t reply verbally, instead, he leaned into Phil’s hug more. The Sire smiled and took this silent gesture as a yes. He picked up the teen and carried the fledgling to his room. 

Phil placed Tommy on the multiple sheets and pillows he calls a bed. The circular shape of it made Tommy feel even more protected, like how a baby bird is protected in its nest.

The fledgling relaxed and was able to fall asleep again, while the Sire stayed up for a few more minutes. Phil found it cute that his youngest thought he still needed to breathe while he slept, he supposes that old habits die hard. If it weren’t for the two scars on the blond’s neck, Phil could’ve mistaken Tommy for human, it was adorable.

Phil lifted his head to see two red beady eyes staring at him, lingering at the doorway. There stood a hesitant boar with a light pink coat waiting at the door.

Phil chuckled quietly, “Are the voices bad again Tech?”

The boar nodded slightly and stared at the extra sleeping vampire in the nest, “Oh don’t worry about Tommy. Come here Techno, I know you don’t want to sleep alone either.”

The boar carefully walked over to the duo of blonds and made himself comfortable on Phil’s lap. Phil giggled as the boar glanced at him with pitiful eyes, it was amusing to see Techno vulnerable, it made Phil want to protect his sons even more.

Phil snickered, “Wilbur is going to be so jealous when he finds out he missed a nesting opportunity with all of us.”

Chapter Text

Running is an intense movement that Tommy was glad that he mustered enough strength to accomplish. Running, something that Tommy needed, something he needed to exploit. Running from something dark, twisted, and foul.

For most nights, Tommy was trapped underwater, frostbitten water that would scratch at his toes and fingers. It felt like the water was made up of little needles that were meant to increase in pain the more Tommy struggled to breach the surface for air.

This night, however, he was trapped in a corridor void of any light, but yet, Tommy could still make out the details of the dull hallway. Something was behind him, something that wanted to drag the blond back into the frigid water. He refuses to be drowned a fifth time.

So he ran as far and as fast as he could down the tunnel. He could hear cooing voices behind him, urging him to turn around and follow them back into the pool. Tommy covered his ears and sprinted forward.

Tommy thought he escaped the shadowy hands that tried to pull him under but escaping his nightmare wouldn’t be too easy. Blocking his path to freedom was a huge snake with shiny metal scales and leaking blood from its mouth.

The blood dripping out of the serpent had two scents, half of it smelled like honey and the other was sour. Its eyes were bleeding black and the snake’s jaw was unhinged, ready to strike.

“Tommy...come...back...we... love... you” the snake wheezed out, its voice was gasping and desperately forced air into its lungs. 

The sweet, concerning melody of the words were a red flag for Tommy, this snake had ill intentions for him and was trying to mask it with soothing words.

Tommy turned around to try and run from the snake but that’s when a glowing green hand grabbed his shirt and roughly pinned him to the ground. The snake slithered forward, cooing the same comforting words that made Tommy want to vomit.

The snake bit down and Tommy blanked out, encasing the teen in pure darkness. It was suffocating, someone, anyone, please, I don’t want to die again. The snake disappeared and Tommy was once again trapped in an ocean of vile sludge. I don’t want to die!

A violent shiver woke Tommy up, he wasn’t in a black sea or gasping for air, instead, he sat on his bed. A faint warm glow from the fireplace acted as a dim nightlight for the blond to view the area around him.

Next to him was a lamp, there was a rug, a fireplace. In his hands was a fluffy blanket, behind him was a pillow, above him was a ceiling. But most importantly, he wasn’t in water anymore.

His throat gagged and Tommy began to feel nauseous. His stomach flipped and compelled the fledgling to barf up a liquid. It was a small amount but the taste was rotten like dog shit and mud had a bastard child together. 

Tommy held his hands to his mouth, stopping the vomit from soiling his blankets, and pushed it back down. He was nowhere close to a bucket or toilet and since it was less than a spoonful of fluid, Tommy forcefully swallowed it back down.

After his stomach settled, his vivid nightmare returned to him and Tommy began to cry. He wasn’t in the water, no he wasn’t, but what if the water came back? What if water started to leak from underneath the door, filling his room and drowning him again? Or worse, what will happen if the snake came back to hunt him down?

He couldn’t stay in this room, he needed to find someplace safe or at least get a running start from anything that wants to hurt him. Tommy fell out of bed and rushed out of his room, almost tripping over himself.

The hallway wasn’t like his nightmare, it felt warm with candles illuminating the corridor. It was unnerving to be in a place seemingly devoid of harm but something in the back of Tommy’s mind screamed at him to be wary and run.

Tommy bolted down the hall but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard muffled voices coming from behind a door. There were multiple voices, all echoing from behind the closed door. Tommy was about to run again until he heard the familiar laugh of his father, it was Phil!

The teen carefully turned the doorknob and peeked inside, scared that a humongous snake would jumpscare him. When Tommy opened the door he could hear the sucking and licking that was inaudible from behind the closed door. 

Tommy first saw the table with the body laying on it, the human laid limp and they were breathing faintly. Next, he saw Techno at the neck of the human, sinking his teeth deep in the skin to drain more blood from his meal. Next was Phil, his Sire, chewing on a wrist while listening to Wilbur who sat next to the human with a bloodied mouth.

Tommy barely registered the dying person getting drained by three dangerous vampires, he only saw his coven brothers and father who can protect him. Tears of relief trembled out of his eyes, he was finally safe.

He awkwardly walked into the room, making Wilbur’s rant about anteaters cease. Phil and Techno looked up from their feeding and watched with widening eyes as Tommy stumbled upon their ruthless method of eating.

“Tommy, what are you doing awake? It’s almost noon,” Wilbur asked worriedly, he was the only adult without a mouth full of blood to talk.

The vampires expected Tommy to run out of the room screaming for seeing them feasting on a dying human, or freeze in place upon witnessing the animalistic nature in which they gorged on flesh. However, Tommy didn’t try to flee from them, he instead had tears in his eyes and slowly walked up to Wilbur to gave him a weak hug.

Wilbur gently pulled Tommy further into the hug and observed how his brother shivered. The sticky blood on the vampire’s face was dripping onto the innocent golden locks of the boy that desperately clung to him.

Phil wiped the blood off of his mouth with his sleeve, staining the fabric with a red tint. He sat next to Tommy, who was still clinging to Wilbur’s torso, and rubbed circles on his youngest’s back.

“Did you have another nightmare mate?” Phil gently asked his fledgling. Tommy unburied his face from Wilbur’s coat and looked at his adoptive father with pitiful crimson eyes.

“Y-yeah,” Tommy responded and let Wilbur wipe away the tears that soaked his face.

Phil hummed and smiled, “You’re safe now, we promise to protect you from any harm Tommy. I’m sorry that you had to walk into…” Phil glanced back at the body on the table, “...this. I hope that this doesn’t add to your nightmares.”

Tommy shook his head and snuggled with Wilbur. The human body should’ve made Tommy freak out but the feeling of being protected by his coven overcame the natural response to be terrified from seeing vampires kill a person. He was safe and nothing will make Tommy feel otherwise, they were his protection from scary snake monsters.

Phil moved away from his child and took a glass from a shelf, “I don’t think you’ve had the chance to try warm blood yet.” The elder curved his sharp nails and slit the wrist of the human, allowing red liquid to drip efficiently into the cup. “Since you don’t have fangs I’ll give you a glass, here,” Phil handed the cup to Tommy, “have a midday snack before you go back to bed.”

With shaky hands, Tommy grasped the cup and analyzed the liquid. This blood wasn’t like anything from his dream, this blood was gentle but the blood from that serpent was vile and sharp.

The cup was brought to his lips and Tommy let the fresh blood trickle down his throat. The warmth of the liquid made his body relaxed and calm, replacing the disgusting after-taste of his vomit with the sweet taste of juice. The blood created a sense of love and security for the blond. Tommy wishes that his cup was endless but sadly, the last drops emptied from the cup.

He glanced up at Phil with pleading eyes, the Sire snickered at the begging, “I’m not going to give you a second cup, this is just a treat,” Phil looked at Wilbur, “Can you take him back to bed?”

It wasn’t really a question, more like a demand, but Wilbur gladly followed without protest. He took Tommy’s hand and escorted the blond out of the room. 

Wilbur noticed how Tommy got anxious the close they approached his room, the blond came to a full stop a few feet away from the door.

“Tommy? What’s wrong?” Wilbur whispered, his brother trembled as the teen stared viciously at the door. Wilbur made a mental note to be as gentle as possible since Tommy seemed spooked by something.

Tommy, never letting his eyes look away from the door, answered, “Can… can you check for snakes?”

Wilbur raised an eyebrow, “Snakes? I doubt…” Wilbur was going to mention how ridiculous the request was, even if there were snakes inside it’s not like they could do any harm to a vampire. But Tommy’s fright-fill eyes and the boy’s chest rising quickly, the start of a panic attack, made Wilbur forget his intentions to mock the child. “Okay, you wait here and I’ll check for snakes.”

The brunet walked into the room fearless, there was nothing to be afraid of and he wanted to prove that to Tommy. The fledgling hovered at the door, not daring to enter until Wilbur gave a thumbs up. After a thorough inspection under the bed and under the carpet, the vampire waved his hand for the fledgling to enter safely.

Tommy crawled into bed and Wilbur pulled the sheets over him, the blond was so thankful that Wilbur was there to protect him. He smiled and Wilbur grinned back, exposing the vampire’s blood-stained fangs. 

“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep,” Wilbur whispered and Tommy’s eyes started to droop, “and I’ll chase away any nightmares for you.”

With that promise, Tommy allowed himself to sleep, knowing that Wilbur will keep him safe.  

Tommy was a huge contrast from moments ago. Before he was uptight and on edge, but now he was peacefully sleeping without a care in the world. Wilbur hummed and observed how Tommy still ‘breathed’ as he slept peacefully.

Wilbur got up and started to leave, he should get back to Phil and Techno to help dispose of the body. That was his plan until he heard soft whimpering coming from Tommy. He rushed to the bedside and saw that Tommy was panicking in his sleep, it must be another nightmare.

It hurt to see his brother’s face twist with agony and sorrow, he doesn’t deserve to suffer like this. Wilbur pressed his head against the teen’s and closed his eyes, he needed to focus hard if he was going to accomplish this feat properly.

“You will leave my brother, let him only see blissful dreams,” Wilbur thralled and a headache dug into Wilbur’s mind. It was never advised to use vampiric abilities on other vampires but it was worth it to see Tommy’s peaceful face again.

It was better for Wilbur to get a killer headache than have Tommy’s screams forcefully wake up the miserable blond.

Wilbur sighed, he wished he knew what caused Tommy’s nightmares. The kid seemed fine enough with drinking blood so it couldn’t be about the coven, right? Wilbur prays that they, Phil, Techno, and himself, aren’t the cause of Tommy’s hellish night terrors.

However, Tommy did run to them for help, it would be stupid of him to seek out the very things causing his nightmares. Wilbur thinks again, Tommy did mention a fear of snakes, maybe this is past trauma coming to light. Or maybe Tommy’s new situation of being a vampire and living in a lavish manor was too much for him?

A small cough interrupted Wilbur’s thoughts and drew his attention to the fledgling. He really needs to have a heart-to-heart with the kid about breathing, because breathing, and especially coughing, was an unnecessary action for vampires. His mood shifted when he realized that Tommy was coughing up something.

Leaking out of the corner of Tommy’s mouth was something dark. Wilbur couldn’t tell what it was. It wasn’t blood, blood wasn’t that dark. He didn’t see Tommy drink anything other than blood so what is this foreign substance?

Wilbur grabbed a napkin and wiped the black liquid from Tommy’s mouth, Tommy laid peacefully and undisturbed.

The vampire got up, holding the black soaked cloth in his hands, and quietly left Tommy’s room. Whatever was happening to Tommy wasn’t normal, spitting up weird black sludge wasn’t normal. Wilbur hopes that Phil has any idea of what is happening and if it has something to do with his nightmares.

Chapter Text

Tommy having nightmares is normal, since he was born human and has no experience with how gory vampires can get, it’s to be expected that the blond would find living with vampires a traumatic experience. 

This is what Wilbur thought when Tommy announced he had nightmares. Tommy acted as though he loved his coven while awake but as his subconscious took over his sleep, Tommy expressed how he truly felt about the Slumber vampires.

Wilbur thought Tommy was like all the other humans, hiding their true feelings behind obedient smiles, but this black thing in his hands was something else.

The brunet hurried back to the dining room in a panic, whatever is causing Tommy to have nightmares is connected to this black fluid and it wasn’t natural.

He returned to the dining room with the human body already disposed of, only leaving a pool of blood to prove that it was ever there to begin with. Most importantly, the room was missing both his father and brother. They must've retired to the living room.

The hunt continued and Wilbur made it to the living room, inside he saw the two vampires. Technoblade, the ruthless warrior with a bloodlust unlike any vampires before him and sitting next to him drinking from a wine glass was Phil, their Sire. 

To say that Phil was as old as dirt would be an overstatement, but one not too far off. Phil was one of the first, created by power-hungry witches many many centuries ago. Even with all of the experiments and torture Phil suffered at the hands of those dark witches, he still became one of the kindest people Wilbur knows.

"How is Tommy," Techno asked, shattering the vampire’s train of thought.

"Not great," Wilbur confessed, "I had to thrall him to sleep, it’s really bad."

"Well, it's to be expected. You were like that when you were first turned Wilbur, I'm sure he just needs time to adjust," Phil assumed and took another sip of blood.

Wilbur furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't think this situation is that simple Phil." He placed the napkin on the coffee table, revealing the black inky fluid covering the surface. The two vampires leaned forward to inspect the object from their seats, " That was coming out of his mouth after I forced him to sleep."

Phil carefully picked up the napkin and stared at the black dye, “What the fuck is this?” Phil whispered in confusion.

Wilbur’s eyes shot open, “What? Phil, I thought you would know!”

“Wil, I’m old, not omniscient,” Phil sighed and peered at the dark liquid again, “You said this was coming out of his mouth?” Wilbur nodded.

The vampires frowned at the cloth, something was tormenting their fledgling, something dark. Phil snarled, this was making his child scream and suffer and the Sire refuses to let his child suffer any longer.

“Wilbur, go find a box to put the napkin in. Preferably one with a handle,” Phil ordered and Wilbur promptly left the room.

Phil placed the napkin on the table and went over to a neatly folded cloak, one he had taken off before feeding. It was heavy, the thickness of the fabric promised to block out any light and retain a dark shadow within the textile. The sleeves went past his fingers, shielding them from light, and grabbed his iconic green and white hat.

“Woah, Woah Phil, where are you going? It’s midday!” Techno exclaimed and ran towards his Sire. He grabbed the cloak, begging Phil to remove the cloak and not venture outside where the sun smiled.

Phil looked at his panicked son and smiled thinly, “Don’t worry about me Tech, I’ll be fine. I promise not to burst into ashes. I’m going to stay in the shade and if I can’t, I’ll be in bird form, don’t worry.”

Techno kept his worried stare on Phil, it might be okay to leave the house with a sun-proof cloak and shape-shifting but that doesn’t mean that the risk is zero. One mistake and Phil can die in sunlight.

Phil is going to die!

Stop Dadza!

Keep him here, he’s going to die!

Techno slammed his hands over his ears to deafen the noise, they were screaming so loud and it didn’t help his scared mind to calm down. What would happen if the voices were right and they lost their Sire to the sun? That would leave Techno to take care of his younger brothers alone, he can’t do that! Phil might die, he might! In the sun, out there! PHIL WILL DIE!

A calm hand touched his shoulders and silenced his frantic thoughts, it was Phil. The small touch expelled the darkness that plagued Techno’s mind and filled it with warmth and peace.

“It’s okay mate,” Phil cooed, placing a firm grip on Techno’s shoulders, “I’ll be fine and I promise to return in one piece. I think you should get some sleep, it’s one in the afternoon, way past your bedtime.”

Phil’s laughs ushered in a state of serenity for Techno, a gentle smile that Techno knows all too well. It’s always Phil’s smiles that can tame the violent voices to kneel, Techno is sure that it has something to do with the Sire-fledgling bond but he appreciates it all the same.

Wilbur returned with the box, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship with painted birds flying around the wood. The container could easily fit in a single hand and a metal handle crowned the top.

“Thank you Wil,” Phil said and delicately placed the napkin inside.

Once the mysterious infected cloth was securely locked inside, Phil approached his sons, “I should be back before nightfall but I might take longer. Watch Tommy for me and watch each other. I trust you two to take care of yourselves.”

He didn’t wait to hear their responses before he left for the front door, Phil didn’t want Wilbur to have the chance to freak out as Techno did.

Once Phil knew the entrance was clear of any unsuspecting vampires, he opened the door, the only barrier protecting the vampires inside from the horrid sunlight. He stepped out into the hostile environment and braced himself for the blinding light. 

The light was harsh and the temperature was scorching, every fiber of his being desperately wanted to hide in the shadows but Phil was on a mission. Not even his primal instincts can keep him from leaving.

Phil locked the door and placed the wooden box on the ground, making sure that the handle was upright so it would be easier to grab. His skin felt like it was peeling and flaking off of him, but Phil had to keep calm. He might feel like he’s burning up in ashes but he’s not on fire yet, it’s just the heat of the sun making him overreact.

After a few deep breaths to remind himself that he isn’t dying, Phil let the transformation take place. Vampires are known for shapeshifting into bats or demons but that didn’t make up the entire vampire population. His special animal was a crow, a gorgeous bird with shiny black feathers with the looming atmosphere of death.

His clothes magically disappeared with ancient magic lost to time and all that was left was a crow and a box. The crow hopped towards the box and with his claws, carried the box handle. With a mighty flap, Phil launched himself into the air, the box was much heavier to carry in his smaller stature.

Although Phil was protected from the sun’s rays while in a crow, he still felt extreme heat exhaustion the longer he flew. He tried to stay under the cover of trees but it was already so late in the day that the weather created a heatwave. It wouldn’t last forever since Phil could see the edge of the market, he was almost there.

Chapter Text

Phil shifted back into a humanoid form with his thick cloak and marched into the plaza. The mythical creatures working their day shift stared at the vampire who walked in broad daylight. Many of them stopped their work of getting their products ready for the nighttime rush and spectated the odd sight.

The vampire passed many empty stalls and lazy workers when he finally reached his destination, a cafe overgrown with vegetation. However, the plants seemed less lively than usual, with the flowers wilting and ferns shriveling. The inside didn’t look much better with the plants seeming worse as most of the plants turning brown. 

“Niki?” Phil called out, his voice disturbed the dead silence that lingered in the cafe.

He walked further into the room, getting tenser by the lack of green plants around the cafe, Phil hopes that Niki is alright. The vampire passes empty tables, this place looks very different when there aren’t customers to attend to.

Phil made his way to the back of the restaurant and there was a small bar filled with various drinks for various types of creatures. At one of the bar stools sat a fae with rosy hair and wings that folded like they were melted glass.

Niki’s back was turned to Phil as she sipped a glass of water, sulking in the dark corner of her usually colorful and bright restaurant. The fae’s mood is reflected by the plants surrounding her, shriveling more the longer her frown stays on her face.

“Niki?” Phil whispered but the quietness was too loud for the fae and made Niki flinch, snapping her head towards Phil. Her eyes were red from tears and her whole body tensed up by Phil’s sudden appearance. 

Niki relaxed when she saw that it was Phil who entered her cafe and put on a forced smile. The smile was so unsettling that it was better when she was frowning, at least she wouldn’t be trying to pretend.

It was manners for faes to smile submissively and to mute themselves. Only speaking when beginning spoken to since fae magic involved the use of trickery and manipulation using their words, it was seen as respectful when a fae refused to talk to their clients.

“Niki, you don’t have to be formal with me, you’re allowed to talk,” Phil softly said and the fae’s smile curled into a frown once more, “What’s wrong Niki?”

She wiped a tear falling down her cheek and laughed slightly like she thought of a funny joke, “Yes, of course, sorry for my unprofessional appearance. I know you vampires like to keep to yourselves so you probably haven’t heard the news.”

Niki rotated her body to face Phil, taking another sip of water to rehydrate her throat, “You know the boy you asked about last time you were in town?” Phil nodded, “Sadly he went to the spirit realm about a week ago, the whole town is distraught. For better or for worse, everyone is upset at the news.”

Niki paused and clenched her glass hard, “You know when I first met him, he gave me his name. He was a fearless boy, or maybe a naive one, but even after his friends scolded him about telling me his name, he still smiled like he didn’t do anything wrong. You should’ve seen him when he offered to shake my hand, ‘Hello I’m Tommy, how are you ma’am?’ He was…”

Her voice hitched and choked out, tears began to return to her eyes, “He was such a stupid human, such a bright, cheerful, and stupid child. I still regret not using his name against him to lure him to my house on that unfortunate night.”

A sad laugh escaped Niki’s depressed voice while reminiscing, “Tommy would’ve been the most beautiful fae if I was able to get my hands on him. I should’ve forced him to be my changeling, maybe he would still be running around with his friends if I did that.”

The fae started to cry and the plants join in on her sorrow, curling their leaves and dying. Phil placed a hand on Niki’s shoulder to try and console her, he didn’t know that Tommy had such an effect on the market’s residences. 

The vampire thought Tommy was just a human that everyone viewed as a circus animal, as a rare and entertaining sight but nothing personal. After seeing Niki sweep for Tommy and how she desperately wished she adopted him made Phil rethink his understanding of the situation.

“I don’t think you need to worry about Tommy anymore,” Phil softly said, “I’m not sure if this is appropriate to mention after your long monologue but, Tommy is doing fine, he’s staying with me.”

Niki’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped, “W-what? How? Tubbo told everyone that he lost a lot of blood and died.”

“Well, he was bleeding heavily when we got to him, so that makes sense. Also, his wound wouldn’t heal properly after I bit him so he lost even more blood. The reaction on Wilbur’s face when the bite didn’t stop bleeding,” Phil chuckled, “he thought we were too late. Oh, the ignorant youth.”

A wide smile expanded on Phil’s face as he laughed about the event, Niki, however, didn’t know how to process this new information. She thought that Tommy died and that it was somehow her fault that she didn’t do anything to stop it. 

Yet, here’s a vampire proudly exclaiming that he rescued Tommy and that the boy is doing well. Tears flowed from her eyes not out of misery but out of relief.

Phil smiled at Niki’s joy but soon remembered the box in his hands, “Since we’re on the topic of Tommy, I want you to take a look at something Niki.”

The fae furrowed her eyebrows, “What is it?”

“This,” Phil slid the box over to Niki as she glared at it, “Tommy’s been having nightmares that we thought was normal until he started to spit something up. I need you to analyze it for me.”

Niki’s delicate hand hovered over the box, unsure what to expect from the container.  She cautiously tilted the box, unlocking it to see was has gotten Phil nervous. Since this concerned Tommy's health Niki had more drive to help the vampire.

The lid was slowly removed and the fae hadn't even seen the contents inside before jumping back. Her chair fell on its side the moment Niki sprung out of her seat. It was the first time in a week that her wings weren't droopy with grief, instead, they flared up in fear.

The thing inside the box was screaming at her, begging her for pain, begging her for death. It was toxic and suffocating, like poisonous gas emanating from the beautifully carved box.

"Where… you said that was coming out of Tommy?!" Niki yelled. Her heart felt like some evil presence was trying to rip it out.

"Niki, what's wrong?" Phil panicked, "Please, is my son going to be okay?"

Niki's eyes drowned with horror, never letting herself glance away from the box. The darkness kept within the box almost dared Niki to look away, to look away and let the monster within the box kill her while her guard was down.

"Elder vampire, we need to consult a witch. I'm inexperienced with this type of evil," Niki shuddered and Phil closed the box, trapping the darkness once again in the wood.

Phil frowned and his mood turned sour, "You know I don't interact well with witches, can't you just tell me what's wrong."

"Yes, I can tell you what's wrong, but that doesn't mean that I can cure it. We need a witch," Niki argued, her wings stretching out aggressively. She doesn’t care if vampires have a history with witches, if this vampire gets in the way of saving Tommy from harm, Niki is willing to get her hands bloody.

Phil huffed with irritation, "I don't deal with witch-"

"Do you want Tommy to die?!" Niki interrupted as she closed the gap between her and Phil, "Stop being stubborn for one measly second and realize that this is serious! This isn't some small illness, it's a fucking dark magic curse!"

Phil snarled as the fae approached him, Niki was making it clear that she wouldn't mind getting violent, "No I don't want Tommy to die." He gritted through his teeth.

"Then shut up and follow me, I know a witch that is awake at this hour," Niki commanded and she stomped out the door, not bothering to check if Phil was following. 

Phil’s rage boiled at the idea of seeking aid from a disgusting witch but there wasn't much he could do. He needed answers and Niki refuses to give any, only bickering about how a witch is their only hope.

He begrudgingly followed the fae, covering himself in the heavy cloak once again. They marched through the lifeless streets of the market, the day wasn’t the time of business after all.

They soon came upon a house with a purple roof and tons of herbs growing at the front. The house had an odd shape to it like the whole building was contorted by something unnatural. Very befitting for abusive magic users.

Niki was the one to announce the duo's arrival with loud banging on the door. The fae usually carried a sense of grace with her but after dealing with a stubborn vampire and news of a sick Tommy, she decided it was okay to be less patient today.

The sound of objects falling alerted the vampire that someone was coming to answer their call. A woman with fluffy hair opened the door and she gave a welcoming smile to her guests.

"Niki my lovely, what can I do for you?" The witch asked, a tender smile curling her lips.

Niki sighed and stepped to the side to bring Phil into full view of the witch, " He needs help but I think it'll be best to discuss this inside with shade and behind closed doors." The witch smiled thinly and opened the door wide for the fae and vampire to enter. 

The inside was bizarre with long ladders stretching to the second floor and some disappearing to the basement. Books and scrolls littered the floor, it was impossible to walk anywhere without stepping on a few loose papers. It was a disgusting mess and Phil hated it.

The group walked away from the foyer and went into a private room. The room was like a glorified closet with vials and potions sitting upon shelves on the walls. A large cauldron hissed at the group when they entered, a vocal welcome from the inanimate object.

"So, a vampire? Never thought I'd ever see the day a bloodsucker would seek help from a witch. Must be something serious," the witch concluded, making Phil growl lowly at the reminder of being in business with a magic degenerate.

"Don’t think too highly of yourself witch," Phil sassed, "You were not my first option for help."

"But you still came here nonetheless," the witch smiled maliciously, her eyes full of pride at getting a terrifying vampire to beg at her feet for help.

"Okay enough you two," Niki snapped and pointed to the box in Phil's hands, "We came here for information on that. We would appreciate it if you can review it."

Phil huffed but still lent the box to the witch. As much as he hates witches, she is his best chance for helping his fledgling.

The witch inspected the box, running her finger around the lid of the container. She furrowed her eyebrows, her cocky demeanor replaced by focus and concern.

She cautiously lifted the lid as if she expected something to jump out at her. Her nose scrunched and she frowned in disgust. 

The witch pulled out the napkin and was careful to hold it away from her, treating the object like it was a deadly poison. She rushed over to the cauldron, quickly tossing in the cloth, and watched the material violently dissolve. It sounded like something was screaming from the cloth as it disintegrated into liquid, drowning the whispers within the cauldron.

The witch’s eyes widened in horror, “Where the fuck did you get this?!” She was so calm moments ago, putting herself on a pedestal above her guests. It was unsettling to see the arrogant witch become nervous.

“Puff-Puff, you remember that human Tommy I told you about? Well, he survived his blood loss by becoming a vampire,” Niki informed, “But now that black stuff is coming out of him, we were hoping for answers.”

The witch, nicknamed Puff-Puff by the fae, rubbed her temples and gave herself a head massage, “Um, okay," she shuddered in an inhale trying to calm down, "you want answers and I’ll tell you that it’s dark magic, more specifically, the blood type.”

“Blood magic,” Phil muttered under his breath with fury. He’s had one too many encounters with blood witches and to say that this leaves a bad taste in his mouth would be an understatement.

Puff turned to Phil, determination in her eyes, “How is Tommy normally? Is he walking? How about eating?”

The vampire huffed, he wanted to make sure everyone knew that he was enraged with the diagnostic of blood magic, “Besides this black fluid and nightmares, he’s maturing as a vampire normally.”

“That’s a fucking miracle!” Puff uttered in disbelief, “Oh my god, this is crazy.” The witch trailed off and laughed maniacally, she was amazed. “Funny situation this is, because you made Tommy undead before the blood spell was casted, you actually saved his life!”

Phil’s mouth dropped slightly, he saved his son’s life?

“Care to explain yourself, witch?” Phil said troubled, what would have happened if he didn’t turn Tommy?

The witch’s hysteria paused and looked Phil dead in the eyes, “Well, if he was still alive like if he was a human, werewolf, fae, etc., the spell would’ve made his soul shattered and he would’ve died a painful death. Imagine that! You can feel the energy of your spirit being torn apart before…” Puff imitated an explosion with her hands, making it clear what would’ve occurred.

“But since the kid is a vampire, wow, that must mean that the blood magics are competing with each other, neither of them gaining full control over the other. Heh, it’s kinda funny, who knew vampire blood magic could save someone from a blood curse,” Puff concluded with Phil glaring at the witch.

It was revolting to see a witch praise vampire blood magic like it’s some great accomplishment, it’s not. It’s a sick and cruel curse made to turn any humans into creatures with an uncontrollable savage bloodlust, not to mention any other complications that arise from the vampire’s curse. Techno being the poster boy for why blood magic is a wicked sin.

To hear the witch relish in the idea of Tommy surviving a blood curse by having another curse thrive in him is sickening. This is why Phil hates witches, they always strive to learn by any means and it doesn’t matter who gets hurt. She doesn’t care about how this might be killing Tommy, no, Puff only cares about the fact that two blood curses are living in someone.

"Since the blood spell is being held back by the vampire curse, does that mean Tommy will be fine?" Phil asked impatiently, he's done with this witch treating his son like a new specimen to analyze. 

"Oh no, of course he won’t be fine. The vampire blood curse is only delaying his death, at least, that’s my hypothesis. I'll actually need to do a physical check-up with the kid to know for sure," the witch smiled, the eagerness all too present in her hazel eyes.

Phil snarled aggressively, flashing his fangs at Puff, "I'm not bringing my youngest anywhere near your tainted hands. I know you witches, with your labs and chambers, I will rather die than let you take Tommy away to that shit-show."

"Elder, please stop being stubborn and selfish," Niki hissed. Her nose scrunching up in rage, "This isn't about you right now, this is about Tommy! He's dying and Puff-Puff is the only one who can help. So stop with your hatred of witches for five minutes and save your fucking son!"

Phil was startled, the fae always maintained a friendly and calm attitude but this tipped her over the edge. As much as Phil wants to yell at the fae for being naive on the cruelty of witches, he can’t disagree that Puff is the only one that could help.

“Fine,” Phil gritted his teeth, “But on two conditions. First off, I’m not bringing Tommy here nor am I having a witch visit my house, we need to find a place outside to meet that isn’t one of those options. Secondly, all three of us will be attending the check-up to make sure you don’t do anything sneaky. Do we have an agreement?”

Puff smiled, the witch seemed too excited to meet a dying child, “Yes that is fine, how about Niki’s place?” The witch turned to the fae, a smug grin widened on her face.

“Yes you can use my cafe, I can have my place closed for tonight,” Niki sighed, it’s not ideal to have business stop but she’ll do anything for Tommy at this point.

“Splendid!” The witch exclaimed, clapping her hands in joy, “Oh, one more thing before we depart,” Puff’s smile straightened, creating a small frown, “We can’t tell anyone about this, Tommy’s ‘revival’ needs to be hush-hush until I lift the curse. We don’t know why someone casted a spell on Tommy, especially since the spell was casted post mortem. It’s concerning to think that someone wants to do something bad to the kid, it’s best to keep his status of being alive a secret until we flush out the caster.”

The trio nodded in agreement and Phil readjusted his protective gear to venture outside into the blaring light. Tommy now had an appointment with a witch at Niki’s cafe, which will be closed for privacy. All that was left to do was to fly back home and tell his sons about tonight.

Chapter Text

A yawn woke Tommy up but the coziness of his bed was calling him back to sleep. He thinks this is the most peaceful he has woken up since he first got here, it's like a fog wrapped around his mind forcing him to feel at ease.

Tommy turned on his side to get comfortable again until he hit a… wall?

Wait, this wasn't a wall on his bed, it's fucking Wilbur! Why was Wilbur sleeping in his bed? The jerk has a bed of his own, why does he need to hog the blankets on Tommy's bed?!

Of course, Tommy did the only logical thing and started to kick him off the bed. The mighty Tommy Innit will reclaim this mattress if it's the last thing he does.

With that, the blond started his attack, constantly pushing Wilbur on the stomach and legs to roll him off the bed.

"W...what the fuck?" Wilbur blinked awake, still dazed by drowsiness to realize what's happening, "Wait, Tommy, stop! You’re pushing me off!"

Tommy grinned wider and with one last big kick, he managed to get Wilbur off his bed and onto the floor.

"Yeah, bitch, this is the property of the Epic Tommy Innit so you can fuck off my bed," Tommy laughed and made his middle finger an acquaintance to Wilbur.

Wilbur snickered, "Oh, you want to play Tommy? Fine, I can play your game."

Before Tommy could make any snarky remark against goofing around, Wilbur got up and laid on Tommy like a pillow.

"Wilbur! Get the fuck off of me!" Tommy yelled as he tried to lift Wilbur off of him.

The brunet was so heavy, Tommy can hardly comprehend how such a slim person can be so heavy. The more Tommy struggled to remove the fat-ass Wilbur, the more Wilbur hollered. The laughter was a direct insult aimed at Tommy’s pride, he will not lose to this bastard's attack.

"Wilbur I swear to god if you don't get off of me, I'll….I’ll bite you!" Tommy promised but Wilbur didn’t take the threat seriously, he only raised an eyebrow like the smug bitch he is.

"Oh yeah?" Wilbur smiled, trying his best to hold in his laugh as he talked, "I don't know what you can do without fangs but knock yourself out... child ."

Child? That’s the last straw, Tommy is going to make Wilbur bleed for that patronizing nickname. He is going to prove to this smart ass that he is a force to fear.

Tommy wiggled out an arm and grabbed Wilbur’s wrist. Wilbur didn’t seem to care but that was going to be his mistake, the poor fool doesn't know he's going to be in a world of pain soon.

However, when Tommy bit down, planning to inflict unholy amounts of pain to Wilbur, instead, Tommy heard a tooth crack and pop.

Tommy immediately spat out Wilbur’s wrist and covered his mouth in shock. His tooth was agonizing and the powerful chomp on Wilbur's wrist pushed the sharp roots of the tooth deeper into his gums.

Wilbur heard the sound too, he got off of Tommy and lifted his brother's chin, "Shh, Tommy you're okay, no need for tears."

Tommy was crying? The blond didn’t even notice, he was in too much pain and was too scared to realize he was weeping.

"Hey Toms, can you open your mouth wide for me? You did a strong bite and if it's what I think it is, you're probably in a lot of pain," Wilbur softly said, his voice was gentle and barely above a whisper.

Tommy’s lips trembled and shakily he opened his mouth. Wilbur lightly rubbed his brother’s shoulder but the touch only made Tommy shiver further. He was scared and Wilbur wouldn't elaborate on what was happening.

Wilbur hummed calmly as he inspected Tommy’s mouth, “Oh? Oh! My goodness, how is that even still attached to your gum? It’s practically hanging off.” 

The vampire moved his fingers and lifted Tommy’s top lip, exposing the tooth to the world. Tommy groaned when Wilbur poked at the sensitive muscle hugging his painful tooth, and then, Tommy couldn’t feel any pain anymore.

Wilbur removed his grip on the fledgling’s jaw and Tommy was able to relax. The blond gazed up at Wilbur and to his surprise, Wilbur held a tooth in between his thumb and index finger. Showing it off like a precious jewel.

Tommy’s eyes widened and ran his tongue around the area where his mouth ached, he was shocked again when he found a gaping hole to where a tooth should’ve been.

Wilbur giggled at Tommy’s bewilderment and hugged the blond tightly, “Oh my little brother is finally getting his fangs.” Wilbur cooed and continued to cuddle Tommy.

“Fangs…?” Tommy asked, baffled at the idea of getting vampire fangs. 

He’s really a vampire now, isn’t he? Tommy has been so busy getting used to his adoptive family’s smothering love and running away from nightmares that the reality of being a part of the supernatural world hadn’t clicked in Tommy’s mind until now.

‘It’s kinda cool, not gonna lie,’ Tommy thinks as Wilbur’s hug cradles him like a baby.

“Hey dumbass! Get off of me, I’m not a ‘little brother’ that needs to be cuddled! Take your clingy ass to Techno or something!” Tommy didn’t hate the affection but he wasn’t about to give up his ‘Manly’ appearance. Big men didn’t need to be held like children.

“Heh, you’re definitely not a little brother, more like a helpless orphan,” Techno said as he walked into the room while Wilbur held Tommy captive.

“Oh fuck you Techno! I’m the biggest man here!” Tommy argued but only got Techno to laugh at his statement.

“Yes, of course, that’s why the ‘biggest man’ is currently trapped within Wilbur’s arms,” Techno disputed and walked over to Tommy, “Anyways, how are you feeling this evening? Any pain anywhere? Did you sleep alright?”

Tommy stared at Techno who for some reason had an odd interest in his dreams and sleep. Especially since Techno is the only one in the vampire family that didn’t show much interest in Tommy’s daily struggles or bother to befriend the Great Tommy like how the others did. It’s strange to have Techno suddenly so invested in him.

“Uh, fine? I guess?” Tommy didn’t know how to answer Techno’s blunt questions. The situation became a bit awkward, Tommy has never had a long conversation with Techno so he doesn’t know if Techno expects Tommy to add more to the discussion.

Techno hummed and squinted his eyes as he gazed into the fledgling’s irises. Techno soon furrowed his eyebrows and disappointedly looked at Wilbur who was sitting behind Tommy.

“Are you still thralling?” Techno deadpanned, “And don’t say that you’re not, look at Tommy’s eyes, they are more grey than usual. That can’t be healthy for neither you nor Tommy.”

Wilbur pouted with a frown, “Fine.” The vampire sighed and snapped his fingers, “You’re no fun Techno.”

Tommy felt the release of the spell by how light his body became. There was a heavy warm blanket keeping him close to Wilbur but now, that burden was lifted and even his eyesight became clearer.

“Oi Wilbur! Did you use some weird vampire voodoo on me?! What the fuck!” Tommy exclaimed and playfully punched Wilbur in the arm, just strong enough to show Wilbur that he was a bit bothered but didn’t hate the vampire for it. If anything, being ‘thralled’ wasn’t the worst thing Tommy had experienced so it can be easily forgiven.

Wilbur smiled thinly when he saw that Tommy didn’t hate him for using a thrall. Usually being thralled is rude and shouldn’t be used excessively, especially on other supernatural creatures. Wilbur was worried that the moment he released his control over Tommy’s mind, the little fledgling would resent him, breaking his brotherly bond with Tommy.

Wilbur is glad that his use of thralling didn’t push Tommy away from him. The last thing Wilbur wants is for Tommy to dislike him and avoid him.

Before Wilbur could respond to Tommy’s comment on vampire voodoo Tommy’s face contorted with distress and he clung to his stomach. The fledgling fell on his side and hugged his abdomen, screaming in pain. The pain-inducing howls rang through the room and hot tears streamed down the blond’s face.

Wilbur rushed to his brother’s side, panicked, “Tommy! What’s wrong? Talk to me!”

“W..il, my… belly,” Tommy wheezed out, grasping at his sides and curled in a ball.

Wilbur knelt down and placed one hand on the kid’s head and another on the stomach that was tormenting Tommy.

“Begone pain and make Tommy feel nothing but glee,” Wilbur thralled, his pounding headache returned with ferocity.

Tommy laid on the floor motionless and his eyes becoming cloudy once again. At the same time, his pain dissipated and normalcy returned to his muscles. They weren’t trying to twist and turn like moments ago, instead, they loosened and relaxed.

Rapid footsteps raced down the hall and their Sire bolted into the room. Phil was still wearing his heavy cloak and had a faint smell of smoke lingering on his clothes.

"I heard a scream," Phil panicked and his concern only grew when he saw Tommy laying on the floor.

"Wilbur is using a thrall to keep Tommy’s pain down," Techno explained, making Phil take a deep breath.

The Sire turned to his fledgling, observing Tommy like he's delicate glass. Tommy was still recovering from the intense pain so he only smiled at Phil, not bothering to get up just yet. 

The reaction made Phil’s stress levels decrease and confronted his sons calmly.

"Besides just now, did anything else happen while I was out?" Phil questioned, glancing over at Techno and then at Wilbur.

"No, I've been here all day with him," Wilbur admitted and ruffled Tommy's hair, "Oh yeah! Tommy is starting to lose his human canines! Here look!"

Wilbur displayed the small tooth in his palm, a bone that lacked any sharpness to it. Phil’s smile widened and Tommy would swear that he saw tears in the corner of Phil’s eyes. Phil sat next to Tommy and lifted the fledgling to sit on his lap. 

The Sire was combing through his son's golden locks, "My precious fledgling is growing up too fast, I wish I can keep you as a baby forever."

Tommy would’ve kicked and yelled that he wasn’t a baby to maintain his appearance as a Big Man, but the fog in his mind only made him lean into the touch of his Sire. Wilbur's stupid vampire magic was making him want to be cared for and at the moment, Tommy doesn’t mind the effects of thralling.

Techno joined the sitting circle around Tommy and snapped his fingers at Tommy's eyes. Tommy didn’t react to the sudden movement, he was too relaxed by the thralling to let Techno’s bothersome snap distract him.

"Uh, Wil?" Techno asked unsure, "How much are you using?"

"A powerful one, I can’t bear to see Tommy in pain, I can’t risk it," Wilbur said with a look of fear forming on his face.

Techno huffed and waved a hand at Tommy’s face, to the vampire’s surprise, Tommy followed the hand with his eyes.

"At least he still has some free will in there," Techno sighed. Tommy is acting more clingy than usual because of Wilbur’s thrall but at least the kid knows what's going on.

"Hey Tommy, I want you to meet someone tonight, you think you’re up to it?" Phil asked softly, the constant combing in his hair was hypnotic and made Tommy melt into his Sire's arms.

With a low hum, Tommy answered, "I don't mind meeting your friend, dad." Tommy pressed himself against Phil’s chest, something in the back of his mind was wanting him to snuggle with his Sire.

Phil laughed and carried his fledgling like a baby, "I see that Wilbur’s thrall is making you say things you've never said before, but I appreciate you calling me dad."

Phil’s dead heart fluttered when he saw Tommy smiling and hugging him. Vampire Sires never get the chance to have a loving bond with their fledglings, since most are forcefully turned and hate their Sires. The vampire only start to love their Sire after they have matured.

Yet, here is Tommy, a fledgling that loves his Sire and doesn't try to run away in fear. It might be because of the thrall but deep down Phil knows that Tommy isn’t like other humans. 

It always broke Phil’s spirit when he saw Wilbur or Techno cower in fear when they were first turned and he couldn’t touch them for a few years before they stopped screaming. With Tommy, Phil could hold his newborn and cherish his son much sooner.

The vampires headed to the front door, the empty foyer became full of vampires getting ready to leave. Phil removed his heavy cloak and put on a thinner one, he did not need to carry it around while the sun slept. He sat Tommy on a bench and once he knew Tommy wasn’t going to cry from the lack of physical contact because of the influence of the thrall, he turned to his eldest sons.

"So, since when do you have friends Phil?" Techno questioned as he put on his outdoor boots.

Phil groaned, "The individual we're meeting isn’t my friend, we’re meeting a witch at Niki’s." 

Wilbur and Techno’s eyes widened and Wilbur spoke up, "A witch?! We can't trust those… monsters ! How do you know it can be trusted?"

"We don’t," Phil admitted with a frown, "But unfortunately, she's the best bet to save Tommy’s life."

"Save his life? Phil, how bad is his condition?" Techno asked, glancing back at Tommy who is sitting like a doll.

"Dark blood magic type of bad. Now, come on, we don’t have all night," Phil ordered and opened the door. 

Wilbur and Techno frowned at the news of meeting a witch but believed that their Sire knew what he was doing in regards with seeking counsel from a witch.

Phil allowed Wilbur and Techno to get a head start but before leaving, Phil draped a hooded cloak on Tommy.

"Dad? Why do I need this?" Tommy asked, analyzing the fabric and the little patterns that embroidered the cloth.

Phil thought about telling Tommy the truth but he decided to not scare his son with the burden that he’s dying from someone’s dark spell and the fact that the perpetrator is probably looking for him. 

“It’s because I want to keep you all to myself, I don’t want anyone else to see you,” Phil cooed and adjusted the hood to shield Tommy’s face.

Tommy’s face became flustered and his pale features had a bit of redness to them. Tommy didn’t notice the pitiful smile Phil gave him. The Sire knows that Tommy’s childish behavior is mostly influenced by Wilbur’s thrall but at least Tommy can walk without being in excruciating pain.

With Tommy’s hand in his, Phil walked out of the house and rejoined his eldest sons who were already halfway down the path towards the market.

Once they got into the market, Phil held Tommy close to not lose him in the busy crowd. Faes, fauns, and everything in between were running around buying and selling goods from their stalls. Luckily, the Slumbers have a reputation not to be messed with so they got no attention while dragging a suspicious cloaked teen down the streets.

Soon enough, they arrived at the fae’s cafe. Phil notices that the building was a lot livelier since this afternoon. The plants wrapping around the walls and windows were regaining their green and vibrant colors. When they walked in a bell chimed, alerting the group’s arrival to the people waiting inside.

There were no other patrons inside the cafe except for a lone witch with fluff hair sitting at a table. The witch looked up from her tea and waved at the vampires, inviting them to sit with her. 

They sat down, each vampire arranged themselves so that they could view every single movement of the witch. If she as so much as blinks with aggression, they’ll be ready to deal with her. She took one last sip of her tea before addressing the men she invited to the table.

“Ah, now, shall we get started?” She cheered and begun to stand up before Phil could answer.

Phil nodded but that had little effect on the witch who was already at Tommy’s side, analyzing him from head to toe. Tommy just sat patiently and raised an eyebrow at the witch’s strange behavior. When the fledgling turned to Phil for answers, the Sire only smiled, letting his fledgling know that she was safe to be around.

Techno rang the tiny metal bell placed at the center of the table and Niki appeared. He and Wilbur ordered blood drinks, regular AB blood and a blood coffee. It was subtle but this was their way of settling their nerves from being around a witch. All of the vampires at the table were tense except for Tommy, who had no idea of how curel and dangerous witches can be.

“Hey there Tommy,” the witch said after she finished observing the blond, “My name is Puffy and your Sire told me you are having nightmares. Now I can help but I’m going to ask you to remove your cloak for me.”

Tommy glanced back at Phil, Phil nodded and permitted Tommy to obey Puffy’s commands. He took off the cloak and then, Puffy placed her small hand on Tommy’s chest. She forced her eyes shut, focusing on the energy within the boy, and moved her hand down to his belly. She hummed and reopened her eyes.

“Is there some magic being used on the boy?” Puffy questioned as she glanced over at the vampires.

“Tommy is under the effects of thralling right now, Wil told me that he used it after Tommy screamed in pain,” Phil explained.

Puffy hummed once more, “So you’re using the thrall as a pain killer? That’s smart in more ways than one. I mean, it’s good that the kid isn’t crying in pain but the thrall is acting as a bandage and keeping all of his guts from exploding.”

The witch laughed but that made Tommy’s face twisted with horror. Phil didn’t tell Tommy details about the meeting nor did he mention to Tommy that this visit was a matter of life or death. The blond turned to his Sire once more but didn’t get a further explanation on what the witch was talking about.

“Anyways,” Puffy spoke and interrupted Tommy’s panicked mind, “Don’t worry Elder vampire, your fledgling’s condition is treatable, I just need to perform a ritual and the curse will be lifted.”

“How soon can we start this ritual, witch?” Phil interrogated, glaring at the witch that was smiling all throughout her examination. She must enjoy having a new lab rat to use her experiments and spells on.

Puffy hummed and counted with her fingers, “Let’s see… we’ll need sliver roots, Jackal tongue, some other things… let’s say a day. Yeah, come to my house tomorrow night and I’ll fix your boy right up.”

Phil furrowed his eyebrows at her request, “Why do you want us in your house? Why can’t we meet back here tomorrow?” 

Phil doesn’t trust the witch, she could cast a spell around her house, trapping his family inside. He doesn’t know this witch’s background, he doesn’t know if she is a blood witch who craves dark magic, including the dark exploitation of vampire experimentation.

“Well it’s simple, my cauldron is there and I can’t be bothered to transport it here,” Puffy faked whined. 

Maybe she was lazy or maybe she was trying to lure the Slumbers into the witch’s lair. The risks are high but the innocent look in Tommy’s eyes reminded Phil why they were talking with a witch in the first place.

Phil huffed out a deep sigh, “Fine, tomorrow night, we’ll show up around eleven. Have it ready.”

Puffy’s sadistic smile curled and she skipped towards the door, “Oh, by the way vampire, be sure to keep the thrall up, it’s the only thing keeping Tommy alive at the moment.” With that last comment, she disappeared out the door.

Silence washed over the table, no one dared to comment on the witch’s confession. A thrall is meant to control the muscles and even the mind of its target but to use it to keep Tommy’s organs from tearing up was a horrifying thought. Wilbur was single-handedly stopping Tommy’s internal bleeding by forcing the kid’s body to squeeze the wounds together.

“Phil?” Tommy meekly said and picked at a napkin on the table. His head hanging low and this eyes directed at his feet, “Am I dying?”

Tears threatened the Sire’s eyes, never in his life would he think that he’d hear his child ask if they were dying, “No, no, Tommy,” Phil pulled Tommy into a hug, “The witch said you’ll be alright once we get this ritual over with. Don’t worry and remember what I told you.”

Tommy stared into his Sire’s sad eyes, “You told me that you’ll keep me safe for all eternity.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Phil smiled and combed through Tommy’s hair, the fledgling leaned into the rub. “Now, let’s go home.”

They started to leave until Niki placed a gentle hand on Tommy’s shoulder. She had red eyes like she had been crying, but instead of a frown plastered on her face, there was a smile. Before Tommy could say a word, she dragged Tommy into a hug, clinging to him like he was about to disappear. Sniffles and sobs came from the fae, Phil noticed how her wings seemed healthier today.

“I’m sorry Niki, but we must be going,” Phil gently said making the fae removed herself from Tommy. She bowed respectfully to her guests and left them at the front door.

Tommy left the warmth of the cafe and entered the hectic streets of the market. Voices calling others to buy things, people running around chasing their children. The blond had missed this place, the chaos brought a weird form of tranquility for Tommy, it was ironic. 

He stood still to soak up all of the sounds that were once his only comfort from his dull human life. From little bells to the crackling of fire dancers down the street, Tommy remembers all of the noises that made the market special.

One sound, however, became audible. A sound Tommy didn’t expect to hear but was all too familiar.

“Tommy?” A short werewolf said in disbelief, his eyes lit up the longer he stared at Tommy. A familiar witch stood behind the wolf and the witch dropped his jaw as he gazed at the blond.

Chapter Text

The market became silent in an instant, the shouts of salesmen deafened in Tommy’s ears. The young fledgling locked eyes with his two friends, the werewolf and the witch. 

It felt like ages that he’s seen his friends, even if it’s only been around a week, it was still a week too long for them to be apart. Tommy missed their playful banter and meaningless pranks. He started to slowly walk towards them, wanting to give them a big hug and express how much he missed them.

“Tommy?” Tubbo said, his voice the same high pitch and sweet as Tommy remembers from a week ago.

At least, that’s what Tommy hoped, but something was...off.

Tommy stopped dead in his tracks, his legs refused to move with unfathomable fear pumping into his calves. His legs turned into rocks too heavy for him to lift.

He looked back at Tubbo with horror, the kind werewolf had a voice laced with venom. It was the same voice torturing him in his nightmares, the same voice begging him to drown in the black sea of death. Tommy stepped back, he wasn’t going to let that sickening voice drag him back into that nightmare.

“Tommy? Come here! We can protect you,” Tubbo called out, his words carrying toxins making Tommy want to throw up with every syllable the werewolf uttered.

Tommy retreated, trying to expand the distance between himself and the voice coming out of his friend. The more Tommy backed away, the closer Tubbo stepped forward, his voice cooing louder with each approaching step. 

It hurt Tommy’s ears as the voice sang hellfire in his mind. Why was something so evil coming out of his best friend? Why does he simultaneously want to hug and run from the wolf?

Suddenly, the fledgling bumped into someone and the figure placed a firm hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“I don’t think he wishes to speak with you, I’d advise that you leave,” Phil sternly announced, his grip on Tommy’s shoulder tightening.

A look of confusion grew on Tubbo’s face, wasn’t Tommy supposed to crawl back to them? That’s what Ranboo said. Speaking of which, the wolf notices how tightly the vampire holds Tommy and so did Ranboo. 

“Tommy, please, come here,” Ranboo cooed, trying to lure the blond with the melody of the two teens’ voices encouraging Tommy to follow them.

Tommy shook his head as his eyes on the brink of tears, he retreated further into the cloak of his Sire.

Anger swelled inside Tubbo, Tommy was theirs, not this vampire’s toy! They were the ones to bring Tommy back from the dead, they were the ones that sacrificed their blood into that spell, they had the right to lay claim on Tommy’s body!

The vampire must’ve captured Tommy’s walking corpse when it was heading towards their blood. Thinking that it was some type of plaything, the vampire trapped the dead body of their friend in his clutches, refusing to let the spell guide Tommy back to the ones that love him. If this vampire thinks that he can just steal the body after all the pain Tubbo and Ranboo went through to revive him, then the vampire has another thing coming.

Tubbo, with his sharp claws, slit his hand, allowing thick crimson blood to leak out of his wound. He was going to prove to this vampire that not even his vampire magic can keep their dark spell from working. Tubbo just needed Tommy to walk away from the vampire, letting his friend’s corpse follow the scent of the blood fueling the dark spell.

Tommy’s breathing quickened, his eyes overflowing with terror. The air smelled like honey, a sweet aroma urging him to lean forward, to walk forward. As much as the blood tempted him to approach the source, Tommy instead buried his face into Phil’s cloak, trying to mask the scent of blood with the smell of his Sire.

The blood, as Tommy remembers, is the same blood from his nightmares. The same blood pooling out of the snake’s gaped mouth. If there was anything Tommy feared more than the voices telling him to drown, it was the snake.

“Are you fuckers mentally ill or something?” Phil yelled and wrapped Tommy in his cloak. The teen was trembling and clinging fiercely to his Sire, "You never show an open wound to a vampire."

Tommy shuddered underneath the fabric, the sweet smell of blood was dense and the air hung heavy with terror. The fledgling desperately want to sink his teeth into the flesh that produced such a sweet smell. Fangs or not, he wanted to tear and gnaw at the skin to drink. But this blood came from his friend, one of his only two best friends. 

He was hungry from not eating anything since yesterday and was rushed out the door after he woke up. If it wasn't for Phil’s secure grip keeping him in place then Tommy would regret what he might do to his friend, no matter how the blood reminded him of that snake.

He's scared, too many emotions were conflicting. Is he hungry and wants to feed on his friend or is he trying to run away from the blood because it gives him flashbacks to his nightmares?

Tubbo growled, a low and deep vibration making bystanders stop and stare, "You have no right to keep him from coming with us!" Tubbo yelled, his eyes trying to see the outline of his friend inside the cloak, "He's our corpse! Give him back!"

"Corpse?! How dare you call us such a derogatory slur!" Techno snarled. It was true that vampires are undead and are technically walking corpses but mentioning that is beyond insulting. "How would you like to be called a feral little mutt? You disgusting runt."

Something in Tubbo’s mind snapped at that, and he forgot the one unspoken rule of the market: No fighting.

 He lunged at Techno, sharp wolf fangs digging down into the vampire’s arm when Techno tried to protect his neck. Blood gushed out, the wound was deep, purposefully and intentionally deep.

Techno reflexed his claws and swiped at the wolf, causing Tubbo to release his hold on the vampire to avoid getting injured.

There was a moment of quiet tension, no one daring to move and provoke another attack from the opposing side.

Phil glanced around at his children and the pair in front of them. Techno’s arm was bleeding, nothing that he can't recover from but it will hurt for a while. Wilbur seemed on the verge of passing out as he maintained the headache-inducing thrall over Tommy’s mind and the added stress of his brother bleeding was making Wilbur struggle to concentrate.

Then there's Phil, his hands were full trying to keep Tommy from killing anyone, from his newfound instincts from getting his first fang, and trying to comfort the scared teen.

They are at a disadvantage, not from lack of potential strength or numbers but instead from the fact all of the vampires are handicapped in some manner.

Tubbo paced and glared at the vampires, trying to find an opening. The vampires seem overwhelmed, one seemed distracted and another is cradling his bloody arm. All that was left is the vampire trapping Tommy's dead body, touching Tommy so intimately that it makes the werewolf want to puke.

Tommy was theirs, always and forever theirs. They just needed to free him from the vampire’s control.

"Tubbo," whispered Ranboo, "if I can touch Tommy then we can escape. I need you to go on the offensive so I can reach him."

That was a plan the wolf could get behind. His eyes darted back to the vampire trying to hide Tommy from them. With a growl Tubbo charged at Phil, leaping to the vampire’s throat. He knows it won't be enough to kill an ancient vampire but a crushed throat will certainly incapacitate the vampire a little.

Phil dropped Tommy and punched the oncoming wolf, letting Tommy collapse under the pressure of his instincts and struggling to restrain himself from going on a massacre. 

Tubbo yelped and whined when his body slammed on the rough dirt. The punch from the vampire sent him flying into the ground, scraping fur and skin against sharp stones embedded in the soil. Tubbo whined when he saw his paw started to swell, a huge bump pulsating through his twisted tendons and muscle.

But a few seconds of distraction is all Ranboo needed. He waved his wand and casted a sphere of lighting, a flash bomb. Vampires have a natural weakness to bright lights so it was no surprise to the witch that all of the vampires covered their eyes in pain at the explosion.

Ranboo ran in and dragged Tommy's corpse away from the filthy hands of those selfish bloodsuckers. 

Ranboo grinned, they finally had Tommy, or at least the lifeless, hollow dead body of their friend.

The witch noticed a spark in Tommy’s eyes, a glance that shouldn’t exist within their friend's resurrected corpse. Ranboo brushed it off, there's no way for their dark spell could bring back their friend's soul, only their friend's dead body given fake life. There was no way Tommy was trying to tell them something silently when he isn’t supposed to have emotions or a mind of his own.

Tommy was, in reality, trying to say something. He tried to tell his friends to stop and beg his new family to stop fighting, but a dense fog muted his speech. He felt light and docile, whatever Wilbur was doing was too much. All Tommy wanted to do was sleep and eat and the cloud in his mind made Tommy too comfortable to care about the danger around him.

Wilbur was stressed and Tommy could sense it, the overall aching in his brain as he and Wilbur fought over control. He knows Wilbur means well but Tommy really needs to say something, please Wilbur, stop freaking out for one second and loosen your control!

Tommy’s request would go unanswered, the little whisper in Wilbur’s head telling him to stop was over shunned from his sheer panic of letting go of the thrall and killing Tommy. He didn’t have to go this hard but with the problematic situation of Techno being injured and the blinding magic, Wilbur couldn’t think straight.

Once the vampires regained their sight, Tubbo already limbed over to Ranboo who was holding Tommy. Phil ran towards them, trying to save his baby from the two that attacked them. 

Unfortunately, Phil would be too late because with a flick of Ranboo’s wrist, the trio teleported away, leaving the coven of vampires in the middle of the market.

The pained and terrifying shriek of the vampires echoed throughout the streets. Anyone who wasn’t paying attention to the fight before were now observing the aftermath of a broken family. The Slumbers lost their youngest and the family's cry could only be soothed by blood.

Chapter Text

The swirl of light faded and they weren't in the market anymore, they were at the old and broken hut.

Tubbo looked around, a bit dazed from the teleportation spell, and noticed that the group had spawned in the living room of the abandoned house. Squeaky floorboards threatened to break and the smell of mold was faintly present.

They were home at last.

The sweet victory was short-lived as angered stomps ran towards Tubbo. He glanced in the direction of the noise and was met with a strong slap in the face.

"Are you stupid?!" Ranboo yelled, his voice was deep and darkness echoed in the vibrations, "All we needed was to grab Tommy and you went and drew blood! Do you understand the shit we're in?! No, you probably don't, this is why werewolves are stupid."

"Go fuck yourself!" Tubbo growled as he hugged his burning cheek, "And you told me to go on the offensive! We got Tommy, isn't that what matters?!"

"Yeah, it matters, if you also wanted the whole market to be enraged with us! I only told you to strike because you’ve already painted a target on our backs! You were a bad dog today, I'm disappointed in you," Ranboo yelled in Tubbo’s ears. 

The condescending tone made Tubbo lower his head in shame. He didn’t mean to make Ranboo angry, he just wanted Tommy to be safe.

Ranboo sighed and patted Tubbo’s head, ruffling his hair, "Shh Tubbo, you will be okay, as long as you don't make that mistake again, I can forgive you."

The witch’s words wove like a blanket of thorns in the werewolf's mind, filling it with poison but then quickly soothing Tubbo’s thoughts to encourage good behavior. 

Tubbo soaked up all of the foul words and all of the gentle coos Ranboo told him. It was true, he was a bad dog today but that can change if he just listens to Ranboo. Tubbo doesn't want to lose the friend that brought Tommy’s resurrected corpse back to him.

Tubbo turned his head to the body lumped in the corner. The spell, Ranboo’s spell, worked. Tommy sat tiredly in the corner, motionless and here. Tubbo missed his human friend and now the blond can stay with them forever, it was the perfect replica of their deceased Tommy.

Tubbo sat next to Tommy’s lifeless body and leaned his head on the blond. He was happy to have Tommy back, or at least the dead image of his friend, but Tubbo can play with the toy tomorrow. Right now he wants to sleep and heal his sprained wrist.

Tommy’s cloudy eyes forced him to stay still, no matter how much he wanted to scream for his friends to notice that he's alive, he couldn’t.

He wants to tell them that he isn’t just a doll but instead a vampire that can now visit all of the restaurants in the market that his human anatomy wouldn’t allow. 

But the words came up dry. He tried to flex his vocal cords to make a sound but nothing came out. The thrall was heavy, Wilbur was pushing too hard, panicking too much. 

Tommy could feel it, the uncontrollable despair from his brother. He could feel the rage from Techno. Tommy misses the gentle hugs from his dad, his Sire.

But they weren't here, there was no way to tell them that he was safe with his friends. The only thing he can do is rest his eyes and wait.

__________

Morning fluttered into the cracks of the boarded-up windows and seeped through the holes in the ruined curtains. The soft glow of orange and yellow rays hugged the teens that slept on the hard floor.

Tommy stirred awake, a voice in the back of his head telling him to run away from the light but the voice was faint. Barely audible to the blond.

The sun licked his golden locks and kissed his head with warmth. The longer he sat under the light, however, the more the sun's gentle heat turned into a boiling panic. 

The voice tried to scream louder and Tommy understood the message although he didn’t hear the exact words.

He slanted over and adjusted himself to sit under the cover of darkness, far from the crawling death that the sun produced.

A heavy lump laid on his lap, something Tommy only noticed after changing positions. He ran his fingers across the obstacle, curling in between the soft fibers of hair and… drool?

Tommy shuffled around and lifted his eyes to fully see his environment. On his lap was the head of his good friend Tubbo, laying there without a care in the world. A purple bruise developed on his cheek, tainting his flawless skin with an impurity. It's not uncommon to see the wolf with cuts and bruises, it’s expected since Tubbo is a wild wolf and is bound to get injured. It was, however, not common to gain a small bruise in the middle of his cheek without any other wounds surrounding it. It’s like the wound was inflicted deliberately.

Next to Tommy, the front door opened, the creaky old thing shrieked as it opened. In stepped Ranboo, a talented witch amongst his peers and the last member of the trio’s group. He was holding a basket with a cloth draped over it to protect the contents inside.

Ranboo walked into the house, not minding if his steps would wake up Tubbo. To the witch’s lack of concern, the brunet groaned and wiggled awake.

"About time you woke up, I thought I would have to wake you," Ranboo complained as he placed the basket on a table with three weak chairs surrounding it.

"Well, I was having a good sleep and I'd hate to abandon my pillow," Tubbo explained and dug his face deeper along Tommy’s side, using the blond like a teddy bear.

Ranboo rolled his eyes and sighed, moving away from the duo, and started to unpack the basket. With blank eyes, Tommy analyzed Ranboo’s motions for it was the only form of entertainment while being trapped on the floor. The witch pulled out potions filled with colorful liquids, all of them sizzling and popping with magic. Next was some food, from apples to a whole salmon. In a towel was wrapped something bloody, it smelled sour, not like the blood he was used to drinking.

After a moment longer, Tubbo stretched and walked over to Ranboo, poking at the bloody cloth and muttering something under his breath.

“If you don’t like it, Tubbo, you can always hunt yourself,” Ranboo sighed at Tubbo’s disapproval. Tubbo groaned and sniffed the carcass wrapped in cloth, he frowned but didn’t mention anything to Ranboo.

The two started a quiet conversation with their backs to Tommy. The blond tried to stand up and be a part of their discussion like old times but his legs were heavy and tense. Mist clouded his perception the more he fought to move. He can make little movements like twitching his fingers and wiggling his toes but standing up is a whole new level of effort.

As soon as Tommy gave up hope, his leg moved, and then his arm, and then his torso. Slowly his body became lighter, the dense fog suppressing his movements seemed to fade. It was liberating, to be able to have control over his body again, not having an invisible force weigh him down.

Tommy shifted his feet, positioning them to stand and walk over to his friends. He doesn’t know why Tubbo and Ranboo became so violent at the market but it’s probably just a misunderstanding. 

But realization hit Tommy.

He was under the effects of Wilbur’s thrall, the vampiric magic keeping himself from dying but why did the thrall lessen? Last night Wilbur was under massive amounts of stress and forced the thrall to be heavier. If Wilbur thought he was kidnapped, shouldn’t the thrall be more powerful and refuse to let Tommy move an inch?

“What the fuck…?” Tubbo whispered in confusion, his eyes fixated on Tommy who was standing still, “Ranboo, I thought you said the body couldn’t move! That it’s supposed to be a hollow husk incapable of doing anything without our commands?!”

Ranboo furrowed his eyebrows, glaring daggers at the puzzling dead body of their friend, “I don’t...know.”

“You don’t know?! I thought you knew everything!” Tubbo exclaimed, shuffling towards the witch, begging for answers to why their dark spell wasn’t perfect.

“Tubbo it’s dark magic, of course, I don’t know everything! It’s not like Puffy was teaching me something that has been outlawed for generations!” Ranboo paced around, trying to grasp the situation, “It’s okay! Maybe there’s an explanation in the book or something.”

Ranboo jogged over to a damaged bookshelf and pulled out a thick book with a sliver lock clasping the book shut. As he frantically flipped through the pages, Tommy could only tilt his head slightly, wouldn’t they just ask him what was wrong and not ignore him?

“Ahem...uh… I’m fine guys?” Tommy’s voice was raspy and coarse, he hadn’t realized until he spoke that his throat was dry and harsh. 

When air pushed into his lungs to speak it brushed against his throat, making it sore and made each gulp feel like it was sliding down sandpaper. He could really go for a drink right about now.

Tubbo turned pale, his friend’s voice was speaking to him, something that he never thought he’d ever hear again. Did he finally lose it and start to hallucinate or could this be another effect of the dark spell? Tubbo hoped for the latter, it would mean that things could go back to normal with Tommy having arguments with his friends.

The thought brought a toothy grin to the werewolf’s face, unbelievable happiness seeped out of Tubbo through the form of tears. Ranboo said that there was no way to bring back the real Tommy but Tubbo could live with a fake version of his deceased friend, a puppet that can speak to him like how Tommy would’ve.

“Oh! Here, I think I got it!” Ranboo announced, making Tubbo and Tommy snap their heads at the sudden burst of success. 

Ranboo hummed as he read, absorbing every word to make sure he didn’t make another mistake. He knew that the spell must’ve had a flaw in it and that’s why Tommy wasn’t mute. Ranboo knew he could fix Tommy, he just needed to do it properly this time. Mistakes can happen but Ranboo refuses to let them overshadow his other achievements.

“So it seems that we forgot a procedure during the ritual and that’s making the corpse talk. Don’t worry, there’s a very easy solution to this Tubs, we just need to carve out its heart,” Ranboo explained to a horrified Tommy and a disappointed Tubbo.

"So, is he... is it possessed or something?" Tubbo asked, pulling all of his attention to the witch rather than his friend in question.

It was heartbreaking to say the least. Tommy was right there, hearing everything they said like he was nothing but air to them. They didn't care to filter out their words as one does when talking to a friend. At this moment, they treated him less than that, like he didn't deserve their nice words and kind gestures, he was less than a person, he was only an “it” in Tubbo’s eyes.

"Kinda?" Ranboo said as a question meant to be a statement, "It's more like the corpse has a malfunction."

“But Ranboo,” Tubbo whined, dragging out the name in annoyance, “I like this doll! It can talk just like Tommy can, maybe we can keep it and pretend we’re a family again?”

Tubbo shifted into his wolf form and walked up to Ranboo, giving the witch puppy eyes. The wolf’s request, topped with the deadly gaze of puppy eyes, made Ranboo crumble and succumb to peer pressure.

“Fine, we’ll keep it, but don’t get too excited Tubbo, remember it’s still a dead body of our friend that doesn’t exist anymore,” Ranboo gave the wolf a weary smile that was overpowered by Tubbo’s thrilled expression.

“Hey! Don’t I get a say in this?” Tommy chimed in, if this conversation was about him getting his heart removed then shouldn’t he have a say in it?

“Aw, Ranboo, look! It’s talking again! Isn’t this the best happy little accident?” Tubbo cheered when he shifted back into his human form.

Tommy scrunched up his nose when Tubbo hugged his arm again. They weren’t listening to him, only dismissing everything he said as a mistake. It was like he wasn’t supposed to be here at all, like he switched places with something that was supposed to be as empty as they treated him.

Tubbo dragged Tommy along, tugging at his sleeve in the direction of the chipped table. The group sat around the table as Ranboo placed plates in front of himself and the werewolf, there wasn’t even an extra one for Tommy.

A freshly killed rabbit was pulled out of the basket and placed on the plate for Tubbo. Its blood glistened and strongly smelled of lemons. Not the most appealing smell but Tommy's starved gut cried for a taste nonetheless.

He stretched out his hand in desperation to grasp a bit of the bloody food just in arm’s reach. Before his fingers could touch the cold sanguine fluid, a strong hand gripped his wrist, twisting it a bit.

“What are you doing?” Tubbo deadpanned while he held Tommy’s wrist firmly, keeping the invading hand from touching the werewolf’s food.

The sound of Tubbo’s voice sent a chill down Tommy’s spine, his words couldn’t even come out properly without being overcome with fear, “I-I’m hungry,” Tommy sheepishly admitted.

Tubbo glared at Tommy, then he rolled his eyes, “I know I said that you can act like Tommy but you don’t eat. If you eat, the food will rot inside of my friend’s body and I don’t want that for Tommy.”

“But I am!” Tommy declared as his stomach turned with hunger, the twisting pain all too familiar when he was human. All of those sleepless nights away from any food or warmth.

Tubbo snarled at the response and his anger boiled, “Oh shut up! I said you’re not going to get food and that’s final! I can’t have this defect in the spell destroy our friend’s body.”

“But I am your friend!” Tommy shouted, “Please, let me eat, it hurts.” A low growl came from his stomach, too quiet for anyone to hear but the feeling was too loud for Tommy. The constant reminder of the hell he lived as a human, please, he doesn’t want to be reminded of that.

Tubbo has had it with all of this complaining from his friend’s dead corpse. It was fun for a while, hearing his dead friend’s voice like he was alive again but this talk of needing to eat was getting on the wolf’s nerves. 

The corpse can’t know what’s good for Tommy because Tubbo knows what’s best. HE was once Tommy’s best friend, HE was with Tommy at the beginning when he first entered the market, HE was with Tommy until he died. This voice coming out of his friend wasn’t Tommy because Tommy died a week ago. This error can’t pretend to speak for a friend that doesn’t exist anymore.

With a fist filled with anger, Tubbo forcefully grasped Tommy’s wrist, threatening to bruise it, “You don’t know anything! You are nothing and understand that nothing you say can amount to the value of my deceased friend. I don’t care if you’re ‘hungry’ . You can’t get hungry because you are a corpse with a lack of a digestive system! Now shut up and sit still!”

Tommy gazed at his friend in shock, his wrist bruising at the crushing strength of the werewolf’s grip. The blond slowly nodded, maybe agreeing with Tubbo’s rant would make him release his hold on his wrist.

Tubbo huffed and flicked his hand to release his friend’s arm. Tubbo waited for a moment before gently turning Tommy’s wrist to inspect it for any injuries he may have inflicted, he wouldn’t want to damage his toy. 

The table descended into silence, Ranboo didn’t even bother to pay attention to Tubbo’s roughness, just ignoring the situation like it was a boring conversation. Tubbo returned to his food leaving Tommy to sit and wait, afraid that one more misstep will make Tubbo’s wrath be directed at him again.

A growl came from his stomach and his throat continued to dry.

__________

Dinner was finished and while Ranboo and Tubbo’s stomachs were round and filled with food, they left Tommy feeling empty.

His feet felt light and his head spun from the refusal of food. He desperately needed to feed, it was near agonizing for the blond. The desire to bite into something and taste refreshing liquid was too much for Tommy to ignore.

The pain was only increasing.

Tubbo and Ranboo had their backs to Tommy, probably thinking that he was only their possession that they could bend him to their wills. What they didn't calculate was the sheer hunger growing inside the fledgling.

Tommy held in his carving for blood for far too long, his self-control was dwindling. What stood in front of him were two vulnerable prey, two warm-blooded animals with delicious crimson running through their veins. Fangs or no fangs, he needed to feed.

"So what are we going to do now?" Tubbo asked Ranboo, completely unaware of the looming shadow approaching him.

"Well, we can't go back to the market after your freak show so I guess we'll have to live in hiding with the corpse for a bit," Ranboo reasoned while peeking through a ripped curtain. Checking for any trespassers that may have found their hideout.

"I'm really sorry about that man, I was just stressed but everything will be fine since we have Tommy, right?" Tubbo asked as he nervously picked at his shirt.

Ranboo sighed and didn't give a response. What Tubbo did was beyond stupid, it may have even ruined their reputations as gossip spread to neighboring towns, but having their Tommy in their arms again was reassuring.

Sure the spell had a flaw in it, for allowing the corpse to speak like it was alive, but they can live with that. At least the spell brought Tommy back to them and nothing will ever drive them apart again.

Tommy tried to listen to his friends' conversation but failed as their words became jumbled in his hazy mind. He doesn’t know why they refused to let him eat, even one bite, but the past was in the past.

'It would be their mistakes, ' a voice echoed in his mind, chewing on the restraints he had to keep himself from hurting his only two friends.

But the voice was strong and his hunger was stronger.

In one swift motion, Tommy tackled and pinned the closest living breathing creature to the ground. He didn't know what or who he grabbed, only that this creature had warm blood for him to suck at.

Tubbo let out a shriek, thrashing back and forth to try and dislodge the weight situated on his back. Tommy wasn’t there mentally anymore, the reasonable side of his mind was quickly pushed away when his stomach pained for the last time.

The young fledgling tried to pierce through the brunet’s skin to draw his food but his teeth weren’t sharp enough. The fangs only just started to come out a day ago so they weren’t nearly sharp enough to dig into the skin. The best he could do was to gnaw at the neck and hope that something will spill out.

“The hell?!” Ranboo cried out as he ran behind Tommy to try and rip him off of Tubbo.

Tommy tightened his hold on the werewolf, his instincts refusing to give up a perfectly good meal in front of him. His fingers curled and he wrapped his hand around Tubbo’s mouth, making the wolf struggle for air. He just needed Tubbo to relax so he could feed easier, he just needed to find the right spot to drink from. Hopefully, if Tubbo passes out he could find a way to drink the blood flowing beneath the surface of his skin.

“Shit,” Ranboo muttered as he failed to pry Tommy off of Tubbo, the feral grasp of Tommy would not be so easily undone.

Ranboo didn’t want to do this, but unfortunately, their spell was malfunctioning beyond repair. The only thing to do now was to dispose of the mistake. The witch grabbed a knife and ran back to the screams of Tubbo.

“I’m sorry Tommy,” he whispered as the tip of the blade sat at Tommy’s neck, “sorry that I need to desecrate your body, forgive me from the afterlife.”

The blade was pressed against Tommy’s neck, it would be quick, even Ranboo can’t “kill” his friend but it needed to be done. This creation was hurting Tubbo and he had his priorities in check. Besides, Tommy is only a lifeless corpse, surely there’s nothing wrong with Ranboo slitting his throat, right?

Chapter Text

I feel really bad for leaving this story on a cliffhanger but I've been so busy for the past month and a half that I don't have time to sit and write. I promise that the story will be finished by or during Christmas break but not right now. Just know that I didn't forget about this work/book. Sorry again for the delay.

This update note will be deleted a day or two before I upload the real chapter :D

1/14/2022 Edit: Okay, it might take a bit longer. Idk how long but hopefully I can get the enthusiasm to write this again.