Work Text:
“What do you need us for again, Dan?” Daithi asks, bored. Dan had called Daithi and Brian into the library to help him with a ‘project’.
Brian watches as Daniel rushes about collecting books, candles, crystals… He stares in baffled curiosity as Dan places them all down in a ritualistic pattern on the ground, focusing as he places each object with precise care.
“I want to try out a spell… I need you guys as witnesses in case something goes wrong.” Dan answers, placing candles in a small circle, he steps in the middle of it and sits down cross legged.
“So you want us to babysit you?” Daithi says with a laugh, Dan looks up from the book in his lap to glare at him.
“NO. I want Brian to help me if I get hurt… You’re here to babysit Brian.” Dan says with a cheeky smirk. Brian crosses his arms and scoffs.
“Yeah alright, alright… Let’s get this over with, I’ve got things to do today.” Brian groans.
“If you insist!” Dan says, excited. Clutching the book in his hands he stares down at it intently, muttering words neither Daithi or Brian can understand… Suddenly the flames grow higher, the book floats out of Dan’s hands, and his eyes glow an even brighter shade of red.
“Woah…” Brian exhales, he’s never really been one for magic… But he can’t deny it looks fucking cool.
Suddenly Dan shuts his eyes tight! His hands begin to shake, and shoulders rise anxiously. Brian and Daithi both jump as the lights in the room flicker on and off!
“D-Dan—?” Brian asks concerned. Before he can get a response, the book suddenly bursts into flames! Brian jumps back, eyes wide as smoke rises and swirls around the circle!
“DAN!” Brian screams! He makes a move to run over to him, but freezes as the lights turn off completely! The flames from the candles snuff out, plunging the room in darkness. And then, just as quick; the lights return, no smoke, no fire… Just Dan, lying limp on his side.
Brian rushes to him, dropping to his knees he grabs Daniel’s shoulder and shakes it, stirring him awake; Dan’s eyes blink open wearily.
“A–are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asks, worried. Waiting for Dan to come back to his senses, he looks him over for injuries, then notices something strange… His clothes. He’s wearing a suit, like he usually does, but this one is much plainer… Definitely not what he was wearing before.
“Ah great, what a powerful spell you got there Dan, mystical magical wardrobe change!” Daithi sighs, hoping to see some interesting magic today…
Dan stares blurry eyed at the scene in front of him; he’s in a strange…Library? When did he get here? W-why is he on the ground? Who is….?
“AAH!” Dan screams as he sees the mechanical monster looming over him! Much to Brian’s surprise, Dan pushes himself upright and starts crawling backwards as fast as he can. His back hits the wall of a large bookshelf, he winces as he slams against it. Hearing something shuffling above him, he looks up to see a large book topple off the ledge and head straight for him!
“S-SHIT!” He screams again, throwing his arms up above his head and squeezing his eyes tight; he braces for impact… But nothing comes. He opens his eyes slowly to see the book glowing a bright green, floating a few feet away before falling on the ground with a THUMP. Dan’s jaw drops at the sight in front of him; Daithi, semi translucent and glowing, floating in front of him.
“Ya alright there, Dan? That spell fuck with your brain or somethin’?” Daithi asks, confused and slightly worried. He narrows his eyes as Daniel keeps staring at him, absolutely frozen in shock.
“Uh…. Dan? What's going on…” Daithi continues.
Brain looks at him with a calculative gaze, he notices Dan isn’t paying any attention to him, and decides to move a bit closer. He makes it a foot away from him before Dan’s head snaps towards Brian, Dan clasps a shaking hand over his mouth as he sees him properly.
“B–Brian—?” He stutters.
Brian eyes him cautiously, he gives Dan a small nod and a soft smile.
“Yes, Dan… That’s my name. Can I just get you to tell me how many fingers I’m holding up here?” Brian replies, holding up three fingers; all of them metal.
Dan doesn’t reply, words catch in his throat as he sits frozen in place. Brian bites his lip nervously, staring back over his shoulder at Daithi he sighs.
“I think he’s in a state of shock, something with the spell must have gone wrong… Help me bring him to the lab, will you?”
“L-lab? W–WHERE AM I? WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Dan screams! Both Daithi and Brian’s attention snap back to him.
“Uh, what?” Daithi mutters, “We’re in your house.”
“M-my……What..?” Dan breathes shallow, staring around in disbelief. He turns back to Daithi and Brian, anxiety welling up in his chest as he tries to comprehend what the hell is happening!
“What happened to you?! W–why… Daithi—Are you–Dead?!”
“Uh, yeah. Duh.” Daithi replies, casually. Dan clutches his heart, bringing his knees to his chest he starts hyperventilating.
“Woah woah woah, it’s okay! Calm down!” Brian says quickly as he sees Dan going into a panic, he rushes over and places a hand on his shoulder, Dan flinches! Frantically shoving Brian off of him! He gets up and starts running to the other side of the room, backing up into a corner he holds himself tight; staring around the room in disbelief.
Brian gets up, keeping his distance he stands in front of Dan.
“Dan…It’s just me. What’s going on, are you okay?” He asks.
“NO IT’S NOT JUST YOU. YOU’RE A FUCKING ROBOT BRIAN!” Dan screams! Pressing himself as far back into the corner as he can.
“Y-yeah? I-I know? What else would I be?!”
“H-human! Obviously… And D–Daithi— Oh my god… Oh my god Daithi is dead. OH MY GOD GHOSTS ARE REAL?!”
Daithi and Brian share a look, both realising finally that this isn’t just shock. Something is very, very wrong.
"B-BRAIN—HELP!” Dan screams as the lights turn off, plunging him into darkness! He coughs, choking as smoke clogs his lungs. He shuts his eyes for just a moment, but in that moment something pretty big must have happened… Because when he opens his eyes, the room has completely changed.
Dan freezes up, he stares around himself; he’s sitting in a comfortable chair in a dark boxy room, definitely not his mansion… He stares directly in front of him and flinches as he notices two monitors, one displaying some kind of… Game? A blocky world of grass and trees from what Dan can tell.
“Oh my god, Daniel, you need my help—AGAIN?”
Dan nearly falls out of his chair as he hears Brian’s voice loud in his ears! It takes him a second to realise he’s wearing headphones… He hisses sharp at all the noise, taking them off he flings them onto the desk! He can still hear Brian’s voice, but it’s a much more reasonable volume now. Dan turns his head as he notices other voices too, muttering and talking amongst themselves. Daithi, Kevin, and Sean… Was he– Were they on a phone call?
“W-what’s happening….” Daniel whispers, frightened.
Where am I? How did I get here?!
Thoughts swirl frantically around his head, he thinks back to the last thing he was doing, that spell… How had that spell caused this?! He tries to remember the exact wording of it; a multuniversal spell, used to take a peek at other possible timelines… But he wasn’t supposed to be transported into one! Panic starts to grip at his throat, he reaches a hand up nervously as his heart beats fast in his chest.
What happens next?
Am I trapped here?!
WHAT IF I’M TRAPPED HERE AND I NEVER GET TO SEE MY FRIENDS AGAIN?!
Dan forces himself to take a deep breath, gulping as he takes another look at his surroundings… He looks closer at the second monitor, a flood of messages scrolling down at an impossibly fast pace.
|WOAH NEW COSTUME????
|how the fuck did he do that?
|cool contacts!
|Drift daddy is now vamp daddy?????????
|VAMP KING VAMP KING
|u suck at this game
Dan stares wide eyed as the words pass by so quickly he can barely read them, though the few he makes out are very concerning and strange…
“V-vamp daddy?” Dan repeats in a confused stutter.
|YES OMG
|VAMP DADDY CONFIRMED!
|A NEW TITLE
|we will never let you forget this.
|HE SAID IT ASDSJAKDALKDLIEK
“Dan what the fuck is going on in your chat?” Daithi laughs, Dan peers down at the headphones.
“C-Chat?” Dan repeats, nervously.
“Holy fuck dude–! WHEN DID YOU GET ALL DRESSED UP LIKE THAT?!” Daithi yells!
“I–I Don’t—” Dan mutters a reply, his shoulders rise, hands beginning to tremble with fear. What was he going to do? How was he going to get back? He had no supplies, no access to magical books… He doesn’t even know if magic exists in this universe!
“Dan?” A quieter voice speaks, “You alright?” It’s Sean, there’s a twinge of worry in his voice
“S-Sean?” Dan says quietly, eyes darting around mad as he realises it’s not Sean… Not his Sean anyway.
“What’s going on? You sound shaky.” Sean questions, Dan can’t find a way to reply… His head too cluttered with frantic thoughts and panic.
“Hey I’m back, what did I miss?” A voice rings through the headphones, a voice that makes Dan’s heart stop completely. Kevin. But not Kevin, a different Kevin. His Kevin was somewhere else, probably worried sick about him. Dan feels his heart lurch, he’s never gonna be able to get back, is he? He’s never going to be able to see the lads again, he’s never going to be able to see Kevin again!
“F–fuck, N-no, no—no!” Dan cries, biting his lip so hard it hard it starts bleeding.
“Dan-? You good?” Kevin’s voice asks, followed by several other mutterings of concern from his “friends”. Dan can barely make them out, head fuzzing, all the sounds in the room meld together into a cacophony of sensory overload. Against his better judgement, Dan takes a quick glance at the second monitor.
|what’s going on?
|Dan are you okay???
|u ok?
|Dan????
|are those fangs?
|whats going on?
|DAN?!
Dan grabs his head! Bringing his knees to his chest he hugs himself tight. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening—this can’t be happening-thiscan’tbehappeningthiscan’tbehappeningthiscan’tbe—!
“DAN! Please say something!” Kevin’s voice erupts from the headphones! Breaking him from his rapid thoughts.
“S-sorry…” He manages to choke out, he starts rapidly gulping down air. Not realising he’d been holding his breath the past minute…
“Do you need to stop? You sound really freaked.” Kevin asks, seriously.
“S-stop w-what?”
“Streaming…” Kevin replies, confused.
“Oh…” Dan says softly, glancing at the monitors blankly. “H-how?”
“W-what?” Kevin responds, baffled. The next few minutes go by in a flash, Dan covers his ears as a sea of noise comes out from the headphones.
“What are you talking about Dan?” Brian asks.
“Did you hit your head or somethin’?” Daithi says worried.
“Take a deep breath, okay? Just tell us what’s going on.” Sean begs.
“Dan… Do you need me to come over?” Kevin asks, worried.
“Dan…? Please answer.” Kevin continues.
“Please, you’re scaring me!” He begs.
“...I’m coming over.”
Daithi and Brian both stare in disbelief at Daniel, who looks back in horror at the two of them. Suddenly Brian notices something strange, he looks Dan over and takes a step closer. Dan flinches.
“Dan, I’m not gonna hurt you, alright? I just need to check something… Can you trust me?” Brian says calmly.
Can you trust me of course he can’t! He can’t trust anything right now. Still as he stares around, cornered by monsterous versions of his friends, he clearly doesn’t have a choice in the matter.
“O-okay…” He breathes, shallow. Giving a small nod.
Brian walks up closer, slowly approaching and making sure not to make any sudden movements… The Daniel he knew was a bit anxious, but the Dan standing in front of him; cowering in the corner like a frightened animal…. Something during that spell must have really scared him to make him act like this.
Brian looks him up and down, his fangs are gone, skin less pale….
Gently, Brian brings a metal hand to Dan’s, lifting up his arm he rolls his sleeve up and checks his wrist, as he touches it Brian’s eyes widen. He feels warmth .
“H-holy shit.” He whispers in disbelief.
“What? You figure something out?” Daithi asks, floating a little closer.
“He’s human!” Brian exclaims, turning around to face Daithi; who’s previously calm demeanor has shattered.
“WHAT?!” He yells!
Dan glances frantically between the two, taking his arm back he clutches it close to his chest. “Y-yeah? What am I supposed to be?!”
“A VAMPIRE, OBVIOUSLY!” Daithi yells again! Dan shrinks into himself.
“A what?! Why would I be—HOW WOULD I-?! I’m so confused!” Dan cries!
Brian takes a deep breath, trying to reason what the hell is going on. Before he can say another word though, a loud BANG echoes through the room! Their attention all snaps to the door, flung open against the wall; Kevin storms in! Riding on Sean’s back in wolf form, heading straight for Dan!
“SEAN NO–! WAIT!” Brian yells! Sean skids to a stop, staring over at Brian, his excited face melts to confusion.
Kevin though, as usual, doesn’t listen. Sliding off Sean’s back he rushes up to Dan! Not noticing Daithi and Brian’s face, the fact that Dan is hiding in the corner, or anything going on around him… He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a shiny black lighter, red jewels rim the top of it and on the front there’s something engraved.
“I FOUND IT!” He cheers, gleefully. Holding the lighter up in front of Daniel’s face, he flicks it a few times, Dan’s shoulders rise nervously at the flame.
“W–Wh—K-Kevin?” Dan stumbles over his words, his eyes flicker from Kevin who looks pretty much the same as he usually does, to the way too close to his face lighter. Though Dan can’t help himself breathe a sigh of relief.
All things considered, at least Kevin is normal. He thinks.
Kevin, either ignorant of Dan’s panicked expression or simply too excited to care, brings the lighter back to himself, holding it near his chest he runs his hands over it playfully.
“You gave it to me, remember? Back when we first became friends. I felt really bad when I lost it, and I know you said it was okay—But you seemed super upset! So me and Sean went looking AND WE FOUND IT!”
Daniel’s eyes gaze blankly back at him, he narrows them slightly and stares down at the lighter; focusing on the engraving.
Happy birthday. Please don’t set my house on fire.
Dan makes out in big letters, though he notices something smaller written just below it, he cautiously leans forward a little…
…And thank you. For being my light in the darkness.
Dan brings a hand to his chest. Aww bless, that's so sweet… He thinks.
“Dan? I thought you’d be excited…” Kevin says, staring at Dan with disappointed eyes.
“I–I um… Sorry…” Dan replies, feeling guilty.
At this point, Sean starts to notice the weirdness in the room. Transforming back into himself, he flinches as Dan screams! Grabbing at Kevin’s arm and holding him close.
“W-What the hell! What’s wrong?!” Sean exclaims, staring baffled at Dan’s terrified expression.
“WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? Y-YOU WERE JUST A WOLF!” Dan shrieks! Still hanging onto Kevin’s arm. Kevin tilts his head, confused. He awkwardly places an arm around Dan, rubbing his hand gently across his shoulder.
“Did we miss something important…?” Kevin asks, turning to Brian.
“Very.” Brian replies.
“Dan did a weird spell, totally chill. Spell ends, now he’s human and an emotional mess.” Daithi explains.
“Hey…” Dan mumbles, embarrassed. Just because it’s true doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt…
“OH MY GOD, HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT?!” Kevin yells! Dan covers his ears as Kevin screams directly into them.
“You’re normal now, just like me! We can go into the sun without you getting hurt, you can hang out with me and Sean all the time! This is great!” He cheers excitedly.
Dan takes a moment to breathe, but it doesn’t help… He brings shaky hands to his head and leads back against the wall as his legs threaten to give out.
“K-Kevin, where are we? What’s going on—PLEASE tell me you know what’s going on?!” He begs! Hugging his chest, as it heaves.
“U-uh we’re in your house? What do you mean–? What did that spell actually do?” Kevin replies, worriedly standing over Dan.
“WHAT SPELL?! You guys keep talking to me as if I know things, as if ANY OF THIS IS NORMAL.” Dan shouts! The muttering in the room fades as suddenly everyone falls silent.
“I-I was just streaming, playing some games with my friends, when suddenly I’m HERE! And y-you guys are too–? But everything is weird and off, and wrong AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON!” Dan finishes. He winces as his head slams back against the wall, back sliding down he falls to his knees in a shaking heap on the ground.
Kevin gasps as Dan falls! He kneels down next to Dan, wrapping an arm around him. “Dan—Dan look at me. Breathe, okay? Just breathe.” Kevin instructs.
The rest of the lads stare in shocked silence as Kevin tries to comfort Dan. Sean bites his lip, wondering what the hell he’s just walked in on… Then Daithi gets his attention and they share a look.
“ Him a streamer? He’s the most un-technically savvy vampire in the world!” Daithi says in a hushed whisper. Sean nods, it took the lads a whole week to teach Dan how to use his phone so they could all stay in touch….
“Maybe, just a theory here… Maybe this isn’t our Daniel?” Sean says aloud, all the lads turn to face him.
“Wait…” Brian says, rushing across the room he drops to his knees beside the open, tossed aside, slightly charred, book that Dan recited the spell from. His eyes scan across the page quickly, gulping as he finishes.
“GUYS, WE MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM.” Brian yells! He stands back up, fingers tracing over the words in the book.
“This is a spell that lets you see into multiple universes, at least that’s what it’s meant to do… I think Dan fucked something up and actually transported himself to another universe! And now this Dan got swapped here.”
“Oh god!” Sean gasps.
“W-wait… I-I’M IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE?!” Dan yells! Hysteria begins to creep in, taking a few shaky breaths he smiles madly. “N-no. No, that’s completely ridiculous! This is a dream, it has to be, I’M DREAMING!” He declares.
“Ah Jesus, what do we do now?” Daithi sighs, rubbing his hands across his face. Suddenly a thought pops into his head, he floats closer to Dan with a serious expression on his face.
“Wait, Dan. In your universe, am I– I mean, is the Daithi there a streamer too?” He asks.
“Um, y-yeah.” Dan answers, nervously.
“WHEN YOU GET BACK, TELL HIM—Now this is very important, okay? TELL HIM TO STAY THE FECK AWAY FROM CLIFFS.” Daithi yells! Dan stares wide eyed and frightened, back at him. He nods frantically.
“O-OKAY? I-I will!” Dan replies.
“What does this mean then—What do we do?!” Kevin exclaims! All their eyes turn to Brian.
“D-DON’T LOOK AT ME! Dan is the magic man, I work with science! None of this makes any sense to me…” He admits, timidly swiping through pages, but half of the book is in some ancient language he doesn’t understand.
“Oh fuck, wait—Does this mean Dan is trapped in another universe?!” Sean cries! Brian gives back a panicked nod.
“THEN HOW DO WE GET HIM BACK?!” Daithi yells, trying to hide his genuine fear with a frustrated tone.
“I DON’T KNOW.” Brian screams back! Slamming the book shut he clutches it tight in his hands.
“S-so…” Kevin begins quietly, peering down at Dan; still in his arms. “If you’re here… Where the hell is our Dan right now?”
Please stop yelling please stop yelling please stop yelling please stop yelling please—
Dan repeats over and over in his head as the lads practically scream over the call. Words of concern and confusion rise volume as Dan clasps his hands over his ears! He presses his hands as hard as he can against them, but nothing stops the noise, even muffled it’s there. Dan can feel himself beginning to hyperventilate, he knows what a stream is, Daithi told him about it once… He knows what that number on the second monitor means, he knows that four of his friends and thousands of strangers are watching him spiral into a panic attack. And that makes everything so much worse.
He doesn’t know how to shut the stream off, he doesn’t know how to end the call, he can’t get up, his body is frozen with fear, his hands start to grow numb and tingly as his brain isn’t getting enough oxygen.
“P-Please, I—I just wanna go home!” He whispers to himself, head ducking to his chest, he buries it in his knees as tears stream down his face. The muffled voices grow louder, and louder and LOUDER! Suddenly in a flash, Dan transforms into a bat! Wrapping his body with his wings, he shuts his eyes tight and desperately hopes this is just a horrible nightmare.
Minutes pass, Dan’s not sure how many… But at some point he jumps as he hears footsteps coming down the hall outside his room. In a panic, Dan transforms back! Clutching the armrests of his chair he stares terrified as the door creaks open, Dan’s heart stops as he sees Kevin; standing in the doorway with a very worried look on his face.
“Dan! S-Sorry I let myself in cause you weren’t answering… Are you okay?!” He asks, Dan doesn’t reply. He can’t. Words catch in his throat as he tries to process that the Kevin standing in front of him isn’t his Kevin.
“D-Dan?” Kevin repeats, fiddling with his hands anxiously. He moves closer, glancing at the monitors, his eyes widen as he realises Dan hasn’t stopped the stream yet. He leans over the computer and hovers over the button, pausing for a moment as he notices chat.
|DID HE JUST TURN INTO A FUCKING BAT
|when did Dan get a bat????
|i stepped away for two seconds wtf did i come back to
|was that a filter or something?
|KEVIN
|OMG ITS KEVIN
|kevin check on dan please is he okay??
|KEVIN WHATS GOING ON
|IS DAN OK??
“W-wha—a bat?” Kevin mumbles to himself, he shakes his head. There’s more pressing matters than chat’s memes right now. Without a second thought he shuts the stream down, then turns back to Dan. Kevin watches as Dan just stares at him.
“Dan—Seriously. What’s happening? Do I need to call an ambulance?!” Kevin asks frantically.
A cold chill runs down Daniel’s spine at the word ambulance . If Kevin called a doctor they’d find out he’s a vampire, who knows if they’re a common thing in this universe, if they’re not… Dan could get taken away to get tested on!
“NO!” Dan screams! Making Kevin flinch. “N-no no no! Please, please don’t call anyone!” He begs!
Kevin takes a deep breath, holding his hands up by his side he slowly moves closer to Dan.
“Okay, okay! I won’t. I promise. But you have to tell me what's going on, okay? I-I want to help.”
Dan gulps, staring down at the ground trying to sort out his racing thoughts.
“I–There’s no way you’ll believe me.” He says finally.
“I will! I’ll believe it. Just tell me, please!” Kevin pleads.
Dan falls silent for a moment, about to open his mouth again when suddenly the other lads start yelling again! Calling for Kevin to tell them what’s going on. Daniel yelps, covering his ears and shutting his eyes tight.
Kevin turns furiously to the computer, grabbing the headset he pulls the mic up to his mouth. “WOULD YOU GUYS SHUT UP, YOU’RE SCARING HIM!” He yells!
Dan opens his eyes to see Kevin mess with the computer, a moment later the lad’s voices cut out. Dan feels a faint warmth in his chest as Kevin so suddenly leapt to help him. This Kevin isn’t so different from mine, I suppose….
"It’s okay, the noise is gone now, alright? I’ll fill them in later, don’t worry about it.” Kevin says in a calm voice.
“O-okay… Thank you.” Dan mutters back, genuinely.
“Now please, tell me what’s going on.”
Dan takes a moment to gather his words, he can’t see this next bit going well…
“I…I’m not Dan. Not the one from your world anyway. I’m from an alternate universe. I cast a stupid spell and it didn’t go well—I think the Dan from your universe and me got swapped.” Dan explains, gritting his teeth anxiously as Kevin gives him a concerning look.
“Y-you—uh, what?” He responds, baffled.
“...Also I’m a vampire.”
“WHAT?”
“I know, it sounds insane. I told you, you wouldn’t believe me!” Dan exhales sharply, feeling his hands begin to tremble again, he tucks them up tight against his chest.
“No, no! It’s uh– Okay, let’s forget about all that for a moment… You’re clearly panicked.” Kevin sighs, extremely worried that Dan hit his head at some point and is now highly delusional… He moves closer and places a hand on his arm, eyes widening as he’s as cold as ice.
“Dan, oh my god—You’re freezing!” Kevin exclaims! Dan pulls back from him.
“No, it's fine! I’m fine! That’s normal for me!” Dan explains, but Kevin swiftly shakes his head.
“Jesus christ, that’s not normal! You feel fucking dead!” Kevin panics, rushing around the room he searches desperately for a jacket, or blanket or something. He runs to Dan’s bed and hauls the duvet off of it, tossing it at him without warning!
“K-KEVIN!” Dan screams! Nearly falling off his chair as the heavy duvet collides with him. “It’s not– That’s not going to help! I’m a vampire! This is just my normal body temperature…”
“Uh huh… Yeah you’re a vampire alright.” Kevin replies, unconvinced. Staring around the near pitch black room. “Ugh–Jesus, don’t you ever have lights on in here while you stream?”
Kevin looks around for the light switch, but the room is too dim to find it… Instead he notices the curtains, remembering the unusually sunny day it is outside; he rushes over to them. Dan notices, seeing Kevin’s hands grab the curtains makes his heart skip several beats.
“KEVIN NO—DON’T!” He shrieks! But before he can do anything Kevin flings the curtains wide open! Filling the dark room with sunlight.
Kevin watches in disbelief as Daniel cries out in pain! Falling off the chair, he frantically ducks his head in time, but the skin on his hands turns a bright burning red! Kevin quickly reaches forward and shuts the curtains again.
“DAN?! W–What just–?! O-Oh my god…” Kevin panics! He stares down at Dan on the ground, sitting on his knees, he clutches his chest as he doubles over. Tears flooding down his cheeks, he takes his shaking hands and holds them out in front of him.
“Y–you’re you weren’t—You’re really a vampire.” Kevin breathes shallowly. He expects some kind of retort “YEAH I TOLD YOU SO.” or “NOW do you believe me?!” But instead he gets silence, watching painfully as Daniel just hugs his arms across his chest and cries.
“I’m so sorry!” Kevin says, guilt rises in his throat, making his voice raw and squeaky. He sits down next to Daniel, hesitantly placing a hand across his back, when Dan doesn’t flinch or move away, he begins slowly rubbing his back comfortingly.
“So— You’re from a different universe, huh?” He says, still in disbelief. Dan nods.
“Do you want to talk about it… Would that help?” Kevin asks. Slowly, Dan nods again.
“I–I don’t know what to do… I don’t even know why I tried that stupid spell! I thought it’d just show me different universes, not plunge me into one!” He chokes out.
“There’s gotta be some way to get you back, I don’t how—But I’ll help if I can. For now, let’s just take it one step at a time, okay?” Kevin says, trying to calm Dan down. “How about you tell me more about your world. Am I there? Are we friends?”
A small smile forms on Dan’s lips, he sniffles and wipes a few tears away. “Y-You’re my best friend.” He admits.
“Aww! Now that’s just lovely…” Kevin replies, beaming.
Dan chuckles a little, managing to sit up properly. “Are you a pyromaniac in this world?” He asks, curiously. Kevin’s eyes flash with concern.
“N-no! I mean, okay well I play with fire a lot when we play games…And I have the occasional candle incident. But I’m not a pyromaniac!” He answers.
“Woah… I can’t imagine a Kevin that doesn’t set all my shit on fire…” Dan mutters, intrigued.
“I set shit on fire? Like actual real stuff?” Kevin asks.
“Constantly.” Dan answers.
“Nice.” Kevin grins.
Dan settles into himself a little, taking a few deep breaths. “Thank you… For everything.” He says, staring at Kevin with a weak smile.
“That’s okay, sorry for setting your hands on fire…” Kevin replies, still feeling bad about it.
Dan smiles down at his hands, red and irritated, but not too bad.
“You’re alright… The other Kevin has done far worse .”
Kevin narrows his eyes. “Oh Jesus, what did I do over there?”
“Well, okay one time you were over at my place and cooked garlic bread cause you were hungry. But forgot I was a vampire…. I nearly died and couldn’t go back to my house for like a week.” Dan replies, laughing a little at how ridiculous the story is…
Kevin rubs a hand tiredly across his face… “That sounds exactly like something I would do…” He sighs. “Alright, promise me something.”
Dan cocks his head to the side. “Yeah?”
“When you get back, punch your Kevin in the face for me.” Kevin grins. Dan laughs.
“What?!” He replies.
“Come on, please! This is a once in a lifetime oppertunity for me to fuck with myself from a different reality. You can’t take that away from me!”
Dan chuckles, rolling his eyes. “Alright, fine… I don’t think he—You? Will really appreciate it though.”
“Trust me, I will.” Kevin promises.
The two laugh, Dan wipes away the last of his tears. Taking a few deep breaths he pushes himself off the ground and stands up. Kevin joins him, about to speak when he suddenly stares at Dan in shock.
“W-What? What's going on?!” Dan asks.
“Y-YOUR ARM! LOOK!” Kevin yells! Dan flinches as he notices his arm begin to sparkle and fade into dust. He panics for a moment, before realising.
“O-oh my god. Oh my god, I-I think I’m going back!” He exclaims!
“Oh, OH! That’s good!” Kevin says relieved.
“WAIT!” Daniel says suddenly, Kevin’s eyes widen. “I need a piece of paper! And a pen!”
“What? Why?”
“Quickly! I want to write a note for myself!” He says, watching as Kevin frantically grabs a sticky note and a pen off of Dan’s desk, and hands them to him.
“Thanks. It was uh–Nice meeting you.” Dan says awkwardly, Kevin chuckles.
“Likewise.” He replies.
Kevin watches as Dan quickly scrawls down a note, placing the pen down he sighs, satisfied. Then, a moment later, he fades into a spattering of dust on the ground. Kevin waits, he waits a moment, a minute, a few minutes. Suddenly his brain starts to go places…
Why isn’t Dan coming back? Is he dead?! DID THE OTHER ME KILL HIM?!
Though finally, after a few minutes, a spark flares in the space Dan left behind, and in a flash Dan; his Dan is standing weary eyed and exhausted in front of him.
“DAN!” Kevin cries! Wrapping his arms tight around him. Dan gulps, taking a few deep breaths before smiling and hugging him back.
“K-Kevin… Oh my GOD. You will never believe what just happened to me…” He exhales, tiredly. Kevin pulls away with a sharp grin.
“Oh, I think I will.” He replies. “But first, the other Dan left you this.”
Dan peers curiously at Kevin's hand, holding out a small sticky note.
Hi I hope my friends didn’t traumatize you. Sorry for casting a spell and ripping you out of your reality… I won’t do it again, promise. But listen, make sure you take care of Kevin for me, will you? Thanks :)
PS: I think I ruined your stream….sorry.
Dan reads it a few times. “I will…” He mutters quietly under his breath. Kevin looks up at him confused.
Dan smiles. “Don’t worry about it, Kev.”
Meanwhile… A few moments ago:
“I’m just saying— If somebody minored in magic instead of putting all their skill points into boring beep boop stuff, WE MIGHT HAVE ALREADY BEEN ABLE TO GET DAN BACK BY NOW!” Daithi shouts!
“OH YEAH? I DON’T SEE YOU RAISING A FINGER TO HELP DAITHI!” Brian yells back! Searching the library for any book that might reverse the spell, though so far he hasn’t had much luck.
“I can’t Brian, I’M DEAD.” He huffs, frustrated.
“Oh poor little ghostie can’t materialise right now? Jesus christ.”
“I WOULD, BUT I’VE USED UP ALL MY GHOST ENERGY YELLING AT YOU!”
“GUYS, STOP!” Kevin screams! Leaning over a trembling Daniel; whose gaze is darting between them like a kid watching his parents fight.
Sean watches anxiously as Kevin gets up, the rare sight of genuine anger on his face.
“CAN YOU JUST GET ALONG FOR TWO SECONDS?! This is serious!” Kevin exclaims! Both Daithi and Brian fall silent.
“W-we may not ever see Dan again, and all you care about is who’s right!” He continues.
Sean looks away, he starts pacing the room, desperately searching for an idea that will help them… But this kind of thing is way out of his depth. He peers over at Daniel, Sean narrows his eyes as he notices a strange glow about him all of a sudden.
“Uh—guys?” Sean mutters.
“Okay, alright fine… You’re right. I-I’m sorry. But what do we do?! The only person who knows about magic is Dan!” Brian says frantically!
“Guys Dan is—”
“I know, but let's just stop and think for a second, okay?” Kevin replies.
“GUYS! DAN IS FUCKIN’ GLOWING!” Sean screams! All heads turn to Dan, who flinches hard as he notices the sudden glow and translucency across his body.
“I–Is that good?!” Dan panics! Kevin rushes over to him, looking him up and down.
“I… I think you’re going back? I hope you’re going back!” He says with nervous optimism.
“Oh… Fuck, okay-!” Dan stares at the ground for a moment, all he can do is hope for the best… Suddenly he stares back up at the group of lads in front of him. “D-Does anyone have a piece of paper? I want to write a note!”
“Why…?” Daithi asks, confused.
“I don’t know… I guess, look if this is real and not an insane dream… I want to write a note to the other Dan.” He admits.
“Alright then… Go for it.” Brian says, rummaging through his pockets he tosses over a pack of sticky notes and a pen.
The lads watch with baited breath as Dan writes, then slowly begins to fade from view… Until all that's left is a pile of dust.
“Come on… Please!” Kevin begs in a hushed whisper. A moment later, there’s a bright shine of light! The lads all cover their eyes, and then as they open them… Standing right in front of them is Daniel. The real Daniel.
“OH THANK GOD!” Sean screams! letting out a held breath.
Without a second to waste Kevin rushes up and hugs him! Dan hesitates for a moment, before smiling wide and wrapping his arms around him tight.
“NO MORE MAGIC FOR YOU MISTER! YOU’RE GROUNDED!” Kevin yells! Dan chuckles. Kevin lets him go, and Dan stares around beaming at the other lads.
“Oh my god… I’m so glad I’m back.” He says smiling.
“Fucking hell Dan! You can’t do that shit!” Daithi complains, though Dan can see the joy and relief in his eyes.
“FUCK THIS BOOK. DAMN IT TO HELL! KEVIN CAN I HAVE YOUR LIGHTER?” Brian screams! Tossing the book to the ground he stamps it hard against his metal foot.
Sean rushes up and hugs Dan, tears spilling onto his suit. “Invite the whole gang next time you do stupid shit, alright?!” He says with a teary smile.
“I will from now on, I promise.” Dan sighs, holding Sean tight.
“Oh, by the way… Other Dan left you this.” Kevin says, kneeling down he picks up the sticky note and hands it to Dan.
“Oh, hah. That’s funny…” He grins to himself, seems great minds do think alike…
YOUR HOUSE IS REALLY COOL! ALSO I’M TRAUMATISED NOW.
You have lads too? That’s nice… No offense but I think I like mine better… Well, maybe not Kevin, he’s about the same. Keep him safe okay? I don’t know what crazy shit exists in that world…
PS: Thanks for taking over the stream! Hope it wasn’t too stressful.
Dan smiles down at the note, he folds it neatly and tucks it in his pocket. Suddenly, he turns to Kevin, remembering a promise he made.
“Uh—Sorry about this…” He says, approaching Kevin with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry about wha—OW!” Kevin shrieks! All the lads watch in shock as Dan punches him across the jaw!
Daniel winces, rubbing his hand… “Sorry! I promised alternate universe you I’d do that. He said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity? I didn’t get it…”
Kevin stands, frozen in shock. As he processes what Dan just told him, he stares back furiously.
“So… I just got punched, purely because alternate universe Kevin wanted to fuck me over without any reprocussions?” He says, angrily.
“Y-Yes?” Dan replies nervously.
“Nice.” Kevin grins.