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Chapter Text

Name: Erebus  

Pronouns: He/Him/His  

Age: 26  

Height: 6’1  

Physical Appearance: Blonde, Blue eyes, Black hoodie, black cargo pants, red utility belt.  

Why Did You Choose This Job: I need money and I’m willing to do anything for it.  

Who Knows About This Job: No one.  

Goal(s): None.  

Living Situation: Two roommates.  

Family: None.  

Skills: Hiding, Sniping, Throwing Daggers, Stealing, Breaking and Entering, Blackmailing/gathering harmful information.  

Would You Work with a Partner or a Team: Yes, only if the situation called for it.   

Powers: None you should be worried about .  

Catchphrase (optional): “Ever heard of Erebus?”  

Weakness(es): Neck  

Job Briefing Preferences: Blunt, straight to the point. The less personal, the better. (Only give bare minimum or whatever is necessary for the job.)  

Training: Persep | 

Let’s get this straight, he did not want to be a mercenary, and it certainly wasn’t his idea to sign up as one. But here he is, the middle of his darkened apartment, filling out the form.  

Ok, maybe it was his idea, but let’s just let him live in denial for just a little bit longer, yeah? 

Just as he finished typing the response for the “Training” Box, the bedroom door opened to show a tired looking boy stumble out. He quickly hid the tab and turned to look at the boy who’d just woken up. 

“’Sup, sleepy head,” he said quietly, trying not to startle the sleepy boy. 

The boy murmured something in response, though it fell upon deaf ears as he started trying to make coffee for himself. 

The boy who had just woken up and was still sleepy was his roommate, Tubbo. He was a goat hybrid, his brown curly hair hiding the small horns that threatened to poke out of his fluffy mane. He had two goat ears that were turned down, towards the nape of his neck tiredly.  

“Oh, don’t worry about that, big man. I got it, you go sit down.” He smiled to Tubbo, who agreed with an annoyed flick of an ear and laid on the couch, promptly going to sleep. 

The only two awake were Tubbo and Tommy. Tubbo had no idea of Tommy’s newest job search, though if he did know he would not be nearly as accepting as Tommy is about it. He was always against the hero-villain stuff, vigilantes and mercenaries were no acception. Though, Tommy understood Tubbo’s hatred for them. Tubbo’s father was a villain, he’d destroyed most of the town and was horribly abusive to him, That’s why Tubbo has an explosion scar over his eyes and nose that he hid with his hair. He’d also done terrible things to Tommy and their other roommate, but it mainly affected Tubbo. 

Tommy was snapped out of his thoughts when his last roommate exited his room and hugged Tommy from behind. “Morning, Ranboob,” Tommy greeted with a smile.  

“⋔⍜⍀⋏⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏁⍜⍜” Ranboo responded with a sleepy hiss, making Tommy crinkle his brows in confusion only to shake it away and assume the best. 

He poured the coffee into two small mugs, one for Tubbo, the other for Ranboo. Tubbo enjoyed a lot of creamer and sugar in his, while Ranboo liked it black.  

... 

Tommy was banned from having coffee after the District 63 Imploding Incident. But eh, he learned to live with it.  

As his roommates continued to wake up slowly, he quickly finished filling out the form and submitted it; He’d get a notification on his phone when he was called for his first assignment. 

If he got the job, that is.  

He was almost entirely sure he would get it, most people weren’t all that picky about what merc they hired, if the job was done, they were paid. 

“I’m off to work now!” Tommy called into the apartment, kicking his shoe into place as he opened the front door. 

 “Bye, Tommy! Have fun at work!” Tubbo called, Ranboo often didn’t wake up until late in the afternoon due to his Enderman half that was almost fully nocturnal. Tommy waved in response, stepping into the hall and closing the door with a sigh. 

You love your job , he reminded himself rather forcibly. Everything is just fine.  

The metro ride from district 83 to district 1 was very long, but during the ride he read through the news and got caught-up on whatever madness had happened the night before. Soon, he stepped out of the metro, turning into the building across the street. Once he stepped through the doors, he was hit with the smell of lemony cleaner and Lysol. The fuck did they do? BATHE the building in the shit? He commented inwardly, scrunching up his nose and shaking his head. He was in a sour mood today. 

 “Good morning, Tommy!” The desk lady welcomed; he nodded in response. 

“Morning, Clem.”  

The elevator ride was as usual, boring and empty. He often talked to the camera hidden behind the railing as he waited for the 97th floor.  

“God damnit,” he started, sliding down the wall as soon as the metal doors closed. No one ever entered the elevator at this time, so he was usually free to do whatever here. He carded a hand through his blonde curls, sighing as exhaustion set in. “I’m so fucking tired...  

“And pissed... 

“I’ve been out here, haulin’ ass for three years, working harder and better than any of the previous employees and I haven’t gotten a pay raise! They know damn well that no one in my district can live off this wage, it’ll get robbed or mugged or spent on repairs before it even so much as saw a bank. 

“These damn heroes don’t do shit for the lower districts; they just do fuck all on the other side of the country, helpin’ the rich snobs who pay for their fucking services. Just because we can’t afford to subscribe to their bullshit doesn’t mean nothing fucking happens!” 

He stayed silent for a moment, watching the floor change from 95 to 96. 

“Sorry,” He apologized, standing up slowly and sighing. “I’m just stressed, and I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I didn’t do anything illegal, so, hopefully you don’t watch this with audio.” 

The speakers let out a light ding as he reached his floor, the metal doors opening slowly. 

“Catch ya later, camera guy,” Tommy smiled, finger gunning the camera before stepping out into the hallway. Fuckin’ hate my life.  

His shoes tapped the floor lightly, he passed office after office after office, he worked in the Hero Department specifically managing the reports and finding information to give the heroes before they were assigned the case. More than the HQ would like to admit, the cases always ended cold, and Tommy would have to come in and hand the answer over on a silver platter, then watch as it was handed off to the HQ as if they had made it themself.  

I hate life.  

He sighed and entered his cubicle just a few spaces beside the hero's offices. He was closest to the number three hero, Icarus. Though, Tommy had several other names for him. Crow dad, Dadza, Angel, Raven, Black death, etc. Etc. 

(The last three are a long story.) 

Icarus had a pair of large, obsidian black wings that shimmered like oil under the lights. They were carefully preened and cleaned; each feather cared for with enough love to overwhelm Aphrodite.  

He slumped in his chair, sighing as exhaustion set in suddenly. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of his chair, maybe, just this once, he could have a little nap before work started. 

 “Tommy! Mah man!” Someone yelled, making Tommy curse internally before he plastered a forced smile over his lips and sat up. 

“Quackity!” Tommy smiled, greeting the older with a handshake. 

Quackity was his favorite at the workplace, the older man often took him to arcades and gambling areas to have fun and get drinks. Not to mention how loaded this guy was. He could spend $12,000 dollars on one game and not even win, then shrug it off and spend $15,000 on the next without even blinking! The man had no appreciation for money, but Tommy often used that to get him and Tubbo and Ranboo food.  

Quackity had short black hair, he was shorter than Tommy, but he wasn’t all that short. [Authors note: We’re the same hight-] He also had two small yellow wings on his back, those of a duck or something. Look, Tommy hadn’t asked, ok? That would be rude! 

 “You wanna go out tonight? Find some girls, get a couple drinks, maybe play some games, y’know, the usual,” Quackity offered, a mischievous smile on his face at the thought. Then he leaned closer and whispered; “We could even get the good stuff if you know what I mean.” 

Tommy laughed and waved Quackity off. “No, no, I might have something going on tonight. But if I don’t, I’ll let you know,” he said with a smile, though Quackity frowned anyway.  

 “Alright, but if that changes, you know where to find me.”  

The older walked away with a slightly disappointed shuffle, though Tommy only shook his head with a fond roll of his eyes. He was tall enough that he looked around 21, he always wore a mask no matter when or where he was, making him look even older. 

No one needed to know he was 15. 

No one needed to know he wasn’t allowed to drink for another six years. 

Especially not Quackity. 

That man could get arrested with the amount of stuff he and Tommy have done together. 

But it doesn’t really matter all that much, he’s already signed up to be a mercenary, so he was going to be illegal anyway.  

お金

Tommy had returned to work hours ago, now the building was darkened, and he sat in front of his computer with the blue light glaring harshly onto his face. Tommy often stayed late at the office, sometimes staying so late he hardly had time to go home and change before he was sent right back to start his shift.  

It wasn’t a surprise when Tommy stayed late, but this time when the hero doors opened, they didn’t leave immediately. He paid no mind to it, instead he huffed in irritation as he continued scouring the internet as he was tasked to write a report about a new mercenary. 

  Name: Zul  

 Job: Mercenary  

 Reason for report: Find and arrest on sight  

 Physical Description: Tall, Blonde hair, purple eyes, black/white/purple hoodie, black pants.  

 Power(s): Unknown  

 Sightings: District 7 – Roof of TableCraft Shop, District 1 – Community House, Distr|  

 

Tommy was going through some CCTV surveillance feed, quiet huffs and caws slipping through his lips irritably. He didn’t realize irritated squawks slipped out of his mouth, nor did he notice how he chirped and trilled in annoyance as he came up with yet another dead end. 

“I’m going to rename you Ghostie-Bitch,” He whispered, closing the video and pulling up another one. He adjusted the earbud pressed into his ear, even though this video had no audio. 

The video was shaky, taken during a storm. There was a label in the corner of the screen, “Sun. Feb 14; 22:41” The time blinked and counted slowly, Tommy let his eyes drift to other sections of the screen instead. Then, in a flash, a man perched on the roof just across from the camera, but before the camera could focus on him, he turned to look at the camera then the feed ended. 

He let out a frustrated groan as he leaned back in his chair and covered his face with his palms.  

 “You alright there, mate?” Someone asked, making Tommy yelp and fall out of his chair in surprise.  

“SWEET JESUS!” He screamed as he fell from his chair, listening to the man’s airy laughter as he shifted on the ground so he could stand up. “Fuckin’ hell! You can’t just sneak up on someone like that!”  

He huffed and wiped off his pants, then looked up and his breath caught in his throat. Icarus, the Icarus, the number three hero stood in front of him, watching him from the opening of his cubical. He suddenly realized what a mess it was and cleared his throat as he glanced around nervously. 

“Welp, welcome to my office, I guess. Don’t mind the mess, these past few assignments are really pissing me off.”  

The hero chuckled in response, taking someone's chair and pulling it up beside Tommy. Icarus watched quietly as Tommy worked, staying very still as if trying to make himself invisible. Tommy just learned to ignore him.  

It took him a while, but after many CCTV feeds, witness reports, and anonymous tips, he finally made a profile for the mercenary known as Zul. Now, to find incriminating evidence against him that would make the heroes HAVE to look for him. This was harder than finding the guy, and harder than learning and building a profile for him. 

He sipped the lightly caffeinated tea next to his keyboard, careful not to drink too much so he was just able to stay awake and functioning. His fingers flew across the keyboard, watching as code covered his screen as he hijacked cameras all over L’manburg to watch for this guy. He coded the cameras to alert him of movement and sounds close to fighting or gun shots, watching as six hundred and forty-six pings came up across his screen. 

He watched through every feed, knocking it down to twelve videos containing the mercenary and narrowing that down to three videos containing incriminating evidence that would make the hero's place a search for him. 

He edited the videos so each only contained the bare necessities so he wouldn’t waste any of the hero’s time during the meeting he’d bring this to tomorrow.  

He leaned back in his chair, taking the last gulp of tea before throwing out the finished cup into his garbage. He popped his neck and hands, then began writing out a script for him to work with, followed by questions the heroes would ask, responses to those, any other information needed and a summary of the entire situation in two sentences. 

He read it through eight times, whispering to himself and watching through the edited videos, practicing for the meeting before closing out everything, putting up his personal firewall, then turning off his computer and packing it away. 

This is when he noticed a pair of eyes watching him. 

“Oh,” he said, looking up at Icarus. “I forgot you were here.”  

The hero laughed at the honesty, rubbing at his sleepless eyes. “Good work, kid. Can’t wait to see what you bring up at the meeting tomorrow. Get some rest, you deserve it.” 

Tommy smiled fondly at the hero, only to be interrupted by a ping on his phone. 

Unknown Number  

  Find Connor E. Taken and bring him alive to the back of the Community House by Tomorrow at 11:30 PM. Reward: $5,000 cash.  

Tommy sighed loudly, then stood up, pushing his laptop into his sling bag and smiling warily at the hero. “It seems I’ve gotten yet another assignment, thanks for the concern, but unfortunately, it seems there is no rest for the wicked.” 

Tommy wiped the sleepiness from his eyes as he took the elevator instead of the stairs, using the little-er privacy to turn on his phone and reply. 

You:  

 Meet you there, I’ll be the one with the red goggles.  

He stepped out onto the street, crossing over and continuing down the street at a brisk pace. Damn metro was closed at this hour.  

お金

It wasn’t hard to find the kid, it hardly took me an hour before finding the district, address, and time the kid would be there. These kidnappers were beginners, maybe that’s why the reward was so low. But, if they knew that, couldn’t they just get him themself? Whatever, it isn’t my job to judge.  

My job is to find and get this kid to the back of the Community House by 11pm, not this feely-feely shit.  

This morning was much like the others, making coffee and breakfast for my roommates, quickly heading out the door so I could go over my notes before the meeting, almost missing my train; Y’know, same old same old.  

I burst through the door and almost gagged on the smell of bleach, but ignored it and rushed to the elevator, throwing a “Morning!” over my shoulder to Clem who ran the desk.  

 “Morning! Good luck on your presentation!” She called back, throwing me a thumbs up as the elevator doors began to close. 

I smiled at her, that smile didn’t fade until after the doors closed. I sighed and shook out my arms and shoulders. “Today’s a big day,” I informed the camera with a grin. “I get to present to the heroes a mercenary they should look for! I didn’t find a lot on him, but I have enough incriminating evidence to make them have to send out a warrant for his arrest!”  

I continued about the mercenary and about how “this time, I’m sure they’ll understand” and how there was “no way they could turn it down with this much evidence”.  

Soon, the doors opened and I stepped into the office, the smell of bleach finally evening out into the smell of disinfecting wipes, though it still gave me a headache.  

There were other people who worked similar jobs as me, but I was in charge of the criminals who were good enough that they didn’t appear on camera nearly as often as others, basically, I was gifted the cold cases. That’s what made my job hard, finding out all the terrible secrets they have and putting it on full-blast for the heroes when I can’t find the criminals script or their mic.  

I quickly opened my laptop, going through my notes and the information two times before I went to grab myself some lightly caffeinated tea.  

Tea is the fuckin’ best.  

“Tommy! Ten minutes until the meeting!” Quackity yelled, leaning out of his cubical to look at me.  

“Thanks, Big man!” I replied with a smile as anxiety crept through my skin again. This whole social thing is hard, it’s been 16 months and it still confuses me.  

 “Trained to survive any situation” my ass! 

Persephony only taught me to do specific things. They never taught social skills. Only how to kill and how to not get killed. Social shit never belonged in that category.  

I sighed and took a large gulp of my tea, ignoring how it burned my throat and mouth at a single touch. I sighed and took my time to gather my things and set it all up in the meeting room, quickly going over it one last time in my head before waiting for people to start filling the room. 

Quackity wandered into the room with other heroes, taking a seat near the door. Icarus sat to my right, Thanatos behind him, and Apollo behind Thanatos. Then there was Quackity and that finished the right side of the table. To the left, there was Coeus, behind him, Chronos and Hephae. Soon, other heroes began to fill in rather quickly. Some of which I couldn’t name. There was an empty spot, the hero there currently out on patrol and unable to join the meeting. 

Quackity gave me a thumbs-up and smiled, urging me to begin the meeting. “Alright,” I said, clearing my throat to catch the attention of the heroes at the table. “My name is Tommy, as most of you know, this meeting is about a mercenary named Zul.”  

Soon, I had given and presented all of the information I could, practically begging the heroes to at least say they were going to look for him.  

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Icarus smiled kindly, staring with little worry at the purple bags under my eyes. I pretended not to notice the stare.  

“Think about this, Icarus,” Apollo piped up, “We don’t have a description, we only have- what? Three clips of him? All of them are too short and blurry to even see his clothes! We’d never find him even if we looked!” The other heroes nodded and considered Apollo’s words, making me pale considerably.  

“W-well, you could always try!” I pleaded, though most of the heroes simply shook their head and stood up to leave.  

“Final decision, Zul can wait.” The leader of the heroes said, walking out of the room with the rest tagging along behind him. 

The room was empty except for me and Quackity. I sighed and watched as my vision danced with black spots as my gravity swayed.  

“I probably should’ve eaten before this,” I chuckled, though my voice sounded far away. I caught a glimpse of Quackity’s worried expression before my eyes closed and- 

Slowly, I opened my eyes, the pain blooming in my head made me close them again, A groaned warble slipped from my lips before I could bite it back. I tried to lift my hand but my limbs felt like they were made of lead.  

“Tommy?” Someone asked, making me turn my head and let out a confused cheep. Help-pain-hurt. Safe-Worried-Flock they responded. I opened my eyes and there I saw a person with small golden wings, short black hair and a blue beanie.  

“Quackity? What’s going on?” I asked, sitting up. I ignored the crippling pain and looked at Quackity with a confused expression. 

“You passed out,” He explained calmly. “Where are your wings?” 

… 

“they're fine.” 

お金

My black hoodie rippled in the wind as I perched on the roof, frost burned at my fingers, the wind whipping around my face and legs as I stared through one of the windows.  

The room was empty, lit by a dying lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. From this view, I could see the kid tied in the corner. By now, I’ve memorized the shifts between guards, in twenty-three seconds the guard will leave and I’ll have a 2 minute and 47 second window to get in, grab the kid, and leave.  

Then, the guard left and I jumped down to the window sill, hanging from my fingers as I pulled myself up. Opening the window, I slid through and fell to the floor quietly.  

I put my hands up in mock surrender, looking at the kid and speaking calmly. “Hey, I’m here to get you out. We don’t have much time, you don’t have to trust me, but I’m here to give you back to your father. Is it ok if I come closer?” 

The child nodded, though I still moved slowly and counted the seconds in my head. Once I reached the kid, I stayed arms-length away and tried to make myself as small as possible, trying not to trigger anything in the child. 

“Is it ok if I untie you? I’ll have to go behind you,” I explained, not moving at all from where I sat on my knees. The child nodded carefully and I very slowly moved behind him and told him exactly what I was doing and anything that came up. 

“Your hands are free now, is it ok if I pick you up?” 

… 

The child nodded very hesitantly, though I picked him up as slowly and as carefully as I could. Trying my damnedest to keep him comfortable. Just as we’d stepped out onto the side of the building, the door opened and I heard the man cry out in surprise as he noticed the kid wasn’t there anymore.  

I smiled, then dropped down into the street, covering the kid in my hoodie to protect him from the cold. I’d slipped off my shoes and walked in my socks as the kid clomped beside me in my warm winter boots. Snow bled into my socks and settled on my skin, freezing me inside and out.  

We talked quietly, talking about things the child was interested in, games he’d played, his friends, anything that came to mind. Connor was a good kid, the fact that the heroes didn’t even look for him made my blood boil with anger.  

Eventually we made it to the Community House, I didn’t let go of the kids' hand until Connor had told me that was his father himself.  

Connor ran to the strange man, throwing himself into the man’s arms. The man clutched him in a death-grip that made my chest go tight with jealousy. My parents might’ve held me like that if Sh-   

“Thank you so much, Erebus. Don’t worry, your payment-” 

 “I didn’t just do it for the money, sir. You don’t have to pay, I was just glad to help.”  

Welcome to “My Totally Awesome Plan To Get More Money From People Who Hire Me”! 

“No, no, I insist!” The man laughed, digging through his pockets and handing me a stack of 100-dollar bills. “Keep the change, you deserve it.”  

“Holy shit!” I cried, jumping with excitement as I stared at the bills in my hand. “Sweet mother of Prime!” I stared at the $8,000 dollars in my hands, jumping into the nearest shadow and pulling out into my apartment. “Ranboo! Tubbo! Look at the mother fucking tips I got at the resturaunt!”  

… 

They didn’t need to know. 

Nope. 

Not at all.  

I went out for the last time that night, buying my roommates winter coats and shoes, they’ve been walking around in broken tennis shoes long enough, besides, they deserved something good. (Besides, they got me nice shoes for my job, they need nice shoes too!)  

When I returned, I handed off the groceries, making sure they didn’t see the coats or shoes. We put them away and I volunteered to make dinner.  

We ate on the couch, watching a bee documentary from some random person’s Netflix we hacked into yesterday.  

I wiggled myself between Tubbo and Ranboo, all of us laying upon each other in a comforting stack of bodies. Ranboo, being the tallest, was on the bottom of the pile. I was in the middle, and Tubbo, being the shortest and lightest, was stacked on top of my chest.  

We watched the bees play with the honey, watching as flowers swayed on screen and the light buzz of their wings through the speakers. Ranboo’s darkened fingers carded through my hair, the closest thing to preening we could have.  

Tubbo loved listening to the coos that bubbled in my chest, Ranboo loved playing with my hair, I loved them both.  

Tubbo loved my chirps , Ranboo loved my wings , I loved my flock .  

Tommy, unsurprisingly, was the first one to fall asleep. The apartment’s lack of heating finally getting to the poor “nestling” as Ranboo likes to call him.  

Ranboo really did love his roommates, he did consider them his ⏚⍀⍜⍜⎅ though he would be too embarrassed to admit it. And, knowing Tommy, he would hold it over Ranboo’s head for years . 

Ranboo didn’t mind thinking back on things. He had hardly any memories of the- [REDACTED] -but that didn’t stop him from marveling at the memories of Tommy’s wings. 

Tommy had large—almost too large—wings of grey and white, speckled with browns and blacks, but they were so large he took up the space of four people when he let his wings sweep the floor loosely. He always kept them pulled to his back, Ranboo remembered the cramps Tommy was burdened with from how long he’d kept them pinned as close to his body as possible.  

Flashes of a memory, only feint flickers that he only saw for brief moments before flickering away once more.  

Scars, he remembers scars. Hundreds of scars littering Tommy’s wings. Crying, he remembers Tommy sobbing. Sobbing over a loss. 
Howls, he remembers hearing dogs howling. A sound before he heard gates released and distant screaming.  
Then, there were no more memories of Tommy with wings. No more memories of Tubbo without scars. 

… 

I wonder what happened, He wondered internally. 

“Tubs?” He asked, catching the attention of the drifting hybrid. “What happened to Tommy’s wings?” 

There was a silence, a silence that screamed louder than the memories, a silence that told Ranboo to shut it .  

“You remember his wings?” Tubbo said instead, dodging the question. Ranboo pretended not to notice. 

“Yeah! I remember his wings were grey and white, they also had some black and if you looked close enough there were some brown feathers too. I remember that if they weren’t pressed to his back, he would take up the space of like- three people. I remember that he used to have really bad cramps from keeping them so tight against his skin.” He supplied, numbering off the things he remembered on his fingers. “Then... Then I remember dogs, a-and screaming. Then you had scars, Tommy- Tommy without wings.” 

Tubbo stayed silent, staring at Ranboo in the dark.  

“Good night, Boo.” Tubbo’s voice was hardly louder than a mumble, but Ranboo could see the tears pricking at him eyes and chose to let the conversation fall. 

... 

“’Night, Bo.” 

What happened?  

悪夢

My feathered wings were pulled tight behind my back, the feathers puffing out as I stared at the white walls of the office. I haven’t been here since Sh-  

“Mimi?” Someone asked, the voice was small, young, familiar.  

Dread set into my heart as I turned in circles, looking for the little boy, I tried calling out his name, but I couldn’t speak. The words caught in my throat and refused to leave my chest. Feathers fell behind me, covering the old wooden floor in black and white striped feathers.  

Eventually, I spotted a door, even though I’d been turning in the same room over and over and over again with no sign of a door before this moment.  

The door creaked open, huffed breathing echoing through the crack. The room darkened as panic spread through my bones.  

“Mimi? Why did you leave me?” The voice asked, the door opened fully now. The doorway was black, the room having gotten so dark so violently it didn’t help when hundreds of red eyes suddenly gleamed brightly from the other side. “WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?” The voice screamed, the eyes suddenly accompanied by sets of barred, snarling teeth.  

Thousands of hounds ran through the door, barreling straight for me. Blood dripped from the ceiling and pooled on the floor, a river of the crimson liquid flowing from the door and beginning to cover my feet and crawl up my legs.  

The hounds surrounded me as I was overtaken by the blood. A young boy stepped through the doorway, tears dripping down his face.  

“ It’s all your fault .”  

“Tommy!” Tubbo cried, his face plastered with concern. 

(Dripping with blood) 

I gasped and sat up, letting the comforting hands cover my shoulders and hands. Tubbo sat in front of me, laying over my legs like I’d told him to do when I had dreams like this. Ranboo wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging be from behind. I let the weight sink into my heart, warming and calming me from the inside out.  

Once my breathing was under control, I glanced out the window, pink clouds covered the sunrise, but the sky was painted with red and yellow hues that were plain to see even through the clouds.  

I sighed and let my head drop onto Tubbo’s shoulder, swallowing the urge to launch myself into the sky, through the clouds, to feel the wind in my hair and the almost-too-fast-to-breathe wind whipping over my skin and face.  

“Bad dream?” Tubbo asked after a while, Ranboo preening carding his hands though my hair.  

“Yeah... Just a bad dream.” I replied, sighing heavily as I remembered the blood. 

… 

Oh well. 

It’s time for work. 

Chapter Text

お金

The $2 bill was first printed in 1862. Interestingly, $2 notes were considered unlucky and unpopular throughout most of history.

The metro shook violently as it came to a sudden stop, the doors opening with a hiss. I looked up from my phone, glancing at the district sign. The metro always lingers on the first district longer than others, it was the metro’s last stop before returning to its starting point, district 94.  

The car suddenly shook, not in the “don’t worry, I’ve just got bad knees” type of shake, this was a “oh shit, did you feel that?” kind of shake.  

I have been alive long enough to know when to get off a train. I’ve also been alive long enough that being late to my job means a very nice set words that read: “fucking fired and left for dead on the streets”. I do not want to sleep with rats again. After the 92nd District Rabies Epidemic, I’ve decided rats aren’t really my thing. 

…  

The foam tasted weird.  

1/10 do not recommend.  

The other passengers, those with actual common sense(I applaud you), stepped off the train. Leaving me, and one other person on the train.  

 “You gonna get off?” they asked with a curious tilt to their brow. They had short blonde hair, vibrant purple eyes, and a purple hoodie with black cargo pants.  

“I come from the 87th district, I’d rather die by being crushed to death in a hero vs. Villain battle then get fired from my job and get rabies from a rat after I’ve gone homeless.” I replied with a sigh, pushing my phone back into my pocket. “Again.” I added. The man let out an airy chuckle, though he didn’t let a lot of emotion slip into his actions. If anything, it looked as though my honesty caught him off guard and he wasn’t able to suppress his laugh in time.  

 “That makes sense. I’m from the 14th, nice to meet you, I’m Purpled.”  

The man stuck out a hand, I accepted and shook his hand quickly.  

“Tommy.” I smiled back. “Wow, a 14th? Out here? Whatever made you come all the way down here?” I asked, shuffling my stance.  

 “Ah, y’know, work, business, the usual.” The man—Purpled—supplied rather oddly.  

I nodded in agreement, my head shooting up when I heard an odd rumble. I watched as pieces of rock or ceiling tumbled to the ground, only the size of pebbles, but either way it startled the bystanders outside the cart and they ran up the stairs in a blind panic.  

“Damn,” I shook my head in disapproval. “These people are idiots.” 

 “How so?” 

“If there’s a fucking fight upstairs,” I gestured to the stairs, “and they go UPSTAIRS, they’re going to get put in the middle of the fucking battle!”  

Purpled laughed and I scoffed, listening to the screams coming from above. “Seems you’re right,” He smiled. 

“No duh, I’m always right!”  

I ended up getting Purpled’s number, I told him to contact me whenever he felt like it. I was late, but once I explained why Icarus gave me a “pass” and told me to “not do it again”. 

Stupid. 

I can’t control if I do it again because I take the godsdamned metro and I can’t just not take the metro because I live in the mother fuckin’ 87 th DISTRICT ASSHOLE-  

Just take a deep breath in, and breathe out... In, and out.  

Stupid bitches are just stupid bitches, don’t let it get to your head, Tommy.  

Today’s job was to find and locate a villain for arrest. It wasn’t just any villain, no, no, no, the HQ doesn’t work like that. I had to find and locate the bitch himself. 

The President. 

… 

Can someone else do this? 

I knocked lightly on Icarus’s door, he’s the one who typically gave me assignments, and he’s also pretty nice. Sometimes. 

 “Come in!” The hero called, I opened the door gently, trying not to startle the little raven. (Aww, so small! So cute! Just a little birdy! PERFECT TO K- ) My instincts chirped at me, though I swallowed it down and ignored the burning in my throat. It always hurt to repress a chirp, though, I don’t have much of a choice.  

I closed the door and turned to the hero. ( TERRITORY-GET OUT OF TERRITORY-OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-MUST LEAVE ) My throat burned once more but I just cleared my throat and sat on a chair in front of the hero’s desk.  

 “What’s up?” Icarus asked, his large feathers fluttering behind him. Jealousy tore through my heart, but I simply ignored it. It’s fine. Really, it’s fine. The large Avian marking seemed to burn into my back, rage and jealousy making the pain almost unbearable.  

“I wanted to know if you could assign someone else to uh- to Mr. President’s case.” I couldn’t help but flinch at his name. My mind going to dogs, and teeth, and blood and Shr- 

Icarus was silent for a moment. 

 “Why?” The man asked. 

“Unimportant. Just- Just do it, please?”  

… 

 “I can’t unless you give me a reason. A good reason. If you just don’t want to work today, you should’ve called in sick.” 

“I want to work! I just-” 

 “Just what?” Icarus’s wings ruffled in annoyance. “Just feel a little tired? Just a little stressed? Well, guess what? The world doesn’t revolve around you, us heroes have more on our plate than you do. You don’t think I’m stressed? Tired?” 

That... That hurt . It hurt in a way I wasn’t used to. I let my head drop and I sighed, hugging my arms tight to my chest.  

“Of course, I just-” 

 “Get out of my office.” 

… 

I got up and left the room, closing the door carefully as I headed over to Quackity’s desk. 

“You open tonight?” I asked, leaning on the side of his cubicle. A smile spread across the hybrid’s face, his wings fluffing in excitement.  

 “I thought you’d never ask.”  

Unknown Number   

 Find incriminating information on V’eh’ps. Reward: $7,000  

Damn. No rest for the wicked, am I right? I've heard about this “V’eh’ps” before, he joined Quackity and I once or twice when we went out gambling together. It isn’t surprising that I have to go out and find information like this on one of Quackity’s friends. His crowd is typically illegal. Including myself, I can’t think of a single person who hasn’t or shouldn’t have gone to jail or have charges for something they’ve done. Well, other than Karl, his fiancé. And Sapnap, his other fiancé. Both of them are almost entirely innocent.  

Now, to wait for this day to be over. 

 Name: Mr. President  

 Job: Villain  

 Reason for report: Find and arrest on sight  

 Physical Description: Tall, Goat hybrid, Tan horns, Brown facial hair, short (curly) brown hair, tuxedo uniform, carrying a pen that extends into a staff. (Blades can come out of the top to be used as a slashing weapon)  

 Power(s): Vibrations – Can control and manipulate vibrations. (Such as: Sound, Earthquakes, etc.)  

 Sightings: D | 

 

Just looking through the camera feeds and catching glimpses of the man sent terrified chirps through my lips. My wings ruffled I shuddered at the thought of white rooms with wood floors, darkened doors, dogs, screams, feathers and- 

 “Tommy? You alright, man?” Someone asked, making a terrified squawk-turned-scream leave me as I lifted my arms to protect myself. Only to remember that he isn’t here. He isn’t here . “Woah, calm down, it’s ok.”  

The voice was calm, making a chirp leave my trembling mouth. Scared-hurt-flock?-help  

Calm-it's ok-flock-safe they responded with a trill. I felt myself calm, my eyesight finally adjusting to the bright florescent lights.  

Quackity’s fingers brushed through my hair calmly, trills and coos following. “What’s going on, Tommy?” Quackity asked, his voice low but comfortingly so. 

“M-“ I tried to speak, though a chirp interrupted for me. I continued trying to talk, instead, interrupting chirps and trills were voiced instead. 

 “Ok, ok, calm down, little nestling,” Quackity laughed, making an irritated but playful huff leave my mouth. “Start slowly, just breathe and don’t mind the chirps.” 

Taking a breath as instructed, I closed my eyes and huffed. “M- chirp Mr. P- SQUAWK Icarus assigned me to Mr. P- CHURRUP! A villain that I am not… all that happy about.” Quackity nodded, seeming to understand the insistent chirps to not say his name.( never say the bad man’s name-no name-doesn’t deserve a name )  

“I think I know what villain you’re talking about.” Then, quackity brought up his hands and finger-spelled “M-R-P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T” 

I shuddered but nodded, taking a calming breath before opening my eyes again.  

I don’t remember the rest of the day in the office, the most I remember is a pile of blankets, warmth, and flock . Which is weird because I only have four two flock members. Both of which are in district 83.  

You  

 i’m going out w/ quacks tonight. i’ll bring back smth  

 

Boo-boi  

 K! Bo says he wants a bee if you can  

 

You   

 Alr  

I smiled down at my phone, staring at the picture of Ranboo, Me, and Tubbo on my lock screen before shoving it in my pocket.  

  “WITHOUT ME? YOU TRULY ARE A CRUEL BROTHER” Shr-  

I blinked, and he was gone. Of course he was gone, he’s- 

… 

I need to pick up my meds from Jack’s. 

“Ayye, man!” Quackity called to someone stepping into the car with us.  

“Aye, ¿Qué pasa, tío?” The man laughed, shaking hands with Quackity. [Translation: Aye, What's up, man?]

“Listo para jugar y beber, ¡eso es lo que pasa!” Quackity responded with a laugh. Even though I couldn’t understand them, I joined in on the laughter, the man turning to me with a fond smile. [T: Ready to play and drink, that's what's up]

“Aye, ¡Manito! How ya doin?”  

“‘M doing great, big V!” I smiled, ignoring the pain that came from his extra-rough headlock. I twisted out of it the way I was trained to with a laugh, making V’eh’ps and Quackity “oooh” with odd looks. 

 “looks like we got a fighter with us, hah?” 

 “Ahh, he’s just a young one! Look at him! Solo un chico pequeño, ¿eh? Ten cuidado con él, es solo esa energía joven.”  [T: Just a little boy, huh? Be careful with him, he just has that young energy.]

 “Sí, sí, supongo que tienes razón. Después de todo, es solo un tipo pequeño. No nos daría mucho dinero en un anillo de lucha, ¿sí?”  [T: Yes, yes, I guess you're right. After all, he's just a little guy. He wouldn't give us a lot of money in a wrestling ring, yes?]

…  

I have honestly no clue what they’re on about, but with the way they’re nodding an pointing to me, I can’t help but think they’re trying to sell me or something.  

“You two ok? You gonna sell me or something?” 

 “No! no! ¡Claro que no, hombrecito!” V’eh’ps responded with a laugh, making Quackity wheeze at my “joke”. [T: Of course not, little man!] “We’re not going to sell you!”  

I nodded with a squint of my eyes, trying to pass on a look of suspicion. “Uh-huh. Sure...”  

The casino was as big and bright as ever, it’s domes and lights outshining the setting sun brilliantly. I waited outside the car for the others to follow, entertaining myself with the strange line of visitor ID check-in. 

It was quite a process for those bringing weapons, everyone got ID’d whether they were bringing items or not. The building was strictly 21+ due to the alcohol and gambling, there are other sections that are 25+ which I have personally never been to, but I’ve seen people go in and leave.  

I don’t think I could ever unsee that.  

Ew.  

“Ah, ¡Manito! Ready as ever I see!” big V smiled, throwing his arm over my shoulders. Quackity smiled and beckoned us over to the line. He strolled past people confidently, something I was used to but still cast an embarrassed flush to my cheeks. I felt the grey feathers on my ears pin against my skin, hidden under my blonde hair, in embarrassment.  

“hey!” someone shouted, obviously not very happy that we were cutting.  

 “hm?” Quackity hummed, turning around and lifting a brow. The security stopped the ravenette, though all Q had to do was turn around and raise a hand before we were allowed past. 

“Oi! What the fuck was that about?!” the man screamed, to which big V and I chuckled. 

 “the owner is allowed entry without ID scanning.” The security explained, making all of us cackle at the man’s paled face.  

If the outside was impressive, it was a street rat compared to the inside. White quartz pillars specked with gold towered to the roof, holding up a glass dome in the middle of it all. The floors, going with the white and gold color scheme, was decorated in grey cracks but there was a carpeted runway that lead from the door down the halls and into the main area. The bright red contrasted with the white and gold well, giving a rich, cut look to the space.  

Whoever said purple resembled royalty was wrong, it was red, white, and yellow.  

Even those in their finest suits looked pitifully out of place in the rich casino. Even just calling it a casino seemed almost degrading compared to the look and feel of it all.  

 “Welcome to my casino! ¡Donde eres un dios mientras dure tu dinero!” Quackity laughed, spreading his arms wide and twirling to get a good look at the place. 

I smiled and grabbed Quackity’s wrist, leading my flock him to the poker tables. [T: Where you are a god while your money lasts!]

Before long, my 5,000 dollar budget was dwindling, though I still had yet to find the bee Bo wanted. 

I can’t just not get him a bee, Bo asked for one and I have to give him one! Bo would be so upset if I didn’t get him one! (He wouldn’t be all thaaat upset, but I want to get him something anyway. My instincts are already eating at me for not getting something shiny for the nest bed.)

I looked around the casino, swiveling in the same place until I finally spotted a gift shop or whatever the hell it was called. I stepped into the store, finally able to take a breath that wasn’t clouded by smoke or sweat.  

 “Just this?” the man at the counter asked, scanning the item with a cheery smile.  

“Actually,” I said, staring at one of the things on sale near the counter. “This too.” 

 “A glove? Wow, didn’t think those would actually sell!” The man laughed, his smile was genuine though it still made me bristle either way. 

I nodded, picking up the 16’’ plush bee and the black gloves as I made my way to the door. 

 “Oh! One last thing!” The mad called, making my pause in the doorway. “Make sure Quackity doesn’t get too wasted, yeah? I don’t wanna deal with him puking on the carpet again.” The man laughed, his brown hair flopping around his face. I nodded and watched curiously as he waved with a hand of purple and green painted nails. 

Huh. I thought at first, turning and strolling to where Quackity was. I like their nails. Maybe I could get Boo to do mine!   

I shut that down before I could even say “pog” and I was quite good at saying that.  

Quackity smiled at me, leaning heavily on Big V’s shoulder for support. “¡Eh, Manito! ¿Qué tal? ¡Mi cabeza me está matando!”  [T: Hey Manito! How's it going? My head is killing me!]

Even though I had NO CLUE what he was saying I just nodded and smiled, picking him off Big V and slinging his arm over my shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t choke on your spit. Save it for your husbands.” 

 “Fiancés” Quackity corrected. 

“Not with that attitude,” I mumbled, clearly not quite enough if Big V’s chuckle and Q’s gasp were anything to go by.  

 “Hey! Whe’e we goi’?” Quackity slurred, I simply shook my head and answered honestly. 

“I’m dropping you off at your fiancés .”  

 “Whaaaaat!” 

“You are wasted my guy, and I don’t wanna clean up your puke.” 

 “This ‘s MY casi’o!” 

“Uh-huh, and I am bringing you home before you make a fool of yourself.” 

 Quackity huffed but did not argue, seeming to realize that I was very stubborn and would never back down from this. We made it to the car, the chauffeur was waiting for us, and I pulled Q’s hair into a ponytail as I shoved a puke bucket into his face. Just in time too.  

This is why I don’t drink.  

On the car ride back, Q began mumbling and huffing about this dude who’d been a proper bitch to him. “-and oh my god Shlatt was an ass!” Q finished, though it felt like my world had just ended.  

Shlatt. 

Mr. President. 

Quackity worked for Shlatt. 

Quackity lived with Shlatt. 

He probably knew what Shlatt did to him.

Quackity let him do that to me—to us.

“What the FUCK did you just say?” I whisper-yelled, unable to get my voice any higher. Q seemed to suddenly sober up, blinking and tilting his head in confusion. “You worked with him and you did nothing ?”  

Q only stared, his eyes wide. This was the first time I’ve ever been this... malicious in front of him so I guess it warranted surprise.  

“You knew about the experiments, didn’t you? You knew when he took those kids, and you knew the torture he put us through, and you did NOTHING ?!”  

 “T-” 

“ No, you don’t get to talk to me. I can’t believe you- Q, you were my flock ! And you- you did this?” Warm tears pricked at my eyes as I hugged myself tightly, my nails pressing red crescent moons into my pale skin. “I can’t believe you’d help him take them from me...” I looked up into Quackity’s eyes with a harsh glare, tears staining my cheeks. “They meant everything to me, Q!"

He fumbled numbly with the keys, trying to press it into the lock. Eventually, someone from behind the door unlocked and peered out into the hall. 

 “Tommy!” They cried with a smile, until they saw the blonde’s face and immediately their emotions turned to concern-worry-stress. Tommy shuffled in and rose his hand and dipped his fingers down until his fist was clasped, his way of saying “hi” when he couldn’t speak. He set down the plastic bag holding the bee plush and the gloves numbly, not even bothering to lean over. Ranboo guided the blonde to the couch, cradling the teen in his arms before Tubbo stepped out of his room with bleary eyes.  

 “Boo? What’s up with Tommy?” The goat hybrid asked, walking carefully over to the couch.  

 “I- I don’t know, Bo. He hasn’t said anything yet. I don’t think he can .”  

Tubbo let out a concerned huff, his ear flicking with concern, but carefully laid on top of Tommy the way they did whenever Tommy had any sort of flashbacks.  

 “Hey, Tommy,” Tubbo said quietly, it always helped when they spoke to him calmly. Tubbo talked about his day, about bees, about things Ranboo said, about funny things he found on people’s private pages when he hacked into them, about anything he could. It wasn’t until the next morning they finally were able to get a chuckle out of him.  

Tubbo continued talking, suddenly less anxious.  

Ranboo had left to call Tommy’s work so he could take a sick day when Tubbo moved onto a conversation about plans for “Tubnet”. 

 “ You have reached the Hero Headquarters; how may I help you?” The receptionist asked kindly, making Ranboo smile awkwardly even though they couldn't see his face.  

 “Hi, I’m Thomas Innes's roommate, I was calling to see if he could take a sick day. He’s currently bedridden and unable to go to work.”  

Tommy stayed on the couch all day, twittering and chirping every time Tubbo or Ranboo tried to get up. “Aww, don’t worry, little nestling, we aren’t leaving you.” Ranboo warbled inhumanly, cuddling close to the blonde who cooed in response. 

When Tommy opened his eyes, he saw Ranboo’s tail swishing happily behind him as he stared at Tommy with dilated pupils and he heard a low warbling that was close to a cat purr emitting from low in Ranboo’s throat. Then, he heard Tubbo’s huff and realized just how big his pupils were. There was a thin sliver of blue in his eyes, which was mildly alarming but Tommy didn’t care. 

He’s home. 

He’s safe. 

He’s in nest . 

He’s with flock . 

… 

 “ BROTHER ” the boy growled, a little girl standing beside him. They stood at the door of the apartment, Tommy's breath catching in his throat. “ HOW COULD YOU LEAVE US ” The girl sobbed, her white moth wings fluttering uselessly behind her. He winced at the blue-green blood pooling from where her wings had been torn. “ I didn’t mean to leave you! If I knew what he was going to do I- ”  

“ I WILL HATE YOU FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIVE ” she cried, " YOU LET HIM TAKE MY WINGS—YOU LET HIM KILL ME ”  

 “ No, I- ”  

“ YOU ARE NOT OUR BROTHER ANYMORE YOU DO NOT DESERVE THAT TITLE—IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT—YOU ARE A MONSTER. ”  

“-ommy!” Tubbo gasped, shaking the boy out of his trance. “Oh my god, Tommy! Are you ok?” 

Tommy stayed silent.  

 “I- I need to take a trip to Jack’s.” He whispered, casting the apartment into silence. 

 “We’ll go with you,” The two nodded, taking Tommy’s hand in their own and helping him to his feet.  

 “What do you mean ‘no’?” Tubbo asked the man, Jack rolled his eyes behind his red and blue lensed glasses.  

 “I mean, No. We don’t have your medicine. Your bill was due a long time ago and now I’m legally unable to give it to you. This is your fault, maybe if you spent your money on bills instead of drinks, you’d be able to get it.” 

 Tubbo bristled, his pupils shrinking to pins. Ranboo began to make some sort of whirring sound, it made Jack’s head fog over and replace every emotion with fear-terror-SURVIVE.  

 “Boo, Bo,” Tommy said quietly, the two of them stopping suddenly. Jack watched with mild disgust as their eyes grew wide and their tails swished playfully around their legs. “It’s fine, I can- I can go for until we can pay it off. I’ve been getting good tips at the restaurant, plus my job at the HQ, we can do this.” Jack watched as the two sat on the floor, calculating the money they’d need to cover the bill.  

 Jack’s seen Tommy at Las Nevadas several times, sure, he was always with the owner, sure, he’s seen Quackity give Tommy his “allowance” for games and things, sure, he’s never seen Tommy drink anything at the casino, but if he can go there, surly they have enough money to pay bills. 

 “I could take up a job-” Ranboo started. 

“No, last time we tried that you were fired because someone stared at you too long and you teleported out of the country. Your boss was a bitch, but I don’t think you or Bo getting jobs would help much.” 

 Tubbo and Ranboo dipped their heads in disappointment. 

“I could become a merc for hire, it pays well and-” 

 “ No ,” Tubbo said sternly. “I don’t want you getting hurt.” 

The group was silent for a moment. 

 “Bo, he’s got a point.” 

Tubbo bristled and huffed, standing up and letting his ears flop down towards his neck. “I said no, so it’s a no, got it? We can find other ways; I can get into hacking again and we can do what we used to on the streets. We could-” 

 “I don’t need medicine that much, we can still survive just fine without this, it’s not like it can kill me.” Tommy rolled his eyes, though Jack felt Ranboo and Tubbo tense before he heard a sigh. 

 “Fine, but we’re going to find a way to get you your meds.”  

Jack watched them leave, not noticing the swift hand that clasped over a Swiss army knife for sale near the front and pocketed the small handle. Nor did he notice the hand that swiped at his pants, taking the money from his wallet before putting the empty wallet back like it had never left.  

Street smarts. 

“How much?” Tommy asked once they were out onto the street and away from the pharmacy.  

 “46 dollars,” Ranboo smiled proudly, flashing the wad of cash in his clawed grip. “You?” 

Tommy twirled the silver Swiss army knife around his fingers with a proud grin. “The shinnies can never escape my clutches!” 

 “Did you borrow anything?” Ranboo asked, leaning forward to look at Tubbo. 

 “Hm? Oh, no. Not this time.” 

Tubbo twirled the wireless earbuds in his pocket, he had a plan for those, he just needed a smartwatch. 

The three headed home, stopping at a park and playing for a while until their muscles were sore and the sun had begun to set. Tommy boasted loudly about how he’d managed to trick Ranboo into his trap, not noticing the eyes pinned on their backs. 

Tommy suddenly shut up, stopping in the street and pointing his feathered ears to the road ahead of them. The other two paused as well, listening and watching quietly. 

“ Left corner, three men, armed. ” Tommy signed. The other two nodded and flicked out their weapons. This was the 83rd district after all. Crime was bad in the 14th , imagine the 30th district. Don’t even get started on the 80’s and 90’s! 

Tubbo had a black butterfly knife that had a blade dipped in a paralytic, Ranboo a baton that could grow spikes, Tommy held an extendable quarterstaff that had a retractable knife blade at the tip. (Courtesy of Tubbo, the tech-wizard) 

Tommy backed into a shadow, appearing around the corner before pulling one of the men back by the neck, slitting their throat before stepping into the darkness once again.  

Tubbo held in a snicker as the men turned in surprise, having only heard a blade slicing through something and the splatter of something thicker than water hitting the pavement.  

 “What the fuck- where’s Aryan?!” One of them whisper-yelled. 

 “Let’s get out of here!” The other murmured, getting ready to book it down the street. 

 “No! We were told to get rid of the kids, let’s go!” 

The other didn’t complain or argue, they simply scoffed and pulled out their Glock. 

Even with their abilities, and their weapons, humanoids are not faster than a bullet. It is very common knowledge, 

So you can imagine their surprise when the blonde simply stepped out of the way, appearing by their side and knocking them out, he did this so fast that if you blinked you would’ve missed the entire fight. 

Common knowledge, right? 

お金

The next morning, he walked to the metro, as he did every day, watching the birds and the other animals, but mostly the birds. 

He smiled as they chirped and trilled happily at him, he responded with coos and twitters, exchanging thoughtful conversation as the sun rose in the cool air. Fresh snow littered the ground, thin and soft enough it didn’t make a crunch, but cold enough that it melted at his feet and left footprints in the sidewalk.  

At the stairs of the metro, he politely shooed away the birds and carefully stepped down the iced stairs. Almost slipping, he entered the cart and sat in one of the seats, the one next to and across from him empty. 

“Morning, Snow White” someone said with a smile, making Tommy scream and punch out of instinct. “What the fuck!” They cried, holding their jaw.  

“Purpled!“ Tommy screamed in surprise, sitting the man down across from him and checking out his jaw. “Sorry, big man, you scared me.” 

 “Why the fuck is it your first reaction?” 

“I grew up in the 94th district, moved here later. Crime in the lowers is not forgiving.” 

Tommy saw through Purpled’s poker face to the pained expression hidden underneath, cringing as if guilty.  

“It’s fine, man. Stop looking so guilty. It’s not like you were the one mugging me.” Tommy laughed, leaning back in his seat. Something flickered through Purpled’s eyes, too fast for him to name before it was gone and the two began a new topic. 

Through the ride, the two talked until it reached its last stop, Tommy’s stop, and got off together.  

“This is your stop too?” Tommy asked once they reached the sidewalk. 

 “Nah, I had the day off and just wanted to follow you around. Where we going?” 

Technically, Tommy wasn’t supposed to bring anyone into the HQ with him. Each staff member had a yearly pass to bring one person to work with them, and they could stack too. Tommy had been here for three years, meaning, that he now has three passes, and two roommates.  

He could spare one for Purpled. 

Just for today. 

The two entered the elevator, pointing out the camera to Purpled so he didn’t seem like a crazy person when he started talking to nothing. 

“Hey man, I’ve brought a new friend with me today! His name is Purpled, he’s really cool. 

"Me and Q had a fight a couple days ago, I know it wasn’t his fault but I just can’t believe he’d work for him . It- It feels personal. 

"ANYWHO, Boo and Bo are doing good, they’re at home. I took the day off yesterday and we went around town having fun.  

"Purpled? Wanna share anything to the camera man?” Tommy tilted his head curiously at Purpled who simply shrugged in response.  

 “Why not? 

 "My older brother and I had an argument about my work, he doesn’t support it and I’ve tried telling him that it’s our best option but he doesn’t want to hear it.  

 "I understand where he’s coming from. 

 "My job isn’t exactly the safest, and he knows that all too well.  

 "Other than that, my life’s been pretty bland. Tommy’s really fun to mess with, he’s terrible at building in Minecraft but hey, not my place to judge.” Tommy scoffed in mock horror, Purpled only rolled his eyes with a smile. “What’s your job anyway?” Purpled asked Tommy, watching as the blonde’s face lit up with joy.  

“You’ll have to wait and find out.”  

The doors opened with a ding and Tommy stepped out, showing Purpled around the office. Purpled’s guest pass swayed on his lanyard, showing the heroes and coworkers that this guy was allowed to be here.  

 “Tommy?” Quackity asked quietly, making Tommy stop and have to manually calm his breathing. 

“Q” Tommy responded sharply, not looking Quackity in the eye. 

 “I’m so sorry, I-” 

 “Q, right?” Purpled asked, making the duck hybrid nod quickly. “I heard you two got into a fight. I’m not sure what it was about, but knowing Tommy it was probably something important. Just give him time to think about it.” He placed a hand on Q’s shoulder, whispering something into his ear quietly. Tommy, even with his hybrid ability to hear well, was unable to pick up anything that was said. 

When Purpled pulled away with a proud smile, Q’s face had grown worryingly pale. He turned into his cubicle silently, going right back to work. Tommy shrugged and lead Purpled to his office area. 

“Welcome,” Tommy introduced proudly, showing Purpled his cluttered work area. “To the Den ! It is where shit goes down.” Both of them burst into laughter and Tommy eagerly pulled up a chair for Purpled and Tommy began to show the boy how his job worked.  

“This is Ghostie-Bitch" Tommy introduced, showing one of the videos of the mercenary Zul that’s been plaguing my work for a week now. 

 “’Ghostie-Bitch’?” Purpled laughed, though he seemed much more tense than before.  

“I can only find like- three videos on him and even then, they cut out before it can actually focus on him. I’ve only got a blob of a man that I have to build a whole ass profile on!” Tommy showed Purpled his work on Zul and the very few recordings of the guy. 

 “What’s your opinion on mercenaries?” Purpled asked, taking Tommy by surprise. 

“I don’t mind them. I understand where their coming from, they’re basically just vigilantes who get paid. As long as they're not killing people or torturing children, I have no problem with them.” 

 “Then why are you so intent on capturing them?” 

Tommy thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered that he had to give a meeting about another vigilante in an hour or so. 

“You’ll understand at the meeting. If you’d want to join, that is. It’s a meeting about these two new vigilantes running around the 14th and 18th districts.” Tommy pulled up a video containing the two vigilantes, this was not nearly as shaky as the videos containing Ghostie-Bitch or Mr. Jackass. 

The video showed Buzzkill at the entrance of a store, quickly solving a robbery and tying up the criminals. Buzzkill then held his partners hand, the two disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.  

Buzzkill was rather short, couldn’t be over 5’8, he was a guy, his suit covered his hair but it was entirely yellow and black with two mechanical wings on the back that he could use to fly out to shoot out stinger-like projectiles that were dipped in a paralytic.  

Ender was tall, over 7’5, and his suit was black with green and purple accents to it, he also carried an electricfied whip that he hardly ever used. He was mainly just the escape for the pair, though there were times when he did actually make himself useful. 

Purpled stared at the footage, watching it replay over and over again while Tommy pulled up the profiles he made for the pair.  

“Thanks for letting me go over this, it’ll help me during the meeting,” Tommy laughed. 

 Purpled replied with a smile, saying “No problem, your job is actually really interesting.”  

“I know, right? Honestly, I do more than the fucking heroes at times!” 

The two laughed together and helped get ready for the meeting. Purpled made coffee for himself and got Tommy his caffeinated tea while Tommy gathered the papers and information necessary. Purpled then helped Tommy make and upload a presentation to a USB drive so they could play it over the projector. 

The two left the cubical and started preparing in the conference room, eventually, the clock hit 11:30 and Quackity shuffled into the room, closely followed by the heroes. Purpled tensed next to Tommy, who placed a comforting hand on Purpled's shoulder. 

“It’s ok, big man. They can’t hurt you here.” 

Purpled didn’t ask why Tommy thought he needed encouragement on the heroes not hurting him, though he appreciated the words nonetheless. He relaxed after a few deep breaths, making sure to keep the exit and Tommy in his view at all times. 

 “Who is this?” A hero asked, gesturing to Purpled. 

“A friend,” Tommy replied, hardly sparing the hero a glance as he continued tapping away on his computer. 

 “Why is he here ?” The hero pressed, making Tommy tense suddenly. He turned with a dark look on his face, a glare so strong that it looks could kill not even ash would remain of the hero. Everyone seemed to make a double take when they looked at Tommy’s face, shocked at the sudden seriousness of the boy. If Purpled noticed Quackity flinch, he did not choose to acknowledge it.  

The hero chuckled nervously, making Tommy scoff and the top three roll their eyes. 

 “Laughter is a coward's expression of fear.” Thanatos and Tommy scoffed at the same time, shutting up the hero with a click of his jaw. Tommy smiled at Thanatos, which the hero responded to with a nod. Thanatos was tall, bulky but not overly so. He had long pink hair that easily fell to his waist when braided, his suit had a giant red cape with a fluffy white hood and accents, he had a white button-up, black paints with silver fishnets over them, high boots with buckles, and a lot of golden accessories.

The meeting continued, Tommy informing the heroes of the two vigilantes and practically begging them to look for the pair. Going as far as listing off their crimes. 

 “The police will deal with them,” one hero said, waving off the concern with a roll of his eyes. “What about Mr. President? Any news on him?” 

Tommy gulped and took a shaky breath in, tensing immediately. “Yes, I have found new information on him. I- I’d like to request a week for me to gather more info before we come back to this topic. Besides, these vigilantes are serious tr-”  

The heroes laughed; the top three staying eerily silent. “A week? What would you need a whole week for?” Quackity and Purpled sent Tommy a pitying glance as Tommy shuffled on his feet. Purpled suddenly realised why he wanted to catch the people he was sent after so bad. Purpled realised that Tommy only wanted validation and recognition from the heroes, he just wanted them to tell him he did a good job, he just wanted to prove himself useful . That realization hurt Purpled more than he originally thought it would.  

“Mr. President is a tricky villain, while I do have plenty CCTV footage of him and evidence, I just-“ 

 “Show us!” One hero demanded, “if you have so much information, why don’t you show us?” 

The other heroes laughed at Tommy’s reluctance. “Oh no,” one said with a sarcastic frown, “you don’t have any do you? Does the wittle guy just wanna impress his heroes?” 

The table erupted in laughter, save for Tommy, Purpled, Quackity, and the top three heroes. Tommy cleared his throat and silently began pulling up the videos of Mr. President he had, ignoring the panic that rose in him every time he caught a glimpse of the man, swallowing terrified chirps at every word that left the man’s mouth. 

The first video showed Mr. President entering a store, immediately shooting the first person he saw before he held up their body and demanded everyone to empty out their pockets and give him the cash. He killed 12 people in that video, most of whom were trying to escape, though the rest were killed for intimidation. For every one person that tried to run or get help, he killed them and two others.

The second video showed him on a roof, holding a man over the edge and screaming demands at the terrified person. “ Tell me where T-0M15 is! I know you are hiding him, spit it out! ” 

 “ I don’t know who you’re talking about, I swear! ” The man pleaded, his legs swaying over the edge. They continued back and forth, Mr. President demanding knowledge on T-0M15 and the other pleading innocence, until the villain dropped the man and turned away, escaping into the night. 

There was a total of 14 videos, each containing some form of crime (mainly murder) that sent the heroes into silence. 11 out of the 14 videos were him demanding knowledge on T-0M15. Tommy turned off the projecter with a shaky hand, his breath shaking as the heroes stared at his pale face. His entire body was shaking, his skin almost as pale as the snow that settled on the window.  

“There’s your videos,” Tommy sighed, his voice shaking more than his hands. “I’ll tell you when I find anything else. Now, exit the conference room.” Tommy bit back a chirp and pinched his eyes closed, refusing to open them. “Please.”  

The heroes got up and left, whispering to each other as they closed the door. Tommy didn’t care who was left in the room, though he could hear more than three heartbeats. One was his, beating faster than the others. The other two he assumed were Purpled’s and Quackity’s, though there were three more, three he didn’t recognize. 

He backed up and slid down against the wall, his hands clutching his hair in tight fists. Purpled was the first to move, joining Tommy’s side. 

The boy sat next to him, staring at Tommy with his blood-soaked face plastered with an expression of disgust. “ HOW COULD YOU BE SO SELFISH ” the boy scoffed, though Tommy didn’t dare open his eyes. He could hear the blood dripping onto the wood floors clearly enough. “ I WAS THE ONE HURT MOST—HOW COULD YOU BE SO SELFISH TO PRETEND YOU DESERVE TO PANIC AT THE SIGHT OF HIM ”  

“ I’m sorry,” Tommy whispered, tears pooling down his face. “ I swear, if I knew he would do that I wouldn’t have let him take you. ”  

The boy scoffed, the girl with torn moth wings joining him in front of Tommy’s feet. “ YOU LET HIM KILL US ” the girl cried.  

“ No, I- I didn’t know he would kill you, I- I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry, Sh-“ 

 “ Hush, little one ” a honey slicked voice sang, making Tommy’s mouth clamp shut quickly. “ Tell us how to help you calm ” 

“Physical touch, laying on my legs, the weight grounds me. Talking to me helps me out of my schizophrenic episode.” 

 “ Tell us what triggered you ” 

“Mr. President.” 

The voice was quiet for a moment, Tommy felt someone lean against his legs, grabbing his hand and carding through his hair. 

 “ Why did you do this assignment if you knew this would happen? ” 

“I didn’t want to. I requested to switch the case with a different one, but I was denied.” 

 “ Why were you denied? ” 

“I wasn’t given an explanation.” 

 “ Tell me what they told you”  

“‘I can’t unless you give me a reason. A good reason. If you just don’t want to work today, you should’ve called in sick.’ … ‘Just what? Just feel a little tired? Just a little stressed? Well, guess what? The world doesn’t revolve around you, us heroes have more on our plate than you do. You don’t think I’m stressed? Tired?’ … ‘Get out of my office.’” Tommy recited, suddenly remembering where he was. The girl and boy disappeared, leaving him in the conference room. 

Tommy took a deep breath and squeezed the hand that was interlocked with his. He opened his eyes and blinked at the brightness. He looked around, seeing Purpled holding his hand, Quackity laying on his legs, and the number three hero carding his fingers through Tommy’s blonde hair. The hero smiled and took his hand away, Quackity sat up and began walking away, giving Tommy a concerned expression. Tommy glared at him and looked away. “Leave me alone, Quackity H’ae’ch’ue.”  

Quackity left the conference room quickly, a sorrow expression on his face. Tommy sighed and hit his head against the wall with a thunk, ignoring the blissful pain that spread through his skull and scalp like molten lava. Purpled put his hand between Tommy’s head and the wall, much to Tommy’s dismay.  

“You ok?” The hero asked, kneeling next to Tommy.  

Tommy nodded quickly. “Yup. I’m fucking fine, go laugh your ass off with your other buddies, yeah? Just don’t bad mouth me when I’m in earshot again, shit went down the other night.” He laughed, though the others only obtained pained looks on their faces. 

 “I’ll talk to the lowers; they shouldn’t be bad mouthing anyone.” 

Tommy laughed and didn’t care about the odd looks he received from the top three staring at him. Purpled only smirked and rolled his eyes. 

“Holy shit! You think that’s bad? PFFT- You need to visit the 14th at some point! They’ll set you straight.” 

 “The 14th? Don’t you come from the 83rd?” 

“Yeah, but if you went there before the 14th, I’m pretty sure you’d just die.” 

The heroes gawked at the boy while Purpled simply nodded and laughed along with Tommy. 

 “Imagine him getting coffee-“ Purpled wheezed, making Tommy laugh loudly and clutch his chest as his face turned red. 

 “Uh- am I missing something here?” The number three hero asked, making Tommy and Purpled calm down quickly. 

“Y’all are too weak for the 83rd district.” Tommy said plainly with a shrug of his shoulders. Icarus—number 2 hero—gawked at Tommy, Thanatos—number 1—blinked in surprise, his eyebrows raising slightly. Number three hero—Apollo—scoffed and looked at the other two with a shocked expression. 

“You do realize we’re the top three in the country, right, kid?” Thanatos asked, his voice monotone. 

“Yeah, I know. But you 1st district people ain’t got shit on us lowers. If I wanted to, I could solve more crime than you. But I don’t want to, so I won’t. Besides, y’all get stabbed and ‘oh my god! It’s the end of the world! I’m going to die!’ Look at this shit!” 

Tommy rolled up his pant leg, showing them the mass number of scars that littered his skin. Most slashing, though there was one burn scar visible. Tommy lifted his shirt just enough to show them several scars, some stabbing, others were bite scars, then there was one large scar that covered his back and looped around to his sides, just barely visible to the heroes. “And I’m only 25!”  

The heroes, who were already pale, grew ghost white as they realized that their youngest only has three scars and he was three years older. (Twelve years if you count Tommy’s actual age) 

Both Tommy and Purpled laughed at their expression, Purpled gave Tommy a high-five and asked about one of the scars on his leg. Tommy told him that it was from his younger brother, the two were given breakfast but there wasn’t enough for both of them and their dad told them to fight for the food, Tommy’s younger brother stabbed him and got the bread, Purpled only replied with “nice” before they started trading scar stories.

The heroes had a lot to think about. 

Too little time… 

“What the hell do you mean patrol the lowers ?” Apollo gasped, throwing out one of his arms dramatically. “We’re the top 3 for crying out loud! We should be busting our asses off with huge drug busts and terrorists, not solving petty crime! Isn’t petty crime what the lowers are for?” 

“Apollo, we’ve talked about this,” Icarus scolded lightly.  

“Yeah, yeah, no classism, we’re all equal and we worked hard to get here, we were once like them.” Apollo sighed half-heartedly. Icarus rolled his eyes and continued brushing out his wings. 

“What about you, Thanatos? How do you feel about it?” 

Thanatos was silent through the conversation until this point, snapping his head to Icarus as if coming to his senses after staring into space a little too long. “Uh, I dunno. I don’t really care,” he mumbled shyly, catching wind of Apollo’s expression. Even though Thanatos was #1, his brother and father scared him more than anything. “I’ll go patrol the 13th until this is solved,” he gestured to Apollo’s furious stance. 

He stepped out of the office and closed the door with a sigh, thinking back on kid who’d had the meltdown. He was from the 83rd and his friend the 14th, it scared him how calm they were about their scars, talking about them like people would their Christmas presents or prized possessions.  

There was a rule that heroes were not allowed to risk civilian lives, but, if necessary, civilians could be brought along during patrols as guides or informants. 

Now, to patrol the 13th with the help of the kid and his friend. Maybe they’d stop by the 31st or the 80th.  

“Hey kid!” Thanatos called out, catching the attention of everyone in the room. “Tommy and his friend, get your coats and follow me, we’re going to the 13th.” 

The two scrambled forward, eager to join the #1 on a trip. Tommy had stars in his eyes, practically glowing from his happiness alone. Purpled however, was more controlled, though his eyes were equally alight.  

The group quickly left and piled into a car, driving down to the 13th was nearly half an hour’s drive, longer than any other drive he’s taken for patrol. 

 “Do you know the 13th well?” He asked, looking at Tommy’s friend. 

 “Yeah, it’s where I work. The 14th isn’t good for most business.” He supplied with a shrug. 

Thanatos nodded in understanding. “I’m Blade, nice to meet you.” He put out his hand, shaking it with Tommy’s and his friend’s hands. 

 “Purpled,” The friend smiled, honesty lined his eyes and Thanatos knew it was the truth. 

“Tommy Careful Danger Kraken Innet-Underscore-Beloved,” Tommy supplied, making both Thanatos and Purpled blank at the blonde. 

 “No way in hell is that your actual fucking name.” Purpled laughed, though Tommy only glared in response. 

Then he pulled out a copy of his birth certificate, as if waiting for this exact moment, and proved that yes, that was in fact his legal name. 

 “My parents last name was Innet, then my roommates got married so they became Underscore-Beloved, then they kind of half-adopted me? Like, I changed my name so I could be their brother, so now mine is Innet-Underscore-Beloved,” He explained with a smile, making the car go silent. 

 “What the hell is up with your middle names?” Purpled asked, pointing to the careful danger kraken part of the certificate.  

 “Oh, yeah, my real middle name was some shit like sch’y’a’tte or something and no way in hell was I keeping that, so when I turned th- nineteen I changed it.” 

Thanatos thought the middle name sounded familiar, though he couldn’t place where he’d heard it before. But the anger and annoyance that came from Tommy even saying it, told Thanatos this it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about now. If ever.  

“Why the hell is it all about me now? I’m sure you shits have weird names too!”  

 “I don’t have a middle name,” Purpled shrugged, “so yeah, only you.” 

What the hell is wrong with these kids? Thanatos actually didn’t know when he started calling Tommy a child, but it certainly suited the blonde. Quackity had said he was somewhere around the 25 age area but he highly doubts that now that he’s seen Tommy’s attitude and personality.  

“How old are you?” Thanatos asked, his mouth moving before he could think. The two stared at him with odd expressions and Thanatos kicked himself inside for his stupidity.  

 “Twenty-five,” the two answered at the same time, both of them cringing as if they’d just blown their cover or something. 

Thanatos’s eyes squinted at them, doubting even more than before that Tommy was anywhere near the 25-year mark.  

 “Cool,” he supplied with a shrug, “I’m 28.” 

The boys raised their eyebrows at him, almost in shock. 

“I knew you were old but I didn’t think you were that old,” Tommy mumbled, making Purpled burst out laughing.  

 “Heh? I’m not old!” Thanatos yelled, a blush etching its way over his cheeks, though it was hidden behind his mask.  

“You’ve got one foot in the grave, there, Blade. We’re lucky to still have you around by summer!” 

 “I’m only three years older than you!” 

 “People hardly make it past 30 in our area, once you hit 25 you write a will and whatnot, by 28—if you’ve even lasted that long—you say your goodbyes so that when they find you dead, they don’t have to cry as much. If anyone finds you, that is.” 

Thanatos paled a worrying amount at this new information. 

“The guy next to me keeled over at 26, holy hell it stunk! Can’t believe the state of his apartment when I found him, shit looked like a murder scene!” Tommy laughed, Purpled wheezing along with.  

 “My neighbor died at like- 23? But Jesus the number of cats ! I can’t believe they ate him though,” Purpled grimaced, shaking his head silently. Tommy nodded as if this was common knowledge but still found it kind of interesting. 

“Any o’ your neighbors die recently?” Tommy asked, tilting his head.  

 “I… I don’t think any have died while I was alive, but I’m sure that at some point someone died there,” Tommy and Purpled rolled their eyes in boredom before locking eyes with each other. 

 “Upper districts,” they said at the same time, shaking their heads in disappointment. “So fucking boring,” Tommy finished with a sigh. The rest of the car ride was the three of them making conversation, mostly about how weirdly different the upper districts were compared to the lower ones.  

Fun fact: Did you know that upper districts have public bathrooms ? Like- entire buildings dedicated to giving people a place to piss and shit! That is so fucking stupid and unsenatary! Why the hell would you need a public bathroom? You have a perfectly fine one at home or your work. It’s just unreasonable.  

Another really fucking weird fun fact: Upper districts don’t let their workers carry weapons. Now, that is more stupid than the fucking local-bathroom-sanctuary shitholes they let sit on the side of the road. If Tommy wasn’t able to have a pistol on him during his shifts in the restaurant there’s no use counting how many times over he’d be dead because Tommy knows perfectly fine it’s a number well-above 30.  

(Tommy also realized at that moment that he probably should’ve been hiding his Glock a little better) 

Blade had changed out of his hero suit, instead wearing civilian clothes. His suit did not cover his face, he said that his hybrid features were drastic enough that he had no need to. His lower tusks jutted out of his jaws, misshaping the lower half of his face and casting his mouth into a semi-permanent position of being half open. The whites of his eyes were black, his irises a blood red. His nose was distorted, widened like a snout. His forehead wrinkled due to his brows that were thickened and pushed into a permanent scowl, though it held no real heat at the moment. Jewlery and piercings littered his ears and face, he had two on his lower lip, near the tusk, three on each ear(he made sure to mention the piercings stay when they go back to humanoid ears), a Septum piercing on his nose, his bridge and eyebrows also holding golden jewels.  

He could not be more out of place.  

Purpled and Tommy helped the man hide by putting his hood up and making sure he walked with his head down, trying to make the gold littering his face less noticeable.  

The three walked side-by-side, Blade noticed how they glanced over their shoulders every other moment, Tommy seemed the tensest out of all of them even though he seemed more in his element than the Blade had ever seen him. It was as if Tommy was born to live in these violent conditions, as if he enjoyed the danger of it.  

It was only ten minutes into the walk when a chaotic smile spread across Tommy’s face, his eyes going wide as he looked at the Blade and whispered with a pitiful attempt at stifling the joy that seeped into his voice, “Boom.” 

Right on cue, a knife pressed against Tommy’s throat, dragging him away from the group. “Empty your pockets!” The mugger demanded, holding a gun out to them, an empty threat. Tommy laughed, not minding the pain that coursed through his neck as the blade dug into his skin. Tommy twisted out of his hold, knocking the knife and gun out of his hands as Purpled knocked the man to his knees, holding his wrists behind his back as Tommy kneeled to the man’s level. 

“First time?” Tommy asked, cackling at the man’s scowl. “Man, that was pathetic! Y’know what? Imma just-” Tommy grabbed his wallet and gripped the money and cards between his fingers, throwing the empty thing back into the man’s face. Tommy handed two of the four cards to Purpled, splitting the paper money evenly and continued walking as if nothing happened. 

“I can’t tell if he was mugging you or if you were mugging him,” Thanatos said after he’d processed what happened. The two laughed, though they didn’t confirm nor deny his conclusions.  

Thanatos zip tied the mugger and called in the incident, though he let the three of them continue their walk through the 13th together without letting the police question them. The Blade hated pestering, made you stressed and forget important details. You have to let it sit in your brain for a day or two before you actually think about what happened, then your brain will let you have very helpful insight you didn’t have before.  

Just walking around, he’d managed to stop three drug deals, four muggings, one robbery, and one attempted murder in the span of an hour.  

How these kids have been living here, walking to work, and still been able to sleep at night is a wonder Thanatos would never find the answer to until much later. 

Besides, if all this can happen in one hour what the hell could’ve happened to their childhoods? 

Everyone knew about the Captive Militia Project Incident  or the Persephony Massacre as the event was most known as. The Persephony Massacre was an accident that occurred in the Persephony’s Boarding Academy for Troubled Children where the headmaster and vice-principle teamed together to train children for war. The accident was where a team of select children banded together and used chaos as cover to assassinate and escape the headmaster and vice-principle. The headmaster was killed, the vice-principle survived and forced a quarter of the children to turn on their friends and kill. There was a massacre at the school, all of the children died, though the bodies of the headmaster and the vice-principle were never discovered.  

It’s rumored the children were experimented on, tortured, murdered from ones in their own ranks. That children were forced to torture and murder their friends as punishment. That children came in human and left monsters. That there were 2,974 children at the start of the trimester, and by the end 148; that’s 2826 lives lost to a school built to help young minds. That the children were told to kill their classmates, if they were caught, they died, if they were targeted or thought as weak, they died, if they didn’t kill, they died; causing one student to have the lives of twenty or more on their hands, then to be put in a class with other survivors, continuing this list until there was only one class left; the class that ended it all, the class that caused the Persephony Massacre. That the school allowed children as old as 16 in and as young as four in the same class—the same school—together in baths of blood and tears.  

Those were all just rumors started by someone unknown online. The heroes had tried their damndest to track down that person and ask them in person about it, though they only received a bug of a bee dancing over their screen. The bug deleted all knowledge on that specific person and left an invisible honeycomb strings inside the hero department that the heroes had yet to find.  

(He was very proud of his roommate's hacking abilities—especially considering he did that from a homemade computer made of a whole ass dumpster and a watch)

Thanatos was on the case when the accident happened, which was nearly five years ago. The two beside him would’ve been old enough to have been in that school, if not, their younger siblings—if they had any—definitely would’ve qualified.  

The sun began to dip low below the sky, lighting up the clouds with glowing rays of pink and yellow, the wind chilled and their breath could be seen as a white mist in front of their eyes. Frost made the colorful blooms of petals close up, climbing up their stems and coating them in white designs like runes from the gods.  

As the sun settled, the sky continued to darken, though the group did not lose any energy. Tommy grabbed Purpled’s hand in excitement, turning with a look of joy on his face.  

“We’re reaching the district I live in!” Tommy smiled, catching both Purpled and Thanatos off guard.  

“We’ve walked that far?” Purpled questioned, his brows knitting together.  

“Duh! You guys didn’t notice the difference after the 40th?”  

Looking around, they very much noticed the difference. The 13th had buildings, offices, restaurants, bakeries, it had roads and street lamps, vehicles littered along the side of roads, clean-ish alleyways, and clean windows.  

 The 83rd had burned, crumbled buildings, some overgrown in Withervine that withered your skin at the slightest touch. There were no offices buildings with more than three stories, the business buildings that were there were typically worse for wear, it had no paved roads and all street lamps were either out of service, harvested for parts, or broken beyond repair. The cars that looked somewhat usable were out were clearly salvaged or made from dumpsters and said street lamps, they were rusting and broken, others were simply piles of rusting metal. The alleyways were worse than the buildings, just glancing in made you want to throw up and the smell completed that wish. Even the rats were complaining about the smell, foam dripping from their mouths as they fought and bit at each other for food. Animals littered the streets, stray cats fighting mice, birds looking for small animals and insects, sometimes a stray dog would pass by as it hunted down a feral cat. Most of which had tell-tale signs of rabies or other sickness that could definitely kill someone. All windows were either broken or boarded up, very rarely would you find one that had only a few cracks in it.  

The two from the higher districts paled at the sight while Tommy skipped happily down the middle of the road. Purpled and Thanatos made eye-contact, a look of worry and concern passing through their glances. When they looked back at Tommy he was nowhere to be seen.  

著者のメモ

TRIGGER WARNING FOR MAJOR GORE! SKIP TO “I’m going home,” He mumbled softly, TO SKIP

“Let go of me!” They heard from an alleyway down the road, quickly followed by the sound of knuckles hitting skin and a cry of pain. The two looked back at each other before rushing forward, trying to find the source of the cry. The two reached the entry to the alleyway and stood in shock of the scene before them. 

“Give me back my Glock, you prick!” Tommy yelled, punching the guy in the face. A man came behind Tommy and held him still as the man who’d gotten punched stood up, holding the gun to Tommy’s head.  

“Give me your wallet and I won’t shoot.” 

Tommy replied with a laugh, shaking his arms free of the man behind him, his hands drifting to his pockets. Then, quick as a bolt, he lifted them to the gun and slapped it from the man’s hands, twisting it around and holding it up to the other man’s head. The dude who’d gotten punched—let's call him Crusty Bitch—stepped forward and tried to punch Tommy’s face, missing as Tommy ducked and hit the other man’s—let’s call this one Bald Fuck—face, causing Bald Fuck to stumble back. Tommy grabbed and yanked Crusty Bitch’s ear, ripping it clean off, the man screamed and fell to his knees in agony as Tommy shoved the ear into Bald Fuck’s chest, tackling him to the floor. Bald Fuck stood up and shoved Tommy into the wall, pain blooming in his back as he cried out. Bald Fuck took out a knife and plunged it into Tommy’s shoulder, causing the blonde to scream as the knife was wrenched out and driven back down for another stab that the blonde was able to dodge, sending him to the dirty alley floor. Tommy screeched, his voice vibrating in a way that resembled an eagle’s cry as he lunged forward and slammed the man into the wall, knocking his head into the brick. Bald Fuck’s eyes lidded shut as he slumped limply in the alley, dropping the bloodied knife.  

Tommy scoffed and picked up his Glock, keeping it in his palm with the safety off this time. The blonde rolled his shoulders with a wince, looking up to see two very pale, very shocked faces before him. Tommy chuckled nervously before he was tackled to the ground, Crusty Bitch having finally gotten over the pain of his ear being ripped off. Crusty Bitch wrapped his hands around Tommy’s throat, pressing his airways with his thumbs so that they closed as he slammed Tommy’s head into the ground repeatedly.  

The shot echoed through the block, ricocheting off buildings and casting everything into fearful silence. Tommy backed out of the alley, wiping his face with his bloodied hands and hugging himself tightly as he gulped, staring at the body that lay slumped in the alley.  

“I’m going home,” He mumbled softly, watching as the others followed closely with equally shocked faces.  

The door to Tommy’s apartment opened, Tommy stumbled in and held the door for the two that followed. “Tubs!” He called out into the apartment, “We’ve got visitors! Also, I’ve been stabbed.” 

“Again?” The group heard from the couch, watching a hybrid boy stand up with a sigh. “This is the second time this month!”  

“Yeah, I know,” Tommy replied wearily, sitting on the counter and taking off his shirt, completely forgetting about the guests. Scars littered the boy’s torso, slashing, stab, bullet, burns, even some bite scars. There was one scar they could see now that covered his entire back, looping around to his sides. They couldn’t see the grey and black avian marking on his back, but they did notice how his shoulders and back were broad, as if used to carrying a large weight behind him. 

Tubbo fished out the med kit from under the sink, turning to where Tommy sat and sighing as blood dribbled down his chest. 

Purpled gagged when it was finished, having to turn away when Tubbo took out the needle. Thanatos simply watched in horror as the blonde sat through his friend giving him homemade stitches without any pain meds or anesthetic. When they finished, Tubbo bandaged Tommy’s shoulder and looked Tommy over for any other injuries.  

“Your shoulder should be fine, though if you rip the stitches, I will murder you myself,” Tommy nodded and hopped off the counter at Tubbo’s words. “We have more concealer in the bathroom, just restocked yesterday. Those bruises on your neck will take a week or two to heal so I suggest either turtlenecks or make-up.” 

“Thanks, Boss man,” Tommy smiled, sighing and putting his shirt back on. “Oh shit,” He said, suddenly noticing the guests in his apartment. “Hey, this is- This is my roommate, Tubbo. Tubbo, this is Thanatos and Purpled.”  

Tubbo paled at the names. 

“Why the fuck is the number one hero standing in my kitchen?” Tubbo asked harshly, not caring at all that Thanatos could hear him. 

“Because me and Purpled were giving him a tour of the 13th and ended up all the way down here. Plus, he saw me get stabbed,” Tommy answered nervously.  

“You could get caught!” Tubbo whispered through his teeth. 

“I told them I was 25, the worst that could happen is he judges the type of shit I drink.” 

Tubbo simply sighed and picked Tommy up, hoisting him over his shoulders and walking to the living room. 

“Tubbo- Boss man, we can talk about this!” Tommy said, flailing in the brunette's arms. 

“Nope!” Tubbo smiled, throwing Tommy out the window. Tubbo smiled at the sound of shattering glass and screaming, walking and sitting out the couch with a content sigh.  

“What did he do this time?” Ranboo asked, stepping out of the bathroom and making his way to the kitchen. 

“Invited Thanatos inside our apartment and got stabbed on the way home.” 

“Ah,” Ranboo responded nodding to Tubbo’s reasonable judgment. “Hello, I’m Ranboo, Tubbo’s husband and Tommy’s brother-in-law.” He introduced himself with a nod, opening the cupboard and smiling at the rat that tried to scurry away from Ranboo’s clawed grasp.  

The half-half boy handed the mouse to his tail and let the rodent flail in his grip.  

“Purpled.” 

“Thanatos.” 

Ranboo nodded at their names, gesturing them to sit on the chairs near the couch. “Please, stay for dinner. I’m about to make spaghetti, is that alright with you all?”  

Thanatos and Purpled nodded, though they were interrupted by Tubbo and Tommy’s groans of dissaproval.  

“ Please don’t say you're making spaghetti pie, again!”  

“No, Tommy, I am not making pie. It’s just plain spaghetti, though, we did get tomato sauce yesterday!” 

Tommy huffed, sitting on the couch next to Tubbo. Tubbo wrapped an arm around Tommy and let the blonde lay on his lap, turning on Moana and smiling.  

“You’re the best, Tubso.” 

“Aww, thank you, Tommy.” 

Thanatos and Purpled smiled at how Tubbo’s pupils had blown wide as he carded his fingers through Tommy’s curly hair.  

“So, we’re not going to question how Tommy survived a fall from the 5th floor?” Purpled asked, pointing to Tommy who was laying contently on Tubbo. 

“Nope,” all three roommates responded at the same time, shutting up Purpled quickly.  

Ranboo strode forward, mouse still trapped by his tail, and handed off bowls and chopsticks to everyone, turning back to the kitchen only to put the pot in the sink. The tall hybrid stood over the couch, watching Tommy and Tubbo get up so they could do their signature pile. 

When the three settled down in their stack, they looked back at the guests who looked very puzzled. 

“Where’s your bowl, Ranboo?” Thanatos asked, pointing to the hybrids very empty arms. 

“Oh, I’ve got my dinner right here,” He smiled back, holding up the mouse. Tubbo high-fived Ranboo and continued slurping the noodles with no reaction.  

“Why are you eating a rat?” Purpled questioned, looking disgusted at Ranboo.  

“I can’t have tomatoes due to my hybrid type, so I just eat plain noodles. But we don’t have any plain noodles today, so,” He held up the mouse with a smile, “Dinner!”  

Ranboo popped the squirming mouse into his mouth, swallowing without chewing. Purpled grimaced but continued eating, Thanatos remaineunphased.

The group had a couple conversations until they were interrupted by a phone ringing. 

“ Where are you? ” The person on the other end asked when Thanatos picked up.  

“Tommy’s apartment.” 

“ Why? ” 

“Because he got mugged and I walked him home then ended up getting dinner with his roommates.” 

“ He got mugged!? ” 

“Yes, I’m here to make sure he doesn’t have a breakdown or spiral.” 

“ What happened during the mugging that would make him spiral?”  

“He almost got choked to death, shot someone out of self-defense, ripped a guy’s ear off, and knocked someone out cold after getting stabbed.” 

“...” 
 “What the fuck.” 

“You killed someone?” Ranboo questioned, making Tommy gulp. 

“I mean, yeah. He was a bitch.” 

“Cool,” Ranboo snuggled closer to Tommy, combing through his hair. “Remind me to get you more curry at the store later.” 

Tommy’s pupils blew wide and he stifled a trill, making both Ranboo and Tubbo frown, though Thanatos and Purpled didn’t notice.  

Tommy snuggled into the stack further, closing his eyes and smiling to himself. The three quietly snuggled together, stacked on top of each other.  

Soon, sleep opened its arms and dragged the trio away to a dreamless sleep.