Chapter Text
Eris.
That was the name of the Greek goddess of chaos.
Coincidentally, that was also the name of the most wanted villain in the district of L’manberg. And the whole city of Esempi in general.
And they certainly lived up to their name with all the chaos they’ve caused over the past 6 months.
Eris glanced back at the vigilantes chasing them and almost tripped, realizing how close the group of vigilantes were behind them.
Shit. Eris thought.
Eris gently put their hand on what they thought was a flammable object as it went to flames. Eris didn’t know what it was and nor did they really care.
A burst of fire erupted from behind them as they ran from the surface they lit aflame.
Unfortunately, it only managed to slow down one of the vigilantes chasing them.
Zero just jumped over with no problem, Honeycomb flew over with his mechanical bee wings, and Ender just teleported around it onto the building on the other side.
Vermillion on the other hand, was only mildly inconvenienced, still grumbling and cursing out the villain and his other teammates as he found another way around the fire.
Eris snickered quietly as they continued to hop from building to building to get away from the group of vigilantes.
To the vigilante’s surprise, Eris had fallen in between two buildings into an alleyway.
Fallen wasn’t the best word, they didn’t exactly fall per se, because they purposefully jumped into it but, their landing wasn’t as graceful as they intended when they fell in the dumpster, gently grazing their head on the brick wall beside the dumpster. They knew they’d have some sort of small scratch on the top of their head, but that wasn’t exactly something they couldn’t find a cure for.
Besides, they had bigger shit to deal with than a bruised head.
They had a team of four vigilantes all with different sets of abilities and powers (not including Vermillion, of course) following them.
They felt dizzy, the impact of jumping between the buildings definitely starting to get to their head as the adrenaline rush from committing crimes earlier that night went away.
They looked up and saw no sight of the vigilantes.
They sighed softly as they got up as quietly as possible and started walking down the cold dark alleyway, holding the side of their head when a headache started to form.
And that’s when Eris realized why the vigilantes had run off.
Because the number one hero of Esempi was right in front of the alley Eris was laying in.
Their eyes widened, not like Dream or anyone could actually see them though, their eye color would give off their identity. That’s why they wore a black face mask and black blindfold that could be used in civilian wear as a headband type thing.
“Eris.” The hero spoke in a low warning tone.
“You know, I was just gonna get going-“ Eris started, taking a step back, the cold dumpster on their back reminding them that they were trapped.
Their heart pounded in their chest as they and Dream made eye contact. Or what they assumed was eye contact behind Dream’s smiley face mask.
It was silent for a few moments. Those moments of silence between the young villain and hero felt like hours.
As soon as Dream raised his hand, Eris placed a hand on a wall next to them and the entire alley filled with gray smoke, cloaking Eris in the heavy light gray fog looking gas.
Dream coughed and as the smoke cleared, Eris was gone.
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Eryn entered his and Purpled’s cold apartment. Eryn shivered at the temperature inside the apartment before realizing the window right next to Purpled’s desk was open.
Purpled’s head laid on the desk in front of his monitor.
Eryn closed the window and turned off Purpled’s computer and monitor. He’d thank them later for not letting his computer overheat.
His roommate snored softly, soft light blonde hair sprawled out over his purple hoodie sleeves and his back as well as his lavender to bright purple gradient antennae rising up and down slowly as he slept.
Eryn sighed as he grabbed one of Purpled’s notepads and purple pens (if you couldn’t tell, his favorite color was purple) and wrote “pls stop overworking urself” on it before walking away to his and Purpled’s shared room to grab one of their jackets and change.
He grabbed his clothes and entered the bathroom as they decided to take a shower. Purpled had started questioning why Eryn would return so late and why he smelled like smoke when they would return. He was getting suspicious, but Eryn wouldn’t allow him to know his secret life as a villain. At least not yet…
They turned the shower on and waited for it to warm up before stepping in, the warmth of the hot water on their skin feeling relieving for a second before reminding him of the guilt on his shoulders about all the crimes he’s committed as Eris.
One day, he’ll tell Purpled.
One day, he’ll tell Tommy.
One day, he’ll tell Tubbo.
One day, he’ll tell Ranboo.
He promised himself he would tell them
But, not today.
That would have to wait.
They would have to wait. It hasn’t even been a year since they started being Eris, so why would they give up their identity now, especially to his friends who oh so idolized heroes and vigilantes.
He wanted to wait just a little longer, but a small voice inside their head told them that they were going to keep continuing to put it off and his friends would never find out and if they ever did, it’d be from them figuring it out themselves.
A knock on the bathroom door pulled him out of his thoughts as Purpled’s voice rang from outside the door.
“Is that you, Eryn?” His voice was groggy and full of exhaustion, as if he had just woken up.
Because he probably had.
Purpled had laughed at the note Eryn wrote when he woke up and realized quickly that Eryn was taking a shower, due to no one else having a key to their shared apartment.
“No, I’m Ranboo.” Eryn called back, monotone sarcasm dripping into his heavily accented voice.
Purpled rolled his eyes but smiled at his roommate’s antics.
Eryn heard as his roommate walked away from the bathroom door and towards either the kitchen or the living room.
When Eryn was done with their shower, he walked out of the bathroom wearing a black tank top, black sweatpants and an oversized black with dark red details hoodie he got from Purpled a few years back from when they first became friends in 7th grade.
Purpled was in the kitchen cooking what looked like chicken noodle soup.
Eryn sat on the couch in front of the TV and quickly tied his black bandana under their hair to keep it out of their face.
He turned on the TV and the first thing that appeared on the screen was the news, talking about an encounter with a villain near the L’manberg district.
Right as the news came on, as if on cue, Purpled walked into the room with two bowls of soup and two spoons set in the bowls.
“Thanks, Purp,” Eryn told him and he nodded as he sat next to him on the couch, watching the news as well.
“The four vigilantes, Zero, Ender, Honeycomb, and Vermillion were spotted chasing the villain Eris after they lit a building on fire. The vigilantes seemed to have retreated after number one hero, Dream, had confronted Eris.” The lady on the TV had said. “Dream said the villain escaped after a long battle of fire versus water, neither of them emerging victorious.”
A picture of Dream had appeared on screen with the caption “Dream after battle with Eris” and his suit was charred in more than one places.
Eryn punched the couch arm in anger. “That’s bullshit! That’s not what happened at all!!” They exclaimed, earning a confused, shocked look from his roommate.
Purpled narrowed his eyes at Eryn as if he had found out Eryn’s identity. “And how would you know, Eryn?”
Eryn struggled for a minute to find an excuse before blurting out, “I saw it from across the street.”
Purpled’s expression changed from suspicious to confused.
“I- I was walking home from work and uh- I- I saw the fight in the alleyway.
“Oh.” Was all Purpled responded with, slumping back down to his spot and his attention being put on the TV again.
“Hey, Eryn?” Purpled started.
“Yeah?”
“What do you think about Zero?” Purpled sounded like he was genuinely interested in Eryn’s opinion on the vigilante.
“Uhhh I don’t know, I guess he’s cool? A bit serious and scary, but, hey! I guess that’s how you gotta be when you’re a vigilante on the run from heroes! Gotta be the opposite of Tommy.” Eryn laughed and Purpled chuckled.
“Why do you ask?” Eryn asked when they were done laughing.
“Oh, just curious.” Purpled told him before standing up to bring his bowl to the sink, reaching for Eryn’s empty bowl as well who handed it to him with a small smile.
“You know, Purpled? Zero kinda reminds me of you.” Eryn said, facing towards the TV.
Purpled tensed under the words that Eryn spoke, thankful he wasn’t looking at him. “Oh, yeah? Why is that?” Purpled asked, hiding the uncertainty in his voice.
“I dunno, he has blonde hair and wears purple clothes just like you, that might be why.” Eryn shrugged and Purpled let out a quiet breath of relief.
Purpled returned from the kitchen after setting the bowls in the sink and rinsing them a bit, he’d wash them later.
“I think I’m going to bed, Purpled.” Eryn said, heading towards their shared room.
“Sleep tight, Eryn.” Purpled said, sitting back down at his desk.