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Here lies Daniel James Fenton. Beloved Son, Brother, and Friend. May he rest with the stars.
Damian clicked his teeth as he read the tombstone that stood tall at the head of the freshly buried grave. Rare red flowers rested in vases that were in the shape of a rocket ship and sat beside the tombstone. Personalized for a boy who was barely fifth-teen...
As if they knew him...
He reached into the inner pocket of his formal black suit, pulling out a small vial. He popped the vial open and poured the liquid onto the red flowers. The flowers hissed and sizzled before dissolving into a black crisp.
A drop of water hit his nose, while he safely enclosed the vial back into his inner pocket. His eyes glanced up at the dark sky above. Despite the darkness of the night, he could easily tell a storm was rolling in. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbing the shovel he had leaning on the tombstone.
Daniel messaged him prior to his death. A simple letter. It sounded innocent, normal- but Damian knew it was far from that. One does not simply receive a letter from their supposedly dead twin brother to merely catch up.
A few drops of rain became a drizzle. Damian hurried, thrusting his shovel into the dirt of the grave. He began digging.
At first, Damian thought it was a hoax. A cruel prank, yet the more he devoured the letter the more real it felt. His family had no clue of Daniel's-or the preferred spelling Danyal's- existence. It would be a waste of everyone's time to do so.
They would never see the smile that Damian had memorized to every crooked tooth that displayed in it. They would never hear the insistent dreaming of the stars and worlds beyond their own. And they would never truly know how infuriatingly stupidly kind he was.
Or so he had thought.
He cursed as the drizzle turned into heavy rain. Lightning briefly gifting Damian with light, while the thunder roared behind it. The fresh dirt turned to mud. It covered his suit and shoes as he flung it out of the hole he made.
In Danyal's letter, it had been written like one would to a pen pal. All the normal pleasantries and basic life updates. However, it didn't take long for Damian to decipher what he truly meant in his letter.
Hidden apologies, revealing his family dilemma, and the true reason for the letter. He needed someone to help him escape, which infuriated Damian to no end. Infuriated him so much he almost ignored the letter. Almost.
He made certain to send one back, letting the other know of his fury but accepting to help him. Another letter arrived, one just a few days before his funeral. This one was far more straightforward, however written in poor hand writing of their native tongue.
Damian wiped the sweat, rain, and mud from his forehead. Water pooling at his feet. His shovel clang when it hits something solid. Quickly, he cleared away the rest of the mud. He would only need to clear enough off the top half of the casket to open it.
The letter was a detailed list of what Damian needed to do. He found it surprisingly descriptive and pointed. Something he knew Danyal was not- at least normally, which meant he had been planning this for a long time. The thought made Damian twitch with annoyance. Wondering why he did not come to him sooner?!
Under the mud a green light flickered. Damian used his ruined sleeve to wipe the device clean. It was a silver box that was attached to the top of the casket, one used to monitor the surrounding area and to specifically monitor certain activity.
Damian stood up, taking the shovel in hand again. He hovered it above the device.
When Damian first came to this town, he didn't realize how tricky the situation was. It was only a few days later, did he truly understand why his brother hadn't contacted him sooner and why his brother was making such precautions to escape.
He struck the shovel into the device. It sputtered and sparked before the light finally died.
Danyal's adoptive parents were insane and very misguided in the creatures they chose to study and hate. Not an ounce of compassion towards their obsession of study. Each parent truly embodied the term, mad scientist.
Damian shoved the shovel into the crack in the lid, using his weight to pry it open.
And unfortunately, his brother had become exactly that through their misguidance. Through his own mistake.
There his brother lay, in a suit of far less quality than the one he chose to destroy with this endeavor. His face had aged, but held a bit more baby weight to his cheeks than Damian did. His hair covered his face while his chest stood still.
Damian felt his heart ache. For the briefest of moments, he began to doubt that this was his LIVING brother. That is, until the lightning flashed above him again.
Danny's eyes popped open, at first they were bright green as if his body had been dragged into the pits, but quickly they switched to a bright blue. That same toothy grin pulled at his lips.
“You came.” He sat up from his coffin, stretching his limbs. Audible pops coming from his joints. “That was probably the best sleep I had in a while. Ow-”
Damian threw his shovel at him, then turned to climb out of the hole. His fist clenched tight. He crossed his arms once at the top of the grave, shivering a little from the rain.
Suddenly, the rain no longer fell on him, despite the storm still raging on. He glanced up, with a deep glare. Danyal floated above him using his coat to block the rain. His eyes were that disgusting bright green again.
“Sorry, I- I wanted to tell you sooner Dami, but-”
“Save it,” Damian cut him off, “We'll have a long ride back to the mansion where you can EXPLAIN everything, as you promised.”
Danny rubbed the back of his neck, with a deep sigh. “Yeah yeah, I owe you that much. Here.”
Danny took off his coat and placed it over Damian's head. He chuckled, a grin back on his face. “I'll clean the rest up and we can get going. Oh! Did you message-”
“Yes, Danyal. I messaged your friends. They wanted to inform you that they have it handled. The portal will be shut down long enough for Father to get involved.”
“Thank heavens, I really hate to leave this place unattended. Who knows what world ending disaster can come from it,” Danny sighed, using the shovel to bury the grave back in.
World ending. Damian truly wondered if it was.
Damian pulled on the coat that rested over his head while he leaned on a statue that sat near the grave. Angel one with a reaper scythe. It almost felt far too out of place here, like himself or the image before him. His brother shoveled the mud around with a hum, loading it with an impossible amount on the metal head before chucking it in.
Damian wanted to continue to be mad at him. For being alive all this time. For living a normal life before this… For not telling him of his status until now! When he NEEDED him. And yet...
He felt relieved. His cheeks suddenly felt wet, but from something warm and not from the terrible storm they were stuck under. He quickly wiped his face on his sleeves, choosing to look away. Even if anger no longer consumed him, he refused to let his brother know that.
Danny continued to shovel the dirt, pretending he didn’t catch a glimpse of Damian’s tears or heard the hitch of his breath. He knew it would hurt Damian. He couldn’t deny that his plan in not contacting him wasn’t out of selfish reasons. Even if his memories came back to him after he died- AGAIN.
He didn’t want Damian to know- didn’t want to leave his current life behind for one he was unsure if he had a place in. Then as time came, he was needed in Amity more than ever- until it became too dangerous and foolish to keep going. For himself and others.
All he was good at was making messes, but he was determined to clean this one up. To make it up to his brother. That’s the least he could do. He hoped he could do it.