Chapter Text
Here lies Avid
Scott stared at the words on the grave, anger, loneliness, and grief consuming him. It was over. Owen and Pyro were dead, the beacons all turned, and they were free to leave. From the beginning, he calculated how many would die, but Avid was the one he did not include. Even when Avid was a human, accusing Scott of murder, screaming his head off about vampires, and promising to expose Owen and him. Scott never wanted Avid dead, gone maybe; dead, however, was a different story. When Avid was turned, when they got closer, when he came out of the room, with white hair and a red cape to mimic Scott, there was a fondness that he couldn't describe, but he knew he wanted to spend a few hundred years with him. He thought back to the moment at the beacon, when Avid slowly inched closer, his voice bubbly and excited at the chaos they were planning, when another compliment once again filled Scott's ears, and a kiss briefly invaded his space. It wasn't until Avid was gone, left to the soil of Oakhurst, did Scott realized just how much longer he wished that moment would last. He felt weird to be leaving; he spent most of his undead life here, and the last few months held memories that would last him a lifetime. He knew Shelby and Drift were waiting. He reached down, placing the flower on the grave, “I’ll catch you up later”.
⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧
Whispers of magic allowing you to go back in time reached Scott's ears. Originally, he brushed it off, just another empty spell that would disappear in a few years. That was until he heard Abolish whispering about it. The man doesn’t believe in silly things, so if he was talking about. Scott considered the idea of it being true. Then when he overheard Shelby and Drift talking, he decided to propose the idea of it.
He sent a letter to Abolish, asking if they could meet at the old tavern they’ve claimed for these past few years. They never stick around in one spot for too long, but it’s nice to have a designated area to convene. When Abolish wrote back, he joked about the promise they made when they first left Oakhurst, asking if it was finally time to kill Scott. Nonetheless, when Scott walked in, finding his spot at the bar, Abolish was already there. He looked the same as when they left despite the decade that has passed. There was also a white streak that began to grow and shrugged off every time Scott would ask about it.
“I see the white been persist” He mused, flickering the strand.
“What did you want to talk about?” Completely ignoring the statement per usual.
“Well certainly not my death you’re letter implied,” Scott smiled, “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Abolish rolled his eyes. As stoic as he was, Scott knew he was slowly breaking through that mask. The emotions were always quick before he was back to his deadpan stare, but Scott always caught it. A glass slide in front of him, and it was Scott turn to roll his eyes. Keeping up human appearance always sucked, though Abolish would purposely push him. Scott didn’t back down from a challenge. He picked up the drink, toasted and tossed it back ignoring the queasiness that always followed. Cheap liquor never sat right, back in his days of reign, liquor was more of a refined taste only for the rich. That and the need to hide his vampirism did not exist, allowing him to mix blood into the drinks.
“What have you heard about time travel” Scott finally inquired.
“Chronomancy?” Abolish thought, “it allows one to travel through time or manipulate it.”
“What are the chances that it works?”
“One in ten, it would fall under dark magic, probably requiring some type of sacrifice.”
“Could you get your hands on the spell-book that’s been going around?”
“The rumored one? If it exists, I could but I’m not one hundred percent on it.”
“The fact that you’re even considering it is enough for me.” Scott shrugged.
Abolish didn’t say anything, just turned straight head, sipping on his drink. Scott waited, tapping his fingers. He wasn’t sure how happy Abolish would be at the request, especially one that involved dark magic. He knew it was a long shot, but one he was willing to bet on and when Abolish finally looked back at him, Scott’s lips curved into a tiny smirk.
“I’ll look into it, but answer this, is it for Avid?”
Scott face dropped, “I don’t know yet, until I know for sure I’m not thinking that far ahead for once.”
Abolish just nodded, finishing his drink as he got up, “I’ll message when I know more.”
⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧
It was a few months after their meeting did Scott get Abolish letter’s regarding the magic. He found it, noting he’d drop it off. Scott waited and each day it got closer, the more restless he became. Shelby and Drift noticed, always sending each other glances but never bringing it up. When the day finally came, three signature knocks echoed from the door.
“I’ll get it!” Shelby spoke as she opened the door, “Hi Abolish what brings you here?”
“I have something for Scott.”
“Just for Scott? No rewards for Drift and I, how rude of you” She laughed.
Abolish chuckled, “I’ll consider it next time.”
Shelby just smiled, moving out of the way and welcoming Abolish in. They haven’t always had the best relationship. They didn’t converse much before she became a vampire, plus the whole semi-killing her once she did had left their relationship sour for a while there but after leaving Oakhurst, Shelby let bygones be bygones. If she was going to live for eternity, grudges can only be held for so long until it gets tiring. Scott let her move on her own time, telling her she could hate Abolish forever, and he’d make sure they didn’t have to interact, but Shelby didn’t want that. Drift also helped Shelby come to a decision; she knew that although it was short lived Drift, Avid, and Abolish were close back in their human days.
“Abolish!” Drift voice echoed through the halls.
“Hey, Drift”
“Could we get like a head up on what this all about? Scott has been restless, and it's nerve-wracking.”
“You act like I wasn’t right behind you” Scott sighs playfully.
“Oh, totally my bad, guess you blend into the walls too much.”
“In this outfit?” Scott spun dramatically, “I don’t think so.”
Drift fake yawned, “I don’t know, your taste becoming a bit outdated I think the age starting to catch up.”
Scott scoffed, “Please you’ve always dressed like a grandma.”
Drift laughed, “Alright alright, anyways in all serious why’s Abolish here?”
“This” Abolish held up a book, “Scott asked me to find this for him.”
“What is it?” Shelby asked
“Dark magic.”
Shelby looked over at Scott nervously, “Why do you want that?”
“It talks about going back in time, nothing serious.” Scott ruffled her hair. “Come”.
They all made their way to the dining room, no matter where they live, they always held meetings in it. It felt sentimental, a homage to the castle. Abolish sat the book on the table, flipping through until he found the page.
Chronomancy the ability to manipulate time in various ways, including slowing down, speeding up, and traveling through it. Written in the Liber Temporis, it falls under dark magic. High in cost, those who use it risk paradoxes and disasters. Under the wrong hands, chronomancy can be used to age a target, create time loops, and erase someone from existence entirely. The siphoning of the user’s soul, sanity, or life energy are the price. To use this spell, one must acquire five items, four gemstones, Obsidian, Lapis Lazuli, Amethyst, and Ruby. Lastly, a compass. Lined up in a square, the compass in the middle, the user drops their blood on each gem, waiting for the blood to soak in. If used to travel through time, one must be in the location where they wish to start. Once everything is in place, the enhancement may begin.
Shelby and Drift looked up at each other once they finished reading. Scott's eyes stayed fixated on the book. Surely there was more to it. It seemed so simple, too easy, and if Scott knew anything about magic, it was never easy.
“Well, what are you going to do?” Abolish asked.
“I want to try it, though it seems all too easy.”
“I’m worried,” Shelby spoke up, “The price is your soul, life energy, or sanity, and you only have one of those to give.”
“I’m with Shelby on this. I know why you want this, Scott. I miss him too, but this is too big a risk.” Drift nodded.
“Nothing too big for him, I’m doing this, if it doesn’t work, then so be it.”
“You know magic, you know dark magic, that’s what put you in slumber for six hundred years. What are we supposed to do if it goes wrong? Please,” Shelby pleaded.
“I’m going to Oakhurst; you can come with or stay back.”
They all watched as Scott walked away to gather his stuff. They made trips to Oakhurst frequently, checking in on Cleo and Pearl, who stayed behind, visiting Avid’s grave, but this? They didn’t know how to feel about it. Drift sighed, following Scott.
Shelby glanced at Abolish, “Why would you? You could have just pretended it didn’t exist. If anything goes wrong, I swear you’ll regret it.” Her eyes narrowed, turning around in a huff as she followed the other two. She didn’t agree with it, but she wasn’t going to let Scott to it alone.
⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧
The trip was long; silence filled the carriage pretty much the entire time. Scott kept reading the book, trying to see if anything was missing. As skeptical as he was, he still wasn’t backing out. Abolish tried to get him to wait, allow him to do more research, but Scott waited long enough. When they arrived, Cleo and Pearl were surprised at their early visit. Shelby filled them in, and Cleo gave him a look of disappointment. It didn’t take long for him to gather the materials; most of them were picked up along the way. Scott made his way down to the crypt. He felt if this worked, it’s only fitting he starts off the same place. He was going to do this right, play it ear by ear; his only goal was stopping Avid’s demise. Shelby watched nervously as he set it up. Once everything was ready, she engulfed him in a hug.
“Please be careful,” She looked up at him, pouting.
“I will, I promise,” Scott smiled softly, patting her head.
“Come on, we don’t know what will happen if we’re in here too.” Drift peaked in, guiding Shelby out of the room, stopping briefly, “Hey Scott?”
“Yes?”
“Stay safe” Scott nodded.
Once they were gone, he turned his attention to the book in front of him. He held his wrist up, using his claws to break the skin. Blood dripped onto the gems, each one beginning to glow as it absorbed. Cleaning his wrist, Scott begun. In a quick motion, everything shook, a bright light blinding him slightly, and a force pushing Scott back. He stumbled, grabbing onto the stone coffin to steady himself. Everything felt the same, everything looked the same. Did it not work? He slowly made his way up,
“Hello? Anyone here?” The bright sun fell onto his face as he walked up the final step. The first thing he noticed was the castle; it was no longer standing in the glory he had built it back up to. Instead, the walls were crumbling, the land half dead, and the beacon sitting, a red glow radiating off it. Scott's eyes widened. He did it. He was in the past. Before he could think any further, he morphed into a bat flying towards town. He dropped a little bit back, trying to walk his way in as normally as he could. His eyes shifted, Apo, Martyn, Ren, Abolish, Pearl, Cleo, Legundo, Sausage, Shelby, Drift, Pyro, Owen, until they finally landed on him. Brown hair, purple eyes, shifting nervousness, the green vest, and a stake attached to it. Scott breathed in. There he was, Scott wanted to do nothing more than to run up to him, to hug him, kiss him, but he knew he couldn’t. He waited, introducing himself, working his way towards him.
“Hi! I’m Scott,” he said, a little too cheerily.
“Hi, I’m Avid.”
There he was.