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Chapter Text

“It's something behind you… it has to be! You're a good person Sunny! A good person… don't do that!”

Basil was the one talking, or rather shouting incoherently, his bright blue eyes filled with tears and his voice trembling with ugly sob. 

His hysteria was directed toward Sunny, who clearly looked afraid, his usual stoic face showing a lot of emotion at once, but he is unable to run away, because of the blond manic boy standing just in front of the door and only exit. 

The later knuckles turned white as his grip around his gardening shears became stronger, like if he would die the second he would let go of the garden material.

“I… I’m gonna free both of us Sunny! Isn't that great? SOMETHING… SOMETHING it's all SOMETHING'S fault!”

At this state, he was just rambling incoherently, his eyes frantically looking around without taking rest, his palm becoming sweaty. Sunny's fear was highly perceptible, not remembering having ever seen the one he called once his best friend ever reacting that way looking… Yeah, Basil looked right down insane.

Then, suddenly, the black haired boy heard his own voice echo through the bathroom as he cried in pain, instinctively clenching his hand against his left eye, not prepared for the sudden harsh sensations he felt, as if all his being was burning from the inside, keeping him away from thinking clearly. 

He started to feel blood on his hand, and out of fear for his life, a primal instinctive fear he couldn't control, he threw it fist at Basil, maybe hitting, maybe missing. Sunny couldn't even tell, focused on the immense pain he was feeling. 

But before he could do or say anything else, everything became blurry, and Sunny didn't recall much of what happened after that. As the pain became unbearable, he fell on the side, and everything go black, the word shutting around him.

Chapter Text

When Sunny opened his eyes. The room he was in wasn't familiar, he was certain to never have been here before even. The place seemed to be in the dark, only lit by a little window, letting inside just enough sun to take a look around.

The house seems to be made of wood, from the ceiling to the floor, and pretty old too, it's almost like it could fall over with a blow, probably homemade.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. No, the raven haired boy was highly disturbed by something else. His eye, the left one to be exact. His body was filled with goosebumps when he unconsciously recalled the pain exploding in his head when he was still in Basil's bathroom.

And suddenly, he succeeded at finding what bothered him; he couldn't see anything.

Fuck… did Basil really…? 

Sunny shook his head vividly, not wanting to think about that at all.

Then, he heard the sound of a door opening, in a horrible creaking sound that could awaken the dead. 

“Omori? Wait, you're up?”

Sunny knew this voice, but at the same time… it sounded different, but still the same at the same time… what an odd feeling. 

Slightly high pitched, and without the madness that covered it earlier, it definitely was Basil's voice. As much as he wanted to either run away from him, fear plugging his brain, the younger boy found himself unable to even move, all his body like paralyzed with exhaustion.

Soon, blond straight hair reaches his vision, which is actually weird, because Basil always hated having straight hair, able to stay hours simply to take care of them.

His… how to qualify someone that tried to kill you just a moment before? 

Probably not best friend, or friend at all to be honest, but Sunny chose to ignore that part, because in the first hand he was feeling way too tired to think, so he was probably dreaming of one of these weird places in black space that could give goosebumps to anyone, which explained why Basil called him Omori- wait, he was overthinking again, wasn't he?

Not that the blond behavior was really weird, but with how he tried to kill him earlier… being all friendly and concerned toward him was… creepy.

Eventually regaining some strength, and ignoring his weak body that was screaming for some rest, he sat up, trying to clumsily put some distance between them, and as he studied the blond face, acknowledging how different he looked from the real Basil, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrow.

He looked thinner, almost malnourished, but it wasn't that weird for a black space clone of Basil, he saw worse in the past. He also looked paler, his skin almost white, and the same could be said for his hair, not looking as brightly blond as before, and his face was covered in freckles. 

But that's not what caught his eye, and he found himself staring at the older boy's ears. Or more precisely, his only ear, the other one invisible under some bandages. It looked like these elves' ears in fantasy movies, ridiculously lengthy.

Why was everything so weird? Usually, blackspace is creepy, odd, and plays with your greatest fear… but here… it wasn't about that. It was something else… something… unsettling, and Sunny is unable to put words on what is wrong exactly.

“Omori, stay still, okay? I'm here, I'm gonna take care of you, don't worry… you really scared me when you fell… I guess you're pretty disoriented right now…”

With quick and expert movements, he forcefully got Sunny go back to bed, and checked his forehead for fever, making the black haired shiver softly.

“Mmh no, you don't seem feverish to me… I was afraid you would be sick… though it was weird for a vampire to fall sick… is it even possible?”

What now? He was a vampire? More he started to learn the context of that dream, the more it didn't seem… right. Too different from usual… headspace wasn't about fantastical creatures, it was a way to continue his disillusionment and act as if he wasn't a hideous criminal… Maybe Basil messed him up a little bit when he tried to stab him… err you can probably remove the tried, because he definitely did. 

It was the only rational thing that Sunny could find to explain that strange dream, it can't be anything else than a dream, it's impossible… the Basil elf called him *Omori* so it couldn't be anything else than a dream… fuck why was he feeling so strange, so paranoid?

Instinctively, he searched for his knife, ready to stab himself and wake up; it's how that works usually, no? But the sharp weapon was nowhere to be found, which was unusual, Omori never went anywhere without his knife… 

“Err, Omori, you're good? Searching something?”

The so-called vampire hesitates for a second before shaking his head and trying to stand up by himself, with more difficulty than expected, and, though against his will, Basil supports him slightly, until he stands up completely, refusing to look at the other boy; it was black space, he know his… -really, he should find a way to qualify Basil-, was going to die in another of these awful way, and he wasn't in the mood to see that once again, not now, even if he could sense that wouldn't be the case this time.

Instinctively, he raised one of his hands toward his dead eye, not used to seeing absolutely nothing from one side, it was also weird,cause he wasn't feeling the pain he expected, it was more some kind of phantom pain than anything else.

“oh, it hurts again? Let me help you…”

But once again he shakes his head in refusal, his hand slowly returning at his waist, as he eventually looks toward Basil, expecting the boy to explode in a wave of blood or something, only for nothing to happen. Weird. 

Usually, that kind of dream is quick, and every time the blond tries to evocate the truth, then he simply dies, why does it seem so different right now? 

Why it looked more and more like… reality.

No. It's stupid, of course it's not reality, what kind of messed up reality is that? An elf with only one ear? Himself being a vampire? No, that doesn't exist, Sunny doesn't see himself as very intelligent, but if Basil and him were weird supernatural creatures, he would have noticed, he isn't that dense. Maybe being stabbed in the eyes gives you hallucinations.

Already exhausted, Sunny choosed to cut that dream right here, not in the mood to deal with his own brain torturing him.

Raising his head toward Basil, he try to kept his voice firm even if these words didn't bring happiness

“So, you're gonna bring Mari out now?”

Wow, it was harsh… maybe too much? Wait, since when are you supposed to be concerned about the feeling of a clone of your best friend inside your dream?

And before the younger boy could continue his inner monologue, the elf frowned, looking at him with a strange expression 

“Omori… who is that Mari?”

Chapter Text

The blond boy had been really worried for Omori. He was in that weird comatose state for about one entire month, and when he did awaken, he was extremely weird, looking out of it, and… scared of him? 

Did Basil do something wrong? What is his fault since the start? No. Calm down, overthinking don't do anything good except giving you more reason to beat up your poor self esteem.

But it was… unsettling at last, like if Omori lost his memory, not even remembering his own house! He thought it was the one of the elf boy!

But Basil is homeless, one of these elves banned from the kingdom, only alive because another child that the life hated decided they were going to be a team.

He really liked Aubrey, that witch always been nice with him, and- wait, he was letting his thoughts go out of hand again, wasn't he? Focus on the prior tasks, helping Omori. 

It's only been a week since he awakened, but he definitely wasn't the same as before. More on the edge, and… completely amnesiac.

The poor blonde had to take care of Sunny, despite the vampire showing clear signs of anxiety and fear next to him.

It was weird, having to teach him that he needed blood, it was supposed to be a natural instinct for creatures of the night, no? Well, considering Omori's face when Basil told him to drink the pocket of blood, the answer to that question was no.

Waving at his roommate with a soft smile, the elf left the house, walking towards the church.

He needed to talk to the priest to get help about Omori.

As he entered the solemn place, he made his best to appear composed, putting a soft smile on his lips.

Walking towards the altar with determination, he couldn't help but look around, taking the sight of the mural telling how the world was created.

At first, only the demon was walking on the ground, in a dead and infertile planet.

Then, the angel appeared, trying to find a common ground with the demon, hoping for an harmonious life.

But the creatures never heard such a concept than sharing, 

But the angel, contrary to the demon, didn't know how to fight, and almost got exterminated.

Understanding their weaknesses and not underestimating demons’ strength, they used their holy power to create beings they trained until they became strong warriors.

Long story short, the demon gets banned underneath, and every hero of the angel created their own tribute; werewolves, vampires, elves, witches, slimes (and the list go) on shared the world between them.

Basil eventually looked away, only to jump back when he met eyes to chest with the pastor, leading to some chuckle from the latter.

“Aren't elves supposed to have a 6th sense ? I thought you could see everything”

He tried  to cover his embarrassment from shaking his head, though his pink tainted cheeks betrayed him.

“Not funny… you gave me an attack…”

Taking a second to collect his thoughts, he then talked again

“I need your help… Omori… Omori hasn't himself since he awakened… and you're probably the most knowledgeable in demon…”

The blond stopped talking as he noticed Hero's concerned expression. He was used to his calm and collected face -well, when he was working at last, because the werewolf was much more relaxed when they were hanging out together- 

If Hero was concerned, that wasn't good… 

“Hey, sit down, okay? You look on the verge of a panic attack, don't fall unconscious on me…”

Gently helping Basil to sit down, the older man disappeared for a second, only for coming back with a cup of water. 

The blond didn't realised how much he was spiraling until his friend started talking, he should really calm down before having a crisis…

Taking a sip of water, he only started talking again when he felt slightly better.

“You already know that but… Omori awakened last week and… He doesn't remember anything… he seems to be scared of me… he doesn't even remember being a vampire!”

As he locked his glowing blue eyes into Hero's brown and comforting one, he couldn't help but feel immediately better, as if nothing could ever happen with his friend by his side.

“I will come tonight once the church is closed, okay? Stay by his side, I doubt it's a case of possession, so they're probably no risk being close to him… just make sure he doesn't hurt himself, got it?”

Basil slowly nodded, staying here a second longer, before eventually walking away, leaving the solemn place.

Chapter Text

The tall man stepped outside, closing the door of the church behind him.
Usually he would have gone home, preparing dinner for Kel, and maybe stopped by the bakery on his way home…
But tonight, he needed to get to Omori's house.

The werewolf wasn't particularly anxious, knowing Basil's ability to dramatize absolutely everything, but he wasn't underestimating the situation either, working as the main priest of the town prepared him for any kind of situation.

It wasn't an easy job, making sure that the church, the biggest shield against the demon world, stay up, teaching the youth about their history, exorcism… but at last, even if it was exhausting, he felt proud of his work.

The door of the little wood house opened before he even got the chance to knock, welcomed by the small elf.

“You're here! I warned Omori you would come, he…”

The blond stopped, his face was like an open book, you could see every of his worry and doubt on it. After a second of silence, he eventually finished his sentence.

“He seemed happy to not be alone with me.”

Hero tried to not grimace, acknowledging that the situation should be hard for Basil.
Sunny and him were dating for what… two years already? If Bowen suddenly feared him like that … better not think about it, not good for his mental health.

Following Basil inside the house, he finally entered the living room. As he saw how Omori looked at him, he couldn't help but notice how he seemed… surprised? Even though he was aware he would come?
And then, he noticed that the vampire wasn't looking at him… not directly at last. No, he was staring at his head.

It was coherent with the blond discourse after all; if he didn't remember that he himself was a vampire or that Basil was an elf, why would he remember that Hero was a werewolf? But that doesn't make the situation any less concerning.

“Basil told me you had a memory issue…I'm just gonna check on you, okay?”

The way the raven haired boy was staring at him made the tall boy feel almost bad, the way Omori looked at him, his clothes, his ears, his face… despite obviously knowing him, he wasn't actually remembering him. Or at last, that was the theory starting to form inside Hero's brain.

About one hour has passed as Hero finished to auscultate his friend, now stretching his back, tired from the intervention.

“There's nothing abnormal with your body… and your soul is also strong, which means… The problem is in your head. And that's weird, since vampire aren't supposed to be affected by any kind of illness… we can't do anything but tell you the memories you're lacking.”

He finished his sentence quickly, anticipating that Basil would have cut him if he didn't propose a solution immediately.
A good way to have an answer would be to simply listen to Omori's point of view, but he has never been known for his talkative behaviour…

But now Basil too have turned to mutism, his mouth closed and his gaze clouded in a storm of feeling. Having been friends for some time already, he knew that only Omori was able to soothe him in this case.
But since the boy was kind of an amnesiac, the situation will be complicated at last.

Walking closer, he gently took the elf's shoulder, and began massaging them in a paternal way, murmuring comforting words until he could feel him start to relax.
To be honest, Basil's mental health always worried him. Sometimes, the mind wasn't altered by demons, and was naturally weak, and despite being the pastor of the town, he was unable to do anything in these cases.

But he couldn't let himself be lost in thought, it was a luxury he couldn't afford, not when he was working.
After making sure the blond was feeling truly better, he turned toward Omori, examining him.

He was wearing the hoodie they gifted him at his last birthday, black with a colorful patch on it, each representing someone of these friends groups. His hair, as dark as a sky at night when the moon doesn't shine, long and unkempt, like usual.
Eventually, their eyes locked together, Hero brown one against Omori's heterochromia, one as dark as his hair, and the other silver.

The vampire seems so… normal. Like the friend he knew, but… it was so weird to interact with someone so close yet who doesn't recognize you…
Shaking his head to not let his thoughts get the best of him, he eventually left the house, letting Basil take care of his boyfriend. It's not like he could do much more to help… and if he gets home too late, Kel will start to worry, and that's the last thing he wants.

Looking at the sky to evaluate how much time have passed, he couldn't help but let out a small swear as he noticed that the sun was about to disappear. Which means the bakery was closed. Which means he couldn't get to see Bowen today. Which didn't help his mood after feeling so hopeless in front of Sunny.

As he walked a little faster to get home in time, he let his thoughts take over him, don't need to keep them inside anymore as his day of work was over.
And it was exhausting. He just wanted to lay in bed, close his eyes and awaking in a decade or two.

But he couldn't. He was Hero after all, people counted on him, needed him.
He has to continue, to smile and help around, because if he won't, who would?

It's mechanically, all of his gestures more than used of these mouvements that he opened the front door of a charming little house.

As the priest, he has the privilege to live here, in a sweet little cottage next to the church, without having any bills to pay.
But he get extracted of his own head pretty quickly as he heard someone suddenly speak.

“ you're home! Wow! You look really tired man! Here, rest on the couch, dinner’s almost ready!”

Dinner's almost ready? Does that mean Kel did it? Crap, in which state the kitchen is right now?
He didn't smell any burn, at last that was that, but it didn't mean that it would actually be edible…

But before he could head toward the kitchen to stop whatever disaster that was about to happen, Kel pushed him into the couch, and gave him a pillow.
Well, they were definitely doomed now…

…or maybe not that much.
Because another person entered the living room, holding two bowls of soup.
Someone he wasn't expecting to see at all, and that by his mere presence in the room made his cheeks go red.

Quickly making room for Bowen, and sighing in contentment as he sat beside him, ignoring Kel comments about how dumb they looked all sappy and in love.
Because nothing mattered at the moment. Nothing but Bowen next to him, his arm around his hips, his head against his shoulder.

He was completely aware of every single contact they were having, and he loved that.
He missed the younger boy so much…
Barely acknowledging Kel as he told them he was going out for the night, way too distracted by Bowen's dark and so expressive eyes…

The baker always been man of few words, but Hero could read him like an open book. And the opposite was also true; despite his ability to hide away any feelings, Bowen always knew how he truly feels.

Chapter Text

It's with a slight smirk that Kel exited the house.

He was happy to see his brother all sappy like that, it's not often that he could see his mask of perfection put away.

But because he enjoyed playing cupid with his family doesn't mean he wasn't allowed to have his own moment with his over half…

And speaking of her, she suddenly appeared by his side, jumping on his back, almost making the two of them falling over

“Aubrey! You gave me a heart attack!”

The young boy, despite his accusing tone, was making sure the pink haired girl was correctly positioned on his back.

And the werewolf couldn't hide how he truly felt anyway; his tail was wagging energetically, giving away how happy he actually was. 

“Yeah sure, you can keep talking…”

Although he couldn't see her face, he had absolutely no difficulty imagining her mouth turning into a playful grin.

Even if they were often fighting when they were kids, he was unable to imagine his life with anyone else than the witch.

She made his day go better, and made him feel invincible… words couldn't express how much he loved her.

Eventually, they reached their destination, a small rickety house in the middle of the slum, where Aubrey and Basil lived.

At first, they lived here out of poverty, two orphans bounding together, but if they're still living here today, it's because they learned how to love this place, and can't imagine calling it anything else than home.

Once they stepped inside, Kel made Aubrey fall from his back, popping her on the couch with a smirk, giggling as she protested, only to let out a very not virile squirm as the witch grabbed his arms to make him fall too.

Changing his position to not crush Aubrey under his weight, the werewolf  made a pouty face as he looked down at her.

“Happy?”

The short haired girl replied with a nod, mischievous shining in her eyes. After all that was deserved, Kel initiated the first attack, it was just self defence, perfectly your honor, self defence!

They continued their playful banter for a while, regressing toward a time without problems, only filled with complicity and lovely promises, until the reality of the world fell back on them.

“How Omori is going? Hero was supposed to see him earlier, no? Any news?”

Kel shaked his head, not really able to reply; too focused on helping Bowen to prepare a surprise for his brother then to fly away toward the pink haired witch, he completely forget to ask Hero about his day

“Err… he didn't tell me… a-and I forgot to ask too! -he quickly added, before Aubrey would throw a punch at him- but Bowen was at home, a-and you know how all brainwashed he's acting when they're together!”

He grimaced when his girlfriend threw a pillow at him, not fast enough to dodge.

“You, you have one brain cell all the time without distinction ! At last Basil cares for Omori, and unlike you, he communicates on the situation.”

Wow. Getting compared to Basil hurt, and flare a spike of jealousy within the idea of Aubrey liking Basil more. Quickly pushing these nasty thoughts aside, he looked up at the witch.

“They're almost living together! Of course he knows Omori better than me… it don't mean I don't care!”

It was always like that between the two. Despite truly loving each other, they couldn't help but fight every two seconds like dumb toddlers.

Since neither of them had anything else to add, the chatter naturally died down until they both fell asleep.

The next day two were relatively calm, very centred on Omori, trying to make him remember the things he was lacking. Which meant that Kel had to support Hero's boring history lesson most of the time, since his brother was teaching Omori at their house and that he could find a good excuse to fly away.

“So, today we're gonna talk about the elves. Like you should already know, Basil is an elf, and I think you already noticed the lack of any over elves here… It's because they're all living in a closeted kingdom far away in the north. 

The only one you will see near here, will be either trade or renegade that have been banished… Well Basil is a part of the second category, just don't mention it in front of him, okay? Sensitive subject, and before you ask, even me don't know how he lost one of his ears.”

He stopped, making sure that Omori still followed what he said, and wasn't lost half way. When he saw the vampire nodding slightly, he went back to his explanation.

“in case you run into one, always remember to stay extremely polite and conscious, they're very susceptible, you don't want to beef with an elf, trust me.”

The lesson went on until the end of the day, and surprisingly enough, Kel hadn't fallen asleep while having to listen to all of that history, so boring and unfunny… hope Omori will go back to his normal self soon.

The elves, uh? It's been some days that Bowen goes to their kingdom to try and expand his bakery activity here, but they still didn't have any news about him, not even a homing pigeon… Kel wasn't stupid, he could see how the worry was slowly destroying Hero.

His big brother always thought that he was good at hiding his feelings, but to be honest, the younger werewolf already saw him break down multiple times, and he could see the sign, he could see that he was on the verge of spiralling down again.

He already talks about it with Aubrey, and they agreed that they should go to the elves kingdom to both find Bowen and with the help of the elf technology no doubt they could cure Omori too!

But they have two problems. 

First, no way Hero would accept to leave their town without any priest to take care of the church, and secondly, Basil gonna “throw a complete tantrum and we would be obliged to literally fight him to convince him to go with us, and no way in hell he will let Omori go without him” to use Aubrey words.

Which means they were stuck.

Kel desperately needed to found a way to convince Hero to come with them, because travelling without a priest by their side would be complete suicide… 

Without even realising it, he was walking towards Hero's room, only snapping back to reality as he almost fell after tripping over his brother's bed.

“Hey, you're good? It would really be an embarrassing way to break your leg, you know? Be careful”

He couldn't help but let out a smirk at the other's joke, unable to stay worried for long when he was near the priest.

“Would be a shame to break a legs before a big trav-”

Oops.

Come back come back.

Well, too late you would say, but Kel has that annoying ability to give away every single of their plans.

Not on purpose of course, but does it matter when it's the two thousand times it happens?

“Kel. We’re not going anywhere. Don't look at me like that, of course I know what you planned with Aubrey, I'm not blind, and firmly opposed to that idea.”

Crap, it started bad. Of course he knew Hero would immediately refuse to go, but the task of convincing him suddenly felt impossible. His brother's tone was cold and harsh, without any room for argument.

“H-hero.”

He stopped, stabilizing his breath and made sure to not stutter again, he needed to look sure of himself damn it.

“Hero. We need to do something! You're really gonna just give up? Without trying anything? We have to seek for Bowen! What if something happened to him? And we both know that the elves' technology would be able to help Omori! You can find any excuse you want, it's obvious that his problem is deeper than memory loss!”

He didn't even notice he had started to scream, only wanting to make sure Hero would listen to his point. 

Breathless, he eventually stopped his monologue, before freezing; no his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Hero was crying.

Chapter Text

Great, they had a mission now. If Kel needed to convince Hero, Aubrey had the definitely not easy task at all to convince Basil.

Despite living with him in the slum since they were 7, she doesn't know much about his past. He already was lacking one ear and they met, and never talked even once about his past, about how a literal 7 years old could possibly be banished from his natal kingdom.

So ask him to come back? It's gonna be a pain in the ass, and of course she was the one in charge of doing that.

Spotting the albino, she walked toward him, sitting by his side, thinking of how she should start. But before she could say anything, Basil cut her.

“We can't. Don't look so surprised, I came to the same conclusion as you about what we should do next. Omori keeps being in pain with his dead eye for no reason, and his memory does not come back, not to mention Bowen just basically disappeared, but we can't ask help from the elves, okay?

Strangers aren't welcome in their kingdom, and I'm a freaking renegade, I would be arrested on the spot at the first second.”

Wow, okay.

She truly didn't expect Basil to actually seriously think about asking help from his kind, used to his usual denial and ominous positivity.

“Okay Bas, I know, I know! But hey, do you have any better ideas? We need to find out if Bowen is safe, and on the way we could get Omori cured! Okay, elves are little pricks with too much ego -sorry, it's not personal- but imagine if we can convince them to help!”

She smiled, really hoping to manage to convince him quickly; without any results so far.

She tried to convince him multiple times after that, without managing to get anything out of him. At last she learnt one good thing; it went rather well for Kel and Hero, as he managed to convince the priest rather quickly.

He didn't tell her the details, but she knew that Hero had a kind of big breakdown or something, and after that, he agreed to follow them.

Well, probably that things didn't go as easy as said in Kel's resume, but only the result counts.

Today was the day. They were leaving for the elves’ kingdom. Does Basil accept to come with them? No, not in the slightest, but it's been almost two weeks that Bowen went missing now, and they couldn't bear to stay inactive for much longer.

So they kept him in the dark on purpose, getting ready without him knowing.

Ready to go, Hero gave all of them a particular necklace, with the strict consign to never remove it, that it will be their only salute in case of an attack of demon. 

Now truly ready, they started to walk out of the town, only to find Basil waiting for them here, a disapproving expression on his face.

“Good to know you can always count on your friends… are all of you completely suicidal or what? I refuse to let you go into that madness, I'm ready to fight if you don't let me the choice”

 He looked particularly disappointed and annoyed, judging them with a stoic expression. 

Aubrey walked toward him, only stopping a few inches from her friend's face.

“You really are a selfish one, uh? If you're ready to fight for that, then I defy you at dwaylity.”

The place suddenly became silent, very silent.

Dwaylity. Dwaylity is a duel, used to resolve a conflict. 

The two parties agree on what price the winner would have, and then they fight until one of the winning conditions is completed.

These duels are supervised by the priest of the town, making sure that all the parties have the same chance of winning and that the promise made before dwaylity are respected.

Basil looked up at her, less confident all of sudden. But he nodded, accepting the challenge. Turning toward Hero, he listed his condition.

“If I win, all of you forget your dumb idea of seeking the elves. Go search Bowen if you want, But Omori will stay with me in town.”

Aubrey turned toward Hero too, completing the ancestral costume.

“If I win, this white ass come with us.”

Sighing under Aubrey's luxurious language, Hero walks with them toward the dwaylity arena. Once the two fighters took place on an opposite side of the field, Hero walked on the center of it.

“Aubrey, you're not allowed to use fire and ice power, Basil, you're only allowed to heal self-inflicted wounds. If one of you breaks these rules, they would be disqualified. The first falling on the floor, or leaving the arena, loses. Understand?”

He calmly announced the rule, making sure that both of his friends wouldn't be able to attack the other too severely.

As soon as he left the arena to watch the fight from afar, Aubrey runned towards Basil, her hands glowing blue under the electric element she was invoking, ready to attack fast and with strength.

The elf, however, stayed completely immobile, not reacting for a bit at Aubrey's blunt attack.

When she got close enough to strike him with her newly created storm, he opened his arms, vines suddenly growing out of it, blood falling on the floor from the wound, lashing towards the witch.

She dodged at the last second, jumping back, observing how the vines retraced into his arms, the cuts healing quickly under his power of regeneration, making his body glowing in a green light.

Basil was a redoubtable opponent, contrasting harshly with his gentle and pacifist behaviour.

The two fighters were determined, and none of them seemed to dominate the field, as they both started to grow weaker.

Aubrey had numerous cuts on her face and arms, when Basil's hair was standing straight on his head, charged with static electricity.

“Give up! You're just gonna get seriously injured! The elves’ never gonna help you anyway!”

Basil shouted as he dodged another electric attack from his friend. But suddenly, as he was ready to jump on Aubrey, Hero walked in.

“Aubrey won! Basil, you're standing outside of the arena, and conforming to dwaylity rule, you have to go with us.”

The two stopped moving, surprised, before verifying the werewolf's speech; indeed, one of Basil's feet was out of limit.

That's how their strange group composed of two werewolves, one elf, one vampire and one witch started their journey toward the elf realm.

Before they start to travel, Basil used his healing powers on both Aubrey and himself, along to also get a necklace from Hero, making them completely ready for whatever was about to happen on their way.

Hero was the one choosing the safest way to go to the elves' realm, making them avoid some unwelcome barbarit territory, but still with need to be quick.

According to his forecast, they should arrive after one week and half.

It's been three days already since their quest started, and, minus Basil's awful depressing mood, everything was going well.

They didn't encounter any demons, the monster that crossed their way had been defeated without issue, and they were walking closer and closer to their goal.

As the night started to fall, they chose a spot where they would crash until tomorrow.

For the third time since they left, Basil created a barrier of vines around them with his power, a shield of protection against the cold winds and the beasts around.

“I'm going outside to find something for us to eat, come with me Kel!”

Hero smiled as Kel energetically accepted; it's been a long time since the two of them got outside for a hunt session, and this brotherly activity was exactly what they needed to not think too much about the next challenge they were about to encounter.

As the two werewolves walked away from their fortunes camp, they both changed into their wolf's form.

Hero was an impressive beast, bigger than a wolf but smaller than a bear. 

His eyes were amber, with darker reflection, glowing slightly under the moonlight.

His fur was composed of a brown rather dark, like chocolate, but some part of it, like his paws or tails were lighter, almost ginger.

Kel was slightly bigger, and his fur was lighter than Hero's one, like a mix of caramel and milk chocolate. 

His eyes however were exactly the same as his brother.

And soon, both were running along each other, searching for some poor animals that would become their lunch. 

They go in two separate ways, for covering more places.

But suddenly, the older man stopped dead in track, almost tripping on his own paw and falling miserably. 

He could see a silhouette between the trees. A silhouette of a person. Of someone he could recognize in a crowd of hundreds of people.

Bo…wen…

The name crossed his lips in a quiet murmur, and regaining his humanoid form, he runned towards him, barely caring about tripping every two seconds.

But as quickly as he saw it, the silhouette disappeared, only letting him alone in the middle of the wood.

When the two werewolves came back to their camp, only Kel had caught somethings.

Hero was making a really weird face, and went to sleep without eating, looking very down, without any apparent reason.

The next day in the morning, Aubrey bring Hero apart, determined to get answers about his unusual behaviour.

“Okay, what happened? And don't “nothing” me, everyone noticed how awful you looked when you came back yesterday, so tell me”

She locked her eyes with his, almost looking intimidating despite their height difference.

“I'm tired, okay? We’re walking non stop since almost a week, it's starting to take a toll on me, that's all”

The witch examined his face, eying how tired and unmotivated he looked. Something happened, she *know* that, but what exactly?

“Aubrey, you should go to bed too, we're only halfway and the more difficult part is coming next”

Cutting the discussion short, he walked away before the pink haired could have stop him, leaving her with the feeling that he wasn't *just* tired, but hiding something from them.

The next day was a silent one.

Everyone was walking without muttering a word, almost like they all were feeling down.

Basil kept avoiding Aubrey and not hiding for a bit his hard feelings, Hero still closed in on himself and Omori is Omori…

Actually the only two ones doing fine were Aubrey and Kel, walking next to each other and holding hands.

When finally… they reach the elves' realm. Well, their travel isn't over yet, because they need to go to the kingdom, but still, they're definitely growing closer to their goal.

No longer acting like an asshole, Basil started to be more anxious, jumping over the slightest noise, and often cuddling with Jdu'uh. 

Like every elf, Basil has a linked animal, a creature that sticks with him until the end, that is ready to die to protect him, and the other way around is also true.

Jdu'uh is from a species rather rare, that can only be found in the elves’ territory. 

They look like a ball of fur, and can harbour any colour. This one, more specifically, is green and white, matching with the blond boy clothes.

As Aubrey's attention still lingered on Basil, the latter suddenly stopped, causing Omori to bump into him, and hissing slightly in reproach.

“Fuck we're almost here for real, uh?”

Before anyone could reply to Basil's unexpected question, he continued, looking agitated yet serious.

“They've things … things you need to know before we meet anyone here… things … things about why I only have one ear.”

Chapter Text

The blond was feeling nervous, well more than nervous even, terrified.

But feeling Jdu'uh snuggling against his cheek helped a lot to not succumb to panic.

Jdu'uh… he didn't know what he would do without it presence, it helped so much already, and-

No, it's not the time for a tearful flashback, so after a profound inspiration, he started talking.

“I'm not welcomed among the elves. Even those who are from different species have more chances to fit in actually.

All of us… we're all healers, we have the most advanced technology and all… if we lost a limb we can literally grow it back! But… they're a few exceptions.

Most common are curses, but for me… it's sickness.

Long story short, we get touched by a mortal epidemic, and no cure has been found; except amputation of the touched part. 

Only a very few survived, and most of the one that were sick get banned to not contaminate the other”

Eventually, the elf stopped talking, not having much more to add.

He also avoided looking at his friends, not wanting to see their disgusting pity.

The first move was made by Omori, who hesitantly walked closer to pat his hair.

It wasn't an amazing gesture, but yet, it felt enough. It was all Basil needed to feel better.

He told them about his past, and yet they accepted him. They still loved him.

Well, he didn't actually *really* talked about his past, but this story was for another day, preferably never.

Despite the circumstance, Basil was feeling happy. Sure, every step was bringing him closer to his natal home, to his brother , but his friends were by his side, and that mere fact was enough to give him all the confidence he needed to continue.

Walking through an empty field, the five friends were chatting among themselves, when an usual noise made them stop.

Turning around, Basil's eyes widened as he saw Bowen standing not far away, looking towards them .

The blond almost fell on the grass as Hero accidentally pushed him as he started running towards his lover, even though it looked more like he was about to fall at any steps.

Once in front of the other boy, he got afraid he would disappear again, but pushing the thought aside, the werewolf was about to hug him desperately when suddenly he felt fingers around his neck.

And before the priest could even register what happened, he was unable to breath, Bowen's hands turning white under the pressure he was using to strangle him.

As everyone froze in shock, Kel reacted quickly, jumping in and throwing a powerful punch at Bowen, barely blinking as he acted on nothing but instinct, the only thing running in his head, ringing at his ears being the urge to protect his brother.

A crack. Bowen jumped back, his hands letting go of Hero's neck to go on his own face, grimacing from pain.

Quickly, the slime boy disappeared, melting on himself.

Still in shock, Basil walked toward Hero nevertheless, wanting to check on him, and heal him if needed.

The poor boy was shaking, his legs giving up as fell on his knee, in the exact same spot where Bowen, his sweet Bowen, his love, his reason of living, one second ago was trying to kill him. Too traumatized to do anything, still feeling that pressure on his skin, still feeling that warm yet not welcome embrace, still feeling *his* gaze on him.

Even after his bruises being healed by the elf, he stayed unresponsive, but not unresponsive like Omori was, no, unresponsive like if something broke on him, like if his eyes stopped shining and the world stopped moving.

They couldn't stay here until he got better; they could get attacked again, and they were almost at the door of the elves' kingdom anyway, they must hurry up, without a priest to cover their back, they wouldn't last long.

“It wasn't Bowen.”

Only Basil turned toward Kel when he said that as he took his brother on his back. Ready to resume their walking.

Were the others also thinking that? That it  wasn't, that it couldn't be? 

“I mean literally, idiot. Werewolves have a developed sense… and it didn't smell like Bowen. It smells something else. Something demonic.”

This time, everyone stopped walking to turn towards him. A demon? That thought in itself wasn't impossible, but a demon able to morph? It was new. New and terribly dangerous.

“If it was a demon… why Hero didn't notice it?”

Basil asked in a murmur what everyone was thinking. Hero wasn't stupid, even if being with Bowen made him lose some brain cells, and he was a priest, he knew everything about demons! If he got tricked, then nobody else was fine.

“Because… It really was Bowen. Not a puppet, not a morphing demon… it was him… probably brainwashed tho…”

This time, the silence was absolute, everyone trying to register the information.

That was… impossible, just impossible. 

Bowen? A demon? *Bowen*? And trying to kill *Hero*?

It was a lot to take in, and neither of them wanted to adress what happened, not now, not so soon.

So instead, they started walking again, not making any noises except Hero, who was still crying on Kel's back.

Even though they have already been traveling for almost a week, no day has felt as long and discouraging as this one.

It just felt… impossible to come to the end of their journey.

But at the same time… they couldn't go back home. 

It was impossible. Not when they were so close to the elf kingdom. 

Giving up when they already did so much… it would just be a waste

So they kept going.

Basil was leading their group, his knowledge about his natal kingdom became evident.

Basil may have been banned when he was barely 7 but… he still knows this land like his pocket, making them avoid every dangerous place in the blink of an eye.

Actually, the only thing giving away how awful he was feeling was Jdu'uh, his linked animal, that was expressing all of his feelings, but without the blond skills to hide them.

And eventually… they reached a large metallic door, no, it was a drawbridge, not a door actually.

And in front of the impressive barrier, two guards were here, pointing their spears toward them, their faces clearly unwelcome; they were elves after all, and elves didn't have the reputation of loving foreigners.

Basil stepped closer to them, silently making the rest group understand they should stay afar while he would argue with the guards. Thankfully, Hero was the kind of person planning everything before it actually happened, so the one eared elf didn't have much more to do than simply handling a letter to the guards.

Once they rode it, they eventually agreed to make them enter, the drawbridge slowly opening for them, before raising again as they finished passing it.

The kingdom was… beautiful. 

Every alley, every building, every clothes that people were wearing… all of these were screaming luxury and perfection, everywhere. 

Elves really were living in another world.

Sticking close to Basil, and naturally positioning themselves around Hero as to shield him, their group eventually stopped in front of an imposing castle, all black and red, with menacing vines on the wall as a decoration.

As they were about to enter it, the door opened by themselves, revealing a young elf with complete black hair and bright blue eyes.

He was wearing red and golden formal clothes, and his linked animal, identical as Basil's one except for its colour being pink and white, was sitting on his shoulders.

Almost immediately, Basil bowed in front of that elf that is without a doubt an important personality here.

The black haired elf walked toward them, only stopping a few inch away from their group, his next words barely loud enough to be heard.

“So you're back… little brother”

Chapter Text

Sunny has stopped trying to understand this world a long time ago. 
He was obviously in some really weird alternative universe, and yes, why not? He saw worst, at last here even if everything was weird, the accident never happened, hell, Mari doesn't even exist, let's just fix with the thought that it's just a remake of headspace, everything is fine.

Well, not *that* fine because since Bowen attacked Hero in that field, the latter was completely broken in half, and now that they were in the elf territory or something like that he felt very unwelcome.
It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, but it was better than the other feelings he has.

Sitting around a ridiculously big table, their strange group were having a private audience with the elves’ emperor, minus Hero, who was in another room, as some elves were taking care of his mental health.

From what Sunny managed to catch of the context, the elves emperor was Basil's brother, his twin to be exact, which explained their physical similarities.
And he wasn't happy to see him here again, even though he was being very diplomatic and helping them anyway.

Around the table, everyone was silent. That wasn't the audience they were expecting, Hero was supposed to be the one talking, exposing their situation and asking for help.
But Hero was, how to say it… out of service right now, so everything was more complicated, even more since despite his best efforts Sunny was completely unable to talk and explain his situation; after four years locked in his own house, he lost the slight verbal skill he ever had, so talk to a literal emperor to say “hey, I awakened here one day, can I go back home please, this place scare me as fuck” seemed to need a bit of skills that he lacked.

As he was about to lose himself in his own head once again, a voice grounded him to the real world.

“So *Basil*... let me resume that… your… *friend* disappeared and your other… *companion* lost his mind, so you're back here kissing my shoes, that's it”?

The elf's eyes were as cold as ice, not betraying any feeling, it was… intimidating, really, was this guy really related to the anxious little Basil? It's hard to believe it.

“It's a request of our town, not Basil acting for his own purpose, or whatever you seem to believe. We needed help to cure our friend, and now we also need help to fight against demons’ powers that are rising. I thought every species were obliged to put away their differences to fight demons together! Aren't el-”

Aubrey stopped talking as the emperor suddenly stood up, immediately imposing silence and respect. 

“Do you know anything about respect? Or are you prideful enough to think the world is bowing to your feet?”

His words were as cold as his demeanour, each one carefully chosen to be transformed into a sharp weapon.

Sunny really wishes that Hero was with them right now, only him would be able to talk and be listened to.

“Rowan… they're not trying to defy you, they're just scared for their safety… I am too! That's why we need your help… I didn't wanted to come back at first, but yet I'm here… and I need you”

As the blond was talking, the vampire suddenly put two and two together. If Basil was brother with that Rowan boy… and that the later was the emperor of the elves, it mean-

“You're from royalty”

Everyone turned toward him as he spoke aloud, not excepting the black haired boy to speak, even less to say something so obvious that nobody bothered to point it out.

But it was true that something has bothered him since they crossed Bowen demon version path.

Since that event, his blind eye was burning him slightly, not like a phantom pain, but more like static electricity? It was a really weird sensation. 

More importantly, he could see things from this eye.

Not seeing like with his functional eye, but more like distinguishing things, like light in the dark.

And since the Bowen incident, these so-called lights were all around Basil, enveloping him in a golden aura, the same surrounding Rowan right now.

“Your friend is a little bit…”

The emperor stopped, thinking of a way to phrase it without being too insensitive, before giving up; he wasn't and probably never gonna be someone nice.

“Retarded, no?”

After all, since they started that meeting, the vampire didn't mutter a word nor even recognize his environment, before suddenly saying the most obvious thing ever and then going back to his dissociative state; in Rowan's eyes, it was just easier to jump into the conclusion and be a disrespectful prick rather than try to being understanding, and elf never been know for loving anyone that wasn’t another elf. 

For a second, a flash of anger went through Basil's eyes, before he managed to get himself together, and not lash out on his brother.

“He's been strange like that since… one month now? We don't know what to do to help him, and he isn't a retard”

He articulated these last words slowly, making sure that his refrained anger could be heard on them; one thing was sure, Basil was ready to defend Sunno whatever the cost was, and he wasn't scared to fight his brother for that.

But instead of making Rowan angry, Basil suddenly gave up his shy attitude and instead almost screaming made him smile.

“Finally, you're back little brother… I recognize you now. Cold and sure of yourself…”

That boy… he was definitely scary. How can someone be completely serious while having a creepy smile and a deranged speech like that? Sunny definitely felt creeped out by the emperor's behavior.

He was just so strange, unstable maybe? Definitely scary.

“Fine, I'm gonna help you. But not for charity or from a good heart. You're gonna have a debt toward us, do not forget that.”

He then stood up, walking outside the room in a majestic yet dramatic way, intimating their group to follow him.

As Sunny stood up to follow too, he instinctively got closer to Kel; not like he particularly liked the boy, but his presence was more comforting than Basil's one, despite the elf's best effort to make him feel safe in his presence.

Sunny couldn't forget the lingering sensation of losing his eye by his best friend's hand, even if this Basil isn’t the one he knows.

They arrived in a room tinier, with less decorations, obviously not meant to meet people officially here; more likely Rowan's private quarters.

they all sit in the couch as the emperor gestured them to do so, himself sitting in a chair in front of them, now, everything seemed less formal, almost like a friendly meeting, which tended to stressing Sunny up; the black haired elf comportment was way to random for his liking.

“Your priest state is stable, our healer examined him, his mental health is at the worst, but he is physically good, and his life isn’t in danger, mostly he is in a shocked state, he needs to rest properly, we can take care of him until he gets better.”

Kel let out a sigh, he needed to hear that, to hear that his brother wasn’t dying, that he would make it, and that he hadn't been cursed by the demon.

Without giving the friends group time for speaking, Rowan continued.

“for your two other issues… that’s more complicated. Let's start with the one in front of us”

Walking towards Sunny, he grabbed his chins, causing the later to flinch in response, not liking the unsolicited touch.

“he seems healthy… the damage must be in his brain… what's his problem already?”

The vampire refrained a grimace of disgust. That insolent annoying elf was treating him like a vulgar object, acting like if he wasn't even here… only his instinct was refraining him from biting off that hand on his chin.

Probably saving Rowan from losing one of of his limb, Basil stepped in.

“Omori fell into some kind of coma, but when he awakened, he did not remember most of the things… he didn't even remember being a vampire in the first place! And… he just seems out of it all the time…”

He needed to speak up. Sunny needed to use his voice and explain the situation. 

So why his throat felt so dry? Why was he unable  to mutter a single word, every thought blocked in his head and unable to be formulated out loud? Why he felt so panicked, anxiousness rising more and more with every passing second?

After what could have been an eternity or only five seconds, he managed to formulate sounds, to transform them into words, then sentences, and eventually he started to explain where he came from, everyone completely quiet as they listened to him.

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, that fragile vampire was able to talk, and not only a little, even if his speech was mostly weird because he obviously didn't master the skill of talking with vampire teeth. He told them everything he could, forcing his voice out despite his reluctance to talk.

He told them about his real name, about his fight with the other Basil, about the fact that hell, vampire, werewolf, wizard and all this stuff shouldn't even exist. 

As he eventually went quiet again, Rowan and Basil had the same little movement of the head, a slight nod of understanding.

They're one skills that the elves have and keep hidden from the other species; the telepathic link between all of them.

It was a precious gift, the hidden explanation of why they were so strong, why they won every battle and had the reputation of mastering strategies like no one.

But that was also… just a way for two separated brothers to keep in touch with each other. Basil couldn't reintegrate the royal family, both of them knew it, but that didn't mean they weren't close.

The telepathic link between them is way stronger than the norm, making them able to communicate despite all the distance between them. 

But today… today… Basil was here. Here in a world he didn't belong to anymore, but here anyway. If they were alone, Rowan wouldn't have lost time to hug him close, but he had a facade to keep.

He walked towards the nursery, not even making sure the idi- group behind him was following, feeling Basil's presence close.

Entering the room, they finally stopped in front of a bed, where Hero was lying. 

He seemed to have regained some color, although the werewolf still not looking in a good shape.

Still, the black haired elf could feel his brother's relief, showing how much they actually cared for that priest.

The elves always founded the need to rely on someone for their safety very ridiculous and a show of extreme stupidity, that's why they're no priests in the kingdom, using technology instead to protect themselves from the demonic menace.

No, seriously, it was really hard to understand how the other species managed to stay alive until today with how poorly protected they were, and still are.

He shacked his head, coming back to present time; getting lost in his thoughts on public wasn't something he allowed himself to do, instead keeping his mask of impassiveness, making everything look completely under control.

“So… can we know what exactly are your plans for Om- err… Sunny? cause not that I don't like him but if that parallel universe weird stuff thing is real, our real frie- I mean, Omori must be all scared and all!”

Kel was finally the one breaking the silence, correcting himself quickly while still talking too quick and too loud for the elf's liking. Werewolves really are annoying creatures, not sure he will support him much longer.

“Time travel and alternative universes aren't that unknown to the elves, a lot of our manuscripts talk about it actually, even though I never witnessed a case myself before today.

The first thing to do is go to the library and study everything related to that subject, we need to learn about the previous phenomenon of that kind, then we will do what we need to bring Sunny back to his world.”

Rowan could almost hear the group collective sigh, seeming really happy at the idea to do some good old study, followed by Basil intern chuckles, obviously enjoying the idea of having to read books all day; seriously, his brother was a real freak.

“Second problem, and not an easy one either, the demon.

If he has been attacked and corrupted despite being protected by your technology, it's very concerning. Two possibilities, either your protection were outdated and didn't work, either demon muted and are now way more powerful, which truly is a concerning news.”

What are they supposed to do? They weren't as strong as their ancestors, growing weaker with each new technology making their life easier. And unlike them, they couldn't count on the angels’ help, the holy being having disappeared a long time ago. 

So… it's better to start with Omori's… I mean Sunny's problem, at last we know what to do

The emperor refrained a grimace as Basil thought that, not liking how his brother bounded with the vampire. He was an elf for the angel's sake! He could have some respect for himself instead of being like that with a vampire . But he was right on one point, it was way easier to bring Sunny back to his world. 

As he was about to share that thought with the rest of the group, the vampire started to talk again.

“I… I can see things.”

What was that bloodsucker even talking about? Everyone could see, not a big deal.

“Here.”

Sunny pointed his blind eye, looking pretty much completely unable to see anything.

Was he high? Or dumb? 

“It's like… weird. See stuff that's not real, doesn't exist.”

Okay, it really was weird, Rowan never heard of such a capacity. But if it was real… then it changed everything, they needed to take care of the demon first, that power could definitely help them.

“See thing? What are you talking about?”

Basil walked closer, a shy smile on his face, trying to figure out Sunny's claim.

“You… golden. Your brother's too. Golden for… luxury, royalty.”

It was truly an interesting plan, they needed to test Sunny's capacity right now and see in what he could help.

But before he could talk, Kel stepped in. 

“Hey… did you see anything on Hero?”

His voice was unsure, almost scared to ask. Sensing how stressed he was, Aubrey took his hand on her own in a soothing manner.

“I… need to see him to know…”

Collectively agreeing with Sunny's request, they walked towards the werewolf's room. Stopping at the edge of his bed, they looked at Sunny, the silence thick with anticipation, scared of what he could say.

“It's changing… not white anymore… becoming red… red like Bowen.”

Chapter Text

A demon. His brother was turning into a demon.

Kel felt like he was losing it, going completely insane.

Aubrey was by his side, trying to comfort him the best she could. 

Basil, Sunny and Rowan weren't here; the emperor started an emergency meeting to warn his people about the demon's propagation and needed Sunny and Basil's presence to help him with the details.

The werewolf had just so much thought running inside his head, so much internal noises ringing his ears. 

And no one of these were making sense.

He wasn't someone stupid, he is the brother of the priest, he knows how dangerous the demons are. He also knew how to be protected from them.

So why it didn't work? Why did they succeed to get Bowen, and then his brother, his idol?

Hero is the smartest guy he knew, knowing everything, so skillful… How is that even possible that the demon gets through his barrer? 

Only Aubrey's presence, her hand on his shoulder, her sweet and tender voice was keeping him from lashing out and destroying something.

The werewolf looked up as Rowan eventually came back here with Basil and Sunny. If the siblings’ expressions were completely blank, you could read Sunny like an open book.

“Didn't go well, uh?”

The brown haired boy let out a harsh chuckle, devoid of any joy.

Aubrey punched him lightly in disapproval, frowning upon seeing how apathetic he was being. Kel has always been the light haired one, it was weird to see him so dark.

“We're In war against the demon, I send an official letter to the represent of each species to warn them. I mostly asked for their expert to reunite here to help find a solution to the demon propagation, and save your priest before he transforms.”

The elf let out a tired sigh. Despite his tough and cold appearance, he wasn't as much in control as he let the other think…

Kel didn't commented it, only focusing on the most important part of his boring speech; saving his brother. They weren't gonna let him transform, they will help him.

The next few day were boring, either they were in the library, forced to study some awfully annoying book about demon and teleportation stuff, either they were studying Sunny's vision, doing test and things like that.

Kel's mood have worsened over the day as thing stayed the same as time passed.

Every day was a repetition of the last one. Awakening, breakfast, studying, visiting Hero, lunch, studying Sunny, learning how to fight, dinner, sleeping, awakening, breakfast… He was slowly becoming crazy, losing his sanity in this routine.

At last Aubrey was by his side. Damn the angel know how he was ready to destroy the world to please this girl.

As he felt like drowning into his own head she was here, helping him swing, showing all the pretty things in the world.

As Hero state started to declined, she was here to help him, to make that view of his half corrupted brother more bearable.

But even with that, he still changed. More cynical, less happy. Almost mean sometimes, with snaky remarks.

And angry. All the times so angry… angry against himself, the other, his brother, the world.

Being angry was so much easier than being the happy one, and at last others stopped relying on him so much, stopped wanting to be near him… you know who is really by your side only in the darkest moments.

Today again he was supposed to go to his fight lesson, but the werewolf was skipping it, instead going to the place his brother was locked in. 

As he was about to sneakily enter the room, Sunny blocked him the way, laying against the door.

For a moment, the vampire simply looked at him in silence, before shaking his head, clearly telling him to not go.

“What's your problem? Fuck away, I need to visit my brother”

The boy was being aggressive, impatient, looking at Sunny while growing slowly in a menacing way.

Sunny's expression shifted slightly to an uneasy one, obviously scared of what the werewolf could do.

But he wasn't gonna pull away, he needed to stop him.

“I… Kel… no.”

The taller man huffed, clearly not impressed by the vampire's attempt to stop him.

“It's my brother! You said you had a sister before, uh? So you *know* how it's like! Do not get in my way!”

A flicker of hurt sparked into Sunny's eye before disappearing, trying not to show how he was truly feeling.

“I… I know… but…”

His voice was low, hesitating. After all, that Sunny wasn't very different from the Omori he knew, the one who was his real friend. 

That Sunny guy… he wasn't his friend. A mere stranger trying to get into his ways.

As he was about to push the vampire away, he spoke again.

“You can't go here anymore… you're getting contaminated too…”

This made Kel freeze. Contaminated? This is completely bullshit, he wasn't turning into a demon, it was just a trick to keep him away from his brother. He felt pretty much like himself, not turning at all.

“But… if you stay away from him for some time… you should go back to normal… just-”

Not letting Sunny finish his sentence, he rushed forward, about to push him from that door, when he suddenly fell on the ground, unable to move.

His legs and arm were tied with vines, which means…

He looked up, seeing Basil stepping toward Sunny, making sure he was okay.

That elf really was valuating that doppelganger as much as Omori? To the point of tying him down like that? 

“It's for your own good Kel… you will thank us later, I promise…”

Basil smiled, though his face wasn't giving away anything but worry.

Does Sunny really succeed in turning all of his friends against him? That vampire truly was the real demon, and everyone hated him now…

“You stopped him?”

That voice… no. He could lose the world but not her, not her too. Galvanised with a new strength, he was about to bite down the vines until they broke, but he didn’t even have the time to do so that a new one formed a gag around his mouth, keeping him from trying anything; like that, he was truly unable to move and talk.

“Yeah… I hope he will be fine…”

The blond elf shaked his head, trying to comfort himself. Aubrey walked towards him, hugging him softly.

“Hey, calm down, you did what was needed Bassy…”

So even her turned her back to him? Thinking she was in the right? That it was good to tie him down like that?

Kel felt like crying. 

“C’mon guys, don't forget to wear your protection on and help me putting him in the room”

Quickly, Aubrey took the lead, equipping herself with a mask and gloves before holding the werewolf with the help of the two boys.

Navigating inside the nursery, they eventually put him down on an unoccupied bed, not taking the risk to remove the vines immobilizing him.

The door opened, and Rowan entered, alongside two guards. Lately, the emperor has never been completely alone, always escorted.

He also was wearing protection, though his was more elaborated than just gloves and a mask.

“You managed to get him, finally some good news… we should be able to collect more information about how the demon manages to turn people like that… and since he is in the very early stage of transformation, we should be able to make him go back to his normal self…”

Some nurse were here around him, removing the vines immobilizing him to replace them with leather straps purred with anti transformation magic; they couldn't let him turn into a wolf, it would be way too difficult to keep him at bay if he was in his bestial form.

Though he was still unable to move, he could talk now, his gag replaced by a muzzle. Heh, that was humiliating.

“At last, we know that… Let's call it ’the demon contamination’, is done by direct contact, so we can avoid the propagation now…”

So that's it? They were all that brainwashed into thinking he was a demon? In the end maybe they didn't even care about saving his brother, they just waited for the right moment to strike and get rid of him… 

“Let me go! You can't do that! I thought we were friends! Aubrey! Do I matter so little in your eyes? I thought you loved me! Us was nothing but a joke in your eyes?”

Though his vision was blurry with tears, he saw Basil whispering something to Aubrey before they all left the room; they all truly hated him after all.

Chapter Text

Bowen was lurking around in the forest, moving without making any noise.

He needed to find him, he needed to kill him.

He doesn't know why, but at the same time it was the only thing he knew.

Master said so, he needed to obey them.

But he couldn't leave these woods, he wasn't strong enough, unable to go anywhere else.

As he walked without any goal in mind, he stopped, hearing a new order from his master.

He knew what to do now.

Gain some power by stealing vital energy from some passersby, and then trying to get to him.

But it wasn't about getting rid of him anymore, master said he was precious, very precious; he needed to convert him into a demon too.

°•~•°

But… he still has a problem even tho he was powerful enough to leave the woods now… entering the inside of a castle, especially one built by the elves was completely impossible. 

But he has to try, no, to succeed because master said so and master needs to be pleased no matter what.

°•~•°

Actually, everything went surprisingly easy as he was now entering the tubing of the castle, using his slime's ability to quickly progress without any difficulty.

If he was a bit better at critical thinking, he would have commented on the fact that was actually way too easy, that it was highly likely danger was near; but his corrupted mind didn't care about anything, anything except fulfilling the order he was given.

Eventually, he reached the inside of the castle; the most difficult task was to get to his room knowing this place was a real maze.

Once again, the castle was rather empty. Navigating through the numerous corridors without being noticed was a baby task for Bowen.

But seriously, that place was awfully big, there were so many doors and so many rooms?

Okay elves were known for their… unique and extravagant style, but still, infiltrating that place was a real nightmare.

Trying his luck in another room, he immediately noticed something was off.

His jelly like body began to solidify, making any attempt to fly away impossible.

It was a trap and he ran into it without any double thinking.

The brown haired boy swore under his breath before his breath before jumping to the side to dodge Basil that ran toward him.

But Aubrey was awaiting here, and as soon as Bowen jumped here, she warped herself around him, until he was completely immobilized, not without difficulty thought, because the corrupted boy was trying to free himself like a madman. 

With the help of Sunny and Basil, Aubrey eventually succeeded to put leather straps purred with anti transformation magic, the exact same kind that they used on Kel.

“Wow, didn't thought it would be that easy… you were right Bassy, he came back… we're lucky to have a nerd like you in the team.”

She ruffled his hair with a playful grin, provoking a wave of protestations from the latter, both for the nickname and for having his hair messed up like that.

Ignoring him, the pink haired girl walked closer to Bowen, not without making sure her protections were right in place; it would be very stupid to get corrupted now.

Bowen… was he truly different from the friend she knew? Same short perfectly kept brown hair, same soft face… but his eyes were different, cold, without that glimpse of life usually shining in it.

He wasn’t her friend, not anymore… but he could be saved, and that’s all what mathered.

When the slime boy regained consciousness, he found himself in a white room, laying down in a bed. As he tried to sit up, he quickly realised he was tied down, unable to move.

These stupid creatures really managed to capture him? to block all his power and physically restrain him?

Before he could try anything to free himself, the door in front of him opened, letting Rowan walk towards him. 

Even wearing various protection to not get contaminated, he was looking impressive; you want him in your team and not in front of you in the battlefield. 

And sadly for the slime boy, the elf wasn't an ally.

“So… I have one or two questions… and I'm pretty sure you have one or two answer.

So let's make a deal! I ask a question, and you reply with an answer! Easy no?”

The emperor walked closer, until only a couple of inches separated him from the corrupted boy.

“But if you don't reply… or if you're lying… you will regret being born. You know, slimes are very interesting people, even in their most solid form, they feel almost no pain, and can recover very quickly from any cut… but everyone have a weakness, a sweet spot… regular torture won't do much on you, but… do you know what's effective against your kind?”

Rowan's voice was cold, measured, and every word articulated slowly. 

And without awaiting any answer -it's not like Bowen could talk, with the gag around his mouth- he continued his monologue.

“Warm. You can't stand anything too hot… so if you don't answer me when I ask you to do so…”

He didn't finish his sentence, but a smile could be seen behind his mask. He was clearly enjoying himself right now.

That elf really was scary.

“Let's start with some easy ones… why are you here? Why did you break into my castle?”

Bowen stayed silent at first, but he wasn't ready to verify if Rowan was bluffing, so he answered, but not without hesitation. His voice was slow, as if every word was difficult to find 

"I… err… because…”

He paused once again, and seeing Rowan walk closer, he quickly finished his sentence.

“I miss my friends.”

He looked up to his persecutor, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. But the man in front of him was cold, free of any compassion or sweetness.

And then, the pain came. It wasn’t a slow and progressive pain slowly becoming more harsh, no. It was a brutal pain, the one who makes you scream of surprise, the one you want to jolt away from. But the slime boy couldn’t move, restrained to his chair, with only his mouth to react from the burning sensation.

“Oooh… The little demon misses his friends so he breaks into my castle to see them… what a good book of romance, don’t you think? Sadly for you, I’m not dumb enough to think that demons have feelings. Your kind destroyed my people with way too much cruelty for me to show any kindness. So, let me ask you one more time… Why did you come here?”

Bowen gritted his teeth, trying to refrain from groaning in pain, giving Rowan death glare. Even though the incandescent tool only touched his thigh, he felt like his whole leg was burning.

“fuck… you’re sick… I… it hurt…”

Rowan shooted him an unamused glare, his patience wearing thin. He wants nothing else than answers, and quick ones.

“I need him… I need to see him.”

as the black haired elf was about to burn the slime once again, he noticed something. Bowen didn’t mention any names, never. Was his memory impacted by the possession? interesting…

“who’s him.”

Once again, Bowen stayed silent. But it wasn’t the same silence as before, this one wasn’t trying to hide information away; this one was genuine. 

Really interesting. Is that how the demons spreaded themselves? By erasing the victims’ memory, like some kind of brainwash?

“Okay then… why. Why do you see him?”

This time, the brown haired replied more mechanically, like if it was a sentence he knew by heart, simply repeated to whoever wanted to hear it.

“Because I miss him.”

By the time of a blink, Rowan's face was only a few inches apart from Bowen's one, as the latter’s scream resonated in the soundproof room.

The slime boy’s body was shaking from the pain, a slight cloud of smoke forming upon his burned leg.

This time, the emperor waited interminable seconds that felt like hours before removing the tip of the white-hot metal.

“C'mon, be quiet, it's irritating all that noise… you were warned that it will happen, don't go cry now. Answer my question.”

Bowen looked defiantly at Rowan, tears on the corner of his eyes.

Despite the unbearable pain, he wasn't breaking down; not yet.

“I’m… I'm not scared of… of you…”

Rowan smiled, a grin cold and unsettling. He walked closer, his face mere inch apart Bowen's one.

“You should be.”

Chapter Text

Aubrey was exhausted. Ever since they succeeded to capture Bowen, every day was filled with more training.
Okay, the war against the demon was close, but the angels forbid a girl needing to rest.

The hardest part was knowing that Kel was here, one door away from her, but that she couldn't see him.
Sure she could visit, with all these equipment protection, but that boy chained to the bed… it wasn't Kel. It wasn't her boyfriend, not the werewolf she fell in love with.
This guy trapped in the nursery… he was angry, paranoid and restless.

But after all, it was only confirming what Rowan found out after interrogating Bowen; brainwash was the first step of the demon virus.
How to cure it? Well, that question was still unanswered sadly, but it's just a matter of time before they manage to save him… to save all of her friends.

Her friends… and then they were omori. Where he even is? Well, rationally speaking, he swapped places with Sunny, but that wasn't answering her concern.
The poor boy must be terrified all alone in a world so different… even more knowing that Sunny told them that magic didn't even exist here… better not think about it too much or she will start overthinking, and her schedule was too busy for a mental breakdown.
Deep in though, she barely avoided Sunny by jumping to the side.

“Wow, sorry, all good bud?”

The vampire shook his head, signalling he was alright.
Or, as alright as you could be when you're Sunny.
That boy always was so… how to describe it? He was kind of a loner, looking more unhealthy than anything else.

Aubrey smiled politely, walking away as fast as possible without offending the vampire.
As the pink haired girl quickly entered the first room coming into her sight, she stopped moving, hearing an unusual noise. It sounded like a whine… no, more like a sob actually.
Was someone crying?

Then she saw him. A kinda pathetic form in a corner, messy blonde hair agitated with each sob.
Crap. These last days were so busy, Aubrey didn't even check on Basil… she felt like a shitty friend now. Of course the elf wouldn't be good here, after all he didn't belong to that kingdom anymore, he had been banished when he was just an innocent kid! And his brother was a literal emperor!

She didn't even know the blond had a brother, he was very secretive about his life after all… she always thought they were both orphans without any family but themselves, but turns out Basil does have a family.
She silently sat next to him, not muttering a word, and she soon felt the boy leaning against her.

The witch never was good with words, so helping her literal best friend who was pathetically crying in a corner? Sounded like a hell of a challenge.
She hesitantly patted his head.

“You're crying”

Yeah, no shit Sherlock, congrat for stating the obvious, she internally cussed.

“Mm’ fine…”

The elf whipped his eyes, very far from the definition of fine that Aubrey knew. But as she was about to point it out, Basil started talking again.

“just… they influence your emotions… stay with Kel you're gonna be angry, Hero you will be sad…”

It actually made sense, and explained what she avoided Kel so much. But at the same times, even if she think it was the truth, she wasn't stupid either, something else was bothering the blond.

“You can talk to me, you know? These last day were busy and… and I know you, you're not well right now.”

She was struggling for choosing the right words, she always been bad with words, actions speak louder anyway. But Bas needed her, not just her fist. It wasn't a foe she could beat up, not this time.

“I'm… I'm fine I… just don't really like my brother's method-.”

He stopped to talk quickly, like if he said something he shouldn't have. So that's what bothering him, family. But “method”? What does that even mean?

“It's nothing, I'm good, sorry I'm sorry, don't worry about me…”

Shit, he was starting to spiral down now, that wasn't good, Aubrey needed to comfort him, but how? Clumsily, she brings him closer in a kinda awkward embrace.

“You're not good, and I worry about you idiot… you know you can tell me everything, c'mon, I'll take your secret to the grave.”

Basil stayed silent for a moment, and when the pink haired witch considered shaking him until he started speaking, he finally talked again.

“I’m not welcome here… I should just go…”

At last, he made a full sentence without apologising, it was huge progress! But Aubrey didn't point that out, it would be mean and unnecessary.

“Hey, dude, you're welcome here! We're our friends! And we need that nerdy brain of yours!”

She thought that would cheer up the elf, that everything would be resolved… but the blond was still making a long face.

“I don't belong to that kingdom. I have nothing to do here! I'm not an elf anymore! I shouldn't be here! Rowan is an emperor! Do you imagine the political disasters if people knew? I've been excluded, but the elves think I'm dead leaving only one member of the royal family alive today!”

And, once again, Basil started hyperventilating, distressed. That boy should really relax, so much anxiety wasn't good for him… But at the same time, he wasn't wrong…

“Hey, Bas, please, calm down. Breath deeply and slowly, in and out. You're safe here, please don't stress yourself like that.”

She wasn't the best for comforting people, not good at all, but she wasn't ready to admit it, Basil was her friend, and needed her help.

“Basil, please, stop! You're just spiraling right now! You do belong here, because we need you! We need to save our friends! And we can't without you. No, don't even try to protest, we need you, and that's the truth.”

This time, Basil stayed quiet, though he didn't seem on the verge of losing it anymore.

“Mmh… but we still don't know how to save them, and whatever you can think, I still shouldn't be here.”

She rolled her eyes and refrained the urge to smack his head. Yeah okay, being in a place where people think you're dead and stuff isn't that great, but he still is an elf! He belongs here as much as any other.

“Because you don't know that doesn't mean you're worthless, idiot.”

He grimaced slightly at the insult, a faint smile on his face appearing. He always liked being with Audrey, she was her best friend, they literally lived together since they were children… he doesn't know what he would do without her but his side.

“I have an idea tho… Kel and Hero aren't as much turned as Bowen, like, some step behind. And they're still them, I mean, sure they're acting differently, but they still have their memory… and unlike Bowen, they both are working purely on emotion… maybe if we regulate them, they would turn back to normal?”

Aubrey stayed silent a second, thinking.

“And you talked about that with your br- err, their majesty?”

Basil let out a slight chuckle, shaking his head.

“Highness. And no, I want to be sure of myself… Rowan can be… not very delicate.”

He did mention he didn't like his brother's method… but Aubrey felt like asking precision wouldn't get her anywhere, so instead, she just pulled the blond close, hugging him firmly.

Chapter Text

Hero was laying in bed, unmoving, looking at the ceiling. 

It's been that way since they locked him in a secured part of the nursery just in case. 

Three times every day, some nurses gave him food since he wasn't eating by himself.

Actually, he wasn't doing anything by himself, he was the only one of all the locked demons to not be physically restrained to his bed.

The door opened. Maybe food? Oh no, not food, the one entering was the black haired elf and his escort.

He felt… annoyed by their presence, he was good, all alone in his room… they forced him to stand up, exchanging panicked glare as he growled slightly, but relaxed as the werewolf didn't attack; they were still on the nerve after Kel much less amical behaviour.

They make him enter a room, apparently empty, before backing away, locking him in. Immediately, the wall became transparent, letting appear Kel, tied up to a bed in a standing position, and Bowen, an anti magic bracelet on each of his wrist.

Even if they could see each other, which by the way, seem to enrage Kel more, they couldn't heard them, sparing them Kel numerous cuss.

The priest looked the other two, feeling a pang of unexplained sadness as their view, resisting the need to cry.

Kel seemed to be okay, even if he was looking like if he was about to murder someone, but Bowen was more in a bad shape, as if he had been burned, some nasty scars visible, and it made Hero hearth clench.

He was feeling so much, everything inside him was burning, he wanted to cry, to scream until he could feel the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, but it was so much effort needed, Hero was way too tired to do anything, even just glancing towards his companion was draining, and he was about to close his eyes to rest, when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his forehead, like if his skull was smashed with a hammer.

Vivid imagery filled his brain. Colour, blurry at first, became more bearable. He saw people he didn't recall knowing, a girl with pink hair, two boys, blonde and black haired, but also the other werewolf that was attached less than a second before, now looking very friendly and energetic, far away from that enraged mess he witnessed before.

Oh, and next to him, that slime guy was here, talking with a smile.

Hero couldn't understand his words, but they made his stomach feel funny, his cheeks warmer.

And unexpectedly, that boy leaned in, deposing a shy kiss on his lips, and who was a stranger less than a second before gained a name, all these peoples around them gained a name, an identity.

The werewolf's eyes widened as the memory faded, as he suddenly realised he was restrained and unable to move.

What happened? Why was he in this position? He remembered being with his friends, heading towards the elves’ kingdom, and one second later he was unable to move, in an unknown place?

Another detail caught his eyes, and he immediately tried to free himself.

Kel, his brother, in a similar position to him, restrained, he needed to go help him! And… Bowen? He looked exhausted, drained even. He was completely motionless.

Panic rose inside him, and he felt his stomach clench as the worst case scenario flooded his mind.

A door he didn't notice before, probably a secret hidden one, swung open, revealing Aubrey. She looked okay, to Hero's relief, although slightly upset, tears menacing to take over her eyes.

And without second thinking, because it was Aubrey, and no one could be able to stop her anyway, she took Hero in a tight embrace, menacing to break his limbs, before she let go as quickly as she hugged him, quickly saying something about needing to see Kel immediately, before running away, leaving Hero alone, even more questions rising in his poor brain struggling to understand anything.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Omori removing Bowen's chain, but before he could take a better view of what was happening, Basil was already here to remove his own, making him immediately collapsing under his own weight, making the blond squirms in surprise as he found himself crunched under the werewolf.

After some long and embarrassing minutes, Hero finally managed to stand still on his shaky legs, and turned towards Basil, bombarding him with questions.

“Basil, are you okay? Where are we, what happened? Is Bowen okay? Shit I need to see him!”

The elf grimaced at Hero's high pitched and quick speech, waiting for him to calm down before answering him.

“Hey, Hero please calm down… calm down… I… I… it's okay… we're gonna join the other…”

He offered him a hesitant hand, his face barely hiding away how anxious he looked. As Hero eventually accepted his hand and followed him outside, the blond let out a shaky sigh.

Thankfully for the werewolf's weak body, the walk wasn't long, and he quickly was able to sit, exhaustion visible on his face.

It only took a couple of seconds for the whole gang to be reunited; it was a heartwarming vision. Kel and Aubrey sobbing silently in each other arms, murmuring apologies, and Hero and Bowen, snuggling together.

Eventually, having recovered enough, Aubrey cleared her throat.

“So… do any of you remember anything?”

Hero and Bowen exchanged a regard. They didn't recall anything, were they supposed to? Hero most recent memories before getting here… they were walking towards the elves' kingdom, desperately searching for Bowen… then everything was blurry, and trying to think about it made his head throbbing with pain.

Basil was then the one relying Aubrey to speak. 

“well… we were in a field, and Bowen tried to kill He-”

He cut himself as he saw Hero and Bowen frightened reaction, maybe he shouldn't talk so bluntly without any filter… anyway, it was too late now, so let's continue.

“then He-Hero just been very weird, inactive, and we found out he was becoming a demon… and Kel started to get contaminated too… and that's pretty much everything…”

Basil was… extremely bad at explaining things. Like, imagine someone devoid of any empathy but trying to put it as nicely as possible while trying to get very close to the truth without sparing any details… Well, you got a pretty good idea of Basil now.

The boy just felt lost now. Contaminated? They were… demons? That's why he does not remember a thing? What a joke for a priest… 

Another thought struck him. Did he hurt his friends? When he wasn't himself… he still doesn't remember, and that was stressing him out. They said Bowen tried to kill him… did he try to kill someone too?

His ears were buzzing painfully, it was giving him a headache.

“Hero... Hero! Are you okay?”

Suddenly extracted from his thoughts, he blinked, before focusing on Bowen that was calling his name. Eventually, he nodded, affirming he was okay… mostly at last. He was here, he was alive, his friends and lover by his side… everything was okay.

“Anyway, I was saying we needed to help Sunny go back to his own reality.”

Aubrey continued to talk once Hero affirmed he was okay.

“It's technically not that difficult, we need to get both Sunny and Omori in the same place, and then with Hero benediction, they will both go back to their original universe… But… Well, how do we put Sunny and Omori in the same place? It's not like we could communicate across the universe, if we could, Sunny would have been back to his world a long time ago…”

Kel cut her, smiling as if he had an amazing idea.

“The book we read, you know the violet one, it said that every universe had one thing in common, a single point that is the exact same everywhere… and the red book! The red book said that dreams were the field between the worlds!”

A long silence ensued. The kind of heavy silence when you try to decide if something awesomely clever or completely stupid has just been said.

“It… it could actually work… I'll just need to do some study to set up the spell correctly…”

Hero carefully said.

Everyone eventually nodded in agreement, then decided to delay the incantations to tomorrow; they all deserved to rest, after everything that happened.

For the first time in a long time, Hero felt safe and happy, with Bowen asleep against him.

With a sigh, he stood up, making sure to not awaken the other man, and left the room, walking towards Sunny's one.

He knocked at the door, and thought for a second that the vampire was already asleep, but then he heard some noise from the other side, and decided to enter.

Sunny was sitting in his bed, unblinkingly looking at him, but since it was something that Omori did all the time, it filled Hero with some sort of comfort rather than feeling unsettled.

He silently asked if he could sit on his bed, and Sunny answered with a slight nod.

“You know… it was nice to meet you… I mean, it was a really weird situation, and a lot of awful things happened but… I hope you enjoyed yourself here… I can see it in your eye… life hasn't always been easy on you, uh?”

The black haired boy blinked, surprised. Whenever the universe, Hero seemed to always be able to read him like an open book…

Sensing that he wasn't going to talk, he continued.

“I just wanted to give you that… it's a talisman, will great you protection against… well, normally it's against demon, but guess it's not really a thing in your world…”

He handed a little bag to Sunny, and the other boy looked at it for a moment before putting it in his pocket, a faint smile appeared on his lips. Hero felt immediately better, it was nice to see the shy boy open up slightly.

The next day was extremely busy, Hero had his nose in several books since he awakened, while Bowen, Basil, Aubrey and Kel helped him. Sunny was watching from above, as they didn't let him help, asking him to rest instead.

Eventually, Hero stood up, and after verifying what the other had done, he turned towards the vampire.

“It's good… when you're ready, you can lay here…”

It was weird, knowing that it was the end of their adventure with Sunny. Of course, they were more than happy to be able to see Omori back soon, but after these months together, they all grew very attached to Sunny… 

After some emotional good-bye, because Sunny got attached to these versions of his friends too, he laid down, closing his eyes with anticipation.

He could hear Hero from the distance, but he seemed very distant, and at each second passing, he was getting even more faraway, until becoming completely inaudible.

Sunny felt… nice. Not happy, nor unhappy, an in-between bringing a strange sort of comfort, a Proust's madeleine lost between yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Slowly, the black haired boy opened his eyes, momentarily blinded by all the lights in the room. Did it work? For a second, he thought he was still in the nursery, that their effort failed, that he was still stuck in that world that wasn't his.

But once he got adjusted to the luminosity of the room enough, he understood where he was. 

Even though it looked very similar to the nursery, he wasn't there, this place was way more modern. No, he was in a hospital. 

Besides him, he saw a nightstand, with a flower bouquet, white tulips for sure, he recalled Basil rambling about flowers.

Sunny eventually stood up, stopping as he thought his legs were about to give up on him.

Once sure he wouldn't fall, he started walking outside the room. It's only when he almost missed the door and walked right in the wall that he noticed that his eye was also blind in this world. Would that mean Basil- yuck, rather not think about it.

More cautious to not ridiculously walk into a wall, the black haired boy was thinking as he was walking through the corridor. Was all of this just a dream? Did his brain make up a whole new reality just to escape this one?

He nervously throwed his hands inside his pocket, frozing as he felt something against his finger. Sunny slowly grab that thing, and moved it towards his face.

His eyes widened; without any doubt, it was the talisman Hero gave him… so all that adventure wasn't a dream… it really happened…

He didn't realised he was entering a room until voices abruptly stop.

In front of him, he saw Basil, unconscious in his hospital bed, and by his side was Aubrey, Kel and Hero.

Tightening his grip his grip against the talisman to give him some courage, the young man took a step towards his friends, knowing what he had to do. After all this month in this fantasy world, he was ready to face them, to face what he had done, to face himself.

“I have to tell you something.”