Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It has been a couple of days since Owen went through that simple revelation about everything when he made his declaration of war. Scott, of course, seems to be thrilled with the idea of putting fear back into a small town, with Pyro, annoyingly enough, falling in line as if he hadn’t been talking to them earlier about a cure. Shelby, despite her reluctance, seems to accept that the war is inevitable. The most surprising part was Apo joining them. Granted, it’s not shocking. They had been the most determined to keep their humanity, so of course, when the people they were so determined to protect ended up betraying them, that destroyed any other excuse they had to continue to lie to themselves.

Even with these wins, there are still a couple complications. Drift, despite being Scott's fledgling, refuses to join them; there’s still the topic of Cleo playing the middleman, and then there’s Avid.

Stupid pathetic Avid.

Stupid hypocritical little Avid.

Imagine claiming to be a vampire hunter, already sniffing out the vampires and being so determined to kill them, but then willingly being turned just so that he can be healed by the sickness that was killing him. 

When Owen first said that he had the makings of a monster, he was just trying to add a seed of doubt to the community; He didn't expect him to literally follow through with that. If it weren’t for the obvious issues, it would have been hilarious.

But that was not the only thing that stuck out to him. Presuming after Apo’s expulsion, dear Legs did a rather interesting gambit.

He placed himself on the side with the other fledglings, declaring himself to be a vampire and telling the townsfolk that there was no difference between the two and that they shouldn’t let their differences divide them.

It shouldn’t have worked, of course, it shouldn’t. Here was the doctor, a former soldier, trying to convince a town to listen. A town that was currently shaking, scared, picking and choosing, which could stay in, which should go underneath for the delusion of a cure. They cast out Apo, who had been on their side since day one of her transformation. They condemned Pyro, who for all of his sniffling and potential disloyalty is still a useful asset underneath the assumption that he was already a lost cause, They attacked Scott in his own home when the elder vampire’s only goal was to rebuild his home, and trying to manipulate Shelby while burning her and Scott’s house to the ground with the excuse that they believed it to be just Scott’s. The Stake might have been a dirty trick, but he knew that if it were any other vampire, they would’ve gone through with that sort of threat. Yet it worked even with their fears. They actually listen to the doctor, but that’s not the only thing that stuck out to him..

If anything, it was the doctor himself that fascinated him.

Even after witnessing the worst of humanity, from war to this, Legs still showed others kindness. He showed Owen kindness and attempted to throw one of those stupid cures to save him, even when he declared his intent on killing every single person in town.

Owen knows the doctor is bound by oath, but even something like that can be broken against a threat. He literally got a chance to strike him down and yet threw down the ax, determined to save him. He didn’t even accept being turned under the belief that no one could choose people's fates.

It’s funny…

He reminds him so much of Louis before he died. Always caring about others, even if it means getting hurt. Always looking at him with those beautiful green eyes-

Wait…

Owen froze

 Those green eyes…

The round face…

Owen froze, his white hair blowing against the wind as he stood on top of the trees. He thought about the doctor. There are some similarities, but the eyes are always the feature that sticks out to him. Theylook so similar. It was like someone took those eyes and placed them into a similar face. If he took that eyeglass and shaved him and made him only a couple inches shorter. He would’ve been practically a clone of Louis. 

Owen shook his head. He needed to talk to Scott.

Scott was in the remains of the library reading a book. He had to admit Scott never came across to him as the book type. In fact he expected to be dismissed, but even Nobles have to get some form of education, and this is his.

“You have to admit, these fanfics that Shelby has written are pretty good. You should really check it out.”

“Oh?” Owen asked, sitting on the chair nearby, “So where is she and Pryo?”

“Down in the crypt, she’s making some new outfits out of my old clothing. As for Pyro, I think he’s out to get some food.”

Owen took a deep breath. This is a stupid idea. Why is he bothering him over something that probably isn’t even real? He can already see it. Scott telling him that he was being ridiculous, that it was just a hallucination, that his mind was just playing tricks on him, or some stupid rumor among the dead. That he was humiliating himself about a myth that doesn’t even exist.

“You’re just sitting there,” Scott suddenly said,  not even looking up from his book. His voice wasn’t accusatory, just matter of fact, barely showing any annoyance.

“Sorry,” Owen stiffened his back. “I was just nervous.”

Scott chuckled, “You’re nervous,”  he closed the book with a simple gesture that was too graceful for any human to do. “Since when are you nervous?”

Owen sighs, hanging his head, “It was over a dumb idea that  got a simple question.”

“Ohhh, I get it. You don’t like the idea of coming over to me with a bunch of questions like Shelby.”

“Yes, I mean no, it’s more like-”

Scott held his hand up, “It’s fine. No one is judging you.” He then leaned forward, that same confident smile appearing all over his face.

“Now tell your ‘sire’ what’s going on.”

He had to keep himself from growling. Of course, Scott is gonna rub it into his face.

“Well, I was wondering, for being over 1000 years old, you said that you've seen a lot of things.”

“Yep! I learned a lot of interesting things. Some that will even surprise you.”

“Yes, yes, but I was wondering if you have ever heard of reincarnation.”

Scott paused, Owen closed his eyes to take a deep breath before opening his eyes for any steers or laughter to see if he had made a mistake or not, but there was nothing. His eyes were just blank as if he was confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Hypothetically, if someone died a long time ago– like a vampire. Could they then, years later, come back not as a vampire, but as a human? With no memory of their past life? They believe themselves to be human, and they live their own lives among the masses. And then one day they’re…” Owen struggled for a moment. “A friend who has been alive for a while, found him again and recognized them, but they didn't recognize their friend.”

He took a deep breath, even with Scott's nonjudgmental eyes, and it still felt humiliating.

“Is that possible? For a vampire to reincarnate, even with a lack of soul?”

Scott crossed his arms, his frown deepening as he thought about the question, not saying a single word. Was he just about to dismiss it?

Owen quickly got up, “That’s just a dumb question, I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have-

“I have heard some rumors about it.”

As quickly as he gave up, the vampire sat back down, his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“What?!”

He had to keep himself from practically leaping towards the man and demanding how and when he had heard about it.  

“How do you know about-”

Scott shrugged, “It’s just some rumors that I heard before I went into my 600 year sleep, so for all I know I could be just telling you misinformation.”

“You said vampires lie all the time.”

“Intentionally,” Scott said, “But sometimes even I could make a mistake by revealing an unintentional lie; I’m just preparing you.”

“Whatever, tell me what rumors you heard.”

Scott got up from his chair, turning to the remaining books on the wall. “Well, a long time ago, I heard about this woman who loved her three daughters. She was a noble woman, pretty, rich, and came from a good family.” He pulled out a large red leather book, flipping through the pages, “Well, what happened is that  they caught her because she was seen draining the blood from maidens to bathe in because she thought she would look younger.”

He placed the book on the table, revealing a portrait of a beautiful young woman with beautiful red hair surrounded by several young girls.

Owen raises an eyebrow, “She already looks beautiful. Why did she need to bathe in blood to make herself younger?”

“I don’t know, some vampires are weird. I dyed my hair blue before realizing the consequences, and she decided to drain the virgin just so that she could have a nicer skin complexion.”

He rolled his eyes, “People are weird sometimes.”

Owen held his hands up, “Okay, I was just curious.”

“No worries.”

“Well, basically, she lost her family for a while and they locked her up in a tower. She broke out and slaughtered every single person related to why she couldn’t get her children back.”  He leaned back against his chair, “So for a couple of years she attempted to live her life trying to move on and recover, and then one day she encountered three women in a village with a similar appearance to her children.”

He turned the page again, revealing three women sitting on a couch, smiling at the camera, and above them were the three daughters. The resemblance was almost uncanny. Especially the eyes….

“Did she ever get them back?”

“No. When she attempted to, the vampire hunters killed her.”

“Oh…”

Owen placed a hand on the photo. “What are the signs?”

“Well, there are a couple of signs, but most of them are romanticized.” He played with his hair, “As much as I love it. It is important to know that they’re not really the most accurate.” 

“What is it?” Owen asked, ready to take notes.

“The first sign is that they’ll have very similar eyes. For example, if I, god forbid, died one day and I have a new handsome reincarnation,” he chuckled to himself, “That reincarnation’s eyes would also be blue.”

Green eyes that stare at him with kindness, even when offered a chance to strike him down.

“An interesting phenomenon that also happens is that the reincarnation will return to their previous selves' locations. Not because they recognize it or they want to, but subconsciously, as this was their last place before they passed away.”

The doctor explains that he and the other residents just appeared in town by accident, no sinister design or intent. 

“There’ll be a resemblance to them, probably not a carbon copy, but at least enough where you wouldn’t be surprised if they were a distant relative.”

Even with muscle buildup from killing his enemies in war and his height dwarfed Owen’s by a couple of inches. Even with the buzzcut and short goatee, he still had some Louis' features. His round face, square body, slightly crooked teeth, green eyes…

“Lastly, if there’s any, there will be a subconscious attraction, if not familiarity, with any loved ones that they left behind.”

“Let me help you.”

“I promise it won't hurt.” Louis smiled at him, taking his bandaged hand as if it was the most precious thing. “I’ll make sure that when you wake up, I’ll be by your side. You just have to….”

“Trust me”

“Oh…” Owen felt a smile crawl across his lips. Maybe these are just myths, but there were so many similarities that it’s frankly a miracle. Maybe it wasn’t bad luck that he woke up. Maybe it was a gift after all. Out of everyone in town,  the one person who actually showed him some form of kindness has the same soul as the one he loves.

“Could they have some memories from their previous lives?” The question slipped out of him before he could even stop himself from his excitement.

This was the moment where Scott finally laughed, not a quiet one but a loud hearty laugh as he held his arm up, “Owen please, this is a reincarnation! Not someone bumping their head and then forgetting who they are in their mind! They’re not gonna have any memories, they're essentially a different person with the same soul!”

Owen had to keep himself from punching that stupid face as he laughed at his misery. Of course he would laugh, even when he’s kind to him, he would still laugh at his pain. 

 Even then, he couldn’t really blame him. It was such a stupid question, reincarnation, remembering his true self. If that was the case, then Doctor Legs  Louis would’ve been running into his arms by now. He would’ve looked at him as something beautiful rather than something to be fixed.

“I mean, the only thing I can think of,  and this is just me spitballing here, but the only way they could get some memories back is if they became that person again. Like if they start dreaming and they remember some of their past lives, then maybe there’s a chance they could become that person again, or at least a variant of them. They just need a couple of reminders, like a wedding ring or a portrait!” Scott picks up the book and begins to flip through the pages. “It wouldn’t surprise me if there was some sort of spell or something that was created for that purpose...”

“Or they can be trained,” Owen said darkly, smirking a little.

“Yes… technically, that could be possible.” Scott tilted his head. What was Owen planning? He may not know Owen very well, but he can tell just by the look on his face that whatever he’s thinking it’s not gonna be very good.

Owen’s smirk then moved out to a more blank expression as Pyro entered the room, his black and white eyes briefly gave Owens a suspicious glance before trying to Scott with a more puppy eye expression

“Sire, I got you some pig’s blood.” he said, taking out a bottle.

“Not my favorite, but thanks, Pyro. You did good.” 

The fledgling let out a small squeal as he leaned against his Sire. Scott, much to Owen's surprise, raised his arms up and wrapped them around him. It seems like he’s in a pretty good mood despite the events of today. 

Owen watches them closely.  He never got that relationship with Louis when he was a fledgling, but… but if Louis could be one to him… 

Louis would look at him with such affection if Owen were his sire; surely he wouldn’t mind. He’d make sure to treat him well and give him the same kindness that Louis gave him.

This Louis wouldn’t have to be a carbon copy of his previous self.  He just needed enough of his personality and wit to be perfect. 

Owen's mind began to spiral as he thought about it more and more. How could he not notice the first time the fact that Legs Louis had tried to keep the peace in the town, even with Avid’s cries of violence? And the fact that he became a doctor… of course, what better job for him to help people besides being a mayor? And it seems like he has so much deep empathy for them and values their free will, even while knowing the worst of humanity.

And yes… it would be in Louis’s character to pretend to be a vampire to protect a bunch of treacherous fledglings and convince the townspeople not to hurt them. How could he be so blind?

Owen got up on his seat, barely giving the two vampires goodbye, not even looking up at Shelby when she attempted to greet him, nor to Apo as she quietly set up her bedroom,  even when she still gave him a look as if analyzing him. 

But he doesn’t care when he gets a mission.  

There’s a lot that needs to be set up, especially knowing how difficult it’s going to be to free Louis from his previous delusions as Legs.  

He needs to understand what happened to him, to see how much humanity hurt them both, to understand that everything he had done was to avenge him. 

Of course, the shell that calls itself Legs will struggle, refusing to let go of its control over its host, but it will happen eventually. Even with those differences, he can still fix him.

He’ll make sure that by the time he can finally have revenge and slaughter every human and treacherous vampire in town, only this time Louis will be by his side either as a witness or better yet, helping along in the massacre.

 It would’ve been the perfect date night for them. 

He smiled as he changed into his bat form and zoomed towards the direction of Oakhurst.

Well, if Louis really wants to be a vampire…. 

How could he be stupid enough not to repay his kindness by giving this gift back to him?

Chapter Text

Legs sighed as he looked over at the two books on the middle table. Ancient tools surrounded by modern medicine. It’s been days since they first discovered the two books related to a cure, but they’re missing the final one —the third book containing the ingredients to cure vampirism. They searched high and low through the tombs, vaults, and they even dug holes all over the woods, hoping to see a box with a mysterious book in it, but they could barely find anything. The worst moment was Abolish when he found a box in one tomb that looked so similar to all the other ones with the previous books. 

He could still remember how the excitement changed into crushing despair when he opened it, revealing that it was empty. During this time, a theory began to spread among the townsfolk about a certain possibility.

“ Didn't Scott or Owen take it?” Abolish said later on, after the failure.

“ It wouldn’t surprise me,” Cleo frowned, “But I don’t think we have any evidence of these things even working.” 

“ I think it’s at least an idea we should consider, I mean, why would Scott allow us to find a potential weakness?

Legs thought about it would be in character for Scott to sabotage them while still keeping his polite demeanor, acting like an incomplete recipe could do to vampires, to waste everyone time. There’s got to be a another way to get some information about the third part too so they could recreate the third part, or something

His mind briefly went to Sausage’s suggestion

Maybe if we get one of the vampires and run a few tests-

No

Protect the body

protect the town

Protect as many as you can. 

Lose the arm; save the body. 

Lose the leg; save the life.

He's not gonna experiment on them, that wouldn’t be worth the outcome, even if it does mean a cure. He knows how horrifically easy for things to get bad when people begin to use the words greater good or the needs of the money. The road to hell is paved with good intentions after all, and he has seen too many battles where that line of thinking leads to the death of innocent people.

And he’s not going to have the blood of innocence on his hands again.

He yawned, exhaustion already creeping in. Maybe he got a good night's rest, he could get up early and explore the woods for any signs of a cure. Legs reached out towards the books to put away when he heard a knock on his window.

“ You look exhausted, doctor… I honestly feel bad for you.”’

Oh

“Owen”

“Legs”

The doctor ignored the odd tone Owen took on his name. 

“ Are you here for a visit?”He asked calmly, as if talking to an old friend. 

“ Oh no, I’m just here to help. I heard you’re looking for a book.”

As Owen said this, he reached into his inventory and took out a small leather book with some scarring on the front with a small Latin symbol. 

Legs eyes widen in shock.  “You-Owen that the cure!”

“ I know”

The doctor takes a step forward, holding his hands up, “ Owen, listen to me even if you don’t wanna go back to being human. The others at least needed it. Cleo, Drift, and Apo-"

“The same one who you abandoned to our humble mercies?”

“ I didn’t kick them out.”

“ I know you didn’t, she already told us that you were the only one who defended her, keeping her safe while her ‘friends’ goes around telling everyone and their mothers about how she’s a vampire. ” 

Legs’ hands curled up into a pair of fists. But he kept his lips sealed. Even the doctor knew how lucky they were that Apo decided to still help them even after what happened. That could've easily gone so badly. If he didn’t step in, “believe me I wasn’t happy about it.”

“I also heard from a little birdie that you told everyone that you were a vampire just to protect the remaining ones.”

Legs crossed his arms, “So what if I did?”

“I found it so funny~” Owen flicked his claws, his movements smooth, reminding the doctor of a cat. Despite himself, he noted that he was the mouse in the situation, facing a very hungry cat. “You risk your own life just to save a few.”

“That may not be a part of the job description, but I’m used to danger.” Legs pulled a chair out, “Don’t you want to come in?”

“And risk being trapped in a cage to stick your instruments in to look at?” Owen shook his head, “No…I refuse”

“ I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know you won’t, but I can't say the same thing about your pals here.”

Despite his words, Owen took a moment to shift his legs inside his house, just enough to be inside without putting himself at risk. He looked over at the table covered in vials, measuring tools, bottles and most importantly, two old books that made Owen’s skin crawl. “Ah, so that's why you all got so confident lately…”

“As much as we can,”  Legs responded truthfully, making sure to take a step back, his arms raised towards the direction of the books.

 Just in case

“Oh I know you did, all you’re missing is one more book and then all your little dreams and wishes can come true. You get to live out your fantasies of doing the right thing, while the rest of us just wither and die.”

“Owen that-

“Save it~ I know your little speech. You’re very predictable. Not surprised. You’re just a pathetic facsimile of what once was.”

Legs raised an eyebrow, What does he mean by that? Before he could ask Owen suddenly laughed, “You know…I’m willing to make an offer. I might give this to you.,, maybe to see you try and fail or so that we can have an easier time getting rid of the traitors.”

“But….” Legs said cautiously, already sensing that there’s a catch. 

“I want you to meet me one-on -one to talk. Alone” Owen hissed the last part out, “Tell me why we should allow you and the other humans to kill our own and force a cure you don’t even know works. Tell us, and then maybe I’ll consider sparing you and the rest of your friends. Bring anyone else, and you can kiss your precious cure goodbye.” 

He stands up, white hair blowing in the wind as his eyes pierce Legs's soul as if looking for something.

Legs weigh his options closely. This wasn’t the first time meeting with Owen alone. Even after his declaration and the revelation that he has killed over 2000 people, the doctor still attempts to talk to him. He had to admit that for the past few days, He hadn’t really had a chance to fully talk to Owen, both due to the vampires's isolation and also the fact that he was busy helping out two people dealing with their own cases of vampirism, and that’s not even getting to the subject of Avid.

Plus, there's the fact that, besides the militia, he is probably the biggest threat to a vampire. The doctor remembers Cleo’s point during one of their talks, where she pointed out that if she were Scott, he would’ve been the next target to turn and bring to their side.

With his skills and medical knowledge, and the fact that he was a former soldier. He would be a decent weapon on their side.

That thought alone makes Legs shudder in fear. He can't go back to being that person...not again

But at the same time, this is the last piece they all needed, the last piece secures them and saves everyone. Owen stated that it was a gift, that it was something that people came around to appreciate, but he saw the effects that it had on those who didn't want it. He didn’t know Pyro well before he becomes a vampire, but from the little that he saw, he seems to be a jolly fellow with a pension for history and poetry, now he’s seems to be struggling either fawning or shaking in Scott’s presence or lashing out like a rabid animal snarling, and barely could understand the world around him, Apo as he noticed for days after learning about her condition struggle to even eat. Her phobia of blood creates an entire mental block that’s practically starving her. Drift is similarly struggling as well, although not to the extent of Apo. Cleo was the only one have a good head on her shoulders even she happened to her, she can see it on her face, despite her attempts to be stoic the only ones who seem to be all right besides the two older vampires was Shubble and even with him, The doctor stills struggled to imagine such a happy girl lucky girl sucking the life out of animals. 

After a moment, Legs eyes hardened. It might be dangerous, but if there’s a chance that he can figure out a solution that could help everyone, then he’s willing to take the risk.

Throughout history, there have been many choices that people make that would change the course of their lives, forever choices that lead to tragic events, causing people to think about what could’ve happened if one made a different choice. 

Maybe the doctor should’ve noted the smile. 

Maybe the doctor should’ve told at least one person where he’s going. 

Maybe the doctor should have asked a bit more questions. 

Maybe the doctor shouldn’t have taken a deal with a creature whose emotions were twisted and destroyed by years of grief, whose memories of his lover still linger through smoke, flames, and blood.

Maybe the doctor should’ve recognized the devil masquerading under the light

But he didn’t make the decision. For he doesn’t want to miss out on a chance to help the many, even if it cost him.

“Where do you want me to meet you?”

Owen gave him a smile that he had never seen before, one that looked almost happy.  "Down the road near the castle there is a small house. My old humble abode. Meet me there at midnight tomorrow. Bring nothing but your own person. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”

“ I won’t”

“You promise?”

And what was the cost for such a decision?

“ I promise,” Legs replied

Everything, including his sanity

Legundo isn’t stupid, despite his kindness, he’s not a stupid man. As much as he doesn’t want to believe it, he knows enough about Owens to understand that, even if it wasn’t a trap, nothing is stopping the vampire from doing something to him out of anger. So he already got a back up plan in place.

In his bag, he packed a small silver dagger and chewed a bit of garlic.

With some effort, he managed to open up the floorboards and pack up all his equipment in the book into a decent-sized trunk and lock it with a small key. He then put the key under his pillow before putting the floorboards back. And as he left his home with a small lantern. Legs left a note on his door

I’m going out. Owens wants me to meet me at his old house near the castle. If I don’t get back to town before morning, I probably got captured or bitten.  If that happens, look under my pillow for the key.

If Legs had paid attention more, he would’ve noticed a slight drift behind him. That wasn’t the wind. He would’ve realized that the white hair of a particularly fanatical fledgling was spying on him on Scott’s orders.

With that, he then left, passing houses, the tavern, and finally the gates of the town itself. His journey was tumultuous, avoiding overgrown wilted roses and vines, staring at the makeshift map that Owen had made to verify his journey. But that’s not the only thing he does as a final way to make sure that he figure out a way home before he left he picked up some shiny pebbles and as he went down the path to getting off the path to going deep into the woods he threw a couple, creating a makeshift trail to get his way back home just like the fairytales he used to read as a boy.

He briefly wondered if he was like the children in the story. Was he Hansel? The young resourceful boy, who also used pebbles and later on breadcrumbs to figure out his and his sister’s way back home, and when he found himself trapped by a witch who wants to eat him, so he used the bones of a previous victim to make himself look skinny, even as she’s fattening him up, or was he is Gretel? Someone who, despite seeming young, and even with the terrifying circumstance, uses her quick wit to finally shove the witch into the oven, saving herself and her brother. 

Now the question that Leg is wondering is whether there is even a way to reason with the witch herself, to keep himself from becoming food

After what felt like an eternity, he saw the first hint of light. His eyes widened. Was he here? Despite himself, he rushed in the direction, pushing through bushes and thorns to get to the source of the light.

When he arrived, he found himself in front of a small house. Vines were covering many parts of it with a couple of trees, even through the windows. He even noticed that one of the tree roots had grown to the point that the house had a slight tilt to it as if the force itself was trying to destroy the remains of it. 

It seems like Mother Nature, herself, was trying to erase the memories of this place.

Legs stepped forward towards the entrance and pressed his hand against it. It opened with a slight creak, allowing him to step inside.It looked just as disheveled. Rays of moonlight came out of holes in the wall. There was an old table, knocked to the side with something growing on it, and some of the chairs seemed to be broken. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a small room that only had a mattress covered in yellowish and brown stains with hints of mold 

“ I guess there’s a reason why you decide to live in the castle with Scott…” Legs whispered. He spotted something else. A trap door. He stepped forward, reaching down to tug at the door. It opened with a slight groan, revealing a small ladder he took to the side of it. He’s getting way too old for this. He began his descent. His old training gave him the agility and balance needed to keep himself from falling.

One

Two

Three

Step 

by

Step

by 

Step

by

Step.

Once he reached the bottom, he found himself in a dark room that barely even let in light to see. He was surprised by the state of everything. As much as he hated to admit it, he was expecting to face some sort of killing room, filled with dry blood, with the body parts of anyone unfortunate enough to fall into Owen’s wrath; instead found himself in a perfectly preserved sitting room, straight out of the 1600s-1700s. Everything, from the walls to the desk and even the books on the shelves, looked like something out of a museum. He took a look around, placing a hand on the desk

“So that’s where you come from,” He whispered to himself. 

He began to calculate, it would make sense since he stated that he’s been around for 200 years, and Scott confirmed that he’s been here for over 1000 years, so that would confirm the fact that Owen was the younger party of the two and former is most likely the main sire. But Owen said someone else turned him and If Scott was asleep until recently…

Then who was the one who turned Owen?

As if to answer his question, he heard a loud thud behind him. Legs flipped around almost by instinct. His hands reached towards his dagger, but he stopped himself. It was just a book on the shelf. He picked it up carefully. 

He was just making himself nervous for no reason. Furthermore, he didn't look up beside him and found herself looking eye to eye with… himself?

No.

The young man in the portrait looks a bit different from him. His skin got a slight blush; he was skinny, unlike his large frame, with no facial hair; it was long with a slight ponytail. His hair was brown, but there was already white coming across it. Just like Owen before, he leveled up on his blood,

But everything else? If he were to push it, he would say that he’d look like a distant ancestor. This man couldn't be any younger than him. He was wearing a bright smile, as even in his worst days, he could never be cruel to anyone.

But what stuck out to him were his  bright emerald eyes that sparkled in the light, making the smile stick out even more than before.  Like his own once upon a time before years of war, and watching good people die. It drained the happy-go-lucky light into a more stoic form.

“Funny…” He placed his hand against it“ it kinda looks like me…”

“Of course it does. Because you and him are the same.”

Legs eyes widened in shock as Owen's voice continued to monologue, still invisible.

“I have to admit, even after my conversation with Scott I still couldn’t believe it. I thought it was just a result of a broken mind just looking for patterns that are not there. So I had to bring you here. To my personal sanctuary. Risking my own life just to see if it’s true to see if I was just hallucinating or if it is true that my beloved is here and now seeing you here next to this portrait, it confirms it! After 200 years! 200 years since the fire consumed you!”

Legs took a step back, out of all the scenarios he could prepare for, he couldn’t have prepared for this! It’s now so clear to him what was happening to Owen. He was suffering from a very complex and horrible delusion. 

He needs to get out of here, but…. the third book .Maybe if he just follows along, he could at least convince him to calm down, and they could actually talk and once he got the third book, he can get out of here and-

Before the doctor could react, he felt a pair of hands grab him, causing him to drop his bag, causing the items to scatter across the floor. Legs found himself face-to-face with Owen. His red eyes filled with a sharp light that he had never seen in his previously sad eyes before. A crazed one

“I can now see it.  You finally have returned, reborn!” He gave him a sad smile as he brushed his hand against his face, “Oh, Louis, you look as beautiful as that day I lost you…”

Legs were frozen; he could barely react as Owen studied him. Feeling up his arms, then chest, then back to his face. He grabbed his cheeks, forcing the man who turn side to side.

Owen still kept that blank, broken smile as he continued, “There are a couple of differences: the scarring, you're a bit taller than you once were, and the muscles…but I can make this work…. I’ll make sure you’ll heal up and free yourself from this false identity.”

“Owen… I know you’re upset about Louis, but I’m not him. He’s already gone. Just let me go and  I can help you! Just give me the third book and let me go. I'll take you back to my clinic and I will help you through this!”

“ Oh no I’m fine now I just see the truth clearly . Soon you will too. ” Owen laughed, “and even after seeing the worst of humanity, you still try to help them even if it means making a cure that would’ve killed you…”

He looked down at the items on the ground

“ I’m  disappointed in you. I told you not to bring any weapons, and yet you did, and garlic?!” He shook his head slowly, “Those humans really poisoned you against me…”

“Owen….”

“ Is there anyone outside Louis? I would be really upset if that was the case, not at you, of course, but are the ones using you as bait,” he tapped his chin. “ Maybe I should go visit those fledglings and deal with them first.”

Legs begin to struggle more. He can’t let him hurt any more innocent people! Not on his watch!

“ Theres no one!” Legs screamed, “I was just trying to protect myself! I’m sorry, I was worried. I was worried about leaving them behind, so I just…. Just left a note so that just in case I don’t get back, they can know where I went. They don’t know where I am right now!”

Owen stared at him, his face blank, and each second felt like an eternity, but then that same terrifying grin returned.

“Ahhh, I should be more subtle. I was hoping that this room would remind you, you’re still not the same. You’re just a reincarnation.”

Legs blinked, reincarnation?! That myth?! What the heck is he talking about? 

Was…. Was that why Owen is acting this way? Did he read something about it, or did Scott put it in his head in some sick attempt to play some sort of game?

He didn’t have a chance to ask before Owen pushed him against the chair sitting on top of him. He immediately attempted to push them away, but it was like fighting against a large cat. Each attempt was met with further resistance.

He then felt Owen’s hand reach towards his head and push it to the side, revealing the marks on his neck that he had left days ago. The marks that now felt more like a brand than anything before.

“ I’m not going to bite you if that's what you’re worried about, Louis,” Owen said, as if reading his mind. “ I respect your consent more than anything.”

Legs begin to relax a little

“That's why I’m going to bring you back somewhere safe where you can gain your memories back with my help, and then once you feel ready, I will change you into your previous form, this time as my fledgling.” Owen let out a sigh barely noticing the horror in Legs’s eyes, “I’ll give you everything you could’ve ever wanted, and I’ll make sure that you will live the life that we deserve.”

“Please….” He whispered

“Please, what?” Owen's eyes widened with hope, leaning forward. Waiting for the words that could allow him to change him

“If you’re going to take me, please don’t hurt anyone back in Oakhurst. I don’t consent to becoming a vampire,” the doctor looked away “But if it means protecting everyone else, I’m willing to do it.

Owen frowns, “That’s not what I wanted. I don’t want you to say yes just to sacrifice yourself for some random humans.” 

He stared at him with narrowed eyes, “I want you to make that choice willingly. But if you’re not, Louis, I’ll make sure that you will be somewhere safe so that they won’t take you away from me again.

Before he could ask where, the Doctor felt something press against his face with a sickly sweet smell. Immediately, he struggled, attempting to remove the cloth from him, but Owen just kept pressing it down, watching as his flailing limbs began to slow down, his rapid breathing slowed into a slight beat, his green eyes turned glassy and fluttered. The last thing he saw before he fell into a deep sleep was Owen’s face still smiling at him, gently holding it as if it were the most beautiful thing in the world. The words that he whispered into his ears were more terrifying than any threats that the vampire uttered against the townsfolk.

“I’ll get you to remember me again, and then we can be together forever.”

Chapter Text

When Owen first came to him asking about reincarnation and whether is it possible for someone to remember a past life from their time as a vampire Scott already knew that, whatever Owen was planning, he was probably doing something crazy.

He initially thought of Owen as one of the many townsfolk who were unfortunate enough to find themselves alone with him. He was sulky and always wearing a grimace, as if something had died. He was hardly an interesting fellow, not showing at least half the entertainment value as all the others. Even Avid and his accusations of murder at least evoked some emotion out of him. So when Owen and Pyro decided to go to the lake with him, Scott was already prepared to have two delicious meals and potential fledglings. Imagine his surprise when the sad limp noodle of a man was actually a sad limp noodle of a vampire. And they had to share a meal rather than getting a two-for-one for themselves.

To say it was a bit annoying would be an understatement, but to be honest, it was kind of fun having another vampire to hang out with as they chased down his soon-to-be fledgling down the river. 

Even after days of staying together, he still doesn't know what to make of him. He can tell that he was angry, unsurprising, considering that he’s essentially a fledgling without a sire. A lamb without its shepherd. The fact that he hadn’t died days after massacring the town is frankly a miracle in itself. 

While Owens could deny it all he wants, Scott can see that a part of him was happy to have a coven. To have a family or at least a group of allies by his side. However, ever since he asked to talk to Pryo alone, he began to withdraw from everyone else, putting up barriers after being so much more open for the past few days. When Scott talked to Pyro about it, the younger admitted that he was a bit disrespectful towards Owen, but didn’t know anything else. This annoyed Scott.  He was hoping that Owen would’ve been more open by now, and whatever Pyro did, it probably caused him to close up even more.

Scott knew that Owen was holding back, that even with his fears of abandonment, there was still enough anger that, if he could, he could raze every human and vampire to the ground in a fit of blind rage.

For the elder vampire, this would be a problem if Owen suddenly felt slighted and decided to attack him in some form of misplaced revenge. But, before he could even come up with a plan to fully manipulate him, Owen already went to him, asking him such a fascinating question, leading to an even more bizarre conversation about reincarnations, and if vampires can come back as humans in another life.

By the time he left the room, Scott was placing mental bets in his mind on what crazy crap Owen was about to do, something like figure out a resurrection spell or attempt to kidnap someone. To be honest, he was placing his bets between Martyn or Avid.

And he was hoping that it was Avid, just to see the look on his face, but seeing Martyn just as scared after the crap he pulled would be just as fun.

So when the next morning came with Owen walking out with a pep in his step and he wrapped his arm around Scott’s body (much to Pyro’s dismay), asking to meet him at the Crypt, he already knew that Owen was successful in whatever sinister plot he had.

“So who is the lucky fellow?” Scott chirped as the two entered the stone halls of the grave site.

“It was Legs” Owen replied, “That’s the creature who decide to take Louis soul for itself”

Scott hummed, “Ah, the doctor?”

The elder vampire remembers his conversation with the man shortly after his little attempt to persuade the people in the village. Out of everyone there, he was certainly the oddest. Avid, at least, can be described as an annoying little bugger, and he described most of the militia as a bunch of fools who couldn’t even fight through a paper bag, let alone a powerful agent like himself. You know that it’s bad when the only competent person among them was juggled between Ren and Apo, and he was 99% sure that the latter had most of the brain cells.

But Dr. Legundo… is very unusual indeed.

Most of the time, when Scott talked to someone they would fall easily to his charms. They could be persuaded by his logic, sure it’s difficult for some but, eventually, they usually understood. Even Mr. M, despite being part of the militia, was entirely convinced to become a vampire; the only reason why he didn’t fall underneath his teeth was simply because the people around him practically had to drag him away from Scott. 

Surely, a former soldier who became a doctor to clean himself from his sins, could be convinced that giving up his human side would be easy! From his experience former soldiers tend to be the easiest to persuade. From the path of righteousness to the wonderful life of darkness.

Instead, all he got was a very weird conversation where every time he pointed out a flaw in humanity or the man’s logic the man doubled down on his beliefs, saying that he’s not gonna change himself just because of some bad people and that he won’t be doing any more harm. To be honest Scott already started to tune him out after he repeated it the third time. He was so boring and virtuous! 

There was also a small, a very small part, but still a small part of Scott that couldn’t help being nervous about it. A human who could look at the darkest parts of humanity in the eye and still side with it; and, more over, a human who is currently looking for a cure for a gift that doesn’t need one with the skills and training to possibly do that.

Even if there is no cure, that is still a very dangerous person to allow walking around. Especially if they are close to what they believe is one. So, to feel such a threat, there were two options that he was considering at that point: Transforming him is a good one, besides if he was so determined for a cure, isn’t that even more of an incentive to continue? And if it destroys him? Scott can simply pick up the pieces and mold him into something better. Of course, the second option is to kill him and get it over with, using him simply as a reminder to the town folks what happens if they step out of line. However, this… this is way better. 

He hadn’t felt the bond that usually come about from another vampire in his coven turning another, so apparently the doctor was still human.

“So Owen… you're planning on finally getting a fledgling?” He asked, his voice light.

“Yes. But I want him to give himself up willingly with his full heart.”

Scott rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue. “So where is he? He didn’t run before you could fully introduce him?”

“Nope, I put him into the Crypt,” Owen said casually, “He’s at the end of the hall as far away from anyone who could hurt him. I can't let him get out before he’s ready.”

Scott raised an eyebrow, “So you’re planning on keeping him here?”

“Of course! To protect him!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” His voice uncharacteristically concerned.

Owen’s eyes narrowed at him in suspicion. “Do you care?”

Scott’s expression gave way to a sinister grin, “No.”

The two vampires stare at one another.

“How do you plan on keeping this a secret from the others?” He then asked.

“Just tell them that I’m currently making a study room here, and then, once I can trust that Louis’s vessel wouldn’t try to escape, I’ll let them see him.”

“All right, I'll tell them not to go to this area without your permission,” Scott agreed, much to Owen’s relief.

Then Owen suddenly wrapped his arms around him, giving  him a big hug. The elder vampire stared at the younger vampire in shock. Out of everything that he expected the younger vampire to do, this wasn’t one of them.

“Thank you.”

“Hey! Now this is getting weird!” Scott cried out, holding his hands up, “Who are you and what did you do with the real Owen?!”

“I just got the most important person back! Can you at least act like you’re happy for me?”

“I am happy for you, but can you at the very least act a little gloomy?! A little sinister?!”

Owen laughed, “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

“Thank you!” Scott stretched his arms, “I know that you don’t trust Pyro and Shelby…”

“It's a bit of a mixed bag. I know that she wouldn’t judge, but you know how she gets about consent. I’m just worried that the Legs creature will prey on her kindness and convince her to open the door. As for Pyro…” Owen’s eyes darkened, “I already told you my thoughts about him.”

“You did.” Scott said dismissively, “I will say I think it would at least be a good idea to have him help you out.”

Owen’s eyes widened. He was about to open his mouth to argue, but Scott stopped him.

“Hear me out. I can understand you not trusting him, especially with the way that he’s been acting, but after I disciplined him, he’s been desperately trying to get my approval. All I have to do is order him not to tell anyone else and focus on helping out occasionally, and he will obey. His only job would be to give Legs some food and water. Nothing else.”

“His name is Louis.”  Owen's eyes narrowed into slits, “I’m not going to indulge in that shell name.”

Scott held his hands up in surrender, “Okay! I won't call Louis Le-I mean what name–” he said when Owen glared at him, “As for our most difficult members. Apo and Cleo are going to be out of the loop. If either one of them even gets a hint of what’s going on, they will be on your butt to try to get you to let him go, if not straight up take him back themselves.”

Owen had to keep himself from growling at the thought of one of these two deciding to take away his beloved, just out of some delusion of justice.

“Good. I’m willing to allow Pyro to give him food. Shelby will be told once Louis is a bit more used to everything and Apo and Cleo…” His eyes narrowed, “Make sure they keep away.”

Scott smiles at that, he’s not going to interfere too much, but with the way Owen is acting, he might as well try to help out as much as he can. This was way too fascinating to allow to just fail.

“Of course.”

The boots slog over the mud  as rain pours down on the soldiers as they march over towards the barracks. The weather matches the mood among the soldiers. So many died and not even an acre of land was earned through their sacrifice.

Legs already smell blood in the air before they even entered the tent carrying the moaning wounded and dying inside, dropping them on the creaking beds for the lucky and thin blankets on the floor for the unlucky. While the nurses rush over towards soldiers on the beds, the doctor picks up his bag and looks over at his patients. All of them with so many different injuries. Some covered and cut and bruised, others with arms and legs practically hanging by the thread. Neck wounds, head wounds, burns and melted flesh caused by those new chemical weapons that just make things so much worse.

 It was like every few years war get more horrific anytime a ruler decided that a piece of land, a piece of gold or even just good old-fashioned revenge (the most worthless cause of them all) is worth the lives of millions.

A nurse led him over towards the first patient. Apparently, she was dealing with a neck injury and needed stitches immediately. The doctor nodded, already, pulling his gloves over his hands and grabbing his kit, before walking over towards the soldier. He didn’t know what he expected, already preparing for all the worst case scenarios.

On the table was-Apo?!

Legs blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out if this was a hallucination or something else, but no, it was her. Except she looked lifeless. Even after she was transformed into a vampire, there was still a hint of life in her, even if it was naturally perverted into something more uncanny. There was humanity there that allowed him to recognize it. 

But this version looked completely lifeless. Her eyes were dull and gray, barely holding any of the macaron color that was once there. Her hair, once a lively, dark red color, was now a limp shadow of its former self, and her clothing were torn in several different places covered in mud and blood. But it wasn’t that that made him look away. It was her neck which was cut so deeply that he was surprised that she wasn’t straight up decapitated. Her mouth was stuffed with garlic, and on her chest was a large pointed stake, piercing where her heart would’ve been. 

The nurse didn’t seem to notice his reaction, just continuing on speaking, “Doctor is the patient…?”

“She’s dead,” he whispered, stumbling away, “she’s-what the hell happened to her?”

“She’s a vampire” the woman said, strange and giddy as it changed into Ren distorted voice, ”She was trying to live among us, don’t you know, and she was a danger. So we had to do what needed to be done.”

Legs let a large gasp as he sat up in bed, sweat dripping down his face. He's not there… He’s not back on the battlefield. Apo is not dead. She’s alive or somewhat alive, but she’s not dead. She’s safe. They’re all safe. He’s home.

He then noted the gray stones on the wall.

This wasn't his home.

He looked down, realizing that he had been sleeping on a fancy looking bed that was so much bigger than the small mattress and wooden bed frame back at his house. He was wrapped around in a red and black blankets. He struggled against them, as they were tightly wound around him, before getting free and jumping off the bed, revealing that a long red nightgown over his large form and a bandage around his arm.

Since when did he put this on ? Did… did Owen change his clothes?! How did his arm get injured?! 

He looked around. Despite the gray rocks of the chambers it looks like Owen had done his best to make it as homely as possible. There were books on a large shelf, some that he initially thought were lost in the shuffle of everything and several other books that he thought were out of print for decades. There was a small table at the corner of the room with some of his medical equipment (with that same chair that Owen knocked him out with Legs noted) and lastly, there was a small trunk with a note on top of it that said:

Dear Louis, I got you a couple of outfits for when you wake up, darling. I hope they fit. It has been a few hundred years since you have worn those.

Legs raising an eyebrow as he opened the trunk, revealing a series of clothing that the doctor knew was way out of his league, if not price range.

“What the…”

He held up a black vest and studied it closely. On the back of it, he can read the fancy cursive stitched into the hem: Louis

“This is a problem.”

 He sat down on the bed, looking at the vest in his hand, trying to ignore his racing heart and nerves. He should’ve realized that Owen was getting more unstable. Obviously, there was a problem with the fact that he had declared to everyone that he was responsible for the previous massacre 200 years ago. Still, despite everyone else’s fears, he still believed that Owen was not a dangerous animal but a person suffering from something debilitating. He has seen enough battles to understand what hunger can do to a person. 

He also had seen enough cases to understand how grief could affect people.

Combine them both with a supernatural illness?

Then you get a distressing combination.

He lean back against his bed, his chest tightened making it harder to breathe.

Legs needs to keep focus

“Okay Legs you’re probably here in the castle…” he looks over at the bars on the door. “Obviously a cell… and you’re dealing with a very sick person so you need to stay calm because someone with this… this type of delusion will obviously not be the most stable. You’re currently kidnapped, so you need to take this bit by bit.”

 He slowly got up from the bed . “Create a routine. Keep yourself steady.”

He stumbled to the trunk. 

“Find something normal.”

He searches for the clothing, trying to look for something similar enough to his old tunic and apron back at home . 

“You’re Legundo.”

He pulled out a ruffled white shirt and a pair of black slacks

“You’re a doctor from Oakhurst.”

He took off his nightgown to change into that more fancy shirt

“You used to be a soldier–”

He began to fix his bed and clean up the room a little with a small broom.

“But you left that life behind.”

“You’re now a doctor.”

He washed his face with the bucket.

“You have friends at home who need you.”

“And you’re here to make a cure to help them and so many others. Including the one who needs it the most.”

he heard a creek on the door beside him as a familiar cloak figure came in with a basket. 

“Don’t forget who you are.”

“You're finally awake,” Owen's eyes lit up and at that moment Legs’s heart broke even more. He looks so happy to see him. Yet he knows that he wasn’t seeing him for him.

“So, how are you doing? I hope you aren’t too overwhelmed by everything.” Owen took a couple steps forward, his thin frame shaking. “I’m sorry about what happened last night. That shell was acting up.”

“Oh?” Legs made it a point to ignore the comment, “Well, it’s kind of hard not to be overwhelmed when you get kidnapped.”

“I rescued you.” Owen said, “I know it's a lot since you’re in a new time with a bunch of people you barely recognize in a village that has changed so much, but it’s better this way. You’ll stay here until you feel a bit better and then once that happens, you’ll be allowed to go outside again.”

“Yeah because that doesn’t sound creepy at all,” Legs muttered.

Owen pointingly ignored that part, picking up his basket “Are you hungry? I got you a couple of apples and bread.” He handed it over to Legs. “Not the greatest breakfast, but it’s better than being on an empty stomach.”

“Sure.” Legs picked up a piece of bread and took a small bite of it, trying his best, not to look at Owen’s direction as he ate his food. “So… how’s everyone down in the village?” 

Owen smirked, “Oh you know how humans are, they're panicking; and it seems like people are getting suspicious of Cleo…”

Oh. 

“W-Why?” 

“You were the last person she saw that night. Plus, Pyro may have left a few items in her house. Pearl, Abolish and even Avid are trying to calm everyone down but…. With everything that I saw,” He tilted his head, “I don’t know if that will work.”

“Owen! You can’t do this. I know that you’re upset, but you can’t hurt them. They didn’t do anything to you.”

“It wasn't me, Louis. It’s just Pyro being stupid with his tricks!”

“And who gave him those orders?! You and Scott talk about wanting to burn Oakhurst to the ground!” He began to walk towards the door, “And my name is Legundo, not Louis!”

Owen's eyes twitched before suddenly blocking Legs’ path, “That is not your name, Louis. That’s just something that was given to you.”

“That’s how names work.” 

“Whatever. Louis, please, did you never think about why you ended up here?” Owen took Leg’s arm and gently led him back to the bed, “Something brought you here. Fate, Destiny…”

“Getting lost? Try to live my later life away from the blood and gore of war?”

“Heh, you were never a part of a war when I knew you. It disgusts you. In fact, you helped a lot of people try to escape from it.”

“Really?” Despite himself, he allowed Owens to sit him down on the bed.

“Yes. You told me a bit about that experience.” Owen leaned back on the bed. “You always help anyone who needs a drink. Do you remember all the times you saved the people who needed it, giving the same gift to any who are dying and giving those who are healthy a chance to rest and get food before either helping them get back home or offering them a place in Oakhurst. There was barely a life lost when you’re around.”

Leg scoot away from Owen, placing a hand around his neck, “Oh…”

“I know that you’re uncomfortable… especially considering your current life… I don’t know why the heavens decide to punish you by forcing you into war and deal with such the worst of humanity, but look at you, you managed to push through it, and now you’re here.”

“I don’t have a choice. The best way is to move forward.”

“And you didn’t want to take revenge against the people who hurt you?” He asked. “The ones who let people die.”

“Believe me, it’s demoralizing to deal with people who only care about land over actual people!” Legs yelled, surprising both Owen and even himself with his angered tone. He took a couple of deep breaths before continuing, "But I don’t want revenge. I just want to make up for what I have done.”

Owen smiled at this. Legs tries his best not to shudder at it. Was he taken in by his honesty? Or was it the anger that attracted him more? 

“Can you tell me a bit about what your past?” Legs then asked.

“I thought I already told you that.”

“I mean, like how did you meet Louis ?”

Owen pressed his lips together, but didn’t say anything.

“How did we meet?”

“I visited you trying to get a new mill built for Oakhurst. You treated me so kindly, barely even shuddered at my appearance, treated me like a person unlike all the rest. And we kept on talking afterward. And slowly we fell in love… Do you remember those meetings?” His hands tighten on Legs’s shoulders, his heart skipped a beat.

“The times we were watching the stars,” Owen continued. The hands went down his arms, “The little things that we talk about, about the books that you would show me, the lunches. The little jokes. The way you snorted when you laugh.”

He wrapped his arms around his chest and hips. It took all of Legundo strength not to throw him off. He just needs to endure it until he can just get him to snap out of it, and then they can pretend this never happens. He began to take several deep breaths as Owen continued to caress him, trying his best to not panic or show any weakness to him.

“We have all the times when we would come together.” He leaned forward towards the doctor, his lips close to his neck, close to the marks where he has bitten him in a moment of trust.

“Do you remember the moment when you revealed to me your secret and when you offered me a way to heal? A better way to live, rather than being in the shadows.”

Legs stumble back, his heart racing. His resolve finally cracking  “I-I can’t. I’m sorry I just…. I just don’t remember. I’m not him.”

Owen looked away, if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought that all the blood that he stole went to his face. 

“I should have known,” He growled, jumped off the bed. “Just take the time to rest and eat your food.”

He then took a moment to caress Legs head, “I think you would look a lot more beautiful with longer hair, don’t you think?”

“No, thank you, I’d rather keep it short. For personal and professional reasons.”

Owen smirked,“ Right, we’ll cross that path when the time comes.”

With that, Owen gave him a slight kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll see you soon my love,” he chirped before leaving the room, shutting the door closed leaving him alone again

Legs hummed, rubbing his cheek, try his best to to keep calm, “Okay… that was interesting.”

The conversation could’ve been worse, but it could’ve been better. He turned to the door, helping Owen out of the delusion is going to be tough, especially since it’s clear that it’s being reinforced, sadly. 

How much are the other vampires enabling it? 

His face began to scrunch up the more he thought about it, as much as he doesn’t want to believe it, it would make sense for there to be some reinforcement. Shelby  wouldn’t encourage it, neither would Apo, but he doesn’t really have that same amount of faith towards Scott. Knowing that guy, he probably saw it as a sick form of entertainment, his personal little madman.

Legs felt the urge to punch the wall at the thought.

No.

Bad idea.

The last thing Legs needs is to bring more attention to himself with how unsteady everything is. He just needed to put his head down, and then hopefully once the time to escape comes up again he can get out of here. The doctor looked up among the bookshelf, maybe there’s something among here that could help him, at least something can tell him more about Louis or maybe even something else. He can at least try to figure out if Owen took one of his journals so if Apo end up here, he can give it to her to get to the others so they could continue with the cure. Just those calculations and two books alone wouldn't be enough

He didn’t know how long while he read for some of the books (he even found his journal from his time in Oakhurst) before the door opened again. He looked up expecting to see Owen again only for it to be the white haired form of Pyro dragging along a trunk while holding a basket.

“Good afternoon, doctor,” he said casually, “have you eaten your breakfast?”

“Only a little bit.” He handed the breakfast basket back over towards Pyro as the vampire handed him the new basket with a sandwich and a small bottle with water in it.

“Is the meat raw or…?”

“I cooked it. It doesn’t smell as good as before, but Owen told us that you haven’t turned yet so we need to give you mortal food for a bit before we can give you blood like the rest of the brood.”

Legs hummed, “Brood?”

“Oh, it’s what I’ve been calling our little coven…”

“Ah,” he looks over at the trunk that he was carrying. “What’s that?”

“Oh, I just grabbed some items from your house after you left.” He smiled as if  proud of himself, “You probably heard about my little adventure.”

“I did,” Legs cried out, his voice was sharp as he slammed his sandwich down. “Why did you do that?!”

“Oh, you know, Sire wanted to make sure to have some fear in the village and I wanted to help out. Why should they be able to hide themselves when they abandoned Apo to the wolves. I may not be the best roommate and Apo may have hidden Truffle and burned our old house down, but isn’t that a bit hypocritical on their part?”

“That’s not fair!”

“I know it’s not to you doctor. You were the kindest out of everyone. I just don’t get why you want to save people who don’t want to be saved.”

“Because everyone deserves to be saved, including you, including Owen!” He pointed at the door, “Don’t you see what’s happening to him?! He’s going through a mental break and I don’t know if anyone here know what’s happening or even is attempting to help him!”

“Sire and I know,” they said in such an unconcerned way, “but I just need to ask: what’s wrong with it?”

Legs sat there, stunned, as Pyro continued, “I don’t like Owen, and he doesn't like me, but you make him happier. Just today I saw him just beaming, and he was talking to me and Shelby like we were family. He was talking to me like I was family… And Sire is happier when he’s happy. The only one who seems to be struggling, besides you, is Apo, and she’s already reluctant to accept the gift–” He tilted his head towards the doctor “–As a medical professional, don’t you think that your patients' happiness is more important than your own?”

“It is, but not like this… never like this.”

The historian shook his head, “Well, you’re still learning, doctor. I promise you, eventually when the time comes, and you realize how much Owens loves you, you’ll eventually bear your neck for him.”

He set down the trunk on the ground.

“But if you feel like you would rather go back to that life, I brought you some items that you might need. Besides, I think that they would be better underneath our lock and key.”

He turned around, “Goodbye Louis, I hope to see you later.”

Pryo might as well punch him in the gut as he left that room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He should've known that Scott was encouraging this. He should've known that the elder vampire would’ve always been involved in this. Who knows what that bastard is doing to him! He needs to figure out how to get out of here and find a cure. He can help Owen and everyone else. Maybe once Owen becomes human, he can realize what’s happened and he can make up for everything.

The trunk sat there in the middle of the room, acting like a giant barrier between himself in the door. He frowned. Wait…

 When Legs took a  closer look at it it clicked for him 

He felt his heart sink to his stomach when he noticed the key on top of it. 

Oh no.

With shaking hands, he picked up the key and placed it into the lock before turning it. When he opened the box, he had to stop himself from collapsing into the floor in horror..

All of his research into vampirism was in there, including the two books that brought so much hope to Oakhurst. 

The cures are with him like he wanted–

But now the last hope for everyone’s humanity is buried underground away from the light, under the watchful eye of the elder vampire.

And there was a note in the middle of the equipment, written in a form of English that was extinct for so many years:

Keep trying doctor.

Chapter Text

When Cleo usually wakes up in the morning, one of the usual things she had to worry about would be if a coyote got into the hen house or if her mother is having one of her fits again, she usually had an answer if not by noon at least by the end of the day. She is very used to being calm under pressure even during the worst of times, trying to find a good solution. When Pyro turned her into a vampire, the first thing she did was to try to control of her instincts  while keeping Apo and her safe. Legs was willing to help after she explained to him everything, and they worked together to find the cure to the curse that had plagued her family for a generation. Of course, she didn’t expect things to go swimmingly, especially with Owen’s suspicions of her and Martyn's impulsive actions after Apo revealed herself to him leaning to Apo’s ‘ banishment’ or more accurately her mission to infiltrate the vampires from the inside. 

Cleo was really good at thinking on their feet, but also really hated nonsense.

So when she woke up to a silver sword pressed against her neck and several members of the militia surrounding her with garlic, swords, and wooden stakes. She wonders what problem is happening now for them to suddenly decide that she’s worthy of this.

“How long!” Mr. M growled.

“Dude, it’s not Cleo. She was with me all night!” Pearl argued, attempting to pull him away from her.

“We can't just accuse someone with just circumstantial evidence!”

“The vampires are really quick, don’t you know, especially with the evidence in her drawers, who else could’ve done that?” 

“Good morning to you too, Ren.” Cleo said, casually, as if she was not being threatened.

“What happened between you and Legs last night?” Martyn asked, his arm shaking as he held his torch close to his chest.

“He gave me some food, and we had a little talk about everything that was happening and the progress of the cure.”

“And nothing else?” Avid asked, biting into some garlic.

“No.”

Ren sighed, “Well, when we went by the doctor’s house for a visit we found it empty and torn apart. The floorboards were torn to pieces. The bed was turned upside down and there was blood everywhere, we found a torn up note that mentioned if anything happened that a vampire got him because he was being stalked by one for a week now.”

Cleo raised an eyebrow, that doesn’t sound in character for the doctor. Sure he had always been very meticulous, so for him it's not necessarily odd, but which specific vampire? Unless he was trying to visit Owen, but there was no way he was putting himself in that much danger.

“OK, then, so what does this have to do with me?” Cleo asked, “I’ve never had a reason to attack him, and I need the cure.”

“That’s what we thought too.” Martyn murmured.

“Until we saw this…”

Avid shakily handed Sausage a small bag which the author quickly pulled out the three main pieces of evidence.

What they held in their hands was something that even shocked the normally stoic farmer. In their hands was a long Band-Aid covered in blood, several torn pages from Legundo’s journal, along with her sword that she was 99% sure was covered in blood.

“We discovered the pages along the path towards your house. Pearl tried to stop us from coming in, but then when we checked in your drawers, these two items were the first things we saw.”

Cleo didn’t know whether she should be laughing or screaming.

“I didn’t do it.” She said attempting to get up from bed, but Ren’s axe press forward, keeping her from getting up.

“This is a temporary measure until we can fully figure this out, but we can’t let you wander around until then.”

Pearl let out a gasp, “What do you mean? I’ve been with her all night! Besides a couple of pigs that she killed, she hasn’t killed anyone! She has been doing nothing but helping everyone, even when she got bitten.”

“And you've kind of been on house arrest too, Pearl.” Sausage said. “At least to double-check if she has turned you or not.”

“Oh my God!”

“Aren’t we being a bit harsh,” Abolish quickly chimed in. “Look, I can understand being concerned, but we currently live among vampires who could turn invisible and enter houses uninvited, so how do we know that this isn’t like Scott’s or Owen's doing? They already don’t like Cleo!”

“Well, were they ever invited into our house?”

“Yes, during the housewarming party, where all of us were invited into each other’s houses.”

Avid went pale at his point, “Oh noooo! I didn’t consider that!”

“Well I kicked you all out.”

“Not helping Cleo.” Drift murmured warningly.

Cleo looked around the room for anyone else who could support her, but there was no one else. Beside Abolish, Pearl and to a lesser extent Drift, it seems like majority of the people in the room believed her to be a murderer or at the very least someone who just harmed one of the most important people that they have, and the worst part was that it seemed like any form of logic that she tried to give them got circled back into their crazy theory.

“Look, maybe we should take a closer look at things before we jump to conclusions.”  Drift finally suggested,  “She does have a point that she’s not the only vampire here and would it be even out of character for any of the other vampires to try something like this?”

“Oh, like you?” Drift yelped as Ren, took a threatening foot forward.

“How do we know that Cleo didn’t have any accomplices?”

Cleo's eyes widened in horror as Drift took a step back, her hands raised as if to protect herself. Abolish and Pearl were quick to reject, but were drowned out by the three other villagers.

“Wait! Drift hasn't done anything!” Avid cried out quickly, blocking Drift from the rest of the militia. “And I don’t think Cleo would’ve done this.”

“But the evidence?” Sausage cried out. “Like I said before if Cleo never let any vampire into her house how did these items-”

“They weren't the only vampires at the time! So was Pyro, and we didn’t know for who knows how long! Besides, they were here for a period of time! We know they have the ability to turn invisible!”

The militia stood there quietly, weighing his opinions.

 “Just think about it! Scott and Owen were already ring leaders of this operation. I mean, Scott was a jerk when we first met him and Owen… Well he massacred a bunch of people. Pyro is in a weird spot, I don’t know if the vampirism corrupted him or if Scott manipulated whatever is happening to him. But Scott seems to have a lot more control over him than what’s even normal with most fledgling relationships!”

“And Shelby?”

Avid flinched at the thought, but kept himself steady. There’s no way, even with how angry she was. She never attempted to harm them. She was even reluctant to bite him when he was practically begging her to help him. “Shelby, and she’s… she’s upset over what happened with Martyn. But she wouldn’t hurt Cleo.”

He pointed to Cleo. “Speaking of, her, Apo, and Drift are acting normal and managed to get some control over themselves so it wouldn’t make sense for Cleo to suddenly go crazy. I just think that they probably wanted revenge because Cleo didn’t join their ranks. I think that’s just as possible?!”

“Of course!” Abolish said, relieved to finally have a chance to get them to listen to logic. “Owen already made his intentions clear to tear apart the town!”

“Yeah, did everyone forget about the whole ‘I will slaughter every vampire and human in this town even if it’s the last thing I do’ speech!” Pearl added.

Both Avid and Cleo were relieved to see that the militia were considering their points.

“But what if we were wrong.” Martyn whispered, that hint of doubt slipping out like a stray arrow.

“Uh…”

Avid looked at Cleo, but she didn’t seem angry, like he would expect from this, more… resigned like she wasn’t surprised.

And that look more than anything hurts. There's got to be a way to calm everyone down. For a brief second he considered revealing who he is, but then he thought about the reaction and the fear went up in an instant. His thoughts bounced between telling the truth or pointing the finger at Cleo and letting her deal with it. But he couldn't, he can’t fail her too.

“Maybe we can just perform like a test.”

“Uh… like a witch trial?” Sausage asked.

Avid’s mind raced at that moment, this was a stupid idea. Why did he even suggest that?! He’s not going to force her into a trial!

You got all the makings of a monster.

“Uh, what about my vampire jail?” He quickly suggested “If we leave Cleo in there for like a couple of days and if nothing else happens then we can agree that she’s evil and slay her, but if stuff still happens then clearly she’s been framed, and then we’ll just let her go!”

Drift looked at him in shock, “Avid!”

“ Look, I know it’s not the greatest idea, but it’s better than nothing! It’s better than just fighting amongst ourselves.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Cleo nodded solemnly, “All right.”

She extended her arms out so that Ren could tie them up, “If it means that I can prove my innocence, I’m willing to do that.”

“You don’t have to.” Drift begged.

“Look, it's better than tearing each other apart.” Cleo said, “Besides, if the doctor had been turned we would have felt that weird connection.”

Drift shook her head, “I didn’t feel anything.”

“Neither did I and I doubt Apo wouldn’t be running in here, screaming her head off about what happened.”

“That is true…” 

“So who’s going to escort me to my cell?”

“I will." Martyn said, reluctantly taking the rope from Ren’s hands.

“This is ridiculous. Are we really going to do this!”

“Better safe than sorry.” He said solemnly as he led Cleo out of the door with Pearl following along, still complaining.

“So what do we do now?” Drift asked, slumping against the wall. “The doctor is gone and who knows how long it will take before Cleo will be allowed back out!?”

“Don't worry, Miss Drift. We’ll figure something out! Right, sausage?”

“Uh…”

“We should at the very least begin a search party for Legs!” Abolish suggested. “For all we know, Scott probably already plans on turning him.”

“Or maybe he’s dead…” Sausage murmured, “Maybe he’s being used as a blood bag.”

“That also means that Scott got the cure…” Drift said sadly.

“But we still have some ingredients for it!” Avid said, “As long as we keep on looking for the third book, we can still do something with it. I got the holy water, and we know that we just need to kill Scott! Even if they did grab all the stuff to make holy water, how do we know that we can’t sneak in there and grab it?”

“He’s right!” Ren said, “We can’t lose hope!”

“So clearly, we need a new leader until we can prove whether or not Cleo is trustworthy?”

“If you want my suggestion, I think it would be a good idea if we have someone who is an expert in these dangerous creatures, someone who has the ability to face them, someone like…”

Ren and the other town members turned to Avid.

“Him?!” Abolish cried out.

“Me?!”

Ren nodded, his smile wide with what could be only described as father's pride. “You were the first to figure out what was going on! You clocked Scott and Owen immediately! With your skills and knowledge in vampirism, we can deal with them!” 

“Yeah! You helped us so much.”

Abolish hummed, “I don’t know. I don’t think we should look for a central leader to figure out how to defeat vampires.”

“At the very least, it would be a good idea to have a vampire expert leading the charge besides Cleo. Avid was the person who visited Legs the most.” Sausage turned to him. “How much did he tell you about the cure?”

“I helped him with the holy water, so I know a bit about it!  So I will make as much holy water as possible, and meanwhile, we should… uh….”

He looked at the ground, murmured something under his breath before snapping his fingers.

“We’ll build traps around the beacons outside of town! Not only will it protect them, but we can use it as a distraction while we rescue Legs! Those will be our two major focuses for now.”

“But what about the cure?”

“We… will get there once we finish with those other things! I may know the ingredients, but Leg is our resident expert!”

He turned to the rest of the militia, “Now let’s move out, team!”

The remaining town folks look at one another.

“All right, that’s your prerogative.”

As they began to walk out, Drift suddenly collapsed onto the floor, heaving.

“Ow…”

“Drift, are you ok?” Abolish said, kneeling beside her, but Avid was quick to stop him.

 “Don't worry about it, I'll help her! Just focus on preparing for the mission!”

The militia gave Avid one last lingering look before leaving as well, leaving him and Drift alone. The moment that they left, she grabbed a piece of meat and stuff into her mouth.

“Drift!” Avid cried out in horror as she sucked out the blood in it.

“I can’t do this.” She whispered, “I’m so hungry…. The garlic isn’t working.”

“Look, I know it’s a lot, but you didn’t bite anyone.” He said reassuringly, his eyes flickering at the blood all over her face.

“It’s so hard anytime I’m near someone, it’s like I’m looking at food. Their hearts.…” Her brown eyes widened as a reddish color began to fill them. “I can hear them beating… so scared…. It’s so…juicy…”

Avid quickly slapped her. “No, no! You have to fight it! Please!”

“But it hurts! Can we just use animal blood? We’re not hurting any of them and it’s just a bit.”

“Listen, look at me. I’m doing fine without blood. And you can too Drift! Just fight the hunger! You can’t let it control you!”

Drift just sobbed as her body shook with hunger. Avid is in a similar state, struggling against the pains of hunger in his own body. It had only been a couple of days, but it was like they hadn’t eaten anything, or every taste of regular food was now dull and lifeless. He’s suffering.

She’s suffering.

And Avid now has to deal with this affliction while having to lead a group of scared people to safety. He had never been a leader type of guy, usually he’d be comfortable just being in the background or helping out wherever he could. That was made obvious with the way he acted when he first got into town. He couldn’t even lead a group of people for the house competition, let alone against a bunch of vampires! 

His grip tightened on his sister, Drift. He should’ve known. It’s not surprising that Shelby is the only person who’s been turned who hasn't either ended up becoming evil or traumatized. Of course, Sire Scott acted nice just so that he could make himself endearing to him. Probably to further corrupt him into becoming something like him.

Scott and his stupid, perfect face and his stupid perfect looks.

Why can’t he have some sort of monster form like the book said, rather than a handsome guy with a wicked smile.

It would’ve made things so much easier.

Martyn noted the fact that even now Cleo, when accused of murder, kept holding her head up high even as he led her towards the entrance of the prison. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Pearl offered, moving to place a hand on Cleo’s shoulder, handing her some blood and meat. 

“I’ll be fine.” She said calmly as she entered the cell.

“This is just until I can prove my innocence, Pearl. I’ll be okay, just focus on taking care of the house.”

Pearl sighed as Martyn locked up the cell.

“I hope you know what you’re doing?” Pearl said.

The simple words feel more accusatory than if she was just straight up insulting him.

Martyn murmured out another apology to Cleo before walking out of the building, his stomach in knots.

Was he making the right decision?

All the clues were right there! The paper towards their house, the bloody bandages, and the sword, but at the same time it doesn’t make any sense. Why would she kill the person who was helping her make a cure?

 Was it some sort of Jekyll, Hyde situation where her vampire self took over? Did Scott brainwash her? Was she a spy for Scott the entire time?! 

He sat down on a bench, climb of love. He just wanted to make the right choice. Furthermore, he doesn’t want to fail her. He doesn’t want to fail her like he did with Apo. His heart sank at the thought.

Apo…

Martyn already suspected something happened to her ever since the bridge. She was acting very strangely, struggling with food, and the fact that she let Truffles out into the wild. Sure, he can understand the fact that Pyro was able to enter the house, but there could’ve been other methods like putting Truffles into a different place or something. He didn’t question it. He didn’t even ask any questions, not until Apo was literally showing off her fangs and allowing the silver armor to burn and pop off of her as her body contorted and twisted towards the next step of vampirism.

I’m hungry…

Martyn didn’t know why, but those words scared him more than anything that Scott had said.

But she trusted him, and what was her reward? Him running around the village screaming about her being a vampire…

How could Apo ever forgive him after that? How did she even consider helping anyone in the village after they pointed her with a sword?

But one of them is a lie?

But what if Scott and his coven managed to convince Apo to join their ranks. He flinched at the thought, she would never join Scott. Apo has gotten every opportunity to  give in to the hunger and join the vampires, but she never did. She had always been on their side, always helping out, even when she’d suffered for it.

But He hurt her…

Plus, the town all thought that Shelby would never join Scott, but she did in a heartbeat, but that was because he burned her.

Martyn stared at his hands. This is all his fault. If he hadn't burned her, maybe she could’ve been convinced that they could help her.

Was that what was happening to Apo now? Was Scott using his moment of weakness as a way to make them mistrust him?

He shook his head. Martyn couldn’t even blame her if that was the case.

He looked beyond the gates of the town, wondering if there was a chance of him going back there, this time fully prepared to beat Scott?

“Martyn!”

He turned to see a small bat fluttering above him before changing into Apo.

"Did anything happen in town?! Pyro and Owens have been acting weird all day, and I think they’re planning something!”

Martyn sighed, “Apo… It’s a long story, and you’re not going to like it.”

Chapter Text

When Owen brought Louis back from the town that burned him 200 years ago, Owen was hoping that the castle, along with Owen’s help, would help Louis regain his memories. Then they could be together again. However, Owen should’ve realized that it took much more than a simple kiss on the cheek and a few words.

The villagers, of course, were galvanized by the disappearance of the doctor. Under the guidance of the coward Avid, it felt like every couple of hours the remaining militia had to go back to a beacon to restore it into holy light, and things were getting more difficult with stupid traps that the villagers created with things like silver pikes and buckets of holy water.  At least one vampire had to stay behind to keep an eye on the castle, mostly Scott, because the humans seem to be the most reluctant when he was around. 

Literally yesterday, they got back from the lake and discovered Ren and Abolish attempting to break into the castle while Apo was there. He, Pyro and Shelby luckily managed to scared them off

(Apo kept on insisting that they were going to stop them, but to be honest, Owen was doubtful of that)

But that’s not what hurt the most. What hurt the most was whenever he decides to see Louis down in the crypts. It was as though the first day didn’t even happen, and that Legs persona had consumed him once more. 

Every day, Owen would try to talk to him more about Louis, attempt to get him into reading the books that he liked (never related to the occult), or try out his favorite foods (even recreated to fit his needs). However, Louis was unwilling to listen, or when he was willing, it was passive. With him treating the memories more like a story rather than a real memory

Owen tried so hard to be patient with him. However, everyday feels like he’s repressing more and more of his frustration about the whole thing.

He understood that reincarnation is a difficult concept for many people to understand, especially when the reincarnation's past life is so different from their current one. The heavens, at least, were kind enough to bless Louis with the body that they were more comfortable in, And yet, those same ‘kind’ heavens still took away all the wonderful memories that Louis cherished.

And at this point Owen was wondering if he was just going crazy.

“So how was the love nest?” Scott asked one day, watching through the window for the fledglings to return from the hunt.

“Bad…” Owen whispered, barely looking up from the table, “he still doesn’t remember. The only thing he'll focus on is helping those villagers that killed him.”

“Oh?”

 “He keeps on talking about a cure and begging me to give him the third book.”

Owen looked away from him, “I don’t know what to do anymore. Is there anything in those books that suggests a way to return memories?”

“I’m afraid not. Most of them talk about cases of reincarnation, not how to regain your boyfriend’s memories.”

“There has to be something in that Worthless book!”

Scott hummed, tapping on his glass of blood. He weighed his options before a mischievous smile appeared on his face as he walked over towards the grump.

“Do you know how I deal with particularly annoying humans?” he asked, brushing Owen’s white hair.

“Killing them?”

“That’s one way, but there’s a different solution.” Scott sat down with a smile. “Hypnosis”

Owen’s head shot up to stare at him as if he had just suddenly grown a second head. “ Hypnosis?!”

Scott nodded, “You see occasionally when I’m dealing with a particularly rebellious or stupid human who refuses to take my command, yet I can’t just dispose of, I just look them in the eye and force them underneath my will. Then they’ll have no choice but to obey me.”

Scott leaned back in his chair, reminiscing to the times when he would use that. Owen meanwhile was curious. Out of all the things that he expected Scott to suggest to him, he would never have expected it to be hypnosis.

“Is that how…”

Scott held his finger up. “Nope, didn’t do it to Apo. Sausage- kind of. But it’s a bit more complicated than just hypnotizing someone. You need to have them be willing.”

“Willing to be hypnotized?”

“It has to be their choice first or at least some level of trust, then you can twist it into something else. For example, Sausage was interested in Vampirism because he wrote a book about it, and so I just told him and the other townspeople about all the benefits of being a vampire.  Then I looked at him straight for a couple seconds and it’s warped into him wanting to become a vampire. But like I said before, he was interrupted. Although it’s a good example of how it should be done.”

He leaned towards Owens, his fangs close to his ear, “You have to make Louis want to turn into a vampire or as we know as now, ‘Legs’....”

Owens was about to hiss at him, but Scott interrupted him with a touch to the shoulder - a warning.

“We know that currently his new persona is Legundo, and his whole thing is that he wants to help people. You need to get through his thick skull that this is not a disease, but a cure. A gift! We are helping people, and he needs to understand that.”

Owen slowly nodded. “Okay… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Scott smirked as a pair of arms wrapped around him, revealing the bright eyes of Shelby.

“Hey Scott! Hey Owen!”

“Shelby!” Scott cooed, patting her white hair like she was a kitten. “Did your little night walk go well?”

The young vampire nodded as Pryo and Apo entered the room. Owen noted that the latter’s hair was getting a lot lighter than before, with the only faint wisps of red left on the ends of her curls and the top part of her hair. ​​Her face was also paler and her eyes, like Pryo's, had become red and black; Despite the changes, there was still that air of reluctance, as if she were too shy to admit to her true nature. Scott seemed to notice as well and gave her a smirk. Apo merely flinched and looked away from them.

"Yep!" Shelby cheered, "Me and Pyro have been showing Apo around the castle and the woods! Apo even got her to grab her first sheep!"

“Ohhh?” Scott looked over at the new fledgling. “You hunted your first sheep.”

“Y-Yeah…” Apo muttered

“You should’ve seen it!” Pyro said excitedly, hugging Apo, “She was sneaking around making noises to lure the sheep closer until it was close enough to just grab it. She drained it before it could even make a noise! And she did it on her first try!”

Scott clapped his hands slowly, enjoying a wonderful show. “Good job, Apo. I know you have it in you.”

Apo didn't answer. She looked away from him as the bond between them purred and cooed at the praise. “Thanks I guess…”

Owen gave her a slight nod, “You did very well.”

Owen got up from his seat, pulling his white hair into a ponytail, "Pyro, is the package ready?”

“Yep, it’s in my room.”

Owen gave Pryo a slight nod before beginning to walk away. But then Shelby called out to him. “What is the package for? Do you need help with it?”

Owens flinched at her question. Before he could respond, Apo decided to chime in. “Y-Yeah if you need help? I could help out too!” 

"Oh Apo, that's so sweet of you!"

Owen glared at her. He can feel Apo’s tone despite her best efforts. She was suspicious of him. She doesn't trust a single word he’s saying and she was trying to figure out what he’s doing. Owen thought back to his conversation with Scott. Once she learned what Oven had done, there was no doubt she wouldn't drag Louis back to that awful town to burn on the prye.

Luckily for him, Scott was quick to swoop in.

“Oh Apo! You don’t have time to help Owen out. you need to help me with a little bit of architecture.”

Her eyes widened,  “but-”

“No buts. Those are filler words! You should be more focused on helping out your coven! Now come along. You too, Shelby!”

“Really?" Shelby asked as she got up from her seat, “Would I be useful?”

“Of course, I think you’ll be very helpful at decorating.”

Shelby let out a squeal at this as the elder vampire took her hand. Scott turned around to wink at Owen before he took the two down the hallway.  This allowed  Owens to nod at Pyro to follow him.  They quickly followed Owen. Thank God for Scott, otherwise he would’ve murdered Apo before even letting them get a sniff of Louis.

Legs hummed while reading one of Louis occult books . If you had asked the doctor a couple days ago if he would read a dead man’s book collection and that same dead man's journal?- Legs would’ve refused. Blame it on the years where he cared for dead men on the battlefield. It always makes him feel a little uncomfortable, taking a dead man’s thoughts and reading it like it was a Penny dreadful; however, considering everything that has been happening, Legs thought that reading a bit more about Louis could help him understand why Owen thought that they were the same person.

He shuddered remembering how he managed to convince Owen to give him the journal.

“ I don’t know…” Owen looked away from him during one particular visit, hugging himself.

Legs mentally prepare himself before wrapping his arms around Owen’s chest.

“Come on uh-darling. I really want to learn more about what I was like in the past… Could you be so kind as to…”

He swallowed nervously, “Just let me read it just so I can learn about myself…”

Owen hummed, leaning against his lover, “Okay… just give me a second. It’s a lot to handle.”

“ I completely understand.”

It was a dirty trick that made Legs want to puke. He’ll apologize to Owen once he manages to help him.

However, reading the journal, it’s eerie how accurate some of the similarities were.

Sure, there’s some obvious differences. Owens was right about about Louis never being in war and merely helping out refugees. Reading through the journal, Legs discovered that Louis' younger body, apparently, was very different to his adult one Legs also found that, for a mayor, Louis was not as serious as Legs had expected him to be 

(Who we knew that he would make a lot of vampire puns?)

However, there are some small similarities here and there between Legs and Louis. 

Louis had wanted to help people and despite being a vampire, he’d always tried to focus on other methods of helping people before resorting to vampirism with the other party’s consent. (Something that Scott and Owen conveniently seem to forget)

Even with some of the aesthetics of being mayor, he lived a rather simple life.

And he seemed to be well educated in many subjects including medical and, surprisingly- the occult.

The last one is what stuck out to Legs. Which led him to look around the bookshelf that Owen was so kind to give him.

 Now the doctor was reading several books about vampirism and other volumes about the supernatural overall. Besides him, laid his journal, where he wrote down everything he could find.

 Oct…16? 95

I have recently learned several facts about vampirism and its effects on the human body. It’s not perfect, and there are some parts that I’m still struggling with. However, some of the ideas that I have have given me at least somewhat of an idea of what to expect. Without further ado, here is the list of things that I have learned.

• We have confirmation that vampires don’t sparkle. The effect that people have described as sparkling appeared to be the body's reaction to sunlight which seems to create simmering effect over their skin. When in reality, it’s appears to be the reflection of their flesh burning. It seems like some vampires (particularly level one) could use human ointment to cover themselves up temporarily so that the sun won’t bother them. (Sorry Mr.M) 

• Certain abilities and weaknesses are confirmed through the book, although a couple are a bit more complex. It’s confirmed that certain stereotypical abilities like immortality, superhuman strength/reflexes, hypnosis, and telepathy are confirmed. Although there are a few  other ones that are also added,  such as certain elders having the ability to transform it into wolves rather than bats. Some of the weaknesses are actually pretty interesting, including an impulsiveness to count if one dropped a bunch of seeds. As for hypnosis, it seems like one must have a very strong will and a mantra to keep themselves from falling underneath the spell. Or have a non-hypnotized person nearby to help them out.

• It seems like a fledgling’s development to a full-grown vampire is a lot more complex than just drinking more blood. Normally fledglings should be taking time to rest and stay with their sire for at least a few weeks after transformation. It’s considered very unusual for fledglings to be wandering around so early. Usually, this is a sign of either neglect, or a particularly powerful elder.  

• When it comes to the effects of vampirism on the human body, the longer the human body is infected, the more humanity begins to wane away. Meanwhile the connection between the sire and fledgling grows stronger. Usually this is heightened by the fledgling’s, previous history and emotions. 
• There’s also many reports where people that encounter vampire noted that it come across vampires that seem to share a hive mind. However, this is usually this is just the bond between fledgling and sire. This bond mimics some parts of hive minds, like a bee colony with their queen. This is usually amplified by the closeness of the fledgling to the sire.

Legs hummed as he looked down on his last point, which somewhat explains some of Shelby’s and Pyro’s behavior. Especially the latter. It seems like something must’ve happened to Scott to have more control over Pryo than normal.

Legs tried to think back on anything that would be mentioned by the historian. Pyro seems to be very focused on the fact that they were treated like a family, so maybe that’s what was offered to him? 

I wish I could’ve known more about him before all of this. I could’ve at least help-

“Louis, what are you doing?”

The doctor quickly sat up and saw Owen standing at the door, frowning and holding his dinner- a small salad with some bread. 

(After some prodding over the fact that Legs barely eats any of his food. He finally admitted that he doesn’t really like meat all that much, so lately Owen has been lately giving him more vegetarian-friendly meals.)

“Oh-hey!” Legs yelped, closing the book. “I was just-”

“There’s no need for you to explain,” Owen said, and practically ripped the book from his arms. “You shouldn’t be reading stuff like this, it’s probably upsetting for you.”

“There's no need,” Legs quickly said, stepping forward to try to take the book back. “I’m fine. I'm just reading it.”

“You don’t need to deny it, besides it’s not a good book anyway.”

Legs held back a cry as Owen put his book into his inventory.  Owen then looked back at him with a smile on his face.

 “Oh… Louis, how long have you been sleeping?”

“Oh I…” Legs yawned, “I’ve been sleeping well…”

Owen frowned, “You’re lying…”

Owen leaned forward suddenly, studying Louis closely. He looked so handsome with his beautiful green eyes and chiseled jaw and, to be honest, the more he looked at the goatee, the more it seemed to fit dear Louis’s face. It’s nice that Louis has gotten the body he would have killed for. Yet it hurt so much to see how tired Louis was. There were bags under his eyes, and his cheeks were hollow and grey.

“Honey, have you been sleeping?”

“I have.” Legs lied. His heart thumped in his chest.

Liar.

“Honey, why did you lie to me again?”

Legs felt his heart drop at that moment, but he steeled himself.

“I was doing my research like I did for the last few days.”

Owen groaned, backing away from him. “I don’t get it.”

“You don’t get what?”

“Why are you so determined to find a cure!? Everyone here is just fine without one!” He pointed at the multiple books on the table. “None of these books have even the slightest clue on the answers you’re searching for.”

“I would find my answers if you just give me that third book.” Legs growled, getting up on his seat, standing his full height.

Owen scoffed, trying his best not to blush,  “First of all,  I don’t have the third book- like I’ve told you several times before. Second of all, even if I did, how do you even know that it works? How do you know it’s not just some random book talking about possible cures this whole time and you were just chasing a mythology!”

“I thought the vampires were myths,” he waved at Owen. “But here you are.”

“You were a vampire in the past!”

“And I don’t see any evidence for reincarnation.”  Legs turned away from Owen. “And even if I was a vampire in a past life, this is my current life so…”

The room dropped into a tense silence, both sides, not saying a word. Owen was shaking, keeping his anger tight like an overfilled boiler threatening to spill over. 

“Owen, I’m sorry, but I can’t disappoint any of my friends back at Oakhurst and I’m not gonna support your delusion. I know that you miss him, but all you’re doing is hurting yourself and me!”

“But you are Louis! I don’t get why you are having such a hard time understanding that!?”

“Because I'm not the same person as Louis! Sure, we have a couple things in common, but we are not the same.”

“But there’s enough similarities, like you practically look the same!”

Legs crossed his arms. “No! I don’t.”

“But the portrait-!”

“There’s a difference between a vague resemblance and a copy and paste, besides if I’m really like him why do I look different in so many different ways?”

“I don’t know! Because you were given the body you wanted!?  What else do you want me to say?! You’re just backing me into a corner!”

“I want you to realize that I’m not him, nor will I ever be like Louis. It's time for you to accept that and actually heal from this.”

Owen‘s eyes twitched, his vessel was really driving him up the wall. How could he even say all this? Then his mind went back to what Scott told him about hypnosis.

It had to be their choice and then you can twist it into something else.

Owen slowly turned to Louis, his eyes glowing an orange color. “Louis…”

Legs sighed softly,  “What?”

“If you’re going to argue with me, I prefer if you look me in the eye.”

Legs turned around, “What do you want…”

His voice trailed off as he found himself meeting with Owen’s eyes; he didn’t know how to describe them, but they were like large round tangerine gems. And they look so beautiful….

Legs attempted to look away but he couldn’t..It was as if he was stuck there, and all of his strength has been sucked out of him just so he could continue to look at those beautiful eyes. Each time he tried to look away it would just drive him back to those eyes. And they just go deeper,

    and deeper,

          and deeper,

                          deeper,

                                    deeper.

When Owen opened his mouth again, his entire voice was everywhere and nowhere all at once. In the room, deep within himself, and in his head.

“I know it’s confusing, but keep looking and listen to my voice. I’m here to help you.”

Legs felt himself nodding, the word, ‘I understand’, forming in his mouth.

“To be honest, I thought that Scott was exaggerating when he said that, I’m glad to know that this is possible…” Owen hummed. “I wonder if this is part of the perks of being level three.”

“That …sound … interesting.” Legundo’s body whispered.

“That‘s one benefit of being a vampire…”

The remaining parts of Legs were panicking. What was Owen even doing?! He tried to force him to relieve a memory, he tried to make him become Louis?! Is he…

Legs began to shake, trying to think of something to keep himself from falling under the spell. However, everything outside of Owen's words and voice were blanketed in a thick fog that only become denser.

Wait! 

The book mentioned that the best way to free one from hypnosis was a mantra. Right, so he needs something to keep himself steady.

“Louis…. Legs… you trust me. You know that. We made a promise in the storm. You allow me to drink your blood when I need it and in exchange, I allow you to walk away unchanged. You trust me.”

Legs' mind began to blur even more as the memory of that day began to come up, but just before it could take over, he grabbed the first manta in his head. The one that he once spoke, trying to calm his temper after Avid made a mockery out of his practice with his dumb vampire clinic, the manta that he created to remind himself that he could be more than just what the war made him into, the one that he now needed to keep from sinking underwater. In his last bit of free will, he threw it out to the world.

Protect the body, protect the town, protect as many as you can. Lose the arm; save the body. Lose the leg; save the life.

Like the sun during a stormy day,  his mind began to clear up a little, not enough to understand what’s going on, but just enough to know that something was off. 

It was working, he just needed to continue.

“Louis, I don’t know what you’re doing, but I want you to stop.”

Shit, did Owen sense that?!

“Louis calm down.”

Protect the body, protect the town, protect as many as you can. Lose the arm; save the body. Lose the leg; save the life.

His arms began to twitch.

“Louis, I want you to stop.”

Protect the body, protect the town, protect as many as you can. Lose the arm; save the body. Lose the leg; save the life.

His legs began to kick out Owen’s,  not enough to harm him, but just enough to cause a mild inconvenience.

“Stop kicking me Louis, control yourself.”

Protect the body, protect the town, protect as many as you can. Lose the arm; save the body. Lose the leg; save the life.

Legs was now aware that he was sitting on the bed now, and Owen was holding his face, His claws dug into his cheeks, sinking deeper into the flesh by the minute.. Legs could feel a trickle of warm blood from the cut on his cheek.

“I don’t want to hurt you, stop fighting it and calm down.”

Protect the body, protect the town, protect as many as you can. Lose the arm; save the body. Lose the leg; save the life.

He slowly lifted up his arms.

“Louis, you’re making me angry.”

But the doctor didn’t listen, he just closed his eyes and looked away from him. His hands raised as the mantra continued in his mind, pushing out Owen's influence.

He’s so close,  just one more and then he’ll be out of Owen spell and use this as instruction to get out of here.

Protect the body, protect the town, protect as many as you can. Lose the arm; save the body. Lose the leg; save the life!

With as much strength as a former soldier of war could summon- He punched Owen into the stomach. The vampire barely had a second to react before Legs  threw him against the wall. 

Legs didn't give himself a moment to breathe before he snatched the two books, the occult book, and his journal and he ran towards the door. Barely even hearing Owen screams as he ran from the cell door and towards the hallway of the crypt. His eyes darted around the area, trying to look for an exit, but all he saw was stone, cobwebs, and skeletal remains. 

OK, you managed to get Owens off you- now you need to get out! Just focus on getting back home, and-

Legs was slammed against the wall as a pair of hands grabbed onto his neck, he let out a choking noise as he found himself face-to-face with Owen’s enraged face.

“You bastard! I was trying to help you! I was showing you kindness by helping you get to bed so that you can feel better and that you can recover! And this is what I get repaid for?! I’ve been nothing but kind to you! You have no reason to hurt me like this!”

“Owen, please be wrong. I am not-” Legs let out a choking noise “Y-You’re hurting me!”

Owens froze. The moment those words left his lips his eyes flickered up and down. The doctor's shirt was torn. There was a bruise on his cheek, his eyes were swollen, and….. oh no.

“What have I done?” he whispered, letting go of him, allowing Legs to finally breathe. The doctor stumbled forward, collapsing to the floor coughing, throwing up. His mind was mixed up in a flurry of awful memories, gunshots and screaming.

He can barely felt the pair of hands caressing his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry Louis.” Owen whispered, brushing his face. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper you… you didn’t deserve that.”

Legs was shaking, and he barely felt Owen picking him up from off the floor and bringing him back to the room. Or more accurately, he barely cared. 

He was numb, and kept on repeating the same thought over and over again.

He nearly killed me, He nearly killed me, I pulled him too far…

Legs barely acknowledged Owen as he brought him into the room, laying him back on the bed as the vampire continued to whisper apologies to him. Begging for his forgiveness as he pulled a blanket over Legs and huddled close by.

“I’m so sorry Louis. I shouldn’t have hurt you like this. You deserve so much better than me. I promise I’ll make it up to you!” 

He kissed him on the cheek. “Just please don’t leave me.”

Legs just felt exhausted. He barely even responded to any of the apologies, not even when Owens finally left, shutting the door behind him. Trapping him in the room once more. This should have upset him; Legs should be raging, screaming at Owen for hurting him. At the very least he should attempt to continue his research and try to figure out a way to get out of here.

But at this point, Legs  just wanted to go to sleep and forget about today.