Chapter Text
Apo lowered her stake, levelling it with Scott's chest. To her left, Martyn stood with his arms crossed. Behind the elder vampire, Shelby struggled in Abolish's tight hold, and to her right was Legundo, eyes fixed on Scott. Only six. Pyro and Owen were nowhere to be found, Ren was holed in his cabin and Cleo and Pearl bowed out as soon as they heard Scott's hisses from across the courtyard. As for Sausage and Drift, they hadn't been seen the whole day. Apo suspected they were with Owen and Pyro.
Scott tilted his head to meet Apo's steely gaze.
"No speech? No dramatic dialogue on how I have to pay for my crimes?" he mocked. Shelby made a choking sound, and he hushed her without turning. Apo scowled.
"You don't deserve my time, Goldsmith," she spat through clenched teeth. "The world will be better off with you dead in the ground." Scott's gaze lingered on her fangs, and red irises before flicking to Shelby.
He paused, as if trying to figure out what he wanted to say, then frowned.
"Tell Owen and Pyro they now answer to Owen." He turned back to Apo.
"Fine, do it." He levelled his gaze with Apo's. "Or are you scared?" Apo gritted her teeth, and Martyn steadied her hand. She threw him a thankful glance before turning back to Scott. "I'm sorry, Shelby," she mustered before plunging the stake deep into Scott's chest. He made a terrible gurgling noise, blood spilling from his mouth as he breathed a heavy breath. Shelby screamed, twisting in Abolish's hold as the vampire fell sideways, lying motionless on the mossy stone.
Apo breathed deeply, and Martyn hugged her from the side. "You did it…" he whispered. She nodded, her chest tight and throat thick. Shelby sobbed, and Abolish finally let her go as she fell to the ground next to her sire's body. Legundo bit his lip, turning away from the gruesome sight, and Abolish began to walk away just as a loud noise rung through the courtyard.
All heads looked up as a purple most descended over Oakhurst. What emerged from it, Apo had never seen before. It was similar to an angel, but with long robes that had symbols inscribed on ribbons that held the top tight to the angels waist. They had short, brown blonde hair, and had purple wings with white accents that covered their face. As they appeared, they looked down to see Scott's body, and their mouth twisted.
ᓭ𝙹, ⍑ᒷ ⎓╎リᔑꖎꖎǁ ↸╎ᒷ↸?
Apo recoiled. The dialect the angel spoke was old, older than vampires and hadn't been spoken in millenia. The angel turned its gaze to her, and spoke once more.
ǁ𝙹⚍ ᒲ⚍ᓭℸ ꖌリ𝙹∴ ∴⍑𝙹 ǁ𝙹⚍ ꖌ╎ꖎꖎᒷ↸.
Shelby, eyes rimmed red, looked up to the angel, still clutching Scott's robe. The angel looked down on her with pity, before starting to chant slowly, in the same dialect it had spoken before. Apo instantly grabbed Martyn tightly, Shelby closing her eyes as purple light circled the three, including a lone bat on a nearby rafter. Legundo and Abolish took steps back, the latter reaching for his silver only to realise it was gone, the angel clutching the metal and stakes in one hand, and clutching Scott's hand with the other.
Apo shut her eyes tightly, and clutched Martyn as the world went white and Oakhurst disappeared.
Several thousand years earlier…..
Apo opened her eyes to a bright forest, the sun shining through the trees. Martyn appeared beside her, Shelby a bit away and Owen next to her, blinking and scowling in the light. Her heart sunk as she realized Owen had watched her murder of Scott, but the vampire seemed to be focused on his surroundings, in particular, a crouching figure at the mouth of a cave.
Apo moved, treading lightly towards the figure. She walked quietly, wincing every time Martyn stepped on a stick or coughed. She felt Owen and Shelby behind her, following at a distance as the two quietly talked, but their talking trailed off as they approached the two figures and heard tail end of their conversation.
"…the first person you found?"
The other figure's response was too quiet for the four to hear, but Apo gestured for Martyn to stay put and moved closer, ducking behind a tree as one of them emerged out of the cave and stood next to the other, chattering away. She squinted, making out bright blonde hair and a blue bodysuit on the one facing her, and the other…She froze as he turned around, a smile on his face and hands on his hips.
It was Scott.
She nearly fell over herself in her panic to get back to Martyn, the blonde's chatter fading back into background noise. As she stumbled back to Martyn, Owen eyed her suspiciously.
"You know them," he said flatly. It was more of a statement than a question. Apo nodded.
"It's Scott." she murmured. Shelby stepped back.
"You're lying!" she shouted, hands trembling. Owen glanced at her and with a moment of hesitation, laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not, I swear," she reached. Martyn looked back at the two, and went pale. Owen glanced at him, and crossed his arms.
"What," he scowled.
"They're gone," Martyn said quickly, then turned back to them. "Look!"
And as Apo, Owen and Shelby turned, it was obvious he was right. The two were gone.
Owen didn't know how to feel, but he was smothering anything he was feeling for Shelby's sake. The fledging to sire bond was complicated, and Scott's death likely would have linked Shelby in some way to him. Not what he wanted, but it's what he got for not saving the elder.
His hatred for Apo only deepened as she followed Martyn after the two mystery people, her stupid red hair standing out in the bright forest so different to Oakhurst's gloomy skies and muted colour pallette. If "Scott" was a vampire now, he understood the move. Despite standing under the shelter of a tree, he could almost feel the prickling of the sun against his skin, a deeply uncomfortable feeling. He wondered how Apo was dealing with it, then shook his head. He didn't care about that traitor.
A fledgling killing their sire wasn't unheard of, but it was rare. For one as young as Apo to kill one as old as Scott, well it was very, very, uncommon. Normally fledglings Apo, Shelby and Pyro's age would be resting, maybe doing light hunting with their sire. It takes 20 years for a vampire to fully grow out of the nesting phase, but they still rely on their sire after that period.
The prickling of the sun on his skin reminded him of the heat of the fire, the burning coals he clawed through to reach Louis.
As they followed behind Apo, the chatter gently faded back into earshot, though Martyn wouldn't hear it yet.
"I've got something for you though," said the unfamiliar voice. Owen squeezed Shelby's shoulder and moved closer, trying to catch a glimpse. As he rounded a corner, he paled and tried to fall back against the wall, but it was too late. He was in direct view of Scott and the blonde. He pulled on his powers, trying to be invisible, but it was like they were locked away. It was a humbling feeling after so long being level 3.
"Confessed my love," the blonde said with a blush. As Owen turned Scott, his heart dropped. This Scott wasn't a vampire, and this Scott was looking right through him.
He knew instantly from the skin tone. Scott, even at level 1, had a fair complexion. This Scott had almost a tan skin tone, and he also didn't have blue eyes. Instead, they were a bright green, as were the blonde's. His trademark blue hair had a streak through it the same shade as his eyes, and his ears were pointed, teeth dull. He wore a simple blue jacket, white shirt with stripes and jeans that had mud stains down the knees and elbows like he'd fell down a hill. The Scott he knew would never be caught dead in dirty clothes, let alone simple clothes like that. Despite "Scott's" clothes, his hands were clean and nails perfect. Some things never change, Owen mused.
And of course, the way Scott walked right through him to bound further into the cave. Owen cringed, his body feeling cold like someone had dunked him with ice, then the feeling passed and he turned to see both Scott and the blonde walking away.
"Shelby!" he yelled, Apo appearing to shush him instantly. He shoved her away.
"They can't see us. Scott literally walked through me," he scowled, then pulled Shelby over.
"This isn't Scott Goldsmith. It could be him when he was younger, but this Scott isn't a vampire." he explained. Shelby, eyes still red rimmed, nodded, her gaze flicking to where the duo had disappeared. "We should probably follow them," she said quietly. Owen nodded quickly, and left Apo and Martyn in favour of Scott and the blonde.
Pyro tapped his foot impatiently, glancing around the castle every now and then. After a stabbing pain in his heart hours ago, he hadn't heard from Owen, Shelby or Scott since. It was starting to become worrying, but he was under strict instruction from Scott not to leave the castle. After the holy water incident at the beacon, he was weak, and his vision was still blurred at the edges. He was in no state for a fight with a human, especially with the other two vampires AWOL.
He swung his legs off the side of the table, humming one of Scott's songs. When he was about halfway through the second verse, Drift burst into the castle, and the vampire fell off the table, landing on his arm and rolling into the unfinished section of the floor.
"Oww…" he growled, standing and rubbing his arm. Drift had the sense to look a bit apologetic, but her hair was frazzled and eyes were darting. In Pyro's gut, something twisted, and he stood up straighter.
"What happened?"
"Apo killed Scott and then a fucking ANGEL descended from the heavens and took her, Martyn, Owen and Shelby!"