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silverstudios · 4 months

Text

New friends on Halloween

It just needed something to eat...but it'll happily take new friends too~

Alone.

It was realizing that it hated that word, and this feeling.

It trouted out of their-...its cave at 5:55pm, claws shaking slightly, an awful gnawing at its center and the slash across its side wasn’t making it feel any better. At least the costume was doing its purpose, keeping the stinging wound protected from outside invasion and helping in the regeneration process, but the costume alone wasn’t enough.

It needed something, someone, anything to eat- it’s been too long since it gotten this stupid injury, too long since winfrey was taken from it, and far too long since it's even eaten an animal-

It was starving…in more than just the physical sense.

Its eyes still felt raw after all the crying was done- it hates crying, it hates feeling so incomplete…

It stopped at the edge of the tree line, hidden by the dense leaves of a bush and watched, blinking heavily and tail raised in confusion.

Had it gotten the time wrong? The sun was down, it was dark, but yet there were still so many humans out and about. It was a lot of the little humans too, and they were wearing…costumes? Since when did humans wear costumes???

It hesitated at first, glanced back the way it came, but the growl that raced from it made it look back to the oddity happening on the street. It just needed One human, one good sized meal, and then it could flee and heal.

It stepped out of the bush, straightened its back, and began walking about. It waited for screaming, for panic….but all it got was the occasional glance, and one human smiled at it.

“Dude, love the costume!” it blinked, tail twitched, and before it could respond that tall yet not mature- teenager?-teenagers- humans had walked off, laughing alongside each other. Did….were they not able to tell? They did smell weird, an awful fermented smell, so not good prey-it could not afford to get sick.

It walked a little bit longer, glancing around, sticking to the side of the street with less houses and less lights- awful bright things they are- and looked for someone separated, someone else Alone.

It tried not to focus on the fact that so many of these humans had a pair, tried not to tear up and blinked away the stinging in its eyes. Now is not the time-

“C’mon John!! Just a little higher, I can almost reach it!!” It blinked, glanced toward the darkened yard and crouched, claws digging into the damp grass as it snuck closer. That voice was little, and upset, and sounded tired. It peaked around the side of the…what do humans call these mini buildings again? Shed- yes, shed, it peaked around the side of this shed, all covered in pumpkin stickers and….broken eggs? It resisted the urge to lick them off, maybe later.

And standing before it, on top of each other's shoulders, were two little ones. Little boys, one dressed up in a brown hat and vest with boots that were too big and the other had his costume of white sheets and see through lace hung around his shoulders as he lifted the other up. The little cowboy was reaching up, hand outstretched and balance unsteady, grasping at a small orange and yellow bucket above them. Both their faces were red- they’ve been crying recently too- and teeth gritted.

“Jason I can’t get any higher!!” “Well we have to get Ashley’s basket! We promised!” The little cowboy- Jason- shifted and reached a little bit closer while on his tiptoes-

Clyde didn’t have time to process what happened, one second it watched them, the next it stood next to them, Jason wrapped up in its tail upside down and both little ones staring at it in surprise. It blinked, letting the actions make sense in its mind- John had lost his grip, Jason had slipped, a fall from even that small of a height would have broken his neck, instinct had overtaken thought- and smiled slightly as it set him down.

“....Um- Thanks.” Jason coughed, cheeks tinted red and glanced away, rubbing the back of his head. It hesitated to speak…but smiled. “WeLcOmE.” It was raspy, and not human like, and it waited for them to run…but it blinked at the sympathetic looks.

“You got that bug too?” John chuckled. “My brother and dad both got it and they sound just as raspy as you.”

Bug- cold, illness. It hesitated, glancing away before nodding. It looked up at the tree, at the little basket in it, and pointed at it and tilted its head. “WhY?” “Oh- Some buttheads bully older kids!” Jason stomped his feet. “They got mad that we saw them egging Miss Camper’s house and when we said we’d tell her, they threw Ashley’s basket up there.” John sighed. “We’ve been trying to get it down for her so she could trick or treat with us…”

Well that is just rude. It glared slightly at the story-tail thrashed against the ground in shared frustration and moved over to the tree. The children made questioning sounds as it grabbed onto the rough wood-this tree was old, and sick, and if it had to guess it wouldn't be here come next year- and raised itself up. Those two didn’t have claws, they weren’t made to climb trees- it was. Up and up, spiral around that branch, knock down that old plastic toy with its tail, and onto the branch. Its tail hooked around the fabric handle of the little plastic pumpkin, and lowered the prize down the onlooking children- whose eyes seemed to sparkle in amazement. Once Jason took it, it dropped itself from the branch- the ground made a quiet squelch sound as it landed hard onto the damp grass, and looked down at the two. It smiled. “ThErE.” “That was Amazing!!!” John raised his arms up and bounced. “Oh you HAVE to teach me how to climb trees like that!!!”

It blinked and snickered, tail swinging in amusement, then blinked as a glove covered hand took hold of one of it’s fingers.

“C’mon, let’s go find Ashley!” Jason beamed and began to move. It could have pulled away- or it could have pulled this one closer, its inside gurgled angrily at the lack of substance within…but it followed, tail curled, head tilted. It was…nice, to have this little bit of company right now. It waited a few weeks for its wound to heal enough to move, it can wait until they find Ashley.

“Oh, my name is John by the way!” John, now confirmed to be the little boy in the ghost costume, smiled up at it. “That’s Jason.” “Yuuup!” It smiled at those silly little ones… “...ClYdE.” “Nice to meet cha, clyde!” It squinted its eyes happily at that, tail swinging a little faster. It had to wonder why they hadn't noticed it wasn’t human yet…but then again, some of the costumes it is seeing as the trio walks down the path looked pretty similar to it.

“....WhY CoStUmEs?” “....It’s halloween.” John smiled at it, and then blinked at it when it tilted its head. “.....You…do know what halloween is, right?” The small gasp that came from him when it shook its head brought a grin to its face and a quiet snicker. “Dude- Halloween is like- The best time of the year!!! You get to dress up, you get to see all the cool spooky stuff, you get to trick or treat and get free candy!!!” John shakes his arms up and down to add to his point, and Clyde couldn’t help but snicker a little louder at the action. “Jason we have to let Clyde trick or treat with us, this is an outrage.” “Yeah- Ashley!!” Jason let go of its finger and raced forward into a small crowd. It hesitated, tail stopping dead mid swing, breath held- and then released as the small cowboy returned, a little girl in tow. She wore a puffy dress that sparkled and a small gold crown on her head, her eyes were puffy and red and she held a small wand alongside her returned basket. She was smiling, tears in her eyes as the two came over. “This is Clyde, they got it down!” Jason made a small gesture to it, and Ashley looked up at it- and then slammed into its leg, arms wrapped around it.

It froze, the entire body went stiff, tail raised….and it knelt down and patted her back. Careful to not touch exposed skin, thank Six she had long sleeves, and a quiet rumble came from it. “T-Thank you so much.” She sniffled out, looking up at it with tear filled eyes but a large grin before stepping back and rubbing her eyes. Jason held onto her and wiggled side to side, and John sighed and poked her. “We’ll tell Miss Camper about the egging tomorrow, for now let's have fun for the rest of the night with our new friend!”

It blinked, looking down at the three little ones. “....FrIeNd?” “Well- yeah!! You helped get her basket and you’re cool!” John beamed at it, and it blinked a few more times.

Friend…friend is like partner, friend is companion…friend is someone to spend time with and enjoy, and to hunt and play and sleep-

But these are humans- these are little lives that will fade in the time it takes to blink, and can be snuffed out even faster. Human are prey, it was predator…but humans were also sentient, also had small souls-

It held onto sentience and souls within-

Its stomach growled, its pupils dilated- and it smiled wide.

“FrIeNdS!” it wrapped up all three into its arms and rose to its full height, moving them side to side as it turned on its heels and walked back toward the darker side of town. It didn’t want a crowd to see this, this was just for it and its new friends. The three of them let out startled, then excited and giggling sounds. It curled them up, particular to keep a good grip on the wiggling things, and particular to see how Big they were….

…

It could fit all three of them in whole, Combined they were barely the size of its torso. It rumbled as it kept walking, and John stopped wiggling and looked around. “Um…..Clyde?” “Hm?” “Where are we going?” It giggled. “....TrEaT.” “...Oh, you know a good house or something?” “SoMeThInG.” There, nice and quiet and dark- a few lights but for the most part, isolated.

Perfect. They were looking around, pointing at the houses with lights on, wondering which of these houses were its special treat spot- None of them noticed it open its mouth. It wouldn’t chew, its teeth were sharp, that would hurt and it didn’t want to hurt its little pals…. John had glanced up- and didn’t even get to yell. One. Ashley had gone to a door, banging on it, but it scooped her up before the door opened. Two.

It was surprised by how fast Jason was with those oversized boots, but it caught up just as fast. Three. In the distant, it could hear people raising their voices, calling out little names.

It couldn’t stop purring as it slinked around the edges of town, its claw resting on its chest. They were trying to get comfortable, shifting and squirming, muffled sounds and voices. It felt so warm… It should likely return to its home, to rest- but it wanted to keep experiencing this “Halloween”, it wanted to keep going- just for a little while longer. Maybe it’ll find itself more little treats. More little friends. They were warm, and soon to be its friends forever more- but they were quite small. It could fit a couple more within-

Something latched onto its leg, and it jerked. Eyes looking downward, it blinked. A small boy, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry…” The little boy sniffled. “I did the one thing you told me not to do and I lost them…” It blinked… and ruffled their hair slightly. The boy sniffled- and then yawned. “I wanna go home, Alex…” He yawned, arms wrapped further around its leg and face pressed in a little. “.....I’m sleepy and I'm upset.”

It smiled and reached down, claws hooked under little arms and lifted him up. He certainly did seem sleepy, eyes squinted and mostly shut, slightly bags under them. This little guy needed a nap…

Surely he wouldn’t mind joining this little friendship, he seems like such a sweet kid- and it’d be so wrong to leave someone alone when they asked for help. It smiled, large and bright for him.

“Night Nighy~” Ah, it’s voice sounds so much better with its three little friends added to it, less like it had an awful cold. He squinted and paled. “You’re not Ale-” Four. It stood there, a purr racing from it and tail swinging in glee, another warm weight tucked within, another new friend for it to keep. “.........L-Lewis….?” It froze, and looked over its shoulder. Two boys, pale as the moon above, one holding a trembling flashlight in their hand and the other had dropped his basket, hands covering his mouth. Tears in their eyes, faces filled with dread.

Ah ...They must be friends with the sleepy one… The air was silent as they stared at one another, the two boys frozen in place…And Clyde grinned brightly, teeth shown and mouth open slightly. Well, 6 Was its favorite number and it would be so wrong to separate such a cute little group of friends…

“.....Norman.” The one with the flashlight whispered as it turned fully to face them, taking a slow step forward. “.....Y-yeah Sam?” “Run.”

Oh how fun, they’re playing Tag. Clyde has to guess that it is It.

It Loves this game!

It caught Sam first, the boy was a slow runner, limping on his left leg and he seemed to know it. He had turned and grabbed onto it- and he went down screaming the whole time.

Five.

It slowed as it approached the tree, the sounds of panicked breath badly muffled behind hands. It grinned and lowered itself, the grass had dried, its tail slamming across the sidewalk so that the boy would look in the other direction…

His yelp of surprise when it tapped his shoulder had made him taste all the sweeter.

Six.

By now, the night wasn’t quiet, shrieks and yelling of little names and worried cries filled the air, but it didn’t mind. Afterall, it had its fill and it had its friends, it was as good as any time to return to the cave- “I wanna go home” A muffled voice echoed from it, and it purred and wrapped its arms around itself, nuzzling itself with glee.

“Don’t worry, we’re going home now~” It purred, and entered the tree line at 7pm.

#silver rambles #silver writes #doai clyde #doai the six children #doai sitcom au #Promise unkept timeline #Long post #this was like- 7 pages in my google doc #no beta we die like men #Enjoy!#dreams of an insomniac

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little-pondhead · 6 months

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The Folly of Men -

Chapter 1: #355E3B

AO3 - MASTERPOST

[GENERAL TW: Swearing, lukewarm violence, lots of POV changes, and mild body horror.]

[Fair warning, guys: Canon is a ball pit, and I’m throwing a baby into it. I have no clue what's happening. Feel free to point out mistakes!]

Danny was starting to hate the color green. It was the color of death.

Green reminded him of the portal that killed him, and the electricity that was constantly humming under his skin. It reminded him of being on the wrong end of an ecto-blaster and having to dodge for dear life. It reminded him of choking plants that swallowed him whole and tried to turn him into fertilizer. It reminded him of his glowing eyes and how they seemed to take up his entire face when he looked at himself in the mirror.

And right now, as he lay weakly on his side, grasping at fresh wounds with shaky fingers as he tried to ice them closed, the green blood that was splattered everywhere reminded him he wasn’t human.

Not anymore.

Green was a familiar color to Ra’s al Ghul. It was the color of life.

Green reminded him of the Lazarus Pits, mostly. When it was the reason he’d lived such a long life, how could it not be the first thing he thought of? Green also reminded him of his cloak and the warmth it wrapped him in during the cold desert nights when his wife was still alive. Of the beauty he saw in the natural world and why he wanted to protect it. It reminded him of his green eyes that have been passed down through his very few children and grandchildren. Green was the color of the al Ghuls and represented the power he’d amassed through centuries of hard work.

And right now, as he stood before the Well of Sins, Ra’s was reminded of a secret contract that was buried deep within his personal records, and the monster he’d made it with. The Gardener, the creature called itself, was a being who had crawled out of a Lazarus Pit years ago in search of Ra’s. Its flesh was made from thorny vines and grasses intertwined, and its eyes were tiny red blooms that glowed and made him feel sick just thinking about it. It had forced him into the contract, exchanging power and knowledge in return for a promise of help in the near future.

‘Near future,’ my ass. Timothy Drake's fleeting voice flickered in his mind, and he could only agree with his subconscious's crude words. It seemed like the only appropriate term as it had already been several centuries since the contract was made, and the being had yet to claim its part of the deal.

He watched, mind racing, as the Well of Sins started swirling frantically. He was alone, with his attendants on standby. Should he call them in? No. Whatever was causing the strange reaction in the pool had something to do with that contract. He could feel it. A power was tugging at his heart, drawing him closer to the edge of the green waters. He loathed to admit it, but this was beyond his scientific understanding. He just knew that every time he tried to look away and leave, his whole body felt like it was alight with flame.

So he stood. And he stared. For hours, possibly, before the first sign of something new caught his attention. A screeching sound was echoing from the bottom of the pool. It slowly got louder and higher pitched as the stone floor started glowing so bright Ra's almost risked the pain of glancing away.

A large head was making its way through the bottom of the pool. It went slowly to accommodate large shoulders, followed by a wide chest and narrow waist. The figure paid no mind to the churning of the Well of Sins and broke the surface of the waters with the ease of a seasoned swimmer. The screeching sound echoed wildly, bouncing unnaturally throughout the chamber, sounding more like incomprehensible words. Ra's wanted to plug his ears with wax and banish the figure back where it came from. Instead, he didn't even twitch an eye.

The Gardener stood before him. And it was carrying a body.

"Master of Lazarusss," it hissed, inclining its head in acknowledgment, but making no move to exit the pool. "Too long has it been, has it not? I've come to collect on my part of the deal."

Ra's nodded in return. Higher being or not, he refused to bow to anyone. "I've expected this, Gardener." He said roughly. Despite learning their language years ago, the sharp chirps and clicks made by the dead were difficult to sound out. It was like he was trying to mimic a broken radio. "Although it's taken longer than I expected for your arrival."

The Gardener clicked its beak in annoyance. "Don't give me flowery words, Pretender. It was not my choice whether to appear before you or not. The Scepter of our realm visited me long ago and commanded me thus; I only now see her vision behind it."

"I...see." He did not see, thank you very much. That was more information in two sentences than he'd ever managed to get from the Gardener. Were there others at play in this little contract of theirs? He did not like the idea of that. "And I assume this whole thing has something to do with the boy in your arms?"

The Gardener let out a low humming sound that seemed to originate from its chest and echo in Ra’s bones. It glanced down, turning the body over gently to let Ra's see his face. The boy was just a child, no older than sixteen. He was deathly pale and seemed eerily stiff, just as if rigor mortis had set in. His white hair was plastered to his forehead from the water, and his clothes were nothing more than rags. Thick green blood was leaking from several wounds and pooling underneath his skin. It wasn't hard to guess what the Gardener was about to ask.

"This is our Guardian and one of the last of his kind. His haunt is not safe anymore, and I task you with his care for the foreseeable future."

Without waiting for a response, the Gardener sloshed forward to set the boy oh-so-gently upon the edge of the pool, taking care that his thorns did not pierce the child. A few vines cupped his face gently as if the Gardener was sad about the boy's state of being.

The assassin made no move to step forward and claim him. "What iske?" He asked. Ra’s voice caught on the last syllable, and he had to repeat the question again properly. Annoying.

The Gardener didn’t seem to mind and just stepped back, relinquishing its hold completely. "He is our Guardian." It repeated. "Care for him well. His fraid will be on the hunt for him and return any harm tenfold. But earn his loyalty, and the power of the Infinite Realms will be at your fingertips. Good luck, Master of Lazarus."

With that, the Gardener disappeared beneath the waves of the Well of Sins, and the waters calmed. The only proof that someone had been there was the sopping wet teen that lay at Ra's feet.

Ra's stared at the boy. The tugging in his heart was a bind, he realized. And it was tying him to the boy. Well, caring for a dead child shouldn't be that hard. Despite his disagreement with Talia over the matter, Jason Todd had turned out just fine, hasn’t he?

With the contract heavy on his mind, Ra's turned and left the boy lying there, clicking his jaw and calling for his attendants to collect him. The Lazarus Pits had gifted him with a new heir, it seemed.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?”

In another world, a redheaded girl was on the edge of a rampage. Her scream echoed down the suburban street her house was on, and the neighbors sighed quietly and locked their windows shut, not realizing the severity of the question. They were used to this family's antics, and the girl's screaming as a result.

But this could not be written off as 'family antics.'

Jasmine Fenton, nicknamed ‘Jazz,’ was positively furious. Red-faced, she stood before her parents with steam coming from her ears and a bat in hand.

“Jazzy-pants, we-” her father tried.

“Nope!” Jazz put up a hand to stop him. “Never mind, I don’t want to hear it. I already know.”

She whirled around, tuning out her parents' protests as she stormed through their house. Correction, her parent’s house. If she had her way, Jazz would never see these metal and unloving walls ever again. Neither would her brother, once she found him.

Her phone rang, and she flipped it open with a snap, leaving the bat at the end of the hallway. Only a few people had her number, and it sure as hell wasn’t her parents calling her. “What.” She barked, shoving the phone between her shoulder and ear as she dug through Danny’s closet. His bug-out bag hadn’t been moved.

“It’s Tucker.”

“We have a code green and a code yellow.” She ground out. Good, the ecto-dejecto shots were up to date. The less time she spends in that god-forsaken lab, the better.

“Fuck.” Tucker swore. Rustling was heard and she heard another voice in the background. “I’m putting you on speaker.”

Jazz re-packed the bag quickly, adding in some non-essentials that she knew Danny would appreciate. After it was settled on her shoulders, she switched the phone back to her hand for a better grip. “Is Sam there?”

“I’m here.” The girl responded.

Jazz tripped over her bedroom carpet in her rush to her room. She cursed but recovered and started ransacking her closet and drawers. “Good. One of you needs to contact Danielle. Our parents sold Danny out, and the GIW took him while I was gone yesterday. I’m going ghost and getting him back. Tell Danielle she’s in danger since they have her ecto-signature now.”

“We’re going with you.” Sam said firmly. There was more rustling, and Jazz guessed they were looking for their own emergency bags. “I don’t care how long it takes; we’ll get him back.”

“Are you going to shut down the portal?” Tucker asked.

Jazz paused, considering it. In the original plan, Danny was in charge of shutting down the portal while Jazz and the others took care of the Fentons, GIW, and everything else. It was personal for him; his final resting place. But now that Danny was missing, and they needed a reliable escape route.

“Not permanently.” She decided. “I’ll figure out how to turn it off temporarily, or put a shield up, but Danny will need to be the one to make that call.”

Tucker started typing furiously on his laptop, muttering under his breath until he got to the file he wanted. “Sam and I will take care of the town defenses, and Dani’s on her way from New Zealand. She’ll be here in a few hours. I’m sending you a bug; plug it into the Fenton’s security systems, and it’ll lock them out of the house for now. Only do it after you’re done in the labs. Sam’s gone off and is pulling some strings to get all the ghosts in town back to the Zone. I’ll start tracking Danny and shutting down all the Fenton and GIW equipment I can find.”

“Thanks, Tucker. I’ll meet you guys at Nasty Burger in two hours; pass that message to Danielle.”

“Sure thing. Oh, and Jazz?”

“Yeah, Tuck?” Jazz started counting her hidden wads of cash, making sure it was all there. They never wanted to believe the Fentons would go this far, but she was glad they’d made contingency plans just in case.

She could hear Tucker’s silent snarl as he said his parting remark. “Leave enough of them behind for the rest of us.”

Jazz laughed, a little hysterical. “I’ll try.” She said, bidding him farewell. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure she could look at her parents ever again. But she knew, deep in her bones, that if they tried to stop her, there wouldn’t even be ashes left from the hell she would raise.

Gotham was caught in a storm. It was one of those ugly, howling summer storms that threw water in your eyes and bit your skin with a vengeance. Damian squinted, trying to make out the sight of Spoiler and Signal through the rain, but even their bright uniforms were lost in the shadows.

He tightened his grip on his grappling hook as a particularly harsh wind tried to throw him around like a ragdoll. Water seeped into his collar, making him shiver. A beep echoed in his ear, and he risked taking one hand off the line to answer his comms.

"Robin," Oracle was practically shouting in his ear over the storm. "Signal made it to the Cave. Spoiler is rounding up Condiment King, and then she'll do the same. You can go back now."

Damian tsked. "Father is still out here," he replied. "I shall not return until he does."

"Robin-" Oracle sighed.

Another gust of wind made him grunt, and he cut the call to refocus on scaling the building. The only good thing that came from such a wild storm was that most of the villains were smart enough to stay inside. Splitting up in such conditions always left a sour taste in his mouth, but Damian understood it was necessary to cover as much ground as possible during times of emergency.

He wasn't sure this counted as an emergency, but Todd was certainly treating it as such. The citizens of Crime Alley were being hit hard. Enough to the point where Red Hood had openly invited the Bats onto his turf to help with the flooding and evacuation from some unstable buildings. Batman and Red Robin had gone, leaving Robin and Orphan to cover their patrol routes.

Finally, finding purchase on the rough brick, Damian quickly hauled himself up to safety. Some of his equipment was ruined, and his costume was soaked. Truly, this storm had come out of nowhere.

His comms clicked back to life. "Robin." Cain's clipped tone was somehow louder than Oracle's voice.

"I'm here," he replied, scowling at the oily mud on his shoes. Damned pollution.

"Home," Orphan said simply.

Damian scowled even harder. He could argue with Oracle without issue, but he barely won when it came to speaking with Orphan. "...Fine." He sniffed. "I shall return."

"Good." Damian could hear the smile in her voice. "Agent A has cocoa."

"I'll consider it." He said stiffly. He imagined his adoptive sister smiling slyly and glancing toward the sky before the comms switched off, leaving him to his thoughts again. After checking his grapple to ensure it still worked, he started picking his way through the building at a snail's pace, letting himself get distracted whenever he spotted someone in trouble. The Batcave would be warmer and dryer than the streets, but not everyone had a dry place to return to. Every little bit helped in the long run, and even Damian wouldn't pass by a lost child in the rain.

The only thing that bothered him more than the dark clouds overhead and fresh hail on the way home was the unnatural feeling on his spine. It felt like someone was watching him, judging him. But when he looked, nobody was there.

The stars were gone.

Danny felt weightless as he floated, staring at the space where the stars were supposed to be. He felt lighter than normal. Danny was surrounded by colors that flowed and ebbed like the tide, taking him deeper into this mysterious space. Golden fish and silver deer wove past him as fire and ice trailed behind, and yet he couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to get up. He just laid there silently. A bone deep exhaustion was settling into him, but sleep refused him.

“Ghost Child.”

Oh, Danny was dreaming. He was already asleep.

He didn’t turn his head, nor acknowledge when the stars returned to his line of sight. The stars wrapped around him like a curtain, cutting off the rest of the dreamscape. Two bright eyes, burning like red giants, peered down at him as thin hands cupped his body.

“Ghost Child.” The voice repeated again, speaking in his mind even as the words were swallowed by the silence of space.

Danny turned his head slowly. “Nocturn,” he murmured. These too, were snatched from his throat and lost. The cold seeped into his chest and he hiccuped. He couldn’t speak. Not that he really wanted to.

Luckily, Nocturn seemed to understand him just fine. He cradled Danny gently, bringing him closer to his chest. Something shifted in the fabric of space, and suddenly Danny was being laid to rest on the smooth stone of a crescent moon, as pearly white as his own hair. He sighed as the coolness of the moon seeped into his body, soothing aches and burns he didn’t remember getting.

“Where are we?” He wanted to ask.

Nocturn blinked slowly at him, his face twisted down towards Danny. His ram’s horns glinted as a glowing blue jay landed on them and started preening itself. Danny wanted to fly with the bird. His body didn't move.

“Sleep, Ghost Child.” Nocturn hummed. The moon vibrated beneath Danny, soothing the electric currents that kept him awake no matter what he did. Danny’s eyes started sliding shut as Nocturn’s song wrapped around him like a lullaby.

The others… Danny’s mind whispered.

Are safe. The song replied. Rest, young guardian. Your people are safe. You did well.

That was all he needed to hear. Danny let himself fall into slumber, relief flooding his mind. Yes, his people were safe. He did well. He deserved some rest.

As the young ghost fell into a dreamless sleep, a real sleep, Nocturn gently tucked the boy in with a blanket made from his own starry robes, shifting the fabric once more to hide away his core, and the boy who was resting on it. The bluejay on his head chirped indignantly from the movement and flew away, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

Nocturn paid it no mind. Warnings from Fate were never a good idea to ignore, but the bird was but a memory of a life that had long since passed. It only stuck around because of the dreams that kept feeding it. The ghost let his lullaby continue as he returned to his work, taking care to move slowly.

Undergrowth was taking care of his physical body, so he would care for the boy's mind. Vortex was off to round up the little ghostlings who had scattered like dandelion seeds, and the Master of Time was keeping an eye on the rest of Phantom's fraid while they rampaged in the mortal realms. After the stunt he pulled to protect the Realms, it was the least the elder ghosts could do.

"Is the boy awake?" Ra's asked sharply, entering the private rooms he had set aside for the boy.

The attending nurse, an older man born with no tongue, bowed his head and signed, 'No, sir. Vitals are off. He is a cold corpse.'

Ra's regarded the boy. It has been several weeks since the Gardener dropped the boy off in his care, and he hadn't awoken once throughout the entire time. He truly looked like a regular dead teenager, if you exclude the unnaturally white hair.

The Demon's Head bent over the boy's bed, tugging open an eyelid to see if he would react. Nothing. However, he noted the boy's eyes were green, which he was mildly pleased about. Green was such a lovely color, and this boy seemed surrounded in it.

A sharp knock echoed from the door, and Ra's granted the other party permission to enter. His best phlebotomist, a man named Paz, entered, holding a stack of papers as thick as his thumb. He bowed to Ra's as soon as he saw him.

"The results?" Ra's asked.

Paz immediately handed over his work, fully confident that Ra's understood everything he'd written. "For all purposes, the boy is dead." He said in a thick accent. He spoke in halted Arabic, as he'd only lived in 'Eth Alth'eban for a short time. "He has no circulation. No heart to move blood, or lungs to breathe. We must move him every hour to prevent postmortem lividity. He has undergone an extensive autopsy process, but it seems it was stopped before his brain was removed. No organs remain in his body otherwise.”

Ra's examined the papers. They were reports from different scientists and doctors, all of whom had been assigned to examine and work on the boy. Most of them said the same thing. The boy was dead and had been for a while. If the Well of Sins didn't do anything when he first exited the waters, what good would it do now?

He flicked his eyes up. "But you think otherwise," he stated.

Paz nodded enthusiastically. "The boy is dead, but his blood is alive!" He tapped a green folder that was poking out from the bottom of the pile. Ra's shuffled the papers off to the nurse and opened it. Printed off charts had been scribbled over with Paz’s frantic notes, documenting his thought process.

The phlebotomist rambled excitedly as his boss read his work, gesturing wildly. “It’s incredible! Most of his red blood cells have died off, and he has an abnormal amount of white blood cells, which indicate some kind of infection. But his plates-“

‘Platelets.’

“Platelets,” Paz nodded his thanks to the nurse for correcting his speech. “The boy’s platelets are still alive, and are actually trying to heal his injuries! We recorded a time-lapse last week to confirm it. The process is incredibly slow, even compared to human healing, but there’s a difference! Because of the absence of red blood cells, the plasma left in his body has practically doubled in volume, even though there’s no circulation to keep it moving. We’ve noticed a collection of stem cells at the base of his skull has started growing as well, and whatever it’s producing is being released into the body at regular intervals.”

“What kind of cells are they?”

“Unsure. At first, we thought it was cancerous in nature.” Paz tapped the corner of the folder again, prompting Ra’s to turn the page. “And while these cells are certainly growing as fast as unchecked cancer, rather than doing harm, we’ve taken samples and noted that they’re merging with whatever original matter has been left in the boy’s body. Bonding, like glue! The healing process is periodically speeding up with every release, the plasma has started circulating on its own, and the white blood cell count is diminishing. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it! It’s filling in for everything that’s missing, and keeping what is there, alive. Dr. Vanessa hypothesized that within the month, it may even start replacing the boy’s organs.”

Ra’s looked up from the research. “These photos look like plant cells, is this an example or actual recordings of the activity?”

Paz wrinkled his nose. “Those are evidence of the activity. For some reason, cellulose is present within his body, and the mysterious stem cells seem to be a mix of both plant and animal matter. It’s hard to track even with our technology, but it looks like the cellulose is forming a sort of…skeleton? Frame? I’m not sure what the right word is, but Dr. Vanessa says they might start regrowing in another month. If that’s true, this would be a huge breakthrough in the realm of organ transplants and other medical fields!”

The Demon’s Head hummed, flipping through the work again and considering the man’s words. “Very good,” he praised. Paz beamed like a child at his words. “Unfortunately, I shall be releasing you of your duty, and your tongue is too loose for your head.”

“What-“ Paz’s eyes widened as he gurgled, his words cut off. Ra’s twisted his wrist, driving home the dagger he’d planted in the man’s heart. He had no use for men who talked too much.

Paz fell to the floor, convulsing as he tried to weakly remove the weapon still sticking out of his chest. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he went pale as his blood seeped out onto the floor.

Ra’s barely spared the dying man a glance, taking back the extra stack of papers from the nurse and neatly stepped around him to exit the room. “Clean that up,” he said over his shoulder.

The old nurse bowed his head, waiting patiently for the foolish doctor to finish dying before he got out the mop.

This is why the nurse had survived so long; he knew how to stay silent.

[Nocturn tucking Danny in to rest. Ghost speech says, "Rest well, ghost child"]

#pondhead writes #the folly of men fic #dpxdc #long post #really long post #no beta we die like Danny #I rewrote this three times #this was gonna be longer but the plot got away from me so we're doing more than one part now #the whole point of this is to get me back into writing more so i guess it's working??#i literally did so much googling for this #even watched timeline videos but i'm pretty sure i'm still wrong #literally what is dc lore anymore #i'd rather learn about kingdom hearts lore at this point #literally I am summoning all of my brain snails to bring this together #not medically accurate!!!#I am not a doctor I just took biology twice

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