Chapter Text
Vampires were invulnerable, at least, that was the belief floating around.
Scott had been foolish enough to believe it – foolish enough to grab immortality with both hands and grin like he’d made the smart choice.
He didn’t feel very smart as he lay on the cold concrete. He didn’t feel invulnerable as blood oozed out his head. His right eye had long ago been blinded by the congealing black substance. When he was badly injured and hungry he only had enough energy to keep his body from slowing down into a deep slumber. He was intimately familiar with being a corpse.
“Scott?” A weak voice asked.
He hummed making no move to fix his position.
“Don’t leave me.” Shelby said so quietly only his vampiric hearing could pick it up.
He forced a purr. He couldn’t form the words to speak, he couldn’t even hum a proper song but purring was easy, purring could be done no matter how wounded he was - as long as he tricked himself into believing he was happy enough for it-
He was happy… happy Shelby was alive and Owen was asleep in the other cell. Vampires didn’t typically need sleep but these were special circumstances. Owen slept a lot, he always dragged himself to the one part of his cell where Shelby could reach him. She always had a hand placed on him, she always feared his death.
Scott could tell she was relaxing to the sounds of his false joy. It didn’t matter how many shattered bones he had or that patches of his skin were torn in neat squares, he was an ancient creature and if he said they were safe enough to purr then Shelby’s instincts believed him. Because why would he lie?
Why would he lie…
He was so tired but he kept going. He had many memories to pull happy feelings from, they were fading and one day they would run out as the darkness consumed him but for now he comforted the young vampire nearby. She’d already lost all her happy memories, going through so much pain tended to do that. Scott was simply practiced in keeping his mind alive, everything about eternity wanted to see him destroyed, he believed that now more than ever with the humans that had him locked up for the past 600 years.
His purring petered out but Shelby made no comment. He’d said enough… they were alive and well.
Their cells were unnaturally silent besides the dripping of a faucet somewhere. Scott still managed to hear the banging and angry shouts further in the facility, he didn’t hear any replying cries so it could just be the guards getting rowdy again. They liked fighting… and they liked arguing over their sports. He hoped Pyro was ok.
Hours passed, or maybe it was longer since even without Scott’s mind growing foggy time moved swiftly for him. Centuries flew by and he never tried slowing down to pay attention to them. Everyone said that was a bad thing but that skill kept him alive. Years of abuse like he’d been through would’ve killed anyone else. Shelby hadn’t been here long and she was deteriorating fast, Pyro as well-
The doors opened with a bang and heavy boots marched to Scott’s cell. Hinges screeched and a body hit the floor.
“Useless.” A guard spat at the vampire before slamming the cell closed.
The men retreated and Scott listened out for Pyro.
“Pyro?” Shelby whispered. Fear tainted her voice every time one of them came back and they weren’t on their feet.
“’m fine…” The vampire coughed. He propped himself on his elbows and stayed there to regather himself.
“Scott-“ Shelby started.
Pyro pulled himself over to Scott. “Hey man-“ He coughed some more and it sounded wet as he breathed raggedly. “You gotta get up.” He said.
Scott blinked but he didn’t move. He wouldn’t be able to until he’d eaten.
Pyro knew the drill, with shaky arms and only a determined will to keep his weak body working, he lifted Scott up an inch off the floor and pulled him to the other two. Shelby brushed a hand through his dull cyan hair immediately, Pyro collapsed against the bars and lay his free hand on her leg.
Shelby watched over them as Pyro slept and Scott kept her company with open eyes. Shelby was unable to purr but her hands rubbing circles against his skin was good enough. He knew it kept Owen going… and it worked just as effectively for him.
-----
Scott’s screams disturbed the humans. He never particularly cared for the psychological damage he caused others as he made his pain known. Scalpels sliced him, swatches of chemicals were painted on his skin and lights were pointed at his eyes every few minutes to check if his brain was still functioning under all the stress.
The scientists - mages - he didn’t know what they called themselves anymore, were methodical and well practiced in conducting tests, taking notes and feeding him blood. They had never discovered anything meaningful in the half a millennia they owned him but that didn’t deter them. Humanity needed to know how to access immortality without becoming what he was, they needed to know what chemicals killed skin cells and what tools were most effective in weakening him. The things they were researching changed every few years but their ability to keep him down didn’t. He still tried to escape when he saw an opening but there weren’t many these days. All his failed attacks had been recorded and tracked.
Fire laced up his arm as something they gave him infected his blood, he blacked out when it reached his heart and came back with the chicken blood they dripped into his mouth from a pipette.
He licked his lips and glared at the human in front of him, he hoped he haunted their nightmares.
-----
Scott was cold… He’d thought he was numb to the feeling but every time he held Owen’s hand he was reminded of the cold.
Owen’s eyes were open on this rare day. They were droopy but he was present as he squeezed Scott’s hand.
Pyro was in his lap and Scott trailed a lazy finger through his matted locks. The man always craved closeness and Scott had long forgotten his previous pickiness about his space and the company he kept.
They were silent. Scott couldn’t summon a purr no matter how hard he tried, hopefully his shortcomings wouldn’t be what killed Pyro today.
Owen dropped his head to the bars next to Scott’s shoulder. Scott squeezed his hand in acknowledgement and continued staring across the room.
It always felt different when Shelby wasn’t with them. Neither of the older vampires dared close their eyes while they waited, she would be the fastest to leave them… and if that happened Pyro would follow in tandem.
Scott didn’t know how to feel about the company. He’d been in this cell for so long by himself… he’d rotted away, kept his mind busy with musings that carried no substance and chuckled deliriously at how powerful he thought he was at one point. He was hollow now… he had nothing left.
Owen had arrived in an odd state of affairs, he was clearly grieving but he had stayed for nearly 200 years with Scott. After Pyro and Shelby arrived he was only getting more stubborn, Scott supposed they were all stubborn, what was the point of continuing? With no communication at all they seemed to decide there was something worth sticking around for.
The door opened with a bang and heavy boots marched to Shelby’s cell. Scott was facing the guards this time and could see how they roughly dragged her along. He bared his teeth and growled gutturally, Owen echoed the sound beside him and the humans looked over them critically.
When it was obvious neither of the vampires could get up they opened the cell and threw Shelby in; thanks to the vampire’s inability to hold their tongue Shelby ended up tumbling across the ground with a whimper. Scott straightened and made a grating sound. It was a death rattle… he’d made it to countless humans and he’d taken them all out one way or another. The guards knew what it meant but they didn’t make any attempts to avoid becoming the target of it.
“Shut it.” A guard ordered roughly. The cell was closed with a slam and they walked away with loud thundering footsteps.
Owen squeezed Scott’s hand then unravelled their fingers so he could reach for Shelby past the bars. He watched as Owen struggled to pull the woman close and bring her to the huddled group. She was bleeding all over and she was quiet. So quiet… Scott made an inquisitive sound to see if she would answer, he got nothing but when Owen settled back by his side she extended her hand to Pyro. The man met her in the middle, their hands intertwined as she closed her eyes and Owen kept carding a hand through her hair like she was something precious. In these cells with no light, no life and only stale air to accompany their broken bodies she really was the best thing they had.
Scott forced another purr. He watched as the young vampires melted at the sound and he worked extra hard to think of a big memory to keep him going for as long as possible.
It was hard… he wished in his centuries of isolated torture he’d thought to prepare for Shelby and Pyro’s arrival. Maybe he could’ve done more to save them.
His eyes closed and his head dropped towards Owen. The vampire wrapped an arm around him and Scott appreciated it like the purr that disappeared from his throat as he lost himself to the edges of sleep.
-----
Hope wasn’t something Scott ever allowed himself to have.
He firmly believed it kept him going, that by not getting crushed from reality over silly fantasies like hope he could take the punches as they struck him year by year.
The sounds of gentle footsteps outside his cell weren’t real - The guards only ever stormed in.
The soft voices were fake as he blinked at blurry faces and a set of pearly white fangs - None of the vampires had healthy teeth.
When Scott closed his eyes and opened them next to fresh blood on his tongue, human blood instead of the weak chicken blood he’d been forced to accept, he didn’t believe what he saw.
There was no cell…
He looked around the room, the walls were painted a soft blue, potted plants sat in every corner and he lay on a pile of blankets on the floor. The foreign vampire by his side scooped another spoonful of blood from the bowl he held.
Human blood… why was the vampire giving him human blood?
“Hello Scott.” The man said. “Do you know where you are?” He asked.
“No?” Scott let his head flop to face him.
The vampire’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re awake.” He said breathlessly. “That’s good.” He shook his surprise off and got back on track. “You’ve been rescued. My name is Legundo, I’m overseeing your recovery after we dissolved the operations keeping you and the others in cells.”
Scott’s attention drew to Pyro laying against him, Owen sleeping on his legs and Shelby tucked under his arm.
“Is there any information you can give us about why they had you there? Or maybe something about why the four of you are… sleeping? You are the first person who has been coherent enough for a conversation.” Legundo said.
Scott licked his lips, the taste of blood was rich and flavourful on his tongue, he’d missed it…
He’d always been a fast healer. He was the eldest, he’d spent many years curating his strength so that his invulnerability was guaranteed. The others… had not lived long enough outside of that cell to bounce back from things like he did.
He raised his weak hand to brush the back of his fingers against Pyro’s face. He thought about the best memory he could think of as he started a purr, all the vampires melted except for Legundo, the man’s eyes watched in confusion.
Legundo’s comment that he could hold a conversation was a naive one. Scott’s eyes drooped and he frowned as his purr faded. He was just so tired…
He felt like he was failing the vampires he’d gotten attached to. He should’ve gathered some information, sniffed out the danger and negotiated their safety in some way. Instead he went back to that space at the edge of sleep, he never indulged in it deeper than that because he knew there was no coming back from it.
Blood could only heal him so much…
-----
“Scott?”
Shelby’s voice drew Scott to consciousness.
“Scott, wake up for me?” She asked.
He always heeded her request.
Opening his eyes, his brow pinched at the room he’d woken up in before. The thought struck him that this must be a new strategy by the humans; Give him a false sense of security and observe what happened. He searched for Shelby and met her eye, there were no bars between them anymore…
“Scott.” She exhaled in relief, there were tears in her eyes. “We… we are out of that place… Legundo wanted to talk to you.”
Scott looked to Legundo and narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t figure out why a vampire was in on this but the man must be full of deceit. There was never any chance someone came for Scott, he’d known even when he’d first been taken that the only people left alive were his enemies.
He reached out for Shelby’s hand and she took it like a lifeline. He pulled gently and she collapsed against him, curling up and hiding the whimpers that always seemed to haunt her.
Legundo watched with a critical eye and Scott knew the vampire was observing them, collecting data, reporting to someone and writing it down on paper for future studies.
“Sorry to pull you from your slumber, I know your body… needs it.” Legundo said carefully because no, a vampire should never need sleep. “Do you need more blood? I wanted to ask you both some questions.”
Shelby snuggled closer to Scott and he tightened his arm around her in assurance. Pyro was still by his side, likely awake to some degree but not letting anyone know about it.
Scott knew though…
Owen wouldn’t be pretending, if he was conscious he’d be glaring at Legundo so the fact he wasn’t meant he was unaware of the world around him.
“I could do with more blood.” Scott said evenly. Legundo nodded and stood up, Scott was irritated by the ease in which he moved.
As the vampire knocked on the only door in the room, it opened just a crack and someone asked the man what he needed. Legundo made his request like he was at an ordering window and then waited patiently for whoever was on the other side (likely guards) to fetch the blood.
Scott dipped his head closer to Shelby and nudged her gently. She rubbed her thumb in a clockwise motion on his skin to let him know she was alright. He relaxed a little with that knowledge.
Legundo was none the wiser as a bowl was handed to him. Scott watched the human’s hand retreat back to safety and he couldn’t help himself. “You think I’m going to eat whoever is there?” He asked.
Legundo paused then looked to him, Scott’s eyes were challenging.
“We wanted to give you more time to adjust…” He said.
“I can keep my fangs to myself Doctor.” Scott stated. He observed how Legundo didn’t deny the title. So he was a one… just like the last people they ‘escaped’ from.
Legundo glanced at whoever was behind the door and they had their own silent conversation before a newcomer stepped into the room. The man was dressed in black and white, he adjusted his cuff links then waited for Legundo to lead him to the vampires on the floor.
“Here you go.” Legundo held out the bowl of blood. “Do you need help-“
Scott took it off him and placed it on his stomach. “Shelby.” He said. She glanced at it and inhaled the smell of the contents. “You need to eat.” He stated simply.
She shook her head. Scott knew that before all this she had strictly drank animal blood. It was partly why she was so weak.
“I’m not giving you a choice in this.” He informed her solemnly.
She lifted her head to meet his eye then relented. “Ok…”
He didn’t bother with the spoon he was given, Scott licked it clean then chucked it to the side so he could hold the bowl up to help Shelby drink. She consumed it hungrily and he stopped about halfway to ease her body into the new experience, usually human blood caused a strong psychological reaction the first time. He sat up a bit and pulled Pyro into a seating position against him, the young vampire opened his eyes and once the bowl was held under his nose he ate his fill.
Scott felt the eyes of their captors on him. Usually he wouldn’t give sensitive information away like Pyro being conscious but giving the vampires human blood to heal them was a greater asset than the element of surprise.
Pyro wouldn’t have been able to help much in a fight anyway… Once he was done eating he slumped back against his side.
“Do you need more?” Legundo asked as the bowl was handed back to him.
“No.” Scott narrowed his eyes at him then glanced at the new human. “You wanted to talk.” He cut to business.
“Yes, well…” Legundo looked to his partner.
“My name is Abolish.” He said.
“Right, introductions.” Legundo nodded. “My name is Legundo.” He smiled at Shelby and Pyro.
“You’re a vampire.” Pyro said, looking at his teeth.
“Yes.” Legundo agreed. “I work with Abolish here to help vampires and humans get along. We discovered that a lot of advances in the knowledge of vampires was coming from the same source and decided to investigate it. We weren’t prepared to find you four in cells underground, could you tell us… why you were there?” He asked.
“We are still decoding all the reports the organisation held on you.” Abolish added on.
Shelby and Pyro hid their faces against Scott. “It’s the same as what you are doing.” He said. He saw no difference in his situation just because his cage upgraded to a nicely painted room.
“Scott-” Shelby protested.
“They tested and observed us, now we are here.” He pushed on. “You will not let us go,” He challenged - He met Abolish’s eye then Legundo’s, to their credit they didn’t openly react. “You are watching us.” He said.
Legundo cleared his throat.
“We only wish to see you healed and properly taken care of and then you can go.” Abolish interrupted with his hand held up to stop the vampire. “We were not sure how you would react to eating, being in the presence of humans or living in coherence to the current society. We don’t know how long you were down there and not a single one of you were left unscathed.” He said evenly as he looked over them. “The fact I can be in this room and you ate without lunging for me means you are better off than we predicted. Your stay shouldn’t be long here.” His eyes caught on Owen who was still unconscious on Scott’s legs.
“We just want you four to be well.” Legundo said.
Scott scoffed and looked away as he squeezed Pyro and Shelby tighter. He knew a lie when he heard one.
-----
Legundo was far too pleased with Scott agreeing to a ‘check up’. It felt like the vampire wasn’t even trying when he pretended that he wanted them to be well.
He said what he was going to do before he did it. He was gentle as he checked for a pulse that wasn’t there on his wrist, as he asked Scott to lift something ‘heavy’ up and as he got the man to open his mouth to check on his fangs.
Legundo went deadly silent as he saw the state of his teeth.
“May I touch them?” He asked.
Scott nodded uncaring for the vampire having a death wish. It was Scott’s favourite game to clamp his jaw on whatever foolish human went poking around in his mouth. They’d long ago invented work arounds to keep his muscles locked so they could snap whatever molar, incisor or fang they were aiming for. Legundo’s eyes were sharp as he searched over the damage, vampire healing could only do so much with such small amounts of animal blood.
“You… were there for a while, weren’t you?” He asked.
Scott gave him a pointed look since his mouth was still wide open. Legundo had yet to stick a finger in biting range, he only brushed the outside of his teeth.
“You can close your mouth.” Legundo retracted his hand. When Scott did so without saying anything he continued. “Your diet has been inconsistent and your teeth have been damaged during times when you didn’t eat.” Scott hummed. “Usually that wouldn’t be an issue but this has been going on for long enough that not a single tooth is to the strength it’s meant to be. I worry for your ability to bite into a vein, if you hunt something living and it flinches in any way it could rip out your teeth.” He said seriously.
Scott rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Shelby and Pyro. They were watching the entire interaction with narrowed eyes.
“I… you need to take this seriously.” Legundo said. “This will affect your ability to eat for years until your body has enough nutrition to replace your fangs.”
“I know.” Scott frowned at him. “I’ve seen many cases of damaged fangs, I’ve always known what was happening.”
“And… the humans who were looking after you-?“ Legundo said.
“They weren’t looking after us.” Scott growled.
The air was tense as Legundo held his eye contact. “I can see that.” He replied.
“Then stop acting like they cared.” Scott hissed.
Legundo nodded. “Your muscles are weakened,“ He continued. “-and your teeth are in bad shape but that can be easily fixed, if we put you on a consistent diet of human blood you will bounce back from this.” He assured.
“Joy.” Scott said sarcastically.
“And you?” Legundo looked to Shelby.
Scott brought his hand up to block their sight of each other. “You don’t need to check on them.” He warned. “They just woke up.”
“I want to make sure they are healthy.” Legundo said.
“They aren’t. They’re like me.” Scott narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have to assess them to see that.”
Legundo looked to Pyro who hissed quietly. “Alright…” He appeased. He watched as the younger vamps wiggled closer to Scott. “I will get you more food.” He decided.
Scott watched him stand up and walk out of the room. Two humans were stationed outside, Scott was getting tired of having guards so close.
He was waiting for one of them to strike.
-----
Owen woke up quietly. He was always quiet, when it had just been the two of them in those cells they had never talked. Scott didn’t need to hear him to know he was awake, he caught Owen’s eyes opening then scanning their surroundings, he watched him sniff the air and frown at the new room.
“Owen!” Shelby whisper shouted. She scrambled to him and dragged him closer to the group, he’d taken so long to gain consciousness… not any longer than he usually did but in their new environment it felt scarier having him prone at Legundo’s feet.
The way Shelby pulled Owen along meant he ended up in Scott’s lap. His eyes locked on the older vampire and Scott stared back at him, they’d known each other for a long time but recently they were having a lot of firsts. The two of them had never gotten this close.
“Scott-“ Owen said.
“Owen.” Scott acknowledged. It felt weird having Pyro and Shelby under his arms while excluding the man, he supposed he wasn’t upset at this arrangement. That was often the case… Shelby initiated things and the two of them allowed it.
Owen shifted and tried to back off, Scott placed a hand on him to let him know it was alright. Owen looked at him then drew his shoulders up to his ears. Shelby slumped down to lay on top of him.
Scott smiled at the awkward pile they had become, somehow he was at the centre of it as he always tended to be. He didn’t know why Pyro and Shelby included him, then again Owen looked like he was having the same thoughts as he glanced at all of them in confusion.
“We were taken to a new place.” Pyro explained with a nervous mumble.
“New people but similar situation.” Scott said.
Owen nodded curling up against him with Shelby wrapping her arms around him.
“It’s different.” Shelby frowned. “Legundo says-“
“Legundo is a doctor.” Scott interrupted her. “He does not care about us, he sees us just the same as the ones we escaped from. We are subjects, nothing more, a little project he can work on, not a person on equal footing as him.”
Owen bared his fangs. “They’re all the same.”
Scott nodded. “He’s feeding us… foolishly making us stronger for some reason. I think it’s to gain favour, he’s trying to lull us into a false sense of security.”
Owen narrowed his eyes. “Have they punished you yet?”
Scott paused and tilted his head. “No…” He watched as a considering look swept over Owen’s face. “Oh…” He realised. It had been so long he’d forgotten how violent Owen had been at the start of his imprisonment, Scott had always rolled his eyes and ignored the vampire getting beat, thrown and bloodied from his actions. He understood defending himself and fighting for honour but that never seemed to be what Owen was doing. He pressed every button, pushed every limit until only being killed kept him down, the humans had killed him often before Owen found some form of sick satisfaction and settled down.
That was long before Shelby and Pyro’s time, neither had seen him that way, the years had made Scott forget but he could see in the man’s eyes that he was going to lash out and test the length of his leash again.
Scott wondered what Legundo would do…
Owen saw Scott’s realisation and he frowned. The elder nodded and looked away with a considering hum. He wasn’t going to stop the vampire, maybe they could learn something from this.
A knock came at the door and Scott pulled Pyro in closer to guard him.
Things were about to get messy.