#adude.writes

He just barely lived.

And he wouldn't have come back. They had a stake. They wanted him dead.

Avid lets out a broken sob. He had nowhere to go now. Scott, their leader — surely he'd believe the other two core brood members over him. Maybe Shebly would believe him?

He drops a few feet in the air before he continues flapping his wings. He doesn't have anywhere else to go. Shelby and Drift were his last chance of having some form of normalancy. 

Almost on instinct, Avid finds himself outside the castle. Owen and Pyro were probably already back through the beacon. Already talking to Scott, convincing him to kill Avid too.

"Why, hello there, darling," Scott's voice said behind him — where the forest used to rest. Avid jolts in the air, shaking. Scott's eyes shot up, before raising a brow at him. "What's up? What's got you all riled up?"

Avid's voice catches in his throat. "I—" His voice cracks before the dam releases. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he babbers, letting Scott pick him up and hold Avid in his hands. Scott wouldn't kill him, right? But he didn't think Owen or Pyro would— but Scott's also his biggest defender—

Scott ran his hand over Avid's head, and it… it was grounding. He still shook like it was the middle of a harsh winter, but he wasn't hyperventilating anymore. Quietly, Avid eventually manages to whisper it out, "Owen and Pyro tried to kill me."

"What?" Scott seems baffled, staring at him. "Why would they do that?"

"I— I don't know— they said they needed help at the Crypt, that you told them to get me and help there," Avid sniffled, looking deeply at the lines in Scott's hands. "They trapped me in the pit with cobblestone. Anything else and I don't— I wouldn't— they had a stake, Scott—"

Footsteps from inside the castle approaches, and Avid tenses. They're back— They're going to finish the job— Scott brings Avid close to his chest, protecting Avid with his hand. "Oh— Scott! Just the person I wanted to see! I need to talk to you, I think Avid's in danger! We need to get to—"

"Ah, it's alright. He's right here," Scott says, moving his hand slightly so Shelby could see him. "How did you know he was in danger?"

"Oh thank god! Avid, it's okay, you're okay," Shelby mutters, stepping close to Scott and him. "And I just— I got this feeling, like— memories, but they weren't mine? And I felt it, like it was happening to me."

Scott hums. "So that means it is true," Scott mumbled to himself, voice monotone, something neither of the fledglings had heard before. 

"Y— Yes! It is true, I wouldn't lie about this!!" Avid says, eyes wide as he stares up at Scott. 

"Who even managed to trap you, Avid?" Shebly asks, holding out her hand for Avid to move onto. Just in case Scott did end up agreeing with the others. 

Avid opened his mouth to speak, but Acott to it before him. "Owen and Pyro."

"What?!" Shelby's mouth drops open, and Avid lets out a help as she almost drops him. "Why???"

"I don't… know. God knows there's no reason to go after each other." Scott places a hand on his hip as he speaks. "I'm going to have a long chat with both of them next time I see them."

Scott sighs. "I thought I could trust them. Owen, ehh, less so but I figured he wants the same goals. But Pyro?" Scott looks towards the castle, then to Shebly. "As of right now, fledgling, you are the only one I can trust. You two go downstairs into the tomb, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay," Shelby says with a nod. She cups Avid in her hands, which he normally would hate — the claustrophobia — but can't find it in himself to care. Thankfully the castle seems to be empty as Shelby opens her room door, locking it behind her.

"Holy shit. Are— are you okay, Avid? Uh— here." She pulls out a couple of bottles of blood, setting them on her bed next to Avid.

Avid let out a shaky laugh, followed by another one and another one. Between giggles, he manages to force out, "they tried killing me. for good."

"You're alive, you're okay," Shelby reassures him, petting his back with a finger. "I won't— I won't let them kill you."

"This is the only place I have left," Avid says quietly, holding back his tears. "If they kick me out— you and Drift are the only people I have anymore. I can't— I can't lose you guys, too."

"I wouldn't let Scott do that. He likes you more than he wants to admit. And if he does— we'll leave. Me, you, and Drift. Make our own, uh— brood. Just the three of us."

Avid lets out a wet giggle, using his wing to wipe away a few of the tears. "Okay," he says, voice barely audible, "okay."

A knock on the door startles both the vampires. Shelby quickly lifts the blanket for Avid to crawl under while saying, "just a moment! I'm getting changed!"

"That's an awful bold move, but you do you," Scott's voice says behind the door. "It's just me, Shelby."

She giggles nervously as she unlocked the door for him. "I was just trying to be safe." 

Scott pats the top of her head. "Smart girl." She locks the door behind him again, pausing as Avid crawls out of the blanket.

With a poof, Avid shifts back into his vampiric form. Almost instantly, Scott pulls him forward into a hug, running a hand through Avid's hair. "I had a… discussion with Owen and Pyro," Scott said, causing Avid to flinch. Shelby looked like she was ready to run.

"I told them that neither of them are to be alone with you, and that they both have lost my trust and any privileges connected to me. Once the humans are gone and the beacons are turned, I never want to see either of their faces again."

"You… Scott, you didn't have to go that far," Avid weakly mutters out. The elder shook his head. "No, I did. They both crossed a very fine line. We said you had to pick a side— the town, or us. You picked us. And time and time again, you proved that loyalty. To have them lead you out, knowing that you are weak right now, using my name? Those are not people I am going to associate with."

The trio sat in silence for a moment. "Thank you," Avid whispers, leaning into Scott. "I don't— I don't know what to say. Thank you."

Scott hummed, glancing at Shelby. Suddenly, Avid felt Scott's lips gently press against his hair, leaving a small red spot from Scott's lipstick. He's glad he was a vampire right now, lord knows how red his face would get from that one action alone.

He tried to clear his throat, but his voice still came out squeaky as he spoke, "how— how do we know that they're gonna— y'know, stick with the whole leaving me alone thing? Who's to say they won't break in here right now and stab me with a stake?"

"Well, you cannot be alone anymore. And while Shelby still has my trust, she isn't much of a fighter— no offense."

"None taken," she chuckles lightly. Avid feels bad agreeing — although the memory of her claws tearing through his flesh was still relatively fresh in his mind, brought back closer after the experience with Owens.

"So, I'll probably have you stick near me. Never out of ear distance, not until they leave my home."

"What if they both attack you?"

"They're both fledglings," Scott says dismissively, waving his other hand to emphasize the point. "I can take either of them."

Shelby offers a small smile. "It's okay, Avid. It's not like you'll be alone, me and Drift can hang out with you lots! Uh, if Scott doesn't mind."

"None at all."

A small bubble of warmth rises through Avid's chest. They— they still cared about him. They're doing so much for him, just so he can stay safe. Scott kicked out the other two oldest vampires for him, offering to sacrifice his time to watch over him—

He just needs to outlast the humans. Once they're all dead, he shouldn't have to worry anymore! He'll— he'll finally be safe!

"Well," Scott finally says after several silent minutes, "I did have some other plans I wanted to get done. Care to join me, Avid?"

"Oh, yeah-! Yeah, I can." Avid stands up, hands wringing themselves together. "Um, what are we gonna do?"

"Abolish killed all our animals earlier," Scot says, rubbing his hands over the creases in his clothes. "Me and Cleo still had some eggs so I can get some help relocating them." Avid nodded as Scott talked, helping Shelby stand up from her chair.

"I'm gonna— I'm gonna go find Drift," Shebly whispers. "Tell her what um, what happened. Talk to you guys later?"

"Oh, yeah! Okay, yeah. I'll see you later!"

He isn't supposed to feel anything, but he does. He gets angry, upset, he laughs. 

The scientists at Black Mesa, the ones who created him — they very much don't like this development. B-U887 was the only surviving prototype, the only one who has lasted as long as he has. The other ones die within a few months, but not B-U887. 

His one friend — the singular one in Black Mesa, says it's his fault that Bubby has lived as long as he has.

"Maybe if I visit the other ones, they would last a bit longer!" The man would laugh, eyes crinkling and ripe with smile lines. B-U887 rolls his eyes, and crosses his arms.

"As if I haven't been alive for the past seven years before I met you," he huffed, mocking annoyance. His friend couldn't help but laugh again, and he holds onto his stomach as he does so. A warm feeling fills B-U887's chest, and he pushes it down. 

Bubby sits inside his tube, bubbles rising towards the top every time he shifts his weight around. The tube down his throat was uncomfortable, and he hated being unable to hear outside of the liquid they suspended him in.

He isn’t meant to, but he does. He hates everything about this. He hates the scientists that created him. The only light in his miserable life is the one and only Dr. Harold Coomer.

So, one day when Harold broke into the room in the middle of the night — Bubby didn’t go against it. He brought Bubby a lab coat and a weirdly tall pair of boots (claiming that they were his ex-wifes), and broke him out of the tube.

He was soaking wet and shivering, and quickly snatched the towel from Harold's hands and dried himself off to the best of his ability. He changed into his ‘disguise’ as a regular scientist, and the two set off.

Harold freed him, and Bubby would never be B-U887 again. Thankfully his name was something the two of them shared, and so when a new scientist named Bubby was hired, no one batted an eye.

Obviously, they didn’t go that right away. The whole wing was searching for B-U887 the following morning, and searched the whole area for any leads. They even searched Dr. Coomer’s dorm, knowing the man had grown fond of the experiment. Though they expected this, Bubby hid across Black Mesa in plain sight.

Then, a month later, Dr. Bubby arrived. No one suspected a thing — after all, everyone was a scientist here. One more generic face in the crowd wouldn't draw attention.

Now, as long as Bubby never exposed his shoulderblades, no one will ever know he was B-U887. And if anyone squints at his weird tendencies to set things on fire — well, not everyone in Black Mesa was a complete human anyways. 

Take Dr. Coomer for example. With his extendo arms, power legs, and even the Black Mesa issued power lungs, he isn't anything like a regular human.

Which might be why the two work well together. Black Mesa has fucked them both up in completely different ways, and yet the two understand each other better than anyone else they know. They only had each other for years, living a peaceful life together (or, well, as peaceful of a life as one could get in Black Mesa). 

"You two are gonna go traveling after this?" Scott asks, introjecting into the conversation for the first time. 

Drift smiles, putting her arms above her head. "Oh, yeah! Us and Shelby. We're gonna help Avid once we can leave, and then we'll travel to places. I've always wanted to explore across the oceans, y'know?"

"Oh?" Scott hums, looking at Avid. "What do you have after this before you're truly free?"

"I, uh… I had a partner. A— A monster hunter partner. She, um… her name was Elle. She went out for a while, and after a few weeks she returned." Avid's voice seemed way to calm for how he felt, the grief flooding through his body again as he retold his most horrible memory. "She… She attacked me. I don't know why, but… I staked her. I thought she was a vampire. After that, I ran too— ran to Oakhurst. That's… That's why I was acting like that before."

"Oh, Avid," Scott's voice dripped with sympathy as he paused, bringing Avid's hand up and placing a single kiss on his hand. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

Avid is so thankful that his heart no longer could pump the blood up to his face. "I—" His voice catches in his throat, voice starting to waver. "Thank you," he whispers. Drift bumps into his shoulder.

"We'll hold a proper funeral for her, Avid," she says, hand on the shoulder. "We'll always be there for you." A smile broke on Avid's face. The trio move forward, sticking in the shadows of the remaining forest. 

Right before the three stepped out of the forest onto the trail to the castle, Scott paused. 

Avid was giggling, his free hand covering his mouth. He paused as soon as he felt Scott's hand stop being him. 

"Is everything okay?" Drift asks, her skin starting to sizzle as she stands just outside the shadows. Scott shakes his hand, pulling Avid closer to his chest. Avid lets out a very normal sound, thank you for asking. 

"Someone's here," Scott says, voice flat as his eyes scan the trees. "I heard a fourth pair of footsteps." Avid gulps, his heart pounding as he looked around — or, well, the phantom memory of it. Either way, he was scared, okay? 

"You have good ears, Goldsmith." Owen's voice seems to echo from everywhere in the forest. "Though, you seem to be keeping my prey."

Drift's hands tense, her claws ready to be used. "We're not afraid of you!"

"Oh?" Owen's voice circled around them, and Avid started shaking in Scott's arms. "I don't think that's true, Drift. Did Avid not tell you how he begged for his life?"

"I specifically told you I do not want to see you around here again, did I not?" Scott's voice was flat — deadly. Waiting to strike. Avid looks up to those blood-red eyes, seeing the absolute predator that was being held back. At this moment, Avid could not see Scott — but just the hunter instinct over something they own. Something they protect, or lay claim. "Leave."

"I have… unfinished business, before I can do that." Avid flinches as Owen's voice is right in his ear, and he hears Scott growl. "Who are you to deny a hunter his prey?"

"Avid is under my protection. He is in my coven, my brood. He is not your prey because you have grievances."

Owen hums before claws slash down Scott's back. He spins around, claws striking through open air. 

Avid yelps as he was pulled backwards by an invisible force, the collar of his shirt choking him as he's pulled back. Drift shouts, tackling the invisible vampire, and Avid gags on the air. His eyes are wide open, darting around everywhere as he takes a large leap backwards. Without even thinking, he felt himself transform into his bat form. 

He lets out a cry once more as someone slashes at his wings, cutting through the thin skin of the membrane. Somehow managing to slash at Avid, despite the amount of bats that appear when he transforms. 

Avid was grounded, now, unable to even use his own claws to defend himself. He latches himself onto Drift's legs as she fights, and Avid catches Scott nodding at her. Not even a moment later, Drift takes off. "We have to help Scott!" Avid shouts as he climbs up her leg, now looking over her shoulder. He sees Scott between them and Owen and Pyro, fighting both of them off while they escape.

"Are you crazy?!" Drift says between breaths, leaping over the gaps in the bridge. "Do you think we could really take them? You're a bat right now, Avid!"

"We can't just leave him!"

"Dude, you can't even fly right now. They tore through your wing. You really think you can fight?" Drift sighs, gently picking Avid up and holding him in her hands. She looked so large, in his small bat form, like a guardian angel meant to protect him. After a moment, Avid shakes his head. "Exactly. I'm sorry man, but we need to be alive first."

"They know we're at the castle, though."

"We need to go to another beacon, one not here. I just needed to — to get away." Drift is panting as she talks. "Let's go to the Obelisk." 

"Okay."

Avid needs to calm down his racing heart. He's fine. He needs to focus, put all his energy into finding himself at the Obelisk beacon. He takes deep breaths, practically gulping the air to try and calm himself. He's fine. He's fine. Drift's fine, and Scott will be fine.

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. The Obelisk. 

Sunlight shines behind Avid's eyelids, slowly blinking them open. "Oi, what the fuck?!" Avid snaps out of the brief moment he had, head whipping around to see Martyn and Ren at the beacon, consecrating it. 

"Sorry, sorry!" Drift and Avid both shout, jumping at the sight of the humans. The second Martyn pulls out his silver sword, Drift transforms into her bat form, picking Avid up by the scruff of his neck before flying off before another fight could start. 

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, Drift, they were there!" Avid lets out a nervous giggle as Drift lands on a nearby tree. She places him on the leaves, a wing over Avid's tiny form.

"What are the chances?" Drift says, looking at them. "Like, man! The first time I did this and Martyn was there!"

"At least it wasn't Abolish," Avid replies. He leans into Drift, trying to stop the shaking. The two fell into silence for a while, watching as the beacon was neutralized. 

The two were too far away to hear what the humans were saying, but watched as the two of them decided to leave after neutralizing it. Avid feels something disconnected — a sudden loss of a feeling Avid didn't even realize. A vampire is dead.

He looks at Drift, and he could tell she has the same feeling. "You don't think?"

She shakes her head. "No. He couldn't have. There's no way."

"Should we go back to the castle?" Drift shakes her head again. 

"Nah," she says, "me and Shelby said to meet here if anything happens. I was gonna tell Scott, but, uh… Haven't gotten the time yet. But we just need to wait and hope she comes."

Avid nods. "Okay," he lets out a breath. "I hope he's okay."

"He is. If Scott's dead, we don't have a chance. Any of us."

Avid leaned into Drift further. Scott has to be okay. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Quietly, he whispers to her, "I can't believe they came back to try and kill me."

"You're gonna be okay," Drift hugs him tighter, "we'll always be there to protect you."

They stay outside like this for ten minutes, then twenty, then thirty. At this point, both Avid and Drift both had shifted out of their bat forms, simply just sitting on the tree. Finally, they see a reddish brown flying towards them. "Guys!" Shelby lets out a breath of relief as she lands on the tree next to them, transforming back. "Avid, are you okay? Scott told me about the ambush."

"I'm fine," Avid said, breaking off of Avid to latch onto Shelby. "Scott's okay? Did you feel that earlier?"

"Oh, yeah!" Shelby says. "Scott killed Pyro. He said Owen ran away once Scott was pulling out stakes."

Avid wishes he could bring himself to care, even though they attacked him. Was Avid already losing his humanity, his empathy? He shook his head. "I'm glad you're okay, Shelby. I'm glad that you're okay."

Shelby lets out a breath, tightly holding Avid. "I'm glad you're okay, too. I'm sorry I wasn't there." She looks at Drift, dragging her into the hug as well. "We're gonna be okay, okay? The three of us. I promise you guys that."

Avid could feel tears forming in his eyes from happiness. "I love you guys," he says, voice shaking as he speaks. "I'm glad I have you."

"We love you too," Drift replies, holding both of them tighter. As if she lets them go, they'd disappear. And Avid's okay with that. He doesn't mind the slightest.

Bubby was… well. There isn't a way to put this into nice, pretty words that you have to peal the layers off to understand the meaning. But Bubby has been having… issues. Now, he knows this is vague — forgive him for beating around the bush.

But Bubby might not be a guy. 

It's probably weird or stupid — how could Bubby not be a guy? It's what everyone calls him. And it's not like he doesn't like being a guy, just… it was what he was assigned back when he was still a lab experiment. And he had many more pressing matters at hand, such as being experimented on, that he never put any real thought into his… gender identity.

Hell, he never even knew he could be anything different. But like most things in his life, Dr. Harold Coomer showed him differently.

Now, unlike most things, this was something Bubby discovered by himself. Part of it was through Harold, yes, but it was not something he was outright told about.

See, Harold is transsexual. At least that is what he told Bubby — that Harold was born a girl, but is a guy. Something that he picked to be, that brought him joy. Tommy is similar — his gender is not set in stone, something that moves around on a day by day basis. A gal one day, a guy the next. 

The idea interested Bubby. But he was just a guy. Hell, at times there were jokes that Bubby was the only one who hasn't changed his gender in the Science Team. Everyone else was… some sort of variation. 

Being a guy never brought Bubby any joy. It was only something given to him at his time at Black Mesa. He never knew it could be something he wanted.

So one day, he decided to experiment. He looked into the bathroom mirror, and stared at himself. Imagined himself as a girl. And, you know what? Bubby felt something he hadn't ever felt when he thought of himself as a guy. He felt a connection. Joy. He saw the person he wants to be. 

Obviously, this brought distress.

She didn't know if Harold would still like her — the man was gay, after all. He wouldn't want to be with her anymore, would he? Or would Harold feel like he would be forced with staying with her? He doesn't seem like the type, but Bubby could never predict people's reactions or emotions well. 

And well, it's best to say that Bubby was overthinking it. Badly. She knew she wanted to tell him — that man was her world. They told each other everything — from the small mundanities of day to day life ("of course I'd tell you if I saw some nice cows") to their deepest fears ("I don't want to lose you if the game — our world — crashes." Don't get Bubby started on that one). And this was a massive step in Bubby discovering who she is in her life — late as it may be.

But she really doesn't want to lose Harold.

So, like any rational scientist — she pushes it off for a month.

During this time, not much changes. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to change anything besides how people refer to her. She already had grey hair and a receding hairline — not much to work with in that department. And she already always wore those massive boots with the heel on the end, the ones Harold gifted her because of the rockets on the sides of them. 

And she… doesn't particularly care for dresses. They look very nice, but it is not Bubby's style. Her style is mad scientist, which she thinks she pulls off well. Plus, with how many explosions happen in the lab, wearing less clothing would not be the greatest idea.

The point being is that she's happy with how she is now. She knows she doesn't need to change anything else about herself to be happy, and she's fine with that. The only worry is truly Dr. Coomer.

She stood in the hallway frame that leads to the living room, arms crossed over her chest as she debated to herself. She knows she needs to tell him, she told herself she would do it tonight. And yet her feet were frozen to the ground, and she could feel the anxiety start to burn in her veins. 

Dr. Harold Coomer sat in the living room, watching TV with a cup of tea in his hands. He doesn't seem to be paying Bubby any mind. He cools the tea down, and Bubby watches as the steam dances through the air.

Just tell him, her thoughts scream at her. She clears her throat, bringing his attention to her. He quieted the TV down, turning to face her with a smile on his face. Always a smile, always for her. "Harold," she says, her voice calmer than how she felt. "I have something I have to tell you."

She takes a deep breath. Spit it out, Bubby, you've literally survived being on an alien planet and everything else that happened in Black Mesa. You can say you're a girl.

"You. Are aware. Of… what I went through in Black Mesa." She clenches her teeth. She isn't supposed to be the one who beats around the bush. She was direct and forward — she says what's on her mind without caring about the reply.

Harold nods his head. Patient. Kind. He was the best man in the world, and Bubby has the privilege of knowing him. Of living with him.

Bubby grips her fists. "Ugh," she groans, before facepalming. Her hands drop down to her sides as she steels herself. "Harold, I'm a woman. The same way you're a man."

Bubby tenses. This is the part where Harold announces that they have to go their separate ways. That he could no longer love Bubby the way he did before — that Bubby would be yet another "ex-wife" to Harold.

Harold stood in front of her, and she blinked. She hadn't even noticed him walk up to her as he gently takes her hands, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles the way he always has. "I'm glad you told me," he says, voice soft and quiet like it always gets when it's just the two of them. "I'm proud of you, Bubby."

"I'm sorry," Bubby blurts as she meets Harold's eyes. "I'm— I'm not someone you can love anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous, dear," Harold replies immediately, squeezing her hands. "What gave you that idea?"

"You're gay, aren't you?" She replies. "You love men, and I can't be one of those anymore."

"I love you, Bubby," Harold said, bringing her into a hug. "Being gay is a loose label. I love you, no matter what. My attraction to you hasn't changed a bit, dear."

Bubby felt tears start to form, but she refused to cry right now. She hasn't cried in months, Harold saying he still loves her will not change that. "...thank fuck," she mutters into Harold's shoulder, and the man laughs quietly while rubbing her back. "God, I thought you were gonna fuckin'— I don't know. Something."

"You get too caught up in your head, dear," Harold smiles, and Bubby could feel his mustache rub against her clothes. "Is there a different name you wish to go by?"

Bubby immediately shakes her head. "No. This one is perfect. You're the one who gave it to me, even if it does have its… quirks." Bubby's mind went back to when he first met Gordon, who insisted that Bubby wasn't a real name. She mentally shook her head. "I like the name Bubby. It's who I am, the person I've become outside of those experiments." Proof that I'm a person.

Harold smiled as the hug broke, and he still kept her hand in his. He gave Bubby a peck on the cheek, staring up at her with stars in his eyes. And as Harold started to ask about if she had any plans for dinner as he led her to the couch, she knew that everything would be okay.

His eyes drift from the diamonds clearly placed on the ground to Tango's face, seeing the goofy smile Mumbo always did. The way he shifted, jumping on his feet like he couldn't stand still, fiddling with his hands. 

Mumbo gently holds Grian's head in his hands, and Grian instinctively leaning into it. "...I figured it would have been a sweet gesture. Heartwarming, and… maybe we could cuddle for a bit, after?"

God, Grian wanted to say yes so badly. But Grian knows this isn't Mumbo. "It— It's not you," Grian says after a moment, forcing himself to pull away, eyes staring at the stone. "It's not the same." 

Mumbo sighs, hands dropping to his side. "I miss you," Mumbo said, bright red eyes shining when he looked at Grian. Mumbo hesitantly reaches a hand out, fingers flexing before he reaches out. Grian took his hand.

"I miss you too," Grian says, knowing Mumbo wouldn't even know about this after this game was over. "When this is all over, I'll come and visit you. I swear it."

"I love you, G." Mumbo closed his eyes, squeezing his hand. Grian's heart freezes — it's the first time they've ever said that. And it wasn't even him. It wasn't even Mumbo. Grian's voice wobbles, fighting his own voice not to crack, "I'll visit. In Hermitcraft, when this is done. I'll visit."

Grian's vision darkens, and he closes his eyes. Repeating Mumbo's voice in his head so the game updates, keeping him going. When he opens his eyes, Tango looks back at him, blinking as he took in his surroundings. 

Tommy Coolatta is not a human.

Which is probably something the normal person would not know that Tommy isn’t a human until he tells them. Which isn’t a bad thing!

Tommy honestly prefers that. He likes being close to a human — some could even say he takes pride in it.

Acting human — being human was sorta like a— a puzzle. Or a game? Like— Like a crossword puzzle in the morning paper. You can see the facial expressions, the body language people make — but— but he still needed to figure out what the final piece was. 

And Tommy likes it! He finds it fun having to research humans, learn their silent language. It’s a fun hobby Tommy liked to do before it was second nature to him.

Now, on the other hand, Tommy has friends who… aren’t quite the same. His friend — well. He likes to look… not quite scary? He doesn’t want to scare people— okay, well, scratch that because there’s been plenty of times when he’s sat in a dark room, only to jump out at Tommy — but his friend doesn’t want to be terrifying. He only wants to be able to prank people. So he doesn’t commit to the whole human thing.

Granted, his friend can shapeshift. If Tommy could do that, he’d probably look a little less human, too. Like having glow in the dark hair. That would be as cool as, like – as cool as a fallen ice cream cone on a winter's day!

Tommy’s getting distracted. He wishes he has an ice cream cone right now — but either way! The point in all of this being that Tommy isn’t human and you wouldn’t even know it unless you were told. And Tommy’s friend also wasn’t human, but not in the same way he was. That there are quite a lot of not humans at Black Mesa.

Granted, most of the not humans weren’t… working for Black Mesa. Tommy and Benrey (Tommy’s friend he’s been mentioning — he forgot to introduce his name!) were exceptions because Tommy’s dad is sort of the ruler over the place. Sort of like the boss, but even higher than that! So Tommy, being the GMan’s son, and Benrey being pseudo-adopted by the GMan, they were safe from the harsher experiments.

Not that a lot of people at Black Mesa even knew! Well. Tommy has an ability that, uh— most people can’t see! Just like his father, he’s able to stop time and use the trains. But he doesn’t do it a lot, cause it makes him as nervous as one would feel jumping off a plane without an airbag. 

Benrey on the other has is a bit more… obvious? Not only in his features, which you could probably just brush off as a weird guy — maybe the practically grey skin was some sickness, or just really pale, or even just the lighting! Or the teeth that look as sharp as a sharks was just a cosmetic thing, people get their teeth sharpened all the time. The shadow casted over his eyes was purely because of the guard helmet Benrey wears — everything could be brushed off as just a weird quirk. Human brains were good at just taking that sort of information, and filing it away to never think of it again.

But Benrey also has this — well, he calls it ‘the Black Mesa Sweet Voice’. It’s his native language, or they think it is at least. See, GMan found a baby (or well, young) Benrey when they first opened the portal to Xen, and then GMan got there, there didn’t seem to be any other aliens like Benrey. And this thing came naturally to him, so surely it was like a language. 

…Oops, Tommy still hasn’t even explained what the Sweet Voice is.

It’s a physical, visible language. Benrey sings different notes, and produces color. Each color represents a different emotion, and they can mix and blend and transform into different meanings. Blue means calm, but blue to cyan means that he’s overwhelmed. These songs can get complicated — Tommy’s seen Benrey spew out seven or eight colors at once. And it always seems like it’s a part of his emotional regulation, too. He can keep the colors back, but it’s like physically bottling up his emotions and they’ll all eventually spill out, anyways.

Of course, everything isn’t a one-to-one ratio and meaning! Tommy’s only as fluent as he is because he grew up with the other! And, well — the fact that Sunkist (the Perfect Dog) also speaks it helps. Because she’s such a good girl.

But! He keeps getting distracted talking about his research and his family!! 

The point of this is that Benrey is always going to look off to humans that stick close because of his sweet voice. Tommy can blend in no issue, but Benrey can’t unless he bottles every emotion up. Which obviously isn’t good, cause then it builds up and up until it's like a volcano erupting, or when you open up a shaken soda can.

So when Benrey wants a job at Black Mesa to stick close to Tommy, he’s concerned. Not that Benrey can’t make his own choices — but Tommy just worries. He knows that no one can do anything because the both of them are under GMan’s protection, but..!

“it’s chill, bro,” Benrey says with a smile, hand on Tommy’s shoulder when he says he got the job. “they’re stickin’ me in the boring parts, ‘nyways. no people around.”

Tommy bites on his nails, before grimacing at the taste. Right, he has a special nail polish on to help him break that habit. He instead switches to bouncing his foot nervously as he speaks. “What if someone tries to take you?”

“then dad’ll spread their atoms across the universe,” Benrey says with a smile on his face. “duh.”

“What if—”

“sshhh bro, you’re stressing me out.” he pats Tommy’s shoulder again. “we can meet up for lunch, yeah? lunch munch?” As he talks, purple and blue bubbling out of his mouth.

Tommy bites the inside of his lip. “Okay,” he says after a moment. “But if anything happens you have to text me or Dad!”

Benrey laughs, these wispy white bubbles that fade into green flowing from his mouth. White to green jasper means bursting out in laughter, Tommy translates. “you got it, man. will do officier.”

Tommy snorts. “You’re the security officer,” Tommy corrects, which Benrey scrunches up his face and sticks out his tongue, blowing a raspberry. “Eug, I shouldn’t worry about you, cause— cause no one would put up with you! You’re like — You’re like, Ryuga, from— from Beyblade!”

“ouch dude, c’mon, i’m not that bad,” Benrey laughs, ruffling Tommy’s hair. “your ryuga brother has feelings, too.”

“You know what I mean!” Tommy huffs, and he has to admit he does feel a bit better now, even with how insufferable Benrey can be sometimes. He crosses his arms, before standing. “Well! If you’re first day is tomorrow, I can— I will show you around as a, uh, a tour guide!”

Benrey rolls his eyes affectionately. “already putting benrey to work? sending benrey coolatta off to dunkin one last time?”

“You’re lucky if you’re going to a Tim Hortens, now let’s — let’s get going!” Benrey gasps in mock offence at Tommy’s words, but the two eventually make it out the door for Tommy’s shift. This is probably definitely not allowed, but no one stops him in fear of facing the GMan. Who really isn’t that scary, but Tommy’s also seen the man cry over the tree that fell over during a large storm last summer, so— 

Tommy is really bad at not rambling. 

The two tour Black Mesa — at least the parts Tommy typically goes for a shift, and a few off the different guard posts that Benrey’ll probably stick to during the first training period.

Meanwhile, Tommy’s prepping for tomorrow. There's gonna be some super important test that someone’s running involving some sort of crystal? Tommy doesn’t know a lot but he knows that it’s going to be happening in this sector, so he reads up on it just to get some knowledge on it. 

— — —

The next day approaches, and Tommy is nervous. So many things had already started going wrong — he had to swap shifts, so now he’s suddenly the one watching over this experiment — and most importantly!! Get this!! The guy was running late!!!

Unbelievable, right? 

The guy finally gets into the chamber, and Tommy has to do a double take, because holy shit is that Benrey in there???

Tommy has to quickly rush towards the test chamber, and finds Doctor Coomer and Bubby standing there, yelling at the man — Gordon Freeman, apparently — about the experiment. 

Benrey catches Tommy's eye and he turns to wave at him with a smile on his face. “tommy!” He shouts, his sharp teeth shining as the light hits them. “tommayyy!”

Pink sweet voice blooms from his mouth, lighting the room with his affection. Tommy smiles, waving from above. He watches Mr. Freeman turn to Benrey, talking and gesturing as the man talks. Tommy couldn’t hear him, but he was very expressive. “Benrey! What’re you doing in there?” He shouts, causing the two men next to him to wince. “Oops. Sorry.”

Benrey doesn’t answer him, apparently to focused on the conversation happening in the test chamber. Tommy bites the inside of his lip, shouting a warning to Mr. Freeman to not move the card too quickly.

…

Tommy should have kept his mouth shut.

The crystal explodes in the test chamber, and the whole sector shakes as the glass in front of them breaks. Tommy’s pretty sure he passed out — no, he knows he passed out, because we woke up in a different room with Dr. Coomer next to him.