#eagefree

Which was why it hurt so much that when he realized most of his home was gone. That he’d been wiped from the collective memory of Tempo with one singular exception. Arthur had somehow remembered. Arthur had taken that memory and turned into a one man, one woman, one whatever-the-hell-Mystery-was crusade to bring him home.

And whatever passed for Lewis’s blood ran cold at the very thought that he’d almost killed the last piece of home left to him. And he fervently thanked whatever deity might have been listening that he’d faltered in the critical moment.

Since then it had been a slow process bringing everyone’s memories of him back. Some of them, like his family, instantly snapped into place upon Arthur reintroducing them. Chloe had taken a bit for her memory to return and Lance even longer. Vivi still didn't have hers.

Deep down Lewis wondered if it was because she didn't want to remember him. It hurt, but he couldn't say he was entirely surprised.

Vivi had no forgiveness for people who hurt her friends.

But Arthur he still had. Arthur who had clung to his memory. Arthur who had gone searching for him and hadn't stopped till he'd brought home back home.

Arthur was his home and he clung to him like Arthur had to his memories of Lewis. Arthur seemed to draw comfort from his presence, often falling asleep curled up to him.

Lewis knew it was one of the few reasons Vivi tolerated his existence. He'd take it though. While he'd never stop hoping she'd remember him, never stop hoping to repair their relationship, well, the suspicious glances and 'I'm watching you' glares were starting to hurt a little less.

He was home, and he’d never leave it, never leave Arthur, again.

Vithur:

“Teach me to cook.”

The words were equal parts defiant and pleading. It was a strange combination, even stranger coming from Vivi. Mrs. Pepper looked her over, considering.

“Arthur’s not eating again.” She concluded. Vivi wilted. “He’s not…not eating. He’s snacking. Peanut butter crackers and energy drinks. It’s enough to keep him from collapsing, but…”

Mrs. Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose. Arthur probably thought there was nothing wrong as long as he was eating something. “You already seem to have the most important ingredient down, so we’ll give this a try. You do realize you won’t be making restaurant quality meals, right.”

“I know, I just…want to make him something he’ll eat.”

“Trust me, he will.” Mrs. Pepper’s smile was gentle, then turned menacing. “Your training begins now.”

~

“Arthur, it’s time to eat.”

“I’m fine, Vi. Ate already.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Did it involve a vegetable?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. They both knew it didn’t.

Arthur let himself be dragged out of his workshop and realized something. The house smelled good. It wasn’t the kind of smell you got from takeout. It was the kind of permeation of aroma you only got from when the food was cooked in the home.

Vivi sat him down in front of a plate. It had Salisbury Steak with a rich gravy on it, steamed green beans, mashed potatoes that smelled like garlic and cheese, and a small bowl of pickled daikon cubes to the side.

“You made this?” he asked quietly.

“Even pickled the daikon myself.” She pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Every meal needs it.”

“Vivi, this is...it’s too much.”

“Then you need to eat more.” she poked. “Expand your stomach.” “It’s not…that’s not…” Oh god, he was crying. Why was he crying?

Vivi hugged him. “Arthur, cooking a meal for you is not too much. I can even teach you some of what I learned if you want. But you need to eat better and if me learning to cook will do that, then it’s worth it. You’re worth it.” He really wasn’t. Not all this. The first bite was delicious. It tasted of meat, of onion, or garlic. But most of all, it tasted of love.

He would learn to cook, he decided. He’d learn what Vivi said she could teach, maybe watch some youtube videos or something. Because he wanted to do this for her too.

Vivi also deserved to taste all the love he held for her.

Monochrome:

“So why are your feet muddy?” Belle asked, poking at the sludge covering her brother’s legs from the knee down. “Did you have to walk through a mud pit to get here?” “They just sort of are.” He explained sheepishly. “At least ever since I woke up.”

“So even if you, like, scrape it off, there’s just more.” Belle had a grin that was more often seen on Cayenne’s face.

Oh no. “What are you thinking, Belle?”

Belle did not respond verbally, just grabbed a handful of the goop on his legs and flung it at Cayenne. “Belle no!” Mono cried as Cayenne shrieked in joy. “Mom’s gonna be so upset if you two get covered in mud!”

Cayenne made a rude noise. “Bro, Mom’s so happy to have you back she could come home to us covered from head to toe in swamp muck and she’d still be on cloud nine. So MUD FIGHT!”

Mono picked both his sisters up. “No mud fight.”

“Awww.” both sisters chimed at once.

“She got me once, so I should get her once.” Cayenne argued.

“No mud fight.” Mono repeated sternly.

Both pouted, but Mono was not willing to relent.

“Can we…try to make pots out of the mud?” Belle suggested. “It’s pretty thick, so it might be like clay?” “Yeah, we have a toy pottery wheel. Pleeeeeese!” Cayenne added.

Mono was aware his two sisters just wanted to play in mud more. But at least play pottery was more constructive than a mud fight. “Okay, but smocks first.”

They let out a cheer and all three of his sisters ran inside. Belle and Cayenne came out with the aforementioned pottery wheel and smocks, but Paprika was holding what looked like a child’s makeup kit. “I thought you might miss having color,” she explained.

And that’s how the Pepper Parents found them when they got home a few hours later. Belle and Cayenne are the pottery wheel surrounded by lumpy creations that with some imagination looked like pots and Paprika having long since abandoned the make-up kit and was using the sidewalk chalk to color her brother every shade of the rainbow.

For the first time in months, everything was All Right.

Fluff:

“So I’ve brought you here today for an important mission.” Vivi said with all the authority a preteen could muster. “Today we are giving Mystery a bath.” Arthur raised his hand. “Question. I assume since you wanted both of us, Mystery is going to be a handful. So why is he just sitting there and not running away?” “An excellent question, recruit. The answer is he needs brushies before the bath and he likes brushies. He will be making the escape attempts afterwards.” She said with the tired authority of one who has lived through this many a time. “Quite,” Mystery agreed, with a grin

“Okay, but do you really need all of us to brush him? Shouldn’t one of us be watching the gate or something.” Lewis suggested.

“You’ll see,” was all Vivi said as she handed the others their doggy brushes.

Ten minutes later Arthur was shaking his head. “This can’t be right. I think we’ve removed more fur than dog.”

“Normally I’d say you’re exaggerating but…” Lewis looked at the pile of fur they’d collected, already up to his chest. “This shouldn’t be possible.” “It’s like this every time I brush him.” Vivi huffed. “That’s why I needed you guys to help. Can you imagine how long this would take by myself?”

“But well worth it.” Mystery preened under the brushing.

“If you had thumbs I’d say you should brush yourself.” Vivi shot back.

“You know, I wonder if we could use this for stuffing pillows or something.” Lewis wonders. “It’s really fluffy.”

“I’d say he’s more fluff than dog.” Arthur said exasperated as he went to run the brush down Mystery’s back, only for the dog to seemingly collapse under the brush.

“It’s a fake.” Lewis picked it up. “A fake Mystery made out of the fur we just brushed.” Confusion was clear in his voice. “How…?”

“The how is not important, boys. What is important is we have apparently brushed him enough for it to be bath time.” Vivi dropped her brush and cracked her knuckles. “Let’s go!”

Something... dark and smoky – mist? Fog? – was seeping into the chamber. Slowly, it took on a shape that looked almost... human. Its head – if it could be called that yet – was already focused in on Lewis, who was still unresponsive.

There was no time to pick the lock, he could feel it. Instead he backed up and balled his prosthetic hand into a fist and rammed it into the wall as hard as he could, and the glass, as it is wont to do, shattered.

He forced his way through the newly-made hole, paying no attention to the shards around the edge, and scrambled a couple steps forward before that thing had its eyes on him. It was forming a face now, glowing and sick green in a way that felt too familiar, in a blurry half-remembered way.

“Well, look at this!” it crowed, swirling slightly upward. “You’re actually here! It’s like a little reunion.”

Then it was moving for him, and there was nothing he could do to fight something that wasn’t corporeal –

And then Vivi stepped in with her bat at the ready, and Mystery hopped in after her, and the thing visibly recoiled, looking between the two of them. Its eyes settled on the dog for a moment, and it hissed. “You.”

Arthur didn’t pay too much attention to them – he was already moving for Lewis, dropping to his knees in front of him and with the monster at his back. 

“Lewis?“ he said, keeping his voice soft. He must have heard him, because his head picked up–

–and then he lunged back with a small gasp, eyes going wide with fear. He only got a little ways before something stopped him with a loud clank – he was bound to the wall.

“Lewis, it’s okay-” Arthur reached out to him with one hand, trying to reassure him, and then snapped his attention to the chains. He kept up a steady stream of reassurances as he worked, “it’s okay, you’re safe now, you’re going to be okay, just hang on.”

By some incredible stroke of luck, for which he spent a moment silently thanking whatever-was-watching in his head, whoever was in charge of the security in this place had made the common-but-still-embarrassing mistake of buying from a company that sounded fancy but didn’t actually have any idea how to make a lock. He shimmed it open in barely a second and the entire thing fell apart.

He looked back to Lewis, who still seemed frozen – had he even recognized him yet? – and scooted a little closer, reaching out again. This time he didn’t flinch away, and Arthur was able to close the distance and put a hand on his cheek. It was tacky with dried tears or sweat – it was impossible to tell – and his eyes were almost sunken, surrounded by dark circles.

“Lewis, it’s me,” he tried again. “I’m here now.”

He drew a little closer and then Lewis practically fell into him, burying his face in his shoulder. His breathing was shaky, unsteady, and if he was trying to hug him he was too weak to even get his hands up to his shoulders. Arthur just held him for a moment, rubbing his back with one hand, trying not to pay attention to the outline of his ribs and spine.

“We need to move,” he said after a moment, remembering that Vivi and Mystery were still holding back that thing. “Can you walk?”

“...dunno,” was the hoarse, almost-whispered reply.

“Okay. Just lean on me, okay? I’ve got you.”

They stood up together, Lewis’s legs shaking and threatening to give out before Arthur caught him and supported him a little more. This time, Arthur remembered to call out to Vivi as they were headed for the exit, and he briefly saw her head jerk around before he looked back towards the hole they’d made in the glass. He briefly struggled to get Lewis over the hole without scraping his knees, he couldn’t lift his legs high enough – and then Vivi was on his other side and, without another question, lifting him up and dragging him along, and they all started to run.

They were almost to what looked like a fire exit, when Arthur heard that indistinct whispering that had preceded the spirit’s arrival earlier. He saw wisps on the edge of his vision and could only try to move faster. Vivi suddenly disappeared and Lewis dipped forward, slowing both of them down significantly. The spirit was forming again next to him, that same sick grin stretched across its face–

Vivi’s bat connected with the thing’s chest and it exploded in a shower of ice-blue light.

When the light cleared, there was a frozen impact of ice shards in its chest, and it was visibly reeling. Vivi stared at it for a second, and then turned and ran for the others again, and that was everyone’s cue to start moving.

Arthur shouldered the door open, and thankfully there were only a few stairs, and he could see the bright orange of their van through the trees.

“Vivi, you drive,” he said when they were getting close to it.

She stared at him for a moment, visibly bewildered by this request. “What? I can-”

“Please.” He couldn’t leave Lewis alone, and she didn’t know what was going on, didn’t know how to help.

Maybe she could see or hear his desperation, because she didn’t argue anymore, just nodded and headed for the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

Arthur helped Lewis up the steep ledge of the van’s back doors, and then they both dropped to the ground, and it was silent for a moment as the van’s engine whirred to life and they started moving.

It didn’t take much longer for Lewis to start hyperventilating.

Arthur was there in an instant, pulling him to his chest again, and forcing his own breathing to be even and slow as he rubbed his back and murmured reassurances. “It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re gone, you’re never going back there. Just keep breathing. In and out. You’re doing great.”

It wasn’t long before he devolved into what might have been weak, hiccupy sobs, though he was too dehydrated for any actual tears. Arthur started carding one hand through his hair.

“You want some water?” he asked after a while. Lewis just nodded unsteadily against his shirt. 

Arthur pulled away a little and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler. He helped Lewis drink, guiding the bottle with his hands.

After that, Lewis just stared at him for a while, and then reached out and put a hand over his.

“This... is you? You’re... real?”

His voice was still weak, but not quite as ragged as it had been before. Arthur picked up his hand and squeezed it.

“Yeah. I’m here. I promise.”

--

Lewis spent most of the next day pretty out of it, sleeping occasionally only to jolt awake at the slightest disturbance. Arthur barely left his side the entire time, except to grab water or something light to try to coax him to eat. He was always there to hold him and offer reassurances that yes, he was here, this was real, he was home and he wasn’t going to go anywhere.

At some point, pretty late in the night, Lewis was curled up against Arthur’s shoulder again, at the end of another bout of weak sobbing. He lifted his head only barely to speak.

“I still... smell like that place,” he murmured.

“You wanna take a shower?” Arthur answered, sitting up a little.

“Mm... too much work...” he laid his head back down again. “Don’t want you to leave...”

“I’ll help. C’mon.”

So Arthur pulled off the papery gown Lewis was still dressed in and helped him bathe, replacing the smell of sweat and disinfectant with the flowers and sweet vanilla of the bath soaps. He didn’t say anything about the large, messy, still-healing gashes in his side, just gently washed away the blood still left around the wound. He worked shampoo and conditioner through his hair, detangling the messy locks until they lay almost flat against his neck. The gentle rhythm lulled Lewis almost to sleep, swaying slightly as he sat in the bath, Arthur humming softly to him.

Once that was done, he helped him into clean pajamas, finally rid of every lingering trace of that fucking facility. Lewis’s own bed was dirty from him lying in it, so until the sheets could be changed, they both laid down in Arthur’s room instead.

They laid there in the darkness, the only sound a distant fan running in some other part of the house, and for a while, were just silent.

“...thank you,” Lewis said eventually, not opening his eyes.

“Of course,” Arthur responded immediately. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You came for me,” he continued. “I thought you were...”

Oh. He wasn’t just talking about the bath.

Arthur sat up a little, putting one hand on Lewis’s face and tilting it up toward his. “Hey. Look at me. I will always be there for you. No matter what. I’d look forever if I had to, okay? I would never leave you in a place like that.”

Lewis nodded slightly, and then went back to curling up against him.

When your focus returns, you realize there is someone standing in front of you. Their back is to you. Whomever this is, they have dark hair, and their shirt has a red, plaid pattern to it. If you were to touch it, you imagine it would be soft from the tiny lint coming off the ends. There’s not much else to note on her look, as the rest seems normal. Pants and boots, something to handle the thick woods.

You step around them, and only then do you notice there’s a group of four people standing across from this person, whom you’ve narrowed down to being female. The four people consist of one female and one male, two distinctly older than the other two. The older man and woman have some features that match the woman you’re standing next to. Were they related? Actually, now that you think about it, the two young males also look like the older pair as well. A family?

You note the expressions on their faces. The one you are standing next to seems hopeful while the other four look confused.

The young woman doesn’t say anything, though the older man does, “So? What did you want to tell us? And why did it have to be out here?” You note the tone of his voice, it seems to hold harshness. What for? Has this person done something wrong?

“I’ve got an offer for all of you. I’ve gotten some outside help over the past months. They’ve helped make me better. They can make all of you better too!” Make her better? What was wrong with her in the first place?

There was a look of disbelief that washed over every males’ face. It was almost as if the one they were looking at was incapable of such a thing. A smug look even crossed the faces of the two younger ones. The older woman hadn’t done much of anything, which was strange. She hadn’t spoken up, and her face hardly changed. She just kept close to the older man, her head turning away.

Your head turns back to the younger woman. When no one spoke, she assumed this was her chance to show what she meant. There was a strange magic wrapping around her, one that had an orange and red color to it. There were specs in the air that almost looked like hair flying around, but made of the same magic around her. When the magic faded, there was a canine figure there, one with a spectrum of grays and slight red tint.

Salena? This was her family?

Even as a wolf, that hopeful look returned, a smile curling over her muzzle, her sharp teeth shining as she spoke, “See? I know I’m different, but I can do so much more! I can hunt better like this. I won’t always have to rely on traps.”

There were no words coming from the others, just looks of shock… and disgust.

The hope was fading, almost as if Salena was looking desperate for them to understand, “That’s not all I can do! Look!” There’s a slight pained look, but ice tinged at her fingertips, forming around her. She almost looked proud, but there was that underlying desire for them to be just as proud of her. That probably hurt more than anything else.

A look of… anger? It was on the older man. Anger didn’t seem like the right word… but that was the quickest thing you assume it to be. His harsh tone comes back tenfold, “Why would you do this to yourself?”

Salena looks confused, as if she couldn’t understand why he would ask that question.

She gets a bit of a serious tone when she speaks to answer him, “Look… I’m not the only one like this. There’s others. In Silverbrook, around us. We’ve been gifted with this. Those who don’t… join… are going to be killed. I know I’ve always been a disappointment to this family, but I still… love you all. You should all come with me! I can save you all. We can still be together. I’ll show you I am worthy to you. That you can be proud of me.”

You can’t help but notice when she speaks those last two lines, her gaze is focused on the older man…

He… in turn… just deepens in his anger. That feeling is shared among all those present.

You see that Salena is taken back by their reaction. The older man speaks again, his voice low, “I shouldn’t be surprised you’d sink so low to do something like this. You never could do things on your own like your brothers. Always making mistakes. This is the biggest one you’ve made. Begone beast, you are not a part of this family. You’re no daughter of our’s. Come you two. We have some more beasts to slay.”

You wonder if the implications of leaving Salena alive was an act of family love to spare just her… or a punishment to ensure she would be completely alone. Regardless, you can see all the hope shatter from her form. Her body sags, and you swear you can see tears spilling out her eyes. It was as if her whole world came crashing down on her… fighting so hard to please someone who would never accept you…

Your head snaps back up at the sound of something, as if it were passing on the wind. You don’t see a change of those around you, other than the group of four starting to leave and Salena falling to the ground. You instinctively move over to her, even if you can’t seem to interact with her. There’s another sound… it’s almost like a whisper. It’s barely there, but you can hear it.

They’ve abandoned you… it hurts… doesn’t it?

Who’s voice is that? You don’t seem to recognize it. It’s low, but very deep. You are sure if you were in the presence of whomever this voice belonged to, you were sure you would feel uneasy under the power they held.

You tried to spare them, and they just tossed you aside…

You see Salena’s head lift up, tears still slipping out. She’s staring at the rest of their family as they get further and further away…

They will perish when they return… but…

There’s a spark of curiosity in her eyes at that one…

They’ve hurt you so… you want to prove to someone what kind of worth you have… prove to me how good you are…

You see he eyes narrow dangerously.

They would be such a disappointment to have when compared to you… it’s a shame isn’t it? Put them out of their misery…

You see her curl her hands into the ground, tearing up some of the dirt before she stands up. Her body was shaking slightly, her fingers flexing. You see her lips curl up, lowering herself down to a crouch. Before you know it, she’s down on all fours, taking off into the distance. You start to run, but can’t keep up with her. You can hear screams and crying in the distance, horrible noises flooding your ears.

When you catch up, blood fills your vision. Red has stained the green and brown under your feet. Salena stands in front of you, surrounded by four bodies, each one graphically torn apart. Blood is dripping from her mouth, eyes glaring at the bodies. She doesn’t seem at all bothered by the blood covering her body, nor what she had done to them. A small smile curls on her face, “He was right. I’m not a disappointment. You all are. I thought you might actually put up more of a fight. You talked such a big talk.”

“He was right. It was a shame. A shame I actually cared about any of you.”