No Time
“Wait a minute... you’re honestly, seriously telling us that we’ve met vampires before you?”
Goldie’s hesitant question was met with the unimpressed stares of five Vampires and four Mortals. After a few seconds, Spring shrugged.
“Well, it depends on your definition of Vampires,” he started casually, glancing aside at Alfred. “There are tons of categories, but yeah, as an umbrella statement, you probably met your first Vampire as an infant.”
“Categories?” Bonnie parroted, raising a brow. “There are... categories?”
“Well, yeah,” Blu laughed, sharing a look with Mangle. “I mean, your fictions have some of those right. There are pure-bloods, halfers or, uh, what do you guys call them...”
“Dhampyres?” Chica suggested.
“Yeah, that’s the one!”
“What’s a pure-blood?” Foxy questioned, confusion lacing his voice.
“Oh, you know,” Blu waved a hand dismissively, glancing at the ceiling, “the Vampires whose entire family line is made of Vampires. Anyway-”
“Wait, Vampires can reproduce?!”
The Vampires blinked and exchanged glances. Spring hummed a bit, as if in disapproval, before Alfred sighed and answered, “The Purebloods and Dhampyres can. Turned, like us, cannot. Can we get back to explaining Vampire Categories?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Goldie laughed awkwardly, glancing at Foxy. Why in the world did he ask something so awkward?
“As I was saying,” Blu continued, some irritation seeping into his voice, “There are the pure-bloods- descended from the original Vampires-, the Dhampyres- half-Vampire half-Mortal creatures-, the Turned- Mortals who were, well... Turned-, and the, uh...” He trailed off, glancing at Alfred. Alfred simply shrugged back. “... and the Hybrids.”
“Hybrids?”
“They’re, um... well...”
“We don’t speak of them often,” Alfred sighed, glancing at the suddenly-nervous blue rabbit. “They were created as a by-product of history long-forgotten by Mortals, and generally speaking they’re reviled as unnatural and disgusting by all sects of ‘supernatural’ society.”
“Vampires only have to worry about Mortal Hunters,” Spring muttered, glancing towards the roof. “But Hybrids have to worry about Mortal, Vampire, and Were- Ow! Mangle! ”
Goldie raised a brow as the vixen in question roughly kicked the golden rabbit’s leg. “Werewolves?”
“Ugh, thanks Spring, we were only supposed to tell them about Vampires,” Mangle hissed, elbowing her brother.
“Uh, hello, we were already explaining Hybrids to them, they’d ask eventually what a Hybrid is even made of,” Spring shot back, rubbing his arm with a scowl.
“A... Vampire-Werewolf Hybrid?” Goldie guessed, glancing at his twin across the room. “Erm... how often do we run into, uh... Hybrids?”
“Not often,” Chii stepped in before her brothers or Mangle could answer, twiddling with her fingers. “They, um, they tend to stay away from populated areas. They’re easier to detect than either a Vampire or a Werewolf are, and since the latter two live everywhere-”
“Wait, Werewolves live everywhere too?!”
The Vampires all winced and Mangle gave Chii a scolding look. Spring sighed.
“Yes,” he deadpanned, “Werewolves live everywhere too. If this was, what... five, six hundred years ago, they wouldn’t live in the same places as Vampires. Because of... things we won’t get into. The thing that, um, brought about the existence of Hybrids in the first place.”
“Look, can we change the subject?” Blu cut in again. “This is making me very uncomfortable, we’re only supposed to be talking about Vampires.”
“Agreed,” Alfred sighed, glancing towards the curtained window.
“Hey,” Bonnie started, watching the five Vampires, “do you remember who you were before being Turned?”
All five Vampires looked at him, their expressions going strangely blank. The silence was heavy and Goldie had a feeling that that was not something to ask.
However, none of the Vampires seemed to become hostile. Instead, Alfred answered coldly, “Who we were before is irrelevant to who we are now. It’s in the past and there is no going back.”
That was, clearly, the end of that.
It’s a sensitive subject, Goldie surmised as Chica quickly asked, “What’s Vampiric Law, anyway? You mentioned it being against Vampiric Law to purposefully turn someone, so-”
“It’s the laws all Vampires abide by,” Mangle cut her off, glancing towards Alfred. “Well, most Vampires, anyway. Not all Vampires are good, and not all Vampires are registered. They escape before... Well, that doesn’t matter.”
“I feel like we’re getting into the questions you can’t or won’t answer,” Freddy finally spoke up with a sigh.
“Mortals aren’t meant to know everything about us,” Blu snorted, crossing his arms and looking away. “You know, we should probably go. Because of yesterday Spring hasn’t Fed since-”
“What?!” Mangle and Chii both immediately turned to look at Spring, eyes wide. Goldie and Bonnie shared a confused look.
“Spring, why didn’t you say anything?!” Mangle demanded, scowling. “No wonder you’re in a bad mood!”
“Hey, I am not in a bad mood, thank you very much!”
“Spring!”
“Pardon the interruption,” Freddy drawled, watching the Vampire ladies and the golden rabbit’s not-argument, “but what’s with that reaction? Isn’t it a little... over-the-top?”
“We only Feed every two weeks,” Alfred explained, watching his sisters badger Spring. “Spring’s level can only go around half a week more than that without Feeding. Before, ah...”
“Oh please, explain to them the danger they’ve put themselves in,” Blu smirked, eying the Mortals. Goldie suddenly felt nervous again. “I mean, they want to know about Vampires so bad, surely they should get to know about Bloodlust.”
“Blood... lust?” Foxy repeated, sharing a worried look with Chica.
“That’s enough,” Spring growled, shoving his concerned sisters away from him. “I am not going Crazed, guys.”
“Crazed?” Chica raised a brow at the Vampires.
“Every Vampire has a different level of Bloodlust,” Blu explained much too chipperly. Goldie had a feeling he was enjoying their discomfort.
Must have been his form of revenge for them scaring and threatening his brother...
“Luckily for you, all of us are lower levels,” the blue rabbit continued with a glance towards his siblings. “Mangle has the highest, though she’s still low, she has to Feed slightly more often than we do. And we Feed around once every two weeks, before the Craze can set in~”
“Blu,” Alfred sighed, glaring at his youngest brother. “Stop it.”
“We’re not here to talk about that,” Spring grumbled, crossing his arms. “Are we done here? I’ve lived up to my side of the deal and I hear no more questions coming.”
Goldie frowned and looked at Bonnie. To be honest, he had so many more questions, but he had a feeling the Vampires in front of them were becoming agitated. They had begun fidgeting, shuffling from one foot to the other and casting wary glances around. And blue rabbit had even started playing with his cloak, wearing a small frown.
Definitely agitated.
“Just one more question,” he decided, looking back at the people who had once looked like adults to him.
“What is it?” Alfred asked, ever the polite one it seemed.
“Will we see you guys again?”
That seemed to catch both his friends and the Vampires off guard. Spring blinked owlishly at him, his arms loosening. “Probably not,” he answered softly. “We’re in a period of Isolation right now, we only come out to Feed. You five will be out of this town by the time our Isolation is over.”
“You seem so sure we’ll be leaving town,” Bonnie snorted, looking at the golden rabbit, unimpressed.
“Everyone does eventually,” Mangle scoffed, setting her hands on her hips. “Sure, some come back, but in this ever-evolving world of connection and opportunity, who stays in a small riverside town like this one?”
“Those of us who call it home?” Freddy suggested almost sarcastically. “We’re done with school.”
“And this town does not offer much opportunity for you,” Alfred stated calmly, eying the brown bear. “Whether or not you call this place home right now, the simple fact of the matter is your best chances lie away from here.”
Goldie frowned and glanced towards Foxy, who was scowling sharply. Durmont is our home. “You know,” he started, leaning heavily against the back of the couch and crossing his arms, “you guys talk like you know everything, but you really don’t know much about, ah, mortals, do you?”
That earned a sharp frown from all five Vampires. “You do realize we were once just like you, right?” Blu countered with a scowl. “We kinda do understand. We were Mortal once, too.”
“Yeah, like what, two, three hundred years ago?” Bonnie shot back, raising a brow.
“More than two, less than three,” Mangle grumbled, glaring off to the side, but Blu apparently ignored her.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Blu stated matter-of-factly. “No matter how much you might want to stay, one day you’ll have no choice but to leave. If desire or adventure doesn’t take you away then obligation will.”
“Just stop arguing, guys,” Chii spoke up, stepping out of the line she and her “siblings” had formed. “Arguing’s gonna get us nowhere.”
“The bottom line is,” Alfred sighed, cutting the rabbits and fox off before they could protest, “for the foreseeable future, no, you will never see us again.”
Goldie frowned. “I beg to differ,” he muttered, eying Spring. The golden rabbit seemed to actively avoid meeting any of their gazes. In fact... none of them were looking directly at them. “You’re lying.”
The Vampires blinked and all looked towards him, as if silently asking him to explain himself. “What do you mean we’re lying?” Spring questioned when it became clear he was not about to explain.
“You’re not looking directly at us,” he accused, scowling. “None of you are.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Blu scoffed, looking away.
“We’re being honest when we say you won’t see us again,” Chii told them, fidgeting with her hands.
“The part you’re not saying is that you will see us again,” Foxy deadpanned, almost startling Goldie. None of the Vampires responded. “You’re plannin’ on keepin’ tabs on us. Aren’t you?”
“We kinda have to,” Blu laughed humourlessly, not even attempting to deny it. “We’ve just broken Vampiric Law and by extension so have you. Do you have any idea what could happen now that you even know about our existence? The best thing you guys can do is forget we ever existed, but that’s not an option for us.”
“So what you’re saying is you plan on keepin’ an eye on us because we’re... what, in danger?” Bonnie questioned, raising a brow. He was starting to really regret going along with Goldie’s idea.
“To say the least,” Mangle sighed, dropping her hands down by her side. “Look, to be fair if we hadn’t explained this to you, you’d probably be in even more danger.”
“I get the feeling not knowing that we’re surrounded by blood-sucking creatures who can apparently go crazy with bloodlust on every single day is much more dangerous,” Foxy snorted, shaking his head. The Vampires winced at the very apt, somewhat bitter description. “If you’re gonna be keepin’ tabs on us, do it to our faces, not behind our backs. That’s just creepy and stalkerish.”
“Agreed,” Chica huffed, glaring slightly at the Vampires.
“I am much less comfortable with the thought that you five are just hangin’ around, watchin’ us,” Goldie agreed, frowning. “If we’re already in danger then what’s the hush fuss about anyway?”
The Vampires all frowned and shared glances. Undoubtedly another silent conversation was going on between them. Finally, Alfred turned to look at them and stated very flatly, “Because we’re dangerous, too. If you’re around us and one of us does go Crazed, you’re likely to get yourself killed.”
“And,” Freddy spoke up again, “what difference is it if you go “crazed” with us willingly with you and you going “crazed” when you’re watching us without our knowledge? It seems to me the outcome would be the same.”
There wasn’t exactly an argument against his words. Goldie knew it, the others knew it, and the Vampires knew it. Because he was right; it was the difference between knowing you were putting yourself in danger and not knowing danger was there at all.
“Look, just- just accept it the way it is,” Blu huffed, kicking at the floor childishly.
“No,” Bonnie deadpanned, glaring at the small blue rabbit. “I am not consenting to some centuries-old teenagers following me around without my knowledge. You wanna keep tabs on me, dammit, you’re actually talking to me, got it? I will not be stalked by a teenage Vampire or whatever.”
Apparently that was not how the rabbit- or the other Vampires, at that- expected this conversation to end.
They didn’t expect us to call them out.
“On the off-chance that our interactions have not already been observed,” Alfred started, “any further interaction will put you under suspicion.”
“Too late for that,” Blu muttered. Spring lightly elbowed him.
“Now that you know, it’s safer for you five if you never see us again,” Alfred finished.
“From what I’ve heard, no, it’s not,” Chica snorted disbelievingly, setting her empty cup down. As she spoke, a strange expression crossed all five Vampires’ faces. “I’m with them, the thought of you five stalking us makes me very uncomfortable. I’d much rather know when you’re around than always have to wonder and watch my fucking back.”
Do you guys feel that?
Yes. It’s been bothering me since we got here but I thought it might have just been a lingering presence.
Lingering presences don’t move, Spring. I don’t like this.
Yes, I’m quite aware of that, Blu. It’s something but I can’t tell what it is...
Maybe it’s a dog? Or maybe there’s a sixth person here? I mean, didn’t one of them have a sibling? Maybe it’s them. Or a pet.
Pets don’t have humanoid shapes, Mangle. It’s a good guess but I don’t think that’s it.
Let’s just check if they have anyone or anything in that room, Spring. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
“Hold up,” Spring suddenly started, holding a hand up as if that would actually get Goldie or his “siblings” to shut up. “We can continue this argument later. What exactly is in that room over there?"
The golden rabbit, his expression suddenly strained, pointed at the closed door of Goldie and Freddy’s shared room, raising a brow questioningly at them.
“Uh... is this a diversion?” Bonnie asked suspiciously, watching as all of the Vampires looked at the door curiously.
“No, seriously, what’s in there? It’s been bothering me this entire time but it’s moving now.”
“That’s not funny,” Foxy huffed, glaring at the rabbit. “Ya can’t get out of it that easily-”
“Wait,” Bonnie started, cutting the fox off. He remembered something that Goldie had said... just the night before. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes,” Alfred confirmed, his voice soft but very... well, serious. Concerned. Goldie glanced towards Freddy, frowning. “Is there anyone or anything else here?”
Is this a trick question? “No,” Goldie answered honestly, looking back towards the Vampires. They looked incredibly uneasy suddenly. “There’s just the five of us.”
“No parents, siblings, pets, other friends?” Blu demanded quickly.
“No, no, no, and no.”
“Then get the fuck away from that door.”
Bonnie blinked and glanced at the bedroom door, furrowing his brow. “Why...?”
“But I swear I saw something! Bonnie, I’m telling you, there was something in there with us.”
The Vampires all shared a look.
We have no idea what it is, Spring- what can we say? That some presence is approaching the door and we doubt it’s friendly?
There’s not much else we can say, Chii. Like you said, we have no idea what it is.
We could solve this by simply looking, you know...
And if it’s malevolent, Alfred? We could be putting ourselves and the Mortals in danger.
Point taken.
We should get them out before investigating?
I don’t think there’s time.
“Is it that thing I saw yesterday?” Goldie suddenly asked, causing the Vampires to look back at him again.
“Thing?” Spring parroted. “You saw something yesterday?”
“Well, day before yesterday,” the bear amended, glancing towards Bonnie. “I tried telling you guys something was in there with us, but did you believe me? No. Like you never do.”
Spring shared a worried look with Alfred. “If you’re seeing things other Mortals can’t see,” the rabbit started, looking back at Goldie, “then you’re even more fucked than we first thought.”
Before Goldie could question what that could mean, Blu cut in with, “Seriously, Bonnie, get away from the door.”
“I don’t think it likes our presence,” Chii whispered to her brothers and Mangle, shuffling her feet nervously. Goldie was just barely able to catch it.
Standing up, Goldie eyed the Vampires as Bonnie finally stepped away from the bedroom door. “You guys are really freaking me out right now.”
“To say the least,” Spring mumbled back, glancing nervously at the door.
It’s right there, what’s it waiting for?
The Mortals might be giving it hesitance.
I doubt that’s its reason. I’m really afraid of what it might be planning. Is it growing? Guys, it’s growing.
Well it definitely isn’t a ghost then. Not sure if that makes me feel better.
Spring...
Yes, Alfred?
I’m... pretty sure it’s a demon.
“A demon?!” Chii practically shrieked, turning to look at Alfred. “What do you mean you’re pretty sure it’s a demon?!”
The four Vampires winced and the Mortals all shared a glance. When did he ever say that?
“Relax, Chii,” Spring sighed. “If it’s a demon, it’s pretty low-level. Even common Vampires like us can deal with it.”
“But a demon living with Mortals?!”
“Excuse me but what the fuck are you talking about?!” Foxy interrupted hotly, leaping to his feet. “Speak so we can understand you, dammit- what’s this about a demon?!”
“You didn’t say anything about a demon last night,” Bonnie muttered.
“Yeah, well, I was preoccupied with not getting killed,” Spring hissed at the purple rabbit, baring his fangs in a way that reminded Goldie that the rabbit actually was dangerous. “And it didn’t move last night, I just assumed it was a lingering presence from a past inhabitant!”
“What the fuck is a lingering pres-”
Bonnie never got a chance to finish as the bedroom door suddenly burst open, and Goldie saw red. This time, however, he knew he wasn’t the only one; Bonnie stumbled back and Freddy and Chica both rushed to their feet as the thing tumbled out of the room, right for the shocked Vampires.
“What the fuck is that?!” Foxy nearly squealed, backing away. His eyes were wide, glued to the creature in their apartment.
“Yeah, that’s the thing I saw the other day,” Goldie growled, quickly scooting away. “Only it was much smaller and much more humanoid!”
The Vampires scattered as the creature swiped angrily at them. “Mangle!” Alfred practically barked out the command, and the vixen nodded slightly in understanding. What she understood, Goldie had no idea.
“Got it!”
“Blu, Chii, get the Mortals out of here,” Spring told the smaller two of their group, reaching into his cloak.
“What if one of you get hurt?” Chii asked worriedly, her eyes on the red creature as it turned its attention to Mangle.
“We’ll be fine, we can’t say the same for the Mortals,” Spring assured her, glancing in Goldie’s direction. “I apologize for this, really- there was no way to know this would happen.”
“I’m still so lost,” Foxy complained, backing away from the evolving fight. “But I think I don’t want to know.”
“Look on the bright side,” Blu started as he began shoving the fox and chicken towards the door. “With demons stalking you, we’re the last thing you have to worry about!”
“Not funny!”
“Just go!”
The creature behind them shrieked as the three other Vampires did who knew what to it, and Goldie felt his heart drop. There was no way the neighbors wouldn’t hear that.
He allowed the smaller chicken to drag both him and Bonnie towards the door, and Freddy followed after them with hardly a glance back towards the fight. Outside, lights were turning on.
“You five need to get out of here,” Blu muttered, slamming the door shut behind him and hurriedly pulling his hood up. Chii followed suit. “Demons aren’t Vampires’ responsibility, the proper authorities will come soon and any Mortal in this building will have their memories wiped.”
Goldie frowned sharply at the thought, glancing at his friends. “That doesn’t sound fair.”
“It’s for their own safety,” Chii told him gently.
“Ignorance doesn’t make anyone safe,” Bonnie growled, glaring at the two Vampires. “Ignorance just means you don’t know what was happening. What the fuck was that?”
“Clearly a demon,” Blu huffed, crossing his arms. Doors began opening as concerned neighbors peeked out. “Seriously,” he added, dropping his voice so the strangers wouldn’t hear, “just go or else you won’t remember us, either. All traces of the supernatural will be erased from your memories if you stay here, and us two can’t shadow-jump all five of you.”
“First Vampires, now demons?” Freddy sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I think my ability to believe is getting smaller and smaller.”
“You must believe to some degree if you could actually see it,” Blu muttered, glancing at them. “Or maybe all of you are Sensitive and just rejected it and that’s why you couldn’t see it before.”
“Sensitive?” Goldie questioned, but a sudden slam against the door startled them- and their neighbors.
“We’ll explain later,” Chii mindlessly told them, casting wary glances at the door. “Just- go, please, for your own safety. We’ll find you when it’s safe again.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Blu muttered, barely glancing at him. “Just go, Spring, Al, and Mangle need our help.”
“You’re all crazy,” Bonnie stated, shaking his head and backing up. “You’re all crazy and I still believe you for some reason.”
“Good, so believe me when I say you need to leave,” Blu hissed, inching back towards the door. “Go, before the Hunters and Academy Administration come!”
Academy? Although that didn't sound familiar to Goldie, it brought up a distant, fuzzy memory to Bonnie. However, there was no time to ask the Vampire what the Academy was; the rabbit in question had placed his hand on the door, sharing a worried look with his sister as the... demon slammed into it again, shaking it in its frame. Goldie could have sworn he heard wood splinter.
Realizing that maybe it would be smart to actually listen to the rabbit, Goldie shared a look with his family. Slowly, the golden bear backed away towards the stairs.
“You better keep your word,” he warned the Vampire before turning and dashing down the stairs. Bonnie and the others hesitated before following.
Blu glanced over his shoulder as the Mortals disappeared from sight, a small, worried frown on his face. Whatever the demon had wanted with the Mortals, he knew, was triggered by them... and the demon was not happy.
Turning his gaze back to the door and mentally preparing himself for a fight, he muttered, “Yeah, well, we’ll see if we survive this first...”