Archive of Our Own

Work Text

Ellio takes a big stretch and a yawn from the work he's done today. It’s not really busy, but it does get tiring moving heavy flower pots around. Every once and a while, the residents of Halesalems Lot get tired of the unusualness and just want to explore a quiet, but comfortable shop.It gets exceptionally busy when valentines come around, human and beyondian alike flock here because they know there's not a lot of people who come. All the noise can be quite overstimulating when you’re not used to it. “Ellio, looks like you had a long day, why don’t you go home, I’ll close for today.” The shop owner of Aroma Flowers is such a nice lady. Her name is Beatrice and she’s a beyondian. Although she does have human anatomy, she's not human. She observes and monitors the likeness of all flowers here, and she does one hell of a good job.Her skin is green, her right arm is mainly made of roots and she has a cute little flower growing on the top of her head. Beyondians like these don’t really have parents that humans do. They grow from seeds, if they’re lucky, some grow a conscience.“Are you sure, I could totally stay and help fertilize some plants?” Beatrice shakes her head. “Go, I got things from here. There’s a new flower that was shipped from the Alter World I want to see.” She gives a thumbs up. “Oh, alright take care!” Ellio leaves through the greenhouse. He touches the thorns on the rose in front of him before he leaves. “Hm.. it’s time to go home.” The staff he wields materializes in front of him, then turns into a broom. He mounts it and takes his leave. Ellio is from a long line of witches. He had an abnormal amount of magical output at a very young age and it affected his body so much, he almost died because of it. His mother had to seal it in a witch’s broom. His hair color is white because of it.The only spells at his disposal are defense magic, which activate not at his own will.  Ellio has lived in Halesalem’s Lot for a while now, but it hasn't been easy. He’s only been here for so long because he was searching for his mother.An accident happened when he was 13 which caused him to lose his memories, including his mother. He was left a note which wrote: Ellio you may find this strange as to why I’m gone and why I have left you. I have made a deal in order to protect you, and which is why you should never find me. I'm sorry it has come to this, I have left money for you, please use it sparingly. -MomDespite her warnings he has spent a long time searching but he was evicted and was forced to find job after job. It was exhausting. When he was 14 he was kidnapped and forced to work in a brothel/ There, he was rented out and forced to be a sex slave to hungry and disgusting people. He was terribly abused and fed terrible drugs, and was forced to pleasure the people that rented his services. Despite his powers in defense, it only activates when he’s in grave, life threatening danger. So, with his brothel mates, he learned how to fend on his own. He worked there for two years then, in those years for some reason his broom he kept all his life, turned into a staff with incantations. No one can deficer it, nor can he. So it’s just been with him ever since. He believes it’s useless since all his skills are passive (ability to fly, see auras, defense barriers) and he hasn’t gained anything from it.  When he was 16, The Great Collapse happened. The owner was killed by a unknown entity, and so off he went, searching for a new life. That's when Beatrice found him and took him in. As thanks, Ellio helped and worked at Aroma Flowers ever since. When Ellio makes it to his shabby 1 bedroom apartment, he plops on the floor. Although grateful, his life has not been eventful. It has been the same thing. Wake up, get coffee, go to work, come home. He sits there for a while. There’s a knock at his door. Ellio stays, he knows why it’s knocking. He keeps quiet. “Ellio, come out right now, I saw you enter.” It’s Ellio’s landlord, and despite paying his rent, he unfortunately knows of his past of being a sex worker. When he didn’t have money of his own, there was an agreement that he’ll pay in “other means' if he can live here, but since he’s been making his own money, he’s stopped altogether. His name is Gerard. There’s another knock, this time more forceful. He clutches his broom, not daring to move. “ELLIO YOU DAMNED SLUT, GET YOU ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!”.. “I’ve been so pent up baby, please let me in.. please.” Ellio hesitantly gets up, and cracks open his door. He gasped when Gerard grabbed him by the wrist. He forcefully enters Ellio’s home and locks the door behind him. “L-let go Gerard. I don’t want to do this.” “Now, that’s no way to speak to the person who allows you to live here, is it? I want you on that bed now.” “I’ve already paid my rent, I’m not doing this again! Just leave me alone.” Ellio tries to push him away. His frail stature is too weak to make a dent. Gerard drags Ellio’s hand to his crotch. “Look how you make me feel El, this is your fault, you know the rules.” Ellio shudders, tears well up in his eyes. “NO!” He didn’t have time to register the slap he received. “Dammit El, you really piss me off.” Gerard drags him to Ellio’s bed. He forced his head to the pillow. El struggles to free himself. “You should have listened to me. ✧ Ellio’s alarm clock wakes him up. It’s 9:30 am. He lays there, naked and a mess in his bed. The events reoccur in his mind all at once. He groans when he tries to move, it really hurts down there. He makes his bed and gets ready for the day. He hops in the shower, fogging the mirrors as steam creeps up. “Ah.. shit.” There’s a big mess in his rear, so he tries his best to clean it. It’s painful but it’s better than having anything inside him at all. Gerard has a nasty aura. It's a deep crimson red, it’s gross. His aura is paired with what seems to be melting eyes. Mainly witches have adapted to have this ability, which is why they’re good with physic readings. Ellio pairs his senses with vanilla and coconut, his favorite. He locks his doors before heading out. Before he does he watch Gerard at the front desk, talking and laughing with a female employee. It makes him shutter. “Two faced bitch.” He says under his breath. He likes to walk to Dianne’s in the morning. There’s less people and there’s really good coffee. “Hi Vivian! I brought you some flowers my boss grew. She says they're part of a hybrid family.” He sits down in the red, round chair. “Oh my how thoughtful, thanks El!” She sets the coffee down in front of him, he smiles in return. Ellio has been a regular here for about 3 months. Almost everyday he makes an appearance for the coffee he likes. Getting a coffee run before work is the best way to start the morning, and also to give him that caffeine boost he needed. His stomach growls a bit, it doesn’t bother him though. He’s used to not eating breakfast to save a bit of cash. “Ah geez.” Vivian sets down a plate of burger and fries. Ellio looked surprised and a bit flustered.“And it’s not free y’know, you can clean dishes later today.” She gives him a little chop on the head. “Thank you, Vivian!” She gives a thumbs up and continues her job. Ellio scarfs everything down, not giving himself a chance to breathe. After 10 minutes, it was time for him to leave. He saves what he hasn’t eaten in a to-go bag and walks his way to work. There’s a jingle at the door. He grabs one of the many green aprons and heads to the greenhouse. His job isn’t difficult, he just has to package flowers and seeds that soon have to be delivered. He spots a really huge and heavy tall leaf plant which needs to be moved in to the needs to be delivered. He spots something odd about it. There’s a name but no delivery address.. “Libra..”“Yes, indeed strange isn't it?” Ellio turns around and spots Beatrice walking in. “I recognize that name, but no one really knows them.” She laughs. “That’s because they’re a secret organization silly, they’re not supposed to be known.” “But how come you know about them?” Ellio inquires. “It was quite some time ago, the man who goes by Klaus Von Reinhertz stumbled into my shop one day and asked about my stock, of course I gave him the rundown. He’s quite the Botanist y’know. I had a tall leaf plant like that one that was withering away, and he asked to purchase it. After that he gives me his business card every once and a while he has this delivered, god knows where.” Ellio stares at the plant quizzingly. There’s a jingle that alerts the two of them. “Alright Ellio, I’ll leave you to it. Don't break that, okay?” Ellio waves, when Beatrice is out of view, he rolls up his sleeves.The time for Ellio hasn’t caught up with him til he realized it’s 1 pm now. He wipes the sweat off his forehead. He meets Beatrice who’s in the breakroom. She has that plant she got mysteriously from the underworld. “Look at this, it’s a Grape Hyacinth! For some reason it has a melatonin-like effect once shaken.” The flower on top of her head moves excitedly.  El pops the saved food in the microwave. “Smells good.” Beatrice says through a stifled yawn. She doesn't need to eat, instead she feeds off the sun and makes her own energy through photosynthesis. The break room is small and cozy. The whole shop is like a log house which definitely gives a homey vibe. Ellio takes a bite of his already half eaten burger. He smells like earth and coconut which Beatrice likes a lot.“So, you fancy anyone yet?” He choked on his food. “E-eh?!” He coughs some more then shakes his head to spare himself from talking. “You've worked here for three years and you've never had a crush.? Not even a crush on one of the customers?” He swallows. “I don't really have time to think about that. I don't really want to anyway. Can we talk about something else?!” He's slightly starting to feel the effects of the blue plant Beatrice is holding. Although not immune, Ellio has a big tolerance to any type of drug taken before. It's a blessing and a curse. Which is why he can't really take painkillers, and for example melatonin.“I hope you don't interpret my question offensive, it's been 105 years since I've had a significant other. Ellio when you find someone, I want to meet them, okay?” They smile at each other.✧Gerard doesn't come today, that makes him happy. It was another slow day today, Ellio can't stop thinking about that Libra thing. Another thing he can't stop thinking about it's this..monkey?It sleeps soundly in his hand. Ellio spotted a white round, bubbly aura in the dumpster and found a sonic speed money. “Hey there little fella.” It was hesitant to touch Ellio’s finger but eventually gave in. He fed it his leftover fries which scarfed it down like a starved animal. Beatrice couldn't stop gushing over it when he brought it into the breakroom. Ellio decided to name it Sonic. The little money soon fell asleep because of the side effects of the Grape Hyacinth. After that, he brought it home with him.Taking on the responsibility of caring for an animal was not something in his agenda. He sighs. “ What am I going to do with you, Sonic? The little one doesn't respond and continues to sleep in Ellio's hands.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“I can’t believe you just completely forgot!” Vivian scolds Ellio for not showing up to help wash dishes yesterday. “Ahh, I’m sorry Vivian” He clasps his hands together. “I’ll do them today, I promise.” Vivian sighs and continues to take down the order for the next customer.Vivian is scary when she's upset. Ellio sips his ice coffee. He has a notepad of the items he needs for work today:FertilizerRubber GlovesShovelWatering CanAroma Flowers only sells the product, so they have to get the materials on their own time. Sonic takes a nibble of the plate of fries Vivian brought him. Sonic has warmed up quite a bit to the young witch. This morning, Ellio had to stop him from almost trashing the place because he got startled by the alarm clock.He bites his bottom lip. He has a habit of doing that, ever since he got his Labret Piercing done. If you were to ask him, he’s say it was the best decision of his life. “Alright time to hit the road, Sonic.” The little monkey makes noise in protest, but eventually climbs his shoulder. Ellio waves to Vivian and exits.✧Soft jazz plays from the store's speaker, Ellio hums with the tune behind the counter. Like always, business is slow. He just finished packing an order for the last customer who entered. Sonic is with Beatrice, probably in the greenhouse. He drums his fingers along the dark wooden counter. There’s many pots and vines hanging from the ceiling.Ellio’s favorite thing about the store is the dim, warm lights. When you walk in, you’re greeted with the illusion like you’ve discovered a log cabin in the forest. Everything in the front has different species of flora around. The store has two parts, the front has the entrance, the counter and behind that is the display of flowers. Behind that is a door leading to the lush greenhouse. That’s hidden to customers. There’s been an incident a while back of too many break ins. Although with the illusion of a log cabin, it is really a home/work situation. Beatrice bought this place a long time ago and she resides on top. Ellio traces the wood patterns with his finger. He’s extremely bored out of his mind.That's when Sonic zips past him and bursts through the main door. “Sonic!” Beatrice yells from behind. He was extremely fast, catching Ellio off guard. “W-what happened, and why did he leave?!” Beatrice huffs. “Not sure? I’ve seen him scratch his head furiously and when I went to check, he ran away from me!” Ellio runs from the counter and out the door. “I’ll be back!” He summons his staff, automatically turning into his broom. He mounts it and gains distance from the ground. “Sonic couldn‘t have gotten far..” He checks the auras around him, hoping to catch a glimpse. It’s almost impossible, with all other people around. He has to look for a round bubbly aura. He calls out for him. It’s only been a day and he’s gone?! Ellio really is not fit to be taking care of pets. To his luck, he spots him! Quickly he lands and almost catches him. Just by a hair, he misses. “Sonic!” Sonic apologetically looks back and keeps running. That’s when he feels an explosion. His shield appears, saving him but it ultimately didn’t save him from stumbling into the street. He scrapes his arms and legs. On the other side, there's a beyondian who is holding 2 young girls hostage. Looks like a bank robbery. Ellio keeps moving, not wanting to be part of the collateral damage.He does this for an hour. He’s extremely exhausted. It’s utter chaos in Halesalem’s Lot, buildings have collapsed everywhere, especially…DIANNE’S DINER. He rushes over, he knows Vivian’s shift isn't over and that’s when he sees her. She’s a bloodied mess. “VIVIAN! Oh my gosh please be okay! Ellio tries to push debris away. Her breathing is extremely labored. “Ellio..” she says. “You need to get out of here, it’s not safe, leave now!” “No way, I can’t have you dying here! And besides, I still have dishes to wash.” “ELLIO, LOOK OUT-” He turns around to find half a demon aiming at him. His shield saves him but he gets launched pretty far. It disorients him severely. He’s grateful for this ability, but it never activates when he wants it to. In the distance, he spots a round, bubbly aura. But something is amiss. There’s a second aura coming from him, a deep purple and it seems to be matching the one from the demon.  “SO-” “Hey kid what are you doing here it’s dangerous!” There's a man with smokey eyes looking directly at Ellio. It’s frightening. “But Sonic-” He didn’t have time to finish that though as he was immediately thrown out of the way. “E-eh?!” Ellio is being held by big strong arms. He looks up to find a red haired man in a suit. He has big spiky teeth, it reminds him of…a werewolf? “Chief!” The man struggles to put the demon at bay. He has tan skin that contrasts with his white hair and attire. “The other half is in that monkey. The only way to stop this is if we kill it!”“NO, I CAN’T LET YOU.”  With his heightened emotion, he summons a shield, catching both the man and him off guard. The werewolf man’s grip on Ellio loosens, giving the witch free time to summon his staff. He points it at the unknown man. “You can’t kill Sonic!” The staff can’t do anything that benefits him but he hopes bluffing might keep the man from grabbing him again. It forms into a broom and he hurriedly flies low to the ground, scooping Sonic up and hiding behind debris. The clashing of weapons and the dust provide ample cover.“Sonic you-” Ellio hunches over and coughs up blood. Sonic panics. Ellio has never once been able to use his own magic ability. “Is this because I forced it to my will?” He wipes his mouth and looks at Sonic who is scratching his head non stop. There's a deep purple aura that's on his head. “Don’t move Sonic.” Ellio reaches and feels around to see what's wrong, which is where he finds a flea on his finger. “EW!” He squashes it on a rock. Sonic leaps on Ellios chest and rubs his face with his. “Please don’t run away like that, you scared me. C’mon, let’s go.”Ellio gets up to walk away but soon blood starts coming out from his nose. “Ah…” He loses his balance, his head hitting the ground. His vision blurs and he can hear sirens in the distance. Must be the HLPD. He feels weak and he can’t move a muscle. “But..the dishes..” Sonic gives a loud whine. Although no one can see because Ellios hair covers his eyes all the time, he tears a little bit. With the last ounce of his strength he manages to say one final thing. “Get…help..” ✧Ellio was discharged from the hospital 2 days later, Sonic lever leaving his side. Through the story of Beatrice he scratched the faces of several nurses. A week after that he hasn’t left home until now. On the visit to Dianne’s Diner which magically repaired itself, Vivian told him that his task of doing dishes is no longer needed. Upon asking why she said she knows how rough of a week he’s had it. It was rough, especially with Gerard. He doesn’t like Ellio’s new buddy, even demanding he throw it out. He couldn’t just leave him anywhere, so a deal was made. For his body, Sonic was allowed to stay. It’s a Saturday night, Aroma Flowers is closed but Ellio is here anyway. He sits with Beatrice in the greenhouse. Ellio holds her left hand, while her right arm has her roots in the ground. “You’re right, I can feel it. It’s like they’re talking to each other.” With Beatrice’s ability she can sort of communicate with the plants around her. Ellio thinks it’s amazing.Sonic nestles in Ellio’s lap. He grew quite a lot, he may become fat with all the fries Vivian feeds him. There’s a knock at the front entrance. Beatrice heavily sighs and gets up. “I'm pretty sure the sign says we’re closed.” Ellio follows her to the door. Upon opening he spots a very familiar man. “Oh!” Beatrice exclames.It’s that werewolf looking man from the half-demon incident. “Well, if it isn’t Klaus Von Reinhertz! What pleasure do I…owe?” Ellio’s white fluffy hair moves with the wind. Ellio and him make eye contact, far too much for the witch’s liking. So his name is Klaus.. Both of them are taken aback. “Oh! It’s good to see you safe, I apologize for the way I handled things when we first met.” Beatrice eyes the both of you. “Ah..” Ellio couldn’t say much. “Hmm, it seems you have business with my boss so I’ll take my leave…” Ellio makes his way inside again. “WAIT!” Klaus grabs his wrist a bit too hard. Ellio flinches and the red haired man lets go. ”Sorry but ever since that day, I can’t get that image of that staff you wield, do you mind if I take a look at  it?” “Sorry I don’t know what you’re talking about..” He hurriedly makes his way inside. The door makes the bell jingle. For the remainder of the time he sits behind the counter, waiting for Beatrice. “Libra..” since he was 16 he's been searching for this organization. “All because of my mother I don't remember…” He stopped searching a year ago because he stopped believing they existed.Meanwhile with Beatrice she apologizes. “It’s just I have a feeling I’ve seen that staff before. It might be the key my team has been searching for.” “I’m sorry Klaus, all I know is that he had that staff since The Great Collapse happened 3 years ago. Poor kid was just a 16 year old boy.”  Beatrice sighs. The jingle is heard from the front door again, Ellio doesn’t dare to peek. He is greeted with a head pat and now he knows he’s safe. “Hey El.” “Was that the botanist you talked about? He’s the man I met from that incident, I didn’t expect to see him there.” She nods and looks a little saddened. “Beatrice what’s wrong?” She sighs. “I know you’re an adult now and you can make your own decisions.. Klaus has a proposition for you.”✧Sonic sleeps in a little makeshift bed on Eillio’s dresser. It’s past midnight. The witch holds a business card over his face. Apparently Klaus Von Reinherz was the leader of the secret organization, Libra. “Libra huh..” He brings it closer. “What type of secret organization whiningly hands out business cards?”He sets the card aside. Joining a big organization like that requires a big responsibility. Ellio doesn’t think that his joining would benefit him or Libra at all. Not anymore .. anyway. Ellio replays the memory in his head. “Sorry but ever since that day, I can’t get that image of that staff you wield, do you mind if I see it?” Could Klaus’s attempt to get Ellio to join be possibly connected to the staff he wields? He shakes his head. “Now is not the time to be thinking about that.” He rolls over in his squeaky bed. He’ll worry about this another day.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

There's a tall man with a scar on his face at the store today. He looks sophisticated. He wears a dark gray suit, a deep blue undershirt, and a yellow tie. His aura is an icy blue. His attire is nothing like Ellio’s. He wears the basic store uniform, a white button-up, and a green apron. In the greenhouse, he wears green gardener gloves. Ellio has never seen him before, he’s a little weirded out by how long the man has been looking at him. A cold sweat drips down his forehead. “Ah.. sorry sir, are the flowers on display not to your liking?” Those words seemed to snap him out of the daze the man seemed to be having. Sonic senses the tension and climbs on Ellio’s fluffy hair. “Oh? What a cute monkey.” The man makes an attempt to pet it but Sonic swipes at him. He jumps off and rushes through the greenhouse door.“Oh my, s-sorry he’s never done that before!” Ellio fidgets with his hands, not knowing where to put them. “It’s alright I apologize as well, I may have startled it a bit. My name is Steven A. Starphase.” He brings out his hand. “Ellio is it? It’s nice to meet you.”It felt weird hearing his name being said out loud, especially by a stranger. It is an unwritten rule not to read the names off of an employee’s name tag. Ellio doesn’t reciprocate the handshake. “I’d be happy to take your order now…” A little hurt, Steven backs down and gives a low chuckle. He looks at the display behind the white haired male and studies the flowers. Today’s display has Calla Lilies, Dahlias, Azalea, and some roses.He eyes the one lone flower at the end and decides that’ll be his choice. Ellio follows his gaze. “That one’s all alone, so I’ll take that one please.” “Ah yes, the White Lily. That one’s popular today.” Ellio takes it and puts it into a small flower wrapping paper. He ties a white bow as a finishing touch and hands it to the man. Their fingers touch when passing it over, causing Ellio to shiver. His hands felt cold against his skin.“That’ll be $1.50 please.” Ellio rings up the cash register. “Ah..” Steven hands him a $20 bill and turns to walk away. “Keep the change,” he says before walking out. The bell jingles and he’s out of sight. Ellio just stands there with the cash in his hand. “What a weird guy.”Ellio sits in the breakroom after that incident. Beatrice feeds Sonic fries, her flower on her head moves excitedly. He decided he won’t tell her what happened just now. “So, have you thought of that proposition?” “Hm..” He didn’t want to think about that anymore. He rests his head on his hand. “No… this is so unexpected, working for a secret organization? It’s unheard of.” She feeds Sonic another fry, he makes a cute squeak noise. He has no reason to come in contact with Libra again. He quit looking for his mother a year ago. And two years before that he was gifted with this mysterious staff. Libra has knowledge on everything right? Will they know the whereabouts of his mother? And what about his staff, what do they want with that? He sighs. If Ellio had been approached with this position years ago, he would have gladly accepted. It was a much better option than living as a prostitute at a young age. But what if Libra was after only for his staff? Then that would mean they’d be enemies. He doesn’t want to imagine being killed over something he possesses. This is the only connection he has to his mother. Despite losing his memories, he wants to find his mother and gain answers on what he wields.Despite not knowing what goes on in Eiilio’s mind, Beatrice reads his body language. “Ellio, take a walk with me.” He looks up. “E-eh?” She brings out her hand. “Let’s take a walk. We can bring Sonic too.” “Oh, alright.” He reciprocates and they walk through the front door.The sky has a yellow orangish hue and Halesalems Lot is as lively as ever. “You know there’s this one time I tackled a customer so hard they were sent to the hospital.” “W-what?!” She chuckles . “I’ll tell you all about it.”✧“I’ve missed you so much, baby.” Not of his own will, Ellio sits on the lap of Gerard. His aura is menacing, he tries to hide the shivers sent up his spine. Gerard is sitting on the chair of Ellio’s vanity, making him look up in the mirror. He sniffs his neck. “You need to trim your hair, it's getting in the way.” Ellio says nothing. He allows Gerard to move the hair out of his eyes, revealing the thing he’s been hiding. He hates them, his heterochromia. It is the one thing that doesn’t make him look normal. His left eye is brown while the right is blue. Gerard slips his hand under his pajama shirt. Ellio huffs, biting his bottom lip. “Ellio, look at me. I want to see you look at me.” Ellio doesn’t listen. Gerard squeezes his nipple hard. Ellio tried his best to hold back a moan. His eyes become wide when Gerard bites his neck, drawing blood. “G-Gerard~” Ellio blushes, eventually looking at Gerards eyes through the mirror. He has unusually sharp teeth. And he has a habit of biting Ellio’s neck. He licks the two holes he made. “You taste delicious, El.”Ellio grabs Gerard’s collar, slightly panting. He’s blushing through his ears. Gerard has a whiskey-like scent to him. It’s musky, he doesn’t like how comforting it makes him feel. Gerard grabs Ellio’s face forcing his tongue in his mouth. The kiss is deep and sloppy. He can taste his own blood. 
 
“Look what we got here.” The witch gasps when Gerard presses down on his crotch. “Gerard, stop it! I want to quit this now.” He doesn’t like his one. Gerard carries him and brings him to the bed softly, then punching him straight in the stomach. 
“Oh, the things I’ll do to you tonight.” Ellio whines and topples over. The punch forced him into a fetal position. He tries his best not to throw up in his bed. Gerard has that sadistic smile on him. “G-Gerard..you..bastard.” The man presses his knee into Ellio's clothed crotch. He grabs Ellios wrist, holding it above his head.“You never cease to amaze with the words that come out of your mouth.” Perhaps my cock will shut you up. Ellio tears up. “Oh, don’t give me that now you slut, you love it when I penetrate you. Your body never lies.”Gerard unzips his pants, revealing his hard member. He climbs over Ellio, sitting on his sore torso. He angles himself over his lips. “Now do as you're told and suck it, slut.” ✧ Klaus and Steven are playing chess on the coffee table. It has been silent, both of them focused on the chess pieces moving on the board. “Checkmate.” Klaus leans back in his chair, defeated. Steven breathes out. “So the key has been found, but what to do with the person wielding it. Is probably what you're thinking.” “It’s been three years, I’m surprised we found it before ‘they’ have. Our search is over.” Steven takes a long yawn. “The kid’s name is Ellio Winters, he’s 19, white hair, short stature, works at Aroma Flowers and the holder of the key. What are you going to do about him, Klaus? If ‘they’ get ahold of this information we’ll have to be working around the clock to protect him.” “I want him to join but I feel like he’s apprehensive about me, ever since our encounter.” Steven crosses his legs. “I see, ever since you asked me to visit where he works he looked a little on guard. I don’t think studying him from a distance will work either.” They both sigh. “Steven, I’d like to ask for a favor.”✧It’s raining today so Ellio wears his favorite hoodie and some pants. He wears a patch to cover his neck and some more for his bruises. It’s his day off so he slept in quite a bit. in. He’s only awake now thanks to Sonic slapping him awake, letting him know that he’s hungry. Ellio sits at a booth at Dianne’s Diner eating a hamburger. He’s fixing an old yellow handheld camera Vivian gave him. She had it for a long time but no longer uses it, so she decided to give it to him. Sonic hiccups and burps away all the soda he’s been drinking.“Got it!” Ellio closes the cartridge where the battery is stored and the camera finally turns on. First Ellio aims it at Sonic, testing if the camera can take pictures, it makes a noise when it clicks, proving that it works. He then records Sonic scratching himself, when the monkey sees him, he gives a squeak. Ellio explores the camera’s settings, adjusting the premade filters and effects. He takes random pictures, even a candid one of Vivian yawning. She doesn’t notice Ellio’s cackling. He stops laughing as soon as he starts. He forgot the pain in his stomach until now.He takes one last photo in front of him. He’s sitting alone so he doesn’t expect another face to be in front of him when he takes it. The scared yelp he made startled the hiccups out of Sonic. It’s that weird man from the shop! “Hey there!” Sonic darts to Ellio. “H-hi…” 
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sure you recognize me from Aroma Flowers, yes?” Ellio fidgets with the buttons on the small camera. “What do you want..” Steven hands out a business card. He recognizes it from the one Beatrice passes to him from Klaus. “You work with them?” It was no wonder Ellio thought something was off about him the day they met. “I can assure you we mean no harm. Yes I am affiliated with Libra and I am here on behalf of them. I assist Klaus with public relations.”“Klaus.”“I see you two met, I can assure you he’s a good man. You see there’s something we’ve been searching for quite a while and we believe you possess it.” Ellio does not trust this man one bit. “On behalf of Libra we have-” “A Proposition, yes I’m aware. I’m sorry but I’m going to have to decline. Me joining an organization like that will not benefit me in the slightest. I know what you’re after and I’m not going to allow any of you to take it away from me. It is important to me and my only connection to-” Ellio realized he’s said too much. “I’ll take my leave.”“Your safety is guaranteed.” “Guaranteed from what?! The only people who I know who are after me are you guys! This benefits no one.” Ellio scowls at Steven and leaves as quickly as he can. When he’s at the door he quickly mounts his staff. It turns into a broom and he flies away.Through the window Steven watches him leave. He holds the camera Ellio had forgotten to take. “So much for negotiating.” He flips through the few photos the witch has taken, he stops, finding himself in the frame. The picture of his face is blurry. The image is tilted because it was taken when Ellio dropped it. “This will be a challenge.” Steven left without buying anything.
The rain continues to pour. “Ugh, I can’t believe him!” Ellio’s phone rings in his back pocket. He checks it to find Beatrice calling. He didn’t have time to answer because she ended up being right in front of him. “Hey Ellio, look what I got from the Bakery ahead!” She holds a basket of pastries in her left hand and an umbrella in her wooden arm. “I immediately thought of you when I bought these, and what do you know, I see you right here haha!” The wind picks up. Sonic stays under Eliio’s hoodie for warmth. “You came all this way? Beatrice, we’re literally on the opposite side of Halesalem’s Lot right now!” “It’s exciting right?!” She tries her best to shield the pastries from the rain, but the thin sheet isn’t doing much. “I never come here 'cause I'm always at the shop, but I decided to take the train today. It was soothing. And Ellio it’s not the best to be flying in this condition, do you want to take the subway with me?” Ellio has only taken the subway before The Great Collapse so he doesn’t know how things have changed. “Yeah sure, just lead the way!” The both of them try to fit in Beatrace’s tiny umbrella she brought. They laugh and eat the pastries to kill time. Some have cream in them, and some have chocolate on top. They talk to kill time until they finally make it downstairs to the subway. But something’s amiss..it’s eerily quiet. 
“Beatrice, are you sure this is the subway you took?” She looks around. “Of course, but it didn’t look like this 10 minutes ago..” “What..” Ellio looks around. It’s dark but he can see empty HLPD and HBFI mecha guard casings all around them and to boot, it smells weird in here. “Ellio stop.” “Huh-” Ellio’s shield deploys. He knows why that only happens, he’s in danger. Ellio gets launched into a wall. His shield leaves a round indent. When he opens his eyes he spots two deep crimson auras. There’s a woman and a man. The woman has pink hair and the man has green. “ELLIO, RUN NOW!” The green-haired man has Beatrice at the neck. She struggles to set herself free.“BEA-” His words are cut by a swift kick in the stomach. Ellio lurches forward. “Oh my! It’s another human. Tonio, do you want this one?  Ellio grabs the woman's leg and summons his staff. That’s when Ellio has a vision.No, not a vision but a sudden flow of information. Girika looks surprised “That staff. How do you have that?” The woman presses further into his stomach. He whines. He did his best to ignore it but the bruise on his stomach hasn’t finished healing. “Girika, that isn’t good.” Tonio is grabbing a barely conscious Beatrice by the arm. “LET GO OF HER YOU MONSTER!” “Tonio.” Tonio drops her but then Girika changes her arm into a blade. She pierces it into Beatrice's torso. Everything fell in slow motion for Ellio. He grabs his staff, creating a shock wave blasting Girika and Tonio back. Hurriedly he goes to Beatrice. She clutches her torso.“Ellio…” She heaves. “I’m sorry...I don’t think I’ll be able to make it home tonight.” Tears well up in his eyes. “No! You can’t say that, please don’t say that!” “Ellio, listen to me! I want you to join Libra, for your own safety, you hear me?”“THERE THEY ARE!”He recognizes that voice. Ellio looks over and there he is. The man with the icy blue aura and the scar on his face, he’s not alone though, there's a woman next to him. “We hold them til Klaus comes.” “You don’t have to tell me twice.”Steven and his partner clash with the two people with the crimson auras. Beatrice gives a strangled breath. “Those two.. Are Steven and K.K. You may not believe it but what they’re fighting are vampires."Sonic safely pops out of Ellios hoodie. Ice and Electricity appear and the 4 of them clash, sending debris everywhere. “Vampires? As in the legendary Blood Breeds? I thought those were in fairytales, they don't actually exist, do they?!.” Beatrice winces in pain and topples over. Ellio grabs her hand . Blood pours out the gaping hole. Ellio grabs her tight. He feels useless. Right there Ellio has made up his mind. If Beatrice trusts Libra enough that Ellio will be safe in the organization, he’ll join. Light shines in the subway tunnels as another train comes by. “KLAUS!” He deflected an attack coming from Girika aimed at K.K. “This is bad, we don't know their names!” That's when it hit him, the flow of information he felt earlier, he knows Girika’s full name!“MR. KLAUS, I know her name!” “That Wretched brat! He acquired my name through the use of that goddamned staff! She moves swiftly to go after Ellio. With Beatrice in his arms, he is unable to move and closes his eyes. Klaus moves to deflect the attack. When Klaus is in earshot he yells “Mr.Klaus I’ll join Libra!” He takes a big breath. “Valsh Rozzo Valctovoel Girika!” “NO!” Tonio is incapacitated by Steven and K.K and is defeated. Klaus takes his fist, where he wields what looks to be silver brass knuckles and aims it at the blood breed. “Hate me. Forgive me. Resign yourself. My savage actions are only taken to protect mankind…Brain Grid Blood Battle Technique, Pattern 999, Ewigkeit Gefängnis!”The Bloodbreed’s body contorts and shrinks, all that is left of her is a small cross. It drops at Klaus’s feet with a clink. Sonic appears relatively unharmed and spins around Ellio.Klaus drops down to one knee. “Are you alright, sir Ellio?”  “Please-” Without warning Ellio’s nose gushes out blood. “Ahh.. dammit.” He tries to fight conciseness to stay awake. “Please save Beatrice..” The grip on her loosens. Klaus carries her in his arms. Steven comes and carries Ellio on his back. “Klaus..she.” Klaus shakes his head. The last thing Ellio saw was the collection of auras that surrounded him. They morphed together until they became one. He doesn’t know how many people made up this anomaly; he just remembers the color of gold.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ellio has a dream he’s in a field of flowers. They’re Daisies, the same slower Beatrice has on her head. The flowers surround him, as far as the eye can see. He sits alone on a picnic blanket. On it, lays the foods he consumes the most, a plain burger, iced coffee, and fries. He should really change his diet. Not only that, Halesalem’s Lot has put so much stress on him, that he’s losing weight.The small but light breeze shifts his hair a bit. He’s forced to shield his eyes from the bright sun. When they focus, he spots a woman in the distance. She has extremely long black hair. She wears a long, white sun dress paired with a straw hat. She carries a straw bucket of Daisies that she might have collected.She has unusual green skin and her right arm is made out of wood. A little monkey happily runs around her. “What is this..?” He asks. The woman walks up to him. She gives Ellio a warm smile.“This is too soon for us to be meeting Ellio.” He doesn’t recognize the woman in front of him. “Who are you..?” The beyondian puts a hand on Ellio’s shoulder and that is when something clicked for him. He remembers..everything.“Beatrice, you..!” He tries to reach out but his hand phases through her. “It’s time to wake up.” The ground he stands on opens up and reveals a bottomless abyss.He wakes up panicking, he’s sweating bullets and he struggles to breathe. There’s a sound of a rapid beeping nose next to him. He clutched his chest. His heart is beating out of his chest. Nurses come rushing in the room he’s in. They mess with something with the iv he has in his arm.After a while, Ellio gradually settled down, his heart steadying to a comfortable pace. The nurses quickly left as they came. The witch didn’t register that they entered at all. He surveys the room, realizing he’s in the hospital. There’s a knock at the door. Ellio doesn’t answer but someone comes in anyway.He makes eye contact with the man with red hair. He sits in the only white chair in the room. “I’m glad to see you awake, I take it you’re confused.” Ellio nods. He studies the man. Klaus Von Reinhertz, the leader of Libra, and the man who just saved his life. Ellio fidgets with his hands.“Thank you for saving me. I’m forever in your debt. How long have I been out?” “It’s only been a day.” Steven walks in the door. He looks at Ellio, surprised that he’s awake. “Shit..” He holds a small, yellow camera and a flower pot that holds a Daisy.Ellio stares at it. “Steven-” “Beatrice, where is she?” Ellio asks, cutting off Klaus. There's a long silence. “Ellio, we're sorry but she didn’t make it. The doctors tried their best but it was no use, she passed on arrival.” Ellio's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. “No..you're lying..” Ellio looks at Klaus for reassurance that what Steven said wasn’t true Klaus shakes his head apologetically.
“I don’t believe you. Clearly something could have been done to save her?!” “When she died, she asked us to give you this flower on her deathbed.” Ellio grips the sheets. He couldn’t believe this, absolutely not. Without warning he ripped the iv out of his arm and ran out the door. “ELLIO WAIT!”Ellio runs down the hospital walls. His legs have an overwhelming amount of numbness. We wore nothing but a blue hospital gown. His bare feet make contact with the cold hard ground. Ellio doesn’t want to believe that Beatrice is dead. “She’ll just be in Aroma Flowers right?” There's indistinguishable voices behind them.He turns the corner and bumps into a man. “S-sorry!” He gains his bearings and continues to run. “Zapp, catch him!” Oh no. Ellio peeks behind him and sees a spider-like web coming straight for him. He slides and dodges. He gives Zapp a mean glare before turning another corner.He runs past all the nurses and doctors. “I just need to get to the exit.” He reassured himself. He quickly goes down a flight of stairs. He spots the exit doors and makes a run for it. He gasps then his journey gets cut short. The floor he stands on is replaced with ice and he loses his balance. Before he makes contact with the icy ground, he's saved and put in a bear hug by Klaus. The slide against the floor.“Let go of me, I’m leaving!” Ellio struggles against his strong hold. Steven gets rid of the ice, closing the distance between him and the young witch. “Ellio, please listen to me, Ms. Beatrice is no longer with us, the hole in her abdomen was far too great for any doctor to save her.” Ellio becomes out of breath, and stops struggling. When Klaus knows Ellio isn’t to try to escape again, he loosens his grip. “So, Beatrice is really…”Steven kneels down in front of Ellio and hands him the lone Daisy in the flower pot. “Our condolences.” Ellio grieves over the pot, heavy tears falling down his face. His raspy cries can be heard throughout the hallways. He hugs it tightly, the only last part of Beatrice he’ll even have.✧ Ellio opens the shop today. Everything is on sale, he can’t let all the arrangements to to waste. Today is Aroma Flowers’s last week. He sits behind the counter spaced out. He hasn’t slept or ate properly in four days. He really hasn’t done anything since his boss’s passing.The slow jazz continues, before he knows it, Ellio drifts to sleep.“E….o Ell….o Ellio!” He jolts awake. “Ah..eh!” Someone is grabbing his shoulders. It’s Klaus! He quickly tries to recuperate himself. “S-sorry..” Ellio rubs his eyes. He’s extremely tired. Klaus takes a big sigh. “You look exhausted, did you get any sleep today?”Ellio looks away, “I’m quite alright, just been…busy.” They pause. Klaus understands Ellio’s reasons despite not being told directly. He worries.About 2/3rds of the store is empty. This place was a significant part of Ellio’s life. He didn’t want to leave it so soon. This place will permanently be gone. It will take a while for that fact to sink in. It kills Ellio from the inside.“Ah, did you want to talk about something with me?”“We haven’t heard from you in four days, all of us were starting to get worried.”“Oh yeah..sorry, yet again I am still really busy. I have to remove everything by the end of the week.”“I truly am-” “Don’t. It’s fine..but the last thing I want is to remember right now.” It pangs Klaus’s heart a little after all, Beatrice and Klaus have been acquaintances for a really long time.“If there’s anything you need, please do let us know. You’re a part of Libra now, so feel free to ask for help.” Ellio nods in acknowledgement. There’s something about Klaus he can’t put his finger on. It’s comforting knowing that there’s someone other than Beatrice who cares for him.Ellio waves at Klaus when he exits. He slowly slides his back on the counter, sitting on the floor. His eyes fill with tears. “Beatrice..” He says in a shaky tone. Emptying out the store, meant also clearing out her room in the second story. Ellio isn’t mentally prepared for that yet. He would rather hold on to the days he has left in Aroma Flowers.Sonic quietly squeaks. “I don’t think I can do this, Sonic. I don’t want to say goodbye. This is all so sudden, my heart can’t handle it.” Ellio clings to the memories he has of her. Like the time she hit her head on a hanging flower pot. Or the time she had to save him from falling off the ladder from trying to hang fairy lights in the greenhouse. He got a long scolding after that.Ellio’s body heats up significantly, the days of fatigue are finally catching up to him. “I don’t want to go home.”✧Ellio scarfs down a hamburger. For the past two days, he’s felt like shit and he finally rewarded himself with a meal. He hasn’t been to Libra’s Office yet but he’s had some plentiful conversation, especially with Chain.He has the ability to dilute herself, almost erasing her existence entirely.“Oh my gosh Ellio, slow down!” He coughs, forcing his half eaten food down his pipe.” “Sorry Vivian, I’ve been so busy that I keep forgetting to eat.” She refills his water. “If that’s the case you should give a day to yourself.”“Hmm.” He wants to but her only has two days left before the shop permanently closes. He can’t afford to waste time. On top of that, he’s finding a new place to live. Ellio drums his fingers along the glass cup.He has been feeling extremely tired for the past week. It’s late in the noon but too early to be resting yet. Ellio finishes his burger and pays for the bill. Sonic hops on his shoulder and they make their way out of Dianne’s Diner.“What to do Sonic..Shall we visit Libra Headquarters.” Although reluctant, Ellio does need to visit. Sonic happily squeaks. “Ok, it's settled.” Ellio summons his staff, turning it into a broom.
The breeze hits him when he’s in the air. It’s a comforting temperature.He flies at a comfortable pace before making it to his destination. “Here it is, Sonic.” The entrance that he has given is in an old alleyway, it looks creepy. The door makes a long creak noise when Ellio opens it. When he steps inside there’s an elevator.“Uh…” Ellio is hesitant to click any of the buttons. Why does it look fancy here? Before he could do anything Sonic pressed a button. “Sonic!-” The elevator rattles then starts to move.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh-” The door opens. Sonic runs out first. “Sonic, get back here..oh.”Ellio can see multiple people here. Klaus, Steven, Zapp, Chain, and Gilbert. It looks like a party happened here or- what looks like a party being set up. There's blue and white balloons and a banner that says “Welcome to Libra Ellio!”“Oh my!” Steven clears his throat. “Sorry it looks rushed, Chain notified us that you were coming.” Ellio's face makes a pinkish hue. “Oh gosh- I’m-” He doesn’t know what to say. He had never expected this.Zapp quickly carries Ellio over his shoulder and plops him on the couch. He looks already drunk, and by the looks of it, so does Chain. “Welcome to Libra, Ellio!” everyone says in unison. Before he could say anything he was force fed a piece of cake.With all this attention it makes his head spin. He can’t stop smiling and blushing. With all of them together, Sonic quickly snaps a picture on Ellio’s camera. Ellio feels a hand on his head, it’s Steven. They make eye contact. “I hope you find it quite well here, please make yourself at home.”Ellio nods and takes another bit of his cake sheepishly. “Ah-” Chain drunkenly hugs Ellio tightly. He tries his best to hold back his tears with a few bites of cake, but he can’t help it. This is the happiest he’s been since Beatrice’s death.This will be a new chapter in Ellio’s life. He isn’t yet prepared for all this.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Zapp and Chain helped out with the final days of Aroma flowers. Although Ellio tried, he couldn’t go into Beatrice's room alone. Zapp and Chain comforted him through the process. To distract himself, he shared the funniest moments of Beatrice and him throughout his time working here.It brightened his spirits up a little bit. Ellio walked through the empty place, wondering what it would possibly be next. He glides his hand on the wooden walls. “This is the end, Sonic.. I wish you were here to see it all..” Sonic pays no mind. He sleeps on the front counter. “Ellio, it's time for us to go.” Chain says while walking out the door. “Okay, just give me a moment..” Ellio scoops Sonic’s sleeping body and puts him in the hood of his hoodie. He opens the door, it no longer makes a jingle. “Okay, I’m ready.”✧Ellio realized Gerard was a blood breed quite a while ago. It was after the subway incident. Gerard isn’t exactly a pure vampire though, since his reflection perfectly shows in mirrors. Gerard Agilolfings Bernadotte Ferdinand is his full name. Ellio soon realized that people who have red auras are a blood breed. Ellio plans on telling Klaus..soon.. But, he’s scared. There’s a horrid wound on his neck again. It hurts to touch it. Ellio looks at himself in the mirror. His torso exposes his old scars from his past. He hates that it always reminds him of his horrid life. He takes a quick shower and leaves his apartment. He takes his familiar route to Libra and enters the elevator. It takes him about 20 minutes but he finally made it.“I'M GONNA CATCH YOU TODAY CHIEF!” Zapp rushed to atack Klaus. He pours a drink in his hand, dogging the blows at him. When there’s an opening he swiftly takes Zapp down. Ellio's jaw drops to the ground; that's when Klaus spots him.“Ah, care for a drink, Ellio?” “Eh.. no.” He sits on the couch, he stretches his sore limbs. Even though he’s always waking up early, he’s constantly tired. Zapp yells and complains about whatever then Chain appears, stepping on his face. She spots Ellio and waves, he waves back.The dynamic between everyone is astonishingly different. “I hope you find everything well here, Sir Ellio.” Ellio looks over his shoulder. It's Gilbert. He hands tea to the young man which he gladly accepts. “It’s sweet..thank you Gilbert.” Ellio’s cheeks warm up and he flashes a warm smile. The office is quite spacious.He looks around to find Chain and Zapp arguing, and Klaus paying no mind, typing away at his keyboard. Ellio takes out his camera and takes a picture. Another memory saved in his collection. He scrolls through the few new ones. There’s Beatrice's flower in a pot by his window sill. There's one of him in his signature outfit. A light blue hoodie, black shorts and his white thigh highs. Ellio’s mindset is that every outfit is unisex. Clothes have no gender and he doesn’t bother to follow it.“Hm Sonic look at this-..one?” Ellio expected sonic to be at his side but he’s missing. “Sonic?” He gets up and taps Gilbert’s shoulder. “M-Mr Gilbert, I can’t seem to find Sonic anywhere, do you know where he went?” He shakes his head no. Ellio looks around the office frantically but to no avail. “I’ll be right back!” When he left the office, he didn't realize how long the search has been.A whole 15 minutes has passed. During that time, he made it through a series of floors and doors. It’s like a maze in the building. He eventually makes it to.. A greenhouse? “Woah.” He slowly walks inside, taking in the view. It’s huge! It’s about three times the size in Aroma Flowers.The plant life is astonishing. The majority of the plants are otherworldly. They’re alive.. Ellio hears a very familiar squeak. “Sonic!” He runs over to the noise and he sees him about to be eaten! He hurriedly dives and scoops Sonic. “Sonic, I've been looking everywhere for you. Why would you run off like that! Next time-”Ellio didn’t have time to react. The plant that was about to eat Sonic, spat an acid-like substance on Ellio’s back. He winces and touches his back. “My clothes..” The plant looks very unusual. Ellio guesses that the plant’s “body” must be the red bud. It can expand and contract that shoots acid, and now he knows it can eat pretty much anything. “What the hell?!”The bud blooms and without warning releases what look like tentacles. “Sonic, get help now!” Sonic in the blink of an eye, retreats. The unknown plant grabs on to Ellio. The tentacles are smooth and secrete acid. Ellio doesn’t know if he should try to fight it. It’s in Libra’s building.. Does that count of property damage? “So the plant stuns its prey by shooting acid, then grabbing them and digesting them.” The tentacles have each of his limbs, he struggles and it continues to soil his outfit. He’s almost close to its opening. The plant has a sweet smell to it. “You cheeky bastard.” That's why Sonic left. All of a sudden the plant quickly retreats, dropping Ellio. He makes contact with the ground. He can hear Sonic squeaking rapidly. “Sonic..” Ellio feels something over him. “Are you alright?! I apologize I didn’t come here sooner.” He looks up and finds Klaus over him, wrapping him with his vest. “Mr. Klaus! Ah..no I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here without your permission, you see Sonic had left and I was worried about him and eh?!”Klaus easily picks him up and he makes his way out of the greenhouse. “Mr. Klaus!?” “It’s quite alright Ellio. You left the office for quite some time, I was getting quite nervous for your safety. You’re injured, there’s spare rooms Libra owns, I'll bring you there.”“I promise you I’m alright, I just need to get new clothes thats all.” He pushes against Klaus’s hold. His slightly seared back is causing him mild discomfort. He eventually stops, deeming it useless trying to fight against the man who just saved his life..again. Ellio sighs. “Thank you again..” He says in a low tone. It genuinely frustrates him how weak in combat he is. His new goal is to get better.“Protecting people is a natural thing to do in Libra, I can assure you we do not mind at all.” Ellio has no idea how Klaus navigated his way through the halls of Libra but they made it into one of the spare rooms. Gilbert is in there, preparing a makeshift first aid station. The two of them acknowledge each other and the butler leaves. Klaus helps Ellio sit on the chair. “Wait, are you putting that on for me?” He opens the kit. It has ointments, gauze, bandages and many other things. “Of course, it’s difficult to treat a wound on your back by yourself.” Ellio panics not only does he still carry the scars from his past occupation, he still has the patch on his shoulder from when Gerard bit him. If he finds out, there’s no telling what would happen. “I promise you I can do it myself!” He covers himself with the vest Klaus saved him with earlier. “Ellio, I’m not sure what you’re afraid of.” “Everything, okay!” They pause, “I’m afraid to be seen right now.” He brings the vest to his face. Klaus closes the kit and sits at the edge of the bed and gently pats Ellio’s head. Ellio can’t stand how caring Klaus is. He’s afraid of being too dependent on him. He can’t trust anyone.“Ellio I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m here to help if you’re comfortable with telling me what is going on.” Ellio takes a long sigh. “Mr. Klaus.. Before my mother’s disappearance, I had lost my memories when I was 13, after that I was kidnapped and forced to work as… a prostitute. Halesalem's Lot was ruthless to me. The people who rented me left permanent, terrible scars on my body and I don't like anyone seeing.” They both were quiet for a long time. Ellio can’t believe he just said that. Beatrice knew for a while but it feels weird talking about it. He hates bringing it up. “Ellio, I-” “It’s fine, It’s not your fault for not knowing, I tend to hide it.” Right there, Klaus decided it was best to prioritize Ellio and protect him from people like that. The two of them didn’t say anything after that. Ellio turned around and allowed Klaus to tend to the damage on his back.He indeed saw the scars on his torso.He had to stop himself from breaking the ointment jar. It pains Klaus knowing that something so horrid like this happened to Ellio. He’s a strong guy for endearing something like that at a young age. Ellio sucks air through his teeth when the cool liquid makes contact with his back. It sends shivers up his spine. Sonic being here the whole time, sits on Ellio’s lap. “Ah..shit!” Klaus flinches, he doesn’t know if he’s hurting Ellio by accident, so he slows down. “I apologize.” “It’s fine.” Klaus continues very carefully to tend the acid burns, eventually putting bandages around him. “All done.” Ellio stands up slowly and hands back Klaus' dark vest. He wears a white button up underneath. Ellio slightly blushes and turns away. He didn’t realize how big Klaus was. He easily towers over him, he’s like a big bear. “Ah.. Ellio your clothes.” He looks over to the melted blue hoodie. Not only that, his socks now have holes in them. His shoes are a complete mess. “Oh..right. Um. I suppose you have some spare clothes, do you?”✧“BAHAHAHAAAAHAHA” Zapp rolls on the floor when he looked at Ellio’s appearance. Ellio can’t stop blushing. Steven turns away, covering his mouth with his hands. Klaus can’t look away. Earlier, Ellio tried on Klaus’s clothes but they were ultimately too big for him. Upon this news, Steven tries to help by lending him his clothes as well, which didn’t fit as well.As a last resort Zapp tried to help but when Ellio tried to walk, he tripped on Steven’s big pants. They were all quiet and Zapp couldn’t keep his composure. Ellio just ditched the pants idea entirely and stuck with Stevens giant tee and boxers. “BAHAHA YOU’RE SO GOD DAMN SHORT.” “Shut up” Ellio decided to just stay in the spare room for now. He’ll sort this all out tomorrow. “Alright Zapp, let’s leave Ellio alone.” Steven says. “HAHAHA EVEN CHAIN IS TALLER THAT YOU BUAHAHA-” Steven Karate chops Zapp’s head, knocking him out. Even Ellio is shocked.Klaus opens the door and he helps drag the unconscious man out. Steven waves. “Goodnight Ellio.” He waves back. “Goodnight.”The door shut and now he’s alone. Sonic chirps while nesting in the pillow. Ellio settles on the bed and pets him. “Otherworldly plants that can eat about anything.” Until now, Ellio has only ever studied about normal plant life. There’s a knock at his door. Ellio gets startled but gets up to check who’s outside. When he opens he sees Chain. “Oh! Hello Ms. Chain.” She huffs and flicks his forehead. “Ack-” “It’s weird when you speak like that.” She hands him a bag of chips and leaves. Ellio didn’t get the chance to say thank you. He watches her stride down the hallway until she’s out of sight. “Well.” He eyes the bag, it’s just plain salty chips. He opens it and takes a bite. Ellio has no idea why she did that but a free snack never hurt anyone.Ellio had massive bed head when he woke up. When he got out of bed there was the same replica of clothes and a note on top. “Worry not about needing to pay back the price of your damaged clothes. I hope you find these a perfect fit.” -Klaus Von Reinhertz.The hue of Ellio’s face turns a light pink. Upon putting the clothes against himself it quite indeed fit. “Mr. Klaus, you big dummy.” Ellio got prepared and put on the clothes. When he walked out into the office, it was the same shenanigans from yesterday. Klaus typing away at his desk and Zapp and Chain yelling at each other. Gilbert, as usual, serves and makes his tea. Ellio sits on the couch causing Klaus to spot him first. “Goodmorning Ellio, I hope you slept well?” He yawns. “Goodmorning Mr. Klaus. I did in fact sleep well. Too well in fact.” Ellio’s phone vibrated. Upon checking he froze. 23 missed calls 46 unread messages. “Gerard? Who the hell is that?” Zapp yawns behind him. Ellio quickly turns off his phone and puts it away. He tries to hide any panicked expression he had. His hand unconsciously reaches for his neck. “It’s nothing.” “Eh, I'm hungry wanna come with me to get somethin’ to eat?” Ellio quickly puts his phone on silent....“Sure.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It’s chilly when Zapp and Ellio leave the building. Ellio’s face reddens, he’s able to see his hot breath when he blows on his hands. Zapp, of course, smokes a cigar next to him. The young witch coughed and hackled when the dark smoke started to hurt his nose. “Ugh, smoking causes cancer, ya’know?” Zapp harshly pats Ellio’s head. “Live a little, will ya? They both left about 30 minutes ago, both of them grabbing a quick bite before walking and just having a chat. Ellio’s phone has been on silent this entire time. He’s too afraid to check. He doesn’t want to go home either. So, he continues to walk with Zapp, killing time.“Damn, it's cold as balls out here.” Sonic moves around under Ellio’s clothes. He managed to make himself comfortable in the pocket of Ellio’s blue hoodie. He's starting to regret wearing shorts today.“Yeah, you're right”Zapp puffs out the last bits of his cigar then crushes the bud under his foot. “So uh..” Ellio bites his bottom lip, moving his labret piercing around. “I happened to see you using your blood technique when fighting that half demon, and Klaus’s when fighting that blood breed, do you guys have the same ability?”“Well yes and no. The effects are different because we don't use the same style. His ability is like being attacked by your worst nightmare.” Zapp shutters dramatically. He takes the cigar box from his pocket and goes to light another but Ellio hurriedly takes both and throws it on the street. “Hey pip squeak you better pay me for that!” Zapp tries to go fetch for it but it's ultimately run over by the wheels of a car. “GAH! Hey, let go!” Zapp has one of his arms around Ellio and the other not so gracefully ruffing up his white hair. “You're going to get lung cancer, I'm telling you!” He managed to break free, tumbling on a dry cleaners truck. “And stop ruining my hair!”“Ah..” Ellio grabs his head. That's no Dry Cleaner’s truck. The vehicle Ellio’s hands are on shifts a skeletal being on wheels. There's someone..no that’s not it. He sees a beyondian wheeling dried people in plastic body bags. On the other side is a different beyondian with one eye, looking directly at him. Ellio gasps, quickly running towards Zapp. “We’re leaving, now!”Zapp has no time to react when the witch grabs his wrist and breaks into a sprint. “What the hell man, don't tell me that truck scared you now.” Ellio huffs. “That is no Dry Cleaner's truck, what I saw was way scarier, and otherworldly!” The gears in Zapp’s head stop turning. “So you're saying-” “Yes! So keep moving!”“As far as I can tell, you're totally skitzo, you weirdo.” Ellio grumbles. “So frustrating.” They both run, dodging the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Ellio hears Zapp making a call on his phone. He deduced it was Chain, since he called her a she-bitch. Zapp laughs. “Hey, he’s right here, ya’know?”“We need to keep moving, otherwise-” the sounds of debris and slashing noise fill his ears, drowning out whatever was left Zapp said on the phone.They both fell victim to the onslaught of chaos and landed on the street. All vehicles on the road were displaced. Ellio’s fall wasn't graceful. He looked up to see Zapp groaning, clutching his side. His clothes started turning crimson. “Oh no, Zapp are you okay?!” The skeletal figure Ellio saw before, landed on one of the totaled cars.
“So, some little brat can see me huh? At least you seem to be the only one.”
Ellio ever so slightly moves backwards to Zapp, trying to find a way for both of them to get safely out of this situation. When the beyondian seems to be distracted by talking to a device in it’s ear, Ellio tries to get Zapp on his feet, but it's too late.
“Copy that, we study without killing him.”
Ellio gets picked up by the collar of his hoodie. “Let go!” He struggles the best he can but it's no use, he gets shoved in the vehicle and it drives off. Getting kidnapped was not on Ellio’s bingo card. ✧ Chain stands on a traffic light, watching the truck like a hawk. Standing on high ground without being frightened was easy work for her, she’s done this many times before. She stands there, easily balancing. “AUHH, dammit!” The truck drove through an underpass, then changed form into a regular car. “I lost sight of it!” She quickly takes the phone out of her pocket and calls Steven. She whines the whole time, not letting Steven make a coherent sentence. “Stop crying, Chain!”  ✧ There’s a strange heartbeat and veins on the floor of the car. It creeps Ellio out that the..car? Whatever it is, he doesn’t like that he’s inside a living entity. Sonic is halfway through chewing through the tape the young witch’s hands are tied in. He forgot the monkey was in his hoodie pocket. It’s a good thing he’s here to assist.
“You look like a normal Earth boy, but there’s more to you, isn’t there?”
The one eyed beyondian leaning on the wall, crossing his arms and looks very intimidating. Ellio deduced it was no use trying to fight him, it looks about twice his size and he could easily kill him with his katana at it’s hip. Ellio grumbles to himself.“And what about you, what the hell do you think you’re doing?! And these people.. Why are you doing this?” “Well they’re not exactly dead yet, they’re vacuumed sealed, for freshness.” The beyondian looks pleased with itself after it spoke. “This is wrong! I’m sure you’re aware it’s prohibited to eat humans ever since the-”
“Shut your trap, boy.”
Ellio flinches. “Why else do you think we’d be going through all this trouble, you idiot.” The beyondian goes to move but another appears. No.. everytime it moves it seems to be fading out of existence. “Kekeke, no fighting you two! Kekeke!” The cloak that it wears makes it look like it has a ghost-like appearance. It moved quickly, startling Ellio when it moved directly in his face. His heart hammers against his chest.Finally having the courage to speak again, his forehead harshly touches the beyondian with the hard face and sunken eye sockets. “My friends are never going to let you get away with this!” It claps back.
“Oh, of course we’ll get away with it, why wouldn’t we~. You’re the only one who saw my illusion, and look at the crap you’re in now, I can’t wait to dissect you and see what’s inside~!”
Sonic finally manages to bite through the tape that was holding the witch’s hands captive. Before the masked beyondian could grab Ellio’s head, he summons the staff and hits it square on the head. It makes a loud thunk, like an empty Pringles can. “Oh my! It’s the key from the God of Truth!” Ellio gets pinned by the One-eyed bastard, knocking the air out his lungs. “Oh yes, your dissection will be immersive indeed!”“Damm..you..all” He struggles against the heavy force against him. He bites his bottom lip.
Klaus..
✧ He doesn’t know how much time has passed. It’s cold and scarry. It doesn’t help that the harsh lighting is adding on to that fact. His eyes hurt, everything hurts. “Fuck.” Sonic squeaks, trying his best to cheer the fluffy haired boy up. “It’s no use Sonic.” Ellio couldn't tell when he started tearing up, salty tears trickled down his face. “I can’t do anything, I’m just a regular guy who always gets himself in a whole lot of shit. I can’t even fight, all I’ve got going for me is this useless staff.” He curls into a ball. “I should have gone home.”  .. He slaps both his cheeks, startling the poor monkey “I have an idea, but it's a stretch.” Ellio used his ability to summon his shield at his will before but it takes a toll on his body. He summons his staff. “I don’t know where we are, but if I can at least put a shield on one of the wheels, it will stop the movement on whatever I’m in and hinder its momentum.”He closed his eyes and tried his damn hardest to focus. C’mon Ellio, force this useless thing to your will, make it obey. He breathes. His shield deploys when he’s in life threatening danger so, he imagined himself in a scenario where he was. Think, think! He plays a flashback when he was attacked by that blood breed Girika. He was about to die, but the staff saved him anyway but ultimately, it never saved Beatrice. White light surrounds him. “NOW, DAMMIT!”He feels himself toppling over. Sonic grabs Ellio’s hair. The witch can feel power surging through him, he did it! His enthusiasm didn’t last for long when he heard the tires of the truck screeching. He’s rolling around all over the place in constant movement.When it finally stops, he quickly finds his bearings. “Sonic we did-”“YOU SCHEMING BRAT!” Uh oh. The one-eyed beast makes quick work of the boy, slamming his head hard against the wall cutting his airways with it’s three handed fingers. “I should have killed you from the start.” Black spots fill Ellio’s vision. He grasps for the arm of the beyondian but he’s too weak to fight back. “Say..your prayers…bitch!” His head is throbbing from the blocked airflow and he can taste the blood coming from his nose. With one last trick up his sleeve he blinds the man with a bright light from his staff. Did…he always know he could do that? Ellio falls victim by his own spell, blinding him as well but the beyondians grasp on him loosened. He quickly filled his oxygen deprived lungs with precious air. He feels an explosion outside and the temperature quickly heats up. Yet again he’s disorientated by the sudden change in motion. New air hits his skin and he finds himself outside of that claustrophobic, veiny vehicle. Sonic squeaks loudly, gaining the witch’s attention. His poor ears ring from all the commotion. The monkey grabs the boy’s head and moves it to where a battle ensues. Large structures of ice are aiming towards giant white monster-looking like spider.“CRAM IT DOWN HIS THROAT, KLAUS!”The next thing Ellio saw was a giant cross aiming directly at the truck he just escaped before hurling up blood. His head was throbbing and his vision became blurry. He didn’t notice the injury with all the adrenalin that was pumping through his body.  “Ah..fuck”✧“We rescued 19 missing persons as well as capturing those goons in their cargo vehicle.” Ellio awoke in a hospital bed at least that’s what he thinks he’s in since he can't see. There’s bandages all around his body, covering wounds he never knew were there before. By the sound of the man who just spoke to him, he deduced that it was Steven. “So ultimately we took care of business, didn’t we? On top of that a level of illusory was brought to light we never knew about after today’s events. That’s a huge success. Everything worked out great, congratulations.” Ellio was too tired to say thank you, after all that happened, all he wanted to do was eat yummy food and sleep. He didn’t know how many people were in the room with him, but he felt safe enough that he soon let the drowsiness take over. When they all made it back to Libra sometime later, everyone started their own routine again. Zapp takes a nap in the couch, his head next to Ellio’s legs while Zapp's slipped over the arm of the arm of the large sofa.Klaus is back at his computer, having a conversation with Steven. Probably about the events that happened a few hours ago.Chain is nowhere to be seen and Gilbert is off making tea. Ellio fixes his white sock and heaves a sigh. So much has happened in two hours and he hasn't had enough time to grasp the situation he was in.“The Staff of Truth.” Ellio says to himself. “The Staff of Truth is the key needed to see the very depths of reality. It was created by a god who was once a witch, which is why only those who are are allowed to weld it, unless the owner says otherwise.” Klaus says, breaking Ellio out of his small trance. Steven steps in. “It can also be deceiving. For example you can fool my eyes into believing there's a ball of fire in front of me and if for a second I’d believe what I’m seeing is true, then the ball of fire can come to life.”Ellio summons his staff and places it on his lap. At the end has a floating orb, loosely wrapped around with incantations he can't read. “Mr. Klaus you said you've seen this before, haven't you? Do you know why it chose me?”Klaus makes his way over, crouching in front of the young white haired male. He eyes the staff, watching as the incantations move around the floating orb.“All I know is that a new welder is chosen when the previous one dies. Accepting this staff is like accepting a contract. Forcefully try to terminate it, the user will also die, thus allowing the staff to choose its own welder. Having this staff will grant you the Vision of Truth and reality warping abilities.”Ellio sighs, "But I can't use any of those, the best thing that I'm good at is flying on this.” Staff changes into a broom. One of the many things witches use as transportation. “Wow, hidden in plain sight. Very fitting for the deceiving part.” Steven walks closer. Zapp continues to sleep.“I can't use any of my abilities because they were sealed in this, hence why it can never be broken. I remember my mother said that's why my hair is like this, because a part of me is not where it should be. And also I might pass out and blood will forcefully eject itself out of me too.”Perhaps he shouldn't have said that. Klaus and Steven look a little mortified. “And you just live like that?!” Steven looks a little worried. Ellio puts his hands up. “No really it's okay! I never knew I could use my own skills at will so I haven't tried and plus, my body is not used to it! It only happened about a month ago when I met you guys.”“Or perhaps when you try to use your own abilities by yourself, you slowly chipping away at your seal, and your body can't handle the power.”Steven put his hand on his head. “It’s really not-”Ellio's phone rings in his back pocket. It was probably Cain calling. He noticed she put her phone number in there when he wasn't looking. He pulls it out and reads the caller ID. Gerard. Ellio quickly stands up, desummoning his broom and disturbing Zapp’s slumber. No one noticed his panicked expression and the sound of his heart that's going to explode this very second.He shuts his phone off, a little too quickly and shoves it in his pocket. “Shit.” He says to himself. “You know, I keep seeing the caller a lot, is he a friend of yours?” Zapp finally woke up, voice raspy from the constant snoring.“I-I guess you could say that, haha” that sounded so fake, he thought.He was internally panicking, he breaks into a cold sweat. “I have to go now you guys, I'll see you guys in the morning.” Ellio’s mind was too cloudy to hear what was said when the elevator doors closed behind himSonic awoke upon the change in rhythm in the young witch's heart. Each descent of each floor was painfully fast for him and he wished time slowed down. His phone rang again, this time he answered it. He achingly brought it up to his ear.  
“Ellio. The nerve you have.”
“S-sorry..”“Everyday there is always a reason for me to be pissed off at you.”…
“ANSWER ME!”
“I-I’m sorry.Ellio's eyes were filled with tears. He didn't want to go home. He wanted to run away, far from his problems. The elevator stops it’s decent and opens to the view of the same old alleyway.
“I want you here, now.” 
The call ends but that doesn't stop Ellio's heart from working overtime. It took quite some time to make it back home but he's here. Starting directly at his door. Don't open it. He puts the key in but it's unlocked so he opens it. It creaks the more his room comes into view. I have to get out of here. Sitting directly in front of him is Gerard sitting on the witch’s nightstand chair, glaring. "Ellio." He sits there, crossing his arms. His red aura never looked more frightening.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Who is Ellio?Age:19Species: WitchTimeline:Ellio has lived in New York with his mother for 6  months before he lost his memory. He has just 13 years old.He was homeless and was forced to work in a brothel, there he was used and fed drugs. It was his only source of income so he endured it for 3 years.During the three years he spent 2 actively searching for his mother which he has no memory of. All he has is this staff with incantations which appeared one day.( It was originally his broom which now can morph into either) (age 15)He's heard about an organization called Libra and he's been searching for them for a year before he quit. He was 16 when The Great Collapse happened, later Beatrice (straight black hair, green skin, a right wooden arm) took him in.It took him a while to get use to the new world (Halesalem's lot) but he eventually became a great Botanist. He worked at Aroma Flowers for 3 years. (Age 19)The Staff of Truth:The Staff of Truth is a weapon than can detect anomalies and has reality warping abilities.Anomaly Detection:An ability that allows the users eyes to see through abilities that warp a person's view of something or can whiteness things that are hidden with the naked eye.Reality Warping:Being able to create things that originally weren't there (this can only happen if the recipient believes that what they're seeing is real) *hence a ball of fire Steven mentioned*This staff has only be welded by 1 user at a time. It can only change by the user choosing another recipient before they die, or the staff choosing a person for them if the user doesn't make a decision.When you're chosen, if you touch the staff, you're agreeing to a binding contact that you are infact choosing to the the next welder. Trying to terminate this will ultimately lead in your death.Who is Gerard:A half bloodbreed. Also a shitty landlord, only to Ellio. Him and Ellio have been "Acquainted" when the witch was 17. Poor Ellio opened up to him and told him his occupation and Gerard took that as an advantage to use him since Ellio was still poor. (He's been able to live in this apartment for 2 years. *Now age 19*He kept this fact hidden. Gerard will kill him if anyone found out.What are witches is this universe:People who possess great mana. Since The Great Collapse, more have been open about being one.They have the ability to see auras hence why they are able to do accurate readings. (If one practices) Why is Ellio so weak?:He is sealed. At least most of his power is. He can not control it and has never felt the need to try to change otherwise.His body cannot regulate mana so most if it seeps out and creates a chain reaction. *Which is why his mother sealed most of it in his broom*When Ellio uses his abilities, he gets a burst of mana and quickly releases it. It basically works at a bomb. And it's why he coughs up blood. He cannot accumulate, or release mana correctly.Libra and the "key":The Staff of Truth reveals the identity of bloodbreed's true names which is why they want it before they get their hands on it.What happens if bloodbreeds do manage to possess it? (Who knows hehe)Ellio:Ellio has heterochromia, *I forgot what chapter I mentioned this in* he hides it behind his hair because it's the only thing that makes him feel normalNo one knew of witches before The Great Collapse because they played the part as regular humans. So, Ellio has done the same.He has scars on his back from working as a prostitute which is why he hides it behind his iconic blue hoodie.The wears that with a white shirt, black shorts and white thigh highs. In his mind, clothes have no gender and he rocks it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Y’know? Ellio has been jumpy since the whole kidnapping incident.” Steven said, finishing his last sip of coffee. It's still noon, and Ellio usually leaves at night. Zapp yawns and finally gets off the couch. “No, I think it's more than that. Do you guys know of any man named Gerard?” Klaus and Steven shrug. “It's a name in Ellio's contact, I keep seeing it. Even earlier he told me not to worry about it. Every Time he sees it, he looks uncomfortable.”They all looked puzzled. Ellio seems to be troubled but they have no real proof to prove it. If Ellio isn't okay in his own home then this is a serious problem.Klaus grumbles a bit. It frustrates him that he didn't notice this before. Ellio is very secretive with his private life and it's also rude to pry. “I guess we can only wait.” Steven finally says. ✧ Gerard wasted no time pinning the young witch to the bed. Sonic managed to hide, out of sight from the bloodbreed’s eyes. The poor monkey fears his life would end if Gerard whiteness his white fur.“Ignoring my calls, are you?” His large hand grasps the base of Ellio’s neck. “My phone..was..dead!” He said through strangled breaths.“Don't lie to me!” Gerard continues to hold him down while he goes through the witch's pockets. There he finds his phone and turns it on. Do not disturb and Silent.He’s pissed. Very pissed. The throws Ellio on the ground. He finally managed to get air but that's soon cut off by a kick in the stomach. Dots fill his vision as another kick makes contact. Bile seeps out and Ellio can’t hold it any longer, he pukes a small puddle of the food he recently ate.What a waste. He thought.“Such a mess,” Gerard said. He places a foot on Ellio's torso, forcing him to lie on his back. He gives out a strangled scream when Gerard brings more weight on him. Ellio desperately tried to claw at him but it was no use. A bloodbreed can easily heal. “You always get on my damn nerves, Ellio. Why can you just do as you're told? You act like you don't have a roof over your head.” Gerard grabs Ellio's fluffy white hair, forcing him to sit up. He walks over to Ellio's bed and throws him there. “Fuck you.” Gerard stops. “What?” He growls and bares his now elongated fangs. Ellio just wanted all of this to end. He can't live like this anymore. The witch trembles but he finally manages to repeat himself, even louder.“Fuck you!” Not good. Gerard grabs the witch's face and slams the back of his head against the hard wall. A little indent was left.Ellio manages to throw a punch and wriggle free of his grasp. He slips off the bed. If I could just get to the door- his hand barely managed to touch the knob before Gerard got him right where he wanted.They're both panting. Adrenaline pumps through Ellio's veins. He can't move. He's too scared to move.“I just love the sound of that, your heart pumping your sweet blood. And you know what, I'm quite hungry.” There goes Ellio's hoodie, ripped to shreds by an obsessive bloodbreed. It's no use for Ellio to keep fighting. He was always weak to begin with.Pain seared at his neck when Gerard punctured it. He bites back a cry but it's no use. He claws at his wooden door. “It hurts, it hurts!” He cried but it ultimately fell on deaf ears. Yet again he has lost to a bloodbreed. ✧ Ellio threw up in the bathroom. His mind was too cloudy to make a single thought. His ass hurt and he needed water fast.He looked sickly when he looked at himself in the mirror. There's a red handprint across his neck and a giant bruise across his torso.He's sick of it. Hiding the fact there's a bloodbreed obsessed with him and knowing there's no way to fight back. He wobbles back to his studio.(Sorry I forgot to mention his apartment is the same as the first apartment Leo got before he was evicted.)“I need something that’ll hide everything today.” He didn't want to wear something basic though so he found an old black turtleneck, and flared denim jeans. And to finish it off he paired it with his old worker shoes, black Doc Martens.He looked at himself through his floor-length mirror this time. He looked decent enough. Everything hurts like hell but at least it hides everything. Sonic appears and jumps on Ellio's shoulder. “Hello Sonic, I'm sorry you had to see that.” The witch scratches the monkey’s chin.He locks the apartment door and silently goes down the stairs. “Fuck.” It hurts to even move. He endures the pain and moves slowly. Each step he took was slow and calculated. He remembered which steps didn't creak. He doesn't like alerting Gerard first thing in the morning.He successfully slips through the back door and summons his broom and mounts it. He groaned in pain when he was a few feet from the ground. “Let's face it, it's better than riding a bumpy subway.” Sonic enjoys the wind as the two of them ride in the air. Halesalem's Lot is bustling as ever as the two of them make it to Libra Headquarters.When they make it inside the elevator, Sonic does the honors of pressing the button. Pain shoots up through Ellio's spine when the elevator jerks. When the elevator door opens he's greeted by familiar faces. Klaus, Chain, Gilbert, Steven, and Zapp.Ellio takes a deep breath. Play the part. That's all he has to do. “Ah, I've never seen you late before.” Chain says making her way to Ellio. Before that, she had a chokehold on Zapp. He smiles. “Sorry, Sonic didn't want to take the subway today, so I had to fly all the way here.” The monkey squeaks in disagreement. So far so good Chain eyes Ellio's new outfit. No one has ever seen him dressed like that. “What's the occasion?” Ellio tries the best he can when he walks in the middle of the office, meeting everyone.“Um. My hoodie got stained so I had to whip up another quick outfit.” He rubs the back of his head. Everything hurts. His head, neck, torso and ass. He just needs to avoid putting pressure on those spots.“Oh c’mon, I know you got a secret girlfriend~.” Zapp says playfully. He slaps the back of Ellio to encourage him to speak up, which just causes him to groan in pain.He grabs the back of the couch, biting his bottom lip. “Woah, what's up with you?”
Play the part, just play the part.
Ellio looks at Zapp. “I fell Zap, hard. And right now I'm trying to mend the pain.” 
That was good.
“BAHAHA!” Zap laughs and points a finger. “You must really be weak if you can’t handle a measly fall!” Ellio ignored the pain and kicked him hard in the foot. That comment really offended him. Play the part, play the part, play the part. Ellio repeated in his mind. “Enough, you two, we can't have another fight in here.” Steven finally spoke up.Finally, after 30 minutes, things went back to normal. Chain left because she has some business to do in the Werewolf Bureau. Gilbert went into the greenhouse. Zapp went to do whatever.It was just Steven, Klaus, and Ellio left. Gilbert had handed Ellio one of the watering pots a while ago and so the witch has been watering the plant life.It's a nice way to kill time since he has nothing better to do. All that's left is to water the many tall plants scattered in the office.He hums a quiet tune in the hopes of not disturbing the two. Behind the scenes, the two of them definitely feel that something is off.They eye each other, then him. The steps he takes are not normal and he hasn't sat down once. When Ellio went home, Klaus did some research on who this Gerard guy is. He's a landlord and it's safe to assume Ellio is renting a unit from him. But there's no record of him; he just appeared out of thin air.
Just like a bloodbreed.
The area Ellio resides is known for its red light district just across the street. It's dangerous. But that's all he knows. He continues to clack away at his old timey monitor. Ellio continues to hum, distracting himself from the immense pain he feels. All this standing around is making him start to feel nauseous, but sitting down isn't an option right now. He grabs one of the leaves of a tall plant he stands in front of. It's withered. He watered it anyway and headed to the next one.“Ellio,” Klaus says. The witch jumped a little, he hoped the red-haired man didn't notice. He turns around, the water still in his hand. Ellio looks like a cute little secretary.He tilts his head to the side. “Yes, Mr. Klaus?” He didn't even know what to say, or why he called him.Keep it simple, don't scare him. Klaus thought.“The area where you live, it's dangerous at night, yes? How are you feeling?.”Silence“It's okay, really. I do know how to navigate my way here and back. I've been living in my apartment for two years. Mostly all of the residents know each other.” Ellio gives a thumbs up.“Even the landlord?”“Yes, of course”Steven takes a sip of his coffee. He knows where this is going. Klaus is too nice to try to get information out of anyone.Both of their main goals are to try to find out who Gerard is to Ellio. And to confirm if their suspicions are true.The young witch turns around and continues watering the plant. “You've been at it for quite some time, don't you want to sit down?”Ellio becomes increasingly frustrated. He sighs. “If it's about the fall I mentioned, I cannot. Hurts too much. It'll heal on its own.”Ellio doesn't turn to face any of them. He hears the sounds of footsteps getting closer. Make that two pairs of footsteps. 
Shit..
His heart rate speeds.
Play the part, Ellio.
A finger is pressed firmly into his back unexpectedly. It takes all his might to not make a sound. He squeezes the watering can so hard it makes his knuckles turn white.He turns his head around to see Steven studying him. The witch made eye contact with the coffee fiend man, and have a scowl. Steven's left hand is under his chin. He smells of pure black coffee.“Okay, you can cut it out. If you're worried about whether I'm getting home safely, I am. And please don't press my back, it hurts y’know.”Klaus and Steven easily tower over Ellio. It's making him uncomfortable and he can't help but squirm.He turns around again and waters the plant. He tried to ignore the intimidating figures looming over him.“Are you two here to tease me?”Klaus is trying to find his words and Steven laughs.“No, not at all, we're just worried y'know? Crime is everywhere and we need to keep a balance.” “Right..” Of course Ellio knows this.And our job as Fang Hunters is to exterminate blood breeds.The plant is overfilled but Ellio doesn't stop. Steven continues. “Who knows, even your landlord might be one.”Ellio drops the can. It rolls away from his feet. BingoEllio's heart speeds up. “Gerard is not a bloodbreed. His reflections show up in mirrors.” Right there, Ellio realized why the two were directly behind him, it’s to keep him from running away. To try and keep interrogating him.He tried to find a way out of this.“Why are you so invested in him anyway, he’s my landlord.”“Ellio, you dropped the can at the mention of him potentially being a bloodbreed. This is a serious matter.” Klaus says.“Well sorry if the idea of bloodbreeds still scare me since Beatrice’s death!” He huffs out. “I'm perfectly fine and it's not like I'm being kept in a cage!”His phone rings and he makes the mistake of pulling it out, right in front of the eyes of Steven and Klaus. Speak of the devil. The caller ID on Ellio's phone is Gerard.“Ellio, you need to tell us what's going on. Now.” Steven demands. “My personal life is not your concern!” Ellio's phone continues to ring. “I'm not a child Mr. Steven.”   Ring Ring Klaus snatches the phone from the witch's hands. He tried to fight back but pain quickly shot up from everywhere.Klaus answers the phone. 
“Fucking shit Ellio, didn't I tell you to to let me know when you're leaving. Or is it because you lost Aroma Flowers that you forgot that fact.”
Everyone heard that. Ellio watched as Klaus's aura growed. 
Oh no.
“Apologies, your behavior won't quite reach Ellio's ears, he's busy.” Silence 
“Ahh you must be the coworker Ellio talks about. Haha sorry I was just looking out for him!” 
“Ellio is in the care of our hands, please don't call him while he's working.” Click  And just like that, Klaus hung up. “I have to go.” Ellio said, he hurriedly tries to get past the two unmoving walls in front of him.“Ellio this concerns the whole team of Libra, if we find-”“ENOUGH!”Ellio's shield deploys, but not on him. He looks up to find Steven and Klaus trapped under the witch’s ability. Blood trickles from his nose.All of them give a wide stare. “I’m sorry- t-this, I didn't-” Ellio panicked and rushed towards the elevator. He's in so much pain.Klaus desperately tries to call out to the young witch but Ellio knows if he undos the spell, it'll be hell for him.The three of them make eye contact before the doors finally close, leavingEllio in the slowly moving box, all alone.Sonic didn't come with him when Ellio exited the building. “God, what am I doing?”Well, now he has to go back and tell Gerard the misunderstanding.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Oh..”The sight of two higher ups incapacitated was definitely not the sight Chain expected to see. She received a phone call from Ellio but it ended up being Klaus instead. When she arrived at the office, she was dumbfounded how they even got in this situation. Even after, she tried to help them get free but she had no idea how to break through this circular barrier. “So, Ellio’s landlord is a blood breed?” She grunts, trying ro break the shield with an already broken chair. “We’re not certain, we can only assume by the way Ellio’s acting. It’s not for sure but he may have been threatened or worse, abused.” Klaus explains.Chain tries one more time to break the indestructible barrier, but it’s in vain. The already broken legs of the chair makes her lose grip and it bounces off. She eyes the direction it just went and found that it ricocheted off Zapps head.“Tsk.” She at least hoped that’d be enough to kill the perverted man. “Watch it She-Bitch!” “Shut up, monkey!” “You-”“Guys, enough!” Steven sighs, bringing his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose. Now that they know the barrier Ellio made can’t be broken, Klaus and him can’t leave the office. “This is important, understand? I need you two and Gilbert to drive to Ellio’s place, stat. I don’t care if you have to tear the highway apart. You better make sure he’s far away from his goddamn Landlord.”
✧“I know what you are…” Gerard and Ellio are in his room. Gerard’s room. It’s the top floor of the apartment complex. It’s very old-timey, and there’s an entire wall that’s dedicated to shelves of books. The walls are brown and there’s warm lights.You’d think this man would be a business owner, or an investor of some sort. Ellio hates how the man looks because of how deceiving and conniving the blood breed is.  “And I know what you are, witch.” Ellio scoffs. “No, I know what you really are, bloodbreed.” Gerard quickly sits up and slams his hands on the desk he was behind, and for the very first time, the young witch witnesses the bloodbreed’s ability. He’s quickly strangled in the air by the blood of Gerard. Ellio claws at the solidified blood with his hands and kicks with his feet. “So you knew?” Gerard walks closer, with the white haired male still in the air. In a last ditch attempt, he encloses a barrier around himself. The blood shatters, turning into its original state.Ellio lands, he summons his staff and swings it hard like a baseball bat, making contact with Gerard’s skull. He clutches his head and groans in pain. “YOU FUCKING-” Ellio hits him again, and again, and-Ellio’s back is the first that makes contact with the wall, his head is the second. Force of the hit Gerard created, made him drop his staff. He’s too delirious to get back up and he can taste the blood coming out of his nose again. “I never thought I’d have this much fun killing you. Or even better I might just turn you into a bloodbreed myself.” Gerard laughs maniacally. He grabs Ellio by the turtleneck he’s wearing and bares his fangs. 
Ellio smiles, Gerard can’t see it but the witch closes his eyes. “Got you.” He says, before materializing his staff again and creating a flash of light. It burns the blood breed’s retinas, causing him to cover his eyes and roll on the floor, screaming in pain. It’s not the best solution but it’s enough for Ellio to reach the doorknob, but not before he’s forced on his back and pinned by Gerard. The bloodbreed’s eyes are bloodshot, he looks like a wild beast that’s been starving and desperately looking for a meal. Ellio’s heart accelerates. “Get off of me!” His arms are pinned by the tall man, the white haired male is left defenseless. Gerard finally takes a bite, quickly puncturing the witch’s neck and he greedily drinks the young male’s blood.Tears fill in Ellio’s eyes as he quickly grows weak. The only thing he can do is try to breathe while his life is being sucked out of him.I’m not ready to die.. He thought. He doesn’t like the idea of someone else taking his life. He wants to live his life and grow old. He wants to find the perfect partner and marry and enjoy the world with them. Oh what the hell, there’s no way he could find someone like that here. Who would want him anyway.  He’s gay. The last thing Ellio saw was Gerard’s face as he continued to suck the life out of him.“THAT’S HIM!” The bloodbreed didn’t comprehend what just happened. Or why his head almost just disconnected from his body, or why he feels searing hot pain, like he’s just been roasted alive. He looks up. Ellio is being taken in the arms of a white haired male with tan skin. Next to him is a woman with black hair, just barely putting her foot down, presumably from almost decapitating him.“Who the hell are you?” He gets up, swaying. He looks directly at Chain. She disappears, much to Gerard’s shock and he feels an immense pain in his chest, like his heart being squeezed and unable to expand. “I’m just a girl.” Chain says before completely crushing his heart. It’s silent for a moment. The only thing that gets Zapp and Chain’s attention is the sound of Ellio waking back up. He opened his eyes and looked directly at the smokey eyed man in front of him, before trying to force his way out of his arms. 
He knows he just made a grave fucking mistake. First for accidentally trapping Steven and Klaus under his ability, and second, not telling anyone about Gerard. “Stop moving, will you? We need to get you back and have you get rid of the barrier you put around our bosses.” Ellio finally found his footing, completely breaking away from Zapp.“And you need to explain that.” Chain chimes in. She points to the defeated man behind her with her thumb. Ellio looks over to see the bloodbreed in a pool of his own blood. “Oh..” He’s still out of it. He takes a few steps away from them, gags, and heaves on the floor. Nothing comes out, his stomach is completely empty and he’s aching all over.He sobs and wraps his arms around himself. He can feel one of them place a hand on his back. “I’m-” He inhales. Hyperventilating while trying to talk is no easy task. “So sorry!” He finishes. Tears continue to stream down his face while he tries his best to wipe them away.“C’mon let’s go, we at least need you alive to explain everything.” Chain says. He doesn’t try to fight them while he gets helped up. Out of the cornet of Ellio’s eyes he sees something unusual happening to Gerard. He sees the pool of blood no longer on the floor, but being absorbed. Gerard brings his hand, now solidified in blood out. But it wasn’t to reach, he was aiming. Ellio’s body moved faster than he could comprehend. Quickly he shoved Chain hard enough to the point where now he is where she was standing. Chain didn’t have time enough to gain her bearings as she witnessed solidified blood, with sharp ends pierce Ellio’s side. Chaos ensued.Crushing the heart of a bloodbreed was not enough to incapacitate it. Zapp used his Big Dipper style to wrap his brood around Gerard, but before he could light it, the bloodbreed broke free and ran through a window.“SHIT! Chain get Ellio out of here and bring him into Libra HQ!” Zapp yells before jumping out the window himself. Chain carries Ellio with her and hurriedly goes down the flights of stairs and runs outside. Ellio groans, he’s never felt this type of pain before. The Invisible Werewolf goes to the car where Gilbert stayed, observing from the outside. He’s been recording the whole time. Gerard really does show on cameras. The vehicle speeds all the way to Libra’s office. ✧It’s sunny. Ellio is no longer in his apartment complex, he is no longer in Libra’s office. He’s in a field of flowers. There’s Daisies as far as the eye can see. He stands there, alone on a picnic blanket. The wind jostles his hair and he stares at a beyondian with green skin, her right arm is made of roots and wood, shaped perfectly as an arm made of flesh and bone. She has extremely long, straight black hair and wears a white sundress. In her left hand she holds a straw bucket of Daisies that are filled to the brim, almost overflowing. A little white monkey sits on her shoulder.
She casts a warm smile.“Hello, Ellio.” She finally says. “It’s still too soon-”“Don’t… I know.” He bites his bottom lip.Silence“Can I stay?”“What for?”“I want to stay here with you.”The beyondian shakes her head no.“You are not dead. And even if you were, this is not where you’ll be when you go. It is you who made this realm, because you refuse to let me go. In case you haven’t realized, this is one of your original abilities.”“No, I-”“Yes, Ellio and I need you to understand that Libra will be trying their damn hardest to protect you, I made sure of that. I need you to understand that I’m not around anymore to be by your side.The reason why I’m even here is because you subconsciously took a part of my soul for safe keeping.” Tears welted in Ellio’s eyes. He can’t bear to hear such blunt words from the only person he’s truly felt safe with. “I can’t..”The beyondian walks up to Ellio. She puts down the basket of Daisies and places her right rooted hand on his shoulder. The world shakes and he knows what's about to happen next. “NO!” Everything stops. He did it, she can stay! He can-A harsh slap was delivered to his face. “You are a fool, Ellio.” He brings a hand to his cheek. “What makes you think you’re going to grow if you keep running and hiding away from your issues? I’m Disappointed.”Silence“If I find you here again and you act like this, you sure as hell will never see me again, I’ll make sure of it.” Ellio can’t bring himself to look up. “Do you understand me?” He nods.Beatrice sighs and brings the young witch into a warm embrace. He sobs into her perfectly white sundress. “It’s to wake up Ellio.”He no longer feels any warmth from Beatrice, he completely phases through her. The world once again shakes and a bottomless abyss awaits him. He’s completely engulfed by utter darkness once he falls in.✧He hears glass shattering as soon as he sits up. Him and Chain make eye contact. She practically pounces on him, and hugs him tightly. “I’m so sorry.” She says in a pained voice.
He’s still too out of it to ask her why. Her breath smells of alcohol. He feels weak and he doesn’t know the time or how long he’s been out. He reciprocates the hug. We winces and Chain lets go. He just realized he was shirtless and tightly wrapped around in bandages. “Ah.”A new face enters the room. He peeks to find Gilbert carrying first aid. Chain dissolves when the man steps closer. “Good morning, Sir Ellio.” He sits on a chair beside the bed the witch is in. Speaking of which he recognizes this area. It’s one of the spare rooms in Libra.“How long-” Ellio coughs. His voice is dry and raspy. His body aches, but not as much, but he does feel hot. Uncomfortably hot .Gilbert passes him a water bottle and the witch hurriedly opens it and takes large gulps. He tries again. “How long was I asleep?” Gilbert takes a while to answer. He unwraps Ellio’s old bandages and gauze. On the witch’s right side, just above his hip, is stitches that’s not completely healed.Gilbert expertly replaces Ellio’s much needed change in bandages and wraps him up again. “Four days.” The butler finally answers. “Ah..” Four days “There’s much to discuss, I do hope you’re prepared.”“Oh..”Holy shit. Everyone steps in. Everyone.Klaus, Steven Chain, and Zapp funnel their way into the room, looking directly at Ellio. Suddenly he feels exposed, becoming increasingly aware that maybe all of them have seen the scars in his back if he’s been passed out for four days. And now, the real discussion begins.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hey guys! This fic is going on a break, thank you!