Fics To Remember - Tumblr Posts

I came back because I read this when I was half-asleep and forgot to appreciate it.

The fact that I, someone who hates spicy stuff, read this is the sign you need. I love the idea behind the fic, and the execution didn't disappoint either.

Thank you for writing something that I didn't know I needed. I'm going to patiently wait for the next parts and weep when they will have smut in them.

Losing Humanity: OT8 x Male!Reader Pt. 1

Pairing: Vampire!Hyunjin x Male!Reader (end game) | Side pairings: OT8 x Male!reader, Vampire!Felix x Lycan!Chan, Vampire!Minho x Lycan!Han

Genre: Angst, smut, horror | Au: Resident Evil: Village, vampires, werewolves/lycans, hybrids.

Word Count: 7k

Summary: Following a dreadful experiment, YN has to wrestle with his new body and abilities. With the help of the four lords and their sons, he might be able to find the family and purpose he'd been looking for.

Overall Tags: strangers to lovers, exes to lovers, secret romances, feuding families, omegaverse, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, graphic depictions of violence, blood and violence, mad science experiments, eventual smut, male reader fic, graphic depictions of human to monster transformations, horror, suspense. anal sex, anal fingering, loss of virginity, virgin!reader, threesome -/m/m/m, group sex, rimming, blowjobs, rough blowjobs, water sex, outdoor sex, harem but one end game, happy ending, tentacle sex, hallucinations, psychological horror

Disclaimer: These works are completely fictitious and for entertainment purposes only. They are not meant to reflect or label the members of Stray Kids in any way. The events within never took place. Thank you.

A/N: this is a revamped version of an ATEEZ fic I'd written a while ago, but only better haha I hope you still enjoy it even as Stray Kids.

***

“Here’s where I stop,” the coachman told you in a gruff voice. “The horses won’t go any further.”

You stared out from the back of the wagon to the road ahead. Stretching about a mile, the harsh cold path made for an intimidating walk. Black rocks covered lightly with snow lined the long wheel tracks carts and horses made right up to this point. Beyond, it appeared as if very few trekked the rest of the way. The idea of walking through the freezing cold with nothing but your jacket, pants and boots seemed daunting. Your father told you the journey to the castle wouldn’t be easy, but it’d be worth it in the end. 

“Why not?” You asked, hoping the coachman might change his mind. 

“The place frightens them,” he said. “They won’t go any farther than this before they start getting riled up. That place is cursed, I tell you.” He faced forward as if looking at the castle himself, “You have to be mad or desperate to go up there.”

“So, I’m to walk the rest of the way?” Walking alone up a tall mountain in the dark was not ideal during these times. “Is that safe?”  

“The castle isn’t that far from here,” he said. “It’s only about half a mile until you reach the gates, then a bit more after that.”

You’d dreaded the answer, but still wasn't surprised. A lot of villagers showed hesitancy when they spoke of Castle Dimitrescu. The mistress of the castle ruled over their side of the village with an iron fist. Your mother used to say it was by the grace and protection of Mother Miranda that she didn’t slaughter the whole village. But, that did not stop anyone from noticing the disappearances or missing livestock. 

Your neighbor woke up his entire household shouting about the maimed carcass of his prized cow, Anita. He told your father that he found her torn to bits in her stall, large chunks of flesh bitten off right to the bone. You suggested that a wolf might’ve gotten into his barn, but you said that to try diverting from what really troubled everyone: the beasts ate her. You shivered thinking of the hairy, snarling, bloody monsters who occasionally roam the forests, ravaging anything they can get their hands on. You pictured them feasting on the corpse of young, pretty Camila, who’d gone missing several days ago or strong farmer Elijah who’d last been seen working in his field. Only one person showed no fear upon entering the woods: The Huntsman. 

The Huntsman became the village protector when they slaughtered a pack of monsters who'd broken through the gates. You never saw them up close, since they rarely traveled into the village and often wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered their face, but their long black coat and gloves made them recognizable. Their weapons proficiency and skill was unmatched. People swore they must be a beast in a much tamer form, with how quickly they dodged and wrestled the monsters to the ground. 

You wished they'd come with you. 

“Well, thank you for getting me this far,” you said to the coachman as you hopped off the wagon. “I wouldn’t have made it before dark if you had not come.”

“Mother Miranda says we must show each other kindness and generosity when we can,” he said, tipping his hat, “I pray that you reach the castle safely.” 

“Thank you.” 

You shouldered your bag, and then began the trek up the mountain path. A curving, narrow road thickened by snow stretched ahead into the dark. You hoped the walk was not long, since the hour grew later and the sun began setting over the dense forests beyond. The higher you’d gone up the mountain, the colder the winds became. The chill blew through your jacket every time you moved, but you managed. You were no stranger to the cold since you spent many nights huddled by the dwindling fireplace at home. You did your best not to look between the trees lining the path or walk too briskly. One needed to keep their wits about them while walking through the woods. If you stared into the trees, there may be something staring right back. Speedy walking might invite said figure to chase you, and you’d come too far to be a meal now. 

You continued along the way until you reached a tall iron gate. A symbol topped the gate: a large flower over two crossed swords. The insignia for House Dimitrescu. You searched around for a guard or caretaker, but nobody came. Timidly, you pushed on the gate and to your surprise it opened. As you stood there at the opening, a deep dread settled itself into his stomach. The feeling told you to turn back, and find another way to help feed your family. Yet, determination and pride put one foot in front of the other. You had no choice. Your father’s crops did not yield their usual abundance and your mother’s illness grew stronger. They had suggested you take a position in the castle’s employ. Families of those who worked in the castle received gold and even food parcels from their loved ones. Perhaps The Lady pays in goods and a bit of gold for service. You hoped working in the castle would feed the family. You pressed onwards. 

The stone castle stood at the end of the road. The gray building looked dark and foreboding. High towers and battlements reached up into the sky, blocking out the bit of sunlight still left to the world, with tall windows surveying the yard below. Seeing the withering or bare foliage around the front entrance, it was no wonder the coachman’s horses steered clear of the place. Even standing at the front steps, every nerve in your body told you to run. The lack of guards or servants unnerved you as well. Didn’t castles have people bustling about? Noise and chatter in the air, bringing life to the silent building? You’d always thought so. Regardless, turning back was no longer an option. You climbed the steep steps to the doors, and pulled it open. 

Cautiously, you walked into the small entrance hall. A long carpet went up a short flight of stairs, leading into a room with a domed ceiling. Nervousness sets in deeper when you realize how little light filled the room. Two tall candelabras stood in inverted walls and another sat on a side table. The priceless antiques and refined appearance truly befitted the aristocratic family. However, it wasn’t these that caught your attention. 

Hanging between the candelabras was a tall painting of four young men in an intricate gold frame. A blond, two black haired, and one with brown hair. They each dressed in upper class fashion with vests, high collared shirts with silk cravats. They clearly came from wealth judging by how they carried themselves even in a painting. You read a plaque right at the bottom. 

‘Felix, Hyunjin, Minho and Jimin Dimitrescu’. 

The Lady’s sons. Yes, you’d heard of them though had never seen them before. People said they could be as deadly as their mother, and you did not doubt that. You gazed around for a moment, expecting to find a servant or a butler welcoming their newest worker. Not a single soul. You found yourself completely alone. 

“Hello?” You dared to speak into the empty, dim room. “Is anyone here?”

A faint buzzing sound suddenly came from a hallway on your left and you gasped. The large swarm of flies move fluidly from behind the oak wood doors and into the entrance hall. Panic jumped into your throat and you moved to run before the flies blocked your path. 

Suddenly, three men materialized. You realized at once who they were. Before you stood three of Lady Dimitrescu’s sons, the blond, black haired and brunet. They each wore long black coats with hoods over their heads. The one with brown hair came up close first. While his brothers kept their hair to their shoulders, he had his hair trimmed short. He carried a regal sophistication befitting his station. He had his chin up and back straight, with a certain kind of sternness in his eyes. It struck fear into you far too easily. 

You shifted your eyes away as the man examined your features. “Oh yes,” he said, turning your face this way and that, "I think he will do nicely. Felix?” 

He scanned over him one more time before the blond came up next. Felix, as the other called him, carried a glint in his eye that sent shivers through your bones. His golden hair created a stark contrast between his face and the hood over his head. He had a spread of freckles along his cheeks and nose, and his eyes did not devour you as the others did. A gloved hand caressed your jawline as he examined your face like a jeweler studying a new gem. What were they looking at? The unknowing frightened you more. When you tried looking away from him, Felix forced you by the chin. Something about the three of them churned your stomach, and every razzled nerve screamed to flee.

“I agree, Minho” he finally said, “He is perfect. He has strong bones and his blood seems to pump at a normal rate. He is young enough to withstand the strain. How old are you? Nineteen? Twenty?” 

"Twenty-three," you squeaked. 

"Hm, good, good."

“He’s pretty,” the black haired man behind them said. “Much prettier than anyone we’ve gotten so far.” 

“Looks are not important in the experiment, Hyunjin,” Felix rolled his eyes. 

“No, but they certainly are a benefit.” 

You flinched when he reached for you. His hair the shade of night stayed tied from his face, giving way to his angular features. That and his sharp eyes reminded you of a black cat hiding in the bushes. He was beautiful, but terrifying. He was a siren that lured men to their deaths; a venus flower that traps its victims between its jaws. The image of him lying in wait for you in the forest crossed your mind, and you gulped. You couldn’t stop staring into his dark eyes, wanting to be near him while also wishing to run away. Were it not for the tinge of red on the inner parts of his lips, he’d appeal to you more.  

“Are you sure we can't take him upstairs?” he asked Felix, smirking at you. "We can tie him down and play with him," he came closer, a strange metallic smell on his breath, "I bet that mouth can make the sweetest sounds…"

“Wha-Wha-” You could hardly get the words out. 

“I won’t hurt you, pretty,” Hyunjin said, drawing closer and closer. Gloved fingers traced down  your chest, and you stepped away. “I’ve been told I can be a very gentle lover,” he said before Felix stood between them. 

“You have your own playthings in the cellars,” he hissed. “Go fiddle with them and leave my subject alone.” 

“Ugh, you never let me have any fun!” 

Their words sickened and frightened you. You tried concealing the ice being pumped into your veins from your heart. Felix reached to touch your cheek, but frowned when you pulled away. 

“What do you want with me?” You heard yourself squeak out. 

“Nothing much,” answered Felix. “Just your body."

“My body?!"

"Don't worry," he sneered, "You won't miss it."

You realized then what happened to the servants before you. Quickly, you recalled how eagerly your father insisted you find work in the castle. He’d spent days telling you how beneficial it’d be for the family, and how desperately they needed the money. When a family in town received packages after sending their daughter to the castle, he noted how it could be them eating fresh bread and butter. Your mother could get the medicine she needed. They’d get coal for the fire and oil for the lamps. Did he know the truth and simply hid it from you, his only son? It would’ve saddened you if panic did not overcome you so easily. To him, he’s helping the family. He’s helping by making you one less mouth to feed. Your shaky hands gripped your bag to keep themselves steady. 

“It won’t hurt,” Felix assured you. “Well, not too badly.”

“Mother isn’t home yet,” Minho told him. “She’ll be away for a while, so there’s plenty of time.” 

"You only need to relax," hissed Hyunjin, finger tracing your collarbone. "I know a few things that can help with that."

“No,” you said in a shaky breath. “No, please…I have a family…they’ll come looking for me…”

Felix laughed, “Silly boy. Your family sent you up here for this very reason.” He then said, “So, do what you’re told, and come with us.”

He didn’t grab your hand quickly enough. You rushed for the large front doors, slamming into them from the force of the sprint before realizing they’d been locked. Over your shoulder, you saw the three men staring at you wickedly. The sound of faint buzzing jolted you alive. 

“Brother!” one of the men called, “Where are you going? You only just arrived!”

You didn’t waste time asking for an explanation. Seeing a room off to the side, you made a break for it. Running down a corridor and another flight of stairs, your only light was the moonlight shining through the windows. How could anyone see in such darkness? The curtain windows kept you from gaining a sense of direction. The buzzing grew louder behind you, and you went down the next corridor you found. Bursting through an archway, you ended up in a large room with checkered flooring and a high ceiling. Four strange statues stood guard in front of a doorway, and you knew this way would be pointless. You needed to find a way out. You rushed through to another corner area, before reaching a hallway. You didn’t hear the insects anymore, but that elevated your anxiety. You shouldn’t have come here. You should’ve gone back home, told your father the Lady didn’t need any more servants, and stayed there. Now, you were running for your life. 

You kept running until you ended up in a bed chamber. The fireplace being the only source of light, it flickered across the walls and gave everything a warm glow. You stared around for a hiding spot, but not quickly enough. Suddenly, hundreds of flies surrounded you and you did your best to shield your face. Their sharp teeth sunk into your arms, legs and torso; their buzzing deafened you to the rest of the world. You grimaced, and swatted at the ones trying to nibble your face, nearly stumbling backwards over a footstool in the process. 

“Ah, there you are, lovely,” he heard Hyunjin chuckle darkly. The flies suddenly flew from him and swirled around until they created his full form. He stared down at you, a distinct seduction in his eyes. “Looks like you found my favorite room in the castle. How about I lock the door and we get to know each other better?” 

You didn’t respond. You clambered to your feet, then made a dash past Hyunjin, breaking through a wall of insects in the process. Hurrying back down the way you’d come, hearing Hyunjin’s laughter somewhere behind, you returned to the room with the statues. Running through the main hall, a high-ceiling with a large crystal chandelier above the checkered floors, you nearly bumped into one of the chairs in front of the fire. You hardly felt it as you kept moving. You desperately searched for a place to hide, but you found so few places. Moving through large ornate doors, you entered a dark dining room. 

A dining room with a long table, bright moonlight became the only source of light guiding you through. You hoped the darkness might shield you from your pursuer until you reached outside. You bumped into one of the tall-backed chairs on your way to the other door, but the pain didn’t distract you. What did they want with you anyways? Kill you? Feed off of you? You didn’t want to think about it. How could your father do this to you? You saw a pair of doors, and seeing the courtyard outside, realized that might be a way out. 

“Oh, Brother,” Hyunjin’s voice came through the room in a sing-song voice. “Where are you?”

You scrambled and ducked behind one of the dining chairs. Buzzing preceded Hyunjin’s entry, and you spotted his reflection in a glass cabinet door. You covered your mouth to keep yourself quiet. Hyunjin’s top half remained human, but his bottom half broke off into the black flies so he glided about the room. 

“We promise we won’t hurt you,” he said innocently. “Not much, at least.” You heard him give a short sniff, "I know you're in here. I can smell your sweet, thick, hot blood. I can almost taste it on my tongue, and it’s delicious. I bet other parts of you taste just as good.” 

You waited until Hyunjin turned his back to quickly go through the doors into the courtyard. 

An iron gazebo stood in the center of the courtyard, which broke off into different sections of the castle. You continued glancing around for signs of the three brothers, since Hyunjin had been on his trail minutes ago. You were certain they meant to toy with you before killing you. They can move faster; they’re likely stronger, yet have not caught you yet. You hoped to be gone before they discovered you again. On the right side, a cobbled pathway lead through an archway out into a garden area. 

Hedges lined the walkways around the expansive space, circling around a bronze fountain statue in the middle. The garden must be beautiful in the spring, but in the winter, it was a frozen eden. Dead trees and withering bushes decorated the space, and ice and snow covered the fountains and benches. Your boots crushed the thin layer of snow on the ground as you ran through to a high wall on the other side. 

“Brother!” It was Minho this time, whose voice came from somewhere in the distance. “Brother, where are you?”

You grabbed onto a thick vine clinging to the stone fence, placed your foot on one at the bottom, then lifted yourself onto the wall. You ignored the voices calling from inside the castle, and started climbing. It did not take much time to scale the ten foot wall, even if the icy stones and frozen vines burned your hands. Desperation and panic numbed you to the sensations around you. You’d been a fool to come here.  You should’ve listened to your gut when you stepped up to the house, but you’d thought of your family. Your father made it sound so important that you go to the castle; he said it’d help the family in such a special way. It hurt thinking your father intended to serve you on a platter to these people. You wanted to think he didn’t know and really thought his son was manning stables or serving meals from a kitchen. With all the talk of aiding their family, you believed you’d be doing more for them than toiling in dying corn crops. 

To them, the best thing you could do is die. 

You reached the top of the wall, and swung your leg over the side. Freedom hit you right before something swiped at your feet from below. A large black beast growled from several feet below, yellow eyes glowing at you angrily. It resembled a wolf, but it stood on hind legs with the body of a man covered in fur. A scream escaped you and you fell into the garden again. Your back hitting the ground hard shocks of pain went through your body. You heard more growling and barking from behind the wall; long claws scratched the hard stone, and feet kicking the snowy earth. The fall disoriented you long enough that you didn’t notice the figure gliding up to him. 

“Ah, there you are!” Minho looked down, his hood bringing a shadow over his face. “We’ve been looking for you.” 

In this brief moment of weakness, the overwhelming sounds of fluttering wings filled your ears. You swiped at those buzzing around you, pinching your eardrums with their high-pitched sounds, before Minho and Hyunjin grabbed your wrists. A scream ripped through your throat as the two men dragged you behind them. Felix joined them at your feet as you struggled and wildly fought for escape. Fear injected itself into you fully, creating a list of scenarios that were worse than anything you imagined previously. Felix soon flew right over you, his body a dark cloud of flies, and he deeply inhaled your scent. 

“Virgin blood,” he smiled drunkenly. “So sweet. So pure.” He took another hint, then said, “Too bad I won’t get a drop of it…” 

You saw the hallways and stairwells of the castle fly by until they went into complete darkness. The backs of your ankles and legs scraped against hard, rough surfaces, and you cried out whenever they knocked onto the floor too hard. Deprived of your main senses, you could do nothing but let them take you further into the castle dungeons.

"Put him on the table," Felix instructed his siblings. "I'll prepare everything else."

Hyunjin and Minho brought you onto a wooden slab in a dimly lit room. When you glanced around, you realized they’d brought you into a room beneath the castle. Soft candlelight hung above to bring light against the black stone walls, illuminating the workbenches and tables of books, chemicals, petri dishes and various works in progress. A laboratory. They did not plan to kill you. They planned to torture you. 

“What is going on?” You asked, panting and crying as Hyunjin and Minho strapped you to a wooden table. You let out a choked sob, and you squeezed the blinding tears. You panicked when you saw them strapping down your ankles next."Wait, no! Please! What are you doing? Stop! Pl-please!"

Felix picked up a jar containing a strange mass inside of it; you heard him muttering under his breath, and your fear worsened. You struggled against the straps holding you down, hoping they might give way if you tried hard enough, but to no avail. Minho meanwhile reached for a clear bottle while Hyunjin unsheathed a small knife from under his cloak. 

"What is happening?" You sobbed though none of them answered. "Why are you doing this to me?" You cried, "Please, I want to go home. I won't tell anyone anything. Please-"

"-Roll up your sleeve, Hyunjin," Minho told his brother, coming to him with two needles and vials in hand. 

Hyunjin did as requested. He shook back his sleeve to reveal his wrist, which he presented to one of Minho’s needles. You saw him sink one needle into Hyunjin’s veins, dark red blood filling the vial halfway. Both men waited for enough blood to fill the vial before Minho pulled away from him. This was not before you saw the cut seal itself closed. 

"What are you going to do with that?" You asked, horrified when you saw Minho attached a needle and tube to the end of the syringe. "That's blood! You're putting blood in me?"

"It's the only way you'll be one of us," said Minho. "Hold still or this will hurt even more."

"Wha-"

You flinched when Hyunjin tore off your shirt sleeve and tied it tightly around your bicep. Minho then started flicking the space between forearm and upper arm. 

"Stop struggling," Minho grunted, "I can't do it right if you're moving around."

You should've kissed your mother goodbye longer. She’d die thinking you’re living a good life in the castle; perhaps that is best. She’d be happy for you. Perhaps she’ll get her medicine and feel better. You’d thought you’d have plenty of chances to hug and kiss them. Now, you wouldn’t have that chance ever again. Minho managed to find the vein, and sunk the needle into it, ignoring your wincing. 

"He has strong veins, Felix," Minho said. "That is a good sign, no?"

"It is."

You couldn't look. You didn't see Minho inject Hyunjin's blood into your arm, but you certainly felt it. A deep searing pain suddenly ran through your veins. It scorched every nerve, causing you to violently shake on the table. Your screams went unheard by the brothers, who continued their ‘experiment’. You barely felt it when Hyunjin ripped open your shirt to reveal the torso underneath. The pain numbed you to the knife cutting from beneath the chest to the naval. The thick scent of blood filled your lungs; it spilled, fast and hot, from the gash in your stomach. You’re sure to die now. You cried out for your mother, for your father, for Mother Miranda, their protector and savior.  

Felix finally turned around, and in your blurry vision, you saw him holding a glass jar. You could not make out the inside, but it wiggled and ticked as it knocked into the glass sides. 

“Stay still,” Felix said, unscrewing the lid. “Moving around too much will interrupt the process.”

“This is the last time, Felix,” Minho said, putting the needle and vial aside. “Right?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” he replied. 

Your jaw clenched so tight you couldn’t speak. Felix took out the contents of the jar with a pair of forceps. The creature wriggled between the metal clamps, but Felix had no trouble holding it steady. Your eyes widened when it came close enough for you to see it. Fleshy and pink, the creature had a large head and bumpy skin. It made Minho and Hyunjin wrinkle their noses in disgust while you screamed in terror. Felix remained unfazed by it all. He placed the veiny beast up against the open wound, and then sunk it deep inside. 

The thing whirled around inside, its slimy membrane slicking the opening to go deeper. It took several seconds for you to realize the hard mass in your stomach was the creature. The burrowing sensation added a whole new addition of pain. Your fists curled until skin tightened over your knuckles. You thrashed around as much as your bonds let you as the parasite latched itself to you. Soon, you felt your abdomen sickly churning which then spread to the rest of you. Your father’s face swam in front of you; the face of the man meant to protect and guide you. He sent you here. He sent his only son to his death. 

You prayed it was worth it.

****

Felix stood beside the table, watching the body twitching and writhing on the table until you stopped all at once. His eyes scanned you for signs of mutation or transformation; he looked for graying skin or black claws or bloodshot yellow eyes. He expected any moment for the subject to start thrashing, growling and foaming at the mouth as you turned into a Lycan, like so many other failures. Either that or die and never come back. When none of that happened, he gingerly touched the stomach wound. The Cadou parasite’s membrane held regeneration properties, he’d learned, so it often healed whatever wounds it created to enter the body. Felix felt around for the mass, feeling a hard ball deep underneath the muscle. Felix knew the parasite will assimilate to the DNA and alter your genetic makeup. He hoped injecting blood already infected with mold mutations will strengthen the host’s body and aid in the transformation. It had to work. This must work. 

“He’s not dead,” said Hyunjin, his voice breaking the silence. “I can hear his heart beating.”

Felix could hear it too. Your mind may have gone blank, but that was the Cadou taking over. The last subject took three days to morph into a Lycan, which was then released into the wild by the brothers. 

“That’s good, right? It means he might survive,” Hyunjin continued. 

“Only time shall tell us.” 

Felix turned back to his work table where he kept all his notes and books, and put down the jar. This was his last one. If this one did not work out, then he’d need to go back to the reservoir where Moreau kept his stash of parasites. He hoped he didn’t have to. Even if he can now adapt to the cold mountain climate, he still hated going to that eerie, stinking lake. But, if it helped his cause, he'd endure it a million times. 

He promised himself he’d build something marvelous, a creature of pure strength and agility that will make his mother proud. He looked at the books on his table. Felix spent ages researching, collecting, and absorbing any word of information he could about the Cadou parasite and the mold. He’d observed Moreau’s experiments from afar, and read all of his mother’s and Mother Miranda’s notes as well as jotting down his own discoveries. One sheet in particular caught his eye and his heart dropped. 

The crest of House Dimitrescu was a large flower with two swords crossing underneath it. A symbol of feminine strength and unity. His mother often told him she saw herself as the center with her blossoms at her sides. It’d always be her and her children. There’d once been four of them, but that changed so quickly. 

“I found his things,” Minho’s voice cut through his thoughts. “He dropped it in the main hall. We might find something of use in here.”

“Like a name.” 

Lady Dimitrescu still wore Jimin’s flower. A black rose she kept pinned to her chest with three others so she could keep them with her at all times. He remembered his youngest brother as he flipped through his journal for a blank page. 

Jimin was the last of them to be “born”. Black strands falling on the sides of his face, he’d been wiry, strong and full of life. Felix remembered how his mother fawned over his sweet smile and how he’d pout his full lips when he didn’t get his way. His mother adored them all, but Jimin had been her baby. He’d also been the most reckless. Felix should’ve kept him back when his younger brother chased The Huntsman. He told him to stay with Mother, and he and the others would handle them, but no. He should’ve listened to Minho. He should’ve listened to Mother. 

With a gun blast to a window and a gust of cold air, Jimin’s life ended in a flash. 

‘Day 0: 

Subject is a twenty-three year old male. A bit malnourished, but has a strong heartbeat and responded to the treatment favorably. I inserted the parasite spliced with infected blood, about half of a vial to avoid one overcoming the other. By touch alone, the Cadou appears to have latched itself to the subject’s stomach and began spreading instantaneously. I wish I could cut him open to see the extent, but that will ruin everything. I have high hopes for this one. He shows real promise.’ 

“His name is YN,” he heard Minho say. “Somebody sewed it into his shirt collar.” 

‘Further testing needs to be conducted, but I might finally have the weapon I’ve been looking for.’ 

“He’s handsome,” said Hyunjin. “Mother will love him, I’m sure of it.” 

“Mother cannot know,” Felix said, writing down the last of his notes. “Not yet.” 

“Why not?” he asked. 

He didn’t want to tell them, but his brothers knew him better than most. “Because she doesn’t know you’re still doing this,” Minho suspected, “Does she?” Felix heard the outrage build in his deep voice, “Have you been keeping these a secret from her?”

“She’ll try to stop me,” Felix replied. “She’d been so brokenhearted when the first three failed,” he faltered at Minho’s angry eyes. “I couldn’t tell her that I’d continued the experiments without her. She already believes it’s pointless.”

“Mother Miranda forbids us from creating any more vessels,” Minho said. “She told Mother there will be serious consequences if we continue these experiments without her permission. You know how serious Miranda is about the parasites and the metamycete. Hyunjin and I will already be in enough trouble for helping you, but imagine what she’ll do to the person who disobeyed her orders and stole valuable resources from her?” Felix heard the frustration in his voice. Minho, the eldest, never failed to call out the truth. “Felix, this must cease. These experiments of yours must stop. This must be the last one.” 

Minho, the strong loyal son who did all he could to protect his family. He’d borne the same guilt after Jimin’s death, but he’d learned to move on. Felix could not. 

“But I am so close,” he implored, gazing right into his brother’s eyes. “I can feel it. This one will be a success. I know it will.”

“That is what you said of the last one, and they died within a few hours,” he said. 

“Because they were weak,” Felix retorted. “This one is strong. He’ll survive.” 

“Felix,” Minho said gently, “Please, promise us this will be the last one.” 

“We need to keep going,” he replied through gritted teeth. “We need to keep trying until we get the right one.”

“Promise us, Felix,” Hyunjin spoke up this time. “Mother is still grieving over Jimin. If she hears that you’ve been doing this, she might think you’re trying to replace him and become even more upset. Promise you’ll stop.”

“Mother will see I am right when he is ready,” Felix said. “Once she sees how strong, durable, and agile my creation is, she will forget all of that. She wants to kill The Huntsman more than any of the others. She wishes to seek revenge on them, and when she sees that my creation can do what we cannot, she’ll understand. When my creation is fully grown, Mother and Mother Miranda will see the benefits of having such a creature.”

“She said she did not want us going anywhere near The Huntsman,” said Hyunjin. “She doesn’t want to lose us too.”

“We won’t be going near them. He will,” he nodded to the body on the table. “The Huntsman is not the average villager. There is something different about them. I can tell.” He hesitated, “You two weren’t there. You weren’t there when Jiminie died.” 

His throat dried up suddenly, and he looked away from them. He’d heard Jimin’s cries from the lower kitchens during his search for an intruder. They’d been low, deep grunts as he fought off against a strange figure in a hooded trench coat. Felix recalled standing at the end of the hall leading towards the kitchen, and hearing Jimin fight for his life. He’d insisted on joining them in hunting down the person who’d broken into their castle. Felix told him to stay with their mother, but he'd escaped. Felix had flown right to the doorway, intent on handling the Huntsman himself, when the Huntsman shot at the window by the door. Icy cold air streamed into the room, creating a barrier between Felix and the two. His hand instinctively flexed when he thought of the burning, paralyzing ice on his hand. He tried pushing through several times, Jimin’s grunts making him more desperate, before it happened. 

The Huntsman grabbed Jimin by the collar and threw him into one of the windows. The direct contact caused Jimin’s body to stiffen, and Felix watched as his youngest brother succumbed to their one weakness. Felix chased the Huntsman throughout the castle, grief boiling his blood and fueling his rage, before the Huntsman made it outside and over the garden wall. All that was left of Jimin was his torso and crumbled crystals on the floor. Felix remembered kneeling beside him, sobbing and cradling the crystalline body full of regret and self-loathing. The grief worsened when his mother found them. Her cries still echo in his head late at night. 

“They got lucky,” Minho told him. “There is nothing special about them.”

“Then how come we cannot find them, hm?” he snapped, his own guilt starting to fill his chest once more. “Why can’t Heisenberg’s boys find them? Changbin, Chan and Han have a better sense of smell than any one-oh, do not make that face. You know it’s true,” he told Hyunjin, who’d scoffed. “They would have at least spotted a cottage or a hideout, but they haven't. I am telling you. That bastard, whoever they are, is not normal. We need someone who can rid us of them for good, and he is it.” 

Felix did not particularly like thinking of Chan Heisenberg. As if Jimin’s memory did not already break his heart, Chan only piled onto that. 

“Darling,” Hyunjin came to him, cupping his cheek, “What happened to Jimin isn’t your fault.”

Yes, it was, but he’d never say so out loud. 

“You’ve already done enough to prepare us for another attack,” he said. “You made us immune to the cold. If they were to come now, no amount of wind or ice could stop us. We do not need any experiment you create.” He pushed blond strands from Felix’s face, “You don’t have to keep doing this. You could possibly end up dead too, if the wrong person found out about this.” 

Hyunjin spoke truthfully, and Felix knew this. He will surely face Miranda’s wrath if she learned what he was up to; his mother might face consequences for her son’s actions. But, they’d understand the benefits of his plan with time. His mother did not always approve of his experiments. He hadn't forgotten his mother’s shock when she found him standing stark naked in their courtyard, letting the cold air touch his skin. 

Shortly after Jimin’s passing, Felix decided he wouldn’t lose another brother ever again. So, he went to work creating a genome that would give them the ability to adapt to freezing temperatures. He tested this mainly on himself: injecting the serum into his arm, then sticking his hand out the window. Starting with a hand, it soon became his whole arm, then his shoulder, then his chest, until finally he could stand in the cold unharmed. His insect form took time to adapt to the change, but soon enough he was able to move as swiftly outside as he could inside. He passed it to both Minho and Hyunjin, making all three men tolerant of the climate. 

When they saw The Huntsman again, no amount of icy wind could destroy them. 

"If this one fails-" Minho began to say, but Felix cut him off. 

"-It won't fail," he snapped. 

"If it does," he continued, "This will be the last one."

"What?"

"I won't participate in something that would hurt our mother," Minho said firmly. "She grieves enough for Jimin. Giving her false hope of another son is cruel even for you, Felix."

"She's in enough pain," Hyunjin added. "Even if she doesn't say it. She still has his corpse in her bed chambers. She won't put it in the crypt."

Felix knew this well. He often came across Jimin's crystalized torso standing in a glass display in his mother's bedroom. She’d look at it whenever she was alone and weep. It was another reminder of his failure and her loss. He promised himself he wouldn't let Jimin die in vain. He created the serum so she may never lose another son to weaknesses. He would give her another one to replace the boy she lost, and this time make him faster and stronger. 

"Fine," he stated, "If that's how you feel, you're free to not participate anymore. But, I am going to keep trying. The Huntsman needs to be stopped. If you two may not take this threat seriously, but I do. I won’t sit by and let them continue insulting our house; I won’t let them stomp out our bloodline. They will pay for what they have done to us, to our mother, to Jimin-” he stopped short, swallowing down the lump filling his throat and taking a breath. 

“Felix,” Minho said, “Jimin wouldn’t want you to do something that may get you killed-”

“-Well, Jimin isn’t here,” he growled. “He’s dead! He’s dead because I wasn’t strong enough to save him! I promised Mother I’d protect him, and I didn’t!” 

“Felix-”

"-Boys!" A female voice spoke from somewhere above. Their mother may be several feet above the dungeons, but they heard her faintly. "Boys, where are you?"

"Don't you two dare tell her," Felix warned them. 

"We won't," Minho said, "It is better she never learns of this."

"Felix? Minho? Hyunjinnie!" He heard their mother call to them again, “Boys?” 

"If this one should fail, she will never know."

"It will not fail."

"Come, let's away," Hyunjin said between them. "Mother is calling."

The three young men swirled into insects, and flew from their laboratory into the main hall. Lady Alcina Dimitrescu stood in the middle of the hall in front of the fire, her white gown illuminated by the flames. She sucked on the end of a cigarette holder coolly, letting the thick stream into the air as she contemplated quietly. Standing ten feet tall, her black hair in curls under a wide-brimmed hat, their mother was a woman of elegance and sophistication. Yet, even with this, she still exudes power, and demands the respect of her aristocratic birth. A smile graced her face when they appeared in front of her, immediately turning to them. However, the smile faded when she looked at them closely.

"You've been arguing," she stated, glancing between the three of them.

"Felix tried taking one of the corpses from the dungeons to his lab," Hyunjin said. His creative mind made him a clever liar. "I told him to leave them be since they have no use beyond their blood, but he disagreed."

"I wanted to study them," Felix added. "I wanted to see what made them turn into those undead things."

"It's obviously the blood disease, you fool," Minho rolled his eyes.

"I also wanted to see if I could somehow isolate that disease and use it for-"

"-To get a bigger head to fit your ego?-"

"-If anyone has an 'ego' around here, it's you-"

"-That's enough!" Their mother cut in, looking between the two of them. "I told you to leave those creatures alone, Lixie," she said, walking past them to a chair by the fire. “They are far past any real use to anyone.” 

“I was only curious, Mother,” he replied. His eyes met Minho’s, and the elder stuck out his tongue. 

"How was your meeting, Mother?" Hyunjin asked, gliding to her side and sitting on the floor, his head on her knee. He closed his eyes as her fingers combed through his dark hair. 

"Heisenberg didn't give you trouble, did he?" Asked Minho, grabbing a wine pitcher from nearby to pour glasses for them all. Sangrias Virginis. Maiden's Blood. House Dimitrescu were famous for their winemaking, having a special blend with a secret ingredient. 

Virgin blood. 

"Nothing outside the usual," she said. "Mother Miranda wished to discuss the baby again. She senses the child is close, and will soon be in our grasp."

"She already has you and the other lords. I don’t understand why she needs a baby," Hyunjin said, taking his own glass from Minho’s tray. "Could she not simply take a regular baby and use that? Why this specific one? "

"She believes this child has qualities that will make the experiment favorable" she replied. She took a long drink from the glass, then said, "Nothing can really replace a lost child. You cannot remake them a second time." The three men exchanged nervous glances and drank from their cups. She gave a soft sigh, "I made a decision, my sons."

"Yes?"

"I've decided," she paused, "I've decided it is time to put Jimin to rest."

"In the family crypt, you mean."

"No, not in the crypt. He never liked it down there. I thought perhaps in the music room. You know how much he loved music." Felix saw the sadness in his mother's eyes. "He deserves that.”

“What he deserves is vengeance,” Felix said over his cup. He swished the crimson liquid around in the silver wine glass, contemplating his subject downstairs. “He deserves to be avenged.”

“We have already discussed this, Felix,” Alcina said firmly. “You are not to seek out The Huntsman. You boys leave that filthy meatsack to me.” She then continued, “I think he’d look lovely in the nook in the corner.”

“I can paint a portrait of him for you, Mother,” said Hyunjin. “We can hang it next to him.”

“That’d be beautiful,” she agreed. 

Felix did not want to think of what that looked like. He imagined Jimin's corpse being put on display in their music room, a grand space across from Hyunjin’s atelier, where the grand piano sat. The family sometimes gathered there after dinner, where Jimin played his compositions on the piano or the violin. Felix did not want to think of his body sitting in its glass case, no longer able to play his beloved instruments for their entertainment anymore. It wouldn’t be a music room. It’d be a burial site. They'd carry him there, say kind words and put him in a corner. Felix drowned the vision with more wine, the blood thick on his tongue. He thought about the corpse on his lab table. 

You will not be another failure. He'd make sure of it.

***

A/N: Another experiment, Felix? Let's hope this one doesn't fail like the last. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and that you stick around for the other chapters. Please feel free to reblog/like and give a little comment if you want <3 it keeps fics alive.

Somehow I have missed this latest part by like 5 days, I'm devastated. But! I have read it now and it was still as good as ever! I almost feel like poor YN would have been better off to not find his parents at all (or finding them dead). Then he wouldn't have to deal with the heartbreak of being rejected by his own family.

Losing Humanity: OT8 X Male!Reader Pt. 2

Pairing: Vampire!Hyunjin x Male!Reader (end game) | Side pairings: OT8 x Male!reader, Vampire!Felix x Lycan!Chan, Vampire!Minho x Lycan!Han

Genre: Angst, smut, horror | Au: Resident Evil: Village, vampires, werewolves/lycans, hybrids.

Word Count: 5k

Summary: Following a dreadful experiment, YN has to wrestle with his new body and abilities. With the help of the four lords and their sons, he might be able to find the family and purpose he'd been looking for.

Overall Tags: strangers to lovers, exes to lovers, secret romances, feuding families, omegaverse, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, graphic depictions of violence, blood and violence, mad science experiments, eventual smut, male reader fic, graphic depictions of human to monster transformations, horror, suspense. anal sex, anal fingering, loss of virginity, virgin!reader, threesome -/m/m/m, group sex, rimming, blowjobs, rough blowjobs, water sex, outdoor sex, harem but one end game, happy ending, tentacle sex, hallucinations, psychological horror

Disclaimer: These works are completely fictitious and for entertainment purposes only. They are not meant to reflect or label the members of Stray Kids in any way. The events within never took place. Thank you.

Previous | Next

***

‘Day 1:

Subject shows no signs of life. Rigor mortis set in overnight, and his skin is waxy and stiff. No signs of transformation or mutation. I conducted a blood test and the mold from the parasite has begun clinging to the DNA. I expected the mutation to be immediate. Mother’s journal said she saw flies around our bodies on the first day, but I have not seen a single fly in here. The only creature I’ve seen is the bat hanging over the body. It must’ve come in through a window upstairs. 

We placed Jimin in the music room this morning. His body looked beautiful, glimmering like a rare crystal in the chandelier light. None of us could stop weeping. Seeing my mother bursting into tears only made my resolve stronger. I must succeed.’

“Felix.” 

Minho’s voice caught his attention, but his thoughts immediately drowned him back out. 

“Felix,” he heard him call out again. 

The fluttering of wings came closer until Minho stood beside him. Leather clad hands rubbed across his shoulders, and massaged the tense muscles. Felix nearly melted when he felt hard thumbs gently roll the knots building between his shoulder blades. He then realized Hyunjin wasn’t with him. Usually, the Dimitrescu boys went everywhere together. But, considering the scene from this morning, he guessed Hyunjin went to comfort their mother. 

“Come upstairs,” he said in his ear, “Be with your family. The boy isn’t going anywhere.”

“I know,” he replied, finishing off his last thoughts. “I wanted to write down my observations for today.”

“And your results?”

“Inconclusive,” he sighed defeatedly, putting the book and pencil aside and turning in his seat. “He’s a corpse, but they always start off dead. I did a few tests on him, and Cadou has absorbed his DNA.”

“That’s…good?”

“Yes, that means he is more likely to come back than others before him.”

“Felix, leave the boy be,” he said, “And come upstairs. Take a break from this madness, please.”

“‘This madness’ is going to save us.”

“We don’t need ‘saving’, Felix.”

“Fine…It’ll aid us.” 

“Felix-”

“-Why do you oppose this so fiercely-”

He stopped at once. Minho, glowing in the orange candlelight, still had puffy eyes and wet cheeks. Felix saw the same regret and guilt he carried reflected in Minho’s eyes. He immediately faltered. Here he was concerned over a corpse while his brother mourned in silence. Felix reached out to dry a spot right on his cheekbone, feeling the warm skin under his bare hand. He briefly recalled Minho’s quiet sobs as they stood around Jimin’s statue; he remembered his hand reaching for Felix’s in the empty, quiet room. 

“Forgive me,” Felix said softly, looking up at him. “You’re right. This isn’t important right now. Where’s Hyunjin?” 

“With Mother,” he replied, “She’s devastated. I think it’d cheer her up if you came upstairs and played something for her. She loves it when you play your violin. You could play one of her favorites.”

“I haven’t touched that violin in ages,” he said. “Music was Jimin’s talent, not mine.”

“She’d still be touched if you did.”

“I don’t even know if the thing’s in tune-”

“-Look, you little mad man,” Minho poked his shoulder, and Felix sensed a shift in his attitude, “Hyunjin already painted a portrait of him for her. I went out into the village and caught her fresh prey for supper. You, Frankenstein, haven’t done anything to cheer our mother up, and you’re going to pull your weight,” he poked him a second time. “So, leave your little science project here, and come play the violin for our mother.” 

Felix smirked, knowing how to turn the tide, “I like it when you get a little assertive. It’s appealing.” 

Minho turned his head as Felix leaned in for a kiss. His displeasure turned even more sour when he looked at the ceiling. “And make sure she doesn’t see your new pet,” he said, watching the black bat sleeping above them. “You know she doesn’t like bats. She’ll be furious.” 

“It’s not like I brought it in here,” Felix reasoned. “It must’ve come from upstairs or a hole in the dungeons. I’m not bothered by it.”

“I don’t care if you’re not bothered. Mother will be. Keep it in here or eat it.” 

Minho slipped from his arms and started flying away. Felix gave the bat one more look of contempt, then followed him. 

***

Day 2:

It is early morning and more bats have appeared overnight. I examined the body today to find several teeth marks in the stiff skin. I’m worried the bats may drain him of blood, so I returned the favor by ripping one open. I wonder what will happen if I inject the bat blood instead of my own?’

“What are you doing?!” 

Felix jumped at Hyunjin’s shocked voice, nearly dropping his syringe. “Damnit, Hyunjin!” he cursed, “Have you ever thought of knocking?”

“Mother says dinner is ready,” he replied innocently. “She said to take a break from your laboratory to come eat. She thinks you spend too much time here.”

“I’m busy.”

He walked over to Felix’s work table. He saw the small bowl of thick, crimson blood, the bat carcass, and an empty syringe. “What are you doing? Hoping by getting injected with bat blood you’ll grow wings?” he teased, laughing quietly at his own joke. 

“Oh hush,” Felix nudged him. He pulled out blood from the bowl with the needle halfway. He’d start with a small measurement and see the results. Worst case will be that nothing happens. “I saw the bats drinking his blood. It made me wonder what sort of effect their blood will have on him. I never experimented with animals before.” 

Hyunjin whistled as he looked along the ceiling. “There are certainly a lot of them,” he said, “So you have plenty of supplies.” 

Felix snorted in agreement, then took the needle over to the body. He found a vein rising up from the skin, so it took little effort to inject him. As he did this, he noticed a sudden shift in the room around him. All the black bats, big and small, ruffled their wings as he emptied the syringe into your body. Hyunjin and Felix stayed still, watching the creatures come to life around them. He heard the creatures shriek and hiss. Felix thought they might attack him and his brother, but just as it came, the animals quickly settled down again. 

“Huh,” he said, “Curious.” 

“Okay, that’s odd,” said Hyunjin, nervously. “Was that supposed to happen?”

“Not sure.”

“I’m getting out of here,” Hyunjin said, turning away from the table, “Dinner is ready. Come on.”

Felix put his tools aside, and followed Hyunjin out of the laboratory. When he appeared at the dinner table, his mother noted that he smelled like bats. 

“There are some hanging around the dungeons,” he told her, picking up his soup spoon. Even though they fed off flesh and blood, his mother insisted they still eat with proper manners. She told her sons if they fed directly from their prey like animals, they’d be no better than Heisenberg and his trio of mongrels. “I guess their scent clung onto me.” 

“He was experimenting with their blood, Mother,” Hyunjin said, digging into his own meal. “He wants to grow wings and fly.”

“I do not,” Felix laughed, tossing a napkin ring at Hyunjin, who dodged it expertly. 

"Ugh, the mere thought of those beasts makes my skin crawl," she shuddered. "I thought Ignatius killed them all."

"He must have missed a few," Felix replied. "They do not bother me, Mother. Do not worry yourself over them." 

Her appreciative smile reassured him. 

***

Day 3:

Came into the lab to find more bats. Most of them have taken spots around the body, as if guarding it from me. Mother thought there was a nest in one of the towers, and sent a servant to go exterminate them. I cut his throat before he could do such a thing. I can’t let anyone interfere in what I’m doing. I told Minho I’m close. I can feel it. Every time I see a change, I sense the final result coming. 

It seems the bats give life to the body each time they feed from him. His skin is no longer waxy or graying, but smooth and fresh. While his body temperature remains below 21 degrees celsius, I discovered the muscles have regained mobility. I have noticed other transformations as well. The curves of the body’s ears have pointed upwards, and his toenails and fingernails have blackened. They’ve grown into sharp claws that draw blood at the slightest touch. I believe this is the nocturnal beasts’ doing.'

"Do you think he'll be like Jimin?"

Hyunjin's question startled him. He turned in his seat to see his brother sitting right beside the body. He’d come from hunting outside; Felix could smell the pine and fresh air clinging to his scent. He saw his younger brother observe the body solemnly. 

"Possibly," said Felix. "We won't know until he wakes up."

Hyunjin crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them, unbothered by the bats and their droppings. He scanned over your profile as if told to memorize you. "I dreamed about him last night. Jiminie, I mean."

"You did?"

"Yes," he said, not looking at Felix. "He was standing in the forest, smiling with a snowball in his hand. He dared me to come chase him, saying he'd kiss me if I caught him. He looked beautiful; more beautiful than he did in life. I started chasing him around the forest. I could hear his laughter in the distance, as if it was coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. I saw him…I think he was underneath trees? I was flying to him when…" he gulped thickly, "When the wind grew harsher and colder. It started kicking up snow, and I couldn’t see him. I could hear him calling out to me, crying and begging for me to help him and…and…”  

Felix pictured the scene in his mind: Jimin standing in the middle of a forest clearing, fresh snowflakes melting on his cheeks and wearing his usual daring smile. He loved to challenge his older brothers, laughing when they lost to his games. Hyunjin in particular fell for them, but thinking about it now, it must've been on purpose. Hyunjin must've done it to make Jimim smile and laugh. He always made him laugh. 

"I miss him."

"So do I."

"I want him back,” he said in a voice thick with tears.

“We can’t bring him back, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin said nothing else. He only stared at you, tears spilling down his cheeks. Felix put down his pen and walked to Hyunjin. He brushed his hand through Hyunjin’s dark hair, letting it slide between his fingers as he felt his scalp. The motion soothed his brother, whose sobs subsided gradually. 

“I wish we could.”

“Me too.” 

***

Day 4:

It is just past noon and already the body shows signs of life. A strong heartbeat, steady breathing, and natural color are starting to return. This subject appears to be taking on a bat-like form with the shape of his ears and hands resembling their features. I wonder if he’ll grow wings as well-’

Felix had been in the middle of his report when a loud bang caught him (and the bats) off guard. Dropping his pencil, he turned to see Hyunjin materialize in front of him. Panicked and anxious, Hyunjin spoke quickly:

“Mother’s coming!”

“What?!”

“She found out that you killed the exterminator she sent up to the tower, and she's coming to speak to you,” he replied, not bothered by the unsettled bats. "I think she suspects you!"

“Felix!” 

He heard his mother’s voice come from behind the door, heavy steps getting louder and louder. Panic hitched a breath up his throat, and he barely had time to cover anything up before the door slammed open. Lady Alcina Dimitrescu walked in, her eyes cold and angry as they scanned the room. The bats, having been startled by her appearance, suddenly shifted and fluttered around which made her flinch a moment. However, it became clear her anger far outweighed her phobia. 

“What is going on here?” she asked, eyes gazing down at her second eldest. She spotted the body, and gasped softly, “Felix, what are you doing?” 

“Mother,” he began carefully, “I can explain-”

“-Did you not heed Mother Miranda’s commands? Did I not tell you to stop these fruitless experiments? If Mother Miranda were to find out what you’ve done with the Ca-Argh, these foul beasts!” 

She swatted a bat away from her as it passed, and glared at Felix. Her long legs took her over to him in a few strides, and a hand on the back of his collar lifted him from the floor. He could’ve spun out of her grasp, but he wouldn’t dare. She’d kill him, if he did that. She brought him upstairs into the corridor leading down into his laboratory, rounding on him furiously.

"Mother Miranda strongly opposed this," she seethed. "You are wasting perfectly good resources on these damned experiments of yours!"

"No, Mother, I'm 'wasting' Mother Miranda’s resources," he spat back at her. Why did she not understand? Did she not see what he was doing? "Resources she is using to make a daughter that's already dead!"

"And what are you doing?" She remarked. "Are you not doing this to replace the brother you had lost?" 

"No," he stood up straight, "I'm making something far greater."

"Oh?"

He heard it before she did. It echoed somewhere behind her, flowing through the open dungeon doors and into the corridor. High screeches mingled with growls came sounding through, followed by shattering glass and cracking wood. Felix ignored his mother completely, focusing on the sound. It came from his laboratory. He turned to Hyunjin, who'd followed them, and knew by his wide eyes that he heard it as well. 

"Must you continue to bring these failures upon us?" She wept, tears glistening in her eyes and falling down her cheeks. "Have we not suffered enough? These experiments of yours have only brought hopes that cannot be met. Mother Miranda has already forbidden these trials of yours; she will be furious when she discovers what you’ve done. I am locking that dungeon-"

"-Mother-" he could hear all the bats in the dungeon flapping their wings, crying out from below. Yet, he heard a noise sticking out in the symphony of calls. It was louder and sharper on the ears, with a low growl at the end. He gently reached for Alcina. 

"-I am speaking, young man!" She sobbed. "It is already hard enough having lost Jimin! Now, you are bringing on more sorrow and shame to our house!-"

"-Mother, please move from the door-" they flew up the staircases now. Felix could hear them. Whatever it was, he heard loud scrapings against the stone walls and snarling cries from the beast. Yes, it is a beast. 

"-This endeavor can bring her wrath on all of us! We would be no better than those dogs in the factory! You are to stop this experiment of yours right now, and we will never talk of this to anyone! If any of those of lords found out about this, we'd be in serious trouble-”

"-Mother, look out!" 

Felix and Hyunjin immediately rushed at their mother, who screamed right as a swarm of bats shot out from the dungeon doors. In a gust of wind, the swarm remained tightly formed together and spiraling down the quiet corridor. When they passed, Felix did not wait for words of caution or shock. Starting with a run, his thick mass of flies barrelled through after the bats. Excitement and amazement rolled around in his stomach. He was not sure what he'd done, but he'd created something. 

The bats reached a window at the end of the hall, which led out into a walkway between towers. Felix followed them out into the frozen air, almost on the tail of the last bat in the swarm, circling the bell tower up to the very top and then back down. He raced ahead as it zigzagged between more towers and structures around the castle. He'd just passed over the rooftops when he noticed Minho and Hyunjin at his heels. He could hear their delighted laughter over the rushing winds, both of them weaving in and out of one another below him. Felix raced ahead until he came level with the bat swarm. He needed to see how long you could stay in this form before landing. The cold did not seem to bother you, and you moved with much more speed than any of them. 

The four masses moved throughout the castle, briefly coming back inside. They broke through doors, circled rooms, and then went back outside to the open garden where their mother stood waiting. They rounded the center before finally landing in front of her. Alcina did not say anything as you appeared in front of her, snarling and growling. Felix took a better look at you. Your body tensed in his defensive stance, blackened claws ready to strike. You were strong. You were mean. You were exactly what they needed to defeat the Huntsman. Felix saw two fangs poking out from the straight line of teeth, which looked as if they could rip through anything. Black eyes glared at the four Dimitrescus angrily, his mouth curving into a snarl. 

“What…” you began, “Have you done to me?” 

Felix stared in confusion. He studied his creation from afar. His mother wrote in her journal that he and his brothers looked at her like newborns. They remembered nothing before they'd been given the parasite. Yet, you looked at him with fury in your eyes. 

"You remember?" He asked, surprised. 

"Of course I remember," he spat. "I remember everything. I remember you…you strapping me down and cutting me open; you sticking that vile little beast inside me, and feeling it move around in my stomach. It…" he gave a look of disgust, "What did you do to me? What am I?"

"I made you great," Felix sighed, marveling at your form. You turned out so much better than he'd hoped. "I made you powerful. Don't you feel it inside you? You must feel something. Tell me everything. Anything. I need to know what it is you are feeling right now.” He spoke with eagerness. He stepped closer to you, not bothered by your fangs or claws now. 

“You made me a monster!”

“I gave you a gift,” he said gently. “I gave you something so few are privileged and strong enough to receive. I have given you a life far greater than the one you had before.”

“The life I had was good because it was mine!” You argued. 

“Your family was poor and starving,” Hyunjin came up beside Felix, not scared of the irritated creature before them, “Your father’s corn crops aren’t fruitful and your mother’s sickness worsens with each passing day.”

“But they were my family! You cannot take someone away from their family and perform these-these experiments on them!” Felix noticed a glossy black color overtook your eyes in an instant, flashing in your anger. “I was a person! I was a human being, and you made me a monster! A damned abomination! I had a family, a life! You took that from me!”

“Then go to them,” Minho challenged. Eyes focused directly on you, he stepped between his brothers and this new threat. “Go back to your family, and see how long you last around them before they realize what you are.”

“Wha-what?” You appeared caught off by the question, gazing back into Felix intently. 

“If your human life was so wonderful and your family truly would want you back, then go,” he said. “But, don’t expect them to accept what you’ve become,” he inched closer despite their mother’s soft gasp. “Once they see what you've turned into, they'll cast you out or worse.”

“It was your family who sent you in the first place,” said Felix. “They knew what might happen to you here, and they still sent you. What sort of family sacrifices one to save the others?”

“Especially to such a cruel death,” Hyunjin said, circling him. Felix saw the seduction building in his eyes once he saw you wouldn’t lunge at him. “We could've drained you slowly in our dungeons. You could be hanging up from the ceiling with your life slowly slipping out of you. That doesn't sound very fun to me.”

“They'd do even worse if they saw you now,” Felix added. “They burn people at the stake in your village, don't they?”

You stayed posed in defense. You knew they were right. The simpletons in the nearby village based their opinions and beliefs on superstitions and ignorance. They feared the beasts that lived in the woodlands and mountains around them, and believed their little trinkets might protect them. Felix might not always agree with Mother Miranda but he admired her control over the villagers. They truly thought of her as their savior and protector, when it was far from true. Surely, you'd come to know that with time and then your own beliefs would be shattered. 

“Stay with us,” Hyunjin hissed softly to you, “And live a fruitful life.”

“Stay with us,” Minho said, circling your other side, “And never die, never grow old or sick. You would be invincible. You would be unstoppable.”

“I will make you great,” Felix told you. “After I'm done with you, you will be stronger than any beast that roams these lands. Does that not sound better than whatever pitiful life you lived before?”

You hesitated, your eyes glancing between the four of them. “I would care for you,” Alcina said gently. “I would be your mother and keep you close. Nobody will harm you as long as I am alive, Darling. You will want for nothing with me.”

You still did not speak. You gave them each one more look before you turned on the spot. Your swarm of bats fluttered around them as you shot back up into the air. Felix moved to follow but his mother steadied his shoulder. 

“Let him go,” she said. “Let him sort himself out on his own.” She then narrowed her eyes, “You and I still have much to discuss, young man.”

“Mother!”

She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and carried him back to the castle. His brothers cackled delightfully behind them. 

****

You flew far from the castle. Everything felt more real than before. You could hear everything from a humming bird's heartbeat to the farmer toiling in his field. The crisp winter air filled your lungs, the trees and leaves in the winds as you blew through them. Trees cracked and animals fled as you zoomed through them. What had they done to you? The confusion of waking up left your mind whirling. The oncoming bombardment of senses woke you from the lifeless sleep you’d entered after Felix cut you open. You’d heard angry voices and the shrieking of your bats. It drew you from sleep like water through cracks. You’d felt yourself slowly rising, and then coming up all at once. The panic from the confusion drove you to burst from the room, wanting to escape them and this new, strange feeling inside you. 

Familiarity. Home. You need that.  

You finally stopped on the outskirts of your village. The longing for home hit you as you saw the wooden houses and frozen crops in the clearing of trees. The creek you'd grown up alongside still ran freezing waters over black rocks, and the trees around it remained as dead as when you left. Home felt more like home than before. As you breached the threshold, you wanted to believe you were right. Your family, regardless of what they'd done, would not turn you away. The other villagers might, but not your mother. She'd hold you close and tell you she loved you. Her warmth is what you craved in such a dizzying world. 

You followed the path back home through the tall dead crops. Their hard stalks brushed your bare skin, and you stomped through them with careful footing. The world was quiet in the morning hours. Far too quiet. Before, you might have thought nothing of it, but you did not feel that way anymore. Every step echoed throughout the quietness, and the earthy air carried a thicker scent on it. The scent of sweat and blood coming through the stalks and tall grass kept you on your toes. Soon, you heard them. Their low grunting and snorting came to you loud and clear from somewhere nearby. The monsters the villagers always spoke of came to mind. Men who’d been turned into feral beasts who seek nothing but flesh and blood. Mother Miranda kept the villagers safer from them, but you sensed that might not be fully true.

It came at you at the edge of the crop. It reeked of death, saliva and blood dripping between its sharp teeth and staining its hands. You let out a high pitched sound in surprise, and instantly slashed at its face. Panic rushed through you as you started swinging your claws at him, more high screams coming from your throat. They mixed with the beasts’ low growls and snarls, the two of you colliding in strong grapples. Its body felt like a rock, hard and rough as it pushed against yours. Whenever you pushed, it pushed back twice as hard. The stench of blood and sweat suffocated you; the sprays of drool and dampness of its breath on your skin sickened you. The creature howled as you ripped through its flesh, drawing dark red blood that splattered the withered leaves near him. Taking advantage of the moment, you sunk your teeth down into its shoulder. It tasted stale and sour; it should make you gag, but you still bit. 

When their nails scratched up your back, you twirled with the creature in your arms. The bats bit and scratched at your prey, who tried swiping them off as they wrapped around his body. Blood watered the ground below by the time they’d twisted its neck and removed the head completely. When you came back down, the bats rejoining your body and making you a whole being again, you saw the destruction you’d caused. The torso was bitten and torn into, with the head and one arm lying nearby in the grass. You took deep breaths, their stench still in your nose and blood in your mouth. You had the urge to spit it out.

But you also had the urge to devour the corpse.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you fought off the temptation and wiped your mouth clean. Coming home covered in blood would not be a good look. It’ll frighten your mother, for sure. Finding a low stream, you splashed the freezing water on your face and rinsed the blood from your mouth. You wondered how the monster came so close to the village. It made you question Mother Miranda more. Walking, you listened for more of them, knowing the scent of blood might lure them to you. Your adrenaline kicked up throughout your walk into the village. You didn’t see a single soul as you stepped over the snow covered grounds, passing empty homes and buildings. The familiarity of your village did not make you feel any safer. Felix was unfortunately right to a point: your fellow neighbors did not take well to anything strange. You shuddered remembering what they’d done to Maritza, an elderly woman who lived at the outskirts of town. Someone claimed she’d been casting spells on her daughter, visiting her as an apparition and tormenting her at night. Everyone believed them because the child had several scratches and marks on her body. Even you believed it once. You’d expected her to be shunned from the village, become an outcast to never be seen again. Instead, the villagers burned her at the stake. You could still smell the burning flesh.

After a short time, you came upon a familiar gate up the road. Dark green with rust on the sides, your family kept the gate closed at all times. Your father said it worked as an extra safety precaution in case intruders tried getting inside. You often asked who’d want to harm your family, but he never answered. Now, with its skin still under your nails, you know who. Unable to get through the locked gate, you tried figuring out a way over it instead. Nothing seemed as obvious as flying over it, which you did with immense ease. You didn’t know you’re able to dematerialize into bats, but you saw the benefits it’ll provide your family. Walking through the snow, you grinned seeing the front door. Right behind it is your mother, likely sitting in her rocking chair knitting a scarf or sweater. You already saw her smile as you knocked on the door.

Nobody answered. You found that strange. You knocked again, but no answer.

“Mama? Papa? It’s me, YN,” you said through the door. “I’ve come home. Please, open the door.” You jiggled the knob, and banged on the door. “Mama, please! Open the door!”

You heard the door latch, and it opened slowly. It was your father. Shaking, fear in his eyes, you noticed he held a shotgun. He kept it pointed right at you. He must’ve seen you through the eyehole in the door. You put your hands up in surrender.

“Papa, what are you doing?” you asked in shock. “It’s me. It’s YN, your son.”

“You’re not my son. You’ve become one of those monsters up at the castle,” he grunted, cocking his gun. “Get out of here or I’ll shoot.”

“Papa, please. I’m not like them. If I was, I wouldn’t be here,” you tried convincing him. “Where’s Mama? She’ll tell you. It’s me. It’s your boy.” You stared down the barrel of the gun, tears starting to fill your eyes. “I’ve come home, Papa. I can…I can do new things now. I can protect you from the monsters. I can kill them, Papa. You won’t need to lock the gate anymore or be afraid to hunt in the woods. I could hunt for you, and bring you and Mama-”

“-You won’t bring us anything but death,” your father interrupted you. “Stay back, before I shoot!”

“Willhem?”

Your mother appeared in the hallway behind him. Your heart leapt at the sight of her. “Mama, tell him it’s me.”

“YN?” she said, sounding in disbelief. “How did you get here?”

“He’s a monster now, Lena. I told you they’d either kill him or turn him into one of them.”

“Mama, please, tell him to put the gun down.”

“How did you escape them?” She came up behind your father, and she gasped.

“I flew away,” you said hurriedly. “The Lady…Her son did something to me. He put something inside me that makes me turn into bats. I can fly, Mama. I told Papa I could protect-”

“-You need to leave,” she cut you off. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Mama…” her harsh words pulled down all your hopes.

“If they find out you’ve returned here, they’ll kill us all,” she continued. “You are supposed to be in the castle. She will be enraged if she learns you came back here.”

“She knows I did. She let me go.”

“For now,” she said. She gave several hard, hacking coughs into her handkerchief which you saw spotted with blood. “How could you come back here?” she asked, voice hoarse from coughing, “Especially given what you are now? She will not send parcels if she knows you’ve come home. You have to go back. We sent you there for a reason.”

“We didn’t think they’d turn you into a monster,” your father said, gun still pointed at you.

It became clear as day. “You knew what was going to happen?”

“Not for certain,” he said. “We saw The Williams’ sent their son and received their food parcels and gold.” He paused, “We were starving, YN, and your mother is ill. The merchant had medicine, but we could not afford it. He suggested sending you to work for The Lady; he did not sugarcoat it for us. He said you’d never return, and if you did, you would not be yourself.”

“You allowed this?” You asked your mother in a whisper. Hot tears spilled down your cheeks to your jaw, your throat tightening as the sobs started forming. “Mama…”

“It was not an easy decision,” she said, “But we thought it was better than you slowly dying from starvation. He said the Lady and her sons would be quick, and it’d be painless.”

“It was far from it,” you told her. “You knew what would happen to me, and still sent me there?”

“We did it to spare you more misery.”

“No, you did it to save your skin,” you sobbed. “How could you…The crops would have grown eventually. We would’ve found a way to survive.”

“Survival these days is by luck and the grace of Mother Miranda,” she said. You saw the pain in her eyes and she put her hand on the doorknob, “Go now, YN, before she sends those creatures after you.”

“Mama, Papa, please.”

“The others will see you eventually,” your father told you. He began walking towards you, the gun still raised, and you instinctively moved back down the steps. “And they will kill you and outcast us for bringing you into the village. It is best for everyone if you left.”

“Mama,” your voice was thick from your sobs, “Mama, don’t do this. I’m still me. I’m still your son, just a little different now.”

“We said leave,” she said more firmly from the doorway.

“Mama, wait!”

“Get out of here before someone sees you,” your father said, gesturing to the gate.

“Papa, please don’t do this.”

“I said out, you abominable beast,” he said harshly.

With shaking fingers, you opened the gate behind you. He roughly pushed you through it, then shut the gate quickly. Your fists pounded on the door as you called out to him. They could not cast you aside so easily. They were your parents. They were meant to be your protectors. You cried out for them, seeing your fists starting to put dents in the metal. After a few more cries, you realized the truth. Your parents had given up on you. They’d sold you for gold and some food. You put your forehead to the gate, savoring the last bits of home through the cold metal, as you wept. Every happy moment spent in this house flashed before you. Had they loved you at all? Perhaps you’d always been a burden, yet they saw no proper way of getting rid of you until now. They’d sent you to a fate worse than death.

You stayed by the gate, unable to stop sobbing, before you heard the sound of footsteps coming up the road. People. You knew by the smell reaching your nose. If they saw you, they’d be as frightened as they’d been of Maritza. Bending your knees, you launched yourself into the air and became the bats again. You cried harder now in the safety and quietness of the air. The truth became bitter in your throat. Visions of your father with his gun and your mother’s stern face made it harder to swallow. You flew far away from the village, no longer wishing to see the place where your biggest heartache lived, and landed in the middle of the forest. You didn’t know where and you didn’t care. The silence of the forest made it easier to absorb everything. Slumping against the tree, you tried breathing out the tightness in your chest. Your tears did not stop even in the silence.

You sunk to the ground, head in your hands as you cried.

***

A/N: Poor baby!! It was obvious, but sometimes we need that confirmation, right? I'm glad people are enjoying this series, I really didn't think many would lol Reblog and like <3