Hello! I'm back from exams, life is great, currently suffering under 40 degrees Celcius but we're pulling through!

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Two days later, Xisuma has to kick Xanthus out of the apartment.

Don't get him wrong, Xanthus is a joy to have around and he doesn't do much more than antagonise the children but said children eye his void tanks and tubes too often for them to be thinking of HotWheel cars and lightsabers. Not to mention that these boys would prefer a gun or a combat knife as a birthday present to, let's say, a toy car or a computer game or anything else that is considered normal for their age. So, it wasn't hard for Xisuma to figure out that their intentions weren't pure and innocent –and he didn't want the murder of his brother on his hands.

Now he is helping his brother pack his things. There has been a lot of bustle from the stairs as guests go to a birthday party of a neighbour's kid. Parrot and Spoke are sitting on the couch, playing chess with a made up assortment of rules and a mixture of pieces. News travels fast in apartment complexes and this party was no exception. The other children are often off-put by Parrot's snobbish behaviour and Spoke's indifference –thankfully, none of them go to the duo's school, so that has saved them the heavy gossip. That being said, they have no friends within the complex, so they haven't been invited.

It's fine, though. They didn't have time to worry about being disliked by their peers with how much Xanthus had them run around and do activities. Or so Xisuma thought.

During those two days that his brother had been in the house, he babysat the children more than Xisuma. It was something to do, he'd claimed, since he wasn't worried about running late to class or running away from shady people here. They went for long walks and shopping trips through which the three bonded over.

"Why weren't we invited?"

"To the party?" Xanthus inquired.

"Mhm..."

Parrot had been the one to ask. Spoke merely stood beside him, the same question written in his big, glowing eyes.

"Are you friends with any of the other kids?"

"...No."

"Perhaps you could start making friends with them."

He didn't let his brother know of the boys' worry. Xisuma was busy as it was, worrying over them all and the finances and everything else an adult with a job and two kids worries about. The last thing he wanted was to give him even more to worry about, especially when it was something that he couldn't fix. Parrot and Spoke could make friends on their own and Xanthus had given them a word of advice before they returned home from the day.

"Say 'Hello' next time you see them."

That left time for Xisuma to have a nap that he needed more than the void in his lungs. He doesn't know how Xanthus managed to handle the two feral boys with no prior experience; perhaps because he's a kid at heart himself, all impulsive and doe-eyed when it comes to new things –he was closer to them than Xisuma could be in that regard.

While Parrot and Spoke did their best to not cause Xanthus any bodily harm and tolerated the stranger, who –in their words– banished Xisuma to the peasant couch, they didn't do much more than that. They're patient for their age and Xisuma recognises it; he's thanked them for it plenty of times. However, patience has limits and they have apparently reached it; they are never this quiet.

"Is this everything?"

Xanthus nods. "Yup, I wasn't carrying much anyways."

"If I find your toothbrush in the bathroom–"

"I've left no trace, Ex, don't worry."

How could Xisuma not worry? Xanthus would be going back to continue his studies and whatever business he owns and, consequently, run into the people who prowl in the area. What if the next time he visits his brother, he sees no brother at all? He doesn't say anything, though, because Xanthus is stressed enough as it is about returning to campus.

"Bye, little rascals!" Xanthus calls from the door, waving at the boys.

Spoke barely lifts his head to say goodbye but Parrot turns around, lifting a wing out of the way to shoot a glare. Xisuma thought that they were having fun in Xanthus' care... guess he was wrong. Regardless, along with the avian's mean look comes a response.

"Bye."

Xisuma blinks, surprised. Parrot has been surprising him a lot lately. First, he listens to what he says, he is polite, then he and Spoke decide that he makes a perfect bed for two days and now he puts aside whatever grudge had developed towards Xanthus to say a proper goodbye. Well, not proper but it's something, at least and it shows that Parrot cares for Xisuma as something more than a servant to respect some social rules.

He hopes Parrot sees him as more than a servant. These past few weeks have changed his world for the better and maybe he's repeating himself but his heart swells with pride in moments like these; in moments where Parrot shows he's adjusting to living in a house instead of fighting for his life in the streets; in moments when he's reminded that he's changing a kid's life for the better by sheer chance.

"Remember what I told you and don't cause trouble for the old man!"

"We're the same age, Xanthus!" –Only about a minute or two of an age gap, really. His brother laughs and he hears muted giggles come from the couch.

"Stay safe, mate." Xisuma pats his brother on the shoulder and then he watches him descend the stairs until he disappears on the lower floor. Sighing, he returns to his apartment, the door shutting with a small click behind him.

The boys are looking at him with wide, expectant eyes.

"Is he gone?" Spoke asks immediately. Ignoring his rude tone, Xisuma proceeds to pull out a chair at the table to sit on.

"He's going back to university." he says, raising his head to look at the orange sky outside. It's getting dark, yet the kids haven't asked to hang out with their friends, despite having finished their homework just a few hours ago. These past two days, they didn't even approach the door when they didn't have to leave for school, always remaining in the apartment and keeping Xisuma company.

(What they were really doing was keeping Xanthus away from Xisuma. Parrot may not admit it out loud but he disliked the thought of Xisuma's attention shifting away from him and Spoke helped because he disliked having a stranger in the house –no matter how much he helped them. It was a win-win situation)

"Finally!" Spoke continues, moving a piece forward on the board, "Now we can sleep in our bed!"

Xisuma sees Parrot silently nod out of the corner of his eye. The boy moves a piece of his own, grinning as Spoke whines about his tactic failing.

The man stays quiet, unable to think about anything but his brother. Will he get home safe? Will he be safe afterwards? How long is this going to go on? He can't help him pay off debts if he falls victim to a loan shark, his paycheck is just enough to cover his and the kids' expenses –which aren't a lot to begin with. Therefore, Xanthus is one his own, a fair distance away and Xisuma can't help but worry. Xanthus is the only real family he has left and he loves him dearly; he doesn't know how he would react if something bad were to happen to him.

"You look worried," he hears Parrot speak up in a troubled tone that snaps him out of his thoughts. He turns to face the boy, putting a hand on the table. Wide, grey-white eyes are staring at him with an unreadable expression. "You shouldn't be. The pipe got fixed, you said so yourself, so you shouldn't worry."

"He's my brother, I worry for his safety."

"How much can a broken pipe hurt?"

A lot, Xisuma thinks but he voices nothing. There is no need to frighten the children with his brother's crazy life. He thinks they would be more excited than frightened but one can never be sure about how two twelve-year-olds are going to react to hearing all of that.

"I suppose," he says, just so the boys don't pick up on his lies. "Still, he is my little brother. I love him, so I worry. Don't you worry about Spoke when you go out at night?"

Parrot's face scrunches up in something that could be described as annoyance but also as something else that the man can't place his finger on. The boy turns away from him in a sharp move, blue and yellow feathers bristling and moving out of place. Spoke looks between them, clearly uneasy and at a loss for words; instead, he places a hand on his friend's shoulder. Parrot shrugs it off, looking pointedly to the side.

Did... he say something wrong? Xisuma has never seen the two of them fight; he can only remember bright laughter and shared mischief. There has never been a time when either one shrugged the other off like they were personally offended by their touch.

"How about I bake you some sugar cookies, boys?" Xisuma offers, quickly running the numbers of materials and measurements through his head. He figures he must have everything he needs in the cupboards. If there is one thing he's learnt in his life, it's that a sweet treat and good company can cheer anyone up.

"Yeah!" Spoke exclaims, bouncing off of the couch and beelining to him like a kangaroo. "Can we cut them?"

He chuckles. "Of course. The cookie-cutters are in the bottom drawer–"

The cookie-cutters are promptly deposited on the table. Spoke is already climbing on the counter to open the cabinet where Xisuma stores all the baking-related things. He looks at Parrot, who is still sitting on the couch, although his wings have lowered to his sides.

"Parrot?" Xisuma calls, absentmindedly catching both Spoke and the bag of flour that the kid managed to pull out of the cabinet before falling backwards. Blue coverts raise at the top of each wing and settle at the call of his name. "Come join us!"

Slowly, the boy twists and stands up. He makes his way over to the table, head slightly bowed but not enough for Xisuma to not notice the sombre expression. Xisuma doesn't know why it's there nor why Parrot's gaze is so dark all of a sudden and he worries; who wouldn't worry? The only other time he's seen this look was in the kidnapping misadventure.

Well, a little sugar is sure to cheer him up!

...And cheer him up it did. That look faded away the further the recipe went, swiftly being replaced by a happy smile and hearty laughter as Parrot and Spoke took turns mixing the dough with a silicone spatula. Even Xisuma's worry about Xanthus' safety faded away as he focused on the kids having a good time and on making sure they didn't try to experiment with flavours –that being the random spices they found in the cupboards.

They don't allow Xisuma to roll the dough, insisting they do it themselves. He shrugs and hands them the rolling pin without further prompting. The poor dough doesn't stand a chance against their combined determination and it is flattened within seconds.

"Here you go," Xisuma says as he hands them the plastic cookie-cutters. The bird shaped one to Parrot and the rainbow one to Spoke. The dough is cut in half, each child given their own sheet to massacre to their heart's content. "Be careful not to cut your fingers."

His words of caution are completely and utterly ignored.

The cookies are cut and the remaining dough is rolled into a sheet once more. Spoke is the first to claim a cookie and Parrot immediately puts his own cutter over it as retribution. That leads to a little argument and Xisuma uses their distraction to engrave lines in the cookies. There is no icing in his fridge, so they can't decorate them when they're done. Giving them a little shape should make up for that; it's not like they care if there is icing on the cookies, when they engulf them like it's their last meal.

"Alright, how about you two go play in your room while I put these in the oven?"

A little reluctantly, Spoke asked, "Can we save some for the birthday kid?"

Beside him, Parrot was grinning, ignoring how that request effectively silenced Xisuma for a solid second. Not seeing a reason not to let the boys visit for a few minutes to wish a happy birthday to the neighbour, he nodded. If they have decided to be social outside of their designated shady friend group, who was he to deny them?

"Of course." he tells them with a smile.

The two scamper off without a second thought. Right before he disappears in the hallway, Parrot shouts a "Shout when they're done!" over his shoulder. Clothed feet patter away.

"Will do!" he says with a smile.

Right as he puts the first tray in the oven, a soft boom of music sounds from upstairs. Ah, the party has started, he thought. The first batch would be finished in a bit, so he busies himself with cleaning and washing the table... And scooping up the stray pieces of dough that had somehow fallen on the floor. Looking over at the couch, he finds that the boys didn't bother to clean up the chess board.

Even when he approaches and sets his eyes on the placement of pieces and checkers alike, he can't figure out what they were playing. It looks like they were in a tie, even though Spoke was frowning at his luck.

A singular knock comes from the front door. Who could it be at this hour? Xanthus left about an hour ago, so it can't be him. He hasn't ordered anything and it's too late for any paperboys or surveys. Maybe it's a guest for the party who confused the floors. Xisuma leaves it be in favour of cleaning up the forgotten board game, thinking that whomever it was would realise their mistake and proceed to the stairs. Yet, another knock follows the second. Deeming it rude not to answer now, Xisuma sets the game on the coffee table and walks to the door.

Opening it, he doesn't get halfway through a greeting before he is silenced by the appearance of the person standing at the entrance. A man dressed in a black and red costume with poofy pant legs and a white full-face mask with horns, tall enough to reach the top of the door frame and gangly arms, looms over him. The costume reminds Xisuma of the fancy outfits worn by circus clowns. They stare at each other for a long second. The slits of the eyeholes reveal nothing and the grin that is splayed with a black outline across the white of the mask is unnerving, to say the least.

"Uh, hello!" Xisuma is the first to speak. "Are you here for the party?" he asks because why else would a clown be knocking on his door?

The only response he gets is further staring. Regardless, Xisuma continues. The faster he gets this guy away from his house, the better.

"I think you confused the floors. The party is happening in the apartment upstairs, mate. Goodbye!"

He tries to close the door but it resists his strength when it's close to the lock. Looking down, there is a black boot blocking its way. Dread pools inside Xisuma's head and were it not for the thought of the kids getting involved in whatever this is about to become, it would have paralyzed him completely. Instead, he puts his full weight on the door.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he shouts and he can feel the clown nudge the door with his own strength. "Leave before I call the cops!" His muscles strain to hold the door from opening and he knows that this is a losing battle. His phone is on the table and if he were to try to grab it, the guy would be on him within a second and Void knows what he wants.

He steps on the intruder's foot as hard as he can. The armour and the sole of his boot would have crushed every little bone under it had the leather of the clown's boot been any softer. It works. A hiss comes from the other side, muffled by the wood and the porcelain of the mask but audible. Weight is lifted off of the surface of the door and Xisuma uses this to his advantage, banging the door against the hurt foot with all that he's got. There is a sickening crunch and something like a growl replaces the hissing sound.

The clown appears to be determined to get into his home because the foot doesn't move out of the way.

"Suma?" his name comes from the hallway.

"Parrot, grab my phone and call the police!"

The poor child rushes to do what he was told. Xisuma risked a glimpse, seeing Parrot fumble with his phone dialling the number and Spoke hiding under the table. Two pairs of scared eyes lock onto his own. He nods towards the hallway wordlessly. Parrot grabs Spoke's hand and bolts out of the living room, the phone pressed to his ear held like a lifeline.

If Xisuma didn't know any better, he would have thought that they would hide in a closet or under the bed. They're probably looking for Parrot's gun and whatever sharp tool they've taken from the kitchen and hidden under the mattress. Thinking about it, there are a couple of knives missing from the drawers.

"Please, leave!" he shouts at the man behind the door again. His only response is a bang that forces the door open and him a few staggering steps back.

A hand wraps tightly around his throat, pushing him farther away from the only exit in the apartment. Another tugs at the tube that connects the void tank to his helmet.

"We made a deal.", the clown says like Xisuma is supposed to know something about it.

Everything happens so fast that Xisuma can't react in time, left to choke on air when the tube is ripped out of his helmet with a loud clunk, gasping. He doesn't get to say anything in response and even if he did, he would've been cut off.

"The deadline has been reached. You either pay in full or in pieces.". It doesn't sound like the man holding him hostage within his own house is talking about money.

A hand finds purchase on the arm leading to his throat, instinct driving him to get away even as he is actively suffocating on toxic oxygen. He tries to say something but words tumble on his tongue, turning into a jumbled rasp.

"Get your hands off of Suma right now!" his little heroes come to the rescue from the hallway. The clown looks at them, clearly surprised when he finds two short children standing opposite of him; he tilts his head like a bird analysing its prey, though the only bird in here is Parrot. A gunshot rings out one moment and Xisuma has hit the ground the next, the armour taking the brunt of the damage. The guy is still standing, gaze locked on the two boys, suffering no injuries; he's fast enough to dodge a bullet.

"...'Suma'?" , the clown finally speaks, the nickname sounding unfitting in his voice and his tone is softer, confused. "Hmm..."

Xisuma coughs as he rolls to his side, trying to push himself up with limbs that don't listen to him; to put himself between the killer clown and his kids–

Another gunshot echoes out through the living room. With how loud the music from the birthday party is, he doubts anyone would hear the gunshots or if they did hear them, they would mistake them for party poppers!

"Get out!" Parrot all but screams, yet the intruder doesn't heed him. Instead, a step turns into a long leap towards the children, who scream.

He's going to kill them... Xisuma's heart drops to his stomach. Maybe it's the lack of void in his blood, maybe it's the oxygen making him dizzy, that makes him lose control. The sudden shine of his eyes momentarily blinds him as the light reflects off the visor.

The ground disappears first, the darkness of the Void swallowing it whole and feet sink into the black abyss of nothingness that saps the light like quicksand. The walls follow as all action stops, both killer and children petrified as the last of the world's light disappears within a bubble.

Small, shy, blinking stars dot the space in alternating hues of white, blue and purple, returning some of the light that was lost, and suddenly, Xisuma can breathe again, lungs expanding to greet the cold void. The Void surrounds him and it surrounds everything else, letting them all float within its cold confines. Distantly, he hears a scream and with frantic, glowing, violet eyes he searches for the cyan and yellow wings and the multicoloured bandana on the black canvas. He could just barely make them out far away, lost in the dark, screaming unintelligible words.

Without a second thought, he climbs to his feet, his body feeling tight in a familiar sort of way. The armour, instead of supporting him, now weighs him down. He doesn't bother taking it off, however, only moves forward. When he tries to call out to them, his voice catches in his throat. A birthday candle floats beside him; he pushes it away absentmindedly. He has to get to the children first.

The Void is an inhospitable, wild place with no tolerance over foreigners who dare to traverse it. The pressure is greater than a human being should handle, like the deep, dark bottom of the sea, and the air lacks the oxygen they'd need. Parrot and Spoke wouldn't be an exception, neither would the intruder nor the people who were collateral in the opening of the gateway. It was stupid, pure instinct to return to his true home, to the Void that feels like safety to all true voidwalkers and to take everyone along with him. Voidwalkers could naturally direct the Void but it was near impossible to limit its reach once a gate was opened but any who had no connection to it could get lost and sucked in deeper until they either died or were consumed by a monster. Xisuma wouldn't be surprised if the whole complex and the houses nearby were trapped inside –he'd get to them later.

The more he walks, the more he feels his strength returning to him, his lungs freezing with void that he desperately needed before. The more he nears the kids, the more distinguishable their calls get; it's his name. It's all he needs to break out into a sprint, kneeling in front of them and their terrified eyes and they fall on him as much as he falls on them. Small hands dig into the dips between the armour plates and wings unfurl to enclose them in a net of feathers.

"Shhh, shhh, I've got you–" he shushes them gently, bending at the waist and wrapping his arms around them both. The Void growls and groans, displeased by a lost meal. It's a miracle they landed nearby. "I've got you. We're going home now."

He reaches out to the Void and the Void, despite its protests, listens. Like an unhappy snake, it spits out the people it swallowed with his direction, trying to get them to their original places in the Overworld. The process doesn't last longer than a few seconds. When he double-checks, he feels no other human remaining within the darkness' confines. The Void spits them out last.

They're kneeling on the living room floor when Xisuma opens his eyes, tired and drained by the expulsion of so many entities. The boys are curled at his sides but when air meets their noses, they inhale it like a man drinking water in a drought. He looks up and is satisfied to see that there is no one else there, relieved that the danger has been removed from the room. He doesn't remember where he directed the Void to spit him out at but it was definitely somewhere within the city.

"Suma?" Parrot snaps him out of his thoughts. He looks at the boy, his heart melting at the sight of big, worried eyes, then at Spoke, who is holding an even gaze but his grip on the armour betrays his nervousness.

"I'm fine, Parrot," Xisuma quickly tells him. "Are the two of you alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?" He doesn't wait for a response, gently grabbing Parrot and distancing him enough to look for any obvious cuts and bruises on his body, even though the boy insists he's fine. Spoke isn't hurt either when he takes a look at him too.

"I am so relieved. Goodness, what was–" a wave of dizziness cuts him off. His throat feels tight, constricted, his lungs are suddenly, unnaturally burning. The tube!, he thinks as his body hunches over without his order. The tube was ripped out when that clown had grabbed him and Xisuma didn't bother to fix it whilst he could; he had to save his children first and think about himself after their safety was guaranteed. Above him, he can hear voices conversing or shouting, he can't tell.

He is pushed on his side and he doesn't protest. A click sounds and the cold of the void fans over his mouth. Right above him, right in his face, is Spoke, who is holding the broken tube to the filter of the mask.

"An eye for an eye." the boy says. Xisuma thinks the kid doesn't know the actual meaning of that saying regarding the context but he understands what he tried to say anyway and he smiled.

Parrot, whose expression looked calm, relieved, up till that point, suddenly morphs into a terrified sort of realisation.

"Oh shit, the cookies!"

"Language, young man!"

Spoke bursts out laughing.

(Extra fluffy bit)

In the end, the cookies were burnt. There were a few which were miraculously saved from turning into charcoal thanks to the oven not working right. The next tray goes in and comes out as it was supposed to and the boys were so happy that they didn't even wait for them to cool and instead take them upstairs as they are in the tray with towels, so that they don't burn their hands. Xisuma drags his feet to follow them, absolutely exhausted but still determined to stay awake for the boys' sake.

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To clarify, Parrot and Spoke sort of tolerate Xanthus but there is a limit to how much stranger exposure they can handle before they go "yeah, nah" and sort the problem ouut themselves lmao

Poor Clown, man. He got the wrong twin.