Sorry... Dead tired last night and tonight... if the chapter turns out a little funky, I'm sorry. Will most likely be short.

P.S. Emotional-ish chapter with Thatch acting slightly (majorly) out of character. Will end with minor cliff hanger. Just a heads up... :)

With all that had been going on lately, the headmasters had decided to give the students a few days off. That, and they were still pretty terrified of Jack. The demon was truly a scary person. Even IF he was completely mellowed out right now. It had been a few days since the incident, and still no body had told Fatch what they had seen. They didn't know how to approach the situation. If the prince could cast an angelic spell and LIVE, then who KNOWS what he'd do if he found out they'd seen practically his whole life!

Thatch silently closed up his suitcase, not really feeling like himself today. He was unsure why, but figured it was either because of his still healing injury, or the memories he'd been forced to watch. He was thinking it was the second one. Sure his rib cage still ached, but those memories... it just made him glad he had HIS normal family. Speaking of which, he was wondering how his mom and dad were doing. It had been a while since he'd seen them. And he was looking forward to it.

Thatch grabbed his suit case and turned to head out the door... only to run into something that sent him to the ground. The creature gasped as the impact sent a large shock wave of pain to his ribs. He couldn't help but moan, clutching at the bones.

" Oh man... sorry Thatch. "

The boy looked up to see Fatch, holding his hand out for him. He managed a weak smile before accepting it. It was honestly kind of cool being friends with the savior of scare school...

Not much happened after that. And now Thatch was enjoying a nice dinner with his family. They were the only people he wasn't a jerk to. Naturally.

" So son. How has school been lately? "

Thatch immediately put his spoon down, sighing a bit at his dads question. It was a basic question, just one he was afraid to answer.

" It's been... unusual. "

" Unusual how? "

Of course mom would press the question.

" Well... I... met the vampire prince! "

Almost immediately his parents dropped their silver ware, a look of obvious shock written on their faces. Thatch almost worried he'd said the wrong thing.

" ... He's alive? "

His father questioned. Thatch just nodded softly.

" Which one? "

" Um... the younger one, Fatch? "

The two fell silent, in obvious shock.

" Weird... "

His mother muttered.

" I could've sworn he was dead. What was he like? "

" Well... he is a little harsh at times... but he's still pretty cool. He's helped me out a few times. He's even saved scare school! "

Thatch seemed a bit to enthusiastic about all this. Even HE noticed it. What could he say? Fatch was awesome. The young creature finished up his dinner and quietly left the table.

" ... Nrgh... "

Thatch groaned, tightening into a ball beneath the blanket. He could've sworn he heard screaming... but he figured he was dreaming cause it had died down. He took a took a deep breath through his nose, trying to relax again, only to breathe in a HUGE puff of smoke. Immediately he sat up and began to cough, his throat burning so bad his eyes began to water. Why the heck did he breathe in smoke?! Thatch quickly climbed out of bed and began to rush downstairs.

And was he EVER glad he'd woken up. The house was on fire.

Thatch instantly brought his cape up to his nose to prevent the smoke from reaching him, and turned to make a run for the door, only to see something... unusual. Standing IN the fire, was a person. He had orange hair with random yellow streaks at the tips, a torn red shirt with black rims, gray jeans, black shoes, and multiple attributes that were proved he wasn't human. He had light orange skin, a orange devil tail, huge black wings, and strange animal ears. They looked like a werewolves ears. The "thing" turned around to look at him, and it was now all to clear that he was a demon. His eyes were puppet red with black matter surrounding them.

" Wh-who... "

Thatch stuttered; it was strange... This demon felt a LOT more powerful then Jack...

" ... Who are you? "

The demon grinned, taking a few steps closer to him. Once in front of him, he took a hold of the vampires chin, making him hiss. His hands were freaking hot!

" I go by many names. "

He answered, the demonic tone sending shivers down the boys spine.

" But you'll remember me as Septimus. "

Septimus finally let go, the grin not leaving his face.

" See you in the after life kid. "

Before Thatch could question him, the boy felt something strike him upside the head, completely knocking him out cold.

Tap, tap, tap. tap...

Thatch growled, the sound of footsteps causing his head to spin. He didn't know what was going on, but he felt he was lying on something extremely soft. It reminded him of silk. Finally he decided to open his eyes, finding himself looking up at a midnight black ceiling.

" Oh thank goodness you're awake! "

Huh... that sounded an AWFUL lot like- Thatch quickly sat up in shock, almost immediately wishing he hadn't. He groaned, tightly griping the sides of his head.

Just then something cold was pressed against his head, reliving some of the pain. It took him a minute or two to realize it was an ice pack. Finally reopening his eyes, he saw Fatch in front of him, looking genuinely concerned. Strange... really wasn't often that Fatch showed emotions. Thatch slowly gripped the ice pack Fatch still had pressed against his head, getting the latter to back up a bit.

" I'm glad you're awake. You've been asleep for a while. "

Thatch looked around, a little unsure of where he was.

" Where... am I? "

He asked quietly. Fatch tilted his head a bit innocently.

" Um... my house. "

Ah. So this must be his bed. Heh... not creepy sounding at all there... Thatch brought his legs closer, unsure of what to make of all this. One minute he's at his house and the next...

That's right! The fire! He'd almost forgot about that! So Fatch must've saved him! But... how did he even know he was in trouble?

" Hey Fatch? "

The older looked up.

" Yeah? "

" How did you know I was in trouble? "

Fatch sighed, almost like he'd been anticipating that question.

" Demons can sense when something bass about to happen. And since I have demon blood inside me, so could I. "

Oh. Well that was pretty cool. But that still left one question. If he was here... then where were...?

" ... Fatch? "

He asked quietly, gaining the others attention rather quickly.

" ... Where are my parents? "

Almost immediately Fatch fell silent, and Thatch began to fear the worst. He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing.

" Fatch, where are my parents? "

Fatch clenched his eyes shut, cringing a bit before looking at his in regret.

" ... I'm sorry... "

Immediately Thatch could feel his eyes fill with tears. ' No... ' He thought sadly, the tears slowly falling. ' Th-they can't be... '

Suddenly he felt an arm wrap around him, causing him to look up and see Fatch bring him into an embrace. And THIS is what made the younger one break down in sobs.

School had finally started up again, and the students had all gone back to their usual routine. That is... most of them.

Mantha, Casper, Ra and Lexi were walking down the hall, Casper and Lexi happily holding hands. Lexi still had bandages around her waist, but she seemed to be doing a lot better. So that was good to see. Mantha was still rather impressed by the fact she'd protected Casper from that arrow. But that aside, it felt like it was going to be a long day. Just then, Thatch (and yes she wasn't confusing him for the other one) walked in across the front of them. And was Mantha EVER surprised when he didn't even stop to insult them. How he just walked by with that depressed expression. Their group stopped walking, surprised at the fact that the school bully didn't just try to irritate them. Did something happen to him the other day?

The rest of the day wasn't much better. No pranks. No stealing random possessions. No hanging with the gang. Thatch would just sit there and look miserable. Normally Mantha wouldn't care, as it was just a way Thatch got attention. But this... this looked genuine.

It was lunch time now, and the group of four were sitting next to each other. Mantha only tore her eyes away from the vampire so she could invite Fatch to sit with them. Even though Fatch was EXTREMELY popular since he'd saved the whole school, he STILL had a problem asking if he could sit next to people. Once the prince was sitting, Mantha returned her attention to the other one, who had a slight change of expression. Now, she could have been seeing things, but she could have sworn his eyes were brimming with tears.

So she was naturally shocked when she found out she was right. The vampires acid tears were now freely falling onto the table, and the zombie girl felt a little terrible for thinking he had been faking. Suddenly she heard a chair scape out and turn just in time to see Fatch rushing over to the other. Had he been watching Thatch too?

" ... I'm going to check on them. "

She heard Casper say, and just watched as the ghost floated over to the vampires.

Casper sat down across from the two, hating the sight of the other crying. He'd only seen Thatch cry once, and it wasn't in public. Thatch was now actually clinging to Fatch, who was rubbing the others back and giving quiet shushes.

" Thatch? "

Casper asked quietly, gaining Fatch's attention instead.

" Wh-what's wrong? "

Fatch lowered his eyes, getting Thatch to look at him. Thatch nodded before burying his head again. The prince sighed.

" His parents died in a fire, Casper. "

Casper gasped at the statement. Not only did this explain why Thatch was so miserable, but it also explained why Fatch was comforting him. Because he knew what it was like to lose family... Casper inwardly groaned, now having a hard time not telling Fatch what he'd seen. Instead, he floated over and began to rub the school bullies back as well.

Now it was bed time. Thatch had managed to calm down a little, but it was still all to clear that he was still hurting. Of course, this was to be expected. Losing once parents was not something one could just get over. Fatch would know.

Casper inwardly groaned again, unable to take it anymore. He had to tell Fatch what he'd seen. As he was about to get up and talk to him, he saw him I over at Thatch's coffin, talking to him. It seemed like he was giving him advice. Once Fatch left the coffin, Casper rushed over to him. Fatch looked at him a little funny as well for it.

" Can... I help you Casper? "

" Fatch, I need to tell you something. "

Fatch nodded encouraging him to say it.

" The other day, Jack had caught us in the library. "

" ... Uh-huh? "

" W-well... he also showed us... h-how you were treated through out your life. "

Fatch blinked, clearly not catching on. All the boys were looking now, eyes wide in shock as Casper began to talk again.

" Fatch, we saw your memories. "

Fatch's eyes grew wide upon hearing this, his blood running cold.

Heads up, I'm nearing the end of the story. Meaning so may slow down with the posts. It's not intensional, it just happens to me when I know I'm almost done. Just a heads up. R&R!

P.S. The name Septimus was cutesy of DemonWuld1007. You should read his story! It's really good!