A/N: Told you this one would be short also~! It's just some backstory but still~! And...yeah! I'm digging your reviews~! They've been charming and sweet and I'm glad y'all are enjoying it!
"Swear we'll get out of here? Away from these priests and their crazy ideals?"
"Of course. We'll run far away from them, Alan. I promise!" Alan grinned and peeked out from the alcove, glancing around for a sign of any priest or nuns coming near.
"Coast is clear, come on!" He looked back ad furrowed his eyebrows...Thomas was there just a moment ago, wasn't he? "T-Tom? Where'd he get to...? Tom? Seriously Tom this i—Mmph!" A hand dragged him out of the alcove and slammed his head against the wall. "Wh-who the hell are you?"
"Quiet! You have sinned against God and will pay for your actions!" Alan looked up at the group surrounding him and shuddered, looking around for Thomas. He finally stopped and went wide eyed at the sight of Thomas being held limp by another priest with a bag over his head. He barely noticed what happened until the head priest slapped him hard and slammed his head into wall, suddenly turning everything black.
"You keep watching that scene over and over, kitten. Is everything alright?" Thomas jumped and almost dropped the bottle of embalming fluid he'd been dusting off. Undertaker watched quietly and took the bottle from him, smiling a little. Thomas didn't say anything and continued to watch the record, waiting for something to show other than blackness and tortured cries.
"Do you regret what you've done?" The priest tore the bag off of Alan's head and slapped him hard, smirking when he heard a soft whine coming from the brunette.
"...I've...not done anything...wrong..." He cried out at being slapped again, shivering when h heard a door open and a rush of wintery air came in. He looked up slowly and stared at the priest for a moment before glancing around for Thomas. He could hear him crying and begging for mercy.
"LIAR! You were seen with that Barker child! You know that sodomy is a grave sin and will not be tolerated! Therefore you both will be punished!" He grabbed a whip and cracked it hard against the boy's stomach, hitting him repeatedly until he started crying.
"W-we weren't...doing that...swear..." He cried out with another crack of the whip, sobbing quietly as the priest continued to hit him and accuse him-
"That's quite enough of that, kitten." Undertaker slammed the book closed and stared at the smaller reaper, softening a little when he saw tears streaming down his cheeks. "Tommy? Look at me, kitty..." Thomas looked up and wiped his eyes, smiling a little.
"I-I'm fine...I should...go see how Alan's doing..." He sniffed and walked out of the room, not bothering to knock when he came into Alan's room. He closed the door and jumped when Eric hissed at him, stalking the bed protectively. "It's alright kitty, just Uncle Tommy..." She narrowed her eyes and let out a harsh meow before crawling on Alan's stomach, still keeping a close watch on the blond. He sniffed a little and grabbed Alan's hand, holding it tight.
"Tommy...?" He looked up and Alan smiled a little, cringing slightly. "My...head..."
"Are you bleeding again?" Alan shook his head slowly and set his hand on Erica's back, petting her gently. She mewed a little and glanced at Thomas before crawling off of his stomach and curling up next to him. "Just rest, Al...I'll come back soon, alright?" The brunette nodded and smiled weakly, watching him get up and leave the room quietly.
"You idiot! This is the third time this week you've pulled a stunt like this, Slingby! What on God's green earth were you thinking?" A loud crack and a body hitting the floor jolted Thomas awake, looking around the room in a panic. "The next time you pull a stunt like this, I'll kill you! Are we clear?" This had to be a dream, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore, wherever he woke up at had him confused and...wait a minute...what had even happened?
"W-where am I? What happened...how come I'm not dead?" He looked down and sighed quietly, seeing Alan curled up next to him. They were dead, weren't they? After a moment what happened the last few weeks, he jumped and went wide eyed, looking around in a panic. "Where is this place? Hello! What's going on here? Oi, talk to me! Someone help me! What is this place? Oi, let us o-" The door opened and a dark haired reaper slapped him across the face, glaring.
"Shut up! You should be grateful that you were given this second chance, kid. Not everyone has such an opportunity. Now keep quiet!" The old reaper slammed the door shut and glared at his protege.
"Uh...boss, he didn't sound very calm. Maybe we should have trid to help him rel-"
"You questioning my opinion, Slingby? You think the best reapers are sympathetic? They'll gt used to it and go to the academy befor you know it. Now shut up and fill out those reports! I refuse to do more overitme because of your idiocy again, clear?"
"Y-yes sir..."
"Professor...who was that old reaper there? I've never seen him before..." Undertaker looked up from setting the jar of ears aside, shrugging. He'd not thought about that psychotic bugger for a good many years. No one had even asked about him until now.
"Bill...he was a crazy old sod, used to be Eric's mentor. To say the least he wasn't very well liked around the office, we were glad when he died, kitten. Believe me" Thomas blinked and cocked his head to the side. Quite an abrasive fellow he was, huh? It would explain a lot as far as Eric's initial attitude was concerned when he started with Alan. "Shame too. Eric was extremely compassionate when he first started, not good with getting souls on time but he was a very caring person, made sure to make it as possible while he was still in the academy. That's why he's one of the best,"
"What happened to his mentor?"
"He was possessed before he graduated, that demon wreaked havoc on him, turned him into a real bastard, took almost 300 years but finally another reaper got tired of it and killed him," Thomas simply nodded and looked back at his record, occasionally flipping the pages before slamming it shut. He stood and looked at the old reaper before grabbing his scythe and going to the door.
"I'm going for a walk,"