Astelic was a kid around the same age as Purpled with long, brown hair and brown eyes that would look bigger if they weren't narrowed in a glare all the time. Eighty wasn't deaf, he could hear the little children whispering about him by his side. Purpled brought his friend Astelic to meet Eighty a few hours ago, and Astelic had tried to bite him. Purpled stopped her, but she kept shooting Eighty side-eyes and whispering into Purpled's ear as if Eighty couldn't hear her.
"He's going to kidnap us, Purpled! He looks like a bad guy! He has chains hanging from his belt, Purpled, chains!"
Ouch.
Eighty poked at his chains, which clattered against each other and made Astelic jump. Purpled eyed him suspiciously and whispered back to Astelic, "If he tries to kidnap us, we can just run. He doesn't look that old either," Eighty prevented himself from chuckling at this- he could pick both of them up and throw them. Not that he wanted to kidnap them, but he could easily restrain both of them if he did want to.
Not that he wanted to, though.
He swallowed, glancing at the two by his side. Maybe this was a bad idea. He was barely thirteen, could he really take care of two nine-year-old children by himself? He took them in because he didn't want them to get caught by the wrong people, but maybe he was considered the wrong person for this job too.
———
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Purpled pulled at his jacket tails as Eighty sat on the rock, feeling the ocean breeze against his face. A gash was opened on his cheek and blood still dripped down it even when he tried to stop it by pressing a bit of gauze to it. Astelic stood awkwardly behind Eighty, fiddling with her oversized purple sweater sleeves that Eighty bought her to match with Purpled. Eighty winced as he continued to try to stop the bleeding.
"Yeah, just a cut," he reassured Purpled, gritting his teeth. They were ambushed by a group of thugs trying to rob them of their valuables. When Eighty tried to explain they didn't have anything they would want, one of them scoffed and grabbed Purpled's arm harshly. He had heard Astelic cry out in protest beside him and knew she was being grabbed as well. It didn't take much to bring the idiots down with his quirk, but one of them got a pretty nasty slash in.
"Does it hurt?" Astelic whispered from behind him, leaning forwards and touching Eighty's cheek gingerly. Eighty smiled at this, but it fell back into a grimace when the gash stung more.
"A little," Eighty admits. "But nothing I can't handle."
Astelic poked at his cheek a little more before Purpled spoke up and told her to stop. The two slept peacefully that night in the sleeping bag Eighty stole from a shop but Eighty stayed up, watching them sleep. His eyes fell to a scrape that Astelic earned on her forehead in the encounter earlier and bit his lip, subconsciously bringing a hand up to touch at his cut. He needed to make sure that they wouldn't get hurt, or else he would never be able to forgive himself.
———
Four years later, Eighty crept up behind a kid wearing sunglasses and a black hoodie with jeans. He looked well-dressed, but Eighty has seen him around the area and knew exactly what he was. "Hey,"
The boy let out an ear-piercing shriek that made Astelic bend down and cover her ears. It ripped through the air like a banshee scream and even Eighty winced a little at that. The boy scrambled up and whipped around, drawing a small switchblade from his pocket and pointing it at Eighty, the tip a mere two inches from his neck. Astelic let out an indignant cry at the scene, but Eighty held up his hands in mock surrender just like he did with meeting Purpled. "Relax, dude," he says wryly. "Not here to hurt you."
The boy didn't waver with his hold on his blade, his eyes narrowed behind his dark sunglasses. "I've seen you around before," he said slowly. "You're always stealing stuff from that corner shop,"
Eighty let out a sheepish laugh at this. "Yeah, I do that," he smirked. "You're rather bad at it," he points out. The boy's ears flushed red and he lowered his switchblade, still keeping his eyes on Eighty. There was a little stare-off here, with Eighty's laid-back smile and the boy's suspicious eyes.
"Is- is that a limited BedWars keychain?" Purpled said from behind Eighty, peeking out from his hiding spot behind a wall. The boy flushed red and puffed up with pride, holding up his switchblade and brandishing it too close for Eighty's comfort. From the handle hung a small rainbow keychain with the silver numbers '1000' engraved into it.
"Yeah," he said smugly as Purpled drew closer, face etched in awe. "Given to the first twenty players to 1000 stars- I'm the seventeenth."
"Cool!" Purpled gushed and poked at the shiny keychain. "I never got to play," he rubbed at his worn-out purple sleeves and Eighty knew what he meant. Purpled was orphaned and never had access to modern technology until he met Eighty, who spoiled him with funds he leeched from cash registers and cabinets.
"I played for a few years before I, uh," the boy grew silent at this. "I ran away from home," he muttered, looking down at the floor. Eighty's face frowned in sympathy and leaned down to the kid's level.
"We're all the same," he said quietly. "Which is why we all look out for each other. You're always welcome to join us," he didn't mention the fact that Astelic and Purpled ran away from their orphanage, or how he grew up in the streets himself. It wasn't necessary to convince the boy, because he perked up and gave a small smile.
"I'm Sammy," he said at last. Eighty felt his face stretch out in a smile as well and stood upright again.
"I'm Eighty, and this is Purpled and Astelic," Eighty introduced, pointing at the two children beside him in turn. Purpled waved cheerfully, and Astelic let out a snobby 'hmph' and turned away, sparing Sammy a withering glance. She clearly didn't appreciate the stunt Sammy pulled on Eighty earlier, and crossed her arms annoyedly to show it. Sammy's smile fell at this, but Eighty put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Astelic's super bossy, just ignore her,"
Astelic fumed and stomped on the ground, beginning to yell about how she was not bossy and how Eighty was lying to the new guy. Eighty simply grinned like a dork- he was used to this life, and he loved every second of it.
———
They met Deo barely a year later through Sammy, who claimed he met Deo because of their shared favourite streamer, TommyInnit. As always, Purpled liked him right away, always bubbly and bouncing. Astelic took some more time and gave Deo the cold shoulder for a few days before Deo cut her apple slices, then she started warming up to him. And Eighty? He was always willing to allow someone new into the family.
They were gathered around a campfire one night on a campsite they snuck into and were roasting cheap marshmallows over the flames. Deo pointed out the halo over Purpled's head and asked about his quirk, and that started a discussion about their quirks. "I get this halo over my head that I can throw at people like a frisbee," Purpled explained, plucking it out from the spot over his head and tossing it to Eighty, who caught it easily. "The power of it depends on my condition at the time, and when I get too injured to fight anymore, it'll start to crack and eventually explode as its last move. Then it turns fragile and gray and will remind that way until I'm all patched up," Purpled waved his hand, and the halo ripped itself from Eighty's grip and floated back on top of Purpled's head.
"My turn!" Sammy called out, clapping his hands together excitedly. "I can make, like, clones of whoever I want as long as they're being a dick at the moment. So, like, if they start being toxic then bam! The clones appear! And they help me fight! But after a while, I start being an asshole to my teammates too, and that's never pleasant. Then eventually they just crumble to the ground," he finishes by making a waterfall motion with his hands.
"How about you, Deo?" Eighty spoke up. Deo, who took off his sunglasses a long time ago, grinned drummed his fingers on the log he sat on.
"It's not that special," said the teenager bashfully. "I just give a huge power boost to me and whoever I want, like a really big power boost to their quirks and natural abilities. I can only use it every few hours though, it has a dumb cooldown,"
Eighty smiled gently. "That's not a bad quirk! Don't be shy. It'll be really helpful the next time we run into those stupid gangsters," he reached over and slapped Deo on the shoulder. "Anyway, you've all seen mine," a piece of the campfire slipped away and morphed into a dragon, which flew around the air in a ring around the five of them, leaving a trail of flame behind it. "I can make dragons out of water, fire, wind, snow, you know the drill. I don't know what happens when I use it too long, but all I know is that they're super sick," he smiled, pleased with himself. The dragon gave one last twirl and dove straight back into the fire, and it looked like nothing had happened as the blaze continued to crackle and smoke normally. Sammy gave a mocking clap as Astelic whistled sharply.
"I'm quirkless," says Astelic casually, throwing back her hair. "But that doesn't stop me from beating anyone up, does it?"
Purpled and Sammy let out roars of laughter and Eighty chuckled; the three of them knew how much Astelic could do even without a quirk. Eighty looked to Deo, who was giving an odd sort of smile. "Also, Purpled," Astelic continued, narrowing his eyes at his friend. "Your marshmallow is burning,"
Purpled turned to the marshmallow skewered onto his stick that he let hover over the fire way too long and now had flames engulfing the fluffy white treat and let out a whine, dropping the skewer on the ground. The four of them laughed, and Eighty smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt. He felt like he was the happiest man in the world.
———
The city was silent and had an air of fear around it and it was all because of the new villain who obnoxiously called himself the Ender Dragon, to Eighty's amusement. He laughed out loud when he read the headline on the television in the electronics shop, much to the old shopkeeper's confusion. "What a disgrace," he whispered to his friends when he got back with Astelic's new phone and told them all about what he saw. "Apparently, he targets quirkless people. What an ass," At this, Astelic stopped playing with her phone and stiffened, face turning white. Purpled immediately went to comfort her, and Eighty glanced to her. "It's okay, Astelic," Deo said quickly, patting her shoulder. "We won't let anything happen to you, m'kay?"
Astelic nodded shakily and Eighty immediately felt bad for scaring her. "Wanna go get ice cream?" he offered awkwardly, and Astelic brightened up, nodding quickly.
They walked down the streets towards the ice cream parlour. Sammy, Astelic, and Purpled struck up a conversation about BedWars again and how the upgrades update completely ruined the OG lineup of upgrades. Deo jumped into the conversation once in a while to either disagree or agree with their opinions, and Eighty walked in silence. He didn't know why, but he felt like they were being watched, but every time he turned around to check there would be no one there.
Astelic got strawberry ice cream, Sammy took vanilla (much to Purpled's disappointment and shame), and Purpled got mint chocolate chip. They were sitting outside at the glass tables near a comfy fire pit with big crackling flames and Purpled and Sammy started a rowdy debate on whether or not the miner fatigue nerf was necessary or not and Deo agreeing with Purpled, saying it wasn't necessary at all and Astelic saying it was. Eighty just watched them argue with an amused quirk at his lips.
"Are you Astelic?"
The five of them turned around to face a man with a black face mask and deep violet eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Eighty saw Purpled touching the corner of his eye gingerly. The man had a black bucket hat on and a long beige cloak. The first thing that Eighty thought was danger.
"Yes," Astelic responded carefully, standing up from her seat. The rest of them automatically stood up as well, ready to either use their quirk or draw a weapon. He noticed Sammy's wrists swirling with green mist, Purpled's halo growing brighter than usual, and Deo having a hand in his pocket where he knew there was a pocket knife.
Eighty blinked, and there was a blast of black smoke that erupted from beneath the man's cloak. He heard coughing from around him and he held his breath, eyes widening. This was the Ender Dragon, the man who attacked so many quirkless citizens and slipped from the grasps of authorities too many times.
The smoke finally dispersed, and the man stood there without his cloak. He had a sleek black t-shirt on with belts and buckles latched around him. Glowing violet orbs were hanging from his belt and he also held one in his hand, examining it carefully.
"That's another one to the collection," he whispered softly before turning around and starting to walk away. With a start, Eighty realized Astelic was gone.
The roar of a dragon sounded across the streets and the Ender Dragon turned around sharply before being swallowed down by an entity made of fire. When the dragon passed through, the villain stood there, charred and burned but still standing. The violet orb in his hand was now rolling down the street, and Purpled dashed forward to pick it up but the man snatched it up before him. "Where is she?" he screamed hysterically, his halo smashing into the Ender Dragon's stomach, making the older man double over in pain.
"In a place far worse than death," he smiled sadistically. The halo knocked into the villain again and Purpled reached for the orb for no avail, being kicked away by the man.
"Purpled!" Sammy and Eighty cried out simultaneously. An exact copy of the Ender Dragon but in various shades of green crawled out of the clouds of green that Sammy made and rushed forward to aid Purpled. With a start, Eighty felt full of energy and his dragon grew far bigger than he originally made it. Purpled's halo began to fly around at such insane speeds that the Ender Dragon couldn't dodge and the copies of him charged him faster as well. Deo was breathing heavily beside him, his hands shaking.
Eighty saw the man slash at Purpled with a knife and felt rage overcome him. The dragon let out a deafening roar and charged the villain once again, snapping its jaws and lighting the buildings it passed into flames. The purple orb that supposedly trapped Astelic was hanging from the Ender Dragon's belt stubbornly, refusing to budge even when its owner was being knocked around.
No. Eighty was wrong to use that word. Astelic wasn't owned by anyone, and certainly not that scumbag of a human.
———
"Ready to give her up?" Purpled drawled shakily.
The man spit out some blood and chuckled hoarsely. "Absolutely not,"
The dragon was breathing smoke and flames behind Eighty, who was holding a dagger with a gold-encrusted handle to his throat. The blade was pressed again the flesh and Eighty wanted to just slice it open.
"Kill me, I dare you!" the Ender Dragon whispered maniacally, and Eighty knew that only he heard it. "Then you'll never see her again! Haha!" Eighty pressed the blade against the man's throat even harder, blood starting to leak from a thin shallow slice it made, but not deep enough to do real damage.
The dragon let out a horrific roar and started to blow flames all around. Eighty turned around to see it and saw it twisting in what seemed to be agony and smashing into concrete buildings and glass windows. "The hell?" Deo whispered, staring at his own hands but knowing his quirk effects wore off a long time ago. Eighty waved an arm to destroy the dragon, but to his horror, it stayed in the air.
"Eighty! Move!" he heard Sammy scream just as a burst of flames was blown towards him by the creature he made with his own hands. He leapt out of the way just as the flames hit the Ender Dragon, cooking him to a crisp. Rough screams of pain came from the body as Eighty watched in horror.
When the flames dispersed, the body was burned black and smoking still. The dragon was gone as well, the line of flames being its dying breath. Yet, the fires it made remained. Sirens sounded in the distance as Purpled and Sammy rushed forward to the body, looking for the purple orb.
The world was crashing around Eighty because Astelic could not be gone. There was no way, the Ender Dragon only said those words to rile him up. He was sure that Astelic would pop out from behind a building or something, laughing at him for believing she was gone. "Where's Astelic?" Purpled said, at last, turning to Eighty expectantly.
"She's- she's-" Eighty stammered.
"Stop fooling around, Eighty, where's Astelic!" Purpled shouted, standing up from where he was crouched over the Ender Dragon's burnt corpse. Sammy stood up as well, panic in his eyes. The sunglasses he usually wore broke in the battle and he didn't seem to care.
"Yeah! Where is she? He's dead, so she should be back!" He said. Eighty wanted to tell them the truth, the words that the Ender Dragon had told him moments before the villain's death. But he couldn't. He couldn't tell them, his lips were numb and he couldn't speak.
"Astelic?" Purpled whipped around, calling for his friend. "Astelic? ASTELIC!" he began to pace around, calling for a friend that would never answer.
that was a long chap lmao, 3.1k words! hope u enjoy!
(i cant believe eighty's backstory is finally out, I've wanted to write this and release it for sooo long!
also the fanart is by @funnydiscstal on twt, ty!