From Gold to Mold
Chapter 1: The Change
“Happy birthday, to you,” your teacher, Mrs. Palmer, and classmates finish singing to you.
“Thank you, everyone,” you giggle, happy that everyone did something special for your birthday in the middle of class.
You’re now six-years-old and your Momma’s promised to take you to Little Luigi’s Pizza Place after school, where you’ll get to open your presents from her, as well as eat all the pizza you want and have a cookie pizza for free! You begged her to let you stay home, but she laughed and said that she had to meet her publisher for her upcoming book, but she promised that after she was done, she’d come check you out and the two of you would go celebrate your birthday.
You look up at the clock (good thing it’s digital, because you haven’t learned to read the old clocks yet!) and see that it’s almost time for lunch.
“Come on, Momma,” you mutter to yourself. “Get here, already.”
Seriously, you didn’t plan to eat lunch, so you didn’t bother packing lunch today!
Just then, the intercom above the door chimes.
“Mrs. Palmer,” the school secretary asks.
“Yes?”
“Can you please send Y/N Gould to the office, please? There’s someone here to see him.”
“Yes,” you cheer, making a few in the class laugh.
“Of course,” she responds before the device clicks off.
You grab your backpack and toss it over your back before rushing towards the door.
“Bye, Y/N,” one classmate says as you pass her.
“Happy birthday,” another says as you near the door.
“Enjoy your birthday, Y/N,” Mrs. Palmer says, her usual bright smile on her face. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Remember to have your worksheet done.”
And with that, you leave the room and skip down the hall to the main office, happy that your school is small so you don’t have to walk far. As you do, all you can think about is all the pizza you’re about to eat! And the chocolate chip cookie pizza that you get after that! And don’t forget about the presents! Maybe you’ll get the new Pokémon Platinum game for your DS, or a new stuffed animal, or maybe a new movie!
The suspense is practically tearing you apart and you enter the office, ready to greet your Momma when you see… Sheriff Foley. And he looks… sad. You look to the secretary, who’s standing behind him, and she has the same sad look.
“Y/N,” he says.
“Sheriff Foley,” you say, looking around to find Momma, but not finding her. “What’s wrong? Where’s Momma?”
“Son,” he says as the secretary begins to cry a bit. “I have some bad news.”
You feel a weird feeling in your stomach, like when you eat a bunch of ice cream and get sick, but this feeling is worse than that.
“What?”
“It’s about your momma. I got a call from the police in Vegas and they said there had been a car accident. Some drunk fool leaving a casino hit your mother’s car.”
You feel your heart stop at the words “hit” and “mother.”
“Is she ok,” you manage to say. “She’s at the hospital, right?”
The secretary’s crying becomes louder.
“I’m sorry, son,” he says, a tear falling from his eye. “He was going too fast when he hit her. She’s gone.”
“Gone? Like missing?” Now, you’re crying. “Why can’t they find her?”
“No, gone as in she’s no longer with us.”
“Like… she’s gone to heaven,” you whisper.
He nods and it’s then you feel your entire world collapse. You remember what Momma said about going to heaven when you saw a squirrel asleep on the side of the road. She’d said that he had gone to heaven after falling asleep and that he wouldn’t be waking up again. That he’d always be there.
“No,” you cry, tears and snot falling from your face. “No, she can’t be in heaven! She said she’d be here!”
Sheriff Foley takes you into his arms as you cry.
The next few days go by in a blur. You stay with Sheriff Foley and his wife until the funeral. Unfortunately, the accident was so bad that the casket had to stay closed, so you weren’t able to see her one last time before she’s put in her grave. The whole town of Goodsprings is there; she was an author writing best-selling romance novels set during the Age of Sail and a pillar of the community, so everyone wanted to be there to say their final goodbyes to her and their condolences to you.
You said nothing during the whole thing. You hadn’t said anything since Sheriff Foley told you that Momma had gone to heaven and that she wouldn’t be back. The only noise to leave you is the sound of crying.
“Y/N,” he says as you watch the grave be filled with dirt. “When we leave, we’ll have to go by your house. You need to pack anything you need.”
“Why,” you ask, your voice sore from crying for days.
“Because a man is waiting there for you and when you have everything you need, he’ll take you to McCarran Airport. From there, you’ll go to Gotham City in New Jersey.”
You couldn’t believe your ears, first you lose Momma and now you’re losing your home?
“Why do I have to leave,” you say, tears streaming down your face.
“Because the county did some checking and found your father through a DNA test.”
You freeze at that. Your Daddy?
“Momma, do I have a Daddy,” you asked her once.
“You do, baby, but he doesn’t know about you,” she answered. “We met years ago, back when Momma was young and dumb. When I found out I was having you, I couldn’t find him. That’s when I realized I had to act right.” She rubbed her hand through your hair. “It’s thanks to you that I’m not like that anymore.”
That conversation goes through your head as you ride back to your house. You’re actually going to meet your Daddy? When you pull up to your house you see a fancy car sitting in the driveway and an elderly man in a suit standing next to it, watching you as you get out.
“I’m sorry, who’re you,” Sheriff Foley asks.
“Alfred Pennyworth,” the man says, bowing a little. “Butler to the Wayne Family. I apologize, Sheriff, but I’m afraid Master Bruce was unable to get away. Urgent business at Wayne Enterprises demanded his attention.”
“More urgent than his son?”
You can see the butler slightly flinch at that, despite how good he tries to hide it.
“I understand your frustration. I expressed the same sentiments, but Master Bruce couldn’t be persuaded to leave the matter to Mr. Fox.” He looks down at you. “I trust this is young Master Y/N?”
You can’t help but duck behind the sheriff’s legs to hide from him.
“Yeah, this is him.”
“I’m glad to meet you, though I wish it was under more joyous circumstances. You have my most sincere condolences for your loss.”
“Thank you,” you say, looking down at the ground.
“Come on, son, let’s get all your stuff packed.”
The three of you spend the next hour packing all your toys and clothes into cardboard boxes. When asked about your bed, dresser, and other larger things, Alfred said a room had already been prepared for you with a king sized bed and a dresser with room for all your clothes and more.
“Should you require anything else, I will ensure Master Bruce provides it.”
“What will happen to the house,” you finally ask Sheriff Foley, afraid for what he would say.
“Your momma already paid off her house and her will said that everything that’s hers goes to you. For now, the county will care for it until you turn eighteen, which is when you can inherit it.”
Hearing that should’ve made you feel better, but it didn’t because you’d have to wait so long to come back and even then, Momma still wouldn’t be here. As the two adults packed up the last of the boxes in the fancy rental car, you slipped away into your Momma’s office at the back of the first story. You slide open the doors, expecting to see her at her desk, working on her latest story like you’d done so many times before, but this time, an empty room and silence greets you.
You enter her office and hop into the big revolving chair, her favorite perfume still lingering from the morning of your birthday. You look at the desk and find something that takes your breath away: her favorite gold ink pen. One day, you’d asked her why your last name was Gould and she’d told you that your family came from a long line of goldsmiths who once made jewelry and other small things for rich people. Momma’s Daddy still worked with metal, even after the family practice was shut down, and when she said she was going to become a writer, he made her a gold ink pen to bring her good luck. You pick it up, looking at the beautiful design, and begin to tear up.
She carried it everywhere she went, so seeing it here cements the fact that she’s not coming back. Maybe if she wasn’t in a big hurry that morning, she would’ve remembered to take it with her and the accident never would’ve happened. And she’d still be here with you.
“Y/N,” the Sheriff says as he enters the office. “We finished packing everything. Are you ready to go?”
You want to say no and refuse to leave, but you know that you can’t stay here. You quietly pocket the pen and follow him to the car, where Alfred waits for you.
“Alright, son, be good for Mr. Pennyworth here. Do what he says and be a good boy like your momma taught you.” He gives you a hug and you wish it would never end, because then you’d never have to leave your home. “You’ll be back before you know it, and your home will be here waiting for you.”
A with that, you get into the car with Mr. Pennyworth and begin the drive to the airport. You use the mirror to see your house one last time, seeing it get smaller and smaller until it’s out of sight.
“I know this is sudden after the loss of your mother, but I promise Master Bruce and I will do everything we can to make Wayne Manor a home for you.”
“What’s it like?”
“The manor? It’s a large estate with a long and storied history that dates back to the early days of Gotham. There’s plenty of rooms for you to explore.”
“And what about my Daddy? What’s he like?”
“Master Bruce is a skilled businessman and one of Gotham’s biggest socialites. He’s also the adoptive father of Masters Dick and Jason.”
“He already has kids? Would they be my brothers?”
You’d heard of several of your classmates having older and younger siblings and had thought about having a brother or a sister. What would it be like to carry around someone younger than you or be care for by someone older than you.
“Master Dick would be your older brother, but he’s now living at the manor right now. He’s off finding himself right now, but I have no doubt that he’ll be back one day.”
“What about Jason?”
Mr. Pennyworth frowns at your words and you feel afraid that you’ve said something wrong.
“Master Jason would be your older brother, as well, but he was taken from us. With any luck, he and your mother have met one another.”
Oh…
“When did he go to heaven?”
“He left us a few months ago, but it feels just like yesterday.”
And with that, the talk is over. You two arrive at the airport and after the butler returns the rental car, he guides you to the gate where a private jet awaits the two of you. You can’t help but be amazed that you’re riding in a private jet that looks so much better than the ones you’ve seen on tv. You sit in one of the seats and it’s way softer than your bed.
“Master Y/N, we’re getting ready for takeoff,” the butler says as he puts his seatbelt on. “Put your seatbelt on.”
You do as you’re told and before you know it, you feel the jet begin to move. You hurry to look out the window to see everything moving past before the jet begins to fly. You stare out the window, watching Nevada, the state you’ve called home, get smaller and smaller until you’re above the clouds, unable to see anything, even the massive buildings of the Strip, which could be seen for miles.
It’s then you realize that this is real, that you’re leaving everything you’ve ever known and won’t be back for years and tears begin to fall from your face. You’ve spent the last few days crying so much that you’d think that you’d think that you would run out of tears, but apparently not. Not wanting to disturb Mr. Pennyworth, you face the window and bite your lower lip to stop making noises.
Somehow the flight seemed to be both long lasting and not long enough, because eventually, you saw a city show up below you. You squint your eyes to get a better look through the smog and see many tall buildings, all of the having those scary stone creatures you saw on a movie once.
“Welcome to Gotham City, Master Y/N.”
A/N: I’m hoping to make this a series that sees somewhat regular updates, but don’t quote me on that. I’ve been getting back into Resident Evil and I look up Yandere Batfamily stuff on this site so much it’s not even funny. Sorry if the first chapter was so long, but I thought if the first chapter was long enough, people would forgive me if future chapters are a bit lacking. Also, this series is heavily influenced by several of my favorite users, like @acid-ixx , @gotham-daydreams , @luludeluluramblings , and @darkstaria . You should totally check them all out.
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Ahem, so here, yes here, is my INSANE LORE for vulpes in my stupid little universe.
So the year is 2259. A young laddie is born in utah. He was found by a legionary scout and brought to the legion. For reasons i have not yet decided, ceaser decided this child, named Vulpes Inculta, would be raised as the protege to the legion, aka his replacement. For the moment this was decided, Vulpes was schooled and trained every day. Since the plan was to be the leader of the legion, there was a greater emphasis on learning from the books rather than fighting. He had classes on english and latin, learned hundreds of battle strategies, wars from all across history, diplomacy and of course, leading a faction. Vulpes LOVED this. He found it fascinating and empowering. On the other hand, when he was meant to train in the art of the fight, he was... less than enthusiastic. He was terrible with the sword, pitiful punching skills, his aim was terrible with guns and he nearly blew up himself with explosives many times. It was looking hopeless. Around age 8 they decided to focus more on the learning rather than training, for the kids sake. (If you lift up his shirt you'll find alot of scars from sword slashes) This constant sitting and reading, writing and studying did not do well to the kid's physical health. (Also for everyone's sake i think childhood obesity is bad but like its part of the lore). The legion noticed this and decided that they should try again. They decided that his intelligence must be nature, so another vulpes that was trained for fighting would be the ultimate threat and leader. Some legionaries had found an empty vault from eastern idaho that's experiment called for cloning the original dwellers for each generation rather than typical reproduction. They secretly took Vulpes's DNA and the cloning technology to grow a baby boy, ten years after vulpes was born. This was all done without vulpes' knowledge. When this baby was born, a large ceremony was held. Vulpes was given a knew name, Vulpes Altilis Inculta, and this baby was named Vulpes Novos Inculta. There was celebration with the new vulpes. It was all about Novos. Altilis knew what Novos ment. The New Vulpes. Literally. Altilis had sorta forgetten what his name meant, so he'd have to look that up later. Altilis at the time didn't mind too much. Having a younger brother seemed pretty cool. When he had off, he often would hang out with his little bro. Eventually, Novos was old enough to start training for battle. When he was 4, he began training endurance running, and by age six, he was full on sword fighting with the legion trainers. His aim, immaculate, his ability with the sword, like nothing they had seen before. Unfortunately, the legion had sort have forgotten to teach him. He spoke only basic latin, reading was strenuous, and his suaveness with speech was lacking. The legion, after two times, failed to see that many traits are nurture over nature. They have created an amazing athlete who's as dumb as a brick, and a war strategist genius who can't walk up the stairs without taking a break to catch his breath.
Novos though, was still beloved by the legion more than Altilis. They found his feats of might empowering. Ceaser saw this and used him to boost morale of the legion. The better Novos got, the more Altilis was pushed to the wayside.
On altilis's 18th birthday, he was extremely excited to celebrate his coming to adulthood. In previous years, His birthdays where large celebrations, drawing nearly every legionary to celebrate the protege growing up. This year though, no one really noticed. The day came and went. A few birthday wishes from some people he talked too, but otherwise, no one really cared. Furious, he returned to his study, enraged. "Its all because of HIM. NOVOS. The NEW desert fox. What does Atilis even mean??" He pulled one of his latin dictionaries down and began searching for this word until- he finds it. He reads the english translation in horror. "They named me.. fat??? Pampered?? How DARE THEY?!? Is that all i am to them?? Some spoiled brat?? Just because i cant fight well- or any athleticism well- doesn't mean thats all that defines me!!" He flips through, looking for other words that would fit him better "Lacertosus, vinnulus, primum, primigenius, melius, SOLUM!! These! These are the names i deserve! What should have been!" He pouts to himself. He was a failure in there eyes. All because of his stupid clone. Novos was better than him in every way he thought.
On the flip side, Novos found Altilis to be the coolest thing since nuclear fission. He basically idolized him. He could often be found peaking in on what his brother was doing, hoping to pick up on just a sliver of his knowledge. He knew he was stupid, but was too embarrassed to speak up about it. He would often be shooed away but that didn't deter him from coming back. He had this deep desire to obsess over maps as he did, but could never figure them out. He always followed the commands Altilis gave when it came to battle, as he thought, "If Altilis thinks its right, it must be." And he was nearly every time. He loved his brother. He wanted to be like him, but not to replace him. Altilis though, saw his desire to be like him as a way to replace him. This wore down altilis. He had enough. He was old news, obviously. No one wants the uglier, fatter, spoiled, unathletic, outdated vulpes. The legion would be better off without him. Not just the legion, but the world. He was going to do it.
Its the night before his 28th birthday. He hikes his way to one of the mountain around The Fort and sits down and waits. He wields a pair of binoculars. He waits in only his shirt and undershorts, his robe, hood, skirt, pip boy, boots and socks removed. He periodically takes his binoculars to see if anyone is looking for him. He decides if no one would come to him before his 28th birthday was over, he would finish the job. The day goes on, and ends. The moon begins to rise as the sky darkens. Altilis feels at peace, incredibly sad, but at peace. He takes one last look around and spots a single torch wandering, seemingly getting closer. He reaches for his pip boy, taking note there was still a few more hours left in the day. After about two hours, he hears footsteps behind him. He doesn't bother to look. The mysterious person sits down next to him.
"Ive been looking for you, Altilis."
...
"I missed you today. I was worried about you. I asked around everywhere for you and no one said they had seen you since yesterday. One person told me they saw you leaving the fort, so i came looking"
...
Novos pushes a book over to Altilis.
"I got you this, happy 28th, Altilis."
Altilis takes the book. He's unable to read what it is in the night.
"Its about Canids. I know you like foxes and coyotes and all those creatures from before the war"
Altilis's voice is noticeably strained. Horse form not drinking all day and not speaking, and pained from his depression
"You remembered?"
"Of course I did. I mean you wear your coyote every day"
"No, that today was my birthday"
"Well... yeah. You are my brother. "
"No one else remembered. No one else cares."
"Don't say that! im sure the rest of the legion cares."
"The don't care like they used to. Im nothing to them now. Ever since you came. They like you better than me."
Novos pauses for a bit. He sounds noticeably saddened, as if holding back tears.
"Is that why you're up here?"
"No one would have noticed I was gone. No one would have cared. I could just walk of the edge here and no one would notice."
Novos pauses again
"I wouldn't be able to go on if you were gone"
...
"You're everything to me, Altilis. You're the coolest brother i could ever ask for. I know you dont like me as much, but i seriously dont know what i would do without you. I wouldn't be half the man i am without you."
Theres a silence for a bit, eventually a soft cry is heard.
"Altilis?"
Altilis is choking up between sniffles as he speaks.
"I have been purposely a jerk for you for so long, why on earth do you like me so much?"
"Well..." novos ponders, "...you're smarter than ill ever be, thats for sure. You seem to have it all together. I see know though that you dont, but at least you can present yourself as put together. Me? Im always a mess."
"You were made to replace me, Novos. I'm not good enough for the legion. They want you, not me. No matter what I will do, you will always be better than me. You are what could have been me. Im just a walking, rejected garbage. Im worthless"
Novos strains in thought, not knowing what to do, as his intelligence is quite low. He does know one thing. He reaches over to his clone and embraces him in a hug.
"Never leave. Never. You are so special and talented. You dont need to be me and i dont need to be you."
Altilis lets his emotions get the best of him and just lets it all out. After a while, novos guides his brother down the mountain safely and back to the fort. The gained new respect to each, especially Altilis to Novos. They know frequently work together and Altilis whiling shares his interests work and other activities with his brother.
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