Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Classes started at seven and their last one ended at four, they had barely eaten during the small lunch break off all the work they needed to get done, after school this tired student had about an hour to get home and get ready for work before they had to go off to work the night shift at a 24 hour pizza place.

By the time they got home it was about 12:14 and the burnt out college student couldn't wait to just relax, lay on the sofa they got about a year ago from ikea and watch Netflix. Or, listen to something with a plot better than any Netflix original.

They quickly yanked their phone from the ratty bag they had since they were a freshman and hopped onto youtube, they knew they were late to the Imperium’s finally but due to their busy schedule but that didn't matter much to them, they were still always pumped to see what lore dumps they could add to their theories and enjoy the comfort when it showed its face, this was not the month for much comfort.

The month of October had been taken over by one of their favorite characters, he had a cocky personality and he didn't seem to care about anyone but himself, Echo himself. You can tell they have great taste in men. This month was a great treat for the lore loving simp of a listener we got here. As they popped in their headphones and clicked the newest video, ‘claimed by two sadistic vampires’ and happily listened away as they made themselves a plate of leftover chinese food.

By the time they had sat back down with the plate of reheated food the video had ended, slightly upset it was over but also excited at the fact the original words lore would be returning they pulled their phone out of their hoodie pocket before looking to see another video up. The words ‘welcome Back’ with the image of an eye lay on their screen. A quiet squeal escaped their lips before happily sitting down the plate of leftovers and themselves on the couch before clicking play.

As they listened to the words of their favorite character taunting them and the other listeners about lore and the future of the story line and his hating of the viewers constant nagging for a jealous asher or living Adam.

At around the five minute mark, less than half way threw the video echo ends his monologue with “i see you, I will always see you.” Before his logo fades to black, and so does the late listeners vision. The edges of their vision start fading to black as they feel their hearing fade along with it. The comfort they had from knowing they where safe at home was washed away with the tidelwave of fear now rushing threw their mind. In their panic of losing their sense they sprong from their crappy sofa, sending their reheated food onto the floor. They had become completely deaf, and as they reached to grab their ears it felt as if their were going numb, by the time more than half of their vision was gone they couldn’t feel anything, hear anything, smell the food now soaking into the the brown carpet the stood on, and soon they couldn’t see anything.

It felt like a void of black. It was a void of black. Nothing was everywhere and even their thoughts didn’t even sound as loud as they should. It felt as if they whernt in a body at all, As if their soul had been torn out of it. ‘Am I dead?’ Was the loudest thought in their head, but it wasn’t as loud as the cheerful humming they heard.

Almost instantly they felt. Their hands on their head, feet on the ground, clothing on their skin, air in their lungs. They felt their eyes open but they still saw nothing but black.

They frantically spun around so they were facing the sound. The culprit humming was a taller man dressed in what they presumed to be a suit, walking away from the now very confused listener. The Lyrics to the song danced through their mind as they listened, ‘drip drip drop little April shower…’ The confused soul took a step towards the man, the sound of splashing under their bare foot, now realizing they seem to be standing in an extremely small amount of some kind of pitch black liquid they couldn’t see.

The man's humming stopped as he sipped around to see the listener staring at him. His face was a pale white and his eyes matched that colour, his hair as well. His voice boomed Through the black as he asked “who are you?” The sound of his voice brought up only one name, and it wasn’t their own. All they could say was his.

“Echo”

Chapter Text

“I asked your name, not mine you dimwitted fool.” He spat the words at them as he walked closer to his uninvited guest. ‘How did someone get here?’ Was the thought buzzing around his mind but before he could figure out how they got into his ‘home’ he needed to find out who had broken into his ‘humble Abode’. “Who are you.” he reasked the question as he stood in front of his ‘guest’ demanding a response.

The body stared up to meet his gaze, their mouth slightly agar before they squinted and rubbed their eyes and then looked back with the same aw as before.

“Can you talk?” Echo's firm voice softened just slightly as he asked this, not enough to be seen as a change in tone but just enough to convey that if they answered with anything other than a yes he wouldn’t judge them. Lucky for him he wouldn’t have to show any kindness just yet to this stranger because with a quick nod they answered him and any softness in his voice evaporated. “Then answer my question!”

Their backs snapped upright as he yelled and they opened their mouth to answer him but when they voiced their name it instead sounded static. No not static, more like thousands of different names trying to be said at the same time, none of them coming out clear. They quickly cover their mouth in shock at the strange sound they dripped from their lips. Echo was just as shocked. “Excuse me?” The ruff, demanding tone gone and replaced with a confused one. “I- '' they let another sound flow from their lips to test the waters of if their voice was always going to be twelves of hundreds different ones, it wasn’t. “I said my name.” They said feeling just as confused as Echo but now less scared than they were seconds ago.

“Well clearly it wasn’t.” The snark re entered his voice as he questioned them, “what was that?” He took another step forward, coming closer to his strange guest.
“I told you, I was trying to say my name and it came out as that!” They spat back trying not to show the fear that was starting to weigh on them. “Look I’ll.. I’ll try again.” A quick breath before they spoke again, just as last time all they came out was that staticky number of voices trying to be heard.
“Strange” he thought aloud “Well you and your namelessnis is none of my concern.” Quickly spinning on his heel before walking away from the mystery guess. “I have had enough ‘social interaction’ for at least a month” he added as he left them in the dark.

“You can’t just leave me here!” They barked back, jogging up to his side before slowing down to walk with him.
“Why can’t I?” He looked down at them with a scowl planted in his face “I’ve done worse.”
“Like what?” They challenged him.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” His scowl stuck expression changed to a smug as he mocked them “you seem to know who I am, must be a listener. That means you are constantly theorizing so no I won’t tell you anything about me.”
They glared back but all it did was make him laugh. His laugh was always something they always thought was cute, always a mocking giggle.

“What do you mean listener?” They ask, feeling their cheeks getting slightly flushed at the word.
“Oh, you know…” he moved his hands in a round motion before tapping their head “all those asmr’s you listen to.” He watched their face become flushed as he said the words leading him to snicker at them more “You humans and your obsessions.”
“Don’t laugh at me.” They tell him, trying to cool down their face with the backs of their hands.
“Why shouldn’t I? I know some of you really seem to like my laugh.” He quickly moved in front of them, leaning down to get his face just inches away from theirs. “And from that blush I see you might be one of the freaks who are attracted to me.”

Bright red was the colour of their face, they aren't one to blush but with this attractive pale face inches from theirs they couldn’t help it. The brighter colour in their cheeks was a good enough answer for Echo, and it was absolutely hilarious to him. Fixing his posture as he flung his head back as he laughed into the black void he called home. Still laughing he turned and started walking away again, leaving them in the dark before they jogged back up to him.

“Well if you know so much about me then how did I get here! And why are you a person? Am I dead?!” Their questions burst from their mouths like a dam breaking as the fear of the situation replaced their blush. “Why can’t I say my name? Where are we? What are you doing here?”
“By god I liked you better when you didn’t speak, can you just shut up!” Echo’s words stung like venom, having heard around the same lines over and over. They stopped talking and the two walked for around three more minutes, or at least what felt like three minutes. Echo said nothing as he Tried to forget they were next to him.

“I don’t know how you got here.” He sighed

“What?” They looked up at him, surprised at his answer.

“I don’t know how you got here of why because I sure as hell didn’t bring you here.” The poison still on his voice but not directed at them. “I don’t believe you're dead and I don’t know why you can’t say your name. And this..” he gestured to the space around them “.. is my ‘home’.” He stopped and looked into the darkness at the floor and pointed. “And that’s the well.” The listener looked to where he was pointing and all they could see was more black. Wet watery black.
“That is not a Well.” They tell him.
“Well you're just not looking at it right” he corrects. “We are in the Well.”

they look at where he is pointing befor squatting down to get a closer look. It’s a dark blurred image but they can just see it, a ground of people on a couch, they look like friends, all seem to be in Halloween costumes laughing and enjoying the evening. One dresses with horns and a spade shaped tale checks their phone before sadly looking back saying something to the group, them and what the listeners presume to be their boyfriend leave after some long goodbyes before the water ripples away.

“What was that?” They ask.
“A blip of some of your favorite ‘character’ lives.” The nearly 7ft man answers as he looks down at them. “I broadcast them to you people.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because…” he thought about it for a second “I have my reasons.”

They hummed in response to his lack of an answer before looking back at the water. It showed blips of thing they think they remembered, a person tied to a bed with man holding them tight to his chest. A shirtless man holding a big gulp cup form a seven eleven. Some things they couldn’t recognize, like a wolf fighting and black wispy shape, or the man having a seemingly one sided conversation with his partner.

“Does this show my world?” They asked him, hoping for a yes.
“No.”
“Do you know how to get me home?”
“No.”
Tears well up in their eyes as they move their hands over the water, changing the picture as they do.
“I can’t get you home, but I can put you in a new one.” He tells them, only feeling slightly bad, ok maybe a little bad. They look up to him as they wipe the wet beads that had threatened to drop from their eyes.
“What do you mean?” They reply.

Echo growns before nudging them just hard enough to push them over into the well. They vanish under the current before echo hops into the water after them

it happened to fast for them to register what’s going on, first their sitting on wet but solid ground then their kicked into water. Their yanked down deeper and deeper into the pitch black water. Also most as quickly as it started it was over as they shot threw the ground before landing on a brown Carpet, dripping with water. Right next to some spilt Chinese food.

“Just as you remembered it.” Echo was standing in front of them, look down with a smirk.
“You said you couldn’t bring me home!” They remarked rubbing their eyes at how bright it was in their living room.
“I can’t” He says as he kicks the reheated mess on the floor “but I can reshape the fabric of this reality.”
“and what reality might this be?” They question as they get up, still dripping, clothing clinging to their skin.
“Just a place they you lovely listeners call the Redactedverse.”

Chapter Text

“I’m where?” Their tone laced thinly with fear as they spoke. 

“If you were lis-“ Echo’s almost insult to their listening skills was cut off.

”I heard you,” they told him as they walked over to their window pulling the fabric covering the view that wasn’t there when they first moved in. “It was more of me asking how. How is any of this happening?”

Echo took a step over the mess on the floor as he walked closer to them “trust me listener, if I knew I would have told you.” 

The nickname sent a shiver down their back, a shiver that they weren't sure was good or bad. “First off, what reason have you given me that would make me trust you” Echo chuckles softly behind them “and don't call me that.”

their shyness at his little nickname for them and their lack of trust just made him want to tease them more, so he did.

”I feel I’ve shown enough of my cards for you to trust me with this listener. I mean, You’ve already seen my place and I’ve seen almost all of your life through your memory’s, we’re like this.” He hooked his pinkies together matching his sarcastic tone with a smug smile.

They successfully pushed the thought of being close to echo down but was unsuccessfully in pushing down the blush that now flowered on their face. "you did what?"

"I didn't see that much, only about half your life." he said as if it was no big deal to invalid one's mind without their consent "which if I'm totally honest, is pretty boring."  Now he was just being rude, but that's just normal for him.

He walked past them looking out at the night sky "no partner; not surprising, no friends and no parents." He looked at them as he finished his sentence to look at their faces, cheeks puffed and bright pink. He looked them up and down seeing how drenched they were. strange he thought as he moved his hand to their face.

his hand felt cooled on their hot face, he moved his index finger over their cheek only making them hotter. Although his little listener was burning up under his touch they seemed to freeze as his fingers glided over their skin and into their hair. as he pulled the wet strands away from each other he sent a small amount of magic threw his fingers, drying them off of any water.

"your welcome." was all he said as he pulled his hand from their hair before walking away from them and stopping at their coach to sit down, kicking the Chinese food out of existence with more magic.

The listener quickly sent their hand up to their face to try and cool down their burning face letting out a mopey sigh as they dropped them to their side. “You can't just do that to someone you”  they explained the exhaustion of the day was starting to get to them and Echo’s seeming never ending teasing wasn't helping.

“I honestly don't care.” he manifested a glass of blue liquids that seemed to be glitching out of the cup. “Want a drink?” 

What is this guy's angel? They thought as they stared at him with a look of confusion. 

“No? Good, I wasn't going to give you one anyway.” he took a sip of his blue cocktail as if he was trying to wash down his sentence.

After realizing they aren't going to be able to explain how invading someone's mind is morally wrong they slouch into the sofa on the opposite side of Echo, letting the fabric hug their newly dried skin. 

“What am I meant to do, "they thought aloud “I don't have a job, I'm in a new city, a new world for god's sake!”  The panic settled in the pit of their stomach. Their legs folded to their chest as before they buried their face in their knees, hiding from the fear, like they always do.

Echo looked over his cocktail glass at them curled into a ball, he rolled his eyes as he placed his drink down on the coffee table before speaking. “You don't need a job.” he said blankly, with little to no real concern in his voice. “This apartment is magic, not that anyone would know or could ever tell.” 

His listener lifted their head from their knees looking at him with their sad looking eyes. “How?” they never seemed to run out of questions for him and the rest of the world, and whatever fates led them to get in this situation.  

“I may not control this plain but I can manipulate certain things, smaller things. Like for example, making a certain sadism's demon caught for manipulating a human,” his voice felt more playful as he talked about his past exploits. “Or manifest an apartment into a vacant one.”

“That still doesn't explain why I don't need a job, apartments cost money Echo.” they informed him.

“I know that listener.” the name rolled off his tongue as he told them. “You don't have to worry about money” 

“Ok then what about schooling, I was on my way to getting my bachelors degree and now I'm here.” They gestured to the apartment with their hands.

“You want to go to school? From what I've seen you hated school, what changed in the last eight hours that made you love it so?” he asked, it was a genuine question. They always seemed overworked and tired. their teachers seemed to hate them and would give them ‘extra credit’ work with nearly impossible deadlines. Why would they want to go back to that? 

“I don't have to explain myself to you.” they spat back at him matching his constant asshole-ish tone.

Echo’s lips curled into a smug grin at that before speaking again. “Fair enough. I can probably place you in that magic school down the street, but you would need magic for that…” he trailed off as he placed his hand on his chin as he thought. 

“D.A.M.N?” they asked immediately, perking up at the idea. 

“Yes that is the name of it, what kind of magic fits you best?” he thought aloud, not looking for an answer but the listener gave him one anyway. 

“telepathy!” they didn't try to hide how excited the idea of getting magic made them feel from Echo as he tried to think “Oh being a seer would be cool, wait never mind i don't want to see something i shouldn't. Maybe a dreamwalker? That only works if I'm asleep and I don't get much of that” they continued to think aloud which only made Echo grow more and more annoyed. 

“God if you don't shut up i'm not going to make you anything!” he barked at them, that shut them up quickly. 

It was silent for a couple of minutes before he spoke with his answer. “Telekinesis.” 

“Telekinesis?” they questioned. 

“Yes, Telekinesis, moving items with one's mind. I don't plan on making a character one of those anytime soon.” he tells them.

“You plan to make a telepath character?”

“I'm not going to tell you anything about what I plan to show the other listeners! You're going to find a way back to your world just to tell everyone!” 

“Will not!”

“I'm not having this conversation with you.”

Chapter Text

clutching their bags strap at it hung loosely from their shoulders as they walked through the school's campus, wind wiping their hair around and the memory of their conversation with Echo swishing in their mind like the magical drinks he always seems to be drinking. 

"remember, it's September second, it's a Thursday and your name is Deer" 

"Why is my name Deer?"

"well dear listener of mine. that's why"  

"That’s stupid reason."

“You also look like a deer in headlights every time I tease you.”

“That one makes a little more sense.”

They had decided to wear a large black knit sweater and baggy jeans, something casual and comfortable. It felt like they were walking into a job interview except they had only about a fifteen percent chance of screwing it up, the screwing up would be they somehow told their guidance counselor- anyone really- about the fact they were somehow dragged here and that they had seen into a good handful of their lives. As they walked through the doors they fixed their now slightly ruffled hair before walking over to the lady at the front desk who was playing with a rubix cube. 

“Um, hello.” They said placing a hand on the counter. 

The woman looked up and quickly placed the toy in a drawer looking embarrassed at being caught fiddling with the colourful cube. “Oh! hi, sorry” She babbed “how may I help you?” She tucked a long strand of blond hair behind her ear as she asked. 

“Do you know where room 252 is?” They asked, holding out a small sheet of paper with the office number on it.

“Oh just go up the elevator down the hallway” she pointed “and then turn right and go you’ll find it at the end of the hallway.” She ended her sentence with a kind smile, her blond hair had refallen from its spot on her ear making her retuck it behind her ear.

“Thank you.” They replied, giving the same smile back to her before they walked towards the elivatores leaving the woman to retrieve the toy to figget with it some more.

After pushing the up button and a few seconds of waiting the elevator opened with a polite ding, inside was a pretty looking man. He was tall, around six feet and was only wearing a pair of blue jeans, he looked them up and down before smirking and moving to the side to let them in.

As they walked in they let out a small “thank you” as they passed him.

“It’s not a problem.” His voice was instantly recognized by them, the incubus with a heart of gold (gold plated) Gavin was standing right next to them. It took every ounce of power in them to will their blood from rushing to their cheeks, and he could tell. “Anything for a cute thing like you.” He ended it with a wink. Fortunately for them the office was on the second floor and the metal box would not be stopped by Caelum today. They walked off the elevator giving him a polite nod matched with a smile, he stayed on as the doors closed, now that they think about it he hadn’t picked a floor. It seems he enjoys using the elevators to fluster random strangers. 

Down the hallway to their right they found a door labeled with the number 252, with a deep breath they checked their clock strapped to their wrist, the hands pointed to it being 2:45, the time they were meant to meet with their soon to be guidance counselor. They let the air out of their lungs as they knocked on the wooden door. 

a muffled voice stuttered from behind the door “come in!” The air they had let go was quickly pulled back into their lungs with the same anxiety they left with Gavin. Echo sure enjoyed making them as nervous as can be. He really made their guidance counselor Lasko?! What a dick move, he knew they were nervous about blowing their cover and now they had to pretend they didn’t know this guy, act that they hadn’t played his hot boi summer video on repeat almost 24/7! They would have to smack Echo when they got back, or maybe not, it might ruin his face…

“Hello?” The muffled voice asked, confused.

they cursed under their breath before opening the door, “sorry I was making sure they was the right room.” The apologize with a quick lie before walking over to the chair that sat in front of his desk. 

“Oh, it’s no problem really, just thought you might have been one of the teachers kids, he brought them to the office today because he couldn’t get a sitter and they’ve been banging on my door all morning, I think he caught them doing it some time around twelve since it stopped but for a second when oh didn’t come in I thought maybe they had just moved on to a different office and had decided to torment me some more” he didn’t take a single breath the entire time he spook, even when he had to slow down due to his stutters. Once he stopped and finally took a breath he started to apologize “oh my god I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have rambled like that, you don’t need to hear about all that. Uh anyway um, you’re deer right?” 

The name only slightly freaked them out, they had gotten used to being called dear by Echo calling them that, we mostly called them “his listener” but dear was also one of his nicknames for them. “Yeah that’s me, also the rabbeling didn’t bother me.”

His face turned a soft shade of pink as they talked “you don’t have to say that.” He said with a smile as he looked for his papers. 

“No really, I don’t mind.” They reassured. “It’s kinda soothing in a way.” Their complement made him blush more, they could see why someone would enjoy making him turn bright pink. 

He laughed nervously as he found the paper he was looking for and grabbed a pencil. “Well thank you, I mean, uh your welcome? I’m sorry.” As he placed the sheet down between them both he seemed to realized something before cursing quitly “fuck, I mean shit, I mean crap!” He exhaled as Deer tried to suppress the childlike giggles threatening to escape their lips. “I’m really sorry, that’s not the way a D.A.M.N representative should act in front of a new student, I realized I forgot to tell you my name, I’m Lasko.” He held his hand which they presided to shake.

“Lovely to meet you” they responded with a cheerful smile as the cherry on top.

————

They waved the now a little less nervous air elemental goodbye as they left his office. The two of them had planned their schedule for the year in about an hour and had exchanged numbers due to the two of them both enjoying dnd and they wanted to dm the campaign they had been planning but wasn’t able to do (that said it was because they moved cities but in reality it was because they moved dimensions) he said he was looking to find a more magically inclined dm for his more magically inclined group of friends. They had also told him they wanted to go for full certification and he had helped them plan their schedule accordingly. This whole experience was a lot better then when they tried to talk to the guidance counselors at their now old school, the most help they could get out of them was them dropping a class for them so this was a great change of pace. 

They clicked the down button on the elevator and after a few seconds the ding chimed before the doors opened revealing once again, Gavin, shirtless as ever and now deepthroating a popsicle. They just stared at him as he slowly pulled the cold treat from his mouth so he could talk “it’s you again!” 

“Who?” Asked a voice from beside him, the voice showed themselves as they walked out of the evaluator, the person was wearing a hoodie with the D.A.M.N logo on it. It honestly looked pretty comfy. “Oh, hi! Sorry about him, he’s just like that.” 

They gulped down the confusion that had settled in their throat before they spoke. “It’s fine, I already saw him earlier today, in this elevator in fact.” 

“Again?” They turned to him as the two of them walked out of the elevator. 

“What can I say? The people love me.” He answered. As the pair walked away Gavin and who they assumed was the freelancer turned and gave a little wave “goodbye stranger.” Was what Gavin left them with as the elevator doors closed in front of them.