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randaccidents · 4 years

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Fractured (part one)

So I have fallen into another fandom! @mine-sara-sp‘s shadow people au is just so good though!

A while ago she posted a fic of a vexed Paladin and it got me thinking. This is where that thinking went.

TW: Blood, fighting, panic attacks (somewhat), manipulation

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Epilogue

The morning sun had just risen over the horizon and everything was quiet for once on Hermitcraft. With the recent glow ups in New Hermitville – literally, there was glowstone everywhere now – not even the sound of zombies could be heard, allowing all hermits who thought to find the comfort of their beds to have a peaceful awakening.

At least, for most of the sleeping hermits on the server, this was the case. For Wels, not so much.

The buzzing of his communicator woke Wels from his peaceful sleep. Groaning, Wels rolled over in his bed and blearily groped for the infernal device. Rubbing his eyes, Wels’ eyes flicked over the main chat to the two personal message chats that were blowing up his communicator.

Personal message from GoodTimesWithScar

[Scar] Wels vex alert!

[Scar] bnghyt67sdzfgtyuopgtfjgkadsfxgchvjbknlm;,;lkjhaghjkl;’

[Scar] sorry Keloid licked my communicator

[Scar] where are you Keloid wants you

[Scar] I think Paladin died again

[Scar] youre sleeping arent you?

[Scar] please wake up

[Scar]Keloid is gonna melt me in lava please wake up

[Scar] wake up

[Scar] pls this jrt is hgh they took my elytea

[Scar] wake up

Personal message from Cubfan135

[Cub] Wels vex alert!

[Cub] Avarice is looking for you

[Cub] ohno your asleep arent you

[Cub] Wels wake up

[Cub] Avarice is destroying my villager center

[Cub] Wels

[Cub] Wels my poor villagers

[Cub] How are you still asleep?

[Cub] If I know Scar, and I know Scar, he is spamming you right now

[Cub] Wels please if not for me then do it for the villagers

[Cub] … Wels I know youre awake answer me where are you

There goes his opportunity to pretend to be asleep. Grumbling, Wels rolled out of bed and began preparing for his day. He wasn't in the mood for anything in particular at the moment. If anything, he wanted to go back to sleep. Grabbing his tool set and weapons, Wels headed for the door. Yawning, he almost forgot to put on his armour before he left his mansion.

Shuddering at the memory of his last round trip flight, he quickly doubled back to grab the most important piece; the helmet. Looking at the rest of his armour set, he shrugged. Where he was going, and especially who he was going to meet, he wouldn't need any armour. Shrugging on his elytra, Wels jumped from the highest window in his mansion, gliding lazily towards the portal tower.

As he flew, Wels opened his communicator and idly flipped through the general chat, trying to pinpoint what needed to face his wrath for waking him up so early (the zombies weren't even burning yet!)

Hermitgang

*Welsknight's shadow fell from a high place

[Zedaph] its vex time boys

[BDubs] CUB SCAR YOU GOT INCOMING

[BDubs] AND TELL THEM TO STOP FLYING OVER NEW NEW HERMITVILLE

[Iskall] I dont think they heard you

[Impulse] I think their working on Concorp things right now

[Grian] Keloid and Avarice just flew past at mach speed and knocked me out of the sky like some kinda vex aeroplane what did I miss

[Iskall] read up

[Grian] oh

[Grian] well their heading the wrong direction we can still warn them

[Impulse] there is no way this chat hasnt warned them yet

[Zedaph] is that Keloid holding Scar up there on the jet?

[Impulse] ...I stand corrected

[BDubs] GET WELS

[Grian] isnt today his sleep day

[Impulse] what

[Impulse ] aw man he sleeps like a rock!

[Tango] you know what this means?

[BDubs] NO TIME FOR THAT INITIATE OPERATION WAKE WELS

[BDubs] WAKE UP WELS

[Iskall] how do you want to do that man hes unshakable

[Zedaph] ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Zedaph] WAKE UP WELS

[Tango] ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ WAKE UP WELS

[Impulse] ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ WAKE UP WELS

[Mumbo] Guys stop I cant afk in peace like this

[Tango] WAKE UP WELS

[Grian] Mumbo? Woken from afk? Impossible

[Zedaph] WAKE UP WELS

[Iskall] and here is proof that Wels cannot be woken

[BDubs] DOESNT MEAN WE CANT TRY

[BDubs] WAKE UP WELS

[Iskall] yo bdubs you alright? been using a lot of caps there

[Tango] WAKE UP WELS

[BDubs] I DRANK 5 MONSTER ENERGY AND 7 COFFEE IM GREAT

[Keralis] hes not alright

[Keralis] send help

[Impulse] WAKE UP WELS

[Doc] Alright Im headed over right now dont you run from me

[Zedaph] WAKE UP WELS

[BDubs] NO IM FINE YOU WONT FIND ME ANYWAY

[Keralis] hurry I cant hold him forever

[Tango] WAKE UP WELS

[Doc] I know where everyone is on this server

[Bdubs] CRAP HOW IS HE ALREADY HERE

[Keralis] WE HAVE A RUNNER FOLKS

[Zedaph] WAKE UP WELS

[Mumbo] How did you find my witch farm?

[Mumbo] How did you even get here???

[Cub] Wels I swear I know you're awake answer me where are you

[Impulse] WAKE UP oh

[Grian] ooo busted

[Impulse] I cant believe that did it

[Grian] my work here is done

[BDubs] YOULL NEVER CATCH ME ALIVE HAHAHAHA

[Tango] but you didnt do anything?

[Grian] exactly

[Cub] Wels hurry up Avarice saw the chat it is this close to smashing me

[Zedaph] did I just see grian flip his elytra like a cape while flying and not die

[Doc] GOT HIM

[Mumbo] Please get out of here

[Scar] please

Any other day he would feel guilty for leaving the Concorp with their shadows. But today he was tired and feeling a tad bit petty. Landing before the portal, he shot a quick message into the chat.

[Wels] Tell them to meet me in the sand mesa temple. They know which

Not bothering to wait for a reply, Wels set his communicator on silent and strode into the portal, heading towards the 'meeting place'. Preoccupied as he was, Wels never saw the stray shadow on the floor that detached itself to follow after him.

~~~

Closing the door of the shadow temple, Wels began preparations to resummon Paladin. Reaching into the chest he had left, he pulled out an armour stand and climbed the podium, humming a sea shanty as he went. Placing the armour stand on the podium, he stepped back to make sure Paladin wasn't summoned quite that fast. He was not in the mood to deal with his ego today. Suddenly, he heard the door open and close behind him. That was fast. “Wait just a bit I’ll have your Shiny for you,” he yelled over his shoulder. Stepping forward, he prepared to summon Paladin and-

Wait. Keloid and Avarice don’t just, open and close doors. They smash them. The person behind him was not Keloid or Avarice. He turned-

and something slid across his throat, cutting off his breath.

Choking, Wels stumbled back, falling onto the stairs. Hands scrabbling at his throat, trying to close the wound, to breathe. Tilting his head to the side, he found an angle that let him breathe shallowly.

“Well, that wasn't what I intended, but it works great for my frustrations.”

Gasping, he looked up and met his bright blue eyed ambusher, idly tracing shapes in the air with its sword. Wels knew this shadow. He was so dead. Shakily, he drew his sword from his tool belt. His ambusher looked down at him through his visor and grinned, stalking forward.

“You think you can fight me as you are now? You make me laugh.” A snarl, and Apex was upon him, sword screeching against his own. Wels found himself struggling to push Apex away, to breathe, breath stolen in the face of a predator. “Good thing I need a laugh right now.”

Apex made a quick movement with its hand, sending Wels’ sword skittering up the stairs onto the podium. Wels barely managed to bring his arms up to block the next sword strike, wheezing in pain as it skittered off something hard. Pain ignored in the adrenaline, in the need to stay alive, Wels scrabbled backwards up the steps, forgetting his injuries, forgetting to breathe, anything to grab the precious sword that would give him a chance. Apex was advancing on him, he can't breathe, where is his sword?

His hand reached back, and he grabbed hold of something made of sticks.

His shadow bubbled, rising out of the floor to become 3D. Yellow eyes flickered open.

*Welsknight’s shadow has been summoned

Paladin stretched lazily, unaware of their surroundings. “Wels hey so about that death I...”

Apex stood before them, Wels on the floor at their feet. This was not normal. “What are you doing Apex?”

The shadow grinned at them lazily, sword in a resting position at their hip. “Why, just releasing some pent up frustrations on unsuspecting players. This doesn't concern you at all. Go back to those creatures you call shadows.”

They almost did. They didn't want to keep Keloid and Avarice waiting too long. But then they made the mistake of looking down.

Wels looked horrible. Paladin could see open wounds on his neck and arms, fresh from the fight. Wels’ breathing was shallow, but his eyes were hyper aware, shuddering between Apex and Paladin.

He looked cornered. Paladin took a step towards him, something tugging at the back of their mind. What was this emotion?

Apex snarled at them threateningly. “Are you challenging me little blacksmith? You’re nothing without your guard dogs following you.” Paladin’s shoulders hiked upwards at the nickname and they hissed in the way that Keloid and Avarice would when angry. Apex flinched at the noise, stabbing their sword downwards towards the floor to mask it, Wels’ whimper of pain going unnoticed in the tension. “You can fight me if you want blacksmith. But I’m not afraid of you.” The sword came back up to point at Paladin’s exposed chest. “You are nothing without those vex, and I will end you.”

They couldn't take those insults to his ability. Their ego did not want to allow it. But Paladin had survived this long with fewer deaths than expected because they knew when to quit. This was not a fight they could win, even if the pulsing knot in their chest rebelled. They stepped away from Wels.

Apex grinned, yellow smile flashing through the impossible corners of the temple. “Smart choice.” They moved, and Paladin’s eyes trailed downwards, locking onto Wels’ panicked ones. The knot in their chest grew tighter-

And in one stroke, they had grabbed a sword from the floor and stabbed Apex through the back with it.

Apex snarled in surprise, whirling around to face them. A clashing screech, and they were locked in combat. Paladin could see Wels dragging himself away from the corner of their eye and a strange relief filled them. Giving a threatening hiss-chirp back, blocked Apex’s blows, looking for an opening to exploit as their training with Wels kicked in.

Parry, parry, thrust, parry, parry, thrust

The rhythm kept them in the fight, preventing Apex from advancing while also retaliating. So it came as a surprise when Apex suddenly twisted its wrist and sent their sword flying to the opposite side of the room. Not wasting a beat, Apex leapt at them, sword swinging in a large arc that sliced across their neck. Paladin staggered backwards at the pain, only barely moving their head to the side to avoid a sword in their skull, sending a straight gash of light across their face. They click-snarled at Apex, whose grin only turned more predatory.

The next swing was intercepted by an axe, followed by a pickaxe which sliced across their chest. Apex barely stumbled as they charged forward yet again, pinning Paladin’s off-handed axe to the floor with one hand. Raising a foot, it was brought down with a snap!, breaking the weapon. A pickaxe at its shoulder brought their attention back to Paladin, and the cycle began anew.

Parry, parry, parRY, PARRY, PARRY

Slices on their arms, light and triangular particles spinning away. Paladin could feel panic start to settle deep in their bones as they fought. They had barely managed to keep themselves between Wels and Apex, but they knew this was a losing fight. A pickaxe was never meant to be a strong weapon against a sword, but they were determined. The knot in their chest would be too painful to bear otherwise they knew. They kept swinging and parrying, what choice did they have?

There is one choice for you dark one.

Bells and tinkling laughter. They knew who this was. The world around them paused, glowing a light blue like a badly rendered photo. They closed their eyes.

The sound of wings, of bells and tinkling laughter grew nearer. The intense sensation of being watched crawled beneath their skin, but they stood firm. They were made for the spotlight, it did not scare them one bit. Not even as the Vex arrived to speak to them again.

We can help you dark one. All you need to do is make a deal.

Keloid and Avarice had warned them more than enough for them to know that this was a bad idea. They snarl-growled at the unseeable entity before them. “No. Haven't I said this enough times? Go away.”

Ah, but you need help don’t you? Look at your summoner, so weak and fragile. We know that he won’t last once you go down.

That made Paladin falter slightly. “But he’ll respawn!”

Humming. But what if this time he doesn't? What then dark one, what then?

They were not thinking straight, they knew that, knew it in the shaking of their hands and the rush of adrenaline, the cold in their bones and the knot in their chest- no, the emotions in their chest that they didn't understand, emotions for their summoner; care? worry? They didn't know, everything was going so wrong-

Calm dark one. We can help. All you need to do, is ASK.

Paladin considered, actually thought about what was being offered. They needed help, they knew. They also knew that the Vex were strong and ancient. But the warnings…

“If I ask for your help, I want to know what I’m getting into first. No sneaky dealings of any sort.”

Laughing bells. If you insist. All we want is a chance to make a deal with your summoner. You will be the conduit to bring him to us.

“And if I don’t?”

You both won’t have a choice. One way or another we will find you.

Paladin ducked their head, opening yellow eyes to glance sideways at Wels. The man had pulled himself to a column. His shirt was ripped, used as makeshift bandages. Red. So much red. They made their decision.

“Alright, I’ll take your deal. Help me.”

Shattering music notes. What do you want us to give you, dark one?

There was no hesitation, the words drawn upwards out from him. “Power. I’ve been the damsel for long enough. Give me the power to protect my family.” They would have hesitated more, but that glance at Wels earlier had solidified a fiery resolve. They wanted to protect their family, and that included Wels whether he liked it or not.

Tinkling glass shards mixed with laughter as power stabbed its way into Paladin. Of course. Now, wake and face your opponent dark one, and remember our deal.

The blue fog faded, the staring spotlights died, the glass was swept away. It was as if the Vex were never there. But Paladin could feel the power rising in their chest, competing with guilt and worry and panic. With a roar, they released it into the air.

Apex stumbled backwards, the roar resonating through memories of darkness, birds, blue. Its grin became more of a grimace as they launched itself at Paladin again, only to be stopped by a sword. Where had they-?

Looking around, Apex noticed the glowing blue gauntlets floating in the air around Paladin. The gauntlets moved quickly, each hand grabbing the closest weapon. A blue cloak of the same colour had spawned out of nowhere and draped upon Paladin’s shoulders. Apex’s grimace flipped back into a feral grin. This was what a real challenge looked like.

They sprung into action, hacking away at each weaponed hand. With every hand that fell, another took its place. Every hit that did land bounced off the hard plating of the seemingly cloth-made cloak. But it soon began to tire, invisible strings softening its blows. No one else on the server had kept up with it this long, not even Killjoy. But shadows didn't tire, someone must be helping Paladin. Looking up, Apex met Paladin’s angered glare. But that didn't faze them at all.

What did faze them was the softly glowing blue streaks where they had sliced Paladin earlier. Apex hissed. Vex. That's where the blacksmith’s help had come from. They shuddered as the invisible threads cut deeper. Now that it knew what to look for, they could feel the Vex on its shoulders, weighing it down. It was time to cut their losses.

Apex faked a lunge at Paladin, taking the split second of Paladin being off-balance to make a run for the door. Turning back inside the doorframe, Apex took in the scene they had left. Red on the floor, pillars sliced into, Paladin running towards them.

And Wels was finally open. Apex grinned. Mechanically, they raised their arm, bringing out Biffa’s spare iron sword and threw it, slamming the door behind them.

Paladin howled, jumping to grab the sword. They knew they were too far away, but something carried their momentum forward and they grabbed the sword out of the air, tumbling onto the steps of the podium. They could feel the cloak folding behind them as it smoothed back out from whatever form it took. In that moment, all Paladin could do was breathe.

“Pal-adi-n?” The halting gasp of their name brought them back to the source of their current problem. Prying themselves off the floor, they hurried to Wels’ side, checking on his wounds. Wels was more concerned about other things, physically recoiling at the sight of the blue scars.

“Wha- di-you do?” The question came out gurgled, but understandable. Paladin could only helplessly reach for their summoner, voice pleading for understanding.

“I made a mistake so I could save you.”

Wels seemed to understand, allowing Paladin close to check on him even as fear swam in his eyes. “Vex” he hissed, before coughing painfully into Paladin’s chest. Paladin chirped soothingly as Avarice always did for them, even as the now known panic rose up yet again. Wels was in no condition to move right now. They could look for help, but what if Apex came back? They could try Wels’ communicator, but they had no idea which temple this was. They could be anywhere! What to do what to do what to do

A pricking in their arm brought them back to reality, grounding them. They cooed at Wels in confusion; they could sense no danger here.

Until they saw the lone Vex mob, sitting on the centre podium where shadows were summoned. It cocked its head at the bloodied knights below them, grin permanently stretched wide.

We told you we would find you. Tinkling bells, shattering laughter, a hundred gazes combined as one.

It's time to fulfill your end of the deal.

Blue particles, broken bells, the room bathed in a blue-purple glow as the knights held tight to each other; one protectively and one in fear. The bell tolled.

Not minutes later, Keloid and Avarice burst down the door to find the temple empty, clean of all signs of struggle and missing two fractured knights.

#abandoned shadows au #paladin #wels #apex #keloid #avarice #vex #also WEREVEX #they are in for one hell of a ride #literally 3 pages in docs is dedicated to the hermit chat #alright trigger tags time #blood #panic attacks #fighting #manipulation #violence #MY WRITING TAG #DO I HAVE ONE #my writing

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randaccidents · 4 years

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The Plan (Part 1)

I might be on a school trip, but it don't stop me from writing! Only mobile tumblr holds power over my ability to post.

So this is The Plan. A little knight has one, will it all work out? Only time will tell.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

TW: panic attacks, cosmic horror

Shadow people AU and its companion Abandoned shadows AU by the lovely @mine-sara-sp.

EDIT: I RETURN TO MAKE THIS POST LOOK SHORTER

This was a stupid plan.

Standing in front of the season portal, Paladin shuddered, cape wrapped around their shoulders. This was such a terrible idea, they knew that the chances of this plan actually working was almost null. They hadn't died much after all, why would Zedaph's creepy shadow look for him?

Nonetheless, here they were. Shadoc had said that that creepy shadow had found them here, but that it had to find you first.

Standing here amongst the abandoned starter houses was giving them second thoughts however. There was no one around, which was both a blessing and a curse. Paladin was certain that if someone came around the bend right now, they would abandon the plan entirely. Yet at the same time, they wanted someone to find them, tell them that this was a horrible idea.

But no one came, not even the creepy shadow they wanted to find.

Maybe today wasn't the day they would find that shadow. They were proud, but hearing Shadoc's account had reminded them so much about their, uhm, encounter with the Vex. Their scars still burned occasionally under their custom armour.

They sighed. Maybe they should come back another day. This was taking up too much of the time that could be spent at the forge or with Avarice and Keloid. Rolling their shoulders, they unfurled their draconic cape-wings, preparing to take flight.

Where are you going, little shadow? Weren't you looking for me?

They froze, wings still open. The voice behind resonated through them, echoing and multiplying in a familiarly horrifying way. It was like Keloid, it was like Avarice, it was like the Vex, it felt right, it felt wrong. Their body shuddered and shrieked for them to move, to run, though in which direction was undecided. Their scars were burning, the rest of them was freezing. They tried to flap their wings, hoping that at least in the air the presence couldn't follow them. But something was holding them down, and the magic gave out, wings refolding to its default cape state and billowing down. They wanted to turn two dimensional, slink away in the shadows, but their armour was custom-made, not summoned with them, and they didn't want to be found with their scars. They were trapped, grounded and unable to move as the overwhelming presence behind them grew near.

You came looking for a deal, little shadow?

(̷̈́̇̓̓͌̈́̀̉̇̓̀͗D̶̢̠̬̲̱̳́̈͘͜ͅͅo̸͈̼̗̮̮̠̳̟̳͛͌̎̀͠ ̶̛̛̳̋̌́̇̃̎̈̾͒̓̋̓̋y̶͔̘̮͇̹̗͉̔ơ̷̥͙̙̰̋͑̿̐̂̑͗̓̍̉̕͝ú̴̟͓͉͕͍̯̗̥̰͉̓̀͊͋͐̅̀̇͘͝ w̸̏̌͐͌̈̀̾̋̋̐͗a̶̛̅͌͛̀̓̑͊̒̋̎̄͠n̶̛̙͔̜̪̘̝̍͐̎̅͛͊͒̃́͠ẗ̴͈̞́̈́̐́̓̿̆͠ ̶̰̳̼͕͒̈́̀́̄̓̈́̀͐͒̈͘͘ą̶̹̙͖̘̬̀̎̀̇̀͑̕͠͠ ̴̧̺͖̰̺̯͚̫̬̬̫͔͍̭̒̄̿̆̔̈́͐͌̎͆̔̕̚͝͠ḓ̸̨̛͈̠̔͋͒̈̂͛́̅̍̂̎͛͠͠e̸͛̅̓̈̚͝ả̴̭̮͉͇̜̼̩͍͇̮͓̬̐͂͘͝ļ̵̹͓̱̘̗̹̔,̴̡̛̟͎̠̮̘̘̻̯̜̩̥̅̈́̔͊́͛̐̾͗͑͜͜͝ͅ ̶͂̌̈́̓̓͛͝͝͝d̷̗͕̞̮̞̓̋͌̅̉͝͝ä̴̛̠̮͖̯̱̪͎́̾͌̈́͒́̚ȓ̷̞̤̩̟̍̽͊̽̍̀̂̂̀̉̔͠k̶̸̛̛͓͛͗̽̅͂͆͋͋̎̚͘ ơ̶̛̩͉͉̺̗̔͑̓̾͒̑̎͗́͝n̵͍̭͉̙͇̻̪͂̐͗͝͝͠e̷̢̨̡̻͉̥̥̤͈̳͓̦̾͂̒́̋̈́͑?̶̛̯͈̪̹̩̜̀̓̀̈́̏̾̆̉͗̚ͅ)̸͊̇͘͠

The next thing Paladin registered was the floor, their hands clawing at their neck, their head, their breaths coming in gasps and everything they heard was muffled.

Oh, they were having a panic attack again, weren't they?

Suddenly, there was a strong grip on their shoulder, tight but not painful. Paladin tried to jerk away from the contact, but the hand held firm. It was grounding in a way, a presence on their shoulder holding them, preventing the memories from sweeping them under. Distantly, they could hear a familiar voice counting numbers.

One, two, three, four, One, two, three, four...

Those sounded like Shadoc's numbers. Slowly, painfully, Paladin followed the count, breathe in, hold, breathe out. When they felt calm enough, they remembered the hand on their shoulder. Oh, someone had seen that episode. Embarrassed, Paladin turned to face the person behind them, ready to give an explanation for their actions.

And came face to face with themself. Except, it wasn't them. The shadow knelt before them was melting at the edges, dripping black tar onto the ground as it smiled a wide Jigsaw-like smile at them. Its stance was closer to that of Killshot's, but they held themselves with the confidence of Killjoy. It opened its mouth, and spoke with the voice of Shadoc, of Murmur, of Solo.

That phrasing isn't the best for you, I admit. Shall we try again?

And really, Paladin should be terrified. The shadow before them was alien, a frankenstein of them and the others, with a certain familiarity tugging at their mind that should have been impossible. But their mind was still pulling itself together, so it asked the most logical question it had.

"And whose shadow are you?"

The Jigsaw smile grew sharper, looking more unnatural and doll-like. Ah, I forgot. I have a theme I need to stick to so people recognise me properly. Let me introduce myself. The shape before them melted, puddling together to form a familiar shape. It looked like Merino, like Zedaph...

Something clicked into place.

"You're that creepy shadow that took Shadoc's power and boosted Killjoy and Apex!"

The shadow snapped their fingers, looking pleased. I see my reputation precedes me. You are correct. It opened its arms in a bow. I am the end-all-be-all, a world and a being, that which should not be fucked with yet always is even as I do and do not exist, the originator of shadows, all of you yet none of you, and a dramatic motherfucker if I do say so myself.

Paladin blinked at the swear. They still shivered, but the alien familiarity comforted them enough to talk back. "So what do I call you?"

The smile nearly encompassed its whole face. Call me Abyss. It's what I am after all... So why were you looking for me, little shadow?

The answer came immediately, etched deep into their bones. "I heard you were collecting an army to fight Puzzler. I want in."

Interesting. The shadow, no, the figure dripped and oozed delight, shadows reaching upwards from the ground to wrap around Paladin's feet like cats. You want to help me. You're the first to seek me out for it. Abyss stepped around Paladin, observing, stalking. Paladin wanted to turn and face it, but another tendril of something held their head in place. The figure finally circled back around, smiling. I accept. But first, some caveats.

The word might be different from what the Vex used, but the meaning was the same, and Paladin tensed up.

Don't worry, it's more like taking back what's mine. The voice was cold, sending shivers down Paladin's spine. Abyss resumed its slow circular pace around Paladin. As I am a part of every shadow and every shadow is a part of me, I know when something of mine has been intruded upon. The sharp gaze turned back to Paladin, boring into them. The Vex are inside you, a part of you. I can tell it wasn't willing, and that it happened in a time of distress. I can remove them, and then you will be wholly mine, as is my right. Do you accept?

The situation was too similar to the past, stuck in place, stuck in time, a godlike entity demanding things from them. Their breathing sped up.

But this was also different. Paladin could say no. So they grit their teeth and pushed forward, relegating their panic molotov to future Paladin instead. "And how will that be better than my current situation? At least right now I'm free, if just held down. What do you have to offer me?"

Abyss' grin was calculating, like Apex. Smart. You might not have died enough to have a power yet, but you are very clever. It opened its arms with a flourish. You don't have to do anything much for me. All I ask is that you come when I call on you to attack Puzzler. You are free to say no to anything else I ask of you. In exchange, I remove the Vex and bestow upon you a power. Is that satisfactory?

It sounded too good to be true. "Do you swear it?" Paladin asked again.

A chuckle. So cautious, I like that. Little shadow, I swear it on the cycles of the sun and moon, on the heat of the Nether, and on the never-endingness of the Void, it will be as I say.

The highest promise, to swear on the Void which swallows and devours. Paladin swallowed, nodding. "Do it. Free me from them and tie me to your side."

And so it shall be. Its hands came up to rest on either side of Paladin's head. So, this is going to hurt. A lot.

And suddenly, Paladin's head exploded into a flurry of noise, glass, bells and wing beats whipping past. They could hear screaming, voices overlapping. The Vex.

N̴̢͍̅͋̑O̵̖͑̏!̶̝̠̟̽ ̸̮̯̣͂̈T̵̗̍H̸̗͙̮͂̾̕Ȋ̸̬̳̈́͌ͅS̸͇̖͆ ̶̱͚̐I̶͎̕S̸̠̑͐̀ ̸̞̑O̵̗͕͕̊̊̀Û̵̡̩̂͝Ŗ̷͙͓̓͋ ̸̡̖̓͊͘V̴̭͚̏͠Í̴̲͕̅C̶̘͆́T̵̺̱͙͊I̸̞̝̳͗̿͘M̸̛͙͕.̴̼́ ̷̰̓̓Ơ̶̛̬͈̼̎U̷͙͑̚Ŗ̷́̇S̴̱̗̓ ̴̛̯̻̲T̸̢̺̿̒Ö̴̠̫̱ ̴͈̖̳́͌͠P̶̮͙̤͝L̶̞̅̃̏A̷̺̺͚͛̋͌Ȳ̷̦̉̌ ̸̰̞́Ẅ̶͍̗͕́̈́I̷͔̅T̵̲͓̻͐̀H̶̘͖̭̃̏̒.̵̹̙́̎̕ ̵̛͖̭̋̕Ö̶̠̮U̵̟̹͌̕R̷̪̱͝Ṡ̴̙͒̌ ̷̢̯̑T̵̤̲͕̍̆Ọ̵̟̈́ ̵̹̜̿̎̚K̷̜̝͑Ẹ̶́͝È̷͔̬͌͋ͅP̵̥̘͔̐.̷̢͙̖́̄ ̵̧̡̘̎́͠G̵̘͛̊̿Ò̸̱̤͇̒ ̴̥͚̣̽̀̅Ä̸̪͖́́Ẃ̷̦̑Ă̴̤̈́Ỳ̷̺ ̷̗̄A̴̫̥̺͂N̷̫͍̍́̃ͅD̵͔̐̑̚ ̶͉͇͕̈L̸̨̨̝̈E̴͙̦̙͋̊À̷̡͇̫̄͊V̶̟̰̗̀̊É̶̦̑ ̴̲̑U̶̬̤̔̒̑ͅS̸̢̰͠ͅ ̸̨̆T̴͈̔O̴̞͗ ̶̳̺̳̔̎͝Ô̶͓͈̙͠Ǔ̸̞̘͜Ŗ̵͆ ̴͓̬̳́Ḿ̴̠̭̝I̶̹̝͌S̶̛̞͙͐Ç̶̦̓H̶͉͕͙̒̔̑Ḯ̶͎̠̹̈́E̵̛̱̗F̶̢͍̺̀̾͑.̴̫͍̕ ̵̛͔̰́Ṯ̵́͒H̶͚͔͖̋̈́́Ẽ̸̠͚Y̶̛̗̥̪̓̐ ̵̰̒̈́̃M̶̤̏A̶̫̟̪͌̾̏D̸̛͜͝E̶̮͑̎ ̵̫̍̽̒ͅÁ̷̦͆ ̶̨͇͙̃D̶͙̟̥̈́̋E̸̡̿͗͠ͅĄ̷̛̘L̴̟͓̉͗,̵̰̈́ ̸̛̦̩̣̀̂W̷̪̋̒E̶̛̳̖ ̶͇͠H̶̻̜̹͂̈́͌Ȅ̶͎̞̲͂L̴̥̋P̷̤̦̍̈́E̶̮͑̈̚D̸̹̞̣͒͝ ̵͈̐̋T̴̟͕̅H̶͖̱͊̉E̸͉̥̦͗̏M̸͔̀̽ ̸̗̣̈́M̵̡͉̜͝O̷̧̺̙̓R̴̙̝̩̔E̸͕̹̎͊,̵̢̻̮̏̚ ̸̧̖̔͘T̷͈̯̙̏̇̽H̶̲̠̖́̎̋E̸̘͝Ỳ̵̖̱͋ ̵̮̥̂̊̆O̴̡̜̲̔̓͑W̵͈̿E̷͎̅ ̵̹͘U̴̗͛̍S̶̫̥͆,̵̗͍̘̑͒ ̶̞̻̗́W̴͓̑̀̓E̶̛͕̬͓̓ ̸̺͛͠W̸͚̹̅́́İ̸̼̊L̷̛̦͙̝̽L̸̻͌ ̵̂̀͜H̶̼̥͛͆͠A̶͈͆V̸̹͍͂́E̵̯͓̲̿̔ ̶̞̜̓̓̑T̵͈̈̾̎H̶̙͔̀͒É̸͓̫͠Ḿ̵̲̋̚-̷̦̝̮͑͂̈́

Goddamn do you assholes never shut up? Fuck off!

And then there was silence. Blessed silence, an invisible noise leaving their head. Paladin slowly unhooked their fingers from where they had unconsciously grabbed Abyss. Their back felt light, an oppressive weight lifted. Twisting, they stared at the emptiness of their back. Their cape-wings were gone. They felt strangely sad at that. Keloid had been so happy when they found out that they could finally fly with Paladin. They probably just regained the ability to fear the sky again.

Check under your gauntlets. Abyss stood patiently, watching intently.

Their gauntlets? Something in them clenched tight, fearful of revealing their scars in such a public area. In a way, it was proof of their struggle, their pain. It was private and it was their secret to keep.

Don't worry so hard, no one can see us where we are. Release yourself from your own chains.

Paladin jumped at the suggestion of chains. They looked up to stare into Abyss' eyes. They wanted to be alone, but something in them trusted Abyss. Without breaking eye contact, Paladin tore off the gauntlets, not looking down.

Abyss reached forward to gently grasp their chin, tilting their head downwards. See? It's all gone. You're mine again.

And true to its word, the blue scars were gone, leaving only grey skin. Flexing their arm, Paladin realised that they didn't burn anymore. In fact, nothing did. They marveled at their scarless arms. They were free.

Now, about this transaction you were looking for.

Or at least, as free as they could be. You do not yet have a power, but you need one if you are ever going to stand up to that winged bitch. So let me ask, what do you want little shadow?

This was something Paladin was prepared for. This was something Paladin had practised in the reflection of countless polished swords as they worked. But when they spoke, only one word came out.

"Power."

The figure bent forwards unnaturally, looking as if its spine had broken. You need to clarify little shadow. There are many kinds of power stopping time, flying, becoming a monster. But more importantly, and I repeat, what do you want?

Something sunk into Paladin's chest, pulling at the deepest part of themselves, pulling it to the surface. Against their struggles and refusal they said the words they had hidden deep to protect themself from further manipulation, torn from their mouth.

"I want power. Power to protect my family. I'm always the weak one, the damsel in distress. I want to lead, to see my enemies fall before me, my family safe behind me."

Then they wrenched free of the controlling force, hand over their mouth. That was, that had been, Paladin didn't know what to think of what had just happened. It was taking their choice away, it was probing deep into their chest for all their secrets, it was dangerous.

Abyss didn't seem to notice the emotional struggle it had left Paladin, contemplating the secret it had pried out of their chest.

I understand. You want to protect, and you want to lead. I can give you both with one power.

The shadows entwined like cats around Paladin's legs suddenly tightened, vice-like. Startled, Paladin tried to go two-dimensional, to escape the grip of the shadows. But something stopped them, wouldn't let them become any less three dimensional than they are now. They were trapped. Again.

Whatever panic they had managed to bottle exploded, scattering Paladin's mind to the corners of their awareness. They tugged at their bonds frantically, panic only increasing as the shadows curled higher and tighter the more they struggled.

The strong grip from earlier returned, as did the counting numbers.

One, two, three, four, on-

But Paladin was too far gone for that, fingers scratching slivers into their legs as they continued to struggle against bonds that had already loosened. Light yellow triangles spun away into the darkness. They heard static, speaking to them, at them, in them, around them, which only made them scratch harder.

Then, all of a sudden, there was nothing. Or was there something? It was all encompassing, soothing, terrifying, nothingness. The nothingness hummed, a soft old song that resonated with something deep in Paladin's chest, something that recognised the song and tried to sing along. Slowly, they relaxed into the embrace of the person holding them, tired and pained. Dimly, they could hear someone speak above them.

Shit, this is worse than I thought. What the fuck did they do to you, to hurt you so badly?

There was a hand tangled in their hair. Where had their helmet gone? It was important, it tied them together, to Avarice and Keloid and Wels-

The helmet was pushed into their chest and they grabbed it with one arm, holding it tight like a lifeline. The humming continued.

My little shadow, I will give you the power to protect, to lead and to harm. As long as you have your feet planted beneath you and your family to keep you standing, you will be able to summon an army. Any block connected through your feet shall become armour and weapons, puppetered by your own hand, and you will have power. You will no longer be a blacksmith or a knight, but a general, a True Paladin.

Paladin could feel something enter them, become a part of them yet still something that was not yet theirs. They flinched weakly, relaxing again as the hand in their hair continued its soothing strokes. Exhausted, Paladin leaned deeper into the embrace of nothingness, something akin to sleep tugging at them.

Relax little shadow, and sleep. I will wake you when you are ready to face the morning sun.

That sounded like a great suggestion to Paladin's tired mind. And so they let the embrace of the Abyss lull them to sleep, humming deep in their bones.

#shadow people au #paladin #abyss #technically many shadows are referenced #this is the first part of the plan #what happens to our little knight next?#also Abyss is not being insensitive #they just don't know Paladin's triggers #which happen to be everything about Abyss #yes werevex be gone right now but trust me there is more to the plan #alright trigger tags time #panic attack #I FORGOT #ME WRITING TAG #my writing #cosmic horror #not cosmis horror

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