Chapter Text
For all the things and weird bullshit that’s come from Wilford’s mouth, saying that they had to take Mark away from The Author was actually one of the most logical thing he’s said in a while. It made sense in a way; something was causing the blue eyed being to act this way, and it had something to do with the boy. If they somehow got him away from The Author, maybe they would get somewhere.
But first, Dark had to see The Author for himself before he did anything too stupid and out of hand. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust or believe Bim when he told them what happened, but the dark being liked to see what he was dealing with before he dived right in.
Wilford had (or course) protested right away, saying they should try and save Mark as quickly as possible, and in a way, the mustached being was right. But they also had no idea what they were doing. For all they knew, this ‘beast,’ as Bim described, was planning something.
Yet Dark still fought back. He had to know what was actually going on, and despite what his name says, he didn’t like going in blindly.
“We’re wasting time!” Wilford growled at Dark, eyes flashing. “While you’re here wanting to ‘investigate’ or something, Mark is in the hands of The Author! Who know what could happen if we go looking for him without a plan.”
“Yes, because going in without any idea what we’re doing is any better,” Dark snapped in reply, the two being’s glaring at each other, energy snapping around them. Bim instantly went between the two when he realized how tense the atmosphere suddenly was, trying to defuse the sparks with his calm, but even so it was clear the usual aura of peace he admitted was weakened. It was probably because of The Author’s magic, but even so it was just enough to make the other two being’s step away from one another.
“Wilford… maybe we should check out what we’re dealing with first. But,” he cut off Wilford’s noise of protest, raising his hand in a way to show that he was in charge now. It was kind of odd if Dark were to be honest. Bim was always so passive when it came to anything (accept Mark’s safety, of course) and it always made the dark being forget just how easily he could control a room and everyone in if whenever he so pleased.
“But, we should also be prepared to for anything. We can’t just walk in with no way to protect ourselves, but we also can’t charge in without an idea of what we’re dealing with. Besides, I’m still not 100% confident that The Author is the way I described him, it all feels like a distant dream…” he trailed off, his gold eyes going far off. He quickly shook himself out of it, eyes going bright once again. “So, if we want to do this efficiently and as quickly as we can, we all need to work together.” He looked pointedly at the other two being’s, who remained silent.
“In order to make sure you two don’t kill each other, we’re going to make a promise on it.”
This made Wilford raise an eyebrow. The promise he knew Bim was talking about they’ve only used once, and that was a long time ago. It was basically an unbreakable bond that binds all of those involved into a contract. If one were to break the bond, it would bring them extreme punishment that would last for an unknown period of time.
The mustached being thought back to the first and only time they used the bond, so long ago he nearly forgot about it, back when The Author Dark and Wilford were still shapeless and nameless. They didn’t even know that they could do that, when all of their forms suddenly swirled together in promise to keep Mark safe. It was an odd feeling, one that Wilford never quite forgot about.
“How are we supposed to do that? The only time we’ve ever done that was so long ago,” the mustached being said. He could sense the gears turning in Bim’s head, his mouth pressing into a thin line and fists clenching.
“I have no idea, but I know we have to. We have to.” The gold eyed being put his hands out, as if to hold both Dark’s and Wilford’s hands. The other two being’s looked at each other, Wilford taking note of the weird coldness that always seemed to be present in the darker one’s red eyes. Without breaking eye contact, the mustached being put his hand out to grab Bim’s extended one, gripping it firmly. After a couple of moments, as did Dark, though he clearly was uncomfortable with the whole thing. The being may have tried to keep his face expressionless and unreadable, but Wilford knew how to read people very well. He could see the way Dark shifted on his heels, how his eyes darted to avoid complete eye contact.
That was all Wilford could think before this strange urge came over him, his other hand that wasn’t holding Bim’s coming in front of him with the palm facing up. It was softly glowing pink, something that wasn’t too abnormal, but it was still odd to not have control over his own body.
And it looked like Dark was having the same thought as well, because a few moments after Wilford put his hand out, the dark being did the same, though his hand was over Wilford’s in a way that made it look like he was about to dip his hand in water. A black, mist like substance came from his hand, and before either could make sense of it, Bim’s hand’s grew warm and emitted a golden glow.
Now this they've seen before. The other two being’s remembered that Bim did the same thing when they made the bond the first time, so it wasn’t all that shocking, yet the knowledge that they were about to make a bond that could never be broken weighed on them.
And if they broke this bond? Well, they didn’t know what exactly would happen. All they knew was that they would be punished, and none of them wanted to find out.
“I promise to help save Mark,” Bim said, voice echoing yet whispering. “And to not harm Wilford or Dark.”
The gold eyed being’s golden glow brightened, beginning to swirl around all three as the bond waited for the others to make the promise.
“I promise to help save Mark, and to not harm Bim or Dark,” Wilford finally replied, watching as the pink on his hands sharpened and joined the gold. Now all that was left was Dark. The being looked Wilford right in the eye.
“I promise to help save Mark,” he said easily. He hesitated on the next art, knowing that he must say it on order for everything to fall into place. “And… to not harm Bim… or Wilford Warfstache.”
Black shadows rippled into the swirling mass of colors, exploding into dust and settling on the ground and their skin. It was almost beautiful to look at if Dark were to be honest, the gentle feel of the colors across his otherwise grey and dull skin, the light each particle gave off…
He looked up, seeing Bim and Wilford smiling at the particles. They had all dropped their hands at this point, the bond made and done, but something was still bothering the dark being. He didn’t know why, but there was this twisted feeling in his gut that something was about to go terribly wrong, something that had to do with The Author.
Something was about to change.
Something was about to rip apart.
And for whatever reason, Dark had the feeling that Bim was also involved with it. The worst scenarios that he could think of popped into his head, most ending with the gold eyed being gone forever, and without him, everything going to chaos.
Dark couldn’t let that happen. This ‘beast’ that Bim talked about, the beast that resided in The Author, it wouldn’t get to him.
He would sacrifice himself before he let that happen.