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Cracked Reflections

Summary:

The Silver Shadow, silent, swift, and deadlier than any weapon. They’re a nameless, faceless, and cold-hearted hunter. As the nickname suggests: a shadow. No one knows what they look like or where they come from, only that they are very good at their job. Any job they do is quick, efficient, and most of all, has no witnesses. No angel has encountered them and lived to tell the tale. They are so elusive that some don’t believe they exist.
But Sapnap (that’s his name by the way) most definitely exists, and more importantly is the perfect assassin, or as close to perfect as possible.
But when an assassination attempt gone wrong gets him caught by a half-angel —given enough time and care— that just might change.
Basically: A heavily character centric story in which Sapnap, who is a demon assassin, gets caught by BBH, who is absolutely determined to fix him.

(Previously titled Scales, Skies, and Shattered Glass)

Notes:

Welcome everyone to my newest AU!
This is a very unique one due to the fact that it is pretty much a mashup of many different inspirations.
If you’re interested in that it’ll all be in the end notes.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Apathy

Chapter Text

Assassin Archives

Find.Target.File>Badboyhalo

Found one (1) match

Target File #3672

Open.Target.File> [3672]

 

First name: Badboyhalo (disputed)

Surname: Unknown

Aliases/Other: Darryl Noveschosch (Occasional cover name)

                          BBH/Bad (Nicknames)

Status: Living (Other status conditions unknown)

Threat Level: High

Known Assassination Attempts: A053 (Deceased)

                                               A305 (Deceased)

                                               A168 (Deceased)

                                               A021 (Deceased)

Current Hunter(s): A001

Known Relations: N/A

Weakness> Emotional: Skeptical “Skeppy” Amber (disputed) [3006]

Weakness> Physical: Unknown

Weakness> Combat: Unknown

Type: Unknown (Likely Common or Guardian Angel)

Frequent Haunts: Archive.Label.Park12

Physical Description: N/A

Notes: There isn’t much information on Badboyhalo [3627] because of just how dangerous he is. No assassin sent after him has made it back, and what little we know about him comes from a singular informant who barely made it back. Any assassin(s) sent after Badboyhalo [3672] is advised to take much care, as he is an exceptional adversary.

 

Open.Target.File-FromFile.[3627]> [3006]

First Name: Skeptical

Surname: Amber

Aliases/Other: |

 

“Thought, you didn’t need to check the archive.”

Sapnap only powered off the data screen, completely unfazed by the sudden accusation. He turned to face the aggressor: another demon with silver-gray scales adorning his eyes and peeping out from the sleeves of his white sweatshirt, who smiled at him with smug satisfaction.

“Hello, Punz,” Sapnap greeted calmly, with a perfectly inflectionless voice.

Punz frowned back at him.

“I said ‘I thought you didn’t need to check the archive’”

Seeing Punz wasn’t going to drop this point, Sapnap replied, “You’re right, I don’t, but it’s always best to be well informed. I thought you would know that. You are second best assassin after all.”

“Are you saying I don’t deserve my place?” Punz growled, “Are you making fun of me?”

Sapnap just said, “You know I don’t do that, Punz. I was only saying-“

He was suddenly cut off when a boy ran up calling out Punz’s name.

The kid was… similar to Punz, though looking sufficiently more human than either of the two demons. In fact, he probably could’ve passed for human were it not for his purple irises and the few white scales beneath his eyes. Sapnap (who knew the kid was hiding far stranger beneath that hooded, violet cloak) recognized him as Punz’s thirteen-year-old half-brother Purpled.

Turning to take a small bundle from the teen, Punz said, “That was fast. I only told you to go back twenty minutes ago- wait a second,” Punz eyed his brother suspiciously, “You weren’t flying again were you?”

“No!” Purpled replied a little too fast. After a beat though, he hung his head and muttered, “Maybe…”

“Someone could’ve seen you.”

“I know! But I just-“

“Purpled, you know how others feel about half-bloods.”

“And you know how I feel about you being an overprotective-“

“Kid, stop. Please. I’m not trying to be overprotective, and you know it. I just want to keep you safe.

Purpled scowled at his brother and replied, “Well, then why are we talking about this in front of him?” He gestured towards Sapnap.

“He already knows,” Punz replied, rolling his eyes, “but that’s not the point. He knows not to mess with you.”

“You really shouldn’t be so attached to him,” Sapnap flatly told Punz, who whirled around glaring at Sapnap murderously.

“Yeah? And why is that?”

“Attachment is one of the easiest weak points to exploit. You’re seriously handicapping yourself by having such a glaring weakness. Besides, he’s half angel. It’s unnatural, not something to be associated with.” Sapnap explained monotonously.

Punz seemed about ready to lunge at Sapnap, and he probably would have if it wasn’t for Purpled stepping between them to tell his brother, “Punz, don’t . He’s not worth it. And besides…”

“What?”

“I might be an unnatural half-breed, but at least I’m not an emotionless machine like him .” Purpled glared at Sapnap defiantly.

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” Sapnap warned (careful to keep his voice even and empty), before turning and striding away.

“Emotionless Machine” Sapnap practically snorted at the thought. Yes, he was a ridiculously good assassin, but complete apathy is a practically impossible prospect, not to mention impractical.

And, maybe Sapnap was more apathetic than most, but expressing any emotions he did have was a risk that, as a ridiculously good assassin he simply couldn’t take most of the time.

That was fine though. Whatever. Let the half-breed think what he wants. He was probably a fucking crybaby who wouldn’t know someone’s weakness if it straight up stabbed him in one of his stupid fucking feathered wings.

For Prime’s sake, it’s been hammered into every demon since the beginning of time!

Don’t associate with angels or half-bloods.

So why would Punz, of all people- supposedly the best assassin after Sapnap himself- become so attached to a half-breed? Why should it matter if they shared blood?

It all made Sapnap want to smack some sense into the rival.

And speaking of said rival…

“Sapnap, hey, wait up!”

“Yes, Punz?” (Emotionless. Perfect.)

“Uh, about what just happened,” Punz said, “don’t mind Purpled, he doesn’t really understand… our work”

Sapnap nodded, deciding not to address the whole attachments thing again, since it was getting late and it’d be best to not have a long argument over the risk of fraternizing with non-demons.

So, with that, they walked silently most of the way to the assassin HQ/Training facility. They were just entering the nondescript-but-very-secure building when Punz asked, “Hey, you just got a new assignment, right? How about a quick sparring match?”

Sapnap gave him a deadpan stare.

“Oh, come on,” Punz said with an eye roll, “I’m not the number two assassin for no reason, Sapnap.”

“Have you been trained from birth in every aspect of tactical murder?”

Punz gave a little nod, replying,“Touché, but I could at least hold my own.”

There was a moment’s pause before Sapnap said, “Alright then.” (Though what he actually meant was “Fine whatever” ) and after barely a minute, the two stood facing each other ready for a fight.

Sapnap went in for a quick attack, knowing that due to his training, Punz wouldn’t be expecting it, and surprisingly Punz, though unbalanced at first, held up rather well.

For about a minute and a half.

At which point, Sapnap faked a duck and knocked the other demon onto his back.

“And that’s your head,” Sapnap said, holding a knife to his rival’s neck.

After Sapnap let him up, Punz commented, “Yeah, well I did better than last time right?”

“No.”

“How about another round?”

“No.”

“Seriously?”

Sapnap would have liked to throw his rival a death glare.

“I have a job tomorrow,” he explained calmly.

A pause.

“Alright then, maybe another time.”

No emotion. No emotion. Don’t let it get to you. You aren’t weak.

Sapnap nodded, walking off to his room. He quickly shut the door and locked it, plunging the room into near-blackness.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes for him to drift off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~

The shimmer of a razor sharp dagger.

A crimson stain on white wings.

Shards of broken glass littering the floor.

A shattered mirror reflecting a distorted image.

Hazel eyes and raven hair.

A fiery halo and red feathers.

~~~~~~~~~~

Blink Blink

Darkness

Chapter 2: Adrenaline

Summary:

Basically several hundred words of a very over dramatic fight scene

Notes:

Hewo!
I am alive :)
Writers block and ADD do not make an easy time, that’s for sure.
Also: this is being posted at almost 4 AM, so you can’t blame me for not proof reading it ok? I did this for you. Don’t frown at me like that!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sapnap sneaked cautiously towards a large square in the middle of a park. He quickly darted forward to hide in the foliage near a white wooden bench. He peered at the twilight sky. It was nearly time.

As the sun faded and the stars began to show themselves, Sapnap waited patiently for his target to arrive.

He had been watching this angel— or as he’d found out, half-angel— and knew that he came to this spot to read at the same time every night, making a perfect opportunity. Finally, he spotted his victim.

Badboyhalo came walking down the cobblestone path towards the park. He was dressed in all black, including a black hoodie with the hood pulled up to cover his halo (and horns ). The half-blood also had his bow slung over his shoulder with his quiver full of arrows. He walked right over to the bench which Sapnap was hiding behind (convenience is sweet ). Removing his bow and quiver and setting them on the bench, he sat down and opened a leather-bound book with the title “A Stargazer’s Guide to Astronomy.”

Sapnap wondered how this guy had possibly evaded so many assassinations, yet showed such obvious weakness as this.

He waited a few minutes, to make sure his target was engrossed enough in his book, quietly pulled his knife from its sheath (being careful not to give himself away), and crouched low, prepping to attack.

After quickly adjusting his grip on the knife, the assassin leapt out at the half-angel. He brought the knife, it’s razor sharp edge shimmering in the moonlight, around to slice his target’s throat.

Suddenly, much to Sapnap’s surprise, the angel (he hangs around angels enough that he can be called one for a bit okay?) put his right wrist up to block the attack, parried the knife, and hopped lightly to his feet to face his attacker.

Unfazed, Sapnap quickly lunged for his neck, but was blocked with an arrow from the angel’s quiver.

Judging by the fact that the half-blood was clearly wearing (at least some) light armor under his hoodie and had reacted so quickly, Sapnap could easily assume the ‘angel’ was expecting him. He should have known this seemed too easy.

Even with this minor setback, Sapnap was still plenty confident as he jabbed at the other’s chest, all his attacks being blocked by the arrow.

The hybrid began to switch to fighting offensively, pushing his attacker back.

Sapnap had never seen an angel do that before. Nor had he seen an angel trained in melee weapons (then again, this wasn’t an angel).

In spite of this, the assassin blocked the quick attempts at blows to his neck, chest, and head, got in a shallow slash to the target’s stomach, and ducked under another incoming attack.

Sapnap was swift, and gave slices at the angel’s shins. Said ‘angel’ kept blocking the attacks with his arrow and stabbing at Sapnap’s neck and chest while Sapnap blocked and retaliated. Neither spoke a word nor gave away any emotions other than the hybrid’s occasional glare when their eyes met.

Rolling away from a jab right at his face, Sapnap realized how this half-breed had managed to take out so many assassins. This thought, however, did not worry him. He quickly stabbed and slashed at the ‘angel’ only to be blocked by the arrow used as a weapon. When Sapnap had finally pushed the hybrid down, ready to go in for the kill, the target simply blocked with his arrow and leapt to his feet, light as a feather. The assassin slashed once more at the other’s throat. He dodged, but Sapnap adjusted his knife and jabbed it forward towards his target’s face. This time, the half-blood again put up his arrow to block, but after taking the brunt of many attacks, the wood had weakened and finally snapped.

Seeing his opening as the shards dropped to the pavement below, Sapnap quickly jabbed for his enemy’s chest.

Suddenly, the ‘angel’ grabbed Sapnap’s wrist, stopping him short. He tried to push forward, but the hybrid was surprisingly strong and held him in a firm grip. He began to twist Sapnap’s wrist causing the assassin to lose his grip on the knife and sliding his sleeve up to expose the 001 burned into the scales there.

Though he had dropped his weapon, Sapnap (who happened to be ambidextrous) caught it swiftly with his free left hand.

The hybrid was barely able to dodge Sapnap’s quick slash, dropping his wrist and taking a step back.

Sapnap now had the obvious advantage, as his target was weaponless and off-balance, and he took the moment to slash right for the half-blood’s neck, but the hybrid grabbed his wrist again, this time twisting it hard and fast.

It was powerful enough to elicit a sharp crack through the mostly silent night and hurt just enough for Sapnap to slip, allowing the knife to be knocked out of his hand, (dropping to the ground and skidding to hit to hit the ornately carved statue in the middle of the square).

Now down one weapon and sporting what he was almost certain was a broken wrist, Sapnap started to worry just a bit. The ‘angel’ had obviously trained for situations like this. Luckily, though, so had Sapnap.

They both stared at each other for a second before Sapnap hit the half-breed with a hard kick to the chest and reached to pull out a new weapon. Unfortunately the other blocked with his forearm, pushing Sapnap back and aiming a punch at his face.

Sapnap ducked and rolled away behind him. The ‘angel’ turned swiftly, but Sapnap had hooked a foot behind his right ankle. With a sickening snap the hybrid fell to the ground.

Seeing his chance, Sapnap’s pulled back to unsheathe a new dagger and readied to go in for the kill. He looked the still-downed half-blood in the face (still giving nothing away) and made his move.

Just as Sapnap’s knife was about to make contact with his victim’s throat- just as he was about to complete his assignment, a ripping sound filled the still night air.

A flash of white fluff erupted from the back of the hoodie. With no time to react, Sapnap felt his knife sink into flesh. White feathers obscured his vision. With a loud thud, Sapnap’s breath left him as he was thrown backwards. Then a crack s ent pain rushing through his skull as he hit the large marble statue in the center of the square. His vision began to swim and his head pulsed.

The half-angel limped towards him, scarlet blood soaking into his white feathered wings and a gash in his stomach. He approached slowly, now holding Sapnap’s knife.

As Sapnap fought to stay awake, he got one more look at his enemy’s face, yet the only emotion it showed was pity. Sapnap could not believe he would finally meet his match to a half-breed of all things.

As his strength began to give out, the last thing he saw was the face of the hybrid presumably going in for the kill.

Notes:

Lovely readers! You may have noticed (or perhaps not) that the writing style here is maybe a little…different? Wellthat’s because I didn’t write this chapter! This chapter was written entirely (aside from some very minor grammatical and story-based changes) by my younger sister! Which is why there isn’t more substance to it 😅
(She also wrote parts of my other fic, “Elemental Legacy” just if you’re interested).
Today’s Fun Fact: Do you think Sapnap is a slightly strange pick for the MC here? Does he feel a little ooc? Well that’s because he wan’t originally, meant to be the MC! I originally wanted the MC to be Eryn, but soon realized I was highly under-qualified to write him, soooo: Sapnap!

Chapter 3: Confrontation

Summary:

Sapnap finds himself very much not dead, but also very much captured. Let’s see how this goes.

Notes:

Sincerely sorry for the late update all! Between school, several extra-curricular activities, and an anonymous (well not anymore, but anonymous at the time) fic of mine becoming way more popular than any of my other stuff, I have been swamped :(
Good news though, I think I have worked out a somewhat proper schedule and might post about once a month :)
Hope you all enjoy!
TWs for this chapter:… Vaguely mentioned injury? Implied assassination?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sapnap awoke to shouting voices in a room he certainly didn’t recognize. He instantly snapped to attention, taking stock of his surroundings and mentally listing his observations.
1)He was alive. Obviously. The implications of this were interesting, however, especially considering
2)Someone had tended to his wounds. This included, apparently bandaging his head, which meant
3)He had gotten a more serious head injury than he originally thought.
4)His captors were clearly still intimidated by him considering
5)He had been stripped of all his weapons.
6)Though the room was seemingly supposed to come off as homey, someone had evidently gone to a lot of trouble to remove any possible weapons or escape routes. This must’ve taken a while to set up, which meant that
7)This was pre-planned. BBH had been waiting, and Sapnap had fallen into a trap. An embarrassing mistake for the so called “Silver Shadow”, but he hadn’t failed yet.
Sapnap turned his attention to the conversation going on outside the (probably) locked door.
“-kill him either, but if he really is the Silver Shadow we have no choice!” an unfamiliar voice exclaimed.
A second, rather higher pitched, voice answered with equal intensity, “We’ve prepared everything! And I’ve beat him once before! I-“
“You beat him once before and you almost died, Bad.”
Ah, so the other voice was Badboyhalo then.
“If I hadn’t shown up just then, you would’ve died!”
Judging by the concern lying under the biting tone, Sapnap could tell this person cared about BBH.
Probably Skeptical Amber then.
“I have no choice, Skeppy!”
Okay, definitely Skeptical then.
“Yeah,” Skeptical retorted, “No choice but to get rid of him.”
“We can’t just ‘get rid of him’!” BBH insisted, “He’s just a kid!”
The other laughed, “Just a kid? Just a kid?! How many times do I have to say it, Bad? That ‘kid’ almost killed you!”
Two metallic clicks confirmed Sapnap’s suspicion that the door had been locked.
“Besides, there’s no way he’s younger than-“
The door opened.
The two figures stood in the doorway for a moment before Skeptical turned around and pulled the door closed behind him.
It’s still unlocked.
“BBH,” Sapnap greeted calmly before adding, “Which means you must be Skeptical Amber.”
“Skeppy,” the blue-hooded angel corrected with a pointed glare, “No one calls me Skeptical. Sounds too prissy.” His tone was light even if his face spelled murder.
“Okay then, ‘Skeppy’” Sapnap replied in an effortlessly monotone voice.
Compliance is always the best first option when captured. Lower your opponent’s guard. Hide your true strength.
“Why am I here?”
Be as direct as possible. Get out of the situation quickly.
“Because Bad thought it would be a good idea to kidnap the ‘Silver Shadow’ and try to-“
BBH cut Skeppy off.
“You are the Silver Shadow, correct?”
Sapnap gave a simple nod. He already knew he’d have to kill them both later. What was one more reason anyway?
“So,” Skeppy said, “What are we even supposed to call you? Can I just call you, like, Shadow boy, or what?”
“My name is Sapnap if that’s what you’re asking.”
Skeppy blinked as if surprised by the statement.
“Oh. Ok.”
Before silence could descend, Sapnap took back control of the conversation.
“Would either of you care to explain why I’m actually here?” It may have been more straightforward to just ask what they wanted, but that sounded a little too threatening.
BBH spoke this time.
“Oh, well, you got… pretty messed up. So we just brought you here while you heal.”
A serviceable answer in most cases. This, however, was not most cases. In terms of circumstance, it would be counter-intuitive for BBH to help him, and it was obvious based on the tension in the room that there was more at play than general decency.
It was also evident that the two were very much on their guard (though BBH was, admittedly, doing a pretty good job of hiding it), and that Sapnap’s general compliance had only served to make them more suspicious.
Alright then, intimidation tactics it was.
“Don’t lie to me, Badboyhalo,” Sapnap said, carefully keeping his tone even as he got up, “There’s something you aren’t telling me. So, let me rephrase that. What do you want from me?
Now, this seemed to work fairly well, as Skeppy immediately stepped forward, wings out-spread, showing off his gold coverts and blue-flecked primaries.
A guardian then.
“Is that a threat?” Skeppy’s voice matched Sapnap’s in terms of menace, but the question was tinged with anger and fear.
It actually would’ve been quite intimidating to anyone else, even with the guardian standing several inches below average. Sapnap, however, was not deterred.
“No. It’s a question. One that I want answered. Now.”
“Oh, really? I’m sorry. It sounded-“
“Skeppy,” BBH said gently, placing his hand on the angel’s shoulder.
Skeppy folded his wings and stepped back but continued to scowl at Sapnap as if he would quite enjoy the demon disintegrating on the spot.
Sapnap was not paying Skeppy any mind though. No, he was paying more attention to BBH, who said, “I’m not… We’re not lying about anything. I really do want to help you, Sapnap.”
There was at least some truth to it, Sapnap could tell, but there was something hiding just behind it. A lie of omission that, Sapnap had to admit, BBH was doing a frustratingly good job hiding.
“Then you wouldn’t mind answering a few more questions?”
“Only if you answer ours,” Skeppy retorted before BBH could say anything.
“Don’t expect me to answer all of them.”
“Don’t expect us to either.”
“I don’t.”
“Good, cause we won’t.”
“Ok, ok,” BBH cut in, “that’s enough fighting. Sapnap, did you want to go first?”
Sapnap only replied with a question.
“How far from this place do you usually stay?”
BBH seemed about to answer, but Skeppy got to it first.
“Close enough to hear if you try anything Sadnap.”
“My name is Sapnap, in case you didn’t hear me, and if you did, I’d prefer you didn’t make fun of it. Now did either of you have a question for me?”
This time it was Skeppy who got cut off, with BBH saying, “Yes. I was wondering if you had any preferences on food.”
Skeppy scoffed and rolled his eyes at this, while Sapnap just stared and said, “Considering that this was a pre-meditated capture, I assume you know that I am a highly trained assassin with no weaknesses to speak of. I don’t think you’re stupid enough to not know the answer to that question.”
Skeppy, who seemed thoroughly annoyed by the entire situation at this point, said, “Well, you can’t blame him for asking. Normal people have preferences. Just ask us your damn question already.”
“Okay,” Sapnap said as BBH elbowed the guardian and mouthed “Language.”
“Who’s your bonded?”
Skeppy froze at this, eyes blown wide.
“That’s- That’s none of your business! What makes you think I even have one yet? Besides, even if I did you wouldn’t know them-“
“It’s me,” BBH cut in, showing off the glowing star mark in the palm of his hand.
Sapnap would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised, both by the answer and the fact that he got an answer at all. He hadn’t known a guardian could bond with a half-blood. He still nodded as if this information meant little to him.
“How do you think I survived our little scuffle the other day?” the hybrid added with a slight laugh.
Of course. Guardian healing magic… He really should’ve done more recon before going into this. That brought Sapnap’s stupid decision counter up to 2 in the last 24 hours. He apparently needed to start dealing with higher level targets more regularly…
Bad,” Skeppy whined, “Why would you tell him? It’s supposed to be a secret.”
“Uhm, we want him to trust us, Skeppy,” BBH replied in a tone that held an implied “obviously”.
Skeppy rolled his eyes again and said, “Yeah but I don’t think I can trust him.”
“You can’t-“ BBH began, only to be interrupted by Skeppy.
“See? Proving my point!”
“You didn’t let me finish!”
Fine, finish then! You know I’m right!”
“You don’t need to trust him, Skeppy! I don’t either! But-“

Sapnap took that moment to make a break for the door.

Notes:

Today’s Fun Fact: As you know, I originally wanted Eryn to be the main character for this fic. However, Sapnap actually was going to play a major part in the story! Most of the parts that would’ve had him in them have been handed over to other characters (mostly Skeppy and one other character), but a few have been scrapped entirely. In the original plot line, Sapnap played a chill older brother/mentor role to Eryn, as somewhat of a foil to Bad’s almost aggressive niceness. He was originally going to be listed on the “assassin archives” as one of Bad’s attachments with a “relationship unknown” tag. In fact, even in the first draft of the story after I changed the roles, Eryn was listed under Bad’s attachments in the same way, however, I removed him entirely from the story in rewrites.

Chapter 4: Mysteries

Summary:

Sapnap fails to escape (shock), and he learns something interesting.

Notes:

THIS FIC IS ALIVE WHOOOO
Okay, yeah, uhm... see bottom note for my text wall? Enjoy :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sapnap barely made it past the doorway before BBH was basically on top of him. To buy time, he made an attempt to shove the half-breed to the ground, but his movements were slow, and his opponent instead dodged out of the way and kicked him in the back of the knee while he was off balance. Sapnap dropped, and moved to knock the hybrids legs out from under him, but again failed, unable to get enough momentum for it to work.

Whatever. That didn't matter anyway. As long as he could still get away- Nope, too slow again. BBH caught him by one wrist before he could get up, holding with an iron grip despite how hard Sapnap struggled. Still, he wasn't going to give up so easily, aiming for a punch to the gut with his free hand, but the barely perceptible drag on his movements allowed BBH the split second he needed to parry the blow and twist both of Sapnap's arms behind him.

Dammit.

This fight shouldn't be so unbalanced! If anything, Sapnap should be the one winning! There was no excuse for such an embarrassing performance. Unless...

"You drugged me."

It was more an accusation than a question, but Skeppy scoffed and replied, "Uh, yeah. Bad's optimistic, but neither of us are stupid. We weren't gonna just let you hang out full full functionality, and Bad absolutely refused to-"

"Skeppy!" BBH hissed.

Skeppy sighed, and said, "Whatever. Just do us a favor and don't make us drag you back in there."

Sapnap glanced around for a possible escape route, but what few options he had with BBH behind him would be foiled by Skeppy's presence. He did note, however, the fact that the hallway was almost completely baren aside from a single wide door which Sapnap assumed must be the room Skeppy spoke of before. With a conceding nod, he allowed himself to be escorted back to his prison.

The two were quick to leave, thier previous argument seemingly forgotten, and Sapnap, for the first time since he could remember, was left with nothing to do. That was fine. Combat practice could take up enough time. Hopefully the next time he would be able to take his opponent.

No such luck, unfortunately.

The next time someone entered, it was Skeppy, with one hand on a sword. And not the slashing kind. A smart choice. The reach advantage of a sword which focused on stabbing would both allow more damage than hand-to-hand combat and keep Sapnap at a distance, avoiding another chase situation. Sapnap had half a mind to just throw himself onto the sword, denying his captors the satisfaction of... whatever it was they wanted with him, but he knew such an action would be foolish, as there was no reason to believe he couldn't still escape.

So, he kept out of the way of the blade as Skeppy came in with some sort of sandwiches.

"Hi," the guardian said plainly, lowering the blade so his wrist was level with the hilt of the dagger strapped to his belt.

"Let me guess," Sapnap said, "If I try to attack, you'll pull the dagger on me."

"Yup," Skeppy said, then abruptly asked, "Hungry?"

"Not really." It could be poisoned. Or more likely, drugged.

"Liar."

Sapnap bit the inside of his lip and pretended he wasn't annoyed that the angel was onto him.

Skeppy rolled his eyes. "Look, I know you probably think it's poisoned, but trust me, that would taste terrible, and how does one poison a sandwich anyway?"

"You'd be surprised how many poisons can be powdered, any condiment or dressing could have poison mixed in, and that's not to mention toxic plants and fungi." And he wasn't exactly worried shout poison.

For some reason, Skeppy laughed. Not even in a patronizing way.

Sapnap didn't glare at him, but he wanted to.

"I honestly forgot how weirdly smart you guys are when it comes to stuff like that."

"Me and who?" Sapnap asked.

"Bad," Skeppy said with a shrug, "Guy knows more than you'd think about murder."

"Assassination."

"Same difference. You gonna eat?"

Oh if he could just get close enough to punch the stupid guardian.

"No. No I'm not."

"I get it," Skeppy said, "You're mad at me, but you know that isn't a reason not to eat."

"I'm not mad at you."

"You are. Bad told me you would be. I know how you types are."

"You don't know me."

"You're right," Skeppy admitted, "I knew someone like you."

Sapnap did not reply.

Skeppy sighed, dropped the sandwiches in his hands, drew the sword again, and backed out of the door.

Sapnap did not eat.

No one else came into the room.

He went to sleep.

 

He woke to darkness and whispers. Whatever light had been filling the room was off now, and Skeppy's voice was loudly whispering (you'd think that'd be an oxymoron) to a patch of shadow Sapnap was almost sure was BBH. He didn't move, instead closing his eyes again and hoping they hadn't noticed. A fight in the dark with the element of surprise on his side and hopefully less inhibited would be much easier for him to win. Though, the dark would also be an advantage to his adversaries, if he was fast enough, it shouldn't be a problem.

"We could beat him anyway-"

"Look, you know what it does to me when you're in danger."

"I'm not it danger."

"Well, yeah, I know that, but that doesn't mean anything!"

Ah so the guardian is worried.

"I wish it did. Skeppy... you know you didn't-"

"Nuh uh! I don't want to hear that," the angel hushed, "I don't regret it, and you know it."

"I do..." BBH sounded hesitant, and his guardian clearly picked up on it.

"Look, we're bonded, it messes with my head, whatever. It's been like this for almost twenty years now, and we knew it would happen. Now, let's just get on with it."

"...You're the one who--"

"Yes, I know, but you got all-all... self-destructive about it!"

"Skeppy, shh!" BBH hissed, "Don't you remember how lightly Silver Shadows sleep?"

Interesting that the plural was used there. Sapnap knew he couldn't have always been the top assassin, but it was what he'd been trained for practically since birth, and the way the sentence was worded seemed to imply that they'd met the previous one, which would explain Skeppy's earlier note about how he "knew someone like you". But as far as Sapnap was aware, the previous "Silver Shadow" (or as the assassins always called him, the Shadow Saint) was killed on a mission no more than a year before he was born, not captured in any way. Unless perhaps the duo had caught the assassin in action, but kept it to themselves and made an ambush. Sapnap couldn't imagine any assassin competent enough to be at the top would sleep on the job.

There was a very quiet crash of breaking glass, and Sapnap choked on the sickly sweet scent in the air as retreating footsteps sounded. Potions. Of course. That was angel magic. Cheaters. Not that demons didn't cheat, but still.

"How long have you been awake?"

Sapnap was up and eye-to-eye with BBH in one motion, despite the duo being halfway to the door.

"Long enough to know some things about you both," he answered vaguely.

Skeppy's wings fluttered slightly, but the darkness obscured whatever change his face made, if any.

BBH crossed his arms, white eyes almost glowing in the low light.

"Nothing you don't already know."

"You met my predecessor. Killed him, likely."

Skeppy snorted.

"You don't know nearly as much as you think you do."

The distinct sound of metal on metal, and the point of a dagger was at his neck.

"Now, we'd like to get some sleep, so you can go to the other end of the room and plot your revenge while we leave peacefully, or we can do this the hard way."

Sapnap raised his hands and slowly stepped back.

BBH turned away to leave, but Skeppy kept his face toward Sapnap and his dagger pointed forward. A wise choice considering how tempted Sapnap was to knock the loosely hanging mirror off the wall and let it shatter for an easy weapon (It's almost impossible to remove any kind of weapon from an area. Nearly anything can be used as a weapon under the right circumstances.)

Once they were both outside, Skeppy paused for a few seconds longer than necessary before shutting the door. Probably glaring.

Well, apparently these two were not only a formidable threat, but they were much more important than they seemed at first glance. Lucky then, that Sapnap was going to be in close proximity to them for the foreseeable future.

If he couldn't escape right away, he was going to find out thier weaknesses, thier goals, and most importantly (at least to Sapnap) thier relation to SaintofGames.

Notes:

Uhhh... plot twist? Gotcha? You know, originally I had meant to reveal that much later, but then I thought to myself, "trying to hide that for a long time is going to get exhausting, so maybe I'll just reveal it to the audience so everyone can scream at Sapnap for being an idiot and not seeing the writing on the wall." So then I did. Hope it was at least sort of cool.
Anyway, uh, yeah, if I didn't mention this in story yet, Sapnap is around 19.

Okay! So! I am back. I will now tell you why I suddenly seemed to abandon this work altogether (assuming, that is, any of you from... so long ago are still around). See, after the end of the Dream SMP, my love for the fandom very much faded, particularly after I got into Hermitcraft (around the time of Double Life's release, hence me starting a Ranchers fic despite my three unfinished works). On top of that, this fic in particular had me pretty stumped on where to go with it for a long while, then my iPad (on which I wrote most of my fics at the time) broke, and when I started to write from my phone, I only moved Elemental Legacy and the aforementioned Ranchers fic over. And then I burnt out... again. I do that a lot if you were unaware. And I sort of forgot about it for a long time. And then I had writers block on it once I did pick it up again. And then I forgot about it. Again. And finally, FINALLY, I got something going. Enough of something to finish this chapter at least. It's definitely not the best thing I've written, but it's... serviceable, and fingers crossed I don't abandon it again.
Sorry to anyone who was expecting this sooner, especially that one person I said "hopefully before December" to, if you're still hanging. Yeah... uh... it's December. Of the year after I said that. Um...
Well, there it is. Please do comment, as they are my fuel for motivation (and I do mean that), cross your fingers that I don't forget about this again, and always remember to check your facts
-SugarSpice2022

Chapter 5: ...

Chapter Text

I can't write in the DSMP fandom anymore.
I'm done.
My motion has run complete dry and unfortunately, I've already had to put down (so to speak) two of my other precious creations.
This wasn't the one I was most proud of, but I think it's the hardest to let go.
More than anything, I'm sorry I can't write more for you guys. I know there's at least one person out there somewhere who wants this story to exist... but I haven't been a part of this fandom for ages, and the story isn't bringing me joy. Maybe someday I'll pick it up again. Maybe not. Still, I'm happy with what I managed, and I'm glad some people enjoyed it while it lasted.
Goodnight, goodbye, and always remember to check your facts.
-SugarSpice2022

Chapter 6: <3

Notes:

Hey! So... I don't know if anyone will ever see this chapter. If you're reading this I guess that means you are, so let me explain. No, I'm not starting this fic back up again. I might. Someday, but for now I just wanted to leave this here. What is this? It's... one of the things I had planned for the future of this story. Having gone back to read through my old DSMP bookmarks I was possessed with the desire to write this little scene. I hope you like it <3

Chapter Text

The morning sun cast soft shimmers across the patterns of scales spiraling across Sapnap's cheeks. He blew out a soft breath, leaning back to watch the clouds with an ease he'd never known before Bad and Skeppy. Soft white misted through with coral. The color of Niki's wings.

He had come out here to read, but it was so nice out and the sky was really lovely. It mixed beautifully with the scent of wildflowers and the feeling of worn wood and peeling paint under his fingers to create a sort of fizzy contentment.

Funny, Sapnap thought with a smile, if still a slightly forced one. He'd always been good with details, but it was something else to appreciate them.

The watercolor sky and the cotton clouds and the stone under his shoes and the wood under his hands and the breeze across his face was all so different from the dark rooms he'd sleep in before. Even from the closed, controlled environment of the room he'd tried for so long to escape.

It was... peaceful, but alive.

Then one of the clouds shattered, scattering into whisps of white.

Sapnap blinked as another did the same, a dark shape streaking across the vibrant sky, weaving- no, bobbing- up and down in a way that most angels were far too graceful for. And heading straight for him.

The color developed. Magenta? No, that was the lighting. Purple.

Sapnap took a few steps forward in disbelief.

Sure enough, with a sharp turn, the purple cloak flared, revealing white wings, black tipped as if left too close to a fire, spread wide and frantically flapping. The boy's hood was down, his golden hair brushed back with the speed of the flight, white sparks glared off the scales under his brilliant violet eyes.

"Purpled?"

The teen snapped his wings closed and dropped from the air, a little higher than he probably should have, skidding across the stones from the momentum.

"Sapnap!" he gasped, clearly out of breath. He took a couple gulps of air, choking on the second, he stumbled, looking halfway to passing out.

"Woah, hey, what are you doing here, kid?" Sapnap said rushing forward to stabilize him.

Suddenly, Purpled pushed Sapnap away and puffed out, "You- have to- to help me."

Sapnap gaped at him. "What- did you fly all the way here?"

"Yes. To get you. Keep- keep up. I need- your help."

Sapnap opened his mouth to ask what in the world possessed him to fly this far to ask for his help considering how horrible he'd been to the kid, but Purpled cut him off.

"No. Shut up. Listen. It's- It's Punz."

"Punz?"

"He's gone crazy, Sapnap!" Purpled exclaimed, a fire blazing behind his eyes that Sapnap had never seen in him, "Ever since they said that he'd never be 001. Says it's my fault. That I've made him soft. He's destroying himself and nearly me too."

"He's-"

"He's gone insane, and no one can stop him!" Purpled cried, eyes squeezing shut.

That's when it clicked.

"No one except me."

Purpled shrank a little, wings pulling close. He ran a hand through his hair, not-so-subtly exposing his small white horns.

"Yeah," he breathed, then looked up with wide, wet eyes, lips turned down in a plea. "They say you don't have emotions, but if you have any care at all you'll help me with this. You have to."

"I don't," Sapnap said on reflex. Purpled's shoulders fell, his mouth opened and he reached out to grab Sapnap, but Sapnap caught his hand, stared into those haunted eyes, and said with a deep compassion he hadn't known existed until that moment, "But I will."

Purpled blinked, looking almost startled at the promise.

"You-you will?"

"Of course," Sapnap said, forcing what he hoped looked like the warm smile Bad always gave him. Bad. Now there was an idea, "You know what? I'll even bring backup."

Notes:

So, first of all, all my fics have fun facts at the end of each chapter.
Today’s Fun Fact: This fic was voted for me to do by TheAmberShadow who is a huge supporter of my other fics (‘Elemental Legacy’ and ‘Betrayal, Hope, and Healing (And Maybe Alternate Dimensions)’)
Now that that’s out of the way, I want to explain the way this fic was brought to be.
So, this started out as a very simple “Assassin gets fixed” idea, but it has since then been inspired by three different fics:
The Only Two People; by TheAmberShadow
The Tale of M-07; by Cleanse and Virgil_Summons
Sent from Below; by SpiralSpectre
Not only that, but my sister- I mean… beta reader! is also very involved in this one (especially compared to my other fics).
So it started out as a simple idea, was supplemented by three really good fics (THAT YOU SHOULD REALLY GO READ RIGHT NOW), was refined by me and my sis, and was finally written out by me.
:)