Work Text:
In a deep, almost condescending tone, it bent down to the imp’s level and whispered, “I can give you everything you desire~”
Tense, Sable inched away from the shadowy being. They didn’t like this “offer” the thing they despised more than anything in the world was proposing to them. The words felt hollow, like it was an empty promise you knew was empty but got excited for anyway. But something about it was tempting. They had no idea what it was. But they felt backed into a corner.
Even so, inquiring minds had to know.
“What do you need from me?”
The Shadow let out a snicker. It stood up, taking a few steps forward. Its hair whacked the nearby imp in the face. “Oh, just a small... favor...” it replied, extending its hand and flexing its fingers. “Nothing much, really...”
“I don’t like what you’re asking...” Sable told them, unaware of the slight quiver in their voice. But they couldn’t help pondering it. Lately, things on the Dreamer hadn’t been fantastic. So much tension, so much distrust...
So much pain...
There was a lingering feeling, a pit in their stomach, even, that things weren’t going to change. And if they did, it sure as hell wouldn’t be in their favor. But maybe... maybe if they took this deal, things would get better. Maybe they wouldn’t be seen as a burden anymore! Maybe they could feel validated for the first time in years! Maybe they could be worth something! Maybe... maybe...
No. They couldn’t. The damage had already been done.
“After everything you’ve done to me?” they asked, tone cold and voice sour. “After the family you took from me, after the PAIN you’ve caused me?! I don’t think I can say no fast enough!” they scowled. They crossed their arms.
“I know you’re desperate,” the Shadow countered, “and I know how badly you want to prove yourself as anything but the burden you are.” The entity circled around its prey, slowly. It was plotting something, but what?
“You can’t prove that.”
“Oh?” The Shadow raised a hand over where its mouth should be in a faux shock, like a high schooler listening to the latest drama. “Can I not? I’m in your mind right now! I can see everything you’re thinking, every thought you’ve ever had! I can even see what your friends think about you! And the things I see, well… let’s just say the odds might not be in your favor…”
Sable felt their heart drop. It had to be lying, right? That wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Santiana loved them. Before she died, Katie loved them. Pasley cared. Marina and Azure liked them. And Isla...
Isla cared more than anybody.
False hope. That’s what this was. False hope.
Their shoulders sagged. What choice did they have? This demon wasn’t going to go away if they said no. But knowing how dangerous of a creature it was, if they say yes, it might well take control of their body, and then it’s not going away either! It was a lose-lose situation for the poor imp.
“Why bother?” the Shadow chided, like it was actively reading Sable’s thoughts. “Haven’t you realized, Captain? They don’t like you. They don’t care about you. They never have! They're just waiting for you to die! They've been waiting for you to die since the day you first joined their crew! Why, Captain, my Captain, has it taken you so long to figure this out?"
Sable did not respond. What could they say? What good would a counter argument even do? It wasn’t worth the effort.
Still, something bugged them, deep down inside.
“You can’t prove that,” they repeated, muttering the words under their breath.
“Let me help you!” insisted the Shadow, bending to be eye-level with the imp. It rested its hands on their shoulders, just like their mother would do when they were a child. Sable flinched. “I can help you!” the Shadow insisted again, its booming voice growing light with a false sense of promise and passion. “I can make things better for you, if you let me take the helm-”
Anger instantly washed over Sable like a flood. “NO!” they shouted, pulling away from the shadowy figure. They felt every bone in their body lock into a defensive stance, not that it would do anything. Reflexes, maybe. “I’m not letting you do that! Not now, not ever! Not even over my dead body!!”
The Shadow huffed, moving its hands from an awkward position in front of it to its oddly feminine hips. Its hair and its tail moved gently with the breeze that didn’t exist. “You’re a lot harder to convince than I was hoping,” it said, pondering. “Maybe I waited too long…”
“Yeah, no shit,” Sable huffed a sarcastic, irritated reply.
The imp and the entity stood in silence for a moment until the latter whispered an “Ah-ha!” and snapped its fingers. It looked to Sable, snapping its fingers a second time. The world began to change.
Sable watched in horror as the Shadow morphed their mindscape to its own will.
The cyan sky went gray. The lush green trees went dull, all their color gone in an instant. Clouds covered the sun, and everything went cold.
The island felt desolate.
“What have you done?!” Sable found themself asking, in complete disbelief. Could it even do that?
“Who, me?” it taunted, smug. “Why ask me when you can ask… them...?”
It pointed to the trees just ahead of it. Sable turned to look where it was pointing, and couldn’t believe what they saw.
Figures.
Figures of the people they used to know, of the people who they got killed to that thing’s hand. Most of the faces were blurred, it had been so long, but some were still distinguishable. It was haunting.
Sable completely froze.
The figures trudged closer, many making incomprehensible noises and gestures. All Sable could really make out was moaning. And then, out of seemingly nowhere, they began chanting a cry.
A cry for their captain.
”Captain!”
Stunned, the imp dropped to their knees.
“Captain!”
“You can have fun with them,” announced the Shadow, patting them on the head before it vanished.
Sable didn’t register what it said. They were drawn to the faces they could still recognize. Daylight, Jackie, Ruben, Plato, Pasty, Crab, and so many others. Even Hook Tail, to some extent. His face was completely gone, but his silhouette had always been distinct.
“Captain!”
But the one who stood out the most was the one they wanted to spend their life with. Katie.
“Captain!”
She hid behind some of the other manifestations. But she managed to stand out. Maybe it was because her form wasn’t mangled. She was actually the most recognizable of them all. Sure, half her face was covered in a black substance, and her eye was gone, but otherwise she looked completely the same as she did in life. Her form didn’t blur like the others. She was the one they remembered the best, resulting in her cleaner look. But she still wasn’t herself. And Sable knew that.
It hurt seeing her here. Hiding amongst the others she’d known so well in life, and probably even better in death. Kaitlyn Ford was never known for hiding. She always took the lead; she could always be found standing up front. So why did she hide now? Because this Katie, wasn’t Katie. She was just a manipulative tactic to get under Sable’s skin and get them “under control.”
“Captain!”
But it hurt. And it made Sable angry. It frustrated them to no end, actually. That the Shadow was bold enough to play with their mind like this. That it was willing to toy with them like they were a puppet.
“Captain!”
But they couldn’t pin their anger solely on the Shadow. They were pissed off at themselves, too.
They let it mess with them. They let it screw with their mind. They were willing to be its puppet.
The world turned black.
The cries disappeared.
A voice like thunder spawned in behind them. “So, are you finally ready to consider my offer?”
Sable didn’t answer at first. They thought if they tried to, they’d either choke on their words or say something stupid. But they knew what their answer was.
They thought about what the Shadow had said earlier. They were desperate. And it’s not like they had another choice.
Slowly, the imp pushed themself off the ground and stood up straight. They brushed themself off and looked the entity dead in the eyes.
Defeated, they sighed and held out their hand.
“Deal.”
The Shadow didn’t grin, but you could tell it was smiling menacingly. It knew it had won. It returned the gesture, shook Sable’s hand, gripped theirs with its other, and its form dissipated. The being turned into a messy blob of darkened gray, twisting into a wavy tube of nothingness. It lifted from the ground and forced itself into the imp’s body, through any means necessary, or possible.
And then, alone on an island, they woke up.