Chapter Text
No.
My brain won't accept what's in front of me.
Arden cannot be dead. The world would stop spinning.
But for all I know, it has.
I can't ignore the truth.
No no no.
I feel an odd floating sensation as the last, frail thread that was keeping me tethered to sanity dies with Arden.
I'm not damaged, or even broken. I'm shattered. Completely beyond repair.
Bill knew exactly what to do to push me off the same edge he fell off long ago.
And I've got a long fall before I crash at the bottom.
When I muster the strength to look up, there he is. Bill.
“I hope you're happy,” I spit bitterly.
“I am actually, thanks!” He laughs.
“What is wrong with you?!”
“Oh come on Red! You can’t honestly say you didn’t want this. Never had dreams, not the ones sent by me but different ones, ones where you had more power and weren’t held back by anyone?”
“Oh, look, the guy who's been in my brain knows a thing or two.” I deadpan.
I never wanted this, it was never supposed to happen to them.
“I think you know what needs to happen.”
I laugh in his face. “You can't do anything to me. Why should I?”
“Oh Red! I think you forgot something, I still have access to your brain.” He laughs back at me.
“I never said you could possess me.” I counter.
“I don’t need to do that to make you feel pain, or to manipulate your thoughts.”
“The way to hurt me is to hurt Arden. And Arden is where you can't touch them anymore.”
“Did you miss the part where I said I could manipulate your thoughts, with a snap of my fingers I could make you believe they're still alive.”
“Try it, and I'll go so far into my head that everything loses meaning.”
Suddenly the body before me disappears and I don’t remember anything ever being there.
Arden is on the ground screaming in pain, there’s blood running down their face and throat.
“Arden! What can I do?”
“Please! Astrid, make it stop! Bill can make it stop! Please, just listen to him!” They devolve into the screams again, more cuts appearing on their body.
Something inside my head whispers this is not right.
What is that supposed to mean?
“Just go start the portal Red, and this can all be over.” Bill whispers, floating above my shoulder.
“None of this is real.” I mutter, trying to convince the part of my brain that’s screaming at me to try and help the person I love. “Arden would rather die than let you into our dimension.”
“Astrid we can figure out how to fix it afterwards just make the pain stop please!” They crawl towards me, their blood making a map of their path on the ground. “Please.” They sob.
“I want to help you. The real you.” I turn to look at Bill. “If you want my help, then make a deal with me. That's what you're good at, right?”
“That is my purpose as a dream demon, yes.”
“So what do I get if I help you?”
He pauses for a moment, thinking, “If you help me take over the world, I’ll allow you to be a part of my crew as a demon. And if you work hard you might be able to bring Arden back to life.” He snaps his fingers and the fake Arden disappears, leaving the real Arden’s corpse behind instead bringing with it a fresh wave of pain.
“What do you mean by ‘work hard enough’?”
“Demons have a power scale, each demon is different. But if you work with your powers for a while it will happen eventually.”
“And you need me to do what for you?” I ask.
“Nothing much, find places for the humans turned to statues by the eyeball bats, help some of the other demons… persuade the more difficult humans.”
I know he probably means to murder them, or at least hurt them.
So why don't I care?
“Fine. I'll make the deal.”
“Lovely, just shake my hand!” He extends his hand with the closest thing to a grin a demon without a mouth can get.
So I reach out and shake.
Almost instantly, I feel a burning sensation, so painful I almost black out. When my vision clears, something is different. My arms are as white as bone, with black veins running through them. I assume it's not just my arms. And my hands are stained with blood, just like in my nightmares.
“Whoa.” I mutter.
“Benefits of being a demon, you get a new form.” Bill sighs, “Now I think there’s something you need to do now.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” I wave him off, trying to seem more confident then I am.
I made my way down the stairs and into the basement. I hesitate before turning on the portal.
This is for Arden.
And I flip the switch.
The first thing I register is a blinding blue light from the portal. And then everything starts falling apart.
I rush upstairs and outside. Everything is chaos. Buildings floating, red sky, a ton of demons.
This is all my fault.