Chapter Text
This wasn't the plan in the slightest, if you could even call random torment for your own amusement a plan.
The game had been set, and Friend choose to torment the tiny green Pippins. It knew Battat quite well, just from watching from afar. Their behavior, their antics and the pursuit for knowledge beyond anything else. A common aspiration, but one that could so easily be corrupted instead.
Friend loved to see where Battat would end up, would he go on and on in their pursuit for the truth, slowly but surely letting it eat away at them inside. Until all that’s left is a hollow shell. To achieve one’s goals, but loose sight of yourself along the way. Or would they realize the severity of this task, and learn to appreciate the unknown, and learn that not everything has an answer. Some things are better left unknown after all.
While one or the other would please Friend greatly, they’d been hoping it’d be a slow… painful process. One where it could watch the turmoil, the nagging doubt burn in the back of the Pippins’ mind and they’d be thrilled to watch the very moment that hopelessness would settle in. That realization that would no doubt shock this poor Darkner to the core…
Friend had spent so long hyper fixated on just one of these ‘Mike’'s, that they never had really payed mind to them. They’re just that anchor, that emotional pull that held Battat together just tightly enough so he wouldn’t fully give into that despair. Kind words and ‘human’ connections that Friend just couldn’t wrap their head around.
After all, it has never known such. Built for a sole purpose and that only, a being that entertains itself by watching the torment of others. It would never admit this… but perhaps that’s why they are so obsessed with this. They want to see it all, they want to observe what makes something ‘alive’ in a sense that it isn’t.
Sure, it breathes, it moves. But that is it. It’s humanity stops there. It can’t feel like they can, it can’t feel pain like they can, and even the euphoria they get from toying with others is short lasting. Watching Battat had already given it a grasp of obsession, of longing and a whole lot of other negative traits that it had gathered just from observing.
But that’s all it could do. Observe, never feel. Perhaps bored of the monotony of watching its chosen Darkner or something Friend could not describe. It wanted a change. It wanted something else, something new. It was bored, and they wanted a new toy.
And naturally, going from the exhausted and mentally drained Pippins, to the ever playful Shadowguy instead. Friend wanted to see that contrast first hand, the dichotomy between the two playthings, so it could compare them.
Already, Friend saw some attachment to this one. The Shadowguy decided to make their ‘Mike’ form so closely resemble Friend itself. From the eyes, to the ears all the way to its tail. It was like a half baked version of the form Friend had been born with. A copycat of something that shouldn’t exist. Like looking in a warped mirror!
Pluey themselves could not speak, which was already a change from Battat’s oh-so enjoyable whining and snark… instead they made these little hilarious saxophone noises. Always tuned in a way that just made it clear it was happy without even having to say a single word.
Aside from Battat, to which being Mike was more of an obsession than anything else, this one liked to put on the Mike costume the most, in fact, Friend had rarely seen them without it. It was always attached right to the Shadowguy’s hip like a second skin…
The fact that it was so happy pretending to be someone else confused Friend, if only a little. Especially since they liked being it. If Friend could feel anything, they’d be endlessly flattered that this pathetic shadow took time out of their day to cosplay as a demon.
Regardless, Friend already has its goals set for this little copycat.
The first few days started off as per usual, just messing with the mind a bit. Appearing in dark hallways or through the creek of a door., then vanishing. A figure in the corner of their eye, always just out of view. A bright white smile in their dreams, an long grin extending endlessly through the darkness of their subconscious mind. … For Battat, these did the trick. Poor thing was always so paranoid, so jumpy at even the slightest hallucination. It made him so fun to mess with, since he got so easily scared.
Here however… Pluey did not seem phased at all. They definitely saw Friend, that much is for certain, it wasn’t exactly trying to be subtle. But it never reacted like Friend thought they would, never acted out in any way nor did they ever even have a single break down.
Which was just… boring! But at the same time so intriguing… Why was this Darker so happy, why was it so content in pretending to be something it was not? This is… different than It’s last plaything, different in a way that entices them. It had a new toy to break, something to dissect until every single little secret was laid bare for Friend to see. Something to poke and prod at until it finally gave in. Once Friend was done with all of that. Then, it was going to have so much… fun.
After a while, it had finally decided to show itself to Pluey directly. The first meeting was… odd. Pluey did not seem scared or intimidated by Friend at all, in fact they were aware of its existence for a long while now. In fact, seeing it for the first time was what inspired Pluey in the first place…
No matter what Friend did to try and get a rise out of Pluey worked, not like it did so effortlessly with Battat. They were always so sickeningly sweet, like nothing phased them at all. Pluey even showed a few doodles they had made of it when Friend was first trying to play with the Shadowman. To visualize it better.
After a few more meetings, Friend had found out how Pluey communicated outside of their ridiculous musical display. Via written words and or speaking with the hands…Friend knows a thing or two about speaking with hands… or paws in this case. So it understood vaguely what Pluey was trying to communicate to it.
Deciding to humor the Shadowguy for whatever reason, Friend obliged to answer a few questions.
‘What are you?’
Ah, a classic. Battat asked the exact same thing, and Friend replied with what he always says.
“A friend.”
…
‘Why did you show yourself to me?’
Another predictable question. Now this was more familiar. Friend had practically made it its hobby to be purposefully vague, it always drived that Pippins up the wall. Causing him to overthink every little thing. When in reality, it meant nothing.
And naturally, Friend replied with exactly that. And it waited eagerly for Pluey to respond. Grinning ever so wide, reading this Shadowguy like a book.
…
'Do you like music?'
…
"What?"
'If yes, what's your favorite? If no, why?'
"I-I don't-"
It continued from thereafter, Pluey constantly asking Friend odd questions. Wants, needs, dislikes, likes, desires… all of which Friend had barely an answer to. It wasn't until that conversation that it realized how little it actually could maintain a normal conversation. It's never had anything like this before.
Pluey seemed to care so little for Friend's attempts to be scary that all. So all the creature could do was just continue to give weak answers, while Pluey listed all the things they like doing. Friend was used to observing, just… not to listening.
Hearing how so much joy and fulfillment Pluey had, how they had so much fun just being Mike, despite how bossy Battat was at times, that they still cared for the Pippins. And that the Cowboy was nice, that they really kept the group together and wished Battat appreciated them more. The whirlwind of emotions and thoughts that fell fully on deaf ears for Friend, but Pluey kept telling it anyway. Because it mattered to them. And really that’s more than enough.
Friend could almost feel something resonating deeply in its throat. A sense of something inside it changing as it listened to the Shadowguy 'talk'. A flame set ablaze in its core. Once it started to hurt too much, it left suddenly. Making a quick escape to try and recoperate.
'Hurt'… Friend had never felt pain in it's entire existence. So what was it that it had felt just now…
…
After trying to torment Battat again to try and gain its sense of normalcy and control again. It went right back to Pluey. Doing what it had wanted to do before, toying with them. Only for that to… not end up happening.
Friend instead spent a long while just observing from a far. Watching the Shadowguy's daily activities in that same obsessive manner it was used to. During that time, Friend bore witness to it all, Pluey's own discontent in their own body. How they wished they could change themselves entirely.
It made no sense, once you get granted a body, it's yours until you no longer exist. There is no changing what you were MADE for. It's simply not possible.
Despite that however, Pluey kept going. Being Mike wasn't just a silly play they did, they were happier like this, enjoyed being something they weren't. Finding solace in it… The fact that it enjoyed being in his form more than Friend itself, again caused something to stir from within.
It wanted to reveal itself, to spout venom, to berate the other for thinking of something so foolish. And yet… all it could do was listen. Hating how much of what Pluey had thought of themselves, reflected right back at Friend's own views.
'I want to be myself'
"I can't change what I was born to be."
'I will make it work.'
"It will never work."
'I will choose for myself who I want to be.'
"My future is fortold, set in stone beyond my control."
…
A true reflection. In more ways than one.
And it didn't take long for Friend to finally understand what this feeling was.
It felt like Pluey understood. Like they knew Friend in and out. And this fact both terrified and intrigued them despite their better judgement. So instead of showing up to insult them, Friend instead spent that day just hanging out with Pluey instead. Staying longer than it should have.
This should have been where it ended. Friend got its answers, and it should move back to the Pippins instead. …
Yet, it always came back to Pluey’s side. Not for an agenda anymore, or for any other alterior motives. Just… for 'fun', and not the fun Friend is used to. Playing around together, talking to one another and just… being there with one another. After a little while, Pluey didn't really seem like a toy anymore. And despite its best efforts, that burning feeling came back once more. This time, more intense, more… warm.
The one time it tried to say something rude to Pluey, and they looked genuinely dejected… Friend froze. And it didn't know why. So it just left.
…
What was it doing?
Back in the Depths once again, it tried wrapping its head around what was happening.
It was… hard to understand. Why did they feel this way? Why were they spending more time with them than the one that was more fun to torture… this was just supposed to be an experiment, a way to see how the feelings it did not have affected other beings.
But it had derailed so much in such little time that it had no idea what to do. This wasn’t fun anymore.
And yet… it couldnt move away. It couldnt stop that aching burning feeling deep inside of their cold core. A warm fire that was slowly but surely tearing away at its insides one by one. No matter what it tried to convince itself with, or when it tried going back to being more harsh to where it all made sense! But… tormenting didn’t feel as fun anymore.
This horrified Friend more, as it could not go back to being so distant like it had been for so long. An empty being, merely seeking out other’s suffering for its own short lived amusement. It was stuck like this, with a burning in their soul and a mind left to wander.
And wander it did. So so long it spent thinking. It was the longest it had stood still in a while. Trying to overcome this sudden influx of new things it had never imaged it would be thinking of.
"Why does being cruel to the copycat hurt more? Is it perhaps… pity? Why would I feel pity for such insignificant Darkner. I didn’t have that before… reveled in the power I had over their fragile little lives.
…So why don’t I do that? Why can’t I find that joy in hurting them anymore?"
It’s mind went to Pluey, it always went back to Pluey nowadays. That creature had somehow snuck it’s way into Friend’s mind each and every day like a parasite. No matter how much he tried to shake it off. Every single act, every single thought, eventually had to revolve around them somehow.
Even being apart from Pluey felt wrong, like Friend felt something pull at it's nonexistent soul and drag it towards the Shadowguy. Friend somehow felt better when Pluey was around, and it never knew why.
…
Enough.
Friend had enough.
It wasn’t going to let this Darkner plague its conscious mind any longer. It won’t allow for any distractions. This experiment has gone on for long enough.
This ends now, it's going to end this dumb little play they've built up together. It's going to rip and tear that dumb cat suit apart, force this Shadowguy to face all of it! That disappointment, that pain and the inevitability that it could never be what it wanted to be… and that despite it all, they're still just an insignificant shadow. Destined to be stepped on and discarded!
It wanted Pluey to weep. To be so distraught, that they'll cut all ties with Friend. So Friend could go back to tormenting that Pippins instead. It was going to watch with a big grin on its face as Pluey's whole world crumbled. If Friend couldn't be happy in the body it was in, neither could this Shadowguy that even DARED to try and pretend they understood! NOTHING will understand, Friend won't let it!
This was going to be so…
Much…
….
The action was done, with the cat suit lying cut and torn to itty bitty pieces. Laying there pathetically on the floor like a corpse. Friend stood above it, pink and golden eyes staring daggers into the smaller person in front of them. Pluey had accepted to meet Friend yet again, as always… so.. so gullible. And this is the price they payed for it.
"Sorry… I just couldn't stand that shoddy thing anymore."
It said, with a mocking tone. It cackled at Pluey, as it took a few steps back into the darkness of the room. It's eyes watched the other closely. Waiting patiently for the tears. For the pain Pluey would feel.
…
Pluey gently walked up to the now destroyed suit laid in front of them. Gently picking the broken pieces. Holding it in their hands gently, staring at it for longer than Friend was comfortable with.
"What're you so upset over? It's just a stupid suit, that's not the real you, anyway."
Friend said, the words coming naturally to it.
Then, Pluey just slowly looked up, facing Friend's gaze. And despite having almost no visible face, It felt like Pluey was staring at it with such an intense disdain in their eyes. It stabbed Friend straight through the chest. And it recoiled back into the darkness for a second before it moved back.
Pluey stared… Friend, for the first time ever, couldn't hold eye contact.
And then, Pluey just walked away. No yelling, no crying no nothing. Just… walked off, like what Friend did didn't even matter. But it knew it did, Pluey wouldnt be acting like that otherwise. So…
…Why?
Why didn't this work? It didn't do anything in the slightest, that ache is still there, along with a new sense of dread that slowly cascaded over it's thoughts.
It didn't do anything, I still feel this way, It still feels like it's burning up. But why? I thought hurting them would fix it. Why are they upset, it's just a stupid costume! Why does it hurt them so much? Why does it hurt ME so much?!
They tried to speak, to call out to Pluey. For what? An apology it doesn't understand? Begging for forgiveness when you feel like you've done no wrong? Chances are if they open their mouth now, it would know what to with itself. So, the words just get caught in their throat, watching in silence as Pluey leaves.
… They're walking away. And for some stupid reason it's body is tried to move closer… But it quickly caught itself, standing firm once again.
Once Pluey is fully out of the room… Friend still stands there, that static smile on their face a mockery of the turmoil going on inside. Alone in that empty dark room, with only the sound of their own strangled breath.
…
What a stupid prospect, to think that anything would be different. Now all that's left is this ache, and the desire for more. Maybe if it understood, maybe if it could feel like Pluey could. They'd still be here. …
But they won't, and Friend has to accept that. This is what it wanted, and it'll be all it will ever get. This ending was chosen for itself. So it's left there, to sit. To wait, until these feelings either vanish with time. Or they burn the creature from the inside out.
…
After a while of sitting perfectly still, it breaks out of its stupor once it hears that familiar annoying and raspy tone. Echoing from right outside room, almost beckoning for Friend’s attention. …Perhaps it should just… go back to that Pippins instead.
That's easier. And maybe… if it tries hard enough, it could pretend none of this ever happened.
It finally left the room, going back to its usual routine in hopes that will fix anything. When in reality it’ll only make it hurt even more.