#yes werevex be gone right now but trust me there is more to the plan

[randaccidents]

The Plan (Part 1)

I might be on a school trip, but it don't stop me from writing! Only mobile tumblr holds power over my ability to post.

So this is The Plan. A little knight has one, will it all work out? Only time will tell.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

TW: panic attacks, cosmic horror

Shadow people AU and its companion Abandoned shadows AU by the lovely @mine-sara-sp.

EDIT: I RETURN TO MAKE THIS POST LOOK SHORTER

This was a stupid plan.

Standing in front of the season portal, Paladin shuddered, cape wrapped around their shoulders. This was such a terrible idea, they knew that the chances of this plan actually working was almost null. They hadn't died much after all, why would Zedaph's creepy shadow look for him?

Nonetheless, here they were. Shadoc had said that that creepy shadow had found them here, but that it had to find you first.

Standing here amongst the abandoned starter houses was giving them second thoughts however. There was no one around, which was both a blessing and a curse. Paladin was certain that if someone came around the bend right now, they would abandon the plan entirely. Yet at the same time, they wanted someone to find them, tell them that this was a horrible idea.

But no one came, not even the creepy shadow they wanted to find.

Maybe today wasn't the day they would find that shadow. They were proud, but hearing Shadoc's account had reminded them so much about their, uhm, encounter with the Vex. Their scars still burned occasionally under their custom armour.

They sighed. Maybe they should come back another day. This was taking up too much of the time that could be spent at the forge or with Avarice and Keloid. Rolling their shoulders, they unfurled their draconic cape-wings, preparing to take flight.

Where are you going, little shadow? Weren't you looking for me?

They froze, wings still open. The voice behind resonated through them, echoing and multiplying in a familiarly horrifying way. It was like Keloid, it was like Avarice, it was like the Vex, it felt right, it felt wrong. Their body shuddered and shrieked for them to move, to run, though in which direction was undecided. Their scars were burning, the rest of them was freezing. They tried to flap their wings, hoping that at least in the air the presence couldn't follow them. But something was holding them down, and the magic gave out, wings refolding to its default cape state and billowing down. They wanted to turn two dimensional, slink away in the shadows, but their armour was custom-made, not summoned with them, and they didn't want to be found with their scars. They were trapped, grounded and unable to move as the overwhelming presence behind them grew near.

You came looking for a deal, little shadow?

(̷̈́̇̓̓͌̈́̀̉̇̓̀͗D̶̢̠̬̲̱̳́̈͘͜ͅͅo̸͈̼̗̮̮̠̳̟̳͛͌̎̀͠ ̶̛̛̳̋̌́̇̃̎̈̾͒̓̋̓̋y̶͔̘̮͇̹̗͉̔ơ̷̥͙̙̰̋͑̿̐̂̑͗̓̍̉̕͝ú̴̟͓͉͕͍̯̗̥̰͉̓̀͊͋͐̅̀̇͘͝ w̸̏̌͐͌̈̀̾̋̋̐͗a̶̛̅͌͛̀̓̑͊̒̋̎̄͠n̶̛̙͔̜̪̘̝̍͐̎̅͛͊͒̃́͠ẗ̴͈̞́̈́̐́̓̿̆͠ ̶̰̳̼͕͒̈́̀́̄̓̈́̀͐͒̈͘͘ą̶̹̙͖̘̬̀̎̀̇̀͑̕͠͠ ̴̧̺͖̰̺̯͚̫̬̬̫͔͍̭̒̄̿̆̔̈́͐͌̎͆̔̕̚͝͠ḓ̸̨̛͈̠̔͋͒̈̂͛́̅̍̂̎͛͠͠e̸͛̅̓̈̚͝ả̴̭̮͉͇̜̼̩͍͇̮͓̬̐͂͘͝ļ̵̹͓̱̘̗̹̔,̴̡̛̟͎̠̮̘̘̻̯̜̩̥̅̈́̔͊́͛̐̾͗͑͜͜͝ͅ ̶͂̌̈́̓̓͛͝͝͝d̷̗͕̞̮̞̓̋͌̅̉͝͝ä̴̛̠̮͖̯̱̪͎́̾͌̈́͒́̚ȓ̷̞̤̩̟̍̽͊̽̍̀̂̂̀̉̔͠k̶̸̛̛͓͛͗̽̅͂͆͋͋̎̚͘ ơ̶̛̩͉͉̺̗̔͑̓̾͒̑̎͗́͝n̵͍̭͉̙͇̻̪͂̐͗͝͝͠e̷̢̨̡̻͉̥̥̤͈̳͓̦̾͂̒́̋̈́͑?̶̛̯͈̪̹̩̜̀̓̀̈́̏̾̆̉͗̚ͅ)̸͊̇͘͠

The next thing Paladin registered was the floor, their hands clawing at their neck, their head, their breaths coming in gasps and everything they heard was muffled.

Oh, they were having a panic attack again, weren't they?

Suddenly, there was a strong grip on their shoulder, tight but not painful. Paladin tried to jerk away from the contact, but the hand held firm. It was grounding in a way, a presence on their shoulder holding them, preventing the memories from sweeping them under. Distantly, they could hear a familiar voice counting numbers.

One, two, three, four, One, two, three, four...

Those sounded like Shadoc's numbers. Slowly, painfully, Paladin followed the count, breathe in, hold, breathe out. When they felt calm enough, they remembered the hand on their shoulder. Oh, someone had seen that episode. Embarrassed, Paladin turned to face the person behind them, ready to give an explanation for their actions.

And came face to face with themself. Except, it wasn't them. The shadow knelt before them was melting at the edges, dripping black tar onto the ground as it smiled a wide Jigsaw-like smile at them. Its stance was closer to that of Killshot's, but they held themselves with the confidence of Killjoy. It opened its mouth, and spoke with the voice of Shadoc, of Murmur, of Solo.

That phrasing isn't the best for you, I admit. Shall we try again?

And really, Paladin should be terrified. The shadow before them was alien, a frankenstein of them and the others, with a certain familiarity tugging at their mind that should have been impossible. But their mind was still pulling itself together, so it asked the most logical question it had.

"And whose shadow are you?"

The Jigsaw smile grew sharper, looking more unnatural and doll-like. Ah, I forgot. I have a theme I need to stick to so people recognise me properly. Let me introduce myself. The shape before them melted, puddling together to form a familiar shape. It looked like Merino, like Zedaph...

Something clicked into place.

"You're that creepy shadow that took Shadoc's power and boosted Killjoy and Apex!"

The shadow snapped their fingers, looking pleased. I see my reputation precedes me. You are correct. It opened its arms in a bow. I am the end-all-be-all, a world and a being, that which should not be fucked with yet always is even as I do and do not exist, the originator of shadows, all of you yet none of you, and a dramatic motherfucker if I do say so myself.

Paladin blinked at the swear. They still shivered, but the alien familiarity comforted them enough to talk back. "So what do I call you?"

The smile nearly encompassed its whole face. Call me Abyss. It's what I am after all... So why were you looking for me, little shadow?

The answer came immediately, etched deep into their bones. "I heard you were collecting an army to fight Puzzler. I want in."

Interesting. The shadow, no, the figure dripped and oozed delight, shadows reaching upwards from the ground to wrap around Paladin's feet like cats. You want to help me. You're the first to seek me out for it. Abyss stepped around Paladin, observing, stalking. Paladin wanted to turn and face it, but another tendril of something held their head in place. The figure finally circled back around, smiling. I accept. But first, some caveats.

The word might be different from what the Vex used, but the meaning was the same, and Paladin tensed up.

Don't worry, it's more like taking back what's mine. The voice was cold, sending shivers down Paladin's spine. Abyss resumed its slow circular pace around Paladin. As I am a part of every shadow and every shadow is a part of me, I know when something of mine has been intruded upon. The sharp gaze turned back to Paladin, boring into them. The Vex are inside you, a part of you. I can tell it wasn't willing, and that it happened in a time of distress. I can remove them, and then you will be wholly mine, as is my right. Do you accept?

The situation was too similar to the past, stuck in place, stuck in time, a godlike entity demanding things from them. Their breathing sped up.

But this was also different. Paladin could say no. So they grit their teeth and pushed forward, relegating their panic molotov to future Paladin instead. "And how will that be better than my current situation? At least right now I'm free, if just held down. What do you have to offer me?"

Abyss' grin was calculating, like Apex. Smart. You might not have died enough to have a power yet, but you are very clever. It opened its arms with a flourish. You don't have to do anything much for me. All I ask is that you come when I call on you to attack Puzzler. You are free to say no to anything else I ask of you. In exchange, I remove the Vex and bestow upon you a power. Is that satisfactory?

It sounded too good to be true. "Do you swear it?" Paladin asked again.

A chuckle. So cautious, I like that. Little shadow, I swear it on the cycles of the sun and moon, on the heat of the Nether, and on the never-endingness of the Void, it will be as I say.

The highest promise, to swear on the Void which swallows and devours. Paladin swallowed, nodding. "Do it. Free me from them and tie me to your side."

And so it shall be. Its hands came up to rest on either side of Paladin's head. So, this is going to hurt. A lot.

And suddenly, Paladin's head exploded into a flurry of noise, glass, bells and wing beats whipping past. They could hear screaming, voices overlapping. The Vex.

N̴̢͍̅͋̑O̵̖͑̏!̶̝̠̟̽ ̸̮̯̣͂̈T̵̗̍H̸̗͙̮͂̾̕Ȋ̸̬̳̈́͌ͅS̸͇̖͆ ̶̱͚̐I̶͎̕S̸̠̑͐̀ ̸̞̑O̵̗͕͕̊̊̀Û̵̡̩̂͝Ŗ̷͙͓̓͋ ̸̡̖̓͊͘V̴̭͚̏͠Í̴̲͕̅C̶̘͆́T̵̺̱͙͊I̸̞̝̳͗̿͘M̸̛͙͕.̴̼́ ̷̰̓̓Ơ̶̛̬͈̼̎U̷͙͑̚Ŗ̷́̇S̴̱̗̓ ̴̛̯̻̲T̸̢̺̿̒Ö̴̠̫̱ ̴͈̖̳́͌͠P̶̮͙̤͝L̶̞̅̃̏A̷̺̺͚͛̋͌Ȳ̷̦̉̌ ̸̰̞́Ẅ̶͍̗͕́̈́I̷͔̅T̵̲͓̻͐̀H̶̘͖̭̃̏̒.̵̹̙́̎̕ ̵̛͖̭̋̕Ö̶̠̮U̵̟̹͌̕R̷̪̱͝Ṡ̴̙͒̌ ̷̢̯̑T̵̤̲͕̍̆Ọ̵̟̈́ ̵̹̜̿̎̚K̷̜̝͑Ẹ̶́͝È̷͔̬͌͋ͅP̵̥̘͔̐.̷̢͙̖́̄ ̵̧̡̘̎́͠G̵̘͛̊̿Ò̸̱̤͇̒ ̴̥͚̣̽̀̅Ä̸̪͖́́Ẃ̷̦̑Ă̴̤̈́Ỳ̷̺ ̷̗̄A̴̫̥̺͂N̷̫͍̍́̃ͅD̵͔̐̑̚ ̶͉͇͕̈L̸̨̨̝̈E̴͙̦̙͋̊À̷̡͇̫̄͊V̶̟̰̗̀̊É̶̦̑ ̴̲̑U̶̬̤̔̒̑ͅS̸̢̰͠ͅ ̸̨̆T̴͈̔O̴̞͗ ̶̳̺̳̔̎͝Ô̶͓͈̙͠Ǔ̸̞̘͜Ŗ̵͆ ̴͓̬̳́Ḿ̴̠̭̝I̶̹̝͌S̶̛̞͙͐Ç̶̦̓H̶͉͕͙̒̔̑Ḯ̶͎̠̹̈́E̵̛̱̗F̶̢͍̺̀̾͑.̴̫͍̕ ̵̛͔̰́Ṯ̵́͒H̶͚͔͖̋̈́́Ẽ̸̠͚Y̶̛̗̥̪̓̐ ̵̰̒̈́̃M̶̤̏A̶̫̟̪͌̾̏D̸̛͜͝E̶̮͑̎ ̵̫̍̽̒ͅÁ̷̦͆ ̶̨͇͙̃D̶͙̟̥̈́̋E̸̡̿͗͠ͅĄ̷̛̘L̴̟͓̉͗,̵̰̈́ ̸̛̦̩̣̀̂W̷̪̋̒E̶̛̳̖ ̶͇͠H̶̻̜̹͂̈́͌Ȅ̶͎̞̲͂L̴̥̋P̷̤̦̍̈́E̶̮͑̈̚D̸̹̞̣͒͝ ̵͈̐̋T̴̟͕̅H̶͖̱͊̉E̸͉̥̦͗̏M̸͔̀̽ ̸̗̣̈́M̵̡͉̜͝O̷̧̺̙̓R̴̙̝̩̔E̸͕̹̎͊,̵̢̻̮̏̚ ̸̧̖̔͘T̷͈̯̙̏̇̽H̶̲̠̖́̎̋E̸̘͝Ỳ̵̖̱͋ ̵̮̥̂̊̆O̴̡̜̲̔̓͑W̵͈̿E̷͎̅ ̵̹͘U̴̗͛̍S̶̫̥͆,̵̗͍̘̑͒ ̶̞̻̗́W̴͓̑̀̓E̶̛͕̬͓̓ ̸̺͛͠W̸͚̹̅́́İ̸̼̊L̷̛̦͙̝̽L̸̻͌ ̵̂̀͜H̶̼̥͛͆͠A̶͈͆V̸̹͍͂́E̵̯͓̲̿̔ ̶̞̜̓̓̑T̵͈̈̾̎H̶̙͔̀͒É̸͓̫͠Ḿ̵̲̋̚-̷̦̝̮͑͂̈́

Goddamn do you assholes never shut up? Fuck off!

And then there was silence. Blessed silence, an invisible noise leaving their head. Paladin slowly unhooked their fingers from where they had unconsciously grabbed Abyss. Their back felt light, an oppressive weight lifted. Twisting, they stared at the emptiness of their back. Their cape-wings were gone. They felt strangely sad at that. Keloid had been so happy when they found out that they could finally fly with Paladin. They probably just regained the ability to fear the sky again.

Check under your gauntlets. Abyss stood patiently, watching intently.

Their gauntlets? Something in them clenched tight, fearful of revealing their scars in such a public area. In a way, it was proof of their struggle, their pain. It was private and it was their secret to keep.

Don't worry so hard, no one can see us where we are. Release yourself from your own chains.

Paladin jumped at the suggestion of chains. They looked up to stare into Abyss' eyes. They wanted to be alone, but something in them trusted Abyss. Without breaking eye contact, Paladin tore off the gauntlets, not looking down.

Abyss reached forward to gently grasp their chin, tilting their head downwards. See? It's all gone. You're mine again.

And true to its word, the blue scars were gone, leaving only grey skin. Flexing their arm, Paladin realised that they didn't burn anymore. In fact, nothing did. They marveled at their scarless arms. They were free.

Now, about this transaction you were looking for.

Or at least, as free as they could be. You do not yet have a power, but you need one if you are ever going to stand up to that winged bitch. So let me ask, what do you want little shadow?

This was something Paladin was prepared for. This was something Paladin had practised in the reflection of countless polished swords as they worked. But when they spoke, only one word came out.

"Power."

The figure bent forwards unnaturally, looking as if its spine had broken. You need to clarify little shadow. There are many kinds of power  stopping time, flying, becoming a monster. But more importantly, and I repeat, what do you want?

Something sunk into Paladin's chest, pulling at the deepest part of themselves, pulling it to the surface. Against their struggles and refusal they said the words they had hidden deep to protect themself from further manipulation, torn from their mouth.

"I want power. Power to protect my family. I'm always the weak one, the damsel in distress. I want to lead, to see my enemies fall before me, my family safe behind me."

Then they wrenched free of the controlling force, hand over their mouth. That was, that had been, Paladin didn't know what to think of what had just happened. It was taking their choice away, it was probing deep into their chest for all their secrets, it was dangerous.

Abyss didn't seem to notice the emotional struggle it had left Paladin, contemplating the secret it had pried out of their chest.

I understand. You want to protect, and you want to lead. I can give you both with one power.

The shadows entwined like cats around Paladin's legs suddenly tightened, vice-like. Startled, Paladin tried to go two-dimensional, to escape the grip of the shadows. But something stopped them, wouldn't let them become any less three dimensional than they are now. They were trapped. Again.

Whatever panic they had managed to bottle exploded, scattering Paladin's mind to the corners of their awareness. They tugged at their bonds frantically, panic only increasing as the shadows curled higher and tighter the more they struggled.

The strong grip from earlier returned, as did the counting numbers.

One, two, three, four, on-

But Paladin was too far gone for that, fingers scratching slivers into their legs as they continued to struggle against bonds that had already loosened. Light yellow triangles spun away into the darkness. They heard static, speaking to them, at them, in them, around them, which only made them scratch harder.

Then, all of a sudden, there was nothing. Or was there something? It was all encompassing, soothing, terrifying, nothingness. The nothingness hummed, a soft old song that resonated with something deep in Paladin's chest, something that recognised the song and tried to sing along. Slowly, they relaxed into the embrace of the person holding them, tired and pained. Dimly, they could hear someone speak above them.

Shit, this is worse than I thought. What the fuck did they do to you, to hurt you so badly?

There was a hand tangled in their hair. Where had their helmet gone? It was important, it tied them together, to Avarice and Keloid and Wels-

The helmet was pushed into their chest and they grabbed it with one arm, holding it tight like a lifeline. The humming continued.

My little shadow, I will give you the power to protect, to lead and to harm. As long as you have your feet planted beneath you and your family to keep you standing, you will be able to summon an army. Any block connected through your feet shall become armour and weapons, puppetered by your own hand, and you will have power. You will no longer be a blacksmith or a knight, but a general, a True Paladin.

Paladin could feel something enter them, become a part of them yet still something that was not yet theirs. They flinched weakly, relaxing again as the hand in their hair continued its soothing strokes. Exhausted, Paladin leaned deeper into the embrace of nothingness, something akin to sleep tugging at them.

Relax little shadow, and sleep. I will wake you when you are ready to face the morning sun.

That sounded like a great suggestion to Paladin's tired mind. And so they let the embrace of the Abyss lull them to sleep, humming deep in their bones.