CHROMATOBER 2024!!!

DAY SIXTEEN: SLEEP

AU: PEACEFUL DREAMS

Funfact! Since Sabre isn't fighting against Shadow, he is much more powerful.

[LIGHTS POV]

I sat in my office, tapping my pen against the desk furiously. My head throbbed, my eyes watered ever so slightly. I didn't need a mirror to know I had bags under my eyes, I hadn't slept in awhile. I didn't care though. There was so much work to be done.
Paperwork lined every shelf and flat surface in my office, but infront of me, was a journal. No- a log book. During a scouting mission, LC had stumbled upon a darkness outpost. And instead of listening to orders, he decided to go ahead and spy.

Besides the log book, were several sketches LC made of the outpost while there. According to him, it was heavily guarded. Sabre was there, so that place had to be important, especially since LC found an archive. He had grabbed several books, but was spotted in his escape and just barely managed to steal this one. The darkness got much more aggressive when he was spotted with these. I had barely started reading them, but the sketches had captivated my thoughts. The outpost seemed to have a.. lab of sorts? I wondered what it was for.. and why it wasn't in the volcano. Maybe the log book had answers. But one machine in particular.

It looked like one used to infuse something with a Steve, as Sabre had made blueprints of the one we used to infuse the light crystal into me. It was almost identical... but what was it for? It was definitely modified.

I then shifted my attention to the gray covered book infront of me, on the front, was fancy handwriting that read:

PROGRESSION LOGS-001S

Progression logs...? What for? Infection? They wouldn't need to do that unless they were powerful.. did the S stand for soul? Steve? Sabre? But Sabre couldn't be affected.. Time said something happened to him, so maybe void found a way?

I cracked open the book, quickly flipping through the pages. The ink was slightly smudged, but was otherwise alright. It appeared to keep in that same fancy handwriting, however, there were a few annotations here and there in handwriting almost identical to Sabre's, just.. messier. I let out an exasperated sigh. My headache was not helping with my focus and it wouldn't GO AWAY! I would sleep later, this was important. I hoped. It seemed important.

I flipped to the first page, which seemed to confirm my suspicions.

"LOG ONE.

Infection went smoothly, it is possible that it has a stronger grip over his mind due to him being a non Steve.
Shadow came out immediately, taking a few minutes to adjust. He couldn't use darkness very well, despite originating from corrupting Sabre's mind and soul with darkness, perhaps because Sabre was originally powerless?
-Note: Infuse him with more darkness later.

According to shadow, Sabre is unaware of what is going on, and is still fighting back. Sabre seems unaware of what had happened, and was in a momentary dream-like state after first infection, Shadow notes that it was akin to Sabre being frozen in time, or even a machine. However, Sabre apparently unfroze after the attack on time post-infection.
Hm. Dream like state. Sabre fighting back- even if it's unbreakable- could detriment Shadows efficiency in battle, especially if Shadow is weakened, Sabre could be given control once more. It is doubtful, as it is highly unlikely those idiots could realize he was infected with darkness before he is completely gone.
Note: If my control flickers, when I regain it, I could put him in a dream he would not want to leave.
-Yes, do that. If possible, convince him to join us, him being fully merged with the darkness could give you some of his knowledge, aswell as strengthening you. "

What..? Who was this shadow? How did- HOW DID THEY INFECT SABRE?! Was this written by void? If not, WHO?
I flipped a few pages forwards, and kept reading.

"LOG 14.

Shadows control has flickered, Sabre broke free temporarily. That should not be possible, but it will be fixed immediately. Shadow was weakened afterwards, but more contact with darkness gave him enough energy to take back control once more. According to shadow, Sabre had suddenly had a boost in energy, but said energy quickly deteriorated. This came at a cost, as some of shadows energy had been removed. It is not replenishing itself.
Perhaps fusing Sabre with more darkness could work?
-Condense as much darkness as possible?
-Condense darkness energy in a way that creates a crystal?
-Fuse Sabre with another condensed darkness being?
-Have shadow consume darkness?

Note: Take a sample of Sabres blood and mix it with darkness, see what happens.

Note 2: Figure out a proper machine to test out how to properly repair shadow. Temporarily have shadow lay low."

Yikes... that.. is just.. horrid. Why do they want control over sabre?! To mess with us..?
I frowned, cupping my face in my hands, before tugging on my carefully braided hair. I continued reading the next log.

"LOG 15

A blueprint for a machine has been found, previously made by Sabre to infuse crystals or energy into steves, Modification is needed, but it should work for Shadow. Mixing darkness into his blood is a possible backup, but could be risky, as the results varied from sample to sample.

LOG 16

It worked perfectly. Shadow is much stronger.. Sabre hasn't been able to fight his way back to control as much, according to shadow, he has been put into a peaceful dream, however Sabre is still untrustworthy of the darkness. Hopefully this will be fixed at a later date. Possibly injecting darkness could make Sabre more likely to willingly join the darkness. I won't risk it.. yet."

So.. that's why Sabre- or.. Shadow? Is that the name of the darkness in control of him now? Got so strong...? What did he mean by a dream like state.. why would Sabre EVER join the darkness willingly? Just what exactly are they doing-

All the lights in my office went off, it was suddenly colder than normal in here.

I felt my body tense up as I felt a presence behind me. I turned around, eyes wide-

A sharp pain in the side of my head, stronger than my headache. Was that blood? Everything was blurry. What happened? Who was in here? Why am I on the floor?
They're taking the book. I need that. Why would they..

"Sweet dreams Captain."

A distorted version of Sabres voice filled my ears, though he was extremely muffled. At times, his voice was normal.

And then, I sunk into unconsciousness.

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1122 WORDS!! enjoy yall