UnWanted Reunion (UnWilling Roommates book 2)

Chapter 16: The Cat and the Conqueror

(This chapter brought to you by Khoshekh, the demon cat, and viewers like you.)

Khoshekh was curled up, eyes closed.  But he wasn't asleep.  He never slept.

The cat's coat was a darker black than any existing color in this world.  His eyes were venomous yellow, glowing even in daylight.  If he somehow let you get close enough to stroke his fur, you'd find it surprisingly silky.  But he'd bite your hand off before he allowed just anyone to pet him.

Khoshekh the demon cat craved chaos.  Not willy-nilly destruction such as Bill had done to his own dimension, but pure oblivion.  His dearest ambition was to turn the entire world into a lifeless void as black as his own pelt.

And he was just a few short steps away from his goal.

Khoshekh lacked the sheer power necessary to jump across dimensions, so when Tad Strange had arrived with an unstable rift in hand, Khoshekh had seized his opportunity.  He had ingratiated himself into Strange's household and heart, patiently biding his time in the way that cats are good at.

Being a different species of demon than Strange, he couldn't enter dreams.  Khoshekh's talents lay in influencing a conscious mind, whispering ideas and planting suggestions so subtly that his victims were never aware of his meddling.  Even Strange, usually so discerning, saw nothing unusual in Khoshekh besides the thirst for destruction that was typical of most demons.  Khoshekh could have stolen and broken the rift at any time, but he knew that would not help him achieve his ultimate ends.  So he did what he did best once again, waiting, seemingly placid, for the right opportunity to arise.

He knew the time had come the moment Y/N arrived in town.  He could smell her special brain from a mile away, his cat's nose telling him what others knew not.  He slipped through the town utterly unseen, watching Y/N in her apartment on the very first night.  He saw her holding a flyer for the Tent of Telepathy, and used his talent to nudge her towards deciding to go see the show.  As she left her new apartment, he slipped ahead of her stealthily and perched in the scaffolding above the stage, still unnoticed by all.

He detected the presence of the Ciphers.  Demons they may be, but the senses of their human forms were not enhanced enough to detect Khoshekh in turn. 

Sometimes, he mused, twitching his tail, it's useful to be a cat.

He watched the show from above, unimpressed at the paltry tricks these humans seemed so enamored by.  He used his talent on Dipper, alerting him to Y/N's presence and egging him to choose her in his show.  He purred in satisfaction when Y/N was forced onstage and into the box.

Y/N disappeared from the box into the Dreamscape.  Inelegant, but effective, Khoshekh observed.  Good enough to fool these mundane peasants.

Not being a dream demon, Khoshekh couldn't follow Y/N, but he knew he didn't have to.  Scarcely a minute later, she stumbled back out of the box to thunderous applause.  The show ended; Khoshekh watched her briefly argue with Dipper, then hide in the tent.  Jumping down from the scaffolding and landing lightly on his feet, Khoshekh followed Y/N into the labyrinthine depths of the Tent of Telepathy.

Watching her wander through the maze was starting to get boring, but Khoshekh was a patient cat as well as a stealthy one.  He followed practically at her heels, yet she never noticed his presence. 

Khoshekh and Y/N reached the basement together.  He held back, waiting in the shadows, and orchestrated each person's reactions and impulsive decisions.  On cue, Y/N shot Mabel to death seemingly by accident, triggering Dipper's enraged attack, causing Y/N to "accidentally" hit just the right switches to activate the portal.  Being a curious cat, one could hardly blame Khoshekh for flipping a few of those switches himself, right?

Mabel was dead.  Dipper had been sucked through the portal, Bill dragged unwillingly behind him.  He'll be back. 

Khoshekh watched as Y/N took Will home with her.  Everything is going according to plan.

In the months that followed, Khoshekh was always nearby.  He orchestrated Bill's return and influenced him to stay with Y/N, forming the bond that would eventually be his undoing.  He worked on Strange as well, inflaming his old grudge and keeping his rage alive.

Just as he had worked to bring the three together, Khoshekh soon moved to tear them apart.  Aren't you jealous, he whispered to Bill and Will in turn.  Don't you want her all to yourself?  Aren't you sick of sharing her with your brother?  He doesn't deserve her.  You could be together... just the two of you... isn't that what you really want?

When the day of reckoning finally came, Khoshekh didn't have to influence the Ciphers at all.  They were already half-mad, at each other's throats with paranoia and jealousy.  Y/N was so distraught, it was child's play to convince her that the best course of action was to escape, get away and clear your head, they're being unreasonable, just run as far as you can.

Before he'd even finished working on her, she'd turned to flee.

He followed her to the edge of the cliff.  He continued whispering to her mind.  All is lost, he told her.  There's no going back from this.  You might as well jump off this cliff now, because you have nothing worth going back to anymore.  Everything is ruined.

Khoshekh didn't even bother using his talent on Strange for this part.  He simply contacted him mentally and said, now's your chance to mess with Bill.  Strange was out the door before he'd finished the sentence.

When Y/N and Strange began speaking, Khoshekh stepped back to let him do his part.  Strange didn't make deals as often as Bill did, but he could certainly be a slick salesman when he put his mind to it.  Khoshekh swished his tail in appreciation as Strange smoothly talked Y/N into giving him her mind.

As soon as they shook hands, Khoshekh inwardly celebrated.  His plan had proceeded apace, and was now approaching completion.  However, there was still work to be done.

Khoshekh monitored Bill and Will from the sidelines, amused at how his own actions had inadvertently caused the brothers to bond.  He also kept tabs on Y/N and Strange, making certain that the four would collide violently at the most opportune moment.  Seemingly counterintuitively, Khoshekh's powers of persuasion took a backseat at this phase of the plan.  Everyone was acting as he knew they would.  Their own personalities- Bill's rage, Will's fear, Strange's thirst for revenge- would act in Khoshekh's favor from now on.  All he had to do was bide his time just a short while longer...

Strange thought the plan was to control the world in his own orderly manner, turning the population into brainless, bread-loving minions.  Khoshekh agreed with the plan, to a point.  However, he had neglected to mention to Strange that he also planned to kill him, absorb the power of the rift, and use it himself to annihilate the world, turning it into the desolate void he so craved.

He felt Strange contact him from inside the tent, where Bill had kidnapped Y/N.  Khoshekh, Strange broadcast mentally to him.  Smash the rift.

Khoshekh twitched his whiskers in smug satisfaction.

Victory is mine.