It's The Eyes...

Shock

SSundee's POV
I opened my eyes hesitantly, instantly recoiling as bright light invaded my vision. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I dared to look up. Seto stood there, clothes ripped and tattered and blood smeared on his hands. I back-pedalled away from him, wide-eyed at his disturbing appearance. "Ian, it's ok. You're safe now." I stood up and yelled in shock, the first thing I saw being a dead body sprawled out on the ground beside me, mangled and bloody. Closer inspection revealed it to be the leader. Dead. I stared at Seto, taking in his appearance in a different perspective. "You killed him?" Seto swallowed hard. "Yes." I frowned. "I thought you didn't want him dead? If you had you could've let me kill him." Seto blinked. "You mean Derp?" My stomach clenched at the mention of his name. "Y-yeah." Seto nodded. "I had to kill him. He attacked me first and I was caught off guard. I'd be dead if I hadn't fought back." I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "Why did you bring us here?" Seto bit his lip. "You knew what the leader wanted from you when he sent those two men to take you by force, they told you didn't they?" I nodded. "Yes. They did." "Well...I didn't want you to be the one to destroy everything you loved. So I took it upon myself to make my own plans concerning you. The ultimatum would be that we work together somehow and destroy the Rebellion." My legs were aching and my eyes still throbbed painfully. A horrible thought suddenly struck me. "Seto...my eyes...are they-" Seto shook his head. "No. But that was risky Ian. What you did will not be possible again." I gasped. "You mean...next time I shift...I'll...stay...oh no." I felt my limbs go numb and shuddered at the thought of becoming the person I hated most for eternity. Seto looked at me sadly, then said: "We should go set your friends free." "Oh god, yeah. How could've I forgotten them?" Seto laughed bitterly. "Well, I think fighting your murderous and psychotic alter ego will probably work as a preliminary excuse." I clenched my fists. "I'm gonna have to tell them aren't I?" Seto nodded. "You owe them that much." I stared at the ground and sighed. "Lead the way then."
The door was locked and Seto had to fish around in his cloak for a key. He frowned. "I-I'm sure I had it here somewhere." I rolled my eyes and channeled all my anger and frustration, releasing it as I took a step back and slammed my shoulder into the door. Seto's jaw dropped as the wood splintered beneath the impact and I shoved the frame away, the door falling inwards and hitting the floor. I entered the dark cell and stood in the square patch of dusty light that was cast by the empty doorway. Seto came stood beside me, pulling his hood up and muttering under his breath. He held his hand up in front of him and purple flames sparked and flickered, catching and growing in his palm. They cast purple shadows over the walls and I caught my breath. FireSpark, Sky and Mitch each had a knife pressed to their throats. The owners of these knifes were glaring at us fiercly. One of them saw me and her eyes widened. "It's him." She whispered. Her companions looked uneasy. I stepped forward and they stepped backwards, their backs pressed up against the damp, mossy cobblestone. I bowed my head slightly. "I'm not who you think I am. And I have no intention of becoming that man anytime soon. Unless I have no choice." I forced the words out, taking in our possible opponents' appearances. One was an Enderdragon hybrid; her wings folded and crinkled on her back. She had a black, long sleeved shirt on and ripped blue jeans. Her brown hair was swept across, covering one eye, her one visible eye glared at me, the green iris piercing my own. The girl standing beside her had black and purple clothes on and long, waist blue hair that swished and rippled with her every movement, however slight. Her face was shrouded in shadows and they curled and writhed around her arms like living gauntlets. She had purple eyes that glowed dimly in the darkness. The last girl was wearing an aqua shirt with a grey sash wrapped round her waist.
She was wearing denim shorts, grey combat boots with blue shoelaces, and had brown hair that curled round her shoulders. The blue tips in it shimmered when they caught the light from Seto's flames. Her dark brown eyes looked at me searchingly. She had been the one who had spoken before. FireSpark kicked out and the Enderdragon hybrid snapped at her. "Hey!" Seto and I exchanged glances, unsure of what to do. Normally I would shift, but it sickened me to think I had once relied on that to get me through most of my fights. Plus, one more shift and I would transform into Derp SSundee forever. I was shaken by the thought. Sky squirmed in his bonds and the girl with the grey sash who was guarding him whispered to him: "D'you know these guys?" Seto frowned, then took the hood down off of his head. The minute it fell to his shoulders the girls gasped. "Seto! Why didn't you say you were here?" Seto rolled his eyes. "Because I would've thought you had enough initiative to recognise me on sight by now." I stared at him. "You know these guys?" The shadowy one nodded. "My name is SilverShadow." She gestured to her companions in turn. "This is Crystal-" The girl guarding Sky waved. "And this is Thana." The Enderdragon hybrid smiled and I dipped my head to her in recognition. "My name is Ian. Also known by my alias SSundee." Crystal's brown eyes widened. "You're the one they wanted to defeat Notch!" I shook my head. "No. They wanted Derp SSundee." SilverShadow frowned. "What's the difference?" My throat constricted as I realised I'd been asking myself the very same question as of late. Mitch gulped and the knife grazed his throat. Thana stepped back. "Sorry." She looked at him more closely. "Hey...aren't you the BajanCandadian?" Mitch smiled. "Yep. That's me dude." Thana grinned. "I love your Hunger Games series." Crystal frowned. "Hold on. SSundee...BajanCanadian...you must be Skydoesminecraft!" Sky grinned. "The budder Lord agrees." Crystal gasped. "I hate squids!" Sky frowned. "I used to think squids were the worst things in Minecraftia...but these past few months have shown me that there are worse things to go up against." A meaningful glance was shot at me and I sighed. "He's right." FireSpark looked at me sympathetically. "Can you guys free us now?" Crystal nodded. "Yes, we're part of the same thing Seto is! We need to move fast or the Leader will catch us."
Seto looked guilty. "Um. Well. I don't think the Leader will be doing much catching from now on." Sky stared at me. "Did you-" "Surprisingly, no." I retorted bitterly. "Seto did. It was the only way he could stay alive." Seto walked forward, resting his hands on each of our friends' shackles in turn, freeing them. I remembered something. "Just as I was about to kill Derp...I was stopped by a purple light. Was that you?" Seto sighed, looking down from freeing Sky. "I-I...I just couldn't face watching you die before me." I frowned. "I could've killed him though, I could've-" "Look, I'm sorry. But I couldn't do it, ok?" I nodded. "Don't stop me next time though." Mitch looked up from, rubbing his wrists, soothing the skin hurt by the chains. "You nearly killed Derp?" I nodded. Mitch frowned. "Why didn't you? Please don't tell me you're developing Stockholm Syndrome." I sighed. "I-...I'll tell you later." They didn't need to know what would happen if I killed Derp. For if I did, I would kill myself too. FireSpark came up to me and kissed me softly. I stiffened, excepting the kiss but not feeling it. "Thankyou for saving us." I swallowed hard. "Y-you're welcome, but all I did was fuck things up." She stepped back, eyes wide. "What?" I felt the familiar feeling of anger burning in my chest. "One day, I'll shift into him...and I can't shift-" I broke off, my throat tightening to the extent where I couldn't speak. I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes, but it was tears breaking through, trickling down my face. I broke and fell to my knees, sobbing into my hands. It was all too much. Everything leading up to this was overwhelming me. I didn't want this. I didn't want to become a monster. I'd made so many mistakes. So many... FireSpark knelt down beside me and rested her head on my shoulder, draping an arm across my back. I knew the rebel traitors were staring at me, but they were unable to comprehend the hell my life had become. Sky and Mitch stood beside us, sadly looking on. Eventually Seto roughly, but without intentions of coming on heartless, pulled me to my feet. "We need to go. Come on." I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "O-ok." Crystal looked at me sadly. "We'll be free soon." I nodded, but inside I knew that I would never be free of the curse I bore.
Sky's POV
Ian was broken. I knew that now. For so long we'd been afraid of him, now he was afraid of himself. Our trust in him was too much. Too much to bear. He was breaking, slowly, but surely; falling beneath himself.
FireSpark's POV
My heart was torn. He'd never looked so vulnerable. Refusing my affection out of guilt and shame. He'd hurt me in the past but I'd stuck with him through it. I'd believed my love and his resilience would get us through. I'd been wrong.
Mitch's POV
My mistake had been that I'd been afraid of Ian, when it was Derp who had been tearing my mind apart. The terror of seeing those crooked eyes, burning with bloodlust and hate had haunted my dreams, waking and sleeping. Now I saw only my friend; the one I'd stood side by side with for so many years, only now to see them torn apart in seconds. He'd been through so much...only to fall at the last hurdle. Why him?
Sky's POV
It was like the universe hated him or something. I couldn't help but ask, why Ian? Why not me, or Mitch? Why him?
Why him?...
***
SSundee's POV
We emerged from our prison, back out into the cavernous room with the domed ceiling. I saw Sky staring at the mangled remains of the Leader and quickly looked away, subconsciously reliving the pain and horror of losing myself to my mind. FireSpark looked at me with sadness and sympathy in her big, soft amber eyes. I stared at the ground, refusing to meet her gaze. Seto came to the front door; with Thana alongside him he placed his hands against the locks and let the magic flow through them, the spirals engraved on the door glowing purple and beginning to move. The curses guarding the doors lifted away and Thana swung her dragon tail, which I hadn't noticed before now, into the door with enough force to splinter the wood. She repeated this movement 5 times before it destroyed the lower part of the door. Seto ducked and went through, then Thana, Mitch, Sky, Crystal and FireSpark. SilverShadow closed her purple eyes, made a sound like a screaming Enderman and teleported to the other side, catching up with the others. I stood alone for a moment in the room, contemplating my future. If I went through there I'd probably be following the others back to the village, to safety. But I'd also be following them back into the place where this all began. There were too many memories. As I stood there, I felt a numbing sensation creeping through my limbs. My heart pounded in fear as I found myself unable to move. My eyes began to burn and I heard Derp's voice once more in my head: "You should have never have thought you could defeat me. You may be powerful, but I'll always find a way." The numbing sensation faded, but my eyes still burned, an afterthought of what would happen if I tried to defeat the demon inside of me. I heard FireSpark calling my name and went through the door. I didn't once look back at the Stronghold we left back, not until it was a dot on the horizon. For the others it was a great achievement. They were finally free of the Rebellion. For me, it left me feeling worse than ever, for my time in there had shown me that my time was running out. And that I would never, be truly free.