Book 2: The First Fallen Human

Firmly Held

Shattered Dream emerged into the darkened half of the Omega Timeline. Who had that pest with his brother been? He growled. He blinked as he realized he could smell something. It was heavy. Overpowering, almost. He grinned and pressed himself back into the shadows, closing his eye and dimming his glow as Ink flew past, clearly on his way back from Killertale. He had no prize. It made Shattered Dream's grin a bit wider.

He reappeared as the AU Guardian disappeared. But that smell. It was blood. It was so overpowering that Shattered Dream was unnerved by it. He moved down the timeline, trying to find the source. He didn't have to look very long when it dropped right at his feet.

Literally.

The red shape splattered in front of him and Shattered Dream shrieked. It had been mangled and ripped apart, but not enough to cause any detachment of its body. It gurgled, the hole above it snapping shut. Shattered Dream stared at it in horror. He quickly knelt in front of it. "Friend! Friend, what happened to you??" He whispered.

He reached out but the shape managed to shake its head. It screwed its eyes shut. The next few moments were horrific and painful. Its body twisted and grew back into place as it wailed, seeming in pain. Blood ran down its face in rivers, mimicking tears. Shattered Dream was horrified.

But, its horrible contortions payed off and it sat up, panting and gurgling. Slowly, its tentacles reappeared from its back. It hissed as the tentacles regrew. The entire time, the Omega Timeline had been spattered red. There was no doubt that they would be seen. Unless...

Shattered Dream quickly stood up. He formed a portal and scooped up the human-creature's dripping form. He disappeared through it into a completely white space. He'd found this before he'd been cast away. A little area of code. A little pocket of the Multiverse. He shut the portal and set the creature down. Its blood had already begun to pool again.

He blinked as he looked around. There were... there were snacks in here. Bags of pretzels and chips. He furrowed his brow. Odd. Extremely odd. He'd never seen those and some of them were still unopened. They were recent. He blinked. "Food, my friend? Are you hungry?" He asked, his grin twitching.

Shattered Dream didn't allow the shape to answer. He grabbed a bag and opened it before handing it to the shape, which took it with wide eyes and red-dripping hands. The shape seemed baffled as it tipped its head. Shattered Dream reached inside the bag and pulled out a pretzel before eating it himself to show what he meant.

The shape seemed to understand and began to eat quietly. The shape ate slowly. It never sped up. Shattered Dream slowly settled next to it, laughing weakly. "Why don't they like us, friend?" He asked, tilting his head back all the way to look at it. The shape blinked, showing it had heard him, but it could provide no answer. "Why aren't they happy that we are living?"

The shape, once again, couldn't answer and could only eat quietly. They sat in silence for a bit. Shattered Dream blinked as he heard the thing's gurgling hum again and turned to it with a wide grin. He began to sing along quietly with it, their soft harmonization echoing through the small space.

Shattered Dream sighed. "I wish you could speak, friend. It would be so fun..." He broke out in another flurry of soft giggling. The shape pushed aside the bag, seeming to have eaten its fill. It slowly crawled over to sit next to Shattered Dream, leaving behind a bloody trail. Shattered Dream's finger bones tapped irregularly.

"Maybe... maybe, maybe there's a way!" He said, his voice becoming breathless as he had a realization. He turned to the shape. "Friend! Show me your SOUL!" He said urgently. The shape blinked before looking down.

Slowly, its chest split open and its twisted SOUL drifted out. For a moment, Shattered Dream could only observe it, absolutely speechless. Then, he took it into his hands. The shape blinked at him. "Say something, friend." He said, his grin so wide, it almost split his head. There was nothing at first. Deathly silence and a faint twitch of its SOUL. Then, slowly, a raspy voice sounded. It was so breathy, Shattered Dream could've mistaken it for wind, if not for how fast it was speaking. Every word sounded loud and urgent.

HUNGRY!

Shattered Dream blinked in surprise. "You're still hungry, friend? There's more." He gestured to the other snacks and the shape's eyes lit up more as it crawled over. It began to root through the bags. Shattered Dream watched it curiously. "Friend, are you a human?" The response was delayed, but soon given in a loud, breathy growl.

CAME FROM HUMAN.

Shattered Dream tipped his head. "How would you have come from a human? Aren't you like me?" He grinned, his tentacles waving behind him. The shape paused for a moment, tearing open a bag of chips. It seemed confused. It turned to face him, tipping its head.

LIKE YOU?

Shattered Dream nodded, humming softly as he bounced the SOUL from one hand to another. "A monster. Are you not a monster?" At the question, the shape stopped again, seeming taken back. Its tentacles had frozen mid-wave. "We're more alike than you think." His grin widened. "We've both been left behind by someone."

That made the shape come to a full freeze. Slowly, it looked up at Shattered Dream. He pushed as he heard it whispering.

I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her.

Shattered Dream shook his head.

I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her.

Shattered Dream got up and made his way over as the whispering grew louder and louder.

I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I am not her. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER.

He reached it and sat in front of the shape. It was shaking violently. Shattered Dream blinked before reaching out.

I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM NOT HER. I AM-

The shape jerked its head up with wide eyes as it felt Shattered Dream's hand on its shoulder. He gave a wide, gold-tinted grin. The shape looked down, seeing that he was holding its SOUL back out and it took it quickly. The shape pulled the SOUL back in and its chest sealed itself back up. "I understand, friend. I understand." Shattered Dream's voice was whispery. "Look at me!"

The shape did and Shattered Dream giggled softly as he leaned in before his smile vanished. He blinked, nodding as he spoke. "Listen. You are you. Not anyone else. You are you. And that's all you need to worry about being. Just worry about being YOU."