[Gradient]

My eyes opened to a black void. It was cold - freezing. The frigid air cut through my jacket, and I shivered as I wrapped my arms around myself.

Where the heck am I...?

An invisible force seemed to pull me forward, itching curiosity as I began to trek through the darkness to figure out where and why I was here.

Time seemed still in this void, but after what felt like hours but could have been mere minutes I caught sight of a lone, pale figure in the distance. I sighed in relief, thankful I wasn't the only one here, and started walking towards them.

"Hey! Uh, sir?" I shouted into the distance. They looked male, so that was only an assumption. "Hello?"

The figure didn't turn around.

As I got up closer, I managed to make out the figure more clearly. A white spirit, wearing clothes eerily similar to mine.

Exactly like mine, actually...

I paused a few feet away from him, now cautious.

"H-hello?"

Suddenly the figure snapped his head in my direction, an eye as black as the void around me with a snow-white slit glaring at me as white glowing strings shot from the darkness and immediately bound my wrists, neck, and ankles. I shrieked in pure surprise, suddenly finding myself immobilized as the figure turned to face me.

It was me.

A strange, creepier version of me with black gradations instead of light grey. Over his left eye was what I can only describe as an animated scribble, almost like a hologram blocking whatever was underneath.

Other me grinned with black teeth similar to that of a shark's - sharp and menacing like knives in his mouth. A dark chuckle rose from his throat as his hands folded behind his back, his tail waving in an entrancing motion as he walked to me.

"W-who are you?!" I demanded. I tried to sound brave, but the stutter in my voice betrayed my fear.

Other me took one hand, and with jagged, ink-black claws placed his hand on the side of my face. His smile was haunting as he said to me,

"I'm you. But better."

With the hand placed against my cheek he tightened his grip, snapping my head upwards without difficulty. A sharp pain in the base of my skull sent fire through my head and neck, and I couldn't hold a scream of agony that rose from my throat. I gritted my teeth as I felt tears running down my face. My head fell limply back forwards, my hands clutched into braced fists as the possibly broken bone pounded torturing waves of pain through my entire body.

Other me only laughed with a malicious intent that sent a frigid chill down my spine.

"You see, you are weak," other me said with a smile as he bent down to meet my eyes. "The weak ones never survive.

"So naturally..."

The strings let go, allowing me to fall limply to the ground. Somehow I could still move my neck without difficulty, though the ghost of the pain I'd felt still made me lightheaded. I looked up, only for a blade below my soft neck tissue to force the action further. Other me still grinned that awful smile, a psychotic gleam in his black and white eye.

"You won't."

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?!" This had barely been going on for a minute or two, and I already wanted whatever this awful nightmare was to end.

He gave me a dark chuckle in reply.

"To allow your true self to rise. But to do that..."

The knife he held to my throat pierced my skin, and I felt a frigid liquid crawl across my skin down to my chest.

"You can't be in your way."

A wet slicing sound was heard as agony exploded in my chest, my screams gargled by cold blood that suddenly burst from my mouth and the knife's sliced path from my throat through the wound in my chest. I coughed as my own blood choked my breaths, the strength draining from my limbs as I collapsed into the growing pool of black blood on the floor.

I had no idea how I was still conscious, but I was. And I wished I wasn't.

Violent shudders wracked my body as I managed to weakly lift one hand to my vision. Blood like black ink covered my hand, the same color beginning to spread over the grey the more I stared. The ends of my fingers began to form into the same razor claws that other-me had. The feeling of suffocation was clawing its way into my head, my vision beginning to spin as I attempted to look up at other me.

He was gone.

I was alone.

I shuddered again, managing a strangled cry that made me collapse once again in agony. Most of my torso was ripped open, blood like an inky waterfall from my chest and blending into the black floor below me. Even knowing I couldn't do anything about my fate, I tried to press my hand against the heavily bleeding wound.

I'm already dead, I can't die again...

Right?

Blood soaked through my fingers, and they fell limp once again.

I can't move.

I can't move.

I can't breathe.

What's happening to me?

Am I dying again?

No...

No, please...

A flicker of an image crossed my vision. Other-me once again, far in the distance.

Then closer.

And closer.

And closer.

He laughed, a twisted, cold sound that sent sharp icicles through my stomach. Still I couldn't move, couldn't control the spasms that violently shook me from my stillness.

"You can't deny yourself, can you, Gradient?"

"That wouldn't be very supportive of you, would it?"

"It's called self improvement."

"I'm just boosting the progress."

-=+=-

My eyes snapped open so fast I was surprised my eyeballs didn't pop out of their sockets. I couldn't control the very rapid, heavy breaths I took as I drew my knees into my chest and covered myself with my wings. Tears spilled from my eyes, only memories of what I used to feel. My heart was a rabid jackrabbit, wild to escape the cage of my chest cavity. The pain... the pain...

I didn't feel it anymore...

But it was too real, too real...

How was that so real...?!

"Gwai-dent?"

It was Aiko speaking from the doorway. Over the past week or so of my living here, she'd taken up calling me that since she apparently can't properly pronounce anything with more than two syllables. So I'm just Grey-dent to her.

I managed to calm my racing breaths to open one of my wings a little bit, enough to meet the small yellow spirit's eyes.

"Are you okway?" Aiko asked, tilting her head in confusion.

I took a shaky deep breath to pull myself together and wiped the tears from my face. "Y-yeah, I'm... I'm t-totally f-fine..."

I looked at one of my hands. Normal grey, no claws. Well at least that didn't stay...

That other version of me still haunted my mind, that twisted smile perpetually burned into my retinas as I shook my head and looked out my window. The moon was rising, a bright full circle in the navy-black sky, bright stars scattered in the darkening sky.

A pang of sudden, sharp pain sparked in the back of my skull, to which I winced as I rubbed the back of my head.

Aiko, increasingly worried for me, walked over to me and hopped up on the bed. "What's wrong, Gwai-dent?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. My mouth was suddenly sealed shut as I got the sudden, uncontrollable urge to stand up and go outside.

My feet carried me without my consent, taking me away from the confused child on the bed and towards the front door. On the way out I ran into Xyan and Praxus, who both greeted me happily.

I completely ignored them, passing through them and continuing down the hall.

White static seemed to edge my vision as I was led to the door, phasing through that as well and into the night.

Now that I was outside I felt the difference. The greys along my arms and legs turned pitch black, my fingertips turning to dark claws as my black tail lashed in newfound excitement. A chill ran down my spine as I looked out into the town, washed in muted moonlight. My heart seemed to stutter, then begin pounding in sudden enthusiasm as I spread my wings and began to fly.

-=+=-

I don't know why I went where I did, but I did.

I found myself standing inside a house, one I didn't recognize. Someone was there, alone - a man in his mid-thirties. He held a bottle of some sort in his hands, alcohol by the looks of it. Without hesitation I walked towards the man, unbeknownst to him until I stood just behind him...

And stepped within his body.

Immediately I felt dizzy, the man's thoughts hitting me like sticky molasses. I could hardly make them out - some drunken nonsense, from what I could pick up. I didn't even bother to find his name.

Immediately I took the glass bottle he was holding and slammed it with all my might against his head.

He seemed too drunk to really scream, but simply moaned as blood quickly began heavily flowing from the new gash in his head. The pain... surprisingly, I welcomed it. Odd, but I guess that's not an awful thing.

Quickly I bashed his head once more against the wall with a heavy force before hopping out of his body and watching him fall. He stayed limp. Blood was starting to pool on the floor below him, brown hair soaked with it.

I knelt down next to the man, looking him up and down before taking my hand and reaching it into his chest.

My fingers met a cold object, a satisfying chill racing up my arm as I grabbed hold of it, effortlessly tearing it from his chest. It was a bright orange orb, paler orange flames that produced no heat rising from it in slow motion. A single eye blinked groggily on the orb, slowly looking around until it met my gaze. Immediately it seemed shocked, confusion suddenly overtaking it as it tried to figure out what was happening.

In the orb's shock and fear, somewhere inside of me I found pleasure in it. I gave the orb a smirk, to which it replied by shrinking back in fear.

"Don't worry," I said calmly. "I won't bite. But... I can do other things, unfortunately for you."

In its eye I could see the scream it would have tried to make as it merged with my hand and suddenly disappeared as a burst of icy cold traveled from my hand to my entire body, bringing a smile to my face.

-=+=-

[Xyan]

"What in bloody hell was that?"

I still stared after where Gradient had disappeared through the door. I didn't know what was up with him, he just walked past like we weren't even there.

"Maybe he... needed fresh air?" Praxus shrugged.

"That badly?" I looked at him with confusion.

"I told you we should've done something about him when he came."

Akhet's voice rang in my mind. She leaned against the wall behind me, a bitter look on her face. Behind it I recognized the anxiety she was feeling about the situation.

"Look, we have no proof of him being... like her as of right now," I told her, refraining from saying the name aloud. "I don't know what he's doing, but it's not like he could've gone from the way he was acting to a murder spree, right?"

Akhet's look was skeptical, and she wrapped her tail around Aiko, who was standing next to her.

"Hey, guys, we know nothing as of right now," Praxus chimed in, stepping in between the two of us. "So until he gets back and tells us why he left, let's stay calm and just wait, okay?"

Akhet looked at Praxus with a accusing look, presumably talking to him.

"I know you're trying to keep us all safe, you think I don't want that?" Praxus exclaimed. "I'm just trying to keep us together here, okay?"

Akhet rolled her eyes, arms crossed as she gazed out into space with an annoyed look.

A few more silent minutes passed before someone stepped through the closed door again. Gradient. His fluffy hair blocked his vision from us at the top of the stairs, his body language unreadable.

"Gradient!" I said, perking up and quickly levitating down the stairs. Gradient blinked, looking up at me with a blank, empty look. Somehow he seemed a lot brighter than before, in a better mood. "What happened, are you okay?"

He seemed to take a moment to respond, but eventually smiled. "Oh, sorry for worrying you. I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and I needed to get out of the house. Should've told you guys."

His smile seemed genuine, his tone casual.

"Well... where did you go?"

"Places," He shrugged. "Just walked around town. Nowhere specific."

I glanced at Akhet and Praxus behind me. Praxus shrugged, and Akhet's expression was quite hard to read. Aiko, on the other hand, ran forwards and hugged Gradient's leg.

"Thewe you awre, Gwai-dent!" She said happily. "I didn't want you to lweave! You should stway now!"

Gradient laughed at the small child's enthusiasm, kneeling down and pulling out a small rubber ball. It was pulled from the mortal world, I could tell.

"Here, got this for you," He said with a smile.

Aiko gasped, a childlike look of ecstatic surprise on her face as she grabbed the ball excitedly and bounced up and down, giggling as she immediately began bouncing it up and down. Gradient only watched, his expression unchanging.

I looked at the other two behind me, motioning for them to take a few steps back to talk. I walked over to them in turn.

"He seems normal," I shrugged. "Just... a lot happier. Weirdly happy."

"Well... that's a red flag if I've ever seen one," Praxus said with a huff.

"Agreed."

I thought for a moment before sighing. "Okay. Akhet, look through the Spiritbooks. See if you can find anything about this... whatever you suspect Gradient is. I don't know much."

Akhet, although annoyed, gave a small nod. "Make sure if he does anything that Aiko's out of the way. I don't want anything happening to her."

"Noted."

-=+=-

Ahhhh there's the Gradient we all know and love :,)

Also yes I speedrunning this B)

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