-Laff POV-
It was a normal morning, except it wasn't a very calm one. As soon as Socks woke up this morning, he was apparently stressed from yesterday, and was delirious once again. It's not like there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I really don't feel like dealing with it today. One of the nice things that came with delirious Gulvic was that he was like a kid, so he would actually listen to us. He cleaned up the glass from last night, and he surprisingly didn't cut himself. Even though there's that, we really have to start thinking of ways to get rid of Gulvic.. it's starting to actually be normal these days. Everyone was awake, Blaza and Oompa had brought Woolf's corpse to the same place they had brought Meme's, my church, and now it was just a normal, life or death day. Gulvic was messing around on the chair again when I walked over to him.

"Hey, Gulvic!"

"Oh, hi!"

A couple seconds passed before he continued.

"Who are you?"

"Uh, I'm Laff. Don't you recognize me?"

"I don't think so- anyway, what's up?"

"Nothing much.. still trying to comprehend what happened last night.."

"Oh yeah.. I remember that."

"You do?"

"Yeah! I remember Nadwe being chased by Ryzo up the stairs, and me helping him up the stairs. Now that I think about it, I don't remember what happened after that."

"Hm. Well, uh, since we're talking, what else has happened in your life? What are some of your favorite things?"

"Well, I don't remember much about the early 1200's.. but-"

"Wait- you're from the 1200's?"

"Yeah! To be exact I'm 821 years old! Wait, I'm remembering a bit more now! I used to be a demon-hanger hybrid, uh.. and that's all I remember.."

He seemed disappointed in himself because he couldn't remember, but at least that explained what he was. His eyes then changed from the red rings to just normal, red slits again.

"What just happened.."

"..."

I had no idea what to say. This was some new information that I didn't see coming.

"So.. you were a hybrid?"

"Wha- what?"

I seemed to get his attention very fast with that sentence, so I questioned more.

"You had said you were a demon-hanger hybrid. Is that correct?"

"Wh- when did I say that.."

"In your delirious phase, you said you were a hybrid in the past. Is this true?"

"I.. uh.. it's not.. it's nothing you need to know."

He was so nervous and surprised that I knew this information. I mean, I can't blame him. He has no idea what he acts like when he is in that phase. Apparently talking about his past brought up negative feelings, and I could also tell that he was trying to not give anything away but he had obviously failed. His right eye then changed into a white X.

"I'm guessing that means you're stressed or nervous?"

"What is the 'that'?"

"Your eye.. it's a white X.. does that mean you're stressed because of my questions?"

"N-no.. it's just that.."

"Listen, I'm not trying to force answers out of you or make you feel pressured. I was just wondering."

I tried to make him feel less pressured, but I think I just made it even worse. He was meant to kill us, not befriend any of us. And now I'm trying to be nice to him. Black liquid was already dripping down from his eyes, but now it was more. I guess it's another thing that happens when he's stressed. I could tell he really didn't want to be here right now, so I just said that he could leave if he wanted.

"Well, you can leave if you would like to.."

He then proceeded to just look at me like I was crazy. He then gave me a small smile, which was a first. He then seemed to just notice he had smiled at me, and seemed embarrassed and annoyed about it. He then just closed his eyes. Everything that was a part of Gulvic disappeared once again, and Socks was back again for the first time today. It was like he had just woken up.

"Hey, Laff! Uh.. what am I doing not in my bedroom right now.."

"Yeah.. you kinda woke up delirious.. and you made your way out here."

"Oh, great. Get any new info?"

"Actually, I did!"

"Cool! What is it?"

"Well, apparently he used to be a hybrid, and he is 821 years old exactly.."

"I guess good? It doesn't really make sense.. how can he live for that long?"

"Yeah, but maybe this will get us more answers and lead us into more directions to get rid of Gulvic and Ryzo!"

"Oh, alright!"

He didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as I thought he would be, but he basically just woke up on his end, so I would think that. He then turned around to walk around and stretch his legs, and I could've sworn I saw a red tint in his hazelnut irises. I then needed to check on him because of that.

"Wait a minute, are you feeling okay?"

"..what do you.. mean?"

He turned around to face me again, and I was right. His irises were hazelnut with the slightest tint of red.

"Can you think straight?"

"Uh.. yes?"

"Then what happened the other night?"

"With.. Woolf? Uhm.. Ryzo killed him.. but it wasn't that bad.."

"What do you mean it wasn't that bad? One of your closest friends just got killed.."

I started to fade out a bit on the second part, as my voice started to tremble.

"Oh, come on.. it wasn't bad. I'm sure he's in a better place now with no pain.."

"But that's not the point.. he was still killed."

"Why are you talking to me about this? Ryzo was the one that killed him, not Gulvic. Ryzo is with you, and Gulvic is with me.."

"Don't blame me for it! I'm not the one that killed two people."

"It's in the past now. And anyway, killing isn't the most evil thing you could do to someone."

"Oh yeah? Then what is? And what is the best thing you can do for someone."

"How would I know? I'm not Gulvic.. but I sure know that killing them isn't the worst. The best thing you can do for someone is caring for them and being kind."

Under normal circumstances, he would've answered pretty nervously. It just didn't seem like him to be so calm with it. It has to have something to do with the tint.
_________________________________________________
-Sub. Socks POV-

Gulvic was delirious again for some random reason this morning and I was not having it. He was just doing the randomest of things, and I was still pretty upset about last night. He kept asking if I was okay, but everytime I just went,

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine.."

A couple times it wasn't too bad though. Once, Tbh and Blaza were feeling a bit upset, and Gulvic went over and tried to comfort them. They were actually kind of chill about it, and I think it made them feel better to talk about it. Blaza actually removed his sunglasses, which was a rare occurrence, and just squeezed Gulvic in a hug. It made me feel good to see Blaza like himself again. It's been awhile. Tbh also seemed to be doing better after that. I guess happiness really is contagious.

A bit after that, about 30 minutes after, Laff came over and started talking to us. He was asking Gulvic about his past and what his favorite things are.

Seems like something good to ask.

Gulvic then told Laff that he was exactly 821 years old, and that he used to be a demon-hanger hybrid.. or whatever that means. I didn't really pay anymore attention but I know Gulvic was then snapped back to being the murderous, stubborn parasite we all know and hate a couple seconds later. He seemed super stressed about the fact that he had exposed himself once Laff told him. I had never seen him like that before. Apparently talking about his past is basically life or death to him, as he doesn't want us to know about it. After a couple minutes, Laff told him that he could leave the conversation if he wanted, and he was super confused as to why he would do that. But Gulvic seemed grateful at the same time. He then noticed that I was looking at him while he was like this, and just put me into control right away. To do this, he shoved me to where we could take control, but in a way that he was able to scratch me on the shoulder. It actually hurt more than I thought it would, and after that, I felt different. Like I didn't understand my own thoughts. He was then just staring at me, like he knew what he just did, and it wasn't on purpose, but he was still okay with it. It was a bit weird, but I came back into control. Me and Laff talked a bit, and I was about to walk away when he asked a weird question.

"Wait a minute, are you feeling okay?"

I didn't know how to answer this, but I did. As we kept talking, in the middle of it I felt a hand on the shoulder that got scratched. It was obviously Gulvic, but then he walked away and yawned. I kept talking, but it didn't feel right. It was like whatever Gulvic just did affected me in some way. Laff then asked me what the best and worst thing you could do for someone was, and I was stumped. I couldn't think of a quality answer. I said that murdering definitely wasn't the worst, and caring for someone was the best. After I said that, it all came back to me.

What am I talking about?! Killing someone is the worst thing that you could do.

I then thought of something that made me disgusted with myself.

You wouldn't be doing evil, you'd do them a favor. Let their spirits run free, and not be caged in a dull, restricted body.

I thought Gulvic was doing this, and I turned to see him passed out on the floor asleep. He apparently didn't care where he was either because he wasn't even near the wall. Just in the middle of the room, in an awkward position. I then turned back and thought to myself.

If Gulvic didn't do that, then what did? Was it me? No.. I would never think that. Death is death, and it's sad. It's not supposed to be something you look forward to..

I paused my thoughts.

..Right?

I glanced back at Gulvic, who was still asleep on the ground.

Am I being influenced by him? Has it really been that long? Is there more to what's going on? Well obviously there is..

I didn't know what to think at this point. Everything was just one big knot made of many others, and you have to untie each small knot to untie the biggest. For example, the main, biggest knot or problem, is Gulvic's existence. Then there are way too many other problems and questions that sprout from that. We might have just untied two, maybe three problems, and there are many more to take into concern. They're just a couple facets.
_____________________________________________
-Nadwe POV-

It had been about an hour since I had talked to anyone as I had just finished filling up a couple pages in my diary. They were notes about last night. I tried to remember as much as I could, but of course not all of it came to me. I guess it was time that I told everyone what Gulvic was saying last night. When I got to "the room next to the stairs", as Tbh calls it, everyone was silent. It felt very uncanny and odd, as there was usually a bunch of noise in this room be it from the people or from their actions. It was especially off because Blaza, Dino, Oompa, Tbh, Laff, and Socks usually make a lot of ruckus no matter the circumstance. It may sound easier said than done, but I knew I had to break the silence. I started out by clearing my throat.

"Ehem, uhm.. does everyone have a moment?"

Everyone looked up at me, and as I got the strength to speak, Blaza asked,

"What's up Nadwe?"

He sounded dead. He sounded like he was out of energy, which felt very wrong as he was the optimistic type.

At least he used to be.

Recently, not so much, and it was obvious why. It was because we just lost three really good friends because of a parasitic demon that apparently came from a failed medicine. It didn't make sense, but anyway.

"Uhm.. I'd like to share a couple of things I heard Gulvic saying last night."

Everyone's faces lit up with anticipation. It was as if I just showed some starving hyenas some fresh raw meat. Oompa then shouted,

"And?!"

"Uh.. well first off, he was saying to himself that we don't even know what is truth and what is a lie anymore, and he was also saying that he won't let his heart broken again and that he has to stay strong."

Laff then shouted,

"Wait, if Gulvic really is 821 years old, and he's saying he won't let his heart get broken again, doesn't that mean he wasn't always evil and that something happened in his past?"

Everyone then had a,'Huh.. I never though about that..' look. I then continued.

"Another thing that I heard him say last night was that him and Ryzo were just beginning killing us, so I assume he wants to kill all humans. He also mentioned that he used to speak Hybrodeic."

Laff then theorized,

"This makes so much more sense! Gulvic said that he was demon-hanger hybrid before in the 1200's, so it would just be stupid to say that he didn't speak Hybrodeic!"

Socks then asked,

"Wait, so from what I understand of this, Gulvic is 821 years old, used to be a demon-hanger hybrid, used to speak Hybrodeic, and something happened in his past to make him like this?"

I then replied with,

"Yep! Another thing I could add is that when he was about to smash our group picture from last year, he seemed really upset at the fact we had a friendship, and that-"

Laff then blurted out,

"Yeah, he seemed super nervous when I was asking him about his past earlier too. And when I told him he could leave, he seemed really surprised, as if he was never expecting that."

Socks then added on to what he had said before.

"So he is 821 years old, used to be a demon-hanger hybrid, used to speak Hybrodeic, and something happened with humans that made him like this? Maybe something happened with his frien-"

Before Socks could finish his sentence, black erupted from his eyes just like the night before. Socks' voice changed into Gulvic's voice out of nowhere. He nervously stated,

"We don't have to talk about that now do we?"

Everyone stayed quiet apart from Laff. I assumed it was because we all knew Gulvic wouldn't kill him as that would then kill his comrade. He said,

"Why shouldn't we?"

"Uh.. because it's a topic that you don't have to know about."

More black dripped down his face, almost like he was crying. It was obvious he hated us talking about his past, as then we would probably be able to know how to get rid of him.

"Well, what if we do talk about it?"

"Then I could just kill you just like I killed Meme and Muffin."

"Well, if you killed me, you'd be killing Ryzo too, huh?"

Gulvic definitely wasn't expecting that. He then snatched Blaza over with a tentacle and said in a dangerous, low tone,

"That doesn't mean I can't kill him.."

He started curling a tentacle around Blaza's arm, almost as if he were going to rip it off. He then continued,

"So what's it going to be? You stop looking for clues and I let him go, or you keep pushing it, and your friend's corpse will be the next upside down turn on this roller coaster of life or death."

Because of this sudden turn of events, Laff protracted his tentacles in case things got a bit too intense. Then again, it was already getting pretty bad.

"Okay, okay. We won't try and figure anything else out. Just let Blaza go."

Gulvic hesitated, but left Blaza out of the tentacle's grip. Blaza was so overwhelmed about what just happened that he couldn't even speak. He was so shaken up that he actually lost his balance a couple times as he was let out of the grip. I don't blame him. He was basically sitting on death's front door. Gulvic than retaliated.

"And you better not try and figure anything else out.."

"We won't Gulvic.. we don't need you killing anyone else."

"And how do you know I won't even if you do keep your promise?"

"Because I won't take anymore of it."

Socks' voice just came out of nowhere, and Gulvic's pupils changed into white ovals. Socks' side continued again.

"I won't let you kill anyone else, Gulvic. No matter the circumstance."

"And how are you going to stop me? It's not like you starting to take after me helps.."

"What do you mean by me starting to take after you..?"

"You seriously haven't noticed? You really are a crindni.."

This caught my attention as he explained to me what that meant last night.

"What does that even mean? Or wait.. is that Hybrodeic for something?"

"Well, no bint it is. But anyway since you haven't noticed yourself, I think someone here knows what I'm talking about.."

Socks.. or Gulvic's eyes went to Laff.

"Who.. me?"

Gulvic then answered back,

"Well, of course you! Who else had a conversation with him earlier?!"

Laff then admitted,

"Now that I think about it, you're morals did seem a bit flipped earlier."

Socks then got a panicked look on his face, and quickly asked,

"What do you mean?"

"You just seemed really off earlier.. you were saying things like killing wasn't the worst thing you could do to someone, and the fact that Woolf was killed wasn't that bad."

Socks looked genuinely concerned for himself, and Gulvic added salt to the wound.

"See what I mean? You're turning into me. You're turning into a monster,"

Gulvic paused for a second, to let that sink in. But I have a feeling in my gut that he also stopped for another reason. He continued,

"And soon, I bet you won't even know your own name anymore! We'll be one entity soon enough."

I could tell that all of Socks' hope shattered them and there. I saw his eyes start to get watery a couple seconds after that.

Now that I think about it, I haven't really talked to Socks all that much. I wonder if he's okay.. mentally. How many strings are tugging in different directions?
__________________________________
-Socks POV-
After Gulvic said that, I swear I just broke. Dino's words from last night echoed through my mind.. well, if it was even mine anymore.

..there's no possible way you're related, turning into, or surrendering to Gulvic.. You and him are complete opposites.. you can't let that make you think you're a monster.. and we'll be fighting to the end with you. You won't give up, and we won't give up..

Those last two parts are what tempted me to keep going, but I thought about it again.

..there's no possible way you're related, turning into, or surrendering to Gulvic.. You and him are complete opposites.. you can't let that make you think you're a monster.. and we'll be fighting to the end with you. You won't give up, and we won't give up..

That's where you were wrong Dino..

All of this.. this whole situation. It's all about manipulation. Making one side feel powerless, and the other keeping all of the confidence and power. Sometimes they aren't insanely different, but they are never equal. The two sides will always be fighting, and that's what Dino got wrong.

What happens when one side gives up?

Until that point, the two sides are just fighting over power. It's like a light switch flicking on and off. After all of this thinking, I couldn't help but yell,

"THIS IS ALL SO TWO SIDED!! WHEN WILL YOU JUST GET OUT OF MY HEAD?!"

Black bursted down my face and onto the floor, but I didn't care.

"YOU ARE PULLING ME IN SO MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO, AND YOU ARE JUST TEARING ME APART!"

Everyone was staring at me, and I still didn't care. Gulvic wasn't even trying to interrupt.

"ALL OF THIS IS JUST MAKING ME GO INSANE! I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF ANYONE IS SAFE ANYMORE, IF I SHOULD BE STAYING HERE, WHAT. IF I COULD, I WOULD RIP YOU APART AFTER ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE"

At this point, I was just erupting like a volcano physically and mentally. Black was pouring down onto the floor from either our tentacles, my eyes, or my hands.

"WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO EVEN KILL ANYONE HERE? WHY US? WHY ANYONE ON THIS WHOLE PLANET!? I JUST WANT TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?"

I was out of breath after that, and I felt so mixed. I felt like I had actually made an impact on someone, but of course I knew I really didn't. I felt sad, angry, relieved, stressed, happy, all at once. I just stood there for a bit in silence after that, and went to sit back down on the couch. I curled myself up in a ball, and for some reason Gulvic decided to use his tentacles to give ourselves a weird hug. It was like I was wrapping my arms around my legs, which I was already doing, but it was with the tentacles. How I knew Gulvic did that, was because he was the one that controlled them. It felt weird. I wasn't super sure why Gulvic was actually trying to comfort me, or at least that's what it looked like. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was genuine, who really knows. I then let a couple more drops fall down onto my orange spacesuit before I started getting concerned if it would get stained. I lifted my head so it was resting on my knees now. I miserably looked to where everyone was, and Blaza was walking over to me. Gulvic apparently knew he was coming so he just waved at him with a tentacle. I asked Gulvic,

'Uh.. are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks.'

Okay then..

Blaza then asked me,

"How are you feeling?"

"Oh, uh.. I'm doing alright. I kinda just went a bit overboard when Gulvic was talking.."

"Oh, alright. How you doing up here?"

He then knocked on the visor of my 'helmet' a couple times. This made me laugh a bit, and I answered,

"Yeah, I'm doing fine there too.."

I then heard Gulvic say,

No you aren't..

This apparently made my eyes flash red a couple times, which made Blaza jump a bit. He then said,

"Uh, did something just happen? Because your eyes just flashed red a couple times."

"I mean, Gulvic just talked to me.."

"What did he say?"

"Uh.. he said that I'm really not okay.."

"And is that true?"

Both Socks and Gulvic answered at the same time, using both of their voices at the same time.

"Yes."

"Okay then.. well, what is bothering you the most?"
_______________________________

I'm so sorry for the wait- since school started up, I haven't had as much time as I used to to work on Two Sided..
and just so you know, if I don't update for a while, the book is not discontinued. It's just hard for me to get time to work on it.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this lore filled chapter.. see you in the next one!
4,069 words including author's note