I shot up, waking up from yet another nightmare. I gasped for air as I immediately noticed that I was shaking, sweating, and breathing abnormally quick. Calming myself down with some deep breaths, I slowly laid back down on the mattress beneath me. I closed my eyes, attempting to fall back asleep. I tossed and turned, and I simply couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Suddenly, I saw a gentle red glow from the door.

Not again..

I curled my legs in towards my chest, taking a fetal position. I again took deep breaths, but thoughts kept speeding through my head like a barrage of bullets. I felt myself start shaking once again. I squeezed my eyes closed, tucking my chin in and towards my chest. I suddenly felt my heart stop as I thought,

How did I just move if I'm in sleep paralysis?

I froze. I was petrified. I wanted to run, but my legs practically went numb. My heart was ready to jump out of my chest. My stomach felt like it was being squeezed, so tight that I felt the acid in my stomach against its sides. My ribs felt like they clawed against my lungs, as my breath was short. I could barely get a full breath in. I knew curling into myself wouldn't do anything, but it was only instinct. Fight and flight flew out the window, and my head chose freeze.

The soft footsteps travelled across the wooden planks, stopping once they laid behind my back. Opening my eyes, my vision stayed glued to the opposite wall. Shadows were the only things I could rely on. It was a person with six limbs from what I could see, four of them having the point of a knife.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to shrivel up and disappear. Would anyone even hear me if I screamed? Was this all just in my head? Was Muffin actually waiting for me on the other side?

Was she right?

I wanted to yell, but I instead screamed into my own head,

"I'M DEAD. JUST KILL ME ALREADY YOU PARASITE!"
_____________________
I laid there, getting annoyed with Meme and Laff as they bickered back and forth about who was better suited to 'diagnose' me. Earlier, I heard Blaza ask,

"How much longer you think he'll be out for?"

"Not much longer, maybe a few hours because of- Gulvic was it? My sister blacked out once playin' football and she was out for three hours give or take from a concussion."

"Laff, it's soccer. This isn't Britain."

They both shared a laugh, and Laff continued,

"You know what I meant,"

Then he continued on about my 'condition'.

"Thing is, Socks doesn't have a concussion from what happened. His head never hit the ground."

Then Meme piped in, clearing his throat,

"Shouldn't I be the one that says the medical things and calculations?"

Laff sighed, a little bit annoyed with him, but allowed him to talk. Meme took in a breath and spewed,

"Well, it shouldn't be much longer. The span of time is right now, to a couple of hours."

"That's what I just said."

"That's because you were correct."

"So why did you have to say it yourself?"

That brought me to the present. The two went on for a while until Meme eventually proved Laff wrong. I wanted to let out a groan and tell them to shut up but I couldn't. I was paralyzed. I couldn't move, open my eyes, or talk. It was like I was in a coma. But I wasn't.

Meme, Laff, and Blaza left the room, leaving me alone. It was quiet for the first time in a while. I listened to my own breathing, which was slow and deep. It was like a lucid dream, except I couldn't do anything. The only thing I saw was the inside of my 'head'. I didn't know how to describe it.

It was like a barren, reddish-pink cave with a big splotch of black on the left-hand side. Towards the back, there was a doorway that was blocked with pink tissue. I didn't know what it could possibly lead to, since being in my own mind was a new concept to me. There was a podium-like platform below a screen, which held my physical vision. The platform was how we each took control, along with a table-like structure sprouting from the floor of my mind which held the main five senses. It reminded me of that 2016 movie with the five emotions in the teenager's mind. Of course, there was only two of us, and I am never entirely alone though.

"So, what's up?"

Mentally, I glared at the evil twin. Gulvic rolled his eyes and scoffed, amused at my annoyance with him. His tentacles rose in contentment as I spat,

"What's so funny."

He slowly paced towards me, tentacles gliding down until the tips were floating at shoulder height, and laughed,

"You. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean."

He put his clawed hand on my shoulder and raised his tentacles again, condescendingly. He reasoned,

"C'mon. You really think if I found another person to possess that you'd even exist right now?"

"I have a pretty strong feeling that I, in fact, would be."

Gulvic stepped back and shrugged. His voice rose as he admitted,

"Huh. Pretty good for a human like you."

I squinted at him in an anger-driven disgust as he shook his hand around like a floppy fish, as if he just stuck it in some slime. He turned back around, slapping me in the face with a tentacle as he walked to the corner of my mind that he now claimed as his own. I remarked,

"I just knocked you out of control. What are you going to say about that?"

"It's all according to plan."

I groaned, deciding to save my energy rather than fight with him.
—————————————————-

"It was about time I gained control again."

I raised myself from the couch, sitting up. It would've been pitch black if it weren't for my chest mouth and pupils, even though I could see fine in the dark anyway. I sat my feet against the floor, stood up, and instinctively reached for the ceiling and bent a bit backward to stretch. Doing this, my four tentacles were forced out of my back and stretched to their maximum length. It felt good to be in full control and not have to worry about Socks, since he was asleep. I steadily inhaled, thinking over my plan of action. I then yawned and exhaled, relaxing the rest of my body and affirming that the plan, in fact, was perfect.

I looked left and right, making sure no one was there being a creep because they were 'assigned' to look after me like they did with a friend of mine. After seeing no one, I walked into the hallway. I haven't yet gotten the entire base wrapped around my head just yet. I slowly walked down the main hall, making sure the only sounds were my socks hitting the floor and an occasional drag of my tentacles against the walls.

The first door to my right that I opened led to a staircase going down. Must've been a basement of some kind. I gently closed the door, and made the sure only noise was sound of the door clicking shut. I repeated this with the room across from it, which was Tbh's room. It had a mattress, some paper on the walls, and the most peculiar was a thin but long black box with tiny black tentacles. Looking at Tbh, he was sound asleep. I looked at the other black box with red lettering that was on a small wooden box, which I figured out were called a "clock" and a "dresser". It read nine past two in the morning.

How's that thing supposed to tell the time? It doesn't hold any water.

I walked to the thinner box with tentacles, which was held on another dresser, but it was instead a few feet away from the foot of Tbh's bed, against the wall. I grasped the tentacle, confused. It didn't move. I bounced it up and down in my hand a little, and it still didn't move. Was it even a tentacle or another human thing I didn't understand?

I realized I was getting sidetracked, and that Tbh could wake up at any moment. I let the tentacle hang limp, and then saw that it was attached to the wall. I tried to run through all of Socks' memories, and figured out it was called a wire, which carried electricity through currents like the ocean. I felt kinda stupid. I let out a small growl out of embarrassment but walked towards the door anyway.

Gently closing the door and looking right, there was Socks' room. I knew that for sure. I swiftly slinked into his bedroom, looking both ways again like I was crossing a street. I held my breath as I slowly closed the door, but froze once it started to squeak and creak. I jumped back, careful to not slam it shut by shoving a tentacle between the doorframe and the door. Pulling it away, the door stayed cracked open.

No one's going to be up at this hour anyway.

Walking over to the window-booth that laid in the wall, I lifted up the bottom cushion to reveal the knife that I'd been sharpening in the night. Grabbing the knife with my left hand by its handle, I eyed the serration of the blade. I used my palm and fingers to take off Socks' right glove, and gently pulled the blade across the claw on my middle and index fingers. It easily left a divot in the aphanzatic crystal. I laughed under my breath, and sent more aphanzite iodide to the ends of my fingers to heal the two claws. At the same time, I turned around towards the door once again.

Across from Tbh's door was the bathroom. Walking to the left, I saw two more doors on either side. After opening both, I knew Blaza's room was on the left wall with Tbh's, and Laff's room was on the right. I continued walking and entered one more hallway that looked like the first, except the long side went to the left instead of the right. I looked to the right, and it looked like an alcove with two doors on either side. The one on the right had a paper on it that read:

'Nadwe's Room!
Please knock!'

I needed to use Socks' knowledge of English for that. The one on the left however, said nothing, but oh boy, was it something. I found his room. Nothing better than killing the source of information before they even have any of it, right?

Opening the door, it was a baby blue painted room. The room seemed to have the layout of the English letter P, the door being on the right side of the stem. There was a long window to my left, which had 'blinds' draped over. 'Blinds' were not a medical condition unlike what I first thought, but instead were lines of plastic that you'd put over your windows so you aren't blinded as soon as you wake up, or to have some privacy while you're sleeping. There was a desk along the back wall, which was right to the left of where the door was. Looking to my right, I saw a bed. Meme was in that bed. I stared at him for a second, debating where to go from here.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM."

I breathed out a sigh of annoyance, but then Socks decided to give me headache. He made me freeze in my stance, the pain so sudden that it completely fried my brain. I only stared at Meme.

Pramn it- let me shut my eyes- LET ME SHUT MY EYES.

He wouldn't let me shut my eyes. Meme would notice me by now.

Mentally, I grabbed Socks with a tentacle and wrapped it around his mouth so he couldn't distract me, and raised him in the air so he couldn't hurt me. I threw him into the wall, knocking him out and putting him back to sleep.

As I focused on the task at hand, Meme curled up towards himself underneath his blanket. Quietly, just like I was before, I walked to the side of his bed. He wouldn't look around. His eyes were glued to the wall ahead of me, watching my shadow. He knew what was coming. I snickered, slightly showing my teeth between my lips and letting red light escape.

Ripping the covers off the bed, I wrapped two tentacles around Meme's torso and arms. After getting a tight grip, I wrapped a third loosely around his neck. He was shaking and terrified. He knew he was about to die. It told me I was doing something right. I quietly exclaimed,

"Why, hello! Long time no see, huh, Meme?"

He stayed silent, his breathing picking up in pace. I heard him whisper under his breath,

"Don't kill me."

"Who said I'm only going to kill you?"

To afraid answer my question, he asked another one of his own instead.

"W-what are you?"

Looking back at the door because I thought I heard a creak, I tightened my grip with all three tentacles. Looking back at Meme, he stared directly into my pupils. I scoffed, and lied,

"I already said what I am! I'm Socks!"

I smiled as he stupidly reasoned,

"Socks doesn't have tentacles or kill people."

A growl escaping from my throat, I facepalmed as I tensed.

"Do you humans ever listen."

Meme perked up after I had realized my own mistake. He accused,

"You're lying!"

"What'd you expect, of course I was. Use your brain.."

I snickered as I added,

"I thought you had a medical degree."

"Then what are you."

I sighed, really not wanting to say. Thinking over my options, I shrugged and explained,

"I'm not the other side of Socks. Never was, and never will be. I'm a possession. This is, believe it-or-not, my first time. Do you happen to know what Aphanzite is?"

Meme quickly shook his head, terrified, but eagerly awaiting answers. I chucked as I explained,

"It's a crystal that you got from somewhere and threw in the mix, I guess. Nice job, it's you're fault for the end of humanity."

Meme stayed silent, signaling that he was listening. He was taking in the information as if he had the time to tell it. Confused and wanting to get it over with, I tightened the tentacle that was around Meme's neck. I whispered,

"You won't live to tell the tale though, now will you."

Laughing under my breath, eager to see blood-flow, I began choking the life out of Meme with my third tentacle. Knowing I could've killed him right there, I refused. I wanted him to suffer. I felt Meme's arms attempt to raise from his sides to grasp at his neck, which I did not allow him to do. Smiling the entire time, it suddenly flipped to a frown as I growled,

(OG:

(Redraw:

(Second Redraw:

"One final remark. You want to know what my goal is? It's to kill you all. You torture each other and other species to the death. You're nothing but a virus that kills, kills, and kills. Ever think about the ones who did absolutely NOTHING to deserve what their demise gave them? Ever think about that, or are you too SELFISH to do so?"

Realizing how I was getting off track and about to snap Meme's neck, I took a deep breath. Meme was red in the face, about to pass out. Raising the knife, I smiled once again, thinking,

Just forget about it, don't let them know you're weak. Kill them to make up for every single death.

I taunted,

"Say hi to Muffin. I'm sure he misses me."

I stabbed Meme through the chest which my freshly sharpened knife, and then used all of my pent-up strength to crush Meme's neck like a twig. His face suddenly expressed lifelessness. When I finished, I pulled away all of my tentacles and stared at the body. It gave me genuine joy. My thoughts running quicker through my head, I slowly frowned once again.

What the hell happened to me over the past-

What snapped me out of my trance were sounds that sounded like footsteps coming from the hallway. It sounded like they were down the hall. I stared out the door, trying to determine whether I was really alone or not. I looked back at the ground as I felt a warm liquid reach and soak into the sock on my foot. Staring at the blood that will now stain the ground for eternity, I felt satisfied with what I had done.

Smiling, with a hint of doubt, I looked away from the fresh corpse and walked back down the hall once again, accept it wasn't to go back to Sock's room. When I arrived at my destination about fifteen minutes later, I looked for the pills that started it all. They weren't on the shelves, floor, or behind the "computer" like I thought they would be, but instead on the table. I muttered,

"Why would you keep your science experiments on a table out in the open?"

Either way, I immediately snatched it and started on my way back to the compound. Before I could leave the medbay doors though, I saw a reflection in the door from behind me. I quickly looked back, and it was a cyan ghost. It seemed to look a lot like Meme, along with his four eyes becoming X's, having no neck from me snapping it, and a rip that was visible in his chest from the stab. To go along with all of that, a red aura was where his neck should be, and where the rip was. Glaring, I growled,

"What."

"So would you like to elaborate on your hell of a story?"

The ghost's expression was sour, and his "body" language wasn't much better. His arms were crossed, and his tail flicked out in front of him, as he was trying to give the visual he was crossing his legs. This obviously gave a clue that he was waiting for more explaining.

"No. I don't. Shouldn't you be looking for Muffin or something?"

"Oh, I've already found him."

He moved to the side a bit, revealing another fluorescent being. It looked like a Muffin, with the wrapper's bottom ending in a ghostly tail. His hands were floating on the sides of his body, one waving triumphantly, yet the other tucked into his chest in nervousness. He was wearing smug smile, yet his "eye" that was also filled with anxiety. He was a floating contradiction. There was a hole in the top-middle of his head, and a bite taken from the top left side. That was the same spot I took a bit out of him. The same red aura on Meme was around the bite mark.

(Original)

(Redraw)

"Sup, squid-man."

I widened my eyes a bit, even with my bad mood still present. I still had a bit of annoyance in my face, despite not needing to. I gave a fake smile and sarcastically exclaimed,

"Why, hello again! I see you are doing well in the afterlife."

Meme, looking at Muffin, started to explain,

"Yeah, I found him as soon as you killed me. He was—"

Meme must've looked back at me, after that sentence. I was already walking out of the medbay, not wanting to listen, and wanting to go back to sleep. He exclaimed,

"Hey, where are you going?"

I angrily deadpanned,

"To bed."

Meme dashed in front of me, with Muffin following. They both floated backward as I walked forward, which was their equivalent of backpedaling. I growled out of annoyance, but looking at the pill container, I remembered I had done what I wanted to. Everything the two humanly possessions talked about went through one of my ears and out the other. It was all forgotten except for one thing Meme and Muffin agreed on.

—————————————————-

"You know.. Gulvic.. there was a witness to the murder."

"Sure. No one was there but hey, keep talking nonsense."

"Not that you saw."

Muffin bounced up and exclaimed,

"Oh, you saw him too, Meme?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Why can I say? If I did, you'd kill him."

"I think you should rephrase that to what can we say."
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