[???]

The girl smiled, showing bloodstained fangs that shone in the dim light. The giant wolf-dragon hybrid at her side stirred, opening amber eyes that snapped to me, then to my companions.

I had been at the cabin, then suddenly I was here.

Magic was something I definitely believed in - something I used almost every day. But this was weird.

She nodded to me, then each of the others in turn. "Greetings, Commander Akik. Ally. Addie. Hunter. Stellan."

Addie - the small, candy version of her - blinked in wonder. "Who are you?" she asked, her high-pitched voice edged with wonder.

The girl smiled sweetly. "My name is Crescent, young one. This is Tempest."

She stroked the wolf gently. Tempest's gaze was glued to me, hostile.

I looked to see the people with me. Ally, Experimental AU, finished and soon to be (possibly) rewritten. Candy Addie, non-canonically Candy AU, a different creator's story. Stellan, Virus AU, unwritten. Hunter, The Wolf's Clan, an old story of the Creator's, also soon to be rewritten with different characters and plot. And then me, not much more than a concept of a separate timeline with nothing more than bits of a backstory and a personality.

My tail lashed as I thought. Why us? Why was this specific selection of characters brought here?

Crescent chuckled slightly. "I see your brain working, Commander. What are you thinking about?"

A soft growl rose in the back of my throat. "What do you want from us?"

She smiled again. "For nothing more than to... chat."

"No one teleports people to a separate dimension without notice to have a simple 'chat,'" Stellan retorted. What seemed to be shadow wolf ears pointed into place on his head, giving an annoyed flick before swirling back into the virus's shifting mass.

"But this is an important chat," Crescent said, "Because I wish to give you... everything you desire."

Addie tilted her head. "What's dat mean?"

Crescent knelt down to the candy child's level, her red eyes meeting Addie's blue, star-shaped ones. "Remember your friend Jello?"

Grief and sadness flashed in Addie's eyes, and she looked to the ground, shuffling her feet nervously. "I-It was an accident, I-"

"No, no, you're not in trouble," Crescent said softly, reassuring. "What if I told you that I could bring her back?"

Addie looked up, her eyes brightening. "Y-you could?"

"Of course!" Crescent smiled, "I can bring her back, and maybe I could get your other two candy friends to trust you again. You just have to listen to me."

Addie stared at her, watching as she stood and turned to me.

"Commander. It comes to my attention that you are the alter-ego of Akik?"

I gave her a cold glare, no words leaving my mouth.

"He seems to get much more attention than you do," Crescent pointed out, "Perhaps I could change that?"

I paused. My fists tightened. I hated the original version of myself. He was unrecognizable, all head-over-heels for that human and always so nervous when he's not with him. Please. My world's Dayan is stronger than him, and he's the weakest of my squadron. And Akik gets all the glory, while I'm stuck in the shadows.

"You have the power. Lots of it. And you know how to control it, unlike him. Just follow my lead, and you can rise to the top."

She turned to face the others. "All of you, lost and neglected. By Creator," she turned to Addie, "By your friends," she turned to me, "By those who oppose you." She faced us all again. "But I can change that. You pledge your loyalty to me, and your desires I will make true."

Finally, I spoke up. "How do I know you're trustworthy? You mysteriously make us all appear in an endless black void and start telling us of glory and loyalty, but what proof do you have of your claims?"

Crescent smiled again (she seems to smile quite a lot, and it's unsettling me slightly). "This."

She snapped her fingers, and my vision shifted.

---

My dagger was stained with crimson blood, the human's blood. I stood a good distance away from the corpse. Blonde hair was matted with red, one lifeless blue eye visible through a mess of wet, dark crimson. The other was a mass of flowing blood. A hand clutched the dark cloth around the hole in his chest. The nephalem, my original self, cradled the corpse, tears falling from his eyes, crying, begging for him to wake up.

I knew he wouldn't as much as he did. I held his heart in my hand.

I crushed the soft organ, savoring the feeling of warm blood seeping through my gloved fingers. It stained the dark gray cloth almost black. My tail lashed excitedly, my wings flared in triumph.

I summoned my other dagger, inverted in color to the other one, and licked blood from the corner of my mouth. It tasted metallic, like copper.

He looked up at me, his eyes glazed with grief, his face tear-streaked. Even healing powers of his level couldn't save him. He's lost too much blood, the blood that pooled where the corpse once laid by his knees. I could sense his rising anger and despair from where I stood.

No reason to wait for that.

I grinned, and lunged.

Blood splattered my face as the twin blades were plunged into his chest.

---

I snapped back from the vision with a blink. The others looked just as surprised, they must have had similar sights.

Crescent twirled what looked like a black pen in her hand. "That was just a vision, but a vision of the future. You can bring that scenario to life if you just give me your trust. I promise, you will never regret it."

I inhaled sharply, looking at the others. Stellan was the only one who returned my gaze, the others seeming lost in thought (other than Addie, who was looking at everyone else for permission). Stellan's eyes revealed uncertainty. I knew exactly what he must have seen in his vision; his obvious abhor of the Creator for paying so little attention to him told me that well.

I let out the breath, looking Crescent in the eye. Her smirk, although smug, was unreadable. Her tail swished side to side patiently.

The deal sounded decent, the trade-off benefitting both sides. But something was off about this, about this strange vampire girl with the wolf that apparently hates me.

"I know what you want," I said, "You do realize that killing the Creator will kill us all, yes?"

She chuckled, twirling her pen in her hands. "That... is not exactly true."

---

It's concerning how much I enjoyed writing that vision-

AND STELLAN NO WHY-

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