4 years, and a week post SSundee's 'death'

(The song should be: My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark)

FireSpark's POV
I walked slowly through the graveyard, staring up at the cloudy sky above me. Tarnished gravestones littered the uneven ground around me and blood red roses crawled over the stone, their sharp thorns scratching the writing off name by name. I sighed heavily, the cold air causing clouds of smokey breath to emit from my mouth. My heart felt like a stone as I reached Ian's gravestone. I knelt beside, laying the single rose I'd been holding tightly on the mound of earth. I hung my head. I wasn't sure what was worse, knowing Ian wasn't buried beneath me of the fact I knew why he wasn't. My fists clenched as I remembered his pained expression, the fear in his blue eyes, his scream as Derp tore his mind apart once more. I bared my teeth. Derp SSundee. I saw his crooked eyes in my mind, burning with bloodlust and hate; his demented grin. The bloodstains on his clothes...and that crazed laugh that resonated only of pure, cruel insanity. I buried my face in my hands, sobbing softly as the sun shone through the clouds for a brief moment, a single ray shining down on Ian's 'grave.' I looked through my fingers, watching as the petals on the rose sharpened in contrast, shadows darkening in the crevices dividing the petals. In a way, the rose reminded me of Ian. The thorns on the stem were the ones that drew blood, the part of him that wanted to hurt. The petals fanned out, their delicate scent rising from the centre. It was like his heart, fragile and broken; woven with shadows that divided the parts with love in and the parts with hate in. I forced myself to my feet, preparing to walk away. The sun's rays dimmed as it disappeared back behind the clouds; and so went with it my hope. Nearly 4 years since the day. The day I lost Ian forever...

SSundee's POV

I crouched in amongst the dense foliage in the woodland. Bramble thorns caught at my already ragged clothes and tore the fabric further as I tried to disentangle myself from them. I heard footsteps nearing and held my breath, peering out round the tree I was hiding behind. My eyes widened. Deadlox stood there. His iron sword in hand, he surveyed the forest before turning to the man from the village who had seen me a few hours ago. I sighed internally; Deadlox wouldn't even recognise me now. I'd been on the run ever since Derp had slaughtered Brice. Deadlox knew there was a murderer in the area, he just didn't know it was me. I watched with bated breath as Ty stared straight ahead, almost seeing straight through me. Almost. His eyes narrowed and he slowly raised his sword, pointing straight at me. "Something's in there." The man yelled something behind him and I saw several other young men, at least 10 years younger than me, emerge from the safety of the village. I stood up soundlessly, my breathing and heartbeat sounding deafening in my throat. I backed away and Deadlox saw the movement. "Quick! It's on the move! Get it!" I whipped round and broke into a sprint. Trees appeared out of no where and I had to duck to avoid getting my head taken off my an overhead branch. Brambles underfoot tugged at my trousers, slowing me down. My hair was plastered to my forehead with sweat as I gasped for breath, my heart pounding like a desperate beat in my chest, growing faster and more incessant as panic swamped me.

I felt my lungs being squeezed and my legs were weakening. I slipped and hit the ground, hitting my face hard on a tree root. I yelped in pain and slowly raised my head, stars exploding in my vision. Tears of pain and terror ran down my face as I attempted to wipe the blood off of my face with my sleeve. I struggled to see as black spots invaded my sight. My sleeve felt like sandpaper scraping across my bloody face as I gasped in pain and staggered to my feet. I stiffened, hearing the men move stealthily through the undergrowth, surrounding me. The terrifying numbness began to move up from my feet, paralysing me. "N-no-" I tried to move forward but fell to the ground, my legs rendered useless by Derp's influence over me. I whimpered as a man stepped forward, kneeling down to my level, holding his sword beneath my chin. He smiled venomously before tearing my sunglasses off. I cried out and shut my eyes tight as the numbness spread to my midriff, ever climbing further towards my head, taking over my mind. I trembled in fear as my eyes burned.

Kill Ian...Kill.

I shivered and grit my teeth as the man said in a smug tone of voice, "Commander Deadlox will be pleased that we've finally caught a suspect."

Various murmured assents came from around the ones surrounding me.

"Where is Commander Deadlox?"
"He split off back to the village with Timothy."

I felt something stir within me, making hot fury flow like the blood that flowed through my veins.

"Well then, perhaps we should bring him a little something."

My thoughts grew sluggish and I opened my eyes, staring at the ground as my vision became red tinted.

"Darren - I'm not sure we should-"

I growled; sounding like some sort of primeval beast preparing to savage its prey. I raised my head as the man taunted me, looking round at his mates, playing it up for his audience. "Yeah, you're not so tough now, huh? A mass murderer suspect...don't make me laugh." I stood up, staring down at the man, still unaware that I was fully conscious. A few of his friends began to shift, faces slackening in fear.

"Uh, Darren-!"

"A psycho? Yeah right, like anyone's gonna believe that. You've pulled a few stunts but who's gonna think it was this pathetic excuse for-"

He turned his head and his jaw dropped when he saw me glowering down at him. "You sure about that?" I said with Derp's voice. In one vicious moment I kicked out, catching the side of his neck. He fell back and I grabbed his throat, hefting him up from the ground. He stared down at me, eyes widening in fear as they met Derp's. He grinned. "So what do they say about me, hmm? A psycho am I? A murderer?" Derp brought the man down to eye level, whispering, "Or do they say worse? Do they call me a coward? A pathetic excuse for a human being perhaps?" He tightened his grip on the man's throat and I had a horrific flashback to when Derp nearly choked The Leader to death years ago. The man opened his mouth to speak, but no sound issued.

I gagged as his eyeballs began to squeeze themselves out of his skull. Derp's eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth, watching as he literally squeezed the life out of the unfortunate man. I shut my eyes as a stomach turning squelch reached my ears and one of the man's friends screamed in horror.

"DARREN- NO!"

Derp dropped the limp body to the ground and I dared to open my eyes as he turned to the men surrounding him. They all took a step backward, eyes wide. "Y-YOU'RE INSANE!" "What are you?!" "What did you do to him?!"

Derp fixated him with his burning glare. His mouth stretched back impossibly far in a demented grin, revealing too many teeth and making his crazed eyes look even more grotesque. "I may be insane...but what does that make you?" The man screamed as Derp leapt at him, pinning him to the ground and driving his elbow into his windpipe savagely. He bared his teeth as the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head. Derp unsheathed his sword and slit the unconscious man's throat. The other men swore and closed in. Derp swung his sword round in an arc, slicing one man's stomach open.

His intestines spilled out onto the ground and he looked down at them blankly before falling to his knees and bleeding to death. Two men tried to creep up on Derp from behind but he stabbed one in the face and whirled round, grabbing the other's sword and ripping his chest open with it. Both men hit the ground, the man with the sword wound in his head screaming in pain, his hands scrabbling weakly at the place where his nose should've been. With just 3 men left Derp backed up, now wielding two swords; his mind was crazed with bloodlust as he ran forward suddenly, slicing the men's legs out from underneath them. I shut my eyes tight but Derp only laughed crazily. "No Ian! You're gonna watch them die!" The images filled my thoughts and I whimpered, opening my eyes, then realising the sight was just as bad whether I looked away or not. Derp picked up one of the men and slammed him against a tree trunk, slitting his throat. His pupils dilated and be bared his teeth as the blood ran free from the dead man's neck. Suddenly, I heard voices and the sound of feet hitting the forest floor as others were attracted to the men's screams, like moths drawn to candle light. Reinforcements. Derp gave a guttural snarl and dropped the man's lifeless body on the ground, going to advance on the newcomers. My heart stopped when I saw Deadlox's green headphones in the trees. He must've returned from the village when he heard the sounds of battle. Derp saw too and swore briefly before sprinting away.

***

I paused in a woodland clearing. Trees grew all around me in a ragged circle, their trucks twisting away up into the night sky. I stared up at the stars, that stared down at me in turn. Their cold light drew me to them; the night was my favourite time. Everything was so peaceful and tranquil. I was partly grateful that Derp had killed today; he'd been torturing me with his memories for more than a month now. At night he seemed to grow more restless and when I ignored his bays for blood he would make me suffer. I was being pushed closer to the edge...soon, I might cross the thin line I was dancing on between insanity and reality. I grew bitter with my negative thoughts and ripped my sunglasses off. The moonlight shone down on the crooked eyes I despised so, but now belonged to me, too. I sighed, hate stirring within me for the man, no, beast, that had destroyed my life. "Why...why did you do it?" Do you have any idea what it's like to be stuck in someone else's head all your life Ian? To feel what they feel, to see what they see...but to never experience it for yourself? To be trapped in blackness; trying to escape, but always being held captive. It's enough to drive anyone...insane... I trembled at the sound of Derp's strangled voice rasping in my head...but strangely...the words he spoke...made sense. "So...y-you started off sane, huh? Then-" Derp snarled and I had a feeling the brief conversation was over. I sighed, putting my shades back on, once more hiding the shame and guilt beneath. "Better find a new village to stay in..." I frowned and shoved my hands in my pockets, forcing myself forward. I bowed my head, letting the tears trickle slowly down my grimy face.

***

Mitch's POV
I sighed and picked up my oak wood bow. The arrows were scattered from their quiver, their red tipped heads catching the moonlight threw the window. I bit my lip, then placed the bow back down. I didn't feel like going hunting tonight. The previous day had marked just over 4 years since Ian...died. I still hadn't grasped the concept that I'd never see my friend again. The fighter; in school, the daydreamer. The tears pricked at my eyes. The jokes we used to make about his height. The way Ty would get mad when Ian towered over him. Then, I started smiling. His grin; the way it would light up his bright blue eyes. When he hit 2 million subscribers and we threw a party for him and Sky got so drunk he persuaded Ty to dance the Waltz with him. Then, that day. When he raised his head and it wasn't his eyes looking back at us...they were Derp's. I swallowed hard; no, I couldn't let myself dwell on the bad things. I rubbed my face over with my hand tiredly. Suddenly, Sky ran into the room, panting. "Mitch...look, Ty's made the papers!" I blinked and followed Sky outside. The cool night air soothed my feverish mind and the breeze blew my damp hair off of my hot forehead. Sky halted and pointed down at something. I edged round him so I could see.

COMMANDER DEADLOX SAID TO HAVE SPOTTED THE ELUSIVE MINECRAFTIA MURDERER HIMSELF. IS THE CHASE FOR JUSTICE, FINALLY ON?

There was a picture of Deadlox looking haggard and exhausted, and below that was a photo of the victims. I placed a hand upon Sky's shoulder. Practically on the anniversary of Ian's death, no less. Perhaps some killer was out to torment us specifically, by replicating Derp's old style of murder repeatedly, or maybe it was just coincidence. Either way, Deadlox looked exhausted, and I decided we needed to take better care of our friend from now on. As leader of Minecraftia's biggest police force division, he was under a lot of pressure to find this killer. That coupled with the recurring memories of Ian's death...it was a miracle that Ty was holding himself up as it was. We could only hope and pray that everything was gonna be okay.