Defiance

Beneath the Surface

Hi friends! I apologize for the time delay, I am going through a lot family-wise at the moment and have been the past few weeks. 

CONTENT WARNINGS: This chapter contains Major character Injury as well as descriptions of drowning. I will star off with "*" where the more graphically described parts start and end. This part can be skipped without losing the context of what happened, it will be explained after. 

{Author's POV}

After nearly an hour gone by, David and Andy walked through the door with a weary, pale-faced Jinxx, who promptly took to collapsing into the empty armchair as David scoured the kitchen and Andy perched himself beside CC.

"How is he?" he asked, referring to the only member of the house not currently with them. 

"Sleeping. He's exhausted, obviously. We need to sit down and figure out our next course of action, of course, but that can wait for him to catch a good few hours. And-" CC had turned to Jinxx only to find him dozed off, arm turned into a pillow. He shared a mixed smile with Andy before taking a blanket from the side of the couch and throwing it across his curled up form. 

"So you haven't...?"

"No, C. Nothing." Not for a lack of trying, but Andy's vision had gone radio silent since they'd gone through the portal. 

"You don't think it's gone, do you? Somehow?" Even CC had to admit, while asking the question, he thought back through the moments of their escape, trying to find a moment when Ashley, the kid, or Chaos would have had the time to steal Andy's vision. Surely they would have noticed, but he asked regardless. 

"No, I can feel it, but I haven't seen anything. It's just sort of dark, but the ability is still-" 

Sure enough, Andy could always trust his power to come at the perfect and yet most unexpected moment, and he thought this as he stopped in his pacing with a slight lurch, as if frozen in his spot. His body felt a vision, but his mind felt something else. Something wrong.

Someone else...? 

His eyes opened, not to reveal darkness, but to a familiar sandy cavern. He stepped back from the coffin and water in the center, and swept his eyes across the large stage-like alter. 

Suddenly, one strong arm wrapped around his chest, another settling itself a bit higher than the other. He realized the higher arm held a knife when he felt cold metal tickle the skin of his throat. 

"Welcome back, Prophet," Ashley snarled. 

No, not Ashley. 

"What do you want?" 

"The four of you have put a dent in our plans for long enough! So, tell your Mystic to get himself back here, alone, and face me like the all-powerful being he claims to be, with his stolen power!" Ashley growled, the hand on his chest digging into Andy's chest as the knife started digging into his skin. "If he doesn't, I will kill your Deviant. You forget, he is not my ultimate vessel, and he is not you. He is expendable."

"If he's not me, then why take him?!" Andy growled, pushing back against the chest pressed to his spine, regardless of the sharp steel dangerously close to his jugular. 

"Oh you poor, delusional Prophet. I never took your Deviant. He found me, and I merely took the opportunity that was presented to me to reclaim my power! He left you, ran away to this beautiful Cavern, my home. He was muttering about how alone he felt and how dangerous he was, blah blah blah," the entity mused. "I showed him the true danger of my power. He's not alone with me. I took him under my wing, listened to how he felt, told him that I could help him if only he allowed me to. Look at what's happening now, Prophet. What do you think his choice was?"