Shadows (Don't Starve)

Wilson?

   There was something wrong, and you could practically taste it.

   No light spilled forth from the clearing that was your camp. No bright faced, dark eyed man greeted your return as always. You stepped into the camp, terrfied that something had happened.

   Your heart sunk, as you viewed the carnage.

   Your place was in shambles, rubble strown everywhere. Something had made short work of Wilson's beloved machines, had destroyed your fire, and had just generally ruined everything.

   You gripped your axe and ran forward, screaming. "WILSON? WILSON!!"

   Something dark grabbed you, and narrowly avoiding being crushed by the blunt end of your axe. You snarled, flipped it over with your raw strength, and reared back to chop it's face off.

   You stopped. It's face, a swirling stygian pool, gazed at you with eyes that spilled forth white light. A shadow creature.

   You scrambled off it, recoiling as it reached out it's long, knobby fingers at you. "̴̴̶̶̶̶̡́͟͢͞͠(̷̢̢̧͘͟͜͟͡͏̴͟҉̨̀͘͝y̢̧̢̛̕͜͢͡͞/̵̧̡́͢͠͠͠n)"

   Wait a second. You stepped back, looking closer to see...

   It was Wilson! Or, rather, shaped like a Wilson, but solid black and restless, like a living shadow. Your hand flew to your mouth, as you skidded back.

   "W-wilson?" You stammered, barely able to look at it. "What did you do?"

   A long, low keening drew out from the Not-Wilson creature's mouth, as it began to craw weakly towards you. It hissed as a beam of dying sunlight stuck it's arm, and took a few steps back.

   "Oh, you poor thing." Came your murmur, as you forgot about fear that stabbed your chest. You stepped closed to him, and let the creature approach. It wrapped its arms around your waist and shook in your hold.

   Instead of body heat, cold air radiated from it. You shivered, but didn't have the heart to pull away. "Wilson, is that you in there?"

   "W̵͇iͧ҉l̠̾.̓͞.͈.̫͡so̯҉n҉?̳̊ ̣W͖̅i̧̬l͋ș̀oͪn͔͡?̡͖ ͓̇͢"  It tipped it's head in confusion, but then it's white eyes widend. 

  "I͙..̰̄.͍̕ å̧̫m̋ ̡̺W̆i̐̀l̨̒-̸sͫ͡o̻n҉!̉́ ̨̂A͔̽͏n̳d̦͌ ̵y̸̝o̴ů̶͖ ̠͟a̙r͕ȅ̬ ͫ̕(Y̼͞/̈ͅn̺ͤ͘)͍̔!̞ͭ̕"

   "Yeah, I am, oh God, Snowy what happened?" You pressed your hand to its frigid cheek, tears pricking the corners of your eyes.

   It didn't answer, merely nuzzling into your hand. "Ẁi͠ĺ̯so̡̦ṇ͜ ͕ḷov͓e̕s ̫(̹y̭/͘n̴̟)̺̕.̵̙.͉̀.̮͠ mm̟m̡.̝.̮͜.̸"

   You would have blushed, if a deep chuckle didn't interrupt you. Wilson made a deep rumbling noise, hate lighting his eyes, as you spun around to see a familiar smirk.

   "You seem to be missing a gentleman scientist..." the Demon mused, brushing a leaf off his magnificent suit. "How curious."

   The shadow in your hands lurched towards Maxwell, bearing terrible fangs, but you held him in place. "Did you do this to him? I swear to God, I'll rip you limb from limb!"

   Maxwell held up his claws in surrender, an easy smile lighting his face. "Now now, miss/mister (y/n). No need to get so worked up. Our dear Mister Higgsbury is merely... transformed. At least for a short period of time."

   "What the hell are you thinking?" Came your wild scream, begging to panic. "Why would you do something like this?!"

   "I told you I had a plan, didn't I? Relax. It's not like he'll die from the Shađor."

   You sniffed, hating that the demon was witnessing your weakness. "So, have you come to gloat? Come to laugh at my only friend turned savage? No offense, Snowy."

   Wilson growled, but more so at Maxwell.

   For once, the demon didn't seem to find your plight amusing. His face became solemn, as Maxwell produced a thick book. It seemed to suck all of the positivity from the room, and just looking at it made you feel exhausted.

   "Hur hozkai, koz maht fahea." The demon breathed, his voice speaking words that had no business being heard by mortals. "Shur vah mokal."

   The being in your arms gave a shriek, and trembled like a wet leaf.

   "You bastard!" Came your cry of protest. "You're hurting him!"

   Maxwell ignored you. "Tar lock vroa slur, or van kar shazark."

   Wilson gave a final spasm, until the shadows peeled away to reveal a very pale, scared man. Your Snowbird.

   "Y-you're okay!" You shoved him into your embrace, hugging dispite the fact he was completely bare.

   "(Y-y/n)? What's going on? W-WHY AM I NAKED??"

   The demon in front of you groaned in disgust, and tossed a huge, pale woolen coat on top of the both of you. "Yeesh, put that on before I go blind!"

   "It's your fault!" You protested, shielding Wilson from Maxwell's harsh gaze, "This would have never happened if you hadn't-"

   "Came here and brought him back?"

   You glared, but sighed. "Alright, I'll give you that one. But why?"

   "Because... as much as it absolutely kills me to say it, I..." Maxwell tugged on his collar, coughing. "...need your help."

   Wilson, now wrapped in the huge thing, gave him a look you wouldn't have expected from the quiet man. Like visual poison. "What make you think that we'll do anything to aid you? I just pulled off my own face! Do you have any idea how traumatic that was?"

   "I'm not expecting you to do anything out of the kindness of your hearts." He replied snidely, crossing his thin arms. "I'm willing to pay heavy compensation. I can give you anything you want. Anything that doesn't tear apart the fabric of the universe, that is."

   You blinked, shock weighing heavily on your shoulders. Here your only friend had just became a shadow, and Maxwell had just shown up asking for your help. This was a dream, it had to be.

   "What do you want us to do?" You asked cautiously, brows furrowing.

   "The beings that live here, the shadow creatures, are trying to take over." The demon stated bluntly, "And I want you to end it. Mister Higgsbury here can infiltrate them from the inside, and you, dear (Y/n), can destroy them."

   Yep, definitely a dream. "Wilson, pinch me. Maxwell is asking the impossible."

   He frowned harder, while Wilson gave you a soft pinch. Ow. Okay, not a dream.

   "So you kidnap us, send Snowy through grueling starvation, turn him into a monster, and then expect me to want to help you? Maybe you deserve to loose your little puppet stage."

   "First of all, he's alive now, isn't he? Second, I was making sure you wouldn't die off easy. Boot camp, if you will. And thirdly, it's not about just keeping the crown." Maxwell sighed, "Is 'yes' a good enough answer?"

   Wilson turned to you, his jaw set. "(y/n), if we pull this off, we get anything we want! If we don't, you're stuck here forever, alone, and I'm a monster for eternity. What do we have to loose?"

   "Our lives." You argued, "Our minds, and our self respect. I don't want to be Suckhole's little pawn."

   Maxwell growled. "More like my king and queen. I wouldn't be asking a bunch of... heathens for help if I wasn't desperate."

   With a sigh, you pinched the bridge of your nose. "Look, shoulder pads, can we have some time to think about this?"

   "Fine!" Maxwell looked relieved, "but you only have until to tomorrow night before the spell wears off. I'll see you then."

   The demon sped off, and you turned to Wilson.

    "You and I have a lot to talk about."