Chapter Text
“Whatever you do,” Two said, his voice barely above a whisper, “Do not split up. Do not shoot without my command. And make as little noise as possible. Got that, Three?”
“Yeah, I hear you, loud and clear,” Three whispered back. Four opted to stay silent and nod in agreement.
From where the three agents hid in the thick forestry, an old abandoned house could be seen in the distance, blocking out what remained of the already sparse moonlight.
Four blinked, fascinated. Perhaps, at one point, ithe house would have been the picture of elegance, but vines and rot had long since torn away at its seams, leaving it rotting and unloved. He couldn’t help the mild ache in his chest, a sliver of sympathy. He shook his head and slapped himself, jostling the gas mask and goggles covering his mouth. He needed to focus.
Three snapped his head around to look at him. “What’d you hit yourself for?”
Two held a harsh gaze at him. He was shorter than Four was, but he was the one leading this charge for a reason. “Please, both of you, take this seriously. This is life or death. The fate of the world is at stake.”
With that, he turned his gaze ahead. Two took a step beyond the foliage, dipped his gloved fingers into the dirt, and rubbed it between his pointer and thumb. The miniature flashlight installed in his goggles illuminated his hand. The dirt was colored an ominous shade of oxidized red, out of place with the brown dirt common in the area.
“He’s definitely nearby,” Two pointed with his rifle, shining the red laser dot towards the bushes leading up the trail to the house itself. The leaves looked… wrong. Bright red and pink, out of place among the greenery, with odd, red tendrils creeping out of sickly looking flowers. Even through the gas mask, the odor in the air was unusually sweet, like caramel.
“And he’s definitely in there,” Two continued, a tint of disgust flavoring his words. “He just… infects everything around him. It’s sickening.”
“You talk about him like an ex-boyfriend,” Three teased. Two’s glare made him shrink back. “What? You do!”
“I’ve been at this longer than you,” Two said, “So I know what to expect. I know what it’s like, to deal with something as unnatural as him. You may have some experience tracking other entities, but this is not one of them. The Vessel is on an entirely different level.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Three asked, not waiting for a response before he pushed past Two to walk towards the house.
“Three!” Two and Four called at the same time, trying to be as loud as possible while still remaining at a whisper. Two sprinted forward, catching up to him, leaving Four no choice but to follow them both, rifle held tightly.
The mission was simple. The Vessel of Sleep was to either be claimed by Alkaline Agency, or executed. And after countless failed attempts at cooperation, all resulting in the gruesome deaths of previous agents, peace was no longer an option.
Sixteen teams, all lost to the whim of some monster. Four gulped, hoping that, against all odds, the death toll would not raise any higher.
——————
The foyer was seemingly empty. It was quiet, aside from the distant creaking of wind passing through rafters and the floorboards squeaking under their boots. They each scanned the room, red dots from the lasers of their rifles dancing across the walls.
Three stepped in from searching the room to the left, shaking his head to confirm what the other two already knew.
Nothing, at least not downstairs. The place was full of dust and cobwebs, with barely any furniture to give him any clue as to what the place’s former tenants might have been like.
It felt so… lonely. No, it was lonely.
A snap of fingers alerted him to look ahead. Two glanced back at them both. He held up two fingers to point up the stairs. Four took a breath before he followed.
Then a crash.
Four jumped, and all three swerved to aim their rifles at the source in the corner of the room.
A… piano. It was old, so deteriorated that vines grew out of its seams. The crash seemed to have been caused by the lid collapsing, no doubt a victim of age and gravity.
Two sighed, before pointing back to the stairs again. Four’s eyes lingered on the piano. For a second, he could have sworn the vines burrowing through its ancient keys were… moving.
But it was dark, so it was probably just his mind playing tricks. There’s nothing to concern himself with.
——————
The smell again. Caramel. Sweet and cloying. It would be comforting, if it weren’t for the context. It made Two want to gag.
He knew more about what the Vessel was capable of than any of them. Alkaline Agency had already sent him out to hunt him down before this, and he’d been the only one to survive.
He remembered it clearly: the other three men - Twenty Seven, Thirty Eight, Fourteen - had convinced him they’d gotten the jump on their target. They were wrong. It was actually almost funny just how wrong they’d been. Somehow, the Vessel had known they were arriving, and killed the other three in less than five minutes. They didn’t get so much as a scratch on him.
Only Two had remained, hunched behind a tree, trying to take aim, but his hands too shaky to do so correctly. The Vessel had turned to look at him, his masked face burned permanently into Two’s retinas.
He barely knew those men, not as well as he knew Three and Four. None of them had ever been given true names beyond their numbers. But the truth remained the same: as long as the Vessel was alive, he was a threat to everyone around him.
Two would not make the same mistake twice.
The stairs had led to a second floor balcony, with cracked white pillars and faded wallpaper. Along one side sat a wooden chest. Three almost walked over to it, perhaps to peak inside, just in case the Vessel decided to hide in there, but immediately thought better of it. Why would something that could easily kill a dozen men hide in some dusty box?
There was sort of bridge connecting cross the balcony, leading to a sort of watch-tower-like room. Two doors, both leading to the same room.
Three shivered, and looked back at Four. His eyes were wild, a mix of anticipation, and fear. Not fear for himself. Fear for him, and Two, of what was to come.
But the anticipation, the excitement, of going out with a bang was all too clear. Four almost envied how excited he’d get for this type of thing. Four was no coward himself, though. He would see this through.
Two pointed at Four, then himself, then the door to the right. Then he pointed at Three and then to the door to the left. The instruction was clear. Three didn’t even wait for him to finish before stalking off to the other entrance.
The scent of caramel was even stronger here. It was unnaturally clear, out of place amongst all of the decay and wreckage. There was a pregnant pause, with all three agents at the ready. Four crouched behind Two, who glanced back at him, and over to Three with an astounding gentleness to his gaze.
He looked… at peace. Which, in this situation, was a bad sign.
Then Two kicked down the door, and started firing, letting out a furious scream, a pain only he was privy to.
The Vessel sat in a chair, a fire in the hearth behind him the only source of movement in the room. His mask, with six eye holes and an odd red sigil carved into it, stood out against his black cloak.
At the exact second Two started firing, he raised a hand. He didn’t even give them the dignity of a glance as the bullets froze midair, as if stopped by some invisible force.
Two eventually had to pause to reload, and in that split second, the Vessel’s hands raised, his fingers flared as if he was grabbing something no one else could see.
Two dropped his gun, his body convulsing against an unknown force, and his feet levitated above the ground as he was lifted up, like a puppet held by invisible strings. It took Four a few seconds to comprehend what was happening.
Do something, a voice within urged, take the shot.
Four’s hands trembled as he lifted the gun. It should be so simple to do-
Three acted for him, barreling in from the opposite door to riddle the Vessel with bullets. Or at least, that’s what he tried to do, before the Vessel’s free hand did a simple, elegant twist. Vines bursted in from behind Three, dragging him back and pinning him to the wall. They crept up his arm, prying his fingers off of the gun. Three grinned viciously behind his mask. “Fuck you! If you weren’t a punk, you’d fight us with your hands.”
That got the Vessel’s attention. He looked at Three and tilted his head in curiosity.
Four swallowed, his fingers refusing to cooperate with the signals his brain was screaming. Why couldn’t he shoot?! Why was he frozen, watching the others struggle?! Why was he being so useless?!
But the air had shifted. With the Vessel’s attention off of him, Two seemed to gain temporary, restricted control of his limbs again. He hastily snatched Four’s gun from him - it was clearly useless in his hands - and slotted a trembling finger against the trigger.
The Vessel’s head snapped back in their direction. And with a sickening crunch, so did Two’s neck.
“No!” Three cried out in anguish. “You bastard! Four, kill him!”
The vines tightened around his neck, and Three’s feet started kicking, strangled gasps escaping his mouth. Four reached down for Two’s gun, his eyes streaming with horrified tears. Just don’t think about it. Don’t think about it until the job is done, then you can fall apart.
At that same moment, the Vessel’s attention locked onto him. For a long moment, they stared each other down, the Vessel’s gaze felt like a dare.
Do it. Pull the trigger. See how well that ends for you.
He should. He had to at least try, if not for himself, than for Two and Three. He had to do it.
Why couldn’t he?!
He sniffed, and the realization struck him. The scent of caramel. He’d almost forgotten it, despite how it clotted the air. Even the thought of shooting the Vessel was muffled by it. Whenever he tried to press the trigger, he felt the urgency mysteriously die on its way to his limbs, his mind and his motor functions not lining up.
What was wrong with him?!
The other’s head tilted, intentions unclear with his face behind a mask. He stood up, towering over Four, and casually stepped over Two’s convulsing body. He wasn’t even very close, but Four felt claustrophobic regardless.
“You feel it, don't you?” The Vessel said, his voice cool and smooth. It wasn’t what Four expected. It was… beautiful.
Four stared up at him, conflicting signals in his brain choking his words. “Wh-what?”
“This is interesting,” His expression was impossible to know because of the mask, but his voice sounded amazed. “You are interesting.”
And suddenly, with a flurry of movement, something large and hairy and with far too many legs bursted through the door. Four’s survival instinct finally kicked in as he riddled it with bullets on sight. But it just wasn't enough.
“Wait-!” Four couldn’t finish, as whatever this creature was descended on him, and he was pulled off into the darkness beyond the room. His screams faded as he was yanked away.
——————
Three thrashed against the vines, his movements growing frantic as he watched whatever the hell that thing was drag Four away from sight. Two’s dying body lay only a few feet away. Tears streaked down his face. This had all gone to shit so quickly. And the Vessel, the smug asshole he was, didn’t even seem fazed. He stood next to Two, leaning down as if to leer at him, and idly prodded his arm with with his foot. How dare he?!
Three growled out. “Get away from him!”
The Vessel’s head turned to him. “Why?”
His tone was calm and sweet, smooth as silk. Three felt disarmed immediately, the bite in his voice hesitating. But he doubled down. He was a weapon, dammit, and he would not let himself be dulled.
“‘Cause fuck you, that’s why!” It was immature. Two had always made it clear that Three’s lack of impulse control was gonna get him in trouble one day. "You're... nothing but a monster! How do you live with yourself?! If you weren't a coward you'd let me down and fight me without any of your stupid powers!"
Maybe if he hadn’t walked in first, maybe if they’d planned this better, maybe if he’d let Two plan things better, his friend wouldn’t be dead. Or maybe they were doomed from the start. Sixteen teams of three or four, all killed in action. Why did they ever think they’d be any different? If he was gonna die, he was going to die sinking his teeth into whatever killed him. He thrashed against the vines.
The Vessel regarded him, standing up straight and taking a few steps closer, until they were only a foot apart. “Your wrath… it's like an ocean. It captivates me. Even when you’ve lost, you still fight. It’s beautiful.”
Three froze, his cheeks heating up. But he quickly recovered and spat at the ground near the Vessel’s feet. The Vessel merely stood and looked at the spot on the ground, before turning his attention back to Two. He squatted next to his body.
“Ah, I knew it,” he said to Two as he removed his goggles and gasmask, revealing glazed, bloodshot blue eyes and a mouth dripping a trail of blood. Three wanted to vomit. “I’d seen you before. You hesitated back then, too. Much like the one I’ve taken from you, just now.”
“Get away from him,” Three said, his tone shifting from enraged to bitter. He hated this, being helpless as his friends suffered around him. “And where is Four?! What did you do to him?!”
“He’s nowhere important,” the Vessel dismissed, not even bothering to look in his direction. “Just know he is safe. Warm…”
Three gritted his teeth. He had no way of knowing what that could mean, but he had the cold comfort of knowing the Vessel had no real reason to lie to him. What could he possibly gain from it, when he'd already destroyed them so thoroughly?
Two let out a small groaning sound, a death rattle. Three’s stomach dropped. He was still alive?! He didn't know whether to be relieved or sickened.
“Poor thing,” The Vessel said, taking a large, charcoal colored hand and tilting Two’s chin up to look at him. “Your devotion is so misplaced, and it’s only brought you misery. But you don’t need to worry anymore. I can fix you.”
The Vessel took his other hand, and raised it to his own mask, lifting it enough for Three to see his mouth. His teeth were white and unnaturally sharp as he grinned. Three was even more taken aback when he leaned down and captured Two’s mouth in a kiss.
It was unrelenting, the Vessel opening his mouth to shove a tongue past Two’s teeth. Two looked up at him, his eyes twitching and unresponsive. Three seethed, angry for so many obvious reasons, as well as reasons that did not feel obvious in the moment. “Stop that!”
Of course, his words fell on deaf ears. The Vessel’s mouth opened wide, revealing a pink forked tongue. It grew longer, far longer than anyone’s should reasonably be, as shoved deeper into Two’s throat. A brush of ashamed heat blossomed in Three’s stomach. He could not look away. He was disgusted by this and himself in equal measure. I'm the only one who should be kissing him like that.
Two was still as a statue as the Vessel devoured him, and Three was nearly afraid that he was merely watching the Vessel defile a corpse. Then his body seized, breathing a sharp intake of air through his nostrils, his eyes suddenly panicked and full of life.
Two screamed, muffled underneath the Vessel's lips.
——————
Two watched the chaos unfold around him in slow motion. Three being dispatched and restrained, Four being taken away somewhere neither could tell, and in the center of the chaos stood the one who’d caused it all.
Anger was the last emotion he felt before he slipped into unconsciousness. He let himself fall into velvety black abyss, the pain in his snapped neck and his broken joints fading as death claimed him. There was peace.
Until there wasn't.
Until something reached out to him, pulling him closer to the surface of the vast ocean he’d fallen into.
A burning sensation overtook his mouth, his throat, his stomach. Life unwillingly drove its way back into his body, his brain and heart spasming back into motion as oxygen was absorbed. He couldn’t scream. He could barely think.
“I can fix you.”
He knew that voice.
Two awoke to a mouth pressed to his, teeth biting at his lips. It was only now he realized that the burning sensation wasn’t so much actual burning as it was the cloying salty sweetness of another’s tongue. For a second, he held the face kissing his, until his hands touched something cool and smooth.
He opened his eyes. It was him.
Two shoved away in disgust, and the Vessel allowed him to crawl backwards until his back hit the far wall. “What…? What did you do to me?!”
“You laid broken on the floor,” The Vessel said, as he stood. “So I fixed you.”
Two struggled to stand, to attack one more time, but his knees buckled, sending him back to the ground. He heard chuckling above him.
"Careful, you still need to recover," The Vessel walked closer, and took a gentle hand to Two’s cheek. If Two weren’t so exhausted and consumed with the lingering strain in his bones, he’d have swatted him away. “I remember you, from our last dance. You were among men who sought to kill me. You hesitated.”
“That was my mistake,” Two said, “And I won’t repeat it. I won’t stop until you’re dead.”
“So much fear disguised as hatred,” The Vessel cooed, tilting his head with what Two disgustedly recognized as affection, “Even now, you still cling to the poison dripped into your ears for comfort. But you don't need anyone else to tell you what to think. You will see that I only offer you the truth. In time, you will follow me of your own accord.”
Two paused, then used what little of his strength that he still had to shove the Vessel in the chest, trying to create some distance. “We will never follow you. You are a monster.”
The Vessel stood in silence. No response. Then, he turned to walk away, past Three, who still remained pinned to the wall. “Your friend is alive. But I encourage you to keep pace. Perhaps one set of eyes can still be opened.”
Four. Two shook his head. His voice sounded weaker than he wanted it to, sounding more like a plea than a threat. He hated it. “No, no, no. You leave him alone. Do you hear me?!”
“He hesitated, much like you did back then,” The Vessel said softly, “And if you and I can agree on one thing, it’s not to make the same mistake twice. I was wrong to let you go so easily.”
Two tried to stand again, but his bones creaked, weakness infecting his limbs. “Leave him alone! Come back here and fight me, you bastard!”
If he was heard, there was no confirmation. The Vessel walked out of the same door that the terrifying spider-like creature once did, and vanished into the darkness.
It was only after several minutes that the vines strangling Three released, allowing him to fall to the floor. He barely caught his breath before he rushed towards Two and captured him in a hug. “Are you alright?!”
Two sat, stunned. His hand pressed against his chest. Whatever the Vessel did to him had brought him back from the brink of death, but that did little to comfort him. He shivered. The last thing he wanted was to be indebted to such a monster. “I… I don’t know.”
Three held his head in his hands. “What the hell do we do?”
Two leaned against the wall. “First, we find Four. Then, we put that bastard in the dirt.”