Hello there!

So, here's the thing. I've been working on this fic for a while and the plan was to post it when it was done, but it seems I can't find the motivation to write unless I feel some kind of 'obligation' to update every now and then, sooo I decided to post it straight away. If you've been with me for a while, you know what to expect from my stories - prepare for a wild ride :)

This first chapter is short, more like a prologue - I hope you don't mind.


Everything would change.

Not that it hadn't changed already. It had. Although, this was different. This time, Steve had a choice. But did he, really?

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to resist the temptation with all his will. All that remained, anyway.

The pull was strong. Stronger than he would ever think. It was like a vicious voice, whispering in his ear: "It will make your pain go away." Was it worth it, though?

No.

A simple answer. Yet, he couldn't force himself to stop considering the offer.

Somewhere in the back of his confused mind, there was another whisper, but he couldn't make out the words. Strange, how it reminded him of his best friend's voice. What was he trying to say?

He tried to focus. Tried to listen, his eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

"Don't."

But maybe he misheard it. Maybe his partner wasn't even there, after all. Maybe it was all in his head. A trick his mind was playing on him to stop him from getting what every cell in his body craved so much it hurt.

"You're stronger than that," the pleading whisper came.

He pushed it out of his mind and shook his head as nausea crept up to his throat.

It was a lie. Huge fat lie.

Wasn't it?

He was weak. He knew. Why else would he even consider sealing the deal with the devil? Why else couldn't he clear his mind and focus on what was important? Why…?

"Come on, just say so."

He shook his head. Or at least he thought he had. How could he tell the difference? How could he be sure? It was like the world he knew wasn't real. Like it was all from a wild dream. The wildest one ever. Nothing was certain anymore.

He couldn't explain it, the weird feeling of emptiness that took place inside him. The haze engulfed his thoughts. But it was there, lurking and determined to get the best of him. Prepare to drown him, to smother him.

And then there was pain.

Never-ending and brutal, swallowing every single fiber in his body, seeping into all of his muscles and bones, like fluid into a sponge. How long would he be able to take more? How long would he be able to fight the gnawing headache splitting his head into halves, the searing pain tearing through his insides, the tension squeezing the air out of his lungs? It would just get worse from here, wouldn't it?

"You can fix this."

It was wrong, he knew it. So, so wrong. Yet, the haze in his mind made it impossible to say why. It was all like a cloud, thick and heavy, settling into his brain. A cloud that took away the last bits of rationality.

He just wanted it to stop. No–needed it to stop.

"All you have to do is ask."

His stomach cramped with another bout of nausea. This time, though, he couldn't keep it in and he leaned to the side to throw up. Nothing but bile came out, he could feel it even with his eyes closed. Yet, there was a metallic aftertaste of blood in his mouth. Was it blood, after all?

A pathetic whimper echoed through the room, weak and pain-filled, and it hit him in absolute terror when he realized it was him who made the pitiful noise.

He was shivering, too, he could say. The cold droplets of sweat running down his aching back, however, suggested it wasn't due to cold.

"Say it."

Yes.

No!

What was happening?

"Please, don't." The other voice again. "Don't make him do this." It was brimming with frustration and… and what? Fear? Anguish? Heartache?

Strangely, he didn't care. Not anymore. He just needed the pain to stop and then he would figure it all out.

All he needed to do was ask, right? That's what the Shadow said.

He fluttered his eyes open and sweat rushed inside, burning. His head was surprisingly heavy, refusing to lift from the cold stone floor underneath his bare feet. A wave of agony rippled through him again, head to toe, and he fought the urge to groan.

A pair of boots stepped into his view. They belonged to the Shadow. The only person that could make this go away.

Just ask, he thought. But it would change everything.

What a strange thought. It would change everything, he knew. But what was everything?

"You want me to help?"

His tongue was dry in his parched throat when he tried to move it. He tried to speak, yet nothing intelligible came out.

"What was that?"

"P-lease…"

He didn't say it out loud, or did he? Why was it so difficult to say the difference? He didn't mean to say it, anyway.

"Well, if you ask so nicely," the Shadow said as he closed the distance between them.

He would swear he heard someone calling his name in the distance. And an extremely distant, muffled plea to stop. With a hint of white-hot rage in it.

He didn't pay any attention to it and opened his mouth, ready to end this strange nightmare.

The Shadow chuckled. "No, not like that this time," he said. "I've got something special for you. Better."

Good. Special was good, right?

"No. No, no, no." The other voice kept whispering into his ear.

Which one was to be trusted, though?

He didn't have much time to think about that anymore. Something sharp pierced the skin on his forearm. A mere tickle compared to razor-sharp pain cutting through him. And then the cold came, flowing into his bloodstream, spreading further and further, slowly soothing the burning sensation until it was almost fully gone.

His partner's voice came again, this time even hazier. He couldn't say what it was saying, but it seemed angry. At him? No, he didn't think so. Then why was it so insistent? Why did it keep tugging at his heart?

Soon, it didn't matter. The calming sensation overrode everything else, and he floated in the void, almost pain-free now. It was like the world around him ceased to exist and a whole new one opened up its door to him.

Better, he thought. Much, much better.

*to be continued*


I'd really appreciate if you let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!