This chapter takes place after Chapter 7 in SFTD.
Eliza immediately knew she was in for a fun time when she woke up on her back.
That was always a prelude to some bad times. Eliza never went to sleep on her back but sometimes she could wake up on it… which always, always led to sleep paralysis. So here she was, on her back, awake, but the rest of her body wasn't processing that fact.
Even if Eliza had dealt with this situation many times before, it did nothing to stem the dread that started to settle within her. Theoretically, staying out of the worst of it was easy. All she had to do was not open her eyes. Easy.
Eliza knew it was never that easy. There was always the primal compulsion to open her eyes and figure out what exactly was pinning her down. Which was nothing, she knew that. She knew that. There was no reason to open her eyes. Everything was fine.
Eliza opened her eyes.
Her room was dark, lit only by the ingrained lights in the paneling that let her see even if the traditional lights were off. It gave the room a low glow that still let her sleep. It also let her see the beast that was currently sitting on her chest.
It was ten foot tall, at least. Four arms were holding her down, pressing against her arms and shoulders. It wore her clothes–the Commander's outfit she sported outside of her room. Bright, light blue irises stood out against black eyes. She could barely tell in the low light in the room, but the creature seemed to have bluish, or purple skin. Its cheekbones were high and its cheeks were almost hollow. It grinned, revealing razor sharp teeth.
Eliza had been pinned down by the Thin Man from twenty years ago. Eliza had been pinned down by that Elder. But not this. Not this thing that sat on its chest and why did it look so much like her. She caught the mop of hair on its head and the body shape that was hers.
Memories clicked. The Siren kept grinning. Kon-Hur Dessurik would not move off of her. Eliza was trapped under the Depthssinger and there was nothing she could do to move her.
The Siren tilted her head, grin dropping a bit. She opened her mouth to speak. "Eliza," she rasped, holding the 'z' like an 's.' She shared a voice with the Commander, but it was warped by her sheer size. "You could have been me, you know? Strong enough to stop this whole war, and certainly strong enough to stop the Beast that lies in the depths. Argus told you, you remember?"
Eliza said nothing. Her body was still paralyzed and she could not close her eyes. Couldn't close out this monster on her chest. The Siren sighed. "Right. There's a lot you don't remember. It's a shame. They cared for you so much. Under Them, you wouldn't have had to suffer like you do. No nightmares, no terrors… and hey, you could've even chatted up the Chosen like you want to. Doesn't that sound good?"
God, the terror was mounting. Eliza couldn't tell at this point if the Chosen on her chest was still a hallucination or not. Kon-Hur folded her top two arms. "A Commander of many words, you are. Sleep paralysis got your tongue as usual? You wouldn't have any of this, back with Argus. Aren't you and I champions of 'love?' What happened to loving Argus? Oh, yeah. Another thing lost to the Void. Poor, poor Eliza." The Siren's grin returned. "Maybe if you remembered how They loved you, you'd return to Them. After all, They kept you from–"
The lights flickered on and Eliza's alarm rang out. All at once, the illusion broke–with the lights turning on, the Siren disappeared instantly, and Eliza took in a gasping breath. There was a stunned pause, and then she sobbed it out, immediately rolling to lay on her side and curl inwards on herself. That… was horrifying. Almost the most horrifying thing she'd experienced. That thing was her. She was nearly that thing.
Her hand sought out and pulled in a pillow, hugging it hard and crying into it. It was such a lonely experience. Eliza already knew she could barely tell anyone. Her first and foremost duty and appearance was as a Commander, and such a private thing she wouldn't even tell Bradford. It'd involve getting into her night terrors, and god knows that would cause him miles of worry. Eliza saddled him with enough as is, in her eyes.
She forced her breath to steady. Slowly, a hand reached out and fumbled for her alarm, silencing it. The Commander took a few more deep breaths, her hand returning and wiping at her eyes. Nothing to be done but try sleeping on her stomach more often, she supposed. She wouldn't become that thing so long as she kept on her toes, after all. Just another ghost to haunt her.
Eliza allowed herself another minute of stewing on it before she returned the pillow back to its usual spot, rising, and then stretching. It'd be just another day. Everything was fine.