Night Shade was, more or less, a pretty chill guy.
He may have had a couple of friends, a couple with the most adorable son he'd ever met, but it didn't matter.
He loved those friends dearly no matter what.
However, he'd always thought there was something wrong with the family as years passed.
Purple, their son, would frequently show up with bruises on his arms, and Orchid would always be tense.
Navy would show up less and less, and suddenly, he was just…gone.
Orchid explained that it was a small spat, and he had left, but he thought it was always something more.
It just had to be.
He thought it was the powers Orchid had when she was younger finally showing up in Purple, but he couldn't think about it for long.
Purple was far too young for that.
Sometime later, he learns Orchid told him the story of how she learned of her son's abilities.
As much as he wants to tear her apart verbally for doing that, he knows the kid needs to learn.
And suddenly, he's thinking Navy's abandonment may have been because of Purple's dormant powers.
Suddenly, Orchid's dead.
In her will, she states Purple is left in the care of him, but the kids gone missing completely out of nowhere.
Night Shade worries for the kid, and wonders if he's okay.
Not that he should care. From what he knows, Purple doesn't need a caretaker. He's old enough to make his own decisions.
He rethinks that hearing about what Purple's gone through months later.
He hears Purple has a new caretaker, some orange stick figure named King. Surprising. Night Shade has basically been cut out of his life.
Or maybe Purple was gone long before he even knew of the will.
Who knows?
He is just glad Purple is doing alright.
A few weeks later, is when he sees Navy again.
He's found Purple, and he's got another stick with him. A red one.
Suddenly, a hooded one jumps in and rescues them both.
It takes all of Night Shade's willpower to go after them.
Instead, he goes for Navy.
"Hey, Navy! Remember me?!" He whispers.
Navy's attention is caught automatically.
"Night Shade?! What the-what the hell are you doing here?!"
"I want to help you."
Night Shade sticks with him for the entire thing.
He watches Purple grow stronger with each battle, but wonders why he doesn't use his powers.
Has he unlocked them yet?
Purple doesn't seem to notice he has powers buried inside his body. Instead, relying on the positive affirmations from his friends, he defeats Navy.
From his hiding spot behind a pile of rubble, he watches Purple embrace the tall orange one.
At least he's happy.
A few weeks later, he watches Navy send a letter to a random computer.
"Purple won't be able to relax much longer." Navy says to him.
"Why are you doing this?" He asks unintentionally, expecting a half-assed answer.
"Because I want to repair the family Purple tore apart years ago. Show him what I really was going to train him for. Him and his stupid friends are making that increasingly difficult, which is pissing me off. So, why not kill Purple?"
Night Shade realizes his heart is sinking far too late.
"After all, I kill him off, bring him back, erase his memories of this "King" guy, and I'll have a family back! Simple as that!"
Night Shade chuckles to himself. "Yeah…simple as that…"
He wonders to himself if it's even a good idea. Killing an innocent kid?
That just seems horrible to him.
Navy doesn't seem to realize that, does he?
He tries on two occasions to brainwash Purple. And both times, it goes horribly wrong.
The first time, a red stick figure with a hollow head is killed. Albeit temporarily, with a use of what Night Shade dubs Purple's healing and regeneration abilities.
The second time, King is there to snap him out of it with a heartfelt speech that almost brings him to tears.
They'd always heard Navy say Purple wasn't good enough, but King was always saying the opposite.
Purple is good enough. Purple is loved. Purple has people by his side, like King, and the colorful bunch of stick figures he brings along.
"Purple, please. You fought through this before, you can fight through it again. I'm here. I'm right here! I made a promise to you, remember? I promised I'd always be there for you. I promised I'd always be with you. I'm not breaking that promise, am I!? I'm here for you, and I'm here with you. I'd never break a promise I made to you, okay?! Please Purple, listen to me! I know you're in there. I need you to fight. For yourself, your friends, and for me. I love you, Purple. Always have, and always will."
It warms Night Shade's darkening heart to know Purple has people by his side.
Even if, mere seconds later, Purple falls unconscious.
King is next to him, cradling the innocent child's body like it's his own child.
By this point, Night Shade can tell Purple doesn't consider Navy family anymore.
King hugs Purple close, like Purple is his child.
He watches King protect him.
He watches as the red hollow head from earlier puts his life in danger's way for Purple.
Later, he watches Navy and Orchid, whom he resurrected at some point, drag the unconscious boy away from the carnage that was the most recent battle.
"Night Shade, help us get this kid back to our base underground. We can't let anyone find him."
Night Shade, ever loyal to Navy, obliges and carries the child to their underground base.
Where they stay for seven weeks.
He watches, seven weeks later, as Purple reunites with his loved ones.
King is one of them, and theirs is the most tearful among all of them.
Night Shade silently congratulates Purple for finding love among his fears of abandonment and self-worth issues.
However, Night Shade, ever loyal to Navy, fights alongside Navy in the battle that kills Orchid, brainwashes Purple temporarily, and kills Navy.
Maybe that's their goal. To kill Navy.
Because they retreat moments later, this time by air.
Suddenly, Navy is alive.
He's after Purple and isn't backing down.
Orchid is after blood as well, and suddenly, Purple's unlocked his abilities and defeats them both.
It all happens so fast they can't process any of it.
So they escape before Purple murders them.
A few weeks pass, and suddenly Orchid is draining the color from the city.
Since then, he's been hiding out on an old deserted island in the middle of a vast ocean, miles away from Stick City's coastline.
He's unsure what to think of it.
They don't know whether or not Orchid is going to come for him.
However, they're sure she'll have them at her side if she does.