There was a tearing pain in her chest as if someone had been slowly ripping at her insides and finally made it to her heart. She felt like crying, like screaming and running away, but she had lost all feeling in her legs. All she wished for now was to grow wings and to fly far, far away from this place.
"How...?" Was the first thing that left her lips.
Y/n had seen him die. The knife sticking out from the other side of his body, the sheen of his blood soaking his clothes and dripping onto her own, prone figure.
The words that Gilbert had said not long ago rang in her head loudly, "it's actually...really easy to fake your death," maybe it really was true. Sasha was standing right in front of her, after all...then, who else could've lived?
S/n? Yui? Norrington?
Levi?
Sasha lifted a hand slowly to place on his chest, his brows furrowing while a conflicted smile replaced his soft look.
"I was dying and...someone helped me," he seemed conflicted with his own answer, "no...I...I think I actually did die. But I'm here, I'm alive."
What? Y/n took a reflexive step back, readjusting her grip on the blade she held so tightly a moment ago. It was slipping between her fingers.
"And the others?" She questioned, staring forward with a piercing gaze, "what about them? The ones you killed to get to this point?"
"They were a part of something that-"
"No. Even further back...it didn't start with here," she interrupted with a frown, "the moment you betrayed me."
Betrayal. Something nobody could easily forget. That betrayal was seared deep in her mind, the first thing her consciousness drifted to when she thought back upon the maze and the things that happened inside of it.
The stinging of her neck as black and white dots filled her vision. She was sure that her mind registered it even before she had lost consciousness.
Sasha flinched, his brows furrowing.
"I...I had no choice." Y/n's lips peeled upwards in contempt of his words.
"No choice?" She repeated, almost breathless, almost laughing at his words, "you had a choice, Sasha. You just decided to make the worst one possible."
It didn't seem like Sasha could say anything in return, or maybe he thought it was best for him to not speak on the matter, but his expression did look hurt...and almost regretful; but there was no way he could change the past.
"And now...now you decided that it would be best to repeat history, huh? Gather everyone that had just a little connection to the past and kill them off?" She hissed, the same hurt that was so clear on her face moments ago washing away into bitterness, "like me...like Levi?"
"No- no. That...this was not my idea... This was all Gilbert's plan. He was the one who approached me after seeing me trying to leave the facility," he explained, emphasizing the blame on her uncle, "at first, I wanted nothing to do with this...this maze...but the thought of seeing you again- I just...couldn't let it go."
She didn't know whether or not to believe him when he said that it was solely Gilbert's plan to capture the remaining ties with One Killer Maze's production and keep them here, but the thought of him using her name as bait for the one before her caused her gut to twist.
Y/n wanted to cry, to scream to her heart's content; but she couldn't, no, not that she couldn't, she wouldn't in front of him.
"Then, what about Levi?" He hadn't answered her before, so she repeated his brother's name, "was it just as easy to kill him like you did to the others?"
Sasha's eyes flashed with uncertainty. She could tell he was familiar with the name, he knew who she spoke of, but was genuinely confused with her words, "what?"
They both stayed silent for a moment, Y/n still unsure if this was a front or genuine confusion.
"Your brother, Levi... He said he saw you, that you're the one who set the fire. You're the one who...who killed him," she repeated, her anger growing suddenly, then quickly disappearing as she thought of the young boy's death, "he said it was you, but not your voice...he-"
Y/n stopped mid-sentence, finding the look in his eyes morphing into one of a slow realization.
"YOU!" He suddenly shouted, his head twisting to the side as he gripped the center of his hoodie, "Y-YOU KILLED HIM? YOU FUCKING- YOU...!"
The outburst was startling, more so as Y/n came to the conclusion that he was not speaking to her anymore. Sasha's yells ripped from his throat in an anguished cry, his voice breaking as tears threatened to spill from his eyes, "f-fuck...Levi..!" He crouched low in the tall grass, head hanging downwards as he just breathed in and out deeply in the quiet air.
Then he stood, slowly facing Y/n.
But those were not his eyes.
Blackened with a red iris, just like Doctor Smiley's, but these were...dangerous. Just keeping eye contact was enough to send shivers down her spine.
"Yes, and what if I did?" The voice that came from Sasha was deep and rumbled in his chest. It rattled in her brain, her ears, her heart. Was this fear? Was she going to die?
Yet, Y/n was quick to make the connection, "you're...Sasha's 'friend', right?" Her grip on the hilt of the knife was tight as ever, "you're no friend...you aren't even human."
Sasha's head tilted to the side, "oh, Y/n," he hummed, "you have many friends...but most of them aren't human now, are they?"
"No shit, but being human doesn't always mean literal," she snapped back, her tongue quick before she could even process the words that were spilling from her lips, "having empathy, emotions, a heart to care for someone else. That means you are human."
The raspy voice cooed, "oh, I feel emotions... Elation when blood spills, moved when a human begs for their life...we're not all that different," his head tilted to the side, watching her expressions morph, "tell me...do you wish to kill me?"
There was little hesitation. She wanted to kill this...creature that was a part of Sasha, but she didn't know about killing Sasha himself, "if it comes down to it, yes."
A hum, then, he lifted his right hand up halfway so that his fingers almost touched his shoulder, "let me show you something."
Right after he said these words, his right hand trembled. The skin on the back of his hand grew dark, pitch black as it covered the paleness of his skin. Along each finger were pointed claws, just as sharp as the end of her knife, maybe even sharper. Sasha then brought the hand to the curve of his neck and collarbone.
"Wait-!" The claw sank deep into the skin with ease. Crimson bubbled up quickly, bleeding out and soaking the dark blue of his hoodie. Just before she could peel her eyes away, he yanked his claw out from the fresh wound, causing the blood to run faster...but just as it began to bleed faster, something unexplainable happened. Skin began to slowly weave over the wound; the sound was disgustingly uncomfortable, but it melded together as if the wound was never there, with the only exception of leaving a dark black splotch in its wake.
Her eyes traveled up to his throat where the same darkness had been and then to his chin, and his ear. Was he injured there as well too?
"Even if you are able to injure me, do you think you can wound me fast enough before I begin to heal?" He waved his fingers, blood still staining the claw. He didn't bother morphing it back, but let it go slack at his side, "or do you think you can even kill Sasha in the first place?"
"And let him be controlled by a...a monster like you?" She questioned aloud, narrowing her eyes down to the knife in her hand, heart pounding in her ears.
Perhaps she made a mistake in taking her eyes off of the one before her though. Y/n heard the rush in front of her, to approach her all too quickly. She would've had to react far before he moved in order to defend herself.
A hand, all too crushing, found its way around her throat. It squeezed tightly, causing her to gasp inwardly. She reached up with her free hand and grasped his wrist, then, with the other, she stabbed directly into his arm. There was a brief seize in the other's hold, which was enough for her to pry herself out of the throttle and yank the knife away.
Her brain pounded hard against her skull, pumping oxygen quickly through her head and body as the much-needed adrenaline kicked in. She noticed that the wound on his arm had healed more quickly than the self-inflicted wound on his collarbone.
"Just so you are aware," he snarled, his red eyes flickering dangerously as his left hand finally morphed into a reflection of the other claw, "I'm only taking what your father owed me."
Even though his words shocked her, she wouldn't let the surprise catch her off-guard again. This time, instead of going for her neck, he lunged at her instead. Y/n skipped back, nearly tripping in the tall grass, then immediately rushed forward once again in order to injure him.
She had to be wary of his swipes with his claws. With how sharp they were (due to his demonstration), she knew they could easily tear at her skin and probably do much worse if she wasn't careful. Y/n nearly lost her balance while trying to lean away from one too-close-for-comfort jab at her face.
Right as he nearly punctured her right arm, Y/n swung the knife to the side. She wasn't expecting to feel it, but there was the first moment of contact she had gotten with his skin; the same area he had punctured before with his own claw. She saw the wince in his face and the twitch in his brow as the blade sank deep, blood dotting the surface and coating the area thick with blood once again.
A harsh kick to his stomach sent him tumbling to the ground. Y/n gripped the handle hard in order to yank it out at that very moment. She had to take this chance and quickly gripped the other's left arm, pinning it to the ground with as much strength as she could muster. With the other, she stabbed the knife right into the palm, then yanked it out so that it was momentarily useless to him.
Y/n thought it was too easy as she brought the knife up and above her head, ready to plunge it down into his chest. A grin, one that caused her spirit to falter, spread across Sasha's face as the hand that was pinned to the ground had moved to grip tightly onto her leg; the one that had been bandaged and was still fresh with sore pain, but was only forgotten due to the adrenaline pumping in her system.
A scream ripped from her throat and the knife loosened considerably from her grip. It fell, blade first down against Sasha's chest. It cut him, thankfully, but not enough for a deep wound. His dark blue hoodie was now splattered with red.
She could feel blood running from the wound on her own leg as his claws pierced through the bandages and into her flesh. With tears in her eyes, she grabbed the knife again, but his other hand, which was now healed, flew up and gripped her wrist, twisting it in a way that caused her grip to falter.
Y/n, mortified, grabbed the knife once more with her free hand that was no longer pinning his arm to the ground; but with a swift motion, her body was tossed to the side and she was sent rolling in the fields. Her mind spun and her body ached; she was no doubt bleeding and maybe even had a broken bone or two.
For a moment, she just lay in the tall grass, stomach down. It was...hard to see, somewhat hard to hear. Her shoulder ached, a reminder that it had been injured too in the maze. An itch on her palm where bandages were tightly fastened by Ann when she was stabbed dead center.
And a blazing heat square on her entire back.
A figure, familiar and blurry, approached her lying form, "are you already dead?" The voice was somewhat accented, but not the one she knew. Y/n blinked a few times to wash away the blurriness in her eyes. His eyes no longer showed the worry he did all those months ago when she had first met him; he was no longer that (somewhat) oblivious, kind person she had come to know.
"Sasha, are you still there?" She murmured, eyelids heavy. Whoever...whatever controlled Sasha froze for a moment, only staring down at her as she refused to move, "I...really didn't want to kill you. I don't know what was going through your head in the maze but...all I wanted to do was be your friend."
A brief silence. Then a sigh.
"He's a literal dead man walking, understand? Can't be friends with a corpse," he sighed heavily, "except me, of course."
His figure stepped closer, leaning down on his knees so that one was placed on either side of her body. The adrenaline had worn off and her body was too heavy to even move.
"Backstabbed by the backstabber. Ironic, is it not?" Her eyes squeezed shut.
Even though she was expecting this blow to be the worst of them yet, all she felt was a burst of heat. It didn't hurt her, but with the agonizing cry that came from above her, she was sure that it hurt him. The heat had faded into a coolness that rested across her back, starting at her shoulder blades and dragging down across each other to the opposite corners of her lower back.
"He marked you?" Y/n heard him spat as she slowly turned herself to face him. Her eyes widened at the sight.
His claw, once dark and pointed, was glowing around the edges with an ember-like look. A mark of a burn could be seen spreading further down the palm of his dark claw, but not healing. He held that arm with the other, giving a painful sneer in her direction.
"Marked?" She repeated which caused him to laugh.
"Of course, you don't know," just as he lunged again, something whistled in the air.
Sasha's body jolted to the side as a projectile hit him at the side of his skull, causing him to hit the ground pathetically. She recognized the axe and her head snapped to the side. Y/n couldn't help but breathlessly laugh as she spotted Toby at the edge of the forest (and was astonished at how well he could throw those axes).
A flash of light covered her eyes.
She saw Toby jogging over, his eyes, somewhat hidden behind the orange tint in his goggles, shining with worry and shock. Maybe it was the distraction. She was glad he was here...he was glad she was alive. Yet, neither of them had seen it coming.
Sasha's body, once limp, shot up from the ground, the axe falling out from the side of his head. It healed over, but instead of the dark head of hair, the side where the axe had sliced into was dark and rough, two horns jutting out and curved upwards in a terrifying image. The claws on his hands were larger and they tore at Toby's body with ease, blood and viscera all that Y/n could see as he turned to face her with crimson staining Sasha's unfamiliar face.
"Ȑ̶̡̝̖̪̫̰̙̘̜̣̥̈́͐̃̑̃͑̍Ù̷̠̰̱̈́͛͘N̵̨̛̥̱̫̦̥̝̥̥̲̈̌̀̈́͒̂̋͘̕͝"
Y/n turned towards Sasha's body rather than moving towards Toby who had begun to jog over. With wide, panicked eyes, she gripped the handle of Toby's axe and placed her foot on the side of Sasha's head.
The noise that reached her ears as she tore the axe out of the side of his skull caused goosebumps to spread across her arms and legs. Then, she brought the axe up, and down once more. Blood soaked the grass. She did it again, this time, she was sure some got on her face.
Y/n swung it again.
And again.
And again.
She kept swinging, the sight of Toby's eviscerated body still fresh in her mind.
Y/n kept going...and going...tears streaming down her face. She could feel Toby's eyes watching her the entire time but made no move to stop her. There was a moment when the man's body below her twitched and she let out a scream, before plunging the head of the axe into his neck one last time.
Until she was sure he was finally dead.