AU: Mesmeric Leader

Context: 🎶 Another one joins the hoard! 🎶

Warnings: Stalking, kidnapping

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[3rd Person POV]

Everything had become a mess. First the Darkness, then so many people disappearing? The stress gave him a headache. Literally.

Green Steve sat inside his house, reading a book at the table as he drank some tea to hopefully help with the headache. He's already tired of it, and tired in general. The disappearances made him paranoid; All of them happened when the victims were alone, and he lived alone. In the middle of a forest. Quite a walk from the village, where anyone could hear anything going wrong if something did.

But he couldn't just go over and bother one of his village friends just because he was paranoid. They have enough to deal with right now, since a chunk of the population of the village was part of the missing people, and that meant that a lot of people were suddenly missing from their jobs. People were scrambling to fill the spots with who was left so the village could stay running, from people having to switch from their jobs to one that's more vital, to even younger members of the village having to work to keep everything together.

Everyone especially noticed Sabre's absence... not only was he a great friend, but he did so many odd jobs around the village and helped it in doing so. Defense, crop harvesting, construction, toolmaking, even just delivering things from one end of the village to the other, he helped with it all. Now that there was no friendly face always greeting everyone as he passed or offering a helping hand, the village just seemed a bit more... grim. Although, Time and Dark are probably taking his disappearance the hardest. The three were very close, and they were dealing with so much already...

Green gets up and closes his book, putting it back on the bookshelf nearby then walking back and picking up his now empty mug. He takes it over to the sink and starts washing it, glancing out the window as he does.

The night sky is filled with starlight, the forest appearing serene and calm. Fireflies danced in the air all around his house, illuminating the grass and plants below them. Crickets chirped their little melodies, the occasional hoot of an owl heard in the background.

The tranquility of the forest calmed his nerves a little, and Green took a deep breath. A bit of peace and quiet was nice. Gazing into the calmness of his surroundings, he just watched for a while, taking his mind off the stresses of the current situation.

Until he saw something red dart through the trees.

He only saw it for a moment, but he saw it. Nothing discernible, just a blur, but it was enough to unsettle him. It was big enough to be a person.

Was someone watching him...?

That mere thought was enough to have him close his window and shut the blinds, deciding that that was enough looking outside for tonight. He starts walking to his room, turning off his lights as he passes them.

Maybe he was just tired... yeah. He's had a bit of trouble sleeping since the disappearances started, so maybe that's just gone on for a little too long and his mind was playing tricks on him due to sleep deprivation. He just needed some sleep, and he'll be fine.

Finally reaching his room, he turns off his light, shuts the door, takes off his slippers, and collapses onto his bed. Taking a minute to adjust, he pulls the covers over himself as he lays his head down on his pillows.

He stares at the wall as he starts trying to fall asleep, letting himself sink into the soft bedding. Looking around, he sees a cuckoo clock he hung on his wall a long time ago. It was silent, but it looked nice and functioned perfectly fine, so he decided it was perfect as decor for his room. He watched the pendulum hanging from the bottom of the clock swing back and forth as he finally relaxed. Just watching the pendulum move in its pattern helped out him at ease as he tried to rest.

Back and forth...

Back and forth...

Back and forth...

Back and forth...

...

Strange. When did his headache go away? He didn't remember.

Shrugging it off, he turned and laid on his side, finally closing his eyes. He took slow, deep breaths as he drifted off, enjoying the soft comfort of his bed that he let himself sink into. It was warm and cozy, the feeling almost embracing him...

Wrapping around him like a blanket... tightly holding him so comfortably, that he didn't want to move.

Finally resting... after so much worry...

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The mysterious being smiled as the Green Steve finally gave in and fell asleep, now locked within his dreams like the others.

He took his hand off his new captive's temple, standing up straight. Then, he carefully lifted the Green Steve up and out of his bed with ease, preparing to move him to the hollow. The moss already covered him nicely, snugly entrapping him like a webbed cocoon. It wasn't a precaution in case he snapped out of his trance, no; the being knew that any under his influence would not awake unless he allowed it. It was to keep outside influences from trying to free them. The hollow was still a giant cave after all, and the occasional spider or two wandered in hoping for a free meal before being swiftly dealt with.

The stranger gathered his power and teleported, taking the captive with him. Once back inside his hollow, he began walking through the cave branches looking for an open spot for the new prisoner.

He soon found one, placing the Green Steve down, who hadn't even stirred during the travel. The moss on the ground grabbed onto the moss securing him, practically gluing him to the spot. The being, satisfied with this, turned and walked away.

It was quite easy putting this Steve under his influence. All he wanted was to help his friends, and be by their side. Now, he'll get just that within his endless dreams... even the friends that aren't exactly with this Realm anymore.