AU: Darkness (unrelated to what Coastal_Tavern is doing with it)

Context: While facing Dark Steve in the field (after that incident where Orange had to separate him from Sabre), Dark discovers Sabre's true identity when he takes a hit while helping Orange fight him. Also for some extra context for dialogue, Nightmare often gets on Sabre's case about being Darkness that doesn't follow commands as it should.

Warning: Injury

Who says 'defiance' has to be angst?? It can be positive self-awareness and identity acceptance too >:3

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[Sabre's POV]

I ran through the field, supporting Orange in the battle by attacking Dark Steve whenever he lowered to the ground to recover.

As I strike him again, he yells and goes back into the air, where Orange drops a big ball of cobblestone on him. He instantly drops, standing across the field from me. Orange Steve drops to my side and is still prepared to attack, staring Dark down.

Dark glares at us, gritting his teeth as he clenches his fists.

"Why do you still fight?" He asks in an impatient tone. "Why can't you just stop and give in? Resistance is useless against something as vast as the Darkness!"

"Because what the Darkness wants isn't right!" Orange exclaims. "You can't just corrupt everybody into submission so there will be no conflict, what about all of the different people that make the world what it is?! Everyone thinking and being the same isn't peace!"

"It will be!"

As they argue, I start to... feel something. Anger, frustration, desperation... but it isn't mine. I don't know where it's coming from, but I know it isn't me. It's weird, it's- so confusing. But-

I don't have time to think about it as Dark suddenly lashes out, pushing Orange away with a fireball, sending him hurtling into the field as the sky darkens. Lightning strikes around Dark in his anger, hitting a tree, splitting it. Pieces fly every which way, and I only have a split second to turn my head in a direction I hear a whistling noise...

Before a large piece of wood from the struck tree pierces my side.

I yelp, quickly grabbing the side hit and dropping to the ground, still not used to the feeling of pain. Before I know it, Dark has walked up to me as I tried to pull out the sharp wooden edge, looking down at me with anger and... something else.

"You. You just had to go and say something, huh?" He says, glaring as I struggle. "I had a chance and you ruined it. But now look at you, at my mercy. So just as I said I would, how about I-"

But he stops mid-sentence as he glances at my side. His angry expression turns to surprise, shock... denial. He... doesn't seem that scary anymore.

Slowly collecting around the large splinter is a black, oozing liquid. It gathers in clumps as it surrounds the intruding material, pushing it out while I pull. It's already stained that area of my clothes and my fingertips, turning them black.

Dark Steve takes a step back, looking at me with an expression I don't know. Is he... scared? But that doesn't look like fear. What is it?

"You- You're- but how?! Why?!" He says, almost screaming. "The Darkness is supposed to act as one! Why are you fighting alongside them?! What could possibly be your reason to- to do this?!"

I stand up, finally getting the wood piece out and tossing it to the side. I hold one hand over the wound, while I just look at Dark.

"Because I didn't want to fight the people that gave me a chance, a life, when I was about to die." I answer. "I was never connected with other Darkness, because I was made malformed. It just left me to fade away. The Chromatics taught me how to be a person."

"The Chromatics are our enemy!"

Confusion. Hatred. Anger. Hesitance.

"No, the Chromatics are your enemy. To me, they're my family and friends. I could never fight them. But... why are they your enemy?"

"Because- because they're standing on the way of our goal! You're Darkness yourself, why don't you understand?! The Darkness wants to bring unity to this world through its guidance, why are you helping to deny it?!"

"Because like Orange said, what the Darkness wants isn't unity and peace. It just wants control and dominion."

"But you're Darkness! We are the same! What the Darkness wants is what we want!"

"No, it isn't. It isn't what we want at all."

Dark looks confused. I then give him a soft smile.

"I realize what that was now; when you accidentally fused with me, you made a connection with me, like other Darkness and its hive mind." I explain. "This entire time, I've been feeling emotions that weren't mine, because they were yours. And that's how I know that what the Darkness wants... isn't really what you want either."

"No, you're lying to me! You think you can lie?!" Dark shouts. "You think you can tell me what I am?!"

"No, of course not. But you've been letting Nightmare do that to you."

"What are you talking about?!"

"I know about the internal conflict you feel, because it's been being shared with me. You're sort of right, we are the same in a way, but we chose different paths. You chose to let Nightmare tell you what to do because you wanted to keep hold of your identity with the Darkness..."

I bring my free hand up to my blindfold, slipping it off from over my eyes and letting it fall around my neck like a scarf. Dark seems shocked by the appearance of my eyes, but they're so similar to his.

"I chose to let go and have a new, real life with the Chromatics. I built a new identity from what they taught me, and what I taught myself. And it's not too late for you to change your mind too, Dark."

I then use my free hand to reach out to him, offering it.

"We don't have to be what it made us to be. You can still change, just like I did."

Dark looks conflicted, just standing there for a while. His eyes dart between looking at me and looking at my hand.

But then, he aims a fireball and sends it towards me, but it hit the ground as I stepped back a little. Before I look up, he's already teleported away.

...He wasn't trying to hit me.

"Sabre!"

I turn around and see Orange running up to me, as the sky starts to return to its normal bright blue. He stops next to me, looking worried.

"Orange! Are you okay?" I ask. "Are you hurt?"

"Wh- am I hurt?! What about you?!" He exclaims, gently pulling my other hand away from my wound. "You're bleeding! Oh, that looks bad-"

"Orange, relax, I promise it just looks bad." I reassure him. "We can patch it up back home. Again, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it was just a dinky little fireball, I'm not even burned." Orange says quickly. "Now let's get home so we can fix that! I'm sorry today didn't turn out the best, I just wanted us to have a break from fighting..."

"It's okay Orange, it was still fun." I smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah! And we can make stuff out of the flowers we picked."

"Heh, I guess soooOH. Sabre, are you sure that doesn't hurt?"

"Uh... yeah, why?"

"You're crying..."

"Huh?"

I reach up, wiping my eye. Sure enough, there's some water on my fingers when I pull my hand away and look.

But I'm not upset, why do I feel...?

Oh.

"...They're not mine."