Chapter Text
Cesar knew something was wrong when he saw the thick shadow in the corner of his room. At first he chalked it up to sleep deprivation, something that was a worryingly common event in the Torres household. His mom would frantically check every lock, play certain trigger noises to detect Alternates, then stay up practically all night before crashing out of exhaustion.
He did what he could to help, writing notes that reminded her to eat and rest. She thanked him constantly, though she apologized far too much about their daily routine. Cesar told her he understood, it was all to keep them safe. She'd wrapped her arms around him, silently vowing to protect him no matter what happened.
But none of that mattered when the shadow moved, slipping under the crack of his bedroom door. It hadn't touched him, hadn't made any moves towards him, so that left-
"Mom."
Cesar all but threw himself out of bed, racing to the door. Only to find that it wouldn't open, wouldn't even move. Then the screaming started. Loud screeching pain-filled cries, filling the entire house.
"Mom! C'mon, open, please!" No matter how much he banged on the door or willed it to open, it remained closed, as if something was pressing against it. After a couple minutes that felt agonizingly long, it stopped; the door didn't open. Cesar dropped to his knees before scooting backwards to the center of the room. Tears were streaming down his face, blurring his vision as the door painstakingly opened inch by inch, too late.
He blinked, and the dark shadow- no Alternate, was in front of him.
"Different. You're different."
It spoke, garbled and nearly unintelligible, before smiling.
"Different...better. Gabr- He will want you to be one of us. Different."
Even though he was terrified, breathing erratic, Cesar managed to ask it something.
"What do you mean? Why kill her and not-"
"You are different. Couldn't get to you, but now. Now, you'll join us."
"What-" But before he could ask anything else, or scream and plead, it lifted a hand to it's neck. He did the same. He didn't want to.
Cesar didn't want to press down even harder, nails puncturing the skin on his throat, until small rivulets of blood ran down. He did not want to claw away past flesh, muscle, arteries, and tendons until warm blood covered his hand and his heartbeat slowly faded before stuttering to a stop completely.
Cesar never wanted to die.
Unknown to him, the Alternate stuck around, humming a broken tune while carefully patching the wound up. Smiling when some of the human characteristics melted away from the body, fingers turning to claws, shadowy darkness flooding one eye and half of the face. Making it look like one of them. Because that's what it was. One of them, that had the will to confront something instead of shying away.
One of the rare humans that would make wonderful Alternates, perfect allies for some that couldn't quite pass for humans. That could gain trust before taking it away with one deceiving grin. This was a good choice it decided, as it placed a hand on the new Alternates chest, feeling a slow but steady rhythm start once again.
And if anyone else had been around, they would have seen it give the once human an affectionate pat on the head before slinking away; but not leaving. The transition from human to...something else was always difficult. The least it could do was help ease the confusion.
Cesar blinked. He shouldn't be able to, somewhere on the back of his mind he knew that, but he did. Then he gasped, accidentally triggering a coughing fit that forced him to set up, a hand on his chest. His chest that rose and fell with heavy breaths, something a corpse wouldn't be able to do. Once his breathing evened out to something that could be considered normal, Cesar raised a hand to his throat.
There wasn't a gaping wound, though dried blood coated his neck and hands, bits of flesh and muscle stuck under his nails. Nothing else to indicate that he'd basically clawed his own throat out, except for what felt like a raised scar.
"I'm alive.'' He laughed, short and quick but devoid of humor. "I'm not dead."
"No. You are...better. Like me. Like us." The Alternate spoke up, not missing the flinch that jolted Cesar's body. They stared at each other, neither blinking until the Alternate decided to continue on.
"Not fragile anymore. Unlike others."
"But why...? Why kill her, why-" Tears welled up once again, and he hardly noticed the shadowy mass of nightmare move closer. "Why am I still here? What- what am I gonna tell Mark? I-"
Cesar cut himself off, mentally smacking his forehead for mentioning his best friend.
"It's okay. O-kay."
In what seemed like an attempt to comfort him, the Alternate placed a clawed hand on his head, and hummed. It was something his mom used to hum when he was little, when none of his was something they would have to worry about.
"No it's- it's not. Why couldn't you just let me die?! I can't go tell him- get off of me." It obeyed, leaning back and studying him once again.
"Him? Mark?"
Hearing his friends' name in the things mouth made Cesar want to scream. There was no way he was going to let it touch the last person he had left.
"Don't you dare think about going near him or I swear to whatever is out there, I will tear you apart."
A wide sharp-toothed smile split its face, and it clapped. This meant at had worked, and now there was a greater chance that this new half-Alternate could get more people on their side. At was one thing to look human, but its was another to be one; understand their emotions and reactions.
"No need. You are, special. One of the lucky few that can blend in with humans, convince them."
"I am a-" The sentence died halfway through him saying it as realization solidified. "Nevermind. What do you mean no need? I've seen what you can do. Why should I trust you?"
"Hard to explain."
"Try." It came out as a growl, not exactly what he'd intended, but its did the trick.
"Force doesn't always work. Makes them warped, useless. Convincing is better, makes it easier for them. If that doesn't work, breaking them down will. You can do that. No other Alternates will get near, not the ones that listen. You can convince him. Otherwise, he will just die. A normal, weak human."
"But- what if I can't? I don't want to kill my best friend. I can't kill my best friend. I need him, there isn't anyone else now."
"What would be worse Cesar? A slow death with fear, or a quick, almost painless one with a friend nearby?" It drew both his name and the word 'friend' out, as if trying to make him focus on them.
"You used my name."
"Would you rather I didn't?" It didn't press him for an answer, seemingly content that he wasn't nearly as afraid.
"I don't care. I'm tired." And he was, bone crushing fatigue that made him feel like laying down and sleeping for about three years. "I want to see Mark."
"Then call."
It wasn't garbled like earlier, but before he could ask why, the other Alternate was gone.