The Journey of Sebastion

[Metal Snake]

Episode 25: The Truth: Adam's Story (Part 2 of 4)

Back at the rebel base...

Spongebob and Lauren were still at the base. They had to stay there until David reported back to them with more news, so in the meantime, they were sitting around trying to pass the time, as it began to rain outside.

"I wonder how much David tell them." Spongebob said, still feeling guilty about what he did.

"Why does it matter?" Lauren replied. "If they don't handle it, David will take care of them."

"How?" a curious Spongebob asked.

"Well, how do you think he was able to take care of Alex?" Lauren said with a smirk on her face.

"Because he was an elite soldier?" Spongebob replied in confusion.

"Not even close," said Lauren. "The only reason David was able to kill Alex so easily was because he possessed a power...a power that is possibly the most invaluable power in this world. The power to use people's emotions against them."

"What?" Spongebob responded. He didn't understand at all what Lauren meant.

"David can see the mind of any person he comes in contact with," Lauren explained, "and he can also see their past, and everything they're feeling. Whether it's guilt, depression, or self-hatred, he can strengthen those negative emotions,

and use them to manipulate someone."

"No...that's impossible," said Spongebob in disbelief. "You can't control someone just by making them guilty or depressed!"

"Ah, you are naive," said Lauren with an evil smile. "David and I have never met a person in our lives who can't be manipulated by David's power, nor have we met someone who doesn't have any guilt or emotional trauma in their lives.

I'm surprised you're arguing with me about this, for you are a prime example of that."

Spongebob didn't respond, he was shocked that Lauren was saying this.

"It is because of David's power that he was able to kill Alex," Lauren continued, "and it's also because of his power that we've been able to control the world. Everyone who's ever opposed us has fallen to their knees, and that's because

they can not face themselves. And I'm sorry to say that you and your men are no exception to that."

"What are you saying?" a nervous Spongebob asked.

"I'm saying that if you try to turn on me or David, Spongebob," Lauren said, "you will only be destroyed by the reflection of your own shadows."

Spongebob was now very worried. He just couldn't help but feel that he had made a huge mistake.

Meanwhile...

The rainstorm was coming down hard where David, Sebastion, and Rayne were, and thunder could be heard. Despite the weather conditions, David was standing on top of the roof.

"What a strange omen," David said, "maybe this rain is symbolizing something. Maybe this rain is symbolizing the sadness and pain you will feel down there, Sebastion."

Downstairs, Sebastion and Rayne had made it to the ground floor. The first thing they noticed when they came down was a person close to the elevator who was tied up with rope.

"Who is that?" asked the person who was bound with rope.

"So he wasn't lying," said Rayne, who recognized him. "David did capture Adam."

"What happened to you Adam?" Sebastion asked. "How was David able to take care of you so easily?"

"Sebastion...Rayne...", muttered Adam. "Are you here to kill me? If you want to, you can."

"Huh?" Rayne responded. "What's going on? Why did you attack me earlier?"

"I wanted to get you to fight me," Adam said, "but then, David came. He has shown me something that made me realize that my life...is worthless."

"What did he do?" a curious Sebastion asked.

"All I remember", Adam replied, "was that everything went black when he came to me. It was like I could see every one of my memories, all the awful things I had done just came back to me, and now, I can't feel any joy or happiness at all."

"That's really weird." Rayne said as she remembered what she saw when she woke up on the roof.

"If what you're saying is true Adam," Sebastion said, "I'll be happy to dispose of you. But first, you have to tell me a few things."

"What kind of things?" Adam replied.

"How are you alive?" Sebastion asked. "I know that you were dead, and I know that your body was left there on the battlefield, so how can you still be here?"

This sent a chill down Rayne's spine, as she realized Sebastion knew Adam.

"I was dead," Adam said, "but I was revived by the Bottomite Life."

"Bottomite Life?" Sebastion responded.

"Sebastion, Cecil's not down here," said Rayne as she started getting worried. "Maybe we should look in the basement, or just ask David-"

"We'll find Cecil later," said Sebastion. "Right now, the most important thing is that we find out what's happened to this man."

"Alright....", Rayne replied as she gulped, stepped back, and prepared for the worst.

"So anyways," Sebastion said to Adam, ignoring Rayne's suspicious behavior, "what is Bottomite Life?"

"No one knows exactly what it is," said Adam. "From what I know, it's a liquid that can somehow resuscitate a dead organism by healing and re-stimulating all of the organs and nerves in its body. Your friend Rayne was the one who discovered his liquid, and she used it on me to bring me back to life."

"What?!" a surprised Sebastion replied, as he turned around and saw Rayne crossing her fingers with her eyes shut.

"I am so dead," Rayne thought in her mind. "So fricking dead."

"What's with you?" Sebastion asked. "How is that so bad? It's not like you-"

Sebastion paused as he remembered what Rayne told him earlier about Lauren.

"KB knew about me," Adam explained. "They knew I was the only one with a body strong enough to handle the drugs they were creating, such as the Bottomite Death, so I was the perfect subject for experimentation. They were creating all sorts of weapons and drugs, so in short, I was an essential factor in their plans to assassinate Neptune, and take over the world."

"How the...", Sebastion responded in shock. "RAYNE!!!"

"Do what you want." Rayne said, knowing that there was no way to escape Sebastion.

"How could you take part in something like that?!" Sebastion shouted in fury. "How could you live with yourself after doing that?!"

"I couldn't," replied Rayne sadly. "I bailed out on the plans after what happened with Lauren, and after that, I tried to kill myself, but I just couldn't find the courage to do so."

"If you can't kill yourself Rayne, then I will." Sebastion said as he walked towards Rayne.

Suddenly, something from behind struck Rayne in the side of the head, and she collapsed to the ground.

"What?" Sebastion responded, as something struck him in the stomach, which caused him to fall to the ground too.

"It's you, Cecil." Adam said.

"You don't have to bear with evil anymore." Cecil said as he materialized, and pulled out a gun with a handle stained in blood.

"The memories are finally gone...", Adam whispered as Cecil shot him in the head and killed him.

"Cecil...what's going on?!" Sebastion yelled. "What have you done?!"

"You were not cautious of the shadows at all," replied Cecil. "You failed to see through the illusion, and now, you will have to bear the consequences of your actions. Don't just blame Rayne for this, this happened to you because of a series of things done by both you, and many other people."

"What's going to happen?" Sebastion asked fearfully.

"I'm afraid that because of this, I can't live in this world anymore," Cecil said, "so I'm afraid I'm going to be another one who will not gain the light."

"Wait!" Sebastion exclaimed as Cecil grabbed his gun, shot himself in the head, and collapsed on the floor dead.

Sebastion was speechless. He was shocked beyond belief that this was all happening. It was too much for his mind to handle at once, and he began to faint.

Meanwhile, David was still upstairs on the roof. It was still raining.

"I think it's time to go down there," he said solemnly. "Poor Sebastion, he may have learned the truth, but he won't be able to conquer his own darkness."

End of Episode Twenty-five.

Reviews will be appreciated.

[Metal Snake]

Episode 26: The End of the Journey: Sebastion's Shadows (Part 3 of 4)

Back at Spongebob's base...

"Lauren, I have something to tell you." Spongebob said.

"What's going on?" Lauren replied. "Don't tell me it's about that "guilt" of yours."

"No," Spongebob said, "it's more important than that. I'm retiring from my position as a commander."

"But why?" Lauren asked. "What's the point? Alex is dead, we can get MSL back, and without Neptune or his relatives around, we can rule over Bikini Bottom!"

"I'm sorry Lauren, but I just can't do that," replied Spongebob as he pulled out an envelope. "Please show this to Sebastion when he comes back."

"What is it?" Lauren asked.

"It's my apology to them," Spongebob said sadly, "for putting them through this hell. I'm going to leave now."

"Leave?" a puzzled Lauren responded. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to a place where I can think," said Spongebob. "Just... any place where I can think about all of this."

Lauren did not say anything else, she just stared at Spongebob as he walked away. While she never really liked Spongebob, she did feel some sympathy for him. She then looked at the letter that Spongebob gave her, and wondered what Spongebob had written in there for Sebastion and the others to read.

Meanwhile...

Sebastion was still unconscious after passing out from the disbelief of Cecil killing himself. Once again, the distress of the situation had left him thinking in his mind.

"What happened to Cecil?" Sebastion asked himself. "Why would he do that..."

"He already told you," replied the reflection as he began to materialize. "It was because of a series of actions done by other people, including you."

"Shut the hell up!" Sebastion responded in rage. "I'm tired of blaming myself...I'm tired of blaming myself for everything!"

"Agh!" the reflection cried as he felt pain in his chest. "What...what was that?"

"Spongebob...Adam...Rayne...," muttered Sebastion. "I hate them...because if it wasn't for them, none of this would have happened!"

"Oh no," said the reflection in worry as the pain in his chest began to grow. "It's finally going to happen..."

"I don't care what you think...," said an angry Sebastion as he grabbed his head. "Just get me out of here! Get me out of this world!"

"The light..." said the reflection as he noticed that the light behind him was growing dimmer. "The light is starting to vanish..."

Suddenly, Sebastion began to awaken. When he woke up, he immediately looked around and saw Adam and Cecil's corpses and an unconscious Rayne on the floor.

"How did this all happen?" Sebastion asked himself. "Why did I play right into their hands?!"

"Because there was no other option," said another voice. "You couldn't avoid being used by Spongebob."

"You...," said Sebastion as he turned around and saw David.

"What do you feel about this situation, Sebastion?" David asked.

"I've never felt this terrible in my entire life," replied Sebastion. "Why did Cecil do this?!"

"I don't know the exact reason," David said, "but right after I told him the truth, he became very upset, and told me that he didn't want to live anymore."

"Really?" Sebastion responded.

"Yes," said David sadly. "I tried to convince him not to kill himself, but he would not listen to me. That's when I had an idea."

"Idea? No, you didn't..." a nervous Sebastion said.

"I wanted to see how you would react to your comrade dying right in front of you, so I gave him this," said David as he walked over to Cecil's body and pulled something off of his right shoulder. "Does this look familiar?"

"Is that a Presence Eraser?!" Sebastion exclaimed. "How did he get that? I thought Rayne's was the only one, and Adam destroyed it!"

"No, there was another one," replied David. "The construction of the Presence Eraser was a project that Rayne and Lauren worked on together back at KB. They were able to make a prototype, and after Lauren left KB, she decided to make her own version of it. When I found out that I had to kill Alex however, Lauren gave me the Presence Eraser to aid me in my mission. I thought it would come in handy for my plans to test you."

"Why did you go through all this?" a confused Sebastion asked.

David sighed. "Sebastion, did you learn anything from this experience?" he asked.

"No," Sebastion replied, "I didn't learn anything. I've lost everything, there's nothing left for me to live for."

"Sebastion," David said, "in that case, do you...want to die?"

Sebastion looked back at Adam, Cecil, and Rayne before giving a response.

"Yes," Sebastion responded, "yes I do."

"Then you really haven't learned anything." David said, as he touched Sebastion's left arm with his hand.

As David touched Sebastion, he began to see all the emotional trauma that Sebastion was going through in his mind. He could see memories of Sebastion's past, memories of Sebastion killing people on the battlefield, memories of him feeling pain, even memories of him having suicidal thoughts.

"Oh Sebastion," David said, "I remember seeing all of this while you were unconscious after your encounter with Joanne. Ever since then, I grew curious about how you'd react if you saw Adam and Cecil die. That is why I went through all this."

"Ugh..." Sebastion muttered. In his mind, he began to see a large hole open up on the floor, and dark liquid begin to fill the hole.

"Sebastion, do you still want to drown in your own misery?" David asked. He and Sebastion were now on the roof, and Sebastion was on the edge as it was still raining.

"Sebastion, no!" the reflection shouted, as he appeared in Sebastion's mind. "You can't do this! Your shadows will gain full control of you!"

"It's too late," Sebastion replied. "That light behind you means nothing to me any more."

"AAAHHHH!!!" the reflection yelled, as the light behind him vanished completely. "The last light is gone...it's all over..."

End of Episode Twenty-six.

Reviews will be appreciated.

[Metal Snake]

Episode 27: The End of the Journey: Sebastion's Last Light (Part 4 of 4)

It's finally time for the end of Sebastion's journey...

"The last light is gone...," said the reflection. "It's over."

"Fine with me," said Sebastion as he saw the light disappear. "I guess I'm going to die now."

Sebastion prepared to jump into the hole, when suddenly, he saw a flashing orb of light come out of the hole.

"The reflection's light is finally gone," a voice said, "this is my chance."

The ball of light began to expand, as it caused the hole under it to disappear.

"W-what's going on?" Sebastion asked as the light shone in his eyes.

"How is this happening?!" the reflection asked in shock. "My light was destroyed, how is this possible?"

"It looks like my plan worked," said David, who appeared in front of the reflection. "Sebastion can now be exposed to the true light."

"David?!" a surprised Sebastion replied.

"What do you mean "the true light"?" the reflection asked in confusion. "My light was the only thing...that would bring Sebastion peace of mind."

"No," David responded, "your light was the only thing that Sebastion thought would bring him peace of mind, "perfection". You truly were the reflection of what he would never be, someone who was perfect. In response to the mental agony of his guilt and shame, he created you, and set a goal for himself that he knew he would never achieve, to become a flawless person. However, all you and that so called light of yours have brought him is more suffering, and now that Sebastion no longer cares about your light, you do not exist."

"I...think I get it now...," said the reflection as he began to fade away. "I wasn't...the key to Sebastion's light...all I was...was a reflection of something that would never exist..."

The reflection disappeared, leaving Sebastion completely puzzled.

"What happened?" asked Sebastion. "I thought his light was the only thing that would make me happy..."

"Sebastion," David replied, "you have never known what will make you happy."

"What do you mean?" Sebastion asked.

"I'll show you." David said, as Sebastion began to see an even brighter light.

"This is..." Sebastion said, as the light completely illuminated the realm of his mind, and caused him to see things that amazed him.

On top of the rooftop, Sebastion stepped away from the edge of the roof, and collapsed as David caught him in his arms.

"What I have shown you," David said, "will hopefully cause you to view your life from a different perspective."

"Why did you show that to me?" Sebastion asked wearily.

"While you were unconscious," David explained, "I saw the realm of your mind, and it was horrifying. There was no joy or peace in you, only pain and self-hatred. I believed back then that Cecil would be able to show you this light, but he didn't, you only desired to hurt yourself even more. That's when I knew that I had to rid you of your reflection, the thing that had burdened your mind for so long."

"David...thank you for helping me." Sebastion said as he began to fall asleep. "I can finally...live again."

"This experience has taken a toll on you," said David. "Just don't forget, you can not dwell in the shadows any more. Remember that light, and the secrets of the shadows will be revealed to you."

Sebastion then fell on the floor, unconscious once again, as the rain continued to pour down.

"I showed you the light, yet the storm continues," said David. "I guess you will still encounter much more sorrow on your next journey, Sebastion."

The next morning...

Sebastion was lying on a bench as he woke up. The first thing he saw as he began to awaken was Lauren standing beside him, and Rayne lying on the floor beside the bench.

"Welcome back, Sebastion." Lauren said with a smile.

"Unh...," he muttered. "What happened?"

"You're in one of the rooms on the top floor of the rebel base," replied Lauren. "David called me and told me everything that happened. We brought you and Rayne back here after you passed out."

"Why wasn't I brought to the infirmary?" Sebastion questioned.

"Because I wanted to show you something that may interest you," said Lauren as she pulled out the envelope that Spongebob gave her. "Spongebob wanted you to read this letter."

"No thanks," grunted Sebastion angrily, as he recalled what Spongebob had done to him and his comrades. "I don't care what he has to say to me anymore."

"Are you sure?" Lauren asked. "This letter is filled with things that I doubt Spongebob would ever say to you in person."

"No!" a furious Sebastion shouted. "I don't care about Spongebob anymore! He lied to me! He had you inject me with a virus that's going to kill me! It's because of him that Cecil's dead! None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him!"

"I understand your reason for being angry Sebastion," Lauren said, "but what would you think if I told you that Spongebob was no longer here?"

"What?" a stunned Sebastion replied.

"Rayne will probably have no interest in it, but it is very important that you read Spongebob's letter," Lauren said, "for it contains the last words you'll probably ever hear from him."

"Really?" Sebastion responded as he started to grow calmer.

"Yes," said Lauren. "Sebastion, I am well aware that you have finally discovered the true light, and the words in this letter may aid you on your true journey. Will you read it now?"

"Y-yeah..." said Sebastion, who was now very curious.

Lauren handed Sebastion the envelope, and he opened it up. He then took out the letter and began to read it. It said:

Dear Sebastion, Cecil, and Rayne,

I am very sorry for everything I put you three through. I had to make many tough decisions in the course of my plans to kill Alex, and many of them I regret. I am sure all of you have heard about some of these mistakes from David, and I am sure all of you have gone through a time like that in your lives, where you made a terrible mistake, and it haunted you for a long period of your life. Unfortunately, my mistakes will probably haunt me forever. That is why I have decided to resign from my position as a commander. Now that both Alex and I are gone, Lauren will have to be the one to lead Bikini Bottom. Please trust her, she only did what she did because I ordered her to do it, and she is a lot more trustworthy than me. Also, please do not forgive me for what I did. You can hate me for the rest of your lives if you wish, because right now, I can't even find a place where I can forgive myself.

Your Former Captain,

Spongebob

After reading the letter, Sebastion put it down as he began to cry.

"I used to be just like him..." Sebastion thought. "A person who was haunted by his mistakes, and not being able to forgive himself for any of them."

"Now do you understand?" Lauren asked.

"Yes," Sebastion said sadly. "While I still don't forgive him, I do understand him now."

"Then I believe your journey has finally ended," replied Lauren. "I think I should also give you something for all of your troubles."

Lauren pulled out a vile of green liquid.

"What is that?" a curious Sebastion asked.

"This is the cure to Bottomite Death," Lauren responded, "and the only vile of the cure as well. I will explain everything to Rayne when she wakes up, but I think I should give you the cure."

"You're going to let me have the medicine?" Sebastion asked. "But why?"

"Because I have more hopes for you than Rayne," said Lauren. "However, you don't have to use the cure on yourself. You can also give it to Rayne if you desire."

Sebastion was stunned. He had no idea what to do.

"David saw that you were angry at Rayne when he looked into your mind for the second time," explained Lauren. "You can either use the medicine on yourself and increase your lifespan, or you can give it to someone you despise. The decision is yours."

"This decision is...impossibly difficult." Sebastion thought to himself.

Sebastion thought about the decision until he finally knew what to do.

"Alright, Lauren, I'll take the medicine now," said Sebastion. "Thank you, I know who I'm going to use it on.

Outside the rebel base...

The song, "Bittersweet Symphony" begins to play.

"It was back then that I realized something," Sebastion thought. "I realized that it didn't matter what choice I made, for my journey has finally ended. When I was shown the true light, I began a new adventure where time will not matter, for this adventure will last forever."

The End.

Thank you to all of the people who read this and inspired me.

You played the greatest role in this story. Thank you.