A/N: I gotta say, I wanted to write Eversionfic for eons. How I'd do it, who knows. But when I saw the Eversion section on , I thought, "Dude, might as well write." and this fic was born. Happy Halloween!

Title: Protagonist
Author: Puri
Fandom: Eversion
Genre: Adventure/Horror
Rating: R
Warnings: Violence and gore
Ships/Characters: Zee-Tee aka the Protagonist
Finished: Yes

Protagonist

Flowers were made for picking. Zee-Tee was trying to find the one that spoke to him in a field of clover. He was looking for a princess. The others thought he was crazy, but nobody could comprehend the things Zee-Tee found. It was beyond their scope. Zee-Tee was not like anybody else, for he had the power to turn their world inside out.

Zee-Tee heard voices. A melody. By standing still he drew open the curtain between dimensions. Day became night and clouds appeared where there weren't clouds. Bushes withered to let him crawl into spaces otherwise blocked in the other world. He found beautiful things because of it, like gems. Zee-Tee called those portals to alternate worlds "belly points," because that was where the world changed.

Too much of a good thing can kill you. It didn't have to be inside-out. Zee-Tee found plenty of gems. They changed color under belly points and exuded a power that intimidated other residents. Yet he couldn't find the princess and he couldn't pride himself in his newfound wealth. What's the point of treasure if you couldn't share it with the one you're looking for? He thought if he travelled further he could hear her better. But her voice wasn't any clearer in the next world and Zee-Tee's mood matched the somber scenery he transported to. The night got bluer and the tall grass wilted. Sensitive pink petals withered to dust in his every footstep. Zee-Tee stood in between miles of discolored ash, isolated in a dying gray field as still as stone.

A gurgling black miasma oozed over the decayed flowerbed and Zee-Tee had to get out of the way. His search wasn't finished; his princess could be anywhere in there! But the formless abomination swallowed up the clover field with no discrimination and intended to take him if he didn't soon leave. He took shelter in a belly-point, listening to the decimation through the other side.

He couldn't find her. Couldn't hear her. Zee-Tee returned to the first dimension with a crestfallen heart. He failed her. The princess was dead. The princess was dead and nobody cared about her. The people jumped past him, whistling in cheery oblivion. The shining blue sky blinded him with bitterness. Something smiled at him, like it was mocking him and believed his sorrow didn't matter. With a jump of frustration, that smile was gone. Zee-Tee blinked. Two eyeballs popped out of the block he hit and they vanished into the dirt. Under a sky of toxic yellow, something screeched in Zee-Tee's senses and he recognized the sound.

His princess was still alive.

Hands held no mercy for flowers; they pick and they tear and they hurt. They thrust after him from the pits of acid, impaling him with crooked claws from limbs charred black. By the time he found the latest belly-point, Zee-Tee was full of holes. The acid ate away at his insides, and there was a chip of nail lodged in his stomach to ensure he still suffered. Zee-Tee felt faint, barely aware of the platform that crumbled underneath him. A bed of briars had broken his fall, tearing his petals and scratching his legs and dismembering him all together. Everything was shared by the thorns. The eyeballs were staked and supported by the retinas. The briar had a new string of entrails to play with, and a squirming heart was the center of the cat's cradle. Waking from the cradle was Zee-Tee, tied together by the fabric of dimensions and his thorns in a knot. There was no concept of life or death where sound was at its rawest state.

Zee-Tee wasn't the only one covered in blood. Everything was hungry for him now, and they charged after him with their malicious mouths. They met their end quickly, becoming the blood that soaked Zee-Tee's shoes. There was no shortage of enemies, and the desperate pitter-patter of Zee-Tee's footsteps transformed into a squishy crunch. His footsteps left an oozing trail for a past enemy to follow. The miasma returned; ready to corner Zee-Tee in a wall of gore and palpitating claws. But where would go? This was as far back as he could peel. He shut his eyes, trying to find the voice of the Princess. It was the only comfort he had at this point. Why couldn't he see her? Why couldn't he reach her? Why couldn't he save her?

Zee-Tee tripped, running past a pole before he splattered across the stone.

Princess Nehema. She was so beautiful that it terrified Zee-Tee, paralyzing him on the spot. She crossed her fingers like her heart was in her hands, and her gown shimmered like a liquid pearl. Her hair was a brilliant orange, pointed like a star or the leaves of a fruit or the petals of a giant blossom. Zee-Tee trembled in emotion. He was home.

Then it went dark.

Zee-Tee was in a circle of bones.

Zee-Tee was in a circle of eyes.

Bones.

Eyes.

Bones.

Eyes.

The final belly-point. The skulls and eyes were the same as the gems he collected from the past dimensions. They changed form with each belly-point, but had the same function. They were the key.

The miasma would never swallow the castle again. The eyes would stare them back. Zee-Tee had the freedom to travel between belly-points as he pleased. With a renewed vigor, he returned to the dimension where he first began his adventure. A claw greeted him there, erect as a disfigured trophy. Zee-Tee acknowledged its presence and walked on.

Princess Nehema. She was so beautiful that it terrified Zee-Tee, paralyzing him on the spot. She crossed her fingers like her heart was in her hands, and her gown shimmered like a liquid pearl. Her hair was a brilliant orange, pointed like a star or the leaves of a fruit or the petals of a giant blossom. Zee-Tee trembled in emotion. He was home.

Then it went dark.

The Princess was saved. There was no need to be vulnerable anymore. No more would he be torn apart. No more being a stranger to his own dimension. No more being timid and lost. No more having your immortality pitted against you. No more being trapped. No more being weak and frail. No more being crippled…

Zee-Tee and Nehema shed their skins and emerged as two dark abominations, flashing teeth and tentacles and a single red eye. They caved beneath the shadows, gnashing and tearing as their screams elevated inside the emptiness. The walls were splattered scarlet with their love, love as strong and alive as the beating of their hearts.

It was good to be normal again.

The End