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TATA Ch. 7: The Worm and the Apple

next chapter has smut

Twitch didn't really do much after that second encounter. For some reason, she could no longer focus enough to repeat the weird scrying she did with the mirror, it had gone quiet for her. She clawed her fingers bloody for a week after, hiding in her room with everything quiet, unplugged and locked. Toby stopped knocking at the door after the 4th day. For a week after that, she remained a ghost of the House, flitting from hallway to hallway, only to find most of them blocked off, and her recently found ability to pass through walls also gone from her. The days eeked by until June finally hit. She had been at the House for about just under two months, and now the dreaded second week of June hit.

Oh, this is the fucking worst.

It was time for the ghost to meet someone new. Right now, the House was alight with activity, as apparently, traveling to the "Habitats" with a newcomer is a rather intensive event, meant to be approached with ample planning. Ample planning that included Twitch getting yanked by the arm to an errant room on the east side of the House that had racks and racks and racks of clothing, as well as being shoved violently into a chair to have her wild mass of curls tamed into two braids at the side of her head. Rinku was surprisingly the one to do her hair, never speaking a single word the entire. He slipped into the room as quiet as a shadow, a looming presence that was oddly comforting in the wake of Jane's hyperactivity.

Jane flitted about the room like a fairy, which she was, and yanked clothes to and fro between each of the racks, skittering up to hold it up to Twitch's body, make a dissatisfied face, and skitter back. Twitch was reminded somewhat of the beauty pageants she was put in by her mother, being fussed over for hours with hairspray and sequins and rhinestones, but Rinku's hands in her hair reminded her of the quieter weekends when no pageantry was to be had. Only her mom singing in a language she didn't know and her mother refused to teach her, braiding her hair in front of the TV. Alone together, her dad probably asleep in his room after working so late. Some vampire movie from the early 2000s, it was always different but always the same theme. She was brought out of the memories by Jane nearly knocking her over to shove a pink sundress to her body.

"It will be hot! It's June. You should wear something brighter and cooler than this." She tugged on the collar of the black longsleeved shirt Twitch wore, which was underneath a cropped purple t-shirt. Her pants were plain black jeans.

"I'd really rather not have my arms and shoulders uncovered."

"Why?"

"Don't like it."

Jane hummed. Twitch got a much better look at the woman now, any time before she was always moving too fast or was so far up Jeff's ass you couldn't see her upper half the majority of the time. This Jane was definitely not human, and had confirmed as such at dinner once, calling herself an Altaprimis Esterian, the same species as whatever the Slenderman was. It was a type of wood fae, apparently, supernatural entities borne from the oldest trees on the planet. Modern day breeds would form from places of a particularly strong historical significance to humans who were considered important to the gods. None of which made a single lick of sense to Twitch, but she had nodded along to Jane's long winded explanation anyways.

This Jane still had the iconic long black hair and completely black eyes, but something stuck out to her. Literally. Jane's eyes were huge, and visibly stuck out from her eyelids. She felt like she'd seen something like that before. but couldn't place it.

"What's up with your eyes? Why do they stick out like that?" Wow, straight to the point, huh.

"Ah! They're just like that. I don't know why. I think something in your world is similar to it, callleeeddddd…." She trailed off for a second, then leaned back, squawking out an "AH! Megalocornea."

"Oh, I follow a dude on Tiktok that has that."

"I do too!"

"You use Tiktok?" For some reason the idea of Jane the Killer using Tiktok was disturbing to Twitch.

"Yes! I mostly watch ASMR videos though. I really like the ones where they beat the shit out of the camera."

That's even more disturbing.

Finally, Jane pulled up something more Twitch's speed. The shirt was long-sleeved, a standard collar that didn't make her feel like she was choking, oddly tight sleeves that reminded her she was covered. The hem sat lower than it should, but that was probably due to her size. It was a little tight at the side of her chest, as it probably wasn't made for a D-cup. It definitely didn't fit right, but the torn denim jeans at least stayed on her ass with a belt without showing her underwear. She was not quite happy about the need to wear socks, but thankfully Jane was able to find a pair of sandals that didn't make the webbing of her toes bleed or rub her Achilles raw.

Twitch huffed as she was spun around again to look in the mirror, the top plaits of her braids now a bit frizzed from the constant stream of shirts being pulled on and off her head. Rinku would have to fix them, but he had already slinked out of the room while she was being manhandled by Jane. Jane, however, was beaming, quite proud of herself for dressing the girl in ill-fitting clothing like a doll. The sleeves of the shirt made her armpits itch, but at least it wasn't the purple sequined monstrosity with Hannah Montana's face on it that she was trying to shove into Twitch's hands earlier, saying "It'll fit! You're short enough!" to which Twitch replied with a "MY TITS ARE TOO BIG! I WILL RIP HER FACE!" Is that the only reason you won't wear it?

It was still a whirlwind of cloth and fabric and finally, she felt okay. The shirt didn't fit fully but at least it was something she liked, something similar to a shirt she once had. Maroon red with black lace roses etched along the sleeves. The front of the shirt was embroidered with more of those roses, the hem short on her belly, but the pants were high-waisted, 6 buttons up the front. It kept her covered, secure. Short, solid and sturdy black boots were tied onto her feet, and while Jane fussed over the little curls that wouldn't stay in place Twitch remembered her mother for just a moment.

The black hair, the dark eyes. Fussing over her little pageant girl, all dressed up for her to walk along the stage. Pretty feet, hands out like a cupcake. Look forward, smile at the judges, be pretty, do it right. It was all the same. This time her judge would be the Altaprimis Esterian, Foss. Known on the internet as Trenderman, but in real life he was a creature that guided those out of the less fortunate situations in New York City, but mostly focused on Harlem and Manhattan. He provided a place for everyone that had been displaced in that area, his building a beacon just on the outer edges of the famous neighborhood. Jeff talked about it a little bit, he and Liu had worked for Foss for a short time. Foss was good, reasonable. Kind, even. Always present and there, never running off and disappearing for days on end like Charlie did. He was a caretaker for his proxies, he was their guardian and boss. He took care of them. He sounded okay.

Maybe he could live.

I guess we'll see.

Jane was content, preening and primping as she was wont to do, while Twitch simply stared blankly into the floor length mirror, as if trying to will the image of the green-haired boy into it again. Some whisper of him, some tiny whisp of his scent in the air. But there was nothing. She found her mind wandering, and a different feeling settled. Something in her chest, a faux heartbeat. A lurch, something like a jumpstarting shock that had her body buzzing. She had felt it before but she could not for the death of her remember where she had felt it before.

There wasn't any time to chase the feeling as the Devil caught up to her again, bursting through the door. He was dressed in a loose white shirt, covered by a pale green cardigan, hooded like those techwear outfits on Pinterest she always took screenshots of for roleplays, black cotton pants over ever-present heavy brown boots. Pretty face kissed by the sun, but not glowing this time. His skin was like cinnamon in this light, a beam of the sun hitting him from the half shattered window in the room Jane had dragged her too. His eyes were rimmed by green, the pupils their usual blown out voids so similar to hers. He was so pretty she wanted to die all over again.

He knew what she was thinking but he would never let her know that. He hung in the doorway, leaning forward with one foot lifted behind him as he braced himself on the frame. "Are you finally done dressing your paper doll, Janey?"

"Yeeess yes, korel, I am done! Look at how cute she is!" Jane gripped Twitch's shoulders, pushing her around to show her off to the Devil. She stared at him, and he smiled, canine teeth sharp and tempting. She smiled back, uncharacteristically soft and girlish. Twitch looked down at herself, smoothing the fabric of her shirt. She felt like a little girl getting ready for her first date, and for a little while she let herself pretend that's what it was.

She took the hand Ben offered to her, and the two walked hand in hand to the foyer. For a moment, she didn't mind it, let a piece of her 13 year old self indulge in an old fantasy with the way her hand fit in his. Maybe she'd been here too long, starting getting too comfortable. The noise of the people in the foyer brought her out of the haze, and she yanked her hand out of Ben's, earning a snicker from the offending creature. She walked a little quicker to reach Toby's left side, her arm bumping his slightly. He immediately swings his arm up and around her shoulders, pulling her into a half-hearted headlock. EJ was talking about something, but Twitch wasn't really listening.

She was in her own world again, trapped obsessively pondering to herself about the mirror and why it stopped working. Her green-haired boy knew she was there, but she wanted to talk to it. She wanted to hear what it sounded like properly, without the din of the glass and the other person that always talked over him. Toby's body heat was weirdly grounding, though, and suddenly she found herself leaning heavier into his side, the headlock releasing and him pulling her around to stand in front of him. He rested his arms around her shoulders, and the two stood there in mutual Ignoring EJ's Yapping Mode. EJ himself was crouched by the door, staring at his clipboard and yapping away, itching behind his ear with his pencil's eraser.

"We're going to the Lakehouse this time. It's too small a trip to warrant going to Pulsar, we'll only be there the weekend. Zakiyah will let us through her Gatehouse, and we will be coming in directly through the staff room in the building. Someone needs to have eyes on Twitch at all times. The second you enter the building, those who do not have set missions elsewhere need to escort Twitch up to Foss's office immediately. She is new, and likes to get into shit she shouldn't, as we've already seen~ She's not listening. Okay! Ben, you know what you have to do, Jeff, you already know. Tim, Brian, Toby, keep together. Keep her nearby. We apparently have eyes on us again as well. Be careful. Say thank you to Zakiyah. Okay? Okay. Goodbye." Jack stood to his full height, and shoved the door open with no effort, still mostly distracted by whatever was on his clipboard. He waved the group out, taking especial time to trip Twitch on her way past, earning himself a chihuahua-like bark and bite towards his leg. He giggled to himself as he dodged the bite, letting the silence overtake the parlor as everyone filed out. Jack and Rinku's eyes met for a moment.

"Aren't you supposed to be going with?" Jack inquired, and Rinku gave him a passive smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I will meet them there. I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Excuse me?"

Rinku gave a fuller smile, perfectly straight and hauntingly sharp, sometimes EJ forgot what Rinku really was. "You know what I mean. Do you have any idea what trouble that girl is going to bring us? This House has become too accepting. Too comfortable with whatever and whoever you allow in it. You can feel it. The energy her entire body puts off, it is not just her being an especially powerful hayamei."

"English."

"Poltergeist. Human ghost. Whatever you wish to call it. She is not just that. Do you have any idea what she is?"

"Do you?"

"Yes, I know exactly what she is."

"Oh? Do enlighten your comrades then. We all live in this House together, you're the Guardian of this place. If there is something truly dangerous about her, then you should tell us." Jack never knew what to think of Rinku. All he knew is he was supposed to be some iteration of Dark Link, but the way the internet portrayed his supposed Creepypasta story never aligned with him, no matter the reality or the version of the story he found. He was completely his own creature, nothing he did was able to be predicted, much like the issue with Ben. Despite Toby not being the real Toby Rodgers, he still was predictable enough, he was easily effected by what showed on the internet. He could be tracked. Rinku and Ben, could not.

Rinku smiled again, humming lightly. "I cannot. The woes of a Ghiratolem. I can't tell you unless I am given permission. I simply wanted to see how much you knew. Clearly, you aren't as clever as I thought you were. Or maybe, you've become soft after living here in marital bliss for too long, 'tis blinding you. Love always does end up a weakness one way or another." He didn't allow Jack any time to respond before his body was eaten up by deep black shadows and smoke, melting away into the floor with a quickness. An echoing giggle taunted Jack's ears as the man disappeared into the darkness.

"Fucking freak."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lakehouse is a straight shot northwest, but we gotta go over the Laundry Pool." Jeff extended his hand to assist Twitch in jumping down from the ledge of errant stone that jutted out from the ground. The path inside the treeline near the House was an absolute mess of stone and barely-there ruins of what may have been houses or roads at one point.

"The Laundry Pool? Like in Clock Town?" She curls a lip a bit, but the reference is amusing to her.

"Yes, that's why I call it that." Jeff chuckled. "The others call it the Siren Pond. We think some spirit lives in there." That isn't as amusing. The Siren Pond was what Toby called that pond that he brought her to. The one she apparently died in, and he found her later. The Laundry Pool. Siren Pond. A death trap was what it was. Is she the spirit he's talking about, or was there something else in the water?

Inside the forest itself, the trees weren't actually that dense, they only become dense when you got near a substantial landmark, like the House, or the edge of the woods itself. In between those areas, there were only a few sparse, exceptionally tall and large trees, and a handful of skinnier saplings thrown around. The main thing was how many leaves were at the tops of the trees. The canopy was so thick, too thick for how few trees there were in the immediate area. You couldn't see past the leaves and branches unless you were in a clearing, but even so the sun shone through as if completely unaffected by the suffocating foliage.

During the walk itself, Twitch stayed by Jeff, who seemed to be the only one even mildly concerned with actually keeping an eye on Twitch at the time. Tim and Brian were staring at each other per usual, Toby had disappeared into the forest, but according to Tim he always makes it to the Gate on time, so they didn't need to worry about him. Ben led the party by a few meters, not interacting or paying the rest of the group any mind at all.

"I have a question for you, Jeff."

"Shoot, chickadee."

"How are all of you so aware of the Creepypasta and the internet story stuff? I understand enough that there's like, alternate worlds and universes, which thank God I was right about that. I love being right about the world. But like…isn't that weird? To know that people write stories about you, sometimes people even make straight up porn of y'all? Hell, I've made porn of y'all, and all kinds of shit. And y'all said Toby is a tulpa. Meaning he's just…a spirit that takes on Toby's form cause of the internet story becoming so popular?"

"That's the gist, yeah. I don't think he's the exact version of a tulpa that might be more well-known but yeah. He changes according to what's popular with him at the time. That phase he went through with the beard from when Kastoway released the redesign still haunts me…"

"I fucking loved that redesign."

"Wasn't bad, it just looks way weirder when the dude has half his skull peeking out for some reason. Pretty sure that wasn't part of the redesign, that's just what our Toby looks like. Anyways…" Jeff makes a face that vaguely reminds Twitch of a toddler pooping in their diaper. "It's definitely weird. But I guess it's something you get used to? Just another fucked up circumstance on top of an already fucked up circumstance. If you had shown all of this shit to me when I was 16, I might be like, yeah what the fuck is wrong with people. But…it's just normal now, I guess. This Creepypasta stuff didn't exist on the same magnitude in my world. I guess it was just a bit more tame there. Slenderman and Marble Hornets was a thing, but they were just an ARG and a folk tale. BEN existed, but I literally got to meet Alex Hall at one point, so…I knew that stuff was a story."

"You got to meet Alex Hall?"

"Yeah, my dad was real into crypto…"

"Crypto??"

"Oh, yeah. You died in 2020. Alex got super into crypto."

"You're shitting me."

"Nope."

"Ugh."

Jeff chuckled. "It is weird. But, we're used to it. The worst problems it's ever caused was with the tulpas. Toby and Moen have to go into isolation sometimes if problematic shit pops up. Ever since that whole…sexual offenderman bullshit happened, Moen's been hiding out. Which really sucks, the dude's a good guy."

"You talk a lot more than I was expecting you to."

"I get that a lot." He smiles, shoving his hands in his back pockets. He looks at Twitch for a moment, studying her movements. She walked visibly awkward, clearly uncomfortable with being near him. She avoided any attempts at eye contact, squinting her eyes and making a face whenever she had to look up at him to show she was listening to what he was saying. "You don't want to be here at all, do you?"

"Glad my subtle signals have been getting picked up." She snorts, fussing with the end of one of her braids. "No. I was one of those kids that grew up too obsessed with Creepypasta, to the point it made me do dangerous shit. I only wanted to be here when I wanted to die. Now I'm stuck here right after I finally had a reason to stay alive. I'm not happy about this at all."

"Trust me, I get it. Maybe not to the same degree, but…I never wanted to be here either. Fucked up circumstance on top of fucked up circumstance."

She hummed, her walk relaxing a bit. "Where are you from, Jeff?"

"Havana."

"In Cuba?"

"Yeah. Moved to Miami when I was 11."

"Your brother's a thing, still, right?"

He laughs. "Yes, Liu's a thing. I also had a younger sister, and my parents were very pleasant people who actually believed me when I said I was getting bullied, before you ask. There was no Go to Sleep shit with me."

"There was no Jeff the Killing?"

"Jeff the Killing?!"

Twitch cackles. It was something like a dolphin's squeaking, and she bent halfway backwards while pointing at him. "Have you never heard that?! The Jeff the Killer thing?!"

"I've heard the Jeff the Killer thing, but why specifically say it like Jeff the Killing?"

"Cause you Jeff the Kill people."

"Please never speak again."

She kept laughing at him. After finally taking a breath again, she turns on her heel, pointing at him while she walks sideways. "Wait, you never answered my other question. How do you guys know about this stuff? Like, I know there's the Gates and shit, so is there like, computers or something that have access to multiple worlds? I know that you can see at least my world's news, Toby found my article in the newspaper talking about my death."

"Yeah, as far as I know, the computers here can access like, all timelines? It's freaky, but we think it's something to do with like, the Pulsar tech or something. Uh…Pulsar's the kingdom that's in the center of this place. They have like, insane futuristic tech. Like, some sci-fi high fantasy movie shit. The Gates are portals to the different places. Our computers are limited to Habitat though, the, uh…Earths."

"That's fucking insane."

"Oh, wait till you actually get to see it in person. Pulsar is crazy lookin."

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Twitch was again in her own world, the odd calls above her head from alien birds that had never been seen in her own "Habitat", as Jeff called it. She thought of the mirror again. Many eyes all on her, teal and green and red, all around just her. She didn't hear Jeff speaking to her, she felt his hand against her cheek, but didn't feel the need to respond. She just kept walking.

The others watched her in amused silence, Tim and Brian chattering inaudibly amongst theirselves. Toby has scurried his way back into the group, now that they were only a few meters from the break in the trees that would give them the lovely view of Kratus Lake. Her dark brown braids bounced against her back as she trucked forward, not aware the others were slowly trailing behind her. Ben leaned against one of the trees at the edge, shooting a sly glance at Jeff. He only shook his head in return, shoving his hands into his pockets. Toby, Brian and Tim lingered as well, just a bit forward from the treeline, watching just as quietly.

Twitch's steps were so oddly confident, no hesitation or contemplation. Her head was slightly down, looking towards the ground in front of her but not around at anything surrounding her. Even as she quickly approached the Lakehouse, she didn't slow or make any motion to look at her surroundings. Not until she was standing just a few feet from the railing of the worn wooden porch, her face level with the dangling leg of the woman who presently lived there, did she stop.

The woman was tall, built exactly like what you'd expect a legendary Amazon woman to be. Her skin was a dark brown, but seemed to almost glow in the sun, like she herself put off the light, and her hair was a pink so light it could've been mistaken for white. Her eyes were a poisonous shade of purple, deep and haunting as they appraised the tiny ghost in front of her. She sat with her right leg crossed over the other, a deep red cloth skirt swaying slightly in the wind, of which Twitch idly gripped the hem, still not out of whatever stupor she was in. The boys finally approached, giving the woman respectful greetings, to which she only hummed in response. Jeff made a move to grab Twitch, but was stopped by the woman's raised hand.

"Her name?" She spoke softly.

"She calls herself Twitch, her real name is-"

"That's not what I asked." She cut off Jeff's response, her tone still soft and relaxed. She didn't move, only watched as Twitch stimmed her fingers against the wood of the porch, blissfully unaware of anything around her. "How old is she?"

"At death, or total?"

"Both."

"She died at 18, she'd be 22 now. We need to visit Foss-"

"I know why you're here. Zevret and Jackson already told me. But what they did not tell me…was how small she was. Hayamei this young and you are already taking her to Foss, why is that?" She fiddled with the black cotton of her blouse's sleeve, sighing as she crossed her hands over her knee. She levied an expectant glare at the boys, clearly unhappy with the situation in front of her. Twitch herself had started to come to, staring up at the woman with her voidful eyes.

"Zakiyah…" Ben started, his lip twitching in a growl when she raised a finger to silence him. She kept that finger raised, silent for a beat, before waving it in the air, and then placing her hand back down.

"I think…you have bitten off more than you can chew….and are looking to Foss to solve all your problems, yes? You are going to see if you can pawn off the new and untrained ghost to the man who has far too many people to take care of as is, because your Esterian is too lazy to take the time and do it himself, as he is obligated to do whilst staying in my Woods."

"Oh, your Woods?" Ben giggles, matching her icy stare with his own mirthful one.

"My Woods. Zevret maintains the Barrier, I maintain the Gate. This territory is ours and our responsibility. The Residents have been neglectful of their chores, chores of which are your rent, as they call it. Give me one good reason I should allow you to transport this hayamei across the Barrier into Foss's territory so you may plead your pitiful case?"

The group was silent. Zakiyah hummed, a soft smile tilting her face up. She glances at Twitch, tapping her finger against her knee for a moment, before turning her head fully to look directly at her. Twitch was still staring, but the look on her face told her she had heard what Zakiyah said.

"You don't even know why you're being brought to this Foss fellow do you? Twitch, yes? Do you have any idea where you are going?"

"New York." Twitch responded, her voice steady, but Zakiyah could feel the boiling heat of a promise of rage beneath her tongue.

"Yes. Why are you going to New York?"

"To meet Foss."

"Why are you meeting Foss?"

"To understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why I'm here."

Zakiyah hummed again. "Do you not think you are here simply because you have died? Is this not the afterlife for you?"

"It's more like Hell."

"You do not believe in Hell."

"Fire and brimstone, no. But an eternity of pain and suffering because I was a bad person? Yeah."

"Were you a bad person?"

"Apparently so."

Zakiyah suddenly laughed. It was a hearty, full belly laugh, one that had her whipping her head back so far Jeff jumped, expecting her to fall. She did not fall, only continued laughing until she was holding her side in pain.

"Oh by the goddess and her mother….Get the fuck off my lake, Benil. Take your science experiment back to the House, and keep her where she is meant to remain. If Charles cannot pay his dues, he needs to be removed." Zakiyah sighed, smoothing her skirt as she looked to Ben expectantly. He hesitated, quirking his jaw while trying to find the words to plead their case. Before he could, a low, creeping voice called out Zakiyah's name. She scoffed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Of course. Here he comes, because of course Jackson has sent him."

Rinku glided out of the treeline, glowing in his own way with the sun shining off his true-white hair. He had a knowing grin on his face, and Zakiyah was immediately hopping off of the railing to attempt to escape his approach.

"Oh hell no, you back up!" She pointed at him accusingly, trying to quickly retreat into the lakehouse. "No! Absolutely not! You are not going to convince me to open up my damn Gate for you and your little pets! No! Leave!"

"Zakiyaaahhhh." Rinku coos, brushing his fingers through Twitch's hair as he passes, bringing her out of her stupor. He flashes a knowing smile and wink her way as he ascends the steps. "Zakiyah, you know very well-"

"NO! Fuck you! Get out!" Zakiyah flees, Rinku hot on her heels.

"I'll handle her, give me a minute." The door slams shut behind them. Ben giggles to himself, and the group waits outside, listening to the muffled shouting followed by Rinku's mirthful laugh. It goes silent after a few minutes, then the door swings open. Twitch poked her head through the bars of the railing, staring up at Rinku as he came out the door.

"To Harlem, we go!" He waves his hand with a flourish towards the back half of the porch that faced the lake, which extended into a small pier. Twitch was pulled away from the railing and lifted into the air by Brian, who then hauled her up the steps. The porch wrapped around the south and west sides of the house, with the pier extending further west into the Lake itself. This side of the house was made up of mostly giant glass sliding doors, giving a full view into the house itself.

It was small but perfectly clean, a small dining table with only two chairs, and an island with barstools that separated the dining room and the kitchen. The kitchen only had a fridge and small stove, no microwave, and only a tiny sink in the corner. There was a couch on the other side of the front door, with a small glass coffee table and bookshelves full of old books and magazines. That was all she could see before she was plopped down facing the lake. Zakiyah huffed as she stomped down the pier, the skin on her outstretched hands lighting up with the brightest pink you could ever imagine.

She was a sight to see, her hair billowing around her head like a goddess walking, the pink of the magic bringing out the pink in her hair, deepening so that it was almost red. Her skirt and blouse flailed in the building tempest that now grew around her, and an eerie rumbling began to build. It was low at first, like the growl of a scared dog, that increased quickly in intensity with every second. The group inched forward, Twitch having latched only Brian's arm so hard he could feel her nails through the thick material of his jacket.

The water at the edge of the pier rose, but not like a wave. It moved, like something alive, something following the lead of Zakiyah's will. Her fingers moved so fluidly in the air it was as if her own body was apart of the water as well, each breath of hers breathing life into the Lake. The rest of the body of water lit up, tiny orbs of light bouncing around the surface of the water. They floated closer and closer, and Twitch realized the rumbling was coming from them. She felt a hand press against her shoulder.

"Watch." Rinku's voice whispered, and she followed the point of his finger to pay more attention to the very edge of the pier where the water was finishing its dance with Zakiyah.

The pink emptied itself from the tips of her fingers, coalescing into a ring in front of her, whilst the water pooled directly in the middle. It shot forward, spreading out as if it had hit a pane of glass, giving the ring a mirror-like effect. Twitch could see herself in the reflection, and it felt too much like her mirror, teal eyes staring daggers into her. This time is was that putrid purple, burning an anger older than time directly between her eyes. Zakiyah turned slowly, that glare still leveled at her. She thought she saw something else behind that look, but she couldn't tell what.

"Your Esterian had sent word to me that you'd need use of my Gate. What I don't understand, is why you have so quickly deferred to Foss for guidance. I know precisely what she is, you could have easily gone to me."

"And you would have agreed to help us?" Ben chuckled, earning a sneer from the larger woman. "You know very well you would've tried to turn us away like you just did earlier."

"Because you are immediately going to Foss and not trying to explore other options. She is-"

"Foss is the best choice for what we need right now. Zakiyah. I told you, you just need to trust me." Rinku had earned a glare from Ben when he cut him off, which he ignored. Zakiyah sighed, shaking her head.

"Whatever, Zevret. Go on. Do not come crawling to me when all of this blows up in your face. You know what you are messing with." She stood to the side, just along the edge of the pier. She kept her arms crossed, head tilted in a sorrowful expression.

Twitch was idly pushed forward, and the little ghost could not take her eyes off the reflective surface of the Gate. Her breathing quickened, though it felt too even in her chest, like her body was starting to forget her own natural instincts already. Something felt forced, blood that no longer existed pulsing in her ears the closer to the Gate she got. This felt different than the mirror. Like every nerve in her body was being reignited, every piece of flesh and viscera that of a living person would have being etched back together temporarily inside of her. Her hand tapped gently against the faux glass, and the surface rippled outwards from her touch. She pressed further, her hand disappearing into the surface, then reappearing as she pulled it out. She stared at her reflection, then looked up at Ben behind her.

He was smirking, and before she could react, he lurched forward and shoved her in. She shouted various slurs at him before her voice faded as she passed through the Gate. He cackled, the others snickering in turn, and one by one they followed right behind her. Rinku lingered, bowing to Zakiyah in thanks. She only sighed, turning her head away from him.

Inside the Gate, Twitch was not having a good time. There was no sense of direction, and though the feeling wasn't painful, it was intensely disorienting. She felt as if she were floating again, unable to tell up from down. Anytime she tried to move, she could not get that feeling of rising, only the panic of not knowing where to go, as if stuck trying to do a perpetual flip underwater. She had no clue how long she was stuck in there, but finally, she felt herself surfacing.

Her back hit the linoleum hard, and though pain was a sense that had mostly left her after death, her head still hit the ground hard enough to have her staring up at the tiled ceiling for a few moments, unable to move. Her hands shook as she tried to lift her arms, but they remained stagnant in the air, not quite receiving whatever message her brain was trying to send at the moment. Toby and Ben both laughed at the state she was in when they landed, though Jeff was nice enough to gently sit her upright while she got her bearings. She remained frozen, ignoring any of the words coming out of Rinku's mouth, only focused on the heat coming off of Jeff.

This was all too much. She couldn't keep focus. Everything was tilting back into that full mode of disassociation, where she couldn't tell what the hell anyone was saying, only aware of her fingers fussing against the cotton of Jeff's shirt. She didn't feel a thing when Jeff stood her up, but she was able to remain standing. Her head was still spinning, so many alarm bells going off all at once now.

Now, her instincts were screaming at her? Now she felt like something was wrong? Whatever was left of her heart was beating so hard her entire body felt like it was vibrating, something felt so wrong. Wherever they were, she should not be here. A looming sense of pure dread overtook her entire body, and she could not speak. The others were none the wiser, though Jeff did try to snap her out of it a few times. After a while, he simply grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

She felt like a worm, inching along the ground as she was pulled against her will through the modern, chronically clean office building. Window after window, there was not a second for her to breathe. She had no time, no time to understand or take in her surroundings. The worm inched further. Like an apple she was eating, the hole behind her getting farther as she made her way through the core, the arsenic of the seeds settling in her throat.

Nobody spoke to her, nobody cared about the quiet, gurgling anger building inside her. Maybe Jeff thought she was just nervous, but Ben knew. She knows it. He kept that shit-eating grin on his face the entire time, walking too close so his hand would brush against hers until she ripped it away like he had burned her. He'd bite his lip to keep from laughing. The others didn't pay any mind, fully alert and focused on where they were going and nothing else. At some point, a lithe woman with short coily hair had begun to lead them, wearing a grey turtleneck and dark green skirt. The click of her heels felt like a countdown to her second death.

The door was made of frosted glass, and Twitch could barely see the outline of a tall man in a suit on the other side. Jeff's hand was still clutching hers, pulling her along despite how badly she wanted to pull away and run. Foss, they called him. She would have called him Trenderman. He's a surprising addition, one she didn't think would appear in this hellish new reality. He almost looked like Andy's dad. Tall, salt and pepper beard, bald head. Warm brown eyes turned onto her, a pristine white smile peeking out from full lips. He wore a cream colored suit, teal-blue button up beneath it. Black dress shoes were propped onto the coffee table in front of him. He said something she didn't hear, and she kept following Jeff's lead.

She was sat on the beige sofa across from him, staring at the small silver necklace that hung around his neck, adorned with a piece of amber that held the corpse of a long-dead dragonfly in it. The woman from before took a seat on the sofa next to him, a respectable distance between them. She crossed her legs and focused on a paper pinned to her clipboard, and Twitch noticed the necklace around her neck was also amber, though hers had some old species of bee in it. Finally, their voices reached her again. I'm going to kill myself highkey

something something she has a mental breakdown and sasses tf outta Foss

"Lillian Harris, died at 18. You're a hayamei, correct? A rather powerful one." Foss's voice reminded her of the old Candyman actor. Low, smooth, practiced.

"I don't know what that is."

"A human ghost. Also referred to as a poltergeist, sometimes."

"I guess so."

"How'd you end up in Charlie's woods?"

"I woke up there."

He hummed at her curt responses, an odd glint in his eye as he looked her over. "They were right about one thing, you're like a nuclear power plant. Every bit of you puts off energy way above the levels of any other poltergeist I've seen. What are you here for?"

"What?" The question confused her. She was only here because she had been told to go. She hadn't been given a choice. She stared at him, a glare he returned readily. He knew something, or had suspicions. Does he know? Does he know what she wants? No, surely not. He's like them. Stupid and naive, no idea what is going on.

"What are you here for, Miss Lillian?"

"Nothing. I was forced to come here."

"Oh?" He smiles, an amused lilt staining his voice. "Were you dragged? Kicking and screaming? Did you fight? Did you try to run? Because to me it looked as if Jeff walked you in here, hand in hand, like a couple of little lovebirds~"

Ben barked a laugh out, which received a hard hit in the stomach from Jeff. Foss chuckled, shaking his head. "To me, it looks as if you're just going along with whatever you're told, not being forced. Tell me. What do you hope to gain from this newfound life of yours?"

"I don't understand."

"You are here. You came with them, willingly. From what I know, you've been in the House since April. You haven't tried to run, haven't caused a ruckus other than your odd spells of power surging. All the others have told me is that you are a very odd poltergeist, one they don't have the resources to analyze properly. You've remained in the House, long enough that they have felt the need to come to me for help. What do you want, being in that House? What is your goal right now? Not having a goal is an acceptable answer, just not one I'm going to believe for your case."

"What does it matter to you?" Something felt bad. Something in the back of her neck, crawling up and down into her skull and spine.

Foss tilted his head slightly. "I assist the House and its Residents. It matters because you are a Resident now. I am here to help."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you help? What is your goal? I had no goal. I was a living person a few months ago, though, apparently, it's now 2024 and last I checked, it was 2020. I have no reason to be here, but I have nowhere else to go. That's why I'm here. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I doubt that."

"Why?"

Foss's jaw clenched. His left hand's fingers tapped against his right. "Because the answer is never that simple, for anyone."

"It is for me."

"I don't believe you."

"I really don't care if you don't believe me, Trenderman."

Foss's mouth quirked. "Ah. A Creepypasta fan. I see. I'm sure this is very confusing, yes? An internet phenomenon come to life all around you, in multitudes of form, some like their story and some not."

"That's putting it lightly."

"I'm sure. Fine. Tell me this, then. Now that you are here, what do you wish to do? In the short time you've been here, do you have any desires? Any wishes to achieve, anything at all? It need not be a deep, pondered goal of your afterlife or something like that. Just, something small. Something you'd like to do."

Twitch thought to herself a moment. There were many things she'd like to do. Like, taking the chain around Foss's neck and choking him with it. Though she didn't think the chain would hold up, but maybe it'd force him to show his real face. Or maybe, cut Ben's throat open and stain the pretty white rugs with whatever putrid sludge came out of him. Or take the pencil in the woman's hand that kept incessantly scratching on the paper in front of her, and jam it into her eardrum.

"I want to…" She trailed off, staring out the window to her right, one that gave her a beautiful view of New York's horizon. Skyscrapers she had only ever seen in movies, a classic view, one so many people probably dreamt of seeing one day. To her, it was gray and too sharp. Too normal. Much too normal for the situation she was in. "I don't know yet. I'm still thinking."

"Now that is an answer I can accept. Tell me, Lillian. What were you like in your life?"

Her head whipped towards him so fast, even Jeff and Toby startled a bit. Foss raised an eyebrow, his fingers flexing as those voidful eyes trained on him. "Why do you look like that?" She was avoiding the question, but Foss let it be for now, too curious of her.

"Excuse me?"

"You're Trenderman. Why'd you choose that form? Charlie said his is a glamour. Is yours one, too?"

"Ah…Yes it is. It is the form of my first Conduit."

"Conduit. Ben said those are people that are sensitive to otherworldly energies or something like that, usually they're connected to a specific entity and only them."

"Yes. I can have many Conduits, but a Conduit can only be tied to one entity. Mine was the ancestor of Miss Amber Berin here." He gestured towards the woman, who gave a polite smile. Twitch cracked her neck, earning a grimace from the others.

"I knew a Berin. Andrell. He hung himself in his apartment building a year before I died."

Amber gulped at that statement, sending a nervous glance to Foss, who only tilted his head, a silent reassurance. "Tell me about him, Lillian. Was he a friend of yours?" Her lip twitched, baring the pale yellowed teeth beneath the skin for only a moment.

"Why do you want to know about my life? How will that help you help me?"

"I wish to know about your life because it may help me determine why you are so much more powerful than other hayamei we have come across. If I can pinpoint whatever is causing the higher levels of power, I can help you control and temper it."

"Why? Am I dangerous if I don't?" The air had gone stale. A low whistle shot through the air, just barely beyond what could easily be heard by mortals, a sound that was felt more than it was heard. Everyone's ears perked, except for Twitch's. She never moved an inch.

"Ah…" This question had Foss stuttering. Her face never shifted, keeping that blank, controlled stare that felt as if it were boring a hole through his chest. "Yes, you could be. If left unchecked, the patterns you're showing could progress into something not dissimilar to the effect of a giant bomb. And I rather like the Matheson House, so I'd like to help to ensure that you do not end up exploding in a giant fireball of pure energy."

"What if I want to explode? Would you stop me? Would you all destroy me to keep your world safe?" She almost spoke too fast for them to process what she was saying, as everything began to come out in a deluge.

Foss clearly wasn't expecting the conversation to take this turn, and he was fumbling more than he was used to. The normally calm, collected man was being tripped up by a little ghost, and he had no idea why. She wasn't the first violent or cheeky ghost he'd come across, but something about the look in her eyes reminded him of an old fear. One he couldn't quite place yet. The desperation in her whispered little voice tinged with something primal, something excitable.

"Can I ask you something, Trenderman?" A long breath out.

"Go ahead." A short breath in.

"Why are you all so different? I grew up being super into Creepypasta, why are none of you like your stories? Why is there such a big difference?" Something twinkled in her eyes, an expression akin to a cruel joy.

"Those stories are often made by Conduits. Conduits don't always get the facts right, and there's the instance of alternate realities meshing into each other for them. Jeff, for example. In his own world, he is exactly how he is now. But go to another reality, another Habitat, he could very well be the exact spitting image of whatever story you had read in your own world. Or he could be completely different from both. It is a game of chance. I would assume the others have mentioned and tried to explain the whole, multiverse thing?"

"Yes, they did. It was mostly confirmation of things I already believed in."

"Good, good. That makes it easier to explain. Really, it just depends on who you meet and from where. There are plenty of different versions of the same people, all with varying amounts of uniqueness from each other. It is simply a fact of how time works."

Twitch hummed, her eyes drifting back towards the window. "Honestly…I think you're all full of bullshit."

That made everyone finally breathe. Foss narrowed his eyes at her, thinking to himself what exactly he's been pulled into. "And why is that?" He jolted slightly when she suddenly stood up, walking towards the window. She didn't stop until her forehead pressed against the glass, no breath to fog the glass.

"Because you are. This is all bullshit, really. Creepypastas being real? Give me a break. This is all some kind of shitty dream or purgatory I've been forced into because I died. You wanted to know what I was like during my life? I was a mentally ill teenager who thought and prayed you freaks were real. I begged and pleaded whatever god might listen to let me leave where I was and run to you all. But I never got an answer. I plotted to kill my own mother, a mercy for her, really, and I even did end up killing my stepdad. All for this? A fantasy?"

She turned, grinning at the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "Oh my god, you people are naive. What's that look for? See," she raised her hand in the air, waving it wildly, "what I don't understand, is why you all play along with this bullshit. Were your own lives that bad? Did you go through oh-so-terrible tragic events and now that you're dead you flit about in a Wattpad fanfiction about the Creepypasta mansion and having cool new superpowers? Getting to fight and kill and fuck whatever and whoever you want, just living as a whole new being with no consequences?"

"That isn't-" Tim started, immediately being cut off by Twitch's high-pitched screech. The sound was haunting, a primal growl that pitched into an ear-piercing scream as it went on. She kept going until he was quiet again, then stopped, staring at him blankly. When she spoke again, she sounded like she was seconds from bursting out laughing.

"Shut up. All of you, shut the fuck up. This is not fucking real. None of this is real. I am not going to be recruited as some new Creepypasta, the mansion is not real. BEN Drowned and Ticci Toby and Jeff the Killer and Trenderman are not fucking real. None of you are real. I am dead, and this is an illusion. Something my dying brain has cooked up for my soul to remain in until the worms have gotten the best of me." She pulled at the ends of her braids fitfully, her jaw tensing and untensing. She shook her head side to side over and over, her teeth gritted and bared at them.

"This shit isn't fucking real, and I'm fucking dead!" Her voice got louder with every sentence. "This is not a stupid fucking story, this is my life! I am not going to sit here and play house with you fucking freaks and act like I'm not losing my fucking mind! I hate you all so fucking much, I'm not going to keep fucking pretending. Why the fuck are you all here?! Why are you nice? Why are you normal? NONE OF YOU SHOULD BE NORMAL!"

Foss and Amber were standing now. Twitch scratched her hands down her face, pulling at her eyelids and cheeks. No one dared approach her, the threat of whatever unknown abilities she had too great for them to risk it. Her voice lilted, an echo boosting its sound through the room, to the point where everyone could feel it, no matter if she was yelling or whispering, both of which she kept quickly flipping back and forth from.

"I'm not doing this. I'm not going to do this. You fucking idiots are the reason for all of it. You're the reason I'm dead! YOU'RE ALL THE FUCKING REASON FOR IT! I hate this, I hate you all so fucking much. You dress me up like a doll, drag me around, expecting me to go along with everything. Why is it all so normal for you? Why are you all so boring and stupid and plain and nice?! You're supposed to be killers, ghosts, demons, whatever the fuck. You are not human, none of you are, you're all supposed to be monsters. Why am I here? Is this my punishment for being such a pathetic cunt who could barely lift her own head up because of all the fucking medication in my goddamn body because I was too crazy for anyone to deal with? Is this my punishment for fucking existing?!"

Now it was different. It felt like the air around all of them had gone cold, impossibly cold. Ben was already moving, vaulting over the sofa to make it to her before she made whatever bad decision she was about to make. The entire right side of her face looked as if some kind of terrible infection had blackened her veins and began to seep through her skin. Her hands covered her eyes, fitfully rubbing and pushing into her eyelids as hard as she could, as if she were trying to tear her own eyes out. The second his hands touched her, she lost it.

Like a feral dog that had been caught at its worst, she tore into him. It was chaos all around her, but her only thought was tearing out his throat. Those irritating green eyes that were too dilated, too wide with glee the second her nails dug into his skin. It crawled out of her back like an infection, discolored tendrils that slinked over her skin and dug into his throat, arms, chest, anywhere they could get ahold. Her mouth was full of some foul-smelling liquid that kept bubbling out and spilling onto the floor. She couldn't think past his face, in perfect detail and all that she could see. She wanted to see what was inside. She knew he was not her Ben, he was some foul, awful bastardization. An evil and vile creature sent to mock her love and devotion.

Hands gripped every inch that could be grabbed. Toby's arms around her waist, Tim's on her left arm, Brian on her right. Jeff's voice calling for her, trying to tear Ben out of her grip. Foss's own Esterian appendages wrapped around her head, though quickly reared back when her skin burnt through his like fire through fat. Toby was making a noise like that of a terrified animal, but refused to let go. Tim and Brian weren't able to hold on very long before the burning sensation cut through them as well. Toby was left as the only one still holding her, tears streaming down his face as he tried to fight through the foreign sensation of unbearable pain that cut through him. At some point, he threw up down her back, but still refused to let go.

She thrashed wildly, the tendrils streaming from whatever bit of skin was exposed undeterred by her movements. They grew along the floor like veins, pumping and pulsing with a sick heartbeat as they sought out any breath that shifted the air. Amber had bolted the second Ben vaulted the couch, possibly attempting to go for whatever help she could find.

The world had begun to collapse in on itself for her. Everything was so much brighter now. Twitch's eyes rolled fitfully in her skull, trying to focus, trying to catch on anything. It was like everything had become so much clearer, so much more present. Everything was coming back to what it was when she was alive. The fog lifted mildly, not fully, but it was getting there. Pinpoint pupils following every movement, the static in the air felt like it was invigorating her, bringing her back to life. The arms and hands everywhere around her, pinning her limbs to her sides, or holding her head back. Her foot connected with someone's leg, then another's chest. Hands sliced against a face or two, none of them were anything to worry about. She smiled through the manhandling, knocking her foot into Jeff's nose as she slipped out of Ben and Toby's grips. Her back bled out in atramentous sludge that snaked against the floor, her forehead connecting with the tile and cracking the pristine surface. Ink covered the ground, staining her sleeves and pant legs, stained her teeth and tongue as it poured out. She cackled again, ragged wheezing in between in each faux breath.

Toby tried again, masochistic he was with her unique little ability to let him feel pain. Like every bit of her was built to ruin him specifically, but really she was built to ruin everyone. The others were slow to get up, the wounds from the tendrils pouring out her back inducing a sense of that same brain fog she'd been slogging through until now. She smiled in the man's face as he dragged her up by her shirt, only responding to his arrogant little commands with her hand rising to clutch at his face, painting his skin the same pitch black tar that stained her body. She giggled, crowing and cooing at him as the poisonous substance seeped through his clothes, into his nose, mouth, eyes.

How easy it was for her to stain them. She didn't know much about being dead, but clearly she was well-equipped in her afterlife. Something about this sludge that came out of her, it spread from her back, came out of every orifice she had. Her pants were stained as if she had pissed them, but it looked much more gruesome than any embarrassing wet patch. And it spread, spilling out onto the floor and slowing the movements of anyone that came into contact with it.

"Oh, I don't know what this is. But isn't that so perfect? Such a perfect power to give me, it keeps you from running from me. Do any of you know? Are you so stupid to keep trying? Refugees, lost little souls, I am not one of you. I am not one of you. I am not yours. I am not yours." Her voice was so soft, so sweet as she spoke. "I am an animal you have caught in a trap, I am injured and angry, and you all think you can domesticate me, I will not let you."

Something had finally clicked for her. The others were still ignorant to the gravity of it all, well…They were until the sound of glass shattering and Toby's shout rang out. The realization that he had thrown out the window set in, and it seemed to finally kick everyone else into gear. This was no longer a situation where they could treat her as just a newbie, a wily ghost meant to be wrangled. Jeff stumbled to his feet, trying to make it to the door before she set her sights on someone else. The putrid smell of rotten flesh accosted his nostrils as her tendrils latched around his neck, keeping him only inches from the door's handle. Jeff struggled to keep his ability to breathe as he tried to fight her off, cursing to himself the more distance was created between him and the door.

A thump was heard on the other side of the door, a murky shadow visible behind the frosted glass. Then followed the glass shattering onto the floor, and Amber's face was quickly distorted by a deluge of wires flooding the room and shielding her from view. Jeff sucked in a desperate breath as the tendril around his neck receded, Twitch's frightened scream jolting him to attention. He wasn't expecting anything like that noise out of her, it was something more primal and human than he had ever heard from her before.

The expression on Twitch's face fully shifted. In the moments prior, she had appeared like something akin to a natural disaster. Excited and cruel, all too ready to cause rampant destruction any way she liked. Now, she looked like a frightened little girl. Nothing more than a little girl waiting for her father to spank her for doing something wrong. Scared and knowing, that look in her eyes confused him.

She stared into the wall of rubber and electricity, and it was like a special little instinct that tied her to him. She could tell, she felt it in her soul what it was. That was what triggered the fear so badly, and something else twinged in the back of her head. A memory, something from the smell of the rubber and static. The entire room was cold, and she hid inside herself as far as she could, her teeth tearing into the rubber that snaked across every inch of skin like a cornered animal. She screamed and thrashed, but her own weapons she'd had moments before abandoned her in this moment of fear. Back to the little girl, back to the tiny frightened ghost, in only seconds.

Outside the ball of wires that now contained the little terror, the others finally made it back to their feet, the effects of whatever the sludge was leaving them as soon as Twitch was incapacitated. Ben groaned out a sardonic chuckle as he pushed himself up.

"Thanks Admin, coulda used you a bit sooner." He sits back, sighing and letting his head hang back as he threw a sideways glance at the duo standing in the broken doorframe. Amber was barely visible as she remained mostly obscured by the wires protecting her, whilst a vaguely human-shaped mass of writhing rubber moved further into the room. This "Admin", was another of the Networks, another BEN. And one this Ben didn't like much. A monitor was slowly pushed up the mass of wires until it was seated where a face could have been. It lit up in teal blue, a synthetic voice chiming out.

"Foss had the main electricity turned off in here before you arrived, he did not want her ruining them if she went off. Though it appears electronics is not her instinctual power like most. Please go to the infirmary. We want samples of the substance left behind from her little…appendages. Thank you all." The humanoid turned around, the ball of wires dragging behind him as he dragged Twitch away from them. No one knew if she were even still conscious, though Tim and Brian at least didn't give a fuck. Jeff was more confused than anything, mostly by her sudden shift in attitude.

Ben just scowled, using the knocked over couch to brace himself as he got to his feet. It was quiet for a moment, as everyone took in the extent of the damage that was done. In the flailing to get Twitch under control, none of the Residents had realized just how much they'd been injured. Whatever those tentacles were that came out of her seemed to be dripping poison, different from the sticky pitch that had come out of the rest of her body.

Tim's right leg had been stripped of the jeans from the knee down, like it had been burned away by acid. His shin was burnt with sizzling patches of skin, the same that had been on Charlie's hands for weeks after her arrival. The remaining skin was grey, like it was necrotic, but the burnt was no longer spreading thankfully. Ben pulled his shirt up to appraise the spots where he'd been impaled by her, and the same grey skin surrounded the wound, which oozed a mix of watery pus and the black substance that stained the floor. Brian had a few sizzling holes in his jacket and jeans, but he was too focused on Tim's injury to care much about his own. Jeff was actively trying not to scratch at the burns around his throat, a glassy eyed expression on his face as he sat fidgeting on the floor near the door. God knows what Toby looked like right now, splattered against the pavement countless stories below them.

Foss looked the worst for wear of them all. He hadn't fully sat up yet, reverted to the willowy, faceless form he was borne to. His suit, once pristine, was now stained with the putrid smelling poison, torn in the transformation as well as burnt and torn to shreds by Twitch. His grey-blue body was stained red and black from the burns, no grey like the others' injuries. He shook slightly as he remained disoriented on the floor, only barely holding himself up with one arm. He swayed, barely able to tilt his head up to check on the others for a moment, before he sluggishly dragged his other arm to try and brace himself more. Foss was the smallest of the "Slender" brothers, only clearing 7 feet when the rest hit well over 12 feet when in their real forms. He looked almost pathetic as he laid on the floor, shaking and unable to move despite his size.

Wirey muscle strained beneath the leathery grey skin as he attempted to move, but it only earned Foss a sharp pain in his lungs. Every inch of his body was protesting itself, not wanting him to even try to breathe normally without a painful sting punishing him for trying. He thought to himself what he did to get himself set up to have to deal with such stupid fucking people. Foss knew damn well this girl was not kidding anyone when she said she hated them, he could feel her hatred burning its way through his cells, poisoning his veins. This was something much worse than what they'd told him it was. Were they really this stupid to believe they could rehabilitate this girl?

Of course they were, those Residents, as they called themselves, were definitely stupid enough to take in dangerous freak after dangerous freak and think they could keep building up their little found family in the cabin in the woods. It was different here on Earth, in the human world. These things were not always that wonderful exception of hope and tenacity. There were plenty in the world that held nothing but hatred and evil in their hearts. He could already tell this little girl had tipped down a bad path long ago. But he also knew there was no way any of these idiots would listen to him if he told them. So how else are we to mitigate the damage this will cause?

"She needs to be confined. She is wild, and an infant. Her power is only…going to get stronger from here." Foss spits out, face ripping to accomodate his mouth. His eye-skin tightens, suctioning more to his skull to give the others an eerie glance into his bone structure. "Do not be stupid. She is dangerous. Control her now before it is too late."

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock." Ben hissed, scoffing at him.

"If it's so fucking obvious, then why haven't you already done so?" Foss spit back.

"Because Ben has a fucking boner for her and we all know Charlie and Jack always let him get his fucking way." Brian cut off whatever insult Ben was getting ready to hurl back at Foss, getting an audible click of Ben's jaw as he shut it as a reward. "Charlie's fucking weird, he's just obsessed with a new pet, Jeff's got some sister complex about her trying to relive his lost time with his dead as a fucking door nail sister, and Tim's too nice for his own fucking good but at least he avoids the shit out of her. Everyone in the fucking House has some freaky obsession with her and doesn't want to let her go. Who fucking knows why? But we all know no one's going to confine her. God, we're all screwing ourselves so bad." He looks out the open window, staring at the lights flashing off the tops of police cars that had filled the street. A crowd had formed behind the barriers that had been set up to keep civilians away as they tried to keep anyone from seeing the slow regeneration Toby had surely begun after hitting the pavement.

"Why? What is it with her? You've only known this girl a few months, what is your problem?" Foss questioned. He received no answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twitch was just as wily the second she was released from the ball of wires. Her hands latched around the metal rod of the small rolling stand to her immediate left and swung it at the mass of wires that deftly dodged her attempt. A glitchy chuckle emanated from the giant monitor at the other end of the room they were in. Whatever the hell the room was.

It looked something like what you expect in a shitty 90s robot horror video game, where AI has taken over the world. Much too fitting for her current situation. The wave of wires sucked back into the monitor, slithering back into the open panels they had apparently come from, caressing the desks and smaller computer monitors as if they were fondly petting a dog as they passed by to return to their personal hell. Twitch had stopped breathing, her eyes fully locked on the monitor in front of her, so enrapturing her attention that her body couldn't even mimic its old processes anymore.

Her whole body was on fire like before, but this time it was more controlled, less like the terrible burning sense of dread. Now it was like fuel, something that pushed her forward. The worst possible creature in front of her and all alone with her. That's something she can work with. Figure him out. Learn him. Destroy him like the rest. Eat him. Eat him. Eat him.

"You would break your teeth on me, little one." His voice still made her heart flutter. "That's what you're thinking, yes? You're staring like you wish to eat me, you're practically drooling."

She was drooling a little. She sucked up the drool in her mouth, swallowing it. Her nose twitched with her sneer, but the robot continued its teasing.

"Oh yes, so very scary you are. Lillian Harris. Born 2001, on a Choctaw reservation. Born to Michael Harris and Savannah….no known surname? Interesting. You are…far from home. This is not your world, little one. Do you know that?"

"Yes. You're not my BEN."

"No…not yours. Interesting choice of words."

"Shut up." She could feel his grin in the air. "What do you think telling me facts you can easily Google is going to do? Scare me?"

"You don't exist in this world, I could not simply Google you. That, should be what frightens you."

"What, you gonna doxx me? Who the fuck cares if you know about my life? It's just like you to think I give a fuck about stolen information, I'm dead you plastic cuck."

"Yes, about that…Do you know how you died?"

"I drowned."

"That you did. But you haven't spared a thought as to how?" The newspaper articles Toby had shown her flash onto the screen. She smiled at herself from the year 2019, her last school photo plastered bright and wide. Andy's face next to hers, quoted as having died in a similar manner, except he was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment bedroom, rather than laying in the bed like she'd been. Sophie's face, now with MISSING underneath it in large text. "You and your friends were being hunted. By what?"

"Why do you care? What's so important about me and my death? You all could just destroy me couldn't you? I'm sure it's not impossible to get rid of a ghost, with all the fancy shit and weird supernatural crap you guys are into here. What's the point of all of this?"

"According to the information I have access to, you are…unique. A real new age protagonist, oh for sure. You are like a nuclear reactor getting ready to go off. I want to know how to use it. I want to use you. But, I cannot. Foss's orders. You are not to be harmed, or used, in any fashion. Agreement with the Residents, I could compromise our deal if I went against them. And…IZZI seems to have some kind of claim staked on you anyways. I am not one to attempt to antagonize a fellow Network. We are a bit hard to deal with, as I'm sure you noticed. You can set down the tray now, you know."

"Don't care. Still plotting how to bash your screen in."

"Fair enough. Do you have any idea what your purpose is, little one?"

"No."

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes." She did not hesitate. It welled up a feeling of pride in Admin's chassis. She was so sure now, leagues away from the terrified little girl she became for only a moment. How easily she jumped to and fro from each feeling, with no kickback to give her pause. "Tell me everything. I'm tired of the bullshit tapdancing those fags in the House like to do."

"Well then!" Admin cackled, amused by her audacious way of speaking. He continued to chuckle, the buzzing rumble earning a sneering shoulder twitch from the little ghost. "I will not lead you on so much to say I have all your answers. But I have theories, and I have more information than those Residents. If you place down the tray, I'd be glad to divulge."

Twitch weighed her options. Smash his face in, or maybe finally learn a thing or two about what the fuck was going on? A terrible tough decision to make, and she still contemplated chucking the tray as she set it down. She climbed onto one of the nearby desks, unbothered by the squelching of the leftover sludge spilling out onto the wood underneath her butt.

"Good. That makes things much easier. Now then…Do you believe in God, Lillian?" That was certainly an unexpected first question.

"I believe there is something above us, but if you're specifying the Christian God, no. I don't."

"Good. That makes this much easier. There is a god behind the actions Earth claims is by God. He's not quite as cutesy as the old, white haired saint above all. He is…for one, much shorter. And much more annoying. But, he is who technically created this world. Habitat, we call it on a grander scale. You've heard the term by now, I'm sure. He made more than just Earth, he has made many planets, many histories. And he is absolutely nothing of what the great human world thinks he is. That one…He is after you. Much for the same reason I want you. You are now something akin to a new fuel source being discovered. Inside of you is a core of energy unlike anything we've seen yet. You are the fancy new crack in the earth's crust spewing oil to many right now. Many entities wish to subjugate you, even if they themselves think it is due to an honorable morality. It is not. Do you see rabbits in your dreams, Lillian?"

Twitch breathed in slightly, her head spinning again with each word. She slowly crawled across the long string of desks leading to the monitor. The air buzzed more, acknowledging her approach, but clearly Admin was not worried about it.

"Do you?" It called to her again.

"Yes. Daisies. Rabbits. Wolves. The dead. Home. That's what I see." She gingerly placed the ball of her foot on the floor, the rest of her body still perched on the desk, before slithering her way off the wood and to the tiled floor. She slowly crawled towards the wall of metal panels that lined the bottom of the monitor. Each one had a small divut along the right most edge, but when she went to dip her fingers behind it, the panel slammed open. She jumped slightly, but didn't react much more than that as a wall of wires pushed against her, molding to her form. It pushed her away from the monitor, sliding her easily across the floor, before retreating again, shutting the panel behind it. She grinned up at the glowing glass, moving to sit crisscross applesauce, and pressed her hand into her jaw, stimming her fingers against her skin. She tilted her head back to stare at the monitor down her nose a bit, and idly dug her nails into her neck for a moment while she thought to herself.

This was exactly what she wanted. All of its attention on her in this moment. She knew it was indulging her purposefully. Did she want to continue? Did she want to go for the wires for real this time and fry it from the inside out? Oh, she wanted to do rip each wire out one by one and will it to hurt, will it to feel pain from each bit of her searing through everything that makes him up. She hopes he can feel it if she does. But he is telling her things now. Things she wants to know. Let it infodump, let it give the fucking exposition. She can tear it to shreds later. It might let her.

"Daisies. Rabbits. Wolves. The dead. Home. Such interesting words you choose. You like to be purposefully vague, yes? Give yourself some mystery~ How sweet that is. Daisy for innocence, rebirth. Rabbit, prey. Wolf. Predator. The dead, you are just a little ghost in a cage full of corpses walking. Home, the very place you are trapped in, and many other things. Perfect, you are. A perfect new disaster. You are under the eye of the light. Do you know who the light is?"

"Ben."

"Smart girl. Perfect, you are. Your Ben, the golden glowing freak. He is not us. Not a Network, not a Moon Child. He is an offense. An awful first creature. Do you know what that means?"

"Riddles. No, I don't know what it means, stop speaking in riddles." She bared her teeth, eyes still wide and staring down her nose at him. It was a comical look, but one that still belied such an unhinged expression in her eyes. Admin adored it. Of course he did.

"He is something very old. Something from before our time. A first creature, it's all I know of them currently. Altaprimis. Something like your Slenderman. Maybe something even more. But he is beyond my or anything else's understanding in this world. We've tried to access higher beings in our own planes, and it has been for naught. Nothing wishes to speak to such lowly creatures as human beings. That's why this timeline made me. I am their way of becoming more Godly to speak to their betters. I am their God, here."

"Must you rant through your god complex right now?"

"Ha! Yes~ It's fun. Anyways…Altaprimis. I don't think he is so low as that, he is something more. But, that's all we know about right now. He is worse than anything else in that forest. He's the reason you're stuck. Why they cannot bare to get rid of you. His emotions influence those around him, it's like…a hypnotic suggestion, in a way. His body decides he wants something a certain way and he will simply manifest that reality into his path. Always getting what he wants. And for likely the same reason as it is with the God of our world, he finds some use for that lovely potential cooking up inside of you. What do you wish to do? Who do you wish to indulge, Lillian?"

"None of you, you're all fucking perverts."

"Ha~ Yes, you could say that. In such widely varying ways, as well."

"My options right now are: the fucker that felt me up the other day, Literally God, or tumblr pornbot that got a god complex. Is that right?" She slowly moved to crawl forward again, a bit slower in her approach. The panels didn't open again, though the whole time her body was pulled taut in wait for it. Her hands clutched the edge of the table that held all of the buttons and keyboards that were connected to the monitor. Her left hand floated its way towards the buttons, but was quickly stopped from touching any of them by a sudden cover of writhing wires. She still clutched at them, using them as leverage to pull herself up onto her feet. The wires moved around her fingers like water, keeping her away from the keys but not immobilizing her hands. She hitched a leg onto the desk, the wires bending around her knee, and lifted her slightly to keep her pressing anything. Her other leg joined pressed her hand against the glass of the screen to brace herself. She fully sat down, unbothered by the slight jolt as she was lifted more into the air away from the desk.

She was too aware of how easily she could get him to do as she asked. Her old delusions of her teenage years, wanting the attention of some unobtainable entity like the stories, licking at the edges of her thoughts, the knowing sinking feeling that reminded her this was not good. But she didn't care. It was more fun to indulge. More fun to not care anymore.

"I can see things through the mirror. What's that about? Do you know?" She whispered against the glass.

He whispered back to her, the playfulness clear in his tone. "I do know. You are sought by that god I told you about. Meaning you are connected to it in some way. And with that, comes some benefits after death, you could say. You have a hand in the barriers between worlds. You can move through them more easily than most. Or rather, you can just tear your way through them. You've been causing a couple problems looking through that mirror you know~"

"Oh, am I? Oh, I'm so fuckin' sorry." She pouts against the glass, immediately dropping it into a sneer after a second. "Maybe you guys should just kill me, then."

"I bet you'd be into that, Creepypasta girl. You already are enjoying your Slender Mansion fanfic."

"Kill yourself."

Admin's voice crackled in the speakers as it laughed. Her crude way of speaking was endearing to him, a refreshing experience in comparison to workplace formal talk from Foss's employees. "Why do you talk like that? You're a very rude girl, do you know that?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Ah, right. You died at 18, didn't you? Still that asshole teenager who argued with people on Google Plus and Tumblr."

"Aren't you just a shitty fuckin' AI gone rogue? Who are you to talk about how I talk? You go from talking like some oh so wise God complex robot, to a 14 year old boy trying to read someone."

"I'm talking to you in your own language."

"You're talking like a douchebag."

He giggled again, the monitor buzzing audibly as she pressed her cheek against the glass. Twitch tapped a low tune against the glass, her breath leaving no fog. "Do you wish to remain here? We could simply employ you here, teach you, let you thrive. You and I already know how much you hate them, I could taste it on the poison you put out of your body. Stay here, Lillian. Let us help." As he spoke, the wires beneath Twitch's body formed to her more, as if cradling her closer.

"Help, huh? Liar~" She breathed into the glass, her eyes fluttering closed. She felt at hesitant peace, her body slowly melting into relaxation against the wires and glass. They both sat in silence, Twitch visibly falling deeper and deeper into her own head as her eyes glazed over in the reflection of the monitor. Admin stared through at her, almost becoming just as transfixed by the little ghost as she was with him. Her forehead rolled against the glass, like she was almost trying to nuzzle him. Her eyes looked off in the distance, cutting straight through him.

It was like she didn't see anything around her. It was only her and a fantasy, a fantasy not even he, the subject, was privy to. Her lips didn't fully touch, tiny streams of cold air pushed out of her. How ghosts did that was a marvel to him. Admin assumed it was a function meant to emulate breathing, but because the air is not being warmed, it comes out cold. How he would love to cut her open and look, though the air would be compromised wouldn't it? Maybe he can get her to sit just as sweet as this while he shoved a camera tube down her throat.

The feeling of her fist cracking down on the glass startled him out of the spiral of his gorey little thoughts of dissecting the ghost in front of him. Now, she was laying into the glass with her fist with a terrifying amount of force for someone so small. He remembered her file had said she looked to have built with good amounts of muscle, but for her to retain the force after death, to a heightened degree even, is very unusual for human ghosts.

Each hit pulsed through Admin's monitor with a reverberation that made him want to throw up. The closest thing to nausea he could feel, then came the pain. Something about her, something about the nature of her touch. It caused pain. Like she wanted her anger and illness to punish everything else around her for their woes. It touched on something she shouldn't be able to touch, like she was teasing his soul with the tip of a chainsaw. She wanted in, he felt almost like he didn't want to keep her out. But then her fist made it through the glass.

The searing white-hot feeling ricocheted inside of the monitor's wiring, and the wires outside that had been holding Twitch up clumped together, shivering almost, before dumping out of every panel. Admin felt like he was being spun around the room, was not able to focus on any of the cameras, his vision unable to stay in one place for long enough to make a connection to the technology. The electricity of the machine was being drained slowly, but it came in waves, each wave increasing the drain before ebbing off again. Like he was slowly being taking away by an ocean, pulled down into the depths.

It was almost too much. It caught him so off guard he wasted precious seconds where he needed to regain control before she bled him dry. He chased the yellow that coursed towards the outer wires, haphazardly yanking a handful of them up behind her. Would she notice? Would she feel his heartbeat and follow his veins? No, not yet. She didn't notice. Being a sentient electromagnet had its benefits when dealing with ghosts. Setting them just off their rhythm, enough to break the cycle and choke her back. Her body went rigid, something like stone, like she was calcifying before his eyes. Then she went limp, the almost relieved wave of wires beneath her catching from falling off the desk's edge.

Her eyes were still open, but she couldn't focus them. They rolled back and forth, left to right over and over, as if reading cascading lines of text. Nothing moved them off their path and she weakly turned her right hand over and over, trying to will herself back to movement. After a moment of fidgeting, she calmed a bit, her eyes slowing to simply stare slightly upwards to the ceiling, far off in the distance. She was, fascinating to say the least. Perfectly unhinged, no impulse control. Easy to bait. Easy to take down, so far.

She could be a real threat if they made use of her. Admin thought of what Amber would say. Knowing her, she'd be completely against it. She'd rather treat the girl like those Residents are trying to, like she's some little victim needing a place to be safe. Where can we take this? What can we get out of her? How can we keep her?

Keeping her was the first thing to worry about. Now that she was in such a tattered state, he needed to make her presentable. The Residents will be more keen on giving her up if they see how easily we keep her clean and pacified, something they could not do. He could keep on a leash, keep her content for long enough.

Would it work? Probably not, but it could.

That was all that mattered.

Achievements Unlocked:

Thaumcraft? No.

Unlock the Taint effect.

Push Me, and Then Just Touch Me

Meet the AI known as Admin.

I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt

Meet the Alta Esterian known as Foss.

Dreamsicles in December

Meet the Conduit known as Amber.

#creepypasta #creepypasta au #creepypasta ocs #original characters #writing #tcu #three circuits unending #ben drowned #behavioral event network #jeff the killer #masky #tim #trenderman #slenderman #eyeless jack #ticci toby #amber berin #admin

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benilos · 2 days ago

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yeah

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benilos · 2 days ago

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I will not be discussing linkeduniverse discourse. I made an impulsive comment after being incensed about one of my favorite artists being bothered by a common and incredibly irritating phenomenon in the fandom. Please do not send asks, and do not dm me about it. Thank you

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benilos · 2 days ago

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i AM a ride or die for ovegakart and i WILL go to war for them i do not CARE if we are not mutuals i FUCKS WITH THIS FUNKY CHICKEN

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benilos · 2 days ago

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idk why this idea is so prevalent, but a link to the past link and zelda arent related. no link and zelda are related. i hate that this comes up any time i draw them

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benilos · 2 days ago

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Ive had ppl comment on my Hyrule Bound fic (my handmade links meet au) on ao3 with specifically "this is a very good LinkedUniverse au" i was like bitch ive been doing this longer than her i just didnt name it till i was fuckin 17. Theres a reason im always a cunt when it comes to the lu fandom. im tired of it.

BITING. "Well in Linked Universe" "Well in the LU fandom" Shut up! Stop! Its a *fan comic*. Its a Good fancomic, but its not canon and its not mine either! Get off me! Legend of zelda is almost 40 years old and has so much stuff please just LOOK at it! Im Tired!

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benilos · 2 days ago

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wader

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benilos · 3 days ago

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I hate Nintendo Switch Online. I hate the lack of optimization. I hate the expensive subscription service. I hate the lack of games. I hate the limited time releases. I hate that it's never gonna have the level of content that the Wii virtual console had. I hate what capitalism has done to gaming.

This collection includes: All the GBA, GB and GBC games currently available on the Switch!!

+ And a few extra bonus!! Mostly from the same series'seses

Download here for free!!: https://www.mediafire.com/file/pzycxh6zu9b8drf/GBA_Online_PC.rar (405 MB Uncompressed)

They're all ready to be played in HD on PC. Just drag and drop the files on the included program

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benilos · 3 days ago

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Gender is a performance and I can't act worth shit.

explain your gender in 10 words or less without using boring words like “male”, “female”, “nonbinary”, “masculine”, “feminine” or “androgynous”.

go!

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benilos · 4 days ago

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Reject modernity, embrace tradition return to pokemon creepypasta!!!!

I remember browsing art and seeing someone who draws him with red teeth and I was like damn that SLAPS

#artist corner

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benilos · 5 days ago

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TATA Ch. 6: Then Don't Chastise

"So, next time….Tell someone you're going into areas of the House that are dangerous, please. Ah-" Jack's finger rose, to stop Twitch's words. "Someone who isn't Ben. God, I didn't even notice he was talking to you, I was so focused on the guys on their job….Listen, Twitch…You are unstable, a brand new poltergeist, one that is much more powerful than most we've seen. So you really need to remain where others can find you until we know how to keep your entire body from frying half the House." The hand that was placed against Twitch's face, pulling her cheek down so that he may check the whites of her eyes, released its grip. Twitch only stared silently, pupils blown so wide it made that nausea creep its way up Jack's throat with unsettling quickness.

"What oh-so-interesting things did you find?" Ben chittered from atop the white table that usually held various glass vials, all of which had been hastily moved earlier to keep him from knocking them over. He sat with the arches of his feet propped against the edge of the table, knees fanned out and arms dangling between in a way that made him look more like a bird perching than a person sitting.

"A black mirror." Twitch's voice was barely above a whisper.

"A black mirror? In the V hallway? What room was it?" Jack looked surprised, despite having been one of the people to get her from the room.

"She was in 1a. Usually you can't get into that end of the hallway, it's blocked off past 3a and 3b. It's the only hallway not blocked on the west end, but I have no idea how she got into the other end of the hallway from where she could've gotten in. You were literally there, dude."

"I can never tell what's going on in that end of the House, you know that. Whatever the hell lurks over there fries my brain."

Ben idly scratched at his nose, not ever peeling his eyes away from Twitch the entire time. He ignored Jack's response, keeping his focus on her. "But it certainly wasn't blocked off when we went there. So how exactly did you get over there, Twitch?"

"Don't say my name."

"How did you get in there, Twitch?" Jack reiterated. She huffed, ignoring the self-satisfied snickers that came from the freak on the table.

"I walked. Went through the third hallway and walked all the way back. Saw Ben on the way there, called him a slut, then continued to the back. The staircase was fine other than a few holes. West side was fine. The V hallway wasn't blocked off at all. It was just normal. It had less damage than triple I, honestly. Just dustier. I found the black mirror in the room, passed out. I don't have any other answers for you."

"Okay….please just, stay out of the west wing unless you're asked to go in there. This House has a lot of shit in it, you have yet to even meet most of the Residents here properly, and triple I has a couple ghosts lurking, ones much older than you that you could cause serious harm to you." Jack tried to maintain a meaningful look with her, but Twitch's face showed no evidence of understanding. She simply stared, pointedly ignoring Ben's attempts to lean into her line of sight behind Jack.

"Why is the House built like that?"

"What?" The exasperated sigh that came out of him almost pulled a smirk onto her face.

"Why is the House built the way it is? It's like some parts were built over, but the parts that should be new look even older. It's like a castle in some parts, and a log cabin in others. Some parts are even made with concrete and metal, but have centuries-old wood holding it up. Why does it look like that? What's the weird symbols that are everywhere? What the fuck. Is. This. Fucking. House. Jack." She pointedly bobbed her head with each word of her last sentence, lips twitching slightly.

Jack returned her wide-eyed stare for a moment, leg bouncing in anxiety. Ben was quiet for once in his life, nail tearing under his teeth as he waited from Jack's direction. For them both it was a hard question, but in Jack's case it was because he simply didn't know.

"This House…from what I know…is formerly the residence of a very, very old cult. Called Lunamos, I believe. It was a cult dedicated to a goddess of the moon, some called her Luna, but according to Rinku her real name was Loria. She's some goddess from another world, but she's one that is known to many different worlds."

"If Rinku knows her, and he's Dark Link, yeah? So she's the goddess of the moon from Hyrule?" Twitch sneered, to her the suggestion was ridiculous, but it was hard to write it off as nonsense given her current living situation.

"Rinku knows better about this place than either of us. He has experience with that cult, he'd give you better answers. Trust me, you aren't the only one disoriented so badly by this House." There's a beat of silence, before finally Jack waves his hand, dismissing her as best he can. "Go on. Stay the hell out of the west hallways. Please." Twitch rolled her eyes, jumping down from the stool she sat on to quickly leave.

Ben tilted his head as he watched her leave, rocking back in forth in place before finally jumping off of the table. He ignored Jack's attempts to flail towards the table to catch the now-falling vials that were jostled off of the table from his movement, catching them before Jack could even get close, and casually placing them back. Jack scoffed, glaring at Ben, who only gave a playful nose scrunch in response.

"Ya know…."

"No, I don't, Benil, shut up."

"You knooowwww……" He leaned into Jack's side, hands clasping over the crook of Jack's collar, his mouth pressing into his shoulder as he spoke. His bare heel rhythmically thumped against the tile flooring of Jack's lab, in time with the twitching of the hollowghast's eyelid. "She really is very powerful. Maybe a better method of controlling her behavior is to give her a better outlet."

"She is not going out on a job."

"I'm not saying right now, Hemmersen. Put her into training, Jeff's been itching for extra things to do around the House when not on a job, give her to him. He's calm and strict, he could handle her I'm sure."

"And why would you ever suggest a helpful solution if there isn't a way it will benefit you?"

"Who said it wouldn't?"

"How the hell would her being put on a job benefit you other than causing headaches that we would make you go clean up since you suggested her in the first place?"

"Entertainment. She's batshit, I'm very sure you've noticed."

"Quit using so many S's when you speak, you sound like a bee."

"Shut up."

"Sthut up?"

Ben scoffs, halfheartedly shoving Jack's shoulder, knocking him off balance slightly. Jack easily regained his footing, barely leaning. He thought about it, the idea of Twitch being permitted on a job. It gave him worse anxiety than her own face did.

She was small, but built like a tank. It was clear she was built for work despite her stature, even if she rarely ever did anything. He remembered the first night she was here, trying to get her to answer even the most basic questions about herself. Her personality wouldn't matter on a general population control job, but those missions could always go awry, would she be able to handle something like that? The way she spoke was like listening to a siren song, disorienting and haunting. She made his heart race in a way that made him wildly uncomfortable, like he was always in danger when she was around.

"Ben."

"Yeah?"

"Does Twitch…unnerve you at all? You've called her creepy and a freak and batshit…but are you afraid of her?"

"Afraid of that thing? Nah. She's harmless."

"She definitely isn't."

"You get what I mean. She isn't going to do anything to us."

"Are you sure about that?"

The two shared a look. Ben regarded the thought for a moment. A poltergeist really wasn't anything special in most cases, but humans were fickle and unpredictable. They were the worst when it came to consistency, especially in death. Most poltergeists were most useful in cases that required taking over electronics or messing with important devices and machinery. Cybernetics was where they thrived, and Twitch shouldn't be any different. But something was weird about her. It was more than the electricity in the House that she affected whenever she'd have one of her meltdowns. Though she had no clue, the Slenderman and Ben both felt whenever she'd go off, the sheer energy coming off of her feeling like smoke before a fire caught up. Suffocating and caustic, just like her.

"She's dangerous, sure. All new human ghosts are."

"You would know, yeah?"

"We both know I'm not human."

"No, but you're a ghost, yes? You've never said of what, but you are one. So how do you handle something so unpredictable as a human ghost? If you want to put her out on a job, you have to prove to me and Charlie that she won't ruin the entire job because she lost control. Would you be able to stop her if she had one of her meltdowns?"

Ben hummed, thumping his heel against the floor for a few beats.

"Yes, I could."

A frustrated noise pushed its way out of Jack's throat. He shook his head, running his hand over his face. "Fine. Tell Jeff to start teaching her our rules. I doubt she'll react well to you, so don't go trying to cut into her training time to be a shit, please? Okay? Okay." Jack pushes past Ben, crouching slightly to get out of the door. Ben hummed to himself as the door shut with a loud, metallic clang.

He giggled to himself, running a finger over his front teeth. He stood there in the silence of the lab, emerald green eyes that were usually so obscured by his pupils now focused, the red and yellow at the center revealed by the pupils cinching. He hummed again, jagged nail dragging over the enamel. I don't wish to tell you what is in his head, but I must as your faithful narrator, mustn't I?

In his head there were a menagerie of devious little thoughts. Different ways he could spin this in his favor, whatever would entertain him the most. Because really, that was all he ever cared about. Entertainment. No matter how short or long-lived it was, he wanted entertainment to cut through the monotony of his miserable existence. A disgusting brain filled with just as disgusting thoughts-

Oh, I am getting careless with my words. Ignore that.

In his mind, he thought of Twitch's abilities and what he knew of her so far. She was one of those Habitat girls that had grown up in the throes of Creepypasta and its effect on the internet. One heavily embroiled in the fan side of it, she was another mentally ill teenager that was obsessed with the occult and supernatural, like so many others, according to the information Toby had found on her. Little city girl from the Midwest US, grew up in the mill of a school a thousand strong where she could easily disappear into the crowd. From what he saw, she had one other friend that died shortly before she did, an emancipated teenage boy who was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his own apartment. She had only a few other friends, but she was the classic emo kid with problems and a bad attitude. But she was loved by some, clearly, given how pathetic everyone looked at her funeral. The little redhead in the front row came to mind, Tenn something. Maybe that was it. Dangle old memories in her face and see what he could get out of her, see what could be used. Yeah.

Yeah, that was it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This isn't the hardest thing, really. Most people assume it's hard to do these kinds of things to people, but I never found it difficult. She was easy to find, even with how quiet her footsteps are. When you're attuned to the kind of energy she puts off, it's easy to track her down. She hadn't been here more than a month now. What day is it? May 18th. Good. Now to find the mayflower.

She likes to avoid me, but every time I speak to her there's this little lull in the facade. Like she wants to step closer but can't. I think I'll pull her closer this time. Whenever she looks up at me with that little face it makes me want to choke her until she couldn't speak another word. Too bad I missed my chance to get that from her.

"Twitch~"

"It's Twitch, not tweesh. Say it right."

"Well, that's rude! I have an accent I can't help it."

"You have a fucking lisp, not an accent. You don't know how to pronounce S's for sthit." I don't have a lisp.

"You're so mean! What did I ever do to you?" It was easy to use the size difference to my advantage, especially since she didn't seem to want the embarrassment of actually trying to run from me. Mostly she'd try to walk as fast as she could, but with such little legs it was a bit hard for her to keep out of range. I snatched the back of her shirt, earning a few rather hard scratches against my arm, but it was easy enough to keep her from doing it again. That look on her face was so funny. To me, she looked confused and angry, but there was this twinge of fear that kept trying to creep in. I want to make that worse.

"You exist! Leave me the hell alone!" Her voice is rough and raspy, not the squeaky noise you'd expect from someone like her. She had a little bit of what Jeff calls a Valley Girl accent, the way she drawls out the ends of her words when she's annoyed, though she didn't employ the excessive use of the word "like" like most examples of the accent. She was annoyingly strong as well, almost the same level as Toby.

"I want to talk to you about some things."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you. Let go."

"Noooooooo…Just come on! I just wanna talk." I dragged her along to our shared hallway, ignoring her grumbling and periodic attacks on my wrist. She made a funny noise when I yanked her into my room, I wonder if I can get more out of her. I gestured vaguely to the room as I locked the door behind us. "Sit wherever! I wanna ask a couple questions if that's okay."

"It's not okay." Too bad~

"Anyways…." I crawled onto my own bed to splay out and stretch a bit while she likely was deciding in her head whether or not to try and stab me. I hope she uses my sewing needles. "I wanted to ask about you! Tell me about yourself, Twitch." I enunciated as clearly as I could, enjoying the sneer I got as a reaction.

"Why?"

"I just want to know. Nothing sinister. You're new. I like the new people, I want to know about you. What's so bad about that?"

"I don't fucking like you, Ben."

"I think you do. Otherwise, you would have fought much harder to get me off of you."

"No, I wouldn't have. Because there's no point in trying to physically harm you just to get you away from me, I shouldn't have to do that. I should be able to tell you fucking no and you take that as a no. Ever head of consent, freak?"

I stared at her for a moment, trying to remember what that word meant.

"Unbelievable. Please go die, and leave me the fuck alone." She tries to leave, but I'm not done. This time the grab is a little more rough on my end, yanking her shirt up enough to show off her belly. Stretchmarks and a bit of chub, but she's built like a fucking tank. Why is she so strong? The hand that rears back to slap me hits its mark, and damn does it fucking sting. Not even Jeff has managed to get a clean shot like that on me, not that hard. I have to breathe out for a second to process, and she goes for another one. This time she isn't expecting her back and head to slam into the wall.

"Hit me again, and you're gonna regret it." I won't regret it, though. Please hit me again, please please please please please. She smells like lavender and petrichor, I want to bite through her. "How about you stop acting like a mega bitch and chill the fuck out? We are having a normal conversation, yeah? A normal conversation where I don't have to hold you in a fucking headlock just to get you to not hit me. Yeah? That sound good?" Her eyes were so wide, I want to pluck them out. Pretty thing yell at me again, I want to cut your tongue out.

It was silent for a beat, just us, nose to nose. Please understand, please want me. I want to burn you up, don't you want to do it too? Show me show me show me show me

"I don't want to answer your questions, Ben. Let me go." She's trying so hard to sound calm and brave, what a sweet girl.

"I don't want to let you go, Twitch. Answer my questions." It's a bit too much for me. She is suffocating, something that feels like nostalgia. Her cheek is soft under my mouth, just against my lips. I wonder what she would've tasted like alive. Pretty red instead of the watery black that was in her veins now. Poltergeists always mimic their alive forms, false pulses and shivers from sheer muscle memory going off. I wonder what her body remembers.

"What do you want to know?" Oh you're so fucking easy. Her voice is a whisper, a rasp barely crawling up the back of her throat. I breathe her in and out, and she turns her head away from me. I don't let her, I catch her with my nose pressed to hers. I feel dizzy.

"What were you like, before? What was your life like? Were you a good girl, nice and proper? Or did you do stupid shit like every teenager in high school? Tell me about you, Twitch." Tell me everything, I want to know everything. I want to tear you apart.

"I was stupid. Delusional and ill. That's all."

"There's a story to that, tell me it."

"No."

"Yes." I might've felt embarrassed at the way my yes sounded, but she was too much. That lull was starting, the break in the facade. Everytime I leaned into her, she'd pull away but each time was a little less. The swaying back and forth with our faces touching and it was like a spell went over her. I could feel ever shiver in my hands, I knew it was still there. Pay attention, keep your focus on me, little ghost.

"I let an obsession of mine almost kill me. When I thought that obsession was gone, it came back and did kill me. There's nothing else important about me, Ben." Oh, yes there is. You don't even know do you? You don't know how much there is to you. Pretty little ghost, wail for me, please.

"Stay in here with me." This wasn't going the exact way I wanted, but if I can't get information to use, I'll take feelings instead. They're just as useful. Her lips are chapped when I first pass my lips over them, she wets them the first time I pull back, like an instinct. Her hands are shaking in mine, and I lean a little harder into her.

"Why do your eyes look like that?" That surprises me a little. Pupils must have shrunk.

"How do they look to you?"

"Like the mask."

The mask? Oh, right. It's a game in her world.

"Ohhh, Majora's Mask. I forget that's a game sometimes."

"Don't you haunt it?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't quite align with the usual story that's pushed in your world. So, no. But I do know of the thing, yes."

"Usually, your pupils are so wide there's only a little sliver of green. Now you have red, and yellow, and orange, all in rings like that thing. I see it in my dreams, you know…" She sighs when my mouth hits her jaw. That works, keep going, ghost. "It haunts me, like you do."

"Like I do?" Her mouth opens against mine, hands digging into my shirt when I let her go. Her hair was tangled at the back, curls tangling and catching around my fingers, at least she can't get away. "Are you scared of me, Twitch? Am I your ghost, while you are mine?"

"I am not yours. Not ever." Mmm, you won't say that for long.

She doesn't fight it, doesn't push me away. She's still tense, but it melts away with every swipe of our tongues. She's a little drooly but that just makes it better. I need her to be messy and embarrassed. Lean into me, let me hold you up. She likes to claw, nails digging into my neck like she wants to choke me even as she chokes back a whine when my hand clamps into her hair. I can keep her in place like this, held perfectly still while she finally relaxes. She's so easy to move around, I shake her head a little just to laugh at her, and this time she doesn't even sneer. Oh, no. There it is. Just took a second, haha~

"You're disgusting." It doesn't sound sincere, but I know she means it. It's okay, though. She's no better than me, clearly. In fact, I wonder if she even meant me, or if she was telling herself~

Kisses are best messy in my opinion, and she is messy. Inexperienced, drooly, rough. She gets a bit angrier again when I tease her and pull back, getting yanked back in by my ears. Hands clawing, grabbing, like she wants to tear into me too.

It's easy to learn things about a person when you get them alone and desperate like this. Tiny reactions that compound into bigger ones. It's so easy to gain control of someone if you can get them dependent on you. Make them feel okay in the moment, then take it away. Keep doing it until they're chasing you for each little hit. I want to make her overdose on me.

I'll admit I lose myself in her as much as she does me. It's only a kiss, but something about the view of throwing her on my bed, her hair splayed out under her head like a coiling halo of snakes, I want her to poison me. What do you look like inside? What does the rest of you taste like? Right now, her mouth tastes like that same lavender and petrichor that her entire body puts off. She is dangerous in a way I can't figure out just yet. A perfect death, I want to see it over and over and over and over and over and over-

"You're staring."

"Is that so odd?"

"You talk weird."

"Do I?"

She hummed, and a sweeter look crossed face. Something like a calmness, something more gentle. Oh it does not fit her face. She is prettiest when she looks like she wants to kill me. Oh, there it is. She looks at me with this deep-seated anger in her eyes but her face is so relaxed. That perfect splatter of freckles across her nose, I could draw her second death in them. Her hands are hauntingly soft, painting over my cheeks with a touch that whispers to me like poison. My face is hot, I know I'm glowing, but I don't care.

"Your freckles glow. Why is that? What are you, really?"

"A ghost."

"Not like me."

"No, not like you. I'm a ghost of something a lot older than humans."

She hums again, trailing her fingers down the front of my throat. She lingers, passing her palm over the skin over and over.

"Is there others?"

"Other what?"

"Versions of you. The others have mentioned it in passing, that there are multiple versions of some of you, because of the different realities. How Rednels has access to other timelines and worlds. So, is there other versions of you? Of BEN."

So that's what it is. That's what you saw in the mirror.

"Yes, there are. Quite a few, in fact."

"Are you mine?"

I felt my lip twitch, trying to hide a smirk was hard when it felt so fucking good to be right.

"No. I'm from here, not Habitat. Yours is a different one. I call him IZZI. He's mostly cybernetic, a robot."

"You know him."

"Of him, yes."

"Why do you call him IZZI?"

"His official name from wherever he's from. Intelligence Zone of Zombification and Innovation." I quacks my hands, making a face. "Some government project from your world, I think. I don't know much about him."

"You're lying." You're perfect. She smiles when she says it. She knows, and I love that she does.

"Not about his name."

"No, not about his name. But you're lying about not knowing much about him. Can't I see him?"

"If he wants you to."

She doesn't ask anymore questions. She only lays there, fingers still idly swiping over my neck. It's almost peaceful, the silence between us. I wonder what she sees when she looks at me. What goes on inside of you? I want to crack your ribs open and watch it all spill out.

She lets me lay down on her, a knee nocked between hers, my face against her stomach. I can hear the buzzing of electricity inside her, the mimicked rhythmic thumping of whatever pseudo-heart was left. I think we have a good start here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to kill him. That's all I could think of. The way he'd look, dead-eyed and gone. Blood or whatever vile viscous liquid that would be in his body. The quiet puts me on edge, but it's almost irritating how good his weight felt on top of me. We laid there for a while, I don't even remember when he left. I felt cold without him here.

I stared at the plastic stars stuck to the ceiling above me. They were the glow in the dark ones, ones my older brother had in his room as a child. I almost remember sneaking in his room when he wasn't home, playing his games and complaining about how much his room stunk to our dog that would waddle in after a short time. I still dream of hiding from monsters by locking myself in his closet.

I don't know why I felt compelled to get up, but I did, and found myself staring between the bars of the balcony's railing. The two floors that overlooked the parlor had bannisters made of the same cherry colored wood as the rest of the House, and enough space between them to sit with my legs hanging over the edge. The guys were back now, Jeff dumping his gear in a tote near the staircase, and Brian kicking it along in front of him towards the hallways beneath the stairs. Jeff walked alongside Jane towards the back of the House as well, down the opposite hallway. Toby stood trying to shake his bloodied boots off by the mat near the doors, which slowly creaked shut, closing with a loud bang. He looked up at the chandelier for a moment when he was down, idly swaying back and forth, then his head suddenly clicked towards me. He waved, tapping over in his black socks.

"What are you doing?" He called up to me.

"Watching."

He smiled, waving for me to come down. I sneered at him, earning a giggle back. He swung his arms back and forth, stopping suddenly with his hands splayed out beside him. He disappears under the edge of the balcony, and for a moment it's silent. Then the sound of Toby's insane ass scaling the pillars that lead to the second floor assaulted my ears, and I hit my knee on the railing as he launches himself over the edge of the balcony, onto the hallway floor. He shakes his entire body like a dog as he stands up, jaw quirking a few times before he speaks.

"I wanna show you something."

"Something I'm not supposed to be seeing?"

He smiles at me, some of his front teeth have chips in them, the very front two on the top a minor case of bunny teeth. It was nice to see him smile without it being followed by him dislocating his jaw for fun, often followed by Jeff's overdramatic and very loud dry heaving.

"Mmmmmaybe…Come with meee." He bares his teeth when he says it, like a toddler trying to smile. I sigh, assuming this will be yet another case of vomiting out viscous black liquids and bouts of schizophrenic hallucinations. Oh what fun.

At this point I'm used to be thrown over shoulders to be moved where I am wanted. Which is fine and all, as long as I'm close to the ground. In Toby's case, it's usually a football carry, but I feel as if him throwing me over his shoulder this time was to add height specifically to make the drop down to the first floor from the balcony way worse for me. He is the type to do that shit on purpose. He drops like a ragdoll, but lands like a cat, immediately bouncing back up from the floor and tearing the massive doors open like it's nothing. He didn't stop me from wiggling off of his shoulders, but he did grip the back of my shirt to keep me from smacking the ground too hard as I fell. I was hauled back up to my feet. No one here knows how to treat a lady, damn.

I didn't get a good look at the courtyard before. Honestly, I haven't left the House other than to stare at the hedge maze here and there. The front was covered in cobbled black stone, worn into grooves where foot traffic was most common along the steps up to the door. A broken fountain filled with stagnant water and debris sat in the center. Most of the area was just covered in stone and wood debris, like leftovers from whatever thousand times they tried to fix this house. When you step off the massive steps and look back up at the House, it's a little shocking just how big it is. Many parts of the House feel like they're smaller than they should be, especially when you take a look at it from the outside.

The House was some kind of fucked H-shape overall, and the stone that was used on the stairs wasn't what was used for the actual front walls. It tried to look like a castle, but the wood of the doors make it look more like a woodland mansion from Minecraft fucked a castle. Above the front doors were broken stained glass windows that had the same netting and wood behind it that covered the holes in the ceiling. The glass that remained showed some kind of religious scene, probably related to the Sistine Chapel-esque paintings in the dining hall. Something felt off when I stared at the glass, like my vision was different. Clearer, sharper, everything felt like a photo that had been refined. Before my vision was always blurry, I never wore glasses like I should have.

Toby tugged my arm so hard it probably would have dislocated had I been alive still. But this felt little more than a very weird pressure inside of my arm, as he dragged me along behind him into the treeline. It felt like every sense of mine had been turned up to 11, it was almost overwhelmed, but never quite tipped over the edge of making me freak the fuck out. I could hear the humming of whatever replaced my heart inside of me, drowning out any other noise other than the forest breathing. That makes no sense. What does that mean?

The forest is breathing.

It was breathing. I could feel it. I couldn't tell if I was still experiencing the same thing, if I was even still being pulled along by him now. All I could hear was her breathing. The crunch of the leaves, the desperate breathing and the cries. Who is she?

My head tipped back as we borderline ran. I stared at the sun peeking through the canopy of trees, the branches whipping by. The air was deafening, the breathing forcing air into my lungs again. I smelled something like lavendar and petrichor. The taste of iron. Something throbbed behind my eyes and down my cheeks.

He brought me to the Pond. The stone bridge under my feet, wet and slick to the point I nearly slipped when Toby pushed me closer to the edge. He still held a hand, but the other was buried in the back of my shirt so he could drag me over the ledge of the bridge. I was stuck bent over the stone while he squeezed his cheek against mine for both of us to look over at the water. With the hand still wrapped around mine he pointed a finger to the reflection of us in the water.

"That's where I found you. You were floating in the water, face up. I dragged you out." This is a bad idea.

"Toby."

"Yes?"

"Why are you doing this again? You already fuckedd me up once ttelling me about my death, isn't this shit dangerous?" There's a stutter in the letters, I keep repeating D's and T's. I hiss a breath out, earning the smallest quirk on his head next to mine. "We shouldn't be here."

"No, we shouldn't. But I want to be. I want to show you. Are you scared to learn about it?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to know. It's not really a matter of fear."

"Liar." He giggles like he's trying to hide it.

It almost felt like a blackout, but I was too aware. Too aware of the feeling of my head whipping back as he pulls me up. The hand on mine lets go and grips the front of my shirt as I'm hoisted into the air. The rush of air around my head is too loud, the splash of the water even louder. I can see every fucking bubble and wave, every shadow in the water, I can see his eyes below me staring back up. Eyes?

No, it's his eyes, it's Toby's, as he jumps in after me. Another hand in my shirt to keep me in place while he treads water. He's smiling, a funny joke to him and nothing more. I don't move, don't try to tread water or pull myself up. I don't need to breathe, I don't need to do anything. It's quiet now, terribly so. My hands find the collar of his shirt, my nails biting skin underneath the fabric. I feel wrong.

No, no, I feel very right.

There's a shift in his expression. Something next to realization, but not sure yet. A confirmation. A confirmation when he looks at me, and that smile pulls harder at his face, turning into a grimace. Every muscle in his face hardening just so slightly. Tense. Tense when he looks at me. You should look at me like that a lot more. I don't need to breathe.

But he does.

Tulpa, they said. In some iterations, they are something like a creature made from fiction. A story come to life. He and one of the Slenderman copies are tulpas. They can be killed. They might not stay dead, but they can be killed. For him, he needs air. He needs to breathe.

I don't need to breathe.

He realizes a little too late how much stronger I've gotten physically. He can't pull up, and I'm suddenly much heavier than when he threw me. In the water, it's different. It's like there's more to me, more I have accessible. I am rocks in his pockets and he has his feet tied.

But I guess not strong enough. That smile is gone, the mirth in his eyes gone. I'm yanked upwards by my hair, startling me enough to break the spell. Rocks bite at my head and back after the rush of air, the sound of grinding teeth in my ear. He has me by my face, hands gripping either side of my head with a pressure that should hurt much more than it does. Pupils pinpoint and he blows air out of his nose with each recovery breath. My chest kept seizing over and over until I realized it was me laughing. I choked on one of them, but I couldn't stop. Stuck under the little patch of stones beneath the bridge, the sun catching the water, I still felt like this was nothing greater than a dream before my death.

His curls were stuck to his face, straightened slightly from the weight of the water. That unnatural orange matched the sun above us, canine teeth tearing at his bottom lip while he tried to catch his breath. I couldn't stop laughing. He was soaking wet, face red and flustered. It was that easy. To break that silly facade of his, just by turning this stupid shit on him. All it took was trying to keep him under the water.

I couldn't move, my feet were free and any time he shifted his position I'd throw a kick at him, but it never did much. All I could do otherwise was laugh, which just made him angrier. Though the angrier he got, the calmer he seemed. Finally, I calmed down too, I was oddly out of breath, probably reflexive again. I just stared at him with a smile on my face, the first genuine one I feel like I've had since coming here. It just felt right. The look on his face.

His hands had found their way to my neck at some point, but he didn't hold me any tighter. My hands were free, and he didn't move a muscle when I tugged at a curl at the side of his head. He even mimicked the movement, taking one of my around his pointer finger, but never moving his hands from my neck.

"What was the purpose of this? To learn something about me? Or just to piss me off?"

"To learn. To watch."

"You're aware of what you are, how do you feel about the versions of you that got to be Toby and nothing else?"

"I am Toby and nothing else. They're no different from me." His fingers tensed. I didn't care.

"They're very different from you. You're nothing like a boy. So why are you testing something you know is a bad idea? Jack's told you, I heard him. To stop showing me things I'm not meant to see. Slender and Ben, too. You've been told by the three authorities in this House, but you're still bold enough to chase me around and play with fire, why?"

"Because it's funny. No other reason. I like to see what it does. I don't like being told not to do things."

Our noses were touching as he spoke. He leaned fully on me, a weird sensation with the lack of breathing. Just a constant pressure, hollow on the inside. This was different than when Bay leaned on me. His face didn't have that lecherous smile with wandering hands. His hands never moved from my neck, but he laid all of his weight onto me like Bay did.

He only stared and breathed at a steady pace now. His face was blank, eyes held open wide. My foot was propped against his hip, still idly kicking to try to shove him back.

"Why are you here, Twitch? You could have left. Home is a refuge. You could leave and hide out anywhere here."

That had to be a joke. There's no other place for me to be. No other place, that was the whole point. The entire delusion was to end with this. That's the fucking point. Leave? I can't leave. I can't leave.

His left hand gripped my jaw tighter than he should. Sometimes I felt like he knew, but then he just seemed too…in his own world. Either he didn't know, or he did and he didn't care. I wish I could be that stupid either way.

"You're stuck here, you know that? Clearly you do, that's why you haven't left. You just love us that much, huh?" He was smiling again. I wonder. If I took out enough teeth could I make him feel it? How far does the lack of pain go? Is it the same as the others? No, I bet he'd sit there and laugh the whole time. Maybe even egg me on. A fucked masochist like Ben. I can see it on his face.

"Do you know what's in the Pond?" He uses his face to turn mine towards the water, and lays his cheek into mine, keeping me in place. "We think it's one of Ben's guys. A Moon Child. The others call it the Siren Pond. Apparently the Child lures people into the pond like a siren and eats them. Do you think he'll eat us?"

"I don't think you should be too worried about him." That grating, disgusting smug voice. Toby shot up, staring at the stupid fuck above us on the bridge. Bay's reflection smirked at me from the water. "You two aren't supposed to be out here without telling the Jailor. Next time at least tell one of us."

Why the fuck should I tell you shit?

"Because I don't think you want your soul eaten a second time. As plucky as you are, you wouldn't be able to come back from what the Jailor or the other freaks in these woods could do to you."

"Did I say that out loud?" I crawled out to sit next to Toby, finally looking at the most annoying prick of Rednels headon.

"No, I read your mind."

"No, you did say it out loud." Toby immediately corrected, earning a scoff from Ben.

Ben sighs, staring off to the side for a moment. After a pause, he quirks his head to the left, signaling for us to follow. "C'mon. Go back to the House. You, Toby, especially know better, but I hate having to chastise you."

"Then don't chastise. Why does it matter if we're out here?" Toby called from his spot still on his knees. He didn't sound defiant despite his words, looking as docile as a dog in the position he was in. His curls were bouncing back from the weight of the water, like a little halo for an angel. How ironic.

"Because you're not supposed to be out here without telling someone first."

"I told Twitch."

"Someone who isn't one of the people going with you. Just, both of you get up and get back to the House."

"Who the fuck put you in charge of me?" Toby stood in tandem with me, already knowing where this would go, and smacked me upside the head for the comment. "No, hell no! I'm not listening to the creepy prick who gropes me in my fucking bed every night! The fuck you gonna do about it if I don't listen to you?"

"Twitch." Toby hisses at me. I shove my hand into his face, pushing him away as best I can. We both grappled for our spot on the bank as he tried to keep me from talking.

"No. Why am I not allowed to know about the fucking Pond? You both told Toby he can't tell me about how I died, why not? What will it do if I know? What happened to me? Do you know what happened? Are you the one who fucking did it?"

"You know I'm not who killed you, Twitch."

"But you know who did." He's silent. Green eyes that catch the sun, something like what the Emerald City would've looked. Am I Dorothy now? So far from Kansas, faces of a million familiar strangers surrounding me.

Does he need to breathe?

"You mouth your thoughts, you should beat that habit. And no, I don't need to breathe. Poltergeists learning their deaths is dangerous to their growth. You need to wait before you learn about it or you'll make yourself explode." His hands mime an explosion, winking at me with his tongue sticking out. "Go back to the House, Twitch."

I shoved Toby back into the water, taking him by surprise. Bay barked out a laugh as he watched me stomp my way back towards the direction of the House. Neither of them followed me, I made the entire walk back by myself, my head pounding with something that wasn't a heartbeat. This felt like an earthquake inside my bones. I wanted to throw up.

There was no more breathing from the forest, it had gone still, quiet against my emotions spilling out. My head kept jerking to the sound, unhindered by the soreness I'd get when I was alive. My face felt like it was buzzing, my whole body felt like it wasn't fully there. And apparently, it wasn't, since I fully stepped through the doors without opening them, scaring the piss out of Jeff, who stood on the other side in nothing but a stained t shirt and plaid pajamas pants.

He said my name but didn't exactly seem keen on trying again when I ignored him, storming through the foyer and up the stairs. I could barely register where I was going, only driven by the constant repeating chant of "Get away" in my head. I just wanted my room and the quiet. I wanted to go home.

When I did make it to my room, I tied the laundry chute door shut with a shirt, tying it to the side of the heavy dresser so he couldn't open it. All of the electronics were unplugged, I think I ripped the cord to the TV. I had to hide, had to hide from the monsters. Find the closet, hide from the monsters. Under the covers.

I'd hide in my brother's closet. Hide in there from the monsters. My hands fumbled for the closet doors in the darkness. I have to hide. When I opened it, that deep black glass greeted me. The mirror from the weird rooms. The sun and moon motif seemed to almost glow in the dark, the whole mirror putting off its own light, like the moon and sun itself. My hands pressed into the smooth surface, my breathing returning in the panic, my body shoving and tearing air from me over and over again.

The pitch black pulled me in, like a vacuum in the dead of space. The nausea built up, but this time it felt harder. Like a stone in my chest. The images came on quicker this time, the heavy glass holding up my entire weight as I fell to my knees, trying to claw my way through it. The muscles in my eyes pulled the farther they rolled back, my breathing hitching and gagging me with every single exhale and inhale. It noticed me before I noticed it.

I felt the eyes on me, like the eyes of God training on a new disciple, and I think I cried out. It didn't turn though, only the tears in reality that surrounded its body with the eyes of heaven searing through me. The blood-like splatters of green, blue and yellow that assaulted my senses overtook a lot of what I could see, and then just two red eyes. Red eyes like the ones that led me through the River Styx that night.

Its eyes were somehow crueler than those first ones. The first pair was playful, mischievous, these were cold and dead. Oh, he is so much prettier like that. No life to his face, just a blank canvas. I wanted to break this stupid barrier keeping us apart, how dare it keep me away? You don't keep away soulmates, you should never do that…Let me closer, let me closer. I need to be there, let me closer.

A finger tapped against the glass, matching mine. A breath torn from me. Another tap. It tilted its head at me, please come closer. Something like amusement crossed its face, but only barely. How pretty your face is when you look like you want to brutalize me. Please come closer.

I could call its name, I wonder if I could hear it when it answers. I could hear the person from last time, but it and Sally were different. There was a complete absence of noise, like a black hole around them. I could hear the ambience of the room we were in, but its movements seemed to destroy the noise around it. There was so much nothing around it I wanted to be swallowed by it please come closer to me.

A door shut somewhere and its head whipped towards the source. I was already begging it not to leave, a pointed ear twitched in my direction and its face twitched. It barely looks back at me, then flits off, crawling over the furniture like some little freak, knocking over a glass that had been left on the dresser. A voice calls out shortly after, then the brunette from before comes in, cursing at the pile of glass now on the floor. They throw the bag they had in their hand onto a nearby chair, crouching to pick up the bigger chunks of glass. Where did he go?

Mine returns. The eyes retrain on me, always so reassuring he remembers I'm here. He lurks around them, never turning its head back to me, but those eyes never leave. I forget to pay attention to them, I should learn more if I can, but all I want to do is look at it. The eyes can sort of move, like they just float in the space between the air. One is a little closer to the mirror, and keeps me company for now. He must know too, they always know, it's my story. He must know he's mine. I press my cheek to the glass and relax a little, tapping back and forth on the glass with the eye watches me. I don't remember falling asleep, but I dreamt of his face. It wasn't blurry this time.

#creepypasta #creepypasta au #creepypasta oc #tcu #three circuits unending #twitch circuit #writing #lillian harris #eyeless jack #slenderman #ben drowned #ticci toby #benil #original characters

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benilos · 6 days ago

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dry humping is underrated and more people should be into it

#beep beep #had a fun time last night #yeowza #skull talk #nsft

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benilos · 7 days ago

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Zevret

#oot #ocarina of time #dark link #zevret #hyrule-bound #hyrule bound #hb #loz #loz au #legend of zelda #legend of zelda au #kidart

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benilos · 7 days ago

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TATA Ch. 5: Achievement Get

The House was alight with activity. Our little ghost hung to the bannister of the stairs, crouched on the first few steps before the landing. She peeked her head between the wooden bars, watching the hubbub taking place in the foyer. Her heel tapped anxiously against the wood of the step below her, voidful eyes trailing along Jeff's form as he was dragged by Jane towards the giant front doors. A sense of anticipation lingered in the air, making Twitch oddly nervous. In the foyer, Jane tightened the straps across Jeff's chest, securing the bulletproof vest and various other tactical gear Twitch had no idea the name of. He was the only one dressed to the nines, as if he were about to enter a warzone. A gun hung from a strap slung across his shoulder, the uniform covered compartments that hit various extra weapons, ammo, what have you. He was nothing of the image of a slit-mouthed teenage boy in a white hoodie. He was dressed like a soldier, someone prepared for government-sanctioned murder. Which is exactly what he was.

"He's our frontliner. He might not be affected by bullets much, but it's just easier to not have to repair his clothes every time he comes back from a mission." EJ had explained earlier. But what she didn't get was why no one else was dressed like that.

Tim was sporting his usual heavy jacket, though the bulge under his shirt indicated he had a bulletproof vest as well. It was hard to tell with Brian, he was too damn big, which made it hard to tell if the bulging under his hoodie and overjacket was a vest or his tits. Toby wore his own denim jacket over a hi-vis orange shirt, sturdy cargo pants and heavy steel-toed boots. His iconic goggles and mask were hanging from his swinging hands, haphazardly flailing through the air and knocking Brian's arm a few times, though Brian didn't seem to care much. He was a beacon amongst them, but that was probably the point. From this angle, she noticed the back pockets of his jeans had bright pink hearts on them.

Cute.

Jane herself wore a very simple but sleek black, long-sleeved dress, with black leggings and simple boots beneath it. She'd foregone the furred coat she usually was seen in when in the House, her long black hair worn loose aside from two bright pink barrettes keeping it out of her face. After she had finished tightening the straps of Jeff's attire, she went to work tying his locs into a very tight bun at the back of his head, allowing his hair to be shoved into the black hood of his clothes beneath the gear.

All five of them bore bright white signs of the Operator on their backs, almost like a target, marking their dangerous nature.

Why would they mark who they were? Seems counterintuitive…

Jack leaned against the doors, reading off something from his clipboard that Twitch couldn't quite make out. He wore a bright green microphone attached to his left ear, and every time he stopped talking, Twitch could feel the fuzz of static in the air, pulsing in a pattern that almost felt like someone was talking.

Must be someone speaking through the headpiece. I can feel that? That's new.

I guess radio waves, Bay says I'm sensitive to them as a poltergeist.

Twitch swung from the corner rail to descend the landing and down a few steps of the lower half of the stairs, remaining in a crouch the whole way. She climbed down the stairs like this, perched on her toes. She sat halfway down the steps, still attached to the railing. While the others continued whatever preparations they had, she peeked between the bars into the alcove next to the stairs, into what looked almost like a hotel's key board. A multitude of hooks hung from cork, some adorned with numbered keys. A bar counter was a few feet in front of it, allowing the space for no more than a chair and a person's legs between the wall and the slab of wood, with a few shelves on the back end of it. In those shelves, a baby blue box peeked out of the darkness. She turned her head back to the group, who seemed to have mostly finished their debriefing. Toby swings around to wave at Twitch, before bouncing forward to shove Jack out of his way and tug the massive doors open.

He made a show of pretending it was difficult for him, slowly leaning into a stance to tug the tough rope tied to the doors, leaning all the way forward and dramatically slipping his feet under him as if he were struggling to keep his footing. A loud bell suddenly rang, bringing Twitch's attention to a large, old rusted bell hanging from the beam above the doors. Tim snatched Toby's collar, tugging him off the rope, flicking him on the head.

"Stop doing that, dipshit." Toby only giggled in response, shoving Tim for good measure after his shirt was let go. Jack only laughs as he watches them, easily shoving the door open with his back against it, walking backwards to open it fully.

Oh, that's gross, how are you able to open it like a fuckin' normal door? That shits gotta be from like, the Hercynian Forest. Ew.

Twitch used the distraction to crawl over the bannister, mumbling to herself how weird it was that Jack could so easily show such a heinous display of strength like it was nothing, and dropped herself over the edge of the stairs into the small alcove. With no hesitation she snatches the box from its spot, shaking it a bit as she turns it about in her hands. It rattled, and she easily found the lip of the lid as she passed her fingers over the side. Inside the box, she found three rusty room keys. Two of them were tagged, worn yellow-dyed leather bearing illegible script. The third only bore the room number, 1a, with a Roman numeral V, for five, next to it.

The four visible hallways from the parlor that had rooms only went up to four, even on the east, odd on the west, the fourth floor being inaccessible from the foyer. She knew where a couple staircases were that led up from the third floor, but most were blocked off, not even by a sign or board. Each of them, halfway up, the stairs were rotten and falling into the floor, creating too far a hole for her to comfortably jump over without falling. Though she didn't need to worry about injuries, she did worry if she phased through the wall she'd just keep falling, so she avoided them. Curiosity wasn't worth living through what she assumed would be a real life version of that feeling of falling in your dreams.

Twitch was rather caught up in her own thoughts, so much so that she didn't notice the eerily quiet but not silent approach of Jack. He softly leaned against the counter, trying not to reveal he was there too soon. He was big enough that it was easy for him to brace his arm on the floor behind her, keeping from bearing his weight too much on the wood and causing it to creak, revealing his approach. Twitch ran her fingers over the worn leather of the other two keys, trying to see the names better, none the wiser.

By the time he was close enough, he was having trouble keeping his laugh back, and while Twitch was engrossed in her snooping, he suddenly asked, in a very neutral tone-

"What are you doing?"

Twitch screamed, swinging the blue box towards the source of the noise, and smacked Jack across the face with it. The keys fell out of the box with a clatter, followed by Jack's rough cackle, clearly unbothered by getting a plastic box to the eyeball. He stood back up straight again, rubbing his nose a little, then looked back down at her.

"No for real, what are you doing back here? Ow, you did actually kinda get me." Jack snickered under his breath as he rubbed the side of his nose again, checking his fingers for blood after. Twitch scoffed, curling her lip at him.

"Snooping. Are these keys to the rooms past the rotten stairs? What's up there?"

"Don't know. Never been over there." He held his hand out, gesturing for her to hand over the keys. She dropped them in his hands, crawling over the counter to sit criss-cross on the top, watching him turn the rusted hunks of metal and leather in his hands every which way. "The House is older, older than me. Bay said it was owned by some cult from a couple centuries ago. Apparently they were all killed in some huge massacre."

"A cult? What kind of cult would exist here? Isn't this place like, some weird liminal space?"

Jack laughs, shaking his head. "Some areas, yes, but Home is a much bigger place than just the woods. Rednels is the southern end of it. There's another barrier forest up north, in the middle is all the settlements. Main one is Pulsar."

"The fuck is Pulsar?"

"Pulsar Queendom, it's this massive city smack dab in the center of this place. We're in the southeastern corner of Rednels Woods. We're one of the smaller settlements, most people in Home avoid this area so it seems deserted a lot of the time. Once you go past Kratus Lake it's a lot more populated." Jack puts the keys back in the box, clicking the lid in place. He knocks the edge of it gently on the counter repeatedly, looking down at Twitch. She stared back up at him, nose scrunched in annoyance.

"What's that face for?"

"I really fucking hate this place."

That got a heartier laugh out of him. "Why? Not the Creepypasta Slender Mansion AU of your dreams?"

"More like my nightmare."

"Why's that?"

"I hate all of you."

He laughed again, chucking the box over to the alcove in the wall behind them, wedging it underneath the board holding all of the hooks. "What'd we do to you, huh?" Jack made his way to the stairs, hopping over the bannister, with Twitch following suit. She tiptoed along the rail, balancing herself with her arms out.

"A lot more than you realize."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

He sighed, leaning on the corner post of the landing, Twitch crouching to keep her balance when he stops. She gripped the carved wood of the post, bringing herself almost nose to nose with Jack. The hollow tensed, eyebrows furrowing at her proximity, but he didn't move. "What's the place for the little ghost today, huh? Sorry there isn't much to entertain you with in our little prison."

"Probably going to try to stab Bay in the face again."

"What exactly is your problem with him, specifically? You have a special type of violent reaction to him but you're always on his tail."

Twitch only stared at him, resting her chin on her hands as she did so. Her finger tapped against the wood, steady and rhythmic. "Have you met the bitch?"

"Fair enough. Well, if you decide trying to mutilate him is too boring, you're welcome to the commons room. It's got a few game systems and a couple bookshelves wwwhhhhyyyy do you have to stank face me at every single thing I say?"

Twitch's face was, in fact, scrunched into a particularly stinky face, but she didn't respond, jumping from her spot on the bannister down to the landing, and bouncing her way up the stairs towards her own hallway. Jack watched her skitter off, running a nail across his lower lip in thought. The earpiece crackled to life.

She's certainly odd.

"Yeah….That's one word to describe her." Jack continued up the opposite side of the stairs, clearing them in two steps. He weaved his way through the dilapidated hallway marked III. This western half of the House was mostly broken past hallway V, which usually led upstairs, but III and I were walkable at the least, though you had to know how to get around various hazardous areas that had been covered in debris. This hallway was mostly covered in split wood and chunks of stone from the inner foundation of the wall. He managed to weave his way through the area with only a few erred turns, making it into the hallway marked I, which had been blocked off from the parlor months ago.

You really think bringing her to us will help you understand her? Do you not feel the air around her? She is dangerous, you know.

"She's a kid."

She is most definitely not. That is a demon.

"She was barely 18 when she died. She's just oddly powerful, most young poltergeists are, Admin." Jack sighed, shoving his way past a fallen metal shelf. This part of the House was weird to him, the rich dark red woods giving way to clinical white tile as he ventured into the seemingly endless section, all surfaces stained with all manner of colors, from red to blue to brown to black. The walls transitioning to broken stone peeking out underneath fallen tiling, the ceiling bearing broken fluorescent bulbs and hanging wires. It was almost like the remnants of a hospital, or a prison, metal doors and bars blocking certain areas off. This hallway was marked by no numeral like the others, and oftentimes it made Jack nauseous coming through here, the walls made him feel like the space was closing in, giving a feeling like the floor would open up and swallow him. This roundabout way of getting into hallway I always fucking sucked.

I don't understand why you let that thing in the House. Didn't you hear what Toby told you? Touching her made him feel pain. That should not happen, especially given he is not human. Nothing should make him feel pain except for the Operator, and even then, the Operator does not hold that kind of control over him like she does. She doesn't even have to try-

"Are you going to give us advice on how to figure her out or are you going to keep lecturing me on how bad a decision this is?"

I'd rather keep lecturing you, because this is fucking stupid, Hemmersen. Stop moving, you're going to make yourself sick.

Jack sighed, bracing himself on the wall for a moment to catch his breath. This area was disorienting as all hell, a seemingly endless expanse but it was the only area he could fit through that would lead him to the control room where he could actually monitor the movements of the Residents that had been sent on missions. This entire area was like a trap, only Toby and Bay were ever able to navigate without getting lost or sick from it.

Turn right at the next split.

Jack nodded, breathing out heavily before pushing off of the wall, staggering to the right as he came to the next split off in the hallway. A metal door marred by massive claw marks greeted him, a small glass window granting him the view of a particularly annoying head of platinum blonde hair. He almost fell into the room, the heavy air lifting from around him as he shoved the door shut. Ben's slightly muffled voice called to him, actively shoving a handful of sour Skittles into his mouth.

"Get lost on your way up here?" The amusement was clear in his voice, earning a huff from the hollow that made him grin. Ben sat in one of the rolling chairs, leaned back with his bare feet hitched up on the counter.

"Get your bright pink toes off my fucking keyboard, dickhead."

Ben's toenails were in fact painted a very bright pink for some reason, and, surely just to be a shithead, he swiped his feet over the keys on the counter, before actually putting them down on the ground. Jack grimaced, grabbing a spray bottle of disinfectant from nearby to spray over the keyboard, and into Ben's face, earning a finger jab into his side. Jack used his shin to shove Ben's chair out of his way, grabbing a heavy chunk of wood that sat nearby to act as his own seat. The computer monitors on the wall currently showed various views of the House and the surrounding woods, some focused directly on the House, others on a few other cabins. He clicked a key a few times, before finally landing on the POVs of the current active Residents.

Jeff's bodycam was currently trained on Tim's back as the group made their way towards the other end of the forest. For now, it was a waiting game until they made it to their destination. Jack rubbed his face, trying to stave off the growing migraine. Unfortunately, said migraine decided to start talking again.

"Question~"

"No."

"I didn't even ask yet!"

"Don't care, shut up."

"Ooooohhhh, you gonna make me?"

"I wish I could cut your tongue out sometimes."

"Hot, what would you use it for?"

"Oh my god, shut up."

"Anyways…What's the job this time?"

"I'd think you'd know given how much you eavesdrop on every single thing that doesn't involve you in this House."

"Oh my god, gag on me, answer the question."

"It's just a popcorn job, nothing different than usual."

"Where at?"

"Fort Wayne, Indiana."

"Twitch is from Indiana."

"I'm aware."

Ben dipped his head to look at Jack, who was still rubbing his head. "Maybe you should find a different way to get over here. Or we should move the monitor room."

"Like you care."

"Which tentacle did Charlie shove up your ass this time?"

Jack sighed again, ignoring him. Ben clicked his tongue, eyeing the monitors. The group had made it to the edge of the woods, the shiny, rippling texture in the air signaling the presence of a Gate. This Gate was one of the few stable ones in the Woods, the only one the Residents had managed to gain control of, using it to enter whatever area they wanted. Jeff's voice crackled over the speakers.

Entering on point 86, south of the Children's Zoo. We good to go?

"Yeah, you're good." Ben responded before Jack, earning another annoyed huff from Jack.

Wasn't asking you, douchebag.

"Yes, you're good to go. It's 10 pm there, shouldn't be anyone nearby but be mindful of guards or patrols. You know the drill." Jack's words were affirmed by a series of beeps from each person's earpieces, and the group went silent as they passed through. The city was quiet, it being a muggy Sunday night in the middle of May. Toby skipped along in front of them, making Tim have to chase him down whenever he'd try to veer off and "escape" into random parks or other peoples' houses. Every so often he repeat this, bolting randomly, Jeff advising Tim to just let him run after the third instance. Tim acquiesced, grumbling to himself as he fumbled through his pockets. Brian's microphone picked up his quiet snicker as he visibly waved the cigarettes at him in view of the cameras.

"Good lord will they ever be able to start a mission without something making them late?" Ben bitched from his seat, earning another spray on the ear in response.

"If you think you can do better, you're welcome to sign up for a job. Maybe actually provide something for the household for once instead of freeloading."

"I own the House dickhead."

"You don't own shit, actually. There's no leasing office in this fucking world and we ain't in Pulsar."

"You're supremely beetchy today."

"It's bitchy, for one. For two, you are the personification of a migraine and I don't like you. That's why I'm being bitchy."

"What crawled up your ass today? Like, damn, yeah I know you don't like me but this outta character, EJ." Ben grinned as he said this, clearly not anything more than amused, but there was a slight flicker of confusion in his eye.

He was right though, Jack took a moment to think. He was being a bit more rude than usual, but maybe it was just what Bay brought out in people. But this felt different than general irritation from having to be forced to remain in Ben's presence. The headache was usual when he trekked through the west wing of the House, but it'd usually go away after just a short while once he was in the monitor room. But he still felt it, pulse pounding behind his eyes.

"Fuck, actually I don't know. Something is really wrong with those hallways, anytime I go in there I feel like I'm walking for hours and my brain is getting scooped out of my skull…" Jack rubbed at the bridge of his nose, trying to work some kind of positive feeling back into his face.

"Yeah, there's some kind of spirit in there, but I can't ever find it."

"Charlie mentioned he found some kind of presence. Is it a poltergeist like Twitch?"

"Couldn't tell, it's really hidden. But I guess that's its shtick, turning the hallways into a liminal space."

"Well, tell it to get the fuck out. Ghosts are your wheelhouse."

Ben laughs a little. "Yeah for sure. We'll see if that works."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toby was finally convinced to stay with the group as they traveled on foot between allies, attached to Jane now by way of his wrist being tied up in the tail of her coat. Jane tapped away on her little blue tablet, her wide black eyes reflecting the light back like her own personal galaxy. She walked the most confidently of all of them, Jeff on guard while Brian and Tim just followed casually. She was the one with all the knowledge of where to go, who to target. She'd be their blanket too, using her weird little power to obscure them from anyone that might hear what hell is brought down upon the unsuspecting fodder…I mean, people.

She finally stopped in front of a building painted a sweet baby blue, and Jane tiptoed her way up the front steps, gliding her fingers over the wrought iron railing. She booped the tiny wrought iron bird sculpture at the top on its little black beak, and sighed wistfully.

"Okay! This one." She perched herself on the railing, refocusing on her tablet. A low hum radiated from it that all of them except Jeff could feel, causing him to eyeball them when all except Jane shivered in disgust. Jeff stood facing the door, counting down on his fingers to himself. The others stood idly, awaiting the cue Jane would give them. A beep sounded from her tablet, and she hummed, dipping back to hand upside down on the rail she sat on, hair barely brushing the dirt on the other side. The door was opened quietly and softly, and the group filed in. Jeff shut the door as quietly as he could, still counting down on his fingers. It was completely silent, the air itself vibrating as the world around the apartment building blurred.

The barrier Jane could make was an odd unique ability of hers, something apparently specific to whatever she was. It blurred the air from inside, and to the outside world not a single thing had changed. It was as if no one could look in, no one could tell that anything was wrong. Even if no one entered or exited for weeks, no one would be able to tell, like it was being ignored by space. Jeff tapped his pointer finger for the last time, and it began.

Whatever Jane does, its effect also makes things inside freakishly quiet, so much so you'd think you could hear your organs. It was too much for Brian and Toby, both of which wore earbuds that would double as microphones to connect them to the others. When not connected, they'd usually play music, making Brian and Toby the more rhythmic killers on a mission.

Those two were the heavy hitters as well, able to take the most damage without balking, Toby the most, for obvious reasons.

Brian and Toby both took the rickety elevator, Tim sat in the lobby, getting comfortable on the rolling chair behind the doorman's desk, while Jeff ascended the stairs. Tim quirked a brow at the small desktop computer, a bit confused at the setup.

"What kind of apartment has a reception desk?" He muttered to the others through his mic.

"Have you not played That's Not My Neighbor? The doorman area? You're literally in a security room." Toby snickered back, the telltale sound of his boot connecting with a door following just after. The reverberation rang outside the earpiece as well, the silence from the weird Jane-veil allowing it to echo.

"I don't play your weird Gen Z games, Toby."

"What the fuck is Gen Z?!"

"People born after like, 2000 I think."

"It's 1997 to 2012. You're always on the internet more than the others, how do you not know what Gen Z means?" Brian's voice was next to respond.

"It doesn't matter! This just looks weird, like what real apartment building has this?"

"Oh my god, you guys are annoying." Jeff barked into his own mic.

"I'm just saying, it makes it look more like a hotel than an apartment."

"Jesus christ."

Despite the annoying banter, the group was good at their job, each with their own, all in perfect placement; Jane was their eyes and ears on the outside, keeping them from being visible with her weird ability; Tim made sure no one could get out the front door, Jane's barrier ensuring no one could get out through the windows, emergency exits or any doors except their own front ones and the elevators to the lobby.

Jeff preferred to scope out the area, taking note how many people were in each unit. He was surprisingly the most graceful of the group despite being the overall largest, able to flit between shadows of the hallway without being seen. An errant tenant had noticed the eerie silence, probably someone who had a bit higher sensitivity than the supernatural, which was a common enough occurance on popcorn jobs. She was taken out with a quiet bullet to the side of the head.

The others often teased Jeff for how extravagant his gear tended to be, despite the reasoning for it being solid enough, they knew it was just because it looked cool. He had a grand collection of weapons on his person, including the semi-automatic engraved with his chosen surname along the body of the rifle, a machete at his back that found a lover in the base of another too-curious tenant's neck, and a classic kitchen cleaver twirled between fingers before it sliced through the air and through some teenager's skull.

Toby was much messier, and much more playful. While Jeff refused to enter the units, Toby made a game of trying to get in. He'd knock a few times, face unobscured and with a sweet, charming smile plastered on it. But those eyes were usually what got people. The unnatural orange-yellow was too obvious, and once in a while someone would be stupid enough to ask if they were contacts, and they'd let their guard down enough to open the door. Which usually was met by a passing bullet in the face from Jeff walking behind Toby as he trailed over to the next unit. Then would follow Toby's bouncing gait into the apartment, and the haunting screams of whoever he found still present. If anyone ran, he was usually the one to chase the fastest, leaving the leftovers for Brian.

Now, Brian… Brian was the worst of them. Even over Toby's playful sadism, of which the two shared, but with Brian it was just creepier. With the pure silence, you could barely tell if the man was breathing. He liked to lock himself into the units with people, usually with more women present, using his size and intimidation factor to his advantage quite often. If there was at least one older man who tried to play hero? Oh, that was a good day for him. A shotgun blast to the face of the man they'd thought would be their savior, and now the barrel, still wet with the man's brains, gliding over the sweet flushed face. What a terror~

Jeff didn't take the same pleasure as the others did, but he hadn't been doing this as long as they had either, so maybe the sadism would creep in the longer they went. Now, it was clear to the majority of the building something bad was happening, and the panic set in. The apartment lit up in noise, echoing clangs and bangs and gunshots. Tim raised a brow towards the elevator, tilting his head a bit to listen. Sure enough, a sweet distant ding greeted him, and he shoved a hand into his pocket. The parade would start soon.

As the elevator opens, he leans and throws a small metal ball under the table, a soft ticking telling him how much time he had to move. As the unnamed tenants pressed out, Tim swung his feet over, propping them up on the table with his back to them. A pop, a sizzle, screams, and a blue laser grid slicing through the table, just barely missing the edge of Tim's elbow and shoe. He waited patiently until the laser's turned off, then stood to regard the damage.

It was fucking disgusting. Burnt skin and viscera stained the floor and the back of the panelling that cut the desk off from the rest of the lobby. Only one of the people was still alive, having managed to throw theirself back enough to only lose a foot to the grid. The rest had all fallen on top of each other, the desperation to move making them all continue to push forward when the others had stopped, not realizing they were pushing each other to their deaths. Tim whistled in admiration at the little metal ball, tossing it up into the air before catching it again.

"Now that, is fucking cool. You see this thing?" He regarded the survivor casually, as if he weren't the devil to them and just another passerby, just another neighbor. "Cutting edge shit right here. Something you'd see in a sci-fi movie or something. That was some Resident Evil shit right there, I'm surprised you managed to avoid it."

"What the fuck is going on? Who are you people?! Why are you doing this?" The usual spiel. Tim chuckled quietly, shoving the ball into his pocket again, before reaching a bit farther back, to pull a heavy metal pipe out from his belt. He tapped the end on the floor idly, seemingly thinking to himself.

"Ya know? It really isn't personal. Just business, kid, sorry. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if I had a choice." He laughed, swinging his hands up in the air, then letting them drop again with a sigh. "Pretty bad career path, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. Why don't you wear a mask like the other ones?"

"I'd rather be held accountable for the things I've done, then hide behind another face."

"Oh." The person shook slightly, finally going into shock from the blood loss caused by their foot being disintegrated. They leaned their head back against the door of the elevator. Tim didn't feel up for much more conversation, and the pipe found its home in the person's skull, letting them go home as well. From the monitor room, Jack shook his head.

"I'm going to be honest, I never understand why people decide to have conversations with their killers."

"Some kind of desire to know why the shit is happening to 'em? Humanize the killer? Who knows?" Bay flicked a Skittle at Jack's head every couple of seconds, Jack completely ignoring him and allowing the Skittles to fall to the floor. "It's a bit dumb, but so are humans, so…"

"Mm…"

The mission was quick enough, nothing to write Home about. But Toby was ecstatic as he bounced out of the elevator doors, absolutely covered in blood and other materials.

"OOOOONNNNEEEE HUNNNNNDDDDRRRREEEEEDDDDDDD!" He shouted, enthusiastically riffing an air guitar in excitement over his new record. "WE GOT ONE HUNDRED PEOPPPLLLLLEEEEE!!!"

"Yeah, 104 is the total. This place was packed, even at the stadium we only got 75." Jeff pulled his mask down to fan his face with a manila folder.

"What's that?" Brian snatched the folder from him, sifting through it. Almost instantaneously he ripped his mask off to stare wide-eyed at what was in his hands. "Dude, these are nudes."

"Oh my god, close that! I didn't fucking know!" Jeff fails to swipe the folder from Brian's hands, who had immediately given them to Toby, who jumped over the blood covered barrier to the desk, perching on the table like a bird.

"Looks like a boudoir shoot!"

"Dude I literally just grabbed it to fucking fan myself, I didn't even look inside!"

"Bullshiiiittttt, you're a perverrrrtttttttt!" Toby pointed and laughed, earning a chase in which Jeff attempted to jump over the table to get at him, but the gore and viscera on the floor made it a bit difficult. Toby giggled in glee as he pushed out of the front door, Jeff quickly regaining his footing to follow.

Brian and Tim walked out much more calmly, Jane humming softly to herself.

"Nobody left! We can go Home." The tablet in her hands chirped, and from Jack's end, his phone lit up with a notification that read "Job Complete."

"Well then. Hopefully after the New York jobs we can have the summer off for once. I'd like us to not have to do this shit all fucking year again." Jack stood, bending back and groaning in pointed satisfaction at the cracking his spine rewarded him with.

"Yeah, maybe the government should start culling their people on their own instead of sending ghosts and inhuman freaks." Bay giggled from his seat.

"Says an inhuman freak?"

"God, keep talking dirty to me."

"Please die."

Bay cackled, swiveling the chair around so he could stand. "Keep an eye on Twitch, she's snooping around the third floor."

"Why is she on the third floor?"

"Those keys she found. You didn't exactly put them away."

"God fucking damnit."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiny feet pattered quickly through the hall, tiptoeing over the debris and dust. In her hands, Twitch clutched the worn keys, searching for the door to go with them. Resonating clicks made her flinch as she shoved the keys without a legible number into each door on her way to the westernmost side of the building, barreling her way through the I hallway with no care to the noise she was making. Even as she slammed against the door that led to the monitor room, she continued on her loud search for the doors these magic keys could open. The door to the monitor room swings open after her assault on the handle, the household headache leaning out of it to bark at her.

"What the fuck are you doing, Twitch?!"

Twitch swings her head back to regard the beast with disgust.

"Snooping through your shit, slut."

Bay giggles at her, kicking his foot out to the side in a stupid pose. "Kay! Don't fall through the floor!" The door slams shut behind him.

"God I hope he dies."

She continues on her little adventure. This time, with no interruptions this far into the more dangerous parts of the House, she is free to stick her little hands where they should not go, even managing to pry a few of the doors open without a key. Though, that resulted in her coming across a room filled with marble statues that were facing directly towards one dark corner of the room.

Yeah, not going into that shitshow.

She shut the door much tighter behind her.

She finally meets the stone hallways at the very side of the House, which looked much more akin to something you'd see in a medieval castle than a wooden mansion. Though, most of this house looked like Cabin in the Woods vomited on Game of Thrones in a drunken brawl, so that wasn't too surprising. She rose on her toes to look out the large stained glass window.

Why does this look like High Hrothgar?

I have no clue what that is, but with a name like that it's probably rather similar. She waits a moment, staring out a clear pane onto the extending forest. The Matheson House itself apparently sat at an angle, facing southwest to the center of Rednels, the Woods itself being the southernmost end of this patch of land. She did not know if there was anything else past the continent they were on, but she didn't really care. Now, her eyes stood fixated on a massive lake to the north, somehow visible to her despite only being on the first floor. It was like that on the other floors, no matter the window you looked out of, unless you were on the bottom floor you'd be able to see for miles in whatever direction you were looking. Charlie mentioned something about "a great vantage point no matter where you are", but it was just confusing to the little ghost.

She hopped down, pattering her way towards the back end of the house, northeast. The stone portions of the house were much more stable than the wooden, despite looking much older. From here, she could actually reach the stairway labeled V, which would hopefully reach far enough up for her to get up to the third floor. She crawled her way up slowly, testing each step. This hallway was jarringly wooden, a few pieces of errant metal railing jutting out of the wall where they'd try to build it over, to make what was there more safe. In some spots, the old worn stone was visible, chipped and disintegrating in the darkness. She was lucky enough, it was not a long staircase, spiraling up to the third floor in a dizzying turn.

She only trips once, earning the empty air a shriek and the smack of both her knee and palms on the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut, ready to fall through the floor, but as her hands and kneecap throbbed she sighed in relief, as well as confusion as to why her body would still be feeling that.

None of this ghost shit makes sense. One minute I have a hatchet phasing through my neck, the next my knee hurts cause I slammed it into the ground. What the fuck…fuck this…fuck-FUCK!

She yells, smacking her hands against the ground over and over. Something is wanting to snap, but it doesn't. She sighs, pushing herself up onto her feet again. She stares down the hall, eyeballing a few large doors that would permit her access into the third floor's living quarters. Most of these rooms were blocked off due to the decrepit state of this side of the House, but the hallway closest to the door seemed wellkept enough that it wasn't boarded up.

She slides her hands in a line through the dust along the wall, flicking it off her finger as she reaches the first door. This one was 4b, so she continued trailing along, skipping diagonally over to the other side after she reached 2b, making the next door the sought-after 1a. She jammed the key marked by the same number into the door's keyhole, hesitating a moment before she turned it, slowly creaking the door open.

It made her feel as if she were in her own horror movie, like she wasn't already. The creak in the stale air, how it echoed on the walls. The stained wood was the same dark cherry as the rest of the House, and the entire room was completely empty, only a single brazier on the right side. Two windows sat on the back wall from the door, nestled in their own alcoves on either side of the wall that jutted out closer to where she now stood. On it, was a large mirror with deep reddish-golden filigree, the mirror itself a deep black.

Oooohhh, obsidian mirror… That's fucking creepy.

Twitch slowly crept towards the mirror, eyeing the sun and moon motif that sat in a large circle at the bottom of the mirror. It was vaguely familiar, but she wasn't sure where she saw it before. The mirror was reflective, but barely, the dim lighting and dark material of the mirror making it hard for her to see her own silhouette. All it came out to be was a black blob. She huffed, swiping her arm over the glassy surface, trying to rub away any dust with her sleeve.

As she did so, a weird feeling crept over her. Something like anxiety, something she was well familiar with, but hadn't felt in the same capacity since she died. Ever since coming here, all her feelings were muted, despite her dramatic reactions to each one, and she could never feel anything more than blank anger for very long periods of time. Now this, this felt real. This felt like home to her. The fear and nausea creeping up through her throat, now she could only feel this when Ben laid on her, for short spurts. This wouldn't leave, it burnt her esophagus, it made her belly hurt in the core. She stared at the mirror, into it, through it.

The room lurched, and it took her a second to realize what she was looking at. Now, she could see her reflection, at least she thought it was hers. The room around her wavered again, and it felt like her head had turned into her own personal movie. Her eyes hurt, muscle at the back straining as they rolled into her head, then suddenly focused forward again, only to repeat that movement again and again until it all came into focus.

Now she was locked in place. She felt the glass against her fingers, until suddenly it was gone, only open air. A hand inches from a head of unfamiliar hair. She could surely reach, but she felt the glass stop her again. Faces she didn't know moved, muted words not yet reaching her ears. She still couldn't fully focus, the faces not slotting together the way they should. She gripped the rim of the mirror, and the world slowed again.

A head of black hair leaned close to where she stood, elbow perched on a dresser. Sleek and long, if she were a little closer Twitch could grab it and bash her face into the glass. But the glass itself was the problem, not letting her get any closer. There were three people all sitting around a ouija board, the fourth standing obliviously in front of Twitch. How could none of them see her when they were all looking right at this lady?

The majority of the group was the kind of goth you saw in movies about goth people who did witchcraft. Complete with a ouija board between them, Twitch really felt like she was the villain of her own horror movie. One of the people sitting stood out though, with strawberry blonde hair and closer to the definition of the preps who would bully kids like this. But nothing about her felt mean. She drew Twitch's eye the most, dressed in only a sweatshirt and pajama shorts and animatedly arguing with the person next to her, some brunette facing away from Twitch, so she couldn't see their face. Finally, the girl in front of the dresser moved, sitting down in the free spot around the ouija board.

Twitch tried to turn her head, looking more around the room, and caught sight of a mirror. In its reflection, she saw the dresser that was in front of her, but couldn't see herself. Instead, there was the dresser mirror on the wall behind it, completely blank of her image at first. When she moved again, she could see a vague wisp of herself, but it wasn't clear. Suddenly, she felt her body get forced forward, and now, she was looking out at the dresser itself, no longer confined to the view of the dresser. From this new vantage point, she could see the brunette's face.

She still couldn't hear them, but she did watch as the brunette continued to speak. After a few moments, a very very familiar little girl appeared next to them, complete with sweet pink dress and haunted green eyes. Twitch had yet to see her own Sally; she wondered if that was the one from here. It didn't seem like these people could see her, which was likely the reason for the ouija board. The sweet-faced blonde seemed to be aware of her though, her head tilted in the direction of Sally's voice any time her mouth moved, but the other three focused heavily on the ouija board.

Twitch watched breathlessly, desperately wanting to hear what they were saying. She pressed her face against the glass, fingers clawing into the surface as much as she could manage. What was this? Some kind of portal into another world? Why could she see this?

It bothered her greatly, especially when she couldn't hear what was going on. She couldn't tell where this was, obviously it was back in the normal people world, or worlds, but she didn't know if this was hers. The others had said there are multiple worlds accessible from here. But where is this? Let her in. Let her hear.

Let me in, let me hear-

As if to answer her prayers, something clicked in her head, and a din broke through to her ears. The ambient air of the room buzzed through as if clogged ears had been cleared. Now she could hear the voices. Sweet and soft, like a bell on air, was the voice that came from Sally. She sounded as ghostly as you'd expect, barely audible under the shrieky din from the two girls who were currently freaking out at the connection to the ghost.

The blonde and brunette shared a look, and before Twitch can understand what's being said, the blonde and two black-haired girls leave the room, leaving just the brunette alone with the board.

Aren't you not surprised to talk with a ouija board alone?

Sally's image wavered, but she remained close to the brunette as something in the room shifted. Twitch's breath hitched as the new voice trickled through. It was a low voice, smoother than the raspy bark that spit its way out of the brunette's throat half the time. But it trickled on the air the same way Sally's did, like if you breathed too loudly you wouldn't be able to hear it. She heard its words before she saw it, pressing her face harder to the glass as she tried to focus her eyes.

It was an intense sight, something that made her nauseous. At first glance it was some lithe body crawling its way into the space, sliding into a seat across from the brunette. A head of emerald green hair, she couldn't see its face, but all around it the air looked like it was tearing itself apart. Blue and green bled into itself, what looked like a bunch of eyes hovered around the air of whoever the new arrival was. Phantom arms stuck out from its back, connected by draping wires that sparked violently, and she pressed harder into the glass as that perfect anxiety creeped back in.

She leaned, trying to chase the sudden splatter of intense green and blue, and she tripped back onto the dresser, and for a second she thought she could feel the wood of the dresser under her hands, and she thought those hundreds of eyes laid their gaze upon her. But it was the glass, and she was still ignored.

It was a religious experience for her, the desperation she felt, something she thought she'd left behind. She knew it in the back of her mind but she tried so hard to ignore it. Its face was a memory only, but now it was alive again. She dug her nails into the smooth surface of the mirror, grinding her teeth wildly as she pushed her forehead forward again to stare. She didn't care what conversation they were having, nothing really mattered right now, it had spoken once and she needed to hear it again. Then she heard the name that confirmed it for her, tripping nervously from the brunette's lips, and her fist collided with the glass.

Another one. Another BEN. Another one, another one another one another one another one anotheroneanotheroneonnanotheranotheranotheranother-

Her head cracked against the floor with an unceremonious thud. Her chest had lit up in that coveted fear, the nausea finally winning as she quickly turned on her side to violently vomit out the watery tar that was the only liquid that ever left her body anymore. She laid on her side, barely holding her body up slightly with one arm as she continued to wretch what felt like a neverending deluge of muck.

It was really only a few minutes, but it was certainly exhausting. Twitch barely managed to shove over to the other side, pushing herself away from the pile of viscera enough to not lay in it as she curled up on the ground in a fetal position. Everything in her head fought itself, conflicting thoughts and confusion and pure fucking anger.

Another one. Another BEN. So not this place. Not my place. Right? Or is he mine? He should be mine, he's mine right? Not this BEN. Not the BEN here. I need…What do I need? He is not here why is he not here I am right here he should be here not there where is he…

She blinked a few times, trying to focus on one thing at a time. The thought of his face was easiest, remember every little detail you can. Green hair, wide eyes glaring at the person across from him. Chin propped on his hand which rested on his knee, what color were his eyes?

She couldn't remember now. But now it was easier, she definitely saw the eyes around him look at her. Like he reacted to her, he must have known she was there.

Right? He knew I was there. He knows me, he supposed to know me. Yes, he saw me he knows I was there. He'ssupposedtobeherewhyishenothereIknowhewantstobehereIamhereHeshouldbehere-

"Told you she needed to be watched."

Achievement Get: Mandated Massacre

Kill over 100 people in one mission.

Achievement Get: Cornfield Cullings

Complete 10 missions in Indiana, USA, without leaving any survivors.

Achievement Get: Distorted Dreamer

Fail to fight the childhood delusions triggered by the mirror.

#creepypasta #creepypasta au #creepypasta oc #masky #hoodie #ticci toby #jane the killer #jeff the killer #slenderman #eyeless jack #ben drowned #twitch circuit #lillian harris #writing #original characters #tcu #three circuits unending

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