Maniacal Changes

Knock knock

Silence

Knock knock

Silence

Knock knock

Tip tip tip tap tap tap thunk thunk thunk snick snick snick snick rattle creak "Hello?"

"Hi, Johnny."

"And just who the hell are you? Is there some kind of sign out here, 'Come visit your local, friendly serial killer'?"

"Call me Peter. No, there's no sign."

"What do you want? I'm busy…" Shrieks of the damned echo up from the floor.

"I can hear that. I want to help you."

"What?"

"… you're in pain. They know that. I've been sent to help you. To stop your pain. To stop the destruction of yourself."

Stare

"You will either let me inside now, or you will come out here. There's no more reason for walls between us. Not ever again."

SLAM

"Oh, Johnny. I guess you're going to fight me all the way… So be it."

"What an asshole. What does he know? Nothing. Nothing of my torment… Strange that he seems to have an agenda about it, though. That's kinda creepy." Tap tap tap tap tip tip tip tip creak creak

creak groan creak creak rip thunk thunk

"These boards are rotted. He should keep better care of his house. No matter, easier for me. Maybe later I'll set him to work…"

tap tap tap tap tip tip tip tip creak creak "Hmm… I wonder what floor he's on. Guess I just follow the fiercest screams."

Tap tap tap…

42 floors later

…shrit shrit shrit "Damn, that's a long walk."

Stare

"How did you get down here!? What the fuck are you doing in my house? No one wants to be in my house! Get out!!"

"I climbed through a window. I was looking for you. I want to be wherever you are, and you're in the house. No."

grit

"One last chance before I dismember you. Leave."

"Dismember me. It could be fun."

Swish pounce tear render screaming

"Damn it!! I don't even need another body right now! You fucker, you messed up my day planner! I spent a month on that!"

Squelch squelch tear sploosh squirt squirt "You really enjoy this sort of thing? Seems messy to me…"

"SHUT UP AND BE DEAD ALREADY!"

"Johnny…"

tear rip tear rip squish mash mash mash "NO! QUIET!!"

silence

drip drip drip gurgle "There. Now there's one less thing to hold me back. That wall's getting pretty dry…"

"You feel better now?"

"AAHHHH!! Shit, you're dead! Why are you talking!? And moving!? What are you doing, don't tear those out-"

squelch squelch squelch

"Johnny, I'm starting to think I'm going to have to take control of this situation. You just don't want to let me do what I'm here to. And I need to. I do."

"Stay down, stay down! Don't get up, don't come near me! Just die already!" stab stab stab

"Stop it. I'm not going to die."

Clatter

"Why not?"

"Oh, don't sound so disappointed. I'm not really alive to begin with, so… It's kind of hard to die."

"…you're another figment of my imagination? But… I've never heard you before. Where did you come from? Did you split from another voice? Are you like the Doughboys? Here to destroy me? Control me? I won't let anyone control me again!"

stab spatter spatter rip tear drip drip

"Oh, stop it, now. That's not doing anything. And you're jumping to conclusions. I'm not here to control you."

"…when are you going to leave?"

"Never."

"Stop saying that! You have to leave! Everyone leaves!"

"Not anymore. I'm never going away from you." Shrip shrip shrip hug

"Don't- DON'T TOUCH ME!! THAT'S DISGUSTING! GET YOUR FILTH OFF OF ME!!"

"No."

"STOP!! STOP!!"

"Don't panic. Calm down. There is no filth here. No dirt or disgust. Calm down. Breathe."

"No no no…" struggle

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Stop it now. Everything's okay."

"No, it's not. Never okay. Never good. Stop touching me! It hurts!"

"…what does the pain feel like, then?"

"It burns. There's all kinds of squirmy things on my skin, where your arms are. I'm going to be sick. I'm going to puke all over you if you don't let go."

"…be sick if you have to. I still won't let you go, and then we'll both be standing her, covered in vomit. That sound better to you than just this? Than just comfort?"

"It's not comfort. It's not comfortable. Let me go now, before I get really mad."

"I won't let you fall apart."

"What the fuck?"

"Shh, shh. Quiet. Breathe. This really is quite a nice room. A little gory, a little dusty, but I like the design. Do you know how long you've lived here?"

silence

"Hmm? Do you know?" gentle

"No. No, I don't know. I don't have a fucking idea, memory, or any kind of concept of my life before all these killings… the bloody wall, and the doughboys, and the voices… I don't know anything. Just that, I'm being controlled. Everything's controlling me for some sick purpose I may never know."

"I thought you said that you weren't being controlled anymore. That you wouldn't let that happen. And yet, you say that's what's happening. Why, Johnny? Why do you let them kill you?"

"Because I don't know what else to do. There's no other choice. Without the voices, I'll be even lonelier. I won't even really be alive anymore. At least now, I have company, and the screams help too… I smell the stench of death around me constantly, and I know the difference between that and my sweat. My own stink. That means I'm alive."

"You're dying like this. Those voices are only parts of you, you know that. You are alone, the way things are now. The guilt of these murders is crushing you, to just look at you it can be seen."

"These people are evil."

"No matter. So what if they hurt, mock, and scar with words or fists? They change people, they modify lives, they don't destroy them."

"They destroyed mine."

"No, they didn't. You are alive."

"But I'm dying. Didn't you say that? They began my death, and still continue to kill me slowly… They are worse than I. I may bind them and torture them for a while, but many die much quicker than they should. My binding, my torture, has been going on for longer than I can remember, literally. I've been stabbed countless times… And even in my revenge, even when I try to help the world by taking out the shit, my own guilt comes over me. I don't understand it. I'm doing good things, yet I feel bad… And there's no one to say I do good things. That this is all worth while. I truly am alone, in everything."

"No, not any more. Johnny?"

"…yeah?"

"Do you believe that there could ever be a change for you? An actual future, instead of just this shame, this rage?"

silence

"Hmm?"

"No. But I guess you're going to tell me something different?"

grin "Yes, yes I am. I'm here, now, and I won't be leaving. Let's go upstairs, the screams and moans are distracting."

"…okay."

"Who sent you?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

Silence

"They're just mad about all the dead bodies they've have to process since you came along." Chuckle

"So you're really not another voice in me? You're really real?"

"Yeah. I'm really real."

"And you'll NEVER leave me?"

"Nope."

"What do you get in return? What's in this for you?"

"I'm controlled too, Johnny. The ones who sent me, said that I could have my freedom if I did this. And, to be quite frank, I was lonely too. And I don't think you're a bad person. I want to get to know you very well."

"So, I get to keep you, and I stop killing? Is that it? It's like some sort of bribe?"

"Yeah, it sure seems like that. If you stop killing, there won't be anything to control you, since you don't obey them anymore. They'll leave you, Johnny. The voices, these Doughboys, too, it'll all leave. It'll just be one voice inside of you, one voice named 'Nny'. Do you accept?"

Silence

"I'll give you all the time you need, Johnny. I won't make you do anything. What kind of way is that to start a friendship?" smile touch

Stare "You promise all these things on your very soul?"

"I don't have a soul. But, whatever it is that does make me a being, yes, I swear on it that every word out of my mouth is the absolute truth."

"Okay… I accept. When do you start?" smirk

Grin "I already have."

"So, uh, no soul, huh? How does that work?"

"Well, it's all quite interesting, see-"

End

I don't know, I think I need to re-read the series before writing any more fic. This idea, though, just came to me, and I had to write it or else forget it. I don't know if I got Johnny's personality well enough, and am very shameful over introducing my own chara. But, I couldn't think of anyone off the top of my head that could do it, so, oh well. I meant it to be a lot slashier than it is, if it is at all, but when writing it out Johnny didn't want to cooperate. JTHM is pretty good, although I really only got into it in Part 4. If only they made Invader Zim comics… I wonder if there's any doujinshi… *lol* ^^ Thank you for reading.