Author's note: Please read this before you start reading the story itself!
I have to make myself clear first. So if you're a fan of the game "Neighbours from Hell" then you know it's about running a funny reality TV show with the same name and director Joe is on your side, right?
Well, there's an unfinished fangame called "Neighbours in Hell: Hardcore" which is basically the exact opposite of the original game.
It takes place in an alternate universe (or shortly AU) where there's no such show. Woody and Mr. Rottweiler aren't neighbours. Instead, Mr. Rottweiler is a crazed killer who's out of touch with reality, while Joe is the leader of occultists who's almost emotionless.
This fanfic is going to be about this said fangame.
You have been warned!
Darkness...It did not lasted too long - he was waking up, but his vision was somewhat blurry for a moment. There was a moment of confusion when he finally woke up. He rubbed his eyes and groaned a little until the view was clear for him. The place is in a van of some sort, the last few minutes of his memory blanked out by his groggy state. However, he soon remembered not being here...this made him suddenly jump up from where he was laying.
"Where's Shelly?!" this was his first words after waking up.
Alas, she was not here. Which is why he decided to get up and find her so they can leave.
"Woodrow Trickster..." said someone in a black hooded robe "So you've finally come to your senses...Well, perhaps I should just call you Woody..."
This mysterious hooded person's voice was kind of monotonous and creepy, whilst his face was difficult to see because of the hood's shadow.
"How do you know my name?! My full name no less!" Woody was shocked "And where's Shelly?!"
"Is this yours?" the hooded one was holding Woody's ID card "It fell out of your backpack. You and your beloved slept in a taxi. I can assure you she's fine, and expects you to our humble little laboratory."
'I don't think I trust him...' he thought whilst glaring at him 'But I do hope she's okay.'
"Anyway, I'm Joseph Deen, but most of my colleagues call me Joe." he slide his hood down to reveal his face "I'm the leader of the organization called The Occultists"
"How original..." he mumbled sarcastically.
"And you..." Joe continued talking "...will become part of our psychological project." then he shows him a picture of an overweight bald man "Meet Roger Rottweiler."
"What?!" the young man was in complete disbelief "I did not agreed to take part of anything!"
"Well..." Joe smiled mockingly "Who said we're asking anyone's permission? You brainless imbecile..."
Woody would usually say a witty comeback for that insult, but right now the frustration gets the better of him.
"Besides...if you don't do whatever we say then that's fine for us...but then..." Joe paused for a moment then carried on talking, but in a very seemingly grim tone "...who knows what will happen to you and Shelly."
What did he meant by that? Whatever the case, what The Occultists want can not be that bad than what they are about to do if Woody outright refuses. Or at least, he thinks so...
"Alright..." the young man sighed heavily "Who exactly is Roger Rottweiler, and what am I supposed to do?"
"As I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me..." Joe carried on explaining.
Woody is supposed to sneak into Mr. Rottweiler's house and anger him as much as possible. It does not matter how, he may as well play a bunch of pranks on him.
'Pranks, huh?' Woody thought smiling 'I haven't done any in quite awhile, but I think I'm still good at them.'
"What's with the stupid grin?" the lead occultist questioned coldly "You know I'm not done..."
Joe then explains about Rottweiler being a psychotic deranged murderer who is out of touch with reality. Therefore, if he finds anyone in his house, he would not hesitate to shoot them and then play with them as if they are toys. On top of all that, his house is filled with neurotoxin. How is Rottweiler alive among that deadly poison? Is he immune to it? Possibly.
"...which is why you have a few minutes to enrage him. And last but not least, you're not allowed to leave until you're done with the trial. For today, the trial has four traps." and Joe does not appear to show any emotion while he was clearing things up - it does not disturb him one bit.
Woody on the other hand, felt like his stomach is turned upside down and a chill running up his spine. After hearing all this, he just wants to flee like a coward and forget about all this. Though no matter what, he has to listen to what he says...not only for his own survival but for Shelly's as well.
"I want to ask three questions before I go." the young man said "Does the police know about any of this?"
"Fortunately for us, no. In fact, our phones are hacked so that no one calls for any kind of emergency or anyone outside of our organization." then he rolled his eyes from annoyance "Your second question?"
"Can I see what his house looks like?" he should know this in order to get an idea what he will be dealing with "Maybe peek through a window or something?"
"Not this time...it has to be a surprise."
It's definitely going to be more than unpleasant. Joe already knows how it looks like, and for some reason he is going to enjoy Woody's reaction.
"Why are you doing all this?!" he has to know their goal of all the madness they have done.
"It's for..." the occultist went silent for a moment then responds by chanting in his dark tone "...生活生活生活."
That creepy chant of his made poor Woody felt tongue-tied. Even though they only just met, it was certain that Joe is almost as insane as the deranged murderer.
'I...I rather do this trial...than listen to his chants.' he thought nervously as he was opening the van's door.
Despite being forced to build traps for a psychopath (and "psychopath" is only softly expressed), he is a proud potential prankster and ready for the challenge. At least...that is what he tells himself as he is getting closer and closer to Rottweiler's house. Then finally as soon as Woody opened the door...he was "greeted" by the most horrific sight he has ever seen - the hall was splattered in crimson red, there were bits of body parts in various places, and it looks like as if someone was dragged across the floor while they were fighting for their life. He was also overwhelmed by the stench of blood and decaying corpses. The rotten air was mixed with the neurotoxin, which fills his organism so quickly he would be dead less than five minutes.
Knowing this, he started moving quickly to get the job done. If it was not for the deadly poison, the foul smell alone could kill him, just way more slower. The enthusiasm which Woody tried to build up faded away. He expected this kind of thing to see, but he never thought it would be so unspeakable. On top of that, Woody is not allowed to leave until he is done.
After opening the chest of drawers, he found a whoopee cushion. Next, the prankster ran to the bathroom and searched through the medicine cabinet only to find a super-glue.
'It should be enough...' Woody thought as he continues to the living room.
Rottweiler exactly then was closing the door behind him. He took his binoculars and looked through them to see out the window. After that, he started running back to the living room.
The prankster had just laid the whoopee cushion and twisted the antenna. Afterwards, he ran out of the room almost with the speed of a wild pig.
'That was close call...' he tried to breath heavily from all the tension and worry, but the breathing made his lungs hurt from the poison.
Woody hastened from the hall to the kitchen. If he was hanging around in the living room even for a second longer...he would be dicing with death. Not to mention that the situation itself is already very risky. He noticed that the fat psycho would not bother going downstairs which makes things easier for him.
When he entered the kitchen, he went to the fridge and opened it. It was empty, except that there was an rotten egg in there. Whilst the maniac was fixing the antenna and getting annoyed over the whoopee cushion, Woody glued the binoculars and put the whole egg in the microwave. The prankster had enough time to leave the room without stressing out too much.
'I'm done. All is left is for him to fall for the rest of the traps.' he thought 'I should keep an eye on him.'
Woody peeked through the keyhole of the kitchen door. When Rottweiler entered the kitchen, the prankster caught a glimpse of him - his eyes were empty and soulless, it was clear he did not have a single ounce of humanity. Yes, Joe did show a photo of him but he did not paid attention to it earlier.
The overweight lunatic got irritated over the messy microwave and a bit later he got his eyes stuck on the binoculars. Eventually, he freed himself from the sticky binoculars.
'That's all of them.' at that moment the young man wanted to sigh from relief, but refrained himself from doing it "Now what? Joe didn't tell me what he's going to do about the neurotoxin."
That is when he was running out of breath, Woody tried to hold back his coughing so he does not get caught while heading for the entrance door.
Sadly, it was still locked. Locked? But why? He was done with all four dirty tricks! When he was about to panic, the door made an unlocking sound. Woody was definitely allowed to leave the house for today and he suddenly felt much better. Some of the members of The Occultists were waiting for him in the same van as earlier, Joe was not with them this time.
"Where's Joe?" he asked them.
"He's very busy right now, but he took his time to activate the vaccine against the poison from a distance." one of them replied.
"After all, you did prove both of your existences are somewhat worthy...for now." said another member.
"Vaccine? He didn't told me about that!" he was surprised. That bit of information is important!
"Yes, he did!" the member raised his tone "It's your own fault for not listening, you twit! And besides, he's not going to repeat himself twice."
'Yeah...And I'm going to repeat your trials thrice, even when I fail.' Woody thought sarcastically 'Oh, wait...I can't, because I'd be dead!'
Was it really his fault for not paying attention? He was sure he listened carefully and there was no mention of a vaccine.
'Well, then again...maybe I shouldn't have been so prideful. Especially, in a situation like this...' he considered his own mistake.
"Anyway, he's waiting back at the laboratory." said another one of them.
Woody and Shelly lived to see another day. It is not the end though...it is only the very beginning.