Disclaimer: I don't own Scream. If I did, I might use this as the plot of 5cream, but probably wouldn't. I also don't own A Nightmare on Elm Street or Resident Evil 4. Nemeses' books and promotions are owned by him, but if you participate, everyone benefits, sooooo… participate, pwease? :D Nemeses is a known Scream fan, he sells the Buck 120, the knife Ghostface uses.

Author's Notes: And now, it's all coming to a head. Sorry this took me so long, I've kinda been doing badly in school… Mommy was mad. *Tear* But then, I actually got to talk to Nemeses! That was really, really cool. More about that at the end, it's kind of a big deal. So, yeah. There's a lot that's good, too.

Chapter Twenty: Two Years Earlier

It all started with one little thing. One stray disc in my basement sitting on top of a lone box, in a small, obscure corner. It was in a jewel case, and on the front, someone had written in permanent marker, "play me in DVD". It wasn't in my handwriting, and I had never seen the disc or the box before.

Resisting curiosity had never been one of my strong points, so I played the disc, and was shocked to see Roman Bridger on the screen.

"If you have found this disc, then I am dead, and you are, no doubt, my successor," Roman said solemnly. "I have taken Billy Loomis as an apprentice, but he has proven unable to act as my successor."

So, this was taken after Billy's death, presumably. There was no timestamp on the video to give any indication of when Roman had made this.

Roman shifted position, and did not look completely comfortable. "If someone killed me, and you know who did it, I want you to act immediately on my behalf. Avenge me, as gorily as you can."

I did know who killed Roman, as it turned out. Many people did, of course, it was hardly a secret.

He leaned closer to the camera. "In return for this loyalty, I will keep no more secrets from you. In learning about me, you will see many places, but there is one that held special significance to me, and, if we had enough time together, you. If I was not able to have that much time with you, it's up to you to figure it out. Search carefully, and you will find it. I've hidden it away well. Inside that will be all you need to carry on what I have started, whether Sidney is alive or dead."

Hurm. Roman had made this before even taking his next apprentice, as a precautionary measure. I guess starting a line of serial killers had meant a lot to him.

What about this 'no more secrets' he was talking about? I sure wouldn't mind knowing it all. Hidden away carefully, but where someone could find it, eh?

A less intelligent person would have been easily fooled, but the best place to hide something was where the seeker had looked already. I went back into the basement and opened the box the DVD had been laying on.

Inside lay two Father Death costumes, new in the bags, two new Buck 120 General knives, two voice changers, two somewhat antiquated cell phones, two sets of body armor, four black leather gloves, a gym bag that held $100,000 in cash and two Glock 17 pistols with a 50-round box of 9x19 Parabellum ammo. There were also several dozen slasher movies on both DVD and VHS, and a player for each type. I guess when Roman made this, somewhere between 1996 and 2000, DVDs weren't yet as available as they were now, though it seemed like Roman had enjoyed the quality and extra features. There was one extra DVD that I assumed was Roman fulfilling his promise.

There was also a letter that read,

To my successor,

Good work. And if you are not my successor, I now pass the duties onto you, and charge you with one last and first mission from me: if you know who killed me, I want you to kill them, and avenge me. In this set, you will find all the materials you need to get started as the next Ghostface. The second set of these tools will be for your accomplice. It is not necessary to have one, but I recommend it. It gives you someone to take the fall if things don't go well, in addition to helping you make a solid alibi, and generally being handy.

To pick up on some dos and don'ts, watch the movies, they'll give you an idea of what works and what doesn't. The phones are cloned in terms of service and number, and won't be traced to you. The voice changers will come with some treats, as I've preloaded a few modulations into them already.

The cash is for whatever needs I have not foreseen. If you don't need anything, just save it until you do. Something always comes up.

The body armor is something I would recommend wearing. The tighter vest will protect against knives, the other will protect against most bullets. They're meant to be worn together. The knee and elbow pads will help you sneak more easily, I find.

I hope you'll enjoy the knives; they've served many a killer well before you.

Even if you have no immediate need of these materials, keep them safe and secret. The day will come when you're glad to have them.

Roman Bridger

Now just what the fuck was this? It seemed like Roman was dead serious about this 'successor' idea. All these things had to be worth at least $50 grand when Roman bought it, not even counting the $100K in cash. Had there been someone else? Some student who had been meant to find this? Or was Roman so deeply prepared that he had arranged all this as a just-in-case?

I also had no idea when or how Roman could have gotten into my house. It must have been while I was gone, or surely he'd have killed me too.

I popped the DVD into my player, and was unsurprised to see Roman again.

"As promised, I will tell you everything," Roman said. "My mother, Maureen Prescott, functionally disowned me. I was devastated, and livid… and that was when I had an idea. For years before that, I had entertained the idea of being a killer. It seemed almost noble, in a primal way… if you want something, you just take it. If you hate someone, you kill them for it."

Roman paused for a moment before speaking again. As given to lies as Roman had been, this must have felt very strange for him, to be honest and candid. "I could have killed Maureen myself, I suppose. Love or pity would not have stayed my hand. To tell you the truth, I don't know why I didn't do it myself, but it was at least partly because I didn't need to. While I was scheming, a boy named Billy Loomis also had his family life destroyed by my mother, and he hated her for it almost as much as I hated her. So I took him under my wing, and showed him the results of my studies into being a successful murderer. He did well for a while, but was eventually killed, along with his accomplice, just as he was about to do a perfect job. My half-sister, Sidney Prescott, screwed things up for him."

Roman frowned, perhaps unsure of what to say next. "I wasn't too upset when Billy and that other guy died. Billy had been my apprentice, but also a tool to kill my mother, a tool who had served its purpose. But now, I got a good look at my sister for the first time. Sidney was so distraught over her mother's death, and I resented her that sadness. She had gotten to grow up loved, not merely thrown away and rejected. What did she have to be sad about? Sidney had stolen what should have been my childhood!"

Roman visibly calmed himself. "However, I wasn't the only one angry with Sidney. A year after Billy's death, and two years after Maureen's death, his own mother, Debbie Loomis, along with a very talented serial killer named Mickey… uh… God, what was it, something Italian… A-Al-Alteri? Altieri? Altieri? Doesn't really matter, they didn't get the job done, either. This is all publicly known by now, but now, I'm taking my own shot at Sidney, and at everyone… I've picked up a few more tricks than the others, like remembering to wear protection from being shot a bunch of times in the chest, and using the voice changer to imitate other people, rather than just disguise my voice. It's a really high quality model, I've never seen anything else like it. Use it well in your own career."

He turned away slightly. "If you're watching this, I probably died. I thought that I might, even with my edges over the others. Hopefully, I got to take my sister with me. If not, I'd appreciate it if you could finish the job. Be more careful than I was. If she is dead, and you either don't know who killed me, or they've already died, then do whatever you please. Kill whoever it is that you hate the most. It's a very liberating experience to gut someone."

Roman smiled now. "Ah, but there's more good than even that. As individuals, we can die, of course. Billy, his partner, Debbie, and Mickey all did. I probably have by the time you see this, and it may happen to you too. But that's us on the simplest level. On a higher level, we are all Ghostface, a singular killer comprised of many lives. As Ghostface, we are immortal! Each new Ghostface is a continuation of those before him, and all of us live on through our newest incarnation!"

That was an alluring thought, but Roman was wrong. He had been the last, and even that was eight years ago. It was a pretty safe bet that the Ghosts were in their graves for good.

"Sidney and Maureen have been our main motivators," Roman continued, "but after we manage to kill Sidney too, there will always be others. After Freddy Krueger killed all the children of the parents who fried him alive, did he say "Whew, that's that taken care of," or did he say, "Every town has an Elm Street", and look to broaden his horizons? We'll be the same way." The video stopped.

All of Roman's secrets seemed to be little I didn't know already. Maybe he'd been more honest than I had attributed to him. Maybe he had lied and still kept more to himself. Perhaps it was just a token gesture to increase the likelihood that he'd be avenged. Who knew with a guy like that?

There was no way I could honor Roman's wishes. I wouldn't kill Dewey Riley, nor would I ever become a killer like the five Ghostfaces had been. I should just pocket the cash and throw this sick shit away.

But… what if I kept it? A small part of my mind asked. Just hung onto it, like Roman suggested? After all, this is a lot of very nice stuff here.

That part of my mind made a valid point. The guns, the knives, the electronics, the armor… they were rather fine, expensive things. Even the Father Death costumes, though cheap and plentiful, were well-made. The gloves Roman had included were very nice. It's not like I had to become Ghostface just because I had the material means to do it, no?

No… I wouldn't become a serial killer, no way. But what if… that same part of my mind mused, there was someone else, someone inside of me, who could do what it takes to get even, and get ahead? What if… what if I could be like Mickey, or Debbie, or Stu, or Billy, or Roman? No harm in entertaining the thought, surely. And if I did have a drive like that inside of me… if I could have Mickey's deadliness, or Debbie's tenacity, or Stu's passion, or Billy's charm, or Roman's brilliance and creativity… well now, wouldn't that be something?

AUTHOR'S NOTES- PRIZES AND FREE PREVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS: Okay, so, like I said, I got to talk to Nemeses recently, which was really cool. But that's not all! He also wanted me to tell you all this: As of now, it's September 25th. If, by October 15th, any of his donation things has at least $20,100, he'll release preview chapters of three as-yet unreleased books on FictionPress, the non-fan fiction version of .

That's cool, but it gets even better! If that $20,100 for any open donation cause is met, there will be prizes given to the top three contributors.

The person who gives the most will get an Eighth Cutter sword. It's the gunblade that Nemeses makes and sells, like Squall's Revolver in FFVIII and Dissidia, but not. You'd have to see it for yourself. It's valued at $800.

The person who gives the second most will get their own copy of the Dreamscape Collector's Edition, which is a signed, numbered, limited run in hardcover, with a copy of A Living Nightmare as well as either Leon's jacket or Eerzuchtig's gloves. It's valued at $250.

The person who gives the third most will receive a black, custom fitted Dark Lord's Robe. It's valued at $100.

Now, that's a lot of prizes, isn't it? But there's even more! Anyone who donates $500 or more will get a year's subscription to Nemeses' own buyer's club thingy, The Society Of Dark Lords And Ladies.

Wow, is that ever a lot, but it's even crazier than that! If all four donation causes are completely met, Nemeses is going to give absolutely every donor, no matter how small their contribution, every single prize on this list, except for the limited edition Dreamscape Collector's Edition, which will be replaced with a MercWorx Sniper Standard knife. It's that knife Leon Kennedy used in Resident Evil 4.

What, you think that's all? Not so fast! There are even free prizes! If you promote this promotion, email Nemeses a link so he can see it (for his email, go into my profile, click that link, and from there, go to the Contact page) and you will get an ebook copy of Dreamscape as well as How To Succeed At Absolutely Anything And Get Better At It Each Time! How cool is that? You can literally just copy and paste this into your website, your blog, your own fanfics, your YouTube channel, send an email, and get some free books out of it!

The link to that donation page is in my profile, so check it out! The clock is ticking!