AN:
I woke up one morning in my dorm to the song of birds… well, actually, it was the cackling and cawing of crows but the sentiment is still the same.
Some were asking about BRVR's pronunciation. I've been pronouncing it "Ber-Ver", though I believe it's supposed to be like a child with poor speech saying "bruver" instead of "Brother". The original pasta cited that as the source of the name.
I own nothing.
I hope you enjoy! Please review!
-Crow
P.S. Creativity, not Reality
Jeff and Harry appeared suddenly in the "Slender-port" terminal they came from. The older boy walked off the dais unperturbed. It had been a successful mission, he beat the crap out of some bastards who don't understand beauty, and Harry seemed to have a great time!
Speaking of…
He turned around and saw his foster little brother hadn't moved an inch. The little guy was shaking like a leaf and hadn't spoken yet. He cautiously waved his hand in front of the younger boy's face.
*blink*
"Good enough," Jeff decided, "Harry, you should probably change and get washed up, blood starts to itch after a while." That got through and Harry looked down to see he had a few flecks of blood on his shirt and hands. When he hit Black Jack repeatedly, he'd managed to break the skin enough to get some on him. Harry nodded mutely and slowly followed the teen through the woods.
The Mansion appeared through the perpetual fog and Harry was still shambling along. Jeff thought it resembled this one time Toby was having an episode and he sleepwalked the entire house, mumbling about having to do some homework for school tomorrow. As a joke, he and BEN sat the unconscious kid at the table and gave him a pen and a piece of paper.
Toby drew a car with two figures in the front seats.
Then he went to bed. Harry seemed like that now; there, but not "there".
Harry stumbled up the steps of the stairs and eventually reached the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and was suddenly very self-conscious of the tiny red flecks and the dusty, smoggy smell of the city clinging to the fabric.
He took a long shower. A warmer one, too, but everyone was still gone and even then, there were two or three more bathrooms to the Mansion.
He stared at his hands for most of it.
The water was clear all throughout the shower but Harry was sure that the water down the drain was an unending stream of rusty-
Red.
The day was a blur afterwards.
To Harry, it seemed like a dream… no, more like night paralysis, but the other way around.
He watched as his body moved, but he couldn't control it. Even then, he didn't have much to think or say. It was like every thought was blanked out from his mind and he just sat behind his eyes, watching his body interact loosely with the world around it.
He stepped out of the shower and sat aimlessly in a chair in the parlor. He was sure BRVR must have come by at least once. Eventually, he remembered dinner being served, but either no one was talking or he wasn't listening.
He was willing to bet the latter, because he remembered L.J.'s shrill laugh piercing his mind before he sank below the surface once more.
He remembered Slendy "looking" at him, but he was absolutely positive he didn't ask anything.
The rest was largely blank.
The next moment he was aware of anything, he was in the TV room. It was shortly after dinner from the clock on the VCR. Most of the tenants and guests were crowded around the couch and the smell of popcorn emanated from a large bowl filled with the white, puffy treat in the center of the coffee table. He found a smaller bowl cradled in his lap and filled with the snack as well, but the undisturbed mound indicated he didn't eat it, though from the state of the original bowl and everyone's personal bowls, it looked like the movie had been going on for a while now.
He tried to piece together everything. He couldn't exactly remember what had happened. Why-?
*REV-VV-V-V-V-V-V-V-V!*
He turned towards the telly for the first time since becoming aware of his location. Taking up the entire screen was an image of a woman screaming as she was eviscerated by a madman in a mask with a chainsaw.
His mind slowly dulled over, but before he was completely numbed, he realized that his legs were running on their own up to his room.
Slenderman was concerned.
Jeff and Harry came back from the kill in New York City a bit later than scheduled, but Jeff explained that they had to take a detour to get to another Symbol.
He had expected Harry to be somewhat quiet after the murder, possibly even shaken, but when the boy came out of his shower, he had a harrowed expression and his eyes were still a vibrant green, but without the gleam of presence behind them.
That was the first sign of worry, the second being that he simply sat in the parlor, staring at the same dull pattern on the carpet for a full hour. His pet, BRVR, sidled up to him a few times, but Harry didn't acknowledge the chirruping sound of the being speaking its name nor the purrs it would make as it nuzzled against him.
Slenderman, the master of stealth and silence, would routinely check up on him over the next hour or so until Timothy called in dinner. He stayed in the shadows and noted as Harry mechanically got up and walked to his spot at the table. Slendy stayed outside notice for another ten minutes, observing Harry interact (or rather, not) with his foster family. He poked at his food and would occasionally eat a carrot slice at Sally's insistence.
When Slender sat at the table, he would discretely watch the ward (which was significantly easier when not having eyes giving it away). He noted Harry was still withdrawn into himself the entire time despite Sally and Toby occasionally talking to him. Even when it was a simple question, he would answer with a shrug or noncommittal noise barely above a choked whisper.
At one point, the Rake told a joke to Laughing Jack and the entity cackled loudly, seeming to startle Harry. It was actually the first sign of awareness in the boy since returning. Though, it didn't last as Harry slowly returned inside himself.
Afterwards, he announced a movie night that night to celebrate Harry's birthday. Partially because it truly was as a fun activity, but also to gauge Harry's reaction as well. The young wizard moved robotically to the TV room with the others.
He offered up a choice of movie, but the answer was a shrug of indifference. He smoothly put it up to a vote and a good Slasher film won in a landslide against Sally's "Pretty Ponies" video (a fact he was, personally, rather pleased with at the time).
The film progressed normally, though Harry was hardly paying attention to the show at all. It got to the part where the slasher has his first kill that things became more interesting.
The masked murderer ran up to a typical, promiscuous girl in her late teens (portrayed by a woman in her mid-to-late 20s) and then promptly gutted her messily by a chainsaw.
He felt a sudden shock of magical energy pass by and turned to see the small form of Harry dash away through the dimly lit room and up the stairs. The other tenants were fine, although BEN was mildly shaken by the brief exposure, and stared after his sudden outburst.
He sent a small IR wavelength to the VCR and paused the movie. Eyeless Jack turned up the lights and I found my wards looking at me expectantly. He turned towards Jeff specifically, "Jeffery, is there anything that you neglected to mention earlier," a hint of steel brushed into his mental voice.
Jeff shook his head adamantly. "No. I mean, he seemed to have a pretty good time earlier today. We just walked around and did some normal tourist stuff for the city. After the job, he was pretty shaken, but he was still talking to me. The only problem started after we hit that gang and-"
"Wait, 'gang'? You failed to mention this in your earlier report, Jeffery."
His lidless eyes darted evasively. "Right, well, we were on our way to the closest symbol in a pretty rough neighborhood. We get to this run-down parking garage and I had to use the symbol to clear off the graffiti layer, so we had to wait for it to cool off. Then, next thing I know, I'm being attacked by this gang calling me a 'Diamond' or something.
"I didn't kill anyone, but-" He paused, "Well, this one guy got the jump on me. He wound up pointing a gun to my head until Harry started whaling on him with a pipe. The guy fell off the edge and died. I mean, we didn't check, but he had iron rebar through his brain, so it's a safe bet. Anyway, after that we took the Symbol home."
The entity reviewed the story over twice more in his head, "Wait, so you came across this group of delinquents?"
"Right."
"You fought off how many?"
"I think it was four that actually fought. One was useless and the other two were off on the sidelines with Harry. They weren't a problem."
"And only one boy was killed-"
"Man, actually, he had to be in his early 20s."
"And he was killed by Harry."
"That's ri-" Jeff paused, his bleached white skin paling further, the words beginning to process.
Slenderman continued, visibly agitated at this point "So, Harry became involved in a fight- an unwarranted fight nonetheless- had a hand in first-degree murder, hasn't spoken since, and it never crossed your mind TO TELL SOMEONE?!" He roared.
Jeff shrunk down silent, staring back at the thoroughly enraged entity. Said being didn't wait for a reply, he'd already teleported up the stairs and hurried along to the youngest ward's room.
He opened the door and felt a cool, summer breeze flow out. Harry was not in the room, but the open window was a good indication of where he went. Standing by the glass, he was just in time to see a figure dart into the tree line ahead.
Harry sat cross-legged in his usual spot; a large, smoothed stone in the rough center of a normal clearing. Actually, it was a semi-natural clearing. Originally there had been some sparse tree life in the area, but he'd used this spot for practice with his abilities before he was capable of practicing indoors. The mysterious "winds" he'd formed had created whirlpools with him at the epicenter and ripped that vegetation out and only served to clear out more of the space.
Right now, the surviving vegetation was being put to the test.
The winds were approaching almost tornado levels of force. The taller oaks were groaning at the base, a few of the smaller ones were already toppling over like matchsticks. The scraggly vegetation and brush was ripped from the ground and floated around like tumbleweeds. Some of the stones buried in the earth were embedded in trees at the velocity of a bullet.
He found out that when he was upset, his "gift" tended to hurt others. L.J. accidentally let it slip that the first time he came home, distressed from seeing his first murder, he hurt BEN and Smile while also causing he light fixture bursts around the Mansion. The property damage wasn't to distressing, he found out that a lot worse happened routinely around the Mansion even before he arrived, but the fact that he hurt his foster family was reason enough to work on it as far away from others as possible.
'Breathe in, breathe out, concentrate on the swirling energy looping through my body. I'm on… a cloud. Sure, a cloud works well… or… I'm watering the hydrangea bush at Privet Drive. That was actually rather relaxing, or-'
The red hydrangea petals began dripping onto the ground, pooling in the dirt.
The rivulets of red streamed through the soil, soaking the grass, turning the immaculate green lawn a dry, dead brown. He looked up and saw the blue sky turned crimson and the clouds and sun were completely gone, leaving everything with a consistent red glow.
A white flake fell onto the dirt in front of him and he looked up to see more drifting down from the sky. One landed on his arm. He brushed it and caused a black streak across his skin.
Ash.
He turned around and found #4 Privet Drive engulfed in flames, but the three Dursleys were standing in front of it, not even worrying about their burning property, instead smirking at him, thoroughly amused like a sadist and a kicked puppy.
Petunia spoke, "Well, boy, how's your precious new life now?" She sneered. "Not enough that you're a complete freak even among more freaks, but a freak who hurts everyone around him and now what? Not just a freak." She leaned in, her grin broadening, relishing every phonetic of the word.
"A Murderer."
The three laughed riotously as they suddenly caught fire and curled into ash residue drifting upwards like paper. The fences of #4 and the house itself followed suit and he found himself in an empty expanse of dead grass under a sea of red sky.
"Go to Sleeeeeep."
Harry whirled around at the raspy whisper. Jeff was stumbling towards him, permanent grin wide and bloody, clutching his side as blood drizzled between his fingers.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Turning ninety degrees, he faced BEN. His eyes were oozing messy black fluid along with blood. His body twitching and spasming like a lagged video feed. The entire right side of his face was distorted and his right eye was destroyed to pixilated blocks of white.
"Please play with me."
Sally came up from behind him. Her eyes glowing green. Her nightgown splashed with blood, but it didn't just come from her head this time.
"Harry."
The eight year old turned once more. Slenderman stood solemnly. Jeff, Sally, BEN, and others randomly appearing started encircling him, each sporting a new injury or defect.
"I'm sorry Harry." The entity said.
Harry looked down at his hands. They were dripping with blood like red gloves.
"You did this."
"You did this."
"You did this."
"You did this."
The words repeated around the circle of people, each advancing slowly towards him, reaching out to try to grab him.
"I'm sorry it has to come to this." Slenderman spoke through the murmurs. He drew himself until he was a spindly figure almost 12 feet tall, but hunched and contorted in odd angles. His tentacles served like insect legs on the main abdomen. His blank, white face split into two eyes, both tar black with a red Operator Symbol burning inside, while he opened his jaw and revealed an inky black mouth completely devoid of gums or teeth, but dripping with black saliva.
Harry's world was engulfed in darkness as each being suddenly converged around him.
BEN wailed in agony, clutching his head.
Jeff vomited red.
Black Jack fell to his death.
Spread on the ground, pipes running through him, his head suddenly jerked up, ignoring the pipe through it. His glazed eyes stared at him in accusation.
His mouth opened.
"Murderer."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"
Harry suddenly found himself standing up, panting for breath. His throat was raw and sore from screaming.
Above him, the moon shone down, but otherwise the entire forest was dark and silent. Well, actually it was almost silent.
The trees around him that survived structurally were glowing with dim, red embers, making small sizzling and cracking sounds. All animal and insect life had long-since fled, self-preservation instincts kicking in to not bother the kid causing a maelstrom.
His heart started slowing down, breathing in the cold summer night air.
"Harry."
The young boy turned to see his guardian standing at the edge of the clearing, his white face and undershirt standing out starkly against the black forest around him.
Harry eyed him warily. No grim solemnity. No black tar from an unnatural mouth. No spindly, wiry form. Just the usual 7 or 8 foot Slenderman with a face as blank as paper and an air of normal solemnity.
"Hello, Mr. Slenderman." He replied softly. He sat back down and curled his knees up to his chest.
The being soundlessly approached him. Surprising Harry, he (awkwardly, given his limb proportions) crouched down on an empty space at the now-very-scorched rock.
Ironically, around them, the shorter, slimmer trees that survived had their tops lit like giant birthday candles. They slowly died down and were eventually just emitting a steady, gray wisp of smoke.
They sat in silence for a while, listening to the crackling and sizzling of trees. For a moment, the groaning of a larger tree finally collapsing under its weakened weight caught both their attention and they watched it fall with a resounding crash. After it stopped echoing in the darkness, the deafening silence returned.
"I understand that you had a hand in the… unfortunate accident of someone today." Slendy began.
Harry nodded, bowing his head in the space between his legs and chest to hide his tearful eyes. The silence returned, more suffocating than before.
"I killed him." Harry whispered. Slenderman was silent. "I killed someone. I am the reason he died."
"True." Slender replied, "But why did you do it, exactly?"
"I didn't want to!" Harry protested angrily, "I just wanted to… to… hurt him and get him off of Jeff. He would've killed him otherwise. I couldn't just let it happen."
"You did what you thought was right, Harry. That is what matters. Because of your actions, good or bad, Jeff is still with us. That alone justifies your actions."
"But I still killed someone. I'm a bad person." Harry rationalized, defeatedly.
"Not necessarily. That man you killed was encouraging violence, harm, and pain all because of what?"
"Jeff was wearing a white hoodie."
"So, he was willing to hurt someone based upon fashion choices. Harry, that is the rationale that encourages Chaos. You helped remove his influence on the Balance of the world-"
"I don't care!" Harry shouted. "I don't care about the bloody Balance, the Gray, the White, the Dark! I killed him! I killed him!"
A ring of fire erupted about a meter's radius around the stone, circling around and starting to grow outwards, threatening to engulf the tree trunks once more.
"I killed him! I killed him. I killed him… I killed him… I…I ki-… I…"
The fire died down along with his passionate speech. Slendy could tell he was losing steam pretty fast, so he put a hand on the boy's shoulder to steady him. The eight year old slumped against it like a ragdoll and buried his face into the black suit fabric. A few seconds later, Slendy felt the boy's shoulders jerking uncontrollably.
They sat in silence, save for the sobs of Harry, the smoke from conjured fire stuck around, but was dissipating quickly.
"Why?"
He turned to look down as Harry continued, "Why would you keep a… a freak like me…"
"You're not a-"
"Yes I am! Even to all of you, I'm… abnormal. Wrong. Dangerous! You should've just left me!" The boy choked out.
The smell of smoke and the distraught young killer brought back a faint memory in the entity.
"You know, Toby was in a similar situation." Slenderman began. Harry's sobs quieted as he listened. "His tick disorder and lack of tactile sensations branded him as a 'freak' by his peers. They called him 'Ticci Toby' as a result and he grew up isolated and friendless. By human society standards, he was 'abnormal', 'wrong', and after the incident, he certainly became 'dangerous'.
"When I first encountered him, it was shortly after a car accident that resulted in his sister's death. Of course, that would result in some psychological trauma, but this was… different. I'm not sure why, but I found myself coming back over and over to his house, each time he was slipping further and further into Chaos at an abnormal rate. He saw me a few times, but I wasn't the direct cause of this phenomenon. I never did figure it out, but in my defense his state deteriorated rather quickly.
"Then, one night I arrived to see him in the kitchen, holding a dripping knife, with his mother terrified on one end of the room and his father dead in his chair.
"Naturally, he'd never held any compassion for his abusive father. In fact, I'd say he loathed the man completely, but he never thought of killing him. I'm sure he'd contemplated it, but given his background, before he was influenced by his Rage and deteriorating mental health, he would have never killed him outright.
"He seemed to panic and ran off with his facemask, gloves, goggles, two hatchets, and a small tank of gasoline. He managed to elude the police as far as a nearby forest preserve. There, he used the gasoline to set the entire pine forest ablaze. The entire time, he just stood there, slowly dying from smoke inhalation.
"I eventually found him and teleported us to a forest a few miles away; one that was not on fire, of course. Afterwards, he gradually became more aware of his surroundings and myself. He laughed at first, claiming this was all a dream, but the smoke clung to him.
"He continued denying he'd done it at first, though I believe that burning the forest may have been a method of escape in the first place. Burning away the evidence so it never happened, so to speak. He blamed me, of course, and he blamed some separate personality to him. And then, eventually, he moved on.
"Now, normally, I believe a human grieving would begin the "bargaining" phase. Bargain with your God, with me, with himself. Give up something in order to reverse the situation. I think he may have considered it for a nanosecond, but I believe he found the "anger" phase to be more meaningful.
"He spent three hours shouting at me, at phantoms of his dead sister and father, even a rather confusing conversation between himself and that separate personality, both of whom replied to the other using Toby's mouth. He'd dropped the knife he used long before he set the fire, but still had those hatchets of his. He worked off his anger by throwing them at every tree he could find. He even threw a few at me.
"However, despite his remarkable stamina for rage and adrenaline-induced activity, he wore himself into a complete depressive stage. I took him to the Mansion and he needed an IV Drip after days of not eating, drinking, or moving. I hesitate to say he was comatose, because his eyes were open the entire time. Eventually he developed his… quirky behavior and became much more active. I'm not sure he truly healed from it, but Doctor Halloway wasn't able to help in that regards."
"S-so my only hope i-is to go 'round the b-bend? Go bonkers? Mad?" Harry sobbed incredulously.
"No. I want you to know that you are not alone in this situation nor your response." Harry frowned, unable to retort. He wiped his nose with his sleeve, but Slender purposefully ignored it. "There are many here who qualify as 'freaks' by the ignorance and fear of humans. They are welcome here. And at the very least you try to contain your abilities from harming others. The Creator knows Jeffery would just chuck a knife if you attempted so much as to change the channel on the television. We are all 'abnormal' here, and likewise we are all 'dangerous' here."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I-I suppose I am one of the least threatening." He admitted.
"I seem to recall that one series you received from Toshio… that 'Naruto' comic book-"
"Manga" Harry corrected automatically.
"That 'manga', then, features multiple people brutally killing each other with kunai and other rather unsavory methods." He paused, seeing Harry's astonishment. "Despite what my brothers believe, I am somewhat 'in' with the times." Harry bit back a tiny laugh at the image of Slendy reading a manga or watching a cartoon in his spare time. He seemed to notice and explained, "I skimmed the online summaries after you received them."
"That's cheating." Harry admonished half-heartedly.
"Anyway, men and women, old and young, are already killing others. They kill those who threaten their homes and comrades. Who is to say whether this 'Leaf Village' is "good" or "bad" relative to the others' home village. They still kill each other to maintain power balances. To complete missions. To maintain relative peace."
"So, we're like ninjas?" Harry said quietly.
"I suppose so. We kill as directed. We kill as necessary. We kill for the Balance." He stood up from his position and dusted his suit. "Now, I know you have a lot on your mind right now. So I'll head ba-"
"The pipe-."
Slenderman tilted his head in confusion at the interruption. Harry continued. "Just one last question. The pipe I used. I threw it at Black Jack's head and then I willed it back to my hand using my Ability. Jeff curved a knife around someone. Does he have my Ability too?"
The entity "frowned" in thought. He'd never considered it. "Truthfully, I don't know. I know that Jeff is able to control his knives' trajectory even to impossible directions. I know Masky and Hoodie can curve a bullet if need be. Toby can control his axes. He somehow gets them to impact with the target each time even though a hatchet or tomahawk is more proper. I cannot say for certain yet, but I suppose it's possible." Again, he'd never considered the possibility. He was aware of the unusual abilities some proxy's and wards displayed, but they were never as strong as the young wizard's.
Harry stared at the dimming embers of an oak tree's trunk a while longer before standing up as well. Wordlessly, he followed the figure out of the smoldering clearing and towards the bright lights of the Mansion.
"Mr. Slenderman?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Am I a bad person?"
Slender had a sudden inspirational thought, "We've all got both Light and Dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to action. That's who we really are."
He turned to the boy. "While the action was dark, it was done with selfless intent. You must come to terms with the fact that not everything is as white or black as it seems, but in multiple shades of gray. The Yin and Yang are white and black, but within each is a small bit of the other color. Together, they both make a whole, but individually both have a bit of the other in them."
Harry nodded quietly and the house lights came into view up ahead. The eight-year-old spoke, "You know, Slendy, what you said before was really deep. Where did you come up with it?"
"You know, I'm not entirely sure, but I felt compelled that it be said."
=Meanwhile, in an unplottable prison=
Sirius Black suddenly sat up in his cell, ignoring the chill of the dementors floating around. His ego was absolutely devastated over the intense feeling that someone, somewhere, somehow had stolen his line.
Harry silently walked upstairs, thinking over the conversation he'd just had. Slenderman's points were good, but it didn't make him feel any better.
Back when he lived with the Dursleys, they would sometimes take him to a large, stone cathedral close by. Vernon knew the pastor and had, twice, attempted to have some kind of "exercise" performed on him. The pastor would always say that he was "not qualified" and Vernon needed someone else to go to, but clearly was unsettled by things Vernon told him.
Harry was sure the man would glare at him whenever he entered and the sermons on days he attended had tended to be along the lines of "Hellspawn", "Devil Worshippers", "the Anti-Christ", and mostly read from a small section towards the end of the Bible called "Revelations". He especially stared at him when he read about something called "the Lake of Fire".
It was all very unnerving, but it did leave the imprint. Sin was bad. People who commit sins go to the Bad Place of fire and pain. Then evil men, women, and children (the pastor would glare at him again) would be sentenced to the Lake of Fire when the world was ending.
Murder counted as one of the main, unforgivable sins.
When he heard his new family murdered on a regular basis, it seemed more distant and, admittedly, noble or cool. Killing an evil cult. Shooting the bad guy. Taking down the monster. It was rather exciting, like in James Bond movies.
Harry had just killed someone at random.
He had murdered.
He had sinned.
He was going to the Lake like the pastor said.
A small wave of nausea gripped his stomach and he felt the meager dinner he'd managed to eat at Sally's prompting threaten to burn his esophagus.
He slowly settled on his bed, when he felt something fall onto his hand. He raised an eyebrow at a small, lumpy but brightly wrapped package on his hand. Blinking, he noticed for the first time that there was actually a small pile of presents next to him, neatly stacked. The stack was disturbed when he sat down and created the indent on the bed.
He smiled and wiped away some tears at his new family's gesture. The one that fell on him was heavy and already tore through part of the paper. Raising an eyebrow at the gleam of metal that shone through, he peeled back the paper.
On the paper was an old hatchet with a wooden base and a leather safeguard for the edge. The blade itself was still razor sharp and the handle was a bit worn with age and use. He felt something in the wood itself and tilted his head to read the word ROGERS engraved in it. Holding it in his hand, he smelled a faint whiff of smoke.
Attached was a card.
Hey Harry,
Here's an old hatchet I had. I heard what happened, so I figured you might want to throw it at some stuff! Worked for me!
-Toby
Harry stared down at the hatchet in his hands, a small smile tugging at his lips. For the spazzy teenager, it was actually pretty thoughtful.
He only had those two hatchets of his.
Harry's eyes widened as Slenderman's earlier comment echoed back. This wasn't just a hatchet from the store. This was the hatchet Toby had when he'd first come to the Mansion. The hatchet he had when he was in the exact same situation as Harry. It even still smelled like the fire.
The weapon in his hands suddenly felt a lot more meaningful.
He placed it at his side carefully and pulled out another. This one was from Jeff. Opening it, he found an intricate knife and holster. Probably from one of the fancier, more expensive stores out in New Mexico or Arizona. Attached was a note.
Happy Birthday, Harry. Also, Slendy, I know you're gonna say it. This is NOT a keychain.
-Jeff
He gave a choked chuckle remembering earlier that morning. Jeff's gift was actually really great.
He opened a few more. Scalpels from E.J., "Toys" from L.J., a coloring book from Sally.
They were all gifts from his family. The same family comprised of 'freaks' and 'abnormalities'. The same family that welcomed him into their lives. The same family that had killed as he had. The same family that supported him.
And he'd support them back.
"Pika-chu!"
He looked down to see BRVR grinning up at him, a dead sparrow clutched in his mouth. He hopped on the bed and set the tiny corpse in Harry's lap. Harry couldn't help but smile and run his hand affectionately down BRVR's back as the cat-like electric mouse nuzzled against his side.
His door opened and E.J. stuck his head through. "Hey, Harry. Feeling better?" He nodded. "That's good. I see you got my present. I just had to tell you, we got an emergency call from the Council. We're all being deployed, so you may be alone for a while. Just so you know."
He popped back out before harry could reply.
The boy picked up the hatchet, catching a dulled reflection briefly in the metal. His entire family was so devoted to maintaining the Balance.
What better way to support them back?
He stood up abruptly with inspiration and rushed over to his closet.
BRVR jumped around behind him, dodging a pair of flying sneakers, shirts, pants, and one of Widemouth's throwing knives (how Harry got a hold of them again was beyond the living program). Finally, his new-brother Harry jumped up with a triumphant shout.
He quickly shed his current, mud-and-soot-covered clothes and put on a pair of black jeans and a dark gray shirt. He slipped on a pair of black, leather hiking boots and laced them quickly. Finally, he pulled out his dark gray hoodie and slid both arms in it.
He studied himself in his mirror, mouth twisting in thought, "It's missing something…" He murmured.
"Pika!"
The little pokemon hopped into the closet and came back holding a small parcel. Harry removed it and tore off the brown packaging. Inside was the black facemask he'd gotten from Jeff for his first real Christmas.
He slipped the mask on and looked back at the reflection, flipping up his hood. He focused on his eyes and watched as the lenses glowed the same emerald green distinctly underneath the shade of the hood.
"Perfect." His voice was slightly distorted by the mask.
BRVR hopped around excitedly as Harry ran around the room collecting a few final bits and pieces. He put on a pair of black, gloves.
Opening the drawer of his desk, he pocketed a silvery pair of scissors. He stuck Jeff's knife in a holster to his side and Toby's hatchet guard looped around his belt. Picking up a black backpack, the birthday boy rushed down the stairs and picked out a metallic baseball bat from the toybox and a large cleaver from the kitchen before heading through the back tool shed and raiding a pair of sharpened hedgeclippers.
He ran back around to the front porch of the Mansion. The baseball bat stuck out of the top of his backpack and the loose weaponry bounced around in the pouch or at his side.
Reorienting himself, he hurried down the path that Jeff took him to earlier that day. Behind the mask, his face was a massive grin.
"So, you finally figured it out, huh?"
"Dark in Light. Light in Dark. There's balance for you."
"I'm so proud of you!"
"Maybe we'll have cake afterwards!"
"Not now! Important character expositional stuff going on here!"
"Oh, sod the 'exposition', there's always time for cake!"
"And ice cream?"
"Will you lot just focus!"
Harry mentally told them all to 'shut up' as they began arguing amongst themselves. He was too happy to be bothered right now!
Mulch crunched under his foot as he dodged and ducked under fallen trees or hidden stones. He made a few turns along the criss-crossing paths and he found a clearing of people and beings around a dais.
"Slendy!"
The entity turned around and visibly straightened in genuine surprise. "Harry! What are- Why are- What on Earth are you wearing?"
"My outfit!" He announced proudly. He spun in place to show them. For effect, he pushed more energy in his eyes, causing a brief, bright glow.
"Wow! Nice job, Lamp-Eyes." Jeff teased. He flinched at Slendy's sharp "glance" at him, still upset that he'd caused Harry distress in the first place.
"I thought about what you said," Harry began, addressing Slenderman. "I did what I did, but you all still accept me, weirdness and all. I wanted to thank you for your gifts," He gestured to the array at his belt and backpack, "and I want to help! I can help and I'm going to be the greatest help to the Balance ever!"
He straightened himself to his, admittedly tiny, full height, but projected a disproportionate amount of confidence. His foster family smiled back and Sally gestured to a spot between her and BEN. Harry ran over, making sure he was in the markings.
Slender activated the symbol and they started to travel. Although, inside, the faceless being was absolutely relieved. True, Harry did seem to shift rather suddenly (probably more than what's healthy), but overall he took it rather well. This psychological approach seemed much more stable and productive towards the Balance.
They arrived in the middle of a small town currently engulfed in flames. Around them, people were screaming and being mauled by genetic experiments gone horribly wrong.
Large, bipedal pigs wearing the scraggly remains of old armor were shambling around, bits of brain and decay showing through along with bullet holes from previous humans' attempts to deal with the problem.
"Sweet! Zombie Pigmen!" BEN shouted excitedly. Sky-blue pixels shimmered around him and coalesced into a pale blue armor suit and a crude, blocky sword. "I slay thee, foul beasts, and send thee back to the Nether! By the power of Herobrine!" He held his sword up passionately before recklessly jumping feet first into the hordes, hacking away at any that got within arm's length.
The rest began running, jumping, or (for Tim and Brian) teleporting around the hordes, already slashing, shooting, and cleaving the "Pigmen" left and right. All were relaying information to one another. Harry managed to hear something about a "portal" in there, but they moved too quickly.
Slender stayed with Harry for a bit. The younger boy turned to him. "Wait, zombies are real?!"
"The Council views events like these as threats to society and the Balance. So, yes, we do have to deal with the occasional pest infestation." A black tentacle shot out and impaled a pigman through the chest without the entity even turning.
Harry eagerly pulled out his baseball bat and the cleaver from his backpack. Slendy's pale hand stopped him. "Now, are you absolutely sure you'll be alright?"
"Of course, Slendy." Harry smiled innocently.
Slenderman gave a featureless smile.
"The voices in my head said so."
The entity watched his newest ward run towards the danger, blasting zombies with his powers and already making headway to the obsidian portal constructed just outside the city limits.
He groaned.
"Good enough."
AN: Harry's not schizophrenic… he's just got a little hairline fracture in his sanity. The "voices" will come and go whenever he's debating with himself over something or we need comic relief.
And now; Polls!
Please give any suggestions for weapons or a name for Harry's new persona. This will carry over the next 3-4 chapters as we take a break from the main crowd at the Mansion.
Weapons (thus far)
=hatchet
=Knives (standard kitchen/utility, throwing knife, impractically-oversized-anime knife, etc.)
=Syringe/Scalpels
=Razor (Sweney Todd style straight razor, box opener, more elaborate blade?)
=Portable buzzsaw or power tool
=Something "magical" or "magicked" (a makeshift staff, a magic chainsaw, a magic sword, a magical AK-47, etc.)
Possible names/code name/"street" name
=Dorcha (Dark [Irish])
=Scath (Shadow [Irish])
=Puca (Ghost [Irish])
=Glas (Green [Irish])
=Tenebris (Dark[Latin])
=Erik (Phantom of the Opera)
=Casper (after the friendly ghost)
=Cain/Kane (Biblical allusion, also the ghost in Poltergeist)
*Note: This will just be his "Pasta" name, he'll still be Harry Potter.
Personally, I'm considering "Scath" or just outright "Shadow" with hatchets and scalpels, but at this point, I don't really know, so I'm open to suggestions, criticisms, or votes.
AN: I know Harry's probably taking this way too well, but I'm pretty sure there hasn't been an (ethical) study on an average child's mental state and reaction to committing 1st degree murder… and I'm afraid of being put on a watch list for Googling that.
AN: I'm not saying Pastors are evil or hateful towards random children. My mom was Catholic before she married my dad and I've talked to a couple in my life. I'm just saying that Vernon Dursley was involved, so we can probably expect his story to favor his family in the best possible light and try to convince the Pastor that Harry was Satan incarnate or at the very least the Antichrist. Given his prominence in the neighborhood, the Pastor was probably very heavily influenced by him and wary of Harry. Especially if stories circulate about Harry's "odd parents in a cult" and "unnatural occurrences" around Harry.
Alert: I'm so sorry for mis-crediting, but Jeff the Killer and Eyeless Jack do not belong to SnuffBomb, he just did notable voices and stories for them, though he did create L.J. I apologize for the confusion.
Jeff: "Jeff the Killer" by unknown, but many credit it to Sesseur
E.J.: "Eyeless Jack" by azelf5000