MITRA

It's been over a full week since Slappy conquered Hollowville. But it feels like a year. I'm starting to forget how things used to be. My whole world's been turned upside down. It's SUPER crazy! It's like the Eternal Night all over again.

Well, it's not ALL bad. I'm getting to know Weather better. And Dylan's brought me up to speed about over a HUNDRED monsters. And a previous timeline?! Holy crap baskets…

Along with aliens, demons, Lovecraftian gods, superheroes, cryptids, and a whole bunch of insane monsters and supernatural beings? Dragons, unicorns, and KAIJUS?! I think my mind was blown over and over and over again…

Still, we're greatly outnumbered. Stealth is our only option in a scenario like this. Meanwhile, we've been trying to grow our numbers. Slappy's capturing more people to brainwash and mind-control into his slaves and servants. Since there's no way we can reverse it right now, we need to get them back BEFORE they're taken back to City Hall.

Right now, the Haunted Car is taking a few more there. I'm with Kyra, Amanda, and Weather on this shift. Dylan's handling the main portion of this rescue. We're just the diversion.

There's a bunch of zombies, too. It'll be just like Travelers of the Frost. Well…only a bit more extreme.

The car brakes when it notices a massive blockade ahead. Too tall to leap over, and too sturdy to break right through. So it backs up and tries going another way. Only to find that THAT route is blocked as well.

It tries a third way, but just like the others, there's a magical barrier. There's a loud honk of frustration, and the car begins going back the way it came. And that's when it sees that even THAT way is blocked!

Bingo. It's trapped like a rat in a cage.

Dylan leaps down, clad in his Monster Armor. The car, and a few zombies, notice him, but a few of our drones manage to gun down the undead. The car only drives full speed at Dylan, but he catches it with a single hand! The tires screech and scream, but the Monster Hunter doesn't budge. He only takes a few steps forward, pushing the car back. I'm yet again amazed at how awesome he is…

When the car is pushed effortlessly into a barrier, it suddenly shuts down. Because…magic, I guess. We manage to easily kill all the remaining zombies, and Dylan "unlocks" the car by opening the locked door, probably breaking said lock.

"Hurry, before the ghost reawakens!"

I see two people clammer out. Two kids, a boy and a girl. Around the age of 12, I'd have to say. That's our cue. We rush off back to base before any more monsters can arrive and track us down.

"Thanks again for saving us." The kid says once we're back in safe territory. "I was thinking I'd NEVER see that dummy again."

"No wonder there was a heavy escort. You must've been important." Dylan states. "How does Slappy know you?"

"Well…my name is Barton Suggs." The boy answers. "The girl with me is my friend, Lizzie Hellman. I'm a good student and all, but I'm the main target of bullies. Eventually, I found Slappy and brought him to life to help me deal with the bullies. I didn't think he was scary or anything. I honestly thought he was my friend."

"Yeah. Two New Yorkers called Sonny Quinn and Sam Carter thought much the same. As did Shawn Klaven. I'm guessing you got duped just like they had."

"In a way. Slappy never met someone who wasn't scared of him before. But he wanted to be my ONLY friend. He was gonna hurt Lizzie. I didn't have a choice. I said the words that brought him to life again, and he fell asleep."

"That's karma. Betrayal will hurt, sure, but that dummy deserved it. You wouldn't happen to know anything about a…SECOND incantation that will get rid of him for good, right?"

"Uh…no. But I did hear Mr. Grimm's dog Kraken actually SPEAK to me, asking to be my friend."

"Must've gotten in contact with some more magic. At least you've got some more confidence. And we're gonna need a LOT of that to save this town."

Well, I should let them be. I head off, and eventually meet up with Weather again. I feel my face get a bit warmer just by looking at her…

"So, uhh…this is all…super insane, right?"

"Very." She answers with a chuckle. "I mean, the phone was absurd as it was, but this? Blown outta the water. And here I thought my life couldn't POSSIBLY get any weirder."

"Yeah…" I sigh, trying to find the right words. "Okay…everything is so crazy right now, and I have no idea what my future holds, but…it would be SO cool if you were in it. So…uh…"

It's almost too much. I'm not sure if I could handle something like THAT again. I feel myself blushing immensely. Welp…it's now or never. I end up taking a deep breath and…

"Do you wanna go out with me?!"

…did we just…jinx it?!

The silence hangs there for a few minutes before one of us awkwardly responds.

"Uh…yes…?"

A kiss right now would make me die from embarrassment. All we can do right now is hold hands. But even THAT makes me feel like my heart will explode.

"Why is this still so scary?" I ask.

"I dunno…"

Well…yeah…I guess it IS kinda good. Like Dylan said, it's okay to be scared. It keeps you alive and all that. Maybe when this is all over, we can…go out…

And I've never been so scared in my life. This makes Slappy seem like a harmless toy, and the lesser of two evils.

Is that a good thing…or a bad thing?

SLAPPY

"What do you MEAN they got in your way and made off with the kids?! One more screw-up like that, Becky, and you're headed for the scrapheap!"

"It won't happen again Master, I promise. I'll drive FASTER. That way, they'll WISH they were dead."

"Yeah, you better."

The ghost floats back into her car vessel parked just outside. I must REALLY be losing it at this rate. I can't tell which of my friends are copies or the real deal. Well, at least I've got the slaves. Besides, Curly's the only REAL friend I could ever have. He's pretty scary himself, in his own way.

Oh, what's this? The Mutant and the Maniac have returned already?

"Well? Let's HEAR it."

"As if they didn't have ENOUGH heroes to begin with," The Masked Mutant states. "Now the Midnight Society has ANOTHER superhero! One of the classics: The Night Howler!"

"And he managed to beat ALL of us!" Dr. Maniac roars. "ARRRGH! Now I know how the Purple Rage feels! That dead guy REALLY boils my BLOOD!"

"Blood, eh?" I chuckle before breaking out into a laugh. "Thanks for the Plan B idea, Doc. Ready the Bio-Cannon with Veruca! Make sure you don't miss…"