"HERE I AM KRIS!"
Spanton's voice echoed through the empty halls of the basement and all Kris could do was stare at whatever the hell he had turned into. Towering above him, held up by strings and obnoxiously colourful. And just a hell of a lot creepier than he could have ever thought that puppet would have ever been.
"BIG"
"BIG"
"[BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER]"
It was the same voice as when Kris first met Spamton in that alley, an completely out of place voice that sounded like a mix between the average game show host and tv salesman. It was a lot creepier like this compared to how silly it had been at first.
"HA HA HA THIS POWER IS..."
"FREEDOM. I WON'T HAVE TO BE JUST A PUPPET"
"ANYMORE!"
Despite the original silliness of it all, it had been clear from the start that Spamton was a lot more than just a scam email program. He was a lot more similar to them than they were comfortable with, especially since Spamton seemed to have been aware for a lot longer than they ever had.
He wasn't sure if he was more scared of what Spamton was going to do or that they might become like Spamton.
"Or so I thought... WHY AM I NOT [BIG] ENOUGH"
"IT'S STILL DARK. SO DARK"
Spamton was shaking now, trying to shake off those strings that held him up. Kris couldn't tell if someone was controlling those strings or if the universe itself put them there to make Spamton know his place.
"KRIS"
He stepped closer, pushing Kris back.
"KIRS"
"KRIS"
"KRIS"
They were cornered against the wall now, staring up at that never-ending grin of his.
"THAT'S RIGHT YOU, I NEED YOU TO BE BIG WITH ME"
"VERY VERY BIG"
"SO BIG THAT WE'LL STAND UP TALL AND SEE PAST THE DARK"
"STAND UP WITH OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUDS AND LOOK INTO"
"HEAVEN"
Kris tried to back up but there was nowhere to go. He could see Spamton start to raise an arm, one that had a canon instead of a hand. It was easy to tell where this was going.
"I JUST NEED THAT LITTLE"
"[SOUL]"
"YOU HAVE"
Spamton laughed hysterically as he pointed it at Kris. Kris said nothing, they didn't scream for help and they didn't raise their weapon. It was too late for anyone to come even if he screamed, and he didn't even really care anymore. He was almost never in control of his actions, no one truly was but he had it the worst. Controlled by his own soul, unable to be rid of it no matter what he did when he was in control.
Why not just let Spamton have it, he may die as a result but at least there would be one person that got to make choices. He wasn't even sure if he could count his friends as friends since he sure hadn't been the one to make them his friends.
Yet he called out for them, they may not have really been his friends but they were the closest thing he had. And even with how little he cared for his soul death was a thing that was hard to look directly at.
But nobody came.
He gasped as he felt his heart be pierced by whatever Spamton shot him with, his sight going foggy as the last thing he saw was a fucking spam email program as he fell limp to the ground.
...
...
...
Big...
so very big.
yet the power of neo hadn't been enough, hadn't been big enough. But now with a soul, no not just a soul a human soul inside him he was finally going to be free from the darkness. Free from the strings and free to make his own choices.
At first, he had felt nothing as the soul settled and then its power surged through him. It wasn't something he could ever describe, something no darkener could ever describe. Something none of them were ever supposed to feel.
The darkness struggled to keep blinding him, to keep holding him slaved as the bright light of freedom finally came to him. he had proved those who said it could never be done wrong. That stupid clown who would rather stay isolated from everyone than do anything to see past the dark, and that strange man on the phone who had abandoned him all those years ago.
And Mike.
Mike. Such a good friend ones but now he was going to see the mistake he had made abandoning him, they could have been big together there were other lightners here, monster ones with weaker souls but still souls. Maybe enough to see past the dark, enough to become big. But now it was time to give his old friend an witness, show him just how big he had gotten and show him what happens to lying scum who abandon their friends.
But as he turned to leave he noticed something was wrong.
Very
very
wrong.
The strings
THE GOD DAMM STRINGS
They were still there, weaker not strong enough to truly control him but enough to influence him. Even with a full human soul, the dark lingered and he was still a puppet. Why wasn't he big enough, why can't he see heaven? Why wasn't all this power enough?
He needed more, he needed to be free. Best to pause on visiting Mike, there were more souls still in the darkworld and he wasn't going to accept anything but true freedom.
He was going to become a big shot, no matter the cost. No matter what he had to do, it was a real shame that he had needed to kill Kris. They had been an excellent business partner and he felt a bit bad about killing them.
But he needed freedom, and Kris's soul still lived, maybe they were even still conscious or maybe Kris hadn't been the soul at all, the soul was resisting him after all something Kris didn't seem all too interested in. But that hardly mattered, the power of neo would keep it under control. The soul was trying to influence him but he was too strong now, it had lost and now he was going to become free.