CHAPTER FIVE
Fear Itself
There wasn't anything worse that could have been witnessed right now.
It was a horrifying amalgamation of parts. There were throbbing buboes akin to what would be seen on an unfortunate victim of the plague, having a sickly blackened color. Its flesh-coated body pulsated, slowly pushing veiny limbs out from its side. Chunks of dried skin and blood were peeled away as eyes and mouths began to open up.
Natalie was mortified, a mutual feeling that was shared amongst everyone else. The blackened buboes began to spread across its form, turning its whole skin into a sickly grey color.
"This wretched being, just what is it!?" Nick gagged. "Just how in the heck are we supposed to destroy it!?"
The way it moved and expanded almost resembled breathing. The amalgamate attempted to take a more mobile form by tearing off unneeded flesh, slowly giving itself arms and legs. "I said to not ask questions and destroy it!" Oculass shouted. "Hurry up and do so, it doesn't matter how you do it!"
Nick, in spite of his exhaustion, began regaining his usual, cocky demeanor. "Well, I've played enough Silent Hill to have a few ideas on how to handle this I think!" As he unsheathed Pyramid Head's Great Knife and lunged forward, stabbing the disgusting blob of flesh, Nick found that he couldn't pull the weapon away.
Michael, who had finally regained consciousness, turned himself into Ness and unleashed PK Rockin on the beast, which again, just merely absorbed the psychic attack rather than having it do any damage. Both Caela and Natalie attempted similar attacks, but to no avail.
"No, it can't be," Oculass murmured, "that creature can absorb NGP and add it to its own power? All of you stand back!" All four of the gamers turned to Oculass, who was only armed with her cane. "I'm going to try to get rid of it!"
"But Oculass, you aren't equipped with much!" Natalie pointed out.
"It's still better than making it stronger and allowing it to gain intelligence!" Oculass proceeded to take a swing at the amalgamate, which had become entirely blackened by now, only to have her cane grabbed at and snapped in two.
The fats of flesh began to peel away like a chrysalis, a humanoid being with grey skin and blackened fingertips and soaked hair emerging from inside.
"There's nothing to fear, but fear itself," it croaked, sounding almost like a dying individual. "Isn't that right? Well, I am fear itself, and fear can never be buried away or destroyed."
"You're just an accident! You were only just created!" Oculass shouted, unable to feel her surroundings due to the threat close by.
"It doesn't mean I don't understand what I am. That source of fear is enough to tell me what my purpose was, while that strange energy allowed me to be more intelligent and powerful, to take a form similar to man." Bits of blackened flesh protruded from the creature's new body, hanging off in peculiar places, soaked in a dark substance.
"You were only just born, yet you already know what your purpose is?" Oculass inquired.
"Yes, it's to consume," the fear replied, "fear consumes humanity, it consumes all life, leaving all to be either vulnerable or irrationally violent. Every little world each of you know and love, will be blanketed in it, consumed by the wretched one who stands before you. Even now, even as you are blinded, the sick feeling of unease will go through your body."
For the first time in her life, even though she could not see, Oculass felt nauseous.
Nick's eye started to twitch violently, right before he started cackling. "Hahahahahahaha, it's just like a slasher film, where the guy's not really dead and comes back for revenge! Only in this case, we got brave only to get scared again! Hahahahahahahahahaaaaa!" Natalie grew scared as well, more for Nick's state of mind, which was still not completely well. Panicking, she slapped him, hoping to snap him out of it. She was so focused on Nick, she didn't notice that the amalgamation didn't seem to like Nick's outburst.
"Woah, woah, Natalie, did you really have to hit him like that? That was a bit much."
"Maybe she got a little 'slap-happy'".
SNORT!
Michael looked at Caela, who couldn't help but react to Oculass's little joke. "Sorry, but with the tension, that was unexpected, so the laugh was unintentional. Do you see what I mean?"
"No, I don't." Now both Michael and Caela groaned at Oculass, as the amalgamation grew more annoyed.
"Cease this laughing! Such things will not be tolerated in my presence!"
Oculass just gave a smirk. "Sorry, but since I know your nature, I also know your weakness: positive emotions." Walking forward in a confident manner, she laid her hand on the amalgamation's chest, making it burn under its palm.
"AAAAAAAA! YOU, WILL, PAY! SO SWEARS THE FEAR-MONGER!" The air started to ripple around him distorting the view of the entire room. Then everyone started to feel a tingle in their heads, before staring in horror.
Michael and Caela saw Wizzro and Hoodlums, respectively, being killed by the God and Lady of Games. Natalie saw the Dark Champion being endlessly tortured at the hands of Samael. And Nick saw Natalie dead at the feet of the Phantom God. Oculass wasn't given any horrific vision, but she could definitely feel the unease of everyone else.
Fear-Monger smiled, feeling victory in his grasp. He slowly approached Oculass, ready to strike her from behind. He reached forward, only to have his arm grabbed by two hands out of nowhere. He looked in surprise to see Natalie and Caela holding him in place. "WHAT?!"
"Like I told Polybius, I've seen way scarier!"
"And your illusions don't work if reality has a stronger truth!"
The two readied their fists and punched Fear-Monger right in the face, sending him reeling back. He steadied himself, only to be conked on the head with a baseball bat. As he fell, Michael stood behind him, his arms as Ness's, still shaking a bit.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Having to relive the death of a friend is not fun, but I was able to keep my mind."
"I guess it was easier for us, as we were able to break the illusion when we remembered that what we saw didn't happen."
"But what about Nick?"
The three turned to see Nick on the floor, eyes rolled back and twitching like mad. It was also possible he was foaming at the mouth a little. "Guess it was a bit too much in his state." Then they turned to a hissing sound, and saw Oculass dissolving Fear-Monger with just a touch, while humming a happy tune. "Okay, we need to leave this world, now." They all gave a huge nod of agreement. Just before they all started to step away though, they could hear a gurgling sound from the dissolving Fear-Monger.
Wait, no, it sounded more like sobbing. Oculass turned her head back to the Fear-Monger which she had touched. Natalie hesitated, looking over to what was once a dissolving pile of whatever horrific mystery, and saw a much smaller, grey-skinned, humanoid figure being left behind in its place. "I hate all of these positive, joking emotions towards fear," he groaned in a more squeaky, immature voice. "I am the Wretched Fear-Monger, I was made to instill and consume fear on all life. Why am I being laughed at, mocked, and ignored?"
Upon closer inspection, Natalie realized that the Fear-Monger, underneath its disgusting shells, was only a mere child.
"He's just a kid?" Caela questioned.
"More like a baby with the way he's acting," Michael grumbled.
"Ah, I guess that only makes sense because he was just recently born." Oculass giggled. "He must not be able to completely mature unless he's feared in the way he wants to be. It's actually kind of fitting when you think about it, most fans and writers who desire to make creepypasta are usually young children trying to be cool or scary." A set of tentacles then picked up the Fear-Monger.
Slender Man, who had been closely watching the scene that had taken place, made his way back over to his unconscious master. "My lord Polybius? Are your systems rebooting yet? You normally recover from damage by now." The eyes of Polybius flickered back on and his body started to rise. He was still too drastically weakened to fight as Polybius slightly struggled in his attempt to get up, but once he regained full consciousness, he just stared at the Fear-Monger.
"What in the fresh hell is that!?"
"The blind one had warned us about the plan potentially bringing harm to everyone," Slender Man sighed, "but thankfully, the Fear-Monger, which you had indirectly created, has been neutralized into a smaller, harmless state. Polybius, this newly born creature would have overtaken not only you, but all life as we know it by blanketing the worlds in fear. I hate to say it, but we were lucky that mortal humans could stop it with positive influence."
"It's your responsibility to take care of that brat now!" A recovered Nick joked, laughing at Polybius's expense.
"What!? No!" He quickly became defensive. "I am the ruler of this realm of terror, not somebody's father! You, insufferable blind one! You knew about this and tried to warn me, given this had happened to you before, so you should take care of this reject!" The Fear-Monger recoiled at Polybius's words, hiding behind Slender Man's tentacles.
"My touch is what causes it to dissolve and be in pain, unless I started expressing more active terror, I really can't take care of it when it's not actually that scary—"
"Kill it then for all I care!" Polybius shouted.
"No way! That's too cruel! Isn't it one of your own!?" Oculass retorted.
"You had no problem getting rid of one you made by accident," Slender Man pointed out to her.
"Yeah, but—"
"Can you all stop with this really weird custody battle over the Fear-Monger?" Natalie huffed. "You all complain about not being taken seriously, but this isn't really helping your case. Maybe you should just get some tips on regaining the respect you long for, without taking any drastic measures like this!" She then started dragging Oculass away, preparing to leave. "I swear, it's just like the actual creepypasta writers, some of them can't take criticism or learn to improve."
Polybius, being too weak to pursue, just stared at the Fear-Monger in Slender Man's tentacles. "I'll spare you for now, but I don't tolerate being overthrown," he grumbled, "as for those nuisances, whether they really helped this realm or not doesn't matter. I will make sure to get them, and show them something to be afraid of! Then, I will have my revenge on Gamindustri—"
He was rambling, and quite honestly, Slender Man was getting sick of it rather than just listening to him out of respect and fear.
—
Nick was still a bit woozy, but he was able to lead everyone to the area in the woods where he fell into the Creepypasta world. It was a surprisingly quiet trip, but everyone still kept their guard. It seemed like the Creepypastas were going to let them go after their defeat, but they weren't going to take any chances. Natalie did not hesitate to create a portal back to their world, with everyone rushing through it. When it closed, three heads poked from the bushes.
"Boy am I glad they're gone! Bad enough that they were annoying, but strong enough to take down our toughest guys? Good riddance, I say! Right?" Momo nodded at Mr. Widemouth, posting the departure with #byebyescary. Mr. Bear just stood silently before turning to leave, not interested in the whole thing and just wondering here he can find some kids to kill. They had no idea what was to become of their world now, but anything was better than the gamers' presence.
They were all back in Nick's room, with Natalie preparing a portal for Oculass. "It's nice to finally get all of that behind us." Oculass turned to give her a hug. "Aw, but that doesn't mean you have to be a stranger! Come visit me anytime, Natty!" Natalie froze in fear at the nickname. Worried, she turned around, only to almost fall over at Nick being conked out on his bed. "Something wrong?"
"No, nothing. I'll make time to visit, bye!" Almost pushing Oculass through the portal and closing it, she turned to see Caela and Michael doing their best not to burst out laughing. "Man, did you dodge a bullet on that one!"
"If Nick learned that, you would never hear the end of it!" Natalie just as she grabbed her friends' shoulders a little too tightly. "Exactly, which is why he's not going to know about it, right?" They just gave a nod as they left to give Nick some peace to sleep. But Natalie couldn't help but be concerned at his eye, that was still twitching even when closed.
EPILOGUE
A month had passed since those events, plans to expand upon VR had been made even though Oculass was often alone in her work. Several creepy little dolls scattered around her, cloudy eyes starting to close as she was now succumbing to a tired state. Foolishly, Oculass had left her PS4 with Polybius playing in the background, seemingly unaware of what was about to happen next.
The cloaked figure emerged from her monitor, creeping up from behind. All it took was the slightest noise to awaken Oculass once more, as she heard one of the animated dolls make a sound to alarm her. "Is somebody there?" Oculass asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Foolish woman," Polybius laughed, "did you not recall my words previously? I said that I would come back and take my revenge on this world, all while your friends aren't present!" He then glanced at the smaller creature with wings. "Isn't that right, my wretched Fear-Monger? Polybius has returned, and you should warn the CPUs that are so worshipped!" The Fear-Monger didn't respond, instead keeping its red eyes on the sleepy Oculass.
"I didn't know I was getting company, otherwise I would have prepared something," she smiled, "it's good to know you're alright, Polybius, I was hoping you would come here on your own." Getting up from her work desk, Oculass grabbed her cane and began searching the area around her. "For the record, I've already informed Noire that you still exist and might reach this place, the others know about it too."
"What!?"
"They're alright with it," Oculass reassured, "you had your issues in the past, but the CPUs aren't at war with each other as much anymore, they've softened up, so they probably feel a little sorry for you—"
"Sorry for me!?" This only infuriated Polybius a bit more, almost as if he was being humiliated. "What is there to feel sorry about!?"
"The fact that they know plenty of individuals that had been sealed away at this point, and they did it to you rather than resolving things peacefully. I mean, if they did that, then maybe you wouldn't be so resentful, right?" His fingers curled, balling into a fist from his anger. "Please try to settle down. Times are changing, you know? Console Wars are a thing of the past, and so is fear over an urban legend for some arcade cabinet man—"
"How in the everliving Mephisto does this help me!? I'm to be feared!"
"Constantly being angry isn't a good, fearsome quality," Oculass huffed, which made the Fear-Monger wince. "You should try to be quiet, and have a menacing, charismatic presence that sends chills up people's spines because they don't know what you'll do."
"Do you not realize who you're talking to?" As Polybius continued denying the criticism, the Fear-Monger was listening carefully. It may have been nothing but a mere child, but he still listened, developing its body while Polybius had his back turned away. Shifting its form to become taller, the Fear-Monger tried to eliminate its initial skepticism of Oculass, moving towards her and looming over.
It placed a hand on Oculass's shoulder, wet and slimy, giving a feeling which chilled her to the bone. "Well, maybe you're right, Oculass." The Fear-Monger had a different voice than previously, almost trying to mimic Polybius. "Maybe I should try to relax," the hairs on her neck started to stand up at his voice, "I can surely try to reason with them. Will they trust me if I talk like this? Will I be using a calm personality to my advantage? Or am I really just as tired as they are?"
She fell over in excitement, Polybius immediately lashed out against the Fear-Monger, reverting it to natural size. "Since when have you learned to mimic my speech patterns and voice!?" He shouted. "Don't go pretending to be me near her! How in the hell did you pull that off without her catching on!?"
"You seem upset."
"Of course I'm upset! You tricked a blind woman into thinking you were me!"
"Are you sure you're not merely annoyed that I took her criticism better than you?"
Polybius tensed up with rage even more, all while the Fear-Monger was completely calm. Oculass quickly realized what exactly had just happened and tried to clear her mind. "You two need to stop, Creepypastas aren't going to be remembered so fondly if you act like this. Even besides Gamindustri, there will always be places where you are remembered fondly." Dusting off her shorts, Oculass offered her hand.
"I'm a despicable, fearsome being, a master. There is nothing to remember fondly. What makes you think that a welcome for me is possible? Especially with the chance that I could conquer Gamindustri?"
"No one cares when living abominations like Pyramid Head, Nemesis, or those funny animatronics are running around. They're in fact, quite loved for the impact they made with the fears people had. Like I said, things have changed."
"This is completely different!" Polybius visibly cringed as the blind woman grabbed his hand, even with the risk of him inflicting pure horror upon her. "We have a reputation to uphold, what makes you think introducing me to the world in a friendly way is going to help!?"
"Oh please," Oculass yawned, pulling the arcade abomination along. "Silent Hill has gone through worse no thanks to Konami's meddling, but it never damages the residents that greatly, because their image is still remembered for the good things, the terror struck in so many. Shouldn't that be the same for your friends?" Polybius felt his eyes widen, and even the Fear-Monger found itself surprised. "People will wipe things like , Jeff the Killer, and that bad Slender Man movie away. They'll fade, and you'll all stand the test of time, gaining the fear you desire when people look back fondly. If we all stood here remembering only the bad things, nobody would make progress."
Such oddly profound words…
"So that's why you should make the first step to moving forward, for all of those you rule over, rather than becoming stagnant."
The Fear-Monger just stared at Polybius, even with a naive mind, it understood the point Oculass was trying to make.
Progress was needed, no one could dwindle on the sullied reputation forever, this was a chance to create a new one.
"Don't think that I won't contemplate some sort of maniacal plot against this world," Polybius grumbled.
"Well if you do," Oculass sighed, "then I guess it would be my responsibility to stop you and your fellow monsters. I don't mind playing that kind of game, so long as you don't take any casualties."
He smiled again in amusement, even though the Fear-Monger didn't have that mutual feeling. "I think I look forward to that, foolish blind woman. Maybe I can adjust after all if those are the circumstances."
THE END?