Hearing stories about Johnny always reminded me of the more demented things in life. The recollection of the Doughboys and Nailbunny were the first twisted things that came to mind. I only vaguely remember him telling me about them. How the Doughboys would tug him back and forth between life and death, while Nailbunny played mediator. He was... fuck, what was he? Johnny's voice of reason, or something like that.

But I never told him about my own bundle of crazy. Sickness wasn't born until after I beat the Hell out of him and left him in his house to die. I wouldn't have felt bad either. I mean, the prick attacked me and tried to kill me. All for the sake of 'immortalizing the moment,' preserving a still in time of the happiest moment he could remember. Too bad he couldn't see what a lunatic he was until several months later.

I looked over to where Pepito was sitting - an uncomfortable wooden kitchen chair directly across from his father - and eyeballed him. His eyes were narrowed, barely slits to see his piercing red eyes from, and his fists were balled so tight that his knuckles turned white. His body shook slightly and his tangled black excuse for a head of hair started to fall into his face. If you took away the miniscule horns and ignored the color of his eyes, Pepito actually looked worthy of sympathy. I mean, the kid went and found his best friend's mutilated corpse, and now he learns that the man whom he had held responsible died within a couple days of taking his 'vacation.'

And in all honesty, aside from the tidal wave of relief that I feel from knowing that Johnny is dead (permanently), I did feel kind of bad. Todd wasn't a bad kid, despite how annoying he was. He didn't deserve death, despite how questionable his friends were. What was he doing hanging around with the son of Satan, anyway? Did he think that this kid would protect him from bullies or something? If so, he did a real shitty job.

But then Pepito slammed his fists on the table as he quickly stood up, eyes still narrowed, and he glared daggers across the room. "If that pathetic sack-of-skin has been dead for years now, then what's been feeding that thing inside his house? Father, you told me that everything he created fed off of his insanity!" Created? He made those abominations? That makes absolutely no sense! Why the fuck would anyone make something so-!

"I can tell what you're thinking, my dear. Do not be so surprised. Johnny was a sick boy, he didn't know what he was doing or how to stop it. Yes, he did create everything - the Doughboys, Nailbunny, Reverend Meat, and the monster that killed young Todd - but it wasn't consciously. I'm sure you're aware of his criminally insane background? He wasn't alright in the head, if you understand, and it caused him to erect creatures of the utmost ridiculous nature to allow him to verbally or physically berate objects that were really there. Everything in his house, I'm afraid, is a product of his own sick and twisted rationality."

I sat in my chair, uncomfortable and fidgeting. It made more sense that way, whether I liked it or not. I knew that Johnny had a few screws loose when we got together, but I'd had no idea just how bad he was. But the churning and nausea-inducing feeling in my gut was coming from somewhere else. I could handle the fact that those two were dead. It wasn't all that bothersome, albeit unnecessary for Todd. Though, after hearing in far too much detail about how Johnny died, I'm glad Pepito didn't describe Todd's corpse, let alone drag me to Johnny's basement to see it. But even that wasn't so bad. No, this feeling was stemming from something deeper...

"We need to know how to stop this thing, Father. I don't know what's feeding it, or how it's survived as long as it has, but we have to destroy it. It is something beyond our control!" Pepito let off between grit teeth. It looked like he was doing everything in his power to keep from exploding into a fiery rage. And I had to imagine that that was something both natural for him and something he was exceedingly good at. Though, this feeling, it's coming from...

"Insanity comes in more forms than one. He's criminal, while you're... a manic."

Oh, my...

"You'll suffer his fate."

I stood abruptly from my seat, recalling Sickness's words from earlier. I wasn't sure why, but she had mentioned Johnny awhile ago. She was the one who told me that he was criminally insane. She was the one who brought all this up. She must have known it would come to this, but- how? How did she... no... where is she now? If she started this shit-storm, then I'll make her end it, too. Wherever she is, I'll find her. The garbage men only picked her up today, so she couldn't be far.

I grabbed my coat from the back of my chair and quickly slipped into it. Then I bolted to the front door, stepped into my boots, and ran like a bat out of Hell. I was only mildly surprised that no one tried to stop me. I was pretty certain that Pepito would have grabbed my wrist so hard that it would leave a bruise and forcibly strap me to my chair. But he didn't even look at me when I stood up, let alone trailed after me as I ran away. But I couldn't complain. I suppose I'm still doing what he wants, anyway, seeing as how if I find Sickness, I can put an end to all of this. That was the theory anyway.

But while I was out running around, Pepito was still conversing with Satan. Laying his palms flat on the table and tossing his head to the side to move his unruly locks, Pepito said, "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? That Todd had to die like that?" The lack response was all he needed to hear. Spurts and bits of fire wrapped around his frame as Pepito lost more and more control over himself. The pain and anger that swelled up inside of him was ready to overflow and burst from his tiny body. But Satan just smirked, finding the anguish amusing. He hadn't counted on his son getting that attached to the human boy.

"Son, you asked me before. Do you still want to know what's feeding that monster?" A nod from the head was his curt reply. "The Wall Monster, as Johnny had so cleverly dubbed it, was created from everything left of him after the Doughboys and Nailbunny were born. The rest of the emotion, conflict, struggle, strife, and insanity gave birth to it. While Johnny was convinced that it fed off the blood he painted the wall with, it was actually the insanity behind his murders that did it. The murder and violent crimes were the core to him being criminally insane versus just insane. And that's how he survived for so long."

"But when he died, there was nothing left in his house to sustain it. And had Johnny not known Todd or Devi, it would have either let loose on the city or died off years ago. Instead, Johnny became fond of Todd, his unfortunate neighbor, and developed strong feelings for Devi, the former bookstore lady. And isn't it funny how three people, three so very different people, wound up meeting? I suppose that Lady Luck wasn't on their side."

"In any case, when Johnny left, the creature didn't have to go far to feed. The tunnels between his and Todd's house gave him easy access to all the mental chaos swirling around from upstairs. This is where things get heartbreaking son, so listen well: It was Todd who fed that beast." Pepito's eyes widened, his metaphorical heart dropped, and his face was completely blank. "He was crazy from the beginning. You wouldn't have thought anything of it when he was younger; after all, it's normal for children to talk to their toys. However, as he got older, such behavior continued. It was not normal."

"The bear, Shmee, was something even you were familiar with. Didn't you find it odd that he kept bringing it to school with him? That he kept talking to it? Didn't it raise any red flags when he said that it talked back to him? Pepito, this is something even you should have noticed. Todd filled that bear with all of his fears and feelings of malice and malevolence. Ever wonder why he seemed like the only decent human being in the world? It's because he filled that bear with everything that made him just like everyone else."

Pepito didn't want to listen anymore. He didn't want to hear about how fucked up his amigo was, or how he should have noticed his demise sooner. How he could have done something, perhaps, and he'd still be alive. But he needed to know. Deep down, he knew that only the truth would put him at ease. In the future, that is.

"But that stuffed toy was small. It overflowed when Todd and his family moved into that house. And with Johnny's loud and demanding insanity distracting the creature, it hadn't noticed Todd until after he moved. When it was alone in that house, Todd emitted delightful waves of vulnerability, fear, and destruction. Whatever label you want to slap on him, that was the core of his disease. So why did it kill him, I'm sure you're wondering."

"Contrary to popular belief, Johnny was stabilized. Still undeniably crazy, but it was stable. Johnny would always be crazy, always find a reason to kill people. He had no faith in humanity, no family to turn to, no friends aside from Todd, and nowhere to run. He was a waste lock and that damned him to that house, to live with that monster, for the rest of his miserable existence. His escape was surprising, unplanned, and a horrible mishap, but it was indeed part of reality. So you see, my boy, that if Johnny hadn't left, Todd would still have lived. Who knows what kind of person he would have turned out to be, but I feel that the result would have been even more disappointing and disgusting than his untimely death."

"But Devi, now she's something else. She was only a brief part of Johnny's life, she'd only been to his house on a few occasions, but the lunacy radiating off of her is strong. The creature caught on to her disturbed persona right away. Devi is a manic, her overwhelming fear and overbearing pissy attitude made for quite the unstable person. With that in mind, I have no doubt that she'll be the next victim."

With his head down and his body still shaking, Pepito said, "Will her death put a stop to this unwanted madness?" And with a smirk and a cackle, Satan said, "It certainly won't hurt it."

"A/N: And here we have another chapter. This story should be wrapped up within another two or three chapters, I think. So, yeah, stay tuned, and hopefully I'll have this finished by the end of June (at the latest, I hope). Review?"