MAX

A Few Weeks Ago

I had just finished my training. Now the time had come for me to prove myself. I'd face off against my first REAL monster, right in the music room of Adams Prep Middle School in Great Newton, Massachusetts. At this year's Scaaary Saturday party, I was chosen to be the special guest of honor for the monster.

Usually this is for the unluckiest kid that isn't liked so much. I didn't have too much difficulty. It's easy to be not so liked when you're a monster by blood. Now I've been chosen to be "sacrificed" to the beast. Only…it's gonna find out that I'm NOT its normal prey. Let's just say that this school is in for a shock.

Gotta make sure that I'm not seen, though. Well, Maximum Darkness looks VERY different from me anyway, so I shouldn't have too much trouble with that. And since Kelly already helped Skwerm and Burrrph get together, I'm bailing him out by facing this new monster myself.

Of course, plain old normal Max isn't gonna last long. So I'm gonna hang back and act as navigator, while my inner demon Maximum Darkness does the fighting. All the area schools have monsters, after all. Something about keeping the boilers running all winter and having the monsters act as guards. But lately this monster's been acting more…savage and deranged.

Darkness didn't want to wear the meat suit (saying it's lame and all), but it won't make that much of a difference. So once I enter the music room, alone, I sense the beast's presence…and soon see what I'm up against.

A beast twice my size. Large, green skin, white polka dots, blue warts, four red eyes, and a head and physique that seems to resemble a gorilla. It looks like the Friiight Night monster, Skwerm…but something's off.

Upon growling, the eyes go from red to a menacing glowing green. At this, my eyes go wide. Moms told me what this meant: This beast is being controlled by Slappy!

"SO…THEY SENT A LITTLE GIRL TO BE MY 'DATE'." The monster snarls before chuckling. "HOW AMUSING. BUT DON'T THINK I AM LIKE THAT OTHER PUNY BASEMENT BEAST. YOU MAY CALL ME ROR…ALTHOUGH, I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO TELL ANYONE ELSE. LET'S SEE…I BELIEVE YOU WILL LAST ONLY…ONE SECOND."

"One, huh?" I state. "Just a heads-up…I'm not like the other students here."

"OH? HOW SO? YOU'RE NOT ONE TO RUN AWAY SCREAMING? OF COURSE, YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE DONE SO BY NOW…NOT THAT IT WILL MATTER. YOU'LL JUST END UP LIKE THE LAST GIRL I TOOK FOR A DINNER DATE."

"Lemme guess. She was the dinner."

"OH MY, YOU CATCH ON QUICK. PRETTY CLEVER, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. NOW THEN, SINCE I AM STARVING…ANY LAST WORDS?"

"No. The OTHER one, on the other hand…"

That's her cue. I feel myself get sucked to the back of my mind as Maximum Darkness emerges instantly.

"BON APPETIT, FREAK!" I hear Darkness roar before she lunges at the monster. While he is taken aback by how the Shadow Demon fights back, Ror quickly recovers, slams her to the ground, and then throws her into a wall, before I finally learn why he's called Ror.

He lets out a loud supersonic roar that shatters the glass in the room, loud enough to produce shockwaves that stuns Darkness. But at this, she manages to shrug it off.

"MY MOM SCREAMS LOUDER THAN YOU!" Darkness laughs. "IF YOU WANT TO EAT ME, I HOPE YOU ENJOY HUNTING PREY THAT DOESN'T GO DOWN EASY!"

MAXIMUM DARKNESS

Hahahahaha! This is fun! I haven't had a chance to slaughter any prey since the last hunting trip with Max's family!

The fight can't be held in the music room for much longer. Eventually, I'm knocked out into the hallways. Too bad. I liked how the large open space could serve as an arena. Let's see, where should I lure Ror to next? The cafeteria? The auditorium? The gym? Maybe the outdoor football field. There's no school on Saturday, so I'm free to go all-out against this beast without getting spotted.

Of course! Why not…

As I curse being only to kill Ror only once, I kick the monster down some stairs leading into the basement, where I pursue him. It's empty, as Skwerm and Burrrph are out on whatever icky yucky mushy monster date they're having.

This beast sure is tough, I'll give it that. But in the darkness of the cold damp basement, I have the upper hand. After all, I'm a Shadow Demon. A powerful monster which the Shadow Lord and fallen Reapers have become. And one of the strongest, too. Even if he was still alive, not even The Menace could control me.

I use the shadows to their full potential. I dash into shadows and even puppeteer Ror and make him punch himself over and over. This is almost TOO easy. Max even warns me of incoming attacks since she can see all around me, 360 degree vision. It helps if my senses fail.

Finally, after tricking the beast into punching nothing but concrete walls, I start to get bored. So…

"Maxie. You might wanna cover your eyes for this."

Right when Ror tries to blow out my eardrums with another supersonic roar, I take this chance and enter a shadowy mass that ends up burrowing its way deep down his mouth. Afterwards, he starts to gag and choke.

"What's the matter?" I laugh. "You SAID you wanted to eat me. Aw…what's wrong? Are you not feeling so good? Well…maybe eating Shadow Demons is hazardous to your HEALTH!"

And then, with some dark magic…

KABOOM! That brute explodes like a big gut bomb! And once I reform into a physical body, my only thought is how the janitor is gonna have his hands full with this. Maybe I picked that up from Max.

"EEEEEW! What did-! You just-! SO GROSS!"

"I told you to cover your eyes, peepers. Although…you're gonna wanna take a REALLY long shower tonight."

"Ugh…the smell! It's never gonna come out!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby. You killed your first monster on your first solo hunt. That's gotta count for something."

I then swap places with Max and have her take the wheel again. Returning to her human form, I can't help but smirk and chuckle at how Max tries to get all that blood off. At least she's no longer an easily-traumatized baby anymore. I'm so proud of her.

"Let's do that again sometime." I say as her shadow as she starts to leave the basement, and then the school. After all…she's called Dark for a reason…

CORY

Present Day

"Well, that's one way to ace a test." I say, awfully impressed. "Anyway, we finally have the incantation needed to stop Slappy once and for all."

"Mark, you, Sarah, Zach, Mitra, Tina, and Ironheade are gonna help me and Grandpa get the cell tower up and running so I can play this recording of the incantation." Dylan turns to the digital ninja. "The rest of you serve as a diversion. Keep Slappy busy. No matter what, he must NEVER find out what I'm doing."

"Don't have to tell ME twice." Abe states. "He's attempted murder, AND a pedophile for trying to make a young girl his bride. Tonight, the dummy dies. This time, for good."

"A full-scale assault right at his front door should do the trick." Dylan adds. "We're gonna need our friends for this. ALL of them. This resistance alone won't be enough."

"Oh, right, one more thing." Lisa remembers. "On our way back, Slappy sent minions to stop us…and they had the intent to KILL. If he was MAKING them try to kill us…he's not playing around anymore. Slappy's finally getting serious."

"Well, it's now or never." I answer. "No more delays. It's time that we finally take back our home, and restore Hollowville to what it used to be. And Lucy? I'm sure your little girl's inner demons are wanting some more action."

"Heh. She sure is." She smiles.

"Well, then what are we waiting for?" I ask, before bringing out my Ultimate form, with Lisa readying her own chaotic magic. At the sight, Dylan and others are stunned.

"The Ultimate?! H-How did you control it?!" He asks.

"Basically, Abe shot the giant octopus god in the face and freed the ghost of Darkwell." I replied. "Now, where was I? Oh right. Let's go give Slappy the most terrifying nightmare he's ever had…"

The entire town was dead silent. It felt like only yesterday when I remembered it as a sprawling settlement. All houses look like the Dead House. The diner is now a zombie hideout. The schools? Just as undead. The fire station, ironically, has been burned down. The hospital is in ruins. And the police station is destroyed. Buildings are either in ruins, or rebuilt in Slappy's twisted corrupted image.

It feels like a massive corpse. No wind, no werewolf howling, no evil laughter, even the megaphones are silent. And it's dark. Completely dark. Every hour here feels like midnight. Just like the dark magic over Horrorland.

The Twilight Brood, Lunar Pack, Seven Deadly Sins, and all our old allies have come together once more, all to finally put an end to Slappy.

"Any word from Mark and Dylan?" Grady asks.

"Hey. I'm sure they'll make it." Lisa said. "After all, they're a small agile team. They'll get the job done. Besides, no one ever goes on scary adventures alone."

"Cool it, guys." I whisper, before donning my Ultimate Moonstone Armor. "We're here."

The place before us? City Hall. Or at least, it used to be. Now, Slappy's turned into a creepy castle, and a fortress of fear. He's dug a moat around the place, full of acidic liquid. There's skulls, spikes, sinister defenses, and apparently, a massive horde of monsters at its front door.

"Well, whaddya know?" Abe scoffs. "Someone's been expecting us."

And it's then that a great voice booms out, even though the PA system is down. And what we hear is something I can best describe as a more demonic, scarier, and more menacing version of Slappy's voice.

"MIDNIGHT SOCIETY. YOU HAVE RETURNED, AS I HAVE EXPECTED. YOU HAVE MADE ME VERY UNHAPPY, AND HAVE GOTTEN IN MY WAY FOR THE VERY LAST TIME. SO WHAT IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS TO DESTROY ME? DID YOU REALLY THINK YOUR LITTLE DIVERSION WOULD BE ENOUGH? MY SIBLINGS WILL MAKE SHORT WORK OF STINE'S PATHETIC LITTLE GRANDSON, WHILE MY PALACE HALLS SHALL BE STAINED OF YOUR BLOOD!"

"You're deluded, Slappy." I hissed. "Normally, this would be the part where we'd give you one last chance to surrender, but after everything you've done, calling you a monster is an INSULT to monsters."

"OH, NAIVE LITTLE WALDHORN. I AM SO MUCH MORE THAN A MONSTER NOW. PERHAPS I WILL SHOW YOU…THAT IS, IF YOU SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO REACH ME!"

And then, with Slappy unleashing a powerful scream, his monster horde attacks! And with the Midnight Society on the frontlines, we charge to meet our worst nightmares…

Back when Dracula invaded, Slappy lost control over all his monsters. Now, he's reduced to controlling mere copies of them he created. And since they aren't real, we no longer have to hold back.

I slice off the head of a Brewer Clone. Freddy bites the neck of Count Nightwing before ripping it off. Vandal has a long-awaited rematch with the Werewolf of Fever Swamp. And Bigfoot smashes the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena. The resistance, meanwhile, uses every improvised and apocalyptic weapon they've got. Bottle rockets get the attention of the Giant Praying Mantis. Erin and Marty easily stomp and short-circuit Annihilator 3000s. Van Helsing guns down Graveyard Ghouls. And the Seven Deadly Sins mercilessly slay Shadow Demons, as Realmwalkers like Hannah Fairchild destroy ghost monsters.

Instantly, I'm reminded of previous "final battles" of the past. Fighting blue barbarians during Christmas with Monsty. Battling Curly in Shadow House and Lefty, Righty, and Slim in the town library. Hearing of Curly and his sisters fighting Bloody Mary in the House of Mirrors. Battling against Ellie when she was the final demonic Elite. The time we teamed up with the demons to save their world from The Menace, allying with Slappy and his own monsters to do so. Infiltrating New Transylvania to defeat Johnathan Chiller. Encountering Byron in the Hall of Horrors. Facing The Haunter one fateful Halloween night. The fateful battle against Dracula during the Eternal Night. And of course, the Battle of the Burrow against Kraver Von Grimm.

This time…THIS time, it will finally be over. And the future Mirpo saw will be prevented.

We don't waste time drawing out the battle for as long as possible. With help from Van Helsing, Darkwell, Arragotus, Frankenstein, Super Duper, Lucy, Kruu, Max, Mirpo, Vandal, Freddy, and Hannah, Lisa and I burst open the doors to City Hall and storm the building, running and gunning down any monsters trying to stop us. Gnomes, ghouls, toy robots, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, you name it. Every single monster we have ever faced is right here: A copy created by Slappy to serve as his most menacing minions.

It's not long, though, until we run into his greatest enforcers: Curly the Skeleton, Drool, Rip, Lefty, Righty, Slim, and Mary-Ellen. His right-hand-man, sidekick, second-rate thug, and bride.

"That's far enough, kiddies!" Curly cackles. "You're not gonna see the big boss ALIVE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"He told you to kill us, huh?" I ask. "Okay then…come and try…"

DYLAN

All it takes is some weed killer magic to kill the man-eating Creeper vine plants that surround the downed cell tower. Once they're dead, I use my magic to reverse time on the tower, having it rise back up in a repaired state. Normally, a call for help would STILL be ineffective. Slappy's magic is preventing any radio waves from reaching outside the fallen town.

That's okay. We're not TRYING to call for help.

"Take the phone and plug it into the main network system." I tell Sarah, Zack, and Grandpa. "Then crank it all the way up, as loud as you can. And make sure you put the video recording of the incantation on loop. Mark and Jack and I will stand guard. We can't take ANY chances that Slappy might catch onto us."

"I'll try to help via Cyberspace connection." Mark states as the Cyber Shinobi. "But establishing a connection to get the tower operational again won't be easy. The others will have to buy me some time."

"Okay. Good luck!"

"You too, guys. Now go!"

Zach, Sarah, and Grandpa all rush inside the building. And, because luck can't make up its mind on whose side it wants to be on, the three of us see four ventriloquist dummies teleport to our location: Mr. Wood, Wally, Snappy, and Goldie.

"I guess Abe's glass case wasn't enough to hold you." I ask Goldie.

"You can thank Slappy's magical power for that." She answers. "He's getting far stronger than ever before now."

"Still gotta connect to the internet and hack into the tower's systems!" Mark says, readying his katana. "Keep them off me!"

"Four against four." Tina notes. "Should be a fair fight!"

"Alright, Mr. Wood!" Jack Black laughs at the name. "Prepare to get CHOPPED!"

"By the time your friends play that incantation, it'll be too late!" Mr. Wood laughs. "GET THEM!"

I handle Snappy, Jack fights Mr. Wood, Mark fights Wally, and Tina fights Goldie. Sure, they may be more powerful now…but our goal is to buy Grandpa's team as much time as we can!

R.L. STINE

We manage to reach the main computer servers and terminals. But the entire place is still pitch dark. With his Cyberspace connection, Mark is able to speak to us through Mitra's new phone, on Speaker.

"Mark, we're at the main servers." I say. "Are they up and running yet?"

"Hey, YOU try establishing a wi-fi connection AND fighting an evil magic dummy at the same time!" He states. "Hang on! Almost…got it!"

The room is soon filled with the sound of the computer terminals booting up. Once Sarah and Zack adjust the frequency and crank up the volume as much as they can, Mitra finds an available socket and plugs her phone in.

Beginning Download. 0% Complete.

"Oh COME ON!" Zach groans. "Mark, is there any way you can speed up the download?!"

"Look, I can either have the data pick up the pace, or I can fight the dummies, but not both! AH! Guys, keep them off me! The boys back home may not have much longer!"

"You're a ninja, right?" Mitra asks. "Make a hologram copy of yourself or something!"

"Hold on!"

There's some noise on the other side, some flip sound, and a metal clank that sounds like someone landing.

"There. Hologram deployed. Cloaked, too. As long as they don't catch onto what I'm doing, we should be good…"

I look at the phone. The progress bar had been stuck at 0%, and is now at 1%. It's slow…but it's climbing.

"Come on, Dylan…" I whisper. "You gotta buy us all the time you can…"

CORY

Thanks to the power of the Ultimate, Slappy's best henchmen are down in seconds. Curly's nothing but a pile of bones. Drool has been put down. Left, Righty, and Slim only have one head. And Mary-Ellen is nothing but woodchips.

With the battle raging outside, we forced our way into what used to be the Mayor's Office. Where we see Slappy on a massive scary throne.

"WELL WELL WELL." Slappy says with blazing fiery green eyes and a Joker-like smile. "AS I EXPECTED, THOSE IDIOTS COULDN'T HANDLE YOU FOR VERY LONG. OH. HELLO THERE, PAPA. IT'S BEEN A LOOOONG TIME. LOOKS LIKE YOU FREED YOURSELF FROM THE OCTOPUS' TENTACLES."

"And it looks like someone got an upgrade." I add, Slappy having noticed Darkwell. "You really DO seem fit for a king."

"THE NAME IS EMPEROR SLAPPY NOW. AND THE TIME FOR PLAYING GAMES IS OVER! AS WE SPEAK, MY ARMIES ARE SPREADING MY CHAOS ACROSS THE WORLD. AND SOON, GLOBAL, NO, UNIVERSAL DOMINATION WILL BE MINE!"

"Not a chance, Pinnochio." Abe says, cocking his shotgun. "This is your final horror movie. And there's NOT going to be a sequel."

"OH SURE. THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE MAN IN THE HOCKEY MASK. AND BESIDES…THAT INCANTATION WILL ONLY WORK IF I REMAIN IN THIS WOODEN STATE. TOO BAD FOR YOU…I HAVE COME PREPARED."

Emperor Slappy soon pulls out something. A mask. But…no…that's no ordinary mask…

"The Haunted Mask?!" I gasp. "But…HOW?! Carly Beth ripped it in half!"

"NOTHING SOME DARK MAGIC CAN'T REPAIR. THIS MASK IS SPECIAL. I FUSED THE HAUNTED MASK WITH ALL OF ITS UNLOVED UNWANTED BRETHREN. ONLY…ITS POWER WILL BEND TO MY WILL. NOW…VIEWER BEWARE. YOU'RE IN FOR A SCARE…"

Darkwell's eyes light up in sheer horror.

"SLAPPY! NO!"

Too late. The dummy puts the mask on. And instantly, green chaotic magic floods the throne room, all while Slappy laughs like a maniac.

The power ends up blowing us all onto the rooftop of the former City Hall, and much to my shock, Slappy ends up using his magic to raise the fortress high into the air…and into the dark storm above.

Finally, I see a green reptilian scaly monster arm burst out of the concrete and lift itself upwards. Slappy has…grown. The mask has fused with him to give him a new face. He looks like a distorted version of himself, mixed with the facial and body appearance of Maskerade.

And…no…I…a heartbeat.

I can hear Slappy's HEARTBEAT!

"LOOK, PA! I'M A REAL BOY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Spreading forth powerful wings, Slappy flies upwards before unleashing a powerful blast and ball of green fire from his mouth! It's large and immense, and Darkwell sees the incoming danger. By the time he teleports us all off the floating City Hall, the fireball destroys it in a fearsome explosion. And Slappy continues to grow as he crash-lands onto the ground, now the size of the Giant Praying Mantis…and slowly growing larger.

"Slappy has turned himself into a true monster." Darkwell curses. "And that cursed Monster Blood now lives up to its name. Now that he is flesh and blood, as mortal as he may be, slaying him is far easier said than done. His magic and power grows by the second!"

WHAT?! Dammit! At this rate, we might not have what it takes to beat him!

"WHEN WILL YOU DUMMIES EVER LEARN?! I AM THE MASTER HERE! YOU ARE ALL MY SLAVES! AND THIS IS SLAPPY'S WORLD NOW! YOU ONLY SCREAM IN IT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

SLAPPY

Ahhh, look at them! Running around like puny little bugs just ASKING to be crushed! Even better, I had this mask retain all the powers that my old minion Maskerade once had. Even amped up ones from the Black Rings, Monster Skates, and the Heart Attack Backpack!

They say that the only way to get the mask off is by a symbol of love, right? Well, NOT ANYMORE! My magic threw that pesky weakness right out of the window! Besides, I love this new face! It really makes me a REAL monster! And the mask doesn't control me! I have so much evil that it's forced to bend to MY will!

I was smart and awesome before, but this?! Say hello to Super Slappy now, dummies! More scarier, meaner, and far more eviler than EVER BEFORE!

So what if I can't control this stupid little town, huh? I'll just blow it all up instead! Including that pesky radio cell tower!

Aw, how cute! They're actually TRYING to stop me! Well, IT DOESN'T MATTER! Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, whatever! They're ALL going down! SIX! FEET! IN THE GROUND!

"SLAPPY! You and I have unfinished business!"

Oh look, it's that revenge mummy that tried so hard to defeat me. Well, you've got no chance NOW, beetle brain!

OOPS! Now that old coot is nothing but a pancake! I guess he needed those bandages after all! Not that they'd help or anything! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Even the Ultimate is no match for me! All it takes is a few green laser eye beams to down poor moldy Apple Core! And just like that, they all begin to fall!

Freddy looks as broken as a bat! Vandal gets pounded! Hannah looks like she's glad to be dead! And Kruu gets chopped into sushi!

And BOOM! No more pesky little cell tower! It's OVER! I! HAVE! WON!

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, it's GLORIOUS! Here, I am KING! The King of Horror! The TRUE God of Monsters! And the Emperor of All Evil! Don't you see, dear reader? This is no happy ending! In horror stories, there's no such thing! It's completely reversed! It's all JUST like I said: In horror tales, the VILLAIN always wins!

It's incredible! My power is growing far greater than even the Ultimate itself! I am invincible! Immortal! Eternal! Puny human children! I shall enslave you all, and rule over you until the end of time! You are all so ugly and loathsome and stupid! But you have no choice but to BOW before my wisdom and power!

You know the twist, right? Well, THIS is that twist ending! First, I am King of Terrortown! Of Horror Town! And now, Slappy is the Emperor of the entire world! It's only a matter of time before my nightmares, fear, and horror spread all over the universe! And I will start…with YOURS!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DON'T YOU SEE?! YOUR EFFORTS WERE ALL USELESS IN THE END! REALLY, WHAT WAS THE POINT IN YOUR DESPERATION TO SAVE YOUR WORLD?! I WAS CREATED FOR ONE PURPOSE, AND ONE PURPOSE ONLY: EVIL! AND NOW, I'VE FULFILLED MY PURPOSE! BUT I'M NOT STOPPING THERE, OH NO! I'M GOING TO ENSLAVE ALL WORLDS, AND I WILL MAKE YOUR LIVES A LIVING NIGHTMARE FOREVER! AND NOT EVEN THAT STUPID UGLY OCTO GOD CAN DESTROY ME NOW! WELCOME TO HORRORWORLD, YOU DUMMIES! AND NOW…YOUR NIGHTMARES COME TO LIFE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!"

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

"AGH! W-WHAT?!"

What…What was THAT?! That…that HURT!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

"ARGH! N-NO!"

T-That's the incantation! But…but HOW?! I…I destroyed the cell tower! It shouldn't be broadcasting! It CAN'T be!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

"NO NO NO! STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!"

I hear myself roaring and screaming in agony! T-This is impossible! Me! Slappy! AFRAID! It's not possible, it can't be! Slappy is NEVER afraid!

ARRRRRGH! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE! IT! STOOOOOP!

I cover my blasted ears, but the noise won't stop! It's still as loud as a jet engine! WHY WON'T IT STOP?!

Wait…no…NO! NO NO NO NO NO!

IT…IT'S IN MY BRAIN! THOSE HORRIBLE WORDS ARE ON REPEAT INSIDE MY BRAIN!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO! NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR! I WON! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!

It won't stop! No matter how many times I claw at my head! IT JUST WON'T STOP!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

KALLAH MEEHA ARUMAH KALUMAH NOBA REEMAH MARU ODONI MALLAH ONARRAK UNOLUM AMOL ANNADO IRRAM URRAK!

"NOOOOO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME! I'M DYING! I'M DYYYYYING! STOP IT! SOMEONE PLEASE STOP IT! HELP! HELP MEEEEEE! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEE! NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

CORY

By the time I come to, I see the sunrise. Morning. It's…It's morning.

The monster horde…is gone. All of Horrorville is nothing more than a bunch of ruins. And, somehow, we're all still alive.

Finally…I see a massive monstrous body that used to be the most dangerous being I have ever faced for what feels like my whole life.

He's dead. At last…

Slappy is finally dead.

"It…it worked!" Lisa gasps. "I…I can't believe it! It actually WORKED! YEAH HA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!"

"Believe me, when I changed the plan, I wasn't expecting it to work either." I state as she kicks the corpse. "But making himself an organic being ended up being Slappy's downfall. In the end, it was his own pride that finally killed him."

"It happened exactly as you proposed, Waldhorn." Darkwell smiles. "I stated the incantation as loudly as I could and transmitted it directly into Slappy's brain. There was no way he could have prevented himself from hearing it."

"So he's in the Shadow Realm now?"

"Limbo, most likely. I bet the Reapers are keeping him in the lowest, most secure and inaccessible areas of the void. Where Slappy will suffer for all eternity. He's stripped of all his powers, his magic, everything. Finally, my greatest failure has been corrected. At long last…I can finally rest…in peace…"

His work done, Darkwell finally allows himself to head to the Shadow Realm, accompanied by Reapers who guide him. After centuries of regret…he's finally earned it.

It's then that the phone rings. I answer it, with R.L. Stine on the other end.

"Cory? What happened? We were so close to the download, and then the tower was destroyed, but…did we really see what we thought we did?!"

"Slappy tried to make himself a real monster." I answered. "So I had to…improvise on the plan."

"So…it's…it's over? For good this time?"

"No."

"What? What do you mean? Slappy's finally dead! We've finally taken back Hollowville! We should start rebuilding! What do you mean 'It's not over'?! Of COURSE it's over!"

I only chuckle at this.

"Oh, Robert Lawrence Stine. You should know better by now. Don't tell me that you forgot…"

I see Lisa's face fall in horror at this. And the others look both confused and nervous.

"F-Forgot what? Cory, what are you talking about?! You're scaring me!"

"That's the point." I smirk, my eyes burning a fiery green. "Your stories…never end on a happy note. There's always…a twist…"