Chapter Two:
The Horror from The TV Dimension
Meggy stepped through the door of her clean house, and took a moment to pet her cat Loaf as he walked up to his owner with a "meow". The former Inkling picked up the orange feline and stroked his neck, listening to the sound of purring, then she headed to the soft three-seated sofa in the living room.
She sat down, and Loaf curled up in her lap before Meggy picked up the TV remote. She turned on the television, eager to see the Mushroom Kingdom News report, with Kermit the Frog once again delivering the top story of the hour.
"In the latest that has just come in, former supervillain SMG3 is advertising his Coffee & Bombs Cafe business across Mushroom City..." Kermit reported, "...and as you already know, Mr. Three's explosively exquisite cafe has not been doing so hot in terms of patronage as there have been few visits in the last month."
Footage in Mushroom City cropped up, with SMG3 holding up a sign related to his business with wide eyes as he ran around the streets, and cried; "Someone! Please come to SMG3's Coffee & Bombs! I can't run a cafe without any customers. I'm begging you! DON'T LET MY CAFE DIE!"
"Poor SMG3." Kermit said as he reappeared, "In other news, TV stations over the last twenty-four hours have been reporting odd anomalies, and a strange shadow making an appearance during broadcasts. According to an update, it seems the anomaly is hitting news broadcasts too. For instance, my source tells me we're about to encounter this right n..."
The signal cut off, and the speakers resonated with a whining noise. Eerie static appeared on the TV screen, and a dark shadow appeared, resembling someone wearing a hoodie. Meggy shivered to the sound of a creepy moan, then the news channel resurfaced.
'What was that?'
"At this time, we have no idea what is going on." Kermit reported, "But if this continues to happen, we will keep you posted. Now for your usual weather report..."
At the Mario residence, a remote went flying across the room, crashing against the side of the static-filled television set just before the walls resonated with the shrill, angry Italian-accented proclamation of, "MAMAF*ER!"
Mario slammed his fist angrily against the empty spot on the couch next to his seat. "Where's-a the damn signal?!" He yelled, "I was trying to-a watch that cooking episode in that South Park spin-off featuring Chef, and the TV starts acting all screwy on Mario! I thought we got rid of Mr. Puzzles!"
"We did get rid of Mr. Puzzles." Luigi told him, he was busy vacuuming.
"Well, it's-a like that piece of-a shit cursed every TV that Mario tries to watch!" The fat Italian exclaimed, "I'm-a calling the cable company and... What is that? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"
An ominous shadow had appeared on the static-filled screen, silently watching Mario through the television as if it was studying him. Odd moaning sounds filled the speakers, taking Luigi by surprise, and Mario picked up the spare remote. He pressed the OFF button, only for the TV to keep playing, and the dark figure continued to linger.
"Uhhhhhhhhh..." A voice moaned.
Luigi ran up, wondering what was going on. "What kind of television signal malfunction is-a this?!" He questioned, "And that moaning sound, it sounds like they're in pain, like they need help."
One moment later, the shadow vanished, and a message appeared with a black background; "I'm coming tonight, the television will not contain me, and you will know pain like I have!"
"Ooohhh..." Mario murmured, "Whomever they are, they must really hate Mario."
"I don't think they want you specifically, Mario." Luigi told him, "But, either way, that message was nasty. And yet, where did I see that shadow before?"
Mario raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, that outline looked a little familiar, I don't think we can put our finger on... it. Hey, there's the Chef Hour now! Good old folks of South Park, and thank golly we got a signal again..."
The static resided, allowing Mario to see footage of a kitchen with a man in chef's clothing, depicted in the 2D animation style of South Park itself. Mario had been following South Park for a while, so had SMG4, and the two of them had developed quite the connection with the show, but they couldn't begin to fathom why they did.
Owls hooted in the distance, and a breeze swept over the beach. Water rippled, and a few birds tweeted in the trees. A crab waddled along the shores, then it dug itself into the ground, vanishing from view. A full moon rose into the dark-blue sky, and the stars twinkled gracefully.
Boopkins sat back in his hut, rewatching episode 48 of Yu-Gi-Oh! with JubJub at his side. The green weeb smiled with contentment, and pat his little brother on the side of the head in a happy manner.
Tonight was nothing short of tranquil, the Mushroom Kingdom knew nothing but peace, despite the wacky state it had been in for years, and everyone's lives was in near-perfect harmony. JubJub leaned his head against his big brother's lap, and Boopkins gently fiddled with the green stem atop his head just before the exciting action scene came up.
In that moment, Boopkins was tempted to start playing with his Yu-Gi-Oh! card collection after watching the episode, especially since he didn't recall the last time he tried to show it to JubJub.
Click!
The signal suddenly cut out, and Yu-Gi-Oh! vanished, replaced by static, and a "no signal" message. Boopkins took a moment to inspect the connection, confused by what was even happening. According to the news, the evening weather was just fine, and the signal receiver was functioning quite well.
A hijacking was in progress, but the weeb couldn't tell who the hijackers were, and where they were striking from.
Boopkins looked at the TV, waiting for the signal to come back, and JubJub murmured nervously as he looked at his big brother. A split moment later, dark shadows took form on the screen, and something stirred behind the static. Ominous moaning noises flooded out of the speaker, and Boopkins picked up the remote in a state of confusion.
'I am coming.'
A message appeared on-screen, then the odd shadow appeared again. However, Boopkins could see it a little more clearly. The figure took the form of someone in a hoodie coat with their face partially covered by the hood, and their eyes stared through the screen, staring at Boopkins himself.
Eerie static flooded the TV again, followed by another appearance from the mystery figure as they came closer, closer, and closer. After a moment, the picture on the TV was all just static, with the only sound being a faint whine and a small hiss.
'I... am... comiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...'
A black-gloved hand reached through the screen, making its way into the real world, without a moment of warning. Both Fishy and JubJub jumped, terrified, and watched as a squat figure in an orange hoodie emerged from the TV screen, as if it had just been a portal.
The figure raised his head as he pushed himself further through the television, entering the real world, and Boopkins cried out with horror as he recognized the newcomer;
It was Kenny from South Park!
He was surrounded by black and orange specks, with hints of blood on his face. One eye had TV static in it, and the other eye looked like it was ready to bulge out of the socket at any moment. Kenny landed on the ground, and slowly rose to his feet with his arms held up as if he was reaching for something particular.
Kenny stared at Boopkins and Jubjub. And he took a step towards them, staring soullessly and evilly at the two brothers, with a mad, hungry expression on his bloodied face.
Kenny looked terrible for sure, but what was actually happening here?
"RUN, JUBJUB!" Boopkins cried.
JubJub whimpered, and he made a break for it, followed by his big brother. Kenny moved slowly, walking away from the TV as it switched off, and, with each step he took, a puddle-like patch of static was seen upon the ground. Everything around Kenny slowly turned into static, causing disorientations in reality itself.
