The New Normal – OMAKE – Meeting a Monster (Worm/Pokémon Crossover)
Jack walked down the rows of burning houses, letting the melody that was the terrorised screams of the town's former inhabitants fill his ears. The sounds of glass shattering and more high-pitched screaming told him that Shatterbird was still having her fun, and that there were still plenty of toys for his Slaughterhouse to enjoy.
Seeing someone running away in the distance, he idly swung his knife, sending out a bladed projection that tore a large cut into the woman's back that sent her sprawling to the ground. Her pained cry was musical, and he relished in watching her stare at him with eyes filled with fear and horror as she begged for her life.
He pretended to look away for a moment, deliberately turning his back to her to give her a moment of false hope that he might spare her – before slowly turning his head back around as he smiled down sadistically at her.
The final look of terrified realisation in her eyes as he cut her throat open was magnificent. And he let that moment stretch out as he watched her bleed out, savouring every moment until the light finally left her eyes.
With that bit of entertainment out of the way, he hummed a jolly tune to himself as he wandered through the village, casually looking for any survivors that were trying to hide away from their inevitable fate. Playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek never failed to be entertaining – he always found it interesting to see the creative spots that people tried to hide in, fuelled by their desperation and fear, even if it was all futile in the end.
However, after a few minutes of walking around, he ended up stumbling across a curious sight. Despite all of the death and mayhem around them, he found a singular man sitting on a bench. Even as the other inhabitants of the village were all running for their lives or screaming for help that would never come, the man seemed to make no effort to move as he simply sat there unbothered.
He looked middle-aged, and had weird and spiky blue hair. But what caught Jack's attention the most was the utter lifelessness in his eyes – the same as the very corpses he had just stepped over. It was almost like the man was waiting to die.
Yet where others would see hopelessness, Jack saw opportunity. He always knew that one of his greatest talents was his ability to twist people to his way of thinking, and he was confident that converting a man with such lifeless eyes over to joining up with his Slaughterhouse would be as easy as stabbing a baby.
After all, the man looked like he was already moments away from turning into a serial killer anyways. He just needed a little nudge.
"Hey there!" He said cheerfully, deliberately keeping his knife out of his hands but still visible on his belt, "You seem a little lost."
The man turned to him with the same blank expression, "Can I help you?"
"Mhm. You can." He grinned, "You see, I have a question. Why aren't you running away like everyone else? Can't you hear the screams? Can't you see the blood and gore staining the streets and walls? Aren't you scared?"
"No." The man shook his head, utterly emotionless, "There is nothing to be terrified of. And that won't change even if you brandish that knife against me."
Jack chuckled at his false bravado, "Come now, no need to be so paranoid. I would never do that. Oh, and where are my manners? My name is Jack Slash, but I'm sure you already knew that."
"I didn't." The man replied instantly, which caused Jack's eyes to twitch. The man had to be lying, there was no way he didn't know his name.
"There's no need to be shy. Everyone knows who I am." He forced out a smile, swallowing down the slight irritation that he felt, "And what's your name? It's rude to not introduce yourself."
"It's Cyrus." The now-named man responded, "And you still haven't told me why you've approached me."
He sat down on the bench next to Cyrus, intentionally inching his way closer to the man as to invade his personal space, "You see, Cyrus, I feel like I can understand you. I see the lifelessness and emptiness in your eyes, and I know what you must be feeling. You must feel like the world had wronged you in some way, and that everything you once thought and believed in was suddenly turned on its head."
The man stayed tellingly silent, which told Jack he was on the right track, "You must be feeling betrayed by the world. And if so, then it's only natural to want to take revenge for its betrayal. You know how screwed up the world is – and how disgusting and vile that people can be. So why not expose that inner ugliness to the rest of the world, to not let the people hide behind their false acts of civility and kindness?"
"Look around you." He gestured to the screams and terror that his Slaughterhouse inflicted. To the mangled corpses and splatters of blood painting the walls of the once-peaceful town, "Don't you agree that this is more real than what the rest of the world pretends? That given the world is already so corrupt and vile anyways, isn't it better to stop pretending to be civilised and simply embrace the chaos and inner darkness that we all have within us? To finally be able to let yourself loose?"
"Don't you want to have… fun, Cyrus?"
From a man with such lifeless eyes, Jack had expected anything ranging from a half-hearted denial to a thoughtful acceptance. From his experience, he knew that his natural charisma was at least enough to make people hesitate and consider his words.
However, what he didn't expect was for Cyrus to firmly shake his head.
"You're half-wrong, Mr. Slash." Cyrus replied, his tone as blank as ever, "I don't disagree with the first part. The world is pointless, and the civility that people put up don't matter in the slightest. However, to simply indulge in wanton murder and hedonism because of that is the wrong way to think about it."
Jack frowned. This was not going as planned, "And why would you think that?"
"Because the ideal world that you envision is one where you're able to indulge in your every desire. Where the world would eternally echo with the terrified screams of your victims, where you are feared as their eternal tormentor." Cyrus said, "But your goals are predictable. I had a subordinate of mine that once wanted the same, because he was a simple-minded man who was easily manipulated by his desires."
"The way you think is akin to a child. A child who is letting out a tantrum because he wasn't able to get what he wants." Cyrus continued, unbothered by the way that Jack's hands clenched menacingly around his knife, "No, if you truly believe that the world is meaningless, then you wouldn't have such short-sighted goals."
"Short-sighted?" Jack scoffed, "How is bringing death and destruction to the world short-sighted?"
"Because your methods are short-sighted." Cyrus countered, "Look at you – playing at a roaming band of killers and murderers. I may not know of your past actions, but my eyes see enough. You're merely a sadist with delusions of grandeur. You think you are some harbinger of destruction. You are not. You are nothing more than a murderer who is trying far too hard to leave your mark on history. That is not a man who understands what needs to be done to purge the world of its corruption."
"Instead, you should be trying to obtain enough power to create a world of nothing, for nothing. If you did understand that nothing matters in the world, then your aim should not be displays of cruelty, but complete and utter annihilation and eradication. Create a world where nothing exists. A world free of falsehoods, of unnecessary emotions, of impure humanity. A world that would be eternally perfect. That is the true way forwards."
Jack blinked incomprehensively as Cyrus stood up, "But I can see it in your eyes that you cannot comprehend my words, which only proves my earlier point. You are no visionary. Your so-called ideals are merely used as an excuse for you to indulge in your own cruel desires, leaving you too blind to understand the right path forwards. So let me make it a bit simpler for you, Mr. Slash."
Cyrus stood up and stepped closer, looming over him as he stared down with his soulless eyes. Jack had to force himself not to flinch away. How? How was this powerless man managing to frighten him?! He could cut him down in an instant – he held all the power here. So why did his instincts scream at him to leave?!
"Your intentions are see-through. You intend to have me join your roving band of murderers as your latest recruit, to twist me to your point of view. But you and I are not the same, and we will never be the same. For you are too childish and exploitable to be anything more than a pawn, and you are too trapped in your own delusions to see otherwise. Had I the power, resources, or time to bend you to my will, I would have already done so by now. But I do not, so I shall simply make my leave."
"Farewell, Mr. Slash. I have places to be. Enjoy your torturing."
And without another word, the man simply walked away, not even bothering to acknowledge Jack again.
Jack stared at Cyrus' retreating figure; his earlier sense of fear now gone as it was replaced by an overwhelming sense of frustration and annoyance. That was not how he imagined the conversation going. His usual silver tongue had failed him today.
He felt his teeth clench. How dare a man like him talk to him like that? How dare he decry his goals and call him delusional?! How dare he walk away from him like he was nothing more than a scolded child?!
Before he knew it, his arm moved on his own, sending a powerful slash that sliced right through Cyrus' arm, causing him to fall over as blood gushed out of his decapitated arm.
Jack sneered down at Cyrus, "Not so high and mighty now wriggling on the ground like that, are you? You think you're better than me—"
"This is exactly what I mean." Cyrus interrupted, his voice completely level despite having just lost an arm. His demeanour didn't even change even as blood poured out of his wound, "You are too impulsive. Too emotional. You couldn't accept me having the last word, so you had to establish your 'dominance' through the only means that you know how to – through unnecessary violence. You are still ruled by your emotions."
"Shut up! SHUT UP!" His knife came down again and stabbed right through his shoulder, but there was no pained reaction from Cyrus. In fact, his expression didn't even so much as twitch even as he was moments away from bleeding out. Instead, Cyrus continued speaking as normal, not even acknowledged his new wounds.
"Think about it a bit more, Mr. Slash." He simply continued, his lifeless eyes staring back unblinkingly even as Jack continued to stab him, "I'm not looking down or you or demeaning you. I'm just teaching you how to be better, how to actually use your talents for something more purposeful than childish violence. If you can just think a little bit further, then you can help shape the world to how it is supposed to be. A world devoid of human spirit; a world of nothing. A utopia of purity—"
Jack had no intention of listening to his insane prattling any longer, and he brought down his knife again and again as he took out his frustrations on Cyrus' helpless body. Each stab was another attempt at regaining his lost pride; to reassert dominance over the man who had dared to insult him.
And yet the actions brought him no satisfaction, for Cyrus did not even react to the pain or his imminent death. He simply lay there – his eyes judging him disappointingly as he waited for his death.
Jack had no idea when Cyrus had even died, for his eyes looked exactly the same even in death. But even as he threw away Cyrus' mutilated body to the side of the road, those judging eyes refused to disappear from his mind – Cyrus' words continuing to haunt him even now.
No, he refused to be proven wrong. He was no child. He was the harbinger of doom – the lord of murder. His name would cause fear to anyone who spoke of it. He would not be bested by a few words from a dead man.
Even if his words rankled at his pride – forming a permanent scar that would never quite go away.
A.N. This was just a one-shot that I had thought up ever since Cyrus' defeat – something completely different that I wanted to write to both challenge myself with writing in a different medium, and because I always thought it would be interesting if Cyrus would meet up with another villain.
I apologise for those unfamiliar with Worm or Jack Slash. But I really wanted to write this scene out, as I thought Cyrus' ideology would contrast enough with Jack Slash to make for an interesting discussion. And yes, the 'monster' described in the chapter's title is Cyrus. Not Jack.
Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought about it! I might do more of these special OMAKEs in the future if I have the time and if inspiration strikes!
And to anyone who wants to support me, please check out my p atreon at CartecTNN where you can read 8 advanced chapters! Thanks to those who have supported me already!