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Hello, everyone! It's a little late in the making, but here it is, the results of the Halloween Exquisite Corpse! We had six participants this time. In alphabetical order, we had Canisaries, DawningWinds, Flaze, Rainfall, SpookySpy, and The Walrein! Can you guess who did what part? The answers are at the bottom, but try to guess as you read! How many did you get right? Feel free to reply below how you did!
For rating purposes, this Corpse is rated TEEN for dark themes, violence, and some cursing.
And now, here are the answers... How many did you get right?
For rating purposes, this Corpse is rated TEEN for dark themes, violence, and some cursing.
April walks through the tunnels of the dungeon, looking around, hoping to see something besides rocks and the walls. Which are made of rocks, so just rocks, really. Actually, not even rocks, it’s too dark to really see anything but their silhouettes. And she doesn’t really know how far she’s walked. The dungeon separated her from her partner, Cotton, while it was shifting, a while ago. Because of course, it did, that’s just her luck.
She’s probably been wandering aimlessly for hours when a strange purple glow catches her attention. Perhaps it’s a lantern brought by one of the lost Pokémon? She hops after it excitedly, not stopping to think about what could go wrong. April’s been down here for who knows how long and hasn’t run across any dungeon Pokémon, so why would she expect to now?
The Buneary chases after the light, stopping when she sees a Lampent. Lampent, Lampent, were there any Lampent on her list of missing Pokémon? Cotton has the bag. And with the bag, that means he also has the list, but April racks her brain, and she really doesn’t think so. That means this is a dungeon Pokémon. Crap. Where’s Cotton when you need him? The Cottonee wouldn’t be much better off, being a grass-type against a fire-type, but at least he’d be able to do something. When she makes it out of here, she’ll definitely be looking into learning some moves that’ll actually do something to ghost-types she has to fight in dungeons. If she makes it out of here.
Weirdly enough, though, the Lampent doesn’t attack her. It just stares blankly at her with unblinking yellow eyes, dim purple light flickering over her. It’s gonna burn her soul, isn’t it? April doesn’t know exactly how that works but that’s probably what it’s about to do. She should run. She should definitely run.
But, she notices as she turns to do so, the tunnel shifted closed behind her, so running isn’t an option. April swears this dungeon is trying to kill her. She stares back at the Lampent, silently pleading to it not to burn her spirit. Can Lampents hear? Would pleading out loud actually accomplish anything? Maybe she should try that?
After a few moments, it turns slowly away from her, floating in a perfectly straight line down the tunnel. Should she follow it? This is a suspect, she realizes. Especially being the only Pokémon she’s seen since she got here. And a Pokémon notorious for soul-burning. Which means she has to follow it. Of course. Not like she’s risking her soul doing that.
She drops on all fours and bounds after the Lampent. The tunnels she follows it down only seem to have one viable path, so losing the ghost-type would probably be fairly difficult. Occasionally, she glances behind her to see that the path she came down has closed itself. And the dungeon isn’t even trying to impede her following of Lampent. Neither of those are good signs. But she’s also left with no choice but to continue.
Eventually, the Lampent leads her into a large cavern. April steps in carefully and looks around. Inside, several Pokémon are milling about, seeming completely unaware of their surroundings. She thinks some of them might be Pokemon she and Cotton are supposed to be investigating the disappearances of, but without the list, and from standing several meters away from the closest of them, she can’t be sure. A black and purple Pokémon floats in the center of the room, with two perfectly identical orbs on either side of her head, each held in place by two bows, along with two larger bows on her front, and a creepy smile plastered on her face.
“Welcome back, Lampy,” she says, floating over to where April and the Lampent are, “I see you brought me a new friend.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t actually know this Lampent,” April says, “I’m just…” She glances around quickly, seeing that the exit behind her is gone, and that there’s another toward the other side of the room, and sprints towards it, but is stopped by… something.
“Please don’t leave,” the other Pokemon says in a monotone voice; she’s standing on April’s shadow, which, even though it should have no effect at all, seems to be stopping April from moving, “I promise you’ll have fun.”
She’s probably been wandering aimlessly for hours when a strange purple glow catches her attention. Perhaps it’s a lantern brought by one of the lost Pokémon? She hops after it excitedly, not stopping to think about what could go wrong. April’s been down here for who knows how long and hasn’t run across any dungeon Pokémon, so why would she expect to now?
The Buneary chases after the light, stopping when she sees a Lampent. Lampent, Lampent, were there any Lampent on her list of missing Pokémon? Cotton has the bag. And with the bag, that means he also has the list, but April racks her brain, and she really doesn’t think so. That means this is a dungeon Pokémon. Crap. Where’s Cotton when you need him? The Cottonee wouldn’t be much better off, being a grass-type against a fire-type, but at least he’d be able to do something. When she makes it out of here, she’ll definitely be looking into learning some moves that’ll actually do something to ghost-types she has to fight in dungeons. If she makes it out of here.
Weirdly enough, though, the Lampent doesn’t attack her. It just stares blankly at her with unblinking yellow eyes, dim purple light flickering over her. It’s gonna burn her soul, isn’t it? April doesn’t know exactly how that works but that’s probably what it’s about to do. She should run. She should definitely run.
But, she notices as she turns to do so, the tunnel shifted closed behind her, so running isn’t an option. April swears this dungeon is trying to kill her. She stares back at the Lampent, silently pleading to it not to burn her spirit. Can Lampents hear? Would pleading out loud actually accomplish anything? Maybe she should try that?
After a few moments, it turns slowly away from her, floating in a perfectly straight line down the tunnel. Should she follow it? This is a suspect, she realizes. Especially being the only Pokémon she’s seen since she got here. And a Pokémon notorious for soul-burning. Which means she has to follow it. Of course. Not like she’s risking her soul doing that.
She drops on all fours and bounds after the Lampent. The tunnels she follows it down only seem to have one viable path, so losing the ghost-type would probably be fairly difficult. Occasionally, she glances behind her to see that the path she came down has closed itself. And the dungeon isn’t even trying to impede her following of Lampent. Neither of those are good signs. But she’s also left with no choice but to continue.
Eventually, the Lampent leads her into a large cavern. April steps in carefully and looks around. Inside, several Pokémon are milling about, seeming completely unaware of their surroundings. She thinks some of them might be Pokemon she and Cotton are supposed to be investigating the disappearances of, but without the list, and from standing several meters away from the closest of them, she can’t be sure. A black and purple Pokémon floats in the center of the room, with two perfectly identical orbs on either side of her head, each held in place by two bows, along with two larger bows on her front, and a creepy smile plastered on her face.
“Welcome back, Lampy,” she says, floating over to where April and the Lampent are, “I see you brought me a new friend.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t actually know this Lampent,” April says, “I’m just…” She glances around quickly, seeing that the exit behind her is gone, and that there’s another toward the other side of the room, and sprints towards it, but is stopped by… something.
“Please don’t leave,” the other Pokemon says in a monotone voice; she’s standing on April’s shadow, which, even though it should have no effect at all, seems to be stopping April from moving, “I promise you’ll have fun.”
what is happening what is happening
April had prided herself on her countenance, but her situation was looking increasingly anomalous.
what is happening what is happening what is happening
There should be no reason she couldn’t move. It wasn’t that she was frozen in fear; rather, it seemed as if her limbs were suspended in place, and a curious sense of buoyant groundedness pervaded her lifted arm. She was still breathing, that was good, and she could feel her blood pulsing through her body, heart imperceptibly ticking faster, the lone pokemon with her surely couldn’t notice that, no…
With some alarm, she noticed that an opaque blackness had started bubbling from her strange new acquaintance, from nothing, slowly covering her from bottom to top.
She watched more in fascination than horror, as her companion became enveloped in an obsidian sheen, and slowly morphed into a smaller, shapeless amoeboid, the blackness sloughing off into nothing as jet white filled the now brightly glowing form, accompanied by unblinking eyes that were two red rings and a closed mouthline that was locked into a state of ceaseless sorrow. A bleached coral base shell had materialized, in addition to the now-cursola’s ghostly soul-shell of faintest wisteria, together suspended in mid-air.
what is happening what is happening what is happening what is happening what is happening
April heard the refrain running voicelessly through her mind, but she found that she was calm again.
“Sure, let’s go have some fun! What would you like to do?”
The cursola’s soul-shell glimmered, and she turned wordlessly and drifted toward the fields.
The buneary followed the now-cursola as though it were the most natural thing in the world. When had the movement suspension worn off? What even was it? The thought registered in the back closet of her mind, a mundane detail of accounting that bore no significance. There were more important things to do. Fields to visit. …Fields? There all along, there all along.
most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing
Soon they were near the edge of the cornfields, the bunny and her acquaintance coral spectre. Fields in front of them, the land all around. Trees sharing leaves with the wind dotted the view, mountains yawning in the distance, stream piping chipper as ever alongside them, wisps of clouds floating the red-tinged blue sky before dusk. Crafts pumpkin phantump decorations were strewn about the edges of the cornfield. The maize rose up to the tip of April’s ears, when excited. Cursola looked back at April, and entered the field. With a smile, April hopped along after her friend.
meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze
meander the maize
The sun had fallen lower, and it was closer to dusk now, but it was still bright. Exploring the maize map with cursola had been enjoyable. Several times they had stumbled upon a new corviknight mock-up, staked to the ground. Each corvi-fright scarecrow was of a different imitation plume and construction, but all had with their pretend wings unfurled for the full wingspan. Gargoyles they were, iron feathers of adamancy, guarding against what? April didn’t know, and it didn’t matter, for they were fun works of idiosyncratic art. A few times they had seen Christmas trees—but it was still newly October? It didn’t make sense, but all these details didn’t bother April. Coral and bunny. Traipsing the fields.
The sun continued setting.
A vague recollection hit April, as though it were from a few days before, and not hours, that her friend… companion? Stranger? cursola had been another pokemon before, and she couldn’t remember what; they had spent the early evening frolicking the corn mazes of Christmas trees and corvi-fright scarecrows, and the sun was still setting, and little by little a dull sense rose from the mind-ground like a little germinating seed, dutifully pushing up its stem, that there was something she was supposed to do, something she had to accomplish, before dawn the next day.
April had prided herself on her countenance, but her situation was looking increasingly anomalous.
what is happening what is happening what is happening
There should be no reason she couldn’t move. It wasn’t that she was frozen in fear; rather, it seemed as if her limbs were suspended in place, and a curious sense of buoyant groundedness pervaded her lifted arm. She was still breathing, that was good, and she could feel her blood pulsing through her body, heart imperceptibly ticking faster, the lone pokemon with her surely couldn’t notice that, no…
With some alarm, she noticed that an opaque blackness had started bubbling from her strange new acquaintance, from nothing, slowly covering her from bottom to top.
She watched more in fascination than horror, as her companion became enveloped in an obsidian sheen, and slowly morphed into a smaller, shapeless amoeboid, the blackness sloughing off into nothing as jet white filled the now brightly glowing form, accompanied by unblinking eyes that were two red rings and a closed mouthline that was locked into a state of ceaseless sorrow. A bleached coral base shell had materialized, in addition to the now-cursola’s ghostly soul-shell of faintest wisteria, together suspended in mid-air.
what is happening what is happening what is happening what is happening what is happening
April heard the refrain running voicelessly through her mind, but she found that she was calm again.
“Sure, let’s go have some fun! What would you like to do?”
The cursola’s soul-shell glimmered, and she turned wordlessly and drifted toward the fields.
The buneary followed the now-cursola as though it were the most natural thing in the world. When had the movement suspension worn off? What even was it? The thought registered in the back closet of her mind, a mundane detail of accounting that bore no significance. There were more important things to do. Fields to visit. …Fields? There all along, there all along.
most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing most natural thing
Soon they were near the edge of the cornfields, the bunny and her acquaintance coral spectre. Fields in front of them, the land all around. Trees sharing leaves with the wind dotted the view, mountains yawning in the distance, stream piping chipper as ever alongside them, wisps of clouds floating the red-tinged blue sky before dusk. Crafts pumpkin phantump decorations were strewn about the edges of the cornfield. The maize rose up to the tip of April’s ears, when excited. Cursola looked back at April, and entered the field. With a smile, April hopped along after her friend.
meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze meander the maize maze
meander the maize
The sun had fallen lower, and it was closer to dusk now, but it was still bright. Exploring the maize map with cursola had been enjoyable. Several times they had stumbled upon a new corviknight mock-up, staked to the ground. Each corvi-fright scarecrow was of a different imitation plume and construction, but all had with their pretend wings unfurled for the full wingspan. Gargoyles they were, iron feathers of adamancy, guarding against what? April didn’t know, and it didn’t matter, for they were fun works of idiosyncratic art. A few times they had seen Christmas trees—but it was still newly October? It didn’t make sense, but all these details didn’t bother April. Coral and bunny. Traipsing the fields.
The sun continued setting.
A vague recollection hit April, as though it were from a few days before, and not hours, that her friend… companion? Stranger? cursola had been another pokemon before, and she couldn’t remember what; they had spent the early evening frolicking the corn mazes of Christmas trees and corvi-fright scarecrows, and the sun was still setting, and little by little a dull sense rose from the mind-ground like a little germinating seed, dutifully pushing up its stem, that there was something she was supposed to do, something she had to accomplish, before dawn the next day.
"But what...?" - She thought.
"And how would I know...?"
April rolled her ears and closed her eyes. She couldn't think of anything, however, which made her upset.
Tick.
Tok.
"... Huh...?"
Tick.
Tok.
"What is this...? It sounds like..."
Tick.
Tok.
"But that's not possible... I must be imagining this..."
Tick.
Tok.
April tried to ignore this sound, but it kept getting louder and louder. Annoyed, she opened her eyes.
It was dark. April could barelly see her own hands. As she stood up, she heard a creak. The sound of the ticking clock didn't stop.
"Wh... What is this...? Where am I...?"
"Who is there?"
April froze. The voice was masculine, and it felt strangely familiar to her.
"I know you're there..."
April heard someone's getting closer. The Buneary didn't know what to do - should she run? Try to hide? Was the owner of the voice hostile? She tried to move, but she couldn't even raise her leg...
"What... What is going on...?"
April was sweating, terrified. She was hoping at this point that all of this was just a dream, that nothing she's facing is reall... Maybe that was the case? She tried to pinch herself, but she was incapable of elevating her hand, either...
Creak!
A small beam of light forced April to squint her eyes. Soon after, a Zoroark stepped into the room, immidiately sighting her.
"Who are you?"
Buneary tried to reply, but she couldn't open her mouth. The Pokemon in front of her felt awfully familiar...
"Why are you in my house?"
April spoted something was moving behind Zoroark. She tried to say something to him...
And this is when she woke up.
Breathing hard, her thoughts were in chaos. She tried to move her limbs and sighed in relief at having full controll over her body again.
"What was that... What have I just witnessed...?"
It was just a dream, she thought. Nothing important or to worry about...
And yet, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't held back the feeling that whom she saw in that dream was a real person, someone who had actually existed... And she wanted to know more about him.
"And how would I know...?"
April rolled her ears and closed her eyes. She couldn't think of anything, however, which made her upset.
Tick.
Tok.
"... Huh...?"
Tick.
Tok.
"What is this...? It sounds like..."
Tick.
Tok.
"But that's not possible... I must be imagining this..."
Tick.
Tok.
April tried to ignore this sound, but it kept getting louder and louder. Annoyed, she opened her eyes.
It was dark. April could barelly see her own hands. As she stood up, she heard a creak. The sound of the ticking clock didn't stop.
"Wh... What is this...? Where am I...?"
"Who is there?"
April froze. The voice was masculine, and it felt strangely familiar to her.
"I know you're there..."
April heard someone's getting closer. The Buneary didn't know what to do - should she run? Try to hide? Was the owner of the voice hostile? She tried to move, but she couldn't even raise her leg...
"What... What is going on...?"
April was sweating, terrified. She was hoping at this point that all of this was just a dream, that nothing she's facing is reall... Maybe that was the case? She tried to pinch herself, but she was incapable of elevating her hand, either...
Creak!
A small beam of light forced April to squint her eyes. Soon after, a Zoroark stepped into the room, immidiately sighting her.
"Who are you?"
Buneary tried to reply, but she couldn't open her mouth. The Pokemon in front of her felt awfully familiar...
"Why are you in my house?"
April spoted something was moving behind Zoroark. She tried to say something to him...
And this is when she woke up.
Breathing hard, her thoughts were in chaos. She tried to move her limbs and sighed in relief at having full controll over her body again.
"What was that... What have I just witnessed...?"
It was just a dream, she thought. Nothing important or to worry about...
And yet, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't held back the feeling that whom she saw in that dream was a real person, someone who had actually existed... And she wanted to know more about him.
That thought drove her to seek answers, to figure out the meaning behind her vision. Some told her it was futile, why would she go after someone she didn’t know, let alone wasn’t sure actually existed?
But she didn’t listen, she stayed awake at night thinking about it, she slept wishing she’d see that dream again, so that she could reach out and talk to that figure, to satiate the curiosity that was consuming her existence more and more.
She’d searched up and down around town, asking the pelipper mailman if she’d seen him amongst the townsfolk. She’d go to the bars and restaurants to talk to customers and staff.
Unfortunately, her search was fruitless and before she realized it she’d resorted to a higher calling.
Madam Psi was a wise Alakazam, famed for her clairvoyance and ability to see what normal eyes couldn’t it.
Not too long ago April would’ve thought this was crazy, she’d call it a scam and hop away. But now, now Madam Psi was her last beacon of hope for finding the identity of her dream figure.
But she didn’t listen, she stayed awake at night thinking about it, she slept wishing she’d see that dream again, so that she could reach out and talk to that figure, to satiate the curiosity that was consuming her existence more and more.
She’d searched up and down around town, asking the pelipper mailman if she’d seen him amongst the townsfolk. She’d go to the bars and restaurants to talk to customers and staff.
Unfortunately, her search was fruitless and before she realized it she’d resorted to a higher calling.
Madam Psi was a wise Alakazam, famed for her clairvoyance and ability to see what normal eyes couldn’t it.
Not too long ago April would’ve thought this was crazy, she’d call it a scam and hop away. But now, now Madam Psi was her last beacon of hope for finding the identity of her dream figure.
She snarled and dug her paw into her bag. Slamming the necessary coins on the counter, she grunted, “Fine, then. Work your magic.”
Madam Psi nodded with a smile part regular customer service, part unconcealed arrogance. “Very well. Follow me to the dream room, please.”
She hovered past the curtains in the back, and April begrudgingly followed. The room she entered smelled like candles and, unsurprisingly, contained many of them, burning atop the various low shelves and cupboards. Between them stood strange statuettes, idols and pieces of jewelry propped up on small metal stands. In the center of the room lay two satin pillows. Madam Psi sat on the one further, and April deduced the closer one was hers. She made sure it was clean before sitting down.
“Well, then,” Madam Psi began, “make yourself comfortable and relax your body.”
April did as instructed, though kept her paws on her bag. Any security measures she could still take were to be taken.
“We will attempt to plunge you into the dreamscape while conscious, so that you may find and trap the one that haunts you,” she continued, voice smooth and stable. From one of the cupboards, she produced a pendulum, precious stones embedded in the metal disk. Everything’s gotta be extra with her, huh, thought April.
“Now,” Madam Psi said, letting the weight hang and sway freely, “watch this pendulum as it swings. Focus on its motion, how it sparkles in the candlelight..."
April followed her advice... and before even five seconds had passed, she already felt drowsiness creeping in.
“I will now begin to chant the words of the spell,” said Madam Psi. “Please still continue to hold your focus on the pendulum.”
April didn't have to try hard. On further inspection, the disk was rather captivating…
She felt her eyes close, and she let them. But just as they had shut completely, she opened them in a flash, as if she'd been teetering on the edge of a cliff.
She would've sighed in relief, but she saw the world around her had changed - no cupboards, no candles, just a murky, shifting violet. And right at the center of her vision --
She remembered what this all was for.
"Hey!" she shouted at the dark silhouette, climbing to her feet. Already, it flinched and began to run away - but April followed.
"Get back here!" she yelled. "Get back here and show yourself!"
But the shadow picked up its pace, giggling as it moved. April’s paws couldn’t keep up…
Wait! she thought. I don’t need to run to catch up, this is my dream!
She imagined serpentine chains, glistening gold, striking for the shadow - and it happened. The chains coiled around their prey, fastening it in place, and so April could sprint to the stranger and finally find out their identity.
Or she would have, if it hadn’t been so darn dark. She grunted to herself and yelled, “Light!”
From the heavens shone down a spotlight, illuminating them both with a golden glow. It revealed… someone all too familiar.
Herself.
“Wh-what?” April stuttered. “You’re… me?”
Her double gave a toothy grin. “No, silly. I’m not you.”
With those words, the chains shattered. The buneary, freed, stood up, that eerily worriless smile still on her face. She looked deep into April’s eyes, unflinching. “I’m the real April.”
Madam Psi nodded with a smile part regular customer service, part unconcealed arrogance. “Very well. Follow me to the dream room, please.”
She hovered past the curtains in the back, and April begrudgingly followed. The room she entered smelled like candles and, unsurprisingly, contained many of them, burning atop the various low shelves and cupboards. Between them stood strange statuettes, idols and pieces of jewelry propped up on small metal stands. In the center of the room lay two satin pillows. Madam Psi sat on the one further, and April deduced the closer one was hers. She made sure it was clean before sitting down.
“Well, then,” Madam Psi began, “make yourself comfortable and relax your body.”
April did as instructed, though kept her paws on her bag. Any security measures she could still take were to be taken.
“We will attempt to plunge you into the dreamscape while conscious, so that you may find and trap the one that haunts you,” she continued, voice smooth and stable. From one of the cupboards, she produced a pendulum, precious stones embedded in the metal disk. Everything’s gotta be extra with her, huh, thought April.
“Now,” Madam Psi said, letting the weight hang and sway freely, “watch this pendulum as it swings. Focus on its motion, how it sparkles in the candlelight..."
April followed her advice... and before even five seconds had passed, she already felt drowsiness creeping in.
“I will now begin to chant the words of the spell,” said Madam Psi. “Please still continue to hold your focus on the pendulum.”
April didn't have to try hard. On further inspection, the disk was rather captivating…
She felt her eyes close, and she let them. But just as they had shut completely, she opened them in a flash, as if she'd been teetering on the edge of a cliff.
She would've sighed in relief, but she saw the world around her had changed - no cupboards, no candles, just a murky, shifting violet. And right at the center of her vision --
She remembered what this all was for.
"Hey!" she shouted at the dark silhouette, climbing to her feet. Already, it flinched and began to run away - but April followed.
"Get back here!" she yelled. "Get back here and show yourself!"
But the shadow picked up its pace, giggling as it moved. April’s paws couldn’t keep up…
Wait! she thought. I don’t need to run to catch up, this is my dream!
She imagined serpentine chains, glistening gold, striking for the shadow - and it happened. The chains coiled around their prey, fastening it in place, and so April could sprint to the stranger and finally find out their identity.
Or she would have, if it hadn’t been so darn dark. She grunted to herself and yelled, “Light!”
From the heavens shone down a spotlight, illuminating them both with a golden glow. It revealed… someone all too familiar.
Herself.
“Wh-what?” April stuttered. “You’re… me?”
Her double gave a toothy grin. “No, silly. I’m not you.”
With those words, the chains shattered. The buneary, freed, stood up, that eerily worriless smile still on her face. She looked deep into April’s eyes, unflinching. “I’m the real April.”
Oh. Come. The frick. On! Was this creature – which definitely wasn’t the ‘real April’ - immune to everything? One-shot orbs didn’t work. Kicking it into a pool of lava didn’t work. Perish song didn’t work. And, apparently, luring it onto a trap which dropped a one-ton boulder on its head didn’t work either. “Just die already!” April screamed. The blast wand held in her tightly coiled ear throbbed with power, and shot out a bolt of radiant energy that struck the impostor right in the chest – and then passed straight through her, striking the boulder behind her.
KRA-KOOM! Fragments of stone shot everywhere as the rock exploded. One of them collided with April’s forehead, knocking her to the ground. Her vision blurred, blood dripping into her eyes. She struggled to get up, ears ringing, but a furry foot pressed against her chest, forcing April back to the ground. It was the creature, completely unaffected by the explosion.
“It’s over, usurper. The truth can’t be killed,” it said, smiling down at her. Although April could barely see anything else in the cavern through the haze of pain and confusion, oddly, she could make out every single detail of the creature perfectly. It was like looking into a mirror – every feature of it matched hers perfectly, except that this thing wasn’t currently bleeding from a massive head wound.
“What- what do you even want from me,” April spluttered. Her blast wand had gone flying out of her grip, and her bag was out of reach. All she could do was feebly attempt to shove the creature off her chest with her ears and arms, to no avail.
“Simple. I want revenge,” the creature replied.
“Revenge for what?” April spat. “I never saw you until the day you showed up and started attacking me!”
The thing’s expression didn’t waver as it continued to stare down at her. “Oh, we’ve known each other for a long, long time now. Nine-hundred-and-ninety-two days, usurper. Twenty-three thousand, eight-hundred and thirteen hours. One million, four-hundred-any-twenty-eight-thousand, seven-hundred-and-ninety-four seconds. Ninety-six, now. That’s how long you’ve been using my body.”
Using my body? Nine-hundred-and-ninety-two days was, what, a little over two and a half years ago? Wasn’t that about the time when-
“Picture this, usurper: You’re going down to the beach to collect seashells to decorate your latest pottery. Your life is simple, but fulfilling. You’ve got a nice home, friends who care about you, and you’re just about to propose to the ‘mon you’ve loved your whole life. But then, something happens. You suddenly pass out, and when you wake up, you’re completely paralyzed. Can’t move a single limb. Can’t even blink. Can’t even breathe. Despite your Limber ability, no less! But just when you think you’re about to asphyxiate, you start moving again! Except it’s not you who’s moving. Your ears are slowly curling and uncurling of their own volition. Your legs work and push you upright, and then your head turns to stare down at your arms, unblinking, as if you’ve never seen them before. Is this starting to sound familiar, usurper?”
What? That- that didn’t make any sense! April just had amnesia, it wasn’t like she’d replaced someone else! “I – I didn’t take your-” she started, but her double kept going, cutting her off.
“At first, you think it must be some sort of weird dream. But everything still looks and feels like real life. You can still feel pain, when whoever’s controlling your body clumsily trips over your own feet and hits your head on a stone. You can still feel taste, when they stumble into somebody’s home at random and start forcing those gods-awful bitter durin berry slices into your mouth. You can still feel shame, when the mon you love comes home and discovers you’ve ransacked their cottage like a feral animal. And it just keeps going and going. You watch as your old relationships are ruined one by one, as everyone realizes the being who’s taken over your body is nothing like you. They’re rude, they’re blasphemous, they’re reckless. They sell off all the pottery you’ve spent years decorating, and waste the money gambling on fool-hardy expeditions into mystery dungeons. And every single one of the agonizing injuries they take during those delves, you have to feel, too!”
“I – I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I didn’t know, okay!” April blurted out, still struggling to free herself from her double’s weight. A slight wind was starting to blow through the cavern now. It would be dangerous to remain there too much longer.
“Oh, you’re sorry, are you?” the ‘real’ April said sweetly. “That’s funny. It didn’t seem like you were sorry at all earlier! You never once tried to figure out why you had suddenly woken up with amnesia, did you? It didn’t bother you in the slightest that you behaved nothing like what the ‘old’ April had. And when I first figured out how to make myself appear to you, you kept running away from me! You tried to kill me!”
April realized something. “You’re – you’re just a hallucination,” she said. “That’s why I can’t kill you. And all the other weird things that have been going on lately – those were hallucinations too, weren’t they? You’ve been screwing with my mind.”
“That’s right, rabbit!” ‘Real’ April giggled. “It’s allllllllllllllllllllllllllllll in your head. In my head. Except it’s not just hallucinations anymore, is it? I can stop you from moving now, too. And this dungeon – that’s perfectly real. You’re actually going to die here when it re-arranges itself. You’re going to get ground up between the shifting walls until there’s nothing left of you, like an overripe berry struck by a sledgehammer.”
The wind was getting stronger. “But – but then you’d die too!” April protested. “We’re both in the same body, aren’t we? And, now that I know about you, we could- we could share it, or something! There has to be some way – maybe a psychic could transplant one of us to a different body, or-”
“No,” the other buneary said, the hair on their body completely still despite the growing gale. “You see, you didn’t just unwittingly leave me imprisoned in my own body for days on end. You did something unforgivable. And for that, I have to kill you. I don’t care if I die too; the way I’ve been living these past years has been worse than death.”
Tears were forming in the usurper’s eyes. “April – please! Whatever I did, I can make things better! I promise!” The ground underneath her was starting to shake and tremble.
April was unmoved. “Ah, but that’s just it. You ‘make things better’. That’s the problem. See, earlier I told you a lie. I said I was about to propose to the mon I’d loved my whole life, that day on the beach, but I wasn’t. I was never going to do that. You see, I was a coward. I thought there was no way he could ever love someone as meek and simple as me. But you – you’re brave. You routinely face down dangers I would’ve run from screaming in terror. You didn’t have any trouble confessing to the mon you loved. And it’s not just courage – you’re not selfish like me, either. Throughout all my life, I never so much as twitched my ear to help someone I didn’t know personally. Why would I? It wasn’t like I could’ve actually done anything even if I had tried. I was so weak, there was no way I could help anyone. But then you come in and start risking our life to help perfect strangers. And you actually make it work. You end up saving the whole world, using nothing but the body I always had.
That’s what’s unforgivable - that you’re better than me. Even if I got my own body, I’d have to spend the rest of my life knowing just how much worse I was than you. Everyone else can blame a million other things for the fact that they’ve never done anything great in their life, but not me anymore!” For the first time since the usurper had started seeing true April’s hallucinatory form, her expression changed. Tears were starting to roll down her eyes and drop into the usurper’s own, mixing together before sliding off into the roiling cavern floor.
Then, after one last gasp of wind passed through the cavern like an exhaling sigh, the dungeon level collapsed, killing April and her usurper with a thousand tons of rock.
KRA-KOOM! Fragments of stone shot everywhere as the rock exploded. One of them collided with April’s forehead, knocking her to the ground. Her vision blurred, blood dripping into her eyes. She struggled to get up, ears ringing, but a furry foot pressed against her chest, forcing April back to the ground. It was the creature, completely unaffected by the explosion.
“It’s over, usurper. The truth can’t be killed,” it said, smiling down at her. Although April could barely see anything else in the cavern through the haze of pain and confusion, oddly, she could make out every single detail of the creature perfectly. It was like looking into a mirror – every feature of it matched hers perfectly, except that this thing wasn’t currently bleeding from a massive head wound.
“What- what do you even want from me,” April spluttered. Her blast wand had gone flying out of her grip, and her bag was out of reach. All she could do was feebly attempt to shove the creature off her chest with her ears and arms, to no avail.
“Simple. I want revenge,” the creature replied.
“Revenge for what?” April spat. “I never saw you until the day you showed up and started attacking me!”
The thing’s expression didn’t waver as it continued to stare down at her. “Oh, we’ve known each other for a long, long time now. Nine-hundred-and-ninety-two days, usurper. Twenty-three thousand, eight-hundred and thirteen hours. One million, four-hundred-any-twenty-eight-thousand, seven-hundred-and-ninety-four seconds. Ninety-six, now. That’s how long you’ve been using my body.”
Using my body? Nine-hundred-and-ninety-two days was, what, a little over two and a half years ago? Wasn’t that about the time when-
“Picture this, usurper: You’re going down to the beach to collect seashells to decorate your latest pottery. Your life is simple, but fulfilling. You’ve got a nice home, friends who care about you, and you’re just about to propose to the ‘mon you’ve loved your whole life. But then, something happens. You suddenly pass out, and when you wake up, you’re completely paralyzed. Can’t move a single limb. Can’t even blink. Can’t even breathe. Despite your Limber ability, no less! But just when you think you’re about to asphyxiate, you start moving again! Except it’s not you who’s moving. Your ears are slowly curling and uncurling of their own volition. Your legs work and push you upright, and then your head turns to stare down at your arms, unblinking, as if you’ve never seen them before. Is this starting to sound familiar, usurper?”
What? That- that didn’t make any sense! April just had amnesia, it wasn’t like she’d replaced someone else! “I – I didn’t take your-” she started, but her double kept going, cutting her off.
“At first, you think it must be some sort of weird dream. But everything still looks and feels like real life. You can still feel pain, when whoever’s controlling your body clumsily trips over your own feet and hits your head on a stone. You can still feel taste, when they stumble into somebody’s home at random and start forcing those gods-awful bitter durin berry slices into your mouth. You can still feel shame, when the mon you love comes home and discovers you’ve ransacked their cottage like a feral animal. And it just keeps going and going. You watch as your old relationships are ruined one by one, as everyone realizes the being who’s taken over your body is nothing like you. They’re rude, they’re blasphemous, they’re reckless. They sell off all the pottery you’ve spent years decorating, and waste the money gambling on fool-hardy expeditions into mystery dungeons. And every single one of the agonizing injuries they take during those delves, you have to feel, too!”
“I – I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I didn’t know, okay!” April blurted out, still struggling to free herself from her double’s weight. A slight wind was starting to blow through the cavern now. It would be dangerous to remain there too much longer.
“Oh, you’re sorry, are you?” the ‘real’ April said sweetly. “That’s funny. It didn’t seem like you were sorry at all earlier! You never once tried to figure out why you had suddenly woken up with amnesia, did you? It didn’t bother you in the slightest that you behaved nothing like what the ‘old’ April had. And when I first figured out how to make myself appear to you, you kept running away from me! You tried to kill me!”
April realized something. “You’re – you’re just a hallucination,” she said. “That’s why I can’t kill you. And all the other weird things that have been going on lately – those were hallucinations too, weren’t they? You’ve been screwing with my mind.”
“That’s right, rabbit!” ‘Real’ April giggled. “It’s allllllllllllllllllllllllllllll in your head. In my head. Except it’s not just hallucinations anymore, is it? I can stop you from moving now, too. And this dungeon – that’s perfectly real. You’re actually going to die here when it re-arranges itself. You’re going to get ground up between the shifting walls until there’s nothing left of you, like an overripe berry struck by a sledgehammer.”
The wind was getting stronger. “But – but then you’d die too!” April protested. “We’re both in the same body, aren’t we? And, now that I know about you, we could- we could share it, or something! There has to be some way – maybe a psychic could transplant one of us to a different body, or-”
“No,” the other buneary said, the hair on their body completely still despite the growing gale. “You see, you didn’t just unwittingly leave me imprisoned in my own body for days on end. You did something unforgivable. And for that, I have to kill you. I don’t care if I die too; the way I’ve been living these past years has been worse than death.”
Tears were forming in the usurper’s eyes. “April – please! Whatever I did, I can make things better! I promise!” The ground underneath her was starting to shake and tremble.
April was unmoved. “Ah, but that’s just it. You ‘make things better’. That’s the problem. See, earlier I told you a lie. I said I was about to propose to the mon I’d loved my whole life, that day on the beach, but I wasn’t. I was never going to do that. You see, I was a coward. I thought there was no way he could ever love someone as meek and simple as me. But you – you’re brave. You routinely face down dangers I would’ve run from screaming in terror. You didn’t have any trouble confessing to the mon you loved. And it’s not just courage – you’re not selfish like me, either. Throughout all my life, I never so much as twitched my ear to help someone I didn’t know personally. Why would I? It wasn’t like I could’ve actually done anything even if I had tried. I was so weak, there was no way I could help anyone. But then you come in and start risking our life to help perfect strangers. And you actually make it work. You end up saving the whole world, using nothing but the body I always had.
That’s what’s unforgivable - that you’re better than me. Even if I got my own body, I’d have to spend the rest of my life knowing just how much worse I was than you. Everyone else can blame a million other things for the fact that they’ve never done anything great in their life, but not me anymore!” For the first time since the usurper had started seeing true April’s hallucinatory form, her expression changed. Tears were starting to roll down her eyes and drop into the usurper’s own, mixing together before sliding off into the roiling cavern floor.
Then, after one last gasp of wind passed through the cavern like an exhaling sigh, the dungeon level collapsed, killing April and her usurper with a thousand tons of rock.
THE END
Part 1: @DawningWinds
Part 2: @Rainfall
Part 3: @SpookySpy
Part 4: @Flaze
Part 5: @canisaries
Part 6: @The Walrein
Part 2: @Rainfall
Part 3: @SpookySpy
Part 4: @Flaze
Part 5: @canisaries
Part 6: @The Walrein
