Serapter lay down on his bed; he was tired, yet his mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour. He had no idea what to think—or even how to think—and was devoid of ideas. The fact that something was weighing on his mind—and that he couldn't grasp or control the situation—was unusual for him; typically, he had no trouble simply going with the flow and not letting things bother him. This, however, was striking a deeply personal chord, and he couldn't shake the thought of how it all might be connected.
He decided that, given the rapport he shared with his roommate, he would try to talk to her before falling asleep; however, a part of him hesitated, wondering if it was wise to bother her, since she was likely tired enough to want to switch off completely. Not to mention that, after the incident with the detective, even he would want a moment of peace and quiet. But then his thoughs were invaded by a surprise. Ivory awoke, she jumped out of the bed, or for better words: felt out of it, and instantly got up like if nothing happend.
"Oh god, are you allright?" Serapter asked, expecting a short, curt response, almost downplaying the characteristic situation of Ivory, which would later turn into a small laugh before sleeping, a moment of peace and mundanity that would make him comforted by the tranquility of being locked up with her and only those thoughts, knowing that the outside world could not harm you, but he could not be further from the truth.
"God damn..." did Ivory just blamed? When she has done that? "Oh waoh, that was hard..."
She glanzes at him, catching Serapter standing as quick as possible but still confussed for the use of the language.
"Ivory? Are you feeling fine?" He asked confussed.
"Yeah, I'm just a little out of practice. But the good thing is that it's much easier, and when there's nothing in here, you know?" She actually hit her head with a fist, like someone knocking on a coconut to see if it's empty "It's just a white void. Nothing else, that makes things much easier..."
"What? Wha- what are you talking about?" Everything she had just done felt strange—the movement, the body language, the expressions, even the words used. There was something about her that made him see that she was still acting like Ivory on the outside, but on the inside something was wrong, something terribly wrong, as if the person he had been getting to know all this time had suddenly disappeared.
"Oh, don't bothered me" said *Ivory* "I'm just streaching out a bit. You know, she could have done this the rest of the day, but seriously, how do they carry these things around? How can they wear this all the time? It feels so uncomfortable and tight, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if people thought she was the one who did all this, you know, stress, stress, life stuff, repressed thoughts, the typical things people make up."
She picked up the dress, gave it a little shake to make her point, and then tossed it aside; she was actually looking for something a bit more comfortable. She came across the overalls she wore casually, pulled them on over her pajamas, and walked out of the room. "Don't go until I get back, shiny" said to Serapter, pointing at him with the finger and closing the door when she steped out.
A bewildered Serapter stayed in his room and lay back down, telling himself it was all just a bad dream; he closed his eyes, pinched himself, and even tried wrapping himself in the sheets with his head completely covered—shrouded in darkness—yet he could feel his eyes struggling to stay open, driven by an overwhelming sense of paranoia. Something was wrong—he didn't know how or what, but something was amiss, and he couldn't rest; there were monsters nearby, though he couldn't make them out.
After a while, Ivory returned to the room, walking with slow, heavy steps; she closed the door and leaned against the frame. Serapter went to meet her, as he was still worried about the situation; he lit a candle, and what she had initially thought would be a comforting sight turned out to be horrifying. His friend, covered in blood, from head to legs, but no wounds on her body and a big satisfying smile.
"Oh don't worry" she said "It ain't mine" and she laughed.
"What...?" An horrified Serapter was about to let the candle droped to the ground, but that Ivory quickly took it out of his hands. In the movement, he reached in sign a small axe on Ivory's back.
"Oh no no no no, no, we don't want this to catch fire yet, do we?" She smiled back. There even was blood on her teeth.
"What... did you do?" Asked the scared man. This had to be a nightmare of some sorts.
"Ah, you know, getting rid of the evidence, getting rid of obstacles, anything that might get in my way, that's typical."
"Typical... you- you've done this before?"
"Oh, phew! I lost count of how many times, but it hasn't always been in this body, you know?" She responded "I'm pretty sure you have no idea what I'm talking about!" She chuckled. Serapter felt trapped now, reaching to other side of the room, searching for something to defend himself.
"S-stay back! Ivory don't make me..."
"Yeah yeah, it's fine, I understand, but if we were honest here, between you and me... I really need you alive. Maybe not everything, but seriously, I need you alive. So to give you a little context, why don't we sit down, like the two civilized people we are, talk, you ask me questions, I answer them—it's a typical interview with someone like me." Ivory sat at the bed, her posture was upright—bearing absolutely no resemblance to the shyness she usually projected. It stirred a sense of extreme unease, as if the figure before one’s eyes were not truly human. Of course, she wasn’t entirely a normal person—Ivory still retained her horns and tail—yet it felt as though not a single trace of the person she once was remained, save for her face; and even that face felt wrong. "C'mon, don't be shy. We have ALL night ahead of us!"
Serapter sat down beside her as she patted the spot next to her on the bed—a gesture reminiscent of a father inviting his child to sit close. He took his seat, feeling vulnerable enough to realize that if he tried to flee or reach for something to defend himself, she could—despite her stature—easily strangle him or break a part of his body. As she extended her hand, inviting him to speak, an instinctive sensation gripped his throat; any logical question he might have asked suddenly vanished, and a simple phrase escaped his lips.
"Ah, that's a good question! Well um, I've had several names throughout history. I've seen many people call me a demon, call me a spirit, but I think the best way to sum it up is HABIT. I am a creature of bad habits, and that's all you're going to need from me. Unless, well, you want to see what I'm really like." Serapter couldn't tell if that was a menace or a warning. "Any other question, Star boy?"
"I... uh... Ivory, how..." a twisted smile drawned on Ivory's face "...Why? Why this...?"
"Well, it’s simple: she was the easiest one—as I mentioned, there isn't much going on in her head—and you have to see it; it’s a spectacle! Screaming and clawing at the walls like some kind of caged animal, yelling, "Why? Why me? Why did you do this to me? Why are you making me do this!? Ahhh!""
A mocking air took hold of her; Serapter could understand things a bit better now, yet he remained incredulous. He refused to accept what he was seeing—refused to believe it or even grasp whether it was real—clinging only to the certainty that, at some point, he would wake up and find her to be the same person she had always been. Yet, in this instance, it was Ivory who was truly trapped in the nightmare.
"This... this doesn't make any sense..."
"No, of course not; honestly, I’m not really thinking much about what I’m doing—I mean, how was I supposed to know that maid was Pyro's one? I didn't planned that! and the truth is, the more random things I do, the more I confuse the stick in the mud. So hey. It's a win, win!"
Serapter took a moment to process what had just been said; his mind went blank, and he hadn't even listened closely—not until later in the conversation, when HABIT noticed his face contorting into an expression of disgust and horror. For his pleasure, it was fun.
"So" said HABIT "Anything else you wanted to know about myself? I really like this topic. One of my top five!"
"Are... are you gonna kill me?"
Suddenly, Ivory's smile fainted into a confussed and anoyed look. She or he then took Serapter's hair and began to hit his head with the fist, like a door.
"Hello, hello!? Is anyone home?! Didn't you hear me before? I don't want you dead. You're not worth that much dead!. No, I'm gonna keep you alive, at least for a while. And well, I can't guarantee that you'll come out of this completely sane, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? Haha!"
"I... I don't wanna help you! You- you-"
"Oh, you will" she or he said "Because I have her on my control right now... and everyone is gonna look at you and think this young man just went mad. That his mind shattered because her best friend turned out to be a murderer, and it turns out that murderer is going to be the perfect scapegoat. If you're not listening to me..." He threatened him. "Even stupid-ass the rabbits know when to go full silent in presence of a killer... and you, my friend, are not looking like a good candidate for a rabbit..."
"Oh don't worry. It's fine! I just need to go to that room with this... bloody mess on me and let everyone know that your precious friend did all the dirty work. She will be sentenced to electric chair and I, maybe, could get a better host!"
"N-no! No! I... I will help you. Please, don't do anything to Ivory, I will do what you want!"
Ivory—or rather, he—returned, satisfied this time; he took Serapter’s mask, removed it, and tossed it aside. Yet, the scant confidence he had managed to hold onto vanished, leaving him paralyzed and unable to move.
"That's the spirit!" He said through her "I'll leave you alone then... Your first task, challenge, to prove you'll make a good rabbit! It's to get rid of the evidence. I made it easy for you! Just get rid of this axe and clean up your friend. I'll call both of you... sooner or later—assuming Stick-in-the-Mud doesn't go causing trouble again..."
"W-wait, but how am I supossed to do that!? We are in the middle of the mansion!"
"Not my problem, bud'. It wouldn't be a challenge if it didn't have some difficulty, right?" HABIT stood up and stretched his arms toward the sky, his spine cracking with every movement. "AHH!!! Another cycle, another lost little girl under his watch... Let's make this worth it, shall we?"
And suddenly, movement ceased; her arms fell to the floor as if a marionette’s strings had been released, yet her legs remained in the same position. Serapter hesitated, fearing that any further provocation might kill her, but then he saw Ivory’s knees begin to tremble. A soft sob echoed through the room as she raised both hands to her face—as if trying to hide the shame of what she had done—unable to stop weeping. He dared to ask.
"I-Ivory...?" She turned toward him, trembling in her hands and knees; she looked at him with a face full of horror, tears streaming down to her chin and dripping onto the floor as she collapsed, struggling to speak however she could—yet even then, Serapter could tell that Ivory had returned, at least for the moment. "Oh my god... Ivory...!"
He tried to give her a hug, seeking comfort in each other, but Ivory quickly pushed him back and stepped away in horror, unable to maintain physical contact without the thought of hurting her again or losing her mind once more.
"He... he made me do it... he... made me..."
She couldn't speak properly, either by fear or sobbing. But the night had just begun, and they have to get rid of evidence, as it was told.
The following day, one of the Hemlock family members will be found dismembered on his bed.
So, a couple of days ago, a friend and I were talking about Whitepine. As the conversation went on, we switched topics to everymanHYBRID—specifically HABIT. At one point, I mentioned how people had drawn Jay from Marble Hornets possessed by HABIT, which inevitably reminded me that the conversation had started with the Minecraft series. That got me thinking about what a crossover between the two would look like. Of course, I have no intention of turning this into an ongoing story, since I have no idea where it would go, but it makes for a great one-shot idea. So, as soon as I hung up the call, I started writing as fast as I could and got this ready. I hope you enjoy it.
