Slenderverse One-shots

Glimpse of the Beast ⊗ MH x EMH

A03 Request: Part 2 for Glimpse of the ARK

Hoody summons HABIT and it goes... well... uh... Just about as well as you'd expect for someone trying to summon a demon.

The cryptic video, as distorted as they were, of the ARK had been a great motivator to push Jay into seeking information again. The only issue... Hoody didn't have more to work with to keep that momentum going. He had no idea how to get back to that place HABIT had taken him, nor did he know enough about it to drop clues on his own.

So he dug. Not for information on the Operator or anything that could be used to stop it or figure out why it was doing this. No, he dug for a way to summon the entity who'd shown him so much before.

"I must be going crazy." He took deep breaths, calming himself as he followed the instructions he'd managed to find after months, though it was closer to a year by now. Part of him suspected he'd had 'help' finding them... Although, he felt ridiculous. "I really hope Alex or the other two find me right now..."

'Traditional' clothes and an 'exotic' hat—better known as some cheap second-hand clothes that looked like something that could be considered traditional to someone and a woven straw hat he'd seen people wear to beaches on tv—and then it looked like a pose he had to stand in for an hour, and oddly an additional seven minutes for. He felt absolutely embarrassed that he was even going to try it. This had to be some kind of prank... right?

"Don't have any other leads." Granted, he probably could've dug more up; Tim's history wasn't exactly pristine and it was possible Alex had more tapes that could help hidden away somewhere.

Hoody wasn't terrible at balancing on one leg but doing so for an extended time was difficult. Inevitably, he broke the pose when he lost his balance and fell to the ground in a coughing fit. Spitting out blood, he turned to grab the bottle of pills from the broken window sill of the abandoned building and froze. Sucking in a breath of cold air he realized he wasn't in the building; he was back in that place.

Within the fog, something large slinked around him. A deep, growling laugh shook through the air and into his body like loud bass from a concert. "You're the second person I got to try that."

The voice was different from last time, full of blood-chilling malice without any humanity the body he'd possessed contained. His heart sped up as he stood and tried to see where it was coming from. Flashes of large spidery legs or barbed tails occasionally broke through the mist. The body they were attached to however, was never more than a barely visible shadowed animalistic blob.

"HABIT?"

"You think I'm going to tell you everything?"

"Anything would be—"

"How'd the last one go? Real shocked I'd bet. Blowing your tiny little minds is always amusing... easy... but entertaining." Another rumble as the beast laughed. This time, Hoody caught a glimpse of purple eyes flashing in the dark. "I wonder, would it break your mind if I showed you what I really look like?"

A gasp shot out as he felt a gust of breath on his back. When he turned, the forest was empty. Hoody tried to keep his breathing calm. "Are you..."

His voice stopped working. "Am I going to die here? This was a mistake."

"No... You're more fun alive."

Sharp claws gleamed momentarily as HABIT passed by again. Hoody swallowed heavily; just one of them would have been enough to rip him head to toe without effort. He felt dizzy from the proximity to HABIT and stumbled, groaning as he felt the nausea worsen.

"The heart of the ARK is that way. I wouldn't suggest looking there unless you wish to stay forever in that pit."

"The what?"

"The heart. A pit where that pesky Operator of yours keeps its leftovers for later... among other things."

"Other things?"

"Are you a parrot?" The creature mocked him as it crept closer. "You'll figure it out."

Hoody wheezed as the pressure on his mind increased. He could feel blood drip from his nose as his legs gave out again. Another hot breath fell over him, a paralyzing sensation quickly following.

"Or you'll end up there regardless." The shadow loomed closer, soon engulfing him as HABIT approached. His vision was gone as he struggled to breathe but he could sense the power radiating inches above his helpless form. This close, he was lucky HABIT cared enough to whisper and it still felt like his bones, muscles, and organs were trying to separate. "It doesn't end after death. Best figure it out quickly Bri."

He jolted, his lungs once again able to take in oxygen. The world smelled like forest trees, rain, and damp earth. As his vision returned, Hoody found himself lying in the woods. A light rain pattering through the leaves above. His thoughts were slower to piece together but at least he could remember... Why did this all feel deeper than what any of them had imagined?