Title: Spirit of the Holiday Status: Complete Characters: Anon, Fang, Ripley, Samantha Rating: SFW Classification: One-Shot Author: ThatGuyNamedGIO Summary: A few months after the events of the Volcano High shooting, on the 31st of October, Hallow's Eve, Anon decides to take his own life, after making peace with those who he has to. Though, it seems someone has other plans for him... Work Text: October 31st. Halloween night, where kids run house to house in their little costumes, gathering their sugary spoils of war to show off to each other in a contest of quantity. It’s a day of spooky fun, however it’s anything but for me. Skeletons and ghosts… they open old wounds that are still as fresh as I remember. The pain in my shin intensifies just thinking about it, reminding me of the question I keep asking myself every waking second of my life. Why do I keep living on? I’ve lost everything. My family wants nothing to do with me, I’ve lost my friends… and the love of my life. All due to my own selfish actions. Even now, I can see that smile of hers, it taunts me. Reminding me of my failures. It would be so easy to close my eyes and never awake again… if only. I’m too much of a coward to even do it myself. No, I don’t deserve that luxury. Noticing the cashier giving me a concerned look, I shake my head and pay for the candy, too tired to even bother cursing my mumbling like I used to. If I’m putting an end to it all tonight, I have something to do. Exiting the convenience store and hailing my usual taxi, the ochre slimy raptor looked at me pitifully. He’s been driving me around even until now and I’m thankful for that, though I don’t show it. “Where to, kid?” He asks, and by the way his eyes widened, he clearly wasn’t expecting my answer. “Take me to… Fang’s place.” Just saying her name brings back the pain, but I have to muscle through it. The raptor closes his eyes for a second and nods, beginning the drive while I carefully pack the candy, attaching a note I’d written beforehand to it. “I don’t need… I don’t want to be right in front of their house. Stop over by that corner.” The taxi stops as I get out, the raptor looking at me with a look of sadness. Before he drives off, I hold my hand up. “I’m gonna have to leave… once I finish my business here.” He smiles mirthlessly. “That’ll cost you extra.” He jokes and we share hollow laughter. Turning away from him, I start steeling my nerves as I walk to the door of the Aaron household, freezing right in front of the door, noticing the shadow of the Aaron patriarch through the window. Before he notices me, I hastily put the package down by the door, ringing the doorbell and rushing back to the taxi, climbing in as fast as I can with my crutch while the raptor hits the pedal as we speed off. A few seconds later, the door swings open as a diminutive pterodactyl stands in the doorway holding a bowl of candy, looking around in confusion. “I could have sworn someone rang the door–” She stopped, looking downwards and spotting the package with a note. She picks it up carefully and examines the note, which read: “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Aaron, before I begin, I understand that you might not want to see me ever again, or have anything to do with me at all. I know that and I have no right to blame you for it. I know that I am the scum of the earth and Mr. Aaron was right in trying to keep me away from Fang. If he succeeded in doing so… she would have still been alive. Naser would still be alive. In fact, I never should have been a part of her life or Naser’s life at all. All I’ve done is ruin things for them… and for you. I know this letter won’t bring them back, but I hope it at least gives you the solace of knowing you won’t ever have to worry about seeing me again, after tonight. Happy Halloween. From, Anon.” Samantha held the note, frozen as she mouthed the words silently, her hands shaking as the waterworks began. Ripley, who was in the living room in his chair, heard the commotion and stepped outside. “Samantha?” He asked tentatively, noticing her crying and holding a box with a note attached to it. He carefully took the note from her, reading over it, his expression shifting slowly from anger realising who wrote the note and had the audacity to deliver it… to sorrow. Not in a hundred years could he have expected this. The boy who he had hounded constantly, who he hated to the core after that day, admitting his mistakes… and taking his own life in an attempt to give them some sort of inner peace. A sombre expression crossed his face as he drew Samantha into a hug, standing on their porch in silence. “Take me to Skin Row, my place.” The drive went on in silence as the raptor struggled to find words to say, trying to speak, then closing his mouth as soon as it opened. Once we’ve reached and I exit the vehicle, taking out my wallet, he stops me, exiting the vehicle himself as he stands next to me, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. The sudden gesture genuinely surprises me and he smiles sadly. “I know a smoker when I see one. I assume the lady got you into it?” He chooses his words carefully as I nod, holding my hand out as he hands me a cigar, lighting it and one of his own as we take slow drags. “You’re going to try and end it all tonight, aren’t you?” He asks out of nowhere as I nearly choke on the cigar. “Y-yeah. How’d you–""I know a dead man walking when I see one, trust me.” I think about asking what he means, but the pain in his eyes says otherwise. We both crush the cigars under our feet as he turns to me. “Name’s James. Considering this is the last time I’ll see you…” He drags off, holding out his hand. I stare at him for a few seconds then take his hand, shaking it. “Thanks for the light and… everything, James.” The raptor chuckles. “No problem, Anon.” He gets back into his taxi, looking back at me one last time, giving a short nod as he drives off, leaving me to my long-awaited fate. I walk through one of the darker allies of Skin Row, where ragtag bunches of cutthroats reside, making easy money out of anyone unfortunate enough to encounter them. As I walk through the alley, reaching a dead end, I hear some snide laughter from behind me. “Look what we got here boys, it’s a skinnie.””Think he’s got any cash on him?””Looking at him, we wouldn’t even be able to buy a cheap pack of cigars taking the cash from his sorry ass.” Their conversation was something I didn’t care about as I just waited for them to do what they do best. One of them, a stocky tyrannosaurus, grinned, approaching me and putting his tiny arm around my shoulder. “Say, buddy, you wouldn’t happen to have any cash on you would ya? Since we’re oh so great friends…” He trails off with a friendly tone, waiting for me to respond. I don’t bother to. “Yo, can you hear me or not?” He asks, his friendly tone sounding a little more forced now. I gave no response again. It’s clear he’s lost his patience by this point as he motions to the rest of the trio, composed of a dilophosaurus and a utahraptor who flex their claws, approaching me with the intent to kill. I close my eyes as the dilophosaurus spreads his frills and leaps… Snap. The sound of something snapping echoes in my ears as I open my eyes, looking at the corpse of the dilophosaurus whose neck was twisted an entire 360 degrees. The tyrannosaurus and utahraptor were stunned speechless, eventually breaking out of their stupor, turning to me with an expression of rage. “What the fuck did you do?!” The utahraptor roared, jumping at me to rip my throat out with his claws, just to be held by the neck by an invisible force while one of his eyes were impaled and pulled out, the other following shortly as he was dropped down, his screams of pain silenced when his head was slowly being pushed down on by… something… until it popped, splattering his brains all over the ground. The tyrannosaurus finally decided to make the smart move and try to run, but he was grabbed by his tail and pulled towards me as I began stumbling back. Whatever was doing this held him up and began pushing his jaws apart, bit by bit until… Crack. His jaws were shattered. It still wasn’t over yet, as he flailed desperately, both of his arms were ripped off and forced down his throat, then he was impaled through the chest as his heart was pulled out, still beating as he stared at it while he was still alive… until it was crushed. Whatever did this was approaching me next as I could feel its presence moving towards me now. But I knew what… who it was. I drop my head, tears falling onto the ground as I cover my face, sobbing. “Why do you have to do this to me… why won’t you just let me die?” I manage to choke out as I feel her cold touch, her arms draped around my chest from behind as if it were a twisted effort to comfort me while she places her ghostly head on my shoulder, her wings coiling around me like a coffin, smirking like she always did. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s because I love you, dweeb.”