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The clock struck midnight, signaling the beginning of Halloween. The Losers all sat in a circle, breaths held, as they waited for the inevitable.
It's been three years since they defeated It. Three years since they were cursed. You would think they would have been rewarded for killing It, but they should have known they wouldn't be that lucky.
Each year, on Halloween, for 24 hours, they were turned into the strange Neibolt counterparts that Pennywise had created for them. Each one was designed to scare them, only to be brought to life within them; To be them.
Sometimes, if they were lucky, their alter egos would leave little memories for them to wake up to. Other times, they weren't so fortunate and were left to do damage control through the fog that had settled over their brain.
They shifted uncomfortably in the circle, watching the others with wary eyes. There was no direct order for them to go by. It was always unanimous on who turned first.
Their silent questions were answered as a gargled sound came from Stan. He tried to speak, but no words came out. Blood fell heavily from his lips as they watched a straight, clean-cut form slowly around his neck. His hands shook as they reached the spot, blood slowly trickling out and smearing across his hands as he tried to block the flow.
It started slow, but it soon picked up the pace, blood gushing down his front as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Like a blade through paper, his head rolled off his shoulders, landing in the middle of the group. There were multiple gasps and gags throughout the group, each cringing away from their friend instead of trying to help him.
Stan's body slumped back, arms spread out as it seemed to decay quickly, limbs spasming at an inhuman speed. A harsh gasp came from the head as 'Stan' looked around the room with lifeless eyes, looking them all over slowly. The sound of flesh being ripped open had the others cringing away as spider legs made their way out of the same teeth marks Pennywise had created on the side of his head. A constant reminder for Stan of what they all had been through together.
It was always painful to watch Stan's transformation as his head rolled along the floor, hopping on its new legs with strangled gasps. It was like watching a baby bird walk for the first time as it tested its new limbs. It finally gained its bearings, giving them all a sharp toothy grin as Stan's body picked itself off the ground, going to pick up his head as if nothing had happened.
Eddie started laughing, pointing at Stan's head as it struggled to stay on its shoulders, but even though he was laughing, his eyes held obvious pain and discomfort; He was next. Stan hissed at him in defiance, causing him to laugh even more as Eddie doubled over, holding his stomach.
Richie, who was beside Eddie, flinched as their laugh became increasingly demonic, like that time in the Neibolt House all that time ago. The words "wanna play loogie?" scarred into his mind.
Eddie started coughing, his hand covering his mouth as he kept laughing through it. Black ooze flew from his mouth, hitting his hand and ground. The ground sizzled and popped as it came in contact with it while his hand stayed perfectly intact.
Richie scooted back from the acidic ooze as it slowly streamed from Eddie's mouth and as he unintentionally smeared it across his face. Richie had rushed all the way back to Bill, who was watching the entire scenario with a wide toothy grin, the complete opposite of his usual serious look.
Saliva dripped from Bill's chin as Richie got closer to him. He opened his mouth, lines stretching to his ears as he stretched his mouth farther and farther, ripping the flesh. Rows upon rows of teeth were lined up, each contorted and sharpened in some way.
Bill hated his transformation. Despised it. What Pennywise did to him. Turning him into a version of himself.
He always remembers the most out of the Losers. His counterpart being oh so generous enough. He always had nightmares upon nightmares of what he-his counterpart did. Flesh being ripped by its teeth. Screams were silenced as he consumed children and adults alike. It made Bill sick to know he was just like the very same thing he had hunted and killed now.
But right now, Bill was gone, and none of that mattered as his eyes now followed Richie hungrily.
He grabbed Richie's arm as Beverly screamed at him to get away. Richie turned, just to see Bill latch onto his arm with his teeth, attempting to rip off his flesh. Richie winced, expecting a burst of pain as Bill pulled away with a frown lining his features. He raised the sleeve up to reveal the wooden joints underneath, growling in dissatisfaction as Richie stared with wide eyes.
"Fuck," Richie breathed out as he yanked away from Bill in a frenzy. It was the last word he would be able to say for the next 24 hours as he started screaming in pain.
He clawed at his lips as small wires pushed their way through his skin, slowly pinching his mouth shut as his screams were silenced. He was always aware of this part. Hating the fact that he couldn't talk anymore. It made him feel like he could disappear at any second. That people would forget him just like the others before. It was why he always talked so much. He didn't want to be forgotten.
His counterpart would only fully take over after he was silenced, and the remaining Losers watched as he struggled and fought for dominance within his mind. His skin turned an ashy shade of gray, and he slowly dropped to the ground. He withered on the ground as each vein, organ, and tissue slowly turned to wood and plastic, his fingers curling and uncurling against the floor as they slowly grew stiff.
His eyes had slipped closed at some point, and when they opened, they revealed a milky white as he slowly lost all emotion in his face like the emotionless puppet he was. Richie Tozier had, yet again, lost the fight.
To the other side of the room, Mike was withering on the ground, tears streaming down his face as his body burned from the inside out.
It was like watching a raw sheep cook. His skin broke out into burns, parts of his flesh dripping as it melted. Boils appeared nearly everywhere, from head to toe, as he gasped and whimpered in pain. He tried to find a suitable position to avoid the boils, curling into the fetal position, but they burst, freshly burnt arms and hands clawing out of his skin.
Mike finally screamed, along with two other voices. A man's and a woman's voice. His parents.
It was sick of Pennywise to curse him with the voices of his own parents. All of their screams and pleas mixed together as Mike cried.
Ben watched all of this with sad, scared eyes as Beverly whimpered a few feet away.
"Ben," she whimpered, "I'm scared. Could you come hold me?"
And like the young, lovestruck boy he was, he slowly made his way toward her. He wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his shoulder, hand reaching up to place over his heart as tears streamed down her face.
She sniffed, "I can't," she whimpered as Ben tightened his hold on her. "I can't believe..." And here, her voice turned scratchy and raw as her nails dug into his chest. "I can't believe that you keep falling for that, Fat Boy."
Ben grunted in alarm and pain as she roughly pierced her hand through his chest. His eyes widened as he choked, his throat filling up with blood. It slowly fell from his lips as tears trickled down his face, heartbreak and betrayal written all over it.
She pulled away slightly to look at him as he stared her in her eyes, her beautiful eyes, as she leaned in close, lips mere meters away from his. He could smell the strawberry shampoo she always used as they barely brushed their lips together. Even through the pain he felt, he was still intoxicated by her.
"I could never love you," she whispered as she pulled back, yanking his heart out in one fluid motion.
Ben screamed, eyes dilating from the pain, as he watched the love of his life's head burst into flames, flesh dripping down, leaving nothing but a rotting skeleton underneath. She squeezed his heart as it went up in flames, and he gasped, doubling over in pain. But, through all of that, the heart still beat, never stopping or stuttering in her grasp.
"Please," he whimpered. She rolled her eyes, tossing the offending item to him. He struggled to catch it as one hand was held over the gaping hole where his heart used to be, blood dripping down his chest and torso.
She stood up, brushing herself off as Ben watched her with sad yet still lovestruck eyes as she made her way to the middle of the group. His skin turned ashy and gray like the color had been sucked right out of him, as he watched Bill meet her in the middle.
Bill looked around at all of them, holding Beverly's hand. He watched Stan's head jump on top of Richie's head, who didn't even react. The clicking of his legs on wood was prominent as Eddie kept trying to grab at him with his black-stained hands as Stan hissed, and Richie just swayed with the motions lifelessly.
Mike and Ben had somehow scooted closer to each other, the disfigured Mike trying to comfort the heartbroken boy beside him. Mike could no longer feel the searing pain of the boils or burns, growing accustomed to them as they cooled, but Ben would always feel that heartache as he watched Bill and Beverly embrace and such before Bill was gathering their attention. A sharp grin spread across his face, his pointed teeth on display as saliva dripped down his chin.
"H-H-Happy Halloween, Losers."