Happy Endings Are Optional

With a sigh, Heathen kept Skelly back as he watched for the water to boil. "Skelly, we are making this for us and the others, please don't get upset with me over this," The ego politely tried to order the halloween-themed ego. He wanted this to be perfect, but Skelly made this hard. "I'll let you dump the pasta when I see bu-"

The ego was interrupted by sauce being thrown at his head, and when he looked over, all the ego saw was Skelly was the jar of sauce. The jar was open and a spoon was in the older ego's hand, which was enough evidence to say Skelly did it. "Did- Did you just-" Heathen was yet again interrupted by sauce being thrown at him.

"Hell yeah I did! I'm bored, Heathen," Skelly complained before he went to close the jar up. When he did, dry pasta was thrown at him. Of course, like Heathen, the halloween-themed ego looked up to see Heathen with a box of pasta. "Oh fuck you, you're going to get it now," He opened the jar back up and proceeded to dump it on the other ego. "Ha ha, your outfit is rui-"

Mare released a singular breath as he came inside the house. His clothes were drenched in both his and someone else's blood, so the animatronic-based ego knew he had to be quiet, or else he'd have to explain why exactly he was covered in blood. Plus, his nose was bleeding, a clear sign he was punched and was in a fight.

As the ego looked around, he cautiously began to walk towards his room, regretting the fact that his room was on the second floor. However, right when he thought he was safe, a light flicked one, and Phantom entered his sight. With a groan, Mare tried to ignore him and quickly walk away.

"Mare, don't go, I just want to know if you're okay," Phantom told Mare as he quickly stood in his way. "I care about you, okay? I want you to be safe," The demon added with a gentle yet serious tone. He showed that he was caring, but Mare didn't seem to even want to be around him.

"Fuck off," Mare mumbled as he pushed his way passed Phantom. He didn't need care; He never did, so why did Phantom seem to think the older one of the egos did? Besides, even if needed help, he can do things himself. "Leave me alone, Phantom." He hoped that would be enough, but Phantom lightly tugged his arm.

"Mare, please. You're my brother, and you're hurt. Just let me treat your injuries at list, I won't even ask what the hell happened." The demon hoped that would be enough, and it seemed so because the animatronic-themed ego didn't even try to leave, like he did in the past. "Come on, let's go to the bathroom, that's the only place where a kit is."

Mare just nodded as he led the way due to being closer to it than Phantom. "Thanks, I guess for not prying," He mumbled again.

The sound of broken limbs filled the air as a scream erupted from Bing's throat. "Please! Stop! No more," The android begged the humans as they poked his now broken arm. "You tested my pain censors enough! End testing for today, please!" He watched as they marked things down, hoping they'd understand. Sadly, his faith was in vain as instead of returning him to his cell, they started to take him elsewhere, regardless of how much he begged to be released.

The android jumped, dropping the gift. Bing wiped away any and all tears that started to gather around his eyes. He was safe; Far and away from those people. They couldn't get him again. As much as the android loved to reflect on the past- That was sarcasm, the android hated to- he needed to at least open the gift and find out who gave it to him.

Bing bent down and picked up the small gift. After making sure no one saw, the android pulled at the ribbon and opened the gift box. Inside was a simple note and a keychain with orange sunglasses and flip flops as a charm on it. The noiret left the keychain in the box and took the note. He opened the paper carefully, reading it to find out the gift was from the Googles, of all people.

Now, Bing's mind went to think of what to do. He could tell them thank you, but the Googles weren't exactly the nicest people to get along with. Oliver was fine, but the others? They hated him. Was this a trap? Or were they actually being nice? The android had no idea. The best choice was to at least thank Oliver and avoid the rest; They were scary.

With that in mind, Bing closed the box and walked around the manor. Of course, he could just scan the place and locate Oliver immediately, but he rather look around first. Maybe the yellow android was away from the others. Plus, if he weren't, there's at least the journey.... To his possible death, but still a journey.

Bing screamed as one of the creators wrapped a hand around his neck. They were testing to see how death felt for the android. It wasn't like he could fight against them. They were stronger and could always replace him if they needed to. He needed to be obedient if he didn't want to be restarted forever, and the noiret wouldn't want that.

The android caught himself from falling down the stairs, his hand gripping the staircase. The memories needed to stop. A birthday bot crying isn't a good image for himself now, is it? Like before, the noiret wiped his tears away and pushed his feelings away. He was safe, he was safe, he was.... Safe?

Bing shook his head and began to walk down the stairs of the manor. Something was wrong, but it could wait. His issues were unimportant. As the android looked around downstairs, he felt eyes on him. Wanting to feel safe, the android scanned. The only person around him was-

"Bing," The quiet and scarily calm voice of Google spoke right behind the android. "How did you like the gift? Oliver picked it out, but we helped him pay for it. He mentioned something about you.... Losing your keys a lot?' While he seemed calming, the android didn't trust it; This could be a trick.

Bing turned his head to look at the fellow android. "Oh Google, thanks, but may I ask how you guys found out about my creation day? Only Dark knows I was-"

The blue-themed male cut him off. "Dark stores their files on their computer, and I hacked it because Oliver wanted me to. I will apologize to them later, but for now, I want to make sure you were okay with your gift," He told the android with once again a scarily calm voice. It was unsettling to Bing. "Besides, creation day is something awesome, honestly."

"It's useless! Broken, even," Bing heard one of his creators yell. "This- It- We need to end this experiment now! It was a pathetic attempt at re-creating the Google AI; We don't have half the things they have! Let's just dismantle it!"

Bing's breath began to quicken. They were going to kill him! What was he going to? He could escape, but even if he did, he didn't have much of anywhere to go. Either option will just end in death, which the noiret didn't have much time to think about. Within seconds, his cell opened, and there they stood, wrench and crowbar in hand.

"It knows! We need to knock it out!"

Before Bing realized it, he was crying and already hugging himself as he cried. They weren't happy tears about having someone accept him; They were tears that held fear and sadness that he was rejected by the ones who created him. Why was he stuck as the failure? Why was he stuck as the mistake? Why was he stuck as the useless machinery?

Google may not know what emotions are, but the android seemed to know it was concerning for someone to cry like that. He gently placed a hand on Bing's shoulder only for the noiret to pull away. "Bing, are you ok-"

The orange-themed android glanced at him, tearing spilling out of eyes. As he tried to speak, Google pulled him into a hug, surprising him. "Wh-"

"I got you, Bing. I knew this was a bad idea, seeing as you are secretive about it," The other noiret told the android. "I'm here for you, know that."

Wilbur's head was bleeding profusely and his wings, especially the left one, was broken; Both were possibly beyond repair. Blood seeped to cover every bit of the poor bird-hybrid; It seeped through his sweater, staining to more of an orange-red than the regular yellow it was. The older hybrid's head had the fluid spilling from the top and because his face was facing left, it created crimson pools in the grass.

The older brother's chocolate brown eyes looked to meet Tommy's icy blue ones. The older's face held a mix of emotions; Fear, worry, and pain. The winged-male attempted to reach out for his brother, but he winced and failed to reach him. All he wanted to do was be closer to Tommy, and his broken, dying body refused to let him. The brunette simply watched as a black feather fell onto his hand, his vision fading into a dark, black void.

"Wilbur?" Tommy stepped forward, waiting for a response. When the younger didn't get one, he ran to his brother, tears and blood mixing together on his face. He was now at his brother's side, and all he did was weep. The chicken-hybrid checked if Wilbur was breathing, and unfortunate for Tommy, the older wasn't. It was clear that the black-feathered hybrid was no longer among the living.

The younger continued to weep. He stayed by the body for what felt like years but only for a few hours. Once the sun began to set, Tommy stood up. He needed to head home before the monsters spawned, even if he wanted to stay with his brother. "Goodbye, Wilbur," He told the body, closing Wilbur's eyes with his hand. If it weren't for the blood and the broken wings, it would seem like his brother was sleeping, and it would be more of a comfortable sight for the younger.

The blond wiped away the now dried blood and tears and hurried back home. Only now did he realize that he had to tell their father of the death. Tommy knew Philza was never a fragile man, but the death of his own flesh and blood would ruin the poor old man. The teen thought of lying to him, but it wasn't worth it. The young hybrid just needed to be straightforward and tell him.

Slowly, the teen opened the door to their cabin. The light of the lanterns spilled onto him and outside, illuminating everything with their glow. He entered slowly and cautiously. The blond looked around for his father, and once he caught sight of whom he was looking for, he froze. "Hey, Dad," He greeted. The youngest son tried his best to not look sad, but he was ultimately failing.

Philza was sitting in a chair, writing away. Once he heard Tommy, he looked at his youngest son. He glanced around for his slightly older son, and a frown formed when he didn't catch sight of him. "Tommy, where's Wilbur?" He arose from his seat, attempting to search for him, but Tommy stood in his way. "Tommy, what happened when you both went out?"

The blond bit his lip, tears spilling out of his eyes. "H-He was showing off, and I-I chose to have a snowball fight as he fl-flew, and he- He crashed into the ground. I killed h-him with a snowball, Phil. He's dead because I didn't alert him." He hugged his father, burying his face in his chest as he sobbed. The teen made a mistake, a horrible mistake, and all he did was blame himself.

The father frowned and hugged Tommy back. "Tommy, you didn't know it happened, just please do not blame yourself. I'm sure he wouldn't blame you if he were alive." Tears started welling up in the older male's eyes. The crow-hybrid knew he should wait until tomorrow as he just found out about this, but his son deserves a burial tonight. "How about you head upstairs and go to bed, son? I'll go and collect his body. Just go upstairs and rest. If you need anything, Techno will be here in ten minutes, and I'll hopefully be back before the sun rises."

The blond nodded and pulled away. "Goodnight, Phil." He weaved goodbye, slowly walking upstairs to his and Wilbur's room. This will be the first time he slept alone in their room, and the teen hated it. The chicken-hybrid wanted to believe this was a nightmare, and at any moment, he'd wake up to his brother loudly playing guitar and be told to wake up earlier by him. But he knew better.

Tommy entered his room, looking at Wilbur's bed almost instantly. He remembered when he once snuck out to be with Tubbo and Ranboo, he remembered Wilbur being and being told his brother covered for him already, and he remembered them hugging after that happened. Those memories, while happy, will never happen again. Sadness hung heavy around the blond as he sluggishly headed to his bed. He closed his eyes unwillingly as he drifted off to sleep.

|~*~|

Cold and darkness. Those were the first things Wilbur noticed when he woke up. He looked around only to realize he couldn't really see anything. "Hello?" He called out as he stood up. Wilbur didn't know what was happening, and he was scared. He began to walk, not knowing what to do. It was unfortunate there wasn't a light anywhere.

The brunette groaned. His best bet was to fly, it seemed. However, when Wilbur went to do so, he didn't. In fact, he didn't feel anything in his wings nor felt them at all now that he thought of it. He whipped his head around to look at his back. Wings were no longer there and were replaced with a blue cape with white, bone patterns resembling wings. "Huh?"

The brunette began to wonder if anything else was different. However, the darkness couldn't help him. The no-longer-winged male thought maybe looking at a water source will help him at least get an idea. Wilbur looked around, and he luckily caught sight of one; It was just a few meters away from him, so he had some walking to do.

After a few minutes of walking, Wilbur arrived and immediately looked into the water. At first, he noticed that his eyes were no longer brown and were glowing a bright green. His feathered-ears were more bat-like. He couldn't make out what color they were now, but it didn't matter because the brunette was panicking. Why did he look different? Why was he alone? Why is he here?

All of his thoughts came to a stop at the sound of a twig snapping. Wilbur quickly turned around to face who was the source. At first, he didn't know who it was, but a few memories he didn't remember moments before flashed into his head. "Dad?"

Philza finally moved at the sound of his son's voice. His expression held great sadness yet hope now that he knew it was Wilbur standing by the river. "Hey, mate.... Are you okay?" He quickly grabbed a torch and lit it. When the father saw how the brunette looked, a tear slipped from his face. "Oh...."

Wilbur frowned. "Dad, what happened? Why did I wake here alone?" The brunette had so many questions, and he didn't care if Philza could answer them or not. He needed to ask them. "Why don't I remember anything? I just now remembered you." The poor boy didn't know what was going on.

"Wil, there was an accident. I should tell you when we get home. Come on, let's go." He reached a hand out for Wilbur to take. Philza knew what was going on, it seemed, and answers would only be given if Wilbur went home with him. "Someone would definitely like to see you. He.... He had a day today, and he needs your support."

The brunette nodded despite not knowing who it was and took his father's hand. Along the walk, there was almost complete silence. Only sounds made were their own footsteps and the ones animals and bugs made around them. It seemed almost sad, but Wilbur didn't pick up on that just yet. "Will you answer my questions when we reach home?"

Philza nodded, staying silent. "Techno came home from his trip, so if my answers are too much, we both can try and calm you down," He informed the other. He sort of forgot that Wilbur doesn't remember anything so saying his oldest son's name didn't exactly do anything.

The brunette tilted his head. "Techno? Who's that?"

The father now remembered. "Oh he's your older brother, and Tommy is your younger brother. Sorry, I sort of forgot about your memory issues. Maybe seeing them will make you remember." He had hope despite how the situation was.

Wilbur nodded and stayed silent the entire walk home. As soon as they arrived, his father opened the door and let him in first. The brunette walked in, looking around as he remembered memories of the place. "So this is where we live," He said. The non-winged male's eyes soon landed on a man with a pink bunny mask sitting down at the dining table. He went to ask who it was when he remembered. "Techno!"

The eldest brother was about to ask why Wilbur was excited to see him when he was tackled and hugged by the other. He was about to complain when he noticed Wilbur's appearance. "Oh you-" He was interrupted by another voice.

"Techno, I haven't told him yet," The father interjected. He watched as the boys stopped hugging and stood, both staring at each other before looking at their father. "Wil, I suggest waiting until tomorrow. This information could affect you badly, and you haven't slept," He told his son. It seemed like that was the truth yet also a lie. Either way, Wilbur nodded and headed upstairs, more than likely to sleep.

Once there was a sound of a door shutting, Techno looked at his father. "Dad, you need to tell him he's dead, please. For yours and his sake. He needs to know," The masked-male begged. Techno had always been one to lecture Philza about not telling people the truth instantly.

"I will tomorrow. He deserves to think he's alive for a moment longer at least." The father went to leave but stopped. "Due to the fact Wilbur has no memories, he probably went to your room. You're welcome to sleep in the guest room if you wish." The winged-male then walked away, not saying another word.

|~*~|

The second the sun rose, sunrays began to fill the room. Wilbur woke up and hissed, his skin feeling like it was burning. He ran off of pure instinct now as he phased through the wall. He thought the door was open, and he went through it, but he was wrong. Now, the dead boy was standing in the hall without a clue as to why his skin burned from the sun. His eyes glanced at the other door.

You see, to Wilbur, with his memories not all of his being there, he knew his and Tommy's room as Techno's room. He didn't remember Philza bringing home a younger brother, he didn't remember Techno moving in with him, he didn't remember moving in with Tommy shortly afterwards.

Wilbur knocked on the door. "Techno, if you're awake, please get up soon." The brunette then wandered down the stairs only to find Techno sitting at the table and Philza making breakfast like always. "Oh you're already awake," He exclaimed.

The two seemed to have stopped a conversation the second they saw Wilbur. Techno was the first to speak. "Mornin', Wilbur. How was sleeping?" There was something rather suggestive in his tone, but Wilbur, not picking up on tones easily, didn't catch it.

"Oh it was nice other than a nightmare here and there of me crashing into the ground," The brunette answered. He nervously smiled as he sat down. Once the once-winged male did, he noticed there were four chairs at the table. From what he remembered so far, there had always been three. Despite the oddity, Wilbur didn't question it.

Philza and Techno exchanged looks. They absolutely knew something. "Wilbur, have you ever heard of Phantoms," The father began. He needed to slowly guide his son to acknowledging his death. He turned off the stove as he turned around.

Wilbur nodded. "Yes, why? Is something wrong?"

"Well, I'm sure you know they are what's left of a dead person. It's said the night after a person dies, the soul of the dead person has to choose to move on or stay behind, and the soul clearly chose to stay behind. They linger around mostly because the dead person had some unfinished business," The father began. He looked down. "There's no easy way to say this, mate, but you are-"

"Wilbur?" Tommy interrupted his father, standing on the last step. His eyes were fixed on his older brother. The second the dead man turned to look at him, the blond knew for sure who it was. "Wilbur!" He ran and hugged the rather confused brunette. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I thought you died on the mountain!"

The winged-teen's words confused Wilbur for a moment. Then, there was a flash of realization; He was dead, and Philza was trying to answer the questions from before. "I'm.... Dead?" He looked down. If the phantom could cry, he would. He should have known the second he came back.

Tommy pulled away when his brother didn't hug him. He glanced at his father and oldest brother, both of them looking concerned. "Did I do something I wasn't supposed to?" Before he could get an answer to the question, Wilbur got up and walked through him. The teen shivered at the feeling, confusion setting in his facial features.

"Tommy, he isn't exactly alive. We were trying to tell him ourselves before you woke up, but he'll get over it soon. Anyway, what are you doing up? You normally sleep until noon," The masked-male pointed out. He had noticed Philza was making breakfast but said nothing as he stared at his youngest brother.

The winged-teen hesitantly sat down. Part of him wanted to go and find Wilbur, but he knew the phantom needed time to process the information first. "Oh Wil knocked on my door and told me if I was awake to get up soon. He thought I was Techno for some reason," The teen told his brother. He watched as his father and brother exchanged looks. "Why are you guys looking at each other? What does he calling me Techno mean," He asked with a pout.

"Tommy, Wilbur doesn't remember you yet. Phantoms don't remember things as soon as they come back. They remember basic things and how they used to look, but that's it. To him right now, you're a stranger." Techno sighed. He hoped the teen wouldn't do anything irrational with this news. "He remembers us and the house however. Wilbur will remember you soon, we promise."

The teen nodded. Now he definitely needed to see his older brother later. But first, he needed breakfast and a plan.

|~*~|

Tommy knocked on Techno's door. He didn't exactly know if Wilbur was there or not, but it was worth a try. "Wilbur? Are you there?" He went to open the door but found out something was blocking it. His brother was definitely there. "Please let me in."

"Go away," The phantom's rather quiet voice answered. He didn't want anyone to see him right now. He was so determined to have it stay that way that he didn't even listen to what Tommy said next. "Just leave me alone."

The teen frowned. He just wanted to be with his brother, and he tried using his own force to open the door. It only opened a few centimeters, but that was it. The winged-male was never that strong, so of course it didn't open much. "Wilbur, please. I just want to talk to you like we used to." Unfortunately, his brother didn't say anything. Tommy decided now was the time to give up. With such sadness held in his heart, he went to leave.

Wilbur sighed and got off the floor. He removed the chest he sat in front of the door. "Come in." The phantom only decided to let the teen in because he wanted to remember more, and he didn't like how sad he made Tommy feel. He sat back in his place from before and watched as the blond entered the room.

The teen shut the door behind him, quickly sitting next to the phantom that is his brother. "So.... How do you feel," He awkwardly asked. Tommy didn't know how exactly to start this conversation, but he thought that was the best way to start it.

The phantom thought for a moment. He was silent as he stared at the ground for a moment before he answered. "Sad yet also hopeful. Like, this is a second chance, and I shouldn't waste it." He then looked at Tommy. "Odd."

Tommy raised an eyebrow as he looked at his brother. "What's odd?" It was unfortunate he couldn't read minds or he would have gotten an immediate answer. Instead, the phantom seemed to think of what words to use before he spoke.

"You know, when Dark said you were advanced for an android, he wasn't lying," The disembodied voice stated, sounding familiar yet not. "You'll be useful."

The android hissed in annoyance, continuing to search. He wanted- No, needed to know who was messing with him and now. "Whatever you're planning to do with me, it's a-" He was cut off by an intense pain erupting from his back, causing him to let out a scream. His sight was filled with warnings, all telling him that he was bleeding from his back. He crouched down, the pain overcoming him.

"If you're going to say no, think again," The voice stated with confidence and maliciousness. The source of the void revealed itself, stepping into the blue-shirted ego's shirt. It was a male with emerald-green hair, soulless and completely back eyes, and very snow-like skin. He had a gash on his neck that bleed onto his black shirt. He wore ripped-black jeans and green converse to sort of match his hair and shirt.

None of the male's features frightened Google, but the knife with blue blood did.

"Fuck you, I won't give in!" The android attempted to stand, but the darker presence kicked him to keep him down. He let out a groan of pain, glaring at the being.

"Do you know who I am? I am Dark's greatest fear, but you can call me Anti," The demonic being told Google before straddling him. "Now, I wonder how much of that blood stuff you can lose before you power off for good, but for now, I want to do something else."

The android continued to glare, his expression not changing after Anti got his level. "What do you want then, "Dark's greatest fear"," He mocked, not caring if he was killed for saying that.

"I need a new puppet. My old one sort of.... Ran away, so you'll have to do." Anti gave a terrifying smile, a bit of anger was placed in his expression when Google wasn't phased. He wanted to at least scare Google into giving in, but it seemed nothing was working. No matter though. He can change the android's reaction when he takes over.

The blue-shirted ego rolled his eyes. "Whatever, can I get up? I need to do some stuff, so if you could please-" The android yelped as the green-haired demon stabbed him. He made a painful wince as the knife was removed from the wound. Now, the tasteful reaction of fear was present on his face, and Anti couldn't be any happier.

"Oh? What's that? You agree with the idea? Good, you didn't have a choice!" The demon quickly cut open the android's neck, smiling as the blue blood spilled from the wound. It was as fun as the first time he did it. Maybe it was something sadistic or messed up with his brain, but watching blood spill from wounds satisfied him. Sure, this was blue blood, but it still had the same effect. The demon then glitched away, vanishing from the android's sight.

Meanwhile, the android choked as the blue blood spilled out. His eyes widened with fear as Anti entered him. There were warnings of a virus popping all over sight before his vision went black. All he saw was a void of everything, a sea of black-icky darkness.

Instead of silence for his entire time there, he heard a cruel laugh. Soon after the frightening sound left his ears, the android regained his senses. The first thing he noticed was the smell of smoke and a metallic taste in his mouth. He opened his eyes to reveal the manor on fire, and if Google could cry, he would be.

Something suddenly pressed up behind the older ego, speaking rather softly into his ear, "Oh, Bim, I thought you would recognize the manor. After all, I brought you here once." That seemed pleasant yet threatening at the same time, and Bim didn't know whether to ask this person for help or be scared.

"Uh.... Who are you? Sorry to be rude, but I don't recognize you," The cannibal stated, fear slightly present in his voice. This person made Bim feel unsettled, like he's planning to do something not good to him.

"How could you, of all people, forget me? Am I not memorable?" The person pulled away and walked right in front of the ego, dawning a dark red suit, black dress pants, a black bowtie tied on his stainless white dress shirt, and he held a black, elegant cane. His brown eyes looked at the one wearing glasses, seeming to burn through his very soul. "Oh and if you somehow forgot what I looked like, darling, I'm-"

Bim finished the sentence for the other, fear definitely present in his voice. "Actor.... Oh my god, I'm going to die," He looked down, feeling the stare of Actor on him. All he could do was hope that by some way, somehow, the others will find him. If not, he surely was going to die here.

Actor seemed to just roll his eyes as he watched the other panic. "You won't.... Not yet anyways." He finally looked away from the ego, more than likely looking for his assortments of weapons to kill Bim with. "I want to test something first, that is all.... Depending on how you react, you might have a chance at living." He then grabbed something that Bim couldn't see. He smirked as he walked back behind the black-suited ego.

Bim began whimpering and attempting to escape where he was sitting, letting out screams and pleas for the manipulative male to let him go. Of course, all he got for an answer was him being yanked up by the neck, forced to stare at the other with fear. Something wrapped around his neck, and it seemed to squeeze. Bim looked down, and he would have let out a scream if his throat wasn't being squeezed by a red-and-black-scaled snake.

"Beautiful, isn't she?.... Her name is Cherry Swirl, and I haven't fed her in about a month," Actor informed the gameshow host of his pet snake. Slowly, he walked around the slowly choking male, watching as his snake strangled his guest. "I wouldn't try and move if I were you. She has venom that can make you hallucinate. While I would love to watch you suffer like that, I have morals, contrary to popular belief."

Bim struggled to say anything, all he could do was wait for his slow and inevitable death. He managed to choke out a few words, but they weren't much. "Fuck.... You." If only he knew not to say those words as the snake squeezed tighter, and Actor's glare burned more into his soul.

"I hope you know to save that air of yours. You got a limited supply of that left," Actor stated as he walked around the room again, watching as Bim breathed less and less. He smiled once Bim's movements slowed, and the cannibal closed his eyes one final time as he stopped breathing all together. "Darn, you didn't live long enough.... Oh well, time to clean up," The red-suited man exclaimed as the snake around Bim's neck slithered away. __