Centipede Anon’s Blog For Cool People

The past few weeks had been grueling for Zappa as he has managed to start attracting spirits on accident again. However, unlike that of S-Ko and the other spirits he had been possessed with before, this one was actively malicious towards him. The other spirits did hurt him, yes, but they seemed to only hurt him by accident, taking control of his body to annihilate those they deemed as dangerous or a threat to the host. This new spirit that’s been following him actively attacks. It’s been on and off however, the spirit wanting to keep him on his toes. Zappa’s quite literally been around the world now and yet, this beastly spirit has tried to kill him again and again. He can’t keep running forever, eventually, he’d run out of energy. 

But he doesn’t wanna give up just yet, so he’s seeking out the person who helped him in his time of need last time when he was having some ghost problems, Faust. He hasn’t heard much from the man despite quite literally helping save the world with him last time. It’s only been a little over a month though, so it’s not like he hasn’t seen him in years or anything. Still, he’s heard from or about everyone else he worked with. Apparently Sol and Ky were near immediately back on the whole killing ultra powerful beings that were near godlike again- though this time it was The Original, now apparently calling himself “Happy Chaos”. A bunch of the others from last time were also helping them out as well, but Faust was mysteriously missing from it all. There was something about a girl named Delilah that he helped out in, but not much else after.

He doesn’t really know where Faust would be, since he likes to wander the world, so now Zappa’s just hoping that he’ll find him somewhere. So now, he was in the middle of some desert, super dehydrated, and with no idea where the next town will be. He had the smarts to bring a jug of water before he came to the literal desert, but he ended up drinking all of it within the first 2 days. The sand was getting into his shoes and really irritating him, but if he took off his shoes to get it out, then he’d burn his feet from the rest of the sand that was constantly in direct sight of the burning hot Sun. It’s been about 4 days now, he’s absolutely exhausted, near death with the dehydration and starvation combination. Wobbling a little he starts to feel his legs give out, walking for 4 straight days has given him a good workout but also the threat of snapping his legs in half. Nothing should have broken his fall but the sand, and yet, when he collapsed and looked up at the hands holding him up by the shoulders, it was none other than the very same spirit he’d been running from.

Zappa tried to scream, but his throat had become so hoarse that all that came out was a small croak. He tried struggling with the little energy he had left as the spirit opened its large mouth, taking up its whole face and filled with rows and rows of teeth, seemingly wanting to chop his head off and grind it down to a thin paste with them. He closes his eyes as he starts to accept his fate, knowing that there would be no escape from the horrors that awaited him in a few seconds. Suddenly though he heard something along the lines of bones cracking and popping and the feeling of a different, much larger, spider-like set of hands grabbing him. Suddenly he was being pulled in 2 different directions. Eventually the new set of hands won over. He slowly opened his eyes, scared of what he would see when he did only to see… Faust? He looked odd, almost like a corpse. Before where he had on very colorful yet formal attire, clad with striped patterns on his pants and crosses on his arms, he now simply wore some surgeon scrubs with some very nice sneakers and belts on his forearms. His limbs were also cause for concern as they seem to be much thinner than usual, almost like he hasn’t been eating for about a week or 2, not only that but his fingers seem to be incredibly exaggerated, going far past what the normal human should have. That explained why it felt like they were 2 massive spiders.

“Faust?” Zappa asked, cautiously, “Is that really you?” The change in his appearance was so drastic, Zappa didn’t even know if this was Faust anymore. For a second, he had the terrifying thought that maybe Faust had gotten lost in this desert as well and was also on the brink of death, at least until he realized they somehow weren’t even in the desert anymore, instead being near a lake somehow. Faust most likely used his spacial deformation technique to teleport them there. He also noticed he was now sitting on Faust’s lap as Faust was sitting on his own legs. “Original focus…” Faust choked out, “... Needed to, save someone.” That was enough for Zappa, he immediately crashed his head onto Faust’s chest, just happy he could rest for a minute and that his possible savior had arrived. His feet ached and the soles of his shoes were coming apart.

“I was actually looking for you all over, I’m really glad you came, especially at that exact time! You saw that spirit, do you have any idea how to get it off my tail! You were able to “cure” me from most of them last time so…”, he kinda trailed off at the end, seemingly getting embarrassed of his own speech and request. Faust looked upwards and squinted lightly with his one eye, like he was thinking before saying, “Yesss, I know cure…”, Faust nodded weakly. “Alright, let's get going, we need to get your medical supplies right? I mean you don’t have your case of medical supplies you usually have”, Zappa said, excited that he was finally able to leave this malicious spirit behind hopefully.

Zappa stood up, or at least tried to. Faust’s hands were wrapped around him firmly as he pulled him back down to his knees. “Wha- Faust, do you have your supplies here?” Zappa was confused, but he wouldn’t doubt he could use his spacial deformation to pull out random stuff. Still, he squirmed lightly in his grasp, a little uncomfortable. “Have cure, stay still…” Faust started pulling Zappa closer again, though this was less so the tight grasp he had on Zappa earlier to pull him away from the spirit and more like a weird sort of hug. “Huh- I-I don’t understand, don’t you need me to be at least a little further away so you could actually see me?” Zappa said, a little bit of panic seeping into his voice.

Faust looked down at him, “Know how to cure, don’t need to see… get host away from spirit, not other way…” This made sense to Zappa but it was just the same thing he’s been trying to do for the past few days. “I’ve been doing that, I wouldn’t have been in the desert if I wasn’t trying to get away”, Zappa was really panicked, but he knew he was in good hands. Still, Faust’s methods always made him anxious. “No, you trying to get ghost away, not host away…” Faust pulls him upwards a little, “Let me show you, cure…” Faust opened up his mouth wide and stuck Zappa’s head inside. He starts struggling immediately, but Faust manages to swallow him down incredibly quickly. He could hear Faust’s heart beating very faintly and his esophagus pulsating around him. All Zappa could think about was why Faust would do this, he helped him get rid of the spirits the first time and helped save the world when the Japanese were turning into antimatter gears. He had said something about “curing” Zappa so maybe he wasn’t thinking straight, which wouldn’t be too crazy considering his physical state. Yet, it still didn’t make sense to Zappa…

He feels an intense pressure before being released into what was presumably Faust’s stomach. He started struggling but felt too weak to really do much of anything. So, Zappa just broke down. All this time he spent running from his demise and he ended up dying to someone he had considered a friend. He knew that nothing could save him now. He suddenly felt a slight pressure on the outside and it rubbing slightly. He had assumed it was simply just his hand rubbing. “Safe now… host away from spirit”, Faust said. He felt Faust standing up and start to move. Zappa didn’t say anything, at this point he just accepted his fate and tried to fall asleep so he hopefully didn’t have to feel any of the painful digestion.

Except, Zappa woke up, not in pain, but quite comfortable actually. “What..? I’m still… alive?” Zappa’s voice was hoarse since he just woke up. He heard the heartbeat still along with now the gurgling of a stomach and the popping of bones. “Told you, safe, away from spirit now”, Faust said quietly. He seemed to be tired himself. Zappa was confused, “But- how- what? I’m not dead? How? I’m literally in your stomach.” “Moved hazards out of stomach, safe to sleep in now…” Faust replied. Well now he was even more confused, with the amount of weird magic Faust knows though, he doesn’t even bother to question it anymore. He probably should’ve expected this outcome if anything. “Here, food…” Faust said, before he heard a few gulping sounds. Out of his esophagus came a bagged sandwich and a thermos of water. Zappa had gladly gulped down almost all of the water immediately, thirsty from not just the desert, but also because he had just woken up from quite the nap. After he started chowing down on the sandwich he was given. It tasted like the best meal he’d ever had, that was most likely just because he was terribly hungry though.

“So, I understand I’m apparently safe in here but what about after. I can’t exactly stay here forever… at least I hope I don’t have to”, Zappa said between bites of his sandwich. Faust stopped for a moment before he spoke, “Going to remove spirit, like last time… find cure, be quick”. No other words were spoken as Zappa was just glad he was able to go back to his normal life, well as normal as it will get, after all, S-Ko was quite keen on staying with him so he still has her with him. Although she isn’t nearly as possessive in both literal and figurative ways, she still exists. Hopefully though, this spirit is less inclined to him. There’s never any guarantee, though he trusts in Faust since all of the other spirits that were haunting him had left his body after Faust’s treatment. So, with knowledge that he will hopefully be safe, he decided to simply go back to sleep.