hattafan2593

The third year of their little arrangement. Another chance to celebrate the New Year with Alastor.

It was a bit of a tedious year, what with Alastor being a passive aggressive little brat. Seriously, what was with the attitude? A couple of scratches and he gets the fucking cold shoulder?

Still, Vox supposed he could let it slide. He did get a bit carried away last time... and the stuff Al made him do this year wasn't too horrible...

He should probably go a little easy on him this time. More flies with honey and all that.

When he arrived at the apartment, he was surprised, and pleased, at the sight.

Alastor was already in bed, and even in the dark Vox could see he was completely nude.

Vox smirked. "Oh, baby, were you waiting for me?"

He slowly undid the buttons of his shirt as he made his way towards the bed. "If I'd known you were that desperate I would've come sooner."

He slid into the other side of the bed, trailing his claws gently down Alastor's bare back. He furrowed his brow as he noticed how cold his skin was - even more so than usual.

"Already trembling and we haven't even started." As he trailed his hand down lower, he grinned widely at how wet Al was down there. "Or maybe you're just cold? Don't worry. I'll warm you up in a bi-"

And that's when the smell hit him.

Vox reeled back in disgust as the very recognizable odor of excrement hit his olfactory sensors. At the same time, something thick and warm and slimy oozed over Vox's fingers.

Horrified, Vox leapt off the bed and turned on the lamp to get a better look.

Sure enough, that wasn't lube covering Vox's hand.

Furious, and holding back the urge to vomit, he turned to the still silent and naked Alastor, grabbing his shoulder roughly and yanking him forward to look at Vox.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST- WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH-?!"

Vox froze as he got a good look at Alastor's face. His skin was pale and clammy, and he was sweating profusely. His crimson eyes were dull and had a glossiness to them. His hair was damp with sweat and sticking to his head. And his mouth - still stuck in that ever-present grin - was coated in thick, chunky, yellow bile. It coated his teeth, ran down his chin and lay drying and crusty on his chest.

Vox had to fight back the urge to vomit himself as he ripped the covers off the bed. Nearly the whole mattress was covered in vomit and excrement.

"Jesus H... are you actually serious right now? H-How long have you been like this?"

In lieu of an answer, Alastor retched and spewed out vomit like a geyser. Vox quickly dodged to the side, though not quick enough to avoid his pants leg getting drenched, as well as having some splash across his screen.

Disgusted, Vox practically ripped off his shirt and wiped furiously at his screen and his hand. Throwing it away, he headed towards the door.

"...and just where... do you think you're going...old pal...?"

Vox stopped as Alastor's voice, weak and raspy, came from the nearby radio.

"Uh, to call a hospital? I don't know what you caught, but you're clearly sick as a dog. Just because you're too stubborn to get help, doesn't mean-"

Vox froze as he felt a yank on his wrist. He looked down at the glowing green shackle and chain that slowly tapered off into blue, connected to the blue shackle on Alastor's wrist.

No.

"...You can't be serious."

"Once a year...that was the deal. The year's almost up...only three hours left...better get to it..."

"Are you fucki-NO! Hell no! Not when you're like thi-"

"Oh yes you are."

Alastor sat up with a strength he shouldn't have had in his condition. His glazed over eyes bored into Vox's.

"You see...it occurred to me, Vox...that there's nothing in our deal that says...you have to enjoy our little trysts."

"...what."

"You want to have sex with me that badly? You want to continue forcing your... disgusting perversions on me, after I told you...repeatedly, that I hate this...that I do not want this?!"

Alastor's smile grew impossibly wide and sharp, his teeth glowing as he used his radio powers. Thin green threads appeared at the edges, forming a stitch pattern.

"Then you will have me like this...or not at all."

Vox stood there, shaking with horror and fury. He'd been played. "You...you..."

Alastor retched again, splattering his chest and the mattress below him. It should have made him look pathetic. But it did nothing to detract from the frightening visage of his stitched smile, or the absolute burning hatred in the deer's eyes.

The years have not been kind to Eun-mi.

She’s been doxxed multiple times since the events of Human Expenditure Program.

She and her son Toby have had to move several times. She’s changed her appearance and her name, and doesn’t go out in public unless she absolutely has to. When she’s not working or fretting over her teenage son, she’s drowning her guilt and anxiety in alcohol.

Currently, she’s going by the alias Lee Hana.

She’s become very protective of her son Toby in the past nine years. She allows him very limited access to the Internet and social media. Though the Bloodmoney! game has long since been deleted from the Internet and has since entered the realm of urban legend amongst the general public, she’s not taking any chances. She knows that there are still people out there who remember her sin, and she’s done everything in her power to shield Toby from the truth.

“…I hate you, Eun-mi. And I will never forgive you for what you did to me. But whether I like it or not, you’re the mother of my child. You and I are all that kid has.

And I know I’m not blameless. I can make any excuse I want, but the fact remains I missed nine years of my son’s life.

So you and I, we’re gonna get our shit together and do what we should’ve been doing this whole time - being Toby’s parents. I’ll try to find something more legit, and in the meantime I’ll lend a hand whenever I can. We’ll do everything we can to make sure he doesn’t have to deal with any more of our bullshit. And when he’s able to live on his own and sustain himself, we’ll go our separate ways. You and I will never have to see or speak to each other again.

But Eun-mi, let me make something abundantly clear…”

“Toby! Let me out! Just…you’ve made your point, okay? You win! Just let Mommy out and we can forget this ever happened!”

“That’s what you said in the last loop. And in the loop before that. And the loop before that.”

“Please, honey. I love you so much. Everything I’ve done has been-“

“For me. I know. You’ve said. Multiple times. You said you loved Dad, too. That didn’t stop you from hurting him.”

“Toby!”

“This happened after Dad lost his job at the bank, right? You and Dad tried to hide it, but I’m not stupid. I knew you guys were fighting.”

“I…”

“Is that gonna happen to me? Are you gonna decide one day that I’m not pulling my weight? Are you gonna sell me off to strangers on the dark web for a quick buck?”

“NO!!! GOD, NO!!! How can you even- you’re my son! My baby! I would never hurt you, you know that!”

“I don’t know that, Mom. That’s the problem. And until you prove me wrong, this isn’t gonna end. For either of us.”

“Toby, please -“

“It’s late, and I have homework. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait, DON’T-“

“Goodnight, Mom.”

[Reset initiated] …[Reset complete]

Nine years have passed since the events of HUMAN EXPENDITURE PROGRAM.

Toby Harvington is now 14 years old. Like his late father, Harvey, he is kind hearted and believes in the best in people.

Like his mother, Eun-mi, he is very intelligent. Perhaps too intelligent for his own good.

And for the past nine years, he’s been asking himself questions - what actually happened to his father? Why did he disappear? Why did he and his mom have to keep moving and changing schools? Why did his mom keep such strict access of the Internet and social media? Why wasn’t he allowed to make friends or tell people his real last name?

…Why did his mom keep so much wine bottles in the house? Why did she flinch whenever he mentioned Dad?

Well, like any curious teen, he goes looking for answers. And he finds them.

There’s…a lot of evidence. Including recordings. And the hidden message Dad had left behind.

It takes him a while, but he eventually confronts his mother. Shows her the evidence.

At first, she deflects. She denies. She claims the evidence is fake. When that doesn’t work, she justifies, she downplays her actions. Then she accuses him of going behind her back, of being ungrateful for all she’s done for him.

He’s not angry. Not really. Honestly, she’s made this a lot easier.

Two sleeping pills in her wine glass is all it takes. She didn’t even notice until it was too late.

As stated before, Toby is very intelligent. He was able to replicate the virtual reality simulator Eun-mi created with little reference. With some differences.

First, the simulation is based off Eun-mi’s own memories. Second, Eun-mi is unaware that she’s in a simulation (at first). Third, she has complete control over her own choices and actions.

He wants to see if his mom will make a different choice. If she’s capable of learning from her mistakes.

She doesn’t. Not the first loop. Or the second. Or the fifth.

Every time, he hits reset. Every time, she wakes up from her “nightmare” and starts all over, unaware that she’s stuck in a computer program. Forced to relive the events that ruined her and her family’s lives.

And she’ll keep reliving it. Until she starts learning her lesson. Until she proves she can change.

Toby’s not a monster. He loves his mother, despite everything. He can’t bring himself to outright torture her like she did to Dad, no matter how angry he is.