#b.e.n

“No No No No No No”

“You've been repeating that word since ten minutes Benjamin~” 

“And I will repeat it even longer! What-? Why-.. Is this a joke?!”, the blond asked, grabbing his hair and walking around in the small room he owned at the mansion.

“I always thought you don't take me seriously, but am I really just a joke to you?”, the question was asked with heavy sarcasm, which ticked Ben off even more. His eyes tried to look for a solution, something that could make this whole situation stop, but his eyes landed on the other every time. And the entity watched him. Sitting in the big chair, that was pushed away from the desk, leaning back and following Ben's movement with their eyes.

“I thought you would be happy to see me again. After all it's been some years~”

“... I see you enough in my dreams..” 

“Didn't know you thought about me in that way” the satisfying grin big and heavy, knowing exactly that the blond was referring to nightmares and little "visits" from the entity. 

“What do you want here B.E.N?!” 

“I would love to tell you that, little one, but I don't know. One moment I was arguing with the others about the next step and then I was here. But I don't mind, now I can finally get a better look on what you are doing~” 

“You need to leave”, was Ben's fast and hectic response. It was a danger to have the network around on a normal day but here? Even five minutes was too much! Everything could go wrong! All of Ben's achievements could go to ruin! 

“I tried. Believe me, I don't want to stay in a place full of brainless idiots myself, but apparently something decided that I should be here” 

“Then hide or something!” 

"Why so nervous?~ Afraid your little facade will slip?” 

Ben swallowed.

“Really impressed you made it that far, didn't think you had it in you”, it was said lowly. A dangerous hint to it, that was shortly overpowered by an almost happy jump to get out of the chair.

“But more importantly!~”, B.E.N started and walked in the blond's direction. Stopped right before him and leaned in just a little more.

“Did you design that yourself? It looks good~”, they began and tilted their head a little. Taking in the facial features, the hairstrands and the overall appearance Ben had.

“Looks even idiot proof~ Were you so tired of your hair getting darker and darker again? I like the blond, looks good with those spooky eyes~ But I miss the marks.. I liked them, they made you so unique~” 

“.. I like my looks as they are”

"Oh, sure you do. You almost look like a pretty boy. People could even like you~” 

It was a sharp but quick pain that went through Ben with those words, but he ignored them as best as he could. After all, he was more than used to the antics of the entity. 

“You need to leave..” 

“Like I said, I tried. Didn't work” 

“Then try harder!”

“You sound so desperate to get rid of me”, the network said, giving a sigh and turned away. 

“And here I thought you would like to spend some time with me again!”, they were clearly annoyed. 

“But I guess no. Tzzz.. from all I know about this place from you there should be some less idiotic people around, or at least someone that could help with getting rid of me or so. So let's go” it was a decision made without waiting for approval and even before Ben could grab the entity and stop them from walking out of the room. Leaving the room, right into the rest of this hellhouse. 

Ben prayed they would come across no one and that he could die a second time.

With quick steps and a nervous tick in his eyes, he followed. Looking around to avoid any other of the house residents and it seemed to work pretty well. Ben had heard a few of them inside their own rooms and despite passing Sally, the young girl didn't seem bothered by the entity. She greeted them and walked off to where she was heading. 

While walking and panicking Ben tried to think about who they should ask. At first he was pretty sure that Slenderman would have an answer, from entity to entity, but then Ben started to doubt it. If Slenderman would get to know about the whole situation, the chance of Ben getting kicked out was pretty high in his mind. Masky and Hoodie would give the least fucks about the situation but would probably not have an idea to fix it either. Eyeless Jack? Not the type to actually help with this kind of stuff. 

Ben would ask himself, because who could help better getting rid of an cyber-network-entity than a cyper-ghost but he was absolutely idealess. Asking him to find a way to get rid of B.E.N seemed as if you would ask a human to get rid of god. 

“This place is really a mess”, was what the blond heard from time to time and just waved it away. He was at a dead end. It couldn't get worse right?

Ben totally forgot what kind of mansion he was in. 

“You have to swing it with bo- with both hands”

“Why? I don't see you swinging yours with both hands, would be pretty stupid while having two!”

“Because they are small and usable with one hand each” 

“Having both hands busy is bullshit! Use one hand, then you can hold or defend yourself with the other dickhead” 

The blond froze. Perfect. The only corridor that had no escape and they were straight up heading towards others. Not to mention, two of the people he would like not to meet right now! 

“What is this conversation about?”, the entity asked and looked at Ben, before the blond grabbed their arm.

“We are turning around”

“Do we?”

“Yes-!”

“Your pretty face doesn't make you more convincing~”, was all B.E.N said before they got their arm free and walked further. It didn't take long before the talking people came into sight and their talking even stopped. The black haired killer turned his head around the second he saw something in the corner of his eyes, looking straight at the green haired entity, which already smiled at him, as if they knew each other. 

“Who the fuck is that?”, Jeff asked into the room. More addressed to Toby, who was beside him, than at the entity itself.

“Never seen”, was the short answer he got from the brunette. Unamused by the dead-eyed but still smiling look the entity was giving Jeff, the killer felt his nerves get thinner and thinner. And when he wanted to speak up, the intruder turned their head around into the corridor, which was a little out of sight for the other two.

“Is this the ugly one you talked about Ben?”, the smile turned into a grin, as they watched how the blond clearly lost more and more color. Ben hoped he wouldn't be discovered and the entity had ruined everything. Even made him sound like an asshole! He called Jeff many names, yes, but he never went for the appearance! That was weak and cheap. There was so much more to insult about the psychopath. 

With quick steps and almost a jump to shut the entity up, Ben got to the others. Pressing his hand against their mouth and turning his head to the other two.

“I never said that!”, he made clear, giving an annoyed sound as his hand was pulled away.

“Oh right, you said something around the lines of a delusional wannabe monster. Ugly is just my interpretation” 

“Excuse you?!”, Jeff got closer fast. Pushing the blond elf to the side and grabbing the collar of the entity. 

“Wanna repeat that?!”

“Who is thi- Who is this idiot?”, was asked by Toby, who got a little closer. Watching the scenery and waiting a little for more to happen. Ben did the same, but with more frustration and panic in his eyes. 

“This- This is a frien-” 

“I am Ben” 

That was the one sentence the blond didn't want to hear from the entity. 

“Or more like B.E.N, but it comes to the same~ I am him, so get your filthy human hands off me”, the entity spoke further and placed their hand on Jeff's wrist. Not breaking the grin. It was just a short moment of visual confusion on Jeff's face but it was used nonetheless. The entity got free from his grip and walked a few steps to stand behind Ben again, leaning a little onto the blond before placing their hands on his shoulders.

“And this is my favourite plaything~” 

“What-?!”, it was a loud scream, followed by a punch at the wall and for a moment Ben flinched even, then he gave a nervous grin and started playing with the hem of his tunic. Sweaty hands as he tried to understand, if this situation was going to be his end or not.

“You didn't lie, he is really an impulsive one”, the green haired entity said and crossed their arms. Watching the smiling killer in front of them.

“You have some explaining to do Ben”, Toby mentioned with a raised brow and leaned against the wall. His eyes fixed on the intruder. 

“Well.. this is a little hard to explain- First of all I didn't even thought I would ever have to!”, the ghost began and threw his head a little from side to side.

“Should I be mad?~”

“You- Shut up.. please-?”, he only got a sly grin from the entity. 

“What did this asshole mean, with, he is you?”, Jeff asked, not really amused by the new one. The face pissed him off already, the behavior was shitty and how they talked made it worse. Perfect example of a waste of space in Jeff's eyes.

“.. Okay so maybe there is a lot to unpack here!”, the blond started again and still tried to figure out how to handle the situation. Somewhere he was still in shock about the sudden appearance of the network inside his room, explaining that they couldn't leave again. Fuck that! Ben was glad to have some free space from the entity and now it should live inside the mansion? Fuck no! He made friends here. He got accepted by others. No way he was gonna let that maniac take all of that from him, just by existing! Also, with B.E.N being here and the others wanting an explanation..  Ben had to tell them the truth now. Especially after the entity said something so disrespectful! He had to tell them that what they knew about him wasn’t exactly the truth.

He was a fraud. A liar. A cheater. He was a terrible person. 

He needed to tell them or B.E.N would do it.

Ben's eyes stared at the floor in front of him, trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn't make him look like an asshole. Something that would sound logical and not like he borrowed someone's plums. Maybe just a little lie that would make all of this seem more funny than pathetic. 

“Soooo.. I told you guys about the moonchildren and all that?” 

“Wow, you wanna start there? I thought you would make it quick Benjamin~” 

“This is hard for me, okay?!”, the blond yelled and looked at the network beside him. Trying his hardest to look relaxed and not at the edge of his mental stability. But only seeing this smile, he knew that B.E.N knew how panicked he was deep down. How could they not? They probably felt it in some file of data in their head! 

Why did he have to do that? Why was an explanation needed? Couldn't the others just accept it and leave him be?! 

The annoyed tabbing of Jeff's fingers wasn't making anything easier! And somehow the usually so loud mansion seemed too quiet at this moment. Like the walls, the floor and everyone in this house was waiting for Ben to explain himself. 

“They are.. It's more of a-” 

“Oh wow- this is some sick green hair!~ Who is this?”, Nina walked past the others, taking her time looking at the entity and walking around them, amazed by the flawless haircolor.

“Apperantly that is Ben”, Toby answered her and saw how her face looked back in confusion. Then she looked at Ben, back at the entity and back at Ben.

“But he is right here- You wanna tell me he programmed something to play around with?” 

“Somewhere it's the other way around I think~”, the entity answered and gained a really angry stab in the side from Ben. 

“It's not the time for you chitty chatty and “ohhh guess what~?” stuff Ben! What is going on here?” 

The blonde swallowed hard, looking forth and back between the people around him and he felt how it all started to boil inside of him. How the truth wanted to come out and spill into the floor. Maybe he could drown in his own shame afterwards. 

“Come one~ Tell them, I really wanna see how they react~”, it was more of a whisper spoken in Ben's ear and he hated how familiar and calming the voice of the network seemed to him. 

“I.. So this whole thing..-” 

“Spit it out already dipshit!” 

“I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!” his breath heavy, chest rising and falling with it. 

“None of the things!”, he continued, feeling his cheeks getting wet but too worked up to actually care.

“All of the fucking things that happened and you know about me being an evil sociopath was them! All that shit with Alex?! Them! The whole world Virus thing?! Them!” 

“What do you mean-?”, Nina asked a little confused. She had seen the blond act terrible and all, doing things that suited the story around him. So why was he saying that?

“What does it mean?! That I'm just the face of a story, in which I'm the most irrelevant character!”, Ben shouted at her, looking around again. His breath still heavy, his eyes being unfocused and not taking a break from shaking. Tears running down his face and with each word, the panicked smile got wider.

“You know what I did in all of this..? You know what I did while all of that shit was happening?!”, pointing at himself, as to make clear who he was talking about, he took a step forward.

“I begged to be rescued! Yes I wanted to live inside my favourite game! Yes they drowned me and made me lose trust in every human being! And oh yes I wanted revenge.. But all I did was cry and hoped someone would save me.. That this endless three-day-cycle would end me finally!”, his shoulders trembled, his whole body seemed as if it was about to break down. That something was breaking free from the inside and for Ben it was years of silence and false attention.

“But then it happened! Someone broke the cycle and how much I wish it never happened! There was all of this attention and fear of me and appreciation for stuff I never did! I found you guys and you all thought I was some manic, sociopathic killer… So I had to be, right?”, the tears got more and more. Streaming down his face, covering it more and more in red. 

“I had to kill that pathetic, whiney bitch that I am! Because I needed to be someone else, right?! I needed to become that fucked up network that kept me alive!”, with wide open eyes he looked at Jeff, who seemed a bit taken back by the shorter's tantrum. Ben normally wasn't the screaming type.

“Do you even know how hard it was to kill someone!?”, Ben looked around.

“Does any of you know how hard it was to kill someone and act like I had fun while doing it! To act like I enjoyed watching this girl slit her throat because I tortured her that much mentally?! But it was expected from me to have fun with that!”, he ripped at his hair, trying to calm his breathing which just made it worse. 

“And I couldn't stop at one and hope all of you would just accept it, No no no~.. So I did it again.. and again.. and again!... It was the 23rd time when I felt something inside of me actually enjoying it and I was so proud. I remember telling you guys about that guy and oh lord.. you didn't care, because for you this was normal, for you this was nothing new coming from me..! And with the looks on your faces I must be such a great actor! Because none of you thought I was faking at any time!” 

There was silence for a few moments. A helpless laugh came from Ben, before he swung his arms around as if he was presenting the beginning of a theatrical act.

“And now you know the deep, dark secret of Ben Drowned! I drowned! And nothing more!”, he gave a panicked and choked laugh, turned around to the network, which smiled at him oh so proudly.

They had watched every second of it, as if it was their favorite movie. Burning Ben's expressions into their brain. Never letting go of them.

“And you.. You were sitting in my head all of the time. Watched what I did, watched how I tried to fit in… and you were so proud! You were so proud to see me killing those people! Like a plaything you watch until it breaks! … And god did I wish I'll break.. just to stop playing a role that I never was..”, his voice got quieter, shook more and then there was a muffled cry. It was a miracle that his legs kept him upright. That his body was still standing and not breaking down.

The others still stood there, watched how the blond slowly but surely came back to his normal breathing, and they didn't know what to say. It was much information and in some way it felt unreal. They've seen Ben. They've spent a lot of time with the blond elf and now everything should be a lie? 

“I tell you, if this is some stupid prank shithead, I really need to give it to you: that acting was good. Now tell us the real story!” Jeff was the first who spoke and despite his words, there was a little underlying tone to it. One of concern or something like that. He wasn't sure of his own words.

“What…?”, was all he got from Ben. A shaken question, in total disbelief.

“Oh wow!~ Even if you break down, they don't believe you. You must really be a shitty person Ben~”, B.E.N was amused. Seeing their little namegiver break down this much while speaking about all the truth he had hidden for so long. It was fantastic! With light steps they got closer, placed a hand on Ben's shoulder and wiped away some of the tears. Never letting the satisfied grin vanish from their lips. 

Oh how they loved the view. How beautiful that warm blood felt on their skin, leaving an almost electrical feeling. They hoped it wouldn't already end.

“Maybe you need to play this role even longer~”, they said. Soft and melodic. Feeling the body before them beginning to shake more.

“If all of this is true.. You should start an acti- acting career Ben-.. Damn. But it makes me wonder, why you didn't do anything for him?”, Toby aimed the question at the network, looking straight into their eyes, ignoring the uncanny feeling that came with it. He wasn't really sure of all of this, but he could sense that this outbreak was not from pure entertainment. Ben may play some terrible pranks but this would be a little too big. Or the blond had finally decided to fuck all of them over. 

“Simple: I don't deal with idiots as you guys are~ Also it is not my problem if humanity decided to manifest him as the villain~” B.E.N said, pulling the blond even closer to themself. The grin on their lips never disappeared. With staring eyes the network watched as Toby tried to make sense of their words. Either the brunette was at a loss of words or he didn't care enough to ask further. But B.E.N thought that it was most likely the second option. The damage had been done, so what should the other do? Get revenge for someone who is probably not even close enough to know their real name? No~ Nonetheless, it was clear to see how those eyes scanned over Ben and still decided if Toby should trust the blond. He was unsure, that was clear to see, clear to get from his slight body language. But he was even more sceptical of B.E.N and that tiny look Toby was giving them? Ohhh~ The entity knew why they loved to watch human behaviour. It was cinematic! Entertaining in the best way possible!

Just in the corner of B.E.N’s eye they could see how Nina was clearly trying to figure out the whole situation. The girl was opening her mouth to say something, just to shut it again. With the way she was picking at her bottom lip it was obvious that she wasn't sure what to say. If she would even find the right words. The entity hoped she would say something. Probably letting out a bunch of gibberish that should at the very best sound like some words. 

And even though she seemed to be the one to be the most away from getting into the situation, she showed more than the others, that she understood what happened. Nina didn't question the truthfulness of Ben's breakdown, she had listened. Had heard the pain behind every word. And that made it even harder for her to give a speech about it. To say something that wouldn't make the situation worse in the end! 

“Whatever! Don't care if this shit is true or not, we already have one Ben and that's terrible enough, so you can fuck off!”, Jeff said annoyed, trying to grab for the blond. He wasn't having this shit anymore. Liar one way or another, Ben was part of this mansion and he absolutely hated the other one. The blond elf was annoying and a total shithead, but at least they could talk and have some funny moments together. This green haired thing seemed like a total asshole. And not the good sort. Just by looking at the entity Jeff felt rage come up in himself. That stupid grin, as if they knew so much better about everything. The way they talked, the way they placed their hands on the blond, the way they watched every step someone took. It pissed Jeff off! People like that were the first to betray and backstab you for their own good. 

In this house full of killers, monsters, non-human species and overall terrible people, Jeff didn't want to have such an asshole around.

When he was close to touching the green fabric, the elf was pulled closer to the entity.

“Oh, then you wouldn't mind switching this fraud with the real one, right?~ Or are you emotionally attached to something other than yourself?”, B.E.N asked with a soft smile, letting their fingers stroke through the blond strands of Ben, keeping their eyes at Jeff. With amusement they watched as Jeff's face went from irritated to angry. 

“Or do you just don't like my face? I can change that~”, the sound of the words got lost in some almost glitchy noises, a high pitch sound that seemed to go very low way too fast. And while B.E.N was still staring into Jeff's eyes, their features changed. Green hair turned dark brown and got shorter. Dark spirals started to shimmer in a dark green, making the entity look a little more alive for a second. Face shape and height changing while the uncanny smile got a little softer for a moment. 

“Have you ever seen his real face?~”

But they didn't get an answer, just an angry gruff and a violent pull to get the blond out of their arms. They let it happen. It was reaction enough to what they had done, so they would let it pass. With a sigh and a crack of the neck they fixed their appearance again. Their eyes followed how Ben's body was roughly pulled around, making him look more like a corpse rather than a ghost.

“I think it will be fun living here~”

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