the mask: a crazy imagination. (MARVEL)

"Not bad… not bad."

I heard Chara's voice as he walked beside me, holding an open pizza box in one hand and a half-eaten slice in the other. He was chewing with a neutral expression, savoring it like someone critiquing a wine tasting.

"Well, it's pizza. Just a regular one. Nothing special," I replied casually as we walked down the hallway of the building near my apartment.

A few minutes later, we reached my door. I raised my hand to my face and pulled at the skin, stretching it like jelly. In an instant, I felt the shift—the green, bald face vanished, and I returned to my normal appearance, like I'd never been wearing a mask at all.

"Hey, I'm here!" I called out as I knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, I heard quick footsteps—nervous ones. Then came the sound of the lock turning.

The door swung open.

There was Tommy, staring at me wide-eyed.

"DAVI—" he blurted, quickly stepping toward me.

I raised a hand and placed it on his face, stopping him mid-rush.

"I'm happy to see you, man!" he said, his words muffled by my hand squishing his face.

"Listen," I said, narrowing my eyes, "I'm done with your bullshit. So hear me loud and clear—don't get involved in any more illegal or shady crap. That's my first and only warning."

He nodded quickly.

I took my hand off his face and sighed. I really hoped the guy wouldn't get into trouble again.

"Uh… and that kid?" Tommy asked, eyeing Chara, who stood next to me, casually chewing on another slice of pizza and finishing it in record time.

"Relative. I'm looking after him. Now beat it or I'll kick your ass," I said, deadpan.

Tommy nodded nervously and quickly shuffled away down the hall.

Finally, I let out a long breath.

"Thanks, man… really," Tommy said as he walked off. "I don't know exactly what you did in there, but those guys were seriously dangerous. I'm not gonna ask questions. Just… thanks."

I nodded silently.

He's an idiot most of the time—but sometimes, sometimes—he's got a brain.

I looked at the open door and stepped inside. Chara followed behind me, and I closed the door.

Home sweet home.

"Oh, c'mon… this is boring. Let's have a little more fun. A little more blood never hurt anybody~"

A strange voice rang out in my head. Playful. Slightly irritated.

I instantly looked around, alert. But aside from Chara munching away on the slice of pizza, the apartment was empty.

That wasn't his voice.

"Hey, Chara… do you hear that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Hear what?" he asked, blinking with a mouth full of crust.

"You can't hear it, huh…" I muttered and walked away from him, heading straight to the bathroom.

I stepped inside and stood in front of the mirror, gripping the sink as I stared at my reflection.

Suddenly, something started happening.

The skin on my face began to melt. It tore, blood spilling down like a waterfall. I reached up and grabbed my own face—gripped it hard—and pulled.

The skin peeled off like a rubber mask, soaked in blood.

I looked down at my hand holding the torn-off face—my face. I looked up at the mirror.

And there it was again.

The green, bald, cartoonish face with bulging eyes and perfectly white teeth.

My current face.

I opened my hand, and the bloody, sagging mask dropped into the sink with a sickening splat.

"What the hell is going on…?" I muttered.

"Haha, dude, who cares? All that matters now is having fun!" a cheerful little voice rang out.

Something suddenly floated into view.

A tiny version of myself—like, palm-sized—was hovering in the air. It had little bat-like wings flapping behind it.

The mini-me stretched its arms and flew through the air, spinning and somersaulting midair.

"Hey! Don't corrupt him with your stupidity!" Another voice shouted.

I turned and saw another mini-me. This one had white, angelic wings and looked way more serious.

"What the hell…?" I muttered. "What is this?"

The angelic mini-me rocketed toward the bat-winged one and socked him across the face.

"SHIT—" the evil mini-me grunted as he smashed into the bathroom wall and tumbled to the floor.

"GOOD WINS AGAIN!" shouted the angel mini-me, raising his arms in victory as miniature fireworks exploded above him with a soft pop-pop-pop!

"Of course not!" the evil one yelled, picking himself up and flying straight back, headbutting the other in the chest and sending him crashing into the ceiling.

"Okay, okay—no fighting," I said, reaching out and grabbing the evil one by the collar midair.

"Hey! Let me go!" he screamed, squirming like a brat. "We gotta kill the bad guys, bathe in their blood, and play some phonk music while we do it!"

I raised an eyebrow and held him at arm's length as he kicked around like an angry action figure.

"Alright, you're pretty edgy. I'll call you Edgy," I said with a smirk.

"You bastard!" I heard the other mini-me scream from the ceiling. He quickly flew down toward Edgy, but I grabbed him by the neck before he could get there.

"Hey! Let me go! I need to take care of that idiot over there!" he shouted, pointing at Edgy—who just smirked and flipped him off.

"Hahaha, pussy!" Edgy said with a smug grin.

The white-winged mini-me clenched his fists, his face turning tomato red. Steam literally started rising from his head.

"YOU PIECE OF *BEEP!* I SWEAR I'LL *BEEP!* YOU AND THEN I'LL *BEEP!* AND SHOVE YOU UP THE *BEEP!*"

I raised an eyebrow as a censorship beep covered his entire rant. A black bar also suddenly appeared across his mouth like a TV censor.

"Calm down, or I'll shut you both up for real," I said, visibly annoyed.

Both of them fell silent.

The white-winged one took a deep breath, his red color fading back to normal green. Meanwhile, Edgy just floated there with his arms and legs crossed, totally relaxed.

"Okay… so… who the hell are you guys?" I asked, eyeing them both. "You seem like my good and bad sides or something."

Edgy shrugged and replied, "Something like that… Hey! Let's kill someone! That's way more fun! KILL KILL KILL!" he started waving his arms around, yelling like a maniac.

I gave him a good shake, and he immediately went limp, clutching his stomach like he was about to throw up.

"Okay… I'll shut up. Damn it…" he groaned, glaring at me.

I nodded and turned to the other mini-me.

"What?" he said, blinking at me casually. For someone who literally showed up flying and punching people, he sure acted normal now.

"So… are you the 'good' part of me?" I asked.

Suddenly, he pulled a pair of oversized glasses from behind his back, put them on, and raised a finger like a teacher about to lecture.

"Actually! We're your conscience—split in two. The good, beautiful, amazing, intelligent, wise, and brilliant part, obviously me… and…"

He looked at Edgy with a face full of disgust. Edgy hung limply in my grip, staring off at nothing.

"…That's your bad side. Aggressive, idiotic, irrational, completely lacking in dignity or common sense, morally bankrupt, and a jerk. Did I say jerk already?"

Edgy smiled proudly. "Heh. Thanks for the compliment."

I chuckled a little, watching the two of them.

This was… weird. Fascinating, but weird. They just appeared out of nowhere...

Maybe the more I wear the mask—and the more it messes with my control—the more I start manifesting things subconsciously. Like literally creating things without realizing it.

I looked at the white-winged one. "I'll call you Wholesome."

He just shrugged, unimpressed by the name.

"Okay, this was a fun little trip, but I'm taking a break from the mask for now," I said. I didn't want to lose control completely. That sounded exhausting.

"Wait! Come on! Please!" Edgy yelled, tears forming in his eyes. "Let's go kill some assholes!"

"Stop being dramatic. You sound like a damn drama queen. You're such a *BLEEP!*," Wholesome replied, rolling his eyes.

"…He's not as wholesome as he pretends to be," I muttered.

I tossed Edgy into the air and gently placed Wholesome down on the toilet seat.

"HEY! Be careful, asshole!" I heard Edgy shout from above.

I looked into the mirror, touched my face, and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes… and pulled.

Suddenly, a flood of noise crashed into my ears.

Wind. Screams. Music. Honking cars. Screeching trains. Voices. All at once.

It was overwhelming.

I opened my eyes—and everything around me was chaos.

Colors exploded in every direction. Cars floated in the sky. Lights blazed like fireworks. A flaming train hovered off the ground in the distance. Deformed shapes spun through the air—some geometric, some organic, all bright and distorted.

It was sensory overload. It was madness.

Was that… Godzilla?!

I swear to god—Godzilla was just floating in midair, T-posing, surrounded by twisted colors and surreal shapes.

It was the most random, nonsensical, glitched world I'd ever seen.

And then I noticed something watching me.

In the distance, something started to float toward me.

A humanoid being… but strange. Not entirely human. Its body was split in half—its right side blue and angular, almost geometric, and its left side yellow and smooth, almost rubbery.

"…Ah… What the hell?" I muttered.

I squinted at it. Its eyes were mismatched—one shaped like a diamond with a black triangle underneath like a cartoon eyelash, the other a semicircle.

"La la la~ la la la la~" a whimsical male voice echoed in my head. Its lips moved slowly as it stared right at me.

Then—darkness.

Everything snapped away.

I felt myself collapse. I thought I'd closed my eyes—though I wasn't sure.

I felt myself collapse. I thought I'd closed my eyes—though I wasn't sure.

A few seconds passed. I slowly opened them.

The bathroom ceiling.

I was lying on the floor.

I turned my head. The mask was sitting on my chest.

I exhaled, shaking slightly.

"…What… the hell was that?" I whispered, still processing the chaos I'd just experienced.

I got up and looked at the mask.

I glanced around—the mini-mes were gone. Just vanished.

Right… when I create living things with the mask, they disappear once I take it off. That's how it always works.

Chara should've disappeared.

-

-

-

David stepped out of the bathroom, mask in hand. He walked into the living room—and there was Chara, sitting on the couch, eating pizza and watching TV like nothing happened.

David stared at him in silence, then looked down at the mask, his expression full of confusion. He stared at it like it was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out.

Chara took another bite of pizza, unfazed.

"What are you doing?" he asked, mouth full.

"Ah... nothing," David muttered, shaking his head and letting it go. He was too tired to overthink right now. He just walked over and sat down on the couch next to him.

"What are you watching?" he asked, glancing at the screen.

"I don't know. I just picked something that looked fun," Chara replied casually, already finishing another slice in record time.

David leaned forward and looked into the pizza box. Only two slices left.

"Damn. That was fast."

He reached in, grabbed a slice, and took a bite. He chewed slowly, looking like someone who just got back from a mental vacation they hadn't signed up for.

"Yeah... not bad," David said with a tired sigh, eating the slice with a blank stare.

"Man, I feel like I just went on a weird-ass astral trip."

"Why?" Chara asked, glancing over.

"I don't know. It just felt... surreal. Like I was drugged or something. That mask's hiding a lot of stuff," David said, holding the mask up again and inspecting it like it might bite him.

He took another bite of pizza.

"For now... I think I'll take a break from using it," he muttered, then sighed and leaned back.

He let himself melt into the couch, eyes drifting to the TV. He stopped thinking. He stopped analyzing.

Just... pizza and silence.

And for now, that was enough.