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It felt like I had woken up for the first time in my life that day. It was as if nothing had existed before then, as I stood there sentient and fully grown, knowing full well that things had in fact existed before that moment. My memories slowly came back to remind me that I was a person with a past, with a family, but I didn't know where I was, and I had no memory of how I got there, as I looked around and became aware that I wasn't alone, either. I was in the middle of a massive and lavish party, somewhere that seemed to be a hotel or a casino, or maybe both. Lively big band music was playing as 1920s flappers danced - everyone was swing dancing - except for myself. I was the only one standing still and looking around in awe. My attempts to communicate with the others were futile as they remained dancing. Where were we? How did we get here? No one else flinched as an oppressive atmosphere crept in. That was when the creature made an appearance.

The creature was humanoid and towered above the crowd - it must have been eight feet tall, although it lacked an actual head, and instead it possessed what seemed to be a floating chess board in place of it. The grayscale creature made its way up onto the stage with the big band, bouncing goofily like an old cartoon, before taking the microphone with a gloved, floating hand. A crackly, Mid-Atlantic accent which sounded like it was being filtered through an antique radio somehow produced from the chess board.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is I, your wonderful host, the amazing Mr. Zilch!" The floating board changed from chess into a sign that read APPLAUSE as the big band's music waned, and the creature waved its hands as playing cards flew from its gaping sleeves in a flurry, magically and stylishly orbiting the entity before flying back into their origin points.

All at once the crowd rotated to face the creature, applauding and cheering loudly, but missing the cue, I remained silent. The creature on stage seemed to pause in the way one does when they think they hear a strange sound but dismiss it, and it continued, "whaddya say, folks? Is this not the greatest party of all time?" The crowd cheered in unison as I observed, and the creature paused in that peculiar way again. The floating board spun rapidly before up-righting again, this time displaying a looping, black and white film of someone's eyes darting back and forth. "Hmm," it mumbled into the microphone. "Interesting… Carry on, my adoring fans, and won't some of you join me at the card tables? Don't worry about the cards up my sleeve, as they're only for parlor tricks, but I've got quite the poker face!" The board changed again to read LAUGHTER and the crowd erupted into such.

I looked around at the cackling party-goers, perplexed, before returning my gaze to the creature and I felt a chill run up my spine. Although the chess board lacked eyes, the way the creature stood there still on stage, it felt like it was staring right at me and I let out a nervous chuckle. The moment seemed to last a lifetime before it calmly exited the stage and the music continued in full force once more. My heart was racing as I watched it stride towards the casino area, with a portion of the crowd practically riding his coattails in adoration. Soon, it was seated at one of the card tables, laughing loudly and surrounded by people.

I suddenly broke in the opposite direction, shoving dancers aside as I reached what I thought were the entrance doors to the hotel, only to fling them open and find more of the hotel interior. Door after door and hallway after hallway, it seemed like a never ending maze as I became desperate for a way out. Some doors led to what looked like an average hotel room, but on attempting to enter it, only led to another hallway somehow. I was sweating - I was crazed.

Suddenly, salvation. I had flung open a door and entered a room which stayed a room and I was able to take a look around. Rather than a hotel room, it looked much like an average office, and I began to rummage. I yanked on all the drawers on the filing cabinet but none opened, until I checked the desk drawers and found a key, which I tried on the filing cabinet once more. Empty, empty, empty - a plump folder! It possessed a strange mark on the outside.

∅

Opening it, I searched for clues. There was an extended list of names that were all crossed out, and I didn't recognize what I was reading until I reached the bottom and found the only name that was not crossed out: Earth. The only conclusion I could draw was that it was a list of planets, most of which I'd never heard of, but why? Frowning in concentration, I shifted to the next paper which seemed to be a clipping of a newspaper I didn't recognize, from a place whose name I had only read a few moments prior as it was on the list above Earth. The Subeta Tribune read as followed:

Cryptid or Confirmed?
SAI's Suspicious Secrets

Yet another mysterious entity sent shockwaves through Subeta as of late, as reports are coming in of the possible existence of the most powerful and evil creature our lands have ever encountered. Originating in the dense population of Centropolis, the cryptid has left its mark leaving many families wondering the whereabouts of their loved ones who came in contact with it. Our team was not able to conduct interviews with any of the witnesses, as the SAI organization allegedly has them all in holding, along with all information known about the creature, none of which has been declassified. Public outcry continues to rise as residents demand their right to the truth in order to protect themselves, as well as the release of the witnesses. Some reports speculate that the SAI itself created and released the creature, due to their secrecy. Indeed, one can only wonder what they are hiding.

To my astonishment, the aforementioned classified files were conveniently next in the stack, and I wondered how they'd been obtained. Desperate for answers, I couldn't stop myself from poring over the page.

[TOP SECRET]
Subeta Agency of Investigation
ME-100 Incident Report & Summary

In an empty lot in the Lower West Side area of Centropolis, a group of 100 residents instantaneously appeared from thin air. The victims were dazed and confused, hysterical, or deceased, and the numbers were assessed as follows:

24 out of 100 had severe self-inflicted damage to their eyes and were placed in psychiatric wards
61 out of 100 were found unharmed but suffering from amnesia pertaining to the incident
13 out of 100 were found dead and autopsies could not provide a cause of death
2 out of 100 did not have as much amnesia and were able to be interviewed

Corroborating the two separate interviews, the following summary was able to be extracted, noting here that ME stands for "mysterious entity". Included on the following page are the full transcripts of the interviews.

ME-100 is a humanoid figure approximately 244 centimeters in height, very slender, and possesses a floating chess board in place of a head. ME-100 took the role of an entertainer and wears a gray suit with a high collar and possesses two detached, floating white gloves. ME-100 was observed to gain life force from an amiable atmosphere, and conversely is injured by a tense atmosphere. The victims are assimilated into a hivemind and are made to enjoy its party as it feeds. It is possible to break out of the trance, but it is not understood how. ME-100 either possesses the ability to teleport or fabricate entire locations. When angered, ME-100 morphs into something unknown which cannot be viewed safely, causing the minds of victims to rapidly deteriorate and to gouge their own eyes out. Its current location is unknown.

The rest seemed to be personal information about the victims, and the interview page was missing, so I moved on. I rustled through the remainder of the file and a photo fell to the floor. I reached for it, but yanked my hand back as if the photo were a striking snake. It was indescribable - incomprehensible - both the subject of the photo and the quality of the photo itself, as though the camera had broken beyond repair in its attempt to capture it. The sight of the thing in the corrupted photo terrified me to my core and I fell to the floor, scattering the contents of the file around me.

In stark contrast there were many other photos of normal people who seemed very happy, and as I pushed them around, looking at them all, I froze again. There was a photo of me. Like the others, I looked as though I was enjoying myself. Inspecting it more closely, I realized that the photo was taken in the same location as where I had woken earlier. I was stunned, but interrupted by the creature's voice that sounded from a speaker in the corner of the room.

"A broadcast for all inhabitants," it began, followed by a pause and I could imagine the way it had paused on stage earlier, "you should really mind your own business."

I grabbed the photo of myself and scrambled to my feet, nearly running on all fours as I struggled to get out of the room. Adrenaline pumping, I was in the maze of hallways again, trying door after door in an attempt to escape. Quickly, I found the way back to the lobby where all the other people were and in a moment I felt mild relief as though I weren't alone, and if I could wake the others--

A gloved hand grabbed my wrist from behind. "And where do you think you're going?" I knew it was the creature before I even turned around, and as I turned, I could start to see the same incomprehensible subject from the photo earlier. I shut my eyes tight and ran towards the crowd, breaking free of the creature's grasp. I practically tackled the oblivious party-goers as I shouted at the top of my lungs for them to wake up, because there was a monster.

I kept my back to the creature and I heard it ask in a distorted voice, "monster? I am the greatest entertainer of all time. You are the one who's ruined everything, you're the monster." I began slapping the other people and could see that they were slowly coming to their senses, while the creature continued, "I should have killed you earlier when I detected the dissonance."

Some of the people who were coming out of their trance started to collapse and scream in terror, attempting to claw their own eyes out and I lunged in an effort to stop them. "No! Don't look at him!" I yelled at them, but it was too late. Many of the people who were around me collapsed into convulsions, screaming after laying eyes on the incomprehensible; some even perished. The entire party was waking up and those furthest away could hear the screams and commotion and began to flee in the opposite direction as the creature snarled. The sounds it was making escalated and it sounded like an animal being tortured, as though it was in pain from seeing the people in pain.

It screamed and I shut my eyes again before I could finish seeing the thing that flew past me and up towards the ceiling, rattling the chandelier, and all at once, the creature was silent again. I opened my eyes and it was gone, and so was the hotel. We were just a group of scared and confused people in the woods, and as I stood there in awe similarly to when I had first awoken, watching those who were still alive and sighted scatter through the wilderness in search of civilization, I again wondered what happened. Where were we? How did we get here? My legs gave out and I sat among the bodies until the police showed up.

What was that thing?

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Happy Face Eraser

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Happy Subeta

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The Party 411

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Party Ideas

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Zilch

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Bio

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Credits

A broadcast for all inhabitants...

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