Disclaimer: I don't own Andy's Apple Farm (Video Game). I don't own the picture (cover). Or the song.

(qwertuno and SilentReadersMatter)

(Hope you enjoy.)

They say you have a devil on your shoulder. It whispers sins into your ear, combating the angle trying to redeem you through useless suggestions on how to be a decent person. You either listen to the demon or the Angel.

Kill them all.

There was no in between. The angle on his other disappeared, fazing out of existence as if it never existed in the first place. Well, it hadn't really.

Only created for a purpose of self-indulgence.

Don't you want them to pay? Her murdering your son, the infidelity you saw yourself as she slept an essentially fucked in your bed? A son arguably drowning on his own to get away from you all.

Just another delusion by an insane man. A vision he concocted so things would make a little more sense in his world. In the back of his mind, he knew the atrocities he committed were wrong and wanted to stop himself.

Every attempt ended in failure as another presence interfered the normalcy Thomas tried as a routine. Dangerous thoughts coursed through his mind. Implanted by the beast he had made a deal with way back when.

You do not get to leave.

The possessive tone caused a shiver. Thomas recalled the deal as the memories itself was an event he simply couldn't forget. But he was frozen in place, the older man and a father of two unable to obey himself.

This thing controlled him.

"What do you want?" He asked curtly, folding his arms as a mechanism. "I already told you they haven't done anything. Stop messing with my head! I want a normal life!"

The demon in the walls smiling finally showed some emotion. Mouth curling into a frown of sorts, it snarled like a giant dog, teeth shaking giant edges, threatening to eat Arthur whole. It had a plans which did involve a sort of methods resembling the fears of the human.

I have said it before, YOU summoned me. I will not leave until the deal is fulfilled. Never forget a demon is there forever when a mortal summons them from the depths of hell.

The thing constantly watching him. Burning eyes into his back, Thomas saw it all the time during the day and times alone when it wouldn't speak. Nobody else saw it apart from the man who summoned it what seemed a lifetime ago.

"Just...leave alone." Thomas begged, his grief finally revealed. "Please just leave. I can't take anymore. Not another loss."

His wife cheating (presumably with Arthur), his daughter distancing herself after he incidentally blamed her for his son dying. Louis dead by the hand of the water drowning since he couldn't swim.

Clutching his head, the tragedies effected him physically as well as mentally. Shaking from his head to his feet, his whole body quivered as the emotions he worked so hard to bottle battled their way to the surface of his mind, finally ready to be acknowledged since he pushed them to his subconscious. He couldn't afford to show weakness. Not in front of his family. They already thought him a failure enough.

Remaining strong was all he had to hold on before his sanity was gone like everything else in his life. What did he have left to lose?

That's a question you shouldn't ask.

***

He slid down the walls of his bedroom. Hands cupping his face, the choked out sobs escaped his throat. He couldn't stop their effects of being released no matter if his wife and him heard downstairs. They were probably making out and lord knew what would happen after if he didn't make himself present in his own house.

H-how could she? Kamryn never said she wasn't happy.

A house he worked his ass off to pay for their bills, rent, food, drinks, even their children's education. The American school system sucked.

He thought back to all the times Kamryn smiled. And horror struck him as little details he missed revealed themselves in little bits. The cracks in Kamryn's smile, tired tones she used instead of her usual happiness, eyes so hollow that Thomas questioned how he could have missed all the signs.

Kamryn suffered from post pardon depression. Brought on by the birth of their kids and having to stay home since Thomas' income was enough to support all of them.

How could she not tell him? Thomas never asked her to quit her previous job to stay home. She could've gone back and they wouldn't arranged a daycare or figured something out. Did Kamryn fear him that much she'd rather suffer in silence?

God, he had a point.

He wouldn't say that to the demon of course.

You see why you don't question a demon.

The thing sounded so smug. Thomas' hands shook with temptation to annihilate that things back into hell. And he accidentally gave in. His fist swung in blind rage-

Crack.

"What the hell?!"

The haze fizzled away, leaving Thomas to open his eyes truly to see the sight his actions caused. He silently gasped at his consequences.

"Fuck, Thomas..."

Kamryn whimpered while her hand cradled her jaw. Thomas took a step forward to try and help, but Kamryn screamed bloody murder and footsteps could be hard banging on the floors.

Arthur rushed into the room. He assumed immediately what he saw. Crouching behind Kamryn and helping you up, arms wrapped around her frail form, her expression adorning horror and somewhat smug. Why did she seem so proud? Wait, did she plan this?

A quirk to her lips before pressing further into Arthur's chest, a fake sob escaped Kamryn's throat. Arthur became more angrier and pointed to the door with a silent threat hanging in the air.

Get out or I beat your ass.

Thomas said nothing. Choosing to obey the other man's orders, he stumbled out their bedroom and into the landing before looking back. The next sight forced him to cover another round of emotional pain anguishing his soul.

You're not the only bad one.

Arthur kissed his wife's jaw, murmuring sweet nothing while clutching her close in his arms as they both smiled in what they thought was their moment alike without the useless husband.

He shouldn't have asked what he could lose.

***

Isolating himself became part of the routine. Distancing from the family hurt more than they imagined, but he found it best as to not hurt or cause anymore pain than he already committed.

Why don't they understand?

Kamryn began questioning him. Asking if he was okay, wanting any help, even going so far ask if he wanted to spend some time with her alone.

"And she couldn't have asked this before?"

It appeared before Thomas. Fazing out of nowhere, sitting in the bed next to the older man as he turned to look at the creature. He felt anguish at what it chose to steal the as:

His dead son.

"Don't mock him." Thomas growled weakly. "I don't care what you shift into, but my family's off limits. Don't try and disrespect my son."

"Aww, Tommy." The entity smiled, giggling childishly. "You don't get to choose whenever I say his name. The question is, does he still love you?"

Snapping its finger, the demon suddenly disappeared and replacing them was the deceased son Thomas still mourned every single day since told the news all those years ago.

"Louis?" Thomas whispered, savouring the actual use of the name. "Is...is it really you?"

The boy tilted his head. Slowly, his eyes opened to reveal a strange sight. They were all black with no white, and the pupils were pure white. No irises, no details to them, just pure white signalling who's control he had been put under to ensure their plans worked effortlessly.

"What have you done to him?!" Thomas suddenly hugged his sun close. He cupped Louis' cheeks, leaning his forehead to his own. "Son, please. You can rest in peace. Just don't let this thing control-"

"Why would master be controlling me?""

Louis's voice glitched the entire sentence. Thomas pushed the corse away, knowing it was now an empty husk of what used to be his son.

He wouldn't let the entity trick him.

"Stop USING him!"

I'm not using anyone. He wanted to talk to dear old dad. I let him. You should be grateful he isn't resting in hell considering what he did to his precious sister. The memories I have prove he is a monster like me.

Thomas' mental state snapped. Screaming in grief mixing with rage, he grabbed the corpse and started punching it repeatedly. Shoving it on the floor, he family heard some voices during his assault on the fake version of his son.

"Papa! What are you doing?!"

"Help me..."

"Why?.."

Snapping out the rage induced trance, Thomas blinked a few times before his vids on adjusted to the reality he found himself back in.

Shit.

Isabella laid there curled in the floor. Hands stabling her stomach so she didn't have to vomit the pain out her systems. Thomas immediately swooped his daughter in his arms and rushed out the room toward Kamryn.

"Call an ambulance!"

"Thomas, Isa-" Kamryn gasped as the situation slowly upon registered seeing her sighted. "What the hell happened? She looks like death."

"It doesn't matter. She needs medical."

Kamryn understandably snatched the teenager out his grip due to fear of the bruises and broken bones she now adorned on skin and bone. He looked on as the ambulance came and police were issued. Everything around him slowed to a blur. He felt like monster in the making.

Perhaps he could already be considered one.

***

It's official. He lost everything.

Dragging the corpse of his former best friend to his burned down house, the murderer dropped the axe from under his arm to the ground in an empty gesture.

Maybe to symbolise what he had to lose.

"I'm sorry, Arthur." He told the other man, even though there wasn't a point. "I'll bring you back, I promise. I won't fail any of you this time."

He had dragged the corpse to a particularly isolated part of the house that still (mostly) remained intact. He gently placed Arthur on the floor, then waited for their arrival. It arrived in less time than anticipated. At least it turned up.

You brought another human.

A statement. Not a question.

"Y-yes." Thomas stuttered, slowly exhaling. "I want to uphold the deal. Bring them back. I can't take the grief."

Temporary silence.

The entity slowly morphed into a human form. It chose his daughter, then lifted the head of Thomas, humming as the thumb tapped the chin in deep thought. The creature was decided the best use for an empty vessel.

"He will do."

Thomas breathed an easy sigh of relief. Until the entity slowly turned in the form of Isabella, showing a disturbing that should ever have been on her face. He repressed the growl since he was helping him. In exchange for a favour.

What favour? Even he didn't know.

Suddenly, his computer switched on and an avatar from the game was teleported out. The clock one he invented out of pure boredom.

"His new name is Claus."

Arthur's body was lifted in the air. The avatar and the corpse fused to become one person. As he opened his eyes, Arthur regained a few moments of awareness before the avatar itself pushed against him for control because of his programming not to end up failing.

"Thomas!"

The avatar stilled as mentally commanded. The entity preened at its success, human form admiring the avatar before sending him into the computer along with the others.

Now it's your turn.

"N-no. No. No." Thomas backed away from the entity, freaked out by the sudden shock of that experience. "This wasn't the deal! You promised to bring them back."

Honey, I'm a demon. It's kind of our thing to twist deals in unique ways. They are back in a new land, new bodies, new lives. And I'm offering you the safe way out of this...sticky mess.

Just then, police sirens sounded as they approached the abandoned residence. Somebody must've spotted the flames and assumed the worst for everyone within the house. They should actually, things went south far too quickly.

"What is the price?"

Disappear from this world and pay for your horrid sins. You've hurt everyone and everything you touched, helped birth, even a dear friend helping your wife through grief.

The thing was right...what did have to lose?

"Will it be quick?"

Painless even.

Hearing the police storm house, Thomas simply...shut down. He no longer cared if he died or went to hell. Anything better than arrested and put in for life sounded far more tempting.

"Make it quick."

Shadows immediately swathed him in the darkness. Taking him piece by piece. Rebuilding him into the image their master imagined for the new future it envisioned for the Eastwoods and family friend belonging to him.

Your new name will be Andy.

He briefly saw his new body. An apple avatar that looked like the owner of a farm. The entity granted him the curtesy if at last glimpsing into his new future whatever it planned it for him.

Thomas gave into the darkness. Fusing with the new avatar, there wasn't awareness, simple darkness as he was placed in a area to start anew with his group of happy friends.

He began a new chapter in Andy's Apple Farm.