Error 404: YouTuber Not Found | BlankGameplays Fanfic

Chapter 26 - What Is Your Name?

(Warning: This chapter contains some relatively mild violence that, considering the circumstances, could be reminiscent of self-harm.)

The first thing Jesse did was delete Blank's backup file inside the flashdrive. She knew he still had another somewhere on Ethan's computer, but that could wait... she was burning one hydra head at a time.

Then, she ran a virus scanner on Ethan's file. And there it was- the program found a resident virus. The scanner program announced that it had deleted the bug, but Jesse wasn't taking any chances. She ran three other virus-fighting programs before realizing that her time was growing short- she had to make her move now. She moved the instruction file onto the desktop, too, and took the flashdrive from the computer and began to power it down.

Jesse knew she couldn't fight Blank now- not in her state. The best thing for her to do was to just take the flashdrive home and figure out a way to undo the damage Blank had caused. Jesse looked at the shimmering black flashdrive again, thinking.

If she was right, the drive would essentially swap Blank out of Ethan's head by wiping his mind and replacing it with the virus-free version. All she needed to do was to create an energy arc of a hundred volts or more between the drive and Ethan.

How? Well, Jesse hadn't really gotten that far yet. Blank was probably only a few minutes away.

And as Jesse floored her little art-cluttered sedan and roared off back toward her own apartment, Ethan sat bolt upright in his own car, parked in the lot just outside his home. 

He felt both wired and entirely exhausted. His hands trembled as he lowered them from the steering wheel, and he felt the dried blood on his leg crack as he shifted in his seat.

"Seen better days, blue boy?" a low voice asked from the passenger seat.

Ethan jumped about a foot as he looked over. He saw... himself. Just riding shotgun in the parked car with a vacant expression.

Ethan opened his mouth to reply, but the words caught in his throat.

"Check your reflection, Ethan," Blank added in a soft voice, nodding at the rear view mirror. Warily, the YouTuber tilted the mirror down towards his face, revealing a pair of churning, bloodshot eyes surrounded by dark halos of sagging skin. His cheeks were whiter than paper, and his dry, cracked lips looked as painful as they felt. Glancing down, he looked no better. Beneath Ethan's jacket was a bloodstained t-shirt with torn sleeves. And a gash in his jeans revealed a six inch slice wound, still laced with glass shards.

"Oh my god," Ethan breathed, voice pained.

"Yeah," Blank nodded, raising his eyebrows in agreement. A malicious glint entered his eyes as he continued, "Now, tell me: who do you think looks like the evil one here?"

Ethan swayed, leaning forward over the steering wheel.

"You're not real," he muttered. "You're just in my head. You're just in my head."

"Mm," Blank nodded at the pitiful sight before him. "I am in your head, Ethan. And that's exactly the problem." Blank sighed. "Ethan," he said.

Ethan lay prone over the steering wheel, unwilling to meet the eyes of the monster sitting across from him.

"Look at me, Ethan," Blank murmured, tilting his head. Ethan didn't respond.

Blank flashed out of existence, materializing on the hood of the car, hunched over the windshield. His composure seemed thin now, robotic. Every syllable he spoke was echoing in Ethan's brain, reverbing with a deep, menacing tone.

"Listen to me." he growled suddenly, causing Ethan to spring back, heart pounding suddenly as adrenaline flooded his veins.

"No, no," Ethan muttered, his eyes darting involuntarily to Blank's.

"What is your name?" the monster demanded.

"Ethan," he replied shakily, though he knew this was the wrong answer.

"No," Blank sighed, tapping on the windshield. He vanished once more, reappearing inside the car, hunched over Ethan's chest. Ethan knew Blank was just a specter, that he wasn't really there, but he swore he could feel the virus's hot breath on his throat as Blank continued, "Your real name. The one that matters."

"...CrankGameplays," Ethan replied defiantly, voice trembling nonetheless.

"Getting closer... but WRONG!" Blank snarled, seizing control of Ethan just long enough to drag the boy's hand down his face, fingernails leaving angry red stripes across his skin. "Try again!"

"CR- CRANKGAMEPLAYS!"

"AAAUUUUGH!" Blank and Ethan screamed in unison as Blank tore himself into Ethan's mind, causing the boy to grasp for the keys he'd left in the ignition. He dragged the sharp end of the key across Ethan's chest, tearing into the shirt and leaving a quickly purpling gash across his skin.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!" Blank screeched, eyes burning into Ethan's as hot tears began to pour down Ethan's face.

"C-cr..." he trailed off, jaw shaking.

"ANSWER ME!"

The world swam before Ethan's eyes.

"BlankGameplays..." he murmured, grimacing as darkness edged into his field of view.

"Now that's more like it," Blank said in a dull tone, suddenly appearing back in the passenger side seat. He was calm and composed- even lethargic, as if by the flip of a switch. Ethan's chest heaved- Blank really was just a computer.

"Y-you can't kill me," Ethan slurred, battling the cold hands of unconsciousness. "You n-need a hos-s-st s-system..."

"You're absolutely right. Of course I need a host system," Blank replied with a robotic nod. "And  I'll never kill you, Ethan. But something else has entered my protocol. Something called revenge."

"Wh-what?" Ethan asked, swollen eyes opening a little wider.

"Every little scratch on your skin is a stroke to the heart of Jesse Grayson," Blank's face contorted into a slight smile. "Poetic, isn't it? She will come for you, and when she does, she'll know just how badly I've beaten you- what she made me put you through." Blank's eyes grew wider as he spoke. "And she'll see it just long enough to panic, to blame herself, to tear herself into little pieces and then-!"

Blank trailed off, dull bliss flooding his expression. He twitched, like a frame out of place.

"Why, then I'll murder that interfering little bitch."