[b]Title:[/b] You're Not Here

[b]Characters:[/b] Heather Mason, Isaac Zivaku, Sorin No Yami, Koyaanisqasti, and Shiro Yuuki, with a small mention of Samuel Dolor

[b]Summary:[/b] In the town of Silent Hill, a fight against the revived God nearly kills our heroes. Heather makes a decision to end the nightmare. The originally planned ending to the Fear Itself plot.



It was funny how the town had been brought back, after the heart of the world had been swallowed. The constant visits to the hellish realm of the Otherworld had built this world back to what it was before. But now, it seemed to be on its way to destruction again.

Because She had been revived. God had been brought back, and She would cleanse the world with fire.

Heather, on her knees, weakened, slowly looked up to the abomination they had been fighting. She stood over them, towering at twelve to thirteen feet; Her body was now fully fleshed, Her skin squirming red all over. But Her head, currently covered by the veil...the face of God...

[i]Alessa...[/i]

That had been known when She came back down, all fours and spider-like, Her head twitching violently. She had been revived along with the town, though it wasn't just the Otherworld visits that brought Her back. Anger...hatred...everything that it grew from before...whatever was left of it before had been feeding off all of that...

All from Heather. All because of her.

Everyone had been down in the circular area they were all in. Isaac and Sorin were both down to their knees; Aani and Shiro were out for the count. That Sam guy was no longer with them, having been left fighting off his fear that took form of his monster a while back before this. No one was sure if he would have survived. Items have run out; bullets and pellets were depleted. Heather looked down at her handgun.

"Only one bullet left..."

This had to be the shot. The last one to take down God once and for all. Heather aimed the gun at Her twitching head, ready to press down the trigger. This nightmare had to end...

...but then...would this really be enough to finish it...?

[i]Flashback

Heather slowly made her way to the gate ahead. It was all up to her now. For all that damn woman did, she was going to take her down and prevent God's birth if she can.

She stopped in her tracks. She had heard the clicking of a gun behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Douglas Cartland, the wounded detective, had aimed his pistol at her from where he was. Weakly, he said, "Maybe killing you here is the only way to end this nightmare..."

Hesitance. That was all Heather could feel at that very moment. But even then, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Yeah...you might be right...."

End Flashback[/i]

That time...it had been when God was still growing in her...but even then...this whole thing, God, the realm of the Otherworld...it had all come from her. Perhaps...if she were to end this...

Heather looked down at her gun. Once again, there was hesitance. Would this even work? Slowly...slowly...she brought it to her head...

"What are you doing, Heather?" Sorin asked.

The answer was simple: "What I should have done before..."

This shocked the remaining group still standing. Isaac got to his feet, but stumbled back down right away. "Heather, wait!"

"...my name is Cheryl Mason..."

And she pulled the trigger.

God suddenly let out a pained screech. Flesh and blood was ripped away, until a skeletal figure was left. A skeletal figure still with Alessa's head. She had let out a final, inhuman shriek before she collapsed to the ground. Down...motionless...

The God was defeated yet again...but at what cost?

Heather was sprawled across the ground before the corpse of God. Blood had poured out from where she had shot. Like the abomination, she too was down...

"...Cheryl..."

Everything around the group started to fade to black. However, they were all unaware that a figure had approached Heather. The valve-turning creature, the hand of God, Valtiel...it had grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her off, into the shadows...

That was all before everything was gone...

~*~*~

[i]Emptiness. That was all she could feel now. This wasn't the first time she had died, but it was nothing like last time. Was this what it was really like to die?

At that moment, she saw other familiar faces...Claudia...Vincent...Dahlia...Cybil...Kaufman...Lisa...she even saw her old self, Alessa...but there was one that had brought her focus...

Her father, Harry Mason.

"Dad..."

The emptiness had lifted right away. Despite what she had just done...at this moment, she felt alive...

"Cheryl..."

The figures began to fade. The last she saw was her father's warm smile, as he spoke his final words...

"I'll always love you, my beloved daughter..."[/i]

~*~*~

It seemed everything returned to normal that night in the Lakeside Amusement Park. The blood, the rust...it was all gone. The rides themselves seemed to have returned to what they were before the hellish change.

And then Heather stepped out from the carousel ride. At first, it didn't hit her as she looked around. But then, confusion arose. She was still alive? But...how...?

Her eyes then caught sight of a familiar figure ahead. Douglas Cartland, still wounded, resting on the bench. The realization hit harder than the bullet she fired into her skull.

Everything had reset. It should have been a good thing, but it left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. What about the others...?

She decided to leave it for now. The young woman approached the old man, slowly. He looked up as he heard her nearing, and relief had brightened upon his face.

"Heather..." he said, still as weakly as before. "Is it...really over?"

A scowl crossed her face. "Not yet..." She took out her knife and pointed it at him. "You're still alive..."

She continued her approach, now more menacing. Relief now gave way to panic and fear for Douglas as he watched, wide-eyed. "Wha...but...Heather...wha..."

And then...

"BOO!"

...Heather laughed at the scare she had given. "Just a joke."

Douglas was frozen, staring at her in disbelief. He eventually regained his composure and shook his head. "You have terrible taste..."

"I'm sorry..." Heather said, giving one last giggle. When it subsided, Douglas was about to ask again.

"Heather, did you--"

But she stopped him. "You don't have to call me that. I'm not hiding anymore."

"You..." the old detective paused for a bit. "You want to use your real name? What was it again...?"

She smiled. She said it before, but she had no qualms with saying it again. "Cheryl. The name my father gave me."

"You gonna let your hair color go back, too?"

"I dunno." She smirked at this and flipped her hair a little. "Don't you think blondes have more fun?"

With the joking aside, Heather...no, Cheryl moved to Douglas' side and took his arm, wrapping it over her shoulders. "I think it's time we got out of this dump."

"Cheryl?"

The two looked up as the new voice came in. Then, from where Cheryl had exited, Isaac Zivaku had approached. Followed by Sorin No Yami...and then the rest of the small group. They were still there, signifying that everything had still happened before it was all reset.

"Who are they...?" Douglas asked as he stared at the group of teens.

Cheryl just smiled and answered, "Don't worry, Douglas...they're friends..."

~*~*~

Two weeks would then pass since that incident. During those weeks, Cheryl and her friends had gone to the next town over from Silent Hill and managed to get Douglas into a hospital there. She had explained to the detective everything that happened during that time, about Interferences and the other worlds and whatnot. Though it took a while to take in, the old man had acknowledged everything before he was casted.

Everything was alright now. For now, she felt truly at peace. And it would be then that she would decide for herself: she will leave the world soon, and settle down for a place somewhere in Radiant Garden.

Cheryl Heather Mason would be an Interference no longer.