bronzewitch30928:

Eric was scared. No. HE WAS HORRIFIED!

“What the hell, what the hell. I’m dead. I. Am. Dead.” He muttered to himself for five minutes straight.

Alcor, whose face was covered in amusement, sat crosslegged in midair, watching Mizar’s biggest fan, the boy who had purposely failed at summoning him for months, fall to pieces when confronted by the demon Alcor.

He hadn’t really noticed the failed summons before (they happened all the time, usually to be routed towards the Organ Duck or Demon Slugs), but then, two months ago, the kid had started leaving messages. The first had been “Thanks.” and had rapidly progressed to a full on review of each different set of music that played.

He and Mabel had sat up talking and, whilebthey were flattered, had decided to confront the boy if, when, he attempted the summoning again. It had been pure luck that his had been the only summons of the night.

“Hi.” He had said simply, poofing into existence in the summoning circle. The girlish, high pitched scream and muttering that had followed were the most hilarious thing ever.

“Woah. Kid, calm down. Im not going to steal your soul.” He said, stepping across the summoning circle and getting the blanket off his bed.

Eric flinched but took the blanket, figuring that he was already dead so he should enjoy the moment.

“U..um..why…”

“Why haven’t I burned your house down, tortured you, ripped your body apart piece by piece until your soul is visible and then devour it? Because you’re young and you should learn while you are young that demons are NOT your personal radios.” Alcor said, his voice factual, the slight menace making him crystal clear.

Eric gulped, and hugged his blanket tighter.

“So how did it start? This summoning repetition?” Alcor asked.

Eric sighed. “It was something stupid.”

At Alcor’s prompting Eric told him.

“I wanted enough money to impress this girl I liked, to take her out and be able to make her like me. But I didn’t get you. I got the answering machine. I fell asleep listening to the songs. I woke up and you weren’t here and the machine was gone. Eventually I figured out that nobody would really like me if I just threw around money.”

Alcor nodded. “But that doesn’t explain why you summoned me again and again.”

“Well the first few times it was to thank you for a round about solution to my problem. But I never got you. After a while, it was just normal for me to summon the machine when I was stuck or bored or I was having a bad day…” Eric shrugged. “It just was normal for me. Eventually I was able to do a perfect summoning circle to get the answering machine every time.”

Dipper (because by this time he had returned to normal) smacked him smartly uptop the head. “Do you know how stupid that was? You could have gotten a completely different demon!” Dipper huffed, his face thoughtful.

“If you don’t do it again, I see no reason why I shouldn’t let this slide. But if you summon me again for anything less than a deal, I have now problem demonstrating why this is a bad idea.”

Eric nodded eagerly, promising not to summon Alcor again unless he wanted to make a deal. He was sure if he did, he wouldn’t walk away scot free.
—————————

A week later and Eric was EXHAUSTED! It was Friday and after a week full of jeers, bullies, bad grades and FOUR failed tests he wanted nothing more than to lock his door, change into his relaxation clothes, and summon the Answering Machine. Oh wait…

Eric slammed his room’s door closed and was sure he was in for a bad weekend. He looked up and stared.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of the room was a small gold box with black wrappings. Eric waited for a few minutes, wondering if he should touch it.

Finally he grabbed the broom and poked it.

The black wrappings unwound and turned into wings as the box floated up to chest height. Buttons gleamed on the top and he pressed the one that said play.

“I WAS COMPLETELY AGAINST THIS. BUT MIZAR SAID THAT HER #1 FAN NEEDED TO BE CONGRATULATED. SO HERE’S A GIFT FROM US, YOUR VERY OWN ANSWERING MACHINE. ENJOY.”

The message ended with a beep and a flash. When the spots faded from his eyes, the answering machine was still there, along with a small gold trophy that had two stars etched on it with the words “The Award for Most Times Listening to the Answering Machine in a Year goes to: Eric Flores” around the edge.
—————————

15 years later Eric was the founder of the newest chapter of the Cult of Endless Hymns. Dipper was not amused.
—————————

((Author’s note: this prompt was given to me by yurix-a. It is one of several and I am so sorry it took so long to do. I hope I lives up to your expectations.))