The Halloween DLC

## Intro (Dark Content Warning, you already know the drill)

The Logo

"**The Halloween DLC**" was a planned official planned DLC pack made for the mod that has since been canceled on 9/26/2023. It features some season themed songs while also adding in brand new characters to our roster.

## What Happened Since?

Left Sides last left off on a side story that takes place a few days before Ben and Tess' wedding day. On their drive up to Oregon, Ben and Tess' stop for a few snacks at a Fred Meyer, where they're both distracted by a blue light glowing in the distant forest. Both of them saying it was "oddly hypnotic", they both investigate, leading to the 0.02 second long hallucination that was going to be the "Indie Cross" DLC. (which is put on hold, as of now.)

During an encounter in one of the "worlds" they "travel to"; Ben's iconic hoodie was torn to shreds while only the top portion of Tess' sweater was ripped off. After the hallucination, Ben and Tess discover that the damage to their clothes had unfortunately carried through, forcing Ben to retire his hoodie and Tess to get back into the rhythm of sewing to repair her sweater.

A new shopping trip had Ben acquire his brand new coat, a zip-up jacket with some pink and yellow arrows running down it, with his shirt known for only being used in week 4 now being worn regularly under it. Tess fixed her sweater to the point of a slight portion of her upper torso now being visible.

These are now the outfits of choice for the both of them moving forward throughout their lives.

Some more note worthy info about their new appearences:

* Now joining Tess' jewelry collection is her wedding ring; a silver ring decorated with a deep purple amethyst sticking out of it.
* Ben's wedding ring is plain and gold. He still likes to show it off because he's happy.
* Tess now has to wear glasses when she's driving instead of only reading. Other than that, her eye-sight's perfect.
* Ben grew out a little beard in the months following their marriage, Tess was a little hesitant about it, but now she's used to it (and is now obsessed with it) .

## Noteworthy Events Prior to The Halloween DLC

* A week before the main events, Ben and Tess now work at a fancy restaurant in the city, Ben being a bartender and Tess a waitress.
* From the months August to October 2023, Tess keeps having reoccurring dreams about: *"a mysterious pink man asking us for help"*
* In that same time period; Tess has become more comfortable with using her "powers", mostly just doing chores with her mind because she's lazy.
* Ben's scars are beginning to fade out slightly, he knows that they'll never go way, but he's glad that they won't be as obvious as before.

## HALLOWEEN DLC LORE.

The lore starts on, your guessed it, Halloween 2023. Ben and Tess are out and about town, choosing to skip out on handing out candy. Our favorite married couple are chilling at home, preparing for a ton of scary movies that Ben has been stockpiling since the beginning of the month. As they're preparing, Tess points out to Ben that he forgot to get soda and wine when he went shopping for snacks. After a bit of debating about whether they should stick to the soda that's already in the fridge (but no wine), or just running over to a small convenience store with the basic necessities.

After a short drive to the store, Ben and Tess pay for their things, being oddly quiet, Ben tips the cashier and takes Tess' hand before they walk to the exit. Which is when they run into a figure dressed up as *The Grim Reaper.* The couple excuse themselves, but the figure won't move. Just standing there before saying to them quietly but firmly: "*Remember Me?*".

No guess worked on the figure, Ben and Tess bewildered give up before trying to leave again. Only for the figure to stop the before removing it's dark hood, revealing to be one of Peter Scott's goons; *Whitmore H. Marks.* Known only for being friends with Peter, and being a super senior, Whitmore joined in onto the mercenary band-wagon with his friends. Whitmore brought a message for the both of them, stating that Peter has come out of hiding after Larry Anderson's arrest, and is looking for Ben specifically.

The couple both being a little scared, but mostly curious, they want to know why. Whitmore reveals that Peter **thinks** Ben took out his eye while he was hiding in Reno. The couple try to hold a straight face, but can't help but laugh at the over dramatic tone of Whitmore's voice and the ridiculous fact that Ben never even knew where Peter was hiding in the first place, making his eye story impossible.

The couple try to leave once more, but are then shoved out the store by Whitmore and a disguised friend of Peter's, who just simply went by *Darnell*. Ben and Tess are confronted in the woods near the store, after a stand off with Whitmore (the more intimidating one since he wasn't in a stupid costume), Peter Scott makes a dramatic entrance out of the bed of Whitmore's truck. Revealing his face to be a bit more messy; Showing a variety of scars, his face stubbled and poorly shaven and most notably, and eye patch on his left eye.

Ben dodges all of Peter's shots (even though he's using a new gun) yet again, causing his gang (Except for *Nene,* who was asleep in the truck) to skedaddle out of the parking lot. During the stand off, Tess is seen getting more and more dazed and slightly dizzy, until she eventually blacks out into a trance after the gang leaves the woods.

Tess is awoken by the sounds of breathing, only to be greeted by the one and only galaxy killer, *The Monster.* It's clear that their connection to Tess' mind is a bit foggy, as they're seen glitching out more often and repeating phrases over and over occasionally. The Monster begins to taunt Tess (in her paralyzed due to fear state) about her sister's death. Making her watch it all over again, only this time she could see her two year old self start crying while screaming at her dad to stop hurting her big sister. Tess herself starts breaking down into tears from knowing that this was only just a vision, and she couldn't do anything about it but watch. After trying her best to block out the memory from her head she starts feeling less dizzy...only to find herself in the white void filled with unknown stone pillars of what she described as *"the end of my mind" .*

The Monster, being ironically surprised at the fact that Tess made it there, only having to audibly say: *"You're Not Supposed To Be Here".* Before the connection cuts lose, and Tess wakes up from her daze in the car as it pulls into thier driveway. Ben being confused as to why she looks like she's deep in thought instead of hyperventilating, asks her what happened. Tess looks back at him with a concerned look, and replies with: *"I'll draw it later for you."*

The couple walk inside their warm home to watch their movies, with the looming thought of what the hell just happened.

## POST Halloween DLC Lore.

* Tess starts sketching and coloring things she saw whenever she was hallucinating. Most of them aligning closely with "The End Of Her Mind".
* Ben has now developed that The Monster can't hurt either of them as long as they they stick their necks out for one another.
* Ben and Tess are now making plans for their first child, Tess wanting to make sure everything's perfect.