One: Jeffery
It was dark, but that's the way He liked it. This was His home, the Underworld. The place where the nightmares of humans come to life. He wasn't born here. He was once a human himself, really. But something had snapped inside of his head long ago. It was as if all common sense had leaked out of him. He was fifteen back then, and once he had won His passage into the Underworld, he remained that way forever.
His lid-less eyes were a milky white, and sunken in in the more horrible fashion. The outline of it seemed like an empty pit, and his mouth crept open in a permanent smile, wide and unnerving. He knew he was a monster, but did he care? He had friends down here. Not like up there, on the Surface.
His name is Jeff. Surface Humans know him as Jeff the Killer. He was born from a psychotic break in his brain, mutilating himself in a terrible fashion, and was banished to here. That wasn't as long ago as you may think. In fact, it's only been a few years. He still has a lot to learn about killing, and being a Monster.
"Jeff, get up. Now."
The one called Jeff looked around, seeing nothing but the dark. He knew that voice, but why didn't He turn the light on?
There was a slow click and the lights above him flickered to life. Standing in his doorway was a notorious villain of the Surface. He was one of them that wasn't born human, but born from morbid imagination.
The blankness of his face never bothered Jeff, considering he himself was missing a nose. It was his height, and his dark black curling tentacles. One of said tentacles dispatched itself and shot over to Jeff, whose face was crinkled in fear. It grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to the doorway on his back. He was now face to face with his Mentor. Slenderman.
"Do you know what time it is, Jeffery?"
The young monster shook his head. Time didn't exist down here, so why should he care?
Slenderman let out a guttural growl deep in what would be his throat and picked Jeff up by the hair again, letting him dangle painfully in front of him. The suited-man stuck his blank white face in Jeff, his non-mouth opened in a snarl.
"It's already five o' clock on the Surface. We haven't trained today and it's almost time."
Jeff nodded, trying not to shout out as his hair was being gripped harder by one of his mentor's limbs. It was simply easier to go limp than fight back.
"Go find Smile and report back to me outside in fifteen minutes."
Slenderman tossed his apprentice aside, and Jeff landed with a dusty thud on the ground by an end table. The man with the tentacles waltz out gracefully, and without a sound.
The boy wasn't too incredibly hurt physically, but a part of his soul, if he had one, had been crushed. Slenderman had always been like a father figure to him. Why was he acting so crazed today?
Remembering the tall mans words, Jeff jumped up with a start. He had to find Smile, his best friend and forever companion. He called out the creatures name several times, and the whistling noise alerted him that his friend was on it's way.
The whistling noise got louder and louder, giving way to a low whimper as the strange creature skidded into the room, his wide open jowls dripping with blood and saliva.
This was Smile, the dog of the Underworld. He is said to have been born here, but never made it a permanent home until he met Jeff. Smile was like the boy in many ways. His face was torn into a grotesque, almost human-like grin, and his muzzle, which should be pointed for a dog his kind, was more rounded into a strange facial structure. His skin was blood red from where mange took over and tore out most of his dark black fur. Jeff had met the creature on the first day he was down in the Underworld. He was being chased by a few other Monsters, and Jeff had intervened. Smile was terrified, and why wouldn't he be? This newcomer was just another enemy, he thought. But Jeff had greeted Smile with an open palm, and a real smile. The two were inseparable.
"Come on, Smile. Slendy needs us." The boy signed as he placed his stark white hand on the dog's black furred head. Smile nodded back to him, still panting and not able to speak. The two walked out of Jeff's apartment down a long narrow hallway with many rooms. The names on the rooms were the apprentice monsters, the ones that maybe some haven't even heard of yet, or that aren't that well known. He passed the young BEN's room, and the smoke that drifted from under the door made him practically gag. BEN was the well-known Stoner of the Underworld. Though, no one really knows why.
Jeff covered the slits he had for a nose as he and Smile passed BEN's room. The Four story apartment building that housed all the Underworld Apprentices didn't have any elevators, only stairs. This annoyed Jeff to no end, considering a few of the Apprentices were ghosts and could simply evaporate through the floors and ceilings.
Jeff checked the Surface time on his watch. Slenderman had given it to him on his first day, telling him it was a special watch that gave him the time of the Surface directly above. Normal Surface watches didn't work in the Underworld.
The time was 5:14. He had less than a minute to bolt his way down the stairs with and find Slenderman, which would be his first task of the day. The suited man had a way of blending in with the Deep, a black forest that covered the floors of the Underworld.
"Come on, Smile!" The boy called, his long, greasy black hair trailing behind him as he bounded down the flights of steps, skipping a few before heading to the next.
His faithful creature trailed behind, smiling as always with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. The duo made their way out through the front door and into the would-be light, bumping directly into Tails Doll as they went. Slenderman wasn't seen anywhere.
"Damnit!" Yelled Jeff, dropping to his knees and slamming his fists into the ground. He knew that his Mentor wouldn't be very happy with him, and he knew that there would be some severe consequences for running-
"Late. You're Late."
The thin man walked out from behind the trees, his eye-less face with an angered expression. His thousand tentacles reached out for Jeff the second time that hour, and now Smile was in the way of his grasp. The two were lifted off of their feet, Jeff once more by his hair, the creature by his tail. Slender brought them close to his faceless head, and Jeff swore he could identify the smell of rancid flesh coming off of the man.
"If you two are ever late again…"
"Slendyyyyy go easy on themmmmm!"
"Oh for the love of… Splendor, what the hell are you doing here?"
Jeff dropped to the ground in a heap with Smile, the two trying to hold back snickers as Slenderman looked at his feet in shame. The Deep became lighter as the one known as Splendorman waltzed by, his smile large and his eyes beaming. Unlike his brother's suit, Splendor had many polka dots in all different colors covering his, and this time, one of the Slender family had a face.
It was well known in the Underworld that Slenderman's gay older brother had shunned the life he was born to, only to follow his dream… Musical Theatre.
Slenderman had a frustrated look pasted on his face-less dome as the flamboyant Splendor wrapped his abnormally long arms around him in a rib-crushing hug.
"Why are you here, Splendor?" huffed the white-masked monster as he sat down with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging sadly in his hands.
Splendorman giggled out loud and pranced in a circle around the three Underworlders, stopping only to pet Smiles and ruffle Jeff's hair. Jeff liked Splendor a lot more than Slendy. While Slendy was one of his best friends and his only mentor, Splendor was much nicer. Jeff may be a killer, but he was one of the rare ones with a soft spot.
"I'm just here to check up on my little brotherrrrrrr, that's all!" Splendorman laughed and bent down to hug his brother again. His eyes were squinted shut with pleasure and a humanly smile was plastered on his face.
Jeff wondered what it would be like if Slendy had a face…
"I'm fine, Splendor…" Slenderman sighed once more. "How are you?"
Jeff never knew the real reason why the two didn't get along correctly, but in one of BEN's Underworld-Pot crazed moments, he swore to Jeff and Smile that it was because Slendy's parents chose Splendor over him, but Jeff knew that couldn't be true. He had met the Slender family, and Slenderman's father was all but pleased with Splendor's life decisions. Oh, he was perfectly fine with him being gay, considering many other family members were, but the man despised Musical Theater.
"I'm thooper, thanks for athking!" Splendorman patted his brother's bald head with a happy sigh. "I'd better be off to work, Boyyyyyys! Happy Hauntingggg!"
The flamboyant Slender brother danced away into the Deep, the light going with him and the forest was returned to darkness. Jeff sort of felt bad for Slenderman as he watched his mentor sit there, his head still in his hands.
Before Jeff or Smile could say anything, Slenderman stood up and stretched, his limbs seeming to loom over the entire night sky.
"You two go practice your Surface disguises… We'll regroup in about an hour…"
The Killer and the Dog watched as the Tall Man stalked away, his shoulders slumping and his head hanging low. The two smiling beings, monster and creature, looked to one another and shrugged, heading back into their apartment.