Guys, sooooo sorry for not updating in a while. Been busy with college work and stuff so…yeah…anyways without further ado, here is the next chapter. Hope you haven't forgotten what happened.

Chapter 6- "We Must Go!"

"I guess it was a lucky decision of you to go out at night." said Colin at the breakfast table the next morning. After an eventful discussion last night in which Lyra told him all she knew, he had been shocked not to mention greatly relieved that nothing had happened to her and was even more curious to what the men said while Lyra was eavesdropping on them.

"So my theory was correct-they are all part of the disappearance of those children that have gone missing in other countries. And now, all they're going to do is sail away in a ship with their 'valuables to-'"

"And that's a problem if they're going to do it." Lyra finished sadly as Markl entered the room yawning. He had on a white nightshirt complete for pajamas and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Good morning," he said blinking both eyes before sitting down at the table and reaching for some croissants. Lyra and Colin both looked at him as though worried; had he overheard?

"Good morning Markl, did you sleep well last night?" asked Lyra cheerfully as she reached for a blueberry muffin from the small plate. "Any problems sleeping?"

"Nope, none at all, thank you" said Markl as he reached for the butter knife and looking at her with a smile. "By the way, what were you guys talking about?" he asked curiously.

Lyra's expression turned to one of sudden concern, "oh, that…well Markl, um…well you see-

"She met someone who had been after a certain someone," answered Colin quickly looking at Lyra with a little smirk, who returned one back with a half-irritated and half-amused expression. Markl however, choked on a croissant he was eating and Colin had to give him several thumps on the back for him to clear his throat. When he finally regained voice, he gave a hoarse thank-you to Colin and stared hard at the pair of them back and forth as though he were just told he were to go to the gallows.

"Wh…w…what..? You…you MET the bad guy who tried kidnapping me?" he said a little alarmed and scared, "How…how did you find him?"

"Oh well you see…" and she reiterated everything she had told Colin. When she was done, Lyra certainly hadn't expected Markl to clench his teeth in anger and ball his fists.

"Those…those terrible people took away kids! Kids that should have their mommy and daddies-and they…they took them away!"

"We know," said Colin grimly, "Child, do not cry, all is not over yet." He put a comforting arm around Markl.

"How are we going to stop them then?" asked Markl despairingly.

Colin shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid I don't know, but don't worry, we'll think of something," But even while he said it, he looked over at Lyra as though he wanted to say something to her.

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To Lyra's surprise, Colin had asked them if they would like to journey up to the mountains that very afternoon, which Markl responded excitedly with approval. In no time at all, they left and for a few hours of crossing the forest, they finally reached the great alpines in the west.

The travel was medium and it took all day with rests in between, but reaching the top was well worth the view that greeted them after. Lyra and Colin could have teleported themselves up of course, but it was for Markl's sake that they took the time to show him around. Great purple asters and mountain lilies spread out like a blanket to the travelers, almost showering them with the sweet delicate aroma of nature. As much Lyra had been living here for two months, she could never see enough beauty that Mother Nature had to offer that hadn't been spoiled by human contact. As the trio reached the top, the sun was about to disappear from the far off mountain peaks. The sun's rays sent all the colors of the rainbow-red, yellow, orange, the dreamy blue above it, and even green.

Though Lyra knew Markl was captivated by the scene, she knew better why Colin had decided to bring them up here; he was trying to distract them all from the incident from before and have time to think about other things. Colin's blank face behind Markl (who was busy pointing at the spectacular view) turned towards her as though smiling, and she returned one too.

Since it was going to soon get dark, they had decided to walk back. With Markl in the rear jumping and running through the grass chasing fireflies, Lyra walked front silently. She had felt odd today: almost as if she knew that there was something in her brain that was trying to tell her something. It had been about the earlier events in the morning with the kidnappers who were planning to leave. How could they catch them when-

Wait- them..?

She realized that all this time while she was pondering the earlier events, this specific idea was what kept her thinking this whole time. What if they as in Colin and her, were to go after them instead? It was the only plausible choice they had: if she were to go to a police, they would catch the men and that would be it. From what she eavesdropped, it seemed like there were other men involved from other countries. If they were to catch the men now, all would be lost-they would have no more leads and the children that were kidnapped would be long lost…

And what would happen to Markl? He had no parents, no home; She and Colin were the only people who knew about him and she doubted that he would have survived if it had not been for both of them. In a way, it was a little like fate-they had saved Markl from despair and had in the meantime gathered new information about the whereabouts of the kidnappers…

After half an hour, she detached herself from her thoughts to look back at her companions. Colin was several feet behind walking smoothly through the now nearly dark forest where it was lit by hundreds of different fireflies. Unlike regular forests, where yellow light was illuminated by the fireflies, these types emitted different colors: of bright green, electric blue, ruby red, and a magnificent purple. In fact, if they flew in certain ways, you could almost swear that they outlined different shapes like the constellations in the night sky. It was a truly wonderful sight that Markl should see.

And speaking of Markl…

"Where is Markl?" Lyra asked Colin.

Colin simply motioned his downwards at something he was carrying. He carried it as lightly and easily as if he were carrying a small delicate package. A pink tired face of a small boy with brown hair tossed in all directions-Markl. He was fast asleep as Colin held him in his arms lightly, determined not to make a sound.

Lyra smiled at the scene. She didn't know Colin could be so gentle with children, but perhaps it was because she had always known him to be the strong fighter type that it was a bit of a shock to see him like that. But, she was glad she had got to see this side of him with people other than her.

When they had at last reached home by teleportation, they both entered quietly through the front oak doors where the light immediately greeted them. Colin mumbled something quietly about putting Markl into bed, leaving Lyra to nod her head and smile after the sight of him carrying the small kid. Really, who ever knew he could be so good around children? Walking quietly, she passed the library where she and Markl had read here for so long. The memory brought a smile once again to her face.

As she passed by the Mythical Beasts section, a sudden flash of memory of the book she had read several days ago appeared unexpectedly-the book about the Slenderman.

She scanned her eyes around the side of the left side of the shelf where she knew it must contain the book she was looking for. Now was a perfect time to check it out like she wished, just in case she had missed something vital.

With a sigh of relief, she found the book she was looking for: The Legendary Slenderman: Man or Myth? She pried the book open and skimmed through the chapters in hopes that she could find it, but then she found another page that caught her attention:

It just so happens that according to the few people who know about the Slenderman, there is possibly one solution to rid the Slenderman of his hideous terrifying form. It requires a powerful spell indeed that with the combination of brute force and energy, are enough to switch the form of it into a human-like one. But it is tricky to-

Lyra stopped reading and skimmed the pages some more. That was quite interesting, but not one that she was looking for…

Finally she reached the chapter entitled The Bride of Slenderman and Child Bearing and she came to a page at random and read quickly:

It so happens that after consummation, the Proxy's senses will be begin to sharpen five times that of a pregnant human, enabling them to maximum performance and giving them heightened senses. However, there is a drawback: the more power she uses, the more it drains her of her strength, ultimately nearly drugging her numb for hours until she regains strength and stamina back. Therefore if one is the Proxy, they must exercise caution and care to not use up much strength…

Lyra stopped reading, staring at the pages deep in thought. She had always known she had powers, but she never knew that she, as a Proxy had heightened powers five times that of a woman about to go through childbirth. Lyra had a sudden image of herself fighting enemies while her stomach was as big and round as a watermelon bouncing from the fighting. The thought almost made her laugh.

It was perhaps very good that she had decided to come back to read more from the book, because that last part of information about preserving powers during pregnancy was very vital. What if she were to use a lot of power and end up unconscious? She sighed, putting the book back in the shelf and walking to the exit. She was turning her head one last time to look at the room, when she felt Colin's presence and turned around to find him leaning slightly against the wall as though studying her silently.

"A little sad are we?" said Slenderman chuckling, giving what Lyra thought, a little smile. "Are you alright, Lyra?"

Lyra gave a little nod, "yes…I mean…not really…I was just thinking about the men who had tried to kidnap Markl." Colin straightened up slightly and seemed to be looking at her closely.

"Yes, about that, I thought we might reach that conversation," he said, seeming to smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" began Colin slowly, "do you know anybody who knows where their whereabouts are?"

Lyra shook her head sadly, "no I don't."

"Anybody at all?" Colin probed. There was something odd about the way he was inquiring her, like he was trying to tell her something…

"Well, there's us but- suddenly, Colin put a finger to her lips for her to pause. She could almost see a smile discerning in his pale blank face.

"There's us" repeated Colin, "exactly."

Lyra looked at him blankly for a few seconds not understanding. But then, she widened her eyes.

"You mean…we should do something about it?" she asked anxiously, "but…but is it possible?"

"I'm sure we can…Lyra, you are brave and strong and I believe we should use our strength together to solve this case," he said, bringing a hand to embrace her.

"Is that why you kept smiling at me this whole afternoon?" she asked suddenly smiling herself.

In reply, he mirrored her expression and gave her a kiss on the head before taking her in his arms, "I hoped that you would say yes and consider."

Lyra returned it and looked up at him smiling widely: "Then my answer is yes."