Disclaimer: I own it like I own the moon.
To say that Zalgo was scary would be the understatement of the year. The teens had seen many, MANY terrifying things since they started following Slender Man, but to actually see Zalgo himself, in all his nightmarish glory…if they lived through the night; they knew they'd be seeing him in their nightmares every night for the rest of their lives.
Zalgo was HUGE-so gigantic that he made the Slender Man look small. He was completely black, except for his red eyes. And his mouths. So many of them all over…all laughing that horrible, evil laugh. Atop his head were a pair of gigantic, spiked horns.
His laughter echoed through the night, his very PRESENCE turning the night sky red.
W̱̳̣̳̣̣ͥ̌͋ę̩͚̰͉̠ͧͫ̐̿̓ͩl̏ͥ̽ͥ̊̐ͫl̾͗̓ͭ̌ͯ̕,̧͉͈̽ ̦̹͍̼ͅc̫͔̭̰͓͙ͣ͌͂̂̽̔h̹̳̫̼͍i͈̜͔̮̙̭͔̊̿l̘̮͎͍ͮ̌ͭͩd̓̀͏̫͈r̗͓͖͍̣ͥ͠e̪̻̮̘̺̖͙͟n̬̣̘̅́?̫̱̹̠̩̹̃̾͡ ̈͋ͧ͂̏͊W̞̪̞͎̝̺͒̽͂̒̊h̠͚̖̼̖͛̍͞i̜̖͘ͅc̍͆̋̄̿̄ͫ͏̪̟̳̗̙h̝̦ͮ̔̾̂ͨ ͇͎̣̱ͅǒ̪̝̻̬̱̙̙f̧̥̳ ̡̤̝̏͂ỹ͍͍͈̑̏͐o̶̝̪̳u̦͓̤͎̰̪ ̰̺̥̗͖̟̘̌̿̄ͪ̈́s̵̠͐h̫oͥu̵̟̩͈ͨ̃ͨl̞̜̬̝̗̃͗͆̋̿d͜ ̴̣͓̌́ͪ͂̚I̟̞͕̘̭̼ͯ̓̔̌̌ͮ ͐̌̏ͧ̒̎҉̣̗̭̖̜̟͚k̰ͩ̒̿̾ͯ͟i̳̯̦̩̣̘̿ͣ̊ͪ́̐ḽ̷̭͓͚̩̽̀ͥ̍̚ͅl̴͔͉̥̟̩̂ f͔͎ͪ̇̈͒ir̷s͕͔̗̳͉̜̹̔ͯ̈ͮ̇͊̚͞t͎̠̖̫̱͋͐̊ͥͥ?̟͋̉
No one could even think to answer. This was the thing they'd been fighting against for so long. The monster that had taken their lives away, tormented them, hurt and even killed innocent children…and he was insanely powerful.
Ṇ̨̗̺̪̄̏o̘̖̜̺̓ͯ̒̔̄ ̬̝̘v̝̫̏̇̽ͪ͘o̷͓̻͈̼̫ͣ̊̓̆́l̡͉͕͕͉͖̠̜̎̽̈́ͪͫụ̴̥̰̪ͣ͐̐n̨̜̥͑ͯ͌͋ť̨̯̣̖̖̱̠e͌͆ͧ͋̇̊ͭ͘ĕ̂͑́r̽̿s̷̮̉̚?̢̰͇̪̩̭ͯ̀ Zalgo cackled. V̰̜̌͐̃͗̕ḛ̸̣ͣ̆̉̋r̴͇̱̤͈̩̂͒͐ͧ̈͋y̴̙̜͉͖̹͎͌̉͂ ̨͎͈̘ͭwͯ̐̽͗̒̏͢e͇͎̗͖̰͉͗̃ͯ̈́̆̌́ĺ̪͔̗̑l̝̹̰ͮ,̞̠̩͔̰͡ ̗̲̲̻̳͚̻͗̑ͥ̈́ͥt̺̠͓͉̮͈́̈́̉h̳̘̱̗̱͒̑͂ͅe͇͈̰͗́nͣ̀.͔̌ͩ̆̂̚ ̝̣̱ͮ̈́ͩ́ͪ̌I̡͔̙̥̓̂̓̾ͨ́͒ ̵̯́t̫̥̘̰ͬ̈́͋h̆̋̋̌̋҉͓̥͉̤̲̤̪ǐ̧̥̮̆́ͪ̐ͬ͗n̰̮̱̖k͚͎̲̓̇ͫ̊̾͗̍ ̞͕̈I̡̹̽͆ͨ͂̈́ ̼̯̺̫̯͖́ŝͫ́ḣ͔͗͗a̻͉ͨͧ̋ļ̓̍l̸̖̭̞͓̩̯̬ ̓ͪ̊͌́s͍̻͉̼̀ͫ̋̑́t͍͆̒̽ͭͬͫ͞a̹̫̅ͮͭr̘̭̖̙̒ͬͭt̮͎̜̀̈ͧ͌̃́̚ ̡͎̻̝̫̹̯̋ͪ͛͗̊ḇ͓̠̿̃͆y̢ ͇p̰͇͇̺͚ͬ̇ͥ͛̚ȉ̟̞͇̪̰̰̰͘c̛̯̺̬̤̪͇ͥ̃̈́k͎̬̟̘̜̞͑ͥ̊͛̚̚ͅi̵ͭ̌̚n̺̞͍̞̬̤̙ͪ́̂ͤ͗ǧ̑ͮ ͓̪̤̯̃̈̋ͤ̽̌o̭͓͖ͣ̋̒ͦf͕͓͕̠̯̫f͓͓̭̞̥̞̞ ̨̖͚̣̼͔̬̄͆̍͛͊t͔͔ͪ̐̔h̴̪̄̋̚è̸͕ ̭̮̺̗w͈̬͓̰̟̅̿̈̉ͅe͉̩͈̭̟͊͗̌̾̍ͬͅǎ͖͌̓̑͗̎ͅk̳̠̱̝̝̿̍̍ͬ̆ͪ̚͞ͅȇs̱̪͓̝̻̅ͭ̽̉̾ẗ͉̲̽̈́̿̇ ҉͕̳̬̝͔o͚̺̘̱ͧ̋̃̌͗̂͟f ̱̟̻͔̋͒̃͋͒̇̑͜ỹ̭̯͎͇̇̆̾̚ȍ̸̫͈̣̝̩̜u̗̠̟͎̱͂ͪ́͂͢ŕ͎̱͍̜̓ͨ̄ͬͅ ̭͈̈́͒̉ͬ́ġ̮̺ͣ̈́͊́r̺̖̝ͣ̋̓̉̒͠ͅö̷́̌̈́͗̈̾̏u̅̅̉͛͏͔̪p̆͑̔ͪͯ.̦̋͗ͫͤͬ͟ He leered down at Liu, and Jeff's heart stopped.
"NO!" Zalgo's arm shot down and grabbed Liu, who'd just started to stir.
"Wha…?" He looked down at the group, then over at the demon who was holding him, letting out a scream as he saw his nightmarish form. Zalgo started to squeeze him, over for Slender Man to slender-walk over and grab Liu in his tentacles, slender-walking him back down to the group.
No more hiding behind humans, Zalgo! His voice still sounded like a whisper…but a loud one, echoing through the forest. This is between the two of us! I want it be YOUR black heart I rip out!
Ṫ̮̦̭͈̑̂ͭ̏ͤ̀c͓̜̽̓̂̍̆̔̔h̺̘̽ͭ̅̈ͩͯͭ,̘̜͔͍̭ͬ̒ ̆̏̍̐ͭ͜ͅs̞̟̯ͧ͘t̙̱͞i̦̱l̑̓ͤ̾͐̑̚l͇͕̰̤̞̒ͮ̄͐̈́͘ ̪̦̭ͣ̂s̛̹̞͕̳͍̩̈́̌̏̄͛͂͐ö͓̜̰̝́̒͢ ̬͋̃̐̕s̼̩̱͙̠͖ͫ̐ͧͥͅoͩ̎̅͌̂͜f̷͕̪͑ͦͯ̍̽t̬̯̺̞͖̺̩̉͂ͯͩ̚,̲̼̱͖͗͑ͭͬ͝ ̳͘ͅS̴̮̜l̥̘̣̜̓ͨͣ̈̑̍ͯ̀e̟͙̭̣̭͈̋̌ͦ͂̋̏̓͢n̼̯̟͋ͨͦͬ̒d̡͚͇̹̾ḙ͔̝̱̌̍r̯̈̃͡ ̶̝̰̠̣̖̞̪̎̋̈́̚̚M̷͌̄̀͆͑a̲̥̙͖͈̿̀͊ͥ̓͟n̠͉ͪ̒.̶̓̏̾͛ͯͪ ̠͉̼̩̂ͯY̰̳ͤͣo͕̪̲̝̣̺͗͑̋̾̅u͏̻̣r͉̲̪̜̉̈ͅ ͙͓̰̭̦̠l͍͔̰̱̭̜͉̀̀͞ǒ̗͔͈̭̗́͐̔̚v͎͇͓͎̒͑̚͞e̙͚̹̾̌ͮ̋̌̓ͩ́ ̯̮͂ͣ͒ͭf̴̺̻̹̞̺̮͗͋ͥ̀ò̭̬̲͙̼͍ͫ͗̒r͚͓̪͙͕ͤ͊ͨͥ̂ ̑ͬͭ͞tͤ͒̊͗h͙͎e̠͙͈͇͐͋s̼̲̱̲̞ͮͭ̓͋ͥ̀e̛ͬ̎ ̙̰͍̹̗̐ͦͅi̧͕̬̯̭͉̞̥̾͂̉ͧ̂̚̚ń̸͙̦̤̫̦̬ͫͣf҉̰̳̰é̴̙͉͖͆r̗͍̪͚̙ͨͭi̦̫̻̻̟̹͔̊ǫ͇͖̣̻̘̈̅̍̾ͅr̳͙͕͖͎̹̯͗͋̆ ̴̦̼̃̿̍̉͐̓̏c̬͍̮̈́̓͠r͖͙̾ͧ̒̉ͦ̕e̔a͔͔̘̗͔̝͚ͫͥͦ̎t̺͕̹͔ú̪̱̪r̆̔͒͆̅̃͏͓e̛̱̬͍̰ͤ̆ͥŝ̵̗ ̲͉̞̘̃͒̾̈́̀ẅ͓̐̽i̷͖̪̮̤l͖͙͘l̲̮̓ͮ̊ ̄͘b̛͓̳̭̟̤͋͒ę̻͔͌̔̈̏̂ ̕yo͒͠u͙̟͈̐͊r̐͒ ̸ͯͣ̎d̫̮͎̪̆ͩ͐o̢̤̒̒w̦̗̟͉̚͡ǹ̊̎҉̥f̯̲̜̗̩̐ͥ̇ͪͪ̄͑́a̖̖ͬ̃̓̀l͕̘͉̫͕͇̀ͪͣͦͪͮ̓ͅḻ̢̪͓̼̘͖̃͗̈́̀ͤ̇.̟̪̿́̽ͫ̒́ He reached out to grab at Slender Man, or possibly to swat him away like a bug, but the faceless creature grabbed his hand with all his tentacles. He then turned to the group.
"Does someone want to tell me what's going on here?!" Liu shouted. Slender Man ignored him.
Jeff! Take your brother and get out of here! Clockwork, take Jane and Toby! Masky, save Sally! All of you, get out of here as fast as you can!
"But what about you?" Clockwork asked. "You can't really take him all on your own, can you?!"
I stand a better chance than you. Slender Man answered. Zalgo moved to slash at him with his other hand, and Slender Man slender-walked away for just a second, reappearing soon afterwards.
I am very sorry for what I did…to all of you. I turned you into killers, took away your chances for a normal life, and you still followed me. You're all too loyal for your own good.
Jane's busted leg was the only thing keeping her from bolting upright.
"Slender Man…"
I don't know how this fight will turn out. But I will do what I can to stop Zalgo. Even if it means I have to rot with him!
As Slender Man said this, tears started forming in his featureless face yet again, ripping to reveal angry eyes and a sharp-toothed mouth. Before anyone could say anything else, he slender-walked in front of Zalgo, sending his tendrils towards his eyes, intending to gouge them out. Zalgo tried to swat at him once again, but Slender Man was quicker. He slender-walked behind Zalgo, impaling the demon through the neck with his tendrils. Zalgo just laughed.
I̵̬̙ͩ̽ṥ̴̭̣͚ͬͤ͑ͩ ͍̱̪͇ͪ̽̕ͅt͈͍̦ͭ͐̈̆́̓̏h̦͍̦͇̜͎̽̉́̀aͩͧ͛̒́t̊̐̿̃ͥ ͓̜̩͚̻̅̄̈́̅̐ͪ̏͝r̔҉̙e̲̗̖̗̒a̩̲̳̾ͭ̄́l̪̙̥͚̩ͩl̷̬̹ͩͫͫ̽̊͊y͔̻͉ͭ̃̉̀ ̟̋̿̽͆t͔̭͖̘̤̺̞̏̅̎̂͒̆h̰̀ͥ͂̋̈ͭē̵̹͍̩̮̻̖͂̅ͫ̚ͅ ͥ̑͊̑̓͆̕b̹̩̩͒͂͛ͅȅ͉̘̙̜͉ͫ̿̾ͅŝ͌ẗ̛̪̬̦̥̳́ͮ ̓̇̋ͬ͏̤̖̮͕̳̣y͈̗͗̈́ͥͨo̿ͣͬu̘͔̪̲̔ ̲̙͎͚̲͋c̜ͩ͢a͍̥̙̬͎ͯ͌ͦ̀n̑ͫ́̂͐ͭ͏͈ ̡͇̰̦͚̘͔́ͪ̄̍d̲̣͛̅͊ͦ̽ͫͣͅo̫͕ͪ̒̏͆̉ͭ̓͟ͅ?̻̖͈͎̦̻́͛ͮ̇!̟͗
"He's so powerful…" Jane said, her eyes wide with horror. Masky turned to the others, frowning under his mask.
"Well, what are you all just standing around for?! He gave us orders! Now let's GO!" He slender-walked over to Sally's pole as Clockwork ran to get Toby, and Jeff dragged Liu away.
"He can't be stopped." Jeff looked at his brother, who had a weird look on his face. "When he was possessing me…I got just a taste of his power. He's weak right now-but still much more powerful than any human…or even the Slender Man. His power is slowly fading…if he possesses that little girl, he'll be completely unstoppable."
"Well then, we'll just have to keep him from possessing Sally, then." Jeff said casually, as if talking about the weather.
Meanwhile, Masky ported in front of Sally, only for Eyeless Jack to show up in front of him.
"You're fighting a losing battle." The other boy hissed. "The end is nigh-for all of humanity. Zalgo will…"
"Shut the hell up!" Masky swiped at EJ with his ax, knocking his mask off and sending it flying. The wooden mask bounced across the ground a couple times, landing a couple feet away. EJ leered at Masky, and the other masked man couldn't help but wince a little at the black gunk coming from his empty eye sockets. Letting out a feral cry, he lunged at Masky.
Clockwork gathered Toby's body, starting to sob…until she felt it. Gasping, she put her heart on Toby's chest and gasped as she felt his heartbeat.
"He's alive!" She cried out happily. "He's ALIVE!"
"Yes, for now. But soon, neither one of you will be!" .EXE had appeared in front of Clockwork, and as she watched, his form twisted, changing into the form of a tall, very muscular creature with a large bladed weapon and a strange headpiece. Clockwork just grimaced.
"I'm getting real sick of all this!" Unable to handle Toby and fight at the same time, she ran off to get him to safety, just barely avoiding getting sliced in half. She laid him next to Jane and pulled out her knives, rushing .EXE in what was probably going to turn out to be a suicide attack. As she parried his large blade with her two smaller ones, something tackled her from behind, knocking her forward.
"Oops." Ben Drowned cackled nastily. "Did I do that?!"
At the same time, Smile Dog tackled Masky, trying to bite his head off, and Jeff was intercepted by Seedeater and Scissorloid Miku, who gave Liu a look that was PROBABLY supposed to be a flirtatious grin.
"You're a cute one-even with all those stitches. Maybe after I've killed you and your brother, I'll carve off that pretty face of yours and put it in a frame!" Threatening Jeff's brother sent him over the edge again, and he rushed at Scissorloid for the second time that night, only for Seedeater to pull her out of the way. Before Jeff could even think to turn, he felt a sharp blow to the back of the head and fell to the ground, Zero grinning above him.
"JEFF!" Liu shouted.
Jane grimaced at everything that was going on.
"This is pathetic. How are we supposed to beat them all?! To beat ZALGO?!"
"YOU'RE NOT." Jane looked up and started a little as she saw the Rake, Hoody on his shoulder.
"Hoody…" The hooded boy jumped down, and the Rake pointed towards Sally, who had just opened her eyes.
"SHE IS."
"Sally?" Jane asked in surprise. "You can't really expect her to fight Zalgo, not after everything she's…"
"We're not." Hoody looked at Jane. "Jane…Zalgo's not going to stop until he has her power. If the human race is to go on, if we want to ensure that Zalgo never hurts anyone else…" He sighed sadly, pulling off his damaged morph mask as he looked at Jane.
"Sally is going to have to sacrifice herself."
A/N: No, Sally! Will she really have to die to stop Zalgo?! What will happen? Review to find out! PS. Can you guess the character .EXE turned into?