*I know it's short… but some serious stuff happens in this chapter (nothing explicit). Well, enjoy chapter 13!*

The squirrel in my pocket woke up, carefully moving out of my pocket and back onto my leg as the sun slowly rose. It looked up at me, mostly relaxed, but I could sense something else in its mind. It managed to crawl up my torso, and sit on my shoulder. Confused, I shrugged the shoulder it was on. I smirked at it losing its balance for a moment, but it stayed put.

"Alright, just don't do your business there."

"Chirp!"

"Yeah, yeah. Here, do you like walnuts?"

I handed it a half of a walnut, and it took it from me, nuzzling its head against my ear. I began walking toward the clearing, but it shrieked before running off into the woods. I decided to visit it later, and looked up at see Slenderman was standing in front of me.

"Was that a squirrel on your shoulder?"

"Yes."

"Why are you feeding the wildlife?"

"I like the little creatures. They're cute. Plus, being somewhat of an animal because of my origins, they understand me better than they would a human. Besides, it's only one. I told it not to tell its friends."

"Very well… but I came out here for a different reason. That squirrel was not the only presence I felt directly near to you."

"Well, I met Shadow last night."

"The cat?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, my cat companion."

We walked back to his mansion, not talking on the way. I thought about my first days at the mansion, remembering meeting Eyeless Jack and Sally for the first time. I remembered when Eyeless Jack confronted me in my room. And I remembered…

"Um… Slender…"

We were just outside the mansion's doors, but they were still closed. He stopped and turned to regard me, and I thanked Zalgo and all the demons of Hell he had heard my tone and didn't open the doors.

"Yes, my dear?"

I paused, unsure how to say what I wanted to say. I took a deep breath, and kept my gaze off him. "So… Eyeless Jack and I are the only ones who know about this, but I once said that I would ask — no, demand — an all-out fight from you one day," I began. "If you wouldn't mind… I'd like to do that sometime soon." When I looked up, he was shaking with fury. I winced, turning away in shame and disappointment.

"Why didn't you tell me before!? I cannot fight you now!"

I nodded, which seemed to calm his fiery disapproval. "I'm sorry I didn't, but I wasn't powerful enough to last very long. Now that I am… I want to fight to the very best I can. You're the most powerful one here besides Zalgo, and I want to test my strength against yours."

He blew out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, which barely stood out against the rest of his blank face. I could see the anger he held had gone away for the most part.

"Very well, only for you…"

"It's because we're… incompatible, isn't it?"

He paused as his hand reached for the doorknob. He nodded, not saying another word, and stepped inside the mansion.

I was sitting in the living room with everyone else, and I knew everyone was tense; I knew they were all thinking about something.

"Okay, why are all of you so tense? What's going on?"

"Well… you have all of your abilities, or whatever, back now. Aren't you going to leave?"

"Seriously, you think I'm going to just up and leave? How dense are you, Jane? I don't even know how to leave, so I'm not leaving."

"Yes, she is."

The sound of that voice made my anger spike up, my wings and tail growing as I saw Nature again, my anger rising even more. I drew my platinum sword and mumbled a few choice words.

"You'll be coming with me whether you like it or not, Enderbrina. I am more powerful than you."

I teleported outside, reaching out to Zalgo's mind, my swords drawn and ready. I felt his presence nearby as a plume of flame went up, and he stood in its place once it dispersed.

"You called?"

"Nature is here."

"She can't be. Fate said she would stay out of your life for at least the next few centuries."

"Well, she's here."

Nature soon raced outside, and I glared at her, until Zalgo placed a hand on my head, or rather, one of his claws on the top at the center of my head. I felt something within me break, power flooding my body just as a dam would flood a valley. I felt Zalgo keeping me on my feet, but seeing Nature's expression was priceless. She was terrified of Zalgo. Or was it me? I didn't know, nor did I care. All I knew was that Slenderman was there for me, holding me in his tentacles as Nature looked between the three of us. I managed to pull her soul into my hand and sapped her power through it, transferring the power to Zalgo afterward, not needing it myself.

"Stop… Minecraft needs you… emergency…"

I slowed to a stop in sapping her power, and she seemed to regain it all the same as before. I let her soul go, and she glared at me.

"Minecraft is in great danger!"

I frowned. "What kind of danger?"

"I can't explain right now! There's no time!"

I raised a brow at her. "Oh really?"

"Yes! Have you become that distant that you have no desire to save your own brother!?"

I paused, thinking. "You just said there was no time to explain, but now you inadvertently explain, telling me I need to save my brother? Why do you insist on bringing me back? I am happy here."

"You can't be happy no matter where you are!"

"Yes, I know, you've said it before. Well, guess what? I'm not leaving anyway. So you can go on back to wherever it is you belong, and leave me alone."

"You'll regret this."

"There may come a day when I will, but until then, I will not."

She growled and disappeared. I could no longer feel her presence.

"She is troublesome."

"It'll be fine. Next time, I will be sure to bargain with Fate to keep her out of your life for good, so she won't be able to continue to bother you."

"Thank you, Zalgo. Slender, we should be going."

He nodded and we were instantly back in his mansion, he had teleported us there. We were in our bedroom, but it was only noon. I sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at my Slender-bear on the nightstand.

"Why are we here?"

"You were having some very… dark thoughts while that woman was here. It was very becoming of you, I must say."

I huffed, and turned away. "Slender… that primal instinct of your is so very endearing but…" I sighed. "I'm not sure if I even want to anymore, considering the fact…"

I let my voice trail off, sure he knew I was referring to our incompatibility. I almost wished I could bring him back to Minecraft. Wouldn't that be something! A tall, pale, faceless, business-suit-wearing "enderman" walking around with me. With tentacles in his back, no less! I giggled at the thought, wondering what my friends would think, as well as the other immortals there. My mind ran rampant with thoughts, but I was soon brought back by a white hand cupping my cheek, startling me. He called me something of a nickname, and I didn't protest against it.

"Quite the imagination, as always, little dragon."

"But you would like my original home, I don't doubt. There are giant spiders for competition, though."

"Competition? Do they feel attracted to you?"

"No, silly, I meant they eat humans too. We'd have hunting competition."

"I could take care of them."

"True…"

He pulled me to my feet, his tentacles pulling me against him.

"Do you miss your original home, Enderbrina?"

"Sometimes, but I like it here better, anyway."

"Good." He cleared his throat. "You think of me as a monster, correct?"

"Not quite. You're a gentlemonster. I've told you this before." I could tell he was smiling. Smirking back at him, I said, "But you're my gentlemonster, don't forget."

"Of course not, and you are my little dragon."

"You only say the 'little' part because I'm shorter than you."

His smile grew, pushing his cheekbones up, as his tentacles unraveled and put me on the floor. I stretched my wings, wondering what to do for the rest of the day.

"I know I would enjoy flying again, if you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all," I said, smiling as he laid down, just like the first time we had gone flying.

Once his soul was within me, I teleported out to his balcony and took off into the early dusk air. Most of the night, we flew around, looking for a good kill. I spotted a particularly dark-minded person, and tried to become stealthy as I trailed them.

What are you doing?

Don't you see them? Carefully, look into their mind. They have to be one of us with that mindset.

You are correct. Very well, follow them.

I smiled at his attitude, still following them. I had run back to the mansion to tell the others we might be out for a couple of days or weeks, a few of them becoming confused but mostly just accepting it, knowing from Jane we were together now. So, for about a week, we trailed the mysterious person. They seemed to have their eye on others, but kept following the same person around for a while, even letting the human know about their presence. The human would smile at the Creepypasta's presence, which confused me.

This must be the Puppeteer; Zalgo spoke of him last time we met. A manipulative smooth-talker, he befriends his victims; anyone with fragile emotions, he will target. He has strings, much like I have tentacles, but they come from his hands. I believe he kills them when they finally ask him to or he either "gives them a way out of their misery," by killing them.

I studied the Puppeteer closer, trying to get my hawk-like vision to come into use so I could see what he was wearing. It seemed like he was wearing all black; black jeans, black shoes, black shirt, and a black hoodie. To top it all off, he wore a dark gray beanie hat. His eyes were a solid, softly glowing golden color, and his mouth and strings seemed to be the same way. He seemed do be doing just fine for himself, he seemed quite strong, as if he didn't need any help.

Maybe we should just leave him alone for now. He doesn't seem to have any problems, nor is he creating any. We don't need to confront him.

Very well, let's continue on.

By the end of the week, I wanted to go home, feeling Slenderman take hold for a moment to teleport us back to our bedroom.

Sleeping with my soul within you?

Too tired…

I managed to hold his body's hand, creating a physical bridge. I fell into sleep's embrace, feeling his hand move during my sleep. The dreams I had were short bursts of bright color, continuing endlessly until I woke in the morning, still firmly in Slenderman's grasp. I smiled up at him, but saw his expression was one of disappointment. My smile faded, I knew what he was thinking about.

"Must we, my little dragon?"

"I know you don't want to battle with me. I understand that… but you have to understand… it's part of me, we can't escape that."

"Perhaps we can wait one more day…"

"It's been two weeks since I brought it up, there's only about two weeks before August ends. It would be better to do it now."

"No. I refuse. I have changed my decision and will not fight you."

"For fuck's sake," I groaned, too sleepy to actually be very angry. "It's not a damn fight over our relationship. I just want an all-out battle between the two of us, just for the hell of it."

He sighed. "I know. You are correct." He kissed me, melting my heart. "We shall take today for preparations. Tomorrow, we battle."

I smiled, and hugged him. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, my love."

I skipped out of the room, a spring in my step. I heard telepathic laughter from Slenderman, knowing he was even remotely happy that he made me feel better. I went downstairs, seeing everyone there.

"Hey, Brina… you look pretty happy. You pregnant or something?"

I glared at Jeff, but everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"No, I'm not. Slender promised me a battle tomorrow."

"A battle?"

"Well, it's really just between the two of us, but we're going to go all-out like if we were actually fighting a dangerous foe."

"Why?"

"Battle is part of me! If you don't remember, when we all shared that cake and you attacked me that night, I might have seemed a little more… crazy than usual when I let go of myself. I fought all of you with at least a couple of cracked ribs after Helen pushed me away and I fell."

"Really? You fought like you weren't even injured."

"Exactly," I said, calming down a little. "Granted, the sugar from the cake was a little bit of an extra booster," I said, looking pointedly at Laughing Jack, who was giggling as always. "But anyway, you're all welcome to watch. It's tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises."

Everyone nodded. I sighed, and went outside, feeling my swords swing near my hips, wishing so badly to pull them out and swing them around. Eventually, I did, not practicing any techniques. I heard some footsteps behind me and turned to see, of all people, Ben. I paused in my "self-training" to find out what he had to say.

"Hey, Ben… what brings you out here?"

"Not much. Just… wanted to wish you good luck for tomorrow. Slendy's one hell of a fighter, but I think you know that."

I cracked a grin. "Yeah, he is. I won't be sleeping in the mansion tonight. Materialization can help me stay awake."

"Do you do that often?"

"Do what?"

"Like, not sleep. I know I'm a ghost so I don't need sleep, but you seem like you don't really need it either."

"Well, I might climb into a tree and take a nap before the fight, but other than that I usually do sleep at night. It's just habit now."

"Huh… okay well, good luck tomorrow. I'll be there to watch."

I nodded and he walked away. In all honesty, I was more excited than nervous about the battle tomorrow, knowing it would be brutal but mentally rewarding if I won. What if I did win? Would Slenderman think it was a fluke and we both just had messed up, or would he think himself weak?

I shook the thoughts from my head, knowing Slenderman knew his own strength. I saw the moon was slowly making its way toward the horizon — how time flew — and asked Darkness to wake me just before the sun rose. It agreed, and I climbed up into a tree and pushed myself into stasis, resting before the battle would commence. Darkness woke me, and I grew my wings and tail, hopping down from the tree and returning to the clearing, where there was no longer a tree for an open fighting area. I stretched out my muscles after a quick warm-up, eager to begin. I waited with my swords drawn at one end of the clearing, where the mansion was on my right, the doors open and everyone sitting on the steps, watching with bored expressions as I waited. I caught a few of their gazes and one of them waved. I waved back, earning more waves and ended up waving twice. Then, everyone looked up behind them. I saw Slenderman come out of the mansion, gliding over the ground with graceful steps. I watched as he stood opposite from me, his tentacles already swaying much like my tail was. I moved away from the trees a little, him doing the same. Slowly, carefully, I pushed my power up, taking on my second form in the same way as always. I twirled my swords and began walking forward, slowly stepping toward Slenderman. It seemed he had gone full fighting mode, finally accepting the fact that I wanted an all-out fight.

I began to run at him, and made sure to teleport behind him, running onto a tree trunk and slicing at his tentacles which seemed to know I was coming from behind. One caught my ankle, and I felt myself being swung through the air, my back hitting the ground multiple times before I could comprehend what was happening. I managed to slice the tentacle where it was holding me, and fell to the ground, my back hurting. I got up anyway, putting some distance between us while my back re-aligned and fixed itself. I couldn't fight with a broken spine, but I could still move, with plenty of pain to accompany me. Once my back healed and a good five minutes had gone by, I attacked him again, this time coming from the front. I managed to cut a gash his side, but two were opened on my side as well, equally deep but not as long as his wound. I saw black and purple blood staining the ground, the grass around us splattered with it. His shortened tentacles dripped his black blood as well. I flew in on my wings, dive-bombing him and bringing my sword down into his shoulder, digging deep. I had messed up because he took my momentarily halted flight into account and turned his wound into a sacrificial advantage, pulling me by my wing down to the ground, and using his tentacles to pin me. His horrible mouth gaped at me, the tongue slithering out and used as a fear-inciting technique.

It worked.

I scrambled to get away from him once his tentacles retreated, my senses on high-alert. His static and ringing began, and I saw his fingers sharpen into claws. He had been pulling his punches!? How powerful was he!? Determination filled me and I faced him as he teleported towards me. I launched myself at him, he didn't even try to teleport away. I clung to the front of his suit, seeing the tentacles coming around from his back to kill me, but I wasn't going down that soon. I plunged the end of my tail into where his heart would be, the black blood spraying out and coating the purple scales of my tail. Tentacles ripped open the membrane of my wings, ensuring no flight until I healed. I pushed my bronze sword through his stomach and pushed him away. Four large gashes ripped open across my chest as he swiped at me with his talons. The sword was ripped out and thrown to the ground. I saw him cough slightly, a small splatter of black blood flying from his mouth.

As if on cue, I began coughing violently, purple blood forcing itself out of my lungs. His bloodstained dress shoes approached me, but I wasn't done, I refused to be defeated yet. I staggered to my feet, him teleporting backwards. One eye was coated in purple, rendering me blind in my left eye. I looked up at him as his static blurred my remaining vision. Then, I felt an intrusion in my mind, and tried to push him away. I felt my hand moving on its own, without me telling it what to do. I blasted him in the chest with telekinesis, sending him backward, but he didn't go very far. Maybe a few meters, but it was enough. I used the tree behind me as a spring board and launched myself at him again, seeing him turn just in time as I made a final swing, and beheaded him. I landed on the ground next to his headless body, which soon disappeared, but a small trail of soul aura said it went to his office. Panting, I fell onto the ground, a small smile on my lips as I passed out.

I had won.

"Hey, wake up! You need to help Slender!"

I woke up to see Splendorman's unimpressed mask above me. I felt guilty immediately, and saw Slenderman next to me, his head connected to his neck and the rest of his body, but only barely, as healing seemed to take longer for the immortal dead of his kind. I crawled over and gently aligned his head correctly, then began healing him. The thin black line around his neck went away soon after he was fully healed, and looked back at his three brothers, unable to meet their gaze, looking more towards the bed instead.

"You're a real bitch, ya know that," Offenderman asked. "Killing our brother like that."

"He agreed to the fight," I said softly.

"Enderbrina," I heard Slenderman ask.

"I'm here, my love."

"You fought well," he said, sitting up. "I… am surprised you won."

"It was probably just a fluke," I said quietly.

"Perhaps." I felt his gaze move off me to his brothers behind us. "Leave us, please."

"Not until you tell us why the fuck you did that," Offender retorted.

"Enderbrina asked me to fight her, as fighting is in her nature. I agreed." The three of them disappeared, and I cried into his shoulder. He tensed before hugging me. "Why are you crying my dear?"

"Please don't leave me! I promise that's the one and only time we will fight all-out against each other, okay!?"

"Calm down, my dear," he said, chuckling. "I understand. I won't leave you, you are my greatest love."

I sniffed. "And you're m-mine…"

"Always, but perhaps soon, even more."

I became confused but nodded anyway.

"Now, instead of killing each other, let us go get a meal in the city. I remember where a delicious looking meal was living."

I nodded, and took his hand as he teleported us there, a scream prominently filling the household. I grinned, and attacked the human. Everything had worked out, even though only a few hours ago we had fought to the death. I didn't care if I had no way back to my original home, this was my new, permanent home now. Minecraft didn't matter much to me anymore. I was staying here.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about Minecraft anymore, but I would soon come to find that I really did care. I felt a blip of a familiar presence, and then it was gone. Something big was going to happen. I knew it would.

*Oooh, foreshadowing. Let's see now, there's a couple more chapters to this… and even a sequel but you'll see why soon enough. Follow, Favorite, Review, and I'll see you in chapter 14!*