A/N:

New update so soon? You bet? Inspiration and motivation has struck again XD Here is the next chapter, and I will tell you this, after this chapter things are about to hit the fan. If they haven't already... Well kind of. Okay, more stuff will hit the fan! Mwahaha! Okay enough is enough, read on! XD

Pain. There was nothing else to feel by the time Shad woke up. Or... did he wake up? He wasn't entirely sure. It was more like he had just suddenly become aware that he was walking along a field and was not quite sure how he got there. The sky was coated on clouds, blocking the view of stars and the moon from lighting the way. The grass looked grey and still. To be honest, everything looked still. There was no breeze, and no smell to the air. It looked more like he had stepped into a painting of a field rather than walking through a real one.

Why was he here? How did he even get here? Shad tried to remember, holding his cloak close to him. He struggled to remember what he had been doing before this. But his head pulsated in more pain if he were to try too hard. Only glimpses of a memory managed to force their way through to him. He remembered... being outside, and looking for something... Toby was with him... And... Hoody and Masky too? But that was impossible, they were...

Something was not right here. And he didn't like it in the least. He turned around on the spot trying to track where he had come from, and if there was a way back. Yet he was met with nothing. Just more open fields and an endless horizon. Although there was no wind in the air, the temperature was certainly dropping. He took a step back in the direction he had apparently been walking from, but was stopped almost instantly. Not by a force. But by a voice. One that throughout all of this insanity, he had longed to hear aimed at him. Oh he head heard it before, but never in direct conversation. And he always knew that he never would. Until know.

"Don't leave me."

He froze, the chilled air clutching his lungs. And with great effort, he managed to turn himself around. And what he saw was his own version of a saviour and symbol of innocence. What he aspired to be. What he aspired to preserve by making sure he didn't get too close. Yet there she was, "E... Emily?"

The young girl, barely to his shoulders in height and an around about age of seventeen, stood a few yards away from him. She smiled, tiredly but happily. Her blue eyes looked damp with tears, but she was clearly not upset. Some of her face was hidden behind her dark brunette waves, looking almost black in the night time. Of all the things he ever imagined about the possibility of them ever meeting, he had never ever thought that she would look so happy to see him. For a split second, he felt the chill drain away from him.

Emily took a step towards him, a hand reaching for him, "Shad... Please. You don't have to hide from me anymore. Please, don't leave me."

"How... What is this? This isn't real." He shook his head firmly, both wanting and not wanting to believe it.

"Of course I'm real. And so are you, my watcher." She took another step, sighing as if suddenly content, "I know you've been looking after me, and I'm not scared of you. I don't want you to leave me again. Please, Shad... Let's be together. Just like you always wanted. Like I want."

"No... You can't see me." He backed away from her, each step causing him to hurt, "I don't want Sickness spreading to you. I won't be the one to put you through that!"

She laughed, but... it wasn't her. Her laugh was sweet and contagious. This was fractured somehow, cold, "Oh... my silly boy. Don't you see?" Her arms reached out towards him. And only then did he notice, that her once clean, olive complexion was splattered in dark black ooze. It quivered on her skin, burning her and melting into her, forming familiar proxy brands. They littered her skin. Spreading by the second up her arms, across her neck and over her face. She grinned, twisted and cruel unlike her once image of innocence, "Don't you see what you've already done to me?"

Shad felt his throat tighten and stomach churn as if he were going to vomit, "No... No I couldn't have. I would never hurt you like this!"

"Isn't this what you wanted? Now we can be together. This is the only way. And you know it... Secretly, you want it... You want me like this! Infected with Sickness just like you!"

"No! I don't! I want you free, and alive and prospering! This is not what I want!"

"Oh don't lie..." She smiled, reaching out to cup his cheek softly and showing off more of the marks scolding her arms, "Let me see you. Give me the Sickness. Tell me your name... And then we can be together, just like you wanted."

He felt something rip in his chest when she touched him, and it grew as he forced himself to step away, "I can't, Emily... You need to live. And be happy."

"Tell me your name, and we can be happy together."

"I can't, Emily, you don't under-"

"Tell me!"

Shad recoiled when a blackness overtook her eyes for a moment. This wasn't her. He already knew that. But he couldn't help the way he felt about her. He couldn't help but understand the reality that if he ever did show himself to his Emily then this vision would most definitely come true. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. The pain of it all was enough to just blurt out everything she wanted to know just so he could hold and comfort her. To try and take this pain away from both of them. But it wasn't real... It couldn't be! Emily could not be here! She could not be forced to suffer this!

And... She wasn't. She wouldn't. He wouldn't let it. And just as he was about to give in, to tell her everything just so that he could wake up and escape this nightmare... That he realised something. And it made him sick to his stomach, "Emily... Why do you need to know my name?"

She tilted her head, "That's not important... I'm here. With you. Just tell me and we can-"

"Why do you need to know my name? I am known as the Shadow Lurker, that is enough of a name for now."

Her head shook so rapidly that he momentarily feared her neck would snap, "No. No no no no no it's not! Tell me!"

Her irises expanded, darkness returning and consuming her eyes to the point where black tricked down her cheeks, teeth turning jagged as she snarled. Emily was gone. Emily, he reminded himself, was never there, "I will not tell you my name. I, however, would like you to tell me who you are. Now."

"What're you talking about? It's-"

"You will never be her. Now tell me who you are. Before I make you regret ever bringing her into this..."

The figure that had once been the mutilated form of his Emily, was morphing by the second. Skin paling, hair darkening and starting to sneer. She stepped forward at an alarming speed, raising a hand and slashing out to slap his face. Her claws scraped against his skin and caused him to kiss in pain as it burned. His eyes closed for only a moment. And when he opened them again, everything had changed...

For one thing, he was no longer standing up, but slumped on the ground against a wall that may as well be made from ice it was so cold. And the energy pumping through it... pure, undiluted Sickness. He shivered, leaning forward to try and create some distance, but his body ached so much that even that was a struggle. Shad looked around him, finding nothing but pulsating Sickness in the air within a large dark room. A throne of sorts sat all the way on the other side, empty for now.

And almost directly to his left, was a still, unconscious form. Tufty brown hair sticking up at all angles, a green mismatched hoody, and a pair of amber goggles rested on the figures forehead to reveal closed eyes and one lens shattered and empty. Shad stared at him, trying to move closer but just not having the energy.

"T-Toby... Toby wake up... Ah-!"

Someone slapped him. Just like they had done so in his vision. He blinked rapidly and looked up. A young woman stood over him. Unnaturally pale with onyx eyes and hair, a sneer pulled across her beautiful face. She flexed her slim fingers, reaching out to stroke the cheek she had just struck.

"Aw... Did my little playmate have a nightmare? Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

Shad flinched away from her, "Jane I assume?" God his throat hurt, as if he had been yelling for hours on end.

"Oh he's smart." She giggled, sounding distorted in the air. She turned away, smiling fondly across the room, "May I keep them both, Daddy? They're both just so weak and amusing to me."

From the darkness, a terrifyingly familiar voice echoed towards them. And it took Shad a second to place it as the demon he had learned to fear, and less than that to actually feel the fear spreading through him. A figure stepped foreward. Inhuman, skin so dry and decayed that it may has well have been crafted from gravel and dust. Flames burned through its veins, scorching through the skin and forming a faint glow in the gloom. And teeth... Such pointed, uneven teeth that practically dripped with death.

Zalgo put a hand on Jane's shoulder, eyes burning upon Shad and the motionless Toby, he chuckled, "Oh my child, of course you may. But first... I have some business I would like to get started with. Now that we have an idea of what to bargain with at least..."

Trixie gripped the side of the sink so hard her knuckles were starting to lose colour. Water droplets dripped from her nose and chin where she had just splashed her face to try and calm herself down. She hated yelling... The others did that enough for her, and now she was stooping to their level. She didn't know what had come over her. It was one thing to be frozen in fear from a brutal stabbing in front of her, but it was another to have people yelling and fighting over something that really didn't call for it. And to blame others just because it was easy? No. She lost her temper. Fear and anger stewing until it just burst out like that. There were some thing she didn't mean, but most of it she did. They were being selfish and they had no right to blame others like that and they definitely didn't have the right to take it out on each other.

She shuddered. No doubt one of them was going to come bursting through that door and make some attempt on her life. But she didn't fear it as much as she thought, after all it was something she half expected to happen every day while living here. She took a deep breath and tried to plan what to do. It would be best to stay hidden for a while, at least until things calmed down. And then... act as normal? That's how things usually worked whenever one of them went too far. But acting normal didn't fix anything. But then again... what exactly was going to fix anything around here?

A hand landed on her shoulder.

"Oh god!" She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop a scream and turned around. Only to find a tall, suited figure standing before her. She took a breath and tried to calm down, feeling both relieved and embarrassed, "S-Sorry, Slender Sir, y-you scared me..."

I apologise, Beatrix, that was not my intention rather than an occupational hazard... He indicated to her door, I did knock, but when I heard no reply I thought it best to check...

"Yeah... It's fine um... I'm sorry. I uh... I don't feel well." It was a lame excuse, but what else could she say?

I doubt I would feel in the best of sorts if I had just angered as many co-workers as you...

She chewed her lip and looked at the ground, feeling like a child about to be scolded, "You heard all that."

Without making things worse, Beatrix, it was hard not to...

"Oh." Well that was just great, "I'm sorry, Sir, I just... I don't know what came over me. They were acting like... like they were the only ones being affected by all of this and... I'm scared. I don't know what to do anymore, I'm sick of feeling useless and I'm sick of them making it worse just because they can. I didn't mean to blow up like that, as soon as I started it just wouldn't stop and-"

Calm yourself, Beatrix, I am not here to confront you... In fact, I am here to see that you are alright... You have good reason to be scared, you all do... Hiding from it will only feed it... And it seems you are the only one as of yet who has admitted to it... You are fully in your right to be angry at them, but you must remember that they too are scared and they do not respond well to sheer force and volume of voice...

She sighed, nodding slowly. She already knew that. Yelling at them just riled them up more, it was honestly a shock that none of them had shown up yet to try and put a knife in her throat. But she hadn't been able to help it, pent up fear and anger was hard to contain after such a long time. Trixie looked up at her mentor, "I know. I just... If I didn't say it then I wouldn't say it at all. And... Well they are being selfish. And not fair. Especially to you. I know you can handle yourself, Sir, but it's not fair for them to accuse you of leaving us to die."

I appreciate you defending me, Beatrix... And I hope that they also know that I would never abandon any of my proxies...

"I hope so too. But as much as I don't like to admit it, especially after all of that, but... Sir, I don't think that constant planning is going to help much this time if we don't act now." She looked up at him apologetically, not wanting to take away his authority, "I don't know what to do but we have to do something before anyone else gets hurt. I'm sorry but-"

You're right...

She blinked, "What?"

All of you have been right, and I have ignored you all for long enough... I have been doing much planning, but not enough action, and it seems the actions I have taken are not for the best and I fully understand that...You see, Beatrix, even demons carry their own demons around from time to time, and I have been avoiding mine selfishly...

"I don't understand."

You don't have to... All I ask is that you pass on the message to the others that I hope they accept my apology, which I will give in person in due time... And also that I will return when I either need assistance, or I have the others back with me and away from Zalgo...

She stared at him like he was crazy, "You're going out on your own? But, Sit, no offence but the last time something like this happened-"

The last time something like this happened, I was not aware of what was going on... I am now...

He was really doing this. He was really just going to go out there and do something, who knows what, just because he felt he owed them for being right. Honestly, she was trapped between what to be happy for and what to fear. Taking action, great! Going it alone, terrible! The idea of getting the others back and finding out what Zalgo was doing, great! Leaving her alone to pass on the message to the others after the outburst she just had, terrible! But it had seemed he had already made up his mind, and there was no arguing with him.

"Be careful, Sir. And... Please, can't you tell them in person where you're going?"

I have wasted enough time, Beatrix... Thank you..."

"But, Slender-"

Too late. He had already vanished. Trixie sighed and held her forehead. Great, now she was in charge of informing killers who were pissed off with her that their only source of protection was now going off alone because they in turn had pissed him off! She turned back to the sink to splash some more water on her face. Trying to figure out just how to tell the others. Well she had certainly just told them enough. But how to tell them without one of them taking a shot at her.

And then what? Just more waiting. She understood Slender's intentions, to go out there and just do something to try and help to make up for not doing anything. And she understood that he was trying to keep them safe by keeping them here while he goes out. But at the same time... Now they were left behind. Not knowing what was going to happen next and simply waiting for a word. It was going to be a nightmare to say the least.

She took a deep breath and exited her bathroom back into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed, curling up and facing the wall.

She reached under her pillow, searching for something with her fingers until they brushed against a crisp, crumpled surface. Paper. A worn piece of paper that contained one of her drawings. But not one designed for a job or created from Sickness. This was all her own. Trixie pulled it out and propped it against the wall so that she could look at it without moving from her position. The drawing contained two adults, man and woman, smiling and happy as they hugged a girl who looked just below her twenties. She too was smiling as she became sandwiched between her parents, a piece of paper in her hand. Just to the side, with his hand on the girls shoulder, was a young teenage boy, younger than the girl and grinning as if he wasn't surprised at what was happening, but happy all the same.

"I miss you..."

Trixie didn't cry as she looked at the figures. She'd accepting and stopped crying for them a while ago. But god did she miss them. Of course the girl in the drawing was herself. And the scene was how she remembered the day she had got her acceptance letter into the school of her choice. Sure, the course of Mathematics wasn't her choice, it was her parents, but the school was, and it had been hers. She had hugged her parents tight, her brother giving a stereotypical boyish congratulations without trying to seem too sappy. It was one of the best days of her life. And it was the only thing she had brought herself to draw of her family. There was no point dwelling on things in here. Or else you end up bitter and angry like the others. You end up wanting to kill.

"They were met with a terrible fate, weren't they?"

That voice came out of nowhere. She just had enough time to gasp in panic before she had to flinch and move her hands over her head to protect herself as the screen from her computer shattered with a spasm of electric. There was barely time to register the burning smell of static before the bed shook violently where someone gave it a harsh kick. Trixie yelped and sat bolt upright to face the intruder. And she had never felt so close to fearing this person than the day she'd met him. The red of his pupils convulsed, glowing like flames in the black abyss of the rest of his eyes. Static sparks jolted up and down his skin as if he was struggling to contain himself.

"B-Ben! What are you-"

"I'd like to have a word with you, Trix." He snapped, voice angry and slightly crackly as if static was coating his throat, "You've had your little outburst, now it's my turn."

Her heart thudded rapidly against her chest at the lethal look he gave her. But despite her having calmed down from earlier and talking to Slender, she was still angry with him and the others. And she refused to be intimidated. Well, at least she wouldn't show that she was intimidated. She stood up and looked at him straight on, trying to hide her shaking hands, "This is my room. If you want to talk to me then wait outside and knock like everyone else."

"Cut the shit!" He raised a hand to point at her, static flashing over his skin, making her jump.

She accidentally let a squeak escape her throat. One touch and no doubt she'd be electrocuted. She tried to edge around him, hoping to make a run for it if things got too bad, "M-Maybe not right now I-"

"Ever wondered what it's like to die? To drown?" His eyes burned, turning on her with such speed that she had to flatten herself against the wall to avoid the voltage, "No? How about hit with a taser? Oh here's a good one! How about hit with a taser a bunch of times and then have your unconscious, spasming body dragged underwater and held there until you just stop moving? No? No takers on that one? Come on, Trix, speak up!"

Okay, now she was openly intimidated. She hadn't seen him like this before. And... It was her fault. She was scared. Of all of the others, she hadn't expected it to be him to hurt her. Well even though he hadn't done anything yet, she feared it, "B-Ben please-"

His voice dripped in acidic sarcasm that seemed to scorch the air, "Such a great feeling, Trix, it really is! And hey, if you come back like me then I daresay it'll feel nostalgic after a while! You like nostalgia right? Living in the past? Now answer the damn question!"

"No!" She yelped and flinched back, holding out her hands in front of her in some form of feeble defence as he stepped forward harshly, "I haven't!"

"Exactly." He said, this time slower, quieter, and somehow all the more deadly than when he was yelling at her. He pointed at her, stepping closer so her palms flatted against his chest as she continued to keep him at bay. At the contact, the static crackled against her skin and felt more like tiny pin-pricks, but not really painful like she thought it would be. Ben stared down at her, "Exactly... And you never will. Want to know why?" He didn't really wait for her to answer, more like give himself a chance to take a breath before continuing, "Because I am not my father... I am not a killer... And I don't take any enjoyment out of being murdered. Understand?"

She nodded, trying to keep her breathing under control, "I-I do. And I didn't accuse you otherwise..."

"I'm just making myself clear." He said. This time a less rage induced and more highly irritated, "I'm twisted, Trix, but not that twisted."

She looked away, worried that the slightest thing could set him off again, "I was angry. And I know you are too but you don't get to bully me like this, okay? I said things I didn't mean, but you don't get to treat me like this. Like... Like how Jeff treated you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, voice raising again.

"I mean I understand why you're angry and that's my fault. But that doesn't give you the right to come in here and bully me like he does. You let him stab you! You let him use you as a punching bag just because he was pissed off!" Her voice raised a fraction too.

"Oh I'm sorry, perhaps you would care to volunteer next time? Oh that's right, you can still die from it..."

"Don't give me that. Being already dead or not, he has no right to do that. I didn't think you of all people would be scared of him..." Why did she sound disappointed? It didn't make sense.

"Let me get one thing perfectly clear." He said, arching an eyebrow boredly, "I am not scared of Jeff. I am also not scared of a knife in my gut."

"Could have fooled me by the noises and faces you were making."

"Because it hurts like a bitch!"

"Then why let him do it? If you're not scared of him then why just stand there and let him hurt you?"

"Because, Trix, I would rather him stab me in the neck a few times to let off some steam than doing it to someone else and having to manage with another team member down." He gave her a look, letting that information sink in for a minute before speaking again, "Call me selfish..."

Trixie was more confused now than she was before. She had hurt him with her words. She had actually hurt him. And that was the big news that threw her off guard. That, and hearing that he only put up with Jeff's actions was so that no one else had to. For some reason, she believed it. Even though past experiences told her not to. Sometimes it was hard to remember that these people were just that; people. And she had crossed a line with this one. After all, apart from that one comment earlier, he had respected her wishes to avoid talking about her past. And she had not returned the favour. Of course, she still thought she was fully in her right to be angry at all of them and stand her group. But bringing up so deep a past, that had been out of line.

She noticed that her hands were still on his chest where she had tried to keep him away from her. Her arms lowered quickly and she folded them instead, "Listen, when I get scared of something I see, then I freeze up and I shut down. But when I'm scared of something that's happening elsewhere and people are yelling... then I lash out. And sometimes I say things I don't mean."

He hesitated. That, he understood and was guilty of himself, as was anyone. He arched an eyebrow at her, not as accusing at he could be but enough, "So there was something in all of that yelling that you didn't mean?"

She winced, "I didn't mean what I said about you drowning. C-Calling it nostalgia like it was a positive thing... Same goes for the others too but, you know, they weren't killed. So, I'm sorry for that. But. I did mean it when I said that you all need to stop blaming others and feeling sorry for yourselves because it's just making things worse. And blaming Slender won't do anything to help either. But... Yeah. I shouldn't have brought up the past."

"No. You really shouldn't have done that." Ben gave her a pointed look, the glitching of his skin fading with his temper.

Seeing that as a sign things were calming down, she gave him a feeble attempt at a peaceful look, "I bet you're loving using those catchphrases so often."

"I don't get to use them as much as my adoring public assume." His expression didn't change for a moment, but then he let out a long sigh, "Trix, what even happened back there? What set it off? Jeff's done this kind of thing before."

"I know. Honestly, I don't even know what happened. I just got angry. Same as everyone else. Like I said, I'm scared. And..." She looked down at the floor, or more likely at their feet since they were standing so close. It wasn't intimidating anymore, he had always invaded personal space, "And I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Yeah..." He sighed, "I'm not too fussed on that idea myself."

There was a silence. A long and still silence. The rush of adrenaline faded from both of them, and the numbness of the unknown was left behind. So many questions left unanswered. And now they finally found themselves on the same page. But with this common ground, they both found that they didn't know what to do anymore. Ben seemed to just stare at her, trying to calculate what she was thinking considering he himself didn't know what to think. Meanwhile Trixie just kept her eyes downwards and waited for something to happen. And after a while, something did.

Ben spoke, "Did I hurt you?"

"What?"

"You shouldn't touch me when I get that pissed." He shrugged passively like he didn't really care, and for all she knew maybe he didn't, "Did the static hurt you?"

Trixie realized that he meant when she put her hands on his chest to keep him away from her. She looked at her palms and found they were blotchy and red, but they didn't hurt, "It did. But I'm okay now. No big deal."

"If you say so." The corner of his mouth turned up a fraction, "Sorry."

She looked up at him, surprised, "Wh-"

"Don't make me repeat that." He smirked, "I have a rep to hold up."

For some reason, she also found herself smiling a little, trying to copy his shrug, "If you say so. You know... some would say this is what I meant about acting like two different people."

"I just like keeping people guessing."

"I know." She wanted to be left alone for a while now, just to get her head together, but at the same time she wanted to be around people again, just to be able to have a small smile like this again. It was complicated and she didn't have the patience to go through it all, "Ben, do you think we're going to be okay at the end of this?"

"You know what I think?" He replied, hooking a finger under her chin carefully and tilting her head so she looked at him in the eye. She blinked at him, unsure of what to do and actually feeling a little anxious. He however, just gave his signature relaxed smirk and tilted his head a little, looking confident in his words and actions, "I think we're going to be just fine..."

Trixie gave him a confused and admittedly, slightly scared look. Why was he looking at her like that? Why was he being careful with her when not five minutes ago he was yelling at her? "B-Ben, what are y-"

"There you are!" A voice from the doorway practically yelled at them, "I've been looking everywhere! Come on, we've got to move!"

Trixie jumped out of her skin, ending up flattened further against the wall as she tried to get a look at the newcomer. But Ben wouldn't let her. Hell he didn't look phased at all, in fact he looked like he was enjoying the situation. He didn't break eye contact with her, taking great entertainment in how panicked she looked. Even when he spoke to the figure in the doorway, it was casual like he was building up to a joke.

He didn't move, making her more uncomfortable, "We're in the middle of a conversation, Alice."

Alice however stormed in and placed her hands on her hips. Her hair was mussed like she had been in a fight, a scratch doing down her shoulder. And above all, she looked ready to kill, "You can finish you intimidation mind games later. We need to move. Now."

Another game huh? She should have known. Trixie managed to turn her head free, side stepping away from him and trying to collect her head and trying not to feel a little let down, "What do you mean move? Why?"

Alice gave them a grave look, eyes narrowing in a mix of hatred and even a fleck of envy, "Jeff's gone."

A/N:

Well then... A that chapter ended up being a lot longer than intended, but I have a feeling that might be the new trend XD I hope you liked it! So, Jeff's gone walk about, Slender is on investigation, Kate is still supposedly out to find more on Rochelle, Ben and Trixie have made up I guess, Alice is pissed and the others are still missing! Ugh this is a lot to keep up with even for me! Rofl, I'm loving it though XD Can't wait to hear what you think! See you in the next update!