A/N:
Well well, another chapter! Finally right! XD Enjoy!
"Did I do good, Daddy?"
Zalgo petted Jane's hair, his blackened nails raking through her hair. She winced at the pain it brought, but she continued to grin. He nodded, "You've done very well, my child. Now, leave us be. My old friend and I have a lot to talk about."
"Yes, Daddy... But..." She looked up at him hopefully, "I'm so hungry. Can... Can I just feed a little? I won't kill them yet I promise I just-"
His talons gripped her hair tightly and made her whimper, "I said leave us!"
He shoved her aside. Jane stumbled in her black heels and fell to the ground. She looked over her shoulder for a moment, wanting to say more, but she only muttered a 'sorry' before getting to her feet and taking a deep breath. The Sickness filled air made her shudder and she twirled among the shadows, leaving everyone behind her and entering her own little world. Make-believing the hunger away for now until Daddy called her again.
Zalgo looked down at the prize Jane had left him. In his mind, she was such a good pet that dragged in her prey to be praised later. Most of the time it worked out pretty well in his favour. Like now for instance. Now he was standing face to face with good old Slenderman himself... The fool. What was once a great ally and symbol of the demonic was now just a frail weakling of an organism. It made him sick to even think they were once affiliated with each other.
Slender stood tall, strain pulling and prodding at every limb and pulsating in his head. He was so tired... So drained... But he had to stand strong. Zalgo would mutilate him at the first sign of weakness and he couldn't risk that now. Not when so much was at risk already. His freedom, his Proxies, Rochelle... He took a breath, trying to push away the anxiety and the fatigue for now.
Hello again, Zalgo...
"So formal, old friend, as always. You forget we used to be partners."
I was never your partner... I was only following orders...
"Details... I hope my girl was not too harsh on you, I only wanted to talk after all."
There are other ways to communicate with me, Zalgo, other than kidnapping my Proxies and getting one of yours to come after me...
"But none nearly as entertaining." Zalgo sneered, baring his jagged teeth, "You like my work though, yes? The right amount of Sickness and torment and you can convince any feeble human of anything. Even that a demon such as I can be her father! It's laughable really!"
Slender shook his head, That girl was once a being of life and prosper... Why did you force her into being this mindless servant...? It's barbaric...
"Don't be so hypocritical, old friend, after all isn't that what you do with your proxies? You pluck them from their lives to serve and gather for you?"
I let them join me of their own free will... They keep their minds in tact as much as they are able and I help them to maintain their sanity... You... You may as well have murdered her...!
"Oh I will in time. Don't worry. She's just a Proxy after all. She will gather for me and once her uses have expired then so shall she. As a Proxy should. The sad thing is that she won't even see it coming. But she's such a good girl, she brought you here."
If you had any respect for your power, you would not abuse it so... Jane does not deserve this fate no matter what you have forced her to do... The same goes for my Proxies...!
Zalgo laughed and started to circle Slender like a vulture around a dying victim, "And yet one by one, your Proxies are handing their names over to me and letting me keep my power. How interesting... I already have three, two others close behind and the rest will shortly follow."
Where are they...?
Zalgo ignored the question, the Sickness gathering in clouds at his feet as he walked. Thick and congealing like black sludge and sinking into his burnt flesh like a current, "You know, old friend, it was quite clever to pick a Proxy with amnesia. You can't gather information that isn't even remembered. In honesty, he's the only one I'm having to take my time to collect. The others are... What's the word? Pitiful."
Poisoning them with Sickness won't get you what you want... Slender hesitated, piecing together who Zalgo was talking about. There was only one of his Proxies who held no memory of their past. And he had been taken not long ago. Toby! His mind may go back to his darker days but his memories will not stick...
"Then pray tell, how did you gather his name?"
I didn't...
Zalgo's eyes burned, "What?"
I have not gathered a single name for my Proxies... I know their first name, or the name they wish to be known as... Slender stated, turning to face his enemy forcefully, feigning more strength in his stance than he actually had, My Proxies are with me by choice and trust alone... You will get nothing from me...
"Oh you think you're so clever, old friend..." Zalgo seethed, baring his teeth, "But don't think I am unaware of your condition! You are weak, and feeble! You haven't fed and I can sense it! I may as well treat you as a human for how much you resemble one right now!"
You forget most of my food source was used to appease you from the start...! Do not judge me for trying to preserve my Proxies lives by feeding less when you plan on disposing on us all...! And if putting others needs before my own classes me as human, than I am proud to bare the title..."
"You sicken me! You were once as ruthless as I until you fell so soft!"
I followed orders...! But no longer... You do not control me, Zalgo, and we are not one and the same... You will set my Proxies free and I will spare your existence...
"Ha!" Zalgo laughed deeply, circling Slender like a vulture, "You think you can order me in this state? I could crush you now if I so wished but this is far too entertaining! By all means, old friend, if you think your Proxies will return to you then by all means... try."
His ashen, burnt arm swept to the side, the shadows and dense dust of the walls parting under his will. They watched as the wall dissolved and revealed a small alcove of a room. Empty and just as dark as the rest of the area. Three figures were huddled up inside of it. The sight of them making him freeze. First of all, the room was intoxicating with Sickness, both filling his being with a sudden surge of temporary energy and burning him from the insides out. And second, it was effecting the figures a lot more than him. But the most unnerving part of this scene, was that they were familiar to him. He felt a connection towards them. Something that only happens when he is near his own Proxies.
Toby...? Masky...? Hoody...?
Toby curled in his corner, rocking back and forth as he nipped tiny flecks of skin from his fingers at a time. He was laughing, but it was muffled and sounded mournful, as if he was forcing it through his teeth to hide sobs instead. It was as if he wasn't even aware of where he was or who was around him. He was trapped in his own mind, unreachable. The other two however, stood up straight and started marching almost robotically towards Slender. Before he could react, they had grabbed his arms, delivering a sharp kick to the back of the knee so he buckled to the ground. He kneeled there, trying to struggle away from them. He tried to talk to them but they were just as unreachable as Toby.
Zalgo chuckled darkly, standing over him and watching the pointless struggle, "You've raised these two well. Masky and Hoody was it? Oh those names didn't last long to hide them."
H-How did you get them to say their names...? They would never...
"I have my ways. In fact, I can be quite persuasive when I have an interesting deal of value on hand. You raised them to be strong of being but you failed to make them strong of mind. A threat against your life, and it was enough to make them crumble at my feet."
Yet you go against them now by bringing me here...! They should be free from this...!
"No trickery, old friend, for you're still alive. No deal is yet broken." He laughed and pointed upwards to signify the human world, "And if you're so sure of your Proxies will, then why has your dear Shadow Lurker broken so easily? And dear little Jack for that matter?"
Slender snapped his head upwards, What have you done with them...?
"Oh... concern? Such a pathetic quality to uphold. So... human. Continue this attitude and I may just try to consume a soul you don't have out of mistaken identity!" Zalgo lashed out a clawed hand and struck Slender across the face, talons slicing his blank face so a trickle of black ooze slid down his cheek.
Slender hissed, but the pain was nothing compared to things he had endured in the past, Answer me...!
"Calm yourself, old friend, the two are simple playing a game. You see, loyal Shadow Lurker is racing to avoid my rightful grasp on him, and dear Jack is making sure he walks right into it... It's very entertaining!"
You don't know them like I do... You think you can control them...? They are not toys to be controlled...! They belong to themselves...! And I-
Zalgo cut him off with a snap of his fingers, resulting in both Masky and Hoody raising their fists and striking Slender on either side of his head, "And you must protect them and gain their trust and let them keep free will and everyone benefits... You bore me with this speech. It is not our way and you are a fool to think so! Proxies are our gatherers, and once they gather, they become our food."
You're wrong...
"You're weak. And this conversation is over for now." He sneered morbidly, "Oh, and don't worry, I'll let you talk to your Jack and Shadow Lurker, once they both return to me!"
N-No... Slender rasped, struggling against the boys' grip, No I refuse to let this happen...!
"So valiant, old friend, too bad it's already happened. And just give me time, it'll happen again."
Trixie lifted herself up to perch on the edge of a dumpster. The faint traces of grime didn't bother her at this point. There were much bigger things to focus on. She didn't know why she had agreed to this. Yes she wanted to get Slender back and the others too. She wanted the safety of having more people around but the idea of going back into Zalgo's world just terrified her. She didn't want to go...
"Now you're sure this is going to work?" Kate questioned, a harsher edge to her tone that she saved just for untrustworthy cretin like this one.
They had wasted no time in gathering what they needed from the warehouse and then heading out once more into that cold, empty ally way where the last portal had appeared. Where Slender had been taken from them by Jane and currently who knows where in who knows what state. It was bitterly cold, unusual for such a typically warm part of the year with summer approaching. A sure sign that Sickness had been at work, throwing everything off balance. They gathered in a circle, observing for now as their only hope of reaching Slender worked painfully slowly as if to spite them. After all, he had not been willing to go.
Widemouth hissed, "As sure as anyone can be with a freaking gun pointed at their head, sweetheart!"
"That ain't answering my question."
"Alright, fine, yes it'll work. You got the residue crap from that last known portal, I got the know how of how to put it all together. Got it straight from the little locked up birdie herself. Don't see why you couldn't have just gone to see her like last time..." He added with a grumble.
"He's got a point!" Jeff exclaimed sourly, "Rochelle gave us a hand last time! She didn't want to but who cares?"
Kate gave him a look that was intended to shut him up, "I promised I wouldn't be going back there without Slender. Looks like I'm one person short of keeping that deal. So this rat will have to do."
"I can still hear you, sweetheart..."
"We didn't make any promise to anyone." Alice pointed out passively, having no intention of getting involved in the argument but just making an observation, "Anyway, can you hurry it up?"
"It's a delicate process, you tart, back off!" Widemouth snapped.
Okay, now she was willing to get involved in the argument, "What the hell did you just call me?"
Ben tried not to look to amused at the situation, "I believe he called you a 'tart', Alice, you're not going to take that are you?"
"Can we please just get this done as soon as we can?" Trixie asked, looking at them with tired eyes, "You an fight about this later, okay?"
"Well said, sweetheart..." Widemouth snickered, showing his teeth and leering at her darkly, "You were always my favourite..."
Trixie flinched and took a step away. She'd lost count of how many times she'd had to call for help because that little perverted rodent was lurking under her bed. The idea of her being a 'favourite' was just repulsive. It seemed she wasn't the only one who thought so. Kate gave the creature a sharp jab with her gun to get him moving again.
"Will you piss off with that thing?" Widemouth snapped, "Unless you want to end up in some other demons plane of existence or trapped away with Slender's little birdie then you'll back off and let me get this done right!"
"Just saying, critter, keep your eyes on the work..." Kate warned.
Widemouth snarled before turning his back on all of them to continue drawing symbols on the ground where the last portal was placed. Or at least the nearest area they could remember to point out. In the end it didn't matter if it was a little off target. As long as they picked up on the Sickness residue left from the last portal. And after a display like that, not to mention the amount of energy it took to forcefully drag a demon through the portal against their will, they could had set up half a mile away and still gotten a signal.
The others exchanged looks. Looks like there really was nothing to do but wait. There were probably hundreds more demons out there apart from Slender and Zalgo. They already knew about Widemouth, Smile, Seed Eater and Rake to name a few. But the ones that were powerful enough to remain below for so long and still keep control, who knows how many there were. And the idea of accidentally dropping in on one of them was... terrifying. Then again, so was the idea of dropping in on Zalgo. But at least they knew what to expect with Zalgo. And that their friends and mentor were there too. It wasn't much, but it was something.
Kate sighed deeply, making it obvious to everyone that she was not happy being patient for much longer. And yes, this was her being patient. You could tell because she hadn't turned the safety off her gun yet. She lowered the gun after a while and slouched against the wall, glancing out into the street in thought, trying to think up a battle plan for when the portal was ready to be opened. And honestly, apart from jumping right in there and dragging people back out again, there wasn't really much she was bothered about. No sense in busying herself with extra nonsense. Grab the others, shoot anyone who stands in her way. Done.
And that in short, was much simpler in her head then it would actually be. She understood that, but ignored it. Or rather... something made her ignore it. Something caught her eye slithering past the street light not too far away. It looked like a shadow. Only it wasn't attached to anything. It was its own entity and moving at an extremely sluggish and almost trembling fashion. It reminded her of a weakened being dragging itself across flaming sand in hopes of finding one drop of water... And the biggest thing that came to mind, was that it was familiar. She only knew one person who could travel like that, and last she knew, he'd been taken along with Toby. Something wasn't right here.
"What in the..." She didn't think twice before pushing her gun into Alice's hands, "Keep that aimed on him. I'll be right back."
"Wait-what?" Alice looked down at the hunk of metal in her hands and then glared at Kate, "Where the hell are you going?"
Kate thought about giving a real explanation, but then she remembered that time was against them and also if she told them, then they would want to come along. She just couldn't risk them falling into another trap or risk letting Widemouth get away, "Something ain't right. Don't go without me, got it? I'll be back asap. Do not go in that portal without me!"
She was vaguely aware of the others calling out to her, but the shadow had already vanished from sight and she had to catch up to it. Her extra pistol sat ready on the other side of her belt. Now there was a good chance that her suspicions her correct and that it really was who she thought it was. But then again, they way things were going lately, it could just as easily be a trap. But she had to find out. She ran until she saw the shadow flicker around another corner, and another. This thing may be feeble and shaky but it was definitely moving urgently. It wasn't until she actually started to feel a stitch forming in her side that she went to her second last resort.
Trying not to break her speed, she drooped down and snatched a large rock into her hand and threw it over-arm with all her strength towards the shadow. It was a direct his, thudding hard against the front of it and bouncing along the ground a couple of times before falling into the gutter. The shadow stuttered and seemed to waver as if disorientated. It quivered and came to a stop in the empty street, contorting into a solid shape. The shadow rose into a lump above ground, shaking as if it were breathing heavily. Kate slowed her pace to catch her breath, walking up towards it and pulling out her spare gun to aim at the creature.
It raised a hand to rub the back of its head. Steadily more of its shape came into view. A human-like figure wearing a long black cloak that covered most of his body. A tuft of dark hair poked out under his hood, pale skin almost gray from strain and inhuman nature. He groaned, almost slumping over into the ground again. But he spoke, and it was both familiar and also very weak. Barely whisper.
"E-Emily..."
Kate arched an eyebrow, lowering her gun, "Shadow-man? Hell how hard did I hit you, it's Kate."
"Kate...? Ugh..." He winced when his fingers brushed the back of his head, "You threw that?"
"Well yeah you weren't stopping and I ain't wasting a bullet on ya." She stated, dropping down on one knee at his side, getting a look at his tired and gaunt face, "What happened to you? How'd you get out? And where the hell are you rushing off to like that, you look like roadkill."
"Emily..." He rasped, already trying to move again, "Z-Zalgo sent Jack after Emily..."
"As in..." Her eyes hardened, "Your girl?"
"She's not... Ugh-" He winced when a burning pain shot through his chest, "I-I saw Jack up ahead. I-If he hurts her... Zalgo gets her soul a-and he gets my name... I-I made a deal."
"You did what?"
"I had to try and save her! And the others!" He yelled, using a tone saved only for the most desperate of times, "A-And I need to get-"
"Get moving? Hell yeah we do. Up and at 'em!" She urged, looping his arm around her shoulders to help him to his feet.
"B-But... the others?"
"I told them not to go through the portal without me, lets hope to whatevers up there that they damn well listen." She hissed, dragging him along, getting him to at least stumble to keep up.
"Portal?" He winced, trying his best to keep up.
"I'll explain on the way. Jackie-boy and your girl ain't gonna wait for us much longer..."
When Kate had ran off for apparently no real reason, it seemed that no one was left happy.
"You can't just- And she's gone..." Ben huffed as Kate ducked around a corner and sprinted off, "Christ, she moves fast."
"Got to catch her prey somehow. Animalistic, slave driving whore..." Widemouth snapped, and then grunted when Alice gave him a pointed jab with the gun she had been given, "Hey!"
"Not another word." She ordered, "Just keep working."
They all fell into silence, letting Widemouth continue the work under extreme supervision. It seemed there wasn't enough to do right now but wait until Kate returned from whatever bonehead mission she'd risked herself on. Time ticked on, and they slowly fell into their own conversations. All of them falling flat and with no real point other then faking the image of calm. Trixie found herself pacing, a habit she thought she'd abandoned long ago. Every turning she ended up take more and more steps closer to the opening of the ally. Every time getting more and more tempted to just run away. Not that she'd get far. But she wanted to at least try. And yet, she couldn't do it.
She remembered what Slender had told her before. That hiding from fear only fed it. Accepting it and facing it were the ways to starve it out. It was so much easier said than done. That went without saying. But leaving now, that would accomplish nothing. Sure, the company she found herself living with here unorthodox, rude, harsh, often deadly and most of the time off scale between friend and foe. But... she cared about them. She didn't want them dead and she didn't want to be without them. She couldn't call them a family. And maybe even just friend was too strong a word. But all they had were each other.
"Not thinking of running off too, are you, Trix?" Ben asked casually at her side.
She jumped, not expecting him to sneak up on her like that. She took a moment to collect herself before shaking her head, "No. Just keeping an eye out for Kate."
"Here's hoping she gets back soon." He agreed, "Look's like Widemouth's nearly finished."
"What're we going to do when we get down there? If we get separated again like last time?"
"If we do, we'll just track each other down again. Simple."
"It's not that simple. Especially if you..." She trailed off, shaking her head, "Never mind."
"Oh now I'm just curious," He smirked, eyebrow arching, "Do tell..."
It was painfully obvious that he was not going to let this one go. Just like how he never let anything go. Trixie avoided his look and folded her arms, muttering, "Before, with Jane and you offered... you know."
"My brand?"
"Yes." She looked up at him for a moment sourly before averting her eyes again. She wasn't embarrassed to be saying this, more like she just didn't want to make a fuss of it. Just say what she needed to say and then be done with it, "Look I know you can't die or anything but... For christ's sake, don't push your luck like that."
He arched an eyebrow at her, taking that in for a moment before replying, "You didn't think I'd let her take a bite outta me, did you?" He didn't hesitate to laugh, "Someone had to distract her while Jeff and Alice got their asses into gear! Come on, Trix, I may be dead and a literal free spirit... But I'm not stupid."
"I know you're not. But still don't push it. What if she had moved faster, and actually started feeding?"
"Then... Well I'd have reluctantly admitted I was wrong and most likely have been an even better distraction than intended."
"That's not funny. You're lucky she reacted like she did."
"Yeah, I'm real lucky." He snickered, elbowing her, "Steady, Trix, anyone would think you were worried about me."
She shrugged him away and started walking away to rejoin the others, "If you weren't such an ass I wouldn't have to be..."
He grinned craftily, "You think I'm an ass?"
"Sometimes..."
"You say the nicest things."
She gave him a look, but it lasted all of five seconds before her face twitched and she accidentally let out an amused smile. But she didn't let it last too long since now was not exactly the time to make jokes or... do whatever he usually does. She looked away awkwardly and returned to the rest of the group. If he said Widemouth was nearly finished, then they had all better be together when it happened and wait for Kate.
Widemouth continued to scribble markings on the ground, working his way into a circle. He seemed hard at work to give him credit, but at the same time he did not look happy about it and he also had Alice keeping Kate's gun pointed at him. It didn't look like he was going to take long at all. But it brought up the question of what happens if he finished before Kate got back. It didn't look like anyone was willing to just sit in a dark ally and wait for her. But what choice did they have?
Not five minutes of this twisted version of peace went by before suddenly the smell of smoke and ash filled their nostrils, burning down their throats. Everything about the ally seemed to darken and a chill filled the air. A sense of dread swarmed around them and nothing seemed to sit in the air right. Just when they were about to question what the hell was going on, the little creature backed up and dusted his claws with a smug expression on his face.
"There we are! All done, better get ready to jump before it makes you jump."
"What?" Trixie's eyes widened, "B-But Kate's not back yet! She said to wait!"
"Ain't my problem, sweetheart. If you want a portal made then you want a portal opened, there's no middle man and no breaks. These things are instant. Do your research!"
"That's bullshit!" Jeff yelled, "You never told us that!"
"I kept my part of the deal; there's your portal! I'm gone!"
"No you don't!" Alice snapped, stamping her foot down on his tail to stop him, "Kate isn't back yet and you're not leaving us hanging!"
"I made my part of the deal. You're on your own!"
He swiped out a claw at her ankle and tore a slither of her skin-tight jeans away. The swift action made her jump back in preparation to save herself an injury. But unfortunately walked right into his trap and let him go. The moment he was free, he scampered off into the darkness of the ally way. Jeff launched his knife at the shadow Widemouth had vanished, but all that followed was the disappointing clunk of metal against brick and the clatter as if fell to the ground, missing its target.
"Son of a bitch!"
"What did you expect, he's a rat in more sense than one." Ben stated.
"What are we going to do now?" Trixie asked, backing away from the symbols on the ground that were starting to steam, "Oh no..."
"Oh shit!" Alice hissed as black dust and darkness started oozing out from the ground, "It's opening! The fucking thing is opening!"
Trixie clamped a hand around her mouth to stop a scream. They weren't ready! Kate wasn't back yet! They had no battle plan! This was not how this was supposed to go! She didn't even want to go back into the Sickness! Last time was- She- Her breath was catching in her throat, head spinning. Was She about to faint or just hyperventilate? She had no idea all she knew was that she was terrified and her chest hurt. Jump or be made to jump? No she couldn't do that! But... If they didn't go willingly then who knows what would happen to them.
"We've got to move..." She said quietly, not wanting to believe she was really saying it, "We can't wait."
"Like we have a fucking choice!" Jeff snapped as the darkness started to claw at his ankles.
"Oh hell here we go again..." Ben muttered, closing his eyes to try and collect himself before the Sickness touched him too.
"Fuck." Alice sighed before stepping forward, "On the count of ten. Kate can catch up when she can. One..."
Ben nodded, "Two..."
"Three." Jeff hissed.
Trixie couldn't take this anymore. Ten seconds or ten years they were only delaying doom and Slender was no close to being found. Whether it was the terror making her hysterical or- she didn't know! But before she could even think, she jumped.
"Ten!"
A/N:
Aaaaand another cliffhanger for you! XD I'm sorry! I hoped you liked this chapter, another one will be coming up soon! Mwahahaha!