A/N:

Jane's back and ready to kill! But who...?

The air turned icy cold when Jane stood in the doorway, seething in hatred at them. The slices across her skin were in the process of healing, but the black oozing from them smudges along her skin. She moved her inky black eyes from one person to the other before focussing her attention back on Trixie. After all, she did this to her. In a moment of pure insanity and rage, Jane lunged forward and grabbed Trixie by the shoulders, charging forward to slam her back against the wall. Trixie's scream was cut short when the air was knocked out of her. Instead all she could do was struggle and attempt to push her away, digging her nails into the cuts she had already caused.

Jane hissed and bared her jagged teeth, "I should have killed you like Daddy wanted! You're weak!"

"Get off me!" Trixie yelled in her face.

Toby was the closest and therefore first to react, jumping off of the sofa and looping his arms around Jane's middle to try and yank her backwards. He only managed to get her a couple of feet away from Trixie before she turned around to claw at his eyes, but her nails just ended up scraping against his goggles and mask. Ben was next in line, having no shame on grabbing hold of Jane's head and delivering as much voltage as he could without causing damage to Toby who was still touching her. Sure Toby couldn't feel pain but an electric shock was an electric shock. Jane convulsed and swing out an arm to try and hit him, but he ducked at the last minute and stepped back to stand beside Trixie.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes," She nodded.

"Good," He exhaled, preparing to jump right back into the fight, "Can't leave you alone for five minutes can I?"

Before she could answer, he darted forward and tried to grab Jane's wrists to restrain her. But she grabbed Toby by the shoulders and turned him around to crash into Ben. She made a run for it, grabbing a mirror from the wall and hurling it with all her strength at Trixie who was pounding her fist against Slender's Office door, yelling for help. She didn't see the large mirror fling towards the back of her head. But Kate did, tackling Trixie out of the way and landing on top of her to shield her from the shards of mirror and glass that showered around them. Pain burned through Trixie's body from the leftover wound on her side but she was too frazzled to focus on it right now.

Jane snatched up the larger of the shards, holding it so tight in her hands that it was starting to dig into her palm. She swung it around and missed Jeff's face by a few inches as he tried to grapple her. He ducked back, his own knife back in hand and he jabbed it in her direction, sinking it into her chest. She screamed out in rage, clawing at him, but was not harmed. Her cuts healed too damn quickly. While she was distracted, Alice jumped behind her and grabbed her in a headlock and tightened the grip. Not that Jane seemed to notice. She kicked Jeff aside and swung Alice forward and over her shoulder to slam into the ground.

Alice looked up as the jagged shard plunged downwards towards her throat. There wasn't time to roll out of the way. There was only time to register that things were about to get very painful very soon. And she might not make it this time. Moments like this, time seemed to slow down. She watched as Jane thrust the shard downwards, and she watched her body tense up as she prepared for a critical impact. And then, she watched as a pair of hands shot out of nowhere and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the way.

She was dragged across the floor just in time for Jane to stab the shard into the floor where her throat had been. Alice stared in confusion, tearing her eyes away from the danger to look up at who had saved her. And found a mixture of annoyance and relief stir in her stomach as she saw a scarred face and wide, angry eyes. It was Jeff.

He dropped her arm and scowled down at her, "Do me a favour and give her as much hell as you give me, alright?"

She blinked, and then a dark sneer spread on her face as she jumped up to pounce back into action, "Doubt that's possible."

Alice took advantage of Jane's low position and kicked at her hand hard to knock the shard away from her before tackling her to the ground. Kate stood on the other side of the room, aiming her gun and waiting for an open shot but things were moving too damn fast, "Keep her still for me!"

"Easier said than done!" Ben snapped, joining Alice and Jeff in their attempts to restrain Jane. But it was like going against a cornered wild animal.

Trixie went back to hammering her fist on the door, yelling for Slender. She just didn't know what to do. She wasn't scared for herself, she was scared for the others. Jane was in full savage mode and it didn't look like anyone was going to be able to stop her. But Slender might. If he could take down Zalgo then maybe he'd be able to stop Jane. But she had barely hit the door once more before it swung open to reveal Masky, eyes wide behind his mask.

"What the hell is going- Is that Jane?"

Hoody, only just behind him, smacked his forehead in an urgent sign for him to get moving. Then he vanished back into the room to literally grab Slender by the arm and dragging him out to point at the chaos that was happening out there. Slender had been attempting to rest when he was suddenly disturbed. The moment he stepped out, the Sickness in the air was almost overpowering. He noticed that before he saw Jane. And then he saw the fight that was unfolding in front of him.

What... How is she here...? Slender asked urgently.

Trixie flattened herself against the wall to avoid any more damage from the fight, "She can travel on her own now! Sh-She wants to finish what Zalgo started!"

But Zalgo's gone... She should be free of her Proxy side...! This isn't possible...

"Just help them!"

He did just that. His mind was a blur. Jane should not be able to travel of her own free will when Zalgo had been destroyed. And she definitely shouldn't be acting like this, still thinking of Zalgo has a parent! With Zalgo's Sickness gone, she should be partially free. Yet here she was trying to kill his Proxies just as she had before. Which only meant one thing. Jane was too lost in Sickness to even register what was real anymore. He lashed out his tendrils to entrap her, hoisting her away from the others and trying to get a sense of the Sickness in her mind. But there was no mind to sense. It was all Sickness. Whoever Jane was or could be, she was gone.

Jane... Please let us help you... Zalgo is gone, you can make your own choices now...

"I choose to do what my Daddy wanted!" She squirmed, managing to worm her arms free as she tried to attack him, "You killed him! I'll kill you!"

Jane you don't have to-

"I do! I... I'm going to get you." She stopped fighting, an odd look of calm spreading over her face. It was eerie and unnatural, "Daddy will be proud of me. Wait and see."

Before anyone could question her. Before anyone could stop her. She broke out into the widest, most sadistic grin they had seen of her. Laughing so hard that it almost came out as a series of shrieks. Her hands reached up to grab her own chin and the back of her head. She carried on cackling and grinning madly, and when they finally saw what she was about to do. It was too late to stop her. She jerked her arms with horrific speed and strength. And just like that... the laughing stopped.

CRACK!

Shad, both luckily and unfortunately, was not present for the chaos that was unfolding back at the warehouse. He had left the moment he had been informed that Trixie was awake and well. He had a promise to keep, and it was driving him crazy. Why was he doing this? It was so easy to just continue as normal. Do his job, watch over her in secret to make sure Sickness wasn't getting to her and then leave. It's the way thing had always been and it's how things should be. And yet, here he was, outside her house once more and braving going to talk to her again as promised. It seemed that he was willing to do anything to please his Emily.

Why had he made that promise to her? It was too dangerous for him to be here. Of course it far more dangerous the last time he was here but that was to protect her! Now this was... This was going to be calm and... he would say normal but that didn't seem to come into the equation right now. He swallowed hard, debating turning back or not. But he had a promise to keep. And if he was going to try a second attempt at a first impression, he didn't want to be known as someone who went back on his word. So he ventured forward, melting through one shadow after another until he reached her house.

Now that he knew she was aware of who he was and that he had been watching over her, it didn't seem right to just materialize in her room like he always had. But he didn't seem it a good idea to just knock on her front door either. So he did the next best thing and drifted up the shadows at the side of her house until he reached her bedroom window. He tapped his knuckles gently against the glass, and waited. But there was no answer. So he peered in and found that the room was empty. Taking that as a sign, he chose to leave. Drifting back down the house and ready to slither away in the shadows back to the warehouse. But he only managed to just reach the ground before he heard someone nearby, talking to him.

"That's you, isn't it? Sh-Shad, right?"

He startled, taken back that someone had managed to spot him in his shadow state. He looked around in a momentary panic, still a little jumpy after the events that had just taken place. And there she was. Sitting on an old rusted garden swing that looked like it hadn't had much use over the years, was Emily. Giving a somewhat hopeful smile that reached the blue of her eyes. Her dark hair pulled into a messy braid that she had just finished in order to keep herself occupied while she waited. It was good to see her smiling like this, rather than the nervousness he had seen when he first spoke to her.

Shad nodded, staying hidden like he did the last time they spoke, "O-Oh, yes um... How did you see me?"

"I didn't really," She admitted, shrugging a shoulder, "I just... had a feeling."

"Oh, right," He was a little relieved at that, maybe she wouldn't get the Sickness if he stayed hidden like this.

"You kept your promise then."

"I had to."

She nodded softly, and then stood up, walking towards her back door and opening it, "Coming in?"

"Um, excuse me?"

"It's cold."

"O-Oh, right, um, yes. Thank you."

It was late, so it made sense to him why the house was silent when he followed her into her house. Her parents were asleep upstairs, he could sense them. He hoped that they remained asleep while he and Emily talked, the last thing he wanted to do was drag more of her family into this. Emily closed the door softly behind them and stood in the doorway, looking a little awkward at the fact that she couldn't see him but just had to assume he had followed her. Why was he so scared to showing himself? She wondered. She knew he'd mentioned before that seeing him might hurt her, but she refused to believe that. Why would someone who had watched over her suddenly hurt her?

"Can uh... Do you want a drink or... A seat maybe?" She offered semi-nervously.

He stayed hidden in the shadows of the corner of the kitchen, feeling guilty he couldn't accept her offers, "No, thank you. I'm sorry I... It's been a trying time, but I had to see you."

"You did," She said with a smile, hoping up to perch on the kitchen counter, twiddling her thumbs on her lap, "Are... Are you okay?"

"I'm tired, but yes, I am okay, thank you."

"A-And the others?"

"All fine. Jack is... still ill and will take time to recover, but he will be fine."

"Jack? Oh the young boy! That's a relief. I um, I hope I didn't hurt him when I, you know..."

"Oh, believe me, you did him and us a favour. He's no longer under the control of a," He hesitated to try and find the right word, "Of the thing we were facing. He's not a threat to us anymore."

"Good. I'm glad," She genuinely did look relieved, as if the past few days had been spent living in fear had suddenly come to a stop. And she offered a small smile, "So there's no danger? You're safe?"

"I suppose so."

"Then... there's no danger for you to show yourself to me."

Shad blinked at her. This girl was not easily distracted. And she liked to have the facts. He had to admire that about her. It made him feel a tad guilty that he was still hiding from her, "Emily... I want to. And I know I promised, but I'm not... I'm not human. You told me before that you weren't scared of me and that you were glad to have someone watching over you to protect you from what's out there. I... I don't want to ruin that."

Emily tilted her head in the direction of his voice. She also felt guilty, not wanting to pressure him. But she wanted to understand what he was. It wasn't like this sort of thing happened every day. And she wanted to understand what had been happening to make him so concerned for her safety. She really wasn't scared of him, which was confusing enough for her. She just hoped he wouldn't understand that by this point, she didn't care about what he looked like.

"Shad?" She said with a small smile, holding her arms around herself to offer self-comfort, "I know it sounds crazy, but I trust you. And I still don't really know what's going on, or what was going on but, I do know you've been looking after me for a while. I just, I don't know, I just want to thank you in person. I don't want to push but..."

"No, no I understand. And I know I shouldn't be so paranoid when the danger is gone."

"Hey, you came back. That's what you promised. And I'm still glad you're okay. I... I was worried."

"You were?" He blinked, surprised.

"Yes. You said your life was at risk, how could I not be?"

"But you don't know me."

"Not yet." She smiled, "But does that really make a difference?"

"No, I suppose not," Even if she couldn't see it, he returned the smile. Touched at her concern and also seeing the point she was trying to make. He knew nothing about her when he first made the choice to protect her. And here they were. He was silent for a while. So much so that for a moment Emily thought that he had left her. But he assured her by clearing his throat, his own hands shaking a little, "O-Okay..."

"Okay?"

Shad didn't want to disappoint her, nor did he want to think that he didn't return the trust she had given him. He did owe her an explanation and it wasn't fair for her to be mostly talking to a wall while he did so. This was something that required a face to face meeting and although the idea scared him and caused the worry that she might get hurt, he had to obey her. She meant everything to him and after almost losing her to Zalgo and almost being lost himself, he didn't want to risk that again. So he made a choice. One that still scared him, but he owed it to her.

He stepped out from the shadows. Letting them detach from his cloak and skin, becoming more of a physical form and be seen. Emily's eyes widened as the darkness she had been talking to started to take shape. The figure that was forming in front of her seemed human enough. He was tall, and a little on the lanky side, but it was hard to tell since he was mostly draped in a black cloak that matched the gloom of the night time almost perfectly, it misted at the bottom as if it really were made from shadows. His face however, apart from having unnaturally grey skin, looked human with a strong jaw and sleek black hair just visible under his cloak hood. If anything, his eyes gave it away that he wasn't human. They were all a silvery with no black or white. The pupils were a darker grey, sharp and intelligent but laced with concern for her.

Emily waited for him to fully emerge, noting how awkward he seemed. It didn't surprise her, he'd been nothing but awkward and polite from the start. She watched him, then slowly slid down from the kitchen counter and eyed him, peering a little closer and braving to take a step towards him. She only just reached above his shoulders, and he seemed to be more nervous than she was right now. She didn't see why. He was not so bad, in face she thought he looked... It took a while, but she finally spoke.

"There you are... Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Totally hideous and offensive to me." She smiled playfully, braving to take a step closer to him to enforce the point that she was just joking with him, "I'm terrified right now."

"I-I did try to warn you that I'm not-not human and... I apologise, I should go."

"Shad," She interrupted him, touching his arm to stop him leaving. For a moment she was surprised that she could touch him, instead of her fingers passing straight through shadows like she first thought. He really was real. She looked up with bright eyes, "I'm kidding."

"Oh. Right, yes..." He deflated, this was not going how he expected, "I still apologize."

"Don't. I'm glad to meet you. Officially." She laughed lightly and offered out a hand to him, "Hi, I'm Emily."

He blinked, hesitating from nervousness, but he eventually took her hand and shook it. It was an alien concept to him, that he was actually there touching her hand like they were regular people meeting for the first time, yet here they were. It was fascinating and terrifying. There was really no going back now, "Shad. Pleasure to meet you, Emily."

She grinned beautifully at him, "In all seriousness, I do want to thank you. For everything."

"I-It's... It's my pleasure," He startled, "I'm sorry that must sound so-"

"Sweet. Strange too but that seems to be a theme I'm getting used to. But it's sweet. Now you can keep your promise and explain to me what happened, in person." She sat down at a chair by the dining table and pushed out another chair for him to sit.

He accepted, but did not look best pleased about the topic of conversation, "The less you know, the better. With all due respect."

"Oh no you don't. You promised. And besides, how many times in movies and stuff has the hero made that same excuse only for the very person they say it to to go and get themselves hurt or kidnapped?" She chuckled, folding her arms, "Personally I think it's better you tell me so I can prepare myself."

He saw her logic but didn't want to agree with it, "This isn't something you can prepare yourself for. And... And anyway, it's over now so there's really nothing to-"

"Shad..." She gave him a pointed look, "We both know where this is going."

Indeed he did. Those round blue eyes bore into him and he couldn't resist it. He understood that she had a right to know. Especially since she had assisted in stopping Jack from hurting anyone before. But he was just so scared that her knowing more about his world might have a negative influence on her. Or rather, give the Sickness a better chance of reaching her. Hell even just sitting here talking to her in plain sight was risky enough, even if he wasn't working. He cared about her so much, the idea of her getting hurt was terrifying to him. But... He couldn't refuse her. Not now.

"Okay. I'll tell you what you want to know."

She reached across to touch his hand, smiling gently, "Thank you."

He swallowed hard, forgetting his trail of thought before snapping himself back to reality and averting his eyes, "Y-Yes well... Okay, I'll start from the beginning..."

And so he told her everything. Starting from who he worked for and worked with to what they did. He moved quickly on to who Zalgo was and relayed as much as he could the events of what had been happening since the first vendetta Zalgo tried to take against them. How Jack was taken over when he gave up his name in fear, how others had also been taken, and the arrival of Jane. The story sounded like something of an impossibility to her. And maybe that's why it didn't scare her as much as it should have. Don't get her wrong, it still scared her. Just not as much.

She asked questions when she felt necessary, and true to his word he would answer them to the best of his ability. It was unclear how long they talked. But it lasted a while. After all there was a lot to get through. But finally it came to an end with them sitting here right now. Shad felt ashamed that he had been involved with some of the events and prayed that she wouldn't think less of him for it. When he brought the story to an end, he fell silent and waited for her to speak first. Watching as her eyes took in everything he had said, processing it in her mind. And at the end of it, she only had this to say.

"I-It sounds like... a dangerous way of life."

It was hard to ignore the concern in her tone, and he nodded, "Very. Which is why I wanted you far from it. Every job has its risks..."

She spoke quickly, surprised at her words even if she meant them, "I want to see you again."

He blinked, "I-I'm sorry?"

"If you're going to nearly get yourself killed every day, then I want to see you from time to time to make sure you're okay." Her eyes lowered, like she was embarrassed but she had to say it, "Please?"

"You... You would really want me to visit you?"

"Yeah... Yeah I would.

Shad had never felt such a confused mixture of happiness and fear all at once. It made him nauseous but he wouldn't have it any other way. She was worried about him, she wanted to see him, she wasn't scared of him! That was more than he could have ever wished for. And he offered her a smile, daring to reach forward and touch her hand gently, nodding.

"Then I will."

Jane's lifeless, still body lay in the middle of the common room floor. Black liquid oozing from the wounds that no longer had the life-force to heal. A large lump protruded from her neck where the bone was completely snapped, detaching from the rest of her spine. An uneasy, cold silence hung in the air. Heavy and still like the body everyone was staring at. For what felt like an eternity, no one dared to move. Just like all of the other times, they expected her to start laughing and get up to begin the fight again. But that moment didn't come.

Kate was the first to break the silence, voice steady and cautious, "Did she just..."

"She... She snapped her own neck." Alice breathed in disbelief, eyes narrowed as she took a step towards Jeff, looking at him like she was asking his opinion on things.

He was just staring. Unable to move. He wasn't upset or sympathetic or even shocked. He was just angry. How dare she do this! How dare she just kill herself like that! He was the one who was supposed to kill her! She couldn't just take that away from him!

On the other side of the room, Trixie found herself pressing her back against the wall and sinking to the ground as her legs were shaking so much. She wanted to throw up. She had seen murder and violence, but never had she seen suicide. And so brutal and against all human nature. It was barbaric and horrific and... she could feel the bile rising in her throat. Ben stood near her, but was too stunned to move, staring at the limp body in the middle of the room. He was also angry. Angry that someone would take a cowards way out like that when help was being offered right there. Maybe it was because he was already dead and had been murdered, but it burned his insides that someone would give up life like that. Even if they were evil.

Toby stood with Masky and Hoody, unsure of what to say. It was over. Jane was just... there. Dead and neck broken and silent. It was over. So why did it all feel so... empty. Maybe because it wasn't supposed to end this way. Not that they had an idea of how this was supposed to end. But not like this. Definitely not like this. Slender sank into the chair, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands. They had seen him angry, upset, tired, weak, strong, and many other things that they couldn't begin to list. But never had they seen him look so... defeated. He couldn't save her. She was gone and he just couldn't save her.

"What do we do, Sir?" Masky asked timidly, worried about breaking the silence again.

"Burn the bitch." Jeff snapped.

No, Jeffery... Slender said suddenly, voice harsh and looking up just so.

Ben sighed, "Look, Slendy, I'm not a fan of burning bodies but-"

This girl was once an ordinal human like any other... She did not ask for this life, and she was unsavable... It was not her fault...

"What are you getting at, Slender?" Alice questioned.

I'm saying that we burry her... As anyone should have to right to be...Zalgo ruined her life, we must show respect in her death...

Ben and Kate exchanged a look, sharing something in common in that they were dead but no one showed their corpses respect. Which is probably why they were both sceptical at first. But then came to understand that what they were deprived of, there was no sense in pushing that on someone else. Especially someone else who had not had a choice in the matter to start with.

"Slender?" Trixie whispered, "I-Is there anything we can do?"

There was a horrible silence once more. But finally it had to be shattered with the truth. A horrible truth that affected everyone differently. But to Slender, it affected him like a cold stab to the chest. He couldn't save her. Zalgo had done too much damage. And he could not stop it. Which is why he wanted to bury Jane, as his last apology and hope of helping her find peace.

No, Beatrix... There's nothing...

A/N:

One more chapter to go... Bet you're wondering what I've got planned for it huh? Well, you won't have to wait for very long! I've got some big plans XD