A/N: Thanks for any and all reviews! :)
...
"-But I will hold as long as you like. Just promise me we'll be alright."
-Mumford & Sons
The evening air was warm and peaceful. There was no ominous fog or dark clouds looming in the sky or a chill that sends tingles up your back. It was sunny and inviting. Slenderman wasn't used to this setting. He supposes that his brother, Splendorman, prefers to hang out in a cheery environment than a scary one. He feels out of place here, like he doesn't belong. But once Splendorman sees him in the distance and waves excitedly at him, he knows its too late to leave.
"Little brother, there you are! It's been years..." Slenderman can hear his brother's sadness and mentally rolls his eyes. He begins to wonder if his brother feels time go by as slowly as humans do. These past twelve years was a blur for him but for Splendy...
"I am aware," Slenderman replies back smoothly, watching a pair of kids run through the park in the distance. His brother's large smile comes into view and he continues, "But I am here to keep my promise."
"You can keep my promise but you can't keep that little girl's promise?" His brother's voice was clearly disapproving. Slenderman merely growls in his direction but Splendy pays him no mind. "Have you gone back to her?"
"Yes..." Slenderman trails off, thinking on yesterday's chaotic events.
"And?" Splendy can barely contain his excitement at hearing his brother's story. "What is she like now?"
"Older," he answers curtly. Amelia was only a little girl five minutes ago. But now she is Amy, twelve years older at age nineteen. It was becoming increasingly harder to accept this fact. He doesn't know why. He is this being that has lived for many years and he's well aware that humans decay and wither and age over time. But seeing this happen to Amelia is troubling him and it needs to stop.
"Slendy..." Splendorman whines at his brother's bluntness. He wants to hear all the little details for he hasn't seen little Amelia in a very long time. Splendy, wanting this rare visit by his little brother to last as long as possible, leads his brother to a nearby tree to sit down by. "Tell me everything!"
"Amelia is no longer Amelia. She goes by...Amy now." Splendorman can hear the disdain dripping from him, not liking the name change at all. He's curious at this but lets his brother continue on.
"She's tall. Almost six feet tall." He recalls the fake police officer uniform she had on and how ill-fitting it was. "She's a kissogram." He expresses confusion at this peculiar occupation, not understanding it at all. Splendy says that he'll find out more about it for him, if he'd like. Slendy doesn't reply to this offer for he doesn't like the implications behind such an odd job.
"Is she with that little boy now?" Splendorman asks Slendy, who tilts his head at him. "Oh, what's his name? Rory!"
"What...? Yes. I suppose. Why?" Slenderman doesn't understand his brother's fascination with the nurse. Did Splendy meet Rory? If so, that could mean-
"I saw them together in the park. Along with this other girl. The three of them are so cute!" The large obnoxious smile grows larger in size if that were possible. Slenderman merely shakes his head at him. "I think Amelia might've seen me once but that was only for a second, I promise!" Slenderman nods in response, not getting angry at the thought of Amy seeing Splendorman. It wasn't as if it would have serious repercussions but he had asked his brother not to interfere in her life. "Please, continue the story!"
Slenderman recalls the fiery gaze Amelia gave him the other day. There were unhidden emotions there in her green eyes. He knows what they are now. Frustration. Anger. Sadness. Surprise. Happiness. Confusion. But no fear. She was not afraid of him. She was afraid of the crack and the alien that resided in her home for twelve long years. Slenderman tells Splendorman about the aliens, beings not of their world, and the threats he made. Everything was getting bigger and crazier and it all involved Amelia Pond. The darker part of his mind told him to kill her, like he would in the past, so he could be done with the mystery and continue on with his existence. He had befriended her, made her trust him, let her think he was coming back in five minutes, had lured her out into the forest but did nothing. Just showed her there's a bigger world out there, bigger than her little village of Leadworth. How can he kill her now?
But Slenderman had moved past that. Wasn't interested in gruesome murders, only in the hunt of a potential victim. Haunting, following, stalking, tormenting a person until they reach the point of extreme paranoia, unease, and fear. And then he takes them away, never to be heard from again. Lets them find their own way home, back to the shambles of their life. But never really kills them. Not like he used to. He couldn't do this to Amelia Pond. But why her? Another question to be answered at a late time.
Splendorman was politely listening the entire time, but grew childishly terrified of the eyeball ships the aliens had. But his frown turns upside down when Slenderman talks of how he came back that same night to take Amelia away only to return her home a few hours later. "Have you seen her room yet?" Splendorman asks.
"No..." Slenderman slowly says, realizing he hasn't actually seen her room in twelve years, not since that night he discovered the crack in her wall. "Why?'
"I saw it several years ago. The first time was when I put her to bed after you left her all alone outside," Splendy says, slightly chastising his younger brother. "But the second time...oh Slendy."
"What's wrong with her room?" Slenderman can only imagine how big the crack must've gotten.
"Nothing. Besides the crack. But...Slendy...you have no idea." Slenderman didn't like how upset Splendy was getting.
"Tell me," Slenderman demands, standing up from his position on the dewy grass.
"You have to see it," Splendorman insists, standing up to meet his blank gaze. "Little brother, you said you wanted to see how that night would change her life. You said you wouldn't cause the Slender Sickness on her!"
"I haven't," Slenderman defends himself, not liking what his brother was implying.
"Yes you have!" He has never seen his brother get this distressed before, at least not in a long, long time. "Explain this." Before Slenderman could react, Splendorman had tossed roses, tulips, and sunflowers in the air, covering them in their floral scent. The small area around them glows with the flower's unnatural light and they teleported into little Amelia's room. Before Slenderman could ask his brother what he was doing, he sees that they traveled back in time. Slenderman thought that he was the only brother that was capable of such a feat, moving through time and space. But it usually leads to Dimensional Bleeding if he stayed in the past too long which was the number one reason why he didn't go back twelve years for Amelia. The ramifications of such an action, like causing a Rift to appear, would be too much. "Look around you, Slendy."
"You can't do this," Slenderman starts but Splendy cuts him off by grabbing a drawing on Amelia's desk and showing it to him.
"No, you can't do this," Splendy retorts, his happy smile now replaced with a thin line.
"I didn't make her do this." Slenderman carefully handles the paper, seeing the comics that woman from the village was talking about. "This isn't from the Sickness. This was on her own. This was Amelia's choice-" At the mention of her name, little Amelia stirs in her sleep on the bed nearby. "We have to go." Both Splendorman and Slenderman start to teleport at the same time but before Slendy could leave, Splendy grabs him and takes him to his next location. The two brothers end up in a deserted mall, closed for the night. "Why here?"
"I was thinking we could pay our other brother a visit. Like a little family reunion!" The smile was back on Splendy's face but it lacks his usual joy. Slenderman groans at the mention of a family reunion. He was generally fond of his brothers but there was a reason why he never visits them.
"Splendorman, I don't have time for this." He looks around the mall in an attempt to figure out which brother they were visiting. It became obvious which one it was. As Slenderman makes his displeasure known by sighing, he remembers the words Prisoner Zero told him yesterday. He forgot to mention that part to his brother. Quickly, he swivels to face Splendy, hoping that for some reason, his brother would know what it meant. "Prisoner Zero. He said, 'The Universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall.' Do you know what that means?"
"It means you're stuck in a fairytale that isn't going to have a happy ending," a familiar voice calls out from behind them. Slenderman and Splendorman turn to face their other brother, Trenderman.
"Trendy!" Splendy calls out happily, outstretching his arms as if to give him a hug. Trenderman accepts Splendy's affections but turns somber at the sight of Slenderman. "What do you mean there's no happy ending?" Splendy looks ready to cry which causes Trendy to pat him on the back.
"It means that while I don't care much for this horror world you live in, Slenderman, I care enough to know that there's something bigger and scarier in the works here," Trenderman explains. He places his pale hands in his khaki pockets, appraising his brothers' outfits.
"Could you be more cryptic..." Slenderman mentally rolls his eyes at his other brother who was now staring at his red tie. "Explain yourself."
"I'm no expert in what you deal with, Slendy. But I've been around humans long enough to know a good fairytale story from a bad one. I'm afraid this is the latter." When Slenderman questions how him being around humans in a mall makes him more knowledgeable about fairytales and their meanings, he retorts by saying there's a small bookstore here that children flock to. It's not hard to decipher the fact that he overhears the kids talk about the book's contents.
"How is this a bad...'fairytale'?" Slenderman hears two voices in his head, both overlapping each other. 'Bit fairytale.' It was Amelia's voice, along with his own. He doesn't like the parallels that are going on.
"Well if you'll tell me the whole story, perhaps I can explain it better," Trenderman suggests, taking his hands out from his pockets and crossing his arms against his brown vest. Slenderman once again tells the entire story of him meeting Amelia Pond and the crack in her wall and the aliens that came to visit. At the end of it, Trendy scoffs and remarks, "This sounds more like science-fiction to me."
"It's all true," Slenderman argues. "Unless you're suggesting that we are merely urban legends, then do not turn your head against the idea of aliens simply being science-fiction."
"I am suggesting no such thing," Trendy argues back, placing his hands on his hips. "It's just strange that all of this is happening around a little girl whose childhood you stole."
"Please, stop fighting!" Splendy pleads, placing himself between his two brothers. They see how emotional their brother was getting and immediately stop arguing. "Trendy, please tell me this story ends well."
"I don't know," Trendy honestly says, giving a helpless shrug. "It doesn't sound like it. But there's always twists in a good bedtime story. Maybe there's one here."
"Do either of you know what that message means?" Slenderman interrupts, starting to lose patience again.
"The Universe is cracked. There's a crack in Amelia's bedroom wall. There might be more to that one. The Pandorica will open. That saying sounds familiar but I don't quite remember, I'm afraid. Silence will fall? Oh, that one can go wrong in so many ways. Whether it's being literal or metaphorical, I can't say. But there's someone behind all of this, I'm sure of it. Perhaps it's-"
"Don't say his name," Slenderman warns him, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Is it-" Splendy starts, his hands reaching up to cover his mouth.
"Don't." Slenderman gives him a pointed look.
"But who else?" Trenderman reasons, now wishing he was sitting back in the store where he resides instead of dealing with forces beyond him and his control.
"It doesn't have to be him. Don't jump to conclusions," Slenderman counters. "We'll figure it out. But not now. It could very well not mean anything." That was wishful thinking but neither Splendy or Trendy pointed it out.
The silence between them was overbearing. The moon was shining down on them through the mall's windows which reminds Slenderman that he should check up on his proxies. Undoubtedly, they must be curious about what's been going on lately. "I'm afraid I must take my leave," Slendy says after awhile.
"So must I. I've got a long day of being a mannequin tomorrow." Trendy gives into the good-bye hug Splendy insists on having and nods curtly at Slendy before leaving to enter the store he came from. Before he disappears completely, he calls out to Slendy, "As much as I prefer to be left alone away from your world, brother, do not hesitate to visit more often."
"You've kept your promise," Splendy blurts out before Slenderman can leave. "You told me everything, right?"
"Yes," he replies.
"Did you really go around the world to find out who Prisoner Zero was?" Splendy's smile starts to appear again.
"Yes. I needed to know if he was a threat to us. Aliens and other-worldly beings have not caused us this much trouble in the past. But for now, they will not bother us," Slenderman explains.
"You're getting soft," Splendy comments, a small hint of teasing hidden in his bold but well-intentioned statement. A part of him was feeling proud of his younger brother but another part was getting worried. What was to happen if a certain someone found out he was starting to care for a human when that was not in Slenderman's nature? It was expected of Splendorman to be this way but not from his brother.
"Hardly," Slenderman scoffs.
"You did it for Amelia. You traveled across the world for her," Splendorman repeats the words Slenderman relayed to him when trying to get Amelia to believe in him.
"Only to find out about what was behind the crack. If being around me is more preferable than being around a crack in a wall, that says something. It was curiosity, nothing more," Slendy defends himself against his brother's assumptions.
Splendorman drops the subject about Amelia for now but raises another question. "If it wasn't Prisoner Zero that opened the crack, then who?"
"Whoever it was, it better not be who Trenderman was thinking of," Slenderman sighs, not liking where the line of questioning was going. He preferred it when he was asking him about Amelia.
"I hope so," Splendy says with a big frown. When silence fell upon them, Splendy quickly says his good-byes and hugs his brother tightly before disappearing in a cloud made of flowers and sunshine. Slenderman was left alone in the large empty hallway of the closed mall. Before his mind starts to wander, he teleports back to his forest to talk to his proxies.
…
Amy wakes up to the sound of her Aunt Sharon knocking on her bedroom door, letting her know Rory was downstairs with breakfast. She remembers falling asleep when the sun was starting to peek out from the horizon. Wincing at the various paper cuts across her fingertips, Amy slowly gets up from her chair only to feel all of her bones creak and muscles strain against the movement. Sleeping at her desk while reading important papers regarding her imaginary friend is something she won't be doing again. "Amy! Rory's waiting!"
"Alright!" Amy shouts back as she rubs away the drowsiness in her eyes. With one quick look in the mirror, she sees how bad her appearance is. Dark circles, messy ginger hair, rumbled pajamas, drool running down the side of her mouth, it all reminds her of the night after she first met Slenderman. This better not become a thing if she starts to travel and go out with him. Amy stifles a laugh at the 'go out with him' bit.
After she slips out of her nightie and into her usual choice of clothes which consists of a mini skirt, boots, and a simple top with a bomber jacket over it, Amy rushes downstairs to meet her boyfriend. "Rory."
"Amy," the nurse starts but sees her appearance. "Are you okay?"
Of course, he notices how tired she looks. Who wouldn't be after what happened last night? Amy is deciding against telling Rory about Slenderman coming back after leaving her again. "Yeah, I'm fine. So, what's for breakfast?" Amy hurriedly says with a reassuring smile, her stomach growling at the smell of food.
"Right. Well my dad made some eggs and bacon and put them in a bag for me so I figured we could share them before I go into work." Rory begins to take out the food and puts the bag's contents on plates at the table. Meanwhile, Amy's mind was soaring a million miles away from where she was. All she could think about was what she learned about Slenderman. There was no doubt Rory was going to want to talk to her about yesterday's events more properly this evening after his shift at the hospital. But would she mention the new information she found out? How would Rory react about the little adventure she had with Slenderman teleporting in different forests? Rory breaks her train of thought by setting her plate full of hot food in front of her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Told you, Rory. I'm fine," Amy replies sleepily, resisting the urge to yawn as she grabs her fork to pick at her food. He doesn't seem to believe her but leaves it be as the two enjoy their simple breakfast before Rory gets up to leave for work. He gives her a quick kiss on top of her head and takes off jogging out the front door. Amy sits at the kitchen table for a few more minutes before retreating to her room. She jumps on her bed to take a nap but not before letting her gaze linger on a drawing on her wall. Before succumbing to a deep sleep, she thinks about the colorful suit-wearing person that resembles Slenderman greets her behind a few crudely drawn trees. "Who are you?"
After that, her world goes dark before erupting in a series of small dreams that last until she wakes up in the early evening to talk to Rory about Slenderman.
