And we're back again. Let's see what happens in this one.

Chapter 3: The Slender Mansion

As I drew closer to the mansion, the details became more apparent in the flashlight's beam. It looked like nobody had lived in there for decades; ivy covered the walls up to the roof, half the windows were boarded up, and the other half had broken glass. All in all, it was the perfect horror movie house where any kind of serial killer or monster would live, waiting for their next victims.

My hand rested on the hilt of my sword as I walked closer to the entrance. Just then, the bush near the door rustled loudly and I spun around, ready to whip out my weapon…

But then Tiny Box Tim burst out of the bush with a smile. "Hey, Taryn!"

"Oh hi, Tim," I sighed in relief. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm just here to warn you about the area you're about to enter," Tim replied. "It's gonna be a bit harder than the forest, so I hope you're ready. Also, take this key. You'll need this to get into the mansion."

So saying, Tim held up a brass key which I took. "Thanks, Tim!"

"Good luck, Taryn," Tim cheered, diving back into the bush.

With a smile at Tim's optimism, I unlocked the door and went inside.

Upon entering the mansion, I saw that the inside was no better than the outside of the mansion. Most of the furniture was covered in white sheets and the ones that weren't had a thick layer of dust. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls and several candles were lit, bathing the entrance hall in a soft glow.

Then a loud scream split through the room. "That's her!" I gasped, recognizing it as the girl from earlier. "It sounds like she's in trouble. I gotta find her!"

But then, three Terrorlings jumped out from behind the sheet-covered tables. "Hey, look, another terrified target," one of them hissed. "Let's get her!"

Quickly, I drew out my sword. "Come at me, psychos!"

One of the Terrorlings pounced at me, swinging its claws. At the last second, I raised my sword, blocking the attack, then drove it back with a kick. The other two ran forward from opposite directions and tried to jump me. I blocked one of them with my shield, but the second one pushed me over. As I hit the ground, one of my items dropped out of my belt; a Markihorn.

The first Terrorling came in for another attack, but I dodged it, drank down a Rum and Dr. Pep, and struck it twice with my sword. With a cry, the Terrorling dissolved into ash.

Seeing the other Terrorlings coming in for the kill, I dived out the way and snatched up the Markihorn. Once I jumped onto a chair, I blew through it, letting out a deep bellowing tune.

Suddenly, a strange pink aura swooped in and cut through the two Terrorlings with a glowing sword, taking them out instantly.

"Phew, that was close," I sighed. The attacks had brought my health down, so I ate one of my Heart Fragments. "Now to find that girl, and fast!"

I ran over to the door on my right and tried to open it, but something was blocking it from the other side. So I went through the door on the left. Almost immediately, I was attacked by another trio of Terrorlings, but I quickly took them out with a Manly Screech (that's what I'm calling the screaming attack.)

Finding nothing in that room, I went up the stairs and was attacked by another pair of Terrorlings. Fortunately, I'd become stronger since my last battles so they were quickly destroyed.

In the next room, there weren't any Terrorlings. Instead, a small pink teddy bear sat in the middle of the room. Nervously, I touched the bear and a gentle melody began to play. It was then that I noticed a tag tied around its neck.

"What's this?" I carefully lifted the tag and read it. "'The melody is broken'? I wonder what that means."

I then entered the next room and found six teddies sitting on a shelf; two blue, two yellow, and two pink. But the door to get out was locked and the key wouldn't fit. There was a sheet of paper on the side of the shelf that read "Put it back together."

"Hmmm, looks like we've got ourselves a puzzle," I reasoned.

I touched one of the blue bears and it played a short little tune. After touching each of the bears in turn, I suddenly realized the puzzle. "They're playing a clip of the other bear's song! So, I need to play it in the right order to progress."

After going back and playing the first bear's tune a few times to memorize it, I went through each of the bears in turn until I heard a click from the door. Seconds later, a strange childlike laugh ran out and I tensed up. "I am NOT okay with that!" I yelped, running through the door.

The moment I entered the room, I spotted a pack of Proxy Terrorlings gathered in a corner. Then I heard a terrified voice cry out from within the crowd, "J-Just… L-Leave me alone!"

One of the Terrorlings gave a grating laugh. "Come now, we all know that you'd never be able to get rid of us."

I heard a loud sniff followed by a sob.

"Aw, what's the matter?" the lead Terrorling taunted. "Are you scared?"

"Whatcha gonna do? Cry about it?" gloated another Terrorling.

The Proxies parted for a moment, allowing me to get my first proper look at the girl. She looked about a few years younger than me with short black hair highlighted with purple tips. Her eyes were closed behind her red-rimmed glasses. She wore a purple skirt and a purple sweater with a pink heart on its left sleeve. "I'm… n-not…" she struggled to say.

Then I heard a dark voice echoing around the hall. All you do is weigh people down! You can't do anything! You're pathetic, that's what you are!

Against the onslaught of insults, the girl let out a gasp and then collapsed on the floor. That was when I knew that I'd seen enough.

"Hey!" I bellowed, stamping my foot hard. As the Terrorlings spun around to face me, I drew out my sword and raised my shield. "Get away from her, you bunch of no-good freaks!"

"Oh look, a new half-ass hero," the second Terrorling scoffed.

The leader stepped forward, licking her lips. "Why don't you run away, little girl? No one wants you here!"

For a brief moment, I felt my hands shaking, but I clenched my weapons tighter. "Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you!"

With a chorus of hisses like angry cats, the Terrorlings attacked. I tried to swing my sword, but the leader swiped its claws out and knocked my weapon away. The others' ruthless strikes at my shield drove me back towards the wall as they attempted to pin me. Looking around, I saw a table laden with books and other creepy paraphernalia.

Thinking fast, I pushed the Terrorlings back with my shield then jumped onto the table and snatched up some books. "Hey, skull-faces! Think fast!"

One by one, I hurled the books at the Terrorlings, hitting some of them. When one got close to me, I grabbed a candle and flung it onto its clothes, setting them alight. The Terrorling screamed in pain as it burned before dissolving into a pile of ash.

As the remaining three Terrorlings surged forward in anger, I grabbed an ornate dagger and jumped to safety, moments before they smashed into the table. My eyes darted around the room until I saw a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling and an idea came to mind.

By then, the Terrorlings had noticed that I wasn't among the remains of the table and had now turned around to approach me. I waited until they were just under the chandelier then I hurled my dagger out. The Terrorlings ducked the apparent attack, watching it soar over where their heads used to be. "Ha, you missed!" the leader gloated.

But that had been what I'd hoped would happen because the dagger sliced through the rope holding up the chandelier. With a smile, I pointed above the Terrorlings. "Did I?"

Confused, they looked up and saw the chandelier dropping towards them. At the last minute, I jumped back to safety, but the Terrorlings weren't so lucky. With a deafening CRASH, the chandelier shattered on the floor, crushing the unfortunate Proxies under it. When the dust settled, all that was left was a pile of gold and glass fragments, and a few shreds of black clothing that quickly dissolved into nothing.

With a sigh of relief, I picked up my sword and ran over to the girl. Kneeling down next to her, I gently shook her awake. "Hey, are you okay?"

The girl groaned and opened her eyes, gasping upon seeing me. "It's alright," I assured her. "They're gone. But we need to get out of here. Can you stand up?"

"I think so…" With great care, she slowly pulled herself to her feet.

"Great," I beamed. "Then let's get away from this place."

"Y-yeah, I don't like it here," the girl agreed.

I pushed some boxes away from the door and opened it, finding that it led back to the entrance hall. "Come on, let's go."

As soon as we were outside, the girl sat down on the grass. "Can we rest for a moment?" she asked. "I'm still tired from those… things' attacks."

"No problem," I replied, slumping down next to her. "So, now that we're not fearing for our lives, I think I should introduce myself." I held out my hand. "I'm Taryn."

"Oh, my name's V-Vicky," the girl smiled, shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Vicky," I beamed back. Then I became more serious. "Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. Believe me, I'm still kind of mind-blown by all of it myself, but once we get back to the hub, I'll try my best to explain."

Vicky looked nervous as she nodded. "Okay…"

I immediately picked up on her fear. "Is something wrong?"

Vicky turned away, tears filling her eyes. "I'm still scared. I'm sorry!"

"Why? There's nothing to be sorry about. You were just being attacked by monsters. I'd be more concerned if you weren't afraid."

"I just…" Vicky let out a sob and the tears flowed freely down her face. "I'm always scared! All I did was cower like a weakling while you fought those things off!"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "So? That's what I came here to do."

Vicky covered her face with her hands, trying to hold back the tears. "I was so weak and useless back there. I'm so sorry!"

After watching her cry for a few moments, I put my hand on her shoulder. "Vicky, it's okay. Just because you couldn't fight them doesn't mean that you're useless. You shouldn't have to fight them at all."

With another sniff, Vicky lowered her hands and faced me with her sorrowful green eyes. "But…"

"But nothing," I cut in kindly. "Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It just makes you human."

Vicky wiped her eyes and smiled at me. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Taryn."

"You're welcome." With that, I stood up and helped Vicky to her feet. "Come on, let's get going. Something doesn't feel right."

As quickly as we could, I led Vicky back down the path, through the wrought-iron gate and into the forest. Suddenly, Vicky gasped and pointed through the trees. "Is that-?!"

I spun around and just caught a glimpse of a white-skinned man with no face wearing a black suit. "Uh-oh!" I gulped. "We gotta run! Take my hand!"

Vicky quickly obeyed and I dragged her down the path. "We have to find the portal!"

But as we ran through the forest, Slender Man appeared in front of us again. We turned to run down a different path, but after a few miles, he popped up in front of us again. Quickly, I led Vicky down another direction. "Mark, where are you? Help us!"

Just then, I heard Mark's voice calling to me and I turned to see him waiting by the path. "Hey, Taryn, you did it! I knew you could-"

"GET IN THE PORTAL!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Whoa!" Mark cried, raising his hands in a calming manner. "Why are we screaming?"

"JUST DO IT!" I practically demanded.

But just as we were about to reach him, Slender Man suddenly appeared in front of us, cutting us off from Mark. Vicky screamed in terror and pulled out of my grip. I was frozen in fear as four black tentacles emerged from Slender Man's back, writhing and coiling like angry snakes. He then raised a ghostly hand towards me…

Suddenly, he fell back with a hiss and turned away, and that was when I saw a knife sticking out of the seat of his trousers. Mark ducked past him and stood at my side. "You may be scary, Slendy, but nothing's scarier than the Crazed Butt-Stabber!"

Despite not having eyes or a mouth, Slender Man did not look happy. Mark gritted his teeth and raised his fists. "Alright, let's get this over with! Whumpus Whump!" With that, he lunged forward and whacked Slender Man in the chest.

"Watch out!" Vicky called, but her cry came too late. Mark was suddenly grabbed by two of Slender's tentacles, one on his leg and one on his arm.

At that moment, my fear dissipated and I drew my sword. "Let him go!" I yelled, slicing through the tentacles like vines and freeing Mark.

Slender lashed out with his remaining tentacles, throwing Mark and me back. "What do we do?" I asked.

"Just hold him off for a little longer," Mark cried. "I need to power up my special attack!"

I quickly dodged one of Slender's tentacles then jumped in to attack with a Power Pierce, striking him three times. But then, he grabbed my arm with his other tentacles. I tried to pull free, but his grip was too strong and in seconds, I felt my energy drain away.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Mark pulled out a katana and went into a fighting pose. "Prepare your backside, Slendy! Markislash!"

With that, Mark leapt into the air and swung his sword around, slashing at Slender Man once, twice, three times. The attacks cut through Slender Man, severing his remaining tentacles and hacking his suit in places. With a final exhale, the terrifying being collapsed to the ground and burst into a pile of ashes.

"Whoa…" Vicky breathed.

Mark then sheathed his katana and summoned the portal. "Now's our chance! Let's go!" Grabbing Vicky and me by the arms, he pulled us in…

And that's the end of our hero's first mission!