Masky woke slowly at first, then jumped up in a panic. He scrambled backwards until his back hit something solid. He looked around, not recognizing the place he was in. Around him cage bars surrounded him along with the few others with him. His sudden activity had gotten the attention of the others in the cage.

"Masky!" Hoodie exclaimed as he rushed towards the other proxy. It only took a couple of steps as the cage isn't that large. He knelt in front of the other and wrapped his arms around his broad shoulders, gently resting his forehead against his boyfriends. A sigh of relief swept past his lips. "I'm so glad you woke up. You've been out for over twelve hours."

Masky brought his hand up to the back of Hoodie's head in a silent apology for the worry he had unknowingly caused. He didn't know, but from the second he was thrown against the wall and knocked out, Hoodie had been scared he wouldn't wake up. EJ had done his best, but without medical supplies there was only so much he could do for Masky's bleeding shoulder and concussion. The white masked man was out cold for far longer than EJ would have liked. Secretly he feared that Masky wouldn't wake up.

"Where are we? What happened?" Masky asked after a few moments of silence.

Hoodie pulled back To give Masky room to look around. Next to this cage on either side were two more. Pastas of his House filled them, including the animals and children. Laughing Jack's arms were stung up to prevent access to his smoke bombs, something only he had access to. Grinny, Smile, and Seed were each muzzled and had their heads tied up close to the cage walls. There are clear attempts at the removal of the muzzles, but everyone is disarmed or powerless, preventing any effective attempts at removal or escape.

"Zalgo took over the mansion and captured everyone, including the Slender Brothers." Hoodie explained as he sat back, tired from a long night. "I don't know how they did it, but they did. While they were unconscious they stormed the mansion and took everyone prisoner before burning the place down."

"Where is Slenderman and his brothers?" Masky asked, looking around again. He quickly noticed someone else was missing too. "And where's Toby? Did they get him too?"

"Slenderman and his brothers are in that metal box over the throne." Hoodie said as he pointed just over Masky's left shoulder. Suspended in the air like they were was a large metal box that looked too small for the Slender Brothers to stand in individually, much less all four be shoved in. Hoodie sighed again before continuing. "As for Toby, he wasn't there during the attack. They know he's missing, but they're not concerned. He can't do anything on his own. If he even tries he'll be captured."

"Fuck." Masky grumbled as he leaned back against the bars of the cage. He sat in silence for a minute, trying to think things through. "Why haven't they killed us yet? Why keep us in these cages?"

"We're not entirely sure." EJ said, piping up for the first time. He was sitting down at the other end of the cage, arms tucked in his hoodie's pocket. "I heard something about a ceremony of some sort. A sacrifice I think. Just my luck to be put through two in one lifetime." He spat in anger, 'glaring' out the bars of the cage.

Masky and Hoodie jerked in surprise when they heard the sounds of Jeff screaming in rage as he started kicking at the bars of the cage. He repeatedly slammed the bottom of his boot against one of the bars in a vain attempt at dislodging it. He would keep it up until he lost his balance, then target a new one. However he did nothing but attract the attention of Zalgo's pastas. They sneered and snickered at him, infuriating the killer more.

"Jeff, calm down!" Ben shouted above the noise to his temperamental boyfriend. "This isn't doing anyone any good."

"I. AM. TRYING. TO. ESCAPE!" Jeff said between each kick to the bars, temper never cooling.

"JEFF! Knock it off!" Jane shouted angrily at her male counterpart. She then pointed to the crying forms of Sally and Lazarie. "All you're doing is scaring Sally and Lazarie!"

"Awww. Is Slendy's little pastas getting cabin fever?" Zalgo cooed in false concern at them. Jeff had stopped his kicking to glare at the large red demon. Zalgo grinned back at him before turning to the metal box. "Here that Slenderman? Your little pastas are getting cranky. You might want to do something about that. Oh, that's right, you can't! You're my prisoner!" He cackled loudly as angry thumps and thrashed were heard inside the box.

"It's a real shame, you know." Zalgo continued as he stalked down the halls of the throne room they were in. "The mighty Slenderman was brought down and captured using the oldest tactic in the book. And here I thought you and your pastas were better than that. Such a shame." He shook his head as a hug grin split across all of his mouths. His tone slowly took on more of a cackling laughter. "At least they won't live much longer in their shame and humiliation."

More slams and bangs were heard from inside the box. It swayed slightly on the chain it was suspended on. A loud, haunting growl scream could be heard inside. A sound very few heard and lived to tell the tail. It sent shivers of fear and dread down the spins of all Creepypastas, even Zalgo's.

"Called it; sacrifice." EJ said monotone, never moving from his position.

"Yes, real help there, EJ." Laughing Jack said from the cage to the other side as he rolled his silver eyes.

"Can it, clown." EJ snapped back.

"Enough." Masky reprimanded the both of them, not wanting to deal with their fighting. Not with the headache he had going on. They quit their bickering, instead ignoring each other. Masky turned back to his other. "Hoodie, do you have any idea what to do? Maybe a plan to escape?"

"Nothing." Hoodie shook his head in emphasis. "The locks are too complex to pick with the metal stick we found. And even if we got through there are too many guards in here. They outnumber us two to one with Slenderman and his brothers, just in this room. There are more outside."

"Fuck." Masky growled in frustration.

He stood up and looked around again, realising just how helpless they really were. Below them Zalgo's pastas snickered and relaxed, knowing there was nothing their prisoners could do. They jeered at them, occasionally throwing something up at the cages. Others brought in items and placed them in the center of the throne room. Masky even overheard them say something about entertainment, though he brushed it off. Instead he focused on a conversation between Zalgo and Dark Light.

"Lord Zalgo." Dark said, getting the attention of her Lord. He looked at her, letting her continue. "The preparations for the ceremony are underway."

"They will be finished in time for tonight." Light added on, gesturing to the pile of stuff.

"Very good. The two, or should I say three, of you have been very useful to me." He growled happily, grin somehow getting bigger and more sinister as he spoke to Dark Light and Screecher.

"Indeed we have. We have done everything you asked." Dark nodded her head, red hair bouncing lightly from the motion.

"Now you will keep your end of the deal." Light stated firmly, tail moving to wrap around Screecher's arm. He moaned lowly, almost as in agreement.

"Ah, yes. Our deal." Zalgo said, tone indicating he had a trick up his sleeve. Both Dark and Light picked up on it, if their tensing up was anything to indicate. "I've been thinking about that, and I've decided no."

"What!" Dark Light shouted at the same time. The claw end of their tail subconsciously dug into Screecher's arm, making him moan out again. They loosened their tail, though their attention never left Zalgo. "We had a deal!"

"True, but you are so much more useful to me like this." He sneered at the dumbfounded trio duo. "If I restored your bodies and returned you back to your former power, well, that would be like shooting myself in the foot. Why would I make and empower a potential threat?"

"You cheat! We did our part!" Dark snarled angrily at the demon.

"We attacked a Lord on your behalf!" Light growled, tone more controlled than her sister.

"And you did a marvelous job at that." Zalgo half praised as he started to walk to the pile of ceremonial things.

"You can't do this!" Light snarled at him, finally losing her temper too.

Zalgo stopped and turned his head back to sneer at them. "And what are you going to do about it? You can't undo what you've done. If you try then you'll have to face off with every single one of my minions. And we both know how that will end."

Dark Light stood there for a moment, glaring at Zalgo. Once realizing there was nothing they could do they snarled loudly at the demon. They stormed out of the throne room, all but dragging Screecher with them. You could still hear their rage through the closed door. Zalgo chuckled madly, finding humor in their naivety in trusting him.

Masky sat back in the cage, finding some sollence in the one who led the capture of his House being betrayed herself. Hoodie sat next to him, pressing against his side in comfort. Masky wrapped an arm around him to hold his boyfriend close for possibly the last time. Dread and even fear taking hold of the duo as they waited. Both silently praying to the god they gave up believing in that their third would be okay.

Dark Light furiously stormed down the halls of the small castle to the back area where a portal waited. They weren't going to stay here any longer. Not after what the red bastard did to them and their charge. They muttered and growled to themselves, never letting their tail unwrap from their slow friend and charge. Angrily they slammed open the door to a back room where a handful of other pastas stood.

They brought their heads up from their grumbling to look at them. Four of them were her now former Housemates, and three she didn't know of. Light looked at the three new females and her eyes slightly widening in recognition of one of them. She quickly schooled her facial expressions as she silently told her sister to be quiet. Dark glanced at her blue haired sister, but listened to her order.

"What's going on here?" Light snapped at her three former Housemates. She was keenly aware of the attention of the one she recognized.

"The entertainment is here." Came the whiny voice of the shorter male of the trio. "We're just having a peak at them. Including the pretty human they brought as part of the entertainment." He gestured to the burnette, the one she was keeping an eye on.

"You need to be in the throne room preparing for the ceremony. Not playing around down here." Light snapped at the three of them. "Get to work, or else Zalgo will have your heads. I'll deal with them."

"She's right." The tallest agreed in her scratchy voice. She pushed the two smaller males in the direction of the door, not wanting to get on Zalgo's bad side.

Light waited until she could no longer hear the steps of the three of them. Once she was sure they were alone she turned back to the three still in the room. One she recognized from one of the few T.V. channels the Underrealm had as Game Master. The brightly colored one she knew more from word of mouth than anything. Though she never saw her before, she knew who she was from the stories told. The last one, the burnette, she knew from far more recently.

"I'm surprised, to be honest. I didn't realize you were female when we met that one time. Though I was more focused on fighting your friend." Light said, staring directly at the brunette who glared right back. The three of them took a defensive stance, though Light didn't really react to it. Light tilted her head in mild thought, taking in the new appearance. "Completely hidden your eye color, more pink skin like flesh, and of course the breast. You even somehow have hidden your twitching. Yes, I would never have recognized you, if not for your smell and that tell tail gash you poorly hid on the side of your mouth."

"How did you know about that?" Toby asked, hand reaching up to the patch covering his gash. His voice even had a softer edge to it, completing the disguise.

"The covering is subpar, might want to use some of your hair to help. I could also see it when you spoke." Light said as she stretched her front paws. Dark had been silent the whole time, having caught on.

"Thanks for the tip, dear, but why give it? Surely you know why we are here." Candy Pop questioned the quadruped. She was prepared to fight, hand ghosting over the clip to her Bag-O-Tricks.

"The attack I led on your House, twitch." Light said, readressing Toby. "It wasn't personal, just business. Zalgo had made me a deal for my help."

"And now that he has what he wants, he's not living up to his end." Toby said, guessing the rest. It was predictable, really. The demon was known for making deals, however the powerful entity was also known for going back on his half if it suited him. He did this because he knew there was nothing that the other could do about it. "He jipped you out of the agreement. Now you don't care what happens to him."

"Indeed." Dark said, speaking up for the first time. "Do as you wish to House Za'lgatoth or the Castle. You won't find us here to stop you."

"In fact, here's a tip." Light added on as the three of them moved to the portal. "Just outside the front of the castle, to the left if you are leaving, is a junkyard of sorts. In it is a ratty old plane that still has some juice in it. If you need an escape, use it and fly north. There is a portal in that direction past a black river and before a large stone that leads only to the City. Your House is in the throne room."

"Thank you." Toby nodded his head at her. The sister heads nodded back before leaving, taking Screecher with them. Toby turned back to his friends, who had watched the exchange. "Well, at least we now have a plan B."

"Can we trust them?" Game Master asked, a big bright pink smile on her face.

"I wouldn't bet on it, but when things go to hell it may buy us a couple of minutes." CP suggested as she adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulder. "In the meantime we should get moving. I'm sure the others are getting cramped." She said, patting the multi-colored bag.

Toby adjusted his now semi-curly brown hair like the quadruped had suggested. He moved it so it covered one of his currently unnaturally icy blue eyes and half his face. It reached down to the jaw line, making it just long enough. Moving his hair like so actually made the outfit look better.

He was wearing a dark blue blouse with black horizontal stripes, a square cut neckline, and flutter sleeves. It came with a matching dark blue layered skirt that had one layer black while the other two were blue. It was about mid thigh in length and flared out when spun. Finishing the outfit was a pair of black, thick wedged, two inch ankle boots. They were just the right size to still be used in combat while tricking the others into thinking they were just for style.

He wore black eyeliner in a beautiful semi thick arabic style and mascara that drew attention to his eyes. The light pink lipstick he stole was carefully applied to his full lips, as opposed to Lilly's messy smeared lipstick or CP's glossed up lip stain. A layer of foundation and concealer was applied, mostly to help hide the existence of the bandage. It was finished with a light dusting of blush, just enough to give his cheeks some color. His ungloved hands were exposed, showing eight nails painted dark blue and his two ring fingers painted black.

All in all, he was looking fine.

"You know, Tabs, that hairstyle is killer with your outfit." Lilly grinned happily as she appreciated her friend's look. "You look cute as hell."

"Aww, thanks Lills." Toby grinned back, though there was an edge of nervousness to it. "I just hope the others follow your line of thinking. Particularly the other two proxies."

"If they don't they're dumb as hell!" Lilly reassured her friend as she pulled him close. She leaned in close, eyes closing as her maniac-like grin got wider. "Lil thinks so too, but you already knew that."

"Come on, ladies. It's showtime." Candy Pop reminded them before opening the door.

They walked down the long, dark hall in the direction of the throne room. Lilly had a hand on Toby's shoulder. It helped to sooth his fried nerves by feeling his best friend right there. As they walked, other pastas leered at them, eagared for the show they were promised and were more than pleased by the ones who were going to provide it. One of them had run up to walk alongside them. He grinned wickedly at Toby, making a shiver of disgust crawl up the young proxies' spine.

"Aw, is this our entertainment tonight?" He asked creepily, to which Lilly merely nodded, grin becoming tense. She placed herself between Toby and the creepy male, making it seem as though she wanted to talk to him. "She's quite the looker. Surely you won't mind if I take her off your hands till the finale. We could have some fun in the meantime."

"Sorry, but I have a rule against others taking my assistent before show time." Lilly smiled at him, voice holding all the warning she needed. "I keep mine in pristine condition for the games, I don't want them messing up half way through."

"Such a tease to parade her around like this." He groaned, not liking being told no, but knowing better than to challenge a far stronger pasta.

"Aww, don't worry you pretty little head. You'll have plenty to entertain you tonight. The show is to die for." Lilly laughed loudly as she pushed him away from her and her friend.

It took only a few minutes to enter the large throne room. It was beautiful in a dark way. Vaulted ceilings extended two stories high while great pillars stood against the walls. In equal sections six skylights allowed the evening light to pour into the room. The dark walls absorbed the lighting, giving the room a form of shadowy glow that was highlighted by the periodic candle holder.

Several tables were pushed against the walls to give the illusion of a filled room, though they were bare. Spots where paintings once hung were now empty or filled with a painting of Zalgo. His pastas were all scattered about. Some were working on a pile in the center of the room while others lounged on chairs that surrounded the occasional table not pressed to a wall. Sitting on the throne was Zalgo himself, head resting on one hand.

While Candy Pop greeted the Lord Toby looked up at the cages hanging in the air. Inside he could see his friends and family. The one to the right held Clockwork, Lazarie, Sally, Laughing Jack and Rake. The middle had Hoodie, Masky, Jane, EJ, and Bloody Painter. The one to the left was filled with Ben, Jeff, Grinny, Smile, and Seed. All the way to the front, right above the throne, is a large metal box that swings on the chain it hung on. Loud bangs and angry growls could be heard from it. Toby guessed that one held his Lord and brothers.

He looked back up at the middle cage that held his fellow proxies. They looked back down at him, catching his eye. Toby couldn't tell if they recognized him or not as they made no move to indicate they did. He hoped they did and won't give him away. It will make the rescuing part far easier. He stared at them for a moment longer, then turned to face the front in preparation for the show. In doing so he missed the knowing look the two proxies gave each other.

"Well, so this is the entertainment tonight." Zalgo stated more than asked. "At least I can guarantee a good show out of two of you. Who's the third one, I wonder?"

"Tabatha." Toby said, doing his best to disguise his voice. Warning Call made something for him to help with that, but he put in extra effort just to make sure. It ended up with his voice sound more breathy, like a stereotypical dumb broad. "I'm new and have the wonderful opportunity to train under Game Master."

"An unskilled rookie, huh? Well it's a good thing you're pretty then with good assets." He roared with laughter, making several others laugh as well.

"You'd be surprised." Candy Pop stated with a tight grin. "Now shall we begin?"

The plan was simple. They would put on a show until CP had the opportunity to create a distraction. She would use that to get her House and Lord out of her Bag-O-Tricks so they could fight. While the battle went on Toby would release his House from their cages so they could join in. Once everyone was released they would run like hell out of there.

So they started the performance. CP did her tricks while Lilly and Toby helped put on an illusion using complex flips and other such gymnastic moves while swinging around a couple of balls of blue and pink fire. Similar to that of a fire dance, but with far more flips. When CP found her opportunity she gave the signal to the duo. Toby and Lily gave each other a look. They nodded and both did a complex back flip that ended in a fiery twirl. This gave CP the distraction she needed to throw six of her multi-colored balls in the air.

The difference between these balls and normal juggling balls was that these explode. The second they touched the ceiling they detonated with enough force to crack and break the ceiling all the way through. While the ceiling fell down around them, distracting the pastas, CP flipped her bag upside down and dumped out her Housemates. They each fell out and quickly scrambled up into attack position.

The first on up was Crosshair who unslung their rifle and fired off at the first enemy pasta that moved. It was a head shot that went straight through the skull, partly exploding it. With that the battle had officially started. Toby's friends used the broken pieces of the fallen ceiling as cover while they took on the hoard of Creepypastas. Zalgo roared in fury at being tricked and charged the group, but he was thrown off by an unexpected force. He turned to see who dared to touch him.

His eyes widened as he recognized who it was. "Amira! Daughter! How dare you attack your father and his House."

"You are no father of mine, Zalgo." Warning Call snarled in fury at the blackish red demon. She stood tall as she faced him down.

She changed forms from one that was human to one that more resembled Zalgo, but with more black than red. She grew in height, ripping her clothing in places while others, like her heeled shoes, became part of her. Two more red eyes appeared under her usual two while her teeth grew longer and sharper. Three new mouths appeared on her body. One on her right thigh, one across her neck, and the third on her left hip. A blood red, fire-like aura surrounded her along with black tentacles that sprouted from the ground. In each clawed hand she held her enchanted duel pistols. Two small horns sprouted from her head as she glared at him.

She shot at him, ripping holes through his skin. An official challenge between Lords that no pasta is allowed to interfere with. The perfect thing to keep the most powerful being in the castle distracted with. CP nodded her head at the fight before turning to Toby.

"That's your cue, love." She said, shoving a rope on his shoulders before picking him up. With a small grut she threw him in the air in the direction of one of the cages.

Toby's arms flung out to grab a hold of the narrow platform that wrapped around the cage. Once he had a good hold on it he pulled himself up onto the ledge. Carefully, using the bars as balance, he rightened himself up to stand. He turned to look inside the cage. He was thrown to the middle one, containing his two proxy crushes, who stared at him in shock.

"Hey guys." Toby said as he carefully walked over to the lock. He pulled out the lock pick CP had given him, getting to work.

"Toby?" Masky questioned in disbelief, not quite believing the effeminate figure in front of him is the proxy he's known for two years. The male proxy. "What the hell happened to you? You look completely different."

"So, I know this is a surprise and all, and I will explain everything later." Toby promised, not looking away from the difficult lock.

He was so concentrated on the lock he didn't notice the figure jump up behind him. All he felt was a small change in balance to the cage before a body slammed against his, pinning him to the cage bars. The hook on the one end of the rope was digging into his shoulder. One of his arms was twisted around behind his back while a hand slammed his face into the bars. He let out a hiss of pain from the impact.

"Well, looks like I'll have some fun with you tonight after all, little doll." Came the familiar male voice from earlier. Toby quickly realized it was from the pasta who attempted to flirt with him in the hall.

Before the young proxy could say anything back a yellow arm shot out threw the bars. Masky punched the humanoid pasta hard in the face, making it sway. Before he could regain footing or sense an orange arm also reached through the bars, just a few bars down. Hoodie pulled the pasta off of Toby, allowing the 19 year old to continue his lock picking. While Toby was doing that Masky followed the male down and wrapped his arms around his neck through the bars, effectively cutting off air flow.

"Thanks, guys." Toby thanked, nodding his head in the direction of the two proxies and the slowly dying pasta. By the time Toby had finished picking the lock the enemy pasta had dropped dead. As carefully as he could Toby swung open the cage, stepping inside to address them on safer ground.

"Directly below us are my friends. The neon multi-colored one is Candy Pop, different from the one you know LJ." Toby said as the monochron clown in the next cage over tensed up. "She had weapons in her bag, all sorts. Guns, maelle, bombs. She's waiting for you."

"Toby, who are these pastas, and, what happened to you?" Masky asked again as he gestured to Toby's body. "Are you, are you a girl?"

"These pastas are of House Fairuza. They're my friends." Toby explained as he finished as he pointed out the brightly colored killer clown. "As for me, well, that's harder to explain, but I'm still the same Toby you know and loathe."

"I don't loathe you." Masky said, almost quietly.

"Get moving. We're outnumbered down there, we only have twelve on the ground and one is fighting Zalgo." Toby said, pushing them out. He turned to EJ and handed him a second set of lock picks. "You unlock the ones over there, I'm working my way to Slenderman."

EJ nodded in understanding and went to unlock Clockworks cage while Toby headed to Jeffs. The other three dropped down, taking minimum damage from their years as Creepypastas. Toby explained the same thing to Jeff's cage. Said killer was thrilled to get some revenge against the ones who did this to him and his boyfriend. He helped remove the muzzles from the animals, allowing them to join the fight.

Once the cage was empty Toby turned to look at the metal cage that was swinging more violently than before. He pulled the rope off his shoulder, letting the hook end to drop. He stood there in thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to hook and steady the swinging box. There was a metal rebar surrounding both the bottom and top of the box. The top would be too hard for him to successfully hit, but he could get the bottom. Once he figured out how to.

The pattern of the swing was a bit erratic, switching from one direction to the other following a bang. Still, Toby believed he found a point where he could hook it. Taking as firm of a grip on the narrow walkway as he could, he took aim. He spun the hook in as large a hoop as he could, then let it fly across the air. It hooked on the bar on the first try, but nearly pulled Toby off. He had to let some of the rope slip through his hands, causing it to leave behind two small rope burns. Now he had it hooked, but it was moving too radically to move across. Toby pulled the rope through the cage bars behind him to try to pull it still. It worked by a marginal degree due to Toby lacking the space, strength, and weight to pull it any better.

"HEY! TOBY!" Candy Pop's voice shouted below. Toby looked down to see his friend nearly directly behind him, her big cats on either side of her. To her right was her bubblegum pink bodied and cotton candy blue maned Lion; Cotton Candy. To her left was her Tigress; Lollipop, who had a lime green back that quickly faded to a lemon yellow belly. Her stripes were as black as any normal tiger. Her eyes were lime green while the lions were cotton candy blue. Both are nearly three times the size of their species' normal sizes. "DROP THE ROPE! WE'LL HELP YOU!"

Toby nodded his head and dropped the rope as far as it could go, about a third of the way down. Candy Pop patted her Tigress's hips, signaling for her to jump. Tigers have jaws twice as strong as a lion, making her the better choice. She easily grabbed the rope in her powerful jaws, using her massive sudden weight to pull it down. Once it was down Cotton candy helped his mate to hold the rope, giving Toby a chance to get across on the now tightrope. It still moved a bit due to the rage of the Selder Brothers, but now he had a chance.

"TABY! IT IS JUST LIKE WE PRACTICED!" Candy Pop said as she did a cartwheel mixed with a flip. "YOU CAN DO IT, LOVE!"

Toby waved his hand at her in confirmation. He turned back to the rope, took a deep breath to steady himself, and began. He did exactly as she showed, exactly as he had practiced with her many times before. All the time spent with her had increased his flexibility and balance, which was the only thing that allowed him to do this. He made it halfway through when the rope jerked, nearly knocking him off. He squealed in fear, grabbing on to the rope to prevent him from falling off. His eyes closed in fear, not liking being this high without a safety net. His body trembled in fear, nearly too scared to move forward. That is until a voice shouted up at him.

"TOBY!" The familiar deep voice of Masky shouted directly below him. Toby opened his eyes to see the forms of Masky and Hoodie. They were fighting off the enemy pastas while dodging the fight between Zalgo and Warning Call. "WE WILL CATCH YOU IF YOU FALL! DO NOT BE AFRAID!"

"WE'RE RIGHT HERE! WE WON'T LET YOU GET HURT!" The more calm voice of Hoodie shouted up in his own reassurance.

A warmth filled Tobys chest as he listened to their words. It helped push out the fear, giving Toby the courage to stand back up. Knowing that they will be there to catch him, he felt less scared. With every cartwheel he could see them following his progress against the rope, ready to uphold their promise to catch him. It only took less than a minute to reach the metal box containing the Slender Brothers.

There was no walkway around the box for Toby to step on. Only the rebar that surrounded it. As carefully as he could, the young proxy balanced on the thin rebar so he could pick the complex lock. Behind him the rope whent slack as the big cats let go so they could join the fight with their master. With no way back Toby could only focus on what's in front of him.

The lock was far more complex than the ones on the cages. For a moment Toby feared that he lacked the skills necessary to open it. It took longer then he would have liked, or Warning Call if her getting her ass kicked was anything to go by. After the final click was heard Toby all but ripped the lock off. However, he didn't get the chance to open the door. Instead it flung open from the force of the enraged Slenderman. In consequence Toby was thrown from the box.

He let out a shriek as he fell, fear washing over him an ice cold wave. The fall was short, but seemed to last a lot longer for the smallest proxy. He had tensed, preparing to feel the impact of hard stone. Instead he felt two sets of strong arms catching him, stopping him from hitting the ground. He opened his eyes in surprise, just now realising he had closed them. He stared up at the masked faces of Masky and Hoodie. In the shock of the fall he had forgotten their promise to catch him.

"Told you we'd catch you." Masky chuckled, a smile evident in his voice. Hoodie chuckled, dropping Toby's legs so he could stand.

The reunion only lasted for a second. Four tall, furious figures dropped down in front of them. Wrath and vengeance came off them in waves as powerful tentacles thrashed in the air. They all stood tall as they each let out a haunting growl like roar that echoed across the room, sending fear into the hearts of even the bravest of the pastas. Across the room, past dead bodies and broken pieces of the slowly collapsing room, the fight between the two Lords stopped. And not a moment too soon for Warning Call as the far more powerful Lord has her pinned to the floor by the throat.

"A-abo-ut t-t-time." The young Lord choked out between breaths.

A look of fear flashed across Zalgo's face. His plan was falling apart by the second with the fight. Now the four Creepypastas that could take him on individually were now all coming for him at once. He let out a growl of fury as he yanked the young Lord up by the throat and threw her across the room in the direction of the four Slender Brothers.

Slenderman caught her in his tentacles and set her aside, not quite as gently as he could have, but he's pretty distracted right now. He glared at the red demon, mouth split wide open in a horrifying sight. Around them lesser pastas ran away, terrified of the entity. The Slender Brothers squared off against the demon, who in turn knew he was not getting out of this fight without many injuries.

While the brother fought Zalgo the two Houses gathered around the injured Lord. Both Candy Pop and Masky lifted her to prop her against a stone slab. Doctor Painkiller quickly knelt by her side, looking over her many gashes and impact wounds. The young Lord had lost enough strength that she had fallen back into her human form. Around them the strongest formed a circle to protect the injured. They were all hurt but the fighting was evened out now that many had left. Though they had noticed that many would stop mid fight, look around the crumbling building, get a look of recognition, and flee out of the room while cackling.

Meanwhile the four Brothers were thrashing the red demon around like a rag doll. They would use their tentacles to lift him up, being careful of the numerous mouths, and fling him across the room and through chunks of solid concrete. Zalgo did his best to fight back, and if this was a fair fight against one of them he would have stood a good chance. Yet the four were too furious to fight fair, taking everything he did in the last twenty four hours as reason not to.

The fight came to a sudden close when Slenderman pierced the body of the demon and flung him across the room. He was about to make another attack when Zalgo started laughing. The well earned knowledge for caution snapped Slenderman and his Brothers out of most of their fury. They stood in front of the pastas of both Houses as they stared down the demon.

"Well, this didn't go as planned, now did it?" Zalgo chuckled in a maniac way as he stood on shaky legs. "Your little freak of a proxy and her friends somehow managed to trick me, giving her a chance to free you. But I have one more trick up my sleeve, so to speak. I killed the previous Lord of this micro realm and absorbed his powers over it."

Slenderman and his Brothers all instantly knew where this conversation was going. Slenderman stood firm in front of Zalgo while his Brothers started ushering the pastas up, killing any enemy pastas along the way. Around them the castle and ground started to rumble. Pieces of the broken building fell down around them from the shaking. Worry and fear etched on the faces of the pastas.

"I own and control this realm. And I can destroy it." He snarled. With that he disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. The rumbling around them grew louder and the floor shook harder.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Slenderman snarled at the large group. His mouth was sealing up again, leaving only a small gape that was quickly closing up.

"We have injured." Splendorman said, one tentacle gesturing to the group of heavily wounded.

"Can't you guys teleport us out of here?" Heartbreaker asked, exsoughted from the fight.

"We can't. The effects of the potion still linger in our systems." Slenderman shook his head as he helped some of the injured to stand.

"Toby. Did you and your friends think of a way out of here?" Hoodie asked the younger proxy, turning all attention to him.

"W-we have t-two op-ptions." Toby told them, stuttering coming back. His twitching was back, as were his brown eyes. "We ca-an head t-to the b-b-back of t-the cast-tle w-where a p-portal is, or o-out the f-front to t-the junkyard. A-a plane m-might b-be there."

"Might?" Warning Call questioned as she slowly stood up with the help of Slenderman.

"Source was unreliable." Candy Pop clarified.

"But let's hope she was telling the truth." Lilly spoke up, sapphire blue eyes taking a bit of an electric ice to the center. "Lil just checked through the mirrors. All the paths are blocked to the back."

"The front it is then." Warning Call ordered as another loud rumble was heard through the castle.

"We need to move, now." Slenderman commanded, pushing the pastas in the direction of the door.

It was difficult with the large group. Many were injured, having to lean against the stronger. Slenderman had to support part of Warning Call's weight while Splendy gathered the children in his tentacles. Even Smile Dog had Grinny in his mouth. Candy Pop had put a couple of the injured on Cotton Candy's back and Lollipop was hurt herself.

Toby and Lilly led the group through the castle, both having studied the map in the portal room they entered in. They weaved the group through the halls, using Lil to silently communicate paths. Around them the building collapsed, sending rocks tumbling down on the group. Slendy, Trendy and Offendy did their best to knock away the incoming debris. Without a minute to spare they made it to the front door of the castle.

They didn't stop their running as they led the group to the left. They found the junkyard as promised, surrounded by a chain link fence. The fence didn't stand a chance, however, against the strength of Seed running full speed into it. He knocked it right down, giving the group a path through. Behind them the ground started to crumble away revealing nothingness. At the center both Lilly and Toby let out sighs of relief upon seeing the plane.

"Aright, everyone, get on. We're leaving right now!" Lilly shouted to the mixed group of Houses.

"Can anyone even fly that thing?" Jeff shouted as he pointed at the rust and damaged looking plane.

"That thing is an Airbus A400m, and yes, I can fly it." Lilly grinned cheekily at the smiling killer. She opened the hatch while gesturing inside. "All aboard, that's coming aboard!"

"We're going to die." Titania shook her head as she helped her sister inside the plane.

While Lilly immediately went to the cockpit, Toby stayed in the back to help the group get seated and buckled in. When everyone was in he closed the hach, leaving the crumbling micro realm outside. Even before everyone was buckled in they could feel the plane take off. All the windows were blacked out, leaving the group blind as to what was going on outside. Still, Toby moved up and down the aisle to make sure everyone was secured.

Once he was sure they were all buckled in properly he headed to the cockpit. The bumps of the crumbling ground nearly threw him off balance twice. Still he made up the short stairs to the door that separated the two sections of the plane. He secured himself in the doorway to watch his friend attempt to build up speed to take off.

Whether they succeeded or failed in the rescue attempt, he was going to be up front. He bought House Fairuza here. He was the one that came up with the plan to save his House. He is partially responsible for them being in this plane, even if it was Zalgo who initially captured his house. Toby is going to be right up front for if they fly or if they crash.