TW MENTIONS & DESCRIPITIONS OF DEATH

As the red alarms went off, Telum felt an urgency to hide as soon as he could.

He noticed lots of OCs traveling away and had his hand gently taken by Inkwell.

He allowed himself to be dragged a moment before he broke her hand off and hid in the shadows.

Surely wherever they were going, he could travel to later, however he wanted to watch from the shadows to see what was happening, a decision he would quickly regret.

As OCs cleared the room, Telum got to see statics very close by and watched in horror as he watched OC after OC dropped dead and got turned. Even Spade, while he fought well, found his end meet by the static that had taken Dixen and the static that ended up taking him.

Not wanting to watch any more, he tried to figure out where the others had gone, and followed after in the shadows, but he couldn't find them. He couldn't see them from any shadow, which scared him.

Everyone has a shadow, how can they just… disappear!

Telum hid deeply in the shadows, not knowing what to do.

After a few minutes of the fight dying down, he finally saw Puri. They didn't notice them at first, despite being a pink colored dog, they surprisingly were quite sneaky. He could barely see or hear them as they snuck past.

Not sure what they were doing, Telum kept watching. They must've been sneaking for a good reason, and he didn't want to watch someone else drop like the others.

As Puri left the room, Telum noticed three statics following them.

They all looked very familiar, he saw the static who had taken Spade, along with the one that took Dixen.
There were a couple other statics following behind as well, they had not seemed to catch hosts yet.

Telum got scared, he should warn Puri! But just as he was going to exit the shadows to warn them, they felt themselves get grabbed by the ankle.

Shocked, he tried to use the shadows to get away, bit the more he used them, the tighter the grip on his ankle got.

He looked around frantically as he suddenly got dragged across the shadowy room.

He heard the laughing of whatever had captured him as he tried to claw at the wall to get away.

“Mai… Mai, Quet ash fieshty pequen thingzz… Suy peqeun too… Ach ould almush chust toogel chen hite up…” The language they spoke sounded alien, almost like it came straight out of a TV screen.

Telum frowned at the voice, he still couldn't tell where it was coming from. It sounded like it came from all angles.

Telum kept trying to fight, he needed to escape, he felt his pulse as he tried to figure out what to do.

Suddenly he heard a loud roar.

Whatever had him stopped at the sound.

“Mai mai… quet nuw?!”

A sudden bright light turned on and Telum fell to the floor.

Telum tried to turn to the bright light where he heard growling, but the light was too bright to see who it was.

Telum wasn't sure which beast he wanted to face more… The one that had him, or the one that got rid of it…

“Telum, get behind me.” He heard a familiar voice shout out.

Telum took a breath and walked towards the growls.

As he passed the light, he was handed a flashlight.

He looked down at it before looking up at the figure.

It was hard to tell who it was, but they seemed very monstrous.

The figure was very dark, but the longer he stayed close, the more obvious it became who this individual was.

The fins on her tail swept the floor as she kept her sharp eyes on the shadows. Her long ears twitched at any sound. Her box-like stout showed the sharp pointy teeth she was not afraid to snap with.

Telum started to look around the room with Linxer… or as he was told when she was in her darkened state, Ganzie as well.

“Telum, do you know the way to the safe house?”

He shook his head.

Ganzie winced as she looked behind her to see more statics starting to arrive.

They obviously had the hosts of Puri, Zecora, and Ragdoll.

Telum was saddened to look at them, looking back at Ganzie for instructions.

Ganzie seemed shocked to see Puri turned but then looked down at Telum. Her expression was full of dullness as she spoke quickly.
"Go backstage in the concert room. Hopefully they are doing their exercises for this… They will hopefully be able to spot you…"

Telum nodded but as he was about to book it, the static that had Spade as a host destroyed the spotlight Ganzie was using to keep the shadow static at bay.

Ganzie hissed as she noticed the shadow static beginning to circle.

“Shoot- We uh… Gosh dang it, where is Narrator when you need her!” Ganzie looked around before looking at Telum, she opened her mouth to speak but Telum got grabbed again.

The shadow static brought Telum up to the tall ceiling and dangled him, giggling as they watched Telum struggle out of fear.

Ganzie looked up at Telum and tried to figure out a way to help, but she was quickly jumped by the statics who captured Zecora and Ragdoll.

Telum watched her fight off the statics better than any OC had so far.

He looked at the static who had him, he could slightly see them better now. If he had to guess, this was the static who took Jinx.
Telum continued to stay alert, he couldn't just shine his flashlight because he would fall, but it wasn't like he could just not do anything either.

Telum thought for a moment and shined his flashlight on the static, which, as he predicted, caused him to fall, but he quickly used his ability to zip in the shadows to catch his fall, and out fast enough to not get caught once more.

Telum hugged his flashlight as he glanced back at Ganzie one last time, who gave him an approving glance as she fought as he dashed to the concert room.

He could sense two shadow statics giving chase now as he ran as fast as he could, but when he got to the stage, the static trap had been set off.

Not knowing where to go, he stood in the spotlight of the stage.

It was the only place he could stay for now.

He looked around the shadows. He could sense two statics sharking him now.

For some reason, Telum felt like the shadows were getting closer and closer.

It felt odd for him to be afraid of the place he normally called safe, but here he was, keeping his eyes on the shadows.

His eyes widened in fear as he saw a static hand reach from the shadows to grab him, but he used his flashlight to get them back.

Suddenly, though, he could hear footsteps nearby.

Not Ganzies, but someone else's.

A group of two were approaching, the statics could seem to sense this as well and settled down, waiting to see who their next catch would be.

Telums eyes widened as he saw Inkwell and Curly, slowly getting closer to the shadows.

He may be safe in the spotlight currently, but not them. He tried to wave his arms for them to get back, but they didn't understand.

Inkwell's eyes lit up when she saw Telum, but the second Curly stepped into the shadows, he gasped in shock as he got pulled into the shadows just like he did recently ago.

Telum watched in horror as Curly got dragged away.

His eyes widened as he quickly turned on the flashlight and shined it on Inkwell. She seemed just as scared and shocked as him.

He had a hard time catching his breath. Too much was going on.He had no clue what to do, he could barely feel the legs under him.

The seconds that passed as they stood there processing felt like an eternity. 

He heard more footsteps approach and his heart sank.
Were more statics arriving? Was Ganzie not enough to stop the swarm?

Panic swept his mind as he eyed the entry.

He could still hear the distance fluttering of one of the statics in the shadows. He didn't think he would be able to run.

However, rather than a static barging in, a hooded figure dashed in holding a ball of light. They threw one at the wall and the shadow static hissed, skittering away.

The room became quiet of any static. Telum stared at the hooded figure as they held the light. He could see hints of their red hair peaking out as she pulled off her hood. As if her green hoodie wasn't obvious enough.
The figure pulled off their hood to reveal themselves as Narrator.

“You two okay?” She said as she scanned the two over for any injuries. She seemed worried for the two, like a mother who had just found their missing child.

Telum blinked, a bit confused now.

Another figure, which he knew as Magna, also walked in. He was wearing his original mask, the one he used to disguise himself as Ganxer before. It was pretty convincing other than the fact that Ganxer was never human... or were they human? He wasn't sure. The wolf ears threw him off.

Inkwell looked over at Narrator on the other side of the hole, she looked traumatized.

“No! Curly was just… Oh god… They just swept him away!” Inkwells voice trembled as she spoke, barely having the ability to form words."

Narrator stared at Inkwell as she covered her mouth. She seemed to be thinking to herself.

Narrator bowed her head a little.

“I am sorry to hear that, we tried to get here as soon as we could.”

Magna continued, not making any eye contact eith either of the two. “We are in a rush though, so too bad so sad we can't help you.”

Narrator gave Magna an angry glare from behind.

Magna looked over at Narrator unbothered.

Inkwell stared at Narrator, she seemed speechless.

Narrator shook her head.

“We can do whatever we can though. Is there anything we can do in the moment?”

Telum looked over at Inkwell before looking at Narrator answering, "Can you provide a way to cross the giant gaping hole in the floor? I would like to get to safety…”

Narrator nodded and walked over to the giant seemingly endless pit.
Inkwell gave Telum a betrayed look. He wasn't sure what it was for.
Narrator created a board and laid it against the two ledges, before putting a little pressure on it herself to make sure it was sturdy.
"That should be good to help you get across, just move it so no sratics can come across later.”

Telum began to approach but after about 3 steps, Inkwell marched across and grabbed Telum by the arm, it was obvious she wasn't losing him a second time.

Inkwell smiled at Narrator as she held Telum tightly.

“Actually, we will go try to find Curly! Do you have any supplies we might be able to use?”

Narrator glanced at Magna before nodding. “Yeah what did you have in mind?”

Inkwells smile dropped and her tone matched her exhausted expression, “Er- Uh.. I don't know, you're the static expert, you tell me…”

Narrator created a large flashlight, thick rubber gloves, and a padded rubbed sword. She handed each of them the rubber gloves but specifically gave the large flashlight and sword to Inkwell.

As she offered a flashlight to Telum he shook his head, before making the flashlight he had more obviously seen.
Narrator stared a moment before giving an awkward smile for not noticing the flashlight that seemed big next to Telum.

Inkwell blinked for a moment before looking up at Narrator, who gave her a sad smile.

Inkwell nodded and looked at Telum. “I guess we should be on our way then..”
Telum rolled his eyes, she had a much tigher grip on him this time, it wasn't like he could get to safety even if he wanted to, he would have to lose an arm.

“So should we.” Narrator nodded and looked at Magna, who just stubbornly crossed their arms.

Inkwell looked down at her feet before starting to walk. “Well.. good luck with what ever you're up to…”

Narrator had a shine of pride in her eyes and nodded before nudging Magna down the pit and jumping down after.

Inkwell looked at Telum, “I guess we should head out then…”

A thought passed through his mind, How will they even find him, he was brutally dragged into the darkness… Sure he could try to look, but evrn if he found them, how would he stop himself from being captured?

But before he could say anything, Inkwell turned on her light and started to march off.

Not wanting to have his arm pulled off, Telum quickly tailed behind her.

“Do you know where he is?” Asked Telum inquisitively.

Inkwell nodded, “Mm-hm… I can sense it. Not sure which room exactly, but this way for sure.”

At least that was something...

Telum felt unsure about Inkwell trusting her gut, but he still continued to follow along.

As they exited the concert room, Inkwells grip on Telum loosened as he sliped his arm away, rubbing it a little in pain.

He looked around, Ganzie wasnt here anymore...

They heard the sound of a door close. Their attention was suddenly brought to the front door. They could hear footsteps and the sound of a static.

Telum felt his guard raise, he wondered which kind of static he would face. He saw how brutal these beasts could be, but facing another one now made him feel uneasy.

“Well would'ya look at that… There are still some people alive!” Chimned a villainous voice.

Telum felt like he recognized the voice. It felt familiar but was buried in something.

As the two raised their flashlights at the static, it became more obvious.

The static had teeth sharp as razors, fins that helped them run very fast, and their attire covered their static sound slightly.

However, Telum could recognize the voice of someone from his own house.

“Legend?”

The figure laughed. “I prefer Oliver, but whatever floats your boat.”

Telum tilted his head.
It had the characteristics of Legend, it had to be. Plus, no offense to Legend, but out of all OCs, he seemed pretty likely to get caught…

Oliver flashed his teeth at Telum.

“So… Telum, right? It's rude to not say your name back.”

Telum seemed shocked that Oliver knew his name.

Oliver smiled and shrugged.

“Anyways, I came for entertainment...," He looked around. "So! Where is the entertainment?”

Inkwell seemed just as shaken as Telum.

“Entertainment? Is this just all fun and games to you?” Inkwell growled at him.

Oliver chuckled and looked around the wrecked house.

“I guess you could say that. I was fascinated by the place and felt a pull to come, so I thought, why not check it out?”

Telum and Inkwell traded glances before looking back at Oliver.

Inkwell started to keep walking. “Yeah…. Anyways, I think we need to be headed back to what we were doing... We are in an urgent hurry.”

Oliver perked up. “Oh, what are you up to? Sounds fun if it's ‘urgent’.”

Telum looked at Inkwell before looking at Oliver. “Curly got kidnapped by a static, we are trying to see if he is still uninfected-”

Inkwell interrupted, “Which he is… uninfected, but I am not sure for how much longer… We really need to go.”

Telum nodded as Inkwell started to walk off.

Oliver followed along, “Well I have no clue what I am looking for, so why not follow along.”

“Lets just be quick please.” Inkwell answered.

—

The group continued onto their way, carefully watching the dark hallways and hiding when any statics came nearby.

Inkwell held her hands near her heart, fearing for what may happen to Curly soon.

The trio kept walking as Inkwell seemed more and more spooked. The silence screamed at her, the sound of nothing was unusual.

Curly's bubbly personality led her life to be full of excitement and cheer, but now, all she could do was try to sense where he was.

Her eyes widened as they approached a door in the hall.

Inkwell knew the room as a regular household bathroom, but she felt herself getting drawn in.

“He's in there…” She said cautiously. “I know it without a doubt in my mind.”

Oliver looked at Inkwell before his ghostly counterpart flew in to peek.

It was dimly lit, the bathtub was full of water, however, he could sense the tingle of another static nearby.

A static jumpscared him.

“Oliver?” He heard a voice say. The voice spoke in a forgotten static language.

The ghostlike Oliver jumped at the sudden static in his face.

The static embraced him with a big hug.

“Oh my gosh, I thought I would never see you again!”

Oliver hugged back, he recognized this static's warmth, one of an old friend, in which he had not seen in ages.

“Hi Tohu, it's wonderful to see you.” Oliver said in response.

Tohu had a melted appearance to them. They looked very spherical and had little spheres for hands too.

They were much smaller than how Oliver was now.

Tohu grabbed his shoulders, “And my my, you snagged yourself a host. I didn't think you had it in you! Attah boy!”

Oliver gave a small laugh to himself, “Yeah, well, it was life or death. They just tried to kill me when I hadn't done anything. It was either capture them or die…”

Tohu nodded, “Tch, well you know OCs… We are really showing them, huh! Not so tough now! Speaking of which…” Tohu looked over to the shadows.

“Blood! Guts! Right on time!”

Guts smiled, “Hi and hello!” They also spoke in the dead static language. Guts eyed Oliver, and chuckled, “No way- Look what the cat dragged in!” Guts looked down at Blood, who looked like they were saying something.

Guts nodded, “Always a pleasha’ to see ya’. Say, I thought you were against havin’ a host ‘n everythin’”

Oliver looked down at himself. He had caught this OC who calls himself a model out of self defence. He didn't really like to keep his hold on him, but it somehow felt right. It was in his nature he supposed.

Oliver shrugged and laughed, “He really did it to himself. Buddy stabbed himself with knives, which made my job easier!”

Blood looked proud of Oliver as he looked down at Tohu.

Gut rolled his eyes, “Anywho, we caught this little twerp for ya’. Reckon we toss ‘em in?”

Olivers eyes widened at the sight of Telum, it looked like he melted his appearance a little out of fear. He looked a bit of a mess as he clawed at the hands of Blood. He even showed his now sharp teeth.

Tohu nodded, “Yeah, I am ready…" Tohu eyed Curly, "Why did you get me a small one though… I am already short enough as it is...”

Guts gave Tohu an annoyed expression, “Well would ya ‘ve prefered ya hunted yourself? Besides, we were huntin’ a different one, but they got help from that stupid creator…”

Tohu stayed quiet before looking at Curly who returned him a fearful look.

Blood laughed, his voice was full of static as he dropped Curly into the water.

Curly quickly gasped as his ink began to get distorted with the water.

Tohu was quick to jump on him, doing his best to keep Curly's head below the surface of the water.

Splashes could be heard as Curly struggled to not get waterboarded.

Of course Oliver missed his old friends, however, watching them turn people still made him uncomfortable.

He flew out, looking around to see that everyone else was gone.

Following the connection with his static counterpart, he flew towards the other Oliver.

—
A couple minutes earlier.

Inkwell hugged her arms before glancing at Oliver.

“Is everything okay? You've been standing there for a while..."

Oliver was quiet, staring at the door.

She gave him an inquisitive look when suddenly, a crash could be heard, followed by splashes and a menacing static laugh.

Inkwell listened in horror before looking at Telum.

“That's it! I'm going in. Curly is in serious danger! C'mon!”

Oliver gave Inkwell a cold stare before looking at Telum.

He was frozen in place, shaking a little.

The sound of the laugh he heard in the room was very similar to the one he hear when he was watching Puri.

“Telum..?”

Telum looked at Inkwell before running away.

“Telum!! Wha- Er- UGH! Fine I will get him myself!

Inkwell marched over to the door before Oliver grabbed her wrist.

“Don't… You- dont want to see what has happened…”

Inkwells eyes widened as she quickly slapped Olivers hand off her.

She flashed her now sharp teeth at Oliver as she growled.

“Listen here young man! My son is in there! I refuse to stand here and listen to this!”

Oliver had a saddened expression.

“I know, but just… Please follow Telum.”

The sound slowly got quieter and Inkwell froze, she slowly turned back to the door. Her fingertips gently covered his mouth. She knew too well what happened. Tears began to form in her eyes.

“NOOO!” She cried out as she reached for the door.

Oliver grabbed her arm with a saddened expression and dragged her away as she sobbed to herself.