___________________________
*Lucy's POV*

I had left home three days ago. When I awoke the next day, Slender bombarded me with questions about what had happened when Jack was knocked out. With no reason to lie, I told him the truth. He seemed pissed and set up a group to go and spy on Zalgo and his people.

Yesterday, Jack, Rouge, and Masky were sent out to do so. They were told not to return without any information. It terrified me knowing Jack was unsafe, but Slender wouldn't listen to my pleas to send someone else. He said that Jack knows the most about me and he'll know when they're talking about me. Hopefully, someone in Zalgo's realm says something soon, because this waiting game is not working out too well for me or Slenderman.

Since their departure yesterday morning, Clockwork and Toby have been keeping me busy by playing pool and arcade games. Toby was actually very skilled at pool but was terrible when it came to any of the arcade games. Ben played a few rounds with all of us but decided to stop because we were 'too beginner for him' as he put it.

Right now, I was watching a movie, Saw, on the big screen by myself, or so I thought. The movie was showing the scene of the man cutting his own leg off when a loud laughter arose from behind me. I jumped and turned to see who was there. It was Laughing Jack, go figure.

"The blood looks so fake." He laughed again.

I gave him an uneasy smile and turned in my beanbag, facing the screen again. Loud footsteps approached me and his tall figures jumped over the bean bag next to me, landing his rear on the seat.

"Mind if I join?" He laughed again.

"Doesn't look like I have a choice," I chuckled.

During the whole movie, Laughing Jack kept making comments on how the severed body parts looked fake, or how real blood looks thicker than that. When the movie was finally over, LJ stood up and stretched.

"Oh yeah. Slender wanted to see you in his office. Something about an update."

"You couldn't have told me sooner?" I bolted up from the bean bag and sprinted out into the hall, nearly running into Jinx.

Jinx let off a low growl as I passed him, running at full speed again. I rand down the flight of stairs, skipping a few at the bottom and turned quickly. When I made it to Slender's hallway, I slowed my speed down and opened the door. Slender was sitting at his desk looking at the proxy book again.

"I'm so sorry! LJ just told me an-"

"Silence. I don't need excuses. I just wanted to tell you the three of them are in an abandoned cabin for a few hours of rest. They're almost to where they need to be. I just got back from checking up on them." He said as he continued flipping through the pages.

"How's Jack? Are they okay?"

"They're fine, Lucy. I don't think you need to worry too much about them. Run along now." He shooed me with his hand, his face still planted in the book.

I nodded at Slender and exited the room, closing the door slowly behind me. Part of me was worried and scared the death, but the other part knew with the three together, they can handle themselves.

They're all going to return safely, I just know it.

******
*Jack's POV*

It made me nervous leaving Lucy behind with everyone else. You never know what could happen at the mansion, and she's still not ready for any of that. Ever since we left yesterday morning, we've been walking nonstop. Slender tried to put the portal as close as he could to Zalgo's territory. But in fear of Zalgo sensing it, we ended up hours away.

Rouge, Masky and I are held up in a small rundown cabin. The place was littered with dust covering everything. I was resting on a torn up sofa, while Rouge checked around the outside. Masky was sitting at the table at the end of the bed messing around with a deck of cards he had found in a drawer. Slowly and gently, he was starting to build a house of cards.

I let out a small chuckle and kicked the table, sending the cards plummeting down.

"You're a dick, Jack," Masky grumbled beneath his mask, sliding the cards off of the table and into his hand.

"How long are we staying here? This place stinks," I grumbled, sitting back up on the bed.

"Not long. Rouge should be back anytime now and she'll set up the game plan. She knows what's best." Masky muttered, laying the cards on the small rotted table.

Masky and I sat in silence for the next couple minutes. I was staring at the wooden floor while Masky stared at the door.

Our attention quickly went to the window when we heard twigs start snapping. Masky pulled out his knife and stood up hurriedly, standing behind the door. I stood up and ducked down by the bed, staring at the door. Slowly, the door opened and Rouge walked in.

"It's just Rouge, Masky." I sighed, standing back up.

Masky sighed and put his knife back. He closed the door behind Rouge and looked through the window on the door.

"Boys, we're a lot closer than expected. The portal is on the other side of the clearing passed these trees. Less than a mile. The only way I know that is because I saw Scarecrow enter. The sooner we get there, the sooner we get home." Rouge sat down in the chair that Masky previously occupied.

"So what's the plan then?" I sat back down on the bed. Masky had his back leaned up against the door.

"Zalgo's portal is easy to get into. I know that I've done it before. So let me take care of that. Once we're in, we find Zalgo and sit and wait until he says something about Lucy. I have a plan on how to get him to say something so we don't have to be there for long. Before I left, I snapped a picture of her. I'm going to leave it in clear view of him. Hopefully, that'll get him to say something. When we're done with that, we exit through the portal and call for Slender and then we can go home."

"But what if we run into someone?" Masky asked, scratching his head.

"We take them out. They won't be able to die because they're at their home base, but knocking them out or damaging them enough should do the trick." Rouge stood up, "Any other questions?"

I shook my head and so did Masky. Part of me was completely terrified. We were going in vulnerable, knowing full well Zalgo's 'puppets' cannot be killed there. We could be. But Rouge wouldn't let something like that happen. She's kind of been the badass mother figure for all of us at the mansion. She does have her moments where she gets out of control, but she's very overprotective. Shes especially overprotective of the proxies. Rouge is very quick in both speed and her wits. I trust her, as does everybody at the mansion.

"Let's get going," Rouge said as she turned for the door. Masky opened it and she walked out, him following her.

I glanced around the cabin once more to see if there was anything salvageable, but there wasn't. Leaving the place, I closed the door behind me.

Masky and I were running through the woods at full speed. Rouge was up in the trees, jumping from limb to limb, careful not to lose her balance. Before we knew it, the clearing was in front of us. Masky and I came to a halt and stood behind a tree. Rouge jumped down and landed on her hands and feet. Slowly she stood up and nodded, signaling for us to run through the field. We made it to where Rouge said the portal was and she began her work. Masky and I watched as she tapped the trees around it, and threw sticks through it, waiting for one to vanish and give us the sign that the portal was open. After a few minutes, one of the small twigs she threw disappeared into thin air. She turned and grabbed Masky and I and shoved the two us through it.

We both landed on tan cement ground. The sky around us was red, and the trees pitch black. One building was in the middle of all of this, and it was black in color. Windows were shattered, shingles lay around on the ground from the roof, and the bricks that the building was made up of were crumbling.

"This is it? This place looks like shit." I muttered, standing up and straightening my mask.

"Yup. The outside of the building looks terrible and small, but when you walk through the front door, it's huge and very fancy." She said as she started walking forward, "Although, the last time I was here, it seemed to be more friendly."

I scoffed. Zalgo doesn't know the meaning of the word friendly.

"Let's go. We have to be quick." Rouge said as she started quickly, and stealthily walking to the building.

Masky and I followed her every move. If she bolted right, we bolted right. If she bolted left, we bolted left. If she ducked, we ducked. Rouge was an expert in this, one wrong move and we'd all be toast, possibly even worse.

We were only a few feet away from the entrance, and Rouge took the picture out of her pocket. Seeing Lucy's face in the picture at a time like this made me feel a lot better. In the picture, Lucy was standing in the mansions doorway leading to the outside. She had on my black hoodie and her black ripped skinny jeans with her converse to match. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail that hung over her left shoulder.

"You ready to go in, Jack?" Rouge whispered.

"There's no need to go in when I'm out here," A loud voice echoed behind us, "Unless  you wanted a tour of the place."

The three of us jumped. Zalgo was standing less than twenty feet away from us. Anger surged through my whole body. Rouge went to charge him, but before she made three steps, he already had her pinned on the ground by her throat. Next to Zalgo, a pale-grey stitched up girl appeared, holding a scythe.

"Scarecrow," I muttered under my breath.

"Hello, Jack. Masky." She nodded at us, lifting up her scythe.

"Why do you come here?" Zalgo asked, looking straight at me.

"For answers." I shot at him.

"Ahh. Your little girlfriend." He chuckled, "I'll give you your answers, but you're not leaving here alive." He stood up, bringing Rouge up too. His hand was still firmly around her neck. Zalgo whipped her backward, sending her flying into Masky. They both forcefully smashed up against the building, knocking them both unconscious.

As I looked around for the nearest escape for us, Zalgo started to speak, "You see. Slender has been getting too many proxies. I thought it was rather, unfair. He could go out in the forest and just convince them to join him. Where me on the other hand, I rarely get my proxies. I'm just stuck with the ones who have been here for decades. Don't get me wrong, the longer I have them the stronger they are. But Slender has numbers. I don't. I don't get to the book's proxies as fast as he does, is that fair to me, Jack?" Zalgo started pacing around, "I simply fixed the problem. Slender can only get his next proxies through the spawn of his current proxy, Luciana. If she does have a child, by chance, her child is cursed too. Luciana is Slender's only hope at getting any other proxies." He stopped pacing and grinned at me, "Don't you think that's fair?"

I glared at Zalgo, my fists clenched, "How in the world is that fair, Zalgo?"

Zalgo began laughing, "Because, when I kill Luciana soon, Slender won't have any more proxies! Leaving him powerless."

Just the thought of Zalgo coming within a mile of Lucy infuriated me. Now he thinks he thinks he's going to get close enough to kill her. Not if I have anything to do with it.

"You won't be killing anyone," I sprang forward at Zalgo.

Before I had time to react, Scarecrow was in front of him, claiming her battle. She readied her scythe and lunged at me. When I made it about five feet away from her, she swung her scythe, just barely missing my abdomen. I got close enough to her to send one of my fists into her throat, earning a small gag from her. I went to go grab her in the sleeper hold, but she elbowed my mask, sending me backward. I looked over and saw Masky and Rouge up and banging on the door of the building.

Typical, Zalgo ran inside. He's too weak to do anything else right now.

Rouge turned to me and screamed, "Jack move!"

But it was too late. The tip of Scarecrow's scythe lodged itself into my stomach. Scarecrow giggled as she ripped it back out of my flesh. Locking my gaze on Scarecrow's face, I watched as her smile grew wider. The world around me became fuzzy as I fell to my knees. I clutched my stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. Everything was darkening. The last thing I saw was Rouge clawing at Scarecrow's body as Masky ran over to me.

******
*Lucy's POV*

"Scratch!" Toby yelled as the white ball fell into the pocket.

We've been playing pool for a little over an hour now. Toby found me after I had left Slender's study, and begged me to play. So far, it's been pretty enjoyable. Yet, slightly competitive still. Clockwork was sitting on one of the beanbag chairs along with Zero. Zero was staring at me most of the time, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. Her white hair was hanging loosely passed her black and white striped scarf around her neck. Her skin was paler than Jeff's, which I thought was almost impossible. She had her arms crossed, her soft gray eyes staring at me through her thick, black raccoon-like makeup. I feel like there's way more than what meets the eye with this one. But if there's one thing Ben and Jack had taught me, it was not to question the appearances of anyone.

Out in the hall, blood-curdling screams were heard, followed by the sounds of glass shattering and quick footsteps.

Toby looked at us and said, "W-wait here. I'll s-see what's u-up."

We all nodded at watched him poke his head out in the hall. As soon as the door opened, you could immediately hear Hunter's voice and Janes. Jane seemed to be talking frantically, and Hunter sounded crazed.

I sat my pool stick down and walked over to Toby, "What's going on?"

"Shh." He gently moved me aside and looked at Zero and Clock, "He's at it a-again. W-we need t-to get him in t-t-the basement."

"Shit," Zero grumbled, standing up.

"What? What's going on?" My eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Surely Slender told you about this. Hunter just snaps every now and then and becomes extremely violent. You need to stay here while we go get him in the basement. It's probably best if you hide. Stay out of sight and I'll come and get you when it's all over." Clockwork said as she gave me a small smile before walking over to Toby, who was standing by the slightly open door still.

"She means it. Stay hidden. He's not Hunter right now. He's Shadowlurker." Zero said to me before joining the other two by the door.

Shadowlurker? The name keeps repeating in my head over and over as I went and tucked myself in the corner behind an arcade game.

"Jeff's down there now. So is Ben," Clock said as she poked her head out of the door slightly, "LJ and Doll Maker are there too. Alright, let's go."

And with that, the three of them left the room. It was quiet, except for the sounds of Hunter screeching and screaming. When Slender said sometimes he's not himself, I honestly thought it was a joke. I held my breath and concentrated on the sounds downstairs. First and foremost, I heard yelling. It sounded like a madhouse down there. Well, I guess it was. I could hear running around and then I heard a loud bang sound. To me, it sounded like a door slamming. There were cheers that I could hear and slapping; probably high fives.

"We beat the last time!" I heard Ben yell.

"One minute and forth three seconds!" Another cried out.

I couldn't help but laugh at them. Only they would be timing themselves to see how long it took to lock their crazed friend up. But not only that, keeping track of it every time.

The cheering was cut off but a loud voice, "Silence! I need Smiley immediately in the hospital room."

That's Slender. Why is Smiley needed there?

I slid out from behind the arcade games and quietly made my way over to the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door slowly. Slender was rushing past me, carrying a body. Two others followed him- Masky and Rouge.

The two of them stopped next to me as I watched as Slender hurriedly turned the corner in front of me to make his way around to the next flight of stairs. I couldn't help but notice the dark red liquid on the ground in a trail that followed the three of them. 

"Jack!" I cried out, flinging the door open and bolting in Slender's direction.

Rouge turned around and caught me in her arms, "Not right now, dear."

"Yeah, it's not looking pretty," Masky chimed in.

"Shut up you dumbass! Follow Slender." Rouge hissed. She sat me down on the floor and wiped my hair out of my face.

"What happened? Is he okay? What does Masky mean it's not looking pretty?" I spewed out to her. My mind was racing fast, making me dizzy.

"Well. I don't exactly want to get into detail. Let's just say Jack took a scythe to his stomach. It went pretty far in. I'd rather not share anything else with you. What I can say is that Jack knows about your proxy business, Masky and I were blacked out for that." Rouge hung her head down.

"What? I'm going upstairs. Do not try and stop me." I shot at Rouge, biting my tongue to fight the tears.

"Wouldn't dream of it. I just needed to explain to you what happened before you start pointing fingers." She said as she made her way to the floor that had her bedroom, floor three.

I ran as fast as I could up to the hospital room. When I got to the room, the door was wide open. Jack lay shirtless on a bed, his stomach completely soaked in blood. His breaths were heavy and long. Slender was yelling at Dr. Smiley in the room.

"I will not treat him after what he did to me," Smiley said to Slender.

"You will do as I say! Now treat him!" Slender yelled. Smiley shook his head.

I looked at Jack. His mask was off to allow the air to get to him easier. It seemed like every breath became slower and deeper. If Smiley didn't do something soon, Jack won't make it. Something inside of me snapped and I stormed over to Dr. Smiley.

I grabbed him by his coat and slammed him up against the wall, he gave me a glare and I pulled a hand back and punched him in the face, "Listen to me right now! Fighting is all that happens in this mansion. You're pissed because Jack handed you your ass? Get over it. You will not win every fight you get in to. Now, get your ass over to Jack and help him!" I screamed, throwing him to the ground.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Smiley whispered as he stood up and hurriedly made his way over to Jack.

"Keep that up and training won't be necessary." Slender chuckled, "Keep me updated with Jack. He knows about the proxy problem. As soon as he is able to talk, let me know immediately. Got it, Luce?" He placed a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded at him. He left the room hurriedly, closing the door behind him.

I made my way over to the side of the bed that Smiley wasn't on. I grabbed Jack's hand and squeezed it tight. Part of me wanted him to squeeze it back so I knew he was okay. But the other part of me knew he wasn't going to. My stomach churned when I took a quick glance at Jack's stomach. The thick red liquid was just pouring out.

"I need you to leave, Lucy," Dr. Smiley grumbled, getting his instruments together and placing a heart monitor on Jack's finger.

"But-"

"Leave, Lucy!" He yelled at me, poking a needle through Jack's arm.

I gave Jack one last look, his skin growing into a paler gray by the second.

Leaning down, I got close to his ear and whispered, "Please be okay, Jack," And I pressed my lips to his temple.

"Lucy, you need to go," Dr. Smiley repeated.

"Shut up," I mumbled to Smiley as I turned and left the room.

I sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. I was staring at the hospital door, my hands holding my head. On the inside, I was screaming and crying. But I remained as calm as I could on the outside. I let a small tear roll down my cheek before falling asleep in the hallway.

******

"Lucy. Lucy, wake up," A small hand was nudging my shoulder.

I looked over to my side and saw Sally standing next to me, gripping her teddy bear. When the grogginess cleared, I saw almost everyone in the mansion standing around me. Jeff was sitting on my left, Sally still standing on my right.

"What's going on?" I looked over at Jeff.

"Slender, Dr. Smiley, and Papagrande are all in there. It's really not looking too good," Jeff said. He had his knees up and he was picking up his knife and dropping the tip of it to the floor, picking it back up and dropping it again. His other hand was holding his head up.

It was weird for me to see everyone here at once without the arguing. They all claimed to hate each other, yet when one of them is severely injured they band together. They were family, I guess you'd say. One seriously messed up family.

Clockwork came over and sat in front of me. Her one good eye showed nothing but sorrow. She was staring at me, trying to give me a smile, but immediately dropped it into a frown.

I looked around at the creepy group of people. Everyone was here for one reason, Jack. But they were all in the mansion for different reasons. Their differences get in the way, a lot, but there's one thing you never do- fuck with one of their own.

"I say we have people watching for Scarecrow to exit Zalgo's portal. Then we jump her and take her out," Laughing Jack grinned as he slammed his fist into his hand.

"I agree. This isn't the first time she's done us harm. Just nothing like this before. But Zalgo will know it's coming," Zero piped up. She was standing at the entrance of the hall, around twenty feet away from me.

"Who the fuck cares!? He's completely incapable of fighting us himself," Ben added, standing up against the wall.

"It's not just Scarecrow and Zalgo we have to worry about guys! Lulu, Skroll... who knows who else! Hell, even Jeff's own brother!" Jane yelled, looking around.

"He's not my brother anymore. Back off," Jeff hissed, gripping his knife and pointing it straight at Jane.

"Whatever you say, Jeff. There's more than just them. We can't go off and be reckless like Jack was," Jane sneered.

I tensed up, "Like Jack was? Excuse me? Say it again," I stood up, tightening my fists.

"Like. Jack. Was." She glared at me, grinning from ear to ear.

"Now is not the time, Jane," Rouge softly spoke up.

My blood boiled. Anger shot straight through my body. I jumped over Jeff's legs and ran at her. She just stared at me, still grinning.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on there, Short Stack." Laughing Jack wrapped an arm around me, holding me back.

"LJ let me go now! I'm going to rip her face off. I'll tear her open! She's done." I wiggled around in LJ's grip, "I'll kill you bitch."

Everyone was staring at me, not making a single sound. Jane giggled and walked over a few feet in front of me, only to be stopped by Hoodie.

Hoodie shook his head at her.

"What? She wants to threaten me with such a good time, I want to see it happen. Come on, Lucy. I promise not to hurt you... too badly." She wrapped a hand around her hair and put her hair up in a messy ponytail.

"She's n-not t-trained, J-Jane. No," Toby stuttered as he stepped up to Jane.

She shoved Toby, sending him backward, "Get away Ticci. This isn't your fight."

"This isn't anyone's fight. Lucy is upset. Let her be upset," Rouge added.

"Well. She's not trained, let's start now." Jane shoved through Hoodie and bent down. She grabbed behind my knee and ripped, sending me topping down out of LJ's grip.

LJ went to grab me but Jane was already pulling me by my foot towards the railings.

"Jane let her go!" LJ screamed.

"Come any closer, any of you, and she will be dead. That I can promise," She glared at everyone in the hallway.

I was kicking my feet, trying to get out of her deadly grasp that she held around my ankle, "Let me go!"

"No, no honey. We're taking this one outside," She chuckled.

I was still squirming when we had made it to the stairs. With one quick and swift pull, she sent me toppling down the staircase. I managed to safely guard my face while I went down, but my tailbone took most of the force. I landed at the bottom on my rear and let out a quick yelp. I looked back up and Jane was already halfway down the stairs, walking quickly.

I managed to pull myself up, running around the second-floor rails and down the next flight of stairs and sprang for the door, "LJ! Ben! Clock! Somebody do something!" I screamed as I opened the door and flew outside.

Jane was close behind me, her giggles of joy were heard over my heavy breathing. I was bent over in the field in front of the mansion, trying to catch my breath.

"Ready, Lucy?" She giggled as she got closer and closer.

"Why are you doing this, Jane?" I stood up and looked at her.

"You threatened me. Own up to it. Come on, tear my face off! Rip me open! Kill me!" She grinned.

"You shouldn't have said what you said about Jack! We wouldn't be in this situation. He's dying and you're going to be pathetic enough to make a comment like that?" I spat at her.

"Jane! Get away from her." Clockwork ran outside, followed by Toby and Zero.

"Why can't anyone let her go!? She's one of us now!" Jane screamed, turning around and facing Clock and Toby.

As Clock started to reply to Jane, Toby and I locked eyes and he looked down at the ground by me. There was a rock by my shoe, a little bigger than a fist. He then looked at me and nodded. Quietly, I bent down and picked up the rock, looking back at Toby. He looked quickly at Jane, then back at me. I nodded and slowly stepped closer to Jane. Jane was flailing her arms around, still arguing with Clock. As I lifted up the rock, Jane turned around.

"Sorry!" I yelled as I slammed the rock down on the side of her forehead. Jane immediately dropped to the ground and I let the rock go. Everybody else was running over to us by now. I fell to my knees and began crying. Everything I was holding back in the hall started spilling out.

Jeff ran up to me and bent down, "Damn. Wish I would've witnessed that. Need some help?" He extended out his hand and I took it.

Jeff helped me up and I slammed into him, giving him a tight hug, and cried into his white sweatshirt, "Jack's going to be okay right?"

Jeff fumbled for his words, his hands still thrown up in the air out of shock, "I-uh-Uhm. Yes?"

I pulled back and wiped my face, "Well, that wasn't reassuring."

"Listen. I've known Jack for years. He's stubborn, hard-headed, and nothing has stopped him yet. I doubt this will." Jeff ruffled my hair.

I let out a small laugh.

"Why is everybody outside?" Slender's voice boomed from the front porch. His tux had a few blood stains, making me feel dizzy.

Slender caught sight of Jane, who was still knocked out cold on the ground.

Slender sighed, "Who did it this time?"

A couple chuckles were heard, but all fingers pointed at me. I was speechless, not knowing what to say.

"Really? Lucy took down Jane all by herself?" Slender questioned.

"Well, actu-"

"Yes. S-she d-did. C-clock and I s-saw it a-all." Toby cut me off.

Slender's blank face gazed at us for a few quiet moments before speaking. "Interesting. Lucy, Jack's barely conscious. He's mumbled your name quite a few times. You ready to see him?" Slender asked.

"Yes!" I said a little too enthusiastically and sprang forward, running for the door.

When I got inside, I took the stairs two at a time and raced around, taking the next flight of stairs three at a time. I flew down the hall and slowed down as I got in front of the hospital room doors. My hand grasped the handle and slowly I opened it.

The room was dimly lit. All of the beds were pushed to the side, except the one that held Jack. His to school was bandaged and he Han an oxygen mask on. An IV was sticking into his arm, pumping a clear fluid into him. All he had on was the blanket covering his bottom half. Papagrande nodded at me and left the room, leaving Dr. Smiley sitting in the farther corner to the right.

"Jack?" I whispered, walking over to him.

Slowly, he stirred, tilting his head to look at me on the left side of his bed.

"Angel," He wheezed softly.

Slender was in the room now, and he pulled a chair over to me. I sat in it, taking Jacks hand in mine. Tears started to pour down my face and I tried my best to hide them from him.

"Stop... it." He lifted his hand out of mine and brushed his finger against my cheek, wiping the stream away.

"You really scared me, you know," I let out a soft, short laugh.

Jack lifted up his arm and nodded his head at the empty spot next to him. I looked at Smiley for approval, all his did was nod once.

Slowly I crawled into the bed next to Jack. Gently, I laid down on my left side and placed my head on Jack. He wrapped his arm around me and let out a wince, making me jump and pick my head up.

"You're... fine." He nodded slowly at his stomach, signaling it wasn't me who was hurting him.

I laid my head back down and let out a long sigh, "Was this all you wanted?" I giggled.

He let out a chuckle, only to make him wince even harder.

"I don't like seeing you like this," I added, gently running my fingers over the bandages around his abdomen.

"Slender?" Jack called out.

"I'm here."

"Proxy... Can't... gain more. Lucy's spawn." Jack wheezed out.

"Wait. What?" I looked at Slender who seemed lost in deep thought.

"I'm a child of a proxy?" I questioned Jack.

"No." Jack shook his head softly.

"I'm confused."

Jack let out a soft whimper.

"Luciana. I think what Jack is trying to say is," Slender paused for a moment, "I can't gain any new proxies. You're the last one. Unless you have a child. Then your child becomes the next proxy."

Jack nodded his head.

I let out a small laugh, "Well I sure am not having one any time soon. Is that what the curse was? Why is it so important?"

"Because it lowers our numbers, giving him the chance to gain more or even strengthen the ones he has to the point where he can knock us all out." Slender slammed his hand down on the table, "Fuck!"

My eyes opened wide.

Did Slender just honestly say that?

"Surely there's a way to reverse it, Slender," I said.

"I'm sure there's a way to get new proxies, that I can handle. Papagrande and I can work on that immediately. But you'll remain cursed, Lucy. He placed the curse on you, not me. Any child you do bare belongs to me." Slender stated.

"Way to be blunt. I don't want to hear this right now. I'm way too young and not even in the right situation to be a parent." I shot a glare at Slender.

"You're 19. You've got plenty of time before then, I'd hope. Let's let Jack get some rest," Slender held his hand out for me to take.

I tried to sit up, but Jack's grip tightened around me, "Stay."

Slender sighed, "The first sign of distress, Jack, and she's getting removed," And with that, he left the room.

I laid my head back down on Jack.

My child? My children's children? Sure I've thought about parenting, but I am NOT that type. Now there's no way in hell I'd ever have one.

My mind began to wander back to my first day being here when I woke up in this room. Ben was ever so nice to give me that pill to heal myself immediately.

The pill I am so stupid.

"Jack? Let's get you out of here sooner than humanly possible." I grinned and kissed his cheek, "Smiley. I've heard there's a pill here that immediately heals anything. Where is it?"

Smiley tenses up in his chair, "There's one left and the one who made it left us long ago. We cannot recreate it."

I hesitated before saying, "Do me this favor and I promise I'll owe you one."

Jack's grip tightened around me, probably signifying my stupidity. I didn't care. There is no way I'm living in this mansion without him being around.

"You sure?" Dr. Smiley grinned at me.

I nodded, "Get it now."

Dr. Smiley jumped up from his chair and walked over to the cabinets. He pulled out a small black box and opened it. Inside was a circular green tube. He opened it and dumped the pill into his hand. He looked at it and walked over to me.

This whole time Jack was trying to nudge me to get my attention, but I ignored it. Smiley handed me the pill and grabbed the glass of water by the bed.

"He needs to sit up," Smiley said.

I looked down at Jack, who was noticeably shaking, "Jack, I know this is going to hurt. But please take this. We have to sit you up."

Jack shook his head, a small black tear rolled down his cheek.

"Jack. Your pain will be gone. Please," I spoke softly.

After a few moments, Jack nodded. Smiley and I both took one of his shoulders.

"Place the pill in his mouth. When I say three, lift him up. I'll give him the water and quickly lay him back down. Ready?" Smiley said.

I nodded and took the oxygen mask off. Jack opened his mouth a little bit and I placed the pill in his mouth. I quickly pecked his soft lips before nodding at Smiley, who was staring at us in disgust.

"One. Two. Three!"

We both lifted him up. Jack was groaning and started to scream, only to be cut off by Smiley pouring the water into his mouth. Without warning, Smiley dropped Jack back onto the bed.

"Give it a few minutes and he'll feel better. In about an hour he won't feel anything and by tomorrow it'll be healed. Slender's going to kick my ass," Smiley chuckled.

"Well, I am in your debt one time. So make it count. What do you want?" I looked right at Smiley.

He grinned and said, "Only time will tell."

******

"You're sure you want to stand up?" I giggled at Jack.

His bandages were still wrapped around him. He has only made it as far as sitting up, and even then that wasn't far enough to get a single piece of clothing on him.

"I'll leave the room so Smiley can help you get dressed. Really, I won't be offended at all," I chuckled.

"He is the last person I want touching me," Jack glared at Smiley.

"I was the one who undressed you, Jack," Smiley laughed.

"Shut up." Jack held his glare on Smiley.

"Alright, but I'm keeping my eyes closed." I sighed, grabbing his blue boxers, "Typical, Jack. Everything is blue and black."

"That's the only reason I chose you," He snorted as he joked about my hair.

"Oh? Is that how it is?" I laughed, poking his stomach. He jolted from the slight pain it caused.

"Hey! I was kidding. Help me please, Luce?" He said as he gave me a cheesy pouty lip.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm standing up now. So close your eyes." He grinned.

"Wait!" I walked over to the bed, "Sit on the edge of the bed and leave the blanket on."

He raised an eyebrow at me but did what I said. I walked over and slid his legs into his boxers and pulled them up.

"When I turn, pull them up the rest of the way as you stand, simple enough?" I asked.

"Yup. Turn now." He laughed as she stood up quickly. I turned fast and hear him walk over to me.

He wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear, "They're up. I missed you."

I turned around and smiled at him, "Jack, it was only two days."

He laughed, "I know. But I've spent over a week with you already and then to leave just like that? I was worried."

"Get dressed, goof. I'll be upstairs in the bedroom. It's extremely late and I'm tired," I yawned and then kissed his cheekbone.

I left the hospital room and walked down the stairs. The whole time I was walking, I couldn't help but think about my curse. In a way, I felt bad for Slender because now all he's going to do is figure out a way to reverse what had happened to him. Since I was the one who was cursed, that can't be changed. But anyone else it was supposed to effect, that can be changed. It's complicated, but I completely understood what he meant. On the bright side, there was no way for me to get pregnant anytime soon. Jack and I can stay right at the level we're at and I'll hold my 'innocent' card just a while longer. Besides, I have plenty of other things to worry about.

I made it to the bedroom door and a note was tacked onto it:

"Training: Meet in the field tomorrow before noon. Everybody must show."

Great. There's one of the few things that I did need to worry about.

I opened the door and closed it. I slipped on a pair of PJ shorts and a tank top. Walking over to my bed, I was completely relieved that this day was over. Thankfully there was one pill left, but what will we do if something worse happens to someone and there's no pill to save them? I laid down and closed my eyes, immediately drifting off to sleep.

******
*Jack's POV*

I had just made it back to our bedroom. In the pitch black room, the only sounds to be heard were the slight snores escaping through Lucy. I threw on my sweatpants and went a laid down next to her on her bed. She was facing away from me, so I scooted up next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

Part of me feels like Lucy's curse was my fault. If I wasn't so weak to the point where a rock had knocked me out, things would've gone differently. But I can't dwell on that. It's done and over with.

My next thoughts were of what Smiley was going to be expecting from her. I was terrified to even think about it. He's such a sly person, you never know.

Lucy rolled over and pressed her face into my chest and let out a long sigh. I felt myself grow tired. Kissing the top of her head, I quietly said goodnight to her and fell fast asleep.

*************************
Hello, dolls! I feel like it's been forever since I last updated, but it's only been about 5 days (I believe). Anyways, lots of family problems and ran into writer's block. I've got it now and hopefully, everyone enjoyed it! Now, I must catch some sleep asap!
*************************

Updated on: September 20, 2017 & May 21, 2018