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

If Hell was real, this was it. Corrupted were scattered throughout the entire area, threatening to feed off us. The sky was an abnormal deep red in color, with a faint black fog attempting to cover the sky.

The others were just a few feet in front of us, staring at the open field in front of us.

"Well," Ben started speaking, "You weren't wrong Lucy."

"I know." I shrugged, still looking around in amusement.

I could see my brother, leaning on a door staring at us. The black veins over his body were more visible than the last time I saw him. He stood up and a small grin spread across his face.

"Hi, Goose!" He shouted.

My heart cringed at the sound of my nickname falling out of his lips. Just a few months ago I would've loved to hear him say it. Now, it sickened me.

"Well, are you coming or not?" He shouted, opening the door.

Unsheathing Lethal Caress from its sheath on my back, I gripped it in both hands. I knew he wasn't going to let us get in that easily. But how are we going to get around all of these corrupted?

"LJ," I whispered, "Port me next to Luke and get back here. You guys charge. If you get the slightest scratch on you, get out of here immediately. Slender is waiting by for us."

"Would it kill the old man to actually help for once?" Jane scoffed.

I slapped her on the head gently with the dull side of my katana. She jumped and grabbed the top of her head.

"He doesn't fight for the same reason Zalgo doesn't. We need him to stay alive. We don't need to always rely on him. Got it?" I said, taking a few steps over to LJ.

Jane rolled her eyes as she nodded.

"Just give me the cue, Short Stack and you'll be there in a jiffy." LJ grinned, wrapping his arm around my torso.

I took a few deep breaths. I wasn't going to kill him. I couldn't. Catching him off guard was my goal here. Maybe knocking him around a bit was another goal, but that was beside the point. If everyone out here can hold off long enough for me to scare Luke away, then I can get to Jeff.

"Now," I said sternly.

A black fog engulfed my vision and I prepared myself for what was coming next.

When my vision came back, Luke was standing in front of me. I spun around, kicking him through the already partially opened door. He let out a loud yelp as he scrambled to get back on his feet. I held my katana out in front of me, pointing it straight at his throat.

"Hello, Lukey." I finally responded to his greeting.

He grinned at me.

"Your buddy is right through that door over there." He said, pointing at a wooden door. "I won't fight you, so don't worry about me."

I squinted my eyes at him, unsure of whether to believe him or not. He threw his hands up in surrender.

"Honestly, Luce. I have no reason to lie to you. I'm not the one you need to worry about." Luke grinned.

I kept my katana pointed at him as I inched back to the door he had pointed at just a few minutes before, checking behind me to make sure it was just me and him in the room. He still had a shit eating grin on his face, which was one of the main reasons why I couldn't trust him.

Just as I was a few feet away from the door, there was a horrid screech outside. My eyes widened as I looked at the doorway. Luke began laughing.

"I told you I'm not the one you needed to worry about." Luke laughed.

LJ appeared in the room next to me. His eyes were cold as he lunged at Luke. Pinning Luke's shoulders up against the wall with his forearm, he started yelling in Luke's face.

"You set us up! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't disembowel you right now!" LJ hollered, reading his free hand to attack at his side.

"Well, I'm not the one who called the Brain Child here. Your proxies did." Luke chuckled.

LJ growled as he pulled his hand back farther, ready to attack Luke.

Grabbing LJ's arm, I pulled on him, trying to get into the space between the boys.

"Proxies? How do you know?" I asked, glaring at him.

Zero, Ben, Toby, Clock, Masky, Hoodie, and Candy all piled in through the door, with Puppeteer being last. He quickly shut the door behind him and held his back against it.

"Luke, how do you know about the other proxy?" I snarled, readying my hand on my katana.

"We just know, Luce. The corrupted knew last time you all showed up, too. You can't exactly keep it a secret for long." Luke chuckled. "Though I don't see him, or her, with you in here. You think your other proxy is strong enough to fend off a Brain Child by them self?"

I widened my eyes and glanced over at the group standing near the door. Candy shook his head at me. How could they sense another proxy already? I'm not that far along!

"There is no other proxy," I lied to Lucas, swallowing the lump in my throat that had formed.

Lucas chuckled, "Good joke. The corrupted can sense it and it drives them wild to just think about devouring another proxy after you."

Gripping my katana, I quickly pointed it at Lucas's throat.

"They're going to have to go through me before they even think about touching the other." I snarled.

"Quite literally..." Puppeteer quietly chuckled.

I turned my head to him, shaking it slowly. Looking back at Lucas, I realized his eyes were gazing at my stomach.

"How? Hobo was supposed to take care of that!" Lucas snarled, struggling to free himself from LJ's grip.

"Hobo is a failure." I pointed out. "Let him go, LJ."

LJ threw himself backward as Lucas slouched down to the ground.

"He's just going to-"

Lucas threw an orb on the ground, letting out a cloud of thick smoke.

"--disappear anyways." I sighed. "They're best at that." I spun around to face Puppeteer, "And you! Do you have a mute button? Or are you just going to spew anything that comes to mind first?!"

Puppeteer went to speak up, but for once, he bit his tongue.

From outside we could hear the snarling of corrupted come to a stop. I bit down on my bottom lip and quietly made my way over to the door. Puppeteer placed his hand on the doorknob. Readying my katana in front of me, I nodded at Teer and he slowly opened the door.

Outside was pitch black. From what I could tell, the corrupted were gone. What I was worried about was the tall white figure, that was glowing in the dark, standing in the middle of the field in front of us. The shape of its body signified it was a male. The clothes it wore were white like his body, also glowing in the dark. The muscle shirt he wore exposed his thick, ripped arms. His shorts cut off right at the knee, showing off his toned calves. There was no way he was under ten feet tall, and even then, ten feet is under-exaggerating. The Brain Child's hair was pulled back in a tight, white ponytail at the back of his head.

"Close it," I whispered to Puppeteer.

He closed it as gently as he could and I took a few steps back, trying to think of our next move.

I cleared my throat and looked over at LJ.

"We can't just leave here without getting rid of him, but, we need someone to get Jeff," I said plainly, running a hand through my hair.

"You and Ben go get Jeff. We can wear the Brain Child out and by the time Jeff is home, you can come back and help us out. I have a weird feeling about this one." LJ responded, glancing over at the door, then back to me.

I nodded my head. I was all for that idea. I would know immediately if Jeff was okay instead of thinking about it the whole time we were trying to fight a glorified version of Hercules. The faster we get this done, the faster we can get answers. That's all I wanted as of this point.

"Let's go, Ben," I announced, walking over to the door Jeff was behind.

I grabbed the door handle and turned around before opening the door. Glancing over at the group, I nodded at them. "Good luck guys. I'll be there when I can."

And with that, Puppeteer opened the door and they all bolted out. Puppeteer gave me a quick salute before leaving, making me chuckle at his weirdness. One good thing was there was never a dull moment with these guys, that's for sure.

Turning the door handle, I slowly opened the door. Other than hearing the door creaking, I could hear another sound, as if something snapped. The next sound that followed after that was Jeff's screams and the sound of something heavy hitting water.

Slamming the door open, Ben and I quickly entered and looked around. There was a cage that was quickly sinking into a hole filled with water. Jeff's head was barely above water as the cage continued to descend.

"Lucy!" Jeff gurgled as the cage sunk lower.

I threw my katana to the side and quickly bolted to the hole in the ground. Ben and I grasped what we could of the cage and tried lifting it up.

"It's too heavy!" I grunted. "Teleport in and grab him, Ben!"

Ben took a few steps backward and let out a whimper.

"Ben, come on! Don't do this right now! Please!" I cried out, getting onto my knees to peer into the water as the top of the cage disappeared.

"I-I-I can't, Lucy." Ben pouted.

"Ben! I know this isn't exactly your thing, but Jeff is going to drown! Do you want that?" I shouted, standing up. Panic was taking over my body.

I glared back at him as he inched his way to the doorway.

"I can get LJ, he'll do it," Ben said as he left the room.

Before I could respond to Ben, he was out of sight.

My hands were tangled in my hair as I looked around the room. There was an awful amount of blood on the floor not far from where Jeff's cage was. Chains were hanging from two poles sticking out of the ground. Taking a few steps to the side, I accidentally knocked over a bucket and nearly tripped.

"Oh, I don't have time for this!" I snarled.

Quickly tying my hair back into a ponytail, I slipped my hoodie off, only to be in a sports bra and pants now. Taking a deep breath in, I ran and dove into the icy cold water, keeping my eyes open. I wasn't worried about running out of breath. I guess all of those years of Luke and I playing "who can hold their breath longer" has finally paid off. The cage was far down, but if I swam fast enough, I could grab a hold of it easily.

I was kicking my feet as hard as I could, holding my hands out in front of me. Bubbles released from the cage and all I could hope for was those were air pockets, and not Jeff letting go.

Please, don't let go, Jeff. I'm almost there.

Finally, I could get a firm grip on the cage. Grabbing onto the side of the cage, I pulled myself down and peered into it. Jeff was still holding his breath, but I don't know for how much longer. Jeff had his hands on his chest, trying not to breathe in. Grabbing onto two bars, I tried to pry them apart. By now, my heart was racing as we kept plunging down farther and farther. Trying to focus all of my strength on my arms was hard knowing your best friend is second away from dying. I wanted to cry out for help, but for obvious reasons, I couldn't. Can you cry underwater?

I kept ripping on the bars, putting all of my might into it when Jeff placed his hand on mine. Looking up at him, he shook his head and pointed up. I squinted my eyes and him. He reached his hands out and pulled my head in close. Our lips touched and he released his breath into me. I pulled back in time to see his eyes roll into the back of his head as his body went limp.

My eyes widened as I grabbed the bars again. I began pulling on the bars again as I watched my arms become engulfed in the black veins once again. Using all of my force, the bars began bending. A feeling of relief flooded over me, hoping he was still okay.

As soon as the bars bent far enough, I reached my arms in and grabbed Jeff, pulling him through the hole I just created. Wrapping my arm around his torso, I waited until the cage was just below my feet and used it to spring upwards. Kicking my feet as hard as I could and using my free arm, we were upwards bound. My chest was tightening, letting me know I didn't have much time left myself, but I could see the surface was approaching.

My teeth were clenched together as my hand broke through the surface of the water. I grabbed the edge of the concrete and pulled both Jeff and myself up, gasping for air. Ben was staring at Jeff in shock as I laid Jeff on his back, his legs dangling over into the water. Leaning over Jeff's still body, I pressed my hands to his chest and began pumping.

In front of me, LJ appeared and bent down on one knee. His hair was sopping wet, dangling over his face.

"How did you do that?" He asked, slicking his hair backward.

I nodded at my hands, which were not engulfed in pure blackness. LJ ran a finger over the back of my hand and stared at it in confusion.

"What did she do?" Ben asked from behind me.

"Can we talk about this later?" I asked, covering Jeff's nose.

Taking a deep breath in, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, filling his lungs with air. Sitting back up, I went back to pressing on his chest. Before I could press down, Jeff began coughing. I quickly grabbed his hand and helped him turn over on his side, patting his back to help him get the water out of his lungs. The grip from his hand was tight, but it was better than having no grip from him at all.

"Wh-Why did you stay there?" Jeff sputtered out, looking up at me.

"We lost, Jack. I'm not losing you, too." I responded, helping him sit up.

Ben poked my shoulder and I turned around. He was holding my hoodie out to me. Flashing him a quick smile, I took it out of his hands and stood up. I was collecting my hair in my hands to wring it out when Jeff poked my stomach.

"We going to talk about the elephant in the room, or..." Jeff asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Well, Jeff," I chuckled, sliding the hoodie on over my head, "I didn't feel fat like an elephant until you said something. So, thank you."

"That's not what I me-"

"I know." I grinned, sticking my tongue out at him. "What do you think happened?"

"I think you and EJ fuc-"

"OK!" I shouted. "Now that he's all filled in on what happened, I'm going to get him home and I'll meet you guys outside."

LJ and Ben nodded at me as they both teleported away.

"Why are you coming back here?" Jeff asked.

Kneeling down, I grabbed his arm and slung it over my shoulders. He pulled his legs up out of the water and stood up, shaking.

"Cold?" I asked as he finally stood upright.

"Hungry and tired. I feel weak." Jeff muttered. "Why are you coming back here, Luce?"

Pressing my lips together, I wasn't sure what to tell him. Knowing how Jeff is, he would suck up his pain and help us. But what help would he be in this condition?

I sighed. "There's a Brainchild out there. No, you're not helping. Everyone else is out there. You need to go home. Okay? I already saved your ass once today, not doing that again."

Jeff chuckled. "Fine, but don't expect me to back down this easily next time. Got it?"

I nodded and grabbed my pendant around my neck, whispering for Slender.

Jeff quickly moved his head around and locked eyes on the bucket I had knocked over earlier and pointed at it.

"Our pendants are in there." Jeff quietly spoke.

"Our?"

Jeff nodded and looked down at the ground. I clenched my jaw as we slowly made our way over to the bucket. Sure enough, you could see the two pendant chains in the pile of vomit.

"I'm not touching that." I quickly said, looking away from it.

Jeff chuckled as he removed his arm from around me. He stuck his fingers in the pile, as if it was nothing new to him, and pulled them both out.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see that," I muttered, feeling my stomach churn. "I also don't want to even know how they got in there."

"Jack swallowed them," Jeff responded quickly, sticking them both in his pocket.

Closing my eyes, I felt my face grimace.

"He... swallowed them?" I asked. "Why?"

"Hobo still has his pendant. All they would need to do is have three and that's more of them getting into the Slender Woods at once. Not a risk we were willing to take." Jeff responded as he looked around the room.

His facial expression became more sorrowful as he locked his eyes on something behind me. Turning around, I saw it was the pool of crusted blood on the floor.

"I felt it," I whispered to Jeff as I turned back to him.

"I watched it. I felt helpless. I couldn't move up there without the cage threatening to snap and fall into the water. There was nothing I could do." Jeff responded. He then cleared his throat. "Get out there, I'll head back to the Hide Away. We'll talk later, alright Luce?"

Before Jeff could call for Slender, he appeared in front of us.

"The Brainchild disappeared," Slender said before wrapping a tentacle around Jeff. "We think it's still in the area, but we're not quite sure. Just watch your back out there."

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to appear," I let out a soft laugh, "and I'm not worried."

Slender shook his head. "Your carelessness is going to lead to the death of you, Luciana. Be careful with it."

I rolled my eyes and nodded at him as I watched the two of them disappear.

"Thought you said this was something you could get used to," I muttered to myself as I made my way over to my katana and picked it up.

The rush from Lethal Caress was something I now look forward to instead of dreading it like I used to.

I captured a few more breaths before heading out to join the rest of them.

******

*Luke's POV*

I had left Luciana and the Slender Follower's back at the cult site nearly a half hour ago. As of right now, I was wadding around through Zalgo's dead forest, just thinking of how to break the news. I was picking up fallen branches and throwing them as hard as I could.

"You look distressed."

Jumping in my tracks, I turned around to see Scarecrow leaning up against a tree.

Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. "There's a change of plans. I don't know what they're planning. But I know who the new proxy is."

Scarecrow stood up straight, waiting for me to spill the beans.

"Let's get to Zalgo," I said, walking by her, "he's going to want to know, too."

I could hear Scarecrow shuffling her way behind me. How was I going to break the news? Just, hey Zalgo, Hobo is a failure, she's pregnant. My sister is pregnant. Just the sound of that disgusted me. Plus, she's out there fighting? Something wasn't adding up.

To the right of Scarecrow and I, there was a Corrupted laying on the ground, chewing at its own paws. Auto-cannibalism at its finest.

"So," I broke into the silence, "What's your story? Why are you here?"

Scarecrow let out a snort and crossed her arms. "I have my reasons, Luke. I don't talk about them, though."

"Well, you know why I'm here. I want to know why you are." I responded, glancing over at her.

She stopped in her tracks and hastily grabbed my arm.

"Why is that, Luke? You're mad because your sister left your family behind? You're mad that your sister is actually something and you're not? You're mad because she's not spending time with you and instead she's with all of the freaks?" Scarecrow snarled, wrinkling her forehead.

"You're not too far off, I guess," I said, letting out a sigh. "I just don't care for her anymore and she needs to be put to a stop. What Zalgo wants to do with the world will help everyone. There will be no more pain and suffering from sickness. No more nine to five jobs that you hate. No more worries. Just do as Zalgo pleases and you'll get through."

"You do realize he implants that in all of our heads? What Zalgo plans isn't exactly a dream. For us, yes, because we'll come out on top of all of it all. But everyone else suffers, which I'm okay with." Scarecrow responded. "I guess you're just lucky we found you when we did, otherwise you'd be just like all of the others- suffering."

Shrugging my shoulders I continued to walk on. She wasn't wrong. The plan we had placed is quite a long shot, but if we can knock the proxies out of here, I think we'll manage. Even then, the plan that we have with Luciana is the best. She's going to be wishing for death.

"I'm here because I chose to be. Zalgo, like you, found me. Except he approached me himself instead of sending someone else for you. I had a love- or I thought I did. All I know is one day I woke up and couldn't move. I was staring out into a field of corn and scaring off crows day in and day out. There was a man..." Scarecrow trailed off for a few short seconds before continuing on.

"There was a man. He was lonely, but he told me that him talking to me made him feel not so lonely. I wanted to respond. I wanted to reach out and wrap my arms around him, but I couldn't and I didn't know why. It was like I was paralyzed and watching my best friend fall apart in front of me. Eventually one day he had come up to me and started raving about a girl who was coming over for dinner and he was so excited and he was going to be too busy to come and see me that night. And he was filled with joy, something I couldn't give him. And it wasn't my fault. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't make him feel that way. And seeing someone else give him something that I couldn't really pissed me off. So I killed her." Scarecrow giggled.

"Wait, wait," I paused in my tracks and glanced at her.

She stopped and turned around, cocking her head to the side. "Yes?"

"You said you couldn't move though," I said, squinting my eyes at her.

"Ah, a man who likes details," She chuckled and nodded her head, signaling for us to continue walking. "I was so pent up from rage after he had left me that early evening, it was like a spark had lit up between us and when he revealed he was going to be seeing someone else it turned into a wildfire, burning its way through my chest. That was when someone next to me started speaking......

"Well," a deep, dark voice chuckled, "that was painful to watch. How do you feel about that?"

I wanted to talk. To move. But I couldn't.

"Right, you can't move. You're just a Scarecrow." He chuckled.

Footsteps crunched on the ground next to me as he made his way around to the front of me, coming into my view. He was a tall, pale man with hair darker than any night I have ever witnessed in this lonely field, yet his eyes seemed to be darker than that, with red irises. His stance made him seem proper, or maybe it was just me assuming due to the fact that he was wearing a tuxedo.

"Scarecrow, mind if I call you that?" He asked, pressing the side of his pointer to his chin.

I was mad. I was infuriated. I wanted to jump down and kill him- kill everyone.

"Feisty. I'll take it as you don't mind the name, you're just heartbroken. Which is odd, because I didn't think you had one." He chuckled, still staring up at me.

How did he know what I was thinking?! What is going on!? Who is this guy?

"Oh, right. Zalgo is the name," the name said, bowing in front of me. "And I don't deserve to be killed." He tsked. "I was just about to help you down, too."

Enough with the bullshit! If you're getting me down then get me down! Preferable before that whore gets here to meet with my man.

"Your man? Scarecrow, he used you. He doesn't love you. You were just a filling for his feelings until he found someone he cared for. How does that make you feel, dear?" Zalgo asked, taking a few steps towards me.

My mind was racing. I wasn't used, was I? Was I just a 'fill in' as he called it?

"Yes. I've seen the entire thing. Now," he continued on, "If I get you down from here, will you promise not to attack me?"

I make no promises on what I'm about ready to do.

"Well," Zalgo reached up and pressed his hand on my stomach. A black aura swirled around us while he pressed harder on my stomach.

My once stitched shut mouth began to open up, letting out a howling scream as bugs began to crawl out of the new gaping hole. Pulling as hard as I could on my arms, I managed to rip off of the nails that held me to the post as my weight pulled down on me, ripping the nails through my ankles as I crashed to the ground.

Black hair engulfed my vision as I moved my hands up to move it out of my way, realizing it was my own. My arms were a pale gray, and the more I watched, the more realistic they became. As in I was being fit into real skin as the time grew on.

"You like your new body so far?" Zalgo chuckled.

I glanced over at him as I stood up, gaining my balance.

"You're still just hay and straw on the inside, that I won't change. Might actually become handy to you so you can just stitch yourself back together with no problems. I doubt you even feel pain. Look at the size of those nails you just ripped yourself off of." He said, nodding up at the post.

Turning around, I noticed he wasn't wrong at all. Those nails were massive. Grabbing my wrist, I looked at one of the holes staring straight through it. Putting it out in front of me, I watched Zalgo through the hole in my arm as he pulled a bandage wrap out of his pocket.

"I came prepared," He announced as he walked over to me.

Grabbing one of my arms, he began wrapping the bandage around my wrist, covering the hole. He then proceeded to it to the other holes left over from the nails as I glanced around the area. It was weird not seeing the same thing day in and day out like I've been seeing for years.

As Zalgo stood up from bandaging my ankles up, he began to speak.

"I'm going to finish helping you here, as long as you come back with me and help me with what I need."

Tilting my head to the side, he got that I was confused about the situation.

He let out a sigh. "You can speak now, just so you know. Anyways, the details are spared at this moment. What you do need to know is that this is a lifelong commitment. You'll make a beautiful addition to my Following. Are you in?"

I stood there in place, not moving as I contemplated my decisions.

"Well I could just go now, and you can figure this out for yourself and become the new freak of the 20th century. Or, you could just accept and trust me." Zalgo said, holding his hand out to me.

Without hesitation, I quickly grabbed it. The new freak of the 20th century? What year was it anyways?

"1959," Zalgo replied nonchalantly. "Now stop worrying about such things and come with me."

Nodding my head, I took his other hand and stared at him. He let out a small smirk as the scenery around us changed.

"We're in your farmer's barn. The one that was in the near distance that you stared at all the time. I brought you here in hopes you would find some sort of inspiration. Let your mind run wild, dear. As of right now, I have something to do. I'll be back in a few short minutes."

I nodded at him as he blinked away. Glancing around the barn, I saw huge stacks of hay, tools hanging on the wall, and empty stables. Wait, those tools. I felt my right cheek tighten my lips into a smirk. Making my way over to the wall lined with tools, there was one that caught my attention.

It was a long black vertical pole with one short horizontal pole sticking out of the middle of it. The top of it was a shiny, bent triangle piece of metal. I reached my hand up and lifted up on the item, pulling it off of the wall. The weight of it was a bit more than expected, but I managed to get it down without it falling to the ground.

I held onto the horizontal handle with one hand while placing the other part in my other hand, readying the blade in front of me. Yet again, another smirk crept over my face.

"You look comfy with that. Are you ready? She's here."

I jumped and turned around, swinging the tool with me.

Zalgo jumped back, just barely dodging the blade. I let go of the tool with one hand and covered my mouth.

"It's fine. It's not like I've never been hit with a scythe before." Zalgo chuckled. "Let's go."

I nodded and once again took his hand. We were back in the field before I knew it, hidden in the corn stocks beside where I used to hang. There were footsteps approaching.

"Shh..." Zalgo hummed as the noise grew closer.

"Where is this scarecrow he mentioned?" A female's voice sang out.

The same fire from before lit up inside of my chest as I clutched the scythe close to me.

"When I give you the go, you do what you gotta do, alright?" Zalgo whispered softly.

I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the girl who walked up to where I used to hang.

Zalgo began to walk towards her, making her jump.

"You startled me!" She laughed hesitantly. "And you are?"

Zalgo shook his head. "Didn't you get my letter?" He then chuckled.

"Oh, I-I-I thought it was from someone else," She quickly looked down at the letter and her eyes shot open in horror. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Zalgo laughed, still staring her down.

"Th-the letters are rearranging themselves! Who are you?!" The girl panicked, looking around the field.

"What does the letter read now, dear?" Zalgo said, taking a step to the side and putting his hand down at his side.

His hand slowly became engulfed in black veins.

"Zalgo. He comes." She said, staring up at him in disbelief.

He nodded. "And Zalgo is I."

In one swift motion, Zalgo lifted his hand and grabbed her throat. He then began to grow in size, lifting the female off of the ground.

Zalgo cackled as he threw her up against the post I used to hang on, and I watched as black ties wrapped around her arms and legs, pressing them up against the nails. The female began to wail out in pain. The sound of the nails piercing her skin gave me a sick rush I couldn't explain. Something inside of me willed me to grab onto my scythe, readying it to attack.

"Scarecrow, you can come out now. I don't think she's going anywhere now, dear." Zalgo spoke. His voice sounding demonic and darker than before, sending chills over my body.

Walking out of the cornstalks, I walked up to her and grinned.

"What is going on!?" The woman screamed, allowing more tears to stream down her face.

I looked over at Zalgo, who just held his arm out and bowed down, backing away to allow me to do what I wish to her.

"He was mine!" I screamed out, swinging the scythe around.

I felt it slide neatly through her stomach, slicing through her shirt and her stomach. The woman's screams slowly turned into gurgles as she began hacking up blood. Through the gash in her stomach that I had just created, her insides began to unravel and fall out. I watched as they hit the dirt below, collecting filth and hay.

Zalgo was clapping his hands slowly behind me as he approached again. I turned around to him and noticed he was back in his normal form.

"Nicely done," He said as he pulled a piece of paper and pen out of his jacket pocket. "Now, write your farmer a letter and take claim for what you have done. I'd hurry if I were you, he's approaching rather quickly."

I grasped the pen and paper as I thought of what to say to him.

Hastily I wrote the letter and set it on the ground in front of her body and Zalgo pulled me into the cornstalk behind us.

The sound of the farmer approaching was cut short by a loud yell. He was out of breath as I watched him drop to his knees in front of the letter, letting out cries as he picked it up. Zalgo ruffled my hair as he grabbed my hand, bringing us away from the scene...

"What did the letter say?" I asked Scarecrow, raising my pierced eyebrow.

"Oh," Scarecrow giggled from next to me, "Now, you don't have to be so busy."

I laughed. "I'm sure he got the clue it was you."

"He surely did. Tried to get a manhunt out for a killer scarecrow on the loose and ended up being put in an insane asylum for not only sounding crazy, but the murder of the lady; who I later found out was named Lily. But that doesn't matter. The bitch is dead now." Scarecrow let out a soft chuckle.

We came to a halt in front of the doors leading into Zalgo's mansion. My nerves were almost getting the best of me now and I wanted to turn around and restart the whole walk all over again.

"Has he ever killed a messenger just because he didn't like the news he got?" I asked, glancing over at Scarecrow, then back at the door.

She nodded her head. "Happens all the time. Lost my arm once because of it." She said, holding up her arm and pointing at one of her many stitch marks.

I gulped and placed my hand on the door handle. Taking a deep breath in, I opened the door quickly and made my way in as if I had just heard the news.

"Zalgo!" I yelled out, searching around for the leader.

"Up here." He quickly responded, leaning over the balcony edge.

"I-I, uh.." I fumbled with my words.

Zalgo raised an eyebrow. "Well? You going to waste my time or spit it out?"

"Luciana is pregnant!" I shouted.

My eyes widened as I just realized I spewed it out a lot faster than expected. Should I have beat around the bush for a bit before laying it out on the table? Would he have been madder? Is he even mad right now? Of course, he should be! Who am I kidding?

Zalgo's face darkened as he placed his hands on the balcony's edge. He learned his body backward and flung himself forwards, jumping over the edge. I watched as he gracefully landed a few feet in front of Scarecrow and me, crossing his arms.

"Run that by me again, boy. I don't think I heard you right while I was up there." Zalgo snarled.

"L-Luciana is with child. That's why the corrupted were sensing another proxy. She's expecting." I said, feeling my mouth go dry out of nervousness.

"Hmm..." Zalgo trailed off. "Interesting."

Zalgo turned around and placed his hands behind his back, folding them neatly.

"Hobo! Come here for a second!" Zalgo's voice boomed through the mansion, making my ears ache.

Faint footsteps echoed down the hallway, quickly approaching the top of the staircase. Hobo stood there, bent over with his hands on his knees, taking a few deep breaths in.

"Y-yes?" Hobo stuttered, staring down at Zalgo.

"May I ask you a question?" Zalgo slyly asked, making his way up to Hobo.

Hobo straightened up, raising an eyebrow. "Sure...?"

Zalgo hummed and nodded. "Why is Luciana with child?"

Hobo's eyes shot open wide as he leaned over, glancing at me. I nodded my head and watched as his gaze slowly went back to Zalgo.

"I, uh, missed? I guess?" Hobo squeaked out, taking a step back as Zalgo drew closer.

Zalgo nodded as he took the final step to the top. Standing a few feet away from Hobo, he tilted his head to the side.

"How am I supposed to feel about this?" Zalgo asked.

Hobo shook his head and bit down on his lip. "Not too happy, I think?"

"Fair enough," Zalgo said.

Before Hobo could respond, Zalgo pulled his fist back quickly and swung it at Hobo's stomach. Hobo let out a sickening yelp as he keeled over Zalgo's arm, gasping for air. From down here, I could almost sense how bad that hurt, making my entire body cringe at the sight of it.

"I bet that won't happen again, right?" Zalgo asked, throwing Hobo to the ground.

Hobo whimpered as he curled up into a ball, nodding his head quickly.

Zalgo let out a sigh and walked over to his throne and took a seat.

"I guess that means yet another change of plans." He sighed, grabbing his glass from next to him and taking a drink.

******

*Lucy's POV*

I had just reached the outside of the cult's bunker. From the doorway, I could see where Candy and LJ were standing; back to back up at the top of the hill. The rest of us were scattered around, but no more than thirty feet away from each other.

"So, what's your next move, love?"

I jumped to my left side and readied my katana. There, Hunter stood again, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm not finding this funny, you know that right?" I snarled, resting my katana.

Hunter chuckled. "I can tell. You're a jumpy person."

"Ha, ha, ha. You're so funny." I whined, rolling my eyes.

"I try to be. So, what are you here for?" He asked, wiping his hair out of his eyes.

"Nothing that concerns you right now. Why are you here? Better question, why do you keep appearing? I thought Plague Doctor was against this." I asked as I started to walk to LJ.

"Wait," Hunter said, grabbing my arm.

"Let me go, Hunter. I have to find someone... er... something." I said, trying to rip my arm from his grasp.

That was when I realized he was gripping me. He's a spirit, this shouldn't be a thing. Looking down at his hand, I glanced up at Hunter's face. A grin spread across his lips as he opened his eyes to reveal a pure white light.

"Oh shit," I shouted, spinning around quickly and kicking him away. "Guys! He's right here!"

Hunter's body began to morph back into the stronger being right in front of me. I quickly turned around and ran the opposite direction, just to meet up with the group. They weren't too far from me, thankfully.

"Lucy!" LJ shouted as he ran down the hill. "I didn't even see you come out of there!"

"Well, Bloody Mary was right. He came as a disguise..." I trailed off.

How could I be so stupid thinking Hunter was actually following me around? Was that actually him back in the Slender Woods? Of course it was! There's no way a Brainchild is even smart or capable of getting in there, let alone holding a conversation about what we had held.

"Lucy, now isn't the time to stand around," LJ commanded, reading his hands in front of him.

I shook my head and looked around. Everyone was standing by each other, ready to attack the Brain Child as he slowly made his way over to us.

I had my jaw clenched, waiting as he drew closer. There will be no casualties, not if I can help it.

"LJ, Ben, Candy," I spoke quiet enough for the Brain Child not to hear, "As soon as he gets closer, I'm going to give a signal. Port away and appear right behind him. Start attacking and do not stop."

"Well, about that," LJ let out a hesitant laugh, "we were attacking him before and it's like he doesn't even feel a thing. He had no reactions."

Nodding my head slowly, I tried not to over think the situation at hand. Of course, everything has a weakness, but how do you find it without getting in harm's way?

"Lucy," Zero whispered from next to me, "what happened to your hands?"

Glancing down at them, I had completely forgot they were now pitch black.

"Now isn't the time, Zero," Candy responded, glaring down at my hands, "that's something we need to discuss back home.

"I say stick to the plan," I continued on the conversation about our attack, "Someone is bound to hit something that is going to set him off."

"So, we basically throw ourselves at it and hope for the best?" Clock scoffed, shaking her head.

Rolling my eyes, I fought back. "Do you have a better idea, Clock? If so, speak up."

Clock just continued shaking her head, staring at the Brain Child.

"Didn't think so," I muttered under my breath. "LJ and Ben, as soon as you guys are ready go. We'll run as soon as you leave."

Ben and LJ glanced at each other. I could sense the hesitation in the air from everyone around me, but it was the only thing I could come up with. We really didn't have a choice. Retaliation wasn't an option.

"Luciana, at least stay a ways behind until we do find the weakness?" Ben asked, turning around to look at me.

I shook my head. "I'm in this just as much as you guys are."

Ben hesitantly nodded and looked over at LJ. "Ready when you are," he sighed.

LJ nodded at him and they both disappeared. LJ appeared above the Brain Child, falling directly down onto him. Digging his nails into the Brain Child's chest, he ripped back, tearing through his flesh. They were right, the Brain Child didn't even react to it; he just kept walking towards us.

"Clock and Zero, go!" I shouted, readying my katana.

Zero held her hand out and allowed her over-sized sledgehammer to appear before taking off after Clock.

Puppeteer had his hands ready to grab the Brainchild's arms to keep it from attacking.

As I was about to charge, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm here now." Rouge announced, nodding her head to the side. "We just got back from the other mission. Thought you guys were going to wait for us."

I glanced over at Bloody Painter, Dollmaker, Jinx and...

"Thought you were mad at me?" I asked, looking at the tall, ghost white girl with long black hair.

Jane shrugged. "I mean, we're kind of in this together. Jeff is back at the Hideaway and he's not thrilled that he can't be here so he sent us out here to make sure the job gets done without you or any of us getting hurt."

"Hey!"

I turned around and watched as the rest of them attacked the Brain Child.

"A... a little help would be nice!" LJ shouted.

Jane and I both took off running at the Brain Child, ready to attack. Jane held her knife, blade out, against her forearm as she picked up her speed. I let out a chuckle; she always had to one-up everyone, even if it was just beating someone to the battle.

"Ben! Move!" I shouted.

Ben disappeared as I swung my katana around, striking it straight through the Brainchild's rib cage.

Jumping backward, I landed next to Ben who nodded at the Brainchild. The two of us watched as the wound I just created slowly healed itself.

"Okay..." I murmured, "Now what?"

"Exactly what you said," Ben said as he whipped his hands to his side, allowing his metal chains to appear.

"I'm starting to second guess that plan," I said, watching as the Brain Child turned to me slowly.

"Don't." Ben quickly replied. He grunted as he swung his chain forwards, whipping the Brainchild's chest.

The Brainchild grabbed the chain before it could return back to Ben. As the being gave it a swift tug, Ben went flying forwards.

"Teer, over here!" I shouted, dropping my katana. I lunged forward and grabbed onto Ben's waist, pulling back as hard as I could.

Orange strings quickly attached to one of the Brainchild's arms.

Puppeteer was grunting as he was trying to hold the Brainchild's arm steady. "I can't hold him for too long, guys!"

"Ben let the freaking chain go!" I growled.

"It's wrapped around my wrist! I'm trying!" Ben shot back at me.

Before I knew it, Ben and I were sliding across the ground. I looked up to see the Brainchild pulling on the chain, one hand after the other.

I glanced down at my katana and drew a breath in. "I'm letting go."

"I would too, but.."

I let Ben go and dove for my katana on the ground. Quickly standing back up, I raced back to Ben and drew my katana up, bringing it down quickly. Ben let out a yelp as he fell backward. To my right, the Brain Child stumbled backward, not expecting the weight to be taken off so quickly.

"Did you just cut my hand off?!" Ben shouted, staring at his stump where his hand used to be.

"It'll be back. Could've just fed you to him but kind of need you right now." I responded to Ben, helping him up quickly.

Spinning back around, I watched as the Brainchild began whipping the chain around, sending most of us flying backward.

"Brilliant idea, Luce," Ben grumbled.

"Saved your ass, didn't I?"

Holding my katana off to the side, I took off running. The Brainchild spotted me and swung the chain around. As it neared me, I ducked underneath it. I could feel it make contact with the edge of my ponytail.

I sunk my katana into his flesh once again, this time point first. I was staring up at the Brainchild's face, trying to see a reaction, any reaction-- still nothing.

"What the f-"

The Brainchild grabbed me by my neck and lifted up. I let go of the katana and grasped at his left hand around my neck. By now my feet were off of the ground and I could hear the others around me still attacking.

"Luciana!" LJ shouted.

It wasn't until I saw LJ jump onto the Brainchild's shoulder that I realized that the Brainchild was growing in size- again.

LJ was continuously sinking his claws into the Brainchild's arm, yet no response.

My hands were gripping the Brainchild's over-sized hand, trying to break free. I looked back at my hands again and remembered they were still black. There has to be something I can do with this... but what?

"I know what I saw back there... with the cage," LJ said as he tried to make his way down to me.

Everything was starting to go black as my entire body warmed up.

"Luciana, don't you dare blackout on us now," LJ yelled. "Teer, pry his fingers loose already!"

Opening up my eyes, I saw the orange strings that were attached to the Brainchild's fingers.

"Listen here, buddy!" LJ shouted as he jumped at the Brainchild's head.

"Put..." He slashed at his face.

"her..." he slashed again.

"down!"

This time he drove his claws into the Brainchild's face. The Brainchild let out a loud shriek as LJ disappeared into black smoke.

The grip around my neck was released as I fell. I was bracing myself, preparing for the landing on the ground. My eyes were closed tight and I was holding my breath. But I never hit the ground.

"Open your eyes, Luce," LJ said, letting out a few huffs.

Opening my eyes, I watched as the drab clown smiled at me.

"Caught ya." He chuckled.

I let out an audible sigh as LJ helped me into a standing position. I was glancing around. We weren't far away at all, but from here I could see all of them jumping onto the Brainchild, trying to take it down.

"Did someone pull Lethal Caress out?" I asked as we quickly started to make our way back to the battle.

"About that..." LJ groaned, "It looked like his body literally swallowed it."

My face twisted in disgust. "Swallowed it?"

"Yeah, like, his stomach just swallowed it," LJ said, glancing over at me.

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. It was best that I don't question what goes on with any of these beings. At this point, I'm a firm believer in 'anything is possible.'

"Well," I picked up my speed, "We're just going to have to get it back then."

"Kind of figured," LJ said, picking up his speed.

His legs were much longer than mine, so he was going a lot faster than I. He was right up next to the Brain Child when I was just beginning to approach. He was talking to the others that were around him and they all looked up to the Brain Child's stomach and nodded.

Before I knew it, Ben had his only chain wrapped around the Brain Child's ankles. The Brainchild went to take a step but ended up tripping.

"Look out below!" LJ cackled as the giant being fell to the ground.

Rouge was next to me, staring at the rest of them climbing on top of the Brain Child.

"Haven't you guys went up against this one before?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but it's different every time. We know the being, but what they do isn't always the same. His name is Pallid." Rouge responded. "Shall we?" She asked, putting her hand out in front of her.

I nodded as we both made our way quickly to Pallid. Before we could join the scuffle, the rest of them were standing up off of him. Half of them were running to one end of Pallid as the other half ran to the other end.

"One! Two! Three!" Zero shouted.

They all began to pull opposite ways as Pallid's body split in half.

I stared at it in disbelief. They had slashed their way through him enough to tear him into two. Jinx was walking over to me, my katana in his hand. As he approached, he slowly stuck his hand out, signaling for me to take it.

"Keep pulling his body apart!" LJ shouted, clawing away at Pallid's shoulder.

My stomach churned watching the excitement spread through each individual face that wasn't hidden by a mask. Toby was making his way over to me. He lifted up his goggles and wiped a smear of Pallid's blood off of his cheek.

"Pretty sure the weakness has been his heart this entire time." Toby chuckled.

I widened my eyes and shook my head. "Should've known," I said, letting out a chuckle. "I think we were all too into it to even think about that."

Toby motioned for me to follow him. We walked to where Pallid's torso was; his arms and head now disconnected.

"Wanna do us the honors, proxy?" Toby winked, stepping on top of Pallid's chest and holding out his hand.

I grabbed Toby's hand and climbed up next to him. Pointing my katana straight down, I raised it.

"Three down. Two to go." I said, hurling the blade down, straight through Pallid's chest.

I could feel the blade pierce through a squishy material and just as fast as it did, Pallid's body became white dust.

I fell straight down to the ground, landing on one knee. Using my katana to stand up, I quickly sheathed it and looked around. Looking from LJ, to Ben, to Clock and around at the others, I felt accomplished. Everyone was up and standing. Yeah, banged up, cut open, bruised, and out of breath; but we were all still standing.

Through the silence in the air, we all started walking to the portal. It was probably a haunting sight watching all of us walking simultaneously to one spot in the forest and disappearing through a portal.

LJ was next to me and I glanced up at him, letting out a giggle.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head and clearing my throat.

LJ wrapped his arm around my head and began rubbing his fist over my head, messing up my hair and making my head feel like it's burning.

"Nice job, Short Stack." LJ chuckled.

I was trying to wiggle my way out of his grasp, punching at his arms.

"Let me go, LJ!" I laughed, finally slipping out of his grasp.

LJ and I were the last ones to step through the portal, back into Slender's Woods.

******

I was sitting at the kitchen table, listening to everyone recollect what had just happened a few short hours ago. Candy was reenacting his motions to whoever was paying attention as LJ and Ben were both arguing over who inflicted more damage.

I was sipping water and eating scraps from Jack's bag in the fridge when I heard a loud thumping coming from the stairs. Turning my head, I saw Jeff glancing behind him as he made his way down the final stairs.

"That place is a prison! Papagrande wouldn't let me leave!" Jeff huffed, walking over to me.

I stood up and ran over to him, throwing myself into Jeff's body. He let out a quick whimper before returning the hug.

"Missed you too, Luce." Jeff chuckled, ruffling up my hair.

Stepping back, I couldn't help but smile at the killer. He was actually here. He's okay. Everyone made it back in one piece with minor injuries.

Jeff and I walked back to the table and I sat down in the same seat. Jeff was resting his forearms on the back of my chair, joining in on the conversations around the table. I was still eating whatever was left on my plate to satisfy my hunger.

"Speaking of Jeff," LJ cut in, "What exactly happened to the cage, Luciana? I ended up porting down there to see nobody down there and one side of the cage was bent open. How did you manage that?"

From behind me, I could feel Jeff move. He was now standing at my side with his arms crossed, staring at me in confusion.

I swallowed the food in my mouth and grabbed my cup of water, trying to think of exactly how I was going to explain what happened. Even I don't understand what that was all about or what even triggered it.

Taking a big gulp of water, I set the cup down and began to explain everything. I told them how Jeff gave me his last bit of oxygen and ended up passing out. By then I was beyond frustrated with the situation and I noticed my hands were black. I even told them I don't know how it happened or if strength was the only thing I acquired when my hands are black. They knew just as much as I did when I stopped telling them about it.

By now, everyone was still silent and I felt all eyes on me. Jeff had an eyebrow raised, staring at me intensely. LJ was bouncing his fingers on the table; pinky, ring, middle, pointer, repeat.

"Sounds to me like one of your powers activated."

I looked to my right to see Papagrande closing the front door behind him. He looked exhausted with bags under his eyes, that were barely staying open.

"Then why the blackness? Isn't that a Zalgo thing?" Candy asked, glaring at me.

"Yeah, don't Zalgo's followers get the black veins and skin when they're--"

I cut Zero off and stood up, "I don't care if it's a Zalgo thing! You all seem to have forgotten that I was cursed by him. Even if this was a Zalgo thing, there is nothing I can do about it. I am not one of his and will never be. I had that opportunity and shut it down plenty of times because I care for you guys and your motives."

"You're both right. It is a Zalgo follower 'thing', as you called it," Papagrande said, walking over to the fridge, "But it's not controlling her. If anything, she's controlling it too much to the point of her fighting it away. Otherwise, we would know what her powers were by now. She's not a harm to us and never will be. Not unless she willingly follows Zalgo. Then there's no going back for her." He grabbed a pitcher of water and set it on the counter.

The room was quiet and it must have made Papagrande uncomfortable because he turned around and looked at all of us.

"Oh, I should probably finish what I was getting at." Papagrande sighed. "He cursed her. If she chooses to follow him, there will never be any going back. But he can't force her to. It has to be willingly."

"Why is all of this coming out now?" I asked, moving Jeff out of my way and walking to Papagrande.

"Well," Papagrande said, pouring a glass of water, "Zalgo could still offer you that chance again before the battle begins."

Squinting my eyes at him, I continued to speak, getting more and more frustrated with every word I said. "I thought you guys said this pendant pretty much cuts off Zalgo of getting me to follow him!"

"It does," Papagrande said, taking a sip. "But what happens when you take it off and he's around?"

I swatted the cup out of his hand and stared intently at him as it shattered on the floor beneath us. "Cut the bullshit. You guys lied to me about this? You literally made it seem like I couldn't join him!"

"You make it sound like it's a problem, Luciana," Papagrande said, rubbing his face with his hands.

He went to grab at the pitcher again, but I quickly snatched it up before he could.

"Can I have the pitcher, Luce?" Papagrande sighed, reaching for it.

I took a few steps back, not caring about the glass below me.

"Lucy, it's not a big deal. Give him the water back and let's go upstairs," Jeff said as he made his way over to us.

I shook my head. "No. He's hiding something."

"Can we talk about this in the morning, Luciana? I've been up for days now. We got Jeff back. I am not feeling well from the lack of sleep and I would just like a glass of water." Papagrande whined, resting up against the cupboard next to him.

I shook my head. "What else don't I... we know," I said, keeping the pitcher of water away from him.

"It's nothing official, Lucy. I can't tell you until I know it's official." Papagrande said, rubbing his eyes.

Jeff quickly snatched the pitcher of water out of my hands and jumped to the side to avoid me reaching for it again.

"He's getting the water whether you like it or not, Luciana," Jeff sternly spoke, walking around the shattered glass to grab a new cup.

He poured Papagrande a fresh cup of water as I glared at Grande the entire time. What was he hiding? Something about me? Everyone here?

...something about Jack?

"You'll tell me tomorrow, Papagrande, or I'm headed straight for Slenderman and asking him myself." I snarled, turning around and walking away.

Jeff sighed and followed me as I made my way to the staircase.

"Someone clean the glass up. And Luciana's blood trail." Jeff sighed.

By now, the adrenaline rush that I had from arguing was gone and I could feel the glass digging it's way deeper and deeper into my flesh on the bottom of my feet. I went to take a step up, but stopped and looked at Jeff.

"Well," he chuckled, "You going to keep going?"

I nodded and turned around.

"Ben, come here," I said, staring at the short, blonde elfin ghost.

He waded over to Jeff and I as I grabbed onto his arm.

"Can you take me to my room? I kinda can't walk up the stairs right now." I said, trying to hold back my winces of pain.

Ben nodded and before we could disappear, I grabbed a hold of Jeff's wrist to make sure he came with us.

******

"I'm just saying it was kind of funny," Jeff said.

He was sitting at the edge of my bed hunched over with a pair of tweezers and bowl. Just a few minutes ago he went down to the hospital room to retrieve the essentials that we needed to remove the glass from my feet.

"I'm glad you find it funny," I winced, trying not to move as he dug into my skin.

"You went from big, bad and tough, all up in Papagrande's face to 'Ben, port me to my room.'" Jeff chuckled as he mocked me.

I snarled. "I could've made you carry me."

Jeff shrugged, "I would've, but you were on a power surge. You could barely admit to Ben you needed the help."

I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on my forehead. "Can we just not talk about it? Still learning to control things over here. Between the pregnancy hormones and the unlinking, I don't know which is which controlling me half of the time."

Jeff placed a cloth of rubbing alcohol on the bottom of my foot again, making me shriek and whimper. I couldn't move my foot because of the grasp he had on it.

"I'm done now. There's nothing too deep to the point of needing stitches, so lucky you." Jeff said as he began to wrap bandages around my feet. "Just don't go stepping in any broken glass again."

"Don't plan on it." I whimpered.

Jeff ended up moving from the edge of the bed over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. It was just a few feet away from the head of my bed, so it was easier to lay here and talk to him.

He was talking about the things he imagined when he was in the cage. How he was hungry beyond belief and couldn't move without the fear of the chain snapping. At one point he was even hoping for his brother to come in and just end his life so he wouldn't have to be up there for eternity.

"Sounds to me like you didn't think anyone was looking for you," I stated, staring at the pale man.

Jeff shrugged. "I'm trouble. It really wouldn't have surprised me if nobody came."

I boosted myself up onto my left elbow and glared at Jeff. "You honestly think we wouldn't come for you? Papagrande is only so tired because he was up day and night trying to figure out how to track you and Jack with a spell or some magic. I wasn't giving up. Even after I experienced the unlinking...." I drifted off, remembering the feeling of the slash across my chest. The mark was still there, now just a scab.

Jeff pulled his hood up and looked down at the ground. I could tell the subject of Jack's death was uncomfortable for him, and it was for me too, but I still couldn't bring myself to cry about it; I still don't want to believe it honestly.

"Jack and I went out a few months ago, shortly after you got here, to get him food." Jeff started to speak. "There was a jogger, who was doing nothing wrong. Jack and I made her our target and..." Jeff looked up at me. "I slit her throat. Cut her fingers off too after Jack was done harvesting. She was there. She was apart of the cult of people that Jack and I were tracking down. They took us and started electrocuting Jack for answers. Jack, being typical Jack, wasn't giving answers and they kept electrocuting him. At one point, everyone left except for one girl.

She ended up being the girl we... had killed that night. I was trying to get her to take her anger out on me, but Jack just wouldn't shut up. He kept making more and more comments and eventually she just... She threw something at him and it went straight through his chest." I saw how fast the blood was coming out and I knew that was something even EJ couldn't walk away from." Jeff said as he dropped his gaze back down to the ground.

I could tell he was thinking about that moment. He watched his best friend die and now it's probably on a permanent replay loop in his head.

"The group and I were out trying to find you and Jack when it happened," I whispered, laying on my back again. "We were all up in Canada trying to find you guys. I don't think we were too far off now that I know where you were."

I glanced over at Jeff to see him staring at me.

"What?" I asked, rolling onto my side.

"You don't seem too flustered over this." Jeff pointed out.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "I want to be, but every time I try to get sad about something, my mind instantly flips to something else."

Jeff nodded and the room filled with silence. It bothered me that Jeff was damn near crying next to me about my boyfriend and I couldn't feel a single thing about it. I was staring at Jeff, watching as his eye stared blankly at the deep red carpet on the ground. It was almost comical to me that Jeff had eyes, no lids and Jack had lids, no eyes and they were best friends.

I sighed, realizing my mind was making jokes at a time like this. Though I'm not too surprised by it. Takes my mind off of the sad stuff.

"Your bother looks horrid. He popped in once while the cult was still there." Jeff finally spoke up in the silence.

"My brother is being nourished with corruption. He's basically living on it. The damn things listen to him. It's freaky." I said, letting a yawn out.

Jeff chuckled. "Zalgo found a new buddy. Speaking of, do they know about the little proxy on the way?" Jeff asked, nodding at my stomach.

I placed my right hand on my stomach and sighed. "Yup. Puppeteer let the cat out of the bag."

Shaking his head, Jeff responded. "He let it slip to someone who controls the corrupted and was right in front of you? Nice going."

I shrugged. "I mean, if Hunter was around, it wouldn't have been much of an issue. But, yanno... he's not."

Jeff chuckled. "Kind of miss him."

My eyes widened. "Thought you hated him?"

"I can miss people I hate, right?"

I began laughing and shook my head.

The room fell under more silence as I thought about everything that went down at the mansion between Jeff and Hunter. The constant arguing, the fights, the sarcastic comments. I missed the mansion days. Those were the best days here.

"Oh, speaking of Jack..." Jeff dug into his pocket and pulled a pendant out. "This belongs to you now."

I sprung up in my bed and snatched the pendant out of Jeff's hand as fast as I could. Indeed it was Jack's pendant.

"I meant to give it to you earlier, but was caught up in everything el-"

"No, don't be sorry," I said, staring at the black crystal in my hand. "Thank you, Jeff..."

"No problem. Put it on. It's not like you're going to see anything like before. He's gone... so..." Jeff trailed off, staring at me.

I slid the pendant on around my neck while holding my breath. I know I wasn't going to get another vision, we weren't linked, but it was still something I was anxious about. But he's dead, so it's not like I was going to see anything.

"Well," Jeff said, standing up and stretching. "I'm headed to bed. You should, too."

Jeff began walking to the door. I wanted to go to bed, he wasn't wrong there, but I didn't want him to leave.

"Jeff," I spoke softly, "can you sleep in the chair? The footrest pulls out from underneath it."

Jeff turned around and looked at me. He went to speak up but just shrugged and walked over to the chair. He pulled the throw blanket off the back of the chair and slumped down in it.

I stood up and made my way over to Jack's dresser. It made me feel more comfortable sleeping in one of his oversized shirts instead of my shirts; which are getting too tight for me now. I turned around to see Jeff hiding under the blanket. I let out a stifled chuckle and quickly changed into the shirt and crawled under the blanket on my bed.

"Good night, Jeff." I yawned, rolling over to face the wall.

Jeff flicked the light switch off. "Night, Luce."

Grasping tight to Jack's pendant, I felt a single tear fall down my cheek as I drifted off to sleep.

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Sad authors note gone :P In other news, I will be continuing-ish. When the chapters are done, then they will be published. Please don't expect exact dates because I'm horrible at meeting them... that and I have another story in the making ;)
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Updated: June 13, 2018