___________________________
*Eyeless Jack's POV*

"Think we scared them?" Nina giggled excitedly as she let my hand go and skipped a few feet in front of me.

She spun around and glanced up at me, waiting for a response. I just shrugged. We had just returned from Slender's Woods. She was all too excited to show them we know how to get to the portals now and that they're not safe with me here with two pendants.

"I think it's going to have Papagrande losing sleep, which is normal, but good," I responded coolly, slipping my hands into my hoodie pockets.

Nina began walking beside me, slipping her arm through the crook of mine. "I'm glad you're here, Jack. I really did miss doing missions with you."

"Mmhmm..." I hummed as we kept walking.

Whatever Zalgo had me breathing in all morning was really taking a toll on me. Aside from being tired, I felt weak and unemotional. I know I have corruption in me, I can feel it-- that and both Zalgo and Luke were talking to me about it. I didn't mind. It kept me focused... at least I think it does. It just seems like this last time was possibly a bit too long or too much at once and I can't handle it.

Nina was talking my ear off next to me, but I wasn't listening at all. I was more focused on listening to anything but her. Just because I'm here now, doesn't mean I want anything to do with her again.

"What if it was us that got linked instead of you and Lucy!?" Nina asked a little too excitedly.

"I probably would've just killed myself honestly," I responded with little emotion.

Nina snorted. "Good one."

Well, that's funny. She actually thought I was kidding...

Shaking my head, I took her hand off of my arm and bolted up the entrance stairs. Swinging open the mansion's door, I looked around for Zalgo. Of course, he was seated at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor. That was nothing new.

"It worked. We found it easily," I responded, pulling out the makeshift tracker.

Zalgo stood up and started walking down the stairs. "There were no issues with him, was there Nina?"

I turned around to face Nina. She shook her head. "Top notch, sir." She grinned.

Turning back to Zalgo, he approached me and held his hand out. "I'll be using this next then."

******
*Jeff's POV*

"This little piggy went to the market..." A shrill scream filled my ears, sending a warm chill down my spine.

"This little piggy stayed home- just like you should've..." Another scream surrounded me, then liquid gurgling in the females throat, causing goosebumps to race over my arms.

"This little piggy had roast beef and this little piggy had none..."

"And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home!"

I stood up admiring my work. I guess singing nursery rhymes really helped me through this one, it was probably my best one today. With each line of the nursery rhyme, a chunk of skin was removed from her abdomen.

"I'm sorry, but my friend has gotta eat!" I chuckled, shoving my hand into her stomach.

I knew she was already dead, I had slit her throat. So her screaming for help or trying to flee away from me wasn't happening. She was all mine... I mean all Lucy's. I grabbed organs, not caring which was which and threw them in one of the spare bags I had grabbed from the grocery store. All of the grocery store items were in my backpack.

Picking up the other bag I had filled a little bit ago with organs, I waved to my third victim of the day and began walking back to the cabin.

******
*LJ's POV*

I stepped through the portal in the Woods, prepared for a fight on the other side. I saw two corrupted, pacing back and forth on an imaginary line. One was a human corrupted, the other seemed to be an animal of some sort.

"Easy enough..." I muttered to myself, readying my hands to attack.

The human turned around to face me. Half of his face was drooping down with a thick black liquid oozing out of it. A tear was in his shirt, exposing where the corrupted had attacked and infected him. The sight would've had anybody's stomach-churning who hasn't been in this situation, but obviously, I have before. This was nothing.

Before I could make a move first, the animal-corrupted lunged at me. I shielded his blow with my arms in front of me and flung him back into the once human. The animal yelped quickly, then let out a deep growl. A smirk spread across my face. One on one combat was my cup of tea- but now one on two? My excitement was nearly untamable. I was ready for this fi-

"Jack duck!"

I spun around in time to see Jeff running at me. From beside me, I heard loud footsteps approaching quickly before I was knocked to the ground. Digging my nails into the creature's chest, I moved my fingers around, hoping to pierce its heart. The jaw of the beast kept snapping in my face while I was pinned beneath it.

Jeff approached quickly and rammed into the corrupted on top of me, shoving it off of me.

"Nice timing," I huffed, accepting Jeff's hand as he helped me to my feet.

"The Proxy," the corrupted man mumbled, slowly making his way towards Jeff and I.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know. You're here for Lucy. But you're not getting her."

Suddenly, the man's face seemed to darken (as if it was even possible) as his jaw unhinged. He let out an unworldly shriek as he lunged at Jeff. Jeff ducked down, flipping the man over his shoulders and pinning him to the ground. With little to no effort, Jeff slid his knife straight into the corrupted man's heart.

"Two left," Jeff stood up, wiping off his knife on his pants as he met my side.

"You act like this is nothing for you," I muttered, watching as on of the two creatures made their move.

One moved quickly toward me as the other made its way for Jeff. Swinging my claws in front of me, I felt as the tip of them scraped through the beast's face.

"Well, training day in and day out with Lucy has its perks, I guess," Jeff responded, slashing his knife at the corrupted after him.

"How is she?" I asked, ducking out of the way of an attack. Noticing my window of opportunity, I stabbed my hand straight up into the corrupted's chest, allowing the black ooze from within to seep down my arm. The carcass of the corrupted went limp and I tossed it off to the side.

"Emotional. Way too emotional." Jeff muttered.

"It's a part of losing the link with Jack. Slender was explaining that to everyone when he first realized it. Everything she feels is beyond intensified. So if she feels sad, she really really really feels sad. If she's happy, she's beyond overly happy. Plus with losing her family and her pregnancy hormones- that girl has it rough right now." I explained to Jeff as he finished up dealing with his corrupted.

"I didn't think her becoming unlinked with Jack had any effects on her," Jeff sighed, glancing over to where the cabin is supposed to be.

Jeff began walking toward the backpack that he threw when he began to help me. I chuckled at his response. He should've known it was more than just her emotions- but then again, this is Jeff we're talking about. Not exactly the brightest one when it comes to dealing with human emotions.

"When they were first unlinked, Lucy was cold-hearted. She didn't care about much. Didn't even want to go back for you because she didn't want to lose anyone else." I admitted, watching Jeff pick up his backpack.

Jeff turned his head and faced me with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Shaking his head slowly, he just slid his backpack on and began walking for the cabin.

"If you came to say hi, I don't think you can," Jeff muttered as he brushed past me.

Without even as much as a glance backward, he disappeared into the cabin's hidden wall. I looked up at the trees around me, trying to figure out which one is the tallest one. Quickly, I just chose one and disappeared into my usual cloud of black smoke- reappearing at the top of the tree. Without any hesitation, I pictured myself appearing in mid-air about twenty feet above me and twenty feet away. Hopefully that's far enough, otherwise, I might end up falling through the trees instead of falling through the air.

It worked, thankfully. My feet met the roof of the cabin with a soft thud. I knelt down, absorbing the shock and glanced around the area. It was small, but it's not like the two of them needed much space.

"Just so you know, I'm not mad about it." I could hear Jeff's voice.

"I didn't expect you to be. I have no control over this." Lucy responded with a huff.

They were at the tree line. My guess was Lucy had heard everything I told Jeff. I shrugged it off and disappeared again- reappearing next to Lucy.

"What's up, Short Stack?" I grinned.

Lucy left out a shriek. "How in the hell did you get in here!?"

I pointed up and then pressed my finger to my lips. "The secret is safe with me."

Lucy looked up and then, wide-eyed, looked at Jeff. "I'm trapped in here!? Anything can come in from up there, but I can't leave!?"

Jeff was staring up at the sky, his mouth hung open in amusement. "Huh. There's always something that's going to fuck with our plans, isn't there?"

"If LJ can get in here, what if Jack can?" Lucy mumbled softly, looking around the top of the tree line.

"Nobody knows where you are, Luce. We just saw Jack and Nina-"

"Together!?" Lucy shrieked.

I furrowed my brows. "Yes...? That's not the point. The point is they think you're at the Hide Away and they made it very clear that they had their way in. Well, by making it clear I mean they made their surprise appearance." I corrected myself.

Lucy was just staring blankly ahead. She seemed lost in thought, probably letting her emotions get the best of her once again. I can't even imagine what Jeff goes through day in and day out with her. Jeff was glaring at me, as if I had said something wrong.

I let out a sigh. Why is it always me who is the bad guy?

Reaching my hands out, I grabbed Lucy's shoulders and gave her a little shake. "You need to knock this 'poor me' act off!"

Lucy tried to squirm out of my grip, but I wasn't going to let her. Jeff had already dropped his backpack and had a hand on my wrist.

"I think you need to let her go," He warned me.

I shook my head, "Why? So you can sit here and listen to her mope around all day? I told you everything she is going through because she won't! She'll sit in her room and cry and cry- that's just how Lucy has been for the past few weeks!"

"Let her go!" Jeff snarled, trying to loosen my grip on Lucy.

I let go of her with one hand and shoved Jeff back. He lost his footing and tumbled to the ground. Looking at Lucy, I watched as her tears began seeping down her face.

"Crying isn't going to get you anywhere with me, Luce. I don't care if you cry. You parents are gone. Your boy toy isn't who he used to be. Stop dwelling and move on. Be happy the baby is safe and nothing is wrong with you or it." I firmly stated, looking her directly in the eyes.

"But Jack isn-"

"EJ is gone, Luce! The EJ you knew is gone!" I spoke up loudly, hopefully enough to get it to sink into her head.

"But he's prob-"

"Lucy!" I shouted, tightening my grip on her.

Lucy let out a wince and lifted her hand to my chest. Her palm was open as she slammed it into me, sending me flying backward. My back met the invisible wall as I slid down it.

"Don't touch me like that ever again," Lucy choked out firmly. She was pulling down her sleeve on her right arm, covering her now blackened hand.

I glanced over at Jeff, who was staring at me with his eyebrows raised.

"Thought you weren't going to use your magic?" Jeff chuckled, not taking his eyes off of me.

I stood up and wiped the dirt off of my rear. "I think I got my point across. Take that anger and channel it to Zalgo now. When he appears, I don't think you're going to struggle much."

I was trying not to seem too shocked by what she had just done to me. That was my first time witnessing Lucy use her magic, and I was actually impressed. Papagrande is right, if she keeps up training and controlling it, she could be the most powerful Proxy we've ever had. Hell, probably the most powerful being in the Hideaway.

"Now, I actually came to say something. Slender is out on a frenzy and Papagrande is basically running things. We're all on lockdown, barely leaving to even do missions. Slender is pissed that you're not at the Hideaway anymore- either of you two." I glanced back and forth between Jeff and Lucy. "My suggestion, keep a low profile, Jeff. If Slender has Ben reading about things in the news and you're getting out of control with killing, then it's going to point him directly here."

"So? He can't get in here." Lucy responded.

I crossed my arms. "I did. What if he figures it out? It's simple. Just enter through the top. Papagrande wasn't too smart about that, now was he?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and looked up.

"We'll be fine here, Lucy. I've been careful...ish," Jeff tried to cover up his obvious worry. Crossing Papagrande at this point isn't something Jeff should be doing. He got them there, all it takes is one mess up and they're all going down for it.

Lucy looked at Jeff and nodded, allowing a small smile to spread across her lips.

"You can go now, LJ. We'll be fine from here." Lucy looked at me and nodded.

I squinted my eyes, "I'm not going to have to come back and deal with more corrupted, am I? Or a moody Lucy? If so, I'd rather deal with a corrupted-- or ten." I teased her.

Lucy scowled. "We'll be fine. Thanks, LJ."

Grinning and nodding my head, I slowly let the black smoke take over my body.

"See ya later, Short Stack."

And with that, I was gone.

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

Jeff and I were inside sitting at the table. Jeff had a plate of fries in front of him and I had a plate of... whatever inside organ this was.

"I'm not really that emotional, am I?" I questioned Jeff, stabbing into a piece of meat and shoveling it into my mouth.

Jeff took a deep breath in and began slowly letting it out. "Nooo....?"

I shook my head. "You can't just answer my question with a question!"

"Yes! Yes fine. You are. But I kind of figured you were just hormonal." Jeff shrugged, piling a stack of fries into his mouth.

Since it was just Jeff and me here and our attention was on each other, he had been using a napkin to cover his mouth when he ate. I didn't mind the mess he made when he ate, but he figured it was more 'polite'. When we ate at the mansion or Hideaway, there was so much going on and so many people eating, you don't really realize who the messy eaters are.

I was processing everything. That was my issue. I was stuck always thinking about everything horrible that has happened to me in the past few months that I don't even think about everything that is going right or everything that could go right.

"I guess you're right," I sighed, leaning back in the chair.

Jeff put his napkin on the table and leaned forward, folding his hands. "I don't really care, Luce. LJ is just trying to help."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the sound of LJ trying to help me.

"I'm serious. That's his way of saying 'wake up and smell the blood'." Jeff stated seriously.

"Coffee." I corrected him, letting out a small laugh.

"What?" Jeff tipped his head to the side.

"It's 'wake up and smell the coffee'." I laughed, shaking my head at him as I grabbed my fork.

"Why? Coffee is gross." Jeff stuck his tongue out and faked a shudder.

"So is blood," I pointed out, taking a bite of my food.

Jeff's grin grew wider. "Should I point out what you just put in your mouth?"

I shook my head and began laughing. "Shut up."

Jeff put his last few fries in his mouth and stood up with his plate. Setting it down in the sink, he turned around. "Where's the notebook? I have to ask Papagrande something."

I was chewing the bite in my mouth as I pointed to the bedroom, "Under my pillow," I said with a mouth full.

Jeff just chuckled and shook his head as he began walking to my room, leaving me to think by myself once again.

Miss me yet?

Rolling my eyes. "Not one bit, Plague Doctor. What do you want?"

I took a sip of my water and put one of the last few bites in my mouth.

Actually wanted to come clean about something. Both Slender and Papagrande have been lying to you about some things. There's only so much I can say without being mentally detained.

I squinted my eyes. Mentally detained? What in the world is he talking about?

Due to the place I am in, they can control what I can and cannot say. It's like some words have been taken out of my vocabulary. So pay attention. I'm only going to give you one random word every now and then. I can't have them catching on.

I squinted my eyes and looked around. "Okay? I'm confused."

One day this will all make sense.

Hesitantly, I stood up and walked around, looking for something to write with and write on.

Saving.

"Saving? What the hell am I going to do with the word 'saving'?"

They're taking their seats now, Lucy. Just don't forget the word. Eventually, this will all make sense, dear.

I grabbed a sharpie from a drawer and wrote the word 'saving' down on a scrap piece of paper. Slender and Papagrande are lying to me about something? But what? And if they've been lying, could it be for my own good?

******

"I'm just saying, you can't last down a blue on top of a yellow, Jeff." I giggled, picking up his card and tossing it back at him.

"But the number four comes after three! Doesn't that count!?" Jeff groaned, picking the card back up.

"Same colors, same numbers, or wild cards," I repeated for what had to be the hundredth time.

Uno. Jeff managed to grab a pack of Uno cards on his adventure. Trying to teach him to play a card game was damn near impossible.

"You never played this with Liu?" I asked, laying down a number seven on top of his.

He shook his head. "Liu and I were more of the play outside kind of kids, even on rainy days. I never really played games until I was at the mansion and Ben showed up."

I noticed Jeff had began chewing on his lip at the mention of Liu. His jaw kept clenching and it seemed like his motions were slowed down.

"I hope I didn't strike a nerve or soft spot," I quickly spoke up. "If it helps I was going to say Luke and I used to play card games all the time. We rarely were the outdoorsy kids. I was just trying to relate or spark conversation or whatever."

Jeff three his cards down on the table and stood up. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he opened up the front door and nearly slammed it behind him.

"And it was a nerve I hit," I sighed, setting my cards down on the table and muttering to myself. "Way to go, Luce."

Bracing myself as I stood up, I grabbed my sweatshirt and slippers and slid them on. Peaking through the front door window, I saw Jeff sitting at the edge of the porch with his back toward me and a shoulder rested on a rail.

Taking a deep breath in, I opened the door slowly. "Am I in trouble?"

Jeff huffed and shook his head.

Closing the door behind me, I sat down on the step next to him, almost unsure of what to say next.

The air was crisp, as it should be on a spring night. Surprisingly, with how far north we are in America, there was no snow. Puddles were on the ground in random places as a sign that at one point, there was the fluffy, cold snow. I was listening to the air slinky it's way through the trees as it traveled along.

"I didn't think the mention of your brother was a bad thing, otherwise I would've kept my mouth shut." I finally spoke up, leaning back a little bit.

Jeff's shoulder rose, then fell. "Well, both our brothers are in the same place right now. Only difference is, I basically put mine there. It's my fault he's there."

I furrowed my brows. "You really think Zalgo wants Luke because he's bad ass? That boy is an idiot." I giggled. "Don't get me wrong, I love who Luke used to be. He was my best friend. But between his clumsiness and not built body, Zalgo had no chance of wanting him. The only reason my brother is there is because of me. It's Zalgo's way of rubbing in my face that he has full control over whatever, and whoever, he wants. My brother... Jack. If I wasn't around, Zalgo would have no interest in either of them and we both know that."

Jeff glanced over at me, and raised his eyebrows. "Where's the water works?"

Punching his arm playfully, I snorted. "No waterworks this time. LJ was right. I've been far too emotional and obnoxious lately. I have a lot going on, but I have to stop dwelling. Shit isn't going to fix itself- that's my job now."

Jeff nodded. "Well, that makes me glad LJ did stop by then cuz I thought I was going to lose my mind with all the hormones raging through the cabin."

I glared over at Jeff and elbowed him. "Rude." I laughed shortly.

"You know I'm kidding, Luce." He chuckled. "So you're going to be okay now?"

I shrugged and glanced down at my stomach. "I think I'm going to be okay. I also think Jack is strong enough to fight off whatever Zalgo is doing to him. There's no way Jack's going to be gone forever."

"I hope you're right." Jeff muttered.

I've been so worried about myself and my feelings, I didn't even bother to ask how Jeff has been handling Jack being on Zalgo's side. After all, that was his best friend. But hearing Jeff agree and hope I'm right really put it in perspective with me that he's just as worried as I am.

"Speaking of Jack," Jeff turned and looked down at my stomach. "I'm still waiting to hear about when this happened."

My face grew hot and I looked away from him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first off, I thought EJ was going to be a virgin forever." Jeff chuckled. "And second off, I thought with EJ being technically dead... well, 'paused in life', his... uh... stuff wouldn't work...?"

My eyes widened and I began laughing. "Oh my god. Well his stuff worked. The Plague Doctor had a lot to do with it, too."

"Ew? Some sort of three so-"

"No! Jesus you are unpredictable." I giggled. "The Plague Doctor used Jack's DNA and mine and did this. Of course it was after... that one night. But, yeah. Actually I think it was the day we were checking on his snowmobile. Although, looking back on it now, I think he knew we were going to do more than check on his snowmobile."

Jeff furrowed his brows. "You don't know much about the Plague Doctor, do you?"

"Why?"

"He doesn't create life. If anything, he destroys it. After your Rake incident, Slender and them didn't fill you in on the S-"

Suddenly a loud ringing filled my head. I felt like my brain was growing, trying to force itself out of my skull. I was curled up in a ball on the ground, holding my head firmly in my hands. Jeff was holding onto my wrists. I could see his mouth moving, but no sound was coming out. The only sound I could hear was that of the ringing.

And then...

Avoid that conversation with him at all costs before I get caught, Luciana. At least until our connection is terminated.

I could hear pain in the Plague Doctor's voice. What was Jeff even trying to talk about? The same thing that the Plague Doctor was trying to tell me earlier?

Jeff had my head in his lap and I was pulled close to his body, which was rocking slowly back and forth. Slowly, the ringing was dimming and Jeff's voice could be heard again.

"I don't know what to do, Lucy. I don't know what to do." He kept repeating over and over to himself.

I let my breathing catch up before I spoke. "I'm okay now, Jeff. Whatever you were going to say, I can't talk about until after the Plague Doctor gets out of my head. Something about certain words being blocked out of his vocabulary and apparently mine, too. Even if it's just hearing them and not saying them."

Jeff scoffed. "You live a complicated life."

Looking up and Jeff and giving him a slight smile, I said, "Well, I joined your club," and laughed dryly.

******
*Luke's POV*

"Why did the unstable one get to go bother Slender and them? Why didn't you send me?" I asked Zalgo, glaring at Eyeless Jack.

Jack was awfully quiet, even for him. He didn't seem to make much of a fuss of anything after this morning. Maybe we finally got it through his head that things will go smoother if he cooperates.

"Jack was sent to remind them we have him and he's not going back. End of discussion. I don't understand why I must explain myself to you," Zalgo glared at me.

Usually, a glare that cold would've sent chills down my spine, but I've gotten so used to his stares I just shrug them off.

"Did you happen to see Luciana while you were there?" I turned to Jack.

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Just Papagrande and Laughing Jack."

Turning back to Zalgo, I opened my big mouth again. "You do realize the second he sees Lucy something is going to flip in his brain and he's going to be attacking us again."

Zalgo chuckled darkly and grabbed his glass of water from next to him. "Don't you think I have this under control? You honestly can't think I don't have a plan for him." Zalgo nodded his head at Jack and then sipped his water.

"What do you mean?" Nina was seated on the railing, but stood up as her curiosity peaked.

Zalgo shrugged. "I guess you will see in due time." He let out a grin before taking another sip.

Jack was standing emotionlessly behind me. Almost as if he didn't hear what Zalgo had just said. Whatever was going on in Jack's mind right now was completely unknown.

I glanced at Nina who just shrugged. She grabbed a hold of Jack's arm and began walking with him down the staircase. Even his posture is a little bit more straight. What was Zalgo doing to him?

***********
I know in the announcements I said end of last week, but I, shockingly (not), got side tracked. But ya got your chapter now and hopefully it was worth the wait!
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