Jeff was bewildered to find out that the two children, five-year-old Prairie and four-year-old Gideon, belonged to Liu and Vailly, making them his niece and nephew. The tall, muscular blonde was Lyra Rogers, whom Jeff remembered to be Liu's college aged best friend when he was in high school; Jeff had met her once when he was thirteen, and he could recall asking for her autograph. The teenager, an eighteen-year-old ghost with shoulder-length black hair and several scars, like Lyra, introduced herself as Crystal Lux. She had a twin brother, Nathan, but he apparently wasn't back yet.

"So, what exactly is going on here?" Jeff asked after swallowing a mouthful of warm tomato soup. Liu was still sitting next to him on the couch, this time with Vailly on his arm. Prairie and Gideon had already been tucked into bed. Crystal was lying on her stomach on the carpeted floor, her legs dangling in the air, and Lyra chose to stand, one hand planted on her hip and her other hand holding a lit cigarette.

"We've been living here for about five years," Lyra explained. "We didn't know 'till about a year into it that Slenderman had picked this forest to be his HQ. By then, it was too late and too risky to move out and try to find someplace new."

"Why's that?" Jeff asked.

"I was pregnant with Gideon at the time." Vailly answered. "All thanks to this prick." She nodded towards Liu, who gave her a pitying smile. Lyra chuckled.

"We were also just kinda tired of living on the lam." Crystal added from the floor. "This place doesn't have a mailbox or even a proper address, so we knew we were more or less safe here."

"So have you guys been the ones to cause all the weird fuckin' events lately?" Jeff asked. "As in, one of you sliced Clockwork's stomach open?"

The others all nodded.

"We didn't wanna cause a panic or anything," Liu insisted. He took out a cigarette and lit it, putting it to his lips to take a drag. "Well, we didn't care about Toby."

"What's your beef with . . . oh." Before Jeff could continue, he caught Lyra's hateful frown. She nodded, as if she had read his mind, and took a puff of her cigarette.

"Yeah, you know Toby's an asshole, right?" Crystal guessed.

"He sucks," Jeff answered. He didn't want to get into the details at the moment, though, as there was something else on his mind. He turned to Vailly, whom he had realized was now pretty much his sister-in-law.

"You said you had two partners?" he reminded her. "Whaddya mean by that?"

Vailly and Liu exchanged glances, and Liu took a deep breath.

"Jeff, d'you remember Sullivan Harrison?" he asked. "Randy's little brother? He was my age, always wearing a red beanie."

Jeff frowned slightly and swallowed. He hated it when Randy Harrison, the sick man who had destroyed him over nine years ago, was brought up in conversation. Hell, he was the reason Jeff was afraid of fire.

"Yeah." he said slowly. "Sully was my fourth victim. What's he gotta with anything?"

"Well, after you killed him," Liu explained, "Sully thought he could use me as a weapon to get revenge on you - turning me into a puppet, if you will. So, while I was in the hospital, he attempted to possess me. As you can see, it didn't fully work."

Jeff's eyes widened, and his blood ran cold. So, Liu could have killed him out there in the snow had Sully been in control? The thought made him shudder.

"Bastard thought he was sooo clever," Lyra said in a taunting voice. There was a smirk on her face. "Turns out bending Liu the Loyal to his will was much harder than he anticipated."

"Not to mention he's a bit of a wuss," Crystal giggled. "And a total bottom."

"Ghosts can age along with the person they're possessing." Vailly jutted in. "Don't worry, I wouldn't date a minor - I'm not that evil."

"W-wait, hold on," Jeff interrupted. He turned to Liu. "So you're saying that you're possessed by someone I murdered when I was barely fourteen?"

Liu nodded and took another puff of his cigarette: he was dead serious, as always.

"Sully has a physical form, too," he went on. "He just doesn't wanna come out right now."

"We actually - "

Lyra was cut off as the front door suddenly flew open, letting in the frigid evening air. When a man over six feet tall - taller even than Lyra - stepped inside, gripping the side of his head and groaning, Jeff's heart dropped.

"There you are!" Crystal cried out. "Where the hell've you been, Nate?"

"Sorry, I got lost." the man - Nathan - grunted as he shut the door behind him. He took off his mouth mask, revealing a scarred jaw and some chin stubble. "Haven't been that high in a while - "

"Where is she!?"

Everyone's heads turned as Jeff jumped to his feet, bumping his knees against the coffee table. He was seething, his eyes bulging. A tense silence fell over the room, and all eyes were immediately on Jeff. Nathan opened his mouth, but it was a moment before he spoke.

"Uhh . . . who's the hobo?"

"He's Jeff Woods, you moron." Lyra snapped.

Nathan's jaw dropped in response. Jeff was still standing there, his hands balled into fists and his teeth clenched.

"Okay, let's calm down." Liu said steadily. "Jeff, what'd you mean by 'she?'"

"M-my friend," Jeff stammered. "Alma Richardson - sh-she's another proxy. You remember her, right, Liu?" He started stimming to try and calm himself.

Liu raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, but understanding what Jeff had said. Just like that, everyone's attention had been turned to Nathan. He looked as though he still didn't know what was going on, as if the narcotics weren't finished wearing off.

"I do remember a chick with brown hair." he said at last. "She got away before I could lay a hand on her, though."

Jeff's heart dropped for a second time as he looked through the window: the sun had long since set. His friends were all probably looking for him. S.O.S. and Hector would be worried sick.

"We should get you home, Jeff." Vailly said, as if she had read his mind. "Your colleagues are probably worried."

Jeff wondered how Liu would take the news that he was a father.