Chapter 2 Disastrous Meetings and A Cheesecake Blizzard With Extra Cheesecake

Jeff had a weird feeling, but he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Throughout the day he has seen a lot of guys resembling Liu and that had Jeff on edge. It was a sign, that much he knew. He wanted to ask Helen, but that would only worry him.

"If you keep frowning so much, you will not be as beautiful as you want to be." Helen said nonchalantly before drinking a cup of water. Jeff sighed as he felt his face muscles soften, but just in case took out his phone and flipped to the camera to see if his beauty was still intact.

"What's wrong, Jeff?" Ben asked as he paused his game to glance at his friend. "You are unusually quiet today."

Helen sat on the bar stool and rested his chin on his right hand. "He's on his period, Ben." After he said that, he dodge the pillow Jeff threw at him.

"It's nothing," Jeff said with a scoff. "I'm just bored."

"He's lying." Helen thought as he looked at Jeff. "That so? Well, we should be going to the cannibal's place anyway."

"Oh yeah, it's in an hour." Ben said with a lazy smile as he saved and left the game. Jeff smirked, he had almost forgotten about his deal with Jack. Jeff stood up from the couch to grab his trusty knife and walked out of the apartment with his friends. As Helen locked in, Jeff had a sudden craving for a dairy blizzard.

However, they didn't get very far once they saw one of the proxies guarding the nearest exit. "Shit." Jeff cursed under his breath. As they got closer to Tim, the proxy silently watched them.

"What a surprise to see you here, Masky."

Tim shrugged. "Is it?"

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Ben asked with an annoyed expression. Tim rolled his eyes as he continued to sip the beer can on his hand.

"What about you three?" Tim glared at them. "Where are you going so late at night?"

Jeff huffed. "It's not even that late."

"Answer the question or I will be forced to tell Slender-"

"Tell him what," Jeff said with a scowl. "That we are going out to eat? Am I not allowed to go out with my friends to eat?"

Tim stayed silent as he continued to glare at the trio. "Fine, go on." he crushed the empty beer can and threw it in the nearest trash can. "It's not my business what you do anyway."

Helen grabbed Jeff's shoulder and nudged him to start walking. Jeff glared back at Tim before walking away, Ben ignored him and Helen glanced at him uninterested. "Whatever." He mumbled.

When they were far away from Tim's reach, Jeff let out a frustrated sigh. "The security was tightened."

Helen put a hand on Jeff's shoulder and Ben patted his head. "We can get through this." Helen said.

Jeff smirked as he tried to hide the fact that this shit with Slender was really weighing him down. "You bet your ass we are."

Jack paced back and forth on the entrance of the hospital, everyone was gathered on the cafeteria happily passing time until Jeff arrived. Not that they even knew Jeff was coming and although that should worry Jack, he is more worried about other stuff. Like, will Jeff arrive on time? Had he been caught by Slender? Kagekao had come by this morning (earlier for him to return considering the fact that he goes to annoy Brian and return the next day), saying that Slender has increased the security around his jurisdiction.

"He'll come, I mean, if he doesn't, that means he's betrayed us." Smiley said as he leaned against a wall near Jack.

Jack blinked and stopped his pacing. "Who said he wouldn't come?"

"Isn't that why you are so impatient? I'm even more surprised to see you waiting here in the entrance."

"Doesn't look like it." Jack said with a frown. Smiley, despite his name, wasn't smiling at the moment. He had a serious expression and had his arms crossed. Jack was right, Smiley wasn't surprised at all that Jack was impatiently waiting for Jeff to arrive. In fact, he was astonished that Jack hasn't bolted out and went out to find him sooner.

"Hmmm, no, considering his situation…" Smiley's train of thought was interrupted when he heard voices getting near. One, he recognised. The other two were new to him. One knock, it only took one knock before Jack flew the door open and Smiley had to suppress a laugh at how impatient Jack was to meet Jeff again.

"You finally arrived, Jeff." Jack said acting like he hadn't been waiting two hours at the entrance. He glanced at Jeff's companions. "I didn't know you would bring company."

Jeff glanced at his friends. Helen was glaring at Jack and was taking a protective stance while Ben smiled dangerously as he glared too. Jeff sighed. "Sorry, they wouldn't allow me to go alone," he said. "But don't worry, they won't betray you… I'll make sure of that."

"Right."

"Well then everyone, come on in!" Smiley said as he walked to Jack's side. "Everyone is waiting for you."

Jack tensed up a little and Smiley noticed. There shouldn't be much of a problem, all Jack had to do was put authority and say that Jeff will be an ally. Everyone in that place respected Jack, which is why despite Smiley having lived in the abandoned hospital before everyone, the title of Head of the House fitted Jack more.

Jack must have realized that and finally relaxed. However, Smiley spoke too soon. Well, thought. The moment Jeff entered the cafeteria with everyone, the room fell dead silent. Everyone was looking surprised, everyone except Sully. The stitched killer had widened his eyes for a second before glaring with so much hatred at the pale killer.

The one who broke the silence was Helen. He had grabbed Ben by the collar of his shirt and pulled him a bit closer. "I THOUGHT YOU SAID LIU WAS LIVING IN A NEUTRAL AREA!" Helen's voice resonated throughout the cafeteria. Jack cleared his throat, but Liu abruptly stood up with his knife in hand.

Liu gritted his teeth. "What the fuck are you doing here."

Jeff was still shocked to see his younger brother there. Helen was right, why was Liu on Zalgo's jurisdiction? Wasn't he supposed to be on Neutral land? Ben, who still had contact with Liu, was just as surprised as they were. "I don't… I don't kno-"

"WHY IS HE HERE!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Ben shouted. Normally, he would have punched Helen in the face. However, Ben was more worried about Jeff's emotional state and was looking at his best friend with distress. Helen, as angry as he was, let him go and stood in front of Jeff in a protective manner.

"We came here to-"

"I'm NOT talking to you, delusional painter."

Helen's right eye twitched. "Did you just-"

"Helen," Jeff called out as he stepped aside and shook his head. "It's fine." Jeff glanced at his brother, who was looking at him like scum. Not that he wasn't, because truth be told, he was scum for trying to kill him. He knows he deserves it and it shouldn't hurt… right? "Jack, mind filling them in?"

Jack blinked. Everyone in the room was so tensed. No one had ever seen Sully or Liu, they didn't even know who he was anymore, so pissed before. Not even Jason had seen him so worked up and he was Liu's roommate.

Jack sighed. "Jeff is the ally I was talking about."

"So, I was right~" LJ said in his usual mocking tone. However, the glare Liu directed at him made LJ even sweat a little. So much for trying to lighten the mood. The whole atmosphere was so god damn thick, Liu could cut it with his own knife.

"I didn't know your standards had fallen, EJ." Liu said, his murderous look subsiding a little. "Having HIM as our ally is the WORST FUCKING THING you could have done."

No one spoke, everyone was afraid to. Jeff gulped and cautiously took a step forward. "Listen, Liu-" Jack pulled Jeff aside and caught the knife Liu had thrown, groaning in pain after. Jeff let out a choked gasp as he stared at his younger brother.

"I will not listen to you, scum."

Jeff felt a knot on his throat. He really fucked up, huh? It was to be expected anyway. Who in the right fucking mind would forgive a family relative that killed your parents and then almost killed you? Fuck change, am I right fellas?

"Sully, you need to calm the fuck down." Jack said with a stern tone as he glared back at Liu. Liu let out a bitter laugh as he hunched over, passing a hand through his long brown hair. He straightened up at the same time he abruptly stopped laughing.

"Why? Why should I calm down in front of the FUCKING ASSHOLE who MURDERED MY PARENTS AND TRIED TO DO THE SAME SHIT WITH ME!?"

Jeff flinched and Ben felt hopeless. When did this happen? Last time he talked to Liu, he said he was still living with Nina and the others. "He has been lying to me…" Ben whispered to himself.

Jack dropped the knife to the floor, a dark blue liquid started to flow out of Jack's hand. He let go of Jeff and put pressure on the wound with his other hand. "He will be our ally whether you like it or not," Jack said, his expression hard. "So I suggest you refrain from hurting him or his companions."

Liu let out a dry laugh. "I do not promise shit." Smiley picked up the bloodied knife and cleaned it. He hesitated on giving the weapon back to Liu, but Liu had acted quicker and at one moment he was right in front of Smiley, snatching the knife back and the next he had stab Jeff on the shoulder.

Jeff's pained scream filled the cafeteria and Jason's legs had moved on his own and was now holding Liu back. Helen was panicking and Ben had stepped in between a trashing Liu and a stabbed Jeff. Liu yelled to be let go and that no one should interfere, but Ben sighed and looked directly at Liu with pitiful eyes. "Sorry." Ben said before punching Liu hard in the stomach, leaving him out of air.

Jeff was holding his bleeding shoulder with the knife still stuck on him and bit his lip to not let out any more pained sounds. Smiley put a hand on Jack and Jeff's back. "Come on, both of you, this meeting was a fucking disaster so let's get you treated."

Jack sighed again and followed Smiley with Jeff closed behind. Helen was about to follow them but noticed Ben was staring at Liu with a betrayed expression as Jason took him away to their room. "Aren't you coming?" Helen asked.

Ben shook his head. "No… I'm…" Ben let out a shaky breath. "I'm going to talk to Liu."

"I see…" Helen glanced away. "Sorry for yelling at you."

Ben laughed, but it sounded more like he wanted to cry. "The one we should worry about the most is Jeff."

"Yeah, but… Jeff would also worry about us."

"I know," Ben said as he put a hand on his neck. "I know."

Smiley wrapped Jack's hand with a bandage while Jeff, who already has been treated, leaned on Helen's side as he stared off into the distance. Jack glanced at them and then back at his injured hand. "Jealous?" asked Smiley with a smirk.

"Of?"

"You know."

"Of course not, it's like when you lean on my back sometimes."

"I guess so, but don't you feel anything?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I?" Smiley's smirk faltered as he finished treating Jack's hand. He glanced at Jeff and then at Jack. "Oh boy, so it took a bigger impact than Zalgo and I expected." Smiley thought.

"Anyway," Smiley said as he patted Jack on the back and walked over to Jeff. "Mind telling us how you know Sully?"

Helen sighed and before he could talk for Jeff, the guy himself beat him to it. "He's my younger brother and his name is Liu not Sully."

"That's weird, when he came here he told us his name was Sully." Jack said as he walked to Jeff's side. Jeff sat up and turned to look at Jack. The cannibal widened his eyes as he saw the dead and hopeless expression on the killer.

"I don't know why he chose Sully, but he probably didn't want you guys to know that he was my brother."

Smiley hummed in thought and grinned widely when an idea popped into his head. "In any case, we apologize for letting you get injured."

"It's fi-"

"In exchange, is there something you want?"

Jeff sighed and was about to say no, but his craving for a diary blizzard gnawed at him inside his head. "A diary blizzard." he slipped out and then mentally groaned. Helen looked at him with a disappointed glance as Jeff flipped him off. "Let me be, delusional painter~"

Helen groaned. "I hate you and your brother."

"In that case, Jack, why don't you take Jeff to buy him a blizzard?"

"Huh? Why me?"

"You are the Head of the House, remember?"

Jeff felt lively again and decided to tease Jack. "Scared to be alone with me?"

Jack smirked. "On the contrary."

"I will go to-" Helen's plan of not leaving Jeff alone with that cannibal were gone down the drain when Smiley put a hand on his shoulder.

"You must be the famous Bloody Painter! There is someone I want you to meet, he's always talking about you nonstop." Smiley said with a dangerous smile. Helen gulped. "Well, Johnny doesn't say anything good about him per se, but anything so long as those two are alone." Smiley thought as he started to drag Helen away from the room.

"I'll go get the keys, wait here."

Jeff huffed. "As if I'll listen to you."

"You should listen, we will be working together from now on." Jack said with a smirk as he walked in front of Jeff and leaned down to his eyesight level. Jeff looked at Jack annoyed and tried to come up with something.

Jeff smirked back. "I can lend you some of my strength, but no one is the boss of me, Jackie." Jeff pushed Jack lightly away as he stood up and walked out of the room. Jack felt a pulling sensation on his chest and something warm. Jack smiled widely, boy was he glad to have Jeff as his ally. Things won't be as boring around with him here.

Jeff was on the passenger's seat as he stared out the window at the dark and starless sky. It was barely nine at night, an hour before Dairy Queen closed. Jack went in through the drive-in. < Hello, welcome to Dairy Queen, may I take your order? > a female voice asked through the box. Before Jeff could tell him which one he wanted, Jack ordered.

"A medium cheesecake blizzard."

< Would you like any extra cheesecake or nuts with that? > The girl asked. Jack turned to face at Jeff and Jeff looked at him with shock. He mumbled 'extra cheesecake' and Jack told the girl just that. < Okay, please pass by the first window to receive your order > Jack pulled the window up and drove to where the girl told him to.

Jack took out a small test tube with a weird liquid on it. He drank it, but from Jeff's perspective nothing dramatic changed. "How did you know I liked cheesecake blizzards?" The question caught Jack off guard. Jack glanced at him and was about to say something, but the girl opened the small window and Jack rolled his down.

"Here's your order!" the girl turned the blizzard upside-down before turning it back to normal in a quick manner and gave it to Jack. Jack grabbed it and handed it to Jeff, who gladly took it. "That would be $4.09."

Jack reached for his wallet on the back of his jean pocket and pulled out a five dollar and gave it to the girl. "Keep the change." Jack said with a smile and the girl blushed lightly as she smiled shyly. Jack rode away and felt Jeff's stare as he ate his blizzard in silence. "What is it?"

"You haven't answered my question and how in the world did that girl not freaked out by your looks?"

"You saw me drink that weird liquid, didn't you?"

"What's got to do with any of this?"

"Well, that is something Zalgo gave to me if I wanted to ever go out without my mask," Jack explained. "Those who are not like us see me as if I were a regular human."

Jeff hummed in thought as he continued to eat his blizzard. "Then, how did you know I liked these?" Jeff asked as he waved his blizzard in front of his face. Jack glanced at him and then back at the road. That, Jack had no answer. It's not like his investigation about Jeff had any unnecessary stuff like what type of blizzard Jeff likes, so Jack had no idea how he knew.

"You look like the type to like that stuff." Jack said after a few minutes of silence. Jeff rolled his eyes at that answer. That was utter bullshit, everyone who knew Jeff had told him he doesn't look like the type to enjoy sweet stuff much less a cheesecake. The crazy fans had always said it was Tim who was a cheesecake fanatic, but Tim hates the stuff.

In fact, Jeff was closer (but not to that extreme) to being the "cheesecake lover" compared to Tim. "Anyway, sorry about my brother."

Jack sighed as he frowned, recalling how Liu reacted. "No, I should be the one apologizing," he said. "As head of the house, I should have paid more attention or run a background check on him."

Jeff chuckled bitterly. "Nah, Liu wanted to run away from me or got closer to the enemy to find me… either way, I fucked up and this is the price I have to pay."

"Well aren't you a martyr?"

Jeff let out a dry laugh. "Yup." The rest of the way back was drowned in silence. Jeff was half done eating his blizzard when they arrived back at the hospital. As Jeff scoop another part with a small piece of cheesecake, Jack tapped his right shoulder. "What do yo-" Jack took the spoon Jeff was anxiously waiting as the pale killer turned to his left with an offended gasp. "How d a r e you?"

Jack chuckled as he leaned back and avoided a smack from Jeff. "As expected, this shit is too sweet for me."

"Then why eat it in the first place, asshole!?" Jeff called out as Jack entered the hospital with an annoyed Jeff following behind. They went inside the cafeteria and luckily a few residents were still there. Kagekao, LJ and Johnathan were there with Smiley and Helen. Though Helen and Johnathan were bickering like crazy as Kagekao, LJ and Smiley calmly talked over them.

"Oh, welcome back!"

Helen stopped his bickering as he saw Jeff with a spoon on his mouth and a blizzard on his left hand. "You really did went there, huh?"

"Shut up!" Jeff shouted as he took a seat next to the monochromatic clown and Jack just stood next to the pale killer.

"I know this didn't went well, but I'll say it again: Jeff here will be our ally along with his companions."

Kagekao, LJ and Johnathan stayed silent for a while and Jeff felt tense under their stare. Though that blank stare didn't last long before the three of them smiled at him. "Well, if Jackie chose him then he must be trustworthy." Kagekao said with a shrug.

"Hey, is it true that you and Slender are banging?"

Jeff scoffed. "Fuck no! I'm not even gay."

"Oh honey," LJ said with a knowing smirk as he shook his head. "Are you sure about that?"

"Huh? Of course! Why do you think that?"

"You give off gay vibes." LJ said with a grin as the rest on the table (with the exception of Smiley and Jack) laughed at him while Jeff denied such accusations. Jack sighed in relief, luckily he doesn't have to go through much trouble after what happened before. He looked over at everyone on the table, they all seemed to slowly get along with Jeff and Helen. "Now, all we need is corporate and follow the plan." Jack thought.

Minutes after Jeff and Jack left

Ben silently leaned against the wall as Jason helped Liu sat on his bed. Jason glanced at the elf, but didn't say anything and instead excused himself to go for a glass of water. When Liu and Ben were alone, they finally met eye to eye. Yet, neither of them spoke. Ben wanted to say something, but the words were stuck on his throat.

"Why are you here?" Liu hoarsely asked as he held his stomach. Ben sighed and walked a little closer to Liu.

"Jeff got himself in some… trouble… and decided to unite forces with Jack for some reason."

Liu glanced away. "I didn't mean that."

Ben stood still for a moment before he sat next to Liu with his arms crossed. "Jeff is my friend and I owe him a lot, that's why I'm here."

"Ha! What a joke."

"I'm not joking." Ben said, looking at him sternly. "You should try and listen to what your brother has to say."

Liu looked back at Ben with a frown. "I know what he will say! Oh, Liu, I'm so sorry for killing our parents and almost killing you! Let's forget all that in the past and move on like nothing happened." Liu said in a mocking tone. "Yeah, no, I rather not."

"But-"

"Have you ever considered how I felt!? I still have nightmares about it and you expect me to forgive him just like that?"

Ben opened his mouth, but closed it again. Liu had a point. He had no obligation to forgive Jeff and he had every right not to. Ben knows that, but it pains to see the Woods brothers self-destruct with unhealthy habits. "If you don't want to forgive him, then why do you look so sad when he leaves?" Ben thought, but knew better than to say it outloud.

"An alliance with Jeff, really?" Liu grumbled and Ben glanced away. "What is EJ thinking?"

"You underestimate your brother," Ben sighed. "He might not look like it, but if it's Slender related he is useful."

Liu rolled his eyes. "I won't cooperate with that asshole."

"You have to."

Liu was about to open his mouth to say something, but decided against it. "Whatever, leave me alone for now." Ben sighed before standing up and patting Liu on the head, the younger killer glanced up at him and Ben felt his piercing eyes dig inside.

"You can always ignore your brother and talk to me instead." He said before walking out of the room. He turned to his left and saw Jason smoking out the small window at the end of the hall. "Hey!" Ben called out as he walked closer to Jason. The red-headed killer glanced back at Ben with surprise before greeting back nervously.

"Sorry I lied about getting water…"

Ben chuckled. "It's fine, you wanted to escape the suffocating atmosphere, right?"

Jason snickered. "Yeah…"

"Sorry about Liu, he is as intense as his brother sometimes."

"Liu, huh? I didn't know his real name sounded so lame, but don't tell him I said that." Jason said before putting the cigarette back to his lips. Ben laughed before looking out the window.

"What name did he use?"

"Sully."

"Well, that actually sounds cooler."

Jason chuckled. "Right?"

"But, I think Liu is a good name…" Ben said with a sad smile and a soft glance. Jason glanced at him before putting his cigarette out. "I haven't asked for your name, have I?"

"I'm Jason-"

"Derulo?"

Jason rolled his eyes as Ben smirked. "Funny, but no."

"What a shame," Ben said with a shrug. "I would have asked for an autograph."

"Anyway, I'm Jason the Toy Maker."

Ben hummed in thought before putting his hand out. "Ben Drowned." Jason smirked as he shook Ben's hand.

"Yeah, I know."

"Want an autograph?"

"I'll pass, Zelda."

Ben felt his right eye twitch as the handshake between them became tighter. "If you say so, Derulo." Both of them snatched their hands away and stared at each other with disinterest. "You don't mind if I explore the place, do you?"

Jason shrugged. "Not really, not my business what you do anyway."

"Good, it should never be." Ben said with a huff before going to the next floor. When Jason could no longer see the elf, he turned around and put a hand on his chest as he let out a shaky sigh of relief. Holy shit, he had just talked to one of the big and famous killers out there. Did he give a good impression? Hopefully it was the case.

"Damn it EJ, if you were going to make an alliance with big fish you should have told me!" Jason hissed before sighing and going back to check on Liu. The younger Woods was laying on the bed holding the cross necklace to his face before bringing it close to his chest. Jason knew Liu wanted to be alone and decided to go somewhere else. However, he heard loud voices downstairs and noticed everyone was back in the cafeteria.

"As you all know, I want to bring Slender down just like some of you," Jack started as finally everyone was calm enough to listen. "In order to do that, we need to follow a plan."

"Do we even got one?"

"Kind of, it's not completed yet."

Smiley chuckled. "You should spend less time on crossword puzzles, Jackie~"

Jack rolled his eyes. "In any case, I have a role for each and everyone of us," he said. "We will be in pairs and they would be as follows: Helen and Johnny-"

"What!?" Helen and Johnny said at the same time.

"Ben with Jason," Ben and Jason glanced at each other. "Smiley with Liu, Kagekao with LJ and Jeff will be with me."

"I wonder why that is~" Smiley thought with a smirk. "And our roles are?"

"Helen, Johnny, Kagekao and LJ will be in charge of monitoring the proxies," at the mention of that, Kagekao's mask morphed into a sinister smile. "Ben, Jason, Smiley and Liu in charge of gathering allies in the Neutral areas-"

"And I'm guessing you and I will be taking care of Slender?" Jeff finished. Jack smirked and nodded, earning a smirk back from Jeff. "This incomplete plan is starting to sound good."

"Can I change my partner?" Helen asked annoyed as he raised his hand. Johnny glared at him as he mumbled: "I was about to say that."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

Helen and Johnny sighed in annoyance. "Damn it." they said in unison and glare at each other once again.

"It's getting late and I'm sure our new allies would like to catch some sleep." Smiley pointed out as he stood up. Everyone started to leave the cafeteria and as Jeff was guided to the entrance, he glanced back one last time at Liu's back and felt his shoulder wound throb.

"Come back in three days, if you come everyday Slender would suspect something." Jack said as he opened the door for Jeff and his friends. Ben and Helen had looked weird at Jack, but decided to get out first. Smiley was surprised at Jack's action as was Jeff.

"Alright, but how would we even communicate in case something happens?"

Before Jack could say anything, Smiley intervened. "He'll know, don't worry about it." He said with a wink. Jack looked at Smiley with confusion, but Jeff only shrugged.

"Okay then, see you in three days."

"See you, Jeffy~" Smiley said with a grin. When Jeff left, Smiley glanced at Jack who had a small smile on his lips. "Interesting." He thought. "Jackie, I will go see Zalgo right now, I need to discuss our plans with him."

"Okay, will you be coming late then?"

Smiley nodded with a sigh. "Yup."

"Good luck then."

"Thanks," Smiley said as he watched Jack heading back to his office. "But I don't need it."

Jeff dried his hair as he listened to his friends bicker over some anime that the killer will probably be forced to binge watch with them. He sighed and mentally prepared himself over what kind of anime it would be. Neon Genesis Evangelion was actually cool, he loved Asuka's character. But there have been some anime that left a 'I don't even know what to say' feeling like with Sword Art Online.

"Hurry up Jeff!" Ben shouted from the living room.

"Coming!" Jeff shouted back and put on a loose grey shirt. He walked on the living room and saw Helen sitting on the floor while Ben had claimed the three-seat sofa. "I'm assuming you're staying?" Jeff asked Ben as he sat next to Helen.

"I'm too tired to go back home, let me crash here."

"You always do even when you don't ask." Helen pointed out. Jeff chuckled and glanced at the TV to see what anime he will have to watch. The title of it was 'Full Metal Alchemist' and the cover had a blond haired guy with a metal arm and some guy in an armor.

As Helen pressed play, Jeff looked at his friends. "You guys didn't have to come, but thanks for doing so." Jeff said with a hesitant look on his eyes. Helen and Ben looked at him surprised. It was rare for Jeff to even show gratitude, but it was because of that they valued Jeff's effort a lot more.

"No worries dude, we were just bored anyway." Helen said with a soft smile. Ben only grinned and gently pushed Jeff's shoulder with his barefoot.

"What's up with you? Even if you had asked, our answers would have been a total fuck yeah!" Ben said and Jeff grinned back. The three killing musketeers glanced back at the TV, just in time as the opening was coming to an end. Surprisingly enough, the anime caught Jeff's attention and even liked it.

"I just wish Liu was here… maybe he would have liked it too." Jeff thought as he sadly smile while picturing that scene.

Brian inspected the area one last time before going back to the mansion. Throughout the whole day he hadn't seen Kagekao and instead of feeling elated, he felt disappointed. According to Toby, he didn't have any valid reasons to enter their jurisdiction and chased him away. It wasn't Toby's fault, really, he was only doing his job. And yet…

"What am I thinking? I'm just glad I got to breath for once!" Brian mumbled as he put his hands on his hood pockets and started to walk back. However, he heard a tree branch break and Brian wiped his head back, almost losing his balance.

"Yo! I guess my plan of scaring you are futile now, huh?"

"Oh, it's you." Brian said disappointed as he stared at Tim.

Tim chuckled. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"No." Lied Brian as he was glad to still wear his mask. Tim rolled his eyes.

"Right," he put his hands on his hips. "That friend of yours is from Zalgo's jurisdiction isn't he?"

"The only friends I have are you and Toby."

"That's kinda sad to be honest…" Tim trailed off as he sensed Brian's glare from underneath the mask. "In any case, you have the romeo and juliet relationship, eh?"

Brian rolled his eyes. "If that were the case, then he should hurry up and poison himself!" Brian shouted as he started to walk back with Tim following close behind.

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't." Laughed Tim. Brian wanted to disagree, but was too tired and instead let it be.

"Will we be okay?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You know why."

"That reminds me, tonight… those three went out and came back a little late."

Brian stopped in his tracks and stared at Tim, both of them knowing what the other was thinking despite them still wearing masks. "Where did they go?"

"According to Helen, to Wing Daddy's."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

"That damn brat better not get himself in trouble, we are already suffering enough because of his antics."

"Will you report that to Slender?"

Tim stayed quiet for a minute. "What he doesn't know, won't hurt him."

Brian glanced up at the midnight sky. "Well, let's just hope it's nothing."

Jack sighed and rubbed his temples as he continued to work on the plan. Drafting, analyzing and erasing words only to repeat the same cycle. He wasn't going to admit it so easily, but he was stuck. Perhaps he shouldn't rush, with the new information his team gathered, they could find something to make Slender crawl to their feet and beg for mercy.

There was a knock on his door before the person entered. "You're still here?" Smiley asked unsurprised as he was used to Jack staying up so late at night.

"I wanted to see if I could come up with something else," Jack said with a shrug. Smiley sighed and closed the door behind him whilst leaning against it. "How'd it go with Zalgo?"

Smiley's grim expression told Jack everything. "Not good."

"What's wrong?"

Smiley shook his head. "Nothing really, just… some stuff me and Zalgo are watching over, but it's worse than we thought."

"I see." Jack said with a frown. Smiley blinked and regained his usual cynical smile, trying his best not to leak anything confidential.

"So, how's the plan coming along?"

It was Jack's turn to sigh. "Not so good, I'm stuck."

"Oh my, guess you'll have to wait until we gather more stuff."

"Indeed," Jack said as he stood up to stretch. "Well, I think I'll go out for a kill."

"Take Kagekao with you, he's sulking behind the reception desk."

Jack snickered. "He really can't pass a day without seeing Brian." Smiley chuckled, but didn't say anything anymore. Both men walked out of the office and Smiley waved farewell before he walked towards the garden behind the hospital. Jack went to his shared room for a couple of things, glancing at a quiet LJ who was playing with some kids toys. Jack cleared his throat and walked up to LJ. "You good?"

LJ glanced at him before turning his attention back to the toy car. "Just bored, oh hey, tomorrow Candy will drop by! Is that okay?" LJ's wide smile returning.

Jack shrugged. "Sure, just make sure not to burn anything this time." He said as he started to head to the door. LJ shouted a 'Yes sir! Thank you sir!' and Jack shook his head with a chuckle. He passed by the cafeteria, where Jason and Johnny were making some puppets as they talked. "Hey guys!"

"EJ!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Working on a collaboration?"

"Nah, just helping out Jason with his new inventions." Johnny said with a smirk. Jason sighed and shook his head.

"It's a lot, I should have controlled myself."

"There, there buddy."

"I heard Candy was coming over tomorrow."

Jason face lit up. "He is! Been a long time since me and LJ saw him."

"Where did he run off to anyway?" Johnny asked annoyed. Jack shrugged and waved goodbye as he reached the reception and walked over to the desk. He loomed over and saw Kagekao in a fetal position with a whole bottle of wine by his side. Either he had passed out or the expression on Kagekao must be unrecognizable that the mask can not express it.

"Want to go out?"

No answer.

"We can pass by Offender's place-"

Kagekao stood up and grabbed his bottle of wine. He stretched a little before dusting off his bottle instead of him. Jack sighed and motioned Kagekao to follow him. After an anticlimactic kill where he took out the liver in a clean way and storing it away in his special storage in the outskirts of town, Jack and Kagekao walked over to a small portion of the forest where it stood in Neutral territory.

If you keep walking straight with no real goal in mind, the atmosphere starts to change and soon you will find a cabin with the lights on. Once you walked inside, you would notice that the place had been turned into a small cozy bar with music playing. Kagekao had long finished his bottle of wine and took a seat on the barstool. Jack sat next to him and found it a little too convenient for Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presly to be playing at the moment.

"My, how long has it been seen I've seen you two?" A being almost as tall as Slender appeared out of thin air. Instead of a suit, he was wearing a coat-let's be real here, okay? You know who it is and how he looks like, so let's move on.

"Hello Offender, sorry for not dropping by more often, we've been busy."

"I figured, but why is Kagekao so dead?" Offender asked as he turned his head to where Kagekao had rested his head and his mask not showing any expression.

"Your brother tightened security and got chased away by Toby."

"Ah, so his daily dose of Brian finally came to an end then."

Jack patted Kagekao on the back. "Let's hope he can reunite with that proxy soon." Offender chuckled and turned around to look for his greatest bottle of wine before giving the whole bottle to the japanese monster. Kagekao quickly took it as he straightened up, he lifted his mask a little and chugged down half the bottle before going back to his initial position.

Offender whistled. "Damn, he looks as if he was dumped by him"

"I know, what's with the heartbreaking old songs?" Jack asked as he noticed Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John played right after the Elvis song.

Offender laughed. "That's just a coincidence, what will you be drinking?"

"Just beer."

"Coming right up!" Offender exclaimed as he prepared the drink. "You know, that rascal's idea of opening a bar was the best he's ever had."

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "What rascal?"

As Offender set the beer in front of Jack, his grin faded. "Oh… right."

Jack glanced at him suspiciously, but decided not to press further. He took off his mask and set it aside. "Seriously though, these songs are so in tune with Kagekao's mood." Jack said taking a sip of his beer as the old song that have been playing were heartbreak songs. Offender chuckled and nodded in agreement. Kagekao moved again, but only to finish the bottle of wine and sigh.

"Bartender, another one."

"Your english has gotten better~" Offender teased as he gave another wine bottle to Kagekao. The japanese killer started to chug it down, but halfway set it down and groaned as he rested his head on his right hand. As he hummed to Careless Whisper, Jack and Offender decided to catch up on life.

"So, Jeff is going to help you."

"Yup."

Offender stared at Jack for a minute. "Interesting, so what do you think about him?"

Jack hummed as he took another sip of his beer. "He's… not what I expected, to be honest."

"Oh?"

"I thought he would be a muscle headed moron, but he can be smart if he wanted."

'Well, if this isn't Deja Vú' Offender thought. "I see," Offender served himself a cup of wine. "Well, If there is anything you need, let me know." The hours passed by and Jack had to drag a drunk Kagekao back home. When they arrived, Jack was lucky enough to be able to pass the burden of carrying the japanese killer onto Johnny. They were roommates anyway.

The hallway was dark and the whole house was quiet, Liu slowly walked through it and saw one of the rooms still had the lights on. With a serious expression, he opened the door and widened his eyes at the sight before him. His older brother was on top of his younger self, he was gripping the knife with both hands and laughed hysterically as he started to stab his younger self repeatedly. Liu wanted to move, he wanted to take Jeff off of him, but he couldn't. His legs wouldn't budge from where he was. The only thing he could do was watch in horror how his older brother killed him.

After that was done, Jeff was stained with his blood and staring at the ceiling with a bored expression. He then turned his attention to the current Liu and he felt his whole body tensed up. The younger version of Jeff smiled wide again as his wicked look returned. "Go to sleep, dear brother, the monster has been defeated." He said before laughing

Liu finally could move, but this time it was to run away from that scene. However, he couldn't run that well. It was as if he was running in water and glanced back to see Jeff all bloodied up getting closer to him. Liu's breathing started to get agitated and entered one of the many doors to try and escape from him.

Liu tried to get his breath steady and let out a drowned yelp as he saw his parents sitting on their bed. They had a deep cut on their neck and blooded continued to pour down from that injury. Their skin was rotten and their eyes were pure white, but even if they weren't smiling, the cut that Jeff had put them made it seem like they were. The same fucking wound that the psycho had.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Liu let out a yell as he jumped in surprise and turned behind. Jeff was there, holding his knife with a wicked face. "Hey, Liu, aren't I beautiful?" Jeff's voice deepened at the last part and just as he was going to be stabbed in the eye, he woke up.

Liu gasped for air as he sat up and put a hand on his chest and the other on his hair. Again, he had a nightmare with that bastard. After Liu calmed down, he glanced to see if he had woken Jason up, but the toymaker himself wasn't even there. "Must be working on something." He mumbled and was thankful for that.

Liu laid down again and stared at the ceiling for a while. His tired eyes begged him to sleep, but he was afraid to go back to that nightmare. Yet, he couldn't keep them open any longer and sleep won over him. This time, only darkness received him.

"What is a brat like you doing here?" A voice called out. Jeff couldn't see anything, it was just darkness. But, even like that, he could feel the rain drops hitting his whole body. The person sighed. "As a doctor, I can't leave you to die… even if-" Jeff groaned, he couldn't hear the rest of what the person was saying. Was he going to die? First he had gone blind and now this.

"Le…. a…. Ve…"

The person went quiet for a second. "Yeah, no, I can't do that." Jeff felt his light body being lifted and although it was raining in the chilly weather, he felt warm when the person carried him. It was only for a little bit, but that warmth was enough to make Jeff cry.

Jeff felt his body jerk up, meaning he had woken up as he saw nothing but darkness. He lifted his eye mask and stared at the ceiling. His chest started to hurt a little, but was too lazy to stand up to see if there was any ibuprofeno. Instead, he reached for the glass of water he had on his nightstand table to drink the rest of its content.

"That should be enough." Jeff said as he put on his eye mask again and laid back to sleep.

Slender opened the door to what used to be Jeff's bedroom. There is not a single object left behind by the killer in that room anymore, but Slender still likes to go there and remember the days where Jeff lived in the mansion. The only other creepypasta that lived there aside from the proxies and Slender himself. He passed a hand on the bed all the way to the pillows and felt a thrill all over his body.

Ah, he still remembers how calmly Jeff would sleep in that room. His fragile chest rising up and down, his cute sleep mask and his little snores. Oh how he wanted to jump on him so much during those times. Take off his pajamas and making him cum with only his tentacles before entering him. Mmm yes, making him cum and cum again and again.

"Ah, Jeffrey~" He moaned as he started to think lewd stuff with Jeff again. What kind of face would Jeff make? He would most likely put up a fight, not that it matters anyway. Even if Jeff is crying and begging to stop, he wouldn't. Thinking about such dirty things made Slender hot and he started to feel tight down in his pants.

One of Slender's tentacles turned off the lights and Slender's fun began.

Jeff yawned as he got out of his room, Helen outside the apartment smoking and Ben had yet to wake up from the couch. Jeff stared blankly at the floor, trying to fully wake up and only when Ben yelled his usual 'oh shit' did he accomplish that. The elf almost fell out of the couch as he scrambled up and gather his stuff to leave.

"I'll see you assholes in three days!" Ben shouted before jumping on the TV and leaving. Helen came back inside once he put his cigarette out and sat on the dining table with Jeff. The two killers didn't say anything for a minute.

"Three days, huh?"

"Yup."

"Well, at least you won't be with your brother." Helen said, but regretted it once he saw Jeff's blank expression. Helen has known Jeff for a while and although he's only seen him cry once, Helen knew that his friend made that blank expression when he was conflicted or hurt. "Sorry."

Jeff laughed, but it sounded hollow. "Nah, you're right anyway."

"Anyway, What will we be doing during these days."

"Well, I'm still in incognito mode and you will continue to go killing, right?"

Helen stayed quiet for a minute. "Well, there really is nothing else, aside from my paintings of course."

"Didn't you say you were having an art block?"

"I am," Helen sighed. "I don't know, I haven't been able to draw lately."

"Don't worry dude, I'm sure you will get your inspiration back."

"Thanks." Helen smiled at his friend and calmly talked for a while before deciding to start cleaning the apartment seeing as it was starting to look nasty as fuck. Jeff started to clean his own room and Helen opted to sweep the living room.

Helen heard a thud noise coming from Jeff's room and the painter glanced over to his door. "You okay!?" He shouted.

"Yeah!" Jeff shouted back after cursing. Helen chuckled and continue his job at hand. Cleaning didn't took so long, at least not since Jeff moved in with him. Before, Helen would take half a day to clean the whole apartment. It was sometime past noon and Helen was on the store room where all his paintings were. He stared blankly at the white canvas, waiting… itching to be painted with lots of colors.

At some point, Helen wondered why he even bother to go out killing for his "red paint" when he was having an art block. It was useless, in his opinion. Yet, deep inside Helen did so to reassure himself that he would pick up the brush once again. Whenever he was alone, those thoughts would creep into his mind. What if he never could paint again? What if this was it? His limit. Had he burned out long ago and didn't notice?

"Helen?" Jeff called out and Helen was snapped out of his horrible thoughts.

"Yes?" He glanced back at Jeff and the killer had a worried expression on his face. "I'm fine."

Jeff nodded slowly. "Right, anyway, want to buy pizza and watch a movie?"

Helen smirked. "Damn right I do." He said. Helen was really glad to have Jeff as a roommate and as a friend. Not that he would say it out loud, that is way too cheesy for him. But, if he was still alone… maybe he would have given up a long time ago.

After all, he hasn't picked up the brush since four years.

Somewhere in Neutral Territory

The abandoned factory roared in anger as the people inside shouted, cursed and all Dr. Pain could do was sit at the very back of the crowd with a troubled expression. Next to him was Natalie with her arms crossed as she looked at the scene with boredom. Usually, these types of meetings were supposed to be held at the end of the month, but due to a recent incident they can no longer ignore a big problem for them.

"SILENCE!" The echoing voice of Splendorman shut everyone up and the eldest of the "Slender Family" stepped out of the shadows, his happy face back to normal. "Ahem, my apologies." he said while clasping his hands together. "Let's go one at a time, okay?"

Chris stood up and with a snarl she said: "You're brother has tighten security and refuses to let any of us in!" the crowd roared a 'Yeah!' and Chris continued. "The only fucking people he lets in are from his jurisdiction and even if we want to go to other Neutral side they won't let us!"

The crowd roared in agreement and Pain shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Natalie, for her part, was just uninterested in the meeting. "We are aware that Slender tighten security, me and Trender are working on it." Splendor said, his facial expression changing for a worried one.

"That's not the only problem here!" Candy shouted and he too stood up. "I don't know how, but he has been expanding his jurisdiction secretly! I was kicked out of my place because now it belongs to Slender." He said, putting a mocking tone on the last words.

The crowd started to murmur and angrily supported Candy. "Besides, he's still trying to pick up a fight with Zalgo and none of us want to partake in his stupid games!" Chris shouted. It was then that Natalie growled and stood up with a death glare.

"HA! As if we have any fucking choice." she snarled and Chris scoffed at her.

"What makes you say that?"

"This battle between the ridiculously overpowered houses is inevitable and whether we like it or not, we will have to pick up an ally."

Candy sighed. "The woman is right, with how Slender is taking actions, he is likely to attack first."

"Guys…"

"In any case, shouldn't we side with Zalgo? His jurisdiction is like paradise compared to Slender's." someone amongst the angry mob said.

Another person snickered at the comment. "Zalgo might be surprisingly better, but Slender is still powerful and I rather still be alive."

Splendor sighed. There was no point in arguing, his younger brother had done a lot of shit that really the Pastas living in Neutral territory had enough off Slender's actions. Oh dear brother, what have you done? He thought. Splendor watched the crowd slowly start fighting over who they should ally themselves to and his glance met up with Pain's. They smiled awkwardly and felt relieved to find a kindred spirit in this disastrous meeting.

"Now everyone, we should all wait and see." Trender, who was leaning against the entrance of the factory finally spoke. Everyone had their attention to the youngest brother. "I have been keeping a close eye on Zalgo's jurisdiction and I am certain that they have an important key to overturn Slender." he said, raising his index finger as his left hand held his right elbow.

"So we should all side with Zalgo?" Chris asked, crossing her arms.

"That's not what I'm saying, after all, my brother could have a secret move," Trender sighed. "But, Zalgo is not weak. I suggest we wait and it is up to any of you who to side with if they start fighting."

Pain felt curious at Trender's statement, but he smiled knowing that he was right. Everyone nodded in agreement and Splendor smiled again. "Then, you are all dismissed." he said. Everyone started leaving and Pain let out a breath of relief.

"Natalie, why did you do that!?" Pain exclaimed once they were out. Natalie glanced at him with her hands behind her neck. She hummed in thought before shrugging.

"Chris was pissing me off, so."

"Really Natalie!? Please, don't pick up fights."

"Why are you worrying so much, doc? It's not like I actually started one."

"You're right." Pain said with a chuckle as he finally let himself relax. The way back to their small cottage was spent in silence. Not that it bother any of them, it was comfortable even. Enjoying the nature part of the city and the cold air of December. "Christmas is coming up."

"Right, we should start doing the secret santa thing again."

"What would you want, Natalie?"

Natalie rolled her eye. "What's the rush? You might not end up being my secret santa, ya know?"

"Well, that is true, but I still want to give everyone a gift."

"Of course you would." Natalie stopped walking and Pain only stopped a few meters ahead of the woman, glancing back at her confused. Natalie put her hands on the pockets of her green jacket, her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at her feet.

"Natalie?"

"Pain… do we really have to fight?" Natalie asked and Pain looked at her surprised. He never expected her to worry about things like that.

"I hope we don't."

Natalie snickered. "Hope, huh?"

"Is everything okay?" Pain asked calmly as he crossed his arms. Natalie glanced up at him, the brunette's face had a grim expression. Natalie felt a knot in her throat and let out a drowned chuckle as a tear rolled down her eye.

"I'm tired of this life, Doctor."

Pain knitted his eyebrows together and let his arms fall to his sides. "Natalie…"

"I used to love this, I used to think I was in the right," Natalie croaked. "But just yesterday, I saw a girl around my age… living a normal life, laughing and not worrying about the guilt of killing innocent people." Pain let her get everything out and as she sobbed, he walked closer to her and put a hand on her arm. "Sometimes I think of turning myself to the police."

"Natalie, it's okay, you're fine the way you are."

Natalie shook her head. "No, no I'm not," she sobbed. "This is wrong… and to be honest, I just don't want to live like this anymore." Natalie tried to wipe away her tear, but it wouldn't stop. "I wished I had a restart button and live a normal life."

Pain was silent.

"Well, I'm sorry, but there is no going back now," Pain finally said. "You are here now, you chose this life and even if you regret it, you have to see it through."

Natalie shook her head. "I don't want that," she looked up at him, her sad green eye staring at his yellow ones. "After christmas eve, I will turn myself in." She said, her voice quivering and brushing Pain aside. Pain watched Natalie's shaking back move forward, but as shocking as that declaration was, he wondered if Pain was always this useless when it came to mental health of others around him.

"Oh Smiley, what would you have done?" he mumbled and while still letting the new information sink, followed Natalie back home. If she even considered that place her home.

Offender was cleaning the barstool with one tentacle, another one cleaning the cups for the drinks and the tall being himself was cleaning the tables of his small bar. The bar was only open at night, as with any usual one. However, Splendor and Trender walked in with exhaustion. Offender stopped cleaning and allowed his brothers to sit on one of the booths.

"Oh my, what happened at the meeting?" He asked, sitting next to Trender. The youngest and eldest sighed. It wasn't rare for them to be this tired, it has been happening a lot lately and by now they all know why.

"Same as usual." Trender said in his sarcastic tone.

"I just don't know where did I go wrong," Splendor said, holding his head in his hands. "Slender wasn't like this before, so why?"

Trender snickered. "Because of that damn human, obviously!"

"Don't blame this on Jeff! Before he even knew Slender, he was just trying to survive." Splendore snapped at Trender.

"Oh yeah? Well look at Slender now! He shouldn't have accepted that offer in the first place."

"Okay, let's all calm down here." Offender chimed in, before his two brothers fought just when he was almost done cleaning the tables. The three of them stayed quiet, tension in the air and Splendor couldn't help but burst into tears. Trender and Offender looking at the eldest in shock.

"Splendy?"

Splendor wiped away his tears. "I just… I just want my brother back."

The other two felt the same, they knew that not even Jeff wanted that attention himself. But sometimes, they just wished those two wouldn't have met. Maybe then, Slender would still be like how he used to before. Maybe then, Jeff wouldn't have been traumatized.

Maybe this.

Maybe that.

But if there was something the three wanted the most was for Slender to talk to them again like before. To be treated like brother and not have their family bonds almost severed by the second eldest. It was ridiculous, since when did they become afraid of Slender? What happened to the little brother Splendor used to read books with? The older brother who scolded and took care of Offender? Or even the brother Trender would seek for help?

Gone.

They all knew deep inside that the Slender they knew was long gone. Dead even. And yet they still hope for the brother they all cared for to still be there deep inside. It wasn't fair for any of them. Every other Pasta was seeing Slender in a bad light, as a monster everyone equally hates. They never saw the calm and reserved Slender the three of them knew.

And they probably never will.