Golden sunshine shines through the curtains on the other side of the room. I'm being held by Masky behind me as we sleep and I smile. I can't really remember how I got here, but as long as he is with me everything is fine. I flip over in his hold and see him staring at me already. Did I wake him up or was he waiting for me to wake up? We smile at each other and he plays with my hair.
"Today is training day." He lets out a sigh, "We should get ready." I nod, almost forgetting that we had that. We stay in bed a bit more before getting up and getting ready together. We had to share a sink, which was fine with me, but Masky made it hard for me to use it. Everytime I went to wash my face, he'd push me out of the way and look at himself brush his teeth. I'd push him away next and get a couple of seconds of water before he shuts it off.
Needless to say, it look way longer to get ready with him. When we are done, he stands in front of me, waiting for me to take off my shirt to change. We stare at each other, neither of us backing down, until I crack and quickly pull off my shirt to expose my bra. He runs to my side and kisses my stomach, trailing up. I try to push the shirt in front of his face so he can stop, but he stays under and the shirt falls behind his head.
He trails kisses on my chest until he is satisfied and leaves my shirt to hang on my body like it was made to do. He grabs my hand and takes me out of his room, humming in happiness. I roll my eyes at his upbeat attitude but smile.
A couple days pass by and Slender announces that we are going to fight Zalgo. Nobody knows why we are, and when we ask him he doesn't say anything. Today is the day, so everyone gets ready. I feel prepared as best as I can be. Masky is a great teacher but he had been more of a lover recently. Not that I'm complaining.
We have to walk to Zalgo's domain because, as Slender explained, his fields detect any type of teleportation and we would be caught off guard and killed easily, but when it detects movement by walking, it just marks it off as regular humans walking though and will eventually be killed off by the monsters lingering in the area. I am a little nervous hearing about this, since I am full human, but Slender informed me that nothing will harm me when I'm with them.
On the way to Zalgo's, we bump into an unfamiliar figure wearing a blue mask. Slender calls him over and they seem to talk to each other. Neither of them look happy to see the other. Masky is still holding my hand and it tightens when he see's the other masked man. "Who is that?"
"EJ." Masky says, "Nobody you should worry about." He moves up his mask and kisses me on the cheek when EJ looks over at us. Is Masky jealous? I smile at the other guy to be friendly, but he looks away and brings his focus back on Slender. Did Slenderman invite him to help so we can defeat Zalgo?
When we reach his castle, we look for ways to enter. Slender and his proxies talk telepathically together, so that nobody can overhear their conversation. I look for any way we could enter: windows, doors, or any type of hidden passage or garbage shoot that lead through the building.
Soon, BEN shakes his head after getting orders from Slender, and disappears into the electrical system, disabling the camera's and alarm system. Slender then thinks of a plan to actually enter the building. He tells me that I would have to get captured, then the rest of the crew can sneak in after me when they are distracted. I ask what I should do and he looks around for things I could smash to get their attention. He talks with Jeff to see what I could do, but Jeff is thinking of crazy ideas, so I look around myself.
I see the huge front door by an alarm system that BEN had disabled, so I walk right up to it, looking at the door for a moment before knocking. Slender and the rest look at me like I had lost my mind, but then realize that it might just be the smartest thing that we could do to get their attention. They hide around the house and Masky stares in my direction, watching my every move. I know he must be worried about me and I can admire that.
A couple minutes go by before somebody bothers to answer the door, opening it slowly to reveal a guy about three years older than me with hair dark as night with dark blue eyes. He is about a food taller than me and has a scowl on his face, looking me up and down before shutting the door on me. I turn around to give the crew behind me a look before knocking again. An audible scoff comes from inside as he walks back to the door. He opens the door once more and finally acknowledges me.
"What do you want?" He asks, not really caring though. Something in his eyes makes me feel a hint of Deja vu, but I don't understand why.
"Um. I'm kind of lost, do you thing you can show me the way back to town?" I ask him back.
"No." He says, trying to shut the door again. What the heck is with him? Isn't this Zalgo's domain?
Just as I think that, A tall figure appears from behind the male. Opening the door wide, he smiles at me. He is quite creepy and kind of menacing looking..
"Hello, my dear. You are lost, no? How about you come in for a moment?" He says to me, a little too forward.
"Oh, no I shouldn't, I just need a moment of your time to show me back home." I say to them both. The male rolls his eyes and looks over to the other guy behind him.
"Yes, I can draw you a map inside. You also must be tired from all the walking you must have done to get here. What do you say?" The creepy guy asks.
"Okay, that sounds fine." I say to them. I cautiously walk in with them, sitting down at a table they brought me to. Once I sit down, the other two sit at the opposite side of me and stare at me. Suddenly, my hands are tied down to the chair, as are my feet and my torso.
"You are trespassing on our domain. What makes you think you are worthy enough for our time? Or to spare you, rather?" The creepy one asks.
"I-I.. um.." I try to speak, but nothing comes out.
"Tsk tsk tsk... I have been a bad host, haven't I? My name is Zalgo, and this here," Zalgo says, pointing to the younger male next to him, "Is my son, Zero." Zero? Why does he seem so familiar? There is something about him that I just can't put my finger on. Though, if I had met him before, he would have recognized me too. He is staring at me like I am the biggest idiot on earth, so I doubt I knew him.
I look at the two, hoping that they won't kill me before my friends can help me. Masky must be furious that Slenderman let me get captured so easily. He must be yelling at him right now or leaving them behind to come find me. Oh, Masky... I shouldn't have left your side. What if my aura starts up again? Zalgo's face twitches a little from his smiling face and turns into a slight frown.
Zalgo furrows his brows, looking at me. No.. He is looking around me. Are they here to rescue me? I look around me to see what he is seeing, but no one is here. "What are you?" He asks me. I look to him and his frowning face, not sure how I should respond.
"H-Human?" I say.
"Then what is it that I am feeling? Your body is giving me a strange vibe.. It..... It's ... good." He says, slowly smiling. I'm in the total creeped out zone. "You are the girl Slender kept, correct? We demanded you a while ago, but he denied it. Surely you didn't run away from the man protecting you from us, right?"
"I don't know what you mean?" I say back, truly not understanding what he is saying. Slender was protecting me from him, but told me to distract them? What is going on here?
"I can tell you are frustrated.. This power you have... It seems to emit some kind of negative energy. This energy here is our power source. With you around, we can grow stronger and feed off your energy. Do you feel that son?" He explains, then turns to his son, Zero.
Zero only nods once, locking his eyes onto my frightened ones. Why am I terrified of him yet feel ... something else toward him? I don't know what's going on, and I don't like it! If what Zalgo is saying is true, then that means bringing me here is a terrible idea! I need to relay this information to the others quick! What do I do!?
"Hahahah.. You look absolutely distraught, Y/N. Don't worry, we wont hurt your friends." Zalgo says to me.. He knows about them being here??
"In fact, we planned for this ever since we found out that Slender has been harboring you. Now that we have you, we can use your power for our needs. Here is the deal, work with us and save your friends, or deny us and we will offer you nothing." His face growing serious.
"I will never work with you. My heart belongs to my friends." I say automatically.
"Then, it looks like we can do nothing for you, Y/N. Goodbye." Zalgo says while getting up. He motions for Zero to do the same and they both leave the room. Before Zero can leave, he sends me a small glance from the side. Is he suspicious of me? A while later, I am transported to a bigger room with my bonds gone, free to roam around.
Though, this didn't last long as the two appeared at a door near me, letting the other creepypastas in. "Here is your precious girl. Get her if you can." Zalgo says, pointing to me with his claw.
Masky is staring in my direction, contemplating on how to retrieve me. I wish I could run up to him right now. I would give anything to be next to him once more. "But- As much as I would looove to see the reunion... I forbid a good get-together.. Actually, I will do us all a favor. It looks like your dear Slenderman has put a slight spell over all of you. How about I take it off before you see your precious girl~" Zalgo states. Everyone looks to Slender to see if what Zalgo said is right. Masky looks down to the ground, probably in disappointment? Slender sighs and gets in a fighting stance, urging the others to do the same.
Zalgo laughs and waves his right hand, sending a strange purple lights throughout the room. My head starts to hurt as my vision is spinning. As I regain my composure, I see recollition in everyone's eyes, turning to look into mine all at once. I wonder why they are all staring at me before realizing that Slender took their memories a few days ago so they wouldn't blame my aura for everything. Masky is near me, so my aura doesn't work in the way Zalgo had planned.
Everyone is in a fighting stance to him still and he seems confused. He looks around while everyone charges at him and lays his eyes on Masky who is coming to my rescue. "Aha!" Zalgo yells and expels a purple power from his hand and grabs Masky. Masky is thrown up to the ceiling and then thrown back down on the ground. A transparent, purple bubble forms around him acting as a force field. I run up to him and touch the bubble and get thrown back.
Everyone stops to stare at what was going on and my aura starts to act up again. Zalgo starts laughing and only stops when his eyes rest on mine. His face contorts to confusion and smiles deviously. "Oh? What do we have here?" He takes a step to Masky and crosses his arms. "She is not yours, is she?"
Masky starts to yell at Zalgo, but Zalgo remains unharmed. "Should I show her who she really belongs to?" Masky yells even louder at him to stop before Zalgo looks back at me. "Him?" A bright light flashes and my eyes feel weird. I look around the room to see blue light flash from the eyes of Hoodie's mask. Memories flood through me of my relationship with Hoodie and he seems to remember too. He walks to me and I walk to him. When we meet, he pulls me into a side hug, keeping an eye on Zalgo.
"I don't know what is going on, but stay safe." He whispers in my ear. He is now hugging me from behind, "Last thing I remember is us on a plane travelling on vacation. Why are we back here?" I shake my head, "I don't know. My memory is also foggy. I remember the flight attendant hitting on you and I got upset and got her fired."
He laughs at me, "Now we are back in time, I suppose? Why is Masky on the ground?" I shake my head again, "You know just as much as I do." Everyone around us looks equally as confused, as if we all traveled back in time.
Zalgo lets out another laugh and stares at someone else, "Or are you his?" My eyes flash again and Hoodie let's go of me. Everyone is holding their heads like we all have a massive migraine. EJ's black holes for eyes are shining blue for a moment, before memories of his time come flooding back to me. I fast walk over to him and collapse in his arms. He holds me up and makes me stand as we stare at each other.
"Is this what you meant when you said you had a surprise for me?" He changes into his human form and takes off his mask so he can see me better. "And where are we? I thought you wanted a lazy day with me?" All I remember is us sitting on the sofa together and relaxing together.
I look up at him and he tightens his hold on me. "I don't know what's going on, but my head hurts." He puts his hand on my head and rubs his thumb on my forehead, "Mine too. I think we got teleported back in time. But, I'm not Slender's anymore...? How did that happen? Also how did we get back here!?" He starts to yell and looks around to find someone to accuse.
Zalgo starts to laugh even louder, "Oh my! Even my own son? Oh, joy!" A flash of light passes by again and my head is pounding. The person who was once holding me had let go. I look up at him and he looks equally confused as to why he was touching me. We are complete strangers, why is he holding me? I look around and see Zero standing far from me and slightly behind his father. His dark blue eyes are glowing light blue until he blinks a few times and locks eyes with me.
"Y/N?" He calls out to me. I run up to him and he runs toward me. We meet about halfway and he picks me up and twirls me around in his arms. "What are we doing here? I didn't know I even had a room like this." He asks, looking around. I'm wondering the same thing. Why is Slender and his crew here? Also who is that guy with a blue mask? He keeps one arm around me and his other hand grabs my left hand. He pulls it to sight and stares at my finger.
"You're not married to me anymore?" He questions and looks at me. I look down at my finger and gasp, "What!?" He kisses my finger and then puts his hand on my neck.
"It is not there either. What on earth happened...?" He puts his hand on my cheek and gets furious. "Did we get pulled back in time? Did we lose everything we had!?" I would get as mad as him, but I only feel sadness. Tears prick my eyes as I recall everything I have lost by going back in time. He pulls me into a hug and I feel tears on my neck as he quietly seethes, "We... don't have our daughter anymore...?"
Zalgo walks up to us and places his hands on our shoulders. We break our hug and look up at Zalgo for answers but he only smiles at us. He waves his hand and our headaches return at full force. Everyone falls to the ground in pain except for Zalgo who is enjoying himself. "It seems as if there are different universes occurring here. I wonder why that is. Care to explain yourself?" He directs his attention to the man in the bubble. The bubble pops and he scrambles out, looking directly at me.
My memory returns and my eyes widen. I run up to him but he keeps his distance from me. "No!" He doesn't let me get near him and tells me to stay away. He won't answer any of Zalgo's questions, so Zalgo zaps him with some type of power and Masky falls to the ground, his mask disintegrating.
"I have made the wish you desired most to come true. You are out of the possession of Slender and now are full human. Free to live any life you want." Zalgo walks up to Masky, "But it will only become permanent if you do one thing for me." He crosses his arms and smirks, "Kill her."
Masky looks at me and I am shocked. Masky can only stay human like he wants as long as he kills me? Would it be selfish of me to want to live and him remain unhappy? He stands between me and Zalgo, holding a knife in hand. "Y/N..." I nod, taking a step toward him. It has to happen and I don't want to delay it. He holds the knife up but turns around right when he plunges it down, hitting Zalgo instead. With Zalgo distracted, Masky managed to kill him right on the spot. Zalgo's body falls to the ground with Zero yelling in agony from the loss of his father.
A bright light flashes through the room again and this time, not only did one world make itself apparent, but each world came. I remember every past, every present, and every future of each life. Masky is looking down and falls to the ground at my feet. He looks extremely guilty but I don't understand why.
"Y/N!" Hoodie yells to me to get my attention. I hear EJ call for me too, making both guys stare at each other. Zero looks up at me next, "Y/N, come here now." He points at the space next to him. I decide to ignore all three of them and bend down to match Masky's height. He is scared and won't even touch me.
"You were never meant to be mine." He is crying, "But I tried to gather memories so that we would be together." I bring him into a hug but he won't return it. "You can't forgive me. I've forced you to choose me and now you're stuck." He sniffs and looks into my eyes, "But I'll make it better. I'll let you choose who you want this time."
"Choose?" I question.
"Yes. I've always said that I've been giving you the choice to 'choose' who you wanted to be in a relationship with, but in the end you never did have a choice. That was me inside your head telling you what to do." He places his hands on my shoulders, "But now I will. Close your eyes and choose who you liked the best and stay with them. Go back to their side and stay there! Don't come back when you are there, no matter what!"
I shake my head, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Y/N. Choose who you want and stay there. Stop moving around and pick who you love already! You're so greedy for wanting someone else. Are you not satisfied by one of us that you need all four!?"
I look around at the other guys and immediately feel guilty by using all of them. I loved each and everyone of them, yet I chose to be with someone else next. I need to choose who I want and stick with them? This is not an easy decision. Each person is different and gave me a different love story. I can't choose and I won't! This can't be what it seems.
I look to Masky but he is staring right into my eyes so deeply for answers. If I chose to leave the others, it must have been for a reason. I must have not been happy with them as I once thought. If I am here, that means that my heart was supposed to be with someone else. My heart... needs to be with the broken mess of a guy in front of me. I try to pull him closer to me but he pushes me away.
"I said to choose. You can't stay here forever." He yells.
I push myself forward again and hug him. "I choose you, Masky." He freezes up and tries to pry me away from him. I keep my arms around him as his lousy attempts get weaker and weaker. "You can't choose me after all I've done to you. Don't forgive me so easily." He says into my ear, "If you really love me, I will do one last thing for you."
"What is that?" I ask him with tears in my eyes.
"I will give something you never had back to you," He looks at me with a sad smile, "freedom."
I shake my head and start to cry. He pulls me away and stand up with our hands intertwined. I stand with him and look at what he is going to do. He looks at the other guys and blue orbs travel out of them and go into the center of the room. The guys were looking at me, sadly, before turning blank. They no longer remembered our pasts together. Masky faces me one last time and says, "No matter what you choose, no matter who your heart really belongs to. I will always love you."
He kisses me, softly and sweetly, before pulling away and a blue orb flies out of his chest, meeting the other colors in the center of the room. He looks down at our hands and lets go. He doesn't remember me anymore. We all look at the center of the room that is growing with light. Soon, the light engulfs the entire room and we all fall on the ground. For the final time, I am transported back in time to the human world. Left to make my own, final choices.
'Who does your heart belong to?'