(Y/N) was lost in a deep, comfortable sleep until she was suddenly awoken by loud obnoxious knocks at her door and then the sound of snickering.

She sat up in her bed, her eyes slit and still heavy with sleep. She glared at the door for a minute, waiting to see if another knock would come. There was no sound, so she sighed and laid back down again. As soon as she closed her eyes, the banging on the door began again and then the whispering of her name could be heard.

(Y/N) slowly threw her covers off of her and slid off her bed, heading for the door. She wondered who it was, waking her up in the middle of the night. She knew she wasn't asleep for too long, and that it was possibly very early in the morning now.

"WHAT IS IT?" She shouted, coming up to the door and placing her ear near the wood.

"Shhhh! Open up!" A whisper replied.

(Y/N) groaned and tiredly opened the door and was met with the faces of four other pastas, still wearing their nightclothes and smirking suspiciously.

"Can. I. Help. You?" (Y/N) whispered lowly, watching them curiously, her tiredness quickly fading. "Hello new girl, do you want to play a game with us?" The one in front of the others, Kagekao, asked, tilting his head. "It's gonna be fun, you should join us," (Y/N) recognized Ticci-Toby's voice and then saw him waving behind Kagekao. She noticed the last two, BEN Drowned and the last one she didn't remember well grinning beside them.

"But...it's in the middle of the night...I don't think Slenderman would like to know I..." (Y/N) muttered a bit grumpily. "Who has to know? We're gonna be quiet," BEN stated, "unless you're too scared~"

"I'm not scared."

"Then join us."

(Y/N) tilts her head at this sudden invitation and quietly inches out of her room, closing the door softly behind her. "What are we doing?" She hissed lowly, glaring at them, "and.....why am I the only girl here...?"

"We're going to play Scavenger Hunt...but we're actually looking for something pretty...incredible," Kagekao whispered, looking down the dark hallway, "and you're the only girl because the other ones would snitch on us."

"Wow, fun. How are you so sure I won't snitch on you guys?" (Y/N) scoffed, crossing her arms. "Say a word and I make Masky train us extra long tomorrow," Toby sneered, and (Y/N) became silent. "Former thinks we shouldn't get (Y/N) involved...what if we get caught, huh?" The other killer whispered and (Y/N) then remembered him as Former. "When have we ever gotten caught? Plus we're so close to finding the thing, and with (Y/N)'s help, we might get to it!" BEN exclaimed, his voice sounding excited.

"What's it we're looking for?" (Y/N) asked, looking to Kagekao. "You won't believe us but....Slender-sama is hiding something somewhere around this mansion...a portal. To Zalgo's realm!"

"Ah yes, Zalgo's realm....what the hell is that?"

"Oh right...(Y/N) doesn't even know who Zalgo is..."

"You don't know who Zalgo is? He's this huge demon that's trying to destroy us...! And more-so Slender-sama..."

"And you're trying to get into his realm??"

"Nah, we're just looking for the portal."

"Like that makes it any less stupid. Slender's not gonna like this."

"Former thinks so too, but hopefully Slender won't find us out."

"If we get caught, I refuse to get in trouble for this."

"Alright alright fine, we'll get you out of it if we get caught. Now let's quit talking about it and get to finding it," BEN hissed, ending the conversation and starting off for the stairs. "And uh, (Y/N), make sure you wear some shoes because we'll be going outside tonight," Kagekao said before following BEN.

"Outside? Why?" (Y/N) questioned, trying to catch Toby and Former's attention before they left. "Clues lead us all over the place, and the last clue we found brought the search out in the woods. Hurry and get your stuff and then meet us downstairs," Toby replied before sneaking down quietly along with Former.

(Y/N) sighed heavily as she walked back into her room. She knew that this was probably something they shouldn't be doing, especially so late in the night. Slenderman would definitely not like this, especially since she was a proxy in training. But Toby was apart of this too...then again he never really seemed too serious about his job.

"Maybe it'll be fun..." (Y/N) muttered to herself as she slid on her (boots/sneakers). She reached to her dresser to grab her knife, just in case, and then stalked slowly out of the room.

Once she made it downstairs, it was almost dark enough to the point she couldn't see. It felt strange; she remembered the living room being alive with the killers talking or watching TV or doing other things, but now everything was switched off and the only light visible now came from the kitchen.

Toby and Kagekao were on the couch talking when they saw (Y/N) approaching and they both stood up. BEN appeared from under the couch for some reason and Former remained behind it, seemingly bored.

"Are you ready?" Toby asked, pulling out a flashlight and waving it in (Y/N)'s face. (Y/N) shut her eyes and waved her hand at the light,
motioning for him to turn it away. "Yeah yeah, I'm ready-quit it, Toby!"

Toby chuckled and flicked off the light, latching it back to his side. "So, we search outside in the woods first?" BEN asked, looking to Toby and Kagekao. "Thats where the last clue told us to look, so we'll head there," Kagekao said, re-wrapping his scarf around his neck. "Clues? There are actually clues left out telling you how to find the portal?" (Y/N) questioned, tilting her head. "Listen kiddo, our senses are way more advanced than normal peoples' so we can find anything we want. Even if it's Slender's stuff," Toby stated, starting to walk for the door. "Yours will get better soon, after you've been here with us a while."

(Y/N) nodded and followed the pastas as they left the mansion. The night sky was a bit blurry due to the clouds, and the air was cold. (Y/N) shivered in her light wear of nightclothes, unlike the other four who remained unphased by the drop in temperature. There were so many things different about them that she had yet to pick up on, but then again, she hadn't been there long at all.

"Sooo, you're all killers..." (Y/N) spoke up as they walked on through the woods. "I thought you guys would usually do the whole killing thing at night."

"Some killers are out now, actually," Kagekao replied, "but some do their stuff in the day, like me."

"Former kills in the day or night, whenever Former feels like it," Former added, "but just because Former and others are killers doesn't mean we only kill in the night."

" I see," (Y/N) murmured, "and what about us, Toby? Us proxies? What do we do?"

"Slender assigns us a specific person or being to kill and we set out to hunt them down. Sometimes, we are sent to stalk a person until Slender asks us to either kill them or bring them to him."

"Interesting."

"You're probably scared now, knowing that you have to kill people, but don't worry, you'll get used to it. Besides, Slender wouldn't have chosen you if he didn't see something in you," Toby said, smiling behind his mask.

"Yeah, and if Slender didn't pick (Y/N), maybe Former or another Creepypasta would've killed (Y/N)~..." Former chuckled, giving a dark, taunting smirk to (Y/N). (Y/N) glared at him and frowned, muttering, "Shut up, Former."

"Pay attention! We're looking for the next clue to the portal!" Kagekao snapped, making a turn between a few of the trees. Toby quickly followed him and BEN, Former, and (Y/N) came behind as well.

"A clearing!" Kagekao whispered as he stepped forwards through some bushes. Once (Y/N) and the others stepped through, (Y/N) immediately remembered the clearing from her first 'test' from Slenderman.

"I've been here before," (Y/N) murmured, looking around the familiar area, "this is where Slender gave me my first test and I had to fight Eyeless Jack and Jeff."

"Interesting...cause the clues from our last search lead us here..." Toby said, stalking to the center and scanning the area closely. "Make sure you guys find the three trees aligned to the center," BEN sneered, gawking intensely at the towering growth.

Three trees aligned?

(Y/N) looked around to see if she remembered seeing any trees in such manner. She recalled Slenderman saying that one day she would know every tree and its location in the woods, and that knowledge would've been very useful at the moment.

"Former doesn't see any trees aligned," Former said shaking his head. "Me neither," Kagekao sighed tiredly, "and I'm getting bored..."

"We can't stop looking...it has to be here somewhere," Toby murmured; he seemed more eager to find the portal than the others... "Maybe we could spread out," Kagekao suggested, "let's split up around the clearing and see if we see those trees nearby."

"Fine," BEN mumbled and stumbled off in a random direction. Former went the other way and Kagekao went the opposite. "Stay with me, (Y/N), you might get lost," Toby said, motioning for (Y/N) to follow him, "and anyways, fellow proxies always stick together."

"Right," (Y/N) replied and quickly walked behind him. Toby tosses his flashlight to (Y/N) and she flicks it on, flashing the light to the trees. "So why exactly are we looking for this portal?" (Y/N) spoke up after a while.

Toby remained silent for a moment before taking a deep breath and replying.

"Slender's h-hidden the portal somewhere because he knows it's one of the entrances to Zalgo's domain. Theres a seal that keeps him out of our world and us o-out of his. Boss obviously doesn't want one of us getting near it so that's another reason why he'd hid it. But Zalgo's a threat to S-Slender and you of course may not have noticed, but me and the others see that he's secretly starting to be affected by Zalgo's Influence..."

(Y/N) nodded to this a bit worriedly and Toby continued, "we think Zalgo is trying to break through the seal and get to the boss, but we can't allow that to happen-I can't allow that to happen. I think Kagekao, BEN, and Former just think we're looking for it just to be nosy and for the fun of it, but there's more to it than they really know. I asked them since they're always getting into things and are good at finding stuff. When I find the portal, I'm going to find a way to destroy it once and for all."

(Y/N) was a bit shocked at Toby's true intentions on finding the portal; it seems he was truly concerned about what was going on with Slenderman. And here she was, thinking Slender was some all-powerful immortal being, yet in truth he was in danger by some other, possibly stronger demon.

"I'll help you as best as I can, Toby," (Y/N) said, catching up to his side, "you know, to find the portal thing and destroy it."

"You can't destroy it, (Y/N). That's g-going to be my job. I'll need you and the other three to l-l-leave once we find it."

"Well how are you going to destroy it all by yourself??"

"Trust me...I'll destroy anything that puts my boss in danger..."

His fists clenched and his tics seemed more intrusive as he suddenly came to a stop, staring forwards at the void ahead suspiciously.

"There a-are the trees."

(Y/N) followed his gaze straight ahead to see three trees seemingly aligned in a perfect order. "That's where it is.?" (Y/N) whispered, and Toby nodded, slowly approaching the scene.

(Y/N) wasn't sure wether to follow or not, so she stayed back. She turned when she heard the sound of crunching leaves behind her and saw Kagekao and the other two approaching.

"(Y/N)! Did you and Tobi-kun find it?" Kage whispered, his voice sounding eager. "Yeah, we did. Look there" (Y/N) whispered back, pointing to Toby who was standing in front the trees now.

"Really, that's it? What's the big deal about some stupid trees lined up?" BEN scoffed, crossing his arms, "I thought it would at least appear more intriguing."

"Former thinks it's interesting enough, just look at its structure. There's definitely something queer about the trees being like this; Slender must have definitely hidden the portal here."

"Still lame."

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at BEN and started to walk up behind Toby. He was standing still, twitching and glaring at the site. "Where would the portal be, Toby?" She asked, looking between the trees for anything that would seem off.

"Look closer. You see that faint haze in the middle? That's gotta be it..." Toby whispered, pointing. "Good observation, Toby... But I can't see anything!" Kagekao whined.

"You four, stay back," Toby murmured, pushing (Y/N) backwards and slowly inching towards the trees. "No fair, I want to see it too!" BEN growled stepping beside (Y/N). "Same here!" Kagekao chimed in.

"I said just stay back!" Toby sneered and the two became quiet.

Is he going to try and destroy the portal now? Is it even really there?

(Y/N) watched closely as Toby stopped before the site and brought his hand up to the center. As soon as his finger traced the bark, a flash of red suddenly exploded and then a monstrous, crimson colored vortex appeared, spreading across all three trees.

"Holy shit!" BEN and Former both shouted at the same time. Kagekao's mask was a stunned gasp and (Y/N) stared with widened eyes at the sight. Toby remained unphased as he glared into the spiral, his eyes narrowed. "So..." he murmured, "this is it."

"Toby dude, be careful!" (Y/N) shouted, suddenly feeling the air become ominously still. She felt the urge to run, yet she didn't remember how to get back the mansion and she didn't want to leave the other four.

"All of you, you ought g-get outta here!" Toby shouted, turning to them, "I promise I'll explain later!"

"Weren't we going to see inside? What happens to this being a fun thing for all of us?" BEN questioned. "This isn't fun like you think it is...this is dangerous, for real. And I have to get rid of it."

"But Toby, you said we were finding this so we could mess with Slender-sama's stuff!"

"I needed you four to help me find it to I could destroy it. Otherwise Zalgo could escape and capture Slender!"

"So, Toby used Former and others to help Toby find this thing..."

"I'll explain it all to you later I promise, I-!"

The ground suddenly shook violently and the killers all fell down to the ground. The vortex seemed to be warping and making strange low noises now.

"What's up with it?" Former hissed, backing away on the ground. "I told you guys to leave before it was too late!" Toby growled, "someone on the other side is trying to break through the seal!"

"How do you know?" Kagekao asked, but Toby didn't reply. He pulled himself back up and stepped to the vortex again. "I have t-t-to destroy it..." he murmured lowly to himself.

As Toby got closer, (Y/N) noticed something sharp and big starting to appear from the swirling red. Toby must have noticed it too, but he didn't make an attempt to turn back. "Toby, what's that!? Watch out!" (Y/N) called out. The figure got bigger and it appeared to be a huge, demonic looking hand.

"Let me out...." A dark voice roared, making (Y/N) and the others scamper back behind a tree. Toby remained in his place without fear.

"I'll never let you out. I'll never let you get to the boss, I'll never let you get to any of my family. You'll have t-to try and get past me first," He growled, his head crooked.

"Toby...." The voice snarled, the hand still reaching out. "That thing is gonna grab Toby..." BEN whispered, looking nervously to Kagekao, "Maybe we should go get Slender before this gets out of hand..."

"No! We-we'll get in so much trouble..." Kagekao trembled, shaking his head, "We can't tell Slender-sama...."

"Something bad might happen to Toby...Former thinks we should get help," Former hissed at Kagekao, but the trickster remained against it.

The four killers looked back to Ticci Toby; the demon hand was closer to his face now. "Why won't he do anything?" (Y/N) asked, her heart pounding. Without waiting for an answer, and without thinking, she removes herself from behind the tree and starts to walk up behind Toby. "(Y/N), No!" Kagekao screeched, jumping up only too late to stop her.

"Toby, let's GO. This thing is too dangerous...the others even want to tell Slenderman now and-"

"(Y/N), just stay back!"

"(Y/N).....?"

(Y/N)'s eyes widened when she heard the voice murmur her name, and she started to back up again.

"Could it truly be the (Y/N) I've heard that faceless fool talking about?"

"Your dealing with me now, not her!" Toby yelled, standing in front of (Y/N) protectively. The other killers quickly appeared beside them and stood in front of (Y/N), their faces in a dark scowl.

"If you let me out...I promise no harm will come to you and your companions. I must only speak with Slenderman and his...new proxy..."

"Never. You won't speak a word to any of them nor will you hurt them. I'm going to destroy this portal, and then you'll be g-g-gone. Forever!"

"You always want to be the hero Toby, just to prove you're something. You just want to make up for being weak and alone. You know all you had was Slenderman when you threw your life away, and now you want to pretend you're worth something by protecting him from me? You're a complete idiot...pathetic..."

"Shut the fuck up-p!!!" Toby yelled and he suddenly ripped one of his hatchets off his side and threw it at the hand. The blade lodged itself into the hand and a low roar of pain and anger rang out; the hand abruptly retreated back into the vortex.

"You won't hold me here forever! I will escape, and you will all burn in the flames of my hell! I will come!" The voice hissed in a shaky manner.

The portal then began warping before it started to calm down and the color began to fade away. The whole scene began to fade back into its blurry, nearly unseen state between the three trees.

The five killers stared at the now empty space in silence. (Y/N) felt herself shaking and she looked nervously at her fellow proxy. He was panting heavily, his other hatchet grasped tightly in his hand.

"W-Why didn't I destroy it....I could've destroyed it....!" Only (Y/N) could hear Toby mutter under his breath.

"Toby....can we go home now...?" (Y/N) heard BEN's question arise from behind her. His usual bold and taunting voice was now very wary and quiet.

Toby slowly turned and looked at his allies, his face still showing anger from the encounter. However, he only reached over to BEN and rested his free hand on his messy hair, giving him a small, weak smile.

"Let's go buddy. Let's just get outta here..."

BEN nodded and he and Toby began walking off together back into the darkened part woods. Former followed them more slowly and Kagekao prodded (Y/N) forwards so he could walk behind everyone.

(Y/N) stared blankly ahead as they walked back to the mansion, her head swirling with replays of what she'd just saw. What affected her most was the fact that that being...that demon on the other side of the portal knew her name for some reason.

Slenderman told him about me? Why would he do that??

Was that really "Zalgo"?

"(Y/N)-chan," Kagekao's sharp call snapped (Y/N) quickly away from her thoughts.