True Identity

Been quiet for a while. That's because I've been busy. I've been paying attention to the news in the town we're in right now. There have been attacks. People targeted in alleyways. I tracked down the people afterwards and read their minds. They were attacked by none other that Camazotz.

But they weren't attacked at random. There was a pattern to the times and locations. I used those patterns to try and predict the next few locations and times. Just to be sure, I waited a while. Three more attacks, at the times and places I had predicted. I know where he'll be next. And I also know he wants me to know. He used those patterns on purpose. He wants us to find him.

A who better to do so than Kord. He's been training on and off for quite a while now. He just got back from a little absence, and I think he's ready to face Camazotz.

But Kord isn't the only one who has a fight awaiting him. When Kord got back he fund a bouquet of flowers outside our hideout. He brought them in.

"Who do you think sent these?" he asked.

"I there a card or something?" Sound asked.

"NR," I said. "The initials are written on the tissue paper."

"Nolla Row," Wildfire said.

"Exactly," I said. "Let me see those."

Kord handed them to me.

"Rhododendron," I said, examining a couple of the flowers. "Beware."

"What's that about?" Kord asked.

"I've researched the language of flowers," I said. "Thought it'd be useful knowledge to have in case we ever ended up dealing with the Smiling Man. These ones here are Marigolds, for despair, and Cypress, for death, and mourning."

"I see," Myrir said. "What about the rest of them?"

"This one right here," I pointed out. "It's a black rose. Another symbol of death. And then these marigolds. They mean farewell."

"A lot of death in this bouquet," Kord said. "Is Nolla Row trying to threaten us with flowers?"

"That seems to be the point of all the death flowers," Wildfire said.

"Not all of them," I said. "This one, in the center of the bouquet. It's pink hyacinth."

"And what does that mean?" Kord asked.

"In the language of flowers, it means play," I said. "But that's not what Nolla's trying to tell us."

I locked eyes with Sound briefly.

"Isn't that...?" he asked.

"Her favorite flower," I said.

"What's that about?" Kord asked.

"I know who Nolla Row is," I said.

"What!?" Kord said. "Who!?"

"It's complicated," I said.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, which I handed to Kord.

"This is the time and place that Camazotz will show up next," I said. "Wildfire, I want you to go there with him."

"You want us both to fight?" she asked.

"No," I said. "This is Kord's fight. Don't intervene unless you have to."

"What about Nolla?" Kord asked.

"I'll deal with it," I said, getting up. "I have to go. Don't follow me."

I left the room. I pulled out my phone, hoping that my hunch was wrong. I punched in the number and let it ring. She answered after the first two rings.

"Hey, Isaac," she said.

"Pink Hyacinth was always your favorite, right?" I asked.

"That's right," she said. "So you got my little gift?"

"Yes," I said. "I tried all kinds of anagrams and alphabetical codes to try ad figure out what 'Nolla Row' was supposed to mean."

"Did you now?" she asked.

"I never thought to just spell the words backward," I said. "Wor Allon. From that made up language you created in fifth grade but never finished."

"That's right," she said. "Do you remember what those words mean?"

"Afraid not," I said. "It's been too long."

"I tell you when we meet again," she said.

"And where will you be?" I asked.

"In one week I'll return to the place I killed them," she said.

"Killed who?" I asked.

"Don't be so naive, Isaac," she said. "Slender Man didn't kill your parents. I did."

She hung up. I allowed my phone to drop to the ground.

It wasn't him. Slender Man wasn't the one who killed my mom and dad. He was there, but he wasn't the one. Nolla Row. She did it. She slaughtered them.

He was standing a few feet away. He had just shown up when my phone hit the ground. He stood there watching me for a while. I turned to him, looking into his blank face.

"Is it true?" I asked.

He nodded, then gestured to a motorcycle a few feet from him.

The path is open, He said to me, before vanishing. I guess I know how I'm getting back home.

Isaac Malkator

Well, I've had a pretty crazy night. It all started when Myrir said those three magic words.

“My water broke!”

As you can probably guess, I freaked the fuck out.

“Oh god!” I said. “What do I do!?”

“You have to help deliver this child!” she said.

“I can't deliver a child!” I said. “What the hell makes you think I can deliver a child!?”

“You're as good a doctor as anyone within range of your telepathy!” she said. “You've said so several times!”

“Yes!” I agreed. “But this is childbirth!”

“Damn it, Isaac, help me give birth or I swear-!” she said. She didn't really need to finish the sentence. I could read her thoughts, and they weren't pretty.

So, I got to work. Lucky for me, I was able to find a doctor with my telepathy who was helping with childbirth. I stayed in contact with his mind the whole time so I'd know what the fuck I was doing.

“Wildfire, Sound, hold her hands!” I instructed. “And Kord!”

“Yes?” he asked.

“Use your weird sound powers to turn down the volume of her screams!” I said. “It's really distracting!”

I'll spare you all the details of the childbirth, but the baby was delivered safely. Relieved, I fell over onto my back and closed my eyes. I could hear the others talking a few feet away.

“What is it?” Sound asked. “A boy or a girl?”

“It's a boy,” Myrir said.

“What are you gonna name him?” Wildfire asked.

“I haven't really thought about that,” Myrir said. “I guess maybe Scott.”

“Don't name him Scott! I said. “Scott's a stupid name!”

“Then how about I name him after you?” she said.

“Please don't,” I said.

“Too late, I'm doing it anyway!” she said.

“You bitch,” I said.

“Isaac Malkator,” she said. “I think it has a nice ring to it.”

It was about that moment that I felt a presence. I raised my head to see the Fury standing a few yards away from us.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” I demanded. Every looked where I was facing, and drew back when they saw him there.

He raised a hand, and the words I'M NOT SURE, became gashed into the ground in front of him, followed by I HAD A FEELING I SHOULD COME HERE.

“Just who the fuck are you!?” I demanded, getting to my feet and walking over to him.

He raised a hand again, and more words became engraved into a nearby wall. I DON'T KNOW.

I tried to speak, but I stopped myself. I couldn't read his mind, but I didn't need to. There was just this... feeling, that I got from him. This guy honestly had no idea who he was. Whatever identity he used to have was gone, stolen by the Archive.

He raised his hand once more, engraving some more words into the wall.

I MEAN YOU NO HARM AS OF NOW, BUT IF YOU CONTINUE TO OPPOSE THE ARCHIVE, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEY SEND ME AFTER YOU AGAIN.

With that, he vanished. I don't understand. There's something about him. Something I can't quite put my finger on. Just who is he?

Gift

I had an encounter with my old “Master” the other night. I was patrolling by myself, on the outskirts of the City we're currently in. A powerful presence suddenly appeared behind me, and I immediately turned around. His tentacles surrounded me, grasping my limbs and lifting me into the air.

“What are you doing!?” I demanded.

You're time is drawing to a close, his voice sounded in my head. Even with the extension Jack granted to your life span, your Enhancement will soon take its toll.

He was right. I was noticing the symptoms. The coughing, the chest pains. I wouldn't live much longer.

His tentacles wrapped around more and more of my body, binding my head tightly. Some of them passed beneath my skin, entangling my heart and lungs.

You're going to kill me, aren't you? I thought.

Of course not, He replied. I still need you alive.

I felt him pouring more of his energy into my body. It was painful. Even worse than the first time he enhanced me.

What is this!? I demanded.

Some time ago, an Enhanced from another universe came here, He said. He was superior to anything I ever created in this world. He is dead now, but in the time he was here, I observed him. I learned how to fix some of the flaws in the Enhancement process.

My skull and chest were burning up. The pain was almost unbearable. But I fought it as much as I could.

Why are you doing this? I asked.

As I said, I need you alive, He answered. Who else could defeat Nolla Row?

I can think of plenty of people who could fight her, I replied.

As could I, He said. But you're the one who needs to face her. You're the one who must settle things.

And why's that? I asked.

You'll understand soon, He said. I believe I'm finished now.

He dropped me to the ground. The burning faded. I felt better. The chest pains were completely gone.

You are still imperfect, He said. But you should be more than able to deal with her.

Why are you so willing to help me after what you did to my family? I asked him.

You've yet to understand anything, He said. You will soon understand why your parents are dead. And more importantly, you will learn who Nolla Row is, and why you are the only one who can fight her on even grounds.

He then vanished.

I don't know what he's talking about, but I'd say that his reason for killing my parents is far mor important than Nolla Row's true identity.

Bandages

You may have read Myrir's post about the Fury by now. We were attacked by this guy who was insanely strong. I tried attacking him with a mental blast, but he reflected it. When that happened, I lost control of my sanity for a while. I stopped holding back. I ended up passing out, and I guess he left after that.

But I noticed something from our fight with him. He can take a punch. Even when I used my control over reality to increase my physical strength, he could still get back up after being hit. He's practically invincible.

But when we attacked with guns or blades, he made sure to stop our attacks before they reached him. There's a number of reasons why this may be, but I think I know which reason is correct.

It's not his body he's protecting, it's his bandages. He's trying to protect his identity.

Fury

We all met tonight to discuss possible locations of our enemies. We were ambushed. Not by Nolla Row's group, but by someone else. He came out of no where, covered from head to toe with bandages. He raised a hand and sent Wildfire crashing through some crates. As if she wasn't injured enough. Kord rushed forward and punched him right in the jaw. He was completely unfazed by it. He simply swiped his arm, striking Kord in the chest and knocking him into a wall a few feet away. Sound tried to fight him next, kicking him in the Solar Plexus and face, then punched him twice in the face. He then drew his Sonic Sword and sung it, but this time he blocked with his forearm and corkscrew punched Sound so hard that I could hear his nose breaking. Sound fell unconscious just as Kord got back to his feet. He fired a soundwave from his mouth, but the bandaged man stopped it with one had and sent it back at him, slamming Kord into the wall with enough force to leave cracks. Kord slumped down, unconscious.

He turned his attention to me next. I couldn't see his eyes through those bandages, but I'm pretty sure he could see me. Isaac grabbed me by the wrist and took off.

“Where are you dragging me!?” I asked him in between pants.

“Away from that thing!” Isaac replied. “If Malkator were still around, he would kill me if I let something happen to you!”

“Who is that guy anyway?” I asked.

“I can't read his mind, so I can't say for sure,” Isaac said. “All I can say is that he's just as powerful as the Game Master.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I can feel his power,” Isaac said. “He's exactly as powerful as-”

He stopped dead in his tracks without finishing his sentence. The bandaged man had appeared at the end of the alleyway we were running down. I drew my handgun and shot at him, but the bullet stopped in midair three inches from his face.

“Shit!” I said. I turned to Isaac and asked “Any ideas?”

“I'll see if a mental blast'll work on his,” he replied.

He tried to do just that, but it failed. That man didn't just resist the mental attack; he completely reflected it back at Isaac. He fell over, clutching his head, and fell unconscious. The bandaged man began walking toward me, stopping just a few feet away. He was about to kill me. I could tell.

“Who are you!?” I demanded. He cocked his head to the side, as if he didn't understand the question. “Who are you!?” I asked again. “What's your name!”

He looked up to the sky. After a moment, he swung his hand in front of me, and a series of gashed appeared on the ground at my feet, spelling out a single word; FURY.

“Fury?” I asked. “Is that your name?”

He nodded. He then raised a hand, pulling it into a fist and drawing it back, ready to punch me, but before he could, another fist collided with his chest, knocking him out of the alley and into the middle of the street. It was Isaac. But he was different. His white hair had become jet-black, and the air around him shuddered.

“That was incredible!” I said. “How did you hit that hard!?”

“Reality's my bitch!” Isaac said, turning to me with a malevolent smile on his face. “I'm exactly as strong as I perceive myself to be!”

Fury appeared again, a few feet away. Isaac drew his glave and charged, but Fury was able to stop his blade with his hand. The two of them began fighting viciously. Isaac kept tearing reality apart to summon weapons from nothing, and the Fury kept blocking his attacks and manipulating objects from a distance to fight with. The fight didn't last long, though. After a while, Isaac began coughing up blood and passed out.

Fury paused for a moment to catch his breath before before approaching me again. However, he didn't move after that. He just looked at me for a while.

“What are you waiting for?” A voice asked. I looked past Fury to see Martyr Beta. “She's your target! Finish her!”

Fury ignored him. He turned around and began walking away from me.

“What are you doing!?” Martyr Beta demanded. “Kill her!”

Fury waved a hand and the words DON'T FEEL LIKE IT became gauged into the wall. He then disappeared.

“Who is that!?” I demanded.

“A hassle is what he is,” Martyr Beta said. “I already got one kid to babysit, and then the Archive goes and shoves their super weapon on me to take care of. A real pain in the ass.”

“Super weapon?” I asked.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that those who cross the Archive will learn to regret it,” he said. “You're off the hook this time, but you won't be as lucky the next time you cross paths with the Fury.”

He left. I regrouped with the others and we're treating Wildfire and Isaac's injuries. I don't know what happened to Isaac back then. He was using his control over reality recklessly, without caring about what it did to his body. He seems to be okay now. His hair's even turned white again.

But Fury.... just who is that guy? And why is he so powerful? I'll have to watch my back from now on.

A True Dragon

We went to the place, but it was empty. They had recently left, so we decided to split up and try to look for them. Sound, Kord, and Wildfire all went different ways, while Isaac stayed with me. Overprotective, much? I guess I can't really blame him. Anyway, he kept track of the other's minds so that5 if anyone found Nolla's group, he could alert all of us ad we could all regroup to take them on.

Isaac and I had been walking for about an hour before he stopped dead in his tracks.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“Wildfire,” he said. “She's found one. The beast guy, Jerard. This way!”

He took off and I ran after him. He used his telepathy to let Sound and Kord know what was going on.

“Damn that reckless bitch!” he shouted after a while.

“What's wrong?” I asked him.

“She went and challenged him on her own!” he said. “Let's hurry!”

We found her and Jerard (in bear form) duking it out in an empty park.

“Stay out of this!” she shouted at us when she noticed us. “I'll fight him on my own.”

“Are you crazy!?” Isaac demanded.

“I can handle him,” she said. “Plus, he insulted my friend. I can't let that slide.”

“Well, if you want to take me alone, you should stop holding back,” Jerard said.

“I can say the same for you,” Wildfire said. “Show me what you can really do.”

“Only if your psychic friend agrees to stay out of my head once I do,” he said.

“O'Zalia!” she snapped.

“Fine,” he said. “But if you die, I won't hesitate to get involved.”

“Good enough for me,” Jerard said, removing his earring.

“What?” I asked.

“Uranium,” he said. “The same substance that disrupts your friend's psychic abilities also restricts my own power.”

“But how can you survived wearing a radioactive substance all the time?” I asked.

“It's part of Nolla Row's power,” Isaac answered for me. “She can augment the bodies of herself and others in order to survive radiation.”

“You're just as clever as the rumors say,” Jerard said. “Now, behold my true strength! Celestial Wolf!”

His body became more canine, like a werewolf, and his fur turned a bright silver. He moved with blinding speed, attacking Wildfire. He swiped at her, sending her crashing into a nearby tree. He let out a howl, as if he was laughing at her. She got to her feet, seemingly unharmed.

“That was impressive, I'll give you that,” she said. “But you're not gonna beat me that easily.”

He charged at her again, but this time she flew into the air to dodge him. As she did, her body changed. She sprouted a pair of red, scaly wings. Claws grew from her hands. Her hair became rigid, almost like spikes, and the air around her became tinted red from the heat she was emitting. Jerard jumped at her, leaping impossibly high. The two of them began striking at each other in midair, but he soon fell to the ground, unable to remain airborn like she could. As he fell, she inhaled deeply and spat a stream of fire at him, incinerating his body before he could hit the ground. She landed afterward and returned to her normal(ish) form, just before passing out.

“Is she okay?” I asked Isaac, as he walked over to inspect her.

“Cracked ribs, fractured Ulna, missing one of her eye teeth,” he said. “Other than that, she seems fine. Just exhausted. That dragon form must take a lot out of her.”

“The fuck happened here?” Sound asked, finally arriving.

“Dragon girl decided to take beast boy on her own,” Kord said, arriving from the other direction. “I overheard it all.”

“Let's get her somewhere else so I can see about her wounds,” Isaac said.

“Can you do that?” Kord asked.

“I have all the medical experience of any doctor within range of my telepathy,” Isaac said. “Now help me with her.”

That's three Emissaries down. All that's left is Camazotz and Nolla Row herself.

Working Together

So, we met up with Isaac a few days ago, but he already spoke about it on his end of the blog... although, I really wish he hadn't blabbed about my pregnancy. I was hoping to keep that quiet, at least for a little longer.

But yes, I am pregnant with Ben's child. When we had sex back in December... well, you can probably figure that out.

I just wish he hadn't died then. He... He'll miss all of this.

I'm sorry. I'll get back on topic.

We're working together with Isaac, but he refuses to show us where he and the other runners are hiding out. He doesn't want to risk their safety. We've been meeting up every night and doing what we can to try and find Nolla Row, but we haven't found out much. At least, I haven't. Isaac says he's beginning to understand her power. I don't know why or how, but he is a genius.

We've also met Wildfire. A former servant of the Game Master. She has dragon like powers. She can levitate, breath fire, and a few other things.

Isaac says we may be getting close to something. His new ally Kord picked up some kind of activity in the next town over that may or may not be Nolla Row's group. We'll be checking it out tomorrow.