Reflecting

I had meant to post more yesterday but I couldn't.

So instead I'll continue now with my thoughts on the event.

First and most obviously:

What the fuck happened?

I mean Xerox comes back.

Obviously it's not going to be a super happy moment considering but still...

That should have been a good thing.

But then everything went to hell...

He was right of course.

He deserved to be pissed...

That speech though and the reaction to it...

I'm sure I missed another chance to find out his secret.

The proxies won't talk about it and I don't know where Xerox went.

The things that were said...

I don't think the proxies like us much now and I can't blame them...

I'm not even sure how I feel about it...

When he said that I was unimportant I felt hurt...

Really really hurt...

I can only imagine how Xerox felt and the rest of the proxies...

I've been in my room since just thinking about things... 

Another thought that came into my mind was how close I had been...

Xerox almost said something extremely important I'm sure of it...

and again I'm sure if I had just been able to turn my head I'd of seen the truth...

I hate now knowing...

Oh...

Xerox is probably dead...

It just occurred to me.

He almost revealed the secret.

The Second wouldn't let him live after that...

Heh...

Ironic...

That realization is making me cry...

The Return

So some stuff has been happening.

Most notably Xerox is still alive.

He arrived at the headquarters yesterday night.

Apparently he and a few others had been busy helping the Second protect my friends and family and had therefore been spared from the slaughter.

He returned to find everyone dead and eventually found his way here.

He was not happy when we told him what had happened.

He remained silent for a few minutes after the story was explained to him.

When he finally spoke he sounded on the verge of tears.

Xerox: "So... You killed all of them?"

The Second: "Yes, I had to."

Xerox: "Really? You had too?"

Xerox: "There's nothing you ever have to do."

Xerox: "If you wanted too you could have gotten her away without killing anyone."

Xerox: "You just don't care."

Xerox: "Proxies aren't people to you. They are just things to use."

He turned on me.

Xerox: "And you? I bet you didn't even bat an eyelash over all the people that were killed to protect your worthless ass."

Xerox: "You don't care about us either but, you're even worse than him."

Xerox: "You see us as monsters. Everytime you hear about one of us die you probably cheer."

He started laughing here.

Xerox: "You don't care about us but you love him and he's-"

He stopped suddenly and the entire room went silent.

All the shadows in the room moved to enlarge The Second's making his shadow a tall ominous figure that left Xerox cowering within it.

I was watching Xerox.

The other proxies were all watching The Second.

I couldn't take my eyes away from the look of absolute terror on Xerox's face.

The Second: "You're right."

The voice was the same as on the video.

The voice that was The Second's but, seemed to be coming from someone else.

The Second: "I don't care about you. The Master doesn't care about you."

The Second: "You proxies are merely a group of ever renewable pawns to be sacrificed on his whim."

The Second: "You're not people. You are dogs of The Master. That is what you agreed to become when you joined him."

The Second: "You envy the favor The Master seems to show Lisa but even she is unimportant in the long run."

The Second: "Humans are not important. Only The Master himself is important."

The second: "Remember that."

The Second placed his hand on my shoulder.

I was shaking but stopped as his hand touched my shoulder.

He turned me away and walked me out of the room.

Behind me I heard the thump of something heavy falling.

Saved

So The Master appeared before me.

He placed a hand on my head and we were back in the normal world.

Specifically right outside the headquarters of the proxies.

I turned to flee but The Master barred my way.

A proxy came out and headed towards me but stopped as he noticed The Master.

Then the Master vanished.

I turned to flee but The proxy called out.

Proxy: "Wait your buddy came back."

Proxy: "We won't hurt you."

I didn't really believe him at first but after thinking about it I realized The Master wouldn't have brought me back here otherwise and besides he'd probably be able to catch me if I ran.

So I followed him in. The entire place was back to normal apparently so it was easy for him to bring me to where The Second actually was.

Phage was there too and the weapons.

Apparently there was a group of traitors among the proxies here who had attempted to sneak out the weapons. The Second and Phage had been conversing about something when they spotted the traitors.

According to The Second he had no time to go back and get me or inform the others and instead he and Phage went off after them alone.

He said he wasn't worried and knew that The Master would protect me.

He apologized anyways.

Unfortunately he also had to explain who we were...

So we're now known again.

My anonymity is gone but my protection is sort of back.

I'm not sure they believed everything but it is hard to argue that The Master was protecting me considering what happened...

Business as usual from now on I guess...

I'm so lost...

I've been wandering for so long.

I haven't heard any sounds around me.

The Master's presence has disappeared as well.

I feel so alone and vulnerable.

Why did The Second do this to me?

What the hell was he thinking?

I'm going to die here...

I don't think the proxies are still after me but I can't survive here indefinitely.

I've never been a good survivalist.

I could last maybe a day lost in the woods.

So I'm not expecting to survive much longer in a magic horror forest.

Especially without The Master's protection.

Why did he leave?

Why have The Master and The Second both left me to die?

I thought The Master needed me?

I thought The Second loved me...

This place

So I've found myself in an area that I think might be entirely in the path.

I don't see any part of the building here.

Could I have wandered directly into the path?

The laws of physics are also mostly normalized here so yeah I think I've gotten into the path proper...

Although some of the proxies are still following me.

One almost caught me before but...

Well a tree ate him...

Yeah...

Branches just whipped out and speared him and dragged him into a hole in the tree.

I don't really have much of a choice but to continue on the path and hope that the path continues protecting me...

...

I can feel The Master's presence all around me...

Not just in the path but like his physical presence...

He's watching me...

Watching over me?

What the hell did you do?!

The Second has disappeared again.

So has Phage.

Along with all the weapons confiscated from the supplier's warehouse.

The obvious theory is that those two stole the weapons and ran.

that seems kind of stupid for The Second so I don't believe that's what happened.

Of course everyone else believes it.

and since The Second and Phage are no where to be found they decided that before hunting down the traitors they'd take out the hapless girl one of the traitors brought with him.

The only reason I'm not dead right now is that something completely psychotic happened.

I'm sure The Second is responsible for this somehow.

Probably knew it would protect me but why not just take me with him in the first place damn it or better yet not do whatever the hell he's doing at all.

Anyways so this is what happened...

I woke up in the path.

Sort of...

Something has merged parts of the headquarters with the path.

The result is like trying to navigate through a labyrinth of constantly shifting laws of physics.

One minute a room is 4 feet long the next it's ten miles and a second later it's a mobius strip.

So this has made it almost impossible for them to catch me but has also made it almost impossible for me to know where the fuck anything is and I left the only weapon I have in the bathroom which could now be on the other side of the god damn country or at least an equivalent distance.

So they're having trouble catching me but I can't get to my weapon so have no way to defend myself if one of them manages to catch me.

Also I have a huge headache from the strangeness of walking through the same room three times each time with differing distances.

Although the mixture of forest and industrial building is a pretty cool aesthetic.

Breaking Eggs.

The mission is to kill a guy who's been supplying weapons to runners.

He was apparently once a supplier for The Proxies but then began supplying both sides.

Unfortunately he wasn't very good at keeping this a secret.

The proxies would have sent out a single person but the guy is a weapon supplier and he might have back up so they sent a small team.

We went to his warehouse where he apparently sleeps and I, being the most normal looking apparently, was sent in to check the place out.

I spotted two guys standing around trying to look inconspicuous and a third person who I recognized as the target came up to me.

Target: "What are you doing here?"

I told him I had recently arrived in this city fleeing from The Master (Obviously not calling him the master) and had been told that I could get weapons here.

I showed him the knife I had on me and asked if he had anything better.

He said he undoubtedly did and brought me to another room.

It was full of crates.

He opened some and showed me a variety of weapons.

Guns, blades and explosives.

He said I could have whatever I wanted for $50 or the whole crate for $250.

I was surprised and asked him the obvious question.

I'm a runner!

I don't have any money how am I supposed to pay for this!?

He smiled in a way that was not at all friendly.

Target: "Well I generally have the male runners carry out jobs for me to earn their weapons but for the ladies...

Target: "Other arrangements can always be made..."

I was disgusted and I told him so.

I told him I'd stick with my knife and I started to leave.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

I turned and slashed at him.

I hadn't really meant to hit him just scare him into letting go.

I hadn't expected him to lean forward.

The slash hit him in the chest and cut a deep groove.

He fell back and I panicked and ran out.

One of the two men must have seen the blood on my blade.

He yelled something and fired his gun at me.

He missed just barely and  before he could fire again something was tossed into the building.

It was a small silver sphere.

It rolled to the center and then exploded.

Gas sprayed out filling the room.

I couldn't breathe.

I fell to my knees choking.

Suddenly something grabbed me around the shoulders and pulled my head up placing a mask over my face.

I tried to scream and succeeded.

It was a gas mask.

I turned and saw The Second standing behind me he then turned and walked into the gas.

I heard coughing and gunshots.

I saw the silhouettes of people moving around me.

I heard someone cry out as they died but it wasn't the second so I didn't care.

I began crawling towards where I thought the exit was.

Something suddenly hit me from behind smashing into my back.

I fell onto my stomach and my assailant flipped me over onto my back.

It was the target wearing an old fashioned gas mask.

He was holding a crowbar.

I tried to get up but he hit me in the face knocking me back down.

Fortunately the gas mask took the brunt of the attack and I remained conscious and mostly unharmed.

He got on top of me straddling my waist and raised the crowbar to hit me again.

I clutched my knife tightly and brought it up stabbing desperately.

I plunged it right into his throat.

We stayed perfectly still.

A frozen moment in time.

Then the crowbar slipped from his grasp clattering to the floor and he fell backwards.

I pushed the body off of me and crawled outside.

I pulled off the gas mask and sat back against the wall of the warehouse breathing heavily.

This was the first time I'd ever killed someone intentionally.

He was a monster but still I felt horrible.

I felt tears drip down my cheeks.

Someone walked out and I quickly looked up into Toten's twisted smile.

He laughed.

Toten: "What you crying about girl?"

Toten: "We won!"

Toten: "Celebrate!"

He reached out a blood soaked hand and I squirmed away from him.

His smile widened slightly and suddenly his knife was too my throat.

Toten: "You don't like blood?"

Toten: "You don't like killing?!"

Toten: "You're not going to survive long as a proxy girl!"

Toten: "It would be merciful to just end your pitiful life right now!"

I held my breath my body frozen in terror.

He started to press the knife against my throat and I felt pain as it began to cut in.

Suddenly he stopped and it took me a few seconds to realize why.

The tip of something was protruding from his chest.

It pulled back out and The Second tossed his body to the side.

The Second: "Diseased minds..."

The Second: "There is no place for them in The Master's ranks."

The Second: "The best thing to do is to put them down like a crazed animal."

He helped me up and hugged me.

The Second: "Are you ok?"

I shook my head and he hugged me tighter.

The Second: "Phage is finishing up as we speak so I'll bring you back to the base now."

He did so and after a few minutes I began feeling better and I wrote this.

I still feel strange about killing someone.

I don't know if I'll ever get over it or better at it...

On an unrelated note though...

I only realized it much later but after Toten died there was no sign of what The Second had used to kill him anywhere nearby or on The Second's person.

I still don't know what it was.

I'd say it was some sort of hidden blade but it wasn't a blade...

I suppose it could still just be something hidden on his person but it's bugging me now...

Anyways I need to get some sleep and hopefully I won't have nightmares tonight...

I doubt it though...

Downside

So...

One downside of masquerading as a normal low level proxy...

I can be sent on missions...

Anyways yeah I'm being sent on a mission.

The Second is being sent with me but so are two others.

A guy named Phage and another guy named Toten.

Toten is a small guy only about 5'5 and skinny.

He has a serrated knife that never seems to leave his hand and a broken smile that never seems to leave his face.

I think he might be one of those psychotic proxies I was worried about earlier.

Phage is a short fat man.

He's got a hazmat suit on...

Well not the full suit.

Just the hood...

The rest of his outfit seems to be some kind of burlap sack.

He carries a bag slung over his shoulder and whatever's in there makes clinking sounds whenever he moves and he moves very carefully...

The mission is a hunt and kill mission I'm told.

Hopefully I can stay back and let them do the work.

I don't want anymore blood on my hands.

New Digs

Ok so a bit about my new location.

The Second has moved me to a much larger headquarters.

Don't know where exactly.

I've been stuck inside since we got here.

All I know is apparently it's a place where The Master's influence is much much stronger and so I should be much better protected here.

Unfortunately for some reason The Second is also not known here and doesn't want to be so we're going incognito.

We're just two proxies as far as they know.

A newbie and a more senior proxy assigned to help the newbie learn the ropes.

So the good news it means I'm treated somewhat nicer.

Bad news:

No protection so I have to be really careful not to piss any one off.

Not allowed to leave the premises without The Second or another higher Proxy.

Oh also we got fake names...

I've always liked Fake Names...

Like Lisa for instance.

Not my real name.

Only now I have a proxy name too...

I'm called Hama apparently.

The Second is called Ladua.

I thought it sounded stupid.

The Second explained that it was another language and just means The Second.

Now I think it's completely stupid but regardless we're stuck with these names now because The Second already introduced us as such.

So stuck here pretending to be a proxy to hide from The Rake until the day comes where I will apparently not die but my life will somehow end...

Insert an irritated sigh here.

 

The Aftermath

Explanation time.

So The Second left to check on all my connections and find some way to keep them safe.

While he was out doing that I stayed in my room confident in the protection of the proxies and The Master.

Then two days ago the proxies tried to attack me.

The Rake had visited them.

Each one of them and taken control like it had me.

The Second had been forward thinking enough to give me a gun as means of protection and I'm guessing had somehow made my room unenterable (Screw it it's a word) via Path.

Either that or The Proxies in a controlled state weren't smart enough to think of it.

Regardless as the others tried to break in and I was barricading the door Spinder came up from behind me with a knife.

Bitch was almost completely silent and until the knife was in my back I had completely failed to notice her.

I fell luckily she had let go of the knife and so hadn't been able to stab me more.

Through the haze of pain I aimed my gun and closed my eyes.

I fired three shots only one hit her.

The others hit the wall and a lamp.

She fell but the bullet wasn't immediately fatal and she regained lucidity as she died.

I heard her whimpering quietly as she died and I sat against a wall carefully so as not to push the knife in further.

I grabbed my laptop and wrote that last post before drifting off for a few minutes.

When I awoke my door had been busted open and I panicked but gentle hands grabbed me and held me till I stopped struggling.

It was The Second holding me.

The bloody knife was lying on the floor and The Seconds hand was over the wound.

He felt so warm...

I hugged him tightly and he hugged me back with the hand not on the wound.

This moment was interrupted by the sound of clicking.

We turned as one to see The Rake standing by my bed watching us with a grin.

The Second removed his hand from my back and stood up, immediately causing an icy pain to spread from the wound.

The Rake stepped towards us and The Second stepped forward as well moving between The Rake and me.

The Rake made a sound like chuckling.

The Rake: "You can't fight me."

The Rake: "(The Master) can only barely take me on."

Summon The Master I told him.

The Rake began laughing again.

The Rake: "Oh yes..."

The Rake: "Summon (The Master) while she watches."

The Second stiffened.

What are you waiting for? I asked panicking.

The Second: "I... I can't"

The Rake's grin grew wider.

The Second: "I... I need to prepare an area before I can summon him. My room was prepared yours isn't"

The Rake's grin broke and it snarled.

The Rake: "Lies!"

The Rake: "You cannot hide anymore."

The Rake: "Either the three of you die here or you sacrifice your plans for the anomaly and she becomes mine."

The Second: "Neither of those things will happen!"

The Second: "Lisa..."

The Second: "If you want to live you need to close your eyes and not open them until I tell you"

The Rake: "No Girl! Keep your eyes open! He cannot hide his secrets from you anymore!"

I looked from The Rake to The Second and closed my eyes.

There was a sound like...

Indescribable...

Nothing compares.

I heard the sound of things like knives and flesh and the spilling of blood.

The sounds of two inhuman creatures fighting.

I don't know how long I had my eyes closed.

I could probably have opened my eyes.

Learned the truth.

I didn't want to.

I never wanted to open my eyes again.

Sometime later I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and The Second's voice told me to open my eyes.

I did so and looked into his beautiful face.

I asked him what happened but I knew he wouldn't really tell me anything.

I had one chance to learn the truth but the price would have been to high.

I'm sure of that.

All the proxies in the apartment are dead now.

Which is sad I liked some of them.

The Second brought me to a new location a safer location.

Hopefully.



    




 

Second you need to come back to the apartment right now.

I had to shoot Spinder and I've barricaded the door against the rest but it won't last long.

I need you to come back right now.

It's turned all of them against me.

Please they're going to kill me I need you right now.