The Sufferer

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Eyes squinting open to sunlight beams, Jack groaned as he stretched out his sore limbs. Why am I so sore? Looking at his watch, he could see that it was 6:42 in the morning. Going to his bathroom, Jack looked at his reflection in the mirror. Lifting up his shirt, Jack traced the bruises displayed on his stomach. Where did these come from? Tracing his bruised cheekbone, he pondered the origins of his injuries, as well as why he hadn't healed in his sleep.

Shrugging everything off, Jack left his room and proceeded to the stairs. As he approached the staircase, he heard voices speaking quietly from the board room. That's odd... was there a meeting scheduled? I can't recall... Heading to the room, Jack caught Masky's last words. "... remember, we say nothing and know nothing."

Opening the door, Jack entered the room, prompting everyone to divert their eyes towards him. Every single pasta was present aside from Jack and Toby. Jeff, Masky, Hoodie, Jane, Clockwork, Ben, Cody, Liu/Sully, Laughing Jack, Bloody Painter, every single one. Freezing in place, Jack crossed his arms as he attempted to dissect the tension within the air. "Did I really sleep through a meeting? I don't even remember one being scheduled."

Everyone stayed silent, until Masky spoke first. "That's unlike you, Jack. Don't let it happen again." Jeff snickered quietly, causing Jack to look at him with annoyance.

Shaking off the odd feeling within the room, Jack rolled his eyes before turning to walk away, accidentally bumping into Toby on his way out. "M-my bad. It's a-actually good y-you're here, Jack. Meet our n-new member, (Y-Y/n)." Moving aside, Toby revealed the short girl that stood behind him, who made eye contact with Jack with a small smile. Jack nodded politely, feeling a migraine taking over his senses. Rubbing his temple, Jack looked back at the woman in front of him, who had also begun rubbing her head.

"I apologize, I've developed a massive headache all of a sudden. I don't mean to be rude. I'm (Y/n), it's nice to meet you, Jack." Jack narrowed his eyes at the woman, lost in his thoughts. How strange... we both have headaches at the exact same time.

"Yeah... nice to meet you." Looking back at the others behind him that were still in the board room, he found that everyone had remained silent, almost as if they were listening intently. As they realized he was staring back at them, the pastas immediately diverted their eyes elsewhere. Looking back at Toby and (Y/n), he noticed the girl staring at him also. As they made eye contact, Jack felt an indescribable feeling encompassing his being. "Have we possibly met before, (Y/n)? Nevermind... what a dumb question, considering we have no memories of our human lives." Jack chuckled as he ran his hand through his hair.

Toby interrupted. "A-actually, (Y-Y/n) is still a human. H-he still got r-rid of her memories, t-though. M-must b-be trying something new." Jack nodded in acceptance. "Which reminds me. Y-you will be on the training s-schedule w-with her. I'll be p-p-posting the d-dates shortly."

"Okay, that's fine. I have work to do." Brushing past Toby and (Y/n), Jack made his way to the infirmary, before finally reaching it and brewing a pot of coffee. As he began drinking the scolding hot liquid, Jack pondered his weird encounter with their new member, (Y/n). Why did he feel a sense of deja vu, as though they had met before? The mind certainly goes to odd places. Jack put his coffee down as he prepared to look at his schedule, only to find his laptop had disappeared. What the hell? Checking in his desk drawers, he sighed heavily before going to find a proxy. Coming across Hoodie, Jack asked, "Hey, do you know where my laptop went?" Hoodie paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Alright, well can I get a spare one in the meantime?"

As Jack walked away with the laptop, Cody
approached him. "Hey, I was wondering if you could go with me on a mission to obtain medical supplies and chemicals. I'm hoping to try to make a new virus that acts almost like a truth serum-"

Jack semi-rudely cut off Cody's tangent. "Now, why would you need a truth serum?" Before Cody could even respond, Jack sighed heavily as he continued to rub his head. "Nevermind that. Sure, I'll come with you." Cody smiled brightly before walking away, telling Jack to be ready within the next hour. As Cody continued down the corridors and up the stairs leading to the bedrooms, he met with Hoodie, who had been waiting in front of Cody's room.

"Did it work? He's going on a mission with you?" Cody nodded with a wide smile. "Great. Make sure to keep him busy for several hours while we begin training with (Y/n). He told us to start with other pastas before training her with Jack, so that the chances of them remembering each other are slim to none." With that, Hoodie saw himself to his own room, getting on his laptop and working on the schedule before presenting the draft to Toby, who would finalize it. Hoodie paused for a moment, sighing while running his hand through his hair. Is this really the right thing to do? I don't see why we didn't just kill the girl. It's unlike him to show any mercy. Deciding against his better judgement, Hoodie decided to pay him a visit. Leaving his room and walking up the second set of stairs, he knocked lightly, before hearing whispers invite him inside.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Hoodie?" Hoodie stared at the ground as he stood in front of him fearlessly.

"I don't mean to trouble you or question your intentions, but I'd be remiss if I didn't ask. Why did you decide to keep the girl alive?"

The whispers subsided momentarily, signaling him thinking about the honest question, before responding. "Jack wasn't incorrect when he said the girl could become an asset to me. I plan to make her a full part of our team soon, but I do have limits to my powers. Time constraints are part of it. Once those constraints are satisfied, I will be able to fully control her and bend her at will. She has proxy potential, if I am able to manipulate her ambitious nature towards our cause." The whispers paused one last time before continuing. "Now, get out of my sight. That is the only explanation you will ever get from me." Hoodie gulped and walked away, having no other choice but to accept Slenderman's bizarre intentions. Slenderman sat alone as Hoodie quickly left. He had been truthful, but not to the fullest extent possible. Jack has potential to become a proxy as well, but another part of my powers that have constraints is what happens after one's memory is erased by me. Whatever feelings or emotions they feel prior to the memory being erased has potential to stay after they are conscious again, especially extremely strong ones. Therefore, had I not made the deal with Jack, he would have become useless and resentful of me without understanding why. I have grown to respect him; it was the least I could do. He is too useful to me to simply throw away.


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