*So… LeMafiaKreb and I sorta… came up with this… thing. It's pretty much something for all of you to enjoy while my brain is stuck doing nothing while it waits for them to finish Knock-On-Wood, and it takes place sometime between "Before It's Finally Over," and our collaboration story, "Flame Born Shadows." So… here it is! Enjoy! (Also, Slenderman kinda reverts back to his asshole self from before marrying Enderbrina so expect that towards the end. I took some creative liberties.)*

Enderbrina's Pov

I decided it was time to let Simon have a break from being in Epourte, and teleported into the dungeon, materializing a small table and placing the short sword on it. Coaxing his soul free from the blade, he seemed to be quite comfortable in his ghostly form as he stretched.

"Man, I needed that," he muttered under his breath.

I smirked. "Why're you stretching? Did Epourte feel cramped or something?"

With a shrug, he replied, "I may have agreed to become a sword for all eternity, but one does get restless."

I rolled my eyes, not caring if he could see it. "You could have just made the blade hum to get my attention. Each of you makes a different pitch. Just like now, I can let you free of the blade, but I have to have the certain weapon with me."

"Well someone never told me the rules."

I stared at his smirk for a moment before retorting. "Oh, please. You've heard Warp, the Shadowblade, and the Silvershade hum before plenty of times."

"I didn't even know how, so we're even."

"Okay… well, in Warp's words, it's kind of like talking. Similarly to how your vocal cords vibrate when you're alive, the sword acts like your vocal cords, and it vibrates, creating a humming sound."

"Okay… what if I'm talking to myself? I tend to do that a lot…"

"Honestly? I don't know. I haven't heard Epourte hum at all. Maybe it's because the living metal in it knows you're not trying to get my attention. Did you talk to yourself over the past couple centuries at all?"

"Um… I don't remember. Probably."

I groaned, soft enough where he couldn't hear it. "Well… that's fine, then, I guess. We'll have to see about it in the future. So… do you remember Zalgo?"

"Yeees? The guy who's basically in charge of everyone here, right?"

"That would be him." I giggled, trying to hide it. "You know… as horrifying as it was then… your expression was priceless!"

He turned away, his cheeks turning red. "Well, it was a lot to take in… it's not every day you see a giant hell monster."

I calmed my laughter. "Yeah… sorry… but you can only imagine how I felt when I first met him. His presence was huge compared to how it feels to me now."

"I can, actually, now that you've brought it up."

"I wonder what he thinks of this, since you're… y'know, still technically half-human."

"Am I? I thought I was just a sword with a soul, now. Not that I'm complaining, it gives me a lot of time to think…" His voice trailed off with a sigh, a look in his eyes that easily showed he was thinking of times past.

"Well… I suppose you're right. So, have you come up with any ideas?"

"For gizmos?"

"Uh… yeah, those things."

"Yes, actually, I've been itching to test them too. Even as a short sword, I miss the forge and carpentry bench."

An idea formed in my mind, making a grin crawl its way onto my face. "Well, I could give you a vessel… if you're interested. Although I've never done it before… but I can try."

"Really?"

"Don't expect too much… it'll only have the basic necessities. Along with some super strength if I can figure that in so lifting isn't a hassle."

I tried to imagine Simon's vessel, forming everything slowly as I focused. Giving the vessel the super strength was a bit difficult, but eventually, a clone of his former self became complete, and his usual attire was there as well. I opened my eyes to see a standing, sleeping clone of Simon when he was living.

"There… a vessel. It should look and feel very similar to your old self, plus some super strength."

I looked at him expectantly for a moment.

"Uh… what do I do now?"

"Just make some contact with it. Your soul will come free of Epourte while you use the vessel."

He walked up to it, skeptical. "Okay then…"

He reached out and put his hand on the shoulder of the vessel, and disappeared. The eyes stayed shut, but soon opened. I heard him straining.

"Your soul should be animating the vessel… all the necessary things are there."

"This is weird…"

I hummed in complaint. "Did I fuck it up?"

"Don't… think so…"

"You can talk at least."

I saw his hand twitch, then flex. "There we go… it felt like I couldn't reach, then it felt numb."

"You might be low on energy, too, since being a sword doesn't use much energy."

I held his upper arm, and let some energy flow into the vessel, getting a sigh of relief from him.

"Thanks… now that I can move around freely… maybe you could materialize some tools for me to work with?"

I grinned. "This is the dungeon. We don't use it for much unless it's to store a prisoner for torturing. We usually only do it for answers, promising to let them go after… so I'm sure Slender wouldn't mind if I made you a blacksmith shop in the wall here or something."

"How would you—"

I heard him gasp as I began carving out the wall, into the solid ground, into a large, open space with a workbench, a wall lined with every tool imaginable, a large stone forge with a vent, and a workbench under the tool wall. He walked up to the tool wall, and I materialized a door behind him. I heard him muttering to the tools as if they were precious gemstones, and realized the probably were for him. I drew Epourte and placed it on some wall hooks near the wall of tools. I heard him giggle, and arched a brow in his direction, before mentally dismissing it and watching him with a level expression.

"There aren't any brewing stands, but there are electric tools. Great compromise if you ask me."

"Alright… I'll make do."

"With that brain of yours, I'm sure you could probably whip up something similar." He inspected the tools again before clapping his hand together. "So… do you need me to make some materials so you can start making stuff?"

"Yeah… to start… how about two tons of iron, and some redstone?"

"I can make the iron, but redstone doesn't exist here on Earth. Although the most similar thing is copper. It's very conductive so watch out."

"Right… I'm also gonna need some books on how all this stuff works."

"Okay, well, here's some iron and a crucible to get you started," I said, materializing the said items. "I'll be back soon with the books. Don't get too busy."

I walked out, hearing some drills whirring immediately after shutting the door. I sighed, hearing some crashing soon afterward. I laughed exasperatedly to myself, heading for the library. I picked out some books on electric tools, blacksmithing, and even some basic electrical functions. I felt Slenderman teleport to me.

"Hello, my love."

"Hello, dear. I don't suppose you have a reason to be taking all these books?"

"Actually my friend Simon is downstairs right now, I made him a blacksmith shop in the dungeon. I hope that's alright."

"Of course. So he needs these books?"

"Yeah, he doesn't really know much about Earth. Half of it is new to him. I don't suppose you have that rune book still?"

"I do. I put it on one of these shelves… would you like me to get it for you?"

"Yes, please."

He disappeared, and I began organizing the books I had gathered. Most of them were very thick, but with my unnatural super strength, I was able to lift them with ease. He appeared by my side moments later, the rune book held in his hand.

"Oh, perfect. Thank you."

"Be sure he knows how to use the runes if he intends to begin using them."

"I will."

"Perhaps I could teach him…"

"Maybe. I mean, technically you and I are… the boss of him while he's here but I think I would be much more lenient than you."

"Indeed you would. However I would provide leniency to him as well… knowing he is a half-human, half-monster, would mean there is plenty of room for mistakes."

"Whatever part of him that's human is very smart. Don't underestimate him."

"Alright. So, you'll be taking these books to him?"

"Yup! See you later."

I gave him a quick kiss before teleporting down to the room Simon was still in, seeing a mess of tools on the table. With a silent sigh, I announced my return to him.

"I'm back with the books you requested!"

He dropped a power tool on his foot. "Ah, shit…" Turning around he gave me a hard glare. "You spooked me."

"Sorry," I said, trying to stifle my laughter. "You have no idea how fun it is to do that to humans in the forest."

"I can imagine… it's probably funny to whomever isn't on the receiving end of the scare."

I materialized some copper on the table, a crazed smile on my lips. "It's terrifying for victims…"

Simon looked at the copper block closely, inspecting it.

"What do you think? It oxidizes over time, turning it green."

"That's cool, let me try something."

"Sure. I'll watch if you don't mind."

He put the copper in the empty crucible, explaining that he was letting it soften a bit.

"Just don't hurt yourself."

"My gloves take care of that, mostly."

"Well what if you drop a hammer and it hits your foot?" He laughed sarcastically. "I'm just saying. Besides, you'll feel the pain if you get hurt."

"Thank you, captain obvious," he said, pointing to his foot.

"Right… sorry again. Just be careful…"

"Let's just say that's why I don't like that cursed ball-peen hammer over there," he said, pointing to it. He picked up a sharp knife and pulled the softened copper out of the forge. "Let's…" his voice trailed off as he carved off a small strip of it.

I picked up the hammer he had indicated and began munching on the metal. He smiled at me as I said I was somewhat hungry anyway. He sifted through the mess of tools, searching for something. When I had finished, I sighed. "Honestly? I was gone for what, ten minutes? How did you mess up the tools already?"

"I had to try everything. Ah, here it is. I heard mister ghost guy talking about these, saying they power stuff."

"Batteries. They do power stuff for a while." I sorted all the tools. "There… next time, put the tools back on the wall hooks." I gave a warning growl, "And don't blame me if you lose something."

"Not guaranteeing anything… if I lose something, I'll just make a new… aha! Found it!"

He pulled a damaged lightbulb from underneath the bench.

"A lightbulb? You know there's some right above us, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't connect those. I'm going to do this myself."

He messed around with the copper, lightbulb, and battery, finally getting it to light up. "Yes! Now…"

"Okay… I guess I was expecting too much right away from how being so new to this stuff."

"I need something with more…" I saw him rummaging through the tools again, already having messed it up again.

I groaned. "I give up."

He pulled out a few parts, messing with them. Something exploded in front of him, and he was stunned for a few moments before saying, "Pizazz?"

"Simon!"

"What? I'm fine, that was intentional." He wiped the black spot of his face.

"Sure it was, you don't even know how half of this stuff works."

He grinned devilishly. "I do now."

He went around behind me and started gently pushing me toward the door. "Shoo, shoo, let me do my thing. I'll call for you if I have something special to show you."

Before he could push me very far, I whipped around and poked him threateningly in the chest. "Do not push me ever again! Remember I let you live on forever with me! And I am your wielder!"

He backed up, his hands in front of him, a clear fearful expression on his face. "Sorry, sorry! I… I'm just really excited to test all this stuff!"

I went over to the doorway. I looked over my shoulder, nodding curtly at him before leaving in a foul mood.

I need to kill something… I thought as I stalked toward the mansion doors.

Simon's Pov

I nodded back to her, though she didn't see it. I went back to messing with the materials before noticing a light was flickering.

"Huh… that's cool…"

I turned back to the workbench, continuing to work with my newfound tools and materials. I felt like she was still watching me, but shrugged it off. She could be, for all I know. She was more silent than a lion that found some prey.

"I see you have tested my wife's patience," a deep voice sounded behind me, making me nearly jump out my vessel's skin. I released a breath sharply, already knowing who it was. "You are lucky to be her friend, otherwise I might have taken your physical component and melded it into a shape you would dislike very much."

I groaned, resting my forehead on the uncluttered workbench surface that was just in front of me.

"Forgive me for not turning around but you still terrify me. Maybe you could announce your presence next time, a little less frighteningly?"

He was by my side in a split second, and I forced myself not to look at him. "Very well, perhaps I will. You are still human in my eyes, however. You should not even be here."

"Well I am… why are you even here anyway?"

"I am curious as to what one of our newest residents is doing, you being that person."

"Right… I just live in one of her swords, you know."

"I am aware. However, she gave you a vessel. I understand this is a big step in her trusting you not to hurt yourself."

"Well I mean… if my vessel dies… I'm pretty sure Epourte will just draw me back in."

"You know making her angry is not a good idea. Her mind was filled with dark thoughts after she left you here."

"Such as?"

"Her exact thought process was, 'I need to kill something' as she left through the front doors. What could you have possibly done to make her so angry?"

"I pushed her… in a friendly manner, anyway… because I wanted to work on this," I said, gesturing at the mess of tools as I continued fiddling with my new gizmo. "I guess I had pressed my luck too much…"

"Perhaps," he replied simply, his gaze boring into me. I became very self-conscious as he watched me. Suddenly, the lights started flickering again.

"Can you quit that? I'm trying to work."

"I am not doing anything. You are 'working' with electromagnets."

I looked at the supposed electromagnets in my hands, and placed them down, looking at the light. It no longer flickered, until I began fiddling with them again.

"So are you electromagnetic?"

He scoffed. "I can control which electronics I prefer to affect."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever."

I knew I was treading on eggshells, but continued to press my luck, now only half-absorbed by my gizmos.

"What is it you are making?"

"I don't expect you to really understand."

"Then explain this to me."

"Well, there was this thing I found interesting in one of the books Brina got for me. It's this thing called a power generator. I'm sure you know what that is."

"Of course I know. I have lived nearly a millennia, therefore I have acquired a large amount of knowledge in all the years I have lived."

"Right. So, I read about how they're made, and they require these so-called electromagnets."

"I presume you are going to attempt making one."

Slenderman's Pov

I heard him sigh. "Yeah, or at least try."

"Do your best to not destroy my mansion in the process."

"I wouldn't dare destroy it… besides, I'm currently 'living' in it."

"Very well then. I would like to watch, if you are alright with that."

He shrugged. "Brina found it boring, so I don't know if it'll entertain you. That's fine, though, if you want to watch."

"It may not entertain me, however it would be useful if you are not around and we need another."

"Okay, then."

He began his tinkering again. I stood by, watching. Occasionally he would say something, but he would only be talking to himself. A few hours passed and he cursed, rather loudly.

"Fu-uck!"

"What is the matter, now?"

"Everything! I can't get this fucking thing to transmit a stable current!"

I couldn't help laughing, though he didn't hear it. "Perhaps you should try plugging it in. I am not 'tech-savvy,' as it is called, but I can make suggestions."

"No, no, no. See…" He sighed heavily. "Maybe I bit off more than I could chew… I was trying to get it to produce energy by turning a crank or something, which would be minor power input."

I went over to the books, finding one was already open. I turned a few pages, careful not to tear them, and found a large depiction of the very thing he was trying to build. As I read, Simon continued to experiment with the many items at his workbench. Eventually, it sounded like he was getting somewhere with the machine, so I teleported back over next to him, seeing him jerk awkwardly, though it was slight.

"Still gets me every time…"

I smirked, having heard him, and asked, "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing… do you know what to do?"

"I am merely observing. I would prefer you figure out how to build this on your own, so your knowledge will expand by your own doing."

He sighed again. "Right, well then…"

Simon continued to push and twist the different parts together, cursing softly. "For fu— right… no, dammit!" He paused, the only sound was the clinking of the metallic items. "No, wait, that— ugh. Shi-it…" Finally, he heaved a sigh and stepped back.

"Did you finish it?"

"Well… yes, and no. I've managed to get the circuit to function, but not the way I wanted to. It's also unstable."

"Perhaps I could be of service. I assure you my dexterity is quite developed. Paired with my ability to affect electronic devices, I may be able to help."

"Well, in all honesty, I could use your brain more than your hands. I wanna make this thing more efficient."

"Efficiency is the least of our worries right now. Perhaps focus on creating a way to turn the crank continuously."

He breathed out another sigh. "I know," he drawled. "In fact, I'd prefer it if I could use something other than a crank."

"Such as?"

"Let's see." He rummaged through the mess of different tools, finally grinning — slightly psychotically — as he pulled one out. "Something faster."

"Are you sure that is wise?"

"I know it's counter-productive to use a device that requires power to generate power, but I won't know if it was a smart decision until I try it."

"I find your lack of reading disappointing. You could learn a much better way to do this if you simply put down the tool and read the book."

"I need to improve the overall structural integrity, and the mechanism should be able to keep up with the drill's rotations-per-minute. I enjoy reading, but I tend to try stupid answers before turning to a book. Inventing is much more fun that way!"

"It is also much more dangerous. I will not be informing Enderbrina if your vessel dies."

"I know, but don't worry. I've lived many failed experiments and explosions. I'll be just fine if my vessel dies."

I kept silent at that, watching the human fiddle with the generator. He muttered to himself, talking to the machine as he disassembled it. After an hour or so, he rubbed his hands together, excited to test out his invention, but his hands reached back to it. By this point, he had forgotten about me being in the room, despite my heavy presence lurking just behind him to his right.

"Okay, there. That should be stable enough. Where did I leave the… the damn… oh, here it is. Now, if I swap a couple of wires…" He chuckled as he continued to Frankenstein the generator's parts together. "This is so fucking retarded." When he finally finished it, he exclaimed, "Tah-dah!" Apparently, he still didn't notice me. "Now to see if it even works."

I continued watching silently, waiting for the moment to catch him off-guard. A plan was forming in my head as I grinned invisibly, one that only the me-from-before-Enderbrina would have thought of. He pulled on a welding mask, putting his hand on the drill.

"Now, please, please, please don't blow up. Slender won't let me hear the end of it if you do…"

"Indeed I will not, human."

He jumped more than I thought he would have, and hung his head, shaking it. "For fuck's ugly sake."

I tried to sound as innocent as possible. "Did I startle you?"

"No, you gave me a fucking heart attack!"

"Shall I call Enderbrina to revive you?"

He sighed. He simply replied dryly, "I'd advise you to step back but you can come closer if you'd like."

I teleported to his side and he twitched, obviously still on edge. He turned to me. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"I have already stated I am simply observing," I replied, smirking. "Besides, we do not want your little creation exploding, now do we?"

He shrugged. "Right, well, testing the thing in three… two…"

I took a step back. Toying with this one is such fun. I will have to ask Enderbrina to have him around more often… perhaps even steal a few human toys to torture.

"I can't believe I forgot about that." His voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"What did you forget?"

"At the rate the drill will be spinning, the generator will have a huge power output and the heat created will overcharge it, melting down its components. Basically, it'll explode from being too good of a generator. So I need a way to prevent that. And if I remember correctly," he reached into the pile next to his work area. He pulled out a glass lightbulb and a piece of copper pipe. "a lightbulb works in a simple enough manner. The thicker the filament between both ends, the more power is required to light up. So, if I connect this properly, it should take most of the load off from excess power… I hope."

I fell into silent watching again. He connected the pipe and lightbulb, and placed his hand on the drill again. "Okay, testing again in three, two, one…"

The drill started spinning. I took another step back, hearing the generator begin to make a whirring sound. The copper pipe turned a cherry red and smoke began coming from the wires connected to it. I took another step back, not wanting to be caught in the blast in the case of the generator exploding. As the drill continued to spin, the copper pipe turned white-hot, and the whirring became a more erratic sound.

If that explodes, I will be sure to make his torture as long as possible… then again, I may just do so anyway.

Smoke began to pour from the generator, the copper bar now turning almost a silver-blue from the heat. Simon let go of the trigger on the drill, and everything slowly became quiet again. I couldn't help a soft growl of disappointment escaping me.

"Phew, that went better than expected. I expected it to simply pop."

"Yes," I replied, not caring how disappointed I sounded. "I thought so too…"

He flashed me a smug grin before turning back to his generator, pulling open the side. Luckily for him, it was cooled down enough. "I want to see if any of the internal components were critically damaged, where the smoke was coming from, and how the fucking hell it held out for so long."

Before he could reach into the machine, I wrapped his wrist in a tentacle. He stopped, looking at me sideways with a mildly afraid expression. "Careful not to burn yourself… human. You do not possess the same abilities as before."

His expression returned to calm. "Oh, right. Thanks for the heads-up."

He pulled on some heat-resistant gloves after I unwrapped the tentacle from his wrist. He reached into the machine, pulling out a blackened gear.

"Okay, what the fuck was this made out of?" Tapping it agains the table, he continued, "Still as tough as nails. I need to ask Brina for more of this stuff…"

"Perhaps it was made of platinum," I suggested, knowing very well it was not, but I was "playing dumb" so this human would fall into a false sense of security, and think himself smarter than me.

He shook his head. "Nah. I've read about that, its lightweight, but it wouldn't have held up under that heat. More likely, this is tungsten."

"I am not quite as knowledgeable on metal materials as much as you and my wife are, despite my lifespan thus far."

"Right. Well, let's see…" He trailed off. I waited for my chance to scare him again, watching the generator closely. He reached into the generator again, looking inside. "Now that is interesting…" His hand pulled out copper wires, now attached to the pipe from melting. "These melted into each other, which must've been where most of the smoke came from. And this fella…" He pulled out a lopsided gear. "Didn't fare as well as the other. Must have been why the whirring went bonkers."

He pulled out an electromagnet. "This doesn't look too good. Kinda melted… and depressed. I need to find more heat-resistant material for the magnets."

"Magnets do not work as well after being heated to extreme temperatures."

He nodded, I noticed a spark of fear in his eyes. Smirking mentally, I held in a chuckle. My plan was working.

"I see that now," he replied. He picked up the copper pipe. "Huh… this thing didn't melt… I wonder if it's just copper."

"It is likely an alloy."

He murmured agreement as he put everything away, not even caring about the order. He was a slob when it came to inventions. He sighed after putting everything away.

"Sooo, what now?"

I growled slightly. "Your workplace is a pigsty. Clean it up."

"Fine." He turned back to his mess, beginning to clean it up and instantly becoming distracted again, but I heard him mutter something. "Wonder what makes you tick…"

"Are you referring to me?" I now stood in the doorway.

He looked up, distracted. "What?"

I frowned, not liking having to repeat myself. "You were wondering what makes someone or something 'tick.' Are you referring to me?"

He blinked. "Oh. No, no this thing," he said, lifting the one thing his free hand was laying on, which happened to be an electric saw.

"I believe the expression is, 'Smooth.' Well done coming up with an excuse out of nowhere."

He blinked again. "I don't follow you, Slender."

He went back to playing with his tools and pieces of machine. "Do not think I cannot see through your lie."

He only mumbled a distracted, "Uh-huh," in return. Then, he lifted a lopsided drill. "The fuck are you for?"

I smirked. "Drilling."

He sighed. "I know drilling, but like… why would someone need such a lopsided drill?" Then he gasped. "That would be fucking awesome!"

He began frantically looking through every tool and part strewn on the workbench, while I silently stood in the doorway, wondering what he might be planning. He picked up the file, duct tape, a saw that moved vertically, and proceeded to duct tape the two items together.

"Now let's see, who'd like to volunteer," he wondered aloud as his gaze traveled back over to the messy pile. Taking one at random, he secured it to the workbench, and started up the saw, making the blade vibrate violently but in a controlled manner.

"Okay, let's see what happens! Slowly…"

He brought the running saw closer to the pipe.

"Slooowlyyyy…"

He brought it even closer. Then I teleported beside him and he jumped at least six inches, accidentally cutting right through the pipe. I burst out laughing, unable to hold it back.

"Jeebus! Slender!"

I kept laughing, finding myself doing so harder than I had for almost six centuries. Simon looked at the clean cut. "Huh… just as awesome as I imagined."

"You are truly a joy to mess with! Much more than Enderbrina ever was," I said, catching my breath as another idea formed in my head.

Simon shook his head as he removed the duct tape from the saw blade and the file. I had finally stopped laughing. "Thanks I guess. Now, to make this arrangement more permanent."

I grinned evilly this time. "Oh, it wasn't a compliment, human. It was more of a warning."

He shrugged, picking up a welding torch and welding material. "You see the glass half empty, while I see the bottom half as literally empty, which would create a void, causing the glass to lift into the air very quickly," He continued to ramble, now distracted.

"I suppose I shall leave you to your devices now. Be wary, however, I shall return."

He distractedly agreed, and I teleported to see the human in the holding cell was still asleep. Sending my sleeping spell over it again, I teleported back, intent on using an electric tool in the torture. Luckily, I could control when and which electronics I wanted to affect, and went looking in the pile of tools.

"On second thought, I might use one of these tools," I said, watching his reaction. He was so deeply distracted.

This ought to be fun…

"Sure, sure…"

"This should work well on that human, they have seen too much. Don't you think drilling their eyes out would be a good punishment?"

"Uh-huh, whatever you say, Slender."

"After I slice out their tongue, of course, so all they can do is scream."

"Sounds nice," he replied absent-mindedly. The one response I was waiting for.

"Really? Would you like to be my test subject, then?"

"Yeah, sure, wha—. Wait, what!?"

Before he could run, I pushed him down onto the table with the books on it, away from his invention, keeping him down effortlessly. He began hissing and writhing, forgetting he was not longer what that world called a "creeper." I pulled the trigger on the drill.

"Wonderful!"

"No! Hold on a second!"

I sighed in fake disappointment, releasing the trigger. "What now? You said you would!"

He was trying to squirm away and it was working slightly, so I wrapped him in more tentacles. He screamed. "BRINA! YOUR HUSBAND IS TRYING TO FUCKING MURDER ME!"

I saw my wife's white eyes appear in the doorway, and looked up to meet her confused expression. "Hello, my dear."

"Hi, Slender…"

She looked at Simon, who was pleading for her to save him with his eyes. She gestured to him. "What's going on?"

"Help me," he pleaded.

"Ah, you see, I have a human to punish," I explained as he continued to squirm. "Simon here so helpfully offered to be my test subject."

"No I fucking didn't!"

"Yes you did. You said you would. Now hold still or this will hurt more."

Enderbrina closed the door after muttering a casual "okay, have fun you two," and I turned back to Simon. His head turned back, but he looked at the ceiling.

"Ffffuuuuuck my liiiife," he whined.

"Now now, we're going to have lots of fun, little human. Face me, or I will make you."

He hissed again, still forgetting he wasn't a half-breed anymore. "Then fucking MAKE ME, jackass!"

My grin spread wider as I wrapped my tentacles around his head, making it so he couldn't turn it, and his eyes were directed parallel to my own invisible ones.

He tightly closed his eyes, still hissing, and still squirming violently from his shoulders down, though it wasn't as violent as he liked.

"Silly human, you are just like the rest of them, you are powerless against me! You no longer possess those annoying abilities…"

His eyes opened, and his squirming stopped. He said thoughtfully, "You're right…"

"Yes, I know I am," I replied, pulling the trigger again, bringing it closer to his left eye.

He hummed, smiling innocently. Before he could say anything, I pushed the drill into his left eye, little pieces of the sight-giving organ flying everywhere, along with blood gushing out from the wound.

But he didn't scream.

The vessel beneath me went limp. Frowning, I pulled the drill from the hole in the eye. I heard Epourte humming behind me and turned my head to regard it. I kept the body held down in case he was trying to trick me. It stopped humming for a moment.

"You are quite an interesting plaything… what are you doing?"

It hummed again, then once more before disappearing, likely teleporting back to Enderbrina. I looked back at the limp body still wrapped up. "Well, that was no fun… I didn't even get the chance to slice out his tongue. Pity…" I dropped the body, letting it free-fall onto the floor, and land in a slowly growing puddle of blood. Just as it hit the floor, the door swung open. A brand-new vessel with Simon's soul in it grinned back at me.

"As I was about to say, I may not have my innate abilities anymore, but I do have new ones! Toodle-oo!"

I growled at him, realizing how demonic my growl sounded after the fact. He ran away as if he were being chased by a hungry lion. Sighing, I looked at the drill in my pale hand.

"I haven't the time to chase after him right now… I have a prisoner to murder. But when I am done, he will get his dues… tenfold."

Later…

I appeared silently in Enderbrina's old room, which Simon used as his own when he wanted to stay in a vessel. I grinned, unable to help my mouth from ripping into place. He was a heavy sleeper, apparently, as he never shifted, simply continued snoring softly. I was aware of the position I would have to use to complete this "testing" correctly. Carefully, I moved my tentacles under his body and he giggled, murmuring a name, and telling them to stop ticking him. I carefully knelt on the bed by his feet, and leaned downward, one hand helping me balance while the other held the drill. Remembering the stunt he had pulled earlier, I grabbed Epourte with an extra tentacle, wrapping it fully and holding behind my back. A low hiss escaped me, and a little grin spread over his face, his sleep still not interrupted. Another name was mumbled, and he said they couldn't scare him. I tried another approach to waking him.

"Wake up, little human," I said, my tentacles gripping his arms and legs forcefully, suddenly enough where he woke.

"Ahh!"

I grinned.

"Miss me, little… human? You ran off before we could play!"

His torso squirmed and he tried his arms and legs, finding them fully constricted. He looked at me, his eyes filled with fear, but then realization. He grinned mischievously.

"Really, Slender? You know I can just—"

I held the wrapped-up short sword for him to see. "I do not think so… not this time. I would just teleport with you. No getting away this time." Fear filled his eyes again as he looked back at me. "Good… now, keep those eyes open and this will be over in a matter of minutes if you are a good human."

He continued to squirm, and I heard him take a deep breath. I shoved a tentacle down his throat, tutting him. "Tsk, no screaming for help. I suppose we should take care of that, first, yes?"

I pulled his tongue out of his mouth and cut through it with my claws, slicing off a decent portion of it. He could no longer form words, only scream. We were close to Ben's room, so I knew Simon's screaming would be covered up by the loud gun noises, and could be passed off as Ben's screaming if anyone asked in the morning. Simon's vocal cords vibrated and he grabbed at my tentacle. I realized he was choking and couldn't draw air.

"Apologies…"

He gasped and spluttered for breath as I removed my tentacle, his own blood getting caught in his windpipe. He did his best to swallow it, judging by his Adam's apple bobbing and his mouth closing, breathing heavily through his nose. Pulling his mouth open again, I healed his bleeding tongue with my own healing abilities. His eyes, still full of fear, held a slight amount of relief until I pressed the trigger for the drill. I saw tears form in his eyes.

"Awwww," I cooed, "Don't cry. This will be over before you know it."

I brought the drill to his left eye, just as I had earlier, and brought it ever closer. White and red bits suddenly began flying and I heard his delicious scream. A laugh bubbled up from my throat, a dark, evil chuckle filling the air, heard only by Simon and myself. As I released the trigger on the drill, letting it power down, Simon's dreaming became hollow whimpers. I laughed, switching the power tool to my other hand casually. Pulling the trigger once more, he began screaming before I could even push it into his right eye. He tried to plead me to stop, but it came out as gibberish. I licked my lips hungrily, and drilled into his right eye, watching the pieces fly again.

Simon's Pov

The pain I felt was unbearable. I couldn't feel his telepathy in my mind, which hindered me from communicating with him. Anything I tried to say was stopped by not having a tongue. I watched as he casually tossed the drill into his right hand, bending low over me again. I screamed before he could even drill my right eye, but when it was over my world was black. I could only hear him. Something slimy ran across my painful, blinded eyes, and then I realized it was his tongue. I shuddered in his grasp, and felt the weight on the bed shift. Was he finally letting it end?

"Oh, no, not yet, little human."

I hated it when he called me that. I felt his slippery appendages slither over me threateningly, tightening on my arms and legs. I heard the drill power up again, and felt a claw rip down the center of my shirt. He pushed it away, and his hand pressed to the center of my chest firmly.

"I'm sure you know resisting is futile at this point… embrace the pain, human… these are your dues. Tenfold."

I managed to let out a weak whimper. Man, I sounded so fucking pathetic right now. I was supposed to be strong! Half-creeper! I had forgotten to ask Brina to make my vessel half-creeper earlier… but was that even possible anymore?

The searing pain cut into my lower stomach and I tried to wriggle free again, but to no avail. It only pressed harder, cutting through my skin, making jagged edges as he pressed through, moving the drill around. Not just holes, but deep valleys were cut into my abdomen. I heard his evil chuckle again as he stopped the drill, pulling it away from me. I felt him run a finger around the side of the large wound. It was crescent shape by the tracing, and I mentally cursed him repeatedly.

"Such a potty mouth… but I suppose you've had enough, no?" He laughed again. "Sleep well, little human."

By the sound of it, he tossed the drill on the bed next to me. I couldn't move from the agony burning throughout my body. I was blind and mute, and a large moon shape was cut into my abdomen.

Fucking bastard. Fucking jackass.

I heard the door shut and Brina's worried voice talking to Slenderman. He replied in a faked worried tone, saying I had gone insane and began cutting myself up, and he tried to stop me but accidentally made it worse. I heard her sobbing as she came into my room. Slenderman mentioned I had also cut my tongue out, showing her a bloody knife as proof.

"Oh, Simon, your poor thing… hopefully your sanity will be okay when I revive you."

I felt as if I was pulled from my vessel. I saw through Brina's eyes as she cleaned everything after healing the vessel. I saw the tongue return, and her crying lessened. I was back in the body again, and sat up slowly, feeling no soreness. I glared at Slenderman.

"Fucking hell, what did I do to deserve that, you prick!?"

Brina looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Now hold on, Sim—"

"You hold on, Brina! I did not kill myself and blind myself with that drill and I certainly didn't cut out my own tongue! It was all your bastard of a husband because I distractedly agreed to being his test subject earlier today when I didn't even know what I was agreeing to!"

I saw sympathy in her white glowing eyes, but not anger or anything else.

"Simon, you poor thing…"

"Enderbrina, I'm serious."

She sighed. "Alright. I'll talk to him about it. Now, go to sleep."

I sighed, laying me head on a pillow and pulling the comforters around me. She sang the lullaby, and I was out cold. I woke as she shut the door, however, and heard their conversation.

"Did you really hurt him like that with the drill?"

"My dear, I do not even know how to use such a contraption as that."

Fucking lying bastard. Well, as long as I pay attention to when he's in the room from now on, I won't fall prey to his mind games again. I sighed, I knew one thing for sure.

Inventing distractedly would lead to torture.

* O-O Uhh... wow, that was dark... but Simon's vessel is okay now! Yay! Well, uh anyway... favorite and review... until LeMafiaKreb and I finally start to post Flame-Born Shadows.*