Thorns And Poison

Made it to Sacramento. I found the Plague Doctor waiting on top of a hospital.

"I'm here to stop you," I said. It simply stared ahead, without paying any attention to me.

I drew my Wakizashi and charged. A bunch of red roots grew from the beneath me and entangled my legs. I turned to see that Ren was there. I hacked at the roots. He sprouted a thorn sword and ran toward me. I fought back, and we became locked in battle. While we were facing each other, the Plague Doctor began his job. A cloud of purple and green smoke billowed from his robes. I started coughing. Ren on the other hand, coated his mouth and nose with bark, and sprouted black leaves from his shoulders.

"What-?" I started to asked, but I had a coughing fit before I could finish.
"This poison only effects oxygen breathers," Ren said. "I can photosynthesize, making me immune. You, however, aren't so lucky."

I coughed some more. I was dying. The poison was too strong. Then I heard the other me inside my head.

Use the Plague Doctor's power, he said.
What? I asked. How are you talking to me?
We're the same person, he said. We share a unique bond. Now listen, you can use the Plague Doctor's abilities to create an anti poison to counter the poison you're inhaling. They'll cancel each other out.

I didn't no what to do, so I just tried thinking about the Plague Doctor. Nothing happened.

You have to let your adrenaline flow, the other me said.

I tried. I let myself get angry. And then I started feeling different. The poison's effect were wearing off. I had done it. My body was fighting it.

Good, the other me said. Now, kill Ren.
What!? I thought.
You have to, he said. You have no idea what he will become.
No! I thought. I can get through to him! I don't know what you saw him become, but I know I can prevent it from happening!

"Ren!" I said. "Don't do this! You don't have to help this creep!"
"Yes I do," he said. "In order to defeat Slender Man,  need to help my master."
"You're better than this!" I said. "I get that you were wronged by the Entity, but by doing this, you're just wronging others. You don't have to be a villain. You can fight Slender Man without putting innocent people in danger."
"Sh-shut up!" he demanded, clutching his head.
"There's still good in you," I said. "Please, help me stop all this."

He looked me in the eyes, and hesitated for a while. Then, a look of determination crossed over what could be seen of his face. He turned to the Plague Doctor. Both is arms turned to wood and expanded, and he attacked. He fought with the Doctor, but the Doctor started producing a new poison, one which Ren wasn't immune to. His leaves wilted and he collapsed. I charged at the Plague Doctor with my sword. He raised a snake shaped cane to defend himself. He started releasing more poisons.

"There's a difference between me and Ren," I said. "By mimicking your powers,I can adapt to your poisons."
"Not all of them," he hissed.

He released a new poison, one that I couldn't fight. I had to beat him before it finished me. My sword burst into flames, and I sliced through his cane, then slashed him across the face. His bird mask split in two and fell to the ground. What was beneath almost made me vomit. I can't even begin to describe what his face looked like. He vanished, and the clouds of poison disappeared with him. I had won. I ran over to make sure Ren was okay.

"What happened?" he asked.
"We did it," I said. "We beat the Plague Doctor."
"I see," he said, getting up and opening a portal into the Path Of Black Leaves. "For the record, this doesn't make us allies. I still plan to kill Slender Man, and I will not hesitate to destroy anything that stands in my way."

And then he was gone. As he left, shadows rose from behind me, and Bill appeared.

"You meddlesome bastard!" he hissed. I could see that the shadows that spread over more of his body.
"I can't just stand by and let you destroy the world," I said.
"You and that demi god have stopped six of my plagues," he said. "But I won't let you prevent the others!"

He summoned his sword and charged at me, but the other me decided to show up. He clashed with Bill, and he screamed in his face. I couldn't hear it, but Bill seemed to. He stumbled back, clutching his head in agony. It was as if he had focused the sound so that only Bill caught the full blast of it. As a matter of fact, that's probably exactly what he did. Bill faded into the shadows.

"You were a fool to let Ren live," he said to me. "The world would be better without him."
"I don't believe that," I said stubbornly. "Anyway, if you know how all of this goes down, why can't you step in and help more often?"
"Things are happening a little differently than they did for me," he said. "Besides, I have Emissaries to deal with. I'm sure you heard what happened to HELLFIRE, right?"
"Estren lost him," I said.
"He's been imprisoned inside the mind of one of the Game Master's servants," he said. "The plagues aren't the only thing going on right now. I have to go now. I trust that you can handle the grotesque." Then he vanished.

That's right. The Grotesque. The next location for me is the subconscious, on the 30th. I have to throw down with the Reverie.