Where, Oh Where Could He Be?

Poor Kallaway. It seems you've been seperated from Daniel. Where is he?

I know where he is. I know exactly where he is.

Now, before you jump to conclusions, I'd just like to state that I did not kidnap him.

Not that I haven't considered it...

He's in the captivity of someone else, and I can help you save him. For a price...

Tell you what; I'll help you save Daniel, if you help me infiltrate the Board. No questions.

What do you say? Sound fair?

Ren

Took a while, but we found him. Well, we found them first. A mob of people were shambling toward us from all directions in a zombie like manner, with thorns and roots protruding from their skin.

“What are they?” Diana asked calmly.

I hate that about her. I hate that about all Mercygiver wielders. No emotions. No fear. Even with these poor, mindless souls marching toward us with nothing but murder on their agenda, her words held no terror at all. Nothing but curiosity.

“These are his,” I said. “He did this to them. They aren't human anymore. Their only purpose now is to destroy.”

They started attacking. We cut most of them down before they just stopped in their tracks.

“What do you think of my Saplings?” he asked. He had been watching the whole thing from the top of a nearby building.

“I find you dispicable,” I told him. “Doing this to innocent people makes you no better than the Fears you so despise.

“And what about you?” he asked. “Would you care to compare your own actions to that of the Fears.” He reached into his coat andpulled out the piece I've been looking for. “How many people do you plan on killing to obtain the rest of these?”

“Only those who deserve it,” I said.

“Then what about that girl you're with?” he asked. “She deserves it. You plan to dispose of her as soon as she's no longer useful.”

“Silence!” I snapped at him.

“Hey, Wilted Rose!” he called to Diana. “He hasn't told you the truth yet, has he?”

I warped right up to him, Mercygiver in hand. A sword-like thorn sprout from his hand, which he used to parry my attack. He smiled and continued to speak to Diana.

“This Paradox has a list a mile long,” he said (totally exagerated, it's not mearly that long). “A list of people who have caused problems in his timeline. A list of people he wants to destroy before they get out of hand. You and I are both amongst that number.”

”Shut up!” I yelled, slashing at him.

He blocked my attack and snapped his fingers. The Saplings started moving again. He expanded one of his arms and swiped at me. I set my sword aflame and sliced through the wood. I made to attack him, but I found that he had bound my feet in roots while I wasn't paying attention. Damn it. All these years, and I still allow my anger to blind me. Sometimes I wish this stupid sword could dull my emotions a bit more than it already does. He opened a prtal into the Path Of Black Leaves and jumped through it. I vanished into the Godsway and appeared beside him in the Path. I swung my blade again. We clashed for a while. He's not as strong as he was in my own timeline, but he was still incredibly powerful.

We were a few minutes into our fight when I heard someone approaching. A group of Proxies pathing through. Ahe noticed them as well, and as they came into view, he ripped a handful of seeds from his body. I knew immediately what he was going to do.

“Get out of here!” I shouted at them. Even if they served the Slender Man, and didn't want that to happen to them.

He threw the seeds at them. They were unable to get out of the way in time. The seeds became embedded in their flesh, burying themselves deeper. They screamed as the sedds broke open and expanded inside of them. Roots and thorns burst from beneath their skin. The roots continued to burrow into their brains, destroying their minds and turning them into killing machines under His control.

They charged at me. I killed them quickly and turned back to him angrily.

“What kind of monster are you!?” I demanded.

“Do intend to tell me they were inncoent, and didn't deserve that faate?” he asked. “They served the Slender Man, for crying out loud.””Even the Willing don't deserve what you do to people!” I said.

“And you haven't done worse to people?” he replied. “Which of us the the bigger monster, I wonder.”

“I'm no monster,” I said, but I wasn't so sure of that.

“Oh really?” he said, showing me the item again. “How many lives would you be willing to trade for this thing. You don't even know what it is or what it does, and yet you would willingly kill to get your hands on it.””Shut up!” I snapped.

I used one of my powers. One that I'm not particularly proud of. It's... unpleasant, to say the least. The skin, muscles, and bones of my left arm all hardened, fusing together. Bark formed over it all, with sharp thorns penetrating through it. I expanded my forearm rapidly, covering the distance between us almost instantly. I pirced through his chest with my fingertips, causing him to drop the object. I grabbed it quickly and returned my arm to normal.

“How could you use my power!?” he demanded.

“I'm a Devil Killer,” I said. “I possess the abililties of every Fear I've ever encountered.””But I'm not a-” he started to say, before coughing up blood.

“Not yet,” I told him, raising my sword. “And when I'm finished here, you never will be.”

He didn't give me time to strike. His right arm morphed into wood and expanded to larger than any of the surrounding trees. He reached for me and began crushing me in his grip. I warped away and reappeared behind him. He spn around and swatted me with his giant hand, sending me flying through the forest. I got back up and warped back to the battlefield, but he was gone. I can't trace him. Not right now.

I'm returning to the Page. There's things I still need to do their. I have no idea what happened to Diana, and frankly, I don't care. Her death wouldn't matter to me much.

What's more concerning is the fact that Ren can creating Saplings now. He's not supposed to have that power yet. And how does he know what these things are? Marshall has some explaining to do.