Uncontrollable

I'm starting to lose control of my vision. It's happened three times so far. The were all between now and my encounter with the Game Master.

The first vision was of the Game Master pacing around what I'm pretty sure was his thrown room. Two figures were kneeling before him. One was clearly the Red Joker. The other was a man wearing a black mask with a white question mark. I guess that was the Black Joker.

"They are amassing an army, sir," The Black Joker said.
"Let them come," The Game Master said.
"But sir-" The Red Joker began.
"I've waiting a long time to eliminate her," The Game Master interrupted. "Why shouldn't I have some fun with it. Let them gather as many soldiers as they wish. The will not be able to beat me."

That's when that vision ended. The next vision was of Quan. He was breaking into a weird looking building somewhere on the board. Te Five of Spades tried to stand in his way, but he got thrown aside like a rag doll.

The third vision was of Daniel. He was sparring with one of his friends.

"Why are you so focused on training," said another of his friends after taking a hit from a gravity bong.
"Because an Eldritch abomination wants to fight me," Daniel said.
"Don't tell me you're actually starting to believe all that eldritch bullshit," said one of the other guys.
"Well, I'm running out of other explanations for all the crazy shit that's been happening," Daniel said.
"And what makes you think you've got what it takes to beat him?" his sparring partner asked.

Daniel stopped fighting and went over to an old navy satchel sitting in the corner. He unzipped it and pulled out a wakizashi with duct tape covering part of the sheath.

That was my sword! The one I left behind in the Path Of Black Leaves! He has it! What the fuck!

um, anyway. Back to the vision.

"Where did you get that?" The stoner asked.
"Some weird old guy gave it to me," He explained. "It saved my life one time, and I'm confident it can do it again."

And then that vision ended.

First off, If the Game Master is that confident, I just have to surprise him. I won't lose.

Secondly, I don't know what the hell Quan's up to, but he'd better make it to the rendezvous point with the backup he promised.

Thirdly, I don't know how I was able to see into another world, but Dan had better take good care of my sword.

Also, I haven't read his blog in a while, so I decided to catch myself up.

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU FIGHTING THE ARCHANGEL!!??

AND WHY ARE YOU TRUSTING MARTYR BETA OF ALL PEOPLE!!??

I hope I get out of this world soon, so I can deal with this guy.

heart-to-heart

I'm doing this post in the form of a script because shut up.

Every one else was asleep. I was keeping watch. Crow decided to wake up and talk to me. He had some stuff on his mind.

C; Hey man.
M; What are you doing up?
C; Had some things I needed to get off my chest. Good thing I have a hundred and one internal alarm clocks.
M; Yeah, you can get away with calling them clocks, but heaven forbid someone says they're birds.
C; Very funny dude.
M; You're still upset about Alexis, aren't you.
C; I loved her.
M; Amazing how even someone without a heart can have feelings for someone else.
C; I may not have my own heart, but I have a hundred and one tiny hearts that beat three hundred and forty five times per minute.
M; Of course.
C; What about you? Do you still have a heart?
M; I'm not sure at this point. Maybe I do, but it doesn't feel like it.
C; HELLFIRE's gone, right?
M; It's not possessing me anymore, if that's what you're asking.
C; Then why are you still doubting yourself?
M; Because the stronger I become, the greater my darkness gets. I've been denying it, but I can't fool myself forever. My darkness has been growing since the beginning. HELLFIRE just sped up the process.
C; Darkness can be overcome.
M; Not easily.
C; Keep up the self hatred, and She'll get you.
M; You mean the Lamia, right?
C; I know you see her. She invades your reflection, does she not?
M; Yes.
C; You can't keep fearing your inner darkness. You'll have to come to terms with it eventually.
M; And what if I become a monster! If the darkness spreads too far, I'll be no better than the other Fears!
C; Then you'll need to find your own light.
M; And where do you suggest I look?
C; That's up to you. My light was extinguished recently. I may never be able to replace it.

His words reached me, loud and clear. I looked over to where Myrir was sleeping.

C; She cares about you, you know.
M; I know. But she's a proxy. I've sworn to fight her kind.
C; She became a proxy because of you. She didn't want to die by the hands of your true enemies.
M; My true enemies?
C; The Archive. You hate them more than anything, right?
M; How do you know all this?
C; Easy, I just read your fucking blog.
M; Right, that.
C; What happened to Damien?
M; Why do you ask?
C; He was in the Archive with you. A martyr. Did you ever see him again after that... incident.
M; I'd rather not talk about it.
C; There's something I need to tell you.
M; And what would that be?
C; The Convocation knows something about you and your powers. They won't tell me what it is, but I know it's important.
M; Is it about the Vision?
C; I don't know. They won't talk.
M; I'll find the answer myself then. And who know, maybe I'll find my light on the way there.
C; I'm going back to bed now. But first, There's one last thing I want you to know.
M; Yes?
C; I know we'll be marching into war soon, but try not to die. You still owe me a death match.
M; Sure thing. Just get in line behind Hiroshi, Ren and Quan.
C; Heh. See you later.

That was the conversation. I don't know if I'll be able to overcome the ever-growing darkness inside me. I don't know what the Vision is or what it has to do with me and the Game Master. But I have to keep going. I just hope I don't give in to the darkness before I find my answers.

Symbol

That Spade wouldn't answer any of our questions, so O'Zalia had to steal the answers from his head. We know where the Game Master's lair is. We're not going there yet. We need to prepare first.

We ditched the Spade and set off to meet Quan. I found something interesting on the way there.

It's the symbol on my mask. I'm sorry about how crappy that looks, but I've never been very good at MS Paint.

I saw that image burned into a wall. When I examined the burn marks, I realized they were radiating eldritch energy.

It was HELLFIRE who left that symbol there. But why? I don't remember having my mask out around him. how does he know what it looks like? Is there another meaning to this symbol?

HELLFIRE must know something. But what?

This Means War!

Mother Fucker! He killed them!

Okay, composure. We we on our way to go find O'Zalia and Ren. Then He showed up.

He appeared as an abnormally tall skeleton, draped in tattered clothing and a flowing black cloak. His face was concealed behind a whit mask displaying the symbols of the four card suits. He had a hostage. A girl about eighteen or nineteen. I didn't recognize her, but Crow obviously did.

"Alexis!" He cried. "Let her go, you bastard!"
"Now why would I take orders from someone who plots to destroy me?" The Game Master asked.
"You're one to talk," I said. "Didn't you bring me here to kill me?"
"I've come to make a bargain with you, Malkator," He said. Just then, thirteen figures surrounded us. They all had on spade masks. "Give yourself up, and I'll let all of your friends go. If you refuse, you will all die."
"Why are you so hellbent on killing me!?" I demanded.
"I seek to complete what I started several centuries ago," He said.
"The bloody hell does that mean?" I asked.

His cloak then changed. It dissolved into a swarm of bats before reforming itself into a massive black sword. Now I saw what Quan meant by shape-shifting bats.

He pointed the blade at me and said "I must eliminate what is left of her."

Before he could make another move, the Spades started fighting each other and giant bloody roots sprouted from the ground. O'Zalia and Ren had arrived.

There was a pretty big fight after that. I don't remember all of it. The Game Master and most of the spades retreated after a while. The Four of Spades was still with us, only unconscious.

I looked around the area at the aftermath. Crow was crying over Alexis's body. Lotus was helping to treat a wound on Sounds arm. Algeria lay dead a few feet from me, with Hiroshi standing over her. Ren was supporting a badly wounded O'Zalia while Myrir treated his injuries.

"I'm gonna make him pay for all this," I said. "I'm gonna go settle the score."
"But we were ordered to prevent you from facing him," Myrir said.
"Doesn't matter now," O'Zalia said. He was looking over at Sound. "The two of them have already met. The best we can do now is help Malkator defeat him. Besides, I have to make him pay for hurting my minions."
"And how do you expect to help me in your condition?" I asked.
"My powers are thought based," O'Zalia said. "I don't need my body to fight."
"You can count me in too," Ren said. "This asshole wasted my time with this lousy tournament, when I could have been out fighting the tall bastard."
"Defeating the Game Master was my reason for coming here in the first place," Hiroshi said.
"What about you?" I asked Crow. He stood up, shaking. He turned to me, tears still in his eyes.
"The Convocation is dying to sink their talons into this guy," He said. "And I feel the same way. I'll make him suffer for what he did to her."
O'Zalia then turned to address Myrir, Sound and Lotus. "I want you three to bring their bodies back to the human world. They deserve to be delivered to their families."
"I'm not just gonna leave you all here to fight alone!" Myrir said. "I'm staying."
O'Zalia chuckled. "I didn't even need to read your mind to know you'd say that," He said. "You can stay if that's the case. Sound, Lotus, you two go."

Before leaving, Sound traded his weird looking sword for Myrir's laptop.

We're gonna interrogate the spade once he wakes up, then we're gonna go meet Quan at the rendezvous point.

Get ready, Game Master. We're coming for you.

My Back Hurts

Which is probably because of the knife that was stabbed into it earlier. Long story short, we were attacked by a couple of spades. We all made it out alright. We're hiding right now. Hopefully they won't find us for a while.

So where was I? Right after the fight with HELLFIRE and the Ace of Spades.

After we got out of there, we started searching for Quan. We found him eventually. We approached him, hoping we could get him on our side.

"Quan!" I called out. "I need to speak with you.
"Well, if it isn't Malkator," He sneered. "Have you regained your powers yet?"
"I'm not here for a fight," I told him. "I'm trying to stop the Game Master, but I can't do it alone. This isn't easy for me to ask, but would you be willing to help out."
"Depends," He said. "Who's in on this besides you and- wait, aren't you Ayeru Matsukoya?"
"I ditched that name years ago," Hiroshi said. "I go by Hiroshi Isamu now. Have we met before?"
"I saw you a while back on assignment," Quan said. "You're pretty infamous. So, would any one else be helping us, 'cuz I highly doubt that the three of us could defeat the G man himself. I've seen him in action, and it is not pretty."
"You've seen him?" I asked. "What does he look like?"
"Big skeleton with tattered clothes," Quan said. "Followed by a swarm of shape shifting bats. Wears one of those funny masks. Made mince meat out of a couple of Oathbreakers a few days ago. You really want to fight this guy?"
"Do you know of any others who could help?" Hiroshi asked.
"I know a SMSC agent and a Nest who might want in on this, but the other members of my group were sent here for the sole purpose of preventing contact between me and the Game Master. They might need some convincing."
"Well, I think I can round up some troops," Quan said. "Just give me some time."

So, we got Quan on our side. We agreed on a meeting place. We're actually gonna be going there soon. Any way, we split up with Quan and went to find the others.

On our way, we came near the store that Eight worked at. There was a girl working hard repairing it. I could tell by the symbols on her mask that she was the Six of Diamonds.

"She seems dedicated to repairing the place," Hiroshi stated.
"She has a good reason to," said another voice. I turned to see an old lady with a Three of Hearts mask watching us. I was prepared to attack when she spoke again. "I'm not here to fight you, Benjamin. I'm just here to watch her."
"Why?" I asked.
"She loves Estren, and would do whatever she can to help him," She said.
"Estren?" I asked.
"The name which the Eight of Clubs went by when he was human," She explained.
"Human?" I asked.
"We were all human once," She said. "Until William Timerus became the entity known as the Game Master. He selected 54 humans to become his servants. We've all but lost our humanity. Some of us, like the Jokers, are practically monsters."
"That gives me all the more reason to hate this guy," I said.
"He is powerful," She warned me. "If you seek to fight him, it could be the end of you. Especially considering who you are."
"What do you mean?" I demanded. "Are you saying that there's some kind of connection between me and the Game Master?"
"The Game Master brought you here for a very specific reason," She said.
"And what reason would that be?" I demanded angrily.
"He wants you dead," She said. "He wants you dead for the same reason the Blind Man and Slender Man want you alive."
"What are you talking about!?" I shouted. "What reason are you talking about?"
She removed her mask and looked at me sadly with her bright blue eyes. "The Vision," She said, before vanishing.

Just great. This weird lady left me with more questions than answers.

We kept searching and eventually found Crow. He had somehow managed to piss off the Red Joker. We went to help him out. We got in a little over our heads. You know those cards she was shuffling in my last post? They have magic powers. She used a card called "The Polymer" on Crow. It fused him together with the Convocation inside of him. He basically turned him into a bird-person. Then she used a card called "The Manipulator" to brainwash him. I had to fight him while Hiroshi battled the Red Joker. I didn't see Hiroshi's fight, but he managed to beat her and steal some of her cards. I knocked out Crow and we high tailed it out of there. We looked through the cards and found one called "The Dis-Enchanter" which removed the effects of the "Polymer" and "Manipulator". We got seven other cards as well. We have "The Polymer", "The Stone Hands", "The Sword Of Damnation", "The Iguana", "The Giant", "The Dark Dream", and "The Opossum". I only know what two of our cards do, and I don't feel like testing the others out any time soon.

We regrouped with the others, and that just about covers every thing. Myrir isn't happy about me trying to kill the Game Master, but I think she knows that she won't be able to stop me know. Which reminds me, I should add that Queen's song to my youtube favorites. Back on topic, we're going to go meet up with Quan. I don't know where Ren and O'Zalia are, but I hope they don't interfe-

Spoke to soon. Alexander just spotted a tree-guy and a white-haired man with a glave. Myrir insists that we go see them.

Damn it. I hate awkward reunions.

Continued

Time to pick up where I left off last time.

"Why do you need my help?" I asked.
"The Mistress has sent me here on a mission," He explained. "I'm supposed to rally any remaining competitors I can find in order to form an army to destroy the Game Master."
"So the Wooden Girl wants him dead too, huh?" I asked.
"She has her reasons," He said. "How much do you know about him?"
"Not much," I admitted. "Anything you can tell me?"
"Sadly, no," He confessed. "She has kept me in the dark on his history. So, would you be willing to join me?"
"Let's get something straight, Hiroshi," I began. "You lied to me, betrayed me, and tried to kill me. I saved your sorry ass on more than one occasion, and you still tried to take my life. And to top it of, you serve what might be the most malicious Fear of them all. However, this Game Master guy is ten times worse than you'll ever be. I'm willing to side with you this once, but after that, we go back to being enemies. Got it?"
"Yes," He said. "And there's something else you should know. I never thought of you as my enemy. When I fought you that day in the Path of Black Leaves, I was given no other choice then to try and kill you. The Mistress has ways to get people to do what she wants."
That brought up a question that had been bugging me for a while. "Where's Reika?" I asked.

He said nothing. He just closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't need to speak. I could tell what happened. He was assigned to kill me, O'Zalia, and Ren. He had failed, and the Wooden Girl had punished him for it.

"I have one more question," I said.
"And what would that be?" He asked.
"Do you and your Mistress honestly believe that a rag-tag team of servants and Demi-God's are a match for a Fear?" I asked.
He started laughing at that. "Have you honestly been led to believe that the Game Master is a full-fledged Fear?" He asked.
"What are you implying?" I demanded.
"I don't know all the details about him, but I can guarantee that the Game Master is not a Fear," Hiroshi replied. "As I matter of fact, there's a good chance his origin's are similar to yours."
"Then all the more reason for me to confront him," I said, putting on my mask. "There's an Enhanced nearby here. He would make a valuable ally, except for the fact that we kind of hate each others guts."
"Quan?" He asked.
"Quan," I confirmed.

So we agreed that we should at least try to get Quan on our side. If things went down hill, we could probably take him.

Unfortunately, we ran into someone else before we could find him.

She was a young woman wearing (very) tight clothing with long purple hair pulled into a braid. A black mask which displayed a backwards red question mark. She was shuffling a deck of cards and speaking to a figure I recognized to be the Ace of Spades.

I wanted to stay hidden, but then I heard her yell "I know you're there, Benjamin. Why don't you come out here. And bring your puppet friend with you."

She had a really annoying, taunting voice. We stepped out to meet the two of them.

"Hello," She said. "I believe you've already met the Ace of Spades, correct?"
I nodded.
"My name is the Red Joker," She said. "I'm sure you want to know why I want to speak with-"
"I can see your nipples," I interrupted.
"W-well then avert your X-ray vision!" She demanded.
"I'm not even using my vision," I informed her. "There right there! Why are your clothes so tight? And why are they hard?"
"My patience is growing thin with you, boy!" She hissed angrily.
"I'm sorry," I said. "Did I give the impression that I give a damn about your patience?"
"Enough!" She shouted. "I know that the two of you are plotting to destroy my master. Ace of Spades, kill them!"

Then she vanished and the Ace of Spades attacked us. That guy was ridiculously fast. Hiroshi and I would've died if HELLFIRE hadn't saved us.

Allow me to repeat that last part; HELLFIRE, the mother fucking Dying Man, saved us. He appeared before the Ace of Spades and stopped his attack with his flaming cutlass.

"Brother?" the Ace of Spades asked. "Is that you?"
"I'm sorry," HELLFIRE replied. "The Eight of Clubs isn't in right now. Can I take a message?"
"Y-you bastard!" the Ace of Spades yelled.
"Hasn't your mother ever washed your mouth with soap before?" HELLFIRE asked. "You need to put a nickel in the swear jar young man."

Their fight lasted long enough for us to fade the fuck out of there. So now the two of us had the Deck of 54 to worry about.

Well, I'm gonna wrap this up here for tonight. I'll continue later.

I'm Back

And I've had a hell of a time. I'm only gonna post half of what happened to me right now. I'll finish it up later.

You all so Crow's posts, so you know how it all started. It was kind of a blur for me. Seriously, having your consciousness pushed into the back of your head while an evil entity takes over your mind body and soul is not pleasant.

Eight chased my body for a few hours before HELLFIRE decided to stop and confront his adversary.

HELLFIRE drew my cutlass and raised it. I'm not sure how I did it, but I regained control just long enough to let go of the hilt and let the sword clatter to the ground.

HELLFIRE took over the body again and tried to retrieve the sword, but Eight got to it before him. HELLFIRE summoned my arm-blades and set fire to them.

Oh yeah, the fire. I should probably explain that. I'm not sure how it works, but I think HELLFIRE was able to combine my eldritch energy with it's own to form a different kind of energy. And that energy can set things on fire. I think that's also the reason my eyes turned yellow when it was in control.

Then Eight did something interesting; He removed his mask. His face was pretty normal. He looked completely human. Then his mask transformed into a shield. Yeah, I guess members of the Deck can do that.

I don't remember much of the fight, but I remember how it ended. Eight managed to get close to my body and I felt HELLFIRE being ripped out of me. As it happened, my left arm-blade dissolved into nothingness. He managed to pull HELLFIRE out of me, but it managed to take some of my energy with it.

"What did you do?" I asked him.
"I've taken your burden for myself," Eight said.
"But you can't control something like that!"
"Don't underestimate the Deck," He replied. "I may not be physically strong, but I won't give up my mind to this fiend."
"Why?" I asked. "Why would you do this?"
"You saved my life before," He said. "I'm simply repaying my debt."

And then HELLFIRE took over. I could tell because his eyes turned yellow with slit pupils. He set the sword on fire and charged at me. I dodged his attacks. I couldn't risk him coming into contact with me.

This went on for about a minute before Eight regained control. He said not to underestimate his control, then he vanished.

So there I was, separated from the others in an unfamiliar domain ruled by a malicious and sadistic bastard who likes to play games with people.

I wandered around for a while before finding something pretty cool. You know how some video games have  bonus items hidden in various locations? Well, it turns out that the Game Master hid a few prizes throughout the Board. And I had found one of them.

It was a mask. Solid white, with no eye holes or straps. It was levitating over a small pool underground. I reached for it, and as soon as My skin brushed against it, a symbol appeared on it's blank surface. It resembled an eye with no irises and a very large pupil, an it was surrounded by swirling lines. I guess that's my symbol now.

I turned it over in my hands and examined the other side. It was see through. That explains why Eight could still see with his on. I lifted it to my face and it stayed there without falling.

Before leaving, I decided to examine my reflection in the pool. I saw her. The Mother Of Snakes. I left immediately. My own self loathing had drawn her to me.

I found out some other interesting things the mask is capable of. For one thing, it can access the internet. I just think of the website I want to go to, and it takes me to it. I can't log into anything though. That's why I haven't been able to update the blog at all. I can also track down any competitor in the tournament.

I found the others and left them a message warning them about HELLFIRE. I couldn't get close to them yet. I had something I needed to take care of first.

I began seeking out the Game Master. I wanted to defeat him before the tournament could get any worse. Then I ran into an old friend.

"Hello, Malkator," He said to me.
"Hiroshi," I said. "I didn't know you were a competitor."
"I'm not," He said. "I was sent here on business."
"To kill me?" I asked.
"To ask you for help," He replied.



CLIFFHANGER!!!! That's right, I'm wrapping it up here for tonight. Enjoy the suspense, bitches. And by "Bitches" I mean "The Dying Man".