You've Missed Mouthy

Freelanceing Interruptions

(Ticci Toby's POV)

     I couldn't have been more excited, skipping behind Masky on our way to the kitchen. 'I'm going to finally get a partner and not be stuck with these masked jerks.' Hoody and Masky aren't as sweet as Sally believes; nor are they as shy as everyone takes them for. But I know better, smirking behind my mouth guard. My arm tingles, twitching violently as we turn the corner. I ram my shoulder into the wall, frowning at the noise it made. Cussing, I draw Masky's gaze. He puts a finger to the black lips on his mask, hushing me.     "I didn't do it on purpose-" I growl, but Masky cuts me off with another hush. Causing me to listen intensely, which didn't last long as my own voice echos questions in my head. Biting my tongue I hear a small giggly voice down the hall towards the kitchen.    "I hear Ben..." Masky hisses. "He doesn't eat, so there's someone he's talking to."    "I doubt it's Hoody, he'd kill the elf. But I guess that's not an issue for the ghost." I snicker, as Masky pulls a hand to his forehead.     "Mouthy warned me Jack would be eating late too. I shouldn't have just taken it as an observation." He sighs, putting his hands in his pockets. "We'll need to play this off like just a normal mission, act casual and we'll get Hoody then leave." He shoves the command in my face, watching me nod in reply as I roll my shoulders. The cracks from my neck bounce off the empty walls, 'Oh, how I love that noise.' I hear Masky scoff at me, walking towards the kitchen doors with his shoulders slouched and head hung low. Masky's preferred "camouflage" is to emit a depressing aura to unnerve his victims and make them lose themselves to fear and confusion. Really smart actually, because no one messes with him. Except me but that's because it unnerves him instead.     I throw my head back, raising my brows and smiling wide. I skip past Masky, kicking open the doors dramatically. My gaze lands on the blonde boy leaning on the edge of the table, His eyes darting to me as I burst through the doors. Mouthy was right about Jack eating at this hour, because he too turns his maskless face in my direction. His "dinner" caught in between his teeth and a book in his left hand. I ignore Ben's glare, casually breaking contact with the red orbs rotating in his head. I saunter over to the large metal fridge, throwing it open to look at the contents. However, I force my focus to be on the rest of the room instead of the nagging feeling to eat something. Ben continues his rant to the cannibal, who seems to ignore every word spoken. Dragging footsteps scrap the floor over to the other side of the room where Hoody must be seated. I flick my head to look over my shoulder, seeing Masky sit next to the over masked boy and sending me a look. 'I don't fully understand why, but the three of us can look at one another and know exactly what they want.'  I've never met with the other proxies, so I'm not sure it's the same with them.     I reach my arm into the fridge, pulling out a plastic container with unknown contents. I jerk my head to the side, cracking it as I walk over to the other two. Hoody's fabric mask is rolled up to his nose, revealing only his mouth as his drinks down the broth of hot soup. Masky taps his fingers on the table, lightly gaining the attention of everyone. Ben slows his conversation, honing in on ours. Jack too lowers his book with some interest. 'Why are they so interested in what we do? Our job's not really that interesting.'  I sit down at the metal table with the other two proxies, spinning the plastic container towards Masky. He open's it, exhaling slowly.     "Cheesecake? Really?" He growls at me as Hoody smirks.     "I didn't look inside." I roll my eyes, still not knowing why we have cheesecake in this place, no one eats it. It's makes for a bad workout and horrid gas, not at all enjoyable. Masky puts the lid on the container, pushing it back to me. Hoody picks up his empty bowl, snatching up the cheesecake before walking over the the large sinks. He gently puts his bowl on the bottom, then throws the container back into the fridge. Knowingly grabbing a handful of protein bars from the cabinet, Hoody returns to throw a bar to both of us before shoving the rest into his pocket.    "What tonight's mission?" He mutters quietly, stuttering as Ben's ranting comes to a complete close. "I-I figure thats why you c-came down here." Hoody pulls his mask back down over his mouth, lowering his head slightly. The yellow proxy's way of "camouflage" is acting pathetic and weak, it makes his victims cocky and ignore his power until he strikes. Like a small poisonous frog, I tease him about being so cute.     "Ya, it's a... new training routine." Masky carefully picks his words, knowing we're under observation. Jack finishes eating, closing his book and walking his bloodied plate to the sink. Ben picks up the blue mask, handing it to the eyeless boy. They casually exchange glances, walking towards the doors after deciding to leave.     "Interesting way of wording things, Masky." A voice rings from the now open doors, stopping the other two killers and pulling a smile to my face. 'Oh no, this is going to be a party...' I turn my head to see Jeff, hands on both doors and announcing his arrival with an accusing glare. "Not like you have any reason to keep secrets from us. You said that, right?"     "Jeff..." Masky growls in warning, but he's cut off.     "Oh don't 'Jeff' me. I've been frustrated over this complex proxy system and it's giving me the biggest headache!" Jeff lets go of the doors, gripping his skull. "She mocked my past! She called us worthless. Hell, she jumped out the damn window!"     "She?" Ben chirps in, a smirk on his lips. Jeff's eyes fall on the other two freelancing murders, having not noticed them before."I want to hear more about this 'she,' don't you Jack?"     "Don't drag me into this." Jack shakes his head at Ben, simply wanting to leave and go upstairs to his room. "I've got things to do."    "No one is leaving until I get my answers." Jeff growls, his gaze locked onto Masky. "Better start talking unless you want to miss your appointment." My neck and shoulders tinkle, I twist to crack them as I step closer to Jeff.    "I've been patient for awhile, just for this. Jeff, don't make me wait any longer." Unlike Hoody and Masky, I dropped my annoying camouflage to properly threaten the pale boy with a deep and menacing voice.     "I'm not here to deal with you, twitch. I'm sure your friend won't miss you too much." He talks down to me like he would a child, causing me to clench my fists. Breathing in and out to calm myself before I lunge at his stained sweatshirt.     "Toby..." Masky growls at me, dragging my eyes to his. That proxy-mental-connection-thing I mentioned earlier still works flawlessly as I clap my hands together like a beggar, earning a confident nod from the white mask. A wide smile sits under my mouth-guard as I crack my neck, running at Jeff. He reaches into his pocket to grab his knife, but I lock my arm with his. Pulling his arm back, I listen for the knife to clatter to the floor. Kneeing his stomach so he'll keel over, I then slam my elbow into the back of his neck before kicking him to the floor.    "Whoa..." Ben whispers in awe, silently staring at Jeff's stunned form.     "Want to be next?" A glare at him and Jack, ready to take both of them out the moment Hoody or Masky says so. But, I feel a hand touch my shoulder and Masky's voice in my ear.     "Ben, Jack. We have business to take care of and won't be back for a few weeks. When Jeff comes to his scenes tell him not to chase after information any longer. Understand?" Masky finally drops his act, commanding them to hear his order. Neither of them nod.    "What information?" Jack asks, not moving an inch.    "Exactly." Masky turns around to walk away. 'I think he actually wanted to know what was going on rather than making a smart-ass reply but whatever.' I internally shrug, following Hoody and Masky out of the room. For the second time we leave confused and curious people behind us, I know full well that they'll follow us but Masky is far too stressed to think straight. He seriously needs to go workout. ~^~^~    We reach the staircase leading into the dark basement. The concrete under our feet is cracked and crumbles as we walk. Small rocks embed themselves in my shoes, scrapping on the remaining steps and making me the loudest proxy ever. Hoody sends me a glance, telling me to not drag my feet. He walks away from me as I brush the rocks out quickly, running on my toes to catch up. 'Damn those two, they treat me like a child sometimes. Just cause I can still remember parts of my past and they can't...' I growl to myself, wading through the dark space around us. 'When are we going to be there? How long can this hallway possibly b-' My thoughts are interrupted by a thick thump in front of me, sounding only a moment before I ram into Hoody's back.     "Why'd we stop?" I whisper in confusion, earning no response from either of them. Taking the hint, I shut my mouth and try to find what has them frozen. 'Nothing'    "Masky says they should be here, but he can't tell if they are." Hoody leans toward me muttering through his mask.    "Mouthy said she'd be here, she has Kate too. We need to hurry before Jeff wakes up and decides it'll be more fun to tail us." The white mask flicks around to look at us, anger clear in his voice as he continues to stomp down the black hallway. *Buzz*    The lights hum to life, momentarily blinding me. Masky, Hoody, and myself groan and cup gloved hands over our eyes.     "Dammit Toby!" Hoody growls deeply through the fabric on his face.     "Hey, how was it me? I didn't know there were lights down here." I hiss in defense, earning myself a smack on the head from Masky.     "Enough, you two are like children." The white masked boy walks to the center of the room.     "...and you aren't?.." I whisper so he can't hear me. My shoulder twitching as I stand up. Silent footsteps click towards us, drawing our attention to the still black corner.     "...Early?" An deep hiss sharply pierces my ears. I turn my own confused mask to the two girls exiting the darkness, their white faces illuminated in the light. The one who spoke tilts her head, hissing again. "Ready?" Her mask has holes ripped open for both eyes and her mouth, smaller holes poked through the plastic to speckle her face, revealing her soot covered flesh and the grey eyes that glare at me as she squints in the light.    "We're here the time Mouthy told us, all we need to do is wait for Slender and the newcomer." Masky looks loyally at the others, recalling the times he had been assigned to work with them. While I am still entranced by their appearances. 'I've heard Hoody complain about working with Kate, saying she was too excitable and wanted nothing more than to beat their target into a bloodied mess. Apparently she's really fast, noisy but effective, makes the whole 'Chaser' thing make sense.' I stare at the stained hoodie on her body, once white but is now speckled with oil and blood. 'Earlier when Mouthy jumped out the window, she became the number one bad-ass in my book.Now she has competition.' I smile at the grey hooded girl, her arms at her sides as she stands slightly behind Kate. With her hood lightly lowered, I can't read any emotion on her body. But mysterious-proxy-brain-waves say somethin... odd. Telling me she wants attention on her but also isn't used to it at the same time. 'Could she...' I began to wonder if she could be lonely, but she's had Kate with her, right? So, she must be perfectly fine. But part of me, the part that doesn't usually talk unless I let them, the voices part. They told me otherwise, saying that both girls look mentally unstable, or unhealthy. I can't tell their weight because of their sweatshirts, but judging by their posture and the thickness of their legs, they actually look... more fit than we are.     While I catch myself staring, Mouthy and Kate look at one another with a speed I'd only seen Masky and Hoody use right before they were going to be..."Not... alone." Kate growls deeply....caught.    "Masky!" That isn't a happy Jeff we hear, but it is the pale faced orphan. "I'm going to kill you and Toby the moment I find you." His hissing grows more dark, his feet scraping the crumbling stairs. His stomps are laced with the rocks now in his shoes, and if I listen closely I can hear his heavy breathing. The girls scamper back into the dark hallway, leaving Masky to drag me to the wall closest to the entry. Hoody crouching on the other side of the doorway, none of us move. Jeff clomps towards us, growling and rubbing his knife. Every small noise becoming amplified in my ears, drowning the urge to rush him, axes freshly brandished. Masky waves his hand frantically, waiting for me to move back. His eyes locked in the opposite side of the room. The dark hallway.    "You're mine!" I look back to see Jeff pinning Hoody against the wall. "Where the hell is Mouthy-"     "Jeffery!" The voice of Slender reverberates around us, but as I flip around to see him, I'm unable to find the tall faceless man. Hoody falls to the floor with a thump, standing up as Jeff eyes the dark tunnel.     "I hear you, Lip-less. How about you show me that white face so I can torture you to my heart's content." Jeff's monstrous smile stretches to the sound of clicking feet running towards us. "That's right, come to papa." His curdling whisper falls off his tongue, mixing eerily with the distant... panting?     "Toby step back." Masky and Hoody knowingly flatten themselves against the wall. Hearing the unfamiliar growls, I decide to join them. Cussing at the sound as Jeff prepares to plant his knife into Mouthy's chest.