Final Report

Subject: The Cold Seeker (Megan Jilees)

Age: 43

Affliction: Nightlander induced brain rewiring.

Symptoms: Delusions. Repeats certain events from her life before the affliction over and over again inside her head.

Treatment: None.  Experimental case untreatable.

Comments:  What you have just read was an account in her own words of what she currently imagines to be happening to her. It is understood that these events did in fact happen to her at the age of 12. There are records of a being known as "The Muffin Man". Other than these delusions the only other recorded encounter with him took place 18 years ago and he has disappeared from all records since then. Some of the events described in these delusions can be traced to coinciding reports such as the Bar incident. The Bar itself is of note as a rather infamous location though it was destroyed recently and has yet to be rebuilt.

Obviously some of the events did not actually happen and are most likely some form of defence by The Nightlander to hide the true events that took place at these times.

From the story and what we understand. This Nightlander is, for lack of a better word, a renegade. Hunted by his fellows. He has hidden himself inside this woman's mind.

How this woman came from the end she describes in her delusions to be found wandering alone and brought into our care is unknown.

Suggestions: More research into her history and any others who were mentioned in her story is required. Possibly tracking down more information on the being known as "The Muffin Man" is key.

Signed: Terrence Partrin, Ward B Attendant. (Fear Information Agency)

Passed as if through a dream...

The tower crumbled but we were fine and we were standing in the middle of a field now. We stayed silent the shadows were gone.

He finally spoke.

TMM: So... I suppose you have a few questions...

I shook my head. He seemed surprised.

TMM: What do you mean?

Me: I understand perfectly. You told me what happened already.

TMM: You don't even want to know about Markus?

Me: Not important.

TMM: Or who your brother is and why the shadows are after him.

Me: Not important either.

TMM: ...

Me: What is important is that I have my brother back.

I hugged him and he hugged me.

Then Everything is blank...

Journey's End

The Heart of Winter... But made out of shadows. There are human shaped patches of light in the shadows all watching me expectantly. The center. The Cold Boy's palace. I entered it's shadowy counterpart. There was no light and I could hear voices. I recognized The Muffin Man as one of the voices. The Other voice I couldn't recognize.

TMM: The Shadows are hunting you. You can't keep hiding behind Megan. She won't distract them forever.

Voice: (The voice sounded like something whispering while someone else spoke the same words at the same time normally) She will hide me for as long as I require hiding. My brothers will continue to follow her path. She will always lead them tantalizingly close but always away.

TMM: You sure about that?

Voice: Of course. I personally "Organized" her mind.

TMM: You know she was in their possession for a while...

Voice: What? Why didn't you inform me?!

TMM: Not my job to inform you on her whereabouts.

Voice: It is your job to inform me of their actions.

TMM: True... I guess I betrayed you. Probably because I don't like people messing with my sister.

At that moment light shone through and they both saw me at the same moment I could see them.

The Voice was "Brother" but I didn't notice I was too busy staring at my brother.

When you think your brother. the person closest to you, is dead and then you find out their alive you'd think you'd be happy. I guess it's not as happy a moment when you only recently saw your brother horribly murdering people. He stared at me for a few moments and the entire place shook. Shadows were edging  into the palace and it began crumbling as "Brother" sank into the ground disappearing. I paid no attention the the crumbling tower. I just removed the mask and held it out to my brother. He took it quickly and put it on without meeting my eyes. We stood still for a few seconds and then the entire tower crumbled around us.

Alone again

So I guess I'm alone again. Oh and yes I did just realize I ran quite far despite having a bullet in my leg. It's weird I can't feel it and it doesn't impede the movement of my leg at all. I tried to take it out but moving it caused it to start hurting so I just left it there. I've been heading in a random direction but I don't know it feels like the right direction. I feel like I'm being led by something. Occasionally I catch impossible glimpses of a huge tower made out of shadows in the distance and I know that's where I'm headed.

I wonder what will happen when I get there.

We'll see I imagine.

He lives on Drury Lane

The Muffin Man brought me into an alley way and then suddenly pushed me against the wall and threatened to stab me in the throat with his hands. I noticed that he continued to show no damage from contact with my skin. He waited. I knew he wasn't really going to kill me. He was trying to get "Brother" to come out. Obviously "brother" knew the same thing though since he didn't show up. He let me go a few seconds later with a sigh. Well they told me to try and threaten you at least once. I knew it wouldn't work. Now it's time to try things my way. Come on we're only a few steps from his territory. I asked him who "His" was and he told me it was The Angel. As soon as we exited the alleyway on cue a number of men with the triangle symbol showed up. They all had guns and were aiming at The Muffin Man. He simply bowed and stepped back. He was offering them to me. Immediately the thought occurred to me that he was seriously offering to let them kill me in the hope that "Brother" would come. A tiny voice told me he must have a plan in case "brother" doesn't come but I wasn't so sure. The guns shifted till they were pointed at me. They seemed hesitant but eventually one of them fired. The bullet tore into my leg and I fell to my knees. There was no pain. None at all. It was frightening I was so used to pain that this sudden absence terrified me. I saw The Muffin Man raise his head his entire body rigid with shock. More bullets launched at me and he lunged stepping in front of the bullets. At the same moment a shadow rose from the ground in front of us both.

I must have closed my eyes. When I opened them pieces of guns, bullets and bodies littered the ground around me. I was all alone. The Muffin Man's Mask lay on the ground near me. His body wasn't one of those on the ground. I was pretty sure he wasn't dead.

"Brother" had appeared and saved me again then they had both disappeared. I took the mask and ran back through the alley. No idea where I was heading just running for the sake of getting away.

The Muffin Man

I was walking with The Muffin Man with no clue of the destination. He was telling me about some boy who died recently of hypothermia on a playground somehow in the middle of summer. I wasn't really listening. I had been wondering something.

Me: What are you?

He stopped in the middle of describing the boy's mother's face at the hospital when they announced the boy was dead and turned his head to me.

TMM: I'm me why?

Me: No I mean what are you. You're obviously not human but I can't figure out what kind of servant you are.

TMM: What if I'm not a servant either. Maybe I'm one of the fears.

Me: No I don't think so you don't feel like them.

TMM: Hmm ok true. I guess I'm sort of a free agent or more accurately a meddler. I was once the target of one of the fears but managed to make a deal with them. If they let me live I would serve them. However the fear didn't want me as a servant but at that point a few other fears stepped in. They apparently came up with the idea of  well I guess you could call me a mercenary servant. A bit of power from a number of fears was given to me and I became the servant of all and none of the fears. I am the servant of whoever desires me first. At the moment I was hired to protect you although I will admit I have a personal interest in your protection as well.

I thought for a second.

Me: What's your interest?

TMM: I had a sister once who was taken from me by the fears. You're my chance to make up for losing her.

Me: You're cred as a horrible monster who viciously mutilates people probably dropped a little with that sentence.

TMM: Anyone who doubts my love of mutilation will learn how incorrect they are very quickly.

Me: So where are we going?

TMM: To find The Shadow of Anarchy. You call him "Brother".

Me: Why?

TMM: Well that's why I was hired to protect you. The Shadows want to find your "brother" don't know why and don't care.

Me: ... That body you left in the body bag. It looked like my real brother. It wasn't though right?

TMM: No. It's no coincidence he looked like him but it wasn't him. He died long before that man did.

Me: Alright... So why did he look like him?

TMM: Secret.

So we stopped for a rest. I'm writing this now then going to bed.  

A pint of beer and murder only $2.25

So I went into O'briens and rather quickly noticed that everyone there except one woman and three or so guys in the corner were servants of the fears. There were 2 guys with strings in them sitting with a rather normal looking guy. I'm assuming two dolls and and a willing. The place was crawling with Proxies I assume everyone else there was some kind of servant I didn't recognize. 

There were also three guys with the triangle symbol trying very hard to look inconspicuous as they stole glances at the human woman. I now know that the triangle symbol signifies The Angel. I quickly ducked into a booth against the wall so as not to be noticed by them.

I wasn't sure if I was among friends or enemies. I was technically a servant but quite a few of the fears including the one I was serving wanted me dead. So I wasn't sure how other servants would react to me. I knew The Angel followers wanted me dead though. I stayed seated and merely watched. At exactly 12:00 one of the proxies got up and walked over to the three human males. He said something and they visibly stiffened. They started to get up but in a single movement the proxy produced a knife and stabbed one in the throat. He turned to the other two but the willing doll produced two knives of his own and threw them hitting both the men in the forehead before the proxy could strike. The proxy turned and argued with The Willing Doll who just laughed at him. The woman was screaming and ran for the exit but was grabbed by The Angel guys and pulled struggling and screaming into the bars bathroom. They didn't come back out for a few hours. The woman never came back out. I watched all this with a cold detachment.

One of the proxies noticed me and sneered. "Heh look at that. This little girl over here. She sees a couple of her friends get murdered and brutalized and doesn't even react. What a cold little girl," He pulled a knife and came towards me "it's your turn now little girl." Apparently he thought I was also just a human. He learned pretty quickly that I wasn't. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me around. I instantly reached up and grabbed his face. He cried out and tried to pull back but I held him until he fell to the ground. The willing doll just chuckled but the others were all staring at me with shock. I wasn't sure why. I can't be the only servant of the boy they'd seen. The Angel's followers recovered first and one cried out. "It's her! It's the one we were told about!" One of the others looked at him then looked back at me. He pulled a gun and I merely watched him. I don't know why. I guess I somehow knew I wasn't going to die here. I had felt safe the whole time despite everything I knew and felt while there. It was at this point I realized why. One of my guardian angels was still watching me. A hand reached from behind the man and grabbed the gun from his hand in one quick movement and turned it firing into his chin. The body fell to the side revealing The Muffin Man standing there. The other two immediately backed away from him and The willing Doll jumped off his seat and quickly fled the bar. His followers ran as well and everyone else in the bar showed an immediate intense interest in their tables or drinks. The Muffin Man grabbed one of the Angel's followers by the neck and pulled him close just ignoring the other one. "Were you three about to hurt my little friend here?" He asked calmly.

The man shook his head wildly.

"I think you're lying." The Muffin Man said and promptly grabbed a nearby beer bottle and shoved it into the man's left eye. The man screamed in pain and raised a hand to pull it out but The Muffin Man stopped him. "Let me" He grabbed it and twisted it before pulling it down sharply. It broke in the man's eye socket and glass flew out. He then stabbed the broken bottle into the other eye. By now the other angel follower had run out. "Sorry I think I might have made it a bit worse..." The Muffin Man said in a voice that almost sounded like genuine regret. The man was screaming and thrashing loudly. "Hey friend you seem to have something in your eye." The Muffin Man stated. He was obviously enjoying his little jokes. The man reached up and pulled the bottle bottom out but couldn't remove the glass shards embedded in the socket of his other eye. Instead he merely scratched uselessly against it. He was probably crying but his tears were hidden by the blood running out of his ruined eye sockets. He seemed to be mad with pain. I told the muffin man to kill him. I couldn't stand it. The Muffin Man turned to me and spoke. "If you want him dead you do it. I'd rather leave him like this," He then simply dropped him to the ground and stepped back. The man curled into a ball still scratching uselessly at his ruined eye. "So you coming?" The Muffin Man asked me.
"Where?" I asked still staring transfixed at the suffering creature.
"To meet your best friend in the world"
"What?"
"You'll see" He says and chuckles. I followed him as I walked out not really sure what else to do.

I don't know what's going on anymore.