Maria Goodwin

We were hanging out in the front room when Demetri returned from the spying mission Daniel sent him on. The little lizard creature crawled through the window and skittered over to Daniel Daniel picked him up and started speaking to the little guy in what I can only assume was the language of shoggoths.

“Tony, I need paper,” Daniel said.

I got him a pen and some paper and Daniel began listening intently to Demetri's incoherent gurgling hissing sounds as he sketched something on it.

“The little guy saw this symbol in there, “ Daniel said, handing me the paper. The symbol was an odd looking glyph, consisting of several overlapping squares, with a sharp looking S with a cross at each end of it.

“I'll look into it,” I told him.

“Go do your thing,” Daniel said, and Demetri scampered off back to the Monroe residence.

I retrieved my demon book, and started looking for the symbol while Daniel began lazily checking out the pictures again. It took a few minutes to find it, but I eventually located the symbol Demetri had described to Daniel. Or at least something close to it. I got up and approached Daniel.

“Uzilha,” I said. “The first lieutenant to Salazchia, the Daemon Lord of Malice.”

“The sin of wrath,” Daniel said. “If Monroe is associating himself with creeps like that, then Jacky boy's right to concerned.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “We should be worried.”

“Regardless, we need to wait for him to get back before we can bring him down,” Daniel said.

I joined Daniel in examining the pictures. One of a young lady caught my eye.

“She's cute,” I said, pointing her out to Daniel.

He looked at it for a moment.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “She has very nice-”

He suddenly stopped talking, and I saw his eyes widening.

“-Eyes,” He gasped silently.

He snatched up the picture and turned to face Kay, who was seated at the couch. He lifted the picture for Kay to see.

“This woman!” Daniel said. “Who is she!? What's her name!?”

Kay looked sadly at the picture for a moment before speaking.

“Maria,” he said softly, then added “Surname of Goodwin.”

“Surname,” Daniel said. “Is that her birth name or marital name?”

“Birth name,” Kay clarified.

“What's her marital name?” Daniel demanded.

“What makes you think she was married? “I asked.

“What was it?” Daniel said.

“Are you sure you want the answer?” Kay asked, the sad tone never leaving his voice.

Daniel remained still for a few seconds before he made up his mind, and nodded slowly. Kay nodded back, and gave his answer.

“After being wed to young David, Maria's last name became Malkator,” Kay said.

The picture slipped from Daniel's grasp, and I barely managed to catch it. I looked at it, and I finally saw what Daniel had. Her eyes. Their shape. Their color. Their lashes. Both Daniel and Eye had seen such eyes before.

“This is Ben's mom,” I gasped.

“Yes,” Kay said. “He did have his mothers eyes.”

I looked over at Daniel. There was a vacant look on his face, that lasted only a few seconds before his expression twisted into one of anger.

“Hey, man,” I said reassuringly. “You don't need to get mad about this.”

“His anger is understandable,” Kay said. “I've felt the same way many times. All those emotions. Fear. Confusion. Sadness. Grief. With the storm of conflicting feelings raging within your heart, anger will rise up to eclipse them all. Am I not wrong. Daniel?”

Daniel remained silent, but nodded slowly.

“You're not mad at me for telling you this,” Kay said. “You're mad at your own emotions.”

Daniel began breathing in and out slowly. It took about five minuted for him to calm himself. Usually his breathing exercises don't take nearly that long. When he had cleared his head, he took the picture from me and approached Kay, and took a seat on the ground before him.

“Tell me,” Daniel said. “Everything.”

“Very well,” Kay said. “I first met Maria when she was sixteen. She had dropped out of school and ran from home. Ran from the creature pursuing her.”

“Which one,” Daniel asked.

“The one you once called the Entity,” Kay said. “The Slender Man. When I met her, she told me of her plight. I gave her all the help and advice I could. But our ways eventually parted. Later on, she was assaulted by a group of Proxies led by Julius Strife. She thought she was gone. However, the descendants of Marshall Smith have a habit of performing over the top acts of heroism. David Malkator, descendant of the Vision and sentry of the Scions, intervened and sent Strife running home to his master.”

Kay paused and chuckled softly to himself.

“At least, that's how she described it to me, the next time we met,” he said. “Eventually, she and David were wed, and they had a child. I saw him as a toddler. He looked much like his father, but his eyes were unmistakably those of his mother. They settled down here in England, and tried to have a normal life. They made friends, put young Benjamin in school, and kept him safe from the horrors of the world. But it didn't last.”

“Phantasm?” Daniel asked.

Kay nodded.

“David Malkator was found dead, while their son was only 5,” Kay said. “The scene was made to look like a proxy attack, but Maria suspected foul play of another source. I agreed, as the Slender Man made a point of avoiding conflict with Descendants, unless provoked. So I agreed to look into it for her. After a few years, I acquired the truth. David was killed by his own brother in law, Carlton Kallaway. I tired to tell her, but by the time I made it back to her estate, she was already dead. The scene was gruesome. String penetrating her body implied the work of the Wooden Girl. Her son was nowhere to be seen. I didn't meet him again til nearly a decade later. He was a Martyr, by this point, working for the Archive.”

A tear dripped from Kay's eye as he recalled the encounter.

“He attempted to apprehend me. I managed to escape, but I see his father's fighting style in all his movements. Realizing his own weaknesses in order to exploit them in others. His father would have been proud, had Benjamin chosen a better side.”

“He did,” Daniel said. “It took him a while, but-”

“I know,” Kay said. “I've heard the stories. He broke away from his master. Discovered his powers. Fought against his darkness.”

Kay paused and breathed quietly, wiping his eyes.

“And he died a hero,” he sighed.

He took the picture from Daniel and gazed at it sadly.

“f only Maria could hear her son's tale,” he said.

Daniel remained quiet for a while, before getting up.

“I need to go for a walk,” he said.

He walked out the door. I decided to give Kay some space, and returned to the guest room to start typing this post. After I got the browser opened and logged into the blog, I saw Daniel's sword vanish from its place on the bed. He must have summoned it. I have no idea what he's gotten himself into, but I'm sure he'll be fine. Maria Goodwin isn't the only person I can see Benjamin in. Daniel has a lot in common with Malkator too. I know he can handle himself.

-Tony Helioson, signing off