"Welcome, my dear friends!" Zalgo greeted as the many proxies and instructors entered the large room, where the gatherings were always held. He was always in his human form during these things. His long, black hair was tied neatly into a ponytail. Like usual, he was dressed in long, black and red robes. Beside him, as always, was a very uncomfortable looking Shadowlurker, also in his human form.

"Welcome." Shadowlurker softly greeted. He was really loud around Jeff and the others, but was incredibly shy in large crowds. Many of the instructors greeted him as 'Young Master', and he wasn't fond of it. Zalgo had convinced most of the demons that Shadowlurker was his son, so the title stuck. As soon as everyone was there, Zalgo made an announcement.

"Thank you, my friends, for taking time out of your busy lives to come here! It means a lot. Now, as many of you may have heard, I have allowed those certain few to come this year. So please be nice to them and have fun!" Zalgo looked down at Shadowlurker, who was still at his side, and gave a kind smile. "Go on, my child. Be with your friends." Shadowlurker smiled and ran off.

"This is going to suck." Hoodie sighed. He looked over at Masky, who was shaking a bit. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Masky glanced around nervously.

"Are you...looking for someone?"

"I believe he's looking for me." The sudden voice made Masky yelp. "Wow. Why so jumpy?" Masky growled and turned to find The Observer standing behind him. "Hello, Tim."

"Kevin." Masky hissed.

"Ooh. No need to be so hasty. It's a party! Let's enjoy ourselves!" Observer grinned. He looked in another direction and sighed. "You'll have to excuse me, boys." Observer hissed and walked off. "Mr. Scars! We are not doing this tonight!" He yelled to a man, sitting in the corner.

"That's two out of seven." Hoodie chuckled. He looked around at the different groups. The Nether Proxies were spread around. The Cyber Proxies were close to each other. He chuckled when he spotted BEN and Jeff. BEN was flirting with a new Cyber Proxy, Leaf. It seemed to be working, as she was smiling and blushing. Jeff was having the opposite problem, trying to avoid the advances of a different Cyber Proxy.

"Come on, Hoodie. Let's join them." Masky walked off.

"Alright." Hoodie followed. He stopped when he noticed that Masky was wobbling a bit as he walked. ".....?" Hoodie worried for a second, then quickly shook his head. "Don't worry about stuff like that. It's a party." Hoodie laughed. But, his protective nature over Masky made him stay with his partner at all times.

"Three." Masky commented.

"Hmm?"

"Three out of Seven." He looked over at Firebrand, who seemed to be trying to stay away from the other Collective members.

"Poor boy...." Hoodie said. "He seems terrified."

"I think I'll go talk to him." Masky walked off. Hoodie gave a soft smile.

"He's just like you, Masky. A scared child locked away in the body of a demon. I hope one day, the both of you will be free."