Jegus, I'm writing backstory for this fanfic and it's huge.
In another part of town, as the one known as ToonyMan was receiving a letter with a piece of his hair attached, a younger man was busily getting ready to leave his humble home and trek up the mountain.
Having already received an identical letter (the man was in a district of town that got its mail several hours earlier, of course), the young Jokerman-EXE was more than a little put off by the "attachment" on his letter: a small photo that was sticking to the letter via tape, Jokerman-Exe pulled it off. It was a perfect picture of him. The young man sighed as he turned the photo around, revealing his name. So this was truly meant for him, then.
He had finally prepared his gear and gone up the mountain, his midnight black speeds car roaring upwards at a breakneck pace. Jokerman-EXE had always been pretty daring; some days, it turned out better than others. He reached the cabin in the woods as ToonyMan was just starting his car up - a trip for ToonyMan that was destined to be cut short by engine failure. Jokerman-EXE stepped out of his car and looked around the small clearing; there was no one else here. Now that he thought of it, he wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but an empty lot with a cabin one step away from being an ex-cabin was not high on his list. The atmosphere around here was much too suffocating.
Then he heard a shifting in the bushes behind him. Jokerman-EXE stiffened and turned slowly, but (to no one's surprise) there was nothing there. He opened his mouth, undoubtedly to utter the phrase, "Probably nothing but the wind," but before he could tempt fate any further, there was another rustle nearby. Turning towards it, Jokerman-EXE groaned and said, "Look, I'm really not in the mood for this. If you're gonna gore me and leave my corpse in the forest, can you at least do me the courtesy of hurrying up? Else, I'm going home."
Silence in the clearing for a few seconds before the rustling, slower this time, resumed. A hand emerged from a bush, pointing at Jokerman-EXE and gesturing him over urgently. Curiosity and impatience outweighing fear, Jokerman-EXE went over to the bush and, with only a slight hesitation, ducked under and around it.
In the small clearing under the bush and between those around it, another man was huddled, looking around furtively. "You all right?" Jokerman-EXE asked, concern rising, but the man shushed him violently. Rocking back on his heels, Jokerman-EXE waited.
"I'm RedWarrior0," the man said quietly, looking around as he spoke. Why was he so paranoid? "I've been here for a while, but I don't like to let people see me. Too much of a chance. They might kill me. So I just lurk around here." Indeed, Jokerman-EXE had seen the man around, but they had never really spoken; RedWarrior0 always disappeared before anything could happen. He was an urban legend back in town.
"Nice to meet you, I guess," Jokerman-EXE said, edging away, "but are you here because of a letter, or is that just me?"
"Shh, shh!" RedWarrior0 said, looking at Jokerman-EXE like he was a fool for even opening his mouth when there could be someone around. "Yeah, I got a letter. Haven't decided if I want to stick around or not yet, though. I might just avoid this one. Doesn't really catch my interest."
"Yeah," said Jokerman-EXE, looking at his car and debating leaving as well. "I might...huh?" When he turned back, RedWarrior0 was already gone. Damn. Jokerman-EXE walked back into the clearing, now pretty well confused. Nothing for it but to check out the cabin, then. He opened the door; it was, of course, unlocked, and creaked as though it was the gate to Hades. Sighing at his own stupidity for even remaining up here, Jokerman-EXE stepped inside.
Within, he saw a surprisingly clean living room, and a clean kitchen. As he was about to look up the stairs, he heard a rattling in the kitchen that made him freeze. This was too much for his nerves, really.
Before he could move, however, a man emerged from the kitchen, a newly-made sandwich in his hands. "Oh!" said the man, who was much older than Jokerman-EXE, though he acted very youthful "You're the first one here, huh? I'm Solifuge. I teach down at the University in Parcville." Jokerman-EXE introduced himself hesitantly, and Solifuge continued merrily on without noticing Jokerman-EXE's confusion. "Nice to meet you, sir. Isn't it a nice day? I'm just thrilled: I got an invitation to come here, but no one was here and I thought I'd be alone and I was hungry so I made a sandwich and then you walked in and must have heard me because I was making no effort to be quiet but now that you're here would you like half of my sandwich it's ham and cheese with mustard on wheat because there was no rye like I usually have but - "
Jokerman-EXE held up a hand to silence Solifuge; not just because the bastard really liked to talk, but because he had heard something outside. "Come on," Jokerman-EXE hissed, grabbing Solifuge's hand and pulling him out the back. Soon after, he heard two people enter the house and begin poking around. Solifuge remained enthralled in his sandwich and was thus quiet enough.
Silence in the house. Jokerman-EXE nodded to Solifuge, and the two of them made their way back through the house. They opened the front door, and the first thing Jokerman-EXE heard was, "...suck lemons for all I care!" which caused him to pause, halfway insulted for some reason. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, but from behind him Solifuge emerged and said, "Oh boy, more people! I'm Solifuge and this is Jokerman-EXE and we're glad you're here!" Shrugging, Jokerman-EXE nodded and raised a hand.