Trapeze Artist

Liu sat outside his van, poking the campfire with a stick. The flames illuminated everything around him, the trees, the ground, and the too-small baby curled in his lap, refusing to let go of his scarf.

Right. The kid. He forgot about the kid.

Shit.

Things just never go his way, do they?

…..

To start things off, Liu would just like to say that what happened was in no way whatsoever his fault. He’d been trying to go to Japan to pick up some intel, and then try and relax in Canada, but he still wasn’t the best at using the Underrelms teleporting system so he ended up in Surry, England instead of Tokyo, Japan.

He figured ‘eh, tracking the Chancellor of Austria is more of a hobby, anyways’, and hey, while he’s here, might as well do some sightseeing. Nothing wrong with being a tourist every once in a while, right?

He’d been sitting in a local park enjoying the sun when a family walking past caught his eye. Well, they caught Sully’s eye more than his, but he had to admit they looked like zoo animals.

The wife’s neck was so long it would make a giraffe uncomfortable, and her husband looked like he was made of blubber. His mustache even looked like tusks. The toddler in the stroller looked like a pug that had way too many chub rolls to be healthy, though to be fair what pug was healthy, and it’s face was scrunched like a pig snout.

Liu could feel Sully clawing his way up from under his skin, a desire for blood and death coming with him. Images of the family flooded his mind, pulling the woman apart with his hands and then hanging her by barb wire, shoving the toddler in a wood chipper and then making the husband eat what came out the other end–‘Alright, alright,’ Liu thought, pulling on a metaphorical leash, ‘we’ll kill them, but not right now. There’s way to many people.’ Thankfully, Sully could see the sense in his thoughts so he started to chill, but stayed just under the surface of his skin.

They watched the family from a distance, learning who their friends were and how many they had. The woman was a gossipy bitch, and the husband was some sort of petty conman who thought he was the next Di Vinci. And Liu didn’t know what to think about the kid. On one hand the kids attitude was the parents fault since the kid was only like, half a year old, but on the other hand the kid was practically the antichrist without magic.

Biting and kicking the smaller kids, taking and breaking their toys then laughing when the other children cried, Liu was strongly reminded of the bullies that set his older brother on fire. Sully was just glad the kid was an asshole so Liu wouldn’t feel bad about killing it. Eventually the family left, and Liu followed at a distance, both him and Sully noting the way to and from the house.

Number 4 Privet Drive was a cookie-cutter house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood. Every house had the same windowpanes, the same color door, the same colored roof, even the flowers in the garden were the same. The same fence, the same patio, the same shapes and colors, It was all so symmetrical and perfect it was giving him a migraine. Sully wanted to burn the whole neighborhood down, and Liu had to agree. Perhaps it would teach the other townspeople a lesson, on what Liu couldn’t be sure. Maybe individuality?

If they were going to burn the whole neighborhood down, they needed to start planning. Find out where the gas canisters were kept, how many each house had, taking them and pouring them in the correct places so everything would come down at once and leave no survivors, they needed to know it all. If they didn’t plan, they could end up with another Jane, and no one wanted that.

But first—the Dursley’s.

He could feel that Sully didn’t want to wait, didn’t want to plan, he wanted them gone the same way he sometimes wanted Jeff gone. Mindless violence, endless blood, and a starved desire for death. Now, looking back on it, Liu knew it would be incredibly stupid to let Sully go berserk with only one limit to what he could do to them, but for some reason, at the time, Liu decided to be very, very dumb.

If you’ve ever met a normal person who has Multiple Personality Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder, you’ll know that movies like Split are a horrible representation of these normal people and their alters. Alters are almost never homicidal, never kidnappers, and never dangerous in any way. The worst they can be is assholes.

Almost never, being the key phrase.

Sully is very, very, very murderous. Sully feels no remorse for who he hurts, and Sully takes a large amount of joy in killing people. Now, Liu’s not saying he’s any better. He can be just as murderous, and he’s learned to add his own fun twist into his games. Liu doesn’t know why Sully is as bloodthirsty as he is, but he’s lived with Sully long enough to know that he should have known better.

But, at the time, Liu decided to forget everything he’d learned about Sully and let him have his fun, with the one condition that he kill only the Dursley’s before taking the steps necessary to properly burn down the neighborhood. He let Sully take over, and when he woke up, he was covered in ash and had a baby asleep in his lap.

….

Sully would like to say that what happened was entirely his fault, and he doesn’t feel a bit bad about it. In fact, he’s very proud of what he did, and very excited to raise a child. But an explanation is probably needed.

When Sully took over he immediately got to work, watching and learning the routine and lifestyle of his next victims. He enjoyed making them paranoid, so he watched them intently, always out of sight but his stare enough to make all three of them turn around and glance in his direction. It got to the point where they started staying inside as much as possible, making him shiver in delight. He loved when he could see how scared they are. But he couldn’t watch them while they were inside and he was out. So, at 11AM he picked the lock on their back door and waltzed inside.

That’s when he found her.

It had been nearly silent, the only sound being snores and crickets. But the moment Sully stepped inside he could tell something was very, very wrong. It was like a primal instinct or the Uncanny Valley effect. He didn’t know what was wrong, but whatever it was, it was strong enough to make him feel sick. It was like an energy was trapped and in pain, an energy so small and scared and hurt it reminded him of when he first met Jeff.

He stalked through the kitchen, listening intently and letting his instincts take him where he needed to go. The energy was pulling him, like it was dragging him by his scarf and crying for someone, anyone, even a murder, to save it. Sully never felt the need or urge to cry, but right now, he was worried he would fall to the ground and start sobbing.

He approached the stairs and paused, listening intently. It was here, he was sure of it. He didn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything, but he could feel that whatever it is was here. A pit formed in his stomach when he noticed the cupboard, the feeling growing when he saw the deadbolts. Was this why it felt trapped? Was it being held here against its will? He knelt down, unlatched the bolt and opened the cupboard, recoiling at the smell that hit him.

It smelt like the cupboard hadn’t been cleaned in years, like someone hid a body in there and forgot about it. The only thing in the cupboard was a large dishrag, and the small bundle in the middle of the floor wiggling out from under it.

It was a child. Not a child, a baby girl.

She was too small, to quiet, she looked at him in fear and awe, she…

She was beautiful, and she was his.

Sully was 90% sure he blacked out, because one minute he was kneeling in front of the cupboard and when he blinked he was sitting in an abandoned building an hour away and cradling the baby in his arms.

He’d interacted with baby’s before, and he knew she was way to quiet for her age. Sully didn’t actually know her age, but she looked to be the same age as the baby from hell. She cuddled into him for warmth, but was staring at him with suspicion and apprehension, as if she was waiting.

Even obviously abused, she was a very pretty baby. Her hair was short and a little curly, and in this light he couldn’t tell if it was black, red or a very dark brown. Athough it was dark, Sully could clearly see her eyes. They seemed to glow a bright, sour apple green. Her face was round and soft, but her body was covered in bruises and small cuts that looked infected or were just starting to scab. She didn’t have any baby fat, didn’t seem to have any fat at all. He could see and count all her ribs.

God, Sully felt sick. She was so small, so, so tiny, and this abuse seemed to have gone on all her life. Why would anyone do this to a baby..? He’d killed children before, but there was a difference between murder and abuse. He could understand why you’d kill a child, blood is blood after all, but he couldn’t for the life of him fathom abusing a child. What was the point of torturing a baby?

She gave a small whimper, and Sully realized that he’d started breathing heavily and was shaking a little. Fuck, he didn’t know how to take care of someone who’d been abused, much less a baby, but he knew enough from interaction’s with Toby that abuse victims were very good at picking up on emotions, could communicate with other abuse victims silently, and did not like being touched unless they knew for certain that you wouldn’t hurt them.

He steadied his breathing, tried to think about anything but murder, and started to gently rock back and forth. She was still staring at him like she expected him to hit her, so he started to softly hum an old Russian lullaby Jeff used to sing to Liu, Bayu Bayushki Bayu.

She looked confused, like she’d never heard a lullaby before. ‘She probably hasn’t…’ Sully felt a spike of white hot rage, but he pushed it down. He’d kill the Dursley’s later, right now he needed to get her fed, warm and comfortable. A name as well, he was fairly certain those fuckers didn’t bother giving her one, but that could come a little later. Besides, choosing a name is something he’d want a clear head for.

She didn’t seem as scared as before, but she was still apprehensive. She had a bit of dirt smeared on her nose, and without really thinking, he gently rubbed it off. She jolted like she’d been electrocuted, but paused and stared at him. She was confused. She’d expected him to hit her, and she was confused as to why he hadn’t.

‘So tiny…’ He thought, and swiped his thumb across her cheek. She gave a soft mewl and reached out to him, grabbing his nose with a hand that was the size of his pinkie. God, she was so little. What had she done to deserve this? He kissed the top of her head and as she giggled, Sully felt his heart make a new space just for her. She was his, and while she would also be Liu’s, she would always be his first and foremost. He wrapped her in his scarf, feeling his chest grow warm when she cooed and pushed her face into it.

Yes, she was his, and nothing in the world could change that.

Sully sat in the bathroom of a small house, the family dead in their bed. The baby was sitting in the tub, giggling and babbling as she splashed about in the water. She seemed to be enjoying the bubbles the most, gasping in delight every time one popped. The water in the tub was already a rusted color, so he turned on the water, pulled the plug and put in more soap.

She seemed awed by everything around her, like she’d never been in a bathroom before. She giggled and squirmed as he rubbed the mango-scented soap into her hair. Now that all the dirt and grime was washed away, he could see her more clearly than before. Her hair was a rich black, and her skin would be brown if it wasn’t for the bruises and scars. Her eyes seemed brighter than ever, sparkling with awe and delight. Her cheeks were pink with laughter, and every time she smiled he could see her gums. She had a litchenberg scar that started a little above her eyebrow, cut through her right eye and ended at her bottom right cheek. He noted that it looked infected under the scab.

Sully needed to do something about that scar and the cuts, if he didn’t they would only get worse. He picked her out of the water and began toweling her off, blowing a few raspberries into her belly. She shrieked happily, patting his face and tugging on his hair while babbling nonsense. He kissed her nose and then rummaged through his bag for the first-aid, setting it on the counter. He’d reorganize the bag later.

She cooed curiously and smacked the counter, trying to crawl out of his arms and climb onto anything and everything. He sat her next to the first-aid, and immediately had to catch her because she toppled over. ‘Hurt long enough to pick up on the tiniest change of emotions…’ Sully thought, helping her up again, ‘…But not old enough to sit upright.’ He had more to think about, mainly a few choice words about the Dursley’s, but those thoughts were cut short when she tried to eat a needle from the first-aid.

After that mini-heart attack, he got to work. She didn’t like the rubbing alcohol, and almost successfully rolled away while he had his back turned, but Sully managed to get her clean and bandaged without too much problems. Then he had the problem of clothes. She wasn’t wearing anything when he found her, and the only thing covering her right now was his scarf. But the people who’d lived here had been expecting or trying for a baby, so he picked her up and went into the nursery.

It was empty, but fully furnished, with a rocking chair and everything. Sully sat her in the crib and went to the dresser, pulling out a few things that would fit her right now and in a few months when she got bigger. It seemed god was with him, because in the next drawer he found a package of diapers and baby wipes, and under that he found a list of baby things to get, almost everything already checked off.

He pocketed the list and took the diapers and wipes, setting them on the floor next to the crib. The baby was reaching through the bars and making grabby hands, so he let her grab his finger while he looked through his options for clothes. There were a lot of colors, so he picked out two of everything there was. It was a little cold outside, so chose a thick lime onesie and let the baby feel it.

She seemed confused but overjoyed, babbling to him and tugging on the legs. There was a zipper on the back, and she pulled it down and tried to put it in her mouth. ‘Man,’ Sully thought, picking her up and setting her on the changing table, ‘Baby’s try to eat everything.’ It was a little difficult to put it on her, she obviously wasn’t used to wearing clothes and he forgot to give her a diaper the first time, but 15 minutes later she was warm and bouncing in his arms.

Food was easy, the family that lived here had loads of baby food, so he packed almost everything that didn’t need to be refrigerated and opened a can of strawberry baby food and made some formula. She ate it faster than what was probably normal, but he wasn’t going to stop her. She ate three cans and two bottles before she started yawning and grabbing for him, so he wiped off her face and picked her up. Should he burp her, or would that scare her?

Thankfully she burped on her own (and threw up a little, which, ew, but he’d have to get used to it) and almost immediately went to sleep after, so he quickly and quietly exited the building, making sure to avoid cameras and prying eyes. He didn’t need BEN texting and asking why he had a baby, or worse, sending Jeff. But there was someone he should definitely tell, because if he didn’t then that meant Liu would. He made it to his van and arranged a few blankets he had into a makeshift bed before tucking her in. After making sure she was secure and warm, he made a call.

“Liu, sweetheart, my favorite Woods! What a delight to get a call from you and not the other way around! Please tell me this is a booty call.” Puppeteer picked up on the second ring and, surprising no one, was immediately trying to fuck him. Sully snorted  and replied, “Liu’s not gonna be here for a while and I’m not calling to fuck so your shit outta luck, music man~.” Flirting with Puppeteer was fun, and having sex with him was even better, but one thing he and Liu learned about him in-between was that Puppeteer loved kids.

They’d seen him on more than one occasion at theaters and small street shows, disguised and using his strings to create light shows and colorful stories to entertain children of all ages. He was sweet and loving with Sally, a cool uncle for BEN, and a parental figure for almost all the children of the Underrealm. If there was anyone Sully would want to know about the baby, it was him.

“Listen, hon, I need you to get to my location as quickly as possible, and you can’t tell anyone, alright?” Sully said, checking to make sure the baby was still asleep. Puppeteer gave a deep chuckle, “Trying to lure me out and keep me all for yourself, are ya sweetheart? I thought you didn’t wanna fuck~” Sully growled. “I’m not fuckin’ joking, this shit is serious, I’m fucking serious, and if you don’t take this seriously I swear to god I’ll make sure you regret existing.”

“Alright, alright, jeez…” Puppeteer said, “What’s got your panties in a twist?” Sully sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t a conversation to have over the phone. Just….. just get here as quick as you can, please John?” He knew that Puppeteer could be very weird about his real name, sometimes killing people for thinking it and others telling him to scream it, but he also knew that saying it would show him that he meant it when he said serious.

Puppeteer was quiet for a moment before he replied, “Alright, sweetheart. I’ll be there in five.” Sully gave a relived sigh before thanking him and hanging up. He knew he couldn’t do this alone, so having Puppeteer with him would make things incredibly easier. He also knew that he could look into the baby’s memories to find out some very important information, like her birthday and why she was with the Dursley’s. Her memories would most definitely be blurry, but Puppeteer could make them clear.

He heard her start to whimper, so he moved to the back and picked her up. She seemed to be having a nightmare, her small cries and thrashing telling him all he need to know. He gently started to rock her, cooing small assurances. “It’s alright, sweetie, it’s all ok now. Your gonna be just fine, ok? It’s alright, it’s safe now.” She gave another whimper before opening her eyes and reaching out to him. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she wasn’t shivering because of the cold.

Suddenly there was a flash and Puppeteer materialized, about to say something but being cut off by the baby giving a terrified cry. Sully ignored Puppeteer and focused on calming the baby, rocking her and rubbing her cheeks that were now wet with tears. She was screaming, and the car seemed to shake every time she cried. He shushed and cooed at her, kissing her head every now and then. It took a while for her to stop, but in about five minutes she stopped and only sniffled every now and then.

He looked up at Puppeteer whose eyes were as wide as the moon. He looked between Sully and the baby, his mouth opening and closing in confusion. “Sully…” He started, “what? Why??” The baby whimpered and pushed her face into his scarf, trying to pull it over her and hide. “I promise I’ll explain everything,” he started, “but all you need to know right now is that I’m keeping her, she was severely abused, and incredibly scared. I think the only reason she trusts me is because I’ve fed and cleaned her. She’s really scared of you right now because she doesn’t know you, and I promise I’ll tell you absolutely everything, but first she needs to trust you.”

Puppeteer gave a mute nod and slowly floated next to him. The baby shuddered in his arms, trying to move away. He held her and gently murmured, “It’s alright, sweetie, it’s all ok. This is Puppeteer, he’s safe, ok?” She looked between him and Puppeteer in confusion, like she didn’t know whether to believe him or start crying again. Puppeteer moved a little closer and she shrank back, giving a soft cry. Suddenly, Sully got an idea.

He stroked her cheek like he did before, then with that same hand reached up and did the same to Puppeteer. She tracked his movement, confused. Puppeteer was also confused, but probably for a different reason. “Uh, Sully?” He asked softly, eyeing the baby. “What the fuck?” The baby wasn’t crying anymore, but was still very suspicious. “John, kiss me after I kiss her, ok?” Sully said, not giving him time to respond. He kissed her head, getting a soft coo in response. He turned toward Puppeteer, made sure she could see them, and Puppeteer kissed him.

He kissed back softly, moving closer to Puppeteer so that he was leaning against him, and pulled away to kiss the baby again. She babbled a little as he leaned into Puppeteer more, moving her in between them. She looked at Puppeteer with wide eyes and grabbed his jacket, pulling on it and babbling more. Puppeteer gave her a soft smile. “Hi there, pumpkin. I’m Puppeteer. What’s your name?” She responded in nonsense, but leaned out of Sully’s arms to try and crawl onto his lap. He handed her to Puppeteer, who began to talk to her. “Your so tiny~ and you match with Sully here, how cute. Your gonna be a powerful witch when you grow up~” Witch? He’ll ask later.

She giggled and reached for his face, Puppeteer leaning down and kissed her head and cheeks. She shrieked with laugher and pulled on his hair, trying to eat it. Puppeteer laughed softly and nuzzled his nose against hers and she cooed at him. Sully smiled and leaned against Puppeteer, taking one of her hands and kissing it. She gasped happily and babbled to him, smiling and reaching for both of them.

They sat like that for a while, talking with her and getting coos and giggles in response, until she started to yawn and close her eyes. Soon she fell asleep on Puppeteer, still smiling. Puppeteer turned to him, holding her close before grabbing the blankets and tucking her back in. After that, he motioned towards the front seats and moved to sit in the drivers side. Sully followed and they sat in silence for a minute, the only sounds the engine and a crow in the distance.

“Who hurt her?” Puppeteer asked, his voice quiet but sharp. Quietly, he explained him and Liu’s plans and how he found her, the energy that led him to her, and he stiffened when he felt Puppeteers magic flair when he told him about the cupboard. When he finished, Puppeteers magic was like a riptide as he stared out the window in silent fury. It felt heavier than usual, and Sully realized it was probably because he was keeping it contained to the front.

“…I called you because I knew me and Liu couldn’t raise her alone.” Puppeteers head snapped towards him. “What?”   “Your great with kids,” He continued, “you get along well with both of us, and she already likes you a lot. I knew you’d love her, too.” Puppeteer stared hard at him for a long time before saying, “You want to raise her….with me.” Sully nodded. Puppeteer took a deep breath, and Sully was suddenly very worried he would say no. “…What’s her name?” Sully blinked. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t think they gave her one. I’ve got a few ideas, but nothings stuck. I wanted to wait until the neighborhoods burned to name her.” Puppeteer nodded in understanding.

“You called her a witch? What does that mean, exactly?” Puppeteer took off his beanie and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I could feel it as soon as I touched her. Wix are like a subclass of humans, they’re essentially humans with magic. They live in these secret and ridiculous societies. Shes powerful for her age, and that power will only grow as she gets older.”

Sully slumped in his seat and ran a hand over his face. “Do you think the Dursley’s knew?”  “We’ll find out tomorrow,” Puppeteer moved to the back and motioned for Sully to follow. “We can’t talk all night. We’ll sleep, eat in the morning, and then plan. But right now, I can practically taste how tired you are. C’mere, sweetheart.”

Puppeteer laid down so his head was next to the baby and Sully crawled on top of him, straddling him and wrapping his arms around his neck to give him some support. “Sorry the mattress and seats are gone,” Silly whispered, “SmileDog got in again and tore everything up.” Puppeteer chuckled and kissed his head. “Don’t worry bout’ it, sweetheart. Your more than enough~” Sully rolled his eyes and nuzzled into his chest, letting himself fall asleep.

Sully woke up because of two things. One: the baby had rolled out of the blankets and was hitting his face and babbling. Two: Puppeteer was grabbing his ass with both hands. Sully dealt with the baby by tickling her and kissing her cheek. He decided not to deal with Puppeteer just yet, instead picking up the baby and sitting himself upright. He bounced her for a little before blowing a raspberry into her cheek. She squealed happily and blew the biggest spit bubble he’d ever seen. He giggled–god, when did he start giggling?–and kissed her head, cheeks and nose, feeling her pull his hair all the while. He bounced her more and let her tug out his hair.

“Well, well, well~Now this is a hell of a way to wake up~” Puppeteer squeezed his ass and trailed his hands between his thighs, “Never thought I’d wake up with you riding my lap, sweetheart~ I love the change of pace.” Sully chuckled and stopped bouncing, placing the baby on Puppeteers chest. She immediately smacked his head and began pulling his hair. That seemed to remind Puppeteer exactly where and why he was here and he quickly sat up. The baby laughed and began trying to eat his jacket. “Sully,” Puppeteer scolded, trying to get the zipper out of her mouth, “You can’t turn me on when there’s a baby around!”

Sully snorted, “Wasn’t trying to,” and got off his lap and began rummaging through his bag. “your just a horny idiot who forgot we, y’know, had a baby.” They fed the baby–it was a lot more messy than it was yesterday–and changed her, which was somehow the easiest thing they did that morning. After that, Puppeteer kept the baby in his lap and occupied with his strings, and they started to plan.

“I want the Dursley’s to die before everyone else.” Sully said. “I want them to be the starting event. And then I want everything to come down in flames.” Puppeteer grinned darkly. “Your in luck, baby, because I know the perfect way to make their deaths slow and agonizing~” Puppeteer couldn’t warp reality as much as The Toymaker could, but he could make rooms bigger on the inside and, most importantly, make them 100% soundproof.

“What if there aren’t enough gas canisters?” Puppeteer asked, bouncing the baby and letting her pull his hair. “We should find that out before we light the place up, and if there isn’t enough we steal more from other neighborhoods or stores.” Sully knew from watching that there were stores in town that sold gas, so if there weren’t enough they could just take more.

The next few hours were a lot of this, hammering out every little detail until they knew nothing would get in the way. All the while they entertained the baby, who was unaware they were plotting the death of over a hundred people. When they finished, they got to work.

After a lot of breaking and entering, they figured out that each house had a wife, husband, and one child, and in the back shed there were at least two canisters of gasoline. Each house had one car that seemed to be the same model, and every house had the same floor plan as the Dursley’s. Two stories, no basement, three rooms on the second story and one bathroom downstairs. What they also found while exploring was that the people living in Number 7 had tools in their shed. Battery powered circular saws, drills, a decent sledgehammer and, most importantly, a large roll of barb wire. Those would save them a bit of time and cause some chaos. The tools of neighbors, found at the scene of the most brutal murder in county history? How scandalous.

The next step was to make the Dursley’s so paranoid they would trap themselves. The goal had been to drive them to lock their doors so heavily that when they tried to run away they wouldn’t be able to get out. But things went better than expected. Sully and Puppeteer had both broken in and left traces that they’d been there, small notes and footprints. In Sully’s opinion, the best note had been the one where he wrote about how fussy their son was when having a nightmare, and he dated it back three weeks.

The wife’s screams had been hilarious.

They went to the police after that note and told them about everything, but sense no actual damage had been done the only thing the police could do was send out a warning to the other neighbors about burglars and recommend the Dursley’s put more and better locks on their doors. Not only did this make everyone paranoid, because the Dursley’s told people about the notes, but it also made the Dursley’s turn their house into a bunker. They hardly ever left, and the only time they did was because the husband had work and the wife had to get groceries.

They put locks inside and out, on the garden gate and even their bedroom doors. But that couldn’t stop Puppeteer, who got the wonderful idea to get an old flash camera and take pictures of them while they slept. He took pictures of the locked doors, the doors unlocked, and then the sleeping family at different angles. They did this for a few days, putting the date it was taken on each picture, before they placed the pictures on top of them while they slept. And when they woke up, you could hear their screams from miles away.

This sent the neighborhood into a panic, making everyone put extra locks on everything. Puppeteer seemed to be enjoying himself more than Sully, probably because he was feeding off the fear of the neighborhood. The fear got so intense that police started patrolling the street, even looking over the fences into peoples backyards. This made it harder to sneak around, but the reward for success so much sweeter.

Sully and Puppeteer walked and floated into the Dursley home like they owned the place. Puppeteers strings melted into the walls and became one with the house, the sounds of the outside world cutting off as it happened. Puppeteer floated up the stairs, but Sully didn’t bother being quite, purposely stomping. He wanted them to hear death coming. The first step he took seemed to make them jump out of bed and rush for the door.

He laughed and banged his fist against the couples door. “Wakey wakey assholes!” The wife screamed as Sully began kicking down the door, Puppeteer watching with a hungry expression. Sully kicked with the force of a horse and the whole door split in half and flew off its hinges.

The force of it knocked both husband and wife back as Sully strode in, stepping over the pieces and snorting. The husband had a shotgun, but he obviously didn’t know how to use it. He hadn’t even turned the safety off. The husbands face was purple with fear and rage. “What are you doing in my house?!? What do you freaks want?!” Puppeteer floated past him, casually grabbed the shotgun and twisted it like a pretzel.

The husband sputtered and the wife kept trying to pull him towards the window, but he seemed determined to intimidate Puppeteer. He began screaming about his position at work, how much he made a year, his taxes and the like. Puppeteer raised an eyebrow and blew a raspberry. The husbands face turned cherry red and he began shaking. He resembled a fat stick of dynamite.

The husband seemed to have completely forgotten about Sully, which was a mistake. He stalked past easily and grabbed the wife, who let out a scream that made nails on a chalkboard sound nice. He began dragging her downstairs, the husband trying to push past Puppeteer. Puppeteer simply picked him up with his strings and slammed him against the wall. The husband crumbled like sand, unconscious.

Sully dragged the wife all the way down and threw her at the kitchen table. She laid in the splinters for a second before she began screaming and scrambling away. Well, trying to. It was like watching a really bad horror movie where the character falls more than necessary. It amused him for about two seconds before it annoyed him.

He pulled the barbed wire from his bag, and whipped her with it. It cracked and the wife fell backwards screaming, trying to put her tearing face back together. The body of the husband fell next to her, Puppeteers strings still holding him. The devil baby fell onto the wife’s lap, already dead. She began crying snot and spitting every time she screamed.

Puppeteer pulled him flush against his chest and kissed him roughly, pulling away only when Sully needed air. Puppeteer tilted his chin and began kissing up and down his neck, sometimes running his teeth along his veins. Sully gripped Puppeteers arm as he shoved a leg between Sully’s. “We need to kill them.” He reminded. Puppeteer sighed against his skin. “I know, I know, sweetheart. But the sight of you, standing over your prey with that look on your face and wire in your hands, the way you sway from side to side, god we’re going to fuck hard after this.” Puppeteer ended with a growl and a well-placed thrust, making Sully’s eyes roll back. He kissed Puppeteer long and hard before pulling away. “We’ll fuck later.” He grinned. “But only when this place is ashes and I’m covered in blood.” He swayed while he walked, feeling Puppeteers eyes on every part of him. The wife was still crying, trying to drag her husband away. Sully laughed at her.

They died slowly and painfully.

Sully didn’t black out, per say, but he was on autopilot while he killed them. He wasn’t killing them for himself, he was killing them for her. He was killing them for what they did to her. This wasn’t for his pleasure, this was for her revenge. He checked back in as they stood outside the burning house. He could hear sirens in the distance, and he could taste ash. And see ash. It was absolutely everywhere, and he was covered in it head to toe.

The sirens were getting closer. “I’ll meet you at the van, sweetheart.” Puppeteer kissed him, and Sully noticed he tasted like ash too. “I’ve got to make a call.” Puppeteer vanished, and Sully started running for the van. About halfway there, he noticed that the ash was still everywhere. He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was on his face, but when he closed his eyes he realized what was happening and mentally began kicking Liu back. ‘Give me just a bit more time,’ Sully told him, ‘I need to get to the van’. I need to get to her.

He knew the moment he relaxed Liu would be back, and would have a lot of questions. But she would come first. When he reached the van he hopped in and greeted the very happy baby. Thankfully she’d gotten used to them leaving for long periods of time, the first time one of them left she’d been inconsolable. He kissed her cheek and grimaced when he saw the stain. He needed a shower, but there wasn’t any time for that. Liu was getting closer and closer.

He laid down and held her gently as his world went dark.