He who pulls the strings

Bad Puppet

  After keeping tabs on the new guy, Vincent knew once again that his adorable little puppet was going to be a problem. Despite the fact that his other children had finally lost all hope of ever being saved, the puppet still had faith. The lesson hasn't sank in yet, even with all the blood that his friends have spilled over the years. They can never be saved.

Vincent decided that before this could become a huge problem, it was time to punish the little puppet. When the puppet returned for the night back to his box, Vincent grabbed him, scaring the boy. Puppet tried to free himself, kicking his legs as he tried to pry the arms around him off. With a short scream, Puppet tried to warn the others that he was in trouble. Vincent knew that the puppet was hoping that Mike would come and rescue him, and took pride in the fact that he knew Mike wouldn't come. No one could hear them back here.

Slamming the boy into the wall, Vincent opened the panel on the boy's back and messed with the audio. The puppet shifted with discomfort as his voice suddenly stopped. He tried to scream, tears falling down his mask, as Vincent laughed out loud at him. Leaning close to the boy's ear, he whispered in a deep, satisfied voice, "Now you will learn. You belong to me. You will never be saved, nor will you ever save them."

Puppet shook his head, closing his eyes as he tried to ignore him. He didn't want to believe that monster's words. He couldn't give up hope, not now, not when he has a reason to continue. Once again, he was slammed into the wall painfully.

"I know you've been talking to Mike. How many more co-workers am I going to have to kill for you to get the message? Was Jeremy not enough for you? After all, you refused to help him, didn't you?" Playing the boy's old music box, Vincent grabbed some tape, wrapping it repeatedly around the boy's arms and legs, making it difficult for him to move around. "I know what you think of me, puppet, but the question remains, who's the real monster here? I may have taken lives, but I never twisted their innocent souls and forced them to kill. I wasn't the one who fixed them..."

Anger, sadness, hate, all of these emotions ran through the small boy as he stared up at purple guy. As much as he hated to admit it, they were both monsters in his eyes. Vincent had stolen their entire lives, robbed them of everything they had loved, but it was because of him that the others were unable to move on. Their emotions were too strong, which made puppet feel sympathy for them. It was puppet who gave them a second chance of life. Everything the others have ever done was all because of him.

With a smirk, Vincent knew what the boy was feeling. He knew the boy felt guilty, hated himself for everything he's ever done, and Vincent loved to exploit that. Guilt was the boy's Achilles heel, but he'll never admit it to himself. Picking up the boy, Vincent tossed him back inside his box, letting the music from his music box put him to sleep. Watching the boy tried to fight his heavy eyes, Vincent said it once more, hoping the lesson sinks in this time.

"You can't save them."

Little did they know, someone was watching them the entire time, itching to help the poor boy. Jeremy couldn't watch his friend suffer like this anymore. Everything has to end here with Mike. No more security guards deserve to die by his hands. No more blood should ever be spilled by their small hands.

When Vincent walked away, Jeremy took one more look at the sleeping child before making up his mind. He will take upon himself the burden the marionette had been carrying for years. He will help Mike save those poor souls. He won't let Vincent get away with the crimes he had committed.

"I promised you I would help, so here I am keeping this promise." With that, Jeremy disappeared.