Puppet on Strings {|} a DHMIS reader-insert

{|} The Trees Have Eyes, Too - Chapter 3 {|}

Robin takes a shaky breath, and shuts the door. "Do you think she'll come back?" He turns to Harry, who is equally as scared as the bird is. That woman could've been a teacher. How else could she have known what she did? "Yes." Harry's response is blunt. He never lies about things like this. "She took the lamp. She will have to come back." He sits back down. Manny rushes down the stairs soundlessly, hurrying into the kitchen. "Wonder what he's doing." Harry looks at Robin. His voice had a fleck of joking, which was rare for the red guy. 

Manny hops into the kitchen with a bowl of his favorite cereal, sitting down on the couch to eat. "Good morning!" He says between bites. "Good morning, Manny." Robin responds, nervously tapping his wings together. It's silent for a moment, before Robin glances out the window. "... Goodness, my eyesight must be going on me. It's rather blurry out there." Harry hums. "Don't you have glasses, Robin?" The child looks at the coffee table, a pair of neon-green glasses sitting there. "Are those yours?" He asks. Robin and Harry simultaneously look at the table.

"N-  no?" Robin mumbles. "I haven't... oh, no." He realizes, and looks at Harry with worry. "But... but..." Plastic cracking comes from the table, and the bird's head snaps back towards the glasses. They're gone. "Harry. Manny. We have to go, now!" Robin yells, standing up. 

"But you can't go yet, friends!" The same pair of green glasses, this time with eyes of it's own, appears on the table. It was the same size, its voice echo-y and very feminine. The eyewear now had arms and legs, both the same bright color as its body. "I don't think you can see straight! You'll need some glasses!" It exclaims. The three puppets look at each other, fear apparent as a tune starts to play.

"Your eyes are what lets you see!

When light reflects to your eyes, you're able to see!"

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I wake up with a start to Larry shaking me. We're in a dark alley, and the only thing illuminating it are his lights. "Hey. Hey. Hey. We gotta go." He whisper-yelled. "The phone booth's back, mate." He almost kicks me in the stomach, but I push him off and stand up. "The- phone booth-- oh fuck. Come on. Where is-" I rush out of the alley only to immediately crash into the phone booth. Larry pulls me around and into it, where the door slams shut. "Here we go again." I sigh, leaning against the wall.

The booth trembles. I squeeze Larry's hand to make sure I'm still holding it, and the floor falls out.

We turn up just outside the house, where I can hear Manny crying and Robin scream. "Oh, shit." Larry curses. "We gotta go in." I tug him up and kick the door open, where I see a pair of... neon green glasses, and the puppets. Harry is sitting in his chair, eyes missing. He seems confused, but... obviously can't see. "GIVE IT UP, MOTHERFUCKER!" I shout, and the eyewear jumps. "Fu- oh. It's you." She snarls. "Wh- what?!" Robin exclaims, looking at me and Larry. The lamp looks back and forth between the scene and me. I let go of his hand and walk up to the little teacher. "I'm gonna give ya ten seconds, hun. Skidaddle skidoodle or you're gonna be a plastic noodle." 

She crosses her tiny arms. "You better not come back next time, &^^*#." She disappears promptly. "... Oh, fuck, first she's a teacher and now she knows the name?" I groan. "Christ almighty." I can feel Robin's shocked gaze. And Harry's, he has his eyes back now. "Little shit better not come back..." "I regret waking you up already, Y/N." Larry crosses his arms. "Yeah?" I chuckle. "Why did y- you come b- b- back?" Robin sounds up, suddenly. "'Cause the phone booth popped up. Probably because Gumi was here, ya know..." Oh, yeah.

Gumi is a teacher. I used to be one of her students when I was little kid, and since then I changed my name. Of course, I'm actually on good terms with the other teachers that taught me. Somehow. After they serve their purpose, they sorta... become free, and they can live however they want. They lose their object forms, but can willingly change back. Takes a bit of practice, though, so that's cool. Gumi obviously didn't give up teaching. What a bitch.