It was evening in Saulbine. The sun had sank below the horizon, but it still peered above it. The last few moments, or maybe an hour, of clear light lingered for now. But the buildings of the elegant capital of Saulbine, Renton, cast plenty of shadows in the fair city. It was bathed in darkness. While many still went about their business, in recent times... fear had gripped people. There had been a rash of property damage, attacks, and even murders... Rumor had it that there was something far beyond the natural world at work in the city. But others dismissed these rumors, and still went about their business. They were certain it was something that the police could handle, after all.

They were so very, very wrong.

Renton's King Clock, the immense clock tower in the city's center square, ticked away, as the slivers of light slowly began to grow dimmer and dimmer, the sun vanishing over the horizon.

----

It was always so easy. Even when the maids figured out how to bar the doors, Cynthia could always find her way out of the mansion. She'd been cooped up all day, stuck doing her studies or whatever... It was all so boring! Nothing new or exciting happened when she just sat around at home, so the natural choice was to lockpick her way out. And there she was, quickly heading down an alleyway and into the deeper parts of the city. Now the only thing was to decide what to do! Meet one of her friends? that could be fun, but it might also be too obvious... what if the maids guessed that she might do so? No, no, she had to come up with something surprising and unexpected! It was the only choice she could think of now...

... And then her foot caught on something. Cynthia tripped and hit the ground, swiftly rolling over and scooting back to try and see what had happened. She liked this dress, what had she... huh...?

It was an adult. A man, black hair... and he looked weird. Clammy or something, just... there was something not quite right. And he'd tripped her! What a... what a bastard! Cynthia didn't care if that wasn't proper language for a noble lady at the best of times, and she certainly didn't right now. Her dress was a mess and some adult had tripped her, what was he thinking?! She quickly got to her feet.

"What's wrong with you?!" she snapped, pointing at the man.

He inclined his head to the side.

"Well, I just saw some trouble I could cause... a young girl, all alone? I bet no-one would... find the body..."

Cynthia took a step back. Had he said...

"... Wh-what...?"

The man smiled. There was nothing friendly about it. "You heard me."

Cynthia took another step back. Was he... really saying...?

Even as fear began to well up inside her... Cynthia had no idea that she was seconds away from an intervention she never expected.

----

The world... rippled. That was the only way to explain it. Everything rippled around her. She felt weightless... and everything seemed so muted. The world was colorless around her. Blurred, figures seemed not to exist... so this was what Entrance was like...? Whatever. It didn't matter. What mattered was finding her anchor. Her Doll Master. Finding someone who would never say no, someone who wouldn't refuse...

VV saw her.

She knew this was the only option. For her purpose, she was perfect.

And so it began.

This was, the blonde nun had to admit, not how she had been expecting the fight to go in the least. The Puppeteer had looked like an easy mark, paying no attention as she took aim from a balcony. Taking down a creature of habit that chose to walk the exact same route every day was pretty trivial, given her skill set. She'd been in position, hefted the baroque masterpiece that was her primary weapon--

--and watched the spike of metal appear to pierce right through the target, only to slam unimpeded into the pavement. Things had promptly gone quite downhill from there, with her gun being smashed, fine mechanisms unable to take the impact as it (she refused to think of one of those things as 'He') joined her on the balcony.

Given her quite fragile position, reduced to holding two knives as a supernatural entity moved in for the kill, it was inevitable. She wasn't trained for this, or as insane as her direct superior to rely on skill to try and do the impossible. The monster inside that person was going to kill her, and at best she'd inconvenience it a little.

The Transient Princess

---

The ripples were a sensation not unlike falling up a rabbit hole and through the blackness into the light of the blurred world that spoke of something less impressive than what she knew. Ah, but it was too late now, was it not? She'd come out on the other side from her own home, and she'd noticed such a crude display. A little thing, all dirtied and fearful and on the ground, with -- for lack of better words -- a dirty peasant over her with nothing less than ill-intent. That little one...There was no reason for her to be shown such a cruel world. The White Queen could not simply allow such a treason to go on as she looked on from the roof of the building that oversaw the alleyway.

Ah, perhaps Alice had finally been found? The question answered! Where had Alice been this whole time?

She couldn't very well let anything happen to dear Alice, that would be poor of a Queen.

By the time that the man began his advance, The White Queen had chosen to take a step off of the building and allow the flowing white gown she wore to dance in the wind as she descended, giving the aspect of an angelic being falling from the sky above. With her fall, she opted to take a single step off of the back of the peasant -- digging the heel into his skin, through the bone -- and using her other shoe to dig out that same heel with a push off of him. The force would throw him off of his legs and down to the alleyway's ground and to allow herself to land upon the ground without so much as a light "tap" from the heels of the black boots she wore. Then came two steps to move, to block the dirtied girl that had been tripped, from his view. The voice that she let out was one with power, complimented by her complete and utter ignorance of the man behind her. Instead, a hand held out game with a smile that showed relief, offering the girl her help to stand as she finally addressed her.

"Alice! We have been looking for you everywhere. Your dress is all dirtied- ah, our apologies. We were not quicker in finding you! Would you like to come with us and play a game? This peasant behind us surely means nothing good in his advancing. We could show you so many more fun games than to play with the uneducated. Come, take our hand? We do not have very much time, and it is soon to be today if we do not hurry."

Open insults! Open insults to a man that may very well be armed as she turned her back away from him and focused her attentions upon the one that she offered the help towards. It only took a single yes, a single grab of the hand she outstretched, and it could all end...And it would be a shame to leave Alice here, now that she'd found her.

Come, little dreamer! Down the rabbit hole, take the White Queen's hand, and let the game begin with the taking of this pawn behind her.

Ein Ferah

---

"GET THOSE DAMNED PILLS AWAY FROM ME!"

The outburst of emotion was not something normal for the sleepy woman. But with the advancing of these men that cornered her, the consistent shaking of the white capsules in the closed medication bottle, she was like a cornered animal -- a prior switch from the sleepy demeanor that she had had. It surely wouldn't last long, but it was a burst of energy that she needed as her eyes frantically searched side to side. Granted, trying to climb up the first building one saw might have been a poor idea for the sake of getting in a day's run since she'd been somewhat "awake" for once. But...unfortunately, it landed her in this situation -- four guns pointed at her head and a handful of sleep meds to knock her on her ass for her two choices. This was just an inconvenient case of mistaken identity.

"Now, now. Little lass, I'd say you've got two options here. Either get back in here so we can get to business, or take a mouthful of lead that'll have you sleeping for a long time. What'll it be for ya, dear?"

A body that twitched, yearned to climb up and run away from the five men in front of her, and a disgust like no other at being mistaken for a prostitute of all things in such a city as Saulbine?... Was she just an unlucky thing? Regardless, she refused to move as she stuck to the wall like glue and shook her head. A death-forsaking hatred of pills led the poor girl to bring her arms of her head and brace for what only could be an unfortunate end of days for Ein. She'd rather take the bullets...rather take the bullets than be forced to swallow down any more of those damned little capsules...!

And then came the click of the triggers.

VV

There!

The brilliant red sliced through the darkness. It knitted and weaved itself into a shape, a perfect circle, layering upon itself and filled with a kaleidoscope of rotating designs and shapes. This alone gave the monster on the balcony pause. A hand reached from the middle of the circle, the air rippling around it as it latched onto the nun's shoulder. VV used this. Her anchor's shoulder... Her Doll Master's shoulder. She pulled herself through, stepping onto the pristine white stone that composed the platform. Well, it sure wouldn't be pristine for long. The Marionette, grinning as he was, about to enjoy a new victim, faltered, stepping away from her.

"Y-you're..." he trailed off, eyes wide in shock as VV straightened, releasing her anchor's shoulder as she stared him down. Heh, it was pretty clear this had been the last thing the monster had expected. She could even see it, not its form, but the coiling shadow within the Marionette. The vile thing that had emerged from beyond to take control of the man before her.

"Oi oi..." VV began, brushing her crimson hair back, one eye open and fixed on the Marionette as she inclined her head to the side. Straightening, she opened both eyes and took a step towards him, "Tch... it's not your lucky day, is it?"

The Marionette was, for a moment, too stunned to do anything. The emergence of a Doll was clearly the last thing he had expected, and that thought brought a smile to VV's lips. Now it was time to seal the deal.

Grabbing her anchor's shoulder, she hauled the nun to her feet, then pushed her back. "I'll handle this, alright?"

---

Cynthia Lee

All Cynthia could do was tremble in terror as the man came closer, and closer, and closer... She shuffled back on her rear, trying to get away and escape from him, but somehow it was just so difficult to do so. Something made her limbs feel like lead, as her heart hammered in her tiny chest and the man raised one cold, clammy hand... and then she appeared. A woman in white, descending from the sky so suddenly, and landing on the horrible man! Cynthia could see how she landed and kicked off of him, and watched him it the ground with a loud crack, the cobblestones fracturing from the impact. For a moment he lay there, quiet, a wound in his back from where the woman's heel had struck him...

And now the woman was offering to help her... to... to play? Adults didn't usually talk like that, but right now Cynthia didn't care. She'd knocked that man down so fast, and he'd been so terrible... The girl had no idea why she was being called Alice, but that was another thing that didn't matter right now. This woman had just saved her life, just like that! Trembling, she raised her hand, her small fingers wrapping around the woman's as she managed to work up a reply.

"Th... th-that was amazing!"

No sooner then she had said that then the man began to rise. The injury in his back had sealed by this point... and there was a twisting darkness within him, though that was not something Cynthia could see. All she could see was the misty breath leaving his mouth, as if it was a cold day... and that his eyes had gone completely white.

And in spite of this terrible change... something told Cynthia that he was afraid. She could see it, his body shaking...

"D... Doll..." the man choked out as he rose. "Something like you... here... you...!"

The train whistle blew as the locomotive screeched and halted in its tracks, and spilled its insides of travellers and businessmen, only to suck in another batch of people. From one of the carts appeared a man with a mission; to purify the city of Saulbine from the corruption that has taken hold of it, like a vampire drawing blood from innocent virgins.

Gerhman Steinback walked out of the train station and took a cab to the city's center square. The suitcase he used to carry his weapons inside was stuffed into the storage compartment while he sat in the back seat, looking over the notes he had made. He had a habit of travelling from city to city, purging any presence of the vile Dolls he could find before setting out again, for virtue does not reward the idle. During his travels, he came across a number of news clippings and witness testimonies of a certain man seen acting strange and sometimes even violent, but was unable to be apprehended or escaped; seems like he had built a reputation of weirdness for himself. From what he has studied them Gehrman knew that a Doll had to be the cause for these incidents. He doublechecked the name of the person who has led him into Saulbine in search of victims to the venomous allure of the Dolls, and the monsters fro him to wipe off from the face of the earth.

"Eren Deville...soon you will be released from your torment, as Yhar'gul was liberated from his prison of flesh."

Alexander smiled happily as he walked down the street. Another great gambling run in Blackjack and Poker. Plenty of great hands, and successful bluffs when the hands were bad. He had also managed to quit while he was ahead, and left with a lot of people's money.

As he was walking, however, a group of five guys quickly surrounded him. Alexander recognized most of them as the people he beat the pants off of in the casino. It seemed like these guys didn't take kindly to his money-making ways.

"You're in trouble now, funny man," one of them said. "Give us back our money, and maybe no one gets hurt." At that moment, all of them began taking out small knives and shanks from within their clothing.

Alexander sighed. At least one person was going to get hurt indeed.

"You mean... this money?" Alexander asked as he pulled out a small wad of cash and threw it into the air. The thugs looked up, distracted by the scattering bills, and Alexander lashed out at one of the men, kicking him in the chest and sending him flying backwards. The men quickly realized what had happened, but Alexander was quicker and punched another guy in the face, knocking him down to the ground.

The men were not so easily beaten, though, and managed to hold him at knifepoint while they began collecting the money Alexander had scattered. Alexander, however, was not worried. If anything, he looked like he still had the advantage. Perhaps it was time he got a special friend of his to help out.

Eren Deville

Mr. White was a ruthless gang ringleader. He was notoriously hard to kill, having survived so many attempts on his life without a scratch on him. He was smart, too, handling his opponents and subordinates efficiently and ruthlessly, connecting point A to point B with brutal proficiency.

Most importantly, though, was that his name was a prominent one when E was a marionette, pulsing through their mind from the Puppeteer's.

Eren disliked remembering that short period of time. Eren had killed a lot of people under the Puppeteer's directions. E still remembered it, flesh collapsing under fist, bullets bouncing off their flesh.

E suppressed a shudder. No need to let the devil on their shoulder know anything was up.

E paid Nuul no mind as E walked up to the two street gangsters in a dark alley. E had colored their hair red and applied make up to alter their appearance to be more masculine. E had considered dressing lightly to seem less suspicious, but instead opted to wear a casual outfit with a jacket to hide E's gun and knife in. E didn't want a fight, but if one broke out, E didn't want to rely on Nuul.

Like hell they would be indebted to that odd creature twice over.

E had hoped to catch one criminal here alone. Viper, rumored to be one of Mr. White's cronies. Eren had to admit he'd stolen a few files from his father's police department to get the info on this man, but once he'd gotten the first bit of information, it's all fallen into place with a few interrogations.

E finally approached the two, a casual smile on E's face.

"Greetings, gentlemen. I'm looking for a Viper here." E said evenly.

"Who's asking?" Said the man on the left, hand going toward his pistol slowly.

"A customer," E said, raising both hands, "I have money. Not on me, but I have it."

"Tony, calm yourself," the man on the right said, "Sorry about the security, man. I'm Viper. What can I hook you up with?"

"You're quite forthright, Viper," Eren commented.

"I can afford to be. Mr. White is stronger than the police force. Though I do have a bit of extra muscle cuz of some weird happenings. Like some girl going about taking out criminals and looking for her mum."

"Boss, it's a man. He just disguises himself as a girl to deflect suspicion," the man on the left, Tony, said.

"Heard about that myself," E commented, "I don't put stock in those rumors, though."

"Fought 'im myself once, I did," Tony said, "I shot him in the gut and he kept fighting. I'm lucky one of my buddies dragged me to the doctor before the police arrived."

"Anyways, my business," E said, "I don't want drugs, nor weapons, but information."

Viper raised an eyebrow.

"On what?"

"Mr. White," E said, "you see, Viper, I am a mercenary of some skill. I want to side with someone who can pay well and who is worthy of my work."

Viper frowned.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it."

Eren drew his pistol quickly and fired. Tony fell to the ground, and E quickly dived at Viper as the gangster began to draw his pistol. E slammed their fist into the man's jaw, knocking them to the ground.

"Perhaps I didn't ask clearly enough. Mr. White. Where is he?" Eren asked.

Viper grinned as he got up, and tossed his pistol aside.

Eren saw the man's eyes glow yellow.

"...shit." Eren muttered as the man threw a punch. Eren ducked to the side, and threw a few rapid punches at the man, hitting him twice in the jaw before following it with a strong right hook. Viper didn't even flinch, grabbing Eren and slamming them against the wall.

"You're her, aren't you?" Viper said, "the girl. It's you."

Viper laughed as he slammed Eren into the wall again, and again. Eren grunted in pain.

"Mr. White knows you're going after him. Too bad you're gonna die, not knowing a thi-"

He was interrupted as Eren slammed their knife into the man's right arm. As the man retract their arm, Eren leaped forward, swinging their fist. Eren hit Viper in the temple, causing him to drop.

"...okay, Nuul. I know you watched that. Glowing eyes, super strong and durable. Points to Marionette. However, I incapacitated him with my fists. Hardly anti-doll weaponry. What the hell did I just fight?" Eren asked calmly, "Answer me."

Mathew

One man was grabbing the money while the others were holding Alex at knife point. He winced at the pain in his stomach, as he did so, cursing the priest.

He bent down to grab some money, then screamed. A mass of flesh and bones slowly rose from the ground, a face slowly materializing. As the man backed away, a limb of meat and blood grabbed his face.

He shuddered, and fell to the ground.

"What morsels dare threaten my master?"

The men seemed to state in shock, before Mathew fully materialized. He had chosen a blobman shape for intimidation purposes. He took a step forward, tentacles sprouting from his back.

The gangsters ran, and after a moment, Mathew sighed.

"Really, Alex. I want you to carefully explain to me what you did wrong," Mathew said, tapping a foot inpatiently, retracting his tentacles, and putting his hands on his hip. His head was a meaty, eyeless skull. He still seemed to be giving Alex a motherly glare.

"And answer truthfully, or I won't cook desert tonight. You have no idea how much of your behaviour today I watched, dematerialized."

Nuul (sorry about the purple font)

"Now Eren, can't you figure this out yourself?" Nuul said, emerging from the shadows, her red eyes shown with a playful light. "Nothing will stop a marionette short of death."

She moved closer to the unconscious body, seeming to study it for a second.

"Even the weakest marionettes cannot be taken down so easily." The thug was down for the count, he wasn't getting up so easily. But, there was no ignoring the fact that he had shown traces of possession, slowly the pieces started to form in her mind, and she smirked to herself "I'd say you're after a very dangerous man."

She had a vague idea of his power, it made her theories possible, and even plausible. Still, she needed some information for certain, and the thug was the place to get it. She raised her hand and a heavy orb of darkness enveloped the unfortunate Viper. She flicked her finger upwards and the orb followed her command, moving the body with it.

"If he only has this much strength, mundane restraints should suffice." She said to Eren, "Why don't we head back now? I have some things I'd like to try on this unfortunate soul."
@Adorabadass

Eren Deville

"All information I know. So, he can't be a doll or marionette. He seemed to also have his wits about him... Yet a true puppeteer would have been smarter. Plus, he tossed away his gun. He knew he had power. He over estimated it too. So it was a human mind that I faced, most likely."

Eren frowned.

"But yes, let's get back to my place. Good thing I moved out. Dad would never accept taking a hostage into his house."

Eren realized they had to move out when people started sending them threatening letters for their investigations. If possible, E wanted to protect their dad from the ones E hunted. E did not want to find their mom at the cost of their dad.

"Any experiments you attempt, I want to watch," Eren said. There wasn't exactly a lot of trust between doll and master.

Eren paused.

"In the mean time, any theories?"

Nuul

"Of course I do, Nuul replied as they walked down the cobbled streets. She was twirling her orb of darkness, looking over the thug once again. "Haven't you realized, that the entire world is a theory?" she said.

She wasn't really walking, she was floating along on her Grimoire but that was besides the point, Eren was woefully ignorant, he would've been lost without her.

"There is no way to fully confirm anything in this world," She continued, "There is always the possibility that something will come to pass that renders all of our knowledge obsolete."

They passed several houses with light in the windows, but as they passed; curtains were drawn, doors were locked and their life slowly faded, leaving the street in uncertain shadows.

"One day we could wake up, and realize the world as we knew it was just a dream." She sighed, shifting her position so she was lying down on her book. Her feet were dangling off a little but that was fine. "Still, I won't tell you my theories now." She said, looking up from her orb. They were getting close now, and she looked forward to the rest of the evening. "I want my theories to be exactly right."

"Oh, goody, you're being coy. What an adjustment," Eren said, "I especially enjoy how you said that there is no way to confirm something, truly, and then you're being tight lipped on your theories till you confirm them, truly."

Eren could be a bit of a little shit sometimes, truth be told.

As they entered Eren's small house, Eren took off their jacket and put their pistol on the kitchen table. The outer parts of the house were very clean. The kitchen was the first room of the house, and was connected to the living room. There was no wall between the two. There were two doors in the room, one of which led to Eren's room and study, which was rather pristine. Downstairs in the basement was where it got crazy.

"Take him down there, I'll join you once I rinse this red dye out," Eren said, "And get my knife out of him if you can."

Eren then went to the bathroom, which was connected to her study. Eren took a quick,five minute shower, rinsing their hair thoroughly and changing into a casual outfit, just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. E then went downstairs, to join their doll and hostage, bringing their pistol with them.

Nuul

"He'll need the knife where he's going to be." Nuul said, preparing her little 'surprise'. This would take a little time, but that was welcome. There was more she had to teach after all.

"If you wanted to watch, then you'll be disappointed." She said, the orb with Viper in it floating in front of her outstretched hands. It started to pulsate slowly, barely gaining in frequency. "But there are a few things you need to learn."

With one hand, she kept the orb aloft as it grew, slowing its progress somewhat. With the other hand, she reached down and opened her book looking for the right page. "There are many ways to interrogate someone, but many of the more... effective methods have a certain prerequisite." She found the page she was looking for, the contract for the Pursuers. "First, you have to break them." She brought the orb closer, and reached out to take some blood from her victim. She spread a line on the page in her book which rapidly faded.

She threw her hands out in front of her, and the pulsating orb of darkness expanded suddenly to envelop the whole basement. At its core was the body of Viper, covered in some kind of wispy shadow. Slowly the shadows started to expand, and soon she would be enveloped. Eren was also within the sphere, but the darkness wouldn't reach him and he wouldn't be able to see through it.

"Do you know what the best weapon to break someone is?" She called back to him as she walked towards the darkness, letting the question hang in the air.

The wave of shadows swallowed Nuul in it's embrace, and Eren was cut off from her. He would probably hear some of the sounds, but that would only serve to fuel his curiosity. Around her, the pitch-black air seemed to fracture, and a hole appeared. An oozing darkness billowed out of the hole, pooling at her feet. Something growled on the other side, it was hungry, slavering for another meal.

Nuul willed the rift to open wider, and all of a sudden, a multitude of thick, worm like creatures surged from it and flew straight towards Viper. The air fractured and opened just before they hit, and they all disappeared into the new rift as it closed.

"Now, we wait." She said.

"I see. So you're powering the grimoire with the sacrifice of my knife. Or perhaps you're just letting Viper keep my knife for reasons beyond mortal ken," Eren said dryly, "Which I certainly just have knives to give away to dangerous criminals like Viper. Hell. Might as well give him my gun."

Then, Eren watched the spectacle. He didn't flinch as the shadows closed in, though he cursed not being able to see anything. He instinctively pushed his glasses up, a habit he'd picked up whenever he couldn't see.

God dammit, E wanted to see this.

Eventually, Eren saw the wormlike things, and the rifts. Eren raised an eyebrow.

"Quite dramatic. Though I don't suppose I couldn't have just broken a few fingers to threaten the man?" Eren yawned, "Anyways, while we wait, I need advice on my next disguise. The red hair merc might get recognized, as I used that appearance to get to Viper. I'm thinking I could use my naturally short height and a little make up, a slightly stuffed bra and a dress to be a bit less threatening. I figure a pretty face could loose some tongues. At the same time though, I'd be viewed as a lesser, rather than an equal. I might not be taken seriously by my next target. If I change the make up and change the hair color, I could still act like a merc. What do you think? Cute girl or tough mercenary remix?"

Eren had somehow procured outfits during the short monologue, and held both a very pretty white dress and some makeshift armor each on a clothes hanger. The dress was short enough not to hamper mobility, and had a floral design on the skirt.

Annalee Diaz

The sun had just set, and Annalee found herself late for her curfew, again. She rushed down the nearly empty streets of the city, cutting through allies where she could, and dreading every new second. Father will be cross with me again, I hate to worry him so much. Annalee looked up to the shadows of the roofs of the buildings constantly, hoping that her doll Megumi was still following her in case she got into some sort of trouble.

Luckily, the only thing that went wrong for Annalee on the way was time. She heard the great clock in the center of the city chime the half hour as she burst through the door to her family's home. There, in the siting room, was her mother and father. They looked up at Annalee as she struggled to catch her breath, and she tried to get out an apology before her father started speaking.

"And what should I assume held you this time my dear? Should I be worried for your safety out there, or are you simply incapable of keeping track of the time? Must your mother sew pockets into all of your dresses so you may keep a pocket-watch?" Her father's tone was calm, kind. It made Annalee want to cry. I can't tell him the exact reason...

"I'm sorry, father. I was helping a young man regain something he had lost." Annalee heard herself say in a voice much calmer than she felt. It's not a lie... The real reason she was late this time was that she and Megumi had run into a marionette earlier, and had separated the Puppeteer from him, indeed helping him regain something. Himself.

Her father seemed to deflate at her words, the harsh kindness in his tone lost. "Well then, I suppose that is a well enough reason to lose the time, however I expect you do understand how much we worry for you when you are not her by curfew." He looked over to her mother and continued speaking. "You seem to come back later and later each day."

Now, her mother began to speak. "Dear, I forgive you for today. From how you look, I can tell that you had a rough time of it. Now, off to bed dear. You have errands to run in the morning." Her mother walked over to her and gave her a quick hug, kissing her on the forehead softly. Annalee said goodnight and went up to her room, changing into her pajamas before opening her window to allow Megumi in.

Nuul

"Not now, Eren." Nuul said, "This is important."

The Grimoire floated openly in front of her, and she seemed to be staring upwards into empty space, or darkness as it were. What Eren couldn't see was the nightmare before her eyes. The Pursuers had shown their fangs, and now they had them buried deep into the thug's flesh, and they held him in the air as the others rushed past, not giving the man a chance to breathe.

This was one of the powers of the Pursuers, the Nightmare Sphere. They would pursue their target anywhere, even into unconsciousness and they would not relent. The thug was holding them off fairly well with the knife he had in his free arm, but even so, he was still bleeding quite badly from the wounds he had received.

"That's to be expected, I suppose." She said, engrossed in the scene. "He'll last a while."

Gehrman walked through the streets, searching for the address of his next hunt. His notes were scrambled and overwritten numerous times, so he had to look at it twice before he was sure it was the right house. He unpacked his suitcase and made a last check of his weapons. He loaded his nailgun and placed it in his holster, while he equipped the Nail Driver over his arm like a boxing glove. He tested out the weight and balance of the weapon with a few quick jabs.

"That's right. Shouldn't be a lot of rust left after that metal Doll from last week."

His preparations done, Gehrman stepped up to the front door of Eren Deville's house and knocked on the door.

I only hope I'm not too late to save this soul.

Ryan Macfield
Ryan was at his home in his room, which was not too small, but not too spacious either. What made this room different from most rooms in Saulbine is the abundance of mirrors, which would make Ryan look like a mirror collector, but in fact, he isn't, and weren't interested in collecting mirrors for sake of it before, while pretending so. Then why does he pretend that he is a mirror collector and fill his room with mirrors? Ryan briefly opens the door to check what is happening outside of his room, and started speaking to the largest mirror.
"Ashling, it doesn't look like my parents are coming here anytime soon. You can come out now."

The day continued to get ever stranger, as a short redhead came from nowhere to interrupt her impending demise. With relatively little space on the balcony, the creepy man was still too close for comfort... and now a Doll. To the nun, this was hardly the godsend that anyone else would be treating it as; the number of monsters she had to fight had gone up.

At least this one, inexplicably huge scissors aside, would be easier to fight than the Marionette: she wasn't visually displaced from her actual location (the hand on her shoulder gave it away) and she'd hardly be expecting to be dealt with by the person she'd saved. Though maybe she'd have to let the Doll go and simply report her to the higher-ups. Even if it was a monster saving your life, betrayal was the worst crime imaginable.

"Fine, kill it," Regina answered, gripping her nails tightly and mentally adding 'then leave'.

VV

The moment the words left the nun's mouth, VV's lips spread into a wide grin.

She let out a small laugh. There it was. The completion of their deal. The seal that would confirm the nun's nature as her anchor. Now, they had forged a contract that could not be broken, at least not without certain extreme circumstances being met. VV was in the human world, and she knew there was nothing that could take her out. "Contract accepted."

The Marionette had evidently gotten over his shock, one fist lunging towards her, towards her at an impossible angle. That wasn't right at all...! It was then when she noticed, the coiling shadow that was the Puppeteer wasn't inside the man's body, but to the side, to the right of him. So that was it...

Moments before the fist could connect, VV's fist lashed out! It struck the air beside the Marionette's head, and there was an ugly crack as the image of his body snapped to the side, relocating to its appropriate location. He reeled back, clutching his nose as he fell backwards, toppling off the balcony and to the ground below. He hit the ground with a thud below. Idiot. Didn't he know anything about dealing with Dolls?

Placing one foot on the railing, VV looked back over her shoulder at the nun. "Now don't do anything stupid."

With that, she sprang off of the railing, landing boots-first below on the cobblestones. They cracked beneath her from the impact, dislodged and kicked into the air, several cobblestones clattering across the ground as she straightened. The Marionette was back on his feet already, both eyes fixed firmly on her. His body was already to the right of the shadow within again. Placing one hand on her hip, VV laughed.

"Really?!" she began, "Do you seriously think that's going to work? I can see you inside him. Twisting around like the parasite you are. You can't solve that, can you?"

The Marionette's hands clenched into fists. "Doll... I'll butcher you and that bitch!"

"Pffftahahahaha wow, you're funny," VV wiped a mock tear from one eye. This idiot seriously thought he had a chance? That parasite was going to learn a whole new world of knowledge in a few moments. Well, before dying. "But there's no more time to mess around. Come on out, Calamity Edge!"

VV outstretched her right hand. The air seemed to warp and distort, as red sparks materialized from nothing and gathered in her palm. With a flash, an immense pair of gold-and-silver shears had formed. The center of the handles was held tight, shut so that each blade formed a single double-edged sword. The metal hissed as VV swung it into the air, red sparks still raining down from the pristine metal that composed the massive shears. There was no further hesitation, VV's crimson-clad body blurred as she suddenly charged towards the Marionette! The sheer speed, the speed of a Doll and even moreso, dislodged cobblestones from the ground with each step.

The Marionette attempted to use his distorted image, pushing himself to the side harder than before, but really it was useless. VV's free hand latched out and caught his shoulder with an ugly crack. Well, something near it. It was hard to tell where it had hit, but wherever it was had sent the bastard stumbling!

She wouldn't use Calamity Edge to inflict lethal injury, especially not now. Not until her real target was exposed. The red-headed Doll's hand blurred, and with a thunk slammed directly into the spot that was occupied by the Puppeteer. The Marionette let out a stranged cry of shock as his image once again returned to its proper place, and it was now clear what was going on. VV was reaching inside, a shimmering light around her wrist as her arm sunk in deeper, grabbing for her target. The parasite was about to get just what it deserved!

There was a hiss of metal through the air, and VV barely snapped Calamity Edge up in time to deflect it. It was, apparently, the Marionette's hand, reshaped into a metallic blade. He was already preparing to lash out again, but...

"There. I've got you now, bastard!"

VV's fingers wrapped around the coiling darkness and began to draw it free. The Marionette's hand returned to normal and he staggered, letting out a gurgle as VV began to pull the parasite from his body. Finally, his eyes glazed over as he passed out, his body going slack. VV wrenched the monster free as he collapsed, and tossed it down onto the cobblestones! It was human-like in shape,though it lacked most features beyond eyes and pale skin... and its hands were simply sharp edges. No wonder it had wanted a human body so badly.

She could already see its shape shimmering! But it was disoriented, she wouldn't let it get away!

Calamity Edge slammed downwards. There was a wet thunk, then a crunch as it pierced all the way through and cut into the stone below. The Puppeteer's body ceased to shimmer and returned to its natural place as blood sprayed from its chest, splattering across VV's clothing and across the ground.

"Like I said, not your lucky day, is it?" she commented as she drew Calamity Edge from his body. The shears faded into red sparks as she straightened, standing over the monster.

The parasite's body went limp, collapsing onto the ground as blood continued to spray from it, coating the red-headed Doll. But it was starting to vanish, the blood seeming to seep into the girl's body. Indeed, the body was dissipating into a red mist too... all of it flowing into VV. Soon, the blood, and the corpse, was gone, the only remains of a battle being the unconscious former Marionette and the damaged cobblestones.

"Sheesh, he wasn't even very filling," VV stretched, "Oh well, he's dead now."

Ah, there it was. She'd found her Alice. With the acceptance of her help, the anchor was formed and the Transient Princess was here to stay as she turned her head to the side and smiled at the fearful being behind her. A peasant before a Queen, challenging her domain, her rule, and her beloved Alice...? What an insult to royalty. A snap of the fingers and the creation of circles in the ground behind him -- ones that held large spades within -- bought life to two Pawns of her army. The metal clang of two halberds crossing against one another to block his way of running followed the Transient Princess picking up her Alice with both of her arms to let her rest on her shoulder. A draw of the snowflake hairpin from the side of her hair and those silver eyes of hers focused on the corrupted being before her. The mist that escaped him, the evident lowering of temperature around...

Was he expecting her to be scared from the weak display?

"I deem you under the highest of treason for your actions. Hurting my dear Alice is a crime that ends in death."

The mist concerned her not -- her only concerned dealt with keeping her Doll Master on her shoulder and away from this man's reach as the flicking of the hairpin's clasp opened it up all the way and allowed the snowflake to converge into larger, brighter snowflakes and extend out the shape of the small adornment. With a sound akin to the cracking of ice, the hairpin had forged itself into a scepter fit for a Queen with that snowflake decoration at the top of it, bladed for the sake of combat and ready as the Doll grinned at the events to come. A wordless command, and the two Pawns -- human-sized beings dressed in shimmering white armor -- charged at the peasant -- the putrid Marionette -- that she'd given the penalty of death for. With halberds stretched out, they'd aim for the shoulders -- trying to avoid lethal wounds as she took a single step forward and aimed for the midsection of the mist-breathing antagonist herself.

"Hang on tight, Alice.~ This will only take a moment!"

The peasant knew what she was, and he showed the right kind of fear for it -- but he had stayed. And with his stay came her need to end his life. Not like her big sister, no, but sometimes a bit of red had to splash into the white in order for things to be completed.