Nuul
"Oh come now, is that it?" Nuul said, the swarm around her flying back into the Grimoire, "I've met children with more conviction than you, but I suppose children don't know as much."

The Beholders all surged back into the Grimoire, the portal on top closed. She turned to Eren to address the question.

"You'll have to declare a sacrifice before I can use it," She said, flipping through her book, "Unfortunately, you didn't, but I have some uses for him anyway."

The air fractured above her, and the Pursuers surged through the rift, biting into the corpse and dragging it back with them. The rift sealed, and she closed the Grimoire. It floated below her and she gratefully sat on it.

When she had put the Thug's blood on the Pursuers' page, she had added a target for them to pursue. They were powerful, but their hunger limited her commands somewhat, but the commands she could give worked well enough. Regardless, she had promised them prey and she always delivered on her promises.

"Now that we've resolved ourselves, Eren, why don't you make a start on that tea?" She said.

Eren Deville

Eren chuckled.

"Come now, Nuul. An empty mind is the easiest to fill," she said.

Eren saw Nuul's disposal of the corpse, and blinked.

"Huh. Well, that's taken care of, at least. Now, I'll make the tea."

Eren brushed off her dress, and walked inside. As she set off, she looked behind her and raised an eyebrow at the hunters.

"You know, had you guys not showed up, Viper would be properly contained and my dress wouldn't be ripped. I want you to feel properly guilty for ruining my dress," she said, before going inside proper.

She entered her relatively spartan kitchen and started brewing tea. She waited for the hunters, before speaking.

"So, I guess the first thing you should know about is Puppeteers. Remember how I said Dolls were a varied lot?"

She spoke with steel in her voice, "Puppeteers are not. A doll will have as much of a fully fleshed out moral compass as a human. Puppeteers do not. They influence people and attack their hearts, turning them into monsters known as Marionettes. Marionettes are forced to watch their bodies do unspeakable acts. Marionettes are as powerful as dolls, and are similarly immune to non-nail based weaponry."

Eren paused.

"A marionette can be cured, however, By bringing them within an inch of death and then attempting to destroy the puppeteer that inhabited the body."

Eren paused. He seemed to be turning something over in his head. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"A marionette may still be susceptible to their doll's influence after the fact, if that puppeteer is not successfully destroyed," Eren said, "But they will no longer have their marionette powers. They may manifest odd traits, like enhanced senses or an intense pain tolerance, however."

He paused, "Nuul, am I glossing over anything? Do you have anything to add?"

Annalee Diaz

Annalee smiled as the boy, Leo, introduced himself and his doll. "It's very nice to meet you Leo, and you as well Masami. It's no trouble to me to have you stay here tonight, in fact I find it's a responsibility of mine to help all those who need it, so it's more of a pleasure to have you here than a hassle." Annalee glanced around the room as she said this, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see Megumi.

"Someone else here probably thinks that I'm going to get myself into a lot of trouble because of that feeling of responsibility, one day. But i'll just leave that topic with this: 'You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar'." Annalee smiled again at the two as she continued. "Speaking of honey, are either of you hungry? I'm not a fantastic cook, but I'm sure I could make something edible, like soup or oatmeal. I could get some cream for your cat too if you wish."

---

MiRRor (Ashling)

Ashling took the small mirror from Ryan, finding the reflection of his own eye quickly and creating a copy of himself, which materialized from the mirror in a small ball of light. The copy looked at Ryan and began to mimic him, creating the illusion of Ryan's appearance over the surface of the copy's body.

The copy stood while the real MiRRor spoke. "I will stay here with you unless it is necessary for me to go help my copy. Can I trust you to stay out of trouble if that happens?"

After MiRRor finished talking, the copy spoke too, in Ryan's voice. "I'm going to confront them now. They will think I am you, and I will be able to lull them into a false sense of security because they will think they know my strengths."

Next they spoke at the same time. "Do you have any changes you would like to make to this plan?"

Nuul

"I think you've forgotten the biscuits, Eren." Nuul said, floating over to the table on her Grimoire, "And you'd best set the sugar on the table for our guests as well."

Of course, handling a sugar pot, tea pot, plate of biscuit and four cups would've been troublesome, but she was sure Eren could handle it. After all, dealing with a gang and the forces of darkness was probably much easier than serving tea.

---

The Boy

"Ah! Thank you!" He said, "But I ate just before. I'm not sure about Masami though."

His stomach rumbled, but he punched himself to stop it.

"Do you happen to have a bath we could use?" He asked, "This is the first time we've been able to settle for a while."

Masami
Masami looked at her Master, before smiling at the person who opened the door. While Masami does not feel the need to eat, she still wants to do so. Although she thought of eating something, she decided to refrain from doing so, hopefully until the morning, when the housekeeper would possibly serve breakfast for them.

I ate them just before, too. Masami smiled at the person who opened the door.

Ryan Macfield

"Perfect. I'll make sure to hide when bad thing happens." Ryan whispered to his real Doll, before analyzing the surroundings. He found a spot which dumb-headed people like the bullies wouldn't bother finding. He then looked to the copy of him his Doll just made. "The copy's perfect, too. No changes necessary."

Gambol entered the kitchen and sat down by the table. As Eren gave him tea, he sipped it like any old gentleman would. He sat by and listened to the discussion about the Puppeteers, and part of him began to think back to the botched hunt that inspired him to be a hunter.

"Hm... Interesting. Tell me, are there any tell-tale signs of a person being possessed by this... Puppeteer? Like, monstrous transformations or what not?" Shane recalled the boar he fought and how it became a human.

Gehrman took his seat as far from the others as he could, still uneasy about his defeat. After Deville started complaining about the dress she wore, he realized that the woman he met at the door was actually her all along. He constantly shifted his gaze over the Doll, anxious that he had let himself in the mercy of such a dangerous entity. One thing came clear to him, though: Deville was clearly not under any kind of control by the Doll. Nonetheless, Gehrman's attention immediately focused on Deville's explanation on the Puppeteers and Marionettes.

After a while of listening, he started to suspect that some of the Dolls he's hunted may have actually not been Dolls, if the description was accurate. Having nothing to contribute to the conversation for now, Gehrman stayed silent as the other hunter asked his question.

"I meant on the doll front, but true," Errn said. He gathered the sugar, biscuits, and tea out quickly and placed them on his table, before setting out four cups. He then have his guests a gentle smile and served tea into all the cups.

He looked at Shane, "It depends. I've noticed most have yellow eyes, but this is not universal. They can hide among the people very well. The only real way to tell is if they have an adverse reaction to nail based weaponry, and an immunity to other weaponry. If a human starts shapeshifting and the like thpugh, well, I think it's safe to say they are either a doll or marionette."

Eren sat down and sipped his tea. He gave his guests a soft smile.

"And that's the scary part. Every marionette is unique. And although the puppeteer within them is malevolent, the marionette body itself is a person. Someone with hopes and dreams."

Eren paused, "As are dolls. Nuul is bonded to me, but she is a wholly separate person with her own personality. And, I myself am my own person too. We're a team, but we have no supernatural control over one another. I am her conduit through which she can enter the physical world. She is my partner in my search for Mr. White."

Eren looked at first one hunter, then the other.

"Any questions so far?"

Gehrman was now sure that some of the more ferocious Dolls he encountered were actually Puppeteers in control of a host Marionette. He wondered for a moment why he didn't notice this earlier, but then realized that with all the mystery surrounding these monsters, something like that would easily go unnoticed. However, there was something Gehrman wanted to talk about. He spoke up.

"You mentioned someone by the name of Viper. Was the body I found outside his, and if so, how did it get there?"

Cynthia Lee

Cynthia didn't really understand. If her name was Cynthia, why was she Alice? What did that mean? Was it a Doll thing? But it was hard to focus on even that point of confusion given her situation. She was just saved by a real Doll! And the Doll had killed that Puppet and everything! It looked like the guy it had been inside was out cold, lying there on the cobblestones. And now she could go anywhere she wanted... there were so many options! Of course, her thoughts were interrupted when the Doll suddenly leaped up to the rooftop with her in tow. There was a brief moment of the air rushing past her, all around her, and then she was suddenly up so high...

"... Wow..." it was all she could really say for a moment, before shaking her head and looking around. If her Doll could jump up that high... she'd make an awesome story to tell her friends! Eagerly raising one hand and pointing to a distant structure, Cynthia looked up at Transient Princess. "Take me up there, all the way to the top!"

Renton's King Clock. The massive clock tower was old, very old, the giant hands slowly ticking away the night. It was an elegant building, the huge silvery dial perched upon sturdy spire of green-grey stone. Even at night the immense clock was often filled with engineers dutifully carrying out their business.

"I see... Well, that seems to answer a burning question that my trainer didn't bother to tell me. I worry that my hobby's teachings might wind up having me confuse a Doll from a Puppeteer. Is there a tell-tale sign of a Marionette's presence?" Shane asked, rubbing the wound that Nuul gave.

Nuul

"There is only one universal sign that someone has been possessed by a Puppeteer," Nuul said, sipping her tea, "A Marionette will always work towards the detriment of mankind."

She put her cup down onto the table before taking the sugar pot and adding another two spoonfuls of sugar. She stirred and took another sip.

"The only trait Puppeteers truly share is their desire to do harm, you may as well assume that it is their only purpose and motivation on this earth."

Annalee Diaz

"Are you sure? Ok..." Annalee trailed off as she gave up on trying to feed them before bedtime. "Yes, you can bathe in the bathroom down here, and there are two available upstairs as well. I'll get a change of clothes for you if you need. You would probably fit my little brother's spare pajamas." She smiled at Leo as she said the last part, when another thought crossed her mind.

"Um, would you two prefer to share a room? I don't mind if you do, I just need to know where to set you up. If you don't want to share with each other, you could share with me or my brother, or there are two empty rooms upstairs right now, my older brother's and a guest room." Annalee spoke with concern and kindness, hoping to become more like a friend to them and less like a stranger.

---

MiRRor (Ashling)

"Alright then. I'm going now." The copy spoke before walking into the nearest pool of light to the bullies, while MiRRor watched intently for any signs of danger around his master and to see if he would need to jump into the soon-to-be fight and help his copy. The copy stopped walking when one of the bullies saw him and called Ryan's name. The copy walked over to them as they told him to, and they proceeded to harass and make fun of Ryan while the copy discreetly reached into his back pocket and pulled out a knife, a very real copy of the one that MiRRor himself carried.

He waited for a lull in the bullies chatter, showing no emotion as he did, before he made a comment that would force one of the bullies to throw a punch at him. The copy deflected the hit neatly with the knife, slicing the back of the kid's hand from the knuckles down to the wrist, a thin but deep cut that had him backing off and nursing his wound while the others stared at the copy in shock and anger, two of them starting to gang up on him.

The copy said something else that had one of them hesitating while the other rushed the clone and swung a punch. The copy ducked out of the way, causing the bully to hit the one who had hesitated in the face and breaking his nose. The copy took the kid with the broken nose and pushed him into the one bully who hadn't done anything yet, but was obviously the leader.

Ryan Macfield

"Come on myself... Be quiet..." Ryan thought, as his clone, which in turn is a clone of his Doll neatly countered the punch from one of the bullies with a knife, being excited about indirectly getting revenge. He was trying his best to not say anything, because it would blow his cover. Still, he was getting excited, and he almost wanted to say something, but quickly covered his mouth just before he made any noticeable noise. He then looked away and took a deep breath, before whispering to his Doll. " What are you planning to do with the leader, just asking?"

The Boy

"Ah," He said in reference to the clothes, "That would be good, thank you."

The boy gave the question a little thought. They had been on the streets for the majority of the journey, and when they had been taken in they were usually in one room. Still, he didn't mind either way.

"I don't really mind where I go," he said, "I'm just glad we have a place to stay tonight."

His cat then walked over to the girl, and started rubbing itself against her leg. It looked up at her and let out a happy meow!

"I'm going to go take a bath now," He said, starting to talk towards the one she had pointed out.

"Yes, and as for Viper..." Eren frowned.
"I must admit, I have no idea what HE is. He seems to skirt the line between human and marionette. Well, skirted, anyways."

Eren paused, "I believe there will be more of him, though. I think there are others like him. And I have a lead on who is responsible, and how to get to him."

Eren crossed his legs, left leg over the right, and smiled a gentle smile.

"The only thing I lack, is subordinates."

Masami
Masami smiled at the girl that let the Doll and her Master in her house, listening to her Master, until he stated he doesn't mind where he goes. Masami stated she does want to share the room with Leo, thinking to herself the other Doll might attack her Master thinking the other Doll's master was harmed by her Master, even if he did not do anything to her.

"I'm going to take a bath, too." She said, as she started following her Master.

Annalee Diaz

Annalee smiled at Leo as she spoke. "Alright, I'll go get your room ready upstairs and I'll lay out the clothing too." She got a little distracted by the cat, so she almost didn't notice Masami following Leo to the bathroom. "Oh, wait! You can't use the same bathroom, that's improper. I'll draw your bath upstairs." Annalee motioned for Masami to follow her as she disappeared up the stairs.

---

MiRRor (Ashling)

"The copy will get the others to a point where they can't fight anymore, but not to where they're passed out or dead, and then you could go and confront the leader if you wanted, you'd be safe enough at that point and of course I'd be with you if you chose to." MiRRor explained to Ryan as the copy continued fighting the bullies. The one that had gotten his hand cut had stopped fighting and was being supported by one of the others, so now it was just one more and the leader still fighting.

Masami
Masami looked at the girl motioning at the Doll to follow her, and thought about the other Doll for a moment. "What if the other Doll is hostile, and is willing to kill my master? But I've worded what I said in a way that would prevent me from being with my Master... I have two options at this point: Either make up an excuse to stay downstairs and prevent the Doll from attacking my Master, or go upstairs and hope the Doll doesn't kill him..." She followed the girl, before saying something to her. "I feel insecure without Leo nearby..."

Ryan Macfield

"You should be following me according to my current plans, which involves me pretending that you are my friend who is good at disguising and fighting. Is that okay?" Ryan whispered to the Doll, looking at his clone fighting the bullies. He could see that the bully that tried to punch the clone first required a support from one of the other bullies, disabling both. Ryan covered his mouth, as he was almost going to cheer for the clone.

"You're asking us to join you in hunting down this monster?" Gambol thought about it. "Well, you spared our lives and you guys have a lead on this monster. I'm not sure what the other hunter's response is, but I'm gonna say yeah."