[b]VV[/b] 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 in the alley pause. A hand reached from the middle of the circle, the air rippling around it as it latched onto the bandaged girl's shoulder. VV used this. Her anchor's shoulder... Her Doll Master's shoulder. She pulled herself through, stepping into the darkness of the alley. Her eyes fixed on the fat man. Hmph. Far too well-dressed for the monster inside him, frankly. As his rictus grin began to falter in the face of this new arrival, VV began to smile. It was not a cheerful one. No, in spite of her pleasure at finding a Doll Master, one thing was chiefly on VV's mind. "D-Doll..." the man took a step back, bloodshot eyes wide on shock. VV's grip tightened, and she abruptly made to shove the bandaged girl to the ground, onto her rear, before stepping forward and in front of her. "Oi," began VV, advancing towards the man as she spoke, "You're a pretty unlucky monster, aren't you?" With her right hand, she gestured to the girl on the ground. Sheesh, she really was in a state, wasn't she? All locked up by the Puppeteer like that... he'd even gotten her to smile! But it didn't take a genius to figure out that the bastard couldn't do the same to a Doll. His reaction alone showed off that it wasn't going to work. Of course, first VV needed her weapon. "This one is mine." "D-Doll... Doll..." the man took another step back, as VV drew closer. But then... his grin returned, as he raised his cane and charged, intending to bring his down on VV's neck hard enough to snap it. He was a Marionette, after all. It wasn't impossible. But he'd made the severe mistake of thinking that VV was anyone other than herself. The Marionette laughed as he lunged closer, raising his cane up. "Idiot." With that, VV suddenly snapped to the side, the cane impacting on the ground and cracking the cobblestone where she had stood seconds before. VV drew back one fist and snapped it forward, striking the man in the stomach. He let out a loud wheeze and rocketed back, eyes bulging out of his skull as he hit the ground and rolled for a moment. e was back on his feet quickly enough, but really, that didn't compare. "You're a real jackass, aren't you? Dumb enough to think that'd even work on a Doll. Especially me." She stuck her right arm straight out to the side. "Come on out, Calamity Edge!" Red sparks drifted into the air, scattering in a shower as the familiar form of the silver-and-gold scissors materialized seemingly from nothing. Her fingers wrapped around part of the handle, holding the blades together as a sword. She swung the immense shears forward, pointing Calamity Edge directly at the Marionette. "You're going to pay for trying to touch my property!" "Two can play at that game, young lady!" declared the Marionette, grasping one end of his cane. From it he drew the silvery blade of a rapier. Hah! Like that would work. Putting on a burst of speed, VV lunged forward, Calamity Edge tearing through the air. The Marionette raised the rapier in a bid to block the attack entirely, and for a moment sparks flew as the weapons collided with a resounding clang... and then Calamity Edge simply sliced through the gleaming metal, cleaving it apart. In almost the same motion, VV's free hand snapped forward and drove itself into the Marionette's chest. The fat man thrashed, but no damage was done to his body. No, VV was reaching elsewhere... "There!" ... And she began to draw it free. The man's thrashing ceased as she drew the Puppeteer entirely from his Marionette. She didn't care what it looked like. A grinning man, or something, she didn't pay much attention as she yanked him free. The man collapsed, and VV elegantly twirled Calamity Edge... before driving it through the Puppeteer's chest with a wet thunk and a spray of blood across the cobblestones. "Dumb Bastard. Don't you know?" The grinning man's grin faded, and shortly after he ceased to move, so did he. His body, the blood splattered across the ground... it all faded into a drifting cloud of light. All that was left was the former Marionette, unconscious and lying there. Calmly, VV stepped back, Calamity Edge vanishing into red sparks as she straightened. "There's nothing that Calamity Edge cannot cut." The lights drifted towards her, and suffused her body. For a moment, she felt such warmth... she had consumed his energy. The new power flowed through her... and then she turned to face the bandaged girl. Walking over to her, she grabbed the girl's hand and yanked her up, then into her arms, in a hold reminiscent of a bridal carry. "I'm VV. Don't wander out in the dark alone, you moron." ---- [b]Annabelle[/b] Annabelle turned the corner... and suddenly she was grabbed from behind. She didn't know who had grabbed her, and before she could even cry out she felt a hand over her mouth. She squirmed and let out a muffled sound, elbows driving back into her attacker's ribs. But to no avail. She was simply dragged into the darkness of an alley before anyone could even see what happened. The figure threw her to the ground. It was a man... but... so... so unlike a man at the same time. His eyes were nothing but deep pools of blood red, veins bulging in his arms. His tongue... it was far too long, and he ran it across his lips as he stood there, regarding her. Annabelle scooted back in fear. What... what was this guy? Why... why did he look like that? This wasn't normal! This wasn't logical! This was... this was... "Hehehe..." the man laughed. "Fresh meat... so sweet, I wonder who will miss you?" In terror, Annabelle tried to back away further, but she simply hit a wall. Why was he doing this?! Who was he?! Why was... why... It was only a few moments before things would change even more then they had already.