The day had started like any other at the Bodega Bay Inn and Puppet Museum. Jake had awoken, rolled over and kissed his wife, Tabitha, and then headed down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast while she showered for the day. Moving quietly down the stairs, he walked into the large kitchen area and opened the fridge, leaning on the door and examining the contents. Moving his left hand into it, he moved aside a container holding several long vials of a green liquid and grabbed the milk.
From behind, there came a small hissing sound. Turning, he looked down by his feet and saw a small puppet with a large smile and Jester's hat on his head.
"Morning Jester." He said, smiling down at his little "brother".
Jester raised his right hand in greeting and moved off toward the table.
"So, where are the other guys this morning?" asked Jake.
A series of hisses were heard as Jake chuckled, "Well, Blade kind of asked for it if he wanted to play games with dad. He knows those electrical shocks can be a little painful."
Setting the milk on the counter, he opened a cupboard and pulled out some cereal and a bowl. Preparing his breakfast, he heard the sound of several little pairs of feet coming into the kitchen. Grabbing his bowl of cereal, he sat down at the table as six tiny puppets joined Jester and Jake. The first, a small white faced and white haired one, wore a small black trench coat and fedora. For hands, he had a small hook and on the other, a blade. Moving with stealth agility, he leapt onto the chair beside Jake and offered a salute by raising his blade to his temple.
"Morning, Blade." Jake said with a smile, "I heard you wanted to try dad in a little battle. Too bad you lost. Maybe next time you'll win."
The small puppet hissed as Jake laughed, "Yeah, that's what you said last time he popped you with a good shot. Remember to dodge those things."
The chair Jake was sitting in twisted slightly as he looked down to the puppet with huge biceps pulling on the leg of the chair to get his attention.
"A good morning to you as well, Pinhead." Said Jake as he reached down, picked him up and set him in another chair beside Jester.
Pinhead waved one of his mighty arms to Jake as the tiny head and face were smiling.
Looking at the chair across from him, he saw six hands climbing up the side of it as Six-Shooter climbed up and sat down in the seat, laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked a curious Jake, arching a brow.
A series of hisses came from the cowboy as he nodded, "Well, I still think Blade has what it takes to beat him. He just needs a few more sessions."
Blade's head turned to Six Shooter as small daggers popped out from his eye sockets.
"Hey," Jake warned, "No fighting at the table. Tabby's rules, not mine."
A tugging at his left pant leg made him look down at what appeared to be a puppet with a small drill on top of his head.
"Let me help you up there, Tunneler." He said as he reached down and lifted the small puppet up onto a third chair.
Tunneler nodded once to him as thanks as he sat down.
The last two puppets into the room walked in, holding hands as they moved to the small alcove facing the table. Decapitron leapt up into the alcove and extended his hand down to help Leech Woman up before both sat down and smiled at Jake.
"Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Dad."
Decapitron's face morphed from the black bulb into that of Rick Myers, who replied, "Good morning, son. So, has Blade been complaining about his latest loss?"
Jake nodded, "Yeah, but I think the other guys are still making fun of him."
Rick looked to the other puppets at the table, "Hey, none of you have managed to get that close to the end of the game yet. I took Jester down in the first round, remember?"
The small Jester's face spun around to reveal a frowning face.
Getting up, Jake walked over and knelt beside the alcove.
"How are you doing, mom?" he asked, running a finger down her dark hair.
She hissed a few times, as he nodded, "Yeah, I know." And frowned, "We're all still getting over it. But, life does go on and Tabby and I are still young enough to try for another baby."
Rick looked over at his son and extended a hand to place it on Jake's hand.
"It wasn't anyone's fault, dad." Jake said, smiling down at him, "It was an accident. That's all."
Getting to his feet, Jake walked over to the window and looked out at the grounds, as his mind wandered back to the evening three months past.
It has been a cold October evening, he remembered that. He, Tabitha and his parents had gone into town for dinner to celebrate the upcoming birth of Jake and Tabitha's child and to show off Decapitron and Leech Woman's puppet bodies to a collector who had expressed interest in having duplicate puppets made for a display. Only Ten minutes from the Bodega Bay, they had been driving down the highway when another car had suddenly swerved in front of them. Slamming on the brakes, Rick had tried to account for the icy road as the car spun around, out of control. Too late to do anything else, the others held tight to their seat belts as the car veered off the road, tumbling down the side of the road and slamming sideways into a tree as Jake could only hear the screaming from the back seat where his mother and Tabitha were.
Slowly opening his eyes, Jake saw the world was upside down and was confused for a moment. Then he realized the car was upside down. He could smell smoke as he looked around.
"Dad? Mom? Tabby?!" he yelled, scanning the interior of the car.
The driver's side door had been ripped off and his father's body was hanging out, limp.
"Dad?!" he yelled as he disconnected his own seat belt and staggered over to pull his dad back into the car.
A huge cut on the side of his head leaked massive amounts of blood as Jake's eyes widened. There were numerous cuts and contusions across his father's face as Jake turned backward to check on the other two.
Tabitha was moving around, having disconnected her own seat belt and feeling the side of her head, blood dripping from a cut on it.
"Are you okay?" he asked her as she nodded slowly.
It was that moment that he saw his mother's body. The seat belt had been cut by something and she lay on the roof of the upside down car, a long , jagged cut on the side of her neck that was leaking blood.
"We have to get them out of here!" he yelled as he shoved open his own door and staggered out.
Quickly, he pulled open Tabitha's door and helped her out as he saw several cutes and gashes on her body.
"Sit here." He told her, "Rest while I get them out."
She did as she was asked and sat down at the base of the tree, tears streaming down her face from the ordeal.
Moving around to the other side of the car, he pulled his mother's body out as he laid her on the ground, looking for her pulse and found it to be very weak.
Opening the driver side door, he pulled Rick's body out and laid it next to his mother, again, checking and finding a faint pulse.
Standing, he ran his hands through his hair, frightened and unsure what to do. They were more than Ten minutes away from home and there was no cell signal in this area.
"Damn it!" He thought, "They're dying and I can't do anything to help them!"
Then, the idea arose in his head. Moving to the back of the car, he looked around at the ground where the trunk had been popped open and looked for the small trunk. Finding it a short distance from the wreck, he grabbed it and raced back to his parents' bodies.
Opening the trunk, he placed the puppets next to his parents and grabbed two small green vials and a syringe from the other end of the trunk. Injecting the puppet bodies with the liquid, he then knelt beside them, closing his eyes and trying to shut out everything else, the sounds of the forest, Tabitha's crying and the whole world. Jake began speaking in a low hiss, an odd incantation as both puppets began to move slightly. At first, it was barely distinguishable, but then Decapitron's arm began to move. Leech Woman's eyes opened as she began to sit up.
Jake opened his eyes and saw them both sit up and then stand.
"Mom! Dad! I'm sorry, I had no other choice. I thought you were both about to die. I couldn't carry you both back home and I had the dolls here! Please, forgive me." He said looking imploringly at them, tears coming down his face.
Both of the puppets were still for a moment before Decapitron looked back at his human body and then at Jake. Slowly, the black bulb head morphed into Rick's slowly. Finally, Rick smiled at his son.
"Jake, you did what you thought was right. You wanted to save us and you did. There is nothing to forgive."
He looked at Leech Woman, who had not looked at her body but was smiling at her son. She hissed a few times as Jake nodded, "Thank you both. I just couldn't let you go. I need you both so much."
From behind, he heard Tabitha getting to her feet as he rushed over to her and held her hand, "Are you okay?"
Her eyes moved from the two dead bodies to the two puppets and understood in moments what had happened.
"Jake," she began to say, "I don't feel right. Something's wrong with the…" she began to say before collapsing into his arms.
He remembered carrying her all the way back to the Inn, followed by his parents. The paramedics were called and came out to examine Tabitha as Jake explained what had happened and told them where his parents' bodies could be found by the wreckage. The police took down all the information and assured him, they would do everything possible to find the driver who had cut them off on the road, but Jake doubted that person would ever be found.
Coming down from their room, the doctor had informed Jake that although Tabitha had only suffered a few cuts and bruises, the baby had been lost.
He had rushed upstairs to comfort and hold his life but it seemed nothing could be done to console either one of them over the next month. But life, as had been noted, did move on. The Inn and museum had been shut down for their grief but eventually re-opened.
Slowly, Tabitha began to return to her normal self as talks of having another child began to take place. Now, two months later, things had returned to as normal as it ever had been.
Rick and his wife, Suzie had adjusted to being in their puppet form well, having been transferred in them previous due to the demon Sutaketh.
A voice from behind him made Jake turn away from these thoughts and the window. Turning to look down, he saw the two small figures of Andre and Elsa Toulon, his relatives, walk in. Both were no taller than the other puppets, but these two were in fact human. The bodies had once belonged to Brick Bardo and a nurse named Ginger. But, both had been injured doing battle with the puppet's adversaries and allowed Andre and Elsa to transfer their essences into their bodies.
"Good morning, Jake." Andre said with a smile as he walked in, "Isn't Tabitha up yet?"
"Yes, she's showering and then heading…"
Jake was stopped mid-sentence as his wife walked in.
"Morning everyone." She said as she walked over and kissed Jake, smiling.
Elsa moved over beside her husband and wrapped her arm in his before saying, "Today is the big day of the trip. Is everyone as excited as I am?"
Jake nodded, sitting down in the alcove, "Sure am. First time I've ever gone to England."
"Me too," Tabitha added, moving to the fridge and taking out a pitcher of orange juice and pouring a glass, "I've always wanted to go there when I was a little girl."
"It seems it is a great honor to put on our show for someone as important as this Mr. Travis. From what I've seen on the internet, he's a self-made multi-millionaire and quite influential. If we are a success, it could mean a tour of England." Andre said, leaning against the door and rubbing his wife's hand.
"What business is he in?" Jake asked.
"I can't be entirely sure. Experimental sciences is what it listed. But it said he is an avid fan of puppeteers and robotics. I'm sure that's why we received the invitation to go there and perform."
Looking down at his watch, Jake's eyes widened, "Speaking of which, we need to finish getting ready. The taxi will be here soon and we still need to get everyone loaded in the trunk."
Blade hissed as Jake frowned, "Yeah, I know it's not the best way to travel, but it's necessary."
At Castle Travis in East Sussex, England, an older man walked down the corridors of the castle, lit only by torchlight. Carrying a newspaper, glass of juice mixed with champagne and two crossaints, he made his way to the master bedroom and knocked once.
"Enter, Mr. Mascaro." Came the reply.
Entering the room, the light hit the assistant's face, highlighting the clown face he wore. Moving to the large king sized bed, he sat the tray down on the lap of his very odd master indeed. He had the body of a large man, but his head seemed to be two sizes too small.
"They will be arriving soon, Mr. Travis." Said the clown faced man, "Is there anything else you would like me to do in preparation of their arrival?"
Virgil Travis glanced over at him and smiled, "No, Mr. Mascaro, I believe all the arrangements have been made to greet them in the way they deserve."
He glanced over to a small crib next to the bed as he heard a voice say, "Yeah, clown boy. They're gonna find their visit most enjoyable!" and then a shrill laugh.