Chapter 1

One year after Paige's death...

"Hold still!" Lil' Steve shouts, chasing Lil' Mike down the hallway, attempting to aim his bow as he runs.

Lil' Mike skids around a corner and bolts into a nearby room. Seeing Steve he runs for cover behind the man's ankle as Lil' Steve comes sliding through the doorway after him.

Steve looks down at the dolls with confusion before leaning down, scooping Lil' Mike into the palm of his hand, and lifting him out of the reach of Lil' Steve's arrows. "What's going on here?"

Lil' Mike Mike holds onto Steve's hand as though he would fall if he let go.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Lil' Steve shouts, only resulting in Lil' Mike gripping tighter.

"You're not killing anyone." Steve says firmly, as he reaches down and plucks the bow and arrows from his hands with ease.

"Fine. I'll just use headbutts instead!" Lil' Steve shouts up to the terrified Lil' Mike.

"I don't know what I did to make you hate me hate me so much!"

Steve leans down with a sigh, picking up Lil' Steve in his other hand, careful to keep them apart.

"You know exactly what you did!" Lil' Steve shouts, headbutting Steve's hand in an attempt to make him let go.

Lil' Mike squirms in Steve's grip before jumping to the ground with a small yelp and running out of the room. Lil Steve is soon to follow, with cries of "Get back here so I can headbutt you!"

Steve stands bewildered for a moment then shakes his head and goes back to work on his new soundboard, figuring they could work out their problems for themselves.

...

Michael and Matt sit in one of the rehearsal rooms, mindlessly working out the basic notes of a new song. As they finish their first iteration of the music, Matt looks up at Michael with a slight smile, then a frown as he speaks up. "Hey Michael?"

Michael looks up at him as he sets down the guitar. "Yeah?"

"Why do you have two shadows?" He asks in confusion.

Michael looks behind him, surprised to see he has two shadows before giving a soft shrug. "I don't know, why do you have..." He takes a moment, counting. "Seven?"

Before Matt can respond Rabbit comes into the room, carrying his hat in hand, whistling almost like an owner trying to call their dog back. "C-c-come on, let's get you all home." He calls to the extra shadows. He goes behind Matt, plucking one of the extra shadows from the wall, and dropping it into his hat. He looks at the humans for a moment giving them a small nod as he herds out the extra shadows. "Mr. R-r-reed, Matt..." He acknowledges as he goes.

Matt raises an eyebrow at Michael, "What was that?"

Michael gives a shrug. "Rabbit's doing something strange, must be Tuesday." He shakes his head slightly before picking up his guitar again. "Try it again from the top?"

Matt forces himself to relax slightly, still not used to the manor. "Yeah, let's try it again."

...

"Wait, you're leaving? You're just going to leave me alone in this madhouse? I've only been here for like six months. I'm supposed to be learning and you're supposed to be the one teaching me." Carolina says, frowning at Brianna as she packs her bags.

"You're not going to be alone, Peter's called in Bunny and she'll be coming in from Kazooland she'll be here in a couple of days. I'm sorry, but I have to go. I love this job, but family comes first, and maybe I'll come back someday, but it's not in the cards, at least not at the moment." She says with a soft sigh as she closes the suitcase and zips it up. She looks at the Walter Girl in training and offers a soft smile. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine, just... try to keep Rabbit out of trouble and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it." She reaches out and pulls Carolina into a hug.

Carolina hugs her back, almost on the verge of tears, Brianna is almost like a sister to her, and it hurts to be losing her. "I just wish you didn't have to go..." She says quietly.

"I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do." She says, before pulling away. "Now keep your head up, and smile, they're all depending on you now." She says, grabbing her suitcase off of the bed. "Don't be afraid to call me if you need anything, I'll always be there for you, no matter what."

Carolina nods, pausing for a moment. "Does Spine know yet?" She asks, worried she would have to be the one to break the news, knowing that he is fond of Brianna as a friend.

Brianna shakes her head. "Peter's going to tell him tonight, it'll be easier for all of us that way."

"You should tell him yourself, he's earned that much." Carolina says, offering a sad smile before she takes her leave of the room.

Brianna sits down on the edge of the bed with a soft sigh, knowing Carolina's right, but not wanting to admit to it.

A few minutes later there's a gentle knock on the doorframe as The Spine stands just out of her sight line, to provide the courtesy of semi-privacy despite the lack of a door. "Brianna?" He asks, "Carolina told me you have something you want to talk to me about? She made it sound important, I thought it would be best if I came as soon as I could."

Brianna internally curses and thanks Carolina, there's no way to avoid it now. "She's right, there is something I need to talk to you about, and I don't think you're going to like it. You might want to come in and take a seat..."

Spine walks into the room, now worried that something is wrong. The first thing he spies is that Brianna is in street clothes, not her Walter Girl uniform that hangs in her closet, still in the garment bag from the cleaners. "Is something wrong?" He asks before he spies the suitcase. "Are you going somewhere?"

She nods. "Yes, I'm..." She stops and has to take a breath to calm her nerves, it's more difficult to say more than she originally thought it would be. "I'm going home."

"But... you are home?" Spine questions more than states. "You've been living here for years now, what do you mean you're going home?" He asks, brows furrowing and his mouth clicks into a frown.

"I mean home. Home as in going back to my family." She says, barely holding back tears. "There was an emergency, and they're bringing everyone together, and that includes me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." She says, looking down.

"Tell me earlier...? How long have you known? When are you leaving?" He asks, mind whirring with the new information alarmed by the sudden loss of an employee, and more than that, a treasured friend. "We have to get your affairs in order, figure out how long you'll be gone, figure out pay schedule, does Peter know?"

She sighs again. "I've known for a few weeks that I'm leaving, Peter's known as long as I have. My flight leaves in a few hours, and my taxi should be here any minute now..." She trails off, blinking back tears. "Spine... I'm not coming back. Not anytime soon."

"Oh." He says, caught completely off guard by all of this "Well... that changes things, doesn't it." He says, a bit dumbstruck as he walks up to her and wraps his arms around her. "It was a pleasure to know you, Miss Brianna." He says softly.

She hugs him back, tears in her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me 'Miss'?" She asks in a whisper.

"I just wanted to hear you say that one more time..." He rumbles in a deep baritone. "You will be sorely missed."

She pulls away from him after a few moments. "Goodbye, Spine." She says softly, trying to hasten her exit so he won't see her cry. She grabs at her suitcase and walks away leaving him standing there, dumbstruck. She walks out of the manor and out to the cab that's pulled up only moments before, it's only as she's sliding into the back seat she can hear Spine calling her name from the front steps of the house, but she pays him no mind with silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

The cab driver glances at the door and then to her. "Hey, I think he's talking to you."

She shakes her head. "Just drive."

Spine tries desperately to call her name and catch her attention, but the taxi's already pulled away by the time he reaches where the cab had been parked. "You forgot your necklace..." He whispers to the empty street, looking down at the small silver necklace he had given her years ago for her birthday. He slips it into his breast pocket, in hopes that maybe someday, she would come back for it, but for now, he turns on his heel and quietly walks back to the manor and to the seclusion of his precious Hall of Wires.