Coiley and Multi ran around to the side of the house where they had found the large, overgrown bush, and began pushing through it, trying to find a passageway or a door, or something behind it that would lead them to the secret yard.

"What I wouldn't give for some hedge clippers," Coiley said. "We'll never get through this."

"I think I saw some back in the theater's dressing room," Multi said. "I'll go get them."

"I'll go with you," Coiley said. "After all, we should stick together."

"Right," Multi nodded.

The boys went back to the theater, and retrieved the hedge clippers Multi had seen in the dressing room. Once they brought them outside, Multi got to work clipping the overgrown bush. Finally, he got through it, and located a door.

"I guess that's our way in," Multi said, turning the knob. "And wouldn't you know it, it's locked!"

"I'll take care of it, Multi," Coiley said. He leaned against the door, and then spun around, drilling a large hole through it. Once he was inside, Multi ran through it.

"It's the secret backyard all right," Multi said. "And look at that! It looks like the door's been knocked off it's hinges!"

"Impossi-Pup strikes again," Coiley said, and he and Multi went inside the house to investigate. They found Skittles, in her superhero form, sitting on the floor in the living room.

"Lost that spider thing, huh, girl?" Coiley asked. Impossi-Pup whimpered.

"That's okay, girl, at least you tried," Multi said, petting the pup.

"You know, Multi, this place isn't as run down and messy as the theater was," Coiley said. "Take a look at the fire place."

"Someone's been here," Multi said, walking over. "And recently. But who?"

Suddenly, Coiley and Multi heard something in the next room, and went to investigate it. They didn't find much, except for a book case, a desk, and another door. Multi went over to the book case and looked.

"Some of the books are missing," he said. "I wonder why?"

"Locked," Coiley said, trying to open the case. Then he spotted a slot in the door. "What kind of a key would go in there?!"

"I don't know," Multi said.

As the boys were trying to figure this one out, they heard giggling coming from the other side of the door, and went to investigate it. But they didn't go inside. Instead, they opened the door a crack, and peeked in.

There, they saw a dark-haired teenage girl, waltzing around the room to the sound of a music box, playing "The Blue Danube." Multi and Coiley noticed her dancing partner was nothing more than a life-sized marionette.

"Who's that girl?" Coiley whispered.

"Beats me," Multi said. Impossi-Pup started whimpering quietly. "But it explains why there weren't any male puppets in with the girls. I bet this girl's hoarding them all for herself."

The music box waltz stopped, and the girl took her puppet, and propped him up on a couple of pegs on the wall.

"Well, I must go now," she said. "You stay here and . . . . . hang out."

The girl laughed at her bad pun, and started walking toward the door. Multi, Coiley, and Impossi-Pup ducked out of sight just as she opened it, and left. Once she was gone, Multi, Coiley, and Impossi-Pup went into the room, and began looking around for clues. Immediately, Impossi-Pup ran to the puppet that girl had been playing with, and began barking hysterically. Multi and Coiley ran over to try to calm her down.

"Take it easy, girl!" Multi shouted. "You don't want to attract attention, do you?"

"Multi, look closely at this puppet," Coiley said, sounding nervous. Multi dared to look, and saw why Impossi-Pup was going berserk.

"Hollerin' hi-fi's!" he yelled. "It's Fluey! Help me get him down from here, Coiley."

The two Impossibles immediately lifted their comrade off the wall, and just stared at him.

"What do we do now?" Coiley asked. "How are we going to change him back?"

"We'll find a way," Multi said. "And we'll find a way to change the girls back to the way they were, too. Let's go!"

Multi picked up Fluey, and carried him out of the room. Coiley and Impossi-Pup followed. The minute they exited, they found that spider baby on the desk, tearing things out of a book.

"That thing is really starting to get on my nerves," Multi said.

"I wonder what it was doing?" Coiley said, and he walked over to the book on the desk. "Hey, Multi, look! It looks like an old diary! I think it might belong to the Puppet Master!"

"Maybe we'll finally get some answers," Multi said, and he and Coiley began reading.

May 9, 1766

It's been months now since my lovely theater has been destroyed. Felicia and I were lucky to escape. Thank goodness for the secret backyard. We have been living in secret since.

But for five months, my lovely little girl has been more and more distraught over her appearance. There is nothing that would please me more than to see her happy, but since her face was badly burned in the fire, I fear she will never be happy again.

June 20, 1766

Felicia has discovered several books on magic and witchcraft. I'm not sure I approve of her reading such things, but she seems to enjoy it. She's discovered a way to bring her beauty back. She wants me to make a puppet that looks like her. Exactly like her. And it should be life-sized as well. I will make her the puppet, if it will make her happy.

July 29, 1766

I finished the puppet today, and now my darling Felicia wants me to construct a machine that will transfer her soul into the puppet. I believe she is mad, but what else can I do? I want my precious darling to be happy. And I know this will make her happy.

September 25, 1766

It worked! It was a success! My beautiful little girl has come back to me, just the way she was before the fire. I am so happy to see my precious happy again. When I built the machine, the puppet replica of Felicia became flesh and blood, while her former body became the puppet. I am so happy to see this, now we can be happy again.

December 7, 1766

Something odd has happened. Felicia, though back to her beautiful self, as been playing in the kitchen, mixing up things on the stove, all the while going through those books on witchcraft. I believe she is concocting potions in there. And whatever she concocts, she drinks. And she makes me drink them as well. I dare not refuse to drink these potions. It would hurt my darling's feelings, and the last thing I want is to upset my precious Felicia.

February 8, 1767

I discovered what that potion Felicia's been mixing is. An anti-aging potion. By drinking it, we have both supposedly gained immortality. Felicia is thrilled at the idea of being beautiful and sixteen forever.

August 19, 1771

Oh horror of horrors! The worst thing in the world has happened since the fire! The soul transfer has worn off! My beautiful Felicia has turned into a wooden doll! I am grateful at least she is still living, but instead of human, she's nothing more than a living puppet. And she is furious! She wants me to collect every young and beautiful girl in the village, so I can use the machine I had built to transfer their souls into my puppet daughter. I don't agree with her methods, but I will do anything to see my baby is happy.

August 9, 1899

I haven't written in so long. Things have been very, very busy lately. Felicia and I've spent the last one hundred and twenty-eight years perfecting the process. Each time we have lured young ladies to our laboratory and transferred their souls into my living puppet daughter, Felicia turns human, and the young ladies we have taken the souls of become puppets. Unfortunately, the process is not permanent, and Felicia returns to her wooden state after awhile. And she just gets so furious at that. I have seen her destroy the village girls we have turned into puppets. Sometimes, she dismantles them. Other times, she throws them on the fire, and watches them burn. And she laughs while they burn. Laughs! Once, she took an axe to one of the puppets, and chopped it into splinters. She took another five, and threw them off the side of the cliff, one by one, and watched as they smashed against the jagged rocks, all the while taking great pleasure in it.

April 25, 1965

I do wish Felicia would stop making me drink that potion. I can barely live with myself with what I have done. I truly despise myself for being responsible for the disappearances of these girls all around the world. I only go on the way I do because it's the love I have for my precious. I do so want her to be happy. I must find a way to perfect the process. Perhaps, if I do, Felicia will be happy, and allow me to die in peace. One can only hope.

"That's the last entry in the book," Coiley said.

"This whole thing is creeping me out big time, Coiley," Multi said. Impossi-Pup began whimpering. "But at least now we know what happened to Fluey and the girls. The only problem is figuring out how in the world we're going to change them back!"

"Maybe if we find that machine," Coiley suggested, "we can figure out how to put it in reverse."

"We'd have to figure out where it is first," Multi said. Impossi-Pup began barking, and she began pawing at the book case, as if she were trying to dig a hole in it or something.

"I think Skittles is onto something," Multi said. "I think maybe those missing volumes in the book case might be a clue."

"Look at these, Multi," Coiley said, picking up a pile of cards from the back of the Puppet Master's diary.

"Punch cards," Multi said. "And there's a machine to use them in. That's it! That slot in the door of the book case!"

"That must be for these cards," Coiley said. "If we punch the correct code into one of these cards, and put the card into that slot, something might open up. But how do we find the code?"

"The missing books!" Multi shouted. "The missing volumes must be the code! Put the card into the machine and punch two, six, eleven, fifteen, and eighteen!"

"Roger, Multi!" Coiley shouted. He put one of the cards in the machine, pushed the numbers Multi had indicated, and pulled the lever on the side of the machine. The card came out, with holes punched in the numbered spaces. Then he walked over to the book case, and stuck the card in the slot. A door opened in the book case, revealing a flight of stairs leading downward.

"A secret door," Coiley said. "Looks creepy down there."

"I know," Multi said. "But we're going to have to go down there if we want to get Fluey and the girls back to normal. Let's go."