Faith the Vampire Slayer:

The Master

7. The Puppet Show

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"How did you finagle such a primo gig?" Faith asked Giles. He was hunkered down in the school's auditorium listening to Cordelia Chase singing off key.

"Smith is out sick," he paused then called up to the stage, "Thank you, Cordelia. Tha-that's going to be lovely."

"But I didn't do the part with the sparklers!"

"Um, w-we'll, um... save that for the dress rehearsal," the librarian groaned. "Uh, Lisa! Please!" He turned back to the four teens, "Bob thought it would behoove me to have more contact with the students. I did try to explain that my vocational choice of librarian was a deliberate attempt to minimize said contact, but, uh, he would have none of it."

"Can't argue with Bob," Faith nodded.

"If you had any shred of decency, you would have participated, or at least, um, helped," her Watcher grumbled.

"I think I'll take on your traditional role," Faith grinned.

"And watch!" Amy snickered.

"And mock!" Xander added.

"And laugh!" Willow piped up.

The four teens laughed.

"Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends," the Slayer quoted as she turned to leave.

Giles muttered, "It bloody well feels like it."

Principal Flutie was standing at the entrance to the auditorium with his arms crossed and his eyebrow arched. "So, we think school events are lame and authority figures are to be mocked. And we think our afternoon classes are optional; the four of you left campus yesterday."

The teens had the good nature to look sheepish. Even though they had the best reason –

namely, fighting demons and saving humanity – they knew full well he'd never believe it. Flutie continued to chide them, "You need to integrate into this school. Show some school spirit! I know just the thing, too. I just found four eager new participants for the talent show."

"What?" Amy balked

"No!" Xander cried out.

"Please?" Willow begged. "You can't make us have talent!"

"Assist or perform, the choice is yours," he smiled benignly at them. Flutie headed toward the stage.

Xander tried to reason with him, "Can I just mention that detention is a time-honored form of punishment?"

The girls nodded vigorously in agreement.

"And how well has that worked out so far, Mr. Harris?" the principal called back.

Xander wisely stayed silent.

Giles smirked at the four grumbling teens as they took seats in the row behind him. He called up to the stage, "Thank you, Lisa!"

The next act up was a boy with a dummy. Faith scrunched her nose, Amy groaned, and Xander shuddered. Willow, on the other hand, was smiling, "I think dummies are cute. You don't?"

"Ever watch the Child's Play movies?" The Slayer asked her. When Willow shook her head no, Faith raised an eyebrow. "Really? Homicidal doll? Kills people all gruesome…?" Willow shook her head even more fervently, but suddenly turned back to the stage, not exactly keen on the sight any longer. "Dolls just give me the wig," Faith added.

"And it being Sunnydale and all…" Xander said.

"I will hurt you so badly," Amy said, pointing at him.

On stage, the budding ventriloquist introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Morgan!" He then answered for his dummy, "And I'm Sid!" The voice he used for Sid was just a nasally version of his own. "Hey Morgan, would you like to tell some jokes?" he continued. His mouth moved more when he spoke for the dummy then for himself. "Would I!" he responded with too much enthusiasm. "As a matter of fact, it is! It's also a wood nose, and a wood mouth," Morgan laughed nervously.

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Morgan pressed on. "I didn't sleep at all last night."

"Alright, time out. Let's stop this before someone gets hurt," Sid interrupted. His voice was rough and deep like a 1920's noir detective that enjoys whisky and cigars. "Kid, you are the worst. Even I can see your lips move."

The students milling about waiting for their turns started to giggle.

"C'mon, Sid. You're spoiling my act. I worked on these jokes for weeks," Morgan pleaded with him.

"You call those jokes? My jockey shorts are made out of better material," Sid quipped. Seeing the audience gathered at the edge of the stage he added, "And they're edible!"

Everyone present laughed. "Seems we'll have one good act at least," Giles smiled. The Watcher then dispatched the four teens to the backstage area to coordinate the competitors.

As Morgan was packing up, Sid wolf whistled at the girls, "Mm, mm, mm. Look at the goodies!"

Morgan blushed.

"Morgan, you're really getting good! Where did you come up with that voice?" Willow moved over to him.

"It's kind of an imitation of my dad," he shrugged, shifting Sid in his arms.

"It's impressive," Willow lifted the dummy's hands.

"Yeah, the kid's great, honey. I'm a bit rusty, though. How about you and I do a little rehearsin' on our own?" Sid waggled his eyebrows. "You know what they say: once you go wood, nothin's as good!"

"Okay, Morgan," Xander interrupted. "We get the joke: Horny dummy. Super funny. You might think about cutting the schtick; unless you want your prop ending up as a Duraflame log."

Morgan and Sid exchanged a concerned look.

The teens continued to assist backstage until a loud scream was heard over the mild din. Faith raced to the source; the girls' locker room. When no sounds of fighting could be heard, Willow and Amy followed her in. Willow backtracked moments later and barely made it out to a trash can in the hall to throw up. The budding witch went to the pay phone and dialed the police.

Later, after the paramedics had carted off the body and a detective had taken over comforting and questioning the girl that found it, the Slayer filled her Watcher in on the gruesome details. "It was Emily," Faith started.

"Emily. Dancer Emily?" Willow asked weakly.

Amy nodded.

"It must have happened just after rehearsals. There was a cross-country meet at Melville that she never showed up for," Giles informed them.

The Slayer continued. "Her heart was removed, with a knife."

"That does imply a rather more human assailant than normal," the Watcher frowned.

"Could be a cult, a sacrifice or a ritual, though. Lots of the dark stuff calls for hearts," Amy grimaced.

"Right. You and Giles hit the books while Xander, Willow and I interrogate the competitors. One of them was probably the last to see her," Faith instructed.

"Tomorrow," Giles put a hand on her shoulder. "It's getting late." He looked to the three of them. "I'll call your parents, see if you can come over for dinner, and then drive you all home."

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"I didn't know her too well," the girl who had performed the tuba solo, Lisa, explained to Faith. "There's that whole dancer/band rivalry, y'know?"

The brunette nodded, "Yeah, I've heard about that. Weird. You think you lot would hook up for awesome performances."

"Too much ego on both sides," she shrugged. "Emily was super nice, though, when I talked to her yesterday."

"How did she seem?" the Slayer asked.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"She was happy. I guess," Marc, the stage magician, shuffled a deck of cards as he answered Willow's questions. "She was psyched to be doing the show. She was a really good dancer. Here, pick a card," Marc fanned the cards out.

The redhead reached for a card at random.

"No, wait. Not that one. Pick this one," Marc gestured to one.

"Do you remember the last time you saw her?" she asked as she took the card.

"Yeah, she was talkin' to someone," Marc tilted his head and scrunched his eyes.

"Who?"

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"That smart guy. The one with the dummy. What's his name?" Elliot furrowed his brow.

"Morgan?" Xander suggested.

"Yeah, him," the curly haired juggler nodded. "He was actin' kinda strange."

"Strange how?" the other boy asked.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"Well, Morgan's just strange. He's always rubbing his head a lot and moaning. Especially the other day," Lisa answered.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"He seemed kinda paranoid. Lookin' around at everyone," Marc replied.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"And I think I saw him arguing with his dummy," Elliot informed Xander.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

The three teens entered the library after classes. Willow informed Giles and Amy, "Everyone I talked to seemed to point their fingers at the same person…"

"Morgan?" Faith asked.

"Morgan," Willow confirmed.

"We have a winner!" Xander grinned. "So, what do we do? We don't slay people. We wanna bring him to justice right?"

"We could set up a complex sting operation where we get him to confess!" Willow chimed in.

"I should wear a wire!" Xander nodded at her.

"Hold up, you guys," Faith interrupted. "All we know is that Morgan is King of the Weirdos. That doesn't lead directly to murderer."

"Guy talks to his puppet!" Xander countered.

"And for his puppet," Willow added.

"Be that as it may," Giles stepped in, "He is innocent until proven guilty. We will find this murderer, but in the meantime... the show must go on."

"Priorities, G-man," Amy smirked. She moved her hands up and down, imitating a set of scales. "Murder, talent show."

"Faith, you, uh, watch Morgan. Amy, Check his locker, see if there's anything there," Giles ordered.

"Like a heart?" Willow asked.

"Or something," the Watcher stood, "Xander…"

"Go with you to grab donuts and coffees from the Espresso Pump," the boy suggested.

"Alright," Giles sighed as he headed to his office for his keys.

"I'll pull up his locker number," Willow nodded to Amy.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

When Faith got to the auditorium, Morgan was the only one there. He was on stage talking to Sid. "How are we supposed to…" he cut off as the Slayer approached. "Oh, hi."

"Hello," she gave a little wave.

"I was just working on throwing my voice," he explained.

Faith nodded. "Morgan, did you notice anything weird going on around here yesterday?"

"Weird? What d'you mean?" the ventriloquist asked as he gathered up his dummy.

"With Emily. Did she say anything to you, was she arguing with anyone?" the Slayer pressed.

"No. She was dancing," he replied opening the dummy's case. "Sid and I were talking."

"Talking?" she questioned.

"Rehearsing," he clarified.

"So, you didn't notice anything weird at all?"

Suddenly Morgan pressed his hands to his forehead and moaned in pain. He slumped to a sitting position on the floor groaning.

"Morgan, are you okay?" Faith put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, sweetheart! He answered your question. Now leave him alone!" Sid snapped at her.

Faith reached over and slammed the lid on the case, "Cut the Howdy Doody crap, Morgan. You were the last person anyone saw near her. You know how it looks? Antisocial weirdo with a puppet as his only friend? The cops will pin this on you faster than you can say scapegoat."

The lid to the case shot open and Sid stood shouting, "He said all he's gonna say. Now leave him alone!"

For a split second Faith was frozen, then the Slayer reflexes kicked in. she slammed the dummy down into the case then closed and latched the lid. She also grabbed Morgan's arm and hauled him to his feet. "What the hell?"

"Don't hurt him!" Morgan shouted. "He didn't do it! It wasn't Sid!"

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

Amy muttered to herself as she opened Morgan's locker, "Two to the left, three to the right, Recludo!" The witch rifled through his belongings for several minutes. She found only a notebook full of terrible jokes, a binder of meticulous science notes – which she quickly used a minor incantation to duplicate – and a prescription pill bottle. Amy jotted down the name of the doctor and was putting everything back when a hand grabbed hers. "Eep!" she spun and flipped her large assailant over her shoulder like Giles had taught both her and Willow. It wasn't until her potential attacker had slammed back first into the lockers with a hard bang that she realized who he was. Her heart sank. "Principal Flutie?" she cautiously helped the man to his feet.

"Ow," he complained.

"You scared me," she defended her reaction, "and with what happened to Emily…"

"No that's alright. Perfectly understandable. It's heartening to see that my students can take care of themselves. Very smart. Sunnydale can be a very dangerous place." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Apparently," Flutie grunted as he straightened up. "What I don't understand is why one of my students is going through another student's locker." He glanced inside and saw the pill bottle. "Drugs?"

"What? No. Notes," Amy held up the duplicate science notes. "I don't know anything about that."

"These should be held in the nurse's office anyway," he grumbled. "And just where is Mr. Shay?"

"Um, the auditorium," Amy guessed.

"Right, come along young lady," Flutie instructed.

"Aw, man," the girl muttered following. The pair entered the auditorium only to find it empty. Amy took the chance and recited a complex spell. Principal Flutie stood at the edge of the stage and stared up at the microphone stand.

"Mr. Shay? What were these doing in your locker?" he asked. There was a long pause as he appeared to be listening intently. "That makes sense. Did you make a copy," Flutie nodded. "For Ms. Rosenberg, I see. Well, here, make sure you take those home." He tossed the pill bottle at the microphone stand and left.

The witch slumped to the floor panting. She rested there for a few minutes before collecting the bottle.

Amy entered the library to see the gang gathered around the table with Morgan and Sid. Sid was standing on the table, shouting at Faith.

"Well, my news pales in the comparison," she tossed the pill bottle to Willow. "Our Mr. Shay is deeply unwell."

"How did you get those?" Morgan asked angrily.

"Broke into your locker," Amy shrugged at him. "So you gonna spill, or do I send Wills here off on a little Google search for that Dr. What's-his-name?"

"I have a brain tumor," Morgan slumped into a chair as though admitting it stole all of his energy.

"Bad luck," Amy gave him a curt nod. She turned to Sid. "So what's your deal? I mean, why are we not lighting the creepy doll-man on fire?"

"I'm a demon hunter," the puppet snapped. "And you could be a little more sympathetic."

"Guys that hide the fact that they're dying don't want sympathy, they want normalcy," the witch responded. Willow gave Morgan his pill bottle.

"Uh, we… We may have found a possible demon culprit," Giles held up a thick tome. "Th-there's a reference in here to a Brotherhood of Seven. Demons who take, uh, the form of young humans. Every seven years these demons need human organs – a-a-a brain and a heart – to maintain their humanity. Otherwise they, they revert back to their original form, which is, uh, um, slightly less appealing."

"Or," Faith offered, "it's puppet-boy. Willow found a section on toys and magic. Dolls'll sometimes harvest organs to become human."

"Dolls and mannequins already mystically possessed of consciousness," the redhead corrected.

"So we're still debating about whether or not to 'light the creepy doll-man on fire'," explained Xander. "Faith is for, Willow against, I'm on the fence and Giles wants to be sure we got the right guy first."

"Fair enough," Amy nodded.

"I'm telling you, it's the Brotherhood of Seven! I was hunting them when they cursed me. I've killed six. If I can get the last one, the curse will be lifted and I'll be free," the dummy insisted.

"I need to get to the auditorium," the librarian announced. "Sid, if you would kindly return to your case, you and Morgan can sit with me during the rehearsal."

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

Faith skulked about backstage. Mostly she was helping move equipment, but she also had to make sure everyone kept to the schedule.

"And my lovely assistant steps into the box..." Marc's voice floated back from the other side of the curtain. Everyone backstage chuckled when the magician snapped, "You were supposed to leave!" at his assistant.

"I don't understand why I have to follow Brett and his stupid band," Cordelia complained to her.

"Because we have to clear their equipment before the finale," the Slayer sighed.

"But the mood! It'll be all wrong!" the cheerleader insisted. "My song is about dignity and human feelings and personal... hygiene or something. Anyway, it's sappy, and no one is gonna be feeling sappy after all that Rock and Roll."

"There ain't a single act we got that can set the mood for you. That's on you. That's the hard part. You have to pour your soul into that song," Faith countered.

"But," Cordelia started.

"I can swap you with the juggler after the tuba solo, or send you out first and one of them last, but I really think it's in the show's best interest to end on a high note. Don't you?"

The girl nodded slowly, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Faith checked her watch and called out to the stage, "That's time, Magic-man. Curtain drops in three, two, and one. Let's get you cleared off." The Slayer pushed the box and assistant off stage. "Lisa, get out there!"

Marc was still arguing with the blonde girl. "You keep missing your cues!"

"They're bad cues! Your timing is all wrong!"

"All you have to do is look pretty and get out of the box! It's not rocket science!"

"Take it easy there, Marc," Faith cut in. "Take a break, calm down. Try running through your act with someone else. Maybe that'll clear some things up."

"Yeah, okay. Is Willow here?" he asked.

"Yeah, over by makeup," she told him.

"Thanks," the girl in the box said as he walked off.

"He's probably just nervous," Faith shrugged.

The girl nodded. "He's usually an okay guy. He's been acting weird since they announced the show, though."

"We'll get him straightened out," Faith smiled at her. The rest of the dress rehearsal went smoothly.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"The problem might be your props," Willow explained, examining the guillotine Marc was using for his act. She had been too busy to help him during the rehearsal but had stayed after to check the props. "If you calibrated the units of weight then you could calculate the specific maximum velocity achieved before the point of impact."

"Gosh, Willow, you're so smart! Could you do me a huge favor?" Marc asked. "Run through my act with me."

"Are you sure there's no one else who could help you out? I have terrible stage fright, and I don't know the lines," Willow stammered.

"It's just a run through to test the props and cues. You won't have to say anything."

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

"How are we going to find this demon, if there is one?" Faith asked.

"He'll need a brain," Giles offered. "A healthy, intelligent brain."

"So, I'm safe," Xander beamed. Faith and Amy rolled their eyes.

"We, what, stalk the smart kids?" Amy asked.

"Willow can get us a list of the …" the Slayer trailed off. "Willow!"

Faith, Xander, Sid, and Giles sprinted out of the library. Amy made to follow but a cry from Morgan stopped her. The boy collapsed to the floor. The witch checked for a pulse and respiration. She found neither. "If Willow dies because I'm saving your life I will kill you," she hissed before starting chest compressions.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

Marc tested his guillotine on a honeydew melon. Willow picked up a melon half. "Oh, my!"

"Pretty cool, huh? Lie down."

"How exactly does it work?" Willow asked as she watched him pull the blade back up and secure its rope.

"A good magician never tells his secrets," Marc returned coyly.

"But how is your assistant supposed to know what to do?" She gulped nervously but allowed herself to be helped onto the guillotine. "Shouldn't it be aimed at my neck?" she asked as he secured the lunette over her forehead.

"No. No, this way your scalp gets sliced off and your brains just... come pouring out," Marc explained as he locked it with a padlock.

"Uh, so, what exactly is the trick?"

"Trick?" the boy grinned as he pulled the chest restraint tighter.

"Marc?" Willow's eyes went wide. "Oh god! You're the demon!"

Grabbing a hatchet he just grinned at her. Marc took a swing at the rope. Willow screamed. He took another swing. The rope was cut half way through.

"Marc, stop, please!" the redhead shouted. "Faith! Help! Help!"

A third swing had the blade slipping a bit. Another and the rope was hanging by a thread. Marc raised the hatchet for the final cut.

The Slayer tackled him to the floor. There was a flailing of limbs as she littered him with blows. Desperately, the boy shoved her away. Faith rolled with it and moved smoothly into a leg sweep as he tried to stand. He staggered to his feet once more as she loosed a hard strike to his face. Instead of bruising, his skin seemed to revert to its demon state.

Giles and Xander strode confidently past the brawl. The Watcher scooped up the hatchet on his way. He began working on the padlock while Xander held the blade up.

Marc gave up on getting up and kicked Faith in the knee. The Slayer stumbled backward. The demon pressed the advantage and lunged forward slamming her up against a wall with his hand around her throat. As he repeated the action, again and again, Xander could only watch. He held the blade of the guillotine in sweaty, white-knuckled hands.

Giles finally broke the lock and cut the chest restraint allowing Willow to sit up. Xander sprinted to Faith's aid, letting the blade fall as Willow undid the belt securing her feet.

"Get off her!" Sid shouted landing on the demon's back and driving a blade into it. The demon ignored the puppet, despite the large knife jammed into its shoulder, and continued slamming Faith into the wall.

Xander tackled the demon to the floor. Faith took a much-needed breath. Sid was sprawled on the floor clutching the knife. As Marc stood the Slayer hit him in the nose with the heel of her palm. She quickly followed with a backhanded punch. Grabbing the stunned demon by the head she hauled him onto the guillotine and held him in place. "Now or never, tiny!" she called to Sid.

The diminutive hunter hopped up and straddled the demon. "And now for the big finish," he plunged the knife into the demon's heart. Sid pulled back to do it again, but his aim was true the first time. The puppet slumped over, lifeless.

{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}

Amy handed Morgan a cup of water as the others returned to the library. Willow was carrying the puppet.

"Sid," Morgan staggered to his feet spilling the cup. He cradled the puppet in his arms sobbing. After an awkward silence he begged, "Please, Amy bring him back. Use your magic to bring him back! He's the only friend I have! Please!"

"I can't," she said, her eyes rimmed with tears.

"You brought me back!" he accused.

"I shocked you to restart your heart," Amy sniffled. "You, your soul was never gone. I can't bring him back, Morgan. Not every ending is a happy one."

"Especially on the Hellmouth," Xander added.

Everyone looked at him. It was incredibly profound. And was all too true.