Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter nine. Now before we get started, there's a few notes I'd like to discuss before the reading can commence.

1. The puppet metaphor that Alex talks about in this chapter was something that I'd actually intended to put in chapter seven. I took it out however because I felt that while I like the metaphor, it ultimately did not fit in the current context of teh chapter, which was focusing on Patton's fear of losing his beloved friend at that point. I managed to get it in here though, which makes me happpy. Whether you feel it works or not however, is entirely up to you.

2. I apologize if Waly seems a tad bit out of character in this chapter, I just thought that it would be kind of intersting if he was amazed by how much of a little badass Rachel could be under the right circumstances.

3. Now having become infatuated with Soul Eater in recent months, I kept imagining track thirteen of the first OST (titled Krieg) playing during the Rachel/Citizombie fight. To listen to this awesome piece of rock meets orchestral, please feel free to look up Soul Eater OST on Youtube, and look for track thirteen.

Other than that, read, review, and enjoy!

The Demon Master's Puppet

Chapter 9: Resisting the Devil's Call

This wasted place of tranquil paradise seemed not so quiet anymore as a determined Rachel continued to run through the rocky terrain once inhabited by beautiful flowers and lush grass, the clatteriness of her sandal bottoms and the huffiness of her breath bringing sound to its dead surroundings as she did. Despite her escape, there was one thing the young blonde felt certain of; Grandfather was furious and on probably on her trail. If she was to defeat him, she would need to come up with an elaborate plan to ware him down, and a secluded hiding spot to think and rest for awhile. Unfortunately, that little plan of hers would have to wait. For the menacing golden yellow eyes of the satanic demon himself appeared before the young girl, startling her in the process.

"Running away I see", replied the sinister voice of Grandfather as Rachel angrily stared at him.

"I don't run from a fight", she replied in a stern tone as she tried to run away from that pair of menacing eyes, only to be startled once more by those same eyes as they reappeared in the new direction she had chosen to run in.

"While that may be true, I'm afraid that there is no where for you to run and hide my dear...After all...I control the dream sect of your mind now", he replied in a booming tone as Rachel found herself now surrounded by millions of menacing pairs of eyes, each of them laughing evilly at her, as if to say she had already lost. Regardless though, the young blonde refused to falter as she continued to stare intently at her old foe.

" Alright, I'll admit that you have some control over my mind. But you're going to have to try a lot harder if you want control over my heart and morality", she sternly replied.

"Oh, I doubt that. After all, you forget who you are dealing with here; if I cannot target your strong points, then I can pull at your weak ones. Or perhaps, maybe I don't have to...perhaps I can offer you a flawless existence...", the satanic demon replied in a sinister yet oddly polite tone, one which brought shock to the young blonde.

"What", she asked in a tone of obvious surprise.

" Oh come now, surely you benefit from this sort of idea. After all, underneath all of that talent and charm, you are nothing more than an insecure, fragile and flawed child. But if you were to give into my powers, I could transform you into a flawless Citizombie", he replied in a triumphant sounding tone, almost as if he were pleased with his own idea. As he said his words however, Rachel could not help but feel herself almost agreeing with him, only to snap herself out of it the instant she realized just how foolish she was behaving.

"Never! I may have things I don't like about myself, but even so I accept my flaws and try to learn from and atone for them like a normal person would do", the young girl replied in stern tone, her tone border lining on anger as she displayed her obvious disgust at his words.

"True, but you are always in constant suffering my dear. Do you not think that it would be better to live without pain, without insecurity...without your flaws", he asked in an observant tone as she continued to stare at him in intent anger.

" I'd rather experience both failure and triumph than one or the other", she sternly replied, promptly angering the elderly demon as she did.
"Fine then, resist my kind improvements all you wish. But whether you like it or not, you are going to hand over the Kids Next Door to me personally", he angrily replied as the young girl continued to stare at him, never once losing her stern composure.

"I'd rather die than live to see that happen", she angrily replied to her elderly foe, only for him to sigh in mild annoyance.

"So, it's going to be the hard way, is it", he asked as the ground began to shake and crack. As it did though, all that seemed to rise from the ground were old and evil looking Citizombies, their very appearance surprising Rachel as they began to slowly close in her her. Regardless though, all she could do was keep her stern composure as she continued to stare back at her old foe's evil eyes.

"So my pretty, any last words before you submit to servitude", he asked in an almost mocking tone as she sternly stood before him.

"Haven't you figured out by now that it's going to take more than your tricks to conform me", Rachel asked in a genuinely stern tone as she twirled her staff around for a few seconds, now prepared for battle.

Leaping into action, the young blonde sent a powerful back kick to the nearest Citizombie, taking it down with one swift movement. Now using her staff as a defensive weapon, she masterfully dodged each of the zombies that dare try and touch her, all the while giving a few of them some well deserved knuckle-sandwiches and flipping one over significantly smaller body. As a finishing move, the warrior like girl used her Yield sign to knock a circle of Citizombies out as more came to take their place. Despite this, Rachel just stood there with determination clear on her face, prepared to hand them their defeat as she had done so with the last batch. But unbeknownst to the fighting Rachel and the observant Grandfather, Alex and Wally had managed to land themselves on a small hill not far from what had become a battle area. It took the short Australian boy a few minutes to regain his composure, but once managed to do so, both him and the young mutant could not help stare in awe and wonder at the sight of their leader and friend beating up rows upon rows of Citizombies.

"Wa, sugoi", the mutant brunette replied in fan girl like glee, all the while uttering the Japanese word for "awesome, or amazing".

" I don't know what you just said, but it sure. I knew Numbuh 362 always had it in her", the short Australian boy replied with great pride as friend responded to his response with a weirded out look on her face.

"Uh...right...", she replied as she ignored his comment, all the while attempting to call up their friends for their report. "Yo, Nigel-kun."

"Hello Two-Seventy-Three. Have you and Numbuh 4 managed to locate Rachel's whereabouts", Nigel asked in his usual calm yet stern sounding tone.

"You bet; we followed Rachel-san all the way from the mansion into a canyon where she's been cornered by Grandfather and his minions", she replied.

"Yeah, and kickin' some serious butt too", Wally replied with great delight as he continued to watch the battle.

"Oh, that's good to know", Patton replied as he breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately though, he came to find that the remaining Sector V members were all staring at him, devious smirks plastered on their faces as they did so.

"What", he asked as his cheeks flushed red, trying his best to cover up the embarrassment seeping through his voice as he did.

Meanwhile, the battle raged on as another Citizombie ran towards the determined Rachel, prepared to engage in another duel. Using her staff to defend herself from its hands, the young blonde finally managed to defeat her old opponent by sending a powerful kick to its stomach. Once that one had been defeated, she gracefully cartwheeled herself towards another Citizombie and kick it with merely her sandled feet. After hitting another one hard in the head with her Yield sign, the young blonde then proceeded to take out an entire row of Citizombies with the use of her staff's powerful boxing glove. But knocking her opponents down like bowling pins left her wide open for an attack as another Citizombie came out of nowhere and punched her hard in the stomach. Despite the surging pain she felt running through her gut, the young blonde refused to give in as she went to attack her opponent, only to feel herself socked by another opponent in the back. With that, the young girl collapsed to the ground, wincing in obvious pain as the Citizombies began to close in on her, laughing evilly as they did so. It was a sight that amused the satanic demon, and also frightened both the mutant brunette and the young Australian boy.

"Uh, Nigel-kun, we've got a bit of a problem", Alex stated in a somewhat panicky tone.

"What! But you just said that everything was under control", the bald boy replied in a now urgent sounding tone.

" Well that was before she socked in the stomach, now she's down and the Citizombies are closing in on her", she replied in a somewhat panicky tone, one which caused the young Drill Sergeant's anxiety to build up inside him.

"We got ta' do something fast", the short blonde replied in a courageous tone.

"I'm with you on that one", Alex said in a tone of agreement.

"Out of the question, Two-Seventy-Three", The British bald boy replied in a stern yet urgent sounding tone.

"What? Why", she asked in a tone of surprised confusion.
" Because we can't risk blowing our cover", he sternly replied.

"Oh, so you'd rather let your friend lead a terrible life as a Citizombie than risk us helping her out", the mutant brunette asked in a tone of clear annoyance, her tone causing Nigel to become even more annoyed than he had been before.

"No, I'd just prefer it if you two thought about your actions instead of rushing in there impulsively", he replied in a tone of obvious annoyance.

" Oh you're one to talk about impulsiveness, Mr. "I Had To Save The Museum and Let Global Command Become a Flap Jack" ", she replied in a mocking tone.

"Hey, that museum is very important to me. It's part of the reason I decided to-"

"Okay you two, that's enough", Abigail said in a loud tone, silencing Nigel's whining at once. "Numbuh 1, we have ta' let them help her out."

"But we can't risk the possibility of them blowing their cover", the British bald boy replied in an impatient tone.

"And we can't risk losin' Numbuh 362", she sternly replied back, surprising her leader with her words. "Now we sent Alex and Numbuh 4 in there fo' a reason, so let's just try and and trust that they'll be careful", the motherly black girl replied in a more calm tone, one which made the stubborn leader come to a realization; she had made a good point, one which he could not deny.

"Very well then; Numbuh 273, you and Numbuh 4 have permission to intervene", he explained to his fellow subordinate, one which brought a smile to her pale face.

"Yes! Arigato Nigel-kun", she happily replied, all the while mutter the Japanese word for "'Thank you" as she turned to happily face her blonde friend. "Wallabee-kun, we have permission to intervene."

"That's all I wanted ta' here", Wally replied as he smiled cockily at his female friend. "You take the left side, I'll take the right."

"Got it", the mutant brunette replied as she began to run in one direction. "let me know when you're done."

"Right", he replied as he ran off in the other direction.

Leaping to the ground with a guard thud, the short Australian smiled cockily at his on-coming opponents as he whipped out a pair of twins JOYSCHTICKs, prepared to give them a serious but whooping. Jumping into the air, the cocky blonde punched one Citizombie in the face while he kicked one soon after. Landing to the ground, he then proceeded to punch a few more opponents in their guts before he began to move around in a quick circle, using his twin JOYSCHTICKs to take out whole rows of Citizombies as if they were bowling pins.

"Two Seventy Three", he yelled to his friend, as if to signal her cue. But from atop the hill, the mutant girl remained there in stoic grace, or at least until she opened her eyes to reveal that they had turned a menacing pink colour.

"Telekinetic Magatama",, she fiercely said as best she could as her telekinetic energy transformed into two rings with Magatama beads (like the ones in Mai Hime) the circled her wrists. Freeing them from her wrists, the two rings began to increase in size. Or at least they did until Alex silently commanded them to stop, allowing for them to become giant rings by then.

"Baruten Himitsu", the mutant brunette fiercely stated as she began to twirl around in place at a fast speed. As she did, teh rings began to move ins sync with her twirling, going down towards the Citizombies a knocking them down as if they were bowling pins, an offensive move that not only surprised Grandfather, but also Rachel.

Upon feeling her work complete, the young girl ceased the twirling, causing the two rings to disperse. Soon afterwards though, she grabbed Wally with her telekinesis and quickly threw him up onto the hill, apologizing immediately afterwards for her "rough" treatment. It was around this time though that Rachel found the strength to get back up onto her feet as she continued to stare at her old foe, who stared at her in a rather confused manner.

" Well...that was interesting", the satanic demon confessed very non-nonchalantly. "I assume that you have no explanation for this my dear?"
"To be honest, I don't. Although if I was to devise a theory about this, I believe that perhaps maybe you don't hold as much control over my dream world as you think you do", the young girl replied in as a small devious smirk emerged on her beautiful face.

"Oh, I doubt that. Now my minions; decimate this rebellious little lamb and make her one of your kind", he arrogantly commanded towards his followers. And just like puppets on their strings, they began to slowly creep over towards their target, evil smiles plastered on their faces as they approached their seemingly fearless opponent.

And as they began to come at her like blood thirsty hound-dogs, the young blonde began to use her staff as a weapon of defence, using it almost in a sword like fashion before she hit one of her opponents hard in the face with her sign. Afterwards though, that's all the battle seemed to be to the warrior like girl; she would use her staff as a sword like weapon of defence, socking her opponents with either the sign, or the boxing glove (and the occasional kick to the stomach). True, it was an easy fight, but even someone as acrobatically skilled as Rachel knew that she couldn't keep fighting forever. She knew she could find a way out of this army's way, it was just a matter of trickery is all. But what stealthy move could she use to avert her defeat? It was only then that a smile brimmed on her face, for she remembered about the MARBLES she stuck earlier in her backpack. Now a grin of of determination plastered on her face, she jumped onto one of the Citizombies, using her opponent as a catapult as she back flipped herself into the air.

Upon landing to the ground, the young blonde then proceeded to throw the tine beads to the ground, exploding upon impact. Once the smoke cleared however, the army of Citizombies became surprised to find that their opponent was no longer where she stood. This was a sight which not only surprised her two fellows helpers, but also her old foe as well. Surprise however, turned into boiling anger for Grandfather as he continued to play over in his mind the numerous times she had been able to escape his clutches, feeling as though he could loose his temper at any given moment now.

" Curse that little brat", he said with a hiss in his voice, signifying his growing anger. Realizing that he could not lose his temper at this point, the satanic demon proceeded to face his minions, who seemingly had no idea what to do next.

"Well don't just stand there you fools; comb the area and look for that troublesome girl, she could not have gotten far! Now go", he replied in a genuinely irritated tone, annoyed with his minions lack of competence.

"Yes Master", the Citizombies replied in unison as they went to their task, prepared to find their target at all cost. Unbeknownst to them however, their little target had managed to hide herself out in a small crevas not too far off from the battlefield. It wasn't exactly cozy, but it was good enough for the young blonde as she checked one last time to make sure she was not invisible to the blind eye.

"That was close...Too close", she sternly thought to herself as began to sit herself down, only to wince in pain a little bit more as she felt the pain in her sore stomach act up again. " Dammit, I should have known that my stomach would still be sore...Oh well...at least it's only sore."

"Still though, I allow for anything to make me quit...Because if I give up...even for just a single moment...then I won't be me anymore...I'll become nothing more than a possession...", she thought to herself in a melancholy tone, her suppressed fear continuing to show itself as she did. Suddenly though, the young blonde could not help felt a surge of pain crawl up the side of her neck, one very similar to the pain she felt when her forearm had transformed the previous day at Arctic Base. Once it disappeared, the young girl came to find herself shocked by the transformation of her neck's right side.

"How could this have happened?" she wondered in a somewhat panicky state, especially considering that it wouldn't be noon for another two hours or so. Upon calming herself down though, she felt that it was only a symbol; a symbol that she was running out of time. Now feeling determination surge throughout her slender body, Rachel picked herself up as she began to leave her hiding spot, quietly moving as if she were a tiny mouse.

...
" So then she used a set of MARBLES as her means of escape", Hoagie asked rather enthusiastically.
" Yeah, pretty much" Wally replied to his overweight friend.

" Aw, I totally got to bring some of those the next time we go on a mission. Maybe I could even-"

"Yeah, yeah, you can tell them all about it lata' "Hero Boy", Abigail replied in a stern and sarcastic, yet oddly playful tone.
"Anyway Numbuh 4, now that Rachel has gone into hiding, you and Numbuh 273 will have to track her down and keep an eye on her like before", Nigel explained in his usual calm yet suave sounding tone.

"Right", the short Australian boy replied as he ended the conversation with his friends, sitting himself on the ground with a sigh of exhaustion as he did. " You know, those Citizombies aren't so scary once you give em' a couple of knuckle sandwiches. I honestly don't get why Numbuh 362's so afraid of becoming one of them, s'pecially if she can kick their old asses as hard as she did."

"It could be because she views being a Citizombie as a form of servitude", the mutant brunette coldly replied as she stared into the distance, her response catching the confused attention of her short friend.

"What do you mean", he asked in a tone of somber confusion.

" I've been thinking about the symbology of Patton-san's dream for awhile now...and I'm beginning to think that perhaps subconsciously, he believes that if Rachel-san becomes a Citizombie...she will become Grandfather's puppet", she replied in the same cold tone as before.

" Puppet? I don't remember seein' the Citizombies havin' strings on them", the short blonde boy replied in deep confusion.

" Not real puppets you dummy, puppets as in tools of manipulation", she coldly replied, her response only confusing her friend even more.

"Manipulation", Wally replied a somewhat curious tone.

"Yes. You see, from what I've perceived, the Citizombies are nothing more than puppets designed for servitude", the mutant girl coldly replied. " True, they can think and act like normal humans. But in reality, they are nothing more than mindless slaves; they have been brainwashed to give up whatever moral, or personal values they keep and allow the darkness inside to twist and corrupt them, only to serve a man who's ideals he has forced upon them. He cares not for their well being, so as long as they obediently do his bidding, or provide him with amusement."

"It's just like Drosselmeyer said to Princess Tutu; " Marionettes are at their freest when they're being manipulated by their strings". And that's exactly what the Citizombies are; Mindless drones doing what their master tells them, never once thinking thinking for themselves", Alex finished in a cold tone. As she did though, the sort boy could not help but look at his friend in utter surprise as he recalled her words, words which had to admit, scared him quite a bit.

"No offence mate, but...that's pretty dark", he replied a somewhat frightened, almost somber sounding tone.

"I know it's quite a dark thought, but... that's kind of how I've been thinking about this situation for awhile now", Alex replied in a now somber tone as she turned to face her short friend, her pink eyes reverting to their natural brown colour as she did. Upon doing so, a moment of silence encased the two friends, one which was only broken upon the short blonde opening his mouth to speak as he clenched his hands into fists.

" Then let's go find her, we have to if we're going to help her win this thing", he replied in a brave, fearless tone, one which surprised that mutant girl.

"Really?...Are you sure you're not scared now", Alex asked in a teasing tone.

"Who cares about being scared? I'd rather give Grandfather a knuckle sandwich myself then let him turn us all into meleeinettes", the short Australian replied in a determined tone, a feet which could help but bring a small smile to his friend's face. Despite his cocky attitude, Wally always remained loyal to those he cared for, something she could not help but respect him for, even if she could not help but cringe at his mispronunciation of "marionette".

" Right... You search the left side and I'll take the right", she replied, her words grabbing his attention once more. Only this time however, his reaction was far from frightened, and more along the lines of annoyance.

"Wait, That's no fair! You have aura powers, so you'll be able to find her before I even have a chance", he complained.

"True, but I still have my cold here; it'll be harder for me to pick out Rachel-san's aura, so you'll have as good a chance as I will at finding her", Alex replied in a blunt tone, one which caused her short friend to feel rather embarrassed by her words.

"Oh...yeah...Well, if ya' can't find anything, meet me back here in half an hour", he replied as he began to run off in the left direction.

"Right", she replied back as she levitated herself back into the air, flying off into the right direction. Unbeknownst to them however, they were being monitored by a now enraged looking Grandfather.

" I should have known that stupid mutant child would try and intervene in my plans", the satanic demon remarked in an enraged tone, angered by the presence of the mutant child and her friend. Despite his obvious enraged state however, he managed to calm himself down, reminding himself once more that he needed to save his energy for his real target.

"No matter, I will deal with those two soon enough. First I must focus on my main objective", he said to himself as he sat down in his throne like chair, studying his young target in the main crystal monitor as he did so.

"It seems as though no matter what I say or do, she refuses to conform, proving her resistance to be much stronger than I initially realized. I must find a way to defeat her before she bests me at my own game. But how though? All of my usual psychological tricks have failed me, and-", he thought to himself in a fit of slight irritation, uncertain of what to do. Or at least it seemed that way until an idea rang off in his head, causing a wide smirk to form on his old face as he began to develop his next evil scheme.

"Well my dear, you may be able to resist my words...but I doubt you will be resistive to those of your loved ones", the old man replied in a sinister yet arrogant tone, chuckling evilly as he continued to develop his latest plan against his young target, believing that nothing could thwart his plans this time.

End chap. 9