The dolls went into the trunk., and after it was closed, they felt themselves being carried. The jourey lasted only a mintue or so. When the case reopened, the puppets found themselves in the back room of the Toulon workshop. An old yellowed book lay open on the table they were set on and Andrea walked around to face them.

"Do you remember this," she asked. "It's the Toulon family magic."

The puppets nodded and Blade rushed toward the book, flipping to a specific page. Andrea read it and shook her head sadly.

"It's a nice thought, but I can't bring him back, Blade," she said. "He told me not to."

The white-haired puppet lowered his face and Andrea patted his head.

"Thank you, though. What I wanted to show you guys was this." She flipped through the pages saying "My dad showed me this book a couple weeks ago. He was teaching me some of this stuff and I ran across a very interesting spell."

She stopped sudenly. "Here it is."

The puppets crowded around to look at the page as Andrea continued speaking. "You puppets have been under the complete control of the Toulon bloodline for years. This spell can give you all free will. You won't have to answer to some master with evil intentions. You can make up your own minds. And you'll have human emotions, and maybe if you concentrate hard enough, you'll even be able to talk to people."

Then, Andrea's voive became a sad, croaking whisper. "It will sever all your mystical ties with the Toulon. You'll be free to go on your own. You've all been such good friends, and this should have been done a long time ago."

She moved away and began preparations for the spell. The puppets watched her chant in a strange tongue as she boiled a brew of odd ingredients. After several minutes, Andrea turned back to them, brining the bubbling pot with her.

"Okay, everyone needs to undress," she said, reaching over to help Blade.

They all complied, but Jester's face spun into a blushing expression. Andrea couldn't help but smile. Once they were completely declothed, she began to explain.

"I have to dip you into the liquid. You'll go to sleep for a few minutes, but when you awake you'll have changed. Do I have any volunteers to go first?"

The puppets looked at each other curiously. Then, Blade stepped forward.

"Don't worry," Andrea said, picking him up. "It'll be over quickly."

Blade nodded and Andrea slowly submerged him. Three seconds later, she brought him out and dried the excess fluid off. He laid motionless on the table as Jester's head spun to a horrified expression.

"I promise he's alright," Andrea assured him. "But I can't wake him up until I've finished with all of you."

She continued with the rest of them until all four puppets were on the table. She dressed them quickly before stepping back to look at them. Raising her arms above them, she closed her eyes in concentration.

"Unubod keu don cavo, mo sumfudaedj. Unubod udt ro vhoo!"

A great wave of energy flowed out of Andrea, coating the puppets and expanding further. Then, it all rushed back to her and knocked her to her knees. She peered over the side of the table to see the puppets start to stir. They all stood and brushed themselves off, except Blade, who came to the edge of the table to look at Andrea.

She stood too and Blade backed away to the others. The four puppets looked up at her.

"Are you guys okay," Andrea asked.

They nodded and Jester's face turned to a smile.

"Do you think it worked?"

Pin Head shrugged. Andrea had never seen him do that before.

"Let's test it out," she suggested. "I command you to…todestroy this."

She held out a piece of cedar that was sitting on the workbench. The puppets looked at it and shook their heads.

"Okay," she said. "Let's try this. Go to sleep."

Again, they stood still.

"Stand on your heads?"

Jester bent forward like he would do as Andrea ordered. Instead, he stood up straight with a smile. A laughing sound came from him and the others joined in. Even Andrea giggled.

"Oh, it did work," she beamed. "Now, you're free. You can do whatever you want, go where ever you want."

The small chuckles stopped. Blade looked at the ground and Jester took on a sad face.

"What's wrong," Andrea asked. "Don't you want to be on your own?"

All four puppets shook their heads.

Andrea looked at them astonished. "You don't have any place else to go, do you?"

They shook their heads again and Andrea could almost imagine their faces looking sad and forlorn.

"You can stay here as long as you want," she coaxed. "I'll always love having you with me."

They perked up greatly just as they heard Andrea's mother called.

"Come on, guys," Andrea said, helping the puppets back in the case. "We gotta go."

Before she closed the trunk, she whispered, "It's nice knowing you guys chose to stay with me."

A few days later, the puppets awoke on Andrea's table. It was dark, and Andrea was curled up on her bed, crying. They moved to her side, wanting to comfort her. Pin Head's bulky fingers ran gently through her hair.

"He's really gone now," she sobbed to her little wooden companions. "He's buried, six feet in the ground. I miss him so much."

Andrea continued crying until she fell asleep. The puppets returned to their resting places, except Blade. He stood on her bedside table, looking at her sleeping face highlighted beautifully by the silver moonlight. The light cast his shadow on the wall above her, the silouhette of the knife and hook looking horrific next to his beloved mistress.

Looking down, Blade spied the box on Andrea's table. He opened it to see his unused hands. His intentions were to trade his weaponry for the wooden appendages without help. But as he reached down, the tip of his knife gouged the wood of the right palm. He stared in horror at the scarred hand.

Blasted Toulon magic! Before Andrea's spell, Blade would have been sad at marring such a beautiful piece of work. Now, his mind could form more complex thoughts that had never plagued him before. He had only wanted the hands so he could comfort her lik the others. They were ruined now, because of his ridiculous excuses for arms. All he was goor for was destroying things. Why did Andrea waste her time with him?"

Andy, he remembered the name her father had called her. She was lying so composed and lovely, but he could still see traces of sadness in her features.

"Oh, Andy."

Blade was startled to hear his voice so plainly. Andrea stirred and sat up.

"Dad," her groggy voice asked. Then, she realized her error and looked around. When her eyes fell on Blade, she rubbed them.

"Was that you, Blade?" Her voice was still thick with sleep.

He nodded and Andrea smiled. "Well, the voice thing works. Very cool. So, what is it you need?"

Blade looked down at the hands. Andrea picked them up and examined them.

"Got a little scratched, huh? That's okay," she raessured him. "I think it adds some character. Why do you have these out?"

He raised his arms to her.

"You want me to change them for you?" When Blade nodded, Andrea said "Strange time, but okay. I'm just here to help you."

She switched the hands and gave him a tired smile. "Anything else?"

He stepped forward and raised his arms again.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight," she asked.

Blade nodded again and felt Andrea's hands wrap around him. She brought him close to her face. "Alright, I'll enjoy the company."

Blessed Toulon magic! He actually felt it when she kissed him. Her lips were very soft against his rigid cheek. Then, she laid down again, snuggling Blade close under the covers.