Alright, please prepare yourselves, this chapter is going to get a little shocking. You'll see why.

Reviewer Thanks

Starspring: Yep, long chapters keep readers entertained longer. And remember-- expect the unexpected you thought you expected but turned out to be unexpected which you expected unexpectedly. …Okay?

Jyushi girl: Man, tell me about it! One month-and-a-half to go before graduation (for me). As for Blu's father… eh, I'll come up with something ;) And yeah, the different fairytale versions are more fun than the original, aren't they?

Frog Disease: Yep, that's Wolf-- tough and savage, but has a soft personality. And I agree-- thank the Lord for good kitties!

LilacWings96: Hey, new reviewer! Thanks so much!

We all sat around the room, discussing the plan: First, we would find Biggy. Second, we would kill the bitch.

Unfortunately, according to Pin, it wasn't that simple. "Wolves tend to be very keen, and I know that Biggy might be expecting an attack." he said. "We must find a more well-thought-out strategy."

"But how?" Red scoffed. "That creepy wolf must have several allies! How else would he know where the 12 Huntresses lived?"

"Yeah, that Big Bad Wolf brother of mine knows almost every---" Wolf began.

"Biggy did not burn down our cabin." Sarah said.

"He… didn't?" Goldi asked.

"No, another fiend did… and it was the most unlikely character."

"Who was it?" I asked.

Sarah looked at Pin. "Your conscience."

Now, I was totally confused. "Um… care to clarify, Sarah?"

"You mean… Jiminy??" Pin asked, stunned. Sarah nodded solemnly, and he sank down in his chair. "Oh, my Godmother… but, why would he do such a thing?"

Maybe I went too far when I flushed him down the toilet, I thought, cringing with a little guilt. "Probably because of me," I sighed, not wanting to have to live with guilt. Everyone-- even Pin-- looked at me, quizzically. "Well, it's obvious, isn't it?! He was in charge of keeping an eye on Pin, teaching him right from wrong, and I got fed up with the little bug and flushed him down the toilet, thereby pissing him off and now he wanted vengeance because he didn't want Pin to head down the Road of Bad-Asses and I cut him from the picture! So, it's my fault he burned down your cabin!" …My, Godmother, did I just give a full confession out of guilt and blame myself for something?

Pin shook his head. "You didn't drive him off the deep end, Blu. When I started getting older and into my early teens, I stopped listening to him-- heck, I even flicked him off my shoulder a few times! So, I pretty much have the full blame on this one." he turned to Sarah. "Where is he, now?"

Sarah shrugged. "Cricket Heaven… or the other place. Either way, he's dead." she replied.

"Oh, my Godmother! What happened?!"

"The same thing that happens to every bug who messes with me and my sisters-- they get squished. …Sorry, Pin, but your bug-conscience turned wacko."

Pin sighed, shaking his head. "Jim… my old conscience… the one who helped me become a real human being…"

I was stunned as well. Sure, I would have squished Jiminy too if he burned down my house… but that was the old me. Now… I felt something I thought I'd never feel for that cricket: Sorrow. Remorse. …Guilt (again). And seeing the sad look in Pin's eyes didn't help lift my spirits. He was right… if it weren't for Jiminy, Pin and I wouldn't even be together-- heck, we wouldn't even have met! He'd still be a wooden, lifeless puppet and I would probably be stuck in prison with Wolf.

"It's all my fault." Pin and I said at the same time. We looked at each other, seeing sadness in each other's eyes, but we looked away. …At least, I did anyway.

"Man… I can't believe… If he wasn't such a…" Pin continued. He glared at Sarah. "You just had to--- (sigh) Forget it. …It would probably be better if I was still a puppet."

"Don't say that!" I snapped.

Pin's eyes flared with anger toward me. "Why not?! If I were still a puppet, Jiminy would still be alive, and he wouldn't have gone crazy because I wouldn't have aged, met you, and drove him off the deep end!"

I glared at him. "So… that's how it is now, huh?" I grabbed my backpack and walked down the tower stairs.

"Blu, wait! I didn't mean---" Pin's voice was frantic, but I kept walking. He grabbed my arm, but I turned and kicked him in the shin.

"Don't try to apologize, puppet-boy. You've said enough. …You're right, though. You should have stayed a puppet, because you suck as a human!" And I was out the door.

Pin's POV

They say when people get overwhelmed with emotions, they can't think clearly and say stupid things. …And boy, did I say something stupid.

Now, the girl I loved was walking out of my life. What have I done?! I thought worriedly as I ran after her. "Blu, wait! I didn't mean---" I tried to explain. I grabbed her arm, but she kicked me, sending a pain shooting up my leg.

"Don't try to apologize, puppet-boy. You've said enough." Blu said to me, heading toward the door. She turned to me, still glaring. "…You're right, though. You should have stayed a puppet, because you suck as a human!" And she was out the door.

Her words hurt, worse than that knife cut around my neck. She's only speaking out of a broken heart. A voice inside my head told me, but that didn't stop me from falling to my knees with a wooden *clop!*

…Wait, wooden clop?

No… no, no, no, no, no! It can't be, it--- I thought frantically, rushing up the stairs. They seemed higher that they did before. Oh, Godmother, no! Please don't tell me that I… That I…

I looked in the nearest mirror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Wolf's POV

I heard Pin's scream and rushed out of the room. It was obvious he and Blu were pissed at each other, and I was worried that something bad had happened to one of them. Please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong, I silently pleaded. Please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong, please let me be---

Damn, I was right!

Standing at the top of the stairs, looking in a mirror on the wall, was a wooden puppet with black-painted wooden hair, a nose that stuck out a bit, wearing a small Zorro-like outfit.

Pinocchio was once again a puppet. "Godmother, Pin! What did she do to you?!" I gasped.

He looked down, sadly. "She… turned me back into a puppet." he replied.

"But… how?! I thought she didn't have her mother's power yet!"

Pin looked at his hands. "Apparently, she does. She told me I sucked at being human… and now…" he fell to his knees, putting his face in his hands. "Now things are really f----d up."

I knew things had become worse when Pin started using vulgar language… and I wasn't going to let things get worser! "C'mon, Pin, we're going to find Blu and get this mess straightened out!"

"Care to let us tag along?" A voice said, and there stood Jack, with Tom Thumb on the rim of his cap. …Funny, I almost forgot they were still here, with them being so quiet.

"Lets go." I grabbed Pin by the shirt and we ran out the door…

…stopping when we saw Blu, with Puss in Boots right in front of her!

Blu's POV

I wasn't more than five feet from the tower when I saw a black-and-white cat in front of me. "Hold it right there, cat!" I shouted, and Puss in Boots froze. I approached him, taking out my knife. "Alright, you Meow-Mix Muncher, it's time we settled this, man-to-man! …er, I mean, girl-to-cat!"

Puss did the unexpected: he knelt before me. "Go ahead. I deserve it." he said.

But I wasn't going to fall for any tricks. "What are you up to? You're distracting me, aren't you?! I bet you have an ambush waiting for me right now! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, DAMMIT?!?!"

"I'm here to join you, geez!" Puss stood up. "Look, I just want to help you take down Biggy! It's the only way I know how to pay off my debt to you… before I let you take my life."

I glared at him. "Alright, enough with the jokes! Tell me what you're up to, or I'll---"

"Blu, what's going on?" A voice behind me asked, and I saw Jack, Tom, Wolf… and… oh Godmother, please tell me the toy-factory made puppet-figurines of…

"P-Pin…?!" I gasped and dropped my knife.

"It seems you have a little gift for making puppets," Pin said, and his voice was full of something I never heard in it before…

Sheer hatred.

Wolf set him on the ground and growled at Puss, who hissed at him. "Could you call off your wolf so we can negotiate?!" he demanded.

"Who says we're negotiating?!" I snapped, turning my attention back to the hit-cat. "You sided with Biggy, killed an innocent family, wounded Sarah-- so I've heard-- and now you dare show your face?! Why should I negotiate with you?!"

Puss looked at me, and I saw honesty in his eyes. He speaks the truth-- listen. A voice said in my head. "Because… I want to help you. Again."

A/N: Ah, yes-- Puss decides to help… and Pin's a puppet again.

Pin fan girls: AAAAIIIIEEEEEEEE!!! -drop dead-

0_o Gosh, I hope none of those fan girls were Jyushi Girl…

Review, yes. Flame, no.