Chapter Four

Revelations

As they arrived in the kitchen Jake couldn't help but notice Tabitha was still shaking, she sniffed and finally he took note of her soaked through clothes. Excusing himself for a moment he returned with a grey sweat shirt and sweat pants from his closet.

"There's a bathroom back there you can change in." he said handing her the clothes, Tabitha took them and with a soft thank you went to change. She vaguely wondered where her shoes and socks had run off to.

Jake hurried to clean the mess in the kitchen. When Tabitha returned he realized his clothes were much too big for her, but it would do for now keeping her warm and dry, even if the sleeves covered her fingertips. Tabitha began asking many more questions concerning the puppets, Andre and Jake's parents. As he tried to answer some of them, he made them an early breakfast of Eggs, Sausage, bacon, waffles and his mother's homemade syrup. Jake had always been good at cooking, especially living by himself.

Before starting on the waffles, he looked over his shoulder at her.

Sitting there at the kitchen table, she was surrounded by the puppets that seemed to find her as curious as she found them. He grinned looking at the child-like gaze she had for them. Anyone else would have been terrified to see puppets moving of their own will. Maybe she really was a Toulon?

She caught his gaze and smiled, blushing slightly, though she didn't know why, before asking, "So, you said you were going to tell me the entire story. You know, about Andre and everything that's happened?"

Turning back to the waffles, he answered, "Okay, but I warn you, it's a very long story and I'm not exactly sure how much of it you're going to believe."

"I'll take my chances. Go on." She said, while Trickster ran past her on the floor, carrying a familiar black fedora in his hand, quickly followed by Blade who was hissing madly.

"Well," He began as Trickster ran past his feet, causing him to stop suddenly to keep from tripping, "Trickster! Give Blade back his hat! I swear…"

The hat was not given back exactly, more like thrown through the air to the oncoming white face puppet that stopped and looked up at Jake who knelt down, positioned it back on his head before Blade gave him a salute and then pursued Trickster.

Following this, he brought the waffles to the table and sat down across from her.

Looking into her beautiful blue eyes, he began to tell the story of everything he had been told by his parents and Andre.

By the time he was finished bringing her up to date, all of the breakfast had been eaten, Trickster was locked in a cupboard by Blade, who still had bits of turquoise material on his hook hand, and the other puppets were enjoying the show.

Tabitha was still sitting back in her chair, jaw agape after hearing everything. Contrary to what he thought, she did believe everything that had just been told to her. In some strange way, it all made sense. Though she would have to explain that to him.

"It's weird." She said, looking down at her plate as she moved her fork around in circles.

"Yeah, I know. I've had to tell the story to one other person before."

"No, that's not what I meant," she said, stopping him, "You see, the reason I came here is because for a while now, I've been having these strange dreams. They've been about moving puppets, hearing the name Toulon, and walking around in a museum, this one to be exact. It's like something was calling me here for some reason."

Jake nodded, "Well, this place is known for doing some weird things, not to mention you are of the Toulon bloodline."

"Speaking of bloodlines. I want to prove I'm a Toulon that I am who I say I am."

"I believe you, there is no need for that." Jake said but Tabitha shook her head.

"Please? I need this." The emotion in her eyes was enough to make Jake stand. There was a small vial that had been boiling slowly for many hours over on the sideboard of the kitchen.

"Do you understand what this is?" He asked brining it over. She nodded. By now all the puppets had gathered close to watch.

"Just two drops right?" She asked. He nodded and handed her a pin.

Biting her lip she pricked her finger and added it to the mixture. It boiled, foamed and changed in color and thickness with a strange unnatural glow beginning to form. Tabitha gasped and looked at Jake who was smiling. A soft oooh along with a chuckle and a hiss drew her attention and as she looked down the puppets bowed.

"What are they doing?" She smiled asking Jake.

He swirled the vial a bit in his hand as he spoke. "You're a Toulon, as pure and true as Andre himself and as I mentioned before we are very protective of the Toulon bloodline here."

"I wish I could see a picture of him. Andre, I mean." She said, setting the fork down and smiling, "That was a great breakfast, thank you."

Nodding, he set his glass of orange juice down and said, "You want to see him? I've got our family scrapbook down the hall. Since he's technically family to ours now, he and the puppets are all in it. Hang on and I'll go get it."

Standing, he excused himself and disappeared out the door.

As he left, the puppets began to follow, but then stopped and stared at her.

Smiling at them, she said, though didn't know why she felt so comfortable talking to them. After all, she couldn't understand their whispers and hisses like Jake could.

"You know, I was never allowed dolls or toys growing up. Maybe that's why I just want to hold you."

The puppets looked at one another. Almost as if they were trying to figure something out. Finally, Jester moved forward and extended his arms upward.

Her grin got broader as she bent over and lifted him into her arms, carrying him gently against her chest as if he were a child in her arms.

His head spun around to the smile face as she laughed. Reaching out she jingled one of the bells on his cap. He clapped and she couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"Did you have a lot of dolls or toys growing up?" Jake asked from the doorway of the kitchen, smiling at the pair of them.

"No," She said looking over at him and then back down at Jester, "I was telling them that. My grandfather absolutely hated them. Toys, dolls, anything like that. They were forbidden in his home. My stepsister, my mom's first kid, no Toulon relation, took the only other ones in our house."

"Well," he said, sitting down with a rather large book bound in brown leather, "I don't think Jester will mind behind held too much. "

Jester shook his head as Jake said, "I grew up with these guys. They were all my protectors. Many a mean dog has scars on their noses from Blade's knife. Plus, you won't ever find a better person to play hide and seek with."

Looking over to him, Blade gave him another salute.

"Six Shooter was always the best when playing Cowboys and Indians and Tunnler there well I couldn't have done any wood projects growing up without him."

Six Shooter twirled his guns at the compliments and Tunnler turned his drill on a little in a form of blushing.

Moving over to sit beside her, Jake opened the book to the middle and began flipping through the pages of numerous people before coming to rest on an older picture of Andre at the Bodega Bay Inn.

"That's Andre." He said, pointing down. "Handsome guy wasn't...or rather isn't he?"

She laughed, "He looks a lot like my grandfather did. Same white hair, same moustache and beard. But there's something different about the eyes. Friendlier than my grandfather's ever was."

"That's Elsa." Jake said, pointing to another picture, more faded, "She was beautiful too."

Tabitha nodded, "Yes, she was." Before asking, "Is there a picture of what they look like now? I mean, since they were…transferred, I guess you would call it?"

"Yeah," he replied, flipping to the back of the book and then pointing to a picture of Brick and Ginger, "That's them now. Only 13 inches tall, but they still make a cute couple."

She laughed a little out loud, "Yes, they do."

A muffled "He he he" could be heard from the cupboard as well as a "Ooooo." From Jester.

Looking down, she asked, "You guys think that's funny too?"

Jake shook his head, "Nah, they just like all laughter, especially yours."

Looking over at him, she smiled brightly as he blushed slightly.

"You know, I was wondering why you had Jester tickle my feet instead of hurting me? From everything you said the puppet know a lot about punishing intruders."

Now Jake was blushing. In truth, he had loved her intoxicating laugh but that wasn't why he had Jester tickle her.

"The puppets…mirror the soul of the master and I might have been upset but, you hadn't tried to hurt them or break anything in the museum so I found no reason to right out…attack you."

Coughing to hide the fact he had also been a little turned on by her ticklish predicament, he closed the book, saying, "So, Andre said he and Elsa were catching the next flight here and for us to stay put for now. If that's the case, then I think I should put a sign on the door letting people know the museum will be closed for a while. I'll say renovating or something."

Getting up, he left the kitchen again as Tabitha watched him go, Jester tugged on her shirt and she smiled down at Jester.

The realm of the underworld was filled with the sounds of countless souls, screaming in pain and agony. It seemed to echo throughout every part of it. However, these sounds were like a piano concerto to the demon lord Sutaketh. A sound he never tired of hearing. Among his brethren, he was a force to be reckoned with.

It had been some time since Sutekh had failed in his mission to retrieve that which Sutaketh had given him to protect. The life giving formula to animate the inanimate. The formula had been meant to instill terror in those among the living. To give life to those things that instilled terror among the mortals. Instead, it had been stolen by the damned sorcerer Afzel who had later given it to the man known as Toulon.

Sutekh had been charged with bringing Afzel and Toulon down to the underworld where they would suffer greatly for their theft. Instead, Afzel took his own life and Toulon got away. Sutaketh knew that Toulon had taken his own life, of course, but that his soul had been transferred into a puppet, the same as his wife. Again, his plans for tormenting them for eternity had been thwarted.

At least, the demon thought, sitting in a grand throne chair made from the bones of the souls had had taken, "I still have one Toulon at my disposal."

Looking down, the figure of Robert Toulon was chained to a wall of rock, his mouth open screaming, though no scream exited it. His body flailed against the wall as if trying to escape the heat emanating from it.

"Soon, I will have the remaining living Toulons. All Five of them." He said to his awaiting minions, four half-men, half-oddities.

Where there should have been hands or feet, there were small spiked wheels. Their backs were covered with sharp ridges and protruding bones.

As their master spoke, they all cackled in agreement.

The next two days, Jake had shown Tabitha every inch of the museum, including showing her Abomination, much to Blade's dismay, which she had called, "Grotesque and disgusting."

She had taken a room on the same floor as Jake and was already beginning to like living here. He had assured her that since she was practically family, she was more than welcome to take up living there full time, to which she readily accepted.

He even let her watch as he began his next creation, a new puppet not even his father could have created. The idea for it had come when he had been watching a late night horror movie. Looking at the characters and movements, he thought it could work.

Finding the pieces around the museum was easy, though he still required many other small parts to make it work. When completed, it would make Decapitron look like a marionette.