Chapter 29 –Pulling the Strings

As Ruby stared at the wooden figurine in front of her, she tears of fear and relief ran down her cheeks. Fear for what might happen if she was caught up here, and relief that she might have finally found the salvation she and the others needed in the form of the new arrivals downstairs.

"Oh Luffy, I think we're gonna be fine," she whispered, speaking to the wooden figure with a small smile spreading across her face. "We'll be free at last."

However what Ruby didn't realise at the time, she wasn't the ONLY one in the attic at that moment.

"Hello Ruby," said another voice in the dark.

Upon hearing those words Ruby's face twisted into terror, worse still a sudden draft blew out the candle she was holding, thus taking away her only source of light and scaring Ruby even more, had anyone else been standing next to her she probably would be jumping into their arms by now. Suddenly another flicker of light appeared within the darkness, merely a few feet to Ruby's right, knowing full well who lit the new source of light she couldn't help but gulp as she reluctantly turned towards the one who had obviously been the one to speak to her. However this new arrival wasn't someone who had just arrived with the group downstairs, nor had it been any one of her two friends that were currently with them, this individual was someone the others had failed to meet just yet… someone who wasn't even human. As yet another candle emanated a dim flicker of light into the pitch black room, it revealed the full form of Ruby's encounter, a ventriloquist dummy that stood only three feet tall, had dummy with a wave of brown hair and realistic brown eyes, his lips curled into a sinister smile as the wooden hinge of his jaw revealed the painted insides of his mouth, and his clothing consisted of a dark grey suit over a white collar and red bow tie, along with a blood-red flower stapled onto his lapel. Had the dummy been nothing but that then he would have been scary enough amongst the dim light of the candle he was holding, but he was far worse than that… the dummy was alive.

"H… Hi," Ruby finally squeaked, too terrified to say anything else.

"Hi, what?" the dummy asked, his wooden jaw moving with every syllable he spewed out.

"Hi, Master?" Ruby said, quickly correcting herself for she knew full well who this dummy was and what he could do.

However upon those words, the dummy merely let out a light cackle, which was a laugh enough to make anyone obtain a shiver down their spine.

"There's a good girl," he said through his laughter. "Though please, we're all friends here, are we not? Call me by my first name. After all Slappy is nothing is not generous to his slaves."

#

Meanwhile back at the junkyard, the limo that now acted as the group's new transport was now bursting through the wooden gates, and zooming up the road, back towards the Bodega Bay Inn, Aria at the wheel as she kept her foot pressed down upon the gas. Needless to say, the atmosphere INSIDE the limo was just a hectic as it was out.

"A VENTRILOQUIST DUMMY!?"

That was what everyone screamed in unison after G had told them all who he was sure was the one who had attacked Jenny and sent her to the junkyard. Of course after that initial reaction, the first thought that went through everyone's heads was utter confusion.

"You're telling me that I was drained out my power by a toy!?" Jenny exclaimed, unable to comprehend what G had just said.

"Oh Slappy's no toy Jenny," G replied fearfully, obviously having a great deal of knowledge of the little demon. "That thing is as pure evil as they come. Coming to life every time someone reads that damn incantation on the card and forcing them to be his personal slaves. And what's worse the victims can't do anything about it less risking Slappy hurting their loved ones."

"So how bad a threat are we looking at here?" Aria asked nervously, peeking over her shoulder for a moment as she continued to drive.

"On his own, not that big," G explained in response. "Mainly he just torments his victims with pranks and the like. But he's also incredibly crafty, whatever situation he's in, he can always figure out a way to make sure that others suffer for his own amusement. Not to mention the little swine's incredibly fast, you blink for just a second and he'll be gone."

"So how was he able to drain me of my power?" Jenny asked confusingly, obviously not fully understanding how a dummy that merely pulls pranks could be such a threat.

"I don't know," G admitted, his head throbbing as he tried to contemplate what to do when they get back to the hotel. "But I intend to find out, if Slappy's involved with whatever's going on at the hotel then this might be bigger than we think."

"So what do Ruby and the others have to do with it?" Nyx asked curiously, though not without a great deal of fear herself.

"One of them must have read the incantation aloud," G replied, thinking back to the card he now had in his vest pocket. "And I think Slappy must have done something to force all three of them into servitude."

"Like what?" Edward asked, peering over his shoulder as he sat in front with Aria.

At those words G gave a heavy sigh, now THIS was a question that he didn't need to find the answer to.

"Knowing those three, there would be only one thing that would keep them from fighting," he said, grabbing everyone's attention. "And that's if one of their friend's lives were in danger."

Hearing this everyone looked at each with an even greater fear than before, if what G said was true then someone was in greater danger than anyone else in that hotel, and given what she knew and what the others told her, Jenny could easily figure out which one of her friends G was talking about.

#

While Luffy's wooden figurine continued to sit in the dusty old armchair, Ruby meanwhile continued to stare down at another figure made of wood, only this one was moving about all on its own.

"So… what's new, Ruby?" Slappy asked, with a creepy tone in his voice.

"Oh um… nothing," Ruby replied quickly, obviously she didn't have any intention of revealing the events of today to this demonic tree stump.

"Oh really?" Slappy slowly said in response, his eyes half closing as he gave Ruby an eerie glare. "Then why is it that Hazel tells me that we have uninvited guests in the hotel? Trying to keep secrets from me, are we?"

As it turned out, Slappy was already more informed than she realised.

"She told you!?" Ruby gasped.

"Obviously," Slappy barked, his tone indicating that it was indeed the most obvious thing to expect. "She works for me just like you do, remember? However she is proving to be a better slave that you are right now."

Ruby just couldn't believe it, granted she knew that Miss Hazel was perfectly aware of Slappy's existence just like Franky and Uncle were, but she never would have imagined that she would just tell the dummy without her knowledge, after all she promised she wouldn't. However despite that shattering piece of knowledge, Ruby wasn't willing to give up just yet, in fact her chance to escape Slappy's clutches was within her grasp and she was NOT going to let it slip through her fingers so easily.

"I am not your slave!" she snapped angrily, much to the dummy's surprise.

However that statement turned out to be a mistake, because now Slappy was looking back at her with an irritated glare, his wooden eyebrows tilting to indicate his anger.

"Need I remind you that YOU were the one who spoke the words that brought me here?" he said calmly, quickly silencing the girl. "Face it kid, you're stuck with me till the day you die, that is unless you WANT you and your friends end up like the other nitwits that disobeyed me?"

It was at those words that Ruby's angry quickly changed back into a look of fear, of course this was Slappy's trump card, if things didn't go his way then he would deliver a threat such as this. He had already made Jenny disappear and turned Luffy into little more than a life-size dummy, lord knows what he would do to herself or the others if any one of them had disobeyed his command.

"N… no sir," Ruby whimpered in defeat, the fear of losing more friends greatly stifling her bravery.

It was then that Slappy's gaze softened and his face contorted back to its regular state.

"Then tell me all you know about these newcomers," he said softly "Starting with the mismatched one, the one Hazel called Mr G."

He wanted to know about G in particular? That certainly wasn't good.

"Well there's not really that much to tell really," Ruby replied quickly, maybe lying about what she knew about him will make the dummy loose interest.

However Slappy instantly grew suspicious of Ruby's answer.

"Oh really?" he asked. "So you don't believe that he knows of a way to send you and your friends back home? Perhaps save you from being turned into termite-food?"

This was VERY bad, not only did Slappy know about G but he was able to guess just what Ruby was thinking, either that or he had been the room longer than she thought and overheard everything she had said to Luffy's wooden prison.

"Oh no! Nothing like that," Ruby fibbed, frantically trying to dissuade Slappy from his interests with the mindless tone of a child. "Honestly I don't even know how that would be even possible.

But of course the dummy saw through that obviously lie in an instant, if there was one thing Ruby wasn't it was a liar, and it was that fact alone that orchestrated what happened next as Slappy's anger began to boil over.

"I know when you're lying to me, Ruby!" he snapped, suddenly blowing out the candle and once again enveloping the attic in utter darkness.

Seconds later, another light flickered, only this time from behind Ruby, quickly turning around the young huntress almost screamed when she saw Slappy sitting on Luffy's lap, a lit match in his hand that was far too close for comfort for Luffy's head.

"Dear Ruby," he said sadistically. "You've made Slappy very unhappy so I'm afraid he's just gonna have to take some more drastic measures than I originally intended for your incompetence."

Ruby couldn't help but gulp at that.

"W… what do you mean by that?" she asked nervously.

"I mean turning you, Franky and the old man in dummies isn't gonna be a big enough threat this time, sweet-cheeks," Slappy replied. "I think it's time I started pulling a few more strings in this relationship. Tonight you and your new friends are gonna have a brawl of a lifetime, all of my children are coming out to play."

At those words, Slappy let out another wicked cackle, loud enough that the entire attic echoed with it. Knowing instantly what Slappy was referring to when he gave his last statement, Ruby's jaw dropped with horror.

"You wouldn't!" she pleaded.

"Oh I would," Slappy retorted smugly. "Oh and don't bother trying to escape the building either because the hotel is now closed."

It was then that Slappy let out another loud cackle, once again putting out the flame and shrouding the room in darkness as his laughter echoed. Once Ruby realised that Slappy no longer had an intention to relight the room again, she instead went for her own candle, much to her horror, Slappy was nowhere to be seen… and neither was Luffy. Ruby didn't know how he did it, but it was clear that Slappy was the one that moved Luffy's body and it was that fact alone that was enough to make her finally loose what little courage she had left and bolt towards the door. Whatever Slappy was about to set in motion she knew that she had to warn somebody, there was no way she could avoid telling the truth at this point, after all everyone's lives were in danger now.

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can," Slappy's voice echoed as he burst out of the attic. "You can't escape us, nor can Franky or Uncle Chan!"

And with that, Slappy's laughter echoed throughout the hotel, awaking every figure that hid inside the darkest rooms where no light shone, upon hearing it something else moved amongst the darkness… something dangerous.

#

Of Course the laughter was also heard by those who were still in the ball room, in fact it was so loud and eerie that everyone couldn't help but stop what they were doing and wonder what it was that created the noise.

"What the heck was that?" Chef thought aloud.

Suddenly the laughter wasn't the only thing that stirred up their concerns, because at that very moment, the karaoke machine went dead, as did every single light in the building, shrouding not only the ballroom, but every room in the hotel in a blanket of darkness, one that seemed worse than what the group experienced when they first arrived.

"The power went out!" Goggles exclaimed, his mind now beginning to become clouded with fear.

Not only that but all of sudden every window and door that lead outside began to slam shut, the faint sound of clicking could be heard as they supposedly began to lock themselves. Needless to say the feeling of fear that Goggles had obtained was mutual amongst everyone else, for at this point Laura was clinging onto Goggles like a teddy bear, Chef was shivering like a leaf while beginning to binge eat his bowl of Mint Chocolate Ice-cream, even Adagio was looking nervous as she and Sonata clung to each other for support. However the two individual that were clearly the most scared was Franky and Uncle, for they knew who the laughter they heard belonged to.

"Uncle?" Franky gulped nervously, fearing what was about to happen.

"Uncle has the willies," Uncle replied, not knowing what else that he could possible say.

#

Meanwhile Slappy continued to laugh as he patted Luffy's wooden head, a single candle acting as his sole source of light as he talked to the wooden figure in his new hiding place, which was now one of the many hotel rooms that had been closed off on the upper floors.

"Oh Luffy, why did dear little Ruby have to be such a disobedient child?" he said mockingly before chuckling a little. "Kids these days eh?"

Suddenly Slappy was cut off in the middle of his ramblings by the many assortment of sounds coming from behind him. He then turned his head all the way around like an owl, if he had the ability then his wooden smile would have grown wider upon seeing who had arrived.

"Ah there you are my children," he said, greeting the new arrivals as their appearance remained hidden in the shadows. "It would seem that we have some unwanted guests in the hotel. Perhaps it's time we put on a show that they will never forget. Go my friends!"

Upon that command, the hidden figures quickly dispersed and left as quickly and silently as they arrived, once again leaving Slappy alone in the room with Luffy. That is until another voice joined him that seemed to be emanating out of nowhere, a voice that was high and somewhat feminine.

"Ooh, can I play too?" it said, the tone almost bubbly and childlike.

Hearing this new voice Slappy couldn't help but laugh, if SHE wanted to join in on all the fun, then he certainly had no reason to deny such a request.

"Sure thing my sweet," he replied happily. "In fact your assistance will make things VERY interesting, go! Do your thing!"

At those words, the new voice cackled a loud burst of giggles of her own and a sudden burst of wind blew out the candle in the room, leaving the only source of light being the shimmer of Slappy's eyes as he let out yet another loud cackle.

#

What Slappy didn't realise a the time, the one he had been asking Ruby about earlier was already zooming back towards the hotel at full speed inside Scanty and Kneesocks' limo, the skull in his Jolly Roger eye glaring as furiously as he did. Even the others had their own forms of built up anger, mostly due to the fact that they were all lied to, granted it was probably for a good reason, after all Ruby, Franky and Uncle seemed so nice, and Jenny's description of them certainly validated that idea, but regardless they all still lied to their faces about what was going on. However this anger was mostly clouded by fear and confusion, fear about what they would find back at the hotel, and confusion as there were so many questions being created by the minute.

"What I don't understand is how one three-foot dummy was able to all of this?" Jenny asked, stil unconvinced that a dummy was able to knock her out AND send her along with everyone's belongings to the Junkyard so easily.

However that was when Nyx came to a realisation.

"You said that on his own, he wasn't much of a threat, right?" she asked, earning a nod from G. "Well what if he ISN'T on his own?"

It wasn't a pleasing thought, in fact it was downright scary believing Slappy would be working with someone that was WILLING to go along with whatever insane scheme he cooked up. But Regardless the idea hadn't escaped G's mind, in fact that was one of the worst fears he had about the situation. However before the Living Genre could answer the filly, everyone was suddenly thrown forward as the limo came to a sudden stop. Needless to say, g was infuriated as he clambered over toward Aria in the driver's seat.

"What'd you stop for!?" he snapped angrily, only to see the horrified look upon her face.

"A… animal in the road," she whimpered, pointing a shivering toward the road ahead.

"A BIG animal," Edward added, mimicking her moves down to the frightened shivers.

It was only then that G saw what it was that made Aria step on the breaks so suddenly, it may have been dark out but the limo's headlights illuminated the figure well enough, unfortunately it only made him look even scarier than he usually did. There, standing no more than twenty feet away from the hood of the limo was Rahzar, his fur matted from the trek he took through the wilderness, and his jaws still dripping with fresh blood as he still held the leg of the deer he had feasted upon no more than an hour. As he covered his eyes with a clawed hand to shield them from the glare of the limo's headlights, Rahzar couldn't help but wonder who was inside the vehicle that almost ran him over, however all it took was a few sniffs of the air before he got his answer.

"Well, hello again," he growled with a sinister chuckle, the pure joy of ripping G apart right then and there swimming through his head.

Needless to say, as soon as G saw who was now blocking the road, he couldn't help but gulp. However time was of the essence here and dealing with Rahzar right now was NOT a priority at this point.

"We don't have time for this!" he declared before turning back to Aria. "Floor it!"

"Huh?" Aria responded meekly, barely snapping out of her trance of watching Rahzar's blood-stained face just for a moment.

"I SAID FLOOR IT!" G repeated, this time with a scream.

With that Aria became so startled by the scream that she instantly obey the command, slamming her foot down on the gas, the limo then went zooming back to full speed… directly towards Rahzar.

"WHOA!" was all the wolf mutant screamed as he narrowly jumped out of the way of the limo, had he waited a second longer then he would have been roadkill.

After quickly recovering from his jump, all Rahzar could do now was growl furiously and begin to give chase as he watched the limo drive up the hill, its destination: The Bodega Bay Inn.

#

Author's Notes:

The Character Nyx belongs to Pen Stroke / :iconPenstrokepony:

The Character Laura belongs to :icontwokinds:

The Characters Chi and Mimi belong to :iconbleedman:

The Character Ruby Rose belongs to Rooster Teeth