Years in the past…
Cybr walks against the howling winds of a barren wasteland. The ground around him is cracked and torn, the land desecrated and abandoned by people and gods alike. A constant maelstrom is twisting in the dark clouds overhead, a slow and methodical chaos. Cybr presses forwards, over hills of unidentifiable rubble and past chasms filled with bubbling deep blue ooze, until a single structure comes into view, the only thing still standing amidst the destruction. A humble log cabin, built of petrified gray wood. Two worn mannequins stand outside, as though guarding the door. A faint warm light flickers through the windows. As Cybr approaches, the heads of the mannequins seem to turn to face him, their eyeless faces gazing through him as he raises his hand and knocks on the door.
"Who's there~?" a playful voice chitters from the other side of the door.
"Just a visitor." Cybr says, unsettled by his surroundings.
"Well, come on in. You're just in time, Cybr."
A chill runs down Cybr's spine as the door opens wide, revealing the interior of the cabin. A small table rests in the middle, and sitting opposite the door is an uncanny man wearing a spotted green headband and matching bowtie. He has markings on his face that make him resemble a puppet, and one of his hands is a wooden prosthetic, while the other is made of metal. As Cybr cautiously sets foot in the cabin, he hears a squeaking sound under his foot, and steps back, looking at the floor to see a white plush bear covered in strange black lettering and blue adornments. Cybr scoots the toy to the side and then enters the cabin properly, the door slamming shut behind him. Cybr observes the interior with more detail. All along the walls are shelves filled with bizarre dolls and puppets of varying sizes and themes. There are strange instruments that could just as easily be woodworking tools as they could be torture devices. Behind the man at the table is a human-sized puppet with four arms and a cape, its head adorned with a purple crown.
"Sit down, Cybr. We have so much to talk about, you and I. If you came all this way, then surely you understand." The man speaks, his facial expression giving no clues about his emotions or motives. He pours two cups of the same bubbling blue ooze that Cybr saw outside, and sets down one in front of Cybr as he sits down. Cybr glances at the liquid, and pushes it aside as the man across from him takes a sip.
"So, you're 'The Puppetmaster'?" Cybr asks, though he already knows the answer.
"Of course. You've come to me seeking a solution to a rather…interesting problem." The Puppetmaster replies after placing down his cup. "You wish to defeat your beast. The one you keep locked up in withering chains. The one that you know cannot be contained forever."
"I never said…" Cybr begins, but stops himself. "Yes. That is why I came here."
"Electrocutioner Jo Bawling. Deluded Mora, lost as he may be. Rubinn, the Watchful Eye. Andr R. Horrorwit, Scribe of Terror. R. Fedman, upon whom Fortune shines brightly. The All-Consuming Bob Rantor." The Puppetmaster stares at Cybr, as though expecting him to recognize these names. "Separate, their abilities are strong, but not especially noteworthy. Together, they become something else entirely. Something that may just be…exactly what you need."
"And how do I put their abilities together?" Cybr asks.
"With the help of my little Revolutionary." A skittering is heard as a small wooden bug crawls out from the Puppetmaster's sleeve, coming to a rest on the table. The Puppetmaster raises his metal hand and brings it down on top of the bug, and when he lifts it back up, the bug is gone. "Oh, Cybr, my dear boy. How little you truly understand."
"What revolutionary?" Cybr asks with an agitated tone, and the Puppetmaster waggles his wooden finger and hushes Cybr.
"You offer a torch to those in the dark. Those from whom you should be hiding. Your beast is caged in plain sight, with a key that anybody could find. What would you do if one day, somebody wished to free it? Would you be able to stop them? And more importantly, would you be able to stop…it?"
"No. I know I wouldn't. Which is why I need to destroy it."
The Puppetmaster lets out a lighthearted laugh.
"Yes, of course." The Puppetmaster finishes drinking from his cup and stands up, turning around to face the four-armed puppet behind him. He caresses the side of the geometric head of the puppet with his own wooden hand, with his other arm resting behind his back. "Ah…Meanwhile List…such a shame that we must part so soon...but you know we will always...be together."
"Would you cut it out and just give me what I need already?" Cybr's annoyance is growing the longer he watches the Puppetmaster. There's no way the Puppetmaster really knows the weight of the situation, Cybr thinks. If he did, he definitely wouldn't be acting like this.
"Are you familiar with fate?" The Puppetmaster begins. "The idea of destiny. That the future is just as immutable as the past."
Cybr abruptly stands up, and rushes towards the Puppetmaster, swinging his fist at him. The Puppetmaster's arm moves with surprising speed to catch the incoming fist with his metal hand, stopping Cybr dead in his tracks.
"We are all puppets, Cybr. But only one may pull the strings." As he says this, Revolutionary appears once more, and stabs its proboscis into the Puppetmaster's arm. The Puppetmaster fades away, and in his place is a needle, which clatters to the ground. The Stand has become an Artifact, and Cybr stares at it for a few seconds, processing what the Puppetmaster just told him. Cybr picks up Revolutionary off the ground and leaves the cabin, the door already being open when he turns around. As Cybr leaves, he fails to notice Meanwhile List's single eye light up with an orange glow.