Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I dunno, I'm just worried I guess,” Julie says while hopscotching.
“I'm sure it's nothing too peculiar, Wally’s smart enough to keep himself out of too much trouble,” Frank replied, only half paying attention, watching as a caterpillar cocoons itself on the bottom of a sunflower leaf.
“It's just not like him, he’s always so put together.” Julie sighed, “maybe you're right. I mean, everyone has off days, right? Maybe it's just one of those days.”
Frank paused, looking over at Julie. She, despite her carefree nature, seems more concerned.
“...nevermind, what are you writing?” Julie asked, mentioning the journal Frank held in their hands.
“Oh- well, I'm studying the caterpillar's chrysalis. I’ve seen a few fall off of the leaves they were on, and was wondering if it had to do with the cocoon itself, or the types of leaves.”
Julie walked over to Frank, looking at their book. “How many times have you done this?” she asked, perplexed.
“It's good to have a good amount of data when investigating something, most others might even ask around, see if they’ve seen something similar.” Frank sighed “but at last, there are not many neighbors who are as interested in caterpillars as me.”
Julie stared at the paper for a little longer. “So, asking around would give you a clearer picture of what you’re dealing with?” she asked, slowly.
“Well yes- why?” Frank saw that look in Julie's eye, one he was familiar with.
“I have an idea,” she said, before grabbing onto his hand and dragging him to the first person she thought of.

~~~~

“Why are we running!” Frank asked, slightly out of breath. He wasn't exactly one for physical exercise, as he spent most of his days inside, or just doing short sprints to catch a butterfly, but rarely full-on running.
“Barnaby!” Julie said, letting go of Frank's hand as they stopped in front of Howdy's store.
“Wha- but he- lives right- next to- us,” Frank replied in between breaths. “Why?” was all he was able to make out.
“Oh! Well, he's usually around here at this time, getting a hotdog." Julie shrugged. At that moment, Barnaby walked out of the exact store. “Hey! Barnaby, can we ask you a question?” she said.
“I don't know, can you?” he replied, playfully. Julie giggled. “You know what I meant! But seriously, we have serious questions.” she said, going serious, “it's about wally.”
Barnaby nodded, “you’ve noticed too?”
“So there IS something!” Julie practically jumped up. “What's going on? Has he told you?” Julie gasp’s, before speaking in a panicked whisper, “did we forget his birthday?”
Barnaby shook his head, “no! His birthday isn't for a while now.” he laughed a little, “I don't know what’s going on with the little guy. He hasn't told me anything. It's…concerning.”
Frank, finally catching their breath, turned to a new page in his journal. “Really? What specific behaviors have you noticed?” Frank said, readying their pen.
Barnaby hesitated. “Well…I'm gonna feel like a bad friend for revealing this but…you know how wally doesn't have any mirror’s at home?”
Julie had a look of recognition on her face, “oh yeah! He would spend hours looking in the mirror,” she said, affectionately, but teasingly.
“Well-” Barnaby hesitated, lowering his voice. “Last week something…concerning happened.”

Julie and Frank stared at him, waiting for his next words.

“Well…I had been able to get him to come out of home, and I guess… he seemed a little unkempt. Like he was rushing, but honestly not that unusual for us. I and him are best friends I suppose, so I just figured that he felt comfortable enough to not be perfect." Barnaby paused, letting Frank write down their notes before he continued.

“Wally has a problem with his reflection. He…well, not only does he spend hours trying to make himself look perfect, but he goes to extremes sometimes, or sometimes he’ll just stare with his…upsetting look in his eye. It’s gotten better, but recently he had an incident…. He had seen a few of the flyways in his hair, and when he couldn't fix them, he tried to snip a few of them off.”

Frank looked at Barnaby confused. “Why is that a problem?”
Barnaby looked around, making sure no one could hear. “Well, sometimes it's worse than just his hair.” he shook his head. “I’ve already said too much.”

And with that, Barnaby had left.

Notes on wally:
Tired
Unkempt
Depersonalization?
Stressed

~~~
“Eddie! Perfect timing.” Julie yelled over, doing a small run over to him.
“Why, hello there! Wasn't expecting company,“ Eddie said, as he continued to walk.
“We have a few questions about something serious, is it ok if we walk along with you?” Julie looked over at Frank, noticing that he seemed a bit out of it. Still, she thought it might have been from the, albeit smaller run.
“Why of course! What-cha wondering about?” Eddie looked through his bag, making sure that he had all of his letters organized.
“Has Wally seemed off to you recently?” Frank asked, finally breaking out of their trance.
Eddie paused, looking at the sky as if trying to remember.
“Well, he hasn't been picking up his mail as often I suppose.” Eddie said, Putting a letter in Poppy’s mailbox, “I guess he just might be stressed about something but I'm not too sure as to what it is. I don't want to push him too much about it. I've gotta go now though, letters don't deliver themselves! Bye, Julie!” Eddie then looked over to Frank, “goodbye frank! Hope you both have a lovely day,” he politely bowed, taking his hat off his head, before running off to Sally's house.
“Bye! Thank you for your help!” Julie waved back, before noticing a small blush on Frank's face.
“Whatcha got written down frankly?” Julie looked over at his journal, only to notice there were significantly fewer notes.
“Oh- uh, I had forgotten to keep writing I suppose,” he said, before jotting down a few notes.
“Mmmhmmm” Julie replied, teasingly. “Welp, I'm sure poppy has a few things she’d noticed about wally.”

Notes on wally:
Tired
Unkempt
Depersonalization?
Stressed
Not leaving the house often

~~~

“Oh I doubt he’s been eating well, I mean we never see him eat, maybe he’s hurt, or sick, and he’s been so tired, I don't think he’s getting enough sleep-” Poppy gasped, “do you think he’s depressed? Oh no, no no no, that can't do! Can't have my friends be depressed, we should throw a party! Wait, no last time someone tripped on the ribbons, a party without ribbons! Yes, that's what- no, they could still-”
“We’re having a picnic tomorrow, whole neighborhoods coming,” Julie said, sneaking a glance at Frank, who gave the same look back.
“Oh, uh, yes! You can never go wrong with picnics.” Frank replied, noticing the small form of a plan happening.
“Oh, but what if someone chokes on their food? Or scrape their knees?” Poppy looked around for her medicine bag, already planning for the worst possible outcome.
“Don't you worry about that poppy! I and Frank will have it handled." Julie nodded, trying to comfort poppy.
“Oh, dear are you sure?” Poppy asked.
“Of course! The picnic will be tomorrow at around lunchtime, we’re gonna have everyone bring something to share, be sure to share the news!”
Notes on wally:
Tired
Unkempt
Depersonalization?
Stressed
Not leaving the house often
Not eating

~~~

“Part of me thinks he’s planning on running away!” Sally said, as a joke, but it didn't land well.
“Run away?” Julie asked, getting stressed.
“Well, kinda? One day after one of the play’s I made, I found him… just in his own head. When I asked him about it, he kept talking about how ‘there must be more out there’ and a bunch of other weird stuff. I'm not sure though.”

Frank had a look of thought on their face, “Strange. He’s said similar things to me before, but I just thought it was useless mind mumbling…maybe…” they thought out loud.
~~~~
*knock knock knock.*

*creak.*

“Oh, hello neighbor!”

Wally opened his door, to see Julie holding a basket
“Hello! The neighborhoods are having a picnic, it's gonna be tomorrow at noon. Do you think you’ll be able to make it?”
Wally had a pinch of guilt on his face. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that he had been both late and/or ended up not showing up.
“The whole neighborhood?” Wally repeated, so that home could hear it, “Sounds like fun! I’ll be there” wally smiled, but his eyes were…off. He was slightly looking to the side, and when he was looking Julie in the eyes, he was kinda…off in his own world.

*CREAK*

Wally looked behind him. “Oh dear, it seems like home needs something.” he looked back at Julie. “I'll be sure to make it!”
And he was once again alone.
.
.
Wally woke up to the floorboards waking him, and he started his usual routine. Get up, sing a song for home, get the paints ready, sketch an idea in his notebook, and then paint.
Home loves his paintings, that’s somewhat the only reason he truly started painting today. He was exhausted, and home had taken notice, demanding fewer paintings or songs, but still keeping wally from feeling alone.
The house usually had some sort of sound going on, a chattering of floorboards, drawers opening, if the house was in a bad mood, maybe some cabinets or doors slammed. But it was awfully quiet today. The clock on the wall was just for decoration, it didn't actually work. so wally was paying more attention to the way the ‘sun’ rises, memorizing what time it would be up in the sky.
The picnic was in an hour, and on a normal day, he would have time.
Finishing up his painting, he cleaned his brushes and started getting ready to leave. With 30 minutes left to spare, he walked over to his fridge, and only opened it halfway before home slammed the door on him.
“Home, I need to grab the strawberries for the picnic,” Wally said calmly, trying to reason. Home, however, didn't budge. Wally wondered if he would have to skip the strawberries.
He walked to the front door, deciding it wasn't worth it to fight home on this. He tried to open the door but-

Home was still locking him in, but it wasn't out of malice, but of concern. Even home could tell something was wrong, that something was just *off.*

, “Home, I need to leave, I will be back later today ok?”
A few moments passed before wally heard the familiar clicking noise of the door unlocking.

“Thank you home, I'll be sure to bring something back for you,” wally calmly walked out of home, waving goodbye.
And then he ran, worried about being late.

~~~
*ding!*

The familiar sound of a customer walking in. Howdy walked up to the front to see wally.
Wally wasn't a very frequent customer, and whenever he was here, he was always with someone else. He was always kind and always seemed confident.
“Hello neighbor!” wally put the strawberries down on the counter.
“Hey there Wally, I don't see you around here often! How are you doing?” Howdy asked, scanning the item.
“Oh I'm doing fine, how are you?” wally replied, but something was off about him.
“I'm doing well! In fact, you just barely made it, I was just about to close up!”
“Lucky me,” wally smiled back, before turning away to find whatever he was looking for.
.
.
.
With strawberries in hand, Wally walked up to the counter.
“you know how the payment round here works?” howdy smiled and pointed at a sign, which said:

Payment’s in the form of:
jokes, silly observations,
one-dollar ideas,
and/or unique gadgets.
“Oh silly me, I knew I was forgetting something! I'm sorry, if you give me a moment, I'm sure I’ll come up with something.'' Wally said, thinking to himself.

Howdy took a closer look at wally.
He was frazzled, his hair not as neat as usual, and his clothes were somewhat a-strew.

“Well, there are other ways to pay,” Howdy said, leaning forward, “a lot of your friends are worried about you, and from what I know, you haven't told ‘em what's bothering you.”
Wally looked away for a split second, hesitating.
“Only if you promise you won't tell,” wally said, tone going slightly more serious.
Howdy nodded, “of course, I'll be practicing for when you do tell them.”
Wally paused.
“I don't feel real.” a single moment passed. “Like I'm a puppet. Do you ever feel like that?”
Howdy thought for a moment, carefully choosing his words.
“I think everyone’s felt like that, at least once.”

Wally doubted that.
Even though all of his neighbors had some form of control, even if it was only a small amount, they were still controlled by humans, and he could still see the strings on them. They were still puppets.

It wasn't exactly a specific event that caused Wally's state of mind. He’s always felt like this, but typically he would just pretend, and enjoy his time with his friends.
A week or two ago the reality of it all just…hit him. When you spend all of your time in denial, it takes an effect on you.
His brain, his thoughts, they all felt…fuzzy.

Wally was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, if you ever need to talk, or a distraction, I’ll be here,” Howdy said, trying to be comforting.
“Thank you,” Wally said, in a small voice.

~~~~

The picnic so far was delightful. Everyone was talking, the sun was shining, and everything was simply perfect. Wally was doodling on Barnaby with a washable pen. He drew pictures of home, his friends, flowers, paints, and a few other things.

“Wally, if something was bothering you, you’d tell me right?” Barnaby asked, in a whisper.
“Of course,” Wally said, the lie tasting bitter on his tongue.

Silence.
Wally lies all of the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean he enjoys it. He does it to protect them.

Barnaby sat up more, stretching when one of his arms just stopped working. That's what it looked like to the others at least.
Wally jumped up, going to try to untangle the-
“String?” Barnaby mumbled to himself. “Must have been from a kite.” using the scissors he was using for paper, he cut the string.
Wally looked away, both from not wanting to know what would happen and just in case he blinked.
“Is your arm ok?” wally asked, waiting for some sort of confirmation.

Wally this has happened a few times. Someone's string would get caught, or break, and then their limb would stop working until the next day when they would have fixed it.

“It’s just a string, not like a bear came out of nowhere to bite my arm off.” Barnaby jokes, but it was flat. He was caught off guard by the way Wally was acting. “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” he asked, putting the back of his hand on wally’s forehead.

The same hand is attached to the string.

“Woah, hey, hey come here.” Barnaby pulled Wally into a hug, noticing the tear that fell down Wally's face. A wave of relief hit him, but also a concern.

Sure, the producers let Wally keep on his charades, but would they let Barnaby?

Chapter Text

Wally needed to make himself appear as put together as possible, especially seeing that Julie and Frank had already noticed his behavior, not to mention the fact he literally broke down in front of everyone. (technically, he was silent enough that his sobbing was only noticeable by Barnaby, but you could never be too careful.)

He was up earlier than the others, and he started painting. He held his canvas so that home could see what he was painting, which was the picnic from yesterday. Slowly but surely, the others started to come out of their homes.

“Howdy there wally! Nice to see you out and about again," Eddie said, giving Wally a small tinge of guilt.
Wally smiled. “Hello, neighbor! it's nice to be out,”
“Sally said that you were doing a project that was getting you stressed out? How’s that going along?” Eddie walked behind Wally to see what he had been painting and put a hand on Wally's shoulder.
“Oh,” wally forgot he had told sally that, “yeah, it was getting stressful, so I'm taking a bit of a break from it.”
Eddie nodded, “breaks are good, sometimes we need to step back from something, and that doesn't make us any less.”
That feeling again. The feeling that this is just another episode of this tv show.
Wally could only smile and nod, looking up at Eddie.

Eddie was missing two strings.

This time, Wally was able to hide his shock much better, it became less of a surprise.

“I've gotta get going now, I gave the mail to home for when you wanna look at it,” Eddie said, before leaving wally to his thoughts.
Wally opened his sketchbook and started taking notes on how many strings each neighbor had.

Barnaby had lost two, one on each arm. Wally swore he only lost one.
Frank had lost one on his arm, leg, and the one attached to his head. Julie had lost the strings attached to her legs, and her head. Eddie lost one string on his arm, and another on his fingers. Howdy had lost three strings…

Wally was so caught up in his own head the last few weeks, but he knew without a doubt that the strings had not gone missing before at least yesterday. So why?

Then he heard Julie scream.

Wally jumped out of his seat, running towards where the sound came from.

“Get it off, back! It's tangling my arms up!” Julie yelled as she struggled with the strings.

Luckily, Frank was already there with the scissors, cutting the string off.

“Oh my, are you ok?” Poppy said, panicking over her.
“Yeah, I just- I don't know where they came fro…” Julie paused. “They’re on you too?”
Poppy looked at her arms, finally noticing the strings that were on her.

Wally was lucky. He wasn't noticed yet.
But they might.
He turned around, finding Barnaby right behind them. “I'll go get bandages. Just in case,” wally said,
“Wai-!” Wally didn't let Barnaby get another word in before running off.

Running into his house, he ran quickly to the bathroom, looking in the medicine cabinet for sewing supplies, extra scissors, and some bandaids.

Running back, he walked into everyone else, cutting off their strings.

“Did you grab extra scissors?” Eddie asked, hopefully, “These strings are annoying.”
“Of course, I…where did all these strings come from?” Wally asked as if he didn't know.
Eddie shrugged. “I don't know, they just…appeared. Hey, how come there are no strings on you?”
“I cut them off already,” wally said, handing a pair of scissors to Eddie. It wasn't technically a lie, he had, just…a bit earlier than everyone else had.

It was a surreal experience, watching all of his friends finally be freed from the strings.
It made him feel a little less alone.

But 10 times more terrified.
.
.
.
.
‘Stay normal stay normal stay normal.’ Wally stared at himself in the mirror. ‘Everything’s normal, just be normal, why aren’t you normal-.’

*KNOCK KNOCK*
“Wally, are you ok in there?” Barnaby shouted from the other side of the door.
That's right. Home didn't have any mirrors.
“Yes, I'll be out in a moment,” Wally replied, brushing out his hair. He wasn't used to it being down, not in front of his friends at least, so he decided to put his hair in a silk bonnet, as a way to keep it nicer enough so that it would be a much more low-energy hair due in the morning.
Walking out with his brightly colored pajamas on, he walked into Barnaby's room, laying down on his bed.

He and Barnaby were best friends, and every so often, when wally just felt too alone, he and Barnaby would have a sleepover. They’d play silly games, tell jokes, and maybe even bake a cake if they felt up to it! But, on other nights, they would just sit there in silence.

This was one of those nights, the one’s where sleeping didn't come easily, where he craved connection with others. So, he and Barnaby would cuddle up, and sleep, at least until wally inexplicably would find himself in his own bed.
He always does.

And there’s nothing he can do about it. It’s like he’s designed that way. They all are really.

“Pst, hey, what do you call a fish with a bowtie?” Barnaby said, noticing that Wally wasn't falling asleep as easily.
“Fancy?” wally guessed.
“Sofishicated,” Barnaby said with a small laugh, feeling proud of himself when he heard Wally's laugh. “Go to sleep Barnaby,” wally said, despite wanting the opposite.
“No, wait, I have another one. Ok, so what did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?”
“I like men?” Wally guessed again, gaining a surprised laugh from Barnaby.
“Didn't know you were such a jokester. But I guess the janitor did say that too.”

Wally simply hummed, finally starting to get tired.

“...you know I care about you, right?” Barnaby asked. When Wally didn't respond, he assumed he had fallen asleep. “We’re all worried about you. You haven't been yourself and…I just wish I could help you.” Barnaby caressed Wally's face. There was a long silence, where the two had stayed like that. “Sweet dreams, darling.”

Wally wasn't used to hearing people refer to him by his last name. It was strangely…intimate. He wishes he could tell Barnaby, he really does, but he doesn't want any of them to end up hurt.

So, he’ll keep quiet.

Quiet, observant little wally.

~~~~~~

Waking up to the sound of floorboards yet again, wally got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs. He went about his normal routine and went outside to the front of his house, making sure the home could see his art as he painted yet again. The sky seemed different somehow, less bright, like something green was covering it.
Today will be a normal da-
Wally couldn't even finish his sentence before he heard yet another one of his friends screaming, thankfully this time it was of delight.

Wally walked over this time, instead of running, and quickly found the source of the squealing.

A butterfly. A big one, one bigger than themselves.

“Is that…” Howdy muttered to himself.
“A real butterfly,” Wally said, in awe. Howdy seemed confused at what Wally was getting at but kept his concerns to himself.

Wally watched, his sight never leaving the butterfly, and when it started flying away, he chased it.
“Wally what are you doing! It’s not safe there!” he heard someone shout, but wally knew the woods behind the house, he knew the studio that had lived outside the woods, and he already knew all there was needed to know.

He knew the others would follow him, he knew it was reckless, but he knew that if a butterfly ended up in the studio, that meant that there was a door or a window open. He didn't want to leave forever, but he wanted to see more, he wanted to know more about the outside world, he had to.

“No!” Wally shouted, a desperation in his voice, as multiple hands grabbed him. It was howdy.
“Common, you heard Barnaby, it’s not safe.”
Wally looked up at one of the tree branches. He wasn't going to hurt howdy, he was just going to….
He blinked, and the tree branch snapped, surprisingly howdy enough to let wally go.

with the taste of fake wood in his mouth, he kept running. And soon enough, he could hear several footsteps. He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't help himself, he had to see if there was even a slight chance and-

He reached the edge of the colorful forest.

Chapter Text

“What is…” Julie was the first to speak up. 

Everyone looked around, shocked, confused, and somewhat…scared. They were in the studio, it looked recently abandoned, sturdy enough to keep the neighborhood safe, but still old enough for cobwebs could form. 

“Wally get away from there, you might fall-'' Poppy was too late, for Wally had jumped off the side, falling onto the ground. Below. 

“Wally!” Barnaby shouted, terrified for his friend. 

“I'm well, don't worry about me!” Wally said back, looking around. He looked around. 

“I’ve got some rope! We can use that to climb down.” Wally could hear Howdy say. Slowly but surely everyone made it down safely to the ground. 

It didn't take long for everyone to start exploring, confused about their environment. 

“It's so…gray,” Sally expressed as she looked around. Frank, however, seemed to be enjoying himself, as he had found a few caterpillars, Eddie and Julie stayed with him, following, Howdy and Poppy stayed together, and then there was Barnaby and Wally. The two stayed next to each other the whole time, moving around in silence. 

“Are you…ok?” Barnaby asked, but Wally seemed gone. 

He felt so…wrong. He’d never thought that he or anyone else would be able to escape, and while he was glad his friends weren't attached to humans, he was wondering how this would change things. “It's just. Strange.” Wally stated simply, walking around the sides of the windowed box. It was huge, bigger than their whole neighborhood. 

“Oof, I think all this…existential crisis is making me dizzy.” Barnaby jokes, leaning on a wall. 

Wally panicked as he heard Barnaby fall over, rushing over to him. “Barnaby! Are you ok?” Wally gave out a hand to help him. “Sorry wal’s, but I don't think you could pull me up. You’re just a bit too tiny.” Barnaby stood up, brushing himself off. Wally looked past Barnaby to see…dirt. Sticks, mud…rain? 

The door had been left open when the studio was abandoned, they left it open, just bearly. It was…there was water, falling from the sky, sharply, quickly. 

“That looks dangerous,” Julie said, from behind Wally. The others crowded around, seeing the actual outside for the first time. 

“We should leave. It’s not safe, we’re going back to the neighborhood. common everyone, and Wally." Poppy said as she looked at him sternly, “No more running off, got it?” 

Wally nodded. 

Aaand walked out the door anyway. 

“Wally!” Poppy said, exasperated. 

“I didn't run.” he smiled back innocently, before getting a weird feeling, of coldness.

He couldn't help but laugh. It was shocking to hear, wally, despite always smiling, rarely laughed, or not of shock at least. Wally only laughed to show his friends how much he truly liked their jokes, even though it didn't come naturally.

“Barnaby, come feel this!” Wally said, motioning over to him. But Barnaby shook his head. “You should come back here,” Barnaby replied, “you'll catch a cold.” 

Barnaby had never seen Wally like this before, but this week had a lot of that going on. Wally looked so…precious. 

“No seriously! It’s raining! real rain, not the fake rain they’d have edited on, or even the confetti rain, or tiny sprinklers, it's cold and- all encapsulating, and it's..." Wally's hair that he spent possible hours working on to keep it looking nice was now drenched, no longer up like usual, but down instead. Barnaby could barely make out what he was even saying at this point. 

“It's real, real rain, Barnaby it's real! It’s all real!” Wally said, his voice getting quicker, and sounding more like a sob than laughter. Wally fell to the ground, putting his hands over his eyes, as he felt the tears coming out. “It's real. It's all real.” 

Barnaby finally ran out to Wally, going over to comfort his friend. 

“Hey, Wally, hey, it’s ok, it’s all real, common, let's go, we need to get you dried up.” Barnaby tried to pick Wally up, but Wally refused. “No- no I want- I want to stay out here, just a little longer, please.” 

How could anyone say no to that? 

And so, Wally sat close to the studio door, while Barnaby stayed in the dry area. Wally had insisted on it, he didn't want Barnaby to catch a cold because of his mistakes. Still, Barnaby was reaching distance if he needed him. The others had already left, and as Barnaby had told them that they would both be found, they could handle themselves. 

Eventually, the rain had left, the clouds parted, and the sun finally came out. 

“Are you ready to go back?” Barnaby asked, and Wally nodded, finally standing up from where he was, and going back into the studio. 

there was gonna be a lot of explaining to do when he got back.

.

.

.

“Oh home, it was lovely, the rain, the- all of it!” Wally said as he walked into his home, with Barnaby following close behind. “The grass, and the trees, and it was all just so…” 

“Perfect.” Barnaby supplied for him, but he wasn't talking bout the trees or grass. just wally. 

“Yes! It was-” Wally cut himself off, “Frank?” Wally looked around confused, not only was Frank at his kitchen table but so was everyone else. 

“What is this? An intervention?” Barnaby attempted to joke. Frank ignored him though. 

“You knew about the studio. You knew about the strings, the cameras, and you didn't think to- to tell us?” Frank said as if accusing Wally of a crime. Everyone stared at Wally, waiting for his answer. 

“No,” he said, calmly, “now, if you’ll excuse me, I'm going to go get dressed, and we can talk more about this afterward.” 

The only sounds in the house were Wally's footsteps as he walked away. 

“Frank, what are you talking about?” Barnaby asked, more confused than ever. 

“We’re puppets, puppets! On some tv show, we were in a studio, and there were cameras, and lights, and a fake sun, and Wally knew this whole time.” Frank said, very clearly upset. 

“What's your proof?” Barnaby retorted, defending his friend, “How are you so sure he already knew.” 

And frank brought out his notebook, the one he was using to figure out what was going on. 

“The derealization or not feeling real? That’s because we aren't! Him somehow knowing the woods like the back of his hand? That’s because he’d left them before. No strings? He’s already cut them!” 

“Frank, he’s our friend, he must have had a good reason to do so,” Poppy said, while she was just as upset, she still trusted Wally to do what he felt was right.  

Frank took a few seconds to collect himself, to calm himself down. “I know, it just…” 

Eddie decided to fill in the rest of the blanks for Frank, “Hurts to know he couldn't trust us with something so important.” 

“He said something weird today. About the rain.” howdy said, “About how our rain was just confetti, or ‘edited.’” 

“There's no way he would've known about that unless he already knew we were all puppets,” Julie said, the reality of it all hitting down on her.

Everyone went silent as Wally entered the room, now dressed in dry clothes, and still in the middle of drying his hair with a towel, silently humming to himself. 

“Would anyone like something to drink?” Wally asked, “I’ve got some orange juice, water, mil-” 

“Wally. Please just." Poppy took a deep breath, “explain?” 

“...alright,” Wally said, sitting himself up on the kitchen counter. “Where would you like me to start?” 

“The beginning. When did you first see your strings?” Eddie jumped in. 

Wally looked up at the ceiling, thinking back as far as he could remember.  “I…I don't remember. It's all fuzzy now.” he partly zoning out, his eyes unfocused. 

“That long?” Julie sounded somewhat distraught, “you hid it from us for that long?” 

“No,” Wally said, tilting his head, his voice still unnervingly calm. 

“So, you never hid it from us?” Frank clarified. 

“Of course not. I've told you guys several times, but as always, by morning you’d all conveniently forget. Didn't matter how many times I said it, you’d still forget. you'll forget this conversation too.” a statement. A chill fell down everyone’s spine thinking about what they would have done in Wally’s situation. Constantly aware of the fact that they are all puppets, and never able to go to anyone to talk about it. 

Barnaby went and put a paw on Wally’s shoulder “I promise th-” “ ‘-at if I do will buy you all the apples from howdy’s store,’ I know, you’ve said that every time.” Wally had cut Barnaby off, trying to be gentle, but Wally was sick of hearing the same promise over and over, knowing Barnaby wouldn't be able to ever follow through on a promise like that.  

There was solemn silence, the weight of it settling on everyone’s shoulders. 

“Oh really, well have I ever done this?” Barnaby picked Wally up and started spinning him around like one of those bright red arrow signs that people on the side of the street spin around. 

“Ack! Barnaby wa-” Wally could barely finish his sentence, for he couldn't help but giggle.  

Eventually, Barnaby put Wally down, who then started to lean on Barnaby for support. Being dizzy takes a lot of your stability away. 

“Sorry about that, but you looked like you were slipping into another dimension,” Barnaby said, gently holding Wally up. However, it did have the desired effect, as Wally had a small smile back on his face.  

The rest of that night, Wally tried to answer everyone’s questions, and wally finally had nothing to hide. Well, almost everything.

.

.

.

He woke up to a slight pitter-patter from outside. 

He’d have to fake it. Like he didn't just tell his friends for the however-ith time about them being puppets, having to act as if nothing happened.

Wake up. 

Get dressed

Paint.

Wait for someone to have a problem, one to be fixed. 

That’s how the show always goes. 

That's how it might always be. 

So he left home two hours earlier than usual, not bothering to style his hair, he’d do that later when there wasn't ‘rain’. He put his hand out, catching the paper pieces that were supposed “rain.” 

And he kept walking, going wherever his heart desired, which, at this moment, was the woods. He no longer had to fear the idea of someone or something taking control of him. 

Reaching the edge, he looked around some more. There were still cameras, computers in the background, spares, and props. 

Wally went down the rope, walking towards the door that lead to the outside. Come to think of it, it was…strange. Not only that but as soon as the puppeteers had left, the rest grew sentience, losing their strings. Wally shook his head, instead opting to think back to last night. 

Last night, after all of his other friends, had left, Barnaby had stayed behind. 

“Do you ever feel like you’re still…attached?” Wally asked, “To the strings?” 

Barnaby had a look of thought on his face, before shaking his head. “Do you?” Barnby returned the question, looking at Wally.  

Wally took a deep breath, “I lied earlier. When I said I didn't remember when I first saw the strings.” 

Barnaby hummed, “Figured, you kept staring at the ceiling.”

Wally waited for Barnaby to say more, to be upset, or walk away. But he didn't. 

“Barnaby,” Wally, said, breaking the silence himself, “are you taller than me?” 

That choked a laugh out of Barnaby, which he tried to hide. 

“Yeah, why?” 

“Donno. Just checking.” Wally waited even more, hoping Barnaby would maybe give him a hint on what he was supposed to do. “I always knew the strings were there.” Wally said, avoiding Barnaby's eyes “I just… didn't know why they were there. And there was…a puppeteer that would…control me. I thought it was normal. But then I’d see you guys be completely…still. It was just. Wrong.” Wally shifted around, uncomfortably, the feeling of being under Barnaby's gaze so…intensely. 

Barnaby put a hand on Wally's shoulder, getting him to look at Barnaby and-

And Wally, lost in thought, had tripped on a twig, making him fall flat on the dirt ground, scratching himself a little. 

Wally stood up quickly. The sun had started to rise, and his early stroll should be ending soon if he wanted to be able to make himself presentable. 

He was going to (literally)run back to Home, but then he stepped on a yellow piece of paper. 

Chapter Text

Wally woke up with a bounce in his step, ready to start the day! Going outside, he started smelling the flowers. They were just absolutely delightful! 

Next door was his best friend Barnaby, and seeing him he gave a smile! 

“Hello, neighbor! How are you today?” Wally asked, his voice just absolutely joyful. 

‘If I was any finer, I would be China!’ Barnaby replied.

….

‘If I was any finer, I would be China!’ Barnaby was supposed to reply.

Barnaby didn't reply, he just stared at Wally, as if unsure of what to do. 

“I remember yesterday,” Barnaby whispered. 

“Cut!” a voice from above yelled, “Jared! What are you doing?” 

“I forgot my lines!” another voice replied. 

Wally looked around, before quickly leaving his spot and running up to Barnaby. “just follow the script, otherwise they’ll know.” 

“Start!” the same voice from above. 

“I..if I was any finer, I would be China!” Barnaby said, weakly. 

“Ha, ha, ha, that’s a good one! Say, why don't we head over to Franks? I heard that he found a new butterfly species that could speak!” 

“speaking bu- butterflies! I know a speaking butterfly! Her name’s Poppy!” Barnaby was struggling, Wally could tell, and the puppeteers were already catching on, he had to do something, he- 

The camera, right there, all he has to do is one little thing. 

And the lights went out, looking as if it was night out, tons of voices that were not of any of his friends were heard, and Wally immediately grabbed hold of Barnaby, dragged him into his home, and locked the door.

“Tha-” Wally had to stop talking so he could spit out the wires that ‘mysteriously’ ended up in his mouth. “that should keep them distracted for a while,” Wally said, thankful that Barnaby couldn't see him, nor the suspicious evidence he was now trying to hide. “Stay here, I'm going to go find everyone else.”

“Nope,” Barnaby whispered back.

“Barnaby I'm better at hide and seek than you-” Wally knew Barnaby would follow him anyways….unless.

“- I'm bringing everyone here, so I need you to be here. For them.” 

Wally could see Barnaby's face as clear as day, however, Barnaby couldn't see him. 

~~~

Wally nearly gave almost everyone a heart attack, if the lights suddenly going off didn't scare them, his sneaking up on them definitely did. 

But, they had all made it to Wally's in one piece, and Barnaby managed to find a candle, so that was a plus. 

In Wally’s living room, everyone was…well, freaking out. Eddie, Frank, and Julie were hiding in one corner, Sally and Poppy in another, and Barnaby with Wally, who was…strangely calm. 

“What are we gonna do?” Julie asked, hoping that anyone in the room would have an idea. 

Everyone looked around, hoping that someone would think of something. 

“We…we’ll get rid of them. The puppeteers.” Wally said, staring at the floor, “Scare them away, or…” Wally couldn't think of anything else. They were all too small to be able to overtake a bunch of humans, they could ruin their lives without a second thought. 

“But…for now we have to follow the scripts. Let the puppeteers control us, and then we can…” Wally mumbled. He didn't want to leave, he didn't want to leave home behind, and he refused. He needed all of his friends to be safe. 

“So- wait, we’re just supposed to do nothing?” Sally asked, “No! No, not if I can help it! We have to do somethi-” 

“And we will Sally, but right now I think it's understandable to say that everyone is scared, and frazzled,” Wally said, "you guys need a chance to grieve what has been lost." 

So quiet you could hear a pin drop. 

Wally cleared his throat, “The lights won't be fixed for a few days, we have some time.” Wally stood up, brushing his clothing off, trying to make himself be…normal. He put himself on autopilot in a way, similar to when he’s being controlled by someone, even if he knew that he wasn't. He was in control, but not like he was being…influenced by something else. Something old, familiar, but not human. 

He walked over to the closet that was under his stairs. There were mostly old drawings in it, old canvases that could be reused, or extra blankets, but he didn't touch any of those.

Instead, he brought out a piece of yellow paper, a paper that was bigger than Barnaby himself. 

“I put this here when I found it. I was going to tell you guys but then I…” Wally waved around his hands, “Well, blacked out." Despite everything, Wally was still smiling. Blacking out for Wally was weird. The puppeteers would put him wherever they wanted him, which today ended up being his bed. 

Unfolding the paper, it had practically covered the whole living room floor.

On it had read:

"Notice:

Due to our building being under construction, until it is fixed, we will be operating at *******.

There won't be many services there, and it's unlikely that we will be able to record a new episode. If you have any questions, then feel free to email us @partycof-"

"So this isn't the actual…" Julie thought out loud. 

~~~~

Sleepovers fix everything! Especially fixes when you find out your whole life is a lie! Julie had been jump-roping, trying to get the extra energy out of her system, Sally was writing a new play where she, essentially, trauma dumped, Poppy was stress baking, and Frank was helping, with Eddie on stand-by. 

Wally was sitting on the couch, with Barnaby's head in his lap, just petting his head. “How are you doing?” Wally asked. “My lawyer told me not to answer that question,” Barnaby mumbled. 

“Lawyer?”

“I'm joking, don't worry about it,” Barnaby said, a small, silent chuckle.

“...do you want to talk about it?” Wally questioned. 

“Not really-'' Barnaby was cut off by a loud creaking noise. 

“Home? Wha… oh.” Wally put a hand on his forehead. “Oh, deary me, I'm sorry home, I completely forgot.” 

*creaaakk*  

“I can make it up to you later if you wa-” *SLAM* 

“What'd you forget?” Barnaby asked, wondering if he’d have to move from his very comfy spot. 

“Well…in the mornings, I sing at home in the mornings.” a door started swinging back and forth. “Home, I’ll sing, but you need to stop slamming windows, our friends are very skittish right now, and it’s not good for them.” 

A small squeaking sound was heard. “It’s alright, you didn't know.'' Wally smiled, trying to be comforting to home. 

And he cleared his voice. Wally didn't sing in front of other people often, sure, his puppeteer did, but not Wally. So when he sang his voice was a bit quieter than normal. 

“Beautiful dreamer, wake onto me,” was home’s favorite song, even if he did sing it every day. It was a small peaceful moment between the three of them, with Barnaby and home silently listening. 

The home had seemed to calm, its pipes, which Barnaby hadn't even noticed, were making so much noise, had quieted. 

“Gone are the cares of lif-” Can't you hear me?

Wally got pulled out of his calm, looking around for the source of…something. 

“Forget the lyrics buddy?” Barnaby asked, noticing his friend's behavior. 

“Did you hear that?” Wally whispered, looking around. 

“Hear what?'' Barnaby got up and looked around the room as well. Wally didn't really hear it, as much as he felt it. A pull, rather than a voice. 

“Home? Did you hear it?” *squeak!* *Creeak* 

“Where do you think it came from?” I'm over here darling. 

Wally heard a clicking sound, a hint from home. 

Candle in hand, he started following the sound of the clicks, eventually leading him to the rug.

There’s nothing to be scared of. I can help you. I can save you. 

The clicking noise was from the window that was on the wall, locking and unlocking. 

That thing, it was there, it was- 

“Wally?” 

‘Shoot’ Wally had forgotten that Barnaby was following. 

So, he put on his best smile, relaxed his shoulders, and pretended he was on a stage, or like he was being controlled by a puppeteer. “I don't think it’s anything to worry about, not for now at least.” 

He didn't need Barnaby to believe him, he just needed Barnaby to be on the fence, just enough so that he wouldn't question it for now. 

~~~

It was dark out now, and according to Eddie's watch, it was 2am, and Wally couldn't sleep. 

Well. he couldn't sleep for the last few weeks. He's just been…existing. So he went to the kitchen and sat on the counter. He wasn't sure why the counter was the spot he liked to sit, but it felt…rebellious in a way. He knew it wasn't, and home didn't mind, but when you spend all day being perfect, it takes a toll on you, so it’s small things that give him just a little more control. 

For example, eye contact. He loved it because he could choose how much eye contact he wanted to give, (which, most of the time, was always.) 

But recently he’s been trying to stop that. Not because he doesn't enjoy it, no, he loves eye contact! But…we’ll just say that he found out that his friends found it…unsettling. 

So, along with all of his mechanisms, his outfits, hair, voice, and laugh, he now had to micro-manage eye contact as well. 

‘Technically, I don't have to do anything, my friends won't notice’ Wally thought, ‘…right?’

Wally was tired, but he didn't want to go to sleep. What if one of his friends got hurt?

Speaking of friends, Frank had walked into the kitchen, half asleep, and going through the cabinets. Wally saw a cleaned cup on the counter and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Wally,” Frank said as he filled the cup up with water, before stopping. “Wally?” 

“That's me!” Wally whispered happily, without a hair out of place. Frank peeked out of the kitchen to the living room where everyone was. 

“...can we talk?” Frank asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Of course, friend! Otherwise, how would we communicate?” Wally said. 

“...when you realized we knew we were connected to the strings, why didn't you tell us? From what I can gather, this hasn't happened before.” Frank stared Wally in the eyes, “So…why didn't you tell us?” 

“Why didn't you?” Wally tilted his head. 

“I- excuse me?” Frank froze up. 

“I've seen you look directly at your own strings before, starting three months ago that is. I've seen you tug on them, and others, and while you didn't know about the specifics, I'm going to assume that you still had some sort of theory. So why didn't you?”

Frank straightens his back, trying to think of a response, maybe even a lie. 

“I'm not upset at you. It would be hypocritical of me to do so.” 

“I thought I was hallucinating them at first,” Frank said, finding his voice. Wally just nodded “I thought I was too.” 

“...when did you realize? That we were puppets? Or- or gain sentience.” Frank started fidgeting with the cuff on his sleeve. 

“Those are two very different questions,” Wally paused, “I think I was always somewhat sentient. Since the first episode, we were on. I just thought it was normal.” 

*squeak.* 

“Home thought so too.” Wally put his hand on the wall, wanting to comfort at home. “As for your second question…I'm not sure. I don't think I ever got the chance to think of us as anything other than puppets.” 

“...that sounds lonely,” Frank whispered. While he hadn't had the same level of sentience as Wally did, he still always knew something was a little…off, and the fact that his friends didn't see the same thing always caused a bit of loneliness in him too. 

“Yeah…it was,” Wally whispered back, finally letting the mask on him drop a little. 

“...we’re all friends right?” Frank asked. 

“Of course we are!” Wally said, “Whatever would make you think otherwise?” 

“So…as friends, we all have to tell each other everything. No more secrets.” Frank straightened back up. 

“Of course-” “Don't do that,” Frank said, cutting Wally off. “Don't use your TV voice against me right now. None of us will keep any more secrets.” 

“I…” Wally pauses. Would it really be safe for any of his friends to know the thing that lurked so closely just underneath them? “No more secrets,” he said, looking Frank in the eye.

Frank thankfully couldn't tell that he was lying.

“Good. I'm gonna…"Frank awkwardly started to move back to the living room. “Mhm! Goodnight!” Wally whisper-yelled. 

.

.

.

Julie woke up first, it was ingrained into her to do so. Even though it was still dark outside, as the lights in the studio had not been fixed, her internal clock was still working. Looking out of the window, she let her mind wander. What would they do? Will they ever get to go back to their normal lives? Will they be forced to be puppets forever? 

She didn't know. She did know that she had a feeling she was…forgetting something like there was something she needed to do. So, she walked around home, trying to find it. 

She almost gave up, admitting defeat to something she couldn't quite put her finger on. 

Oh Miss joyful, won't you come by for a visit?

That feeling again, stronger. Her feet practically had a mind of their own. That thought made her stop walking. 

So, she did a spin, she kicked her leg…

‘Nope, still me.’ she sighed a breath of relief, continuing wherever her feet lead her. 

Eventually, she found it…whatever ‘it’ was. She looked down at the floor. 

‘What a strange place for a rug…’ she thought to herself. She stepped off of it, and knelt down, lightly picking the rug up, just a small peak, one little look couldn't hur-

“Julie? it’s awfully early to be up." Wally said, walking in. 

Julie jumped up, “Yeah! Uhm, just thought I left my uh, ribbon in here! Ha…” 

Wally’s eye’s lit up with recognition, “Oh! I found it on the floor this morning, it’s on your pillow right now." 

There was silence, as Julie had hoped that Wally would leave so that she could look under the rug. But Wally had walked all the way into the room, said room having most of his paints, and only now did she realize that he had brought a couple of canvases with him. He had left them outside the room though, and he was grabbing some paint. 

Wally, however, had noticed that Julie wasn't leaving. “Can I show you one of my favorite ways to paint?” 

“Yeah!” Julie said, sounding excited, and she was! But, she still wanted to know what was under the rug. 

“Follow me then!” 

Wally had brought her to a room that had one easel stand in the middle and…a hula hoop on a string? “I'll go get your canvas set up,'' Wally said, and even though he was excited, he never truly raised his voice, just added inflictions to it

“What’s that?” Julie asked. Looking at the hoop. 

“That's an aerial hoop, here, I'll show you how to use it.” Wally's smile grew. 

Julie's hoop was higher off the ground compared to Wally's, part of that being because he was…tiny. 

He took Julie step by step, teaching her how to get up on the hoop, how to safely maneuver herself, and the best ways for her to hold on. 

Now that both of them were upside down, Wally picked up some paints and a brush. 

“So then I paint upside down, but I try to keep the painting right side up,” Wally said. 

“Ohhh, so like, when you get off the hoop, it’ll look like you painted it like normal?” 

“Yep!” Wally smiled, and started painting, “It can be a bit challenging though because you can't always see the paints on your pallet.” 

Julie decided to draw a flower and found it more…difficult to draw than usual. It was strange but fun! And despite everything that's been going on she felt…content. Relaxed. She could see why Wally liked to paint so much. It was just so…lovely. 

It is, isn't it?

Chapter Text

“Oops!” Julie said, as some paint dropped to the floor “You were right, it is hard to paint upside down.” if she dropped her arms, looking down at the floor. 

“It takes a lot of practice, don't be discouraged!” Wally gave Julie a smile, “besides, I keep the plastic on the floor for a reason,” 

“Yeah, that's fair” She laughed a little, before sitting up. “Welp, I think I did a pretty good job! Im gonna go show Frank!” she said, grabbing her painting and running out of the room. Wally had continued painting his, getting lost in the process of it. 

~~~~

Wally hadn't noticed how much time had passed, so, taking a break, he walked into the kitchen. He needed two hands to get on the counter, so he put the paintbrush he was holding into his mouth.

As he grabbed an apple, he heard Poppy and Sally laughing. 

‘ Oo! Sounds like fun is being had !’ Wally thought, a smile on his face. He was glad for them, he knew his friends were strong, and he was glad that despite the terrifying circumstances, they were still able to laugh. He still couldn't believe it all though. The fact that it all only happened just yesterday, not to mention that they even remembered it all was a miracle. 

Wally walked into the living room, seeing Poppy and Sally, with colorful pieces of paper, clue but Wally couldn't see what they were surrounding. So, he got a bit closer and saw i t . He didn't know why, but he felt an inescapable fear take over him like something was very wrong.  

He stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

“Oh, Wally dear! Are you alright?” Poppy asked, quickly getting up to help Wally. 

Wally quickly stood up, brushing himself off. 

“Yep! Sorry, I think I might have tripped on something.” ‘Wally’ said. He didn't…feel like himself. That strange feeling of being controlled again, like something else took over while he silently panicked in the back of his mind. Like someone else was speaking for him, yet it was still distinctly him.He picked up his apple and paintbrush and stretched. “I'm probably gonna go back to my painting for now, I hope you guys have fun with your art project!” 

Sally smiled at him, “We will!” 

Wally walked back up the stairs of home, to which he had heard a few concerned squeaks. 

“Sorry home. I'm just a little out of it today I guess.” Wally's legs brought him to his room and leaned on his door. 

(TW PANIC ATTACK) 

It was like something had snapped in him, the panic he had felt now coming back in full force. He was shaking, and he felt like he couldn't breathe like he was struggling for air. He fell to the ground, curling up into himself. Everything around him was somewhat blurry, whether that be from tears or unfocused eyes Wally couldn't tell. He held himself as tight as he could, he wanted to hide, but he couldn't keep doing this.

*knock knock knock* 

Wally felt like he couldn't speak, so instead, he just knocked back, letting home know that he heard it. 

“Wally?”

‘ No! Why, no. no. no. ’ Wally thought to himself, frustrated. ‘ Why can't I keep this stupid act up for one day? ’ 

“Are you in there?” Barnaby asked, already knowing the answer. 

‘Nope, I'm not, please go away, leave leave leave.’  

“Poppy asked me to check up on you and-” Wally’s door flung open the wrong way, almost hitting Barnaby in the face. The fun thing about having a sentient home: it gets to customize itself. 

Wally stood up, walking away before remembering that he didn't really have anywhere else to go. He couldn't leave the room, and even then, home might literally lock the two in there, making his panic even worse. The feeling of suffocation got even worse, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe. 

“Wally?” Barnaby's voice sounded far away.

Wally fell back down to the floor, putting his hands over his ears. 

“Please stop,” Wally whispered. ‘ Stop what? ’ he didn't know. He just knew that he needed something to stop. 

Barnaby didn't say anything as he sat down, just a few feet away from Wally. It was strangely comforting, just having someone be near you, even if they weren't saying or doing anything. So the two sat there as Wally silently sobbed, not wanting anyone else in home to hear him. 

Eventually, his sob’s turned into cries, and his cries turned to sniffles  

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Barnaby asked concerned. 

Wally didn't say anything for a while.

“It’s so stupid, like ‘no, I'm not gonna panic about us being puppets, but a random stupid piece of paper? Yep!” he whispered-yelled “So fucking stupid.” he hit himself in the arm, trying to get rid of all these feelings. 

(SAFE NOW :DDDD Wally's still lil out of it tho) 

“I don't even understand why it set me off so badly. It just doesn't make any sense,” Wally said, tired. 

“Maybe it was something before that?” Barnaby held his hand out for Wally, who had grabbed hold of it. Wally took a deep breath. “I don't think so. I just walked in, saw the black piece of paper, and panicked. I don't know why. I just…did. And I just can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something. ”  Wally sighed and leaned onto Barnaby. “ ‘m sorry, this isn't your problem to begin with.”

“Hey, you're my friend, friends talk about this stuff with each other,” Barnaby gave Wally a slight hug, and felt Wally go slightly limp, “besides, I asked about it, remember?” 

Wally nodded.

Both Wally and Barnaby just stayed like that, leaning on each other on the floor of Wally’s room, before the smaller one broke the silence. 

“...Did you know that apples look red because of anthocyanin?” Wally asked, picking up the apple he had dropped earlier. 

“I did not know that, '' Barnaby said, putting his head on Wally's head. “Why do they do that?” 

“Well…first apples start off with chlorophyll in them, and as they grow, depending on the type of apple, it changes colors.”

“So…what I'm hearing is that blue apples exist?” Barnaby said, trying to be ridiculous. 

“Blue Pearmain are blue, I’ve heard that they taste kinda like pears.” 

Barnaby smiled, glad to see his friend starting to recover, “can the inside of the apples be blue too?” 

Wally shook his head, “I don't think so, but they can be pink. It's very pretty.” 

.

.

.

Wally had decided to at least try to get some sleep tonight, deciding that his earlier… anxiety was caused by a lack of sleep. So, when everyone was starting to settle down that night, Wally actually joined them. 

But still, sleep seemed futile. He was too worried about everyone else getting hurt while he was asleep, or waking up to be somewhere else. 

So, he took some deep breaths, trying to clear his mind. 

Beautiful dreamer, wake onto me~ 

Wally got that feeling again. Like he forgot something, like leaving the stove on, or that there was an event planned for tomorrow. Wally tried to ignore the feeling best he could. 

Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea

Wally got up, ultimately deciding to check out what the feeling was. He walked around. Going wherever his feet took him. 

‘That thing, it was there, it was under the rug it-’ Wally paused his thoughts. ‘What was under the rug again?’ 

Wally…he couldn't remember, all he did remember was throwing a rug on…something. Panicked. But he had no…feelings towards the incident. He barely remembers it himself. 

He knew it was a bad idea, that he did it for a reason yet…he couldn't help himself. He slowly picked up the rug, seeing a door under it. It was a different color compared to the rest of the wood in Home.

‘That's right! The cellar!’ Wally thought to himself, silly Wally! He almost forgot the cellar existed at all! 

Oh Darling, there’s nothing to be scared of. I'm only here to help you.

Wally opened the cellar door, looking to find whatever it was he was searching for. The floor however didn't seem to get brighter with the light.

‘Nothing’s here…’ Wally thought. 

He walked down a little more, however, due to his sleep depreciation, he tripped, dropping his candle. He managed to catch the railing, but that wasn't what frightened him. 

The candle it- 

It seemed to of fallen into a void. 

‘Its a void.’ The realization hit Wally like a train. 

“There you are Darling.”

A voice that seemed to of been coming from the void itself. 

Wally ran up the stairs, and closed the door, throwing the rug onto it. After a moment, Wally realized it wasn't going to follow him. He lay on the ground, relieved. 

‘Relieved?’ Wally thought to himself. ‘Relieved about what?’ Wally looked back at the rug.

‘Wasn't I just about to go down there?’ 

‘No.’ Wally thought to himself. ‘I was going to go to sleep.’ 

Walking back to his friends, he couldn't help the sinking feeling that he was forgetting something. Something important. 

‘Oh well, I'll deal with it in the morning.’

He sat back down next to Barnaby, but he just…couldn't fall back asleep, that feeling hadn’t gone away. 

“You too?” Barnaby whispered over. 

“...yeah,” Wally whispered back. 

Barnaby quietly sat up, looking over at one of the fake candles that were nearby. He grabbed one that was within arm's reach and put it in between himself and Wally.  

“How about a staring contest?” Barnaby offered. 

A staring contest is his favorite game! He just loved looking into people's eyes, he couldn't explain it but it was…a type of warmth or joy maybe? He didn't know but loved playing the game with Barnaby. He and Barnaby would sometimes play this game for hours, but despite that, Barnaby always lost. Wally never felt a need to blink, he didn't feel the “itch” as some people would call it, nor the burning sensation. 

The two were laying on their stomachs, Wally with his head in his hands, and Barnaby with his arms somewhat crossed. 

“I think I'm gonna win this time,” Barnaby said, even though he was confident he’d lose. 

“If you say so!” Wally whispered. 

Wally stared into Barnaby eye’s, memorizing every little detail about them, like the dark ring around his left eye for example! It was thinner the closer it got to his nose, and the further out it was, it got thicker. He also loved how his right ear was a similar shade of blue, how there were light blue circles on Barnaby's cheeks, or how he had a slight cut on top of his forehead that was barely visible. 

Wally wondered for a moment that Barnaby thought about him this way, ever staring at his face just as intensely. It was a thought that popped up in his head every time, just a small idea. So, after a few minutes, he started trying to figure out where Barnaby's eyes went, and what he’d look at. 

After a few moments, he realized Barnaby did too. 

He’d stare at one string of hair that was in front of his ear, or his eye shadow that he’d forgotten to take off, and every so often, when Barnaby thought Wally wouldn't notice, he’d look at his lips. 

For some reason, that startled Wally enough to look away for a moment, flustered but he couldn't understand why. 

“Aha! Told you it was my lucky day.” Barnby whispered in delight. 

“You won ?” Sally asked. She was, apparently, awake the whole time. 

“Who are you and what did you do to Wally,” Frank asked, jokingly. 

Wally made the motion of a giggle, but no sound came out. “The boogieman!” he whispered back. 

“Wait, I thought you guys were asleep?” Barnby asked, sitting up. 

“I think only Howdy and Poppy are asleep right now,” Eddie said, looking back over at Poppy and Howdy, as they both cuddled. 

“So you guys were just staring at each other's eyes?” Julie asked. 

“A staring contest!” Wally replied. 

“Mhm….” she replied skeptically, before being elbowed by Sally, “what? I didn't say anything!....anyways! Seeing as we’re awake, let's play a game,” she said, looking around Wally’s house. She already knew that Wally didn't keep many games here. 

“Truth or dare?” Frank suggested. 

Julie had a look of surprise on her face. “You never want to play truth or dare! ‘It's not sophisticated!’ as you would say.” 

“It's the sleep deprivation,” Frank said simply. 

“Ok then, ill ask first! Wally, do you have a crush on anybody?” Julie said, seeing her chance and taking it immediately. 

“You’re supposed to ask truth or dare first Julie,” Frank said, slightly amused. 

“Oh right. Truth or dare, do you have a crush on anybody?” 

Frank put his head in his hands, silently laughing to himself.

“Um…depends? What counts as a crush?” Wally asked. He had a vague idea of what one was, but he wanted to make sure first. 

“Oh you know, like-liking someone.” she clarified, though it didn't make things any clearer. 

“I don't understand. I like all of my friends.” Wally looked at her with increasing confusion. 

“No, like, romantically,” she whispered. 

“What's the difference?” Wally tilted his head. 

“Well- you wouldn't kiss your friends, like Barnaby for example.” 

“Yeah, I do?” 

A silence pang through the room. 

“See?” Wally said, giving Barnaby a kiss on the cheek. 

The other confusions had disappeared. 

“Yeah, but…” she paused, “you don't kiss him on the mouth.” 

“What? You can do that?” Wally looked like he had an epiphany. 

“Only to people you like-like, not friends,” Frank said quickly. 

“Ohh…so like you and Edd-” 

“Moving on! Barnaby, truth or dare?” Frank asked, cutting Wally off, looking nervous. 

The group had played a few different games, never have I ever, 21 questions, and eventually, one by one, everyone started to doze off. 

It was...nice. 

its all so nice. 

Chapter Text

Wally, as usual, woke up earlier than his friends. It was still dark out when he left home and went into the backyard. He knew that the lights would come back on eventually, but for the most part, there wasn't much they could do. They couldn't exactly fight the humans, Wally would know, he tried to once. 

He just needed a little extra time, more time to find out what was going on, more time for a plan. Wally never thought he would even get this chance, and now that he has it he doesn't know what to do with it. 

Wally sat in silence, bringing a calmness, and in the back of his mind, he heard a little voice. 

“Why do you insist on ignoring me? I can help you.” 

He jumped up, looking around for the said voice. 

“Oh! Hello Mister Darling. Glad that someone can finally hear me.” 

‘It's not real.’ Wally thought to himself, taking a few deep breaths. 

“If I'm not real, then how come you can hear me?” 

Wally started to walk away from home, going into the forest behind his backyard. 

“I can help you, and all of your little friends.” 

.

.

.

.

“He keeps hiding things,” Frank said, moving one of his chess pieces. 

“How are you so sure?” Howdy asked, before also moving a piece. 

“I don't know. I can just kinda see it if that makes sense.” 

As of right now, Eddie, Frank, and Howdy were at the kitchen table, howdy and Frank playing chess, while Eddie was sorting his stamps. 

Eddie cut in, “I think you might be looking into it a little too much for it to be good for you.” 

Frank overthinks a lot of things, getting so into trying to find the truth of whatever’s going on so much that he’ll lose days of sleep over it. 

“Maybe. I don't know. I guess this…everything has just been a lot.” Frank started putting pressure on his temple, trying to get rid of the headache. “How do you guys deal with it?”  

“Well… let's just say Wally probably isn't the only one hiding his feelings about the whole thing. Kinda just not…here, if that makes sense.” howdy said, “it's your turn by the way.” 

Frank moved another chess piece, “Yeah, but…he knows more than he’s letting on. I can just feel it.” 

Oh really? Can you now? 

“He could know the secrets of the universe, or he’s hiding the fact he can now count to 13.” Howdy shrugged, “who knows. He’ll tell us on his own time, we shouldn't force it. Forcing it will just push him away more.” 

“I disagree.” Eddie said, somewhat shocked frankly, “I mean, don't get me wrong! We shouldn't force him to do or say anything he doesn't want to, but what if he’s in danger? Seeing as everything that's going on, I wouldn't doubt it. Just see if he’s safe, and if he’s not then we start doing more about it." Eddie looked over at Frank. “I mean, that's what you guys were doing with all of the investigations.” 

“And he was!” Frank said, distressed, “And sure, we couldn't remember before, but we can now. He should be able to come to any of his friends, hell, I'd listen. He lies almost every day to everyone.” 

“It's gonna take tim-” Howdy was cut off by Frank. 

“I know. I just.” Frank started rubbing his temples.

 Eddie hesitated for a moment. “Big hug or little hug?” Eddie asked. Eddie was essentially asking if Frank wanted to be squeezed to death, or a soft embrace. 

“Little,” Frank whispered back, and Eddie softly put his arms around him. 

“There just has to be more that he’s not telling us….” Frank whispered. “There just to be…” 

~~~~~

Frank sighed. No one liked this. The situation. Yet everyone seemed to slowly get used to the idea, the idea of being puppets forever. When he asked Julie, he got an answer he wasn't even expecting. 

“It might be fun! It's like Sally's plays and all of that! Except they weren't made by Sally ya know?” 

Frank couldn't imagine that. Being a puppet. It was all too….wrong for him. He just… 

Fine.

Frank looked back at his notes, thinking back on what he had written…

Only to realize a new one had appeared. One he didn't write. 

• Notes on Wally: 
• Tired 
• Unkempt
• Depersonalization? 
• Stressed
• Not leaving the house often 
• Not eating
• Do you want answers? 

Frank paused. He knew that wasn't written there before, and despite it all being to…weird, he thought it couldn't hurt to try. 

• Do you want answers? 
• Yes. 
• Follow her. 

Frank looked up, confused, only to see Julie sneaking away. Looking around, he slowly followed her. 

A dark room, with only Julie's candle to light the way. Walking into the room, he thought about making his presence known to her before- 

Hide. 

Frank immediately got an overwhelming urge to keep himself out of sight, so he jumped into the nearest closet. 

“Julie! This is the second time I've caught you here! Ha, ha, ha!” Wally said, with his signature monotone laugh. 

“Yeah…I'm sorry, I'm just curious, isn't there a door under the carpet?” Julie asked, looking at it. 

Wally paused. "yes, the cellar." his voice unwavering yet...nervous. Frank could hear Julie stand up, as she walked towards Wally. 

“That makes sense! I'm sorry again, I was just really curious.” 

The two chatted for a while, before walking out of the room, with the door closing behind them. 

Slowly but surely, Frank got out of the closet, before realizing he hadn't bought a candle with him. He brought himself closer to the ground, feeling for the rug. 

‘Found it.’ He lifted it up, and opened the cellar door quietly, before walking in, closing the door behind him. He walked down a few of the steps before coming along…nothing. 

No! Stop! 

He nearly fell, catching himself on the railing. 

‘Weird.’ Frank sat down on the last stair, putting one of his legs down, wondering if maybe the floors were just…further down than he expected. 

Catch! 

Out of nowhere a candle flew at his face, and he was just barely able to catch it. 

“Hello?” he whispered down, not wanting Wally to hear him. “Anyone there?” 

Nothing. So, instead, he dropped the candle back down and watched it fall, and fall until he couldn't see it anymore. He waited a few more seconds, waiting to hear a drop.

It never did. 

Frank walked back up the stairs, in silent horror. 

Oh Mister Frank, don't be scared. Please. 

He put the rug back onto the carpet, walked away from it, and silently left the room. 

.

.

.

“What do you get when you combine a rhetorical question and a joke?” Barnaby asked Wally, who was once again painting upside down. 

“I dunno, what?” Wally put his paint down on the ground, turning to go and look at Barnaby.

“...” 

“...ohh, ha, ha, ha!” Wally sat up in his aerial hoop. “That's a good one!”

The two had been doing this for a while, Barnaby telling a joke and seeing if Wally would laugh or not.

“Oh! I have a joke for you!” wally said, turning the tables on barnaby, “ok, what’s green and has wheels?” 

Barnaby thought for a moment, “Howdy’s cart?” 

“Grass! I lied about the wheels.” he said, playfully, leaning forward. Barnaby looked like he was trying not to laugh, and Wally watched, in a sort of…bliss. 

The scratch. The one over Barnaby's left eyebrow. He reached over Barnaby's face, and put his hand over the scratch. 

“Huh? Oh, thaat!” Barnaby said, pointing at it, “I got that a while ago.” 

Wally got…concerned. 

The show was quite popular, being popular enough that they could afford to replace puppets, and when that happened all they would remember were the episodes they had been in. 

But he didn't share this with barnaby. He seemed quite proud of the scar. 

Wally heard something, he could hear the producers speaking somewhat. 

“no…lights aren't…maybe…” 

“Sh.” Wally shushed Barnaby, listening for the voices again. 

“Where did the puppets go?” “Someone must have moved them, Jared! Did you move the puppets again!” 

“Do you hear them?” Wally asked, walking towards one of the windows. 

“Hear what?” 

“Them! The show producers, they-” Wally looked at Barnaby’s face, one that was full of confusion, “how…? They’re so loud, how do you not....?” 

Barnaby shook his head, “I don't know…can you hear what specifically they’re saying?” 

Wally listened more. 

“Seriously? On such short notice?” his voice was much higher compared to the other man’s, “Yeah, something about money being tight, but I don't think we have to worry. They’re probably gonna put us in a new studio.” “wow. Children are going to have their hearts crushed…what will we do with the puppets?” 

The deeper voice man sighed. “I don't know, I mean, they’re so old if we ever need them again, we’ll probably just make new ones. Probably just burn them, or use them for parts.” 

There was a pause between the two men before the higher-pitched voice spoke. “It's hard to imagine they’d cancel the show. I mean, seriously, kids love this stuff!” 

“Wally?” Barnaby brought Wally out of his trance.

“Everything going to be ok,” he said, quickly. He couldn't tell if he was trying to convince Barnaby or himself. 

The higher-pitched voice one spoke. “It's hard to imagine they’d cancel the show. I mean, seriously, kids love this stuff!” 

“Wally, what's going on?” Barnaby asked, getting increasingly worried. 

“I'm not going to let anything happen to any of you,” Wally said, tapping on one of home’s walls. Within quick secession, windows started to lock themselves, along with the front and back doors. He knew that no one had left home, and he hoped it’d stay that way. He felt like he was suffocating but- 

He didn't want to worry Barnaby even more.

“They’re going to cancel the show,” Wally said. 

‘Tell the truth, but tell it slant.’ He didn't remember where he had heard the phrase, but he knew that it was the only thing that might help right now. 

“Oh…what's going to happen to us?” Barnaby took a step towards Wally. 

“Best scenario? Nothing.” he shrugged. 

“And the worst scenario?” Barnaby inquired. 

“It won't come to that. I won't let it.” stillness in the air, “I need to tell the others.” 

~~~~

“So…that's it? We’re free?” Sally asked, a look of relief on her face. 

“Hopefully.” Wally turned away from the others, starting to clean around the house. 

“Hopefully? So there’s a possibility that we don't end up free.” Frank meant to say the last part as a question, but the sinking feeling. 

“Well-” Wally was cut off. 

“you’re still hiding things.” Frank laughed a little, upset. “There's still something you’re not telling us.” 

‘Tell the truth, but tell it slant.’

“I'm doing everything I can.” Wally defended himself. 

“Are you? You’ve hidden so much from us, you’ve refused our help, and you’re being careless!” Frank's voice was just above a yell. 

“Im keeping us safe-” 

“Do you even really care? You’re going to end up killing us all!” Frank yelled, and Wally finally went silent. 

“Do I even care? Do I even care?” Wally's facade finally broke. “I’d give everything for you guys. I would do anything if it meant you guys would be happy.” 

“Wally-” Frank finally realized his mistake. 

“I have gone through life pretending to be unaware of the strings, the producers, the puppeteers, all because it meant you guys were happy! I’d give up my life, for you all if it meant you could go through your day blissfully unaware and you know what? I’d do it all over again if it meant you would be able to live a good life.” 

Frank went to say something else, but Wally cut him off as if knowing what he’d say.  

“yes! I know that's selfish and unhealthy, but don't you dare say that I don't care.” 

Wally took a deep breath, taking a moment to collect himself. He wouldn't dare look his friends in the eyes. They are windows after all and right now? Wally didn't want to know what they thought of him.

A switch. 

“I'm sorry.” he took a deep breath. 

“No it's-” Wally cut Frank off, “I shouldn't talk to any of you that way. It is a very stressful situation, and I understand that emotions are high. I'm sorry Frank.” 

Wally walked away as quickly as he could, tightening his ascot, needing something to feel secure, something to stay the same. 

Chapter Text

Frank couldn't help himself, he just kept going back to the cellar. Now, mind you, he wouldn't go into it, just near it. The feeling of it, the pull, he just couldn't help it. So, that night, he went back, hoping to maybe find Wally near it, or that Wally would be as watchful as a hawk and stop him from going into it, just so he’d have an excuse to talk to him again. 

- --- --- /

It wasn't surprising when he found him there, but he heard Wally…talking to himself? 

“I don't want your help,'' Wally said, as he stared at the rug. 

“ You need it.”  a voice, not belonging to any of his friends. Frank went quiet. 

“I don't.” 

“ So you’d rather watch your friends be used for parts?” 

“They won't.” 

“ Why won't you just let me help?” 

“You’re malevolent,” Wally said, with a certain venom in it.  

“ Maybe I am, but I will keep you all safe. Just let me do that one little thing and I'll leave you all alone.” 

“...you’ll keep them safe?” 

‘Wally, what are you doing? ’ Frank thought to himself. He wanted to go and stop him, to keep him from making whatever deal it was planning, but he was frozen in place, he couldn't move even if he wanted to. 

“ And you as well.” 

“...” 

“ Just let me help you.” 

“...just once.” 

Frank watched, as from under the rug, black goo appeared, grabbing hold of Wally and- 

In a blink of an eye, Wally was normal. 

Or, he looked normal. 

“Oh! Mist-” ‘Wally’ coughed, “Frank! I didn't expect to see you here?” Wally laughed but…it wasn't his. It was too…real. Wally’s laugh sounded more like a computer-generated one. 

"You're not Wally,'' Frank said, a matter of factly. 

'Wally' just smiled, tilting his head. "Oh, you're the smart one aren't you?" ‘Wally’ moved unnaturally, and seemed much more…clumsy compared to the actual Wally. 

Frank took a step back, getting ready to run. 

"Oh common neighbor, don't be like that. I'm only here to help." the creature said, clearly mocking Wally. 

“Where is he?” 

"So smart, you all figured out the strings so quickly too. I can see why Wally likes you all. So brave ." The creature walked around, seemingly still trying to get used to the body it was in.  

 -... .- -.. /

"What are you going to do to him?" Frank held onto his notebook tighter, just in case he’d be forced to fight the creature.

It paused. 

"What am I going to do to him ?” it asked, seemingly offended. “He reached out for my help. I'm not going to hurt any of you or your little friends. I have to admit, I've grown quite fond of a lot of you, just watching you all are so entertaining!” it laughed. 

“Watching us?” Frank inquired. 

“Mister Frankly, let me tell you a little secret,” it walked closer to Frank. “I'm always watching.” 

Frank barely had time to react, as Wally's body had seemingly collapsed without a moment of hesitation. 

.

.

.

“So you sold your soul!?” Frank whisper-yelled. He had managed to drag Wally up to his bed, and as soon as Wally woke up, he had…politely ambushed him. 

“No, not my soul, I'm just…letting it use me as a host.” Wally said, “Temporarily” he quickly added. 

“You-!” Frank cut himself off, putting his face in his hands “These are the types of things you’re supposed to tell people about!” 

“I was planning on telling you,” Wally said. 

“When? After you had already, oh I don't know, turned yourself into some demon's host?” Frank sarcastically replied. 

“After you guys were safe.” 

“Well, why don't we tell them now?'' Frank said, opening Wally's bedroom door. 

“Not. yet.” 

Wally looked away, holding himself. 

“That! Why are you doing that.” Frank said, leaving Wally confused “That- you keep looking away at random intervals and it's…”

“Well not everyone understands eye contact, captain obvious,” Wally muttered under his breath. 

Frank paused, closing the door, “Have…have you been doing that this whole time?” 

“What do you mean?” Wally looked back at Frank. 

“…have you been trying to learn eye contact?” 

Wally looked at something behind Frank. “Maybe. Why?” 

Frank got a feeling of…guilt. It was an off-handed comment that had happened a few weeks ago, he didn't think that Wally had heard it. 

“Was it because of what I said?” 

Wally was silent. 

It was true, Frank did find the eye contact Wally often had uncomfortable, but he didn't think one off-handed comment would make such an impact.

Frank walked back to Wally, sitting down on Wally’s bed. 

“I…I'm sorry. It was rude of me to do so. I shouldn't of judge you for something as arbitrary as eye contact.” 

"Well…that was inappropriate of me to do. I should have spoken about you like that behind your back." Frank sat down on Wally's bed, "And I'm sorry for saying you didn't care. I wasn't thinking clearly." 

"I'm sorry too." Wally finally spoke. "I'm sorry for lying, and for not telling you guys things.” 

There was a silence for a moment, as the two contemplated. 

“No more secrets, for real this time.” Frank held out his hand. 

Wally paused.  .... . / 

“After the show ends we might be used for parts. Or set on fire.” he blurted out, before shaking Frank's hand. 

“I…knew about the ‘used for parts’ thing but fire? What do they think we are? Termites?” 

Wally had a small look of shock. 

“I was…in the room when you and the…thing were talking, remember?” Frank clarified. 

“Um…” Wally thought as hard as he could, trying to remember what Frank might have been talking about. The memory was there but…wrong. He knew the facts and knew what happened, but not the details of it, or the emotion from it. It was more like a secondhand account rather than him . 

Neither of them could get another word in, as someone had knocked on the door. 

“Who is it?” Wally slightly yelled out. 

“Nobel!” Barnaby had clearly answered. 

“Nobel who?” Wally smiled, and he tried standing up but a bout of dizziness had hit him like a train, to which he immediately sat down. 

“No bell! That's why I knocked" Barnaby into the room, “how are you feeling?” 

“Fin…” Wally slightly cut himself off, “...Well…honestly kinda dizzy.” 

“Yeah I bet, you took quite the fall there.” Barnaby put his hand on the back of Wally’s forehead. “Mind telling me what happened? Eat something you weren't supposed to?” .-- --- -. .----. - /

Wally looked over at Frank, hoping for some assistance, who had only made a go-on motion. 

“Well-” Wally wasn't able to say anything more than that, as he was blinded by the lights turning back on. 

“ We both knew this would happen at some point.” 

~~~ 

Sunny day! Birds are singing! Life is lovely!

Today’s episode’s name is called: Thank you! 

.

.

.

Again. And again. And again. Watching his friends become puppets. The only thing he couldn't help was the feeling that something was intrinsically wrong. His friends were puppets, they knew they were, and they finally got hold of being able to play their parts but…

“CUT!” a director. All his friends, including him, went limp, as the puppeteers put them all down. “Somethings wrong with the Barnaby doll!” 

‘ Not a doll .’ Wally thought to himself. 

“It's got a scratch on its face! Common! This is the last episode, we may as well have them look perfect! Replace him!” 

‘ No. no no no this can't- they can't just -’ 

‘ Frank was right ’ Wally thought to himself. ‘ I am careless.’ 

It was only a little, just enough to get the man to take his hands off of Barnaby, just enough to make him flinch. 

But the blood was just as real, and god it tasted just like the wires. 

But Wally couldn't think about that, he had basically just outed himself as a puppet, what would they do if- 

~~~perspective change (and a two-second time jump)~~~

“Wally?” Julie slowly walked forward but was grabbed by Frank. 

“That's not Wally.” Frank started slowly getting everyone to leave. 

“What do you…” Julie saw it too. The black goo started to surround Wally. “We need to go hide!” Frank said, trying to gather everyone up. 

“But wal…” Barnaby couldn't finish his sentence, as he watched his friend as he disappeared into it. 

“Guys,” Sally said, looking in the opposite direction, looking at…something. 

That something being Home. Home was bleeding black goo, the same goo that consumed Wally. 

~~~

They had all made it into Howdy’s shop, Barnaby practically having to be dragged by both Howdy and Poppy, not wanting to leave his friend behind. 

“What the f…” Julie paused, trying to remain calm. “What. was. That.” 

Her calm wasn't very calm. 

Everyone looked towards Frank, wanting an explanation. 

“Well….that was the demon under Wally’s house I presume,” Frank said, awkwardly.

“Mhm, yeah, and uh, when was this going to be mentioned? To any of us?” Sally asked, absolutely pissed.  .-. . -- . -- -... . .-. 

“He was! I had just found out, and…” Frank lowered his voice, in fear of upsetting Barnaby, “...he was going to tell Barnaby about it before the lights came back on.” 

As of right now, Barnaby was…well, distraught. He was very much one who would wear his heart on his sleeves, he practically refused to hide his emotions. 

So, he and Poppy were in a corner, him sobbing as hard as he could. From his perspective, Wally had just…well, died, even if Barnaby knew he didn't, he still felt so much…fear for him. 

“So what are we supposed to do now! Everything outside has gone back to being dark, the world may as well be fucking ending!” 

“Sally!” Howdy scolded. 

“Well, it's true! We’ve been stuck here for hours, it's dark as fuck here and-” Sally was cut off by light. 

Not lights, mind you, but the light from outside. 

She ran up to the window. Looking out of it. The light wasn't quite as…bright as she was used to. It was bluer, less yellow. But that wasn't what had gained her attention. Near the forest was Wally. 

Or, it looked like Wally. 

And that was all Barnaby needed to see to run straight out the door. 

“Wally!” Barnaby screamed. Wally looked…hurt. He was limping and had scratches on him, black goo seeping out of them. 

Wally wanted to run, to leave, hide in the woods, or the studio, but- 

Barnaby just seemed so happy to see him. He couldn't turn his back on him. 

Despite Wally's head hurt like hell, he still decided to shout. 

“Barnaby!” His voice was glitchy, like a mixture of two different voices. He was only able to walk a few steps before being forced to lean on one of the nearby trees, feeling just a few moments away from fainting. 

“ You can't do that yet.”  the creature whispered to Wally. “ You’ll get hurt.” 

Barnaby picked him up, and hugged him, to which Wally completely turned into a ragdoll, just leaning into Barnaby's embrace. 

“You scared me back there,” Barnaby whispered. 

“I know.” Wally softly said back. “I'm sorry.” 

“Are you ok?” 

“Mm…might faint,” Wally warned. 

“That's ok, I'll catch you.” 

That same warm feeling was felt in Wally's chest, comforting, safe.

He wished that a feeling like this could stay forever. 

Chapter Text

Wally had woken up with a similar, albeit fuzzier, feeling. Like a pleasant static. He had refused to open his eyes, everything was just so comfortable. 

But that fear had struck him like a train, and he sat up, looking around, trying to ignore all of the pain and dizziness. ‘ This isn't home.’

Panic struck through him. - .... . -.-- /

‘ I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't, it's not- ’ Wally attempted to calm down. ‘ It's fine, it's all fine, your friends aren't worried about the fact you had made a deal with a demon. ’ 

…yeah, on second thought, maybe not. 

Wally heard Barnaby’s unmistakable footsteps and immediately laid down facing the wall, pretending to be asleep, and waited.

*click!* the door opened. 

Step. step. Step. a pause. 

Barnaby sat down on the other side of his bed, and started humming, running his hands through Wally’s hair. 

“List while I woo thee with soft melody;” Barnaby softly sang, almost in a whisper. Wally lay there, waiting to hear the rest of the song, he couldn't remember the rest of it, or maybe he never learned it to begin with. 

“Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,

Totally pretending to be asleep.” Barnaby sang the last part a little louder. 

“Ha,” Wally said, a bit too tired to give more than that. 

“Sh, you’re supposed to be asleep, remember?” 

“Oh right!” Wally replied, tired but playfully, as he slowly turned around to face Barnaby, still in some pain. -.. .. -.. -. - /

Barnaby continued to run his hands through Wally’s hair, just looking at Wally with a…look in his eye. One similar to that night at the sleepover.

“Staring contest?” Wally asked as he moved over on the bed, making room for Barnaby. 

Barnaby laid down right next to him, and just like that, the staring contest had begun. 

Once again, the two had stared at each other’s faces, studying every little detail over and over again, looking at every little scar, or scratch, any little imperfection and just finding it lovely. Wally wanted to at least try to win this staring contest though, so he tried not to focus on how Barnaby looked at him, how he simply had that look of… something more. 

‘More?’ Wally thought, ‘well, we’re best friends! Of course, there would be that feeling of…’ 

Wally felt Barnaby's hand on his face, brushing aside some of his hair. That one little movement made Wally all flustered again, that warm feeling, and it was so…addicting. The way he treated Wally so gently like he was glass. 

All best friends feel like that though, that's why they’re called best friends! Because it's more than friends. 

Wally, after a moment of hesitation, reached up to Barnaby's small scar that remained on his face, just over the left eyebrow. 

“...should I leave or-” Howdy asked, slowly walking out the door. 

Wally felt…disappointed when Barnaby looked away. He wanted to feel like that again, it was just so… 

“We’re just having a staring contest.” Wally said, “I win!” 

Howdy slowly nodded. “Staring contest…right. Ok well. I just came to check up on you guys and I guess that's done so…" Howdy walked backward, closing the door as he left. 

“Huh…that was weird." There was a slight pause, "Anyways, want to have another staring contest?” wally longed for that feeling again, feeling like the other one had ended far too short. 

Barnaby shook his head this time. “I would love to, however, I think you should probably take a shower first.”..-. .. --. .... - /

Wally put a hand in his hair, feeling it for himself. Clumps of his hair were sticking together from the probably 15 coats of hairspray he put in every morning. 

“Ew,” Wally said to himself, his hair feeling awful. 

“Yeah, I'll leave you to that, and then!” Barnaby said, “We managed to get you some extra clothes, they’re in the bathroom for you already”

That shower was probably one of the best ones he’s had in a while. No, seriously, the feeling of going from the black goo, blood, and greasy hair with hairspray to being entirely cleaned from all of that? Pure bliss. Wally didn't want to take his time too much, but he couldn't help but spend a few extra minutes, making sure his hair was fully cleaned from the hairspray and gel. 

Then he noticed a cut on him. One that was still bleeding somewhat. He looked around Barnaby's bathroom, trying to find… 

Sewing needles! Perfect! 

He sewed the first stitch in, ‘ the first one always hurts the most’  he thought to himself. So, he took a deep breath, and thought about something else, like his friends for example. He thought about how they must be feeling right now. He knew they were all now safe, there was nothing the humans could do to them, but he still wondered…what if they were scared of him now instead? He wasn't exactly…him that day. Literally. Wally shook his head. He hadn't realized that he had finished stitching himself up! So, he put the sewing needle away and walked out of the bathroom. .- .-.. .-.. /

Walking down the stairs to Barnaby's house, he started to realize there were more of his friends there than he thought there were. 

“Wally! Finally, decide to join us?” Howdy said, waving. 

Wally just nodded and smiled back. 

It was…nice. Things finally started to feel normal again, familiar. 

It's all so lovely 

The group of them all started to eat breakfast, they talked and joked. It was so peaceful. Even Poppy was handling everything well! It was like it had never…

Wally ~ stop asking questions you don't want the answers to. 

Wally felt that same suffocating feeling around his neck, and reached for his ascot only to feel…

‘ What is that? ’ Wally got a sinking feeling in his stomach. 

“I left my ascot upstairs,” Wally said, as he started to stand up. “I don't want to forget it so I'm just gonna gogetthatrealquick,” he said, quickly, practically running up the stairs. 

He looked in the bathroom mirror, only to see…

Nothing. But that suffocating feeling came back, he felt like he couldn't breathe like there was a rope around his neck, or maybe- 

- .... .- - /

He looked around the bathroom, panicked, looking for-

“Scissors.” Wally sighed, relieved. 

“ After all my hard work, and you repay me like this?” 

Wally only half heard the creature, as he brought the scissors to the string and- 

‘ It's not cutting.’ Wally struggled, trying to get the string off of him, but nothing was working, nothing helped. 

Wally put the scissors down and stopped. Nothing seemed to be working; the string wasn't that of thread, but of something…more. 

“ You're a doll. Start acting like one.” 

Wally stared at himself in the mirror. A puppet. He started back down the stairs, in a daze of sorts, keeping his hand on the string the whole time. 

“Was it not up there?” Barnaby asked, concerned. 

“Do you guys remember yesterday?” Wally asked, staring at his seat. 

“Well of cour…'' Howdy paused. “The thing happened um…” he couldn't seem to find the right words, struggling. 

“Yeah! Yeah, it was um…the thing, I just can't…” Poppy muttered back. “I remember it, I just don't…” .... .- .-. -.. .-.-.-

“Like it wasn't you who lived through it?” Wally leaned forward. 

“Ah! Exactly!” she replied, and Howdy nodded. 

The more the pieces came together, the more noticeable the “strings” were. Except all of the strings were…different. Their thickness of them changed. Most of his friends' “strings” were more like ropes, except for Julie, Frank, and him. It was so…strange. Some were on them tighter than others, and some were practically necklaces. For example, Poppy and Howdy’s ropes were thick, and tightened around their necks, while Julie’s was thinner, and seemed more like a necklace. 

“Well, that’s pretty normal during stressful situations.” Howdy shrugged. 

Wally moved his eye contact to meet Howdy’s “What’s that on your neck?” 

Howdy reached up not finding any rope. “I don't think there is anything there.” 

“Is that a rope?” Frank asked himself out loud. 

“A rope? Frank that is highly inappropr-” Poppy was cut off by Julie.

“No, I see it too! It's right there!” she reached up to her own neck, feeling for her string, before getting a look of horror on her face. “Do we all…?” she trailed off, looking at the others. 

“I think it's time for us to leave.” Howdy got up from his chair, Poppy and Sally leaving with him.

“...Eddie?” Frank's voice broke a little as he saw Eddie stand up, and Frank grabbed hold of Eddie's hand.

A moment passed after a silent plea from Frank.  

“I'm sorry,” Eddie whispered, before slowly pulling away. 

“Eddie, no please, let me just-” an idea popped into franks head, “I need to show you something please.” 

“I can't i-” Eddie got cut off 

A small whisper from Frank cut Eddie off.“Please.”

Eddie looked conflicted, like an internal conflict. Then, within a split second, Eddie…looked like Eddie again. He immediately put his hands on both sides of Frank's face, gently putting their foreheads together. 

“I'm so sorry, Frank, I'm so sorry.” 

The two stayed like that for a moment, just hugging each other. 

Julie nudged Wally, her eye practically saying ‘ What do we do now ?’ with Wally shrugging.

He looked back at Barnaby, his rope was just as strong as Poppy and Howdy’s, yet…different. He wasn't following them, Poppy or Howdy, but he couldn't see the rope either. He looked almost…stuck in place. 

“Wally, I have a theory,” Frank said, bringing Wally out of his trance. “The strings-” 

“The amount of control the thing has over us,” Wally said, cutting Frank off. 

“Yes! But not only that but it’s also…how much it can control not only us but our thoughts as well? Making us forget things, making us willfully unaware.” Frank said, starting to tap his hands somewhat. “Like for poppy! She wasn't aware basically at all when all of this was happening! I originally thought she was just coping with it weirdly but now it's so much more obvious! She obviously hadn't been in her own mind so…” 

Frank continued talking, but he just couldn't focus. Barnaby just seemed so…

Wally walked so he was right behind Barnaby, Barnaby who had still been sitting in the chair. He put his head on top of Barnaby's just holding him. 

“I'll fix this. I promise.” Wally whispered to him, finally tuning back in to what Frank was saying.  

“...so my theory is that if we just show them the void, they’ll also break free!”

Wally opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It was like the string on his neck prevented him, refusing to let him speak. 

“ Oh, I doubt that’ll work. ” ‘Wally’ said. 

‘No .’ the actual wally panicked, stuck in his own mind. 

“You-” Frank put his arms in front of both Eddie and Julie, trying to bring them away from the parasite that resided in wally. 

“ Me.” it replied, “ oh boo hoo, i'm not going to hurt you or your friends, yadi yadi yada, i feel like i've said the same thing a thousand times by now.” it huffed. 

“So why do you need us under your control?” Frank looked backwards slightly at his friends. 

“ It's quite simple really.”   it started walking around, circling around the scared group, where Eddie, for the first time since this whole thing started, seemed truly terrified. 

Then it spoke one sentence. One little sentence was enough for their world to come crashing down. It let go of wally, once again giving him back his autonomy. Wally had been listening the whole time, yet it was still so…wrong. 

Barnaby at the same time, finally broke out of his trance. "Wals? Is everything oka-" he wasn't able to get much more out before wally had fainted. 

Chapter Text

It's been almost a week since they finally broke free from the studio, and everything is fine. 

Except it's not. Just one little sentence was enough to break everyone’s hopes, and now the 4 of them are all trying to pretend to be normal, just like the way it was meant to be.

Barnaby doesn't remember much of what happened the day they broke free, or part of the day after it. all he knew was that they were now, and his best friend is still deeply…troubled by it. He wants to ask, and he wants Wally to tell him, but from personal experience, the more you push Wally, the more he pushes back.

But this is the last straw because Wally is once again going backward, hiding things, secrets, pretending , and after all the work he’s seen him put into himself? He’s not letting him fall back down that rabbit hole. 

“mind telling me what's going on in that head of yours?” Barnaby asked. The two were in the woods, which, in hindsight, probably wasn't the best idea. 

“Thinking about how trees are just a form that plants can choose to take rather than a plant itself. Do you ever think about that?” Wally asked, climbing one of the trees. 

“Well, I am now!” Barnaby said with a smile, before going slightly serious, “Have you been doing ok? You just seem really off this week.” 

“I'm doing great! Why? Are you ok?” Wally tried to deflect, hoping that Barnaby would let him continue his lie. 

“No.” Barnaby said, which made Wally stop climbing, “I'm not. My best friend has been hurting and he refuses to let me help, not to mention he’s been isolating himself again. ” 

Wally slowly climbed down from the tree and walked so that he was right in front of Barnaby. 

“Just tell me what's wrong.” Barnaby pleaded. Wally reached up to Barnaby's neck, and…pulled on something. When Barnaby went to find what he was pulling on, he found nothing, yet something…changed. As a puzzle clicked in place, but he didn't know where . Wally hoped to see something in Barnaby's eyes, looking for some sort of recognition in them, or a click of memory but…

Wally shook his head. ‘Too early. ’ 

Wally let go of the string, “Don't worry about it! It's nothing to worry about.” he turned around, about to walk in another random direction when Barnaby leaned his head on top of Wally’s.

Wally had to take everything within him to not cry right then and there. 

Then Barnaby leaned on him even more. 

“Um… Barnaby? I can't keep us bot-” 

And the two had fallen to the ground. 

“Barnaby!” 

“What?” Barnaby didn't get off him, “I'm just a little guy, you should be able to push me off.” 

Wally….well, he completely and utterly failed. 

“I can't,” Wally gave up on being able to leave. 

“Well you’ve gotta try harder!” Barnaby said, “Or…you could tell me what's bothering you…” 

“You wouldn't believe me.” Wally sighed. 

“Sure I would! Try me.” 

‘ He won't.’  

‘.. .it couldn't hurt to try .’ Wally thought, hopeful. 

“What if…I told you that we were still being controlled by…something. Not human.” 

Barnaby slowly started to get off of Wally. 

“...what do you mean?” 

“But not in a puppet way. Not like taking over our bodies but more so…controlling our thoughts? No, that's not right.” 

Barnaby waited patiently as Wally collected his thoughts. 

“It…it doesn't want us to remember certain things, or think certain things.” 

.

.

.

Wally, despite not being in control of his body, remembered everything the demon said. 

“So why do you need us under your control?” Frank looked backward slightly at his friends. 

“It's quite simple really.” it circled around the small group, as they kept backing away, terrified, “I'm your creator."

“What?” Frank froze. 

“Haven't you wondered how a random group of puppets were somehow able to just…become alive?” 

“ We’ve…we’ve alway been…” Frank's brain practically broke, “why didn't you speak to us before?” 

“I needed an, albeit, temporary host! That of which Mister Darling graciously offered” the creature spoke, sounding ecstatic. “Not only am I your creator, but I am part of all of you. You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried." 

.

.

.

“Told you that you wouldn't believe me,” Wally said, now sitting up next to Barnaby.  

“How are you so sure?” he asked. 

“Because it’s still keeping you from comprehending it. It won't let you.” Wally reached back over to Barnaby’s neck, feeling the rope. Barnaby misconstrued this though, and instead brought Wally's hand to his face, holding it there. 

“I'm still here for you,” Barnaby said. 

“I know…I just want you all to be freed from it. I want you all to be happy.” Wally murmured, as he caressed Barnaby's face. 

Barnaby reached up to Wally’s face, gently brought their foreheads together, and stayed like that. 

~~~

Wally hadn't tried leaving the studio again after the day when it rained, but it was late out, and he figured what's the worst that could go wrong. 

So, he sneaked out while home was asleep, silently jumping out a window, and trying to tiptoe towards the woods, trying to hide from any of his neighbor's windows. He’s run off in the middle of the night thousands of times before, but the others were never awake, and when they were, it was for a show, never truly them . 

So, he went through the woods, off the platform the neighborhood was on, and out to the studio’s door. 

It was opened just barely enough that he could walk out. It was somehow brighter out there, and the moon wasn’t full. That…brought a strange comfort to him, as the moon in his world was always bright and always full, and always the same. He loved it. He took a few more steps and- 

Then he heard it growling. He turned around and saw something much bigger and larger than him. 

A dog, maybe even a wolf, was holding a rabbit in its teeth, flinging it around like it was a chew toy. 

He slowly backed away, hoping that it hadn't noticed him yet. It was foaming at the mouth and it saw him. It dropped the rabbit, its blood all over it and it started to slowly walk towards Wally. 

He kept walking backward and away, but it kept following, and he saw it get ready to pounce. He turned and ran, trying to make it back to the door in time, ‘ it wasn't this far before, was it? ’ 

Wally almost made it, before his leg got caught in 6 pack rings, the kind you use for beer or soda. 

It was too late, the dog was too close he couldn't think, all he could do was put his hands up and look away. 

But nothing happened. He waited for a moment, waiting for something to happen but…nothing. 

He brought his arms down, and he could still see the dog as it tried to run at him again, but something was stopping him. 

“ Stay safe little doll.” he could hear the creature whisper. Wally took the plastic off of his leg and ran back inside. 

.

.

.

Wally tried to sneak back home, but home was already awake by then. 

“...hi.” was all Wally was able to say, to which Home looked annoyed at him. 

“Went on a walk, just uh…trying to sleep?” Wally smiled, though it was nervous. Home clearly didn't believe him, but let him in anyways. Wally walked in, still tense about everything that happened. 

‘Doll. Doll. Doll .’ it was all he could think about, that one sentence repeating over and over again, it just…bothered him. 

He sighed, as he reached for a candle and a match stick, set up his canvas, and started painting. Calm, relaxing, and…wrong. He didn't know what was wrong, just that something was wrong. But he was tired, and he hadn't slept in the last few days, so he just decided that it was just insomnia taking place in his mind. 

As he painted, he tried to ignore it, the feeling of dread, like something was very wrong. That feeling of panic- 

It didn't belong to him. 

This realization hit him like a train, the reason it felt wrong was that it wasn't his fear. 

Wally looked back at the candle, and picked it up, holding it to his face. This is what’s causing the creature to panic? But it's just a candle, a small flame at most yet- 

“ Let. go.” 

Wally felt himself get mentally pushed away as the creature took hold of his body and blew out the candle. 

~~~~

When Wally woke up that morning, he had found himself with a small sense of…hope. A smaller bounce in his step, a little more energy that day. So, as he was doing his hair, he decided to call Barnaby up. 

*ring ring-* “Listen and listen closely, to unbake a cake you have to-” 

“Barnaby?” Wally got extremely confused. ‘ Unbake a cake?’  

“Oh, I thought this was poppy!” Barnaby laughed, “I was just on the phone with her. What can I do for you?” 

Wally shrugged, even though Barnaby couldn't see it. “I just wanted to check- do you remember yesterday?” 

“Yesterday?” Barnaby thought long and hard, “Well, you and I hanged out in the woods for a bit, and then I went to Poppy’s to help her wit…” Barnaby spoke for a bit, recounting yesterday. 

‘ He didn't remember .’ Wally should have been used to the feeling by now. The feeling of telling someone what had happened and having them finally remember. 

But Julie and Frank remember! And Eddie's somewhat aware…? He keeps forgetting important bits, yet he still retains the distinct idea of something being wrong, just enough so that every time he asks, he retains more and more information. 

Eventually, Wally gave Barnaby an excuse, that something needed…cleaning? Wally couldn't remember, his brain far too fuzzy to feel much of anything. 

So he called Frank, just to give him a small message. “Wally? Everything ok?” 

“Yeah, no I was just wondering, what are your thoughts on candles?” 

“... I think he’s lost it.” Wally could hear Frank whispers to someone. 

“Maybe he's high from the fumes he uses for his hair.” Julie clearly whispered back. 

There was shuffling on the other side of the phone. “I'm indifferent I suppose? They work well in a pinch. Why?” 

“I think they're pretty!” Julie said, even though she seemed joyful, she was just as tired as Frank and Wally. 

“Me too. I remember trying to hold the flame’s in my hands, kinda like that one story. It didn't end well, but I still like keeping them around, even if I can rarely use them. The flames are so pretty to paint as well.”  

“Right?” Julie said, “They’re the perfect gift too.” she tried to say with a more happy tone, but her voice just wouldn't let her.” 

‘ My turn~’ 

And just like that, he was simply a spectator in his own life again. He watched as the creature as Julie were talking on the phone, seeming so normal. His body moving on its own, and he was playing Icarus’s game. Don't fly too high, don't go too close to the sun, and don't be careless. Of course, everyone remembers this warning, but Wally hadn't done that. No, instead he flew far too close to the ocean, trying to stay hidden in the spotlight, trying to be a puppet when he was anything but that, trying to do everything at once without any of his friends noticing. 

And flying too close to the ocean is far more dangerous than the sun because it feels deceptively safe. 

And now he was drowning in his own mind, and he didn't even try to stop it. It was useless at this point, fighting new waters you’ve never learned to swim in. 

So he let it, and he watched as his body walked out the door, mimicking his daily routine to a point. 

‘ How long has it been watching us?’ Wally thought as he saw it interact with Eddie. It still messed up at points, but its movements were becoming more normal like they had been practicing. 

It walked into the store, searching for something to find. 

“ Hello, neighbor! How have you been today?” the creature asked his friend. It had managed to get rid of the glitchiness in its voice, sounding so much more like Wally, looking like Wally…replacing him. 

‘ Get used to it Mister Darling, I'm probably going to be a bit more ofte-’ 

“I've never seen you stare so intensely at pumpkins before,” Howdy said, snapping the creature out of its trance. 

“Just thinking about a painting I might make!” the creature giggled in a way unnatural for Wally. 

“Well, I'd like to see it when it’s finished!” howdy walk by ‘Wally’ with a box in his hands, likely for stocking purposes. The creature walked around a little more, but it quickly became evident to Wally that it wasn't looking for anything in the store, but rather it was closely watching Poppy’s and Howdy’s strings. 

*ding!* 

‘ Fuck.’

Frank and Julie walked into the store, and with Howdy in the same aisle as it, and Poppy nearby, it couldn't hide without it seeming suspicious. It only holds so much control over them after all. So it had to pretend to be Wally right in front of Julie and Frank, the two people who already knew it existed. 

‘ Shouldn't be too hard’ the demon tried to encourage itself, ‘ just two little annoyances.’ 

“Wally! Surprise seeing you here, how are you?” Julie walked up and hugged Wally, to which Wally hugged her back. “Oh, I'm doing well, all things considered. Speaking of which, I brought you this!” she said, as she held out a candle. 

The demon moved back somewhat. “Oh that's quite alright-” the creature paused for a split second, trying to remember Miss Joyfuls name “ Julie. You didn't have to-” the creature struggled with its voice, desperately trying to keep up with all the rules. 

“Yeah, but we’re friends! Of course, I would get you something.”

*ding!* 

‘ Great. Sally too.’ it was getting exceedingly difficult for the creature to fane normalcy, especially with more people watching its every little action. 

‘ Welcome to my world, neighbor.’ Wally thought, sourly. 

‘ Zip it. I'm trying to focus.’  It was getting more difficult just to do something as easy as speaking. 

“ Welp, I've gotta get going, friends! Got an appointment to make, and errands to run!” Wally's friends looked at the creature, confused. 

“Demonsayswhat.” the creature heard Sally say from behind him. 

“ wha- oh god dammit.” the creature whispered the last part to itself. 

‘I cannot believe you fell for that.’ 

‘Ok, well you can shut your fucking mouth, being a demon isn't always easy.’ 

‘Well, You could have played it off as a joke.’ 

“Oh wow, what the…” Howdy thought for a moment, trying to remember that one word he’d heard from Sally “fuck, was it? Yeah, Wally, what the fuck happened to your voice.” 

“Wait Sally when did you…?” Julie whispered over, very confused. 

“Hm? Oh, that! I keep a journal on me all the time so that I don't forget plot points to my show!” she smiled, “Imagine my surprise when I saw letters to myself, written by me, that I didn't remember writing. Crazy right?” 

“...you're taking this extraordinarily well,” Frank said, putting his hand into his pocket. 

“Disconnected and all that.” she shrugged. 

“All of you need to stop talking about demons and-” Howdy started before a black goo cut him off. 

“ Nope. demon.”  the creature sighed, metaphorically breaking Howdy’s and Poppy’s chains. The strings were still there but they were no longer ropes. 

“You’re just gonna admit that?” Wally said out loud, the actual Wally.

“ Yes, dimwit. Shut the fuck up.” the creature replied, annoyed. “ No use hiding it now! I'm a demon, taking over his body, and I was going to take his place, temporarily, without any of you noticing, but that's clearly not working.”  

“You could have still done that.” Frank pointed out, “You could have erased our memories again like before.” 

The thing laughed, “ Oh please, I never ‘erased’ your memories. I simply hid them.” it sat down on one of the nearby boxes. “ Even then, I could never wish to be that powerful. At this point, it doesn't matter what I do, it would just be a cycle over and over again. No point in hiding anything.” 

“So- what, you’ll just tell us everything?” 

The creature laughed again. “ No! That would break your silly little minds. But I'll answer as much as I can in exchange for something.” 

“Entirely depends on what you want,” Julie said, grabbing a can of hairspray. 

“ A host. A permanent one.” the creature stood back up, “ Unlike some, I keep my deals exactly as written- or, spoken in this matter. Wally agreed to temporarily host me until he knew you all were safe, and technically because he thinks I might hurt you , that deal hasn't quite ended yet.” 

“So…wait, what specifically are you asking for?” Sally asked, picking her journal back up, writing everything down, not wanting to forget it. 

The creature dropped its smile. “ Well, either Wally permanently lets me reside in his body-” 

“Absolutely the fuck not,” Wally said, exhausted already from the creature taking over. “...that wasn't supposed to come out.” 

“ Well, I thought it was fucking hilarious.” 

“Sorry, aren't you busy being embarrassed at the fact you couldn't go one day taking over my lif…” Wally seemed to zone out, but the demon in his head could hear him loud and clear. The others stayed silent, watching this…admittedly strange interaction between Wally and the thing possessing him. 

‘ Not one day! You couldn't take over my life for less than an hour! Hell, you wouldn't even be able to do my job for less than a minute-!’ 

“ Anyways. Uh…right. Option two, create a host for me to take over, a puppet, and then bring it to me.” 

“And you can't do that yourself?” Howdy asked. He wasn't exactly aware enough to have a crisis, but he was aware enough to still have some sort of…idea of what was going on. 

 The creature looked away, almost…ashamed. “ I can't leave the neighborhood without a host.” it spoke, trying not to sound defeated “ I…have been passively living within Wally for a while now, even if I hadn't controlled him. I was just…there.”  

It looked outside, with a sort of…longing. 

“ That day when he went outside to the rain…I was curious as to what it would be like if…” The creature shook its head. “ I want my own body. Simple as that. Then I'll be mostly out of your hair.”

“Mostly?” Frank asked. 

“ As I've said before, I'm the whole reason you all even exist. I will always be here, my magic is part of you, but with a host…well, I wouldn't have to terrorize poor Darling.” the creature said the last sentence somewhat mockingly, making Frank flinch. 

Then, black goo-like hands grabbed hold of Frank's arm, ripping it out of the pocket revealing the lighter Frank had possessed.  

“ Hm. smart, however, my intention was never to harm,”  it said, sounding hurt.  “I tried to keep you all safe, to shelter you, but you all just like to run head-first into danger. I had to hide memories and feelings, but it didn't work. At this point, nothing probably will. You should've just stayed the dolls you were, but no.” 

“ Not a doll ,” Wally whispered to the creature. 

“So…we make you a doll, and you’ll take over it and let us live our lives? However, we want to?” Julie asked. 

“ That is the deal, yes. Everything will be as is, the barrier will stay up, and you all will-” 

“Barrier?” Poppy asked, still dazed.

“ Wally did request I not hurt anyone, so it was the best I could do at the moment. Create a barrier, make the producers forget about the show, all that jazz.” the creature was starting to get impatient, “ do we have a deal or not Mister frankly?” 

“...that's up to wal-"  

Frank was cut off by Howdy’s doors slamming open, Barnaby running through them and immediately grabbing Wally into a bear hug. 

“ Barnaby?” Wally finally felt himself gain control of his body back, still somewhat shocked. 

‘ Looks like he remembers now.’  the voice whispered to Wally. ‘ That’ll happen a lot, the more they gain their memories back, the more the mental barriers break.' 

Wally went slightly limp, leaning onto Barnaby, and put his hand on top of Barnaby's head, with it eventually falling to his neck. 

Barnaby’s string wasn't there anymore. 

.

.

.

.

Chapter Text

That week was the tensest out of all of them. With the strings now being breakable, everyone had started to cut theirs off. Sally had stopped doing the shows she loved so much, and Poppy ended up closing herself in, terrified at the fact that she had, although not physically, hurt her friends, and she didn't want it happening again. Howdy had been…well, excessively cleaning, so to speak. His whole store smelled like bleach, and possibly muster gas from all the chemicals, and Eddie kept misplacing envelopes and mail, he couldn't stay focused long enough. 

Barnaby was…well, attached to Wally at all times now, more than usual. He didn't want Wally to get hurt, or controlled, but he was also afraid of forgetting. ‘ Just how much did I forget ?’ he would think to himself. It was somewhat a good thing though because Wally…well, he didn't want to be alone either, and despite Barnaby being a mess, he found something about simply being near him that kept him from falling apart. 

Wally had admittedly also shut himself in, working on creating a doll for the creature. Not a puppet. A doll. 

Wally didn't know why that distinction was so important to him, maybe it was to create a distance between him and the creature, but that didn't feel right. 

“Ow!” Wally hissed, reaching up to a spot on his neck. Brushing his fingers over it, he realized that the sewing was falling apart somewhat. So late at night and his hair was still tangled up in knots. 

*knock knock!*  

*CRASH* 

‘ No one could have done that, no one could've knocked, it's after show hours, they can't- ’ Wally took a deep breath. He had forgotten that his friends were no longer attached to the strings, not even the ones on their necks. After the deal was made, the creature made their strings go back to normal, cuttable strings.

He sighed, Wally had just dropped his only mirror on the ground. He wasn't unused to having to do things without a mirror, it was a task he was very good at! But…well, with things like needles, he would really rather prefer that he had something to look at. Especially since it was on his neck. All the pieces had stayed in the mirror holder though, that was a plus. He wouldn't have to pick up the glass with his hands. 

“Wally?” Barnaby shouted from downstairs, and Wally heard a door unlock and open.

“Traitor.” Wally whispered to home, “I'm up here!” he shouted down the stairs, quickly throwing the mirror into the trash can.  

“Everything good up there? I thought I heard something break,” he asked nervously. 

Wally started walking down the stairs, trying to hide the opened stitches with his ascot. “Yeah, it’s fine! I’ve already cleaned it up, not too big of a break.” 

Barnaby nodded, “Is it ok if I hang out here for a little bit?” 

Wally put his hand back onto his neck, trying to hold the skin in place. “Sure! Just give me a small moment to get ready.” 

Barnaby gave a small laugh. “Wally, you don't need to get all pretty for me, we’re buddies, remember?” 

Wally got slightly flustered. He knew he was pretty, and he wasn’t unused to hearing others tell him that, but the idea of ‘getting pretty’ specifically for him? A blush formed on his face. 

“Oh, i-i know! It's just part of my routine, I don't…really want to deviate from it too much, plus-” 

Barnaby laughed a little, “I'm just teasing you, you don't need to explain yourself.” 

Wally nodded, “Right! Ha ha! I'm gonna go get ready now,” he smiled as he walked back up the stairs trying to stay calm. 

As soon as he was back in the bathroom, he searched around for his sewing supplies and started doing his best attempt at sewing himself back up without a mirror.

Finishing up, he tied the knot as tight as he could, hoping that it wouldn't fall out again. 

Then, he brought out the scissors and cut off the extra thread. 

‘ What if I….’ Wally shook his head. ‘ No. I need to keep it. Just in case.’ 

He brushed his hair, untangling it from itself, and he wondered for a moment if he should put some eyeshadow on. He shook his head. ‘ No, it's just you and Barnaby, you don't need to do that. Plus it's late at night.’ he scolded himself. 

“you don't need to get all pretty for me” the phrase kept repeating in his head. ‘ Right. I don't need to…’ Despite this, his eyes still drifted to his eyeshadow palette, his face flushing a little. 

‘... maybe a blue would be good.’ 

.

.

.

Barnaby gasped, “we’re matching” he whispered like it was a secret. He was, of course, referring to Wally's eyeshadow. Wally had done that on purpose, of course. He had blue eyeshadow with little circles of reds, yellows, and blues on his eyelids. 

“I figured that it would be appropriate for my favorite neighbor!” Wally brought his pointer finger to his lips “Sh! Don't tell the others.” he smiled. 

“I would never!” Barnaby laughed a little, before calming back down. “What should we do? I know I was the one who came over but I didn't really plan this far ahead.” he sheepishly looked away. 

“Hmm…I dunno, we could play a game, cook something, watch tv…” Wally continued to list a few things, unsure himself of what to do. 

“Could I do your hair?” Barnaby asked, catching Wally off guard. 

“Only if I get to do your makeup.” Wally retorted, with a smile. 

Barnaby laughed somewhat, “deal.” 

After getting supplies that Barnaby seemed necessary, he had started by brushing Wally's hair, going from the tips to the roots, careful to not tug on the shorter hair. 

“...hey Barnaby?” Wally started, “How are you handling…well, everything?” 

Barnaby stopped brushing Wally's hair for a moment. “Not…not well.”

Wally tried to turn around to look at Barnaby, but he, gently, moved Wally's head to face forward, as he continued to brush Wally's hair. 

“Do you wanna tell me about it?” Wally offered, playing at the stitches on his neck, “A penny for your worries?” 

Barnaby waited before speaking like he was overthinking his words.

“I'm worried about…them coming back.” his voice shook slightly, “The puppeteers. The fact that we were controlled by them for so long and didn't notice. I wonder sometimes if they’re still there, the strings. Most of all though, I'm worried about you.” 

“Me?” Wally asked, confused. 

“Yes! You let a demon take host in your body, you hid things from us, and you almost got yourself killed because of it.” Barnaby was frustrated, he knew his friend would sometimes do things that wouldn't make sense, but the fact that he essentially knew next to nothing about this whole other life Wally had to endure all on his own? Something about that made him feel intrinsically wrong. 

“…I'm frustrated with myself for not remembering. And for the fact you had to go through all of this alone." At this point, any knots that might have been in Wally's hair were completely gone, and Barnaby was just brushing it for the calming effect it had on his mind.

“...guess you’ll have to tell Howdy a lotta jokes then.” 

Barnaby had a moment of confusion, before realizing with a laugh, “I don't know, do you really need all those apples? Where would you even put them!” 

“Ha! Ha! I’d put them in your house silly! Home doesn't like clutter,” Wally smiled, and Barnaby was thankful that Wally couldn't see his face go red. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for them, Wally kept stuff at Barnaby’s house all the time. But it still gave Barnaby a warm fluttery feeling to see his “best friend’s” stuff there. 

“...I'm sorry for worrying you.” Wally whispered, fidgeting with his hands a little, “I wasn't trying to worry you…”  

Barnaby hummed, “I know, you just wanted to do what you thought was right. That's a good quality…just, next time you decide to run headfirst into the fire, let me know.” 

Wally tried to speak, but nothing came out. For the first time in his life he was stumped, he didn't know how to respond to something.

So, instead, he just slightly nodded and leaned into Barnaby as he played with Wally’s hair. Wally sat there, patiently, but with Barnaby playing with his hair, he couldn't help but close his eyes. 

“Tada! Now it's shaped like a dove" Barnaby said playfully. Wally reached up to feel his hair and laughed a little.

“My turn!” Wally said, standing up as he grabbed a small purse-looking bag full of makeup supplies. “Let's see…” he mumbled to himself, looking through his bag as he grabbed the stuff he needed. 

“That is a lot of makeup,” Barnaby observed, sitting down on the floor to make it easier for Wally to reach Barnaby's face“Did you steal Mary Poppins bag or something?” 

“Oh, she doesn't mind! She’ll never find out it was me anyways," Wally said, catching a laugh out of Barnaby. 

Wally grabbed one of his makeup brushes and started measuring Barnaby's face out like he would a painting. Then, he gently grabbed Barnaby's face from one side to the other, pretending as though he hadn't had his whole face memorized like the back of his own hand. 

“Time to make me pretty~!” Barnaby practically sang. 

“Awe, B! You’re already pretty! Makeup just accentuates your features,” Wally said, as he started on some base makeup.

“Oh really?” Barnaby leaned forward, “Which features?”

Wally took a good long look at Barnaby, “Well, your cheeks for one! Adding blush would make your smile look brighter. There's also your eyes, they’re really round, so with some eyeliner, ah!!” Wally started stimming a little, “You would look so cute! Oh, and your lips! Maybe some lipstick-” Wally brushed his thumb over Barnaby’s lips, not realizing the effect it had on the other. 

“You might not even need blush! My, your face is so red- " Wally paused, realizing how close their faces were to each other, and at that realization, he now held a similar blush on his face. The two sat there, staring at each other in the eyes.

‘ You're making him uncomfortable.’ Wally pulled away from Barnaby, giving him some space. “I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how close I was, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" Wally put his hand back on his neck, fidgeting with his ascot once again. 

“Oh, no you didn't! It's just a little hot in here," Barnaby nervously laughed, hoping Wally would just brush it off. 

“Are you sure? I can back off if you need me to” Wally was cut off by Barnaby gently grabbing Wally’s face, “Wally, I'm not uncomfortable, I would tell you if I was,” he said, putting a hand on Wally’s shoulder as well. 

Wally didn't know why, but the small moments of physical contact made his blush even worse, and the eye contact, Wally couldn't take it. He looked away, pretending to look in his makeup bag, searching for something.

“Thats-” Wally's voice got squeaky. He cleared his throat, “That's good, um…what color eyeshadow would you like? I would suggest maybe a complementary color, like orange, too! Or maybe…" Wally started to list off a few different colors, rambling on trying to make himself feel normal again. 

Eventually, after a small while, Wally had finally calmed down enough to be able to look at Barnaby with a straight face. 

“Oh did you know that people also use different colored eyeliners?” Wally asked, and Barnaby shook his head. 

“Where do you find this information?” Barnaby leaned his head on his paw, watching Wally. 

“Well….” Wally leaned in and whispered “Sometimes the producers while on break would watch a tv show and there was this one makeup show that talked all about it. I couldn't see it, but I could hear all about it.” Wally spoke like it was a secret. 

“And…done!” Wally said as he put the finishing touches. He didn't worry too much about Barnaby seeing the finished product, seeing as any mirrors were no longer in the house. 

“Oof, I'm exhausted,” Barnaby said, it was understandable, late at night, the two were both tired. 

“Same, my head feels like it weighs a hundred tons,” Wally said, sitting down in a chair next to Barnaby. 

“Oh really? But you’re so tiny!” Barnaby said, putting a hand on top of Wally’s hair, “You’ve gotta prove it.”

Wally laughed and brought Barnaby's hands to hold his head up. Barnaby got the memo, and Wally stayed there, leaning his head on Barnaby's hands as he held him. 

That look again. It made Wally want to look away, but…he just couldn't. It was addicting like he would die if he didn't. Wally closed his eyes, relaxed and comfortable. He had melted into Barnaby's hands, feeling like the two had become one, merging together. 

*knock knock!* Barnaby instinctually pulled away, looking behind him to the door, which he thankfully didn't notice when Wally almost fell right into him. 

“I'll go get that!” Wally said, standing up and leaving towards the door. 

‘ Pull yourself together Wally! What is wrong with you?’ he thought to himself. He truly didn't know what was wrong with him, all he knew was that he needed to get rid of this blush on his face. 

“Oh, Julie! What a lovely supri…” Wally’s voice disappeared as he saw that it wasn't just Julie, but the whole neighborhood. Everyone looked tired, with bags under their eyes, they were just exhausted. “Hello, neighbors! Is everything alright?” he asked, extremely concerned. 

Julie seemed to freeze up, and she nudged Frank. “This was your-!” Frank sighed, “alright. Uh, Wally, after careful consideration, we have all decided that it would be…safer if we all stayed at one house. Together. Because of the demon.” 

Wally slowly nodded, “Like the one that possesses my body?”

“Um, yes! You know, to make sure that if anything happens we can all help each other.” Frank was clearly fibbing. 

“You sure it's not an excuse for a sleepover?” Barnaby asked, seeing right through Frank's lie.

“Well, only like, thirty percent of the reason.” Sally interrupted. 

“Ha! Ha! If you wanted a sleepover you all could have said so!” Wally said, stepping aside to let everyone in the home. “I'll go find some extra blankets and a pillow!” he ran off, to do exactly that. 

“... Barnaby? Is that makeup?” Julie pointed at her own face. 

“Hm? Oh yeah! My buddy did it for me, doesn't it look fabulous?” he asked, exaggerating his body language for comedic effect. 

“...yall are never beating the fruity allegations.” she mumbled under her breath, “yeah! It looks great Barnaby!” and she meant it, it did look great, but she sounded tired. Even though sleepovers often consist of talking, or games, almost everyone seemed too exhausted to do either. 

But they were also too anxious to sleep either. So, they were all in the living room, laying down, trying to sleep, and ultimately failing. Wally was the only one sitting up, keeping watchful eyes at all of the corners, mesmerizing where all of his friends slept. He never figured out why, but he could always see better in the dark compared to his friends. 

“Did you keep a journal when you found out?” Sally whispered to Wally in the dark. 

“...I think I did. I don't remember what I wrote in it though, just that I did. Kinda…disconnected to it?” 

“That sounds confusing.” Sally shifted around, looking toward where Wally's voice was. 

“..you don't feel like that?” he asked, confused. He knew that Sally would be forced to forget and that the journal was the only reason she remembered, why wouldn't she have that same weird feeling?” 

“Well, not really. It's kinda different if that makes sense. It's not like I wrote it but didn't know, but more like my memory was messed with by…something.” she got a chill down her spine. “Once I remembered I had written something, I had kinda…remembered it all? I didn't feel ‘disconnected’ from it. Like a memory was unlocked.” 

Then Howdy spoke, “Do you guys ever wonder how much more there is out there?” 

“There are other neighborhoods.” Poppy replied, “Whole towns, cities, countries. Did you know that humans tell the time in years? I think they said it was 1970. Or 60.” she had heard about it on a tv show that had played in the background when they had first started being…well, alive.” 

“Puppets existed for 1970 years?” Eddie asked, confused and amazed. 

“I suppose so,” Poppy was counting her breathing, trying to stay calm. 

Wally didn't bother correcting them. Over a thousand years was a long time, something over a million might give them a breakdown.

Wally somewhat zoned out as his friends spoke to each other in hushed tones. 

‘ Oh, Mr.Darling~’

‘ What.’ Wally thought harshly. 

‘ Oh don't be so cruel. I am the one who's gifting you your freedom.’  Wally hated how sing-songy its voice sounded. 

‘ You want something.’ he tried to be indifferent towards the creature. 

‘ Yes, I'm afraid I do.’ 

‘ What do you want?’ 

‘ Just progress on my doll.’

‘ It's almost finished. Adding finishing touches.’ Wally didn't want to think of the creature's doll, it made him feel nauseous.

‘ Oh, how marvelous! But I must ask, do you think you're prepared?” Wally froze. 

‘ Excuse me?’ 

‘ Well the process is quite painful, are you sure you’ll be able to handle it without…’ the creature made the sound of ripping fabric, making Wally cringe. He wished that covering his ears would work, but, sadly it doesn't. If anything it only made the sounds louder. 

“Stop it,” he whispered.

“Wally?” Barnaby reached a hand towards him, not quite sure where Wally was. 

“Nothing, not you guys.” Wally closed his eyes so he couldn't see his friends, but he could practically hear the stares through the silence. 

“Just uh, home. And pipes.” 

A window slammed, Home clearly being upset that wally would blame it. 

“I'm gonna go see what home needs.” he stood up, walking quickly away, careful not to step on any of his friends. 

~~~

‘ Why would you let us go?’ Wally asked the creature. 

‘ Why would I create you?’ it prompted, ‘ I was bored, and while all of this has been so entertaining, I just…’ The creature then had a small idea.

‘ I want to go outside the studio! Just for a small while.’ 

‘What? No, it's far too late-’ 

‘Oh please, Mister! Please! Just for a small while!’ 

Wally sighed. ‘ Fine.’

Wally slowly started heading towards the back door but paused. 

‘ What are you doing?’ Wally walked away from the door, going to the living room. 

‘ Are you going back on your wor -’ ‘No, now shush.’ 

“Barnaby?” Wally whispered, unsure if everyone else was asleep or not. 

“What's up?” he whispered back. 

“How awake are you right now?” Wally fidgeted with his ascot. 

“Probably not going to sleep for another two hours, why?” 

Wally didn't want to drag Barnaby with him, what if something happened?

“Well, I'm going on a walk, I can't sleep. Just figured I should let you know.” Wally decided on saying, not sure if the whole truth would be…acceptable. 

“Want me to come with you?” Barnaby stood up, he hadn't been laying down, to begin with. 

“Yes, that would be appreciated.”

As soon as the two were outside the home, Wally finally found the courage to speak again. 

“I promised the creature that I would let it leave the studio, just for a little bit,” he spoke quickly, unsure if he was making the right move. 

“You want me to make sure it doesn't run off?” Barnaby asked. 

Wally shook his head. “I don't think it will, but I figured this would be considered one of those dangerous things that Poppy would scold me for if I followed through without someone nearby.” 

Barnaby slowly nodded his head. “I’ll be right back, and then we can go,” he quickly ran inside, leaving Wally alone for a few moments. 

‘ He's a good friend.’ Wally didn't respond, a bit too tired to do so. 

'Like a really good friend. Like, more than a friend.’

‘Yeah, like my best friend.’ 

“I'm back! Got us coats," Barnaby smiled. 

“Why, thank you!” Wally smiled. 

.

.

.

“Think he was talking to the demon?” Sally whispered, watching Wally and Barnaby walk away from home, the window now being the only source of light in the room. 

“Well, probably, yeah,” Julie replied, nervous, looking over at Frank. “What do you think about this whole…thing?” 

Frank looked away. “Well, it seems to be honest, but…controlling, and frankly, it's quite arrogant.” 

“...do you think it’ll really go away? That it’ll actually let us…" Eddie asked, sitting next to Frank. 

“It says it always holds true to its word, let's hope it keeps that promise.” Frank gently held Eddie's face, even though he couldn't see it.

“Where do you think Wally's keeping the doll?” Sally stood up, feeling nosy. 

“We shouldn't go looking for it.” Howdy warned, “Sally, we did a whole episode about it, remember? The one with Frank being the mailman and everything?” 

“That was an episode?” Frank asked, confused. 

“There was also an episode on drugs! I don't think they ever released it though.” howdy mumbled.

“Found it!” Sally yelled over, turning on a light, she screamed. 

“Sally!” Poppy ran to where Sally was and- 

A doll, bigger than Julie, but shorter than Frank sat there, its flesh made of a dark purple color, and covered in a blanket. The doll, however, wasn't what had scared Sally. No, it was void, goop-looking hands that were grabbing hold of it, practically holding on for dear life. 

“What the…” Julie was interrupted by Frank slamming the door shut.

“Wally and Barnaby are outside! Act normal!” he scrambled to turn the lights off, trying to make it appear as if no one had been near the doll, to begin with. 

.

.

.

Wally was dizzy, and leaning onto…someone, and it was dark out and there were trees? 

“Barnaby?” he mumbled, reaching out. 

“Wally? Are you feeling ok?” Barnaby held Wally up. 

“Um…did everything go well? The creature didn't try to…” Wally’s brain was still fuzzy. 

“Eh, it tried to turn into a dove,” Barnaby shrugged. 

“Ha…ha…what is it with you and dove’s today?” Wally sounded tired. 

Wally couldn't see Barnaby's face, as he was so dizzy he was seeing two. 

“I don't know…maybe it's just the bird of the day.'' Barnaby's voice sounded far away, but even Wally couldn't mistake the tone in his voice, one that made his knees weak. 

Or maybe that was the dizziness. 

Wally didn't even realize when Barnaby had brought Wally to the ground, trying to let him sit down, but Wally refused. 

“No…i'm fine, I can walk…” Wally mumbled, letting go of Barnaby

Clearly, that was a mistake, and I'm sure you could guess as to what had happened.

Chapter Text

He woke up with a comfy, fluffy blanket on top of him, and he felt like he was being consensually held, hostage. He didn't want to move or get up, his head hurt like hell, and so did the rest of his body, every little movement felt like he was on fire. 

“Hello there mister “No I'm fine I can walk mhm, totally didn't faint.”” Barnaby said, poking fun at Wally. He hadn't even realized Barnaby was there. 

“Says the guy who wouldn't eat 200 hotdogs in one sitting, you coward.” Wally hit back, playfully. 

“Ugh, my one disappointment in life, however, will I survive?” Barnaby dramatically fell on the bed right next to Wally. Of course, because Wally and Barnaby hung out at each other's houses so often, Wally thought it was only appropriate to get a bed big enough for both of them

“By…giving me apples!” Wally replied, with a silly smile on his face. 

“Of course, we must appease the apple god,” Barnaby put his hand on Wally’s hair, and Wally noticed the makeup on Barnaby's face. 

“You shouldn't sleep with makeup on overnight,” Wally said, reaching over to Barnaby's face, “it can make your skin itchy.” 

“Yeah, probably, but I don't want to ruin this beautiful makeup look you spent creating.” 

Wally shrugged. “It won't be ruined, cuz it's your face. Your face is nice.” that last part slipped out of his mouth. 

“Awe, gee, I'm glad you think so! Guess I should go do that now, I'm as tired as a car tire.” 

“Mhm,” Wally nodded, a little too tired to say much else, and started drifting off. 

~~~~

Wally woke up in the pitch-black room, hyperventilating somewhat. 

‘ Not real not real not real I'm not-’ he couldn't breathe but-

Barnaby was right next to him, asleep. 

‘ I shouldn't disturb his peace, it would- it would be rude.’ 

So, despite the pain his body was in, he quietly stood up, feeling around the walls to make his way halfway, and into his bathroom. Once he was there, he saw, in the tiny trash can, the broken mirror. He took it out of the garbage and looked at himself. -. --- - /

‘ It's not me, I'm a puppet, they’re still there the strings are still there, I'm not- that's not me.’ 

He was disheveled and tired, and he didn't want to keep feeling like this, the way he was. He pulled at his hair before he stopped. 

A thought popped into his mind. 

He looked back at the mirror. 

He looked wrong, he looked like a creature, and he didn't even look like a puppet. 

He looked like a doll.  .- /

~~~

*knock knock* 

Poppy was worried, to say the least. She had been the only one awake when she saw Wally beeline it to the bathroom, with obvious tears on his face. It didn't help that when she walked closer, she could hear silent sobbing from the other side of the door. 

“Wally? Dear are you ok?” she spoke silently. -.. --- .-.. .-..

A few seconds passed, and she heard the small click of the door being unlocked. 

Wally was smiling, tears down his face. 

“Oh, Wally,” she said, concerned. 

“Do you like it?” his voice cracked, tears still falling down his face. 

“It…it looks lovely,” she opened her wings, offering Wally a hug. 

Wally put down the scissors he was holding, and held onto Poppy as tight as he could, sobbing. 

“Common dear, let's get you back to bed, it's late,” 

Wally shook his head, “No- I- I don't….I'm sorry, I shouldn't-” 

“Shh, it's ok, how about some tea instead? Get calmed down?” 

Wally nodded this time, letting go of her and fidgeting with his ascot. 

Going down to the kitchen, Wally once again decided to sit on the kitchen counter and simply watched Poppy. He couldn't help but touch his hair, it felt…different. It was long enough for him to run his hands through, but it didn't go down to his shoulders anymore, and there was no way he would be able to make his typical pompadour with it yet…It was comforting. A split-second decision that nothing, not a producer or a demon could make him do. Something he chose . At that point it didn't matter if it was horrible, it was his own choice, his own decision, and it was all him.

“Wally? That you making tea?” Howdy asked, walking into the kitchen half dazed. 

“Poppy is.” Wally whispered, “Sorry if we woke you up.” 

Howdy shook his head. “I don't think anyone's getting any proper sleep.” Howdy looked over at Wally, not mentioning the haircut. 

“Well, there will be enough tea to share! Probably enough for at least 5 people.” 

“Anyway, you could make it 6,” Frank asked, much more awake than Howdy was, with Julie and Eddie following behind. 

“I'm sure I could, but…aren't you all supposed to be sleeping.” 

“Aren't you?” Frank pointed.

Poppy gave a slight chuckle, “Fair enough.” 

Julie paused, staring at Wally's hair. 

“It's choppy, I know,” he said, quietly, with a sheepish smile. 

She reached over to his hair. “I could fix it up a little if you wanted, just make it nicer around the edges.” she offered. 

“I would appreciate that.” 

~~

Julie wasn't trimming much off, she simply made it look less like a knife was used to chop his hair. 

Wally’s mind got wandering, with it slowly drifting to Barnaby. 

“Do you think he’ll like it?” Wally whispered to Julie. 

“Barnaby? I think he’d find you pretty even if you were covered in trash,” she replied honestly. “Why? You didn't get the haircut for him did you?” 

“No, it was…a split-second decision,” Wally replied, not wanting to go into full detail. 

“You want him to see you as pretty,” she said, snipping away. 

“Well- yeah, I like being pretty.” Wally shrugged. 

“Well duh, but you like it when he specifically thinks you're pretty.” 

Wally moved his head to look at her, but Julie held it in place, “stop moving.” 

He sighed. “I mean, yeah, I and him are best friends, that's what best friends do, right?” 

“... I'm impatient,” she mumbled to herself, “Wally, look at me.” 

Wally got slightly confused at the mixed instructions, but turned his whole body around to look at Julie. 

“Staring contest,” she said simply, and Wally immediately agreed without a second thought. 

It was fun with Julie, as she refused to blink, like it was a challenge, the two staring at each other. 

But, she ended up losing anyway, with Wally never blinking. 

“Ok so, how did you feel?” she asked, and Wally tilted his head. 

“It was fun, I like staring contests,” he smiled. 

“But you like them better with Barnaby instead.” 

Wally thought for a moment. Barnaby wasn't exactly better at the staring contest, and Wally always won, but…

“not...better...I dunno, feels different with him I guess,” Wally shrugged. 

“Like how?”  

Wally thought long and hard. “Well…with you it feels like a game I guess, or, like a challenge. With Barnaby, it feels…different." Wally wondered what she was getting at. “It's not really a game or a challenge, but it's…comforting. Makes me feel warm. Or like he was a safety blanket.” he had whispered the last few parts, almost like admitting it would be a crime.  

Julie nodded along. 

“Do you think you might have a crush on him?” she asked.

“No! Of course not!" Wally smiled, "me and Barnaby are just good friends.”

“How do you think best friends are supposed to make you feel?” she inquired, desperately hoping that Wally would figure it out on his own. 

“Well, like, you're friends, but...differently.” 

“Does he…make you flustered? Or make you feel like you're melting? Maybe you even find comfort in him?” Julie dug.

“Well, of course, that's…that's what best friends do!...right?” Wally doubted himself. 

Julie shook her head. “I declare you in love.” 

“What?” Wally whisper-yelled, “I- no- I thought you were testing for a crush,” he said, panicked. 

“Well, your feelings are much too large for that,” she replied in a sing-song voice. 

“Sh! Ok uh….how do I stop?” Wally asked, making Julie's heart break a bit. 

“Oh Wally, tsk tsk, you can't just stop how you feel. It doesn't work like that.” 

Wally, however, was now on the verge of panicking. Again. 

“Nononono, I can't, this would ruin our friendship- I can't tell him, I'm going to keep this secret to my grave, I will bury it, and if need be bury myself, Julie what happens if he finds out? Oh no, he would hate me forever-” 

“Wally!” Julie grabbed hold of Wally's shoulders. “Have you seen the way he looks at you? He’s literally in love with you as well, it's incredibly obvious and you’re the only person who didn't know.” 

“I- is it? No-” Wally's computer in his brain seemed to be crashing, “No I would have noticed-” 

“How about this,” she said, putting her hands on both sides of Wally's head, squishing his cheeks so he couldn't interrupt her, “tomorrow, just observe his behavior. If he seems even slightly interested, then you can bring the information to me, and I can help you decode it, ok?” 

Wally nodded, and she let go of him. “Good, now-” 

“Wally?” he was cut off by Barnaby's voice from up the stairs. 

“Uh- coming!” Wally replied, looking back at Julie, silently pleading for advice. She gave him a thumbs up, and mouthed ‘Go get him!’

Wally hid his face in his hands and walked up the stairs, hoping Barnaby wouldn't notice his hair. Thankfully, none of the upstairs lights were turned on, with both Barnaby and Wally practically walking around blind…well, except Wally, with his freakish vision. 

The two laid back down, and Barnaby put his hand in Wally’s hair, running his fingers through it. Wally froze, ‘ Please don't notice,”"No Barnaby, I swear I'm not having a breakdown, I'm very normal as per usual” like he would believe that!’

“...wally?” Barnaby mumbled. 

“...yes?” Wally felt his voice start to close up. 

“...nothing, just…sleep well,” Barnaby held Wally close to him, and Wally's mind once again went racing. 

‘ He sees me as a friend, just a friend, yep, I see him as one too, mhm, just friends, friends, yep, best friends do this yep! Not gonna think about anything, just gonna go to sleep.’ 

But, of course, he couldn't. How could he? He just had revelation after revelation but…

He knew if he got up, Barnaby would probably go looking for him again. So he stayed and tried to follow along with Barnaby's breathing, trying to focus on anything other than the idea of completely ruining his friendship with Barnaby. 

‘ Everything is fine, the demon’s gonna leave everyone alone, and everything will be fine. 

.

.

.

“Wally? Hello, Earth to Wally?” Julie waved her hands in front of Wally's face.

“Hm? Julie?” Wally seemed to have “woken up” from his trance-like state.

“What are you doing? Why are you boiling a bunch of black dye?” she asked, and Wally looked at the pot he was stirring. 

“Well…I don't remember…” he tilted his head. He looked back at the clock. It had apparently been about an hour.  

‘ That's for me.’ the creature whispered to him. He picked up what looked to be fabric, found it, and found one of his, now black, dress shirts. 

Wally shook his head and sighed. “The creature has decided that colors are evil,” Wally said, as he moved to pour the black dye into the sink. 

“Oh great, the demon’s emo,” Frank said, shaking his head. 

Wally tried to laugh, however it made him...dizzy. 

"I think I'm gonna go lay dow..." Wally mumbled. 

~~~~

The pain was even worse than before, not only was it excruciating, he felt like even the brush of a blanket, the hairs on his head, or even a breeze would cause more pain than anything should ever have to experience. He was dizzy and nauseous, and he just wished for it all to stop.  

‘ I warned you that it would be painful.’  

‘ Die.’ Wally wasn't thinking straight, he couldn't think of anything really, any thoughts he might have had were filled with nothing but pain. It had been like this for the last few hours, everything hurt and no amount of whatever pain medicine they had would help. 

“Is there anything we could do for you?” Julie asked, bringing some water bottles. 

“Sedate me.” was what Wally wished he could say, but he couldn't manage to get the words out. All he could do was shake his head a little. He watched his hand and saw…a shadow. It was small, but it immediately disappeared. 

Julie put the water bottles down, and Poppy grabbed one of the blankets that had fallen off the bed. 

“No…” Wally said, his voice strained and his throat sore. 

“But you’re shivering like a leaf!” she countered. 

“The blanket…hurts.” he only managed to slightly move away, before another sharp pain hit him as subtly as a car crash. He hissed, he didn't want Julie or Poppy in the room, he wanted to be alone. 

“Julie? Poppy?” Barnaby knocked on the door. Poppy and Julie seemed to understand what Barnaby was asking for without any words. The two had left the room, with only Wally and Barnaby there. 

Barnaby walked in, holding an extra blanket, and a few other things as well. He brought himself to Wally's bedside table. 

“I invented a new word today,” Barnaby said, as he put some medicine in one of those tiny medicine cups. 

Wally looked at Barnaby, curious, but in pain. 

“Plagiarism,” he said, and Wally couldn't help but smile a little, even if he couldn't laugh.  

“Think you could manage a little strength within you to drink this?” 

Wally stuck his tongue out at Barnaby, a resounding ‘No.’ 

“Common, it’ll help your throat, and maybe even the fever." 

‘ Fever?’ Wally hadn't realized he had a fever, to begin with, non the less that it was bad enough to warrant medicine. 

“Common, I’ll help you sit up,” Barnaby gently reached under Wally’s back, causing the smaller one to yelp in pain. Everything felt uncomfortable, everything was on fire, burning, or feeling like he was being scratched by chemicals. The movement had made him dizzy, but eventually, he was in an upright position, leaning on Barnaby. 

He reached up slowly, grabbed the medicine, and drank it, grimacing at the taste of it. 

“See? That wasn't so bad, was it?” Barnaby said, gently rubbing Wally’s shoulder, relaxing some of his muscles. 

“Horrible.” Wally simply replied, but his throat did feel slightly better now. 

A shadow in the corner of his eye nearly made him turn his head. ‘ That same shadow.’  

Wally couldn't pay much attention to it, instead, he felt Barnaby lowered Wally back onto his bed. The pain was still there, but Wally was too…tired to notice. Being in pain really did take a toll on his body. 

Barnaby sat down on the chair and watched over Wally. 

“Sleep well, darling.” Barnaby had jokingly used his last name. 

‘.. it was a joke…right?’ Wally didn't have enough time to ponder this, as he had fallen asleep. 

.

.

.

““He hasn't woken up yet?” Poppy whispered, “Poor Wally must be tired.” 

“I would be in constant pain too,” Frank stared at the door to Wally's room, before looking back at Poppy. “Speaking of Wally, where's Barnaby?” 

“Downstairs,” Sally said, trying to seem normal, but she kept looking around corners like she was waiting for something to appear.

“Sally dear, are you ok?” Poppy asked, bringing her wing towards the starlight child. 

Sally flinched, “Um…I saw something. Concerning. I'm not sure if it is anything yet but-” she seemed to of gotten even more alarmed, “there it is! Again!”

She pointed at Wally's door. 

Frank looked back, but all he could see was a shadow at most. He shook his head, “it's probably nothing.” 

Sally, however, didn't seem convinced. “Just keep watching, it’ll happen again, I'm sure of it.” 

Frank looked over at Poppy, who could do nothing but shrug her shoulders and go along with what Sally was saying. 

Frank watched, and he noticed something…peculiar. He found that there were…tiny hands? 

“What is…” Frank whispered, taking a step forward. 

*click!* 

The lights turned off, in Home, and in the studio, their fake light had left leaving them with nothing but darkness. 

*CRACK* 

The sounds of broken glass went through the whole house, everywhere. Frank ran downstairs, hoping to find answers, and with the light of the moon, he found them. 

All of Homes windows had broken. 

Chapter Text

“You’re falling apart, just let us help you,” Barnaby said, trying to open the door. It wasn't metaphorical, Wally’s stitching, the one that kept him together, kept on falling loose, and Wally refused to let anyone help. Once home windows had broken, everyone assumed that home had…

Wally, however, refused to believe that. He stayed, patched up homes windows for when home would “wake up.” He kept saying things along the lines of “It's living, I know it is, I can feel it.” or “I would know if home died.” 

Death. The concept was strange to the others, nothing would die, and therefore nothing would rot. The closest to death that any of them had ever gotten was Wally. He knew they had the capability to die, he’s seen death before. 

So, here Barnaby was, trying to convince Wally to open his bedroom door and just let him help. 

“It's part of the process! I'm going to be fine, now please leave me alone." Wally choked out, trying to stay sane. 

“No,” Barnaby said, leaning on the doorframe, hoping that Wally would just let him help already. “Why won't you let me help you?” 

“If I try to sew myself up now, then it’ll stay stuck. I have to go along with the process.” 

Wally breathed deeply, trying to deal with the pain. He started to feel numb from it, now able to speak, and slightly move around on his own, but it still hurt. 

“Then…” A second passed as Barnaby considered what he should do. “Then maybe you could just let me in? I won't sew you up but…I just want to know you’re safe.” 

The door unlocked, but Wally didn't open it. Barnaby slowly opened the door and saw Wally on the ground, seemingly zoning out. Barnaby sat next to him, and offered his hand out to Wally, to which he took it, holding on to dear life. 

“...how do you feel?” Barnaby asked, watching Wally's face closely. 

“I'm fin-” 

“If you say you're fine one more time I'm going to turn you into a plate,” Barnaby said, only half joking. 

“Ha!” Wally seemed to get broken out of his trance, no longer staring at the floor, but the feeling of everything being wrong.

‘ It's not real, it's from a script, Barnaby doesn't care he just has to pretend to care-' Wally reached for his hair, and-

he felt how much shorter it felt compared to before. He couldn't put it in his signature pompadour, and the show wouldn't allow for it to be cut, the writers, the producers, they would have done something by now, they would have fixed it up or replaced him.

‘ It's real’ Wally felt a tear go down his face, ‘ everything is real, and it's

“I'm scared.” and just like that, the truth. The one Wally had been trying to deny the whole time. “I didn't- you guys were looking for someone to be calm and collected, and usually I am! But I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that when I’m terrified for you all. There's always been a script, and everyone follows it, I know exactly what's supposed to happen, what's going to happen, but now it's all so unpredictable.” 

Wally put his head in his free hand. “And now you all are suffering for my mistakes. I should have just kept being normal, I shouldn't have made Frank and Julie worry, then they wouldn't have tried finding out, and you guys would have ended up being forced with all of…” Wally waved his hand around, wincing slightly at the pain, “this!” .-- .... . .-. . /

Barnaby shifted, pulling Wally into a hug. “If it makes a difference, I'm glad that we…well, ‘gained sentience’ as you put it.” 

Wally felt tears run down his face, “how? It's horrible I don't-” 

“Well,” Barnaby said, cutting Wally off, “I like being able to have my own thoughts. I like being able to have my own feelings, and I like not being told what to do, and…" Barnaby hesitated, “Well, I like you. I like the fact that you can be yourself now, even if you still struggle with letting your guard down. And yes, the situation is not ideal but you can't keep waiting for things to be perfect.” 

Wally nodded, finding comfort in the way he spoke. 

“Love you,” Barnaby whispered. 

“Love you too,” Wally replied back. 

‘ I just wish you knew how much I meant that .’ Barnaby thought as he moved some hair out of Wally’s face. 

.

.

.

“Where’s Barnaby?” Sally asked, looking in one of Wally's windows, having a grim feeling overtake her. It was strange, after seeing the two be completely inseparable, Barnaby seemed to be missing. 

“He’s at Howdy's store right now, he’s buying Wally some tea,” Julie said as she played with her hair. 

“Do we know what we’re looking for?” Frank asked, trying to not sound as annoyed as he wished he did. 

“Yes- that! Right there!” Sally shouted.

“Sh! Sally it's late, we need to be quiet," Julie whispered, not wanting to be caught. 

“There!” Sally whispered, and despite the fact, it was dark out, Frank finally saw what she was seeing. Tons of little void-looking hands reaching out from under Home.

“That's…” Frank froze. 

That's coming out of the basement. 

“We need to get Wally out, now. ” Frank tried to open the front door, but it locked itself shut. “Home, home listen, we need to get Wally out of there.”  

“Home?” Julie whispered, scared for Wally. .- --

Frank, felt bad for what he was going to do but…

He kicked open the door, surprisingly not taking too much strength to do so, as if the door had been rotting. Inside it was worse like the void from the basement had started to spread, trying to go up the stairs and- 

“Plan B! We gotta get Wally out the window instead!” Frank ran back outside, frantically trying to think of something but-

 It was too late. Home was covered in the void like hands, it now looked like a splash of ink had fallen on a picture. 

.

.

.

Wally couldn't even think about being scared, why would he be? It was all so calm, he felt like he was floating, and he didn't even feel any pain. Sure, it was dark, like a void that he couldn't get out of, but why would anyone want to leave this? It was cold, and empty, so so lovely.   /.. ..--..

.

.

.

“We have to get him out!” Barnaby yelled, with both Poppy and Eddie trying to hold him back. 

“We need to think rationally about this!” Frank panicked. 

“I’ve got the rope!” howdy shouted, lassoing it up in the air, and throwing it into the void. 

“Oh yeah! Because you can throw it into the exact place Wally is in, sure!” Frank threw his arms up in the air, stressed. 

“I've got him!” Howdy pulled on the rope, and eventually, they saw Wally's arm.

“Wally!” Barnaby shouted, running up to the arm, which should be connected to Wally. 

Key word: should.

Barnaby stared at Wally's lifeless arm, a cold feeling taking over him. 

“Oh- oh my,” Poppy squeaked out, she looked like she was going to vomit, and Eddie wasn't doing much better. 

“Oh Eddie,” Frank went up to Eddie, giving him a hug. 

“Do you think he’s….” Julie whispered to Sally, which she was hanging on to dear life. 

“I…” Sally's voice broke, and instead, she just hugged Julie. 

“Barnaby what are you-!” Howdy couldn't finish his sentence, as he felt a tug on the rope as Barnaby dragged it in with him.

.

.

.

... --- ..-. .. ... .... .. -.-. .- - . -.. /

Wally didn't know how long he was in there, it could have been seconds, it could have been days, he knew one thing though. It was a break from the pain. But Wally couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something, something very important, like…

He felt something even colder move to pass him for a moment, and he felt a pull to it, and that similar suffocating feeling around his neck- .... .- /.... .-

Something grabbed onto him, something warm, and it dragged him away from whatever it was. 

It brought him out of the cold, and when he blinked-

He saw stars. Despite all the yelling, that which sounded so far away, and the blue blur in front of him, he could still see the stars. All of them seem so close together from afar, but the closer you get, the more you realize how far away they are from each other, how many lightyears away from each other they really are. 

Wally sometimes felt like one of those stars. So close to the people around him, yet so far away at the same time. ‘I wonder if Sally ever felt like that… ’ 

“...ally! Wally, please answer me!” he felt someone shaking him lightly, and he focused back on Barnaby. 

“H..hello ne..neighbor.'' Wally choked out, sitting up slowly, his body aching. 

Barnaby held onto Wally tightly, with Wally going limp in his arms, feeling so…

“Ow.” Wally flinched, “arm.” was all he could make out, as he reached for his arm and… “Oh.” Wally tilted his head slightly, confused but not panicked. 

“Has…has anyone seen where my arm went?” he asked, holding onto the stump of where his arm once resided. 

“Um…yes, but dear I'm sure you don't want to see-” 

Wally stood up, out of Barnaby's arms, still somewhat dazed. “There you are, little rascal,” he mumbled to himself, picking it up. He looked back at home, staring. 

‘ It’ll be fi..e, rem…ber? I keep all my de..ls,’ the creature whispered to Wally, though it sounded so much further away like it was struggling to keep its connection with Wally. 

“Oh! No, Wally dear put it down you don-”

“Poppy, it's fine, really,” Wally said, cutting her off. He was at a certain…peace. Everyone was safe, the creature was leaving his body, and they were all…free. 

“We’re puppets, and although sentient ones have…strange ways of working, I can just sew my arm back on, I've done it before.'' Wally walked towards Howdy. “Do you keep sewing supplies at your shop? I can pay for it this time.” 

Howdy slowly nodded, “It's on the house- would you like me to carry that?” 

Wally shook his head, “You're still frazzled. Maybe I should make tea…” Wally mumbled to himself, as he stumbled towards the direction of Howdy's market. 

“Wally? How about you stay here? As to…not hurt yourself further." Barnaby lightly suggested, with his shoulder on Wally. 

Wally took a second to process that statement, he looked down at himself, checking his stitching, realizing that it was still loose. 

“Oh, right, I forgot. Silly me,” he smiled up to Barnaby and fell to the ground. 

“Wally!” Barnaby panicked. 

“I'm ok! This was the fastest way down.” Wally stared up at the sky, looking at the stars once again. 

Barnaby sat down, and Wally put his head in the other's lap. The two were slightly further away from some of the others, but Wally could still hear their conversation, random snippets of it. 

After a few minutes of waiting for howdy, Wally got slightly…impulsive. 

“Barnaby?” Wally whispered, and with all of the confidence of a bay leaf said “I love you.” 

“Awe, I love ya too.” Barnaby put his hands through Wally's hair. 

“but…”Wally took a deep breath, “What if I love you more than friends should?” 

Barnaby’s breath hitched, and Wally knew he had made a mistake. 

“What is that!” Eddie yelled, panicked, causing everyone else to look over. 

A blob of darkness had walked out of the goo-looking void. 

Wally was the first one to walk up to it, slowly and cautiously.

“Hello Mister Darling, a pleasure to meet you face to face.” it held out its hand, its arms being far too long for its body, and despite being covered in glue, it gave a teeth-baring grin.  

Wally didn't shake its hand, and instead he just stared at it. 

“ Fine.”  

Strangely enough, that was all it took for it to take its leave. 

Wally glared at it as he watched it walk into the forest, until he could no longer see it. 

“I'm back!” Howdy said, with a sewing supply kit. Wally turned around.  

“That's- that's good, thank you,” Wally said, trying to calm down. 

Howdy nodded, blissfully unaware of what happened. “Let's go sit down, me or Poppy can sew you up good as new!” 

Wally shook his head, “No, You don't have to, I've done it before, I’ll be fine.” he smiled, reaching over to grab the kit, but Howdy brought it upwards so that Wally couldn't reach it. 

“You’ve sewn your own limbs back on before?” he asked, hoping he misheard. 

“Yes, one of my first memories," Wally said, growing slightly annoyed as he reached up on his tiptoes, trying to grab the box. “Then there were countless times after that as well, but I feel more comfortable doing it myself.” 

Howdy sighed, bringing the box back down. “Ok, but…I'm gonna stay right here and watch you.”

Wally stitched his arm back on, his mind wandering as a way to keep himself from focusing on the pain. ‘ What did it mean by all of that?’

“You’re…really good at that. Unnervingly so.” Frank said, walking up to Wally. Wally shrugged, hoping to play it off. 

“Right? Like you can't even tell there was any stitching, to begin with!” Julie whispered, both impressed and concerned. 

‘ Can you still hear me?’

Wally got a strange feeling, one that made him pause like something just called to him.

‘ Good…well, i suppose ill be off then.’

Wally got this…headache. One that pierced him in his soul itself, like something, was tugging and tugging- 

Until it broke. 

.

.

.

He woke up, still on the ground, fully stitched up and, surprisingly, without any pain, as if nothing had ever happened. 

*creaaak* 

Wally sat up and looked behind him. 

“Home!” he scrambled back up and hugged home as hard as he could. “I knew you were still alive, I just knew it.” he refused to let home go, as he heard happy squeaking from home. 

“What the…fack,” Frank said, slightly mispronouncing the curse. 

“Oh, fiddlesticks,” Julie said, reaching up to her head. 

“Julie! We do not use that word.” Poppy scolded. 

“Wha- he said fuck! How is that better?” Julie yelled as she held her head. 

“To be fair, none of us really use the fuck word that often…other than maybe wally,” Barnaby mumbled the last part under his breath. Sure, Wally didn't use it that often, but…well, since everything that's happened, he's definitely heard it slip more than a few times. 

Speaking of Wally, Barnaby thought about last night. He had known he’d liked Wally since…well, forever. And he, technically, never hid his feelings about Wally, he’d hug him, kiss his cheek, tell him he loved him, hell, with the way he looked at Wally it was obvious. He’d even find ways to fluster Wally for goodness sake, and Wally was none the wiser.

But he also didn't want to ruin the friendship that he had with Wally, he didn't want to lose him. So, he never told Wally exactly what he meant with each “I love you” or each hug. 

So last night had shocked him, to say the least. He ended up speechless, and, in the process, made Wally think he hated him. 

‘ Great, how am I going to fix this?’  

.

.

.

Wally couldn't stop thinking about it, and the feeling of suffocation wasn't going away like he hoped it would.

Despite it being some days since the incident, life had somewhat moved on, with others being more cautious than before. They kept looking at the woods, investigating dark corners, checking to see if something was their imagination or not. 

*knock knock!* Wally looked out the window. ‘ Morning already?’ he could have sworn that it was still night, if he’d known that it was daylight he would have put on a sweater. He sneaked to the front door and peeked out the window. ‘ Barnaby…’ Wally and Barnaby hadn't spoken much since Wally confessed. The conversations always ended up awkward, and Wally would quickly excuse himself to go help Poppy with an imaginary task, or ‘Oh Eddie asked if I could sort some mail for him!’ ect ect, and ending the conversation there. 

Wally opened the door, with a smile. “Good morning neighbor!” ‘ Please don't ask to talk please don't ask to talk’ 

“Can we talk?” Barnaby asked, breaking Wally's mantra.  

‘ Oh fuck me.’ “s-sure! I’ll go make us some tea.” ‘ he hates you, yep, our friendship is completely over, and even if he doesn't hate you, you guys still won't even be best friends anymore! You’ll just be acquaintances!’ 

“So…how have you been?” Barnaby started awkwardly. 

“I've been fine, how about you?” Wally hated this more than anything. He felt like a stranger to someone who was supposed to be his best friend. ‘ I should have kept my mouth shut like the doll I am.’  

“Fine…uh, crazy month, right?” 

Wally just nodded, not trusting himself to not vomit on the spot. He felt his stomach churn, anxiety going through his whole body. 

“Uh, Wally? I think you missed a spot.” 

Wally looked back at Barnaby. 

“When stitching yourself up-” Barnaby pointed at a spot on his own neck, “you missed…” 

“Really?” ‘ That doesn't make sense?’ “Huh…thank you for letting me know, I'll remember to stitch it up later.” 

“I mean, it looks pretty bad” Barnaby's face was full of concern,” I could stitch you up right now if you wanted.”

Wally reached up to his neck to asses the damage and- 

Oh. Barnaby was right, it had completely fallen apart. 

“I-...that would be helpful,” 

Once Barnaby had the sewing supplies necessary, Wally sat up on the kitchen counter, watching the tea carefully, not wanting it to boil over. 

Wally felt Barnaby gently tilt his head up, taking his attention away from the tea.

“Sorry, just needed to…” Barnaby mumbled the last bit, but Wally knew what he was going to say. “Can you take your ascot off?” 

Wally almost did, before remembering.

“I'm sorry but, um, no…” 

Barnaby nodded, although confused. “I can work around them.” 

To which he did. Barnaby worked Wally's ascot, being exceedingly careful. 

“Do you hate me?” 

“What?” Barnaby asked, taken aback. 

“Do you ha-” “No, no i heard you the first time just- why would you think I hate you?” 

Wally just shrugged, looking over at the wall. “Just wanted to make sure.” 

Barnaby shook his head. “I could never hate you, you mean far too much to me.” 

He had said it so matter of factly, Wally couldn't help but get a slight pink to his cheeks.

‘ Stop it brain, he's being completely platonic, he’s your best friend nothing else mhm.’ 

“You mean a lot to me too,” Wally whispered back, though he was sure that Barnaby already knew that because ‘ I was stupid enough to say anything! I could have just pretended like I was too sick to realize what I said that night! I'm an idiot.’ 

Eventually, Wally realized that Barnaby was looking right at him, one hand still holding Wally’s head up. The two sat there, in silence, and Barnaby moved his head closer to him, and- 

Again, that small glance at Wally's lips, just like at the sleepover. Wally flushed, his face now going a bright red, and, with a little hope that he was reading the situation correctly, he tilted his head and- 

“Is that string?”

Chapter Text

Wally always liked long walks. Especially at night, when no one could see him, no one in the studio, none of his friends, just him and, sometimes, home. Home was usually asleep by now though. He just…he couldn't fall asleep. His mind went a thousand miles an hour, he didn't want to be with home, or near anyone. He just…needed to clear his mind. 

.

.

.

“Is that string?”

Barnaby had been the one to break the silence, waiting patiently for an answer from Wally. 

Wally jumped off the counter, “Tea’s ready…” he silently poured two cups of tea for the two of them, Barnaby getting lost in his own mind. 

“Why didn't you cut it off?” Barnaby asked, watching as Wally reached back up to fidget with his asco-

No, Wally was fidgeting with the string that was still around his neck. ‘Has he been doing this the whole time?’ 

“It…it gets tighter when the creature is nearby,” Wally said, just above a whisper. “I guess it's…a safety precaution. In case it comes back, I'll always know where it is." He put Barnaby's cup of tea right on the counter, and he blew on his tea, trying to cool it down before drinking. 

“Wally,” Barnaby reached to put a hand on Wally's shoulder. “It's gone, and even if it wasn't, we would realize.” 

Wally shook his head, not believing him. “No- no it was in my own mind. For- maybe since forever! I should've noticed right away, and it somehow slipped my radar completely!” he seemed to only get more distressed. “I don't know why I didn't notice sooner, the signs were there, yet I was too stupid to realize! It was right there.” Wally put his tea down, and walked away from Barnaby, feeling overwhelmed. 

“Oh Wally,” Barnaby reached to put a paw on Wally's shoulder, and Wally pulled away. 

“Please don't touch me right now.” 

Barnaby immediately pulled his paw away in understanding but got immediately confused when Wally walked up and leaned onto him.

“...sorry. I'm being weird right now.” Wally acknowledged how conflicting he was right now, not wanting to be touched but still wanting comfort. But Barnaby just nodded. “That's ok, feelings are weird.” This time Barnaby held his paw out, allowing Wally the option to hold it. Wally immediately grabbed onto it, melting into Barnaby. 

“...can I tell you something kinda gross?” 

Barnaby chuckled, “Always.”

“...I want to claw out of my own skin,” Wally whispered, and the concern on Barnaby's face was noticeable. 

“Why?” Barnaby gave Wally's hand a comforting squeeze. 

Wally shrugged “I... I don't know. The fact it was there, the fact-”

“Wally?” Frank snapped Wally out of his thoughts, and Wally finally realized how far into the woods he had wandered. 

“Frank! Hi! How are you?” Wally turned around to face Frank with a smile. 

“Nothing, what are you doing?” Frank seemed to have misheard Wally, still a little too deep into thought himself. 

“Oh, you know…things and stuff.” Wally sat down on a nearby rock, looking Frank in the eyes.

“Is what you said… true? Does the string actually do that?” Frank asked hesitantly. Wally had told them about the string, though he didn't answer any questions. He just told them and left, his anxiety had gotten the best of him. 

Wally just cleared his throat, “What are you doing out here so late?” 

Frank saw this as what it was, an attempt to change the subject. “Couldn't sleep. You?” 

“Same. it's nice out though. Which is…nice.” Wally could hear…something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was very quiet. 

“Too nice.” Frank sat down on the nearby grass. “Even when it rains…I wish I had joined you that first time we went outside.” 

Wally nodded. “Yeah… it's disorienting huh?” 

Frank nodded, leaning on the rock. “Do…do you ever feel like something could go wrong at any minute?” 

Wally patted Frank's head. “Every day.” brutal honesty, was something Frank hadn't expected to hear from Wally.

“Really?” he looked down at Wally. 

“Um…yeah. It was mostly about the show ending or about you guys getting replaced. You know…before you all technically gained sentience.” Frank looked into Wally's eyes, slightly more…shocked. 

“But… you don't have to worry about that anymore,” Frank said, confused. 

“I know.” Wally attempted to calm his nerves before he spoke again, “Can I tell you something kinda personal?” 

Frank blinked, before nodding. 

“I…I know it's unreasonable to be worried about that now. But…I think…I went so long being afraid of it that it's just second nature. In a weird way. like the moment I stop being afraid is the moment something bad’s gonna happen. That's what even started this whole mess.” Wally whispered the last part, fidgeting with his ‘ascot.’ 

“I-it was? How? That's completely illogical.” Frank pointed out, caught off guard. 

“... I wasn't afraid of what would happen if I stopped being perfect. I wasn't afraid of chasing that butterfly, and I wasn't afraid to keep digging deeper and deeper until I made a grave for myself and you guys." Wally took a deep breath. “If I was a little more afraid, maybe this wouldn't have happened.” Wally looked back at franks eyes, seeing the disbelief in them, and slightly panicked. “Nevermind! Haha, I'm just being weird, ignore me.” 

Frank stood up, putting both of his hands on Wally's shoulders. 

“This is not your fault. None of this is your fault, you hear me?” Wally didn't know how to respond. He wasn't used to anyone reacting…well, like this. In anyway. On kid's shows, they don't show comfort this way. in kid's shows, they show comfort in that same fake voice, with the same phrasing over and over. they only ever show temporary solutions, it's all so deceptively fake, it doesn't ever actually work in the real world yet…

It was so genuine, so compassionate, so real.

“Oh dearie me,” Wally looked away from Frank, a little shocked at the tears that fell from his own face. “Um..give me a moment, please. I don't know why I'm feeling like this right now, but I'll fix it as soon as I can.”

Wally went limp as Frank hugged him as tightly as possible. 

“Julie once told me that you don't need to ‘fix’ how you feel.” Frank paused. “I think that was the first time she had… gained consciousness’ as you put it. She told me that when I told her I was in love with Eddie.” 

“You felt like you had to fix the feelings?” Wally asked, still taking some deep breaths. 

“Yes. but I don't anymore. Or, at least not about my feelings about Eddie, as you so kindly pointed out when we all originally crashed at your house for… literally the first time ever.” 

“The kids would have gotten concerned about seeing the inside of a living being” Wally mumbled with a small laugh. 

“...what kids?” Frank asked, very confused, only making Wally's confusion even worse. 

“...you know, the kids? Th…the one that watches the show we’re all on…?” Wally stared into Frank's eyes, “You do know we’re on a kid's show right?” 

Frank opened his mouth as if to say something, before closing it. 

“Fran-” “Go back to being sad, you talked less,” Frank said, playfully pushing Wally off. 

“What- hey! It's not my fault! You’re supposed to be the smart one!” Wally gently shoved back with a tiny smile. 

“Ok well-!...” Frank started frizzing up Wally's hair. 

“Uh- no! How dare you! Traitor of the kingdom!” Wally laughed, as he attempted to get out of Frank's grasp. “Let me go!” 

Frank let Wally go, who almost immediately fell to the ground, but caught himself. He turned and looked at Frank. 

“... I'm telling Poppy you pushed me,” Wally ran off with a mischievous grin.

“Wait no wait!” Frank chased after Wally as if his life depended on it, the two now running even deeper into the woods before Wally just seemed to disappear over…a clift?

“...wally?” 

“Follow me!” Wally said, walking over to the door that led to the outside world. 

“Oh you little-” Frank took a deep breath. The little shit had brought him to the studio, actively tricking Frank. 

“I'm very small, yes,” Wally replied with a grin. 

Frank sighed, and climbed down, following Wally. There was this…sound. Pinging maybe? Static? Almost like white noise but…everywhere. A pitter-patter. 

“Tada! Rain!” Wally said, pushing open the door. The sounds of the small pitter-patter had gotten louder, now sounding more like a roar, the sound was all-consuming and almost violent. It was terrifying. 

Wally ran right out into the rain, and he laughed, looking over at Frank. “Common! It's perfectly safe!” Wally held his hand out to Frank, making the taller stare at it. 

Frank hesitantly grabbed Wally's hand, and Wally pulled him into the rain. It was cold and harsh, catching Frank completely off guard. 

“H-how do you like this rain? It's…c-cold!” Frank stuttered out, his brain still trying to catch up with everything. 

“Yeah, but it's…I don't know. It's human in a strange way.” Wally smiled, and he closed his eyes, simply feeling the water rain down on him. 

Once Frank got over how cold it was, he looked up at the sky as well. The rain would go from harsh, to calm, rain showers. 

“It is…calming,” Frank said, relaxing into the rain's touch. 

Wally smiled and looked over at Frank with a smile. “Thank you.” 

Frank opened his eyes, looking over at Wally. “For what?” 

Wally shrugged. “For being my friend. For staying my friend during all of this.” he took a deep breath, “I know I haven't been the easiest or most honest person to talk to these last few days, and I'm sorry for that.” 

Wally went back to looking up at the sky, feeling the rain on his skin. 

Frank put an awkward hand on Wally's shoulder. “I don't think any of us have been easy during this month. I think we’ve all been… what's the word? Howdy used it… ‘little shits.’ I think that's the word.” 

Wally gets a look of slight panic hearing Frank say that. “Maybe you guys should stop repeating what I say when I'm upset, yeah?” he practically pleaded with Frank. 

“M..no, it's entertaining watching the way you react when we randomly swear,” Frank said, making Wally's face fill with a little more panic that he once again tried to hide. “Ok-ay” Wally squeaked out, half hoping Frank would change his mind, and half knowing he wouldn't. 

~~~

‘Tea, pajamas, white noise…’ Wally laid down in his bed. ‘I’ll finally get a good amount of sleep at a normal time.’ he promised himself, as he laid in his bed. 

“Im sleeping Im sleeping I'm sleeping,” Wally whispered to himself repeatedly, closing his eyes. Of course, as per usual, it didn't work. He had stayed like that for the past hour, to which he would usually get up and try to do some painting. He always did his best work when he was sleep deprived. But no, he stayed there, waiting patiently to fall asleep. 

Eventually, he gave up and sat up from his bed. ‘Why am I like this?’ he sighed before feeling something tightened around his neck. Something thin. 

‘The string,’ Wally panicked, bringing his hands up to his neck, trying to claw it off. ‘No it's here it's hear it's nearby it's-’ he couldn't breathe, it was only getting tighter and tighter. Wally stumbled over to the bathroom, looking for scissors, he needed to get it off- 

*SLAM*

Wally woke up in his bed, breathing heavily, his heart was pounding, terrified. He looked around, everything was normal, and…the string wasn't so tight. He breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, it was a little tight anytime he got near the void, but other than that? It's never strangling him....right?

*creeaaak* Wally could hear the sounds of home creak, concerned. 

“Hi home,” Wally stood up from his bed and leaned on one of home's walls. “I'm ok, it was just another nightmare.” 

Home made another creak, as if trying to ask Wally what the nightmare was about. 

“Normal stuff…I didn't even realize I was dreaming….” Wally took a deep breath. 

“I guess I'm still freaked out by the creature, you know? I'm sure you heard my whole spiel with Barnaby huh?” Wally gave a fake laugh. “It just…scared me. It didn't even realize it had been happening. It is in my body, in my mind felt so…”

 Wally sighed. “and I know I told it that it could at some point, but the fact it was there much longer than it claimed just…puts me on edge. I can't describe how it felt, it was just so…violating.” Wally whispers that last bit, and he curls up into Home's walls. 

Home went quiet, as a few shame-filled tears fell down Wally's face, before he heard a few squeaking and creaking noises. They weren't words, or, not in the way home usually spoke. After listening to it for a bit longer, he realized it was a song. Home was singing to him to the off-pitched tune of “beautiful dreamer.”

“Thank you…” Wally whispered to home. “You’re a really good friend.” 

.

.

Wally took a deep breath, once again putting the scissors on the string, all he had to do was snip it off, that's it, that simple. 

*KNOCK KNOCK* 

Wally flinched, and put the scissors down, looking at the front door. “Who is it!” he put his ascot back on as he ran to open the door.

“Oh, Eddie! What a wonderful surprise! Would you like to come inside?” Wally asked, but Eddie shook his head. 

“Sorry Wally, still got some letters to send. But maybe at a later date?” As Eddie handed the letter to Wally, he felt his string tighten, and he had a slight panic on his face that he had failed to hide. 

“Wally everything ok?” Eddie asked, concerned. 

“The string,” Wally quickly took a deep breath as he felt the string get tighter on his neck, and he could no longer breathe. 

“Wally! Shoot!” Eddie quickly grabbed some scissors and rushed to cut the string off, but Wally pushed him away, dropping the letter and walking away. 

Wally then started coughing, “Im- Im ok,” Wally said as he still slightly struggled to breathe. The further away he got from the letter, the better he could breath.

“Wally, it's gonna-” 

“What's in that letter?” Wally asked, looking at it curiously. 

Eddie shook his head. “Nothing I suppose.” he said sternly, a tone Eddie had nearly never used with anyone. 

“Um.. ok just give it to me then-” 

“Nope.”  

Wally only got more confused and desperate. “Well- it was sent to me, so um… it's mine. I want to look at it," Wally attempted his best “stern” look. 

“It strangled you! Whatever it is, is connected to the string.” Eddie pointed out.

“So…what are we gonna do?” Wally asked, looking from the envelope over to Eddie. “Do we just…throw it away?” 

Eddie sighs. “I don't know. I just know it's hurting you.” 

“But it's important. I need to know what it says.” 

Eddie puts the envelope back in his bag and avoids Wally's stare. “Common Wally, let's get you to poppy. She can help you with any bruising or slicing that was caused to your neck.” Eddie makes a ‘follow me’ motion, not wanting to get the letter too close to Wally. 

Wally hesitantly follows. “Do you think she’ll be mad?” Wally whispers, pulling his ascot up to hide the string, and now the cuts it had made on his neck as well. 

“No, but she’ll be upset if you don't get help,” Eddie looked at Wally with concern and worry in his eyes, and Wally continued to follow Eddie. 

.

.

.

“See? Doesn't that feel better?” Poppy said, putting a bandage on Wally’s neck, making sure it stayed underneath the string, just in case something happened again. 

“Mhm! Thank you Poppy!” Wally smiled up at Poppy, “I'm glad I have a friend as great as you,” 

Poppy patted Wally's head, still showing concern for him but also…something else. A deep-seated worry could be seen in her eyes, one that even made Wally worried himself. 

“Poppy? Is everything okay?” he asked, a little nervously, as he fidgeted with the ascot in his lap. 

Poppy paused and looked away. “That letter…no one else could open it. It's like it's glued shut by something, and the paper refuses to break. It..well, it feels like it's made out of some sort of metal.” 

Wally gave a small laugh, before realizing she was serious. “Metal? Like the- the letter? But I held it, it was flimsy, it was a paper envelope. Are you sure?” 

“Howdy even tried using power tools on it strong enough to break metal,” Poppy sighed and looked down at Wally. 

“Maybe…maybe it's because the creature had sent it? Maybe only I'm supposed to be able to read it?” Wally looked up at Poppy, hoping she could provide assistance. 

“Maybe. And the only way you can do that is if you…” Poppy trailed off, and Wally watched as her eyes drifted to the scissors. 

“No. nope, no way, I- I need to keep the string on, otherwise I won’t know if it's nearby, Poppy what if it comes back!” Wally's voice was filled with a slight panic and desperation as he reached his hand up to his neck, looking between Poppy and the scissors. 

“Wally, Wally, deep breaths, I won't cut the string off. It was just an idea, okay?” she rubbed Wally's shoulder, but Wally still kept eyeing the scissors, clearly conflicted. He nodded slowly, and carefully grabbed the string on his neck, tugging it slightly, almost like a tiny stim.

just to make sure it was still there.

.

.

.

Staring. A peculiar thing. How much eye contact is too much? Too little? Could a glance be considered staring? One small little glance, a tiny shift in tone, just one little snip. That's all it takes.

Wally stared at the string through the mirror, the feeling of soft fabric the only thing keeping him from breaking down. ‘I'm supposed to be fixed by now. I'm supposed to be normal. It's over isn't it?’ The pajamas felt like a comfort, they were heavy on him, secure, like a blanket. Just a few sizes too big. Or…more than just a few, seeing as it was Barnaby's. 

He walked out of the bathroom, turning the light off. 

“Hey there, everything alright?” Barnaby was already on the couch, with some board games, along with a pair of scissors that was used to cut some confetti from earlier. 

Wally smiled a little at Barnaby, “Yeah, no, yeah everything's alright. Thanks for…letting me come over.” he sat next to Barnaby and looked down at the chess board. 

“Oh! Julie's been trying to play this with me, but I'm not very good at it…” wally said a little sheepishly. 

“That's alright, I'm not the best either. Let's just have fun!” Barnaby smiled at Wally, and Wally couldn't help but smile back with a tiny hint of a blush on his face. 

“Yeah! Let's!” he crisscrossed his legs, and put his hands in his lap happily. 

It was all so normal, no awkward tension, no uncomfortable conversations. Just…best friends hanging out, chatting, gossiping, and laughing. 

Halfway through the game though, Barnaby noticed…something off. Wally had tensed up, going quiet. 

“Wally? Everything good?” Wally took a deep breath and held himself. 

“Can…can you do something for me…?” Wally asked, struggling to get the words out. 

“Of course! Anything for you," Barnaby put a hand on Wally's shoulder, the concern in his eyes growing even more. 

Wally handed Barnaby a pair of scissors. “I can't do it myself,” he whispered.

Barnaby didn't need to hear anything else, he just scooted closer to Wally, and put a paw in between Wally's neck and the pair of scissors, careful to not hurt him.

*snip!* 

That was all it took. Like a weight was taken off of Wally’s shoulders, and he could breathe. In fact, it felt like he could breathe better than he ever had before. Despite this, he couldn't help the immediate regret he felt, the anxiety. ‘No, no why did I-’ 

Barnaby hugged Wally tightly, snapping Wally out of any possible negative thoughts. 

“...thank you…” he whispered, hugging Barnaby back as if his life depended on it. 

"What felt like chains

Around my neck

Now feels like sweet security

If I was yours

I'd be content

With safety and obscurity

And it all just makes sense

You know?

It all just makes sense"

   -” Hearts blood” from “the art of pleasing princes” 

Chapter Text

Scene 1, from chapter

What-cha guy’s talking about?” ‘Wally’ asked as he walked into the room. 

“Wally? You seem…different. Did you get good news?” Howdy asked, and for the first time he took his eye off the board.  

“Yes! I got very good news!” ‘Wally’ said, with a big smile, “oh but i can't share it yet, it’s a surprise~” his voice was somewhat singsongy. 

Eddie lit up, “is it a way to free us? From the” eddie made a puppeteer motion with his hands, still somewhat in denial about the whole thing. 

“If everything goes according to plan!~” 

“What!” Frank stood up from his seat, “you- know how to-” 

“I’ve already said too much.” ‘Wally’ said, walking out of the kitchen, stumbling a little. “Oh! One more thing, don't tell the others.”  

Eddie and Howdy looked so…relieved. Frank almost didn't want to bring up how… different wally was acting. Not for now at least. 

Frank sat back down, and hesitantly put a hand out for Eddie, who had immediately latched onto it. “Can I hug you?”Eddie whispered. 

The three had sat there for what felt like hours, all holding each other, all in their own little bubble. 

*click* 

With that sound being the only warning, the lights came back on. 

.

.

.

“Cut!!! Jared! Stop making that face, the other actors can't take you seriously!” 

Wally knew the voice above as simply “the Director,” with Jared being Barnaby's puppeteer and voice actor. He got in trouble the most often, forgetting lines, but he was also good enough at improving that he didn't get fired. 

He watched as a few of the actors dropped his friends, along with himself. All of them pretending to go limp. Julie looked over at him with a thumbs up, looking proud of her acting skills, to which wally gave her a thumbs up back. It was…strange. His friends being in the same situation, while it made him sad, it also…made it slightly more bearable.

Possible last chapter: 

Wally has only one mirror in his house. It's not a hand held one, but it's small enough to work fine, and if he ever felt a little too stressed, he could just put it somewhere that would be inconvenient to get too, just so that he could resist the urge. He had already done his hair for the day, but was now stuck on his eyeshadow, on which color to use. 

So he walked half-way down the stairs, to see if anyone else was up yet. 

Poppy! Perfect! 

Wally quietly walked up to poppy. 

“Hi.” he whispered, and she jumped. 

“Oh dear- Frank was right, we do need to put a bell on you.” she said. 

Wally tilted his head, confused. 

“Nothing, what's wrong?” she asked. 

“What kind of eye-shadow should I wear today? I can't pick one.” Wally asked. 

Julie, who wally hadn't realized was awake just nodded. “Ah, yeah no you’re never getting rid of the fruity allegations.” 

“The- what?” wally questioned. “What do you mean fruity?Who has allegations against me? ” 

Julie opened her mouth, but paused. “I…I don't know. Just people. I think. I…” julie thought as hard as she could, but she couldnt remember where she heard it from. 

‘Ohh, random omnipotence, got it.’ wally just shrugged, “oh well. Which color do you think would be best?” 

Both poppy and julie were far too tired to answer that question. Julie looked around, trying to think of something. 

“Uh…barnaby, yeah.” she said. “Wait no- blue, I mean blue.” 

A spark lit up in wally’s eye’s

“Blue like barnaby!” wally said, just above a whisper. “Thank you guys!” wally said, as he blew a friendly kiss in their direction, before running back upstairs. 

“...how does he have so much energy in the mornings?” Julie asked poppy. 

“Don't know, but he should really tell us at some point.”

“Maybe it's the impending doom.” Frank said, butting in, Eddie following closely behind. 

Chapter 9 scrapped idea: 

That night Wally struggled to sleep, his insomnia coming back full force. How could he sleep? Especially know where he was sleeping…

*ring ring!...ring ring!...ring ri* 

“Hello! Its awfully late to be calling a neighbor like thi-... oh, hello frank, what's going on?” wally said, letting his “friendly neighbor” mask slip away.

“You tell him!” Wally could faintly hear Frank whisper yell to someone. 

“Absolutely not, this was your idea.” Julie had whispered back. 

“Only because you forced me into it!” 

“Helloooo” wally called out slightly impatiently, “what’s going on?” 

“...how about you just come to Frank's house? That would work right?” Julie said, sounding nervous. 

“...ok, ill go let home-!...” Wally stopped, and took a deep breath, “Um…i guess ill just go get ready.” 

Ever since that day home…well, lets just say in letter language, home sent him a letter with a black seal on it. 

Or, as wally says, home just stopped talking to him, and he doesn't know why. At first he figured that home was sleeping, but as the days went by Wally started to fear the worst. He loved home, it was his first friend. He hasn't told anyone else yet about what might have happened to home. All he says is that home is still a little tired, and sleeping. 

‘I did something reckless and home paid for it.’ wally hated himself. He wanted all of his friends to make it out alive. Not just some. Not only did he want them to survive, but to thrive as well, and…

And now they’re just surviving, if that. 

The lights had not been on in the last few days, there was no power in Home right now, so, wally has been surviving on fake candles. 

Or, he was. While in the middle of getting ready to leave home, one of the candle’s batteries had died. 

“Lucky me.” he mumbled out loud. It was his last one too. 

He grabbed his coat, opened the door, and walked outside. It was…cold out. He looked behind him, seeing homes eye’s still closed. He didn't want to leave home alone again.

He figured he had a few extra minutes, just a little longer to stay with home. 

~~~

“Hel-” wally couldnt even finish his greeting before he was fully dragged into the house. 

(Ok so basically frank, julie, and wally all talk about whats going on, what to do, and the fact that they now know what specifically to do now. )

Past chapter 5

Wally started running, even in the town of Home, you should still not trust strangers. 

“Wally dearest, you do realize there’s no point in running, right?”

‘No. not true.’ Wally thought to himself, shaking his head. ‘Just a hallucination.’ 

“I’ll still be here either way.” 

 Wally stopped running, finally. 

“What are you?” he whispered. 

“The real question is what are you?” 

Wally hesitated. “A puppet.” 

“Just a puppet?” 

Wally already knew that they werent all just puppets. “A sentient one.” 

“Oh common Mister Darling, you’re so close.” 

….

“Fine.”The creature said, slightly frustrated. “come back to me when you want to know more. I mean, isn't that the point of you on your little tv show? Wanting to know more? I would rather prefer if you and your friends didnt end up….” the creature made a noise in wally’s head, one that sounded like ripping fabric. 

“ you only have…one more day to decide? Before all of you’r friends once again forget all of this?” 

“...what do you mean?” 

The voice had a surprised laugh, “oh has no one told you? Joking! No one else could have told you, other than me of course. Hahaha. Oh but would you look at the time? I must be going!” 

“No- wait! What do you mean?” wally shouted. 

He never got a response. 

Chapter 12 deleted scene hehe 

“Oh dont leave me hanging, its ru-'' despite it being much taller than wally, it had been cut off with a slap to the face. Wally, being the absolute most, had used his severed arm to slap the demon. 

“I deserve tha-'' it was cut off once again by another hit. And another. The creature wasn't exactly getting hurt from this, it was more so annoying than anything…and also a bit disturbing. 

“Stop that.” it grabbed hold of wally’s severed arm, putting it above his head. But, that didn't stop wally, as he had reached down towards the ground and started throwing, albeit it small, rocks at the creature. 

The creature sighed, and started looking at the others annoyed. “The shit i have to deal with,” another pebble, “yes, yes, i’ll leave, what are you so upset about? I gave you all everything.” 

“No one asked you to do that!” wally yelled out, throwing yet another rock, “we sure as hell didn't ask you to! You did all of this because of what? Entertainment? You created living beings for your own fucking amusement?” 

“Wally!” frank tried to drag wally away. 

“I never hurt any of your friends.” it said, staring wally in the eyes. 

Wally stared at the ground, clenching his fist and…laughed. His normal, monotone laugh, until it got quicker, sounding almost manic. 

“Oh really? You never hurt any of them?” Wally broke out of Frank's grasp. 

“You hurt all of them, they are never going to go a day of their life without being terrified at the concept of- being taken control of, have you ever felt what it's like to have someone unwillingly force your hand?” wally’s voice broke, “ha, of course not! You keep seeing yourself as above everyone else! You wouldn't know what it's like to have to constantly pretend to be unaware while watching those you love suffer, or watching as they all keep forgetting the same thing over and over, you don't even have to worry about something still having some sort of control over you at all! You don't worry about there being a string still attached to you-” “Sure I do.” 

The creature spoke matter of factly, making wally freeze. “I'm still connected to that void. The one under home. It's essentially my power source. It's not my fault that your little studio decided to put a neighborhood right on top of it.” the creature took notice of the others faces, “the void itself isn't malevolent. It's simply a powerhouse that i was…” it coughed, “i will be taking my leave now. Farewell.” 

Wally glared at it as he watched it walk into the forest, until he could no longer see it. 

“I'm back!” Howdy said, with a sewing supply kit. Wally turned around.  

“Thats- thats good, thank you.” wally said, trying to calm down. 

Howdy nodded, blissfully unaware of what happened. “Lets go sit down, me or poppy can sew you up good as new!” 

Wally shook his head, “no, You don't have to, I've done it before, i’ll be fine.” he smiled, reaching over to grab the kit, but howdy brought it upwards, so that wally couldn't reach it. 

“You’ve sewn your own limbs back on before?” he asked, hoping he misheard. 

“Yes, one of my first memories," Wally said, growing slightly annoyed as he reached up on his tiptoes, trying to grab the box. “Then there were countless times after that as well, but I feel more comfortable doing it myself.” 

Howdy sighed, bringing the box back down. “Ok, but…i'm gonna stay right here and watch you.”

Wally stitched his arm back on, his mind wandering as a way to keep himself from focusing on the pain. ‘What did it mean by all of that?’

“You’re…really good at that. Unnervingly so.” Frank said, walking up to wally. Wally shrugged, hoping to play it off. 

“Right? Like you can't even tell there was any stitching to begin with!” Julie whispered, both impressed and concerned. 

‘Can you still hear me?’

Wally got a strange feeling, one that made him pause, like something just called to him.

‘Good…well, i suppose ill be off then.’

Wally got this…headache. One that pierced him in his soul itself, like something was tugging and tugging- 

Until it broke. 

(Lil confession scene)

Wally laid on his bed, while Barnaby slept in the chair next to him. 

“Barnaby…” Wally whispered. 

“Yeah?” 

“You’re my best friend,”

Barnaby seemed to get alarmed, “Of course I am!” 

“And I love you.” 

Wally could hear barnaby shuffle around.

“I love you too! We’re best buds,”

“But….what if…” wally had to work up the courage to say what he knew he needed to say, otherwise he would never get the words out. “What if I loved you more than friends should.” 

A second passed.

“what?” 

“I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." Wally spoke quickly, feeling nauseous and wanting to run, to hide, to disappear. 

(Silly Scrapped after- confession scene)

*knock knock!* 

Wally stopped what he was doing, looking at his door. 

“Strange, i wasn't expecting any visitors…” Wally said to himself, a bit confused. 

Despite that though he opened his door with a smile. 

“Hello neighbor! How can i hele yo…” wally froze up, seeing the one person he had been avoiding for the past two days. 

“Can we talk?” barnaby said quickly, hoping wally wouldnt slam the door on his face. 

“I…”

*ring ring!* 

Wally broke eye contact, looking behind him. 

“I'm sorry, I have to go get that.” wally said, quickly walking toward the phone. 

“Hello ho-” 

“Wally!” julie all but shouted, “Quick! Barnaby's heading to your house, me and frank will be there in a moment to prep you-” 

“Too late, ha…” Wally said, quietly. 

“Dont worry we have something planned just stay still and distract him enough to not ask any quest-” 

“Julie, i think it's time i talk to hi-” 

*click!* 

Julie had hanged up the phone. Wally sighed. ‘Hope they don't do anything too drastic.’ wally thought back onto yesterday. Something similar had happened, and so frank and julie staged a kidnapping…a really bad one at that. Wally had to practically walk into the trunk, and tie his hands together himself. 

“Everything ok?” Barnaby asked, noticing his friends…concern. 

“Yeah! Yeah no i'm just…so you want tea? Or coca?...” Wally fidgeted with his ascot.

“No, yeah, tea’s fine.” Barnaby replied, awkwardly. 

Wally nodded, grabbing the kettle and tea bags. 

“So…about yester-” barnaby was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Julie was there, in his best suit and ready to take on a court case. 

“Not another word! I need to talk to my client. This is Frank, he will be your lawyer.” 

“I know who frank is…” Barnaby sighed at the two's antics. 

“Julie,” wally said, sounding disappointed in the other, “i can talk to my best friend without a lawyer.” 

“Oh really?” barnaby replied, “Yesterday you had the two kidnap you.” 

Wally put his hand up, “no! That was not my idea, I didn't even know they were going to do that.” 

“See? You do need a lawyer! Common wally lets go," Julie tried to drag wally away.

“But- …the tea,” he mumbled the last part in defeat. 

Barnaby put his head into his hands, stressed. 

“...Julie put me up to this,” Frank said, pouring two cups of tea. 

“Yeah I kinda realized.” Barnaby said, a bit amused if he was being honest, but he still wanted to talk to his best friend alone. 

“However,” Frank paused, “I still will be taking this almost as seriously as her.” almost because no doubt wally was being told to memorize lines, predict outcomes, and create stories in case things went wrong. 

“Sooo basically my wingman,” Barnaby joked, taking a sip of his tea as well.  

“Essentially, yes.” 

“That's…comforting.” Barnaby sighed. 

“What were you planning on talking about?” Frank asked, taking his notebook out. 

“Has wally already told you?” Barnaby didn't want to break any boundaries. 

“Every word and every movement only about 37 times.”

“Oh wow…” Barnaby thought to himself. “That's…”  

“Do you like-like him?” frank asked, refusing to look at barnaby.

“well…yes.”

Frank put his notebook down. 

“Julie! He’s admitted it! Lets pack out of here,'' Frank grabbed hold of his fancy briefcase that was totally necessary for this, and started walking out of home. 

“Awso-” Julie coughed, “I mean, how…neuteral. Time to go do business-y lawyers stuff.” he nodded, walking out of home with frank. 

Wally walked back into the kitchen, extremely confused. 

“I…what happened?” Wally was still looking at the front door, trying to make sense of everything. 

Barnaby could only shrug. 

“Oo! Tea!” Wally smiled, grabbing himself a cup. 

“Did you mean what you said?” Barnaby asked, making Wally tense up. 

“About what?”

“About…loving me more than friends should.” 

Wally took a deep breath. “My lawyer advised me not to answer that.” 

That got a laugh out of barnaby, breaking the tension between the two of them. 

(Nother confession scene)

“Hey wally, barnaby, are you guys free tomorrow at…5pm lets say?” Julie asked, interrupting Wally's and Barnaby's conversion. 

“Oh, yeah I am!” Wally smiled. 

“Same here, why?” Barnaby had a look of confusion. 

“Great! Im not, so 5pm, tomorrow sharp at the edge of the forest, there will be a tiny little picnic for you both!” she started quickly walking away.

“Haha, wait here.” wally had laughed, but underneath his smile he looked like he wanted to murder someone. “Julie! Get back here!” wally started to slightly jog after her, but she started full on running. So wally started chasing her to howdys store. “Julie! What was that?” he whisper yelled. 

“Well, neither of you are gonna admit your feelings, and I got impatient.” she replied with a mischievous smile.  

(Alternative version to chapter 12 scene near the end) 

“Shoot, I forgot about that one.” wally said, feeling the fucked up sewing on his neck. 

“I could help you with that.” Barnaby said as casually as possible, making Wally go stiff. 

“No its fin-” wally tried to say. 

“Ok well, ill leave you guys to it then!” Howdy said, running off for reasons. 

Barnaby sat down, putting his hand out for wally. 

“Its fine, really, i promise i can fix it mysel-” 

“Wally.” barnaby warned, and wally sighed, handing it to barnaby. 

Barnaby gently tilted wally's head up, forcing the smaller to look at him while he sewed wally up.

“So…you like-like me?” barnaby asked. 

“Nope, never said that, nuh-uh, im being normal,” wally blurted out, quickly, refusing to look barnaby in the eyes. 

“Mhm…well, hypothetically, if you did, why wouldn't you tell me?” he asked. 

“Well, you would obviously reject me.” wally said, his throat feeling like it was closing up. 

“What if…I told you I wouldn't.”

“Well you would.” wally replied, without hesitation

“No I wouldn't,” Barnaby seemed unnervingly sure of this fact, too sure for wally to try and brush it off. 

“...promise?” 

barnaby finished up Wally's stitching, looking him in the eyes. “Promise.” 

Wally’s face went red, and he smiled. 

“Well?” Barnaby teased, “aren't you going to ask me out?” 

Wally felt a jolt of joy go through him. 

“No, but you can ask me out!” 

(Demon reveal scene that I think I added into the story? I can't remember :'D)

"You're not wally." Fran said, a look of terror getting on his face. 

'wally' just smiled, tilting his head. "Your a smart one aren't you?" 

He moved unnaturally, even for a puppet, his eyes were bug like.

Frank took a step back, getting ready to run. 

"Oh common neighbor, don't be like that. I'm only here to help." 

 "Where's wally." 

"So smart, you figured found the strings so quickly too. I can see why wally likes you all. So brave."

"What are you going to do to him?" Frank asked, concern for his friend. 

"What am i going to do to him? He reached out for my help. Im not going to hurt any of you or your little friends. I have to admit, I've grown quite found of you all as well." 

(this scene was gonna hint that wally made a deal with the demon/was possessed)

“What-cha guy’s talking about?” ‘Wally’ asked as he walked into the room. 

“Wally? You seem…different. Did you get good news?” Howdy asked, and for the first time he took his eye off the board.  

“Yes! I got very good news!” ‘Wally’ said, with a big smile, “oh but i can't share it yet, it’s a surprise~” his voice was somewhat singsongy. 

Eddie lit up, “is it a way to free us? From the” eddie made a puppeteer motion with his hands, still somewhat in denial about the whole thing. 

“If everything goes according to plan!~” 

“What!” Frank stood up from his seat, “you- know how to-” 

“I’ve already said too much.” ‘Wally’ said, walking out of the kitchen, stumbling a little. “Oh! One more thing, don't tell the others.”  

Eddie and Howdy looked so…relieved. Frank almost didn't want to bring up how… different wally was acting. Not for now at least. 

Frank sat back down, and hesitantly put a hand out for Eddie, who had immediately latched onto it. “Can I hug you?”Eddie whispered. 

The three had sat there for what felt like hours, all holding each other, all in their own little bubble. 

*click* 

With that sound being the only warning, the lights came back on. 

.

.

.

“Cut!!! Jared! Stop making that face, the other actors can't take you seriously!” 

Wally knew the voice above as simply “the Director,” with Jared being Barnaby's puppeteer and voice actor. He got in trouble the most often, forgetting lines, but he was also good enough at improving that he didn't get fired. 

He watched as a few of the actors dropped his friends, along with himself. All of them pretending to go limp. Julie looked over at him with a thumbs up, looking proud of her acting skills, to which wally gave her a thumbs up back. It was…strange. His friends being in the same situation, while it made him sad, it also…made it slightly more bearable.

(Random one shot that never went anywhere because yes)

The sun was shining, birds were chirping and Wally was exhausted. But he still wanted to show up for his friends, hoping that it would simply get better throughout the day. So, like normal, he got up two hours before he needed to leave, the first hour for showering and getting dressed, with the second hour for his hair. 

He didn't hate doing his hair, in fact, most day’s it was a relaxing process. His appearance is something he takes a lot of pride in you know!  

But this morning he was just exhausted, he hadn't had any time for a break in a whole week. So the routine he went through everyday felt more like some sort of hell, his hair refused to work with him, there kept on being little fly aways, or it would just completely fall down, in which he would have to start all over. 

Eventually, after a little trial and error, he managed to make it look as good as he normally did. It took him thirty more minutes than usual, but he did it! 

Feeling proud of himself, he got that small spike of joy, flapping his hands a little. 

Wally looked outside his window, perfect, sunny day! As long as nothing else went wrong, he should be fine! 

He walked outside, and immediately got hit in the face with water from a hose. 

“Sorry wally!” he heard Julie immediately shout over. 

“We were aiming at the flowers!” Sally called out afterwards. 

There was a slight moment of silence, and Wally realized they were waiting for a reply. 

He smiled at them. “It's ok! Mistakes happen sometimes.” he said, even though he felt three seconds away from exploding. “I'm just gonna go get dressed.” he said, turning around. 

“We- we could help you redo your hair if you wanted! 

As soon as he was back home, he brought himself to the ground, taking a few deep breaths, trying not to cry. 

*creaaak* 

Wally didn't reply home. He didn't know if he could. He then heard the sound of his bedroom door opening and closing. Wally sighed. “Mk i know, i know.” Wally stood up, leaving to go get dressed for the second time this morning. He didn't have any more of his sweaters, so he had to stick with just a white button down. 

‘Perfect.’ he sarcastically thought to himself. He reached his hand into his hair, before pulling back. It was falling apart, but still covered in gel and hairspray, otherwise known as a sensory nightmare. He gagged at it. So, after getting dressed again, he went down to his kitchen sink, bringing some of his hair products with him. He didn't exactly feel like taking a whole shower again today, so he just washed

out the crusty product that was already in his hair.