---

Violet eyes squinted against the morning sun, and a newly awakened Ratcatcher slowly pulled herself out of the comfortable bed so that she could prepare herself for a new day in Father's home. She turned her head ever so slightly to peek at her roommate, still soundly sleeping, a lump under the thin white blankets that Father's butlers provided. Ratcatcher herself had never seen said butlers, but she noted that the room was always cleaned and organized when she returned from her day every evening and she doubted that the Lab coats would do such jobs.

She stretched her arms and yawned before silently sliding out of her bed and creeping over to her closet. The constant whiteness of the living quarters of Father's Mansion was the only thing about the way of life that Father had given her that annoyed her. The room was so sterile and bright that she feared going blind every time she woke up. Even the wooden doors and long window curtains where whiter than new snow, not even the doorknobs were safe from the white monstrosity that was their rooms. Once, Rats dug her nails deep into her hands until they bled and streaked the red liquid across the wall above her bed just for a dash of color. She came back into the room that night to find that the scarlet decor had been painted over with new white paint while she was gone. She had picked off the scabs and tried it again over and over with the same result until the wound healed, leaving little white scars for all of her trouble. More white, just what she wanted.

Ratcatcher sucked in a long breath of air and opened the closet door, it's contents being some of the few things in the room not completely drenched in the fowl color. In fact, as if silently protesting the color, the girl pulled out a black dress from her closet and put it on herself with an air of satisfaction, a smug smile painted on her pale lips. She tugged a gray jacket over it and proceeded to the mirror where she could brush out her long hair. She let it fall straight and allowed the only decoration to be a black ribbon just behind her bangs. When she decided she was content with her appearance, Rats slid her small feet into a pair of gray flats and walked out of the room, closing the door carefully behind her so that the sound wouldn't awaken Marionette.

As the petite girl wandered the halls of the large house, she noted that it was rather silent apart from the occasional Lab coat running past her. Very few of the workers still stopped to say 'good morning' to Ratcatcher anymore since she very openly expressed her dislike of them early in her time in Father's house. Ever since she was given the ability to use her powers, she finds no harm in using them freely on the Lab coats that dare try to bother her when she doesn't request their presence, thus causing many of them to grow wary of her and leave her alone.

She was bored and considered going to the basement and hunting for rats or sitting in the garden or on the beach, but decided against it. It was still cold outside despite the fast approaching Spring, and Ratcatcher was never fond of the cold. Instead, she decided to find Fuego's room. She knew where it was, separated from her own room with only one other room between them. When she reached the door, she checked the lock with a slight jerk of the knob and found that it was unlocked. As quietly as possible, she twisted it until the door opened and peered inside. As she expected, both Fuego and Cant were asleep. Sighing, she closed the door and, seeing no better thing to do, sat with her back against the wall and waited for her partner to wake up.

Blade's feet hit the hard marble floor.
Running. Running. Running
Thats all that went through Blade's head as his arms pumped fast at his side. He ran down a long white hallway that seemed to never end.
His throat felt dry like desert sand. He licked his sandpaper lips as he saw a small white door at the end of the hallway with a gold sparkling nob. Blade concentrated on the door as if his life depended on it. He ran to the door turning the nob furiously, but to no appeal. The door was locked Blade turned around his back sliding against the door as he sat down, he knew this was the end for him.
Clack.
Blade looked up to see a pistol in his face being holded by a big muscular man his red hair and freckles sticking out like sharks in the water. He pressed the gun to Blade's head.
Blade shivered slightly as he felt the cold metal between his eyebrows. He locked eye's with the man unable to looke anywhere lese. A smile slowly creeped on the albino's face. Blade wanted to look away from the man's cold, unforgiving eye's and smiles, but he couldn't. Suddenly the man's features changed to a dark man with thick black braids taveling down to the man's shoulder. He looked totally different than the first guy yet they had the same smile and the same unforgiving cold eye's. Then the man changed to a woman with short silky blonde hair and darks blue eye's, another woman appeared with brown wavy hair and lightly brown eye's. Blade couldn't understand why, but he reconized these people.
Another woman appeared then a short guy with a shaved head and black eye's. Lastly a kid appeared, he looked the age of seven. All these people looked different yet they all shared the same skin crawling smile.
The young boy's brown eye's and chestnut brown hair along with the evil smile gave him an eerie look.
Blade's eye's widened as soon as he saw the kid, he opened his mouth as if to screen as he realized where he knew these people from.
"You killed me, along with all the people I loved, now its my turn. I'm going to kill you." The young's boy mouth's moved as he said this line, a line that seemed familar to Blade like he had heard it a million times.
The kid's head tilted slightly the he pulled the trigger.

Blade sat up in his bed the white sheets wrapped around him, he was drenched in sweat. He ran a hand through his sticky hair that stuck to his forehead and neck. He dug his palms into his eye's.
Why?
Why couldn't he gain control of his power this was the fourth time it had back fired on him.
He got up from his bed slightly falling as he, tried to forget the horrible nightmare. He dug his nails into his palms.
He was a horrible person.

---

Rust. That’s the taste Twitch recognized when he woke up. Often, he still had nightmares, snippets of what memories he had, memories of the near countless list of crimes he committed. He had learned how to stop screaming in the night, or tossing and turning. Through the years he had spent with Father, Twitch worked very hard to control any aspect of his life that was still his to control. One such aspect was how he reacted to nightmares in the night.

Now, when he suffered a nightmare, he remained stoically still, occasionally suffering night sweats or clenching at the blanket with his fingers. It was on his self-improvement to do list. He should just stop sleeping, but it was one habit he had been both reluctant and unable to let go of yet. One side effect was the taste he woke with. It wasn’t really rust, but dried blood from grinding his teeth too hard, the taste just reminded him of rust. Like those old hacksaws dad preferred to use. Coated in rust and blood and ..

Twitch growled as he pushed off the covers and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He lingered there only a moment to swallow old, useless memories then he stood, meticulously making his bed and smoothing out all the wrinkles from the covers. Paying little attention to anything else, he gathered his clothing for the day, his own towel and bag of personal items, and headed down to the first floor bathing area. Twitch had his routines, taking a shower every morning before he dressed for the day was one such routine.

Routines were in place for many reasons, from being able to put himself on a type of physical 'auto-pilot', to a coping mechanism and more. Twitch used them to help maintain his emotions, keep them buried and suppressed deep enough that he nearly forgot about them. They supplied him with an amount of patience that otherwise would elude him. They allowed Twitch to focus on other things that were infinitely more important, such as an acute awareness of his immediate surroundings. He hated it when something interrupted his routines.

Twitch walked down the stairs to the first floor, clad in his black pajama top and bottoms, and a pair of black slip on shoes. Twitch found comfort in the stark colors of his room, of most rooms. The nice contract of white and black provided a strange relief and reminded him of where he was. Even if Twitch was certain that where he was now, was only marginally better than where he was not, it was a relief all the same. He made a small sound in the back of his throat as he picked a shower stall for himself and set the water to be hot enough to turn his skin pink. All the better to sanitize with, my dear.

---

Two copper-colored eyes opened as their owner gave a quiet sigh, raising a pale, seemingly fragile hand to her face and brushing several wayward locks of silvery hair from her face. It still seemed a little unusual - although admittedly, she had no recollections against which to compare the current arrangement of things, so this was just a gut feeling rather than any sort of logical conviction - to feel the harsh chill of a steel wire amidst her own tresses, but it was something that she was rapidly growing accustomed to. Actually, it was pretty hard to notice the concealed mono-filament cables as they were, even for the one in whose hair they were fastened securely. If it weren't for the by now familiar subtle tingling of the animate razor wires as they carefully shifted themselves away from her own head - it would be pretty stupid to get accidentally cut to ribbons by your own hidden weapon, now wouldn't it? - she probably wouldn't have even remembered they were there at all.

Rising from beneath the covers, Marionette glanced around herself and quickly shut her eyes into a tight, narrow squint. The worst part about waking up in Father's house, she noted, was the complete lack of color. When everything around you was completely and totally white, it took a great deal of time for your eyes to adjust if you had been sleeping. Just the slightest light, and everything around you suddenly seemed to glow until you felt like your sensitive, tired eyes would be instantly blinded if you dared open them. But, of course, this was just another thing the puppet was already growing used to. This was how it had always been. This was all she could remember. This was simply the way things were. If there had been something before this, then shouldn't that have been discounted as too strange, since she couldn't even remember it? This was what was normal. Everything that her mind seemed to think was normal was what was strange. That was what logic told her, anyway.

Grumbling quietly under her breath, the puppet rubbed her eyes and slowly rose. It took her a moment to get her bearings - she wasn't exactly a morning person - and a few more of stumbling around, searching blindly for the familiar outfit that, as per usual, was sitting folded on the table, freshly cleaned and prepared for her by the unseen staff of the facility. The care they took to make sure she was always properly equipped and in good health might have made her feel like an honored guest, if it didn't remind her of how one treated a particularly enjoyable doll. Still, she didn't really care all that much. That was what she was, right? She was Marionette. She was a doll. And, although Father's mysterious and reclusive nature was an unknown factor, she wasn't really all that interested in what he did and didn't want from her to begin with. All she needed was...

Oh! Right! It's almost time for breakfast, which means... She smiled as the thought struck her, instantly opening her eyes and shrugging off the sleepy haze that had previously clouded her actions. In an instant, she had swiftly slipped her nightgown over her head, and, folding it with an almost manic grin, immediately set about donning her usual attire. Brushing the familiar button-up blue shirt and close-fitting cropped pants aside, she immediately took up what was beneath them: a large roll of thick, soft bandage wraps. In the instant she touched them, a faint whirr sounded through the air, and the puppet smiled as a sudden new awareness reached her thoughts, registering a faint physical contact with the dresser she herself wasn't touching. Admittedly, it had been very difficult to adjust at first to feeling things she wasn't touching, especially when her newfound awareness was completely disconnected from her body. But, she had grown to be able to handle it soon enough, and by this point, she had practiced enough to make it almost second nature to her. It showed in her manipulations, as well, for where she had once had difficulty, now she wasted no time. The bandage crawled swiftly up her arm and immediately set about winding itself around her, starting at her chest and working itself all the way down to her waist. And, even as this wrapping continued, she had already begun donning the rest of her clothing for the day. By the time it had finished, she was already slipping her arms into the sleeves of her blue shirt, which dutifully buttoned itself as she slipped into her comfortable white sneakers, then strolled out of the room. Ah, her abilities were so convenient sometimes. She had to admit, she had it better off than most of the other experiments in the mansion. Given the safety risk of having mono-filament cables sown into your hair, she'd had the good fortune to be allowed to utilize her abilities with a little more freedom than most. Granted, she was only allowed to animate her clothing and her wires, and her powers would short out if she tried to move anything more than five feet from her person, but that still left margin for utility in mundane situations, even if it hampered her ability to do anything very complex.

It seemed like her roommate - what was her name? Rat-something? - had already left, but Marionette didn't really care. There were more important things to worry about. Like breakfast! The kitchen staff normally prepared meals for the men in white coats, at least, but thankfully, Marionette had managed to get permission from father to make her own meals. She rather preferred it this way. True, her dishes weren't really fancy or overwhelmingly delicious compared to the food the kitchen staff made, but she found it more comfortable. She might have said "old habits die hard," but then again, she only had a hunch that this was a habit at all. Being unable to remember ever cooking for herself before now, it was hard to tell. Actually, it was hard to tell if she had ever even needed to eat, given that it was an unnesecary luxury, albeit one she still indulged in on occasion. Since their bodies were self-sufficient, things like eating, drinking, and sleeping were all no longer required. Still, she took a sort of comfort in practicing these old, outdated routines regardless. But, again, it didn't matter all that much.

It didn't take long for the eager young puppet to reach the kitchens, and, opening the doors, she practically bounced in, a cheery smile on her face. Those staff members already present glanced up somewhat warily at her, but she smiled it off and simply gave a cheerful wave and greeting. "Good morning, everyone!" She said happily. "Do you mind if I use the stove in the corner?" The only reply she got was, of course, a slight shrug as everyone else went about their daily routine, but, although her happy facade cracked a little at her ambivalent treatment, this was the only response she needed. That's right, it didn't matter if everybody else ignored her. There was still one friend she could rely on, the friend that Father had given her. Oh, she was so happy just thinking about it. She had a friend, and once she made breakfast, she would go to see him! Yes, she needed to hurry, make breakfast quickly, and then go to see her friend!~ In an instant, she had crossed the room, and, after a moment of fumbling about with a frying pan, had quickly started up on the creation of one of her favorite breakfast combinations. Granted, chocolate chip pancakes, a bacon-filled omelet and hash browns was probably pretty weird by most people's standards, but then again, they were the weird ones! This was perfectly normal.

The kitchen staff just sighed and set about their work. Even if she wasn't all that much of a hassle, the freak's constant humming and ever-so-slightly unhinged grin as she cooked was quite disrupting to their coordination. The fact that she kept on whispering unintelligible remarks in that creepy, cutesy way of hers - quiet mumblings that could usually be heard to contain several repetitions of the words "friend," "partner," and "Fade," all dutifully recited with almost orgasmic glee - only made things worse. For most present, especially those who had to work close by the obsessive puppet who always stood just a little too close to the knife cupboard for comfort, the time when either she or they would leave was regarded as an hour of sweet release.

.....

At last, she was finally done! The people at the kitchen seemed really busy, and whenever she tried to talk to them, they shuffled quickly away. This had been disappointing, since all she had wanted was to borrow a small tray to carry her warm, steaming breakfast platter with, but since they didn't really seem to mind, she had at last resigned herself to just take the desired implement and leave. Everybody else seemed to be trying their hardest to ignore her, so she supposed that they probably wouldn't miss it. Still, her good mood was already beginning to falter. Although the prospect of bringing her new friend breakfast as a way to get to know him better was still enough to brighten her day, it had begun to seem less and less hopeful to her. Everybody seemed like they didn't want her around. Father was always too busy, so she could never visit him to ask any of the countless questions she had, Twitch was always so quiet and aloof, she'd only recently been given her new friend and didn't know him well at all, and all the people in the mansion always seemed to ignore her. The rat-girl was always off doing something, and always seemed really unfriendly, so Marionette had been left all alone for most of her time after waking up, save for the occasional test or training session. She sighed. She had tried drawing pictures, had tried making food, had tried singing songs, had even tried animating her clothing to make it dance for her, but still, it was so boring, and, what was more, lonely. Nobody ever seemed to care she existed. Was she doing something wrong? She didn't get it. She just wanted friends.

Friend... friend... What if her friend didn't like her? She hadn't been able to talk to him much. He always seemed so busy like everybody else, so all she had been able to do was follow him around watching all the things he did in the hopes of getting a feel for what he was like. She had watched him train, watched him walk, watched him sleep, watched his every breath, but still couldn't fathom his personality very well because of that shadowy mask he wore, which made it really hard to see his face and tell what he was thinking by his expression. Ah, that reminded her, shadows. During their last training session, he had shown off his powers a little. It had been so cool! To think he could actually control other people! All she could do was control things that weren't alive to begin with, but he had no such limitation. Ah, Fade was so incredible! She really wanted to talk to him, to make him like her, but if he was busy like everybody else, then wouldn't he treat her like everybody else did? What if he didn't care? Father had said he would be her friend, but what if he had more important things to do? All of a sudden, it seemed like maybe bringing him breakfast wasn't such a good idea. Her resolve to approach him had begun to falter. But, no. She had made up her mind that she would finally talk to him today, and that was what she was going to do! Father had said he would be her friend, so he would have to be, whether he liked it or not! He was hers! Father had said so, and everything he had said always had to happen, so that meant that Fade would be her friend, and that was that. Besides, she had come too far now to just turn back. Actually, she realized, she was already standing right in front of the door to her own room. From there, it would just be one room over, and then...!

Hastening through her room, she opened first the door to the common room between her own and that of her friend-to-be, crossed that in an instant, and at last stood before the door she was so anxious to open. The animate wires in her hair flicked nervously back and forth, one of them cutting slightly across her cheek as she twitched just a little too eagerly in anticipation. A single drop of blood slipped down to her lips, filling her mouth with a faint taste of iron as she licked it up quickly, not wanting to look anything less that presentable for her big event. Brushing her hand across the wound to make sure it had stopped bleeding - it had - she at last steeled herself, placed her hand on the door, and, turning the knob slowly, pushed the portal open with a quiet swish, the silent hinges making nary a creak as she crept into the room. She had already peeped through the door enough to know where Fade slept, so she wasted no time in tip-toeing up to his bed, standing over his slumbering form with an innocent, timid smile. Then, slowly, she reached down, placing her free hand on his shoulder.

"Fade~," She intoned in a quiet, sing-song voice that nonetheless sounded rather loud in the silent room. Leaning over him, she gazed down directly into his face, perhaps just a little too close for the waking boy's comfort. "Wake up, Fade~. It's morning. It's me, Marionette. I've made you breakfast. I hope you like it." She was barely able to control her eagerness as she spoke, her words coming out as something between an excited girlish squeal and a drawn out, anxious moan. This was it! She was finally making a friend! And now he would wake up, greet her with pleasant surprise, eat the breakfast she had so carefully prepared for him, and love it! And then, he would talk to her, and they would become friends! He was sure to be happy with her! She couldn't wait, couldn't wait, couldn't wait!

Why don't you hurry and wake up, Fade? I want you to be mine already! Faaaaa~deeee~....!

(Yandere for the Yandere god! Psychotic obsession for the obsessive throne!

...

I think I scared myself a little with this post.)

---

Fuego came to life with the sound of his door shutting. He quickly turned the door but no one was there, he sat up and looked around the room, still no one. His hand instinctively went to below his pillow to try and grab his gun but he had forgot where he was. He wasn't home, he wasn't with his family and friends. He was in this prison, ran by some psychopath and his cronies. He got up and walked over to the door, he was only in his boxers but what did he care, besides, he looked good and he knew it. He opened the door and walked out, not seeing anyone until he turned to see the girl in the black dress on the floor. He looked at her with his clearly tired face and raised his finger as to say wait a minute as he returned to his room. Grabbing some black pants, a white shirt and red tie, he went into the bathroom, hopping in the shower.

This was ridiculous, it was like forcing Bill Gates to spend only 50 bucks a day. Fuego had so much power, and was so close to more but now, now he walked around by a schedule, listening to some man tell him what to do like he was a toy. So far he wasn't any closer to leaving either, he had tried to make plans of breaking out, of getting away from this place and leaving it in the dust. He had attempted to dig, but the hole was filled. He had convinced a worker to help him, next day someone else had replaced him. He couldn't catch a break, but he knew that there would be a moment of weakness. Someone like him, he would underestimate Fuego, think that he had stumped him, then Fuego would have his chance.

As Fuego dried himself off though he couldn't help but feel as if he was losing his edge, or maybe holding back. Like he had a reason to not just run off in the night, like there was something here. He looked in the mirror and fixed his tie right as he smoothed down his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror for a minute before walking back into the room. He grimaced at his roommate still sleeping, he wasn't a fan of "Daddy's Boys" as he had grown to calling the sympathizers. He walked out of the room turning to the girl on the floor as he gave her a real smile. "Buongiorno Bella." (Good morning Beautiful.) He said as he leaned down giving her a slight kiss on the forehead as he stood back up. Rats was very near and dear to him, in this locked up hell hole, it was nice to have someone like her close to you. "Come, come, let's walk." He said offering his hand to help her up and then wrapping his arm around her back, shooting her a smile as they started their walk. Maybe, just maybe, something was holding him here.

---

Time was an elusive thing here.

Sitting, hunched over a desk at the centre of the room, was a man. He was an unsettling man if one were to ever watch him, silently locked over his books in a near eternal position of studying. The tiny ray of light shining above his head revealed an optical illusion, a bloody fountain of hair which cascaded over his back, tips pooling at the bottom of his seat. Books dumped into haphazard hills encrusted the table’s surface like a miniature land dump, but aside from that, his room was spartan. No bed was there, just a desk and his chair. A lonely wardrobe dotted the farthest wall in front of him, the barest of necessities.

Cant didn’t sleep anymore. He didn’t feel the need for it either. At all times, day and night, he was awake. Sometimes he wandered the mansion, sometimes he remained in his room like he was now. He still recalled his first days following the initiation. The countdown off time seemed important at first, but even time was drained of its meaning as the training wore on. Days became a blur, muddled into each other by identical routines. Training, tests and more tests. Here especially he could lose himself, with no window or skylight to indicate the passage of time. Metallic walls surrounded him on all sides, the only view provided to him being the glass door which separated him from the two other men.

He remained still as an unusually well-groomed man sought the exit, one of the newest additions to Father’s mansion. The latest batch of lab rats to join the family, there were several of them, two assigned to each Instructor. It was the exact same pattern he’d experienced upon first arriving here. Chuckling slightly, Cant guessed the time was around morning and withdrew his seat with a screech of metal rubbing against metal. Every bone in his body cracked as he outstretched his limbs, allowing the blood to flow back into them. Morning meant that training would commence soon.

---

Ratcatcher pretended she didn't notice it when her partner stepped into the hallway wearing only his boxers. The door opened and she poised to jump up and greet Fuego, but violet eyes looked to the door only to be greeted by a face full of bare leg, then wandered up to see him standing there, looking down at her. She blinked, slightly embarrassed for him, but she was just glad it was him and not Cant. He gestured for her to wait, his exhaustion clearly written on his face, and then went back into his room to get dressed. She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, prepared to sit there for as long as it took for her fiery haired partner to come back from getting ready.

It was taking him a while and the blank faced girl was growing tired of waiting. She watched as a small bug scuttled about on the tiled floors and she reached her foot out and squashed it under her heel. The action did not help her boredom, though, and she found herself growing tempted to get up and sneak back down to the basement where perhaps the crafty rats would give her some more entertainment. However, no matter how bored Ratcatcher grew, she didn't want to leave Fuego without at least telling him where she was going. She considered snatching a pen off of one of the Lab coats and writing a note on the wall for him, but surely one of the butlers would just paint over it like they did with anything she put on the pristine white walls. Neither pen ink nor blood stood any chance against the invisible butlers. She sighed and was about to stand up when she heard the knob above her click and the door open.

Peering up through her thick eyelashes, Ratcatcher watched Fuego step out, newly showered and dressed casually yet elegantly in the way that only Fuego could manage. He grinned at her, the type of grin that made her want to smile back, if only she remembered how. "Buongiorno Bella." She took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of his body wash and cologne as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She didn't see such words or actions as romantic advances, simply her partner's way of saying hello. She found it comforting and normal in such a strange place.

"Come, come, let's walk." She reached her hand up and grabbed Fuego's, allowing him to help her up from her position on the floor. As he wrapped his arm around her small waist, she dusted off her skirt and watched her friend smile at her. She wondered how he smiled and was so comfortable around her, it usually took her much longer to accept someone in such a way, though she didn't mind it. Fuego's trust was nice, and she even felt like she could rely on him as well.

"We have to train soon." She pointed out, "we can't go too far." Rats didn't mind training, she liked the fact that Cant was passing his knowledge on to her, and that she was getting stronger. She hoped that Father would let her do something fun soon. She overheard one of the Lab coats once saying that he was going to deploy them soon on their first missions, though she didn't know how reliable the Lab coat was, though. She heard later that he was caught trying to help one of the experiments escape, so his trustworthy-ness was obviously questionable. Rats wondered what kind of person would want to escape Father when he gave them everything they wanted. "How about the kitchen? I wouldn't mind having a muffin."

---

"Train soon, sdraiata bastardo!" (Lying Bastard) He said as he turned to look at her and then back down the hall. Fuego wasn't one to hide opinions or emotions. He left it all on the table, rather to let your opponent think you are a open book than to let them read the pages. "Yes something to eat sounds nice." He said agreeing with her as he looked around the halls. He walked with her toward the kitchen as thoughts and plans ran through his mind. He was actually rather mad this morning, another escape attempt foiled and he was left in this damn building again. He could walk around like it was his birthday though, he wasn't going to give the others the satisfaction of seeing him weak.

As they entered the kitchen he grabbed something from a basket and started eating it. This was a dreaded time for him and you could probably see that he was irritated if you studied him. Moments like these were pure hell, having to sit, wait for someone who thinks they know the world to teach him, about something that they themselves know nothing of. He looked around and found one of the cameras in the corner and raised it with a smile as to say, cheers. He knew he was watching, if Fuego gave him anything it was that he saw a lot, Fuego wouldn't say everything because that ment he was powerless, and he was not powerless, ever.

---

Feeling blood run down his chest, he staggered up, and without a second to think, he raised forward towards his petite target. A scream fell to the air, hitting his ears, causing his expression to tighten slightly. But he couldnt stop his actions, as he grasped a thin and slender neck. Wide, innocent blue eyes stare back as tears swell up against the corners. "????" His old and forgotten name slipped from her lips, before her fate come upon her. A creak of the door.. With a spine shivering snap, the victim fell to the floor, and with that, a grim smile danced at his lips, before one word slipped fro him as well. His own body falling-

"Fade~," As fast as one could blink, Fade's slender hand raced towards the wrist of whom was touching him. But despite his fast and skilled movements, His eyelids flickered open quietly as red orbs were revealed, emotionless and still as ever, as he awoke from his day dream. Though it was deep in his eyes that a wild shocking emotion shifted around, before dispersing and hidden behind a facade. Though evidence of his slight shock was the thin layer of cold sweat covering his face. 'a dream..?' How he hated this. 'Wait I can't sleep.. heh' He dryly mused.
The thought of waking up again, after what he did. In this place, in his "new home." This horrible place, was a painful thought. But then again, he doesnt want to die..
'Damn..' Focusing on the reality, he looked up, and saw the familiar face of his partner. Marionette.

Scanning her expression calmly, despite the extreme closeness of her person, he gripped her shoulder, pushing her up gently and sat up in his bed, the covers tangled in his legs. He was going to have to get used to this. Taking a deep and husky breath, he turned to her, and eyed her person and the breakfast, she held. Assuming what she was doing was not a threatening thing, he slipped out of the bed, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly and casually strolled towards his mask that laid on the desk, before hanging it around his neck. Taking another breath, he stayed still for a moment, before turning around and leaning against the wall, watching her carefully, then the breakfast. Nothing to say, he waited for her to respond. But at last moment, he thought of common curtsey and thought why the hell not. "Good morning." He stated, his voice hushed and obviously tired and weary. Glancing at the time, he remembered the schedule of today which his supposed father gave them. Sighing he returned his focus on her supposed partner. Why did the father assign her with him again? To assist him?" Be her friend-" The annoying voice of the leader flowed within his mind from memory. oh yeah, that was one..this was stupid in his opinion, But honestly, she wasent that bad..but not good either. He still needs to determine her, friend or foe, weather she was trustful or not. Worth it, basically.
Though she seemed to try hard to catch his attention for she always clinged on to him, followed, and like before, got into his bubble. However being the stoic person he was, he could care less. Ruffling up his hair in a not-sure-what-to-do manner, he sat down at a nearby chair and waited for his partner to do something. She was the one who came here in the first place. He wasent used to people coming to him.. and he defiantly didnt trust it. But that was just him.

---

It seemed Fade was a light sleeper. Almost the moment she laid her hand on him, he was already awake. To think that he was always so alert and ready... Fade was really incredible! Marionette smiled, elated by her new discovery of yet another amazing thing about her friend-to-be. And yet, something seemed wrong. Instantly, Fade sat up, pushing her gently away from him and rising, swiftly taking up his usual mask. In an instant, her features twisted slightly in worry. Why was he putting his mask on?! If he did that, he wouldn't be able to eat his breakfast! Her hair swished back and forth ever so slightly with a frantic speed as she analyzed the situation. Oh, it would be so easy to stop him. She could just stretch out the mono-filament wire concealed within her hair, and just cut the stupid mask right out of his hands. Then, if he still didn't want to eat, she could just as usually use it to make him wait while she fed it to him. Then he would realize how good it was, and he would eat it willingly! And then he would be pleased with her, and he would be her friend!

In the next instant, however, she was filled with relief, for Fade merely hung the mask around his neck, and then sat down once more. Oh, how silly it had been of her to assume her Fade would do something so rude. Of course, he only wanted the mask so he could be ready for later. Still, it was nice to know that she wouldn't have to use any of her tools to befriend him, like the razor-sharp wires concealed all across her body or the carving knife she had pocketed from the kitchen that morning. It was funny, actually, speaking of that knife. She noticed that her hand had crept into her back-left pocket where it was hidden without even realizing it. If someone who didn't know any better had noticed - which it seemed Fade thankfully hadn't, as he had been looking the other way at the time - they might have gotten the horrible, horrible misconception that she intended to hurt Fade. But no, she would never do that. She would only have helped him by destroying that mask as completely and utterly as she could, so nothing would be able to hide how he really felt from her. Then nothing would be separating them, and better yet, Fade would even be able to eat the breakfast without its interference.

But, it seemed that such measures wouldn't be necessary. Of course! It was silly to think that she'd need to do something like that. Fade was too nice to do something so rude as to snub the breakfast she had lovingly made him. But still... why wasn't he saying anything? Was something wrong? Had he not heard her? Or had he noticed something? She couldn't have him getting the wrong impression... But if he misunderstood, how could she correct him?

"Good morning," He said at last, his words finally breaking the very tense silence between them. Oh, so that was it. He must not have heard her explanation when she had woken him up! In that case, maybe if she just explained herself again, the situation could still be resolved with a happy ending.

"Good morning," she replied happily. Her voice was quiet, yet excited, as though she was overjoyed merely at being spoken to. "I thought you might like breakfast, so I made you some. Here, eat up!~" Quickly, she held up the tray of food to show him, and, with an eager smile, presented it to him.

---

"Train soon, sdraiata bastardo!" Ratcatcher was surprised by her partner's sudden outburst, but her face did not reveal it, a constant mask of indifference. She had realized early on that Fuego was sensitive when the topic of Father came up. She worried about him, she didn't want Father to catch wind of the fact that her partner was broken, he was one of the few people in the mansion that she liked. Rats sighed and pressed herself closer to him, feeling the warmth of Fuego's body against her own. She closed her eyes and allowed him to guide her down the hallway into the elevator and towards the kitchen. By the time they reached the kitchen, busy with hungry Lab coats, he seemed to have calmed down considerably, however she couldn't help but feel that he was still tense with pent up anger and Ratcatcher wondered what he was thinking about that could have him fuming so much.

She separated from him to go and take a muffin off of a plate, the Lab coats she passed watching her apprehensively, they didn't seem to trust the experiments that they had helped bring to life. She almost smiled, it was good, she liked to be feared. She picked up a muffin and studied it closely. Blueberry. She poked it with a long, graceful finger and watched a bit of it crumble and fall to the grown. The almost smile quickly pulled downward in a frown. She didn't need to eat, and she definitely wouldn't waste her time eating such a dry muffin. Eyes followed her as she walked out of the main kitchen area to Fuego, casually tossing the uneaten muffin in the trash.

Ratcatcher found him toasting the camera with his food, a mocking smile playing across his face. She hurried over and pulled his arm down, placing one of her pale hands in his empty one and squeezing it. "Please, Fuego," she hissed quietly, hoping none of the Lab coats would overhear. "Please don't do this, I know you do not agree with Father, but I don't want anything to happen to you if he realizes you are broken." Her violet eyes caught his eyes in an almost pleading manner and she squeezed his hand once more before releasing it. "Now, finish your food and we can go do something else." She sent an anxious glance back at the camera before turning the rest of her attention back to her partner.

---

Blade ran a hand through his hair before he returned to his bed. He slowly made his bed trying to shake the nightmare from his mind. This had been the fourth time he had the same dream.
"You killed me, along with all the people I loved, now its my turn. I'm going to kill you." The line the little boy had said kept running through his head. The worse part about it was he couldn't think of any happy times to forget about the nightmare because the only thing he remembered about his past was that horrible incident.

Its pathetic I don't even my own name. Blade thought bitterly picking up a towel and outfit without even looking to see what he had picked up.

He silently made his way down to the first floor shower rooms and finding a shower noticing another person was also in here. Oh an instructor. Blade thought trying to find a shower stall as far as he could from the other male.
He found one turning on the water and stepping inside as the hot water flowed down over him.

---

Twitch inwardly enjoyed the shower, taking a bit longer than most days simply because he wanted the extra relaxation it gave. Today would be training day one, and he was certain it was not going to be counted among his favorite days. He started to wrap things up, however, when he became aware of another in the bathing room. He should not have lingered as he did. Unable to help it, he glared in the direction of where he heard the other shower as he stopped his own and dried off.

He refused to rush, just to satisfy his own need to revel in solitude as long as possible. So, Twitch made sure he was completely dried off before putting on his outfit for the day. It was pretty much the same, more or less, as any other day. He had a pair of jeans, slightly faded simply from use, and a plain white tee-shirt. However, since it was training day, he also donned a thin, light blue, long sleeved button down shirt. He kept the top half of the buttons undone for now, and he didn’t tuck the edges in.

He kept the black slip on shoes for now, and folded his pajamas and the towel he used. That would all go into the shower’s hamper on his way out. He didn’t know how they knew what clothing belonged to whom, but they just seemed to know, so he didn’t worry about it. Twitch stared in the direction of the other shower for a minute before leaving. I’m not ready for this. He didn’t want to do this whole training schmaining thing. He wanted to just work on pushing his own abilities to the limit, but there wasn’t much choice in the matter.

He still worked with and for Father. His loyalty was absolute in the sense that what Father wanted of Twitch, Twitch gave without hesitation. He was nowhere near being physically ready to oppose Father, and he knew that at least. It was something for much farther down the road. How far depended upon how much he could push himself, how far his abilities could actually go. For now, if Father asked him to jump, Twitch would jump. Asking how high would simply be hesitating.

Twitch left the bathing room then, choosing to swing by the kitchen for a quick toasted bagel with cream cheese and an orange juice. He’d snag some protein bars for later in the day when he needed an extra kick to his energy level. Then he’d wait near the elevators that would take him to the training room until it was actually time to arrive early. Twitch wanted to get the day started so it would end that much quicker.

---

"I thought you might like breakfast, so I made you some. Here, eat up!~" Fade glanced at the food then looked up at her with a small raise of an eyebrow. Well at least his assumption were right, but he was skeptical about the situation. They didn't need to eat anymore, yes? Then why was she giving this to him. Analyzing her expression, he decided to drop his suspicion with a slight shrug, seeing how eager she appeared about it. Slowly, he took the tray from her hand, and laid it on the nearby desk. "..." Peering at his partner, he took the fork, and took a rather big bite of the pancake that still had a hint of warmth. The chocolate melted in his mouth, giving his tongue a tingling sensation, surely to make him happy in the past seeing how it was a delicacy to the poor, but now his taste buds remained bland. This wasent necessary-
However, old habits died hard, so he wouldn't dare waste good food like this. Not caring on what she thought, he took another bite, after another, chewing slowly and maintaining an easy pace. Though he finally decided to take stop, leaving his fork hanging from his mouth lazily. "..." Staring at the food, Fade turned his head tiredly towards Marionette, his face unreadable. And with surprise, he murmured a thanks, before starting on his food again, which in turn almost left an empty plate. '....'
He had to give it to her, she was a good cook for someone who awoke to this place.. Not that he thought it was a useful skill, it was just a rare thing to come by for him. In his past, he never ate anything warm.. So it was a nice change for once, making his expression lighten up a bit, his weary expression slightly gone. 'heh..' Scoffing lightly to himself, he placed his fork down, and got up with the tray in his hand.

Fade needed to drop this off at the kitchen he assumed, besides he needed to head out anyway- He focused on the girl again. Correction "they" needed to head out. They needed to prepare.. Kicking the chair back slightly, he headed towards the door, but as he passed by Marionette, he let his slender hands ruffle her hair in almost an affectionate manner. Which in his eyes was just an act of grabbing her attention, though he wasent going to say that was he? "Let's go." With that soft command, he walked out, keeping pace, knowing that Marionette was capable of catching up. If she wasent, he wasent so sure why she was here in this place anyways. That sounding rude, it was not intended to be so, though he wasent going to explain himself. Adjusting his mask on his face, he took a breath of clean air then dropped the tray near a kitchen table with a clatter, not really caring. Done with one task, he looked over his shoulders, his red eyes scanning for familar white hair of his partner to catch up. Today was training, he guess, with their instructor... Twitch..? Yup that was his roommate. Luckily enough for Fade, which is a first, he seems alright, in a sense that he wont be annoying seeing how they shared a room. Twitch was quiet and he was quiet.. Though he'll have to see a bit longer to decide what to think.

---

Marionette watched with nervous anticipation as Fade stared blankly at her for a moment, as though deciding something for himself. Was he going to take it? He wouldn't dare snub her kind offer, would he? She couldn't let that happen. That would mean the failure of her plans. Fade was supposed to be her friend, so that's what he was going to be. There was nothing else to it.

To her joy, the tension was finally broken as, with a slight shrug, her friend-to-be took the tray from her and seated himself, slowly and methodically setting about eating his meal. Marionette clasped her hands together excitedly, watching with mounting joy as Fade took first one bite, then another, soon settling into a slow pace of eating bit by bit, clearing the plate item by item until there was almost nothing left. Marionette's breath caught in her throat, relief and happiness painted plainly on her face. It had worked! He liked it! There had been nothing to worry about all along after all. Of course! Why had she been afraid, anyway? Fade would never be so rude as to reject her offer. She was just about to ask him if he had liked it - she already knew the answer, but she wanted to seem polite, of course - when he stopped, turning to her in his usual blank manner before speaking a brief "thank you," and going back to eating. Marionette smiled happily, and quickly replied.

"O-oh, it's nothing!" She said ecstatically. "I should be thanking you for eating it." Smiling happily as her partner at last finished, rising from his chair, she was just about to say something else - maybe start a conversation, or something similar, when he abruptly walked past her. As she turned to follow him, however, he did something she hadn't expected, filling her heart with elation at the incredible success of her plan to befriend him. Reaching out, he placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair kindly. She shut her eyes, smiling joyously as he passed by. Even if he said nothing more than "Let's go," she knew. He was happy with her. He was going to be her friend. It had worked! Nodding excitedly, she bounced out of the room right by his side, not falling behind for an instant as they made their way out into the hallways. They visited the kitchen to drop off the used tray of dishes, and then kept on walking somewhere else, but Marionette didn't really care at all about that. She was too busy staring at Fade, her newest, first, and only friend.

Fuego smirked at her comment and took a bite out of his muffin as he looked back at the camera. He knew, he knew what Fuego had been doing, he knew he was trying to escape yet he kept him around. The man was to smart to not know what Fuego was up to, but why would he keep him around. It pissed him off to no end cause he knew that he had to play his game while he waited for a opening. It was like waiting to robs someone's house but the only way in was if the owner of the house opened the door. "It's fine Rats, really... whatever, lets go do something, I need to get my mind in some better place." He turned his head back to Rats with a smile as he chewed the last bite of muffin. "Piombo il modo bello, I'll follow you." (lead the way beautiful) Before turning to leave Fuego looked up at the camera once more, this time with a stern serious face. Why did he keep Fuego around, why not kill him, what was that bastards plan.