Angelina Payton's Story

"WOOOH!!" The scream echos through the streets, among the million other chit chatting; buzzing voices which fluttered through the sky. People moved here and there, and Angelina sat, cold and frozen, on the shelf of a store. She could see out of the glass window, as those outside could pear in and see her, but she wasn't as pleased as they were. Her long, pink hair reaches the back of her pale, doll legs. Her red eyes shimmered off of the sun's rays. If she could, she would shatter this glass open and escape. But for some reason, her body could not move... Angelina was aware of her surroundings, but could do nothing to change them...

Brushing away her anger and aggravation at the fact, however, she realized she had no idea how she had gotten there. Where was she? Why was she here? And why was she like this? Angelina didn't remember always being like this...but what was she before this? Everything seemed to be a complete blur; as if her life had just started at that moment. Had it? She wasn't even sure...All of the confusing thoughts which buzzed through her mind like an angry bee did not grant her any answers, though. There were no answers, and she wondered if she would forever be frozen in this store window, staring out at the world who stared back.

Would Angelina simply collect dust? Or would some foolish child purchase her and take her to "play" with. The thought feels like poison in her mind, and she considers the fact that she might prefer just collecting dust. Children were loud, obnoxious, disrespectful, and Angelina didn't like them one bit...Surely if one were to take her, they would tear her fragile arms or legs off, without any consideration. All they did was destroy. They did not know how to create....

Exonia

Tossed into an awkward position, Exonia gazed at the new doll, straining to see in the limited light that filtered through the nor-quite-zipped zipper, her eyes not betraying any signs of emotion. The new, golden-haired doll aroused an aching curiosity within her. She was positive she'd seen this doll somewhere before. She was also certain that this doll was like her...she knew nothing of her new existence. 

Niko

He ran through the streets as fast as his small legs could carry him, dodging and weaving through the crowds on the sidewalks. He passed shops and restaurants and recreational buildings, none providing the unknown thing he was searching do desperately for...

Niko stopped dead in his tracks. His head swiveled to the left, looking across the street and right into the window of a toy shop. A girl in a white blouse and pink shorts was walking outside. She looked older than him, though not by much. She had something in her hand. A doll. 

Without warning, Niko rushed across the road, cutting in front of cars, earning him several angry honks. The girl rounded the street corner. He sped up, determined not to lose her. He needed that doll. Niko didn't stop to yell at himself for being so desperate to get a doll, of all things. 

Upon reaching the other side and turning the corner himself, Niko realized that catching up to this girl was going to be harder than he'd expected. It seemed that floods of people were coming his way, and Niko had to push against the tide harder just to keep her in his sights. 

After about five minutes, Niko felt hopeless. He was about to abandon the chase when the girl turned again, walking across the street to a small playground. He crossed behind her, still farther away than he liked. 

Finally, Niko caught up to her by a sandbox. She was twisting the doll's pink hair around her index finger. Niko called out to her. 

"Hey! Hey!"

She turned around as he ran up to her. Her brown ponytail swished at the motion. The girl addressed him. 

"Yeah?" 

Niko halted sharply. Up close, she was taller than he expected. He had to tilt his head back to look her in the eyes. He was nervous. What was he going to say?

"Ah...um...is there any way that you'd...eh...give me that doll?" he finished weakly, pointing timidly to the toy in her hand. 

"This?" she held it up and looked him up and down. "Why?"

Niko bit his lip. He decided to come up with a lie. He'd never considered himself to be a good liar, but then again he'd never thought himself a terrible one either. 

"Well, you see, my sister's very sick. She's been at the hospital for weeks and she collects dolls, see, and I saw that in the window and wanted to buy it but I realized I didn't have enough money with me so I ran home to get it and when I came back you-"

She held up a hand, cutting off his ramble. She looked at the doll. "You know, I only bought this for my dog to chew on. He loves dolls. But," she added, causing Niko to flinch. "This cost me some money." She looked Niko up and down. "On the other hand, I'd hate to keep it from your sister... Tell ya what. You got something for my dog?"

Niko paused, mentally checking the contents of his backpack. Two dolls... a comic book... a Thor action figure...

He brightened up. He unzipped his bag, brushing aside the two dolls, his hand searching for the thing. Niko found it and held it out triumphantly for the older girl to see. 

She looked at it a moment, pondering. She looked at the doll, his action figure, the doll again. At last, the girl took the Thor toy, handing him the doll. 

"Tell your sis I said get well soon, okay kid?" she asked. He nodded vigorously, placing the third doll in his bag with the other two. With that, the girl turned and left him standing there alone, by the sandbox. 

Feeling good, Niko skipped off in the direction of his house. Upon seeing the one-story structure out on the hill, he ran at full speed over to the largest tree in the yard. Atop that tree was a treehouse. His base of operations, so to speak. 

As he headed for his little sanctuary, Niko began to wonder what had compelled him to pick up the dolls. He knew they were special, but how?

A chime from the store door echoes through the building as a girl, seeming to be almost a teen, walks in. Her dark brown locks were tied in a tight pony tail, and her eyes seemed to gaze around the store only to land on Angelina. At first, she hoped the girl would buy her. It wasn't a small child; old enough to possibly not take the initiative to tear her limb from limb, so maybe she would have a good chance with this girl. However, the girl disappears from her vision, being that she was only able to stare out the window and saw her only through the corner of her vision. With an inward sigh, Angelina begins to ponder if she had just been passed over....

But suddenly, she is lifted high from her mantel, and a panic rushes through her. What's happening?! Angelina yells in her mind, watching as she seems to float higher and higher up from the world. Finally, she is faced to see the brown haired girl is holding her, her big, round, red eyes staring back innocently. At that moment, panic turned to excitement. She was being bought! Angelina would be out of this dump in no time, and hopefully would find out more answers to what exactly was going on here. A strange green paper is exchanged between the two humans, and the girl walks out with the goddess doll...

Moments later, they seem to arrive at a strange playground from small children. The area in which she was in did not please Angelina one bit...She hated children..Their shrill cries and screams annoyed her small, delicate ears. But it wasn't as if she could actually do anything about it...She can feel as her smooth, long pink hair is lifted off the nape of her neck, to be twirled around the fingers of the girl who bought her. It sort of hurt, and the girl was a bit rough with her hair. She wanted to yell out to the girl and make her stop, but her frozen lips would not move...

Then, a strange little boy seemed to run up to her new "owner." As he asks if he can have the doll, inwardly, Angelina yells out No! Definitely not! He's a boy, you fool! Children, especially little boys, only care to destroy things! He'll destroy- but her words of panic and anger are cut off by the girl's response. Angelina's heart sinks at the words. A dog?! How dare you figure to use me for such a useless thing!! I am not a dog's toy!! she starts screeching within her head, becoming filled with even more rage.

When Angelina is handed to the boy, staring around at the world as it swirled by, while he quickly walked off, she simmered in her own heat. Great...either way I'm screwed...This boy probably doesn't even actually have a sister... She mumbles to herself, her long pink hair flinging in every which direction as she bounced along in his hand.

To the surprise of the golden haired doll, voices once again spoke up outside. Something strange seemed to be afoot, for moments later, a third doll was placed within the already crowded backpack. Stranger still, the boy had given up something it seemed he had liked in exchange for this doll. That meant that he had to have some motive, some hope of profit, from collecting the dolls. But yet stranger still was the fact that Raika was certain that she recognized this doll as well. The chances of one boy finding them and gathering them all up seemed preposterously unlikely. That is, unless someone had informed him of where they were. But if that was the case, there was the question of "Why?" That single word haunted every waking hour of the elegant priestess doll's new life. Why was she a doll? Why was she able to continue thinking and living with the body of a doll? Why couldn't she remember anything but her name and the other dolls she found herself placed amongst? Why were all of the dolls being gathered together? Why was a young boy, of all people, the one to do it?

And most importantly, why was she so sad, so afraid? It felt like something had gone colossally wrong, and Raika couldn't help but fear for both her life, and the life of the boy who had taken her in.