#puppet gore

(this happens some time after Wally arrived at Watcher's mansion, so a while after Barnaby's death.)

ㅤㅤㅤHe'd been feeling... off, for days. Something had changed, but pup couldn't place his finger on what. Pup wasn't feeling right since before, but... this was different. He found itself looking behind its shoulder more frequently, abruptly waking up from nightmares almost every night, scratching his hand until it bled after they'd managed to stop that bad habit.

ㅤㅤㅤThe others were worried, but he just brushed it off and told them it was nothing, probably. What would pup tell them, anyways? They already had enough on their plates, and he wasn't even sure of what it was, yet.

ㅤㅤㅤAnd maybe he didn't want to know.

ㅤㅤㅤHe woke up nauseous one night, the air cold even though pup was surrounded by the others. It managed to make its way between them and get off the large bed, quickly walking to the closest bathroom to lock themselves in it. He pressed its back against the door, breathing irregularly, heavily; their vision blurry and its mind spinning. What was happening?

ㅤㅤㅤHe felt a sharp pain coming from his left arm, grabbing it with its other hand and uselessly tried to focus its vision on it to no avail. With shaky steps he approached the bathroom sink, stepping on a stool already there for all the smaller residents of the mansion. frowning as much as it could, pup stared at the mirror trying to focus, wanting to see himself in an attempt to discover what was wrong.

ㅤㅤㅤThat's when he saw it. A third, vertical eye was staring back at pup from its forehead, its pupil a bright red.

ㅤㅤㅤHe felt even more sick than before, the air escaping from its lungs as he stepped back, missing the stool and falling awkwardly to the floor. They clumsily dragged itself to the other side of the room, his eyes wide open in shock. His whole body was now shaking violently, breathing desperately fast.

ㅤㅤㅤWhat? Why? No, no, no, this couldn't be. It was gone. He saw how it burnt with their own eyes. He was the one who burnt it. Why was it still here?

ㅤㅤㅤAn even stronger pain coming from the same arm as before interrupted its thoughts, causing him to look down at it. Something from inside of pup was cutting open its cloth, some stuffing coming out alongside a black substance he was awfully familiar with.

ㅤㅤTears had formed in his eyes, quickly falling down its cheeks as he stared in horror, the substance slowly covering its hand, creating more painful cuts in order to get out.

ㅤㅤHis vision was failing, tempting to loose consciousness because of the shock. But he wasn't thinking about that anymore. He was thinking about the others, the family that was still on the bed pup was laying on not so long ago. He was scared, not so much for itself, but for them. What if he hurt them? What if they get infected? They were under so much danger, and they didn't even suspect it...

ㅤㅤㅤWith the little strength he had left, pup approached the door of the room and locked it, finally collapsing in front of it. He wanted to keep them safe. Pup was going to keep them safe, no matter what. He'd refuse to open the door to anyone... Although its unlikely he even could, barely being able to move because of the pain, all his limbs going numb as it felt how it took control over his arm.

ㅤㅤㅤThe world went dark, after that. All pup could do is think; think about what happened, think about what he did. This must be its punishment, he thought; punishment for not being strong enough. For being scared. For not being able to protect his family, back then and now. He was sorry, pup promised he was, but this didn't help.