Chapter 32 – The Weaver Who Mends Tattered Souls
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Cat

 

I march right up the staircase without an ounce of stealth, my hand tightly wrapped around Fox’s. I don’t care if Geppette and her cronies wanna play games, I’m done playing. Throwing wide the door at the top of the stairs, we’re greeted to the sight of what we would have seen had we been able to go up the main flight of stairs in the first place. It’s the central hub of the manor, a big, wide open space layered with a giant carpet, just as itchy as the rest. The walls are lined with more spooky decor including skulls with blue flames in them, wilted plants, drawers with dark tapestry draped over each, and hey, a working chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Oh, did I mention all the dolls roaming about up here? There’s, like, 6 of them.

They all grin and smile as they begin to shamble their way towards us. I still can’t hear anything but from the way Fox is almost hiding behind me, her ears twitching now and then, it’d seem they’re chatting up a storm. I’d imagine they’re saying more crap involving taking Fox from me. Not on my watch.

“AAAALRIGHT, back off, ladies!” I shout, throwing my arms wide. 

They stop in place with a surprised look. I notice one still inching towards us slowly, but a quick glare shuts them down.

“We’re here to talk to Geppette.” With Fox wrapped around my arm, I take a step forward, looking as stern as I can. “I dunno what y’all want with my girlfriend--” Every doll makes an unheard gasping motion, while Fox gets even redder. Sorry, hun. “--and neither does she. So y’all’re gonna step aside and make a path for us so we can talk to your mom. Alright?

Surprisingly enough, that works. Each doll nods before hesitantly stepping back, allowing us access to the giant doors leading to the main bedroom. As we approach the cobwebs increase until the very door frame itself is layered with blankets of crisscrossing webs. Okay. The dolls respond to diplomacy well, evident enough by Zee floating Navi around to compliment all the dolls on their attire through their speaker. Geppette should be no problem. I place a paw on the door handle and quickly find Fox placing her hand atop mine, smiling up at me. We both pull down and walk into…

 

...a spider’s den. This looks nothing like what I remember of this manor. The walls and floors flow seamlessly into one another, making it impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. It’s all varying shades of dark purples and blues, rippling and flowing into one another, as if the night sky had formed itself into a cavern with spiderwebs everywhere. There’s no end to it! Some of it even reaches upwards and forms into tree-like shapes, the fruit they bear being… spiders… Lots of ‘em… Now, I grew up in the countryside, creepy crawlies don’t bother me too much, but this magnitude of bug? Let’s just say I’m a lil bit perturbed.

I close the entrance to the spider’s forest as soon as Navi is in with us, and thus, our trek through the webbed woods begins. There’s something oddly comforting about the feeling of the formless floor below, even with all the webs, the darkness, the colours, it’s…soothing almost? Even the spiders bother me less the further in we get. No. Gotta keep my guard up. For Fox.

Mere moments later, we see what I presume to be our destination: A huge framed bed of shiny black wood and silky white covers. And atop it…

“...Ah, my daughter and the lover…”

A voice both silky and spindly sounds off from atop the covers of the bed. Its owner strokes the head of the doll I’d disposed of, who is currently laying in her lap, with one pair of arms. In the other she holds a yellow plush dog, dressed in a… aw, it’s a trans pride dress. That’s cute… B-but anyways. The one atop the bed.

I might have mistaken her for an Ascended had I simply met her on the street. She takes the form of a humanoid spider, navy blue carapace coating her body with brighter blues atop her forelimbs; all eight of them. Four are used like arms, four as legs, and behind those, a large abdomen. The spider wears a patchwork dress, raggedy but stitched together with love, and atop her head, curly golden locks from… I-is it rude to point out it’s a wig? It looks lovely on her! But yes, she wears a wig as well. Most striking of all, however, is her face, sharp and beautiful, two larger eyes and two smaller on one side, and on the other… A single large button eye, with two smaller buttons mimicking the placement of her smaller eyes. She’s an odd sight, beautiful in an odd way, and odd in a beautiful way.

“...You’re Geppette then?” I ask, trying to stow my aggression until it’s needed.

“I am! I am…” She seems almost amused by my question as she squeezes the plush in her arms closer to her chest. “And I… I know of you, my daughter, Fox Vixen…”

Fox waves sheepishly at the spider, who waves back with one of her many arms.

“...The others, however…are new to me… Come, tell me your names, young ones…”

My steps forward are filled with trepidation, but the calming air of this place seeps into my mind once more. Stop! Stop, I need to be alert…

“...No fae tricks? Can’t steal our names or anything like that?” I ask, though, I don’t see why she would answer truthfully if this were the case.

She laughs, a soft and happy chortle. “No, no. There have been no tricks, and there shall be none. I only wished to see my daughter. And now, her friends as well.”

I cross my arms, closing my eyes and shaking my head. She’s too nice.

“...Cat Kitten. And this is--”

Brzt-- Sue-Zee, Sue fronting…”

Geppette smiles and nods at us. “I am pleased to meet you all. And I must apologize to you, Miss Kitten, on behalf of my daughter Annette.”

The doll in her lap begins to rise, wiping her eyes as if there were any tears a doll could shed. Then again, I’m a cat person with fire magic, so who knows, maybe she does. Annette then slides off the bed and I drop into a defensive stance as she rushes over to us…only to run up to and hug Fox before rushing away behind one of the trees of web. My partner looks up at me confused.

“So, did Annette do that to you…?”

I nod, looking down at the still healing hole in my hand. “With a big ‘ol needle.”

“And again, I apologize on her behalf,” the spider says. “I do not control my daughters, and Annette especially has had a great deal of trauma, mostly involving things and people being taken away from her. My daughters cannot help but seek to maintain the tranquility I’ve offered them by any means, and I apologize you were caught up in that.”

“That was a lot of words for a whole lot of nothing, ma’am.”

She laughs at me once more. “Indeed, indeed there is much I would need to explain. But it is not my daughters you seek answers for, is it?”

“That’s right,” Fox speaks up, taking a step forward. “This is about…your daughter.

 

Geppette smiles at Fox, patting the space beside her on her bed as if to offer her a seat. Hesitantly, she begins walking towards the bed, and I follow close behind.

“And as to why she’s been so drawn towards her sisters and I?”

My partner nods, arriving just before the bed, but not yet taking a step onto it.

“It is simply your soul seeking what it knows it needs.”

“And that is…?”

“Peace of mind. Quiet. Care.”

“You do know that doesn’t actually answer anything for us, right?” I jeer as gently as I can.

“Aha, quite so,” the spider admits with a nod. “To put it simply, then… You have not been treated well in the past, my daughter. So much so, it’s left a scar on your soul that aches for comfort.”

Fox frowns and looks down and away from Geppette. “B… But I thought I’d dealt with all of that already…”

The puppet maker scoots closer to the edge of the bed and I’m once again on guard, but she simply lifts Fox’s chin up in her hand, turning it to face her.

“I cannot see into your memories beyond that which harmed you, but sensing what I can… A single night cannot undo trauma, my dear daughter, as monumental of a step towards fighting back as it was.”

Fox tightens her hands into fists as her frown turns into a grimace. “Th… Then I’ll have to--”

“No! No no, dear daughter,” Geppette gently cries out, pulling Fox’s head close to her chest. “You’ll not need to experience that fear again, I promise you. That is exactly why your soul calls out to me… I can offer you peace of mind, even if only for a moment.”

“Is that what…?”

The spider nods at Fox’s unfinished question. It’s like they’re having half the conversation without me…

“It is the same for all of my daughters. This is why they’ve been dubbed the ‘fallen’ daughters. They have fallen into my web, from which I weave them a life they might find worth living still and take away their pain in the process. In most cases, what helps most is that they did not realize yet that they were daughters.”

Ahh. Not exactly ascension, but similar.

“...Alright, you help trauma victims cope with all this. And you want to take Fox too, huh?”

But she shakes her head at my accusation. “Not take her. I know she has important things to do, just as you do, Miss Kitten. But if for a moment… I could ease my daughter’s pain…it would be enough for me. This trip, I know Waywright intended to use me for her own gain, but I’ve been enjoying my chance at finding new daughters to offer my web to. At least, when Yombroila has not gotten to them before I…”

The spider giggles and pulls her hand away from Fox, sliding back closer to the center of the bed.

“So…you’re saying you’ll just up and leave if Fox decides to stay with you for some time?”

“Barely half an hour, Miss Kitten. And then I will be off. My contract said I must capture the thieves of the Gate Stone, and technically, this would be that, would it not?”

Heh. Even magical contracts have loopholes, eh?

“I’ll do it.”

I don’t even look at Fox as I sigh. The further this conversation went on, the more I knew it was going to turn out this way.

“If you’re gonna turn into a doll at the hands of some otherworldly spider woman, I’m gonna stay close by,” I declare, moving over to take a seat on the edge of the bed before Fox has even gotten up there, the girl looking up and smiling at me.

Brzt-- W-we’ll be around too!”

Geppette giggles at all of the voices around her.

“You are quite lucky, dear daughter, to have such caring friends.”

“I am, aren’t I…”

 

And so Fox climbs into the bed, taking a seat not directly next to Geppette, though, the spider appears to have other plans as she pats her lap. Nervously, my partner begins to lean herself to the side, lowering her head onto Geppette’s lap, looking calmer after a moment of laying there.

“Feel pain no more, dear daughter… Fall no longer, dear daughter… You are in the arms which shall free you from the sins of the world, dear daughter… Let go, and join your sisters, dear daughter…”

As Geppette begins to sing, I’m reminded that I haven’t heard Fox’s singing voice for some time-- I-I mean, I watch as her arms begin to draw themselves over my partner, laying threads of silk that disappear upon landing on her fur. In time, I see Geppette’s magic begin to take form as Fox falls asleep, the tips of her fingers and toes gently forming into plush that spreads up her arms and legs, seams forming along their sides and up to her shoulders and hips, then tightening around her torso and the base of her tail. The latter turns much quicker, even growing back to full size before poofing out and looking very much stuffed.

I force myself to look away from the plush rising up her chest until it reaches her neck, finally covering her head. Her closed eyes take the form of thick stitchings while her cutely agape and snoring mouth remains as such, the seams working around it as it’s turned to plush. Lastly, her hair and the orange fur from her ears poofs out, looking more like artificial fur now. I realize the same has happened to the orange tip of her tail.

“...My girlfriend is a stuffed plushie now…”

Her chest still rises and falls as she breathes calmly in her sleep. She looks so…at peace.

Geppette giggles at me as she begins to stroke Fox’s hair. “Are you jealous, Miss Kitten?”

“Heh?! No! No no. I mean, apparently I’d be turned into a ball jointed doll, which, I mean, sounds interesting, maybe kinda fun, but-- No! No.”

“...I was referring to being able to hold your plush partner, but I will make do with this information as one should~”

I puff out my cheeks and huff.

“M-mum!”

Everyone but the sleeping Fox turns to look at the source of the approaching voice, a plastic play doll in a business suit.

“Is something the matter, dear daughter?”

From the expression on her face, it looks as though she’d be frantically gasping for breath, if she had a need to breathe, which I’m guessing she does not.

“The Inkton Witch! The Inkton Witch is here--”

“No need for grand introductions, dolly.”

That deep, villainous voice I remember so clearly from last night echoes around us, prompting me to get back on my feet as a summoning circle forms just behind the messenger doll, Geppette swiftly tugging an invisible string that pulls her daughter away from it.

From the inky black pool of magic rises the Inkton Witch. As she emerges the dark magic is dragged up over her body before dripping back down into the circle below. Once she’s risen she takes a step out, the circle fading as she throws her arms wide with a wicked grin.

“FOOLS!! You think I, Waywright Inkton, did not expect your treachery?! HAH!! I scoff at your feeble attempts to-- HHH OWW!! Wha-- OW HEY STOP!!”

“Nope,” I say, chucking another burning hot glowstick at them and marking their robe with burn after burn.

“SSSTOP!! I-- I PREPARED A SPEECH-- OW!! YOU CUR!! CEASE YOUR INCESSANT HURLING OF PROJECTILES AT ME RIGHT THIS IN-- AHHHH!!”

“THIS IS FOR SUMMONING AN ELDRITCH HORROR THAT NEARLY CONSUMED ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND INTO A CEASELESS VOID!!”

“G-girlfriend? HHH STOP WITH THE GLOW STICKS!!”

The witch brandishes her staff, and for a split second, a flash of light consumes the room, originating from the orb atop her weapon. I try to throw more projectiles at her but I’m momentarily unable to will any magic into being.

“You… You’ll listen here…” Waywright begins, her voice hoarse and raspy from exhaustion and frustration. “Give to me the fox, and we shall have no conflict. I will take what I need and leave. Sounds like a fair deal, yes? Give. Her. To. Me.”

This elicits no response from Geppette, however. Turning and looking at her, I see the spider mother staring at Waywright, her gaze piercing through her.

“Give up my dear precious daughter? After only having just met her? You’re a cruel one, Inkton.”

“Grrr, ENOUGH OF YOUR GAMES, SPIDER!!”

Waywright grins wickedly as she raises her staff in both hands, the green orb at the top glowing vibrantly before she strikes the base of it against the ground. The light forms into three separate strands of energy that flow off the orb and around Inkton. Each lands on the ground behind her and forms a pickup truck sized summoning circle, one red, another orange, and the last yellow.

“Heh… Heheheheheh… Prepare yourself, Geppette… And you too, meddling miss mittens!” the witch yelps at us, making me cock my head at the sheer absurdity of her nickname for me.

“...Do you, uhh…teach preschoolers or something--”

“SILENCE!” Waywright screeches to, well, silence me, slamming the base of her staff against the ground once more as light and fire erupt from each circle, hooves beginning to tap their way out of the explosions of light.

“Ah, so you can summon without a long winded speech, huh?”

You will rue the day you chose to mock me so, CAT.

“Your words don’t quite have the impact you might hope they do when that’s my actual name.”

“Hhh… You want to play with fire? Then play with MY fire! SKINFAXI!! ARVAK!! ALSVID!!” she shouts.

The light behind her dissipates to reveal three horses, each with blinding manes of fire. The first one is a shining white with red along the edges of their flames, the second an orange bordering on gold with rings of fire swirling around the base of each hoof, and the last is a blinding yellow, its form almost ethereal, like a construct of light similar to those I create. Each horse past Waywright, fire billowing from their nostrils. The witch spins with her staff held high, ever more summoning circles spawning around her, all the same green as the orb on her staff.

“To me, my frie-- I mean, my thralls!”

From each of the new circles, and there must be dozens of them by now, the forms of various animals rise: cats, dogs, birds, lizards, floating fish, there’s even things like an armadillo, a pangolin, and a mantaray! Though their shapes are those of animals, their bodies themselves are composed purely of television static, which begins to explain why their heads are all replaced with televisions from varying eras.

“My my, a human with thralls…how rare indeed…!”

“That’s right, Geppette! The Inktons are powerful mages! A-and I didn’t make them because I was lonely or anything! SHUT UP!”

No one said anything about that last bit, but go ahead and call yourself out, Waywright.

Now will you see, reason, Geppette--”

 

But before the witch can continue, the sound of a static explosion is heard behind her, then another, and more! The furious mage grits her teeth, whipping around to see the Fallen Daughters already getting to work, wielding needles, shears, bats, one is even holding an entire freaking old timey sewing machine and throwing it around! Nothing like what we saw in the city streets!

“My daughters appear to have different plans, Inkton.”

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