False Advertising

We picked the perfect time of day to show up at the club. The Wooden Girl was nowhere to be seen there, and it was confirmed in the official reports later that she had been all the way on the other side of the country anyways at the time of the raid. If she had been there, we all probably would have been killed.

The night found us on top of the club. There, Michael was setting up some type of machine. I still don't entirely understand how it worked, or how he actually got it to work, but it basically a giant marionette...pulley...thing. From a hole in the roof, they were going to lower me into the party that was occurring below us. I would be strapped to a wire, and dressed up to look like a Doll (what The Wooden Girl's servants are called...I'm sure you know what they are though, if you're actually reading this journal).

Usually, Dolls aren't stupid. They know when someone is one of them or not. However, the Key inside of me would hide whatever Dolls can detect. I would almost be invisible to them, all I had to do was blend in and attract little attention. The Key can be such a handy tool when it's not busy fucking up my life.

We had two goals in the infiltration: To assassinate a certain Doll, and to steal info from their archives. I got the bloody part of the job, while the newbie, Lauren, was stuck with the other part. Micheal, Nathan, and Corina would be guarding the pulley system and watching out for us.

After all was said and done, we were to call in a special squad to "clean up" the place.
As in, kill em all.

The operation began at quarter past 9 PM. I was attached to the pulley system, in a strap, ready to be lowered down. Michael switched the machine, gave me a dorky thumbs up, and I was lowered down into the dim building.

Before me, there was a grand red curtain. A giant stage laid out under me, and in front of the stage, there were many tiny tables, with Dolls sitting at them. They were drinking, laughing, and basically having fun.
They almost seemed human.

While most of the dolls were sitting down, many of them were swing and swaying magically in the air like I was. It unnerved me to see them doing that at first, but as the night went on, I got used to it.

My Key was busy hiding my -humanity- and -fear- from the Dolls. I was basically almost entirely blended into them already. I still had to move like and act like a doll, to divert any unwanted attention, though.
Music was playing, and many other dolls were swaying to the beat; I followed the rhythm.
To keep to the beat, I sung softly along with the Dolls.

On a string-~
On a string-~
On a string, I was held
The way I move, can you tell?
My actions are orchestrated from above
And so I swing and I'll sway...
Wave my hand, kick my leg...
And it's always right with the music.

As I swung on the wire, I manipulated my tilt and direction until I was finally situated where I could get a good look on everyone in the club. I was looking for someone by the name Candace McKellum; she wasn't hard to miss. She had dyed purple hair, and wore black gothic dresses all the time.
This was going to be a piece of cake.

Until all that swaying starts to make you sick

I searched throughout the crowds. I couldn't see any purple hair, but near the door, I could see an extremely tall, muscular man. He was shirtless, and was wearing some type of weird triangular hat with a metallic star on top of it. That man's name was Xavier, and he was famous for always being with Candace.

At that second, I worried about Lauren.
She was supposed to bust into a vault in one of the rooms backstage.

I pushed her out of my mind. She'll do fine. I just needed to focus on my job.

So I started to swing over to Xavier....
I saw Candace behind Xavier; I began to think up a plan.

For a song, I was bought;
Now I lie, when I talk,
With a careful eye on the cue cards.
Onto a stage, I was pushed,
With my sorrow, well rehearsed.
So give me all your pity and your money now,
All of it.

 I dodged the dancing, floating bodies of the dolls surrounding me. I moved effortlessly through the crowd, gliding towards my target. I had to make this absolutely perfect. One hit, one kill. After the bodyguard was down, I would silence Candace.

We used to think that sound was something pure

 Lauren was expected to sync up with me; exactly when I killed the target, we were expected to grab onto a pulley and get of there.

I let my feet touch the floor, and manipulated the string into slacking a bit.

I was almost there....

But if I could act like this was my real life,
And not some cage where I've been placed...
Well, then I could tell you the truth like I used to.
And not be afraid of sounding fake.
Now all everyone's listening for are the mistakes...

 I was approaching from behind him now. His back was just so enormous! I got my handy dandy knife out, and readied myself to thrust it into him...

Now, I would like to point out that our organization, LIFTED, gives us pills to take before each mission. You see, when humans are exposed to too much danger, and too much influence from -The Fears-, they may fuck up missions from time to time. LIFTED gives us medicine to take that calms us down, chills us out, and helps us make rational decisions. It's pretty ingenious.

This is why when I heard Lauren trip over a table and send glass cups to the floor, grabbing the attention of everyone in the bar, I didn't panic, and neither did she.
The music stops.

"I'm sorry!", she shouted.

 

"No, it's ok, it's ok...
One, two, three,
One, two, three-"

I say while spinning the wire I was attached to like a lasso. I threw it onto Xavier's hand, and pulled it away from his body. While he was confused, I stabbed right into the center of his chest.

The music starts up again.


Lauren ran over, and stood behind me. She had a gun with her. I pointed out our target, and she killed her.


It was a bit anticlimactic, honestly. Not one final speech or anything from Candace. Bit of a shame, since she had caused so much grief for us and regular Runners. Just a bullet, a scream, a splash of blood, and a thud.
Goodbye, you bitch.


The Dolls were ready to tear us apart. They had encircled us.
Luckily, Nathan and his master aiming skills took care of scaring them away from actually attempting to hurt us. Nathan watched from above with his sniper rifle, and took a shot at any Doll that got too close.

Michael started the pulley machine or whatever it was, Lauren grabbed onto me, and we began to be pulled back up to the hole that was cut into the dark ceiling.
It all felt too easy, somehow. I could have sworn one of the bastards smiled up at me as we left.

While on the way up...I felt...I don't know.
I glanced at Lauren while going up, and she just looked so much like Arienette.

I promised I'd never speak or write of that name again.
Goddammit. She's changing me.
Lauren's won, she's gotten under my skin first.

Isn't that just wonderful.

We all quickly got off the roof of the building and got into the timeless van.

The Kill Squad entered as we left.
I'll never forget the Dolls' screams.

We're off to the next part of our journey. For this part, we're going to have to get a bit more personal with each other, and the enemy. It's taking place in the next town over.

Meanwhile, we're just chilling at a local operative's house. We're even having a party.
At least, they are. I can't handle all this noise, and Lauren's looking at me from across the room.
I'm going to sit in another room, alone.

In a house, by myself.
I hear the ice, start to melt.
And I watched the rooftops weep for the sunlight,
And I know what must change:
Fuck my face, fuck my name.
They are brief and false advertisements

For a soul, I don't have.
Something true, I have lacked.
And spent my whole life trying to make up for,
But I found, in a song,
And in the people I love.
They will lift me up out of darkness.

And now my door, it stands open;
I'm inviting everyone in.
We're gonna laugh, we're gonna drink ...
Until the morning comes
That's what we're gonna do!
Come on!
Come on!