Chapter 1; Fall Of Babylon

The Agents that had been stationed in the Traphouse and had gathered the expected Puppet King and associate Puppets from out of Hell, from whence they had come after striking a deal with the master of the Agents, would be guided through the darkness of the Traphouse that existed underneath the Madhouse as a hidden society.

"To exit the Traphouse by its entrance, you'd have to go through the Madhouse," one of the Agents started to say to the Puppet King and his associate Puppets, "But, the Traphouse has many exits, even if the entrances are actually traps." The entire secret society that existed underneath the fullness of the Dollhouse was actually an intricate underground nexus. "Be careful," he forewarned, knowing the ins and outs of this place, "The 'Traphouse' grows perpetually larger based on necessity, and also sometimes without prior knowledge or information. So, you can easily take a wrong path, it be a trap, and you're stuck in the trap until you undo it or you're saved by someone else not stuck in the trap." On rare occasions, those who were stuck in a trap would also save others. On rare occasions. "Just stick behind me and you won't be trapped here, like some of the others." There were some beings that were actually being kept here as a punishment, whilst others were managing. There were even more that actually thrived here as a habitat, and were not to be moved from their place, as punishment for those who got thrown into the Traphouse chambers.

Puppet King and associates went on following behind the Agent that was leading them through the Traphouse, wondering what sort of mysteries were in there. He dared not attempt to use the power of Darkness again, as he and his associates had been using all during their time in Hell in order to attempt to escape, fearing being sent there again after just getting out. The Tensei who cast them there were a powerful force not to be reckoned with, especially in the Lawless Land. When they got back out, they would make a note to avoid the Tensei much more readily, and also be more cautious of their use of the power of Darkness.

"I have a question," Puppet King said to the Agent, asking, "Is it possible for me to take one of these beings in the Traphouse and add them to my gang?" The Puppets that were attached to the Puppet King all smiled when they were referenced, then went back to being Puppets attached to the Puppet King. "Some of them seem interesting and useful."

The Agent continued to explain to the Puppet King, "If you care to see if you can ensnare one, you certainly may, but if you get trapped, there are only a select few that can help you." The Agent went on, "You see, some of us know how to disarm some traps, and others know how to disarm different traps. No one knows the mechanics of the whole entire realm, and each of us sticks to our specialty when we come here." To the Agent's knowledge, there was no Agent that understood the complete workings because of how the operation functioned. They did not need to know, and if they did, that was the only thing they knew. "The one who rules the entire Playhouse knows all, even about the Traphouse and its expansions. Again, if you would like to try, that is completely up to you, but if you find a trap one of the Agents here cannot disarm, you're out of luck." They knew not to risk themselves haphazardly and also gave the Puppet King and his men a fair warning before triggering any of the traps. Thus, their job was done, and whatever happened, their hands were washed of it.

"How far are you trying to go?" the Agent asked. "You can exit anywhere inside of the Playhouse, which is only as far as the Traphouse extends." There were many sections, such as the Madhouse or the Funhouse, and each could be entered from the Traphouse. "Better tell me now before we miss the turning point."

The Traphouse was so dark underground, barely anything could be seen, except for what seemed to be a mineral path that they walked upon, almost like this was the bare bottom ground and what was above them was built on top and feigned as the surface layer. All else was in complete pitch darkness.

Puppet King knew better than to do something like divert from where he was being strung along to go venture off for himself, even if he wanted to see who he could string along, himself. "I'll pass," he would say, making sure that all of his own subordinates were with him.

"We're trying to get back to Valparaiso. Outside." Even though it seemed like it would be nice to live in this land with people that the Puppet King could control, he also had some unfinished business with the people beyond the borders of this land and needed to get to Valparaiso. Then again, he didn't even know if they were in or near Valparaiso, to begin with. "Do you know of the Lawless Land? Can you take us there?"

"Lawless Land, eh?" the Agent asked. "Well, we can't take you that far, but we can get you right to the door, so to speak. After that, you're on your own." As it was stated, the Traphouse only extended as far as the Playhouse did, and completely underground, at that. "You're fortunate to have stumbled upon us Agents. The other Dolls don't know about anything beyond the Playhouse. In fact, it's their whole lives. Some of them get so worked up over it, they stop making the 'Playhouse' a 'Playhouse.' Those Dolls are defective, though, and after they start making things a drag for the others, or acting out of order, they're thrown into the Madhouse to work out their frustrations, if ever." Some of the mad and defective Dolls that tried to turn the fun and loving society into a strict and harsh work environment were thrown into a strict and harsh mentally taxing environment for trying to put others there, and that was where they all fought it out. "You never want to go to the Madhouse. Their form of playing and having fun is stressful, dangerous and taxing to the rest of it. We were happy to get them away from us and make the Playhouse fun, instead of stressful." The Agent shook his head. "... Damn shame." They pressed on.

While the group was walking, they would begin to hear the sound of faint whispers coming from the darkness. They sounded friendly and pleasant; soothing to the ear. "Come this way...!" Some would say, "... There are fun things over here!" The voices were as soft and as sweet as a baby doll, and as gentle as a dove's coo.

"Play with me..."

Puppet King, when informed that he could only get so far after leaving the Traphouse, was concerned, but pleased with being able to get anywhere at all. "Yeah, that's fine, that's fine," he said hastily. "As long as we get out close by." From there, Puppet King and his men could work something out together. They all knew Valparaiso very well, since that is where they hailed from originally before being turned into puppets during their time in Hell, but ironically even as puppets none of them knew the Dollhouse.

Soon after the Agent stopped talking, the group heard whispers coming from the darkness that none of them could see. The Puppet King was interested, but he was also cautious and cognizant of the words that the Agent said before. Still, his curiosity got him to ask blatantly, "What is that? What are those whispers?" He felt like he already knew the answer, certainly, but if everything was a trap here, then maybe even the wrong assumption was a trap, as well. He'd let the experts handle the explanation.

The Agents could hear the voice, too. They knew what it was, even if they all collectively didn't know what it was. "... Oh no..." the guide said with horror. "... We have to leave quickly. It... It's woken up." Immediately, the Agent started to dash toward the darkness, nearly leaving the Puppet King behind and seemingly not turning to look back.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" the voices screamed as the Dolls started to run, "PLAY WITH ME!!" Suddenly, many walls jutted up from the ground in various locations, all sporadic and random, blocking off various paths like a labyrinth built into the Traphouse, itself.

The blocked off paths would turn into a winding path with gaps in the walls that couldn't be seen, but were able to be entered through and exited from once passed through. Some led to dead ends; others, to salvation. Even more to other traps. "HAHAHAHAHA~!!!" The laughter sounded like that of a child having fun with toys.

Puppet King and friends were in a bind now. "Bro, are you trying to leave me here with whatever that is!??!?" He made a mad dash toward the Agent and dragged his friends along, making sure not to lose him. "What do you mean 'it's woken up'?! What is IT?" After seeing those Finger Puppets and how they trapped other prey, and from what he'd heard about those things, if there was something worse than them lurking around, then they shouldn't even stay in the Traphouse for that much longer. "Change of plans!! Whatever it is, I don't want THAT getting us, so take us out at the nearest exit!!" Puppet King wanted to know more about whatever 'it' was, and why it had so much control where it could spontaneously generate a labyrinth like this the very moment it 'woke up,' but that could be saved until after they all were safe.

The Agents were cut off after making a mad dash for the nearest exit, which meant that one Agent would have to remain with the Puppet King whilst the rest of the Agents would have to scour the labyrinth for the next exit and signal the others when it was found.

When the Agents, who already knew what to do, were separated, and the one that had been guiding the Puppet King remained with he and his lot, he would continue with haste. "Hurry!" the Agent cried, running off down one of the dark corridors, "The Traphouse itself is also a trap! A living, independent entity, even from the master that created it, those within it that keep it alive, and those that interact with it. It's its OWN entity, and when it's awake, it has total dominion, even and especially over all its subjects!" That is what made this such a dangerous situation. The Traphouse, itself, had control over all its traps and features, and could trigger them at will, instead of when someone triggered them when they were dormant. "Only its master can tame it. Nothing else has ever stood a chance. So, RUN!" The Agent continued running, being sure to check for traps along the way, and keep in close contact with his subordinates to ensure they found the exit, and avoided traps along the way.

Some of the walls that were blocked off would retract only so someone could walk into them and then get closed off from their group, so the entire group suddenly became isolated in a realm they were unfamiliar with and couldn't defend against. Many of the strings attached were cut just by the cutoff portion. "FEED ME." The voice demanded that these that were inside of the Traphouse were ensnared and devoured by the Trap, itself.

At that moment, more Finger Puppets would be released by their master, wherever and whatever it was that was speaking with a voice that filled the darkness, and each of them would scurry about looking exactly like the same Puppets that belongs to Puppet King and also the Agents. This scrambled the entire area and ensured that neither friend nor foe could be determined at all.

Should your friends start to regroup, likely there would be a Finger Puppet among them. Yet, there could also not be, but nothing could be told for sure. Certainly, some would be consumed by the Finger Puppets and hollowed out of their innards and entrails, only to become part of the Finger Puppet, which wore the skin of its prey after devouring their innards in order to attract more of its kind. Thus, friends would look like enemies and enemies would look like friends. There was vicious, ugly laughter like that of a deranged baby echoing throughout the darkness all the while, never ceasing and echoing as if in a deep, dark pit or cave. The laughter also drowned out the noise of those that were lost in the darkness.

"Holy shit!!" the Puppet King cried, now having a situation on his hands because his men were separated and scattered, as well as the Agents. "Crap, I'm just going to have to wish them the best." Not all of them had been separated, but so many of them did, the Puppet King's members were few. "Those Agents should take care of them, I hope." That was all he could do, at this point, as he followed the Agent that was leading him through the maze that they hadn't been cut off from yet.

"I don't care what exit we get out of, as long as we exit!!" Puppet King cried, with the remnant of his men in agreement. They just wanted to get above ground, at this point, and not be tormented by the Traphouse and its creatures. No one could tell who was friend and who was foe, except those that were already present. No one could be trusted and no one could be seen. "Let your men know to save mine, if they can!" That was the Puppet King's only request as he left them to the Traphouse, still following behind the Agent that was their guide. He was their only hope; their only saving grace. "PLEASE tell me we're close to the exit! ANY exit!"

The Agents that had split up, or, been forced to split up, would only do what was within their jurisdiction to do. They only seldom went back for their own before escaping the Traphouse, themselves, based on sheer tactics alone. "We'll see what we can do," the guide said, "But we can't do anything if we all don't get out first. As many as we can." So, knowing that there was an exit nearby, the Agent would immediately dart off into the shadows and disappear, urging the Puppet King and his friends to follow behind him and not worry about those who were lost, at the present moment. "This way!" the Agent called before his voice faded and his presence disappeared completely.

The Puppet King followed without any questions nor looking back, as well as his men that were still attached.

The Puppets that were not still attached to the Puppet King and had been severed would be lost to the Darkness. The Darkness that took them would lead them elsewhere, out of the Traphouse, and into some place that was beyond the vision of the Traphouse. These 'Lost Pieces' would become their own faction in and for the Darkness, called 'Black Licorice,' and could not be found. None of the taken Puppets were seen nor heard from again.

The Traphouse was cleared and reset to default. All went silent, and there was no motion in the pitch blackness.

Way off in the corners of space, which were only bits of space and particles of dust that had coagulated to become actual corners of rooms, would be sitting the master of the Traphouse, pinned to a wall with nails. It looked like an enormous baby doll that was naked and with real flesh, but broken doll parts that looked like human flesh and bone with doll-like properties. The giant, cute, gaping, soulless eyes would be peering into the darkness from the corner of space.

"Next Time You Will Play With Me." This was an absolute. This creature, Baby Evil, would be beckoned by its master deeper into the Traphouse, and out of the layers that were still only established physically. Baby Evil would resume its duties as instructed when summoned by The Creator.