Past

Celine blended with the night.

She twisted the doorknob of 520 Silver Way and smiled when there was no resistance. Tucking her hairpin back in her hair, she entered the dark house and climbed the staircase to the second floor.

There were three doors. A slow push on the first revealed the same toddler she saw that same morning on the playground; Evaughn was asleep, his body only twitching in response to the door's creak. Celine left his room slowly.

She found that the center door guarded the bathroom, so the last must've been Neo's. Her fingers pushed the knob, and soon it was closing behind her.

Neo was sprawled out across his bed, the bedsheets in a tangled mess.

Rather than a glass of wine, Celine held in one hand a flower, with a hue that resembled the sun—the one Yves left behind, along with a short description of it scribbled on a paper.

Devil's Breath: the flower from out of this world.
Lives eternally (unless its stem is cut)
Able to reform souls however the holder wishes.
Reserved for the wicked. Use with ease.

It was only a placebo effect, but Celine already felt the flower wrap invisible strings around her fingers, connected to each of his limbs.

Neo, her string puppet.

Neo, her marionette.

Neo, the unfortunate.

She was eager to test whether it was true that this mere flower would make her a puppet master.

Neo was oblivious as Celine neared him, but he stirred when she held the flower close to his nose. Groaning, he jerked his head this way and that.

Celine removed the flower when he coughed. She had to be careful. He flickered his eyes open, his chest rising and falling quicker than before. "Eve, is that you?"

He tried to sit up when he caught a glimpse of her, but the effects of inhaling the flower were quick to force him downwards. With another cough, his voice was hoarse but still demanding. "Who's there?"

Celine dropped to a deep squat. Once at eye level, she lifted a finger and traced the his hairline.

"Oh, Neo." She pouted. "Just look at how tired you are."

Neo moved his eyeballs down at his right cheek. Celine's hand rubbed the area while her thumb drew circles on it. Motherly touch.

"Who...?" He gritted his teeth. "Agh."

She continued to stroke. "It's hard, isn't it? Taking care of a child that isn't even your own. Getting through school. Dealing with your brother's death. But it isn't your fault," she repeated to a Neo whose lips were parted.

"H-Huh?"

Celine planted a grave expression on herself. "The reason you're stressed out... it isn't yours. It's your nephew's."

"My—Eve?"

"It's all his fault, Neo. You know this. It's why you hate him, Neo. You hate him."

"H-hate him..."

"You were never meant to be a father."

Neo's chest fell as he exhaled a short breath. She raised an eyebrow, hopeful and amazed.

"You have to show him how much you hate him, Neo."

"I-I hate him..."

"Exactly. So go to his room and show him."

She waited for his answer with a confidence fueled by the flower still in her hand. Devil's Breath was an ironic name for a sun-colored flower, but a fitting choice for her project.

Whereas step one was to find a vulnerable mind, step two was to control it.

Neo lifted himself. Celine's jaw lowered in delight. It was as if she actually raised a string-wrapped finger as he did. She stepped out his way, and watched in awe as he staggered outside his room.

Down the hallway, Neo stood in front of his nephew's door.

Staring at his back, she lifted yet another finger to propel him forward. "Go ahead. Do the worst of things to him. You hate him, remember?"

"N-no."

Celine nearly tripped on air.

"No. I don't hate Eve." Neo shook his head and turned around, eyes frowning. "Why are you trying to... to convince me, you... Who even are you?"

She tightened her hold on the flower still in her hand and stuffed it against his nose. He lost his balance and groaned.

"Go back to bed, Neo."

Mind distorted, he complied, tripping along the way.

He got into his bed and sleep overtook him. By dawn, he would forget. Then, she'd try again.

Celine glared at him. 

For a mind as weak as his to resist the breath of the devil itself... "Tch." Perhaps she had judged him wrongly, and his mind was not as vulnerable as she believed.

Otherwise, his love for that kid was deep.

So deep it made oceans jealous.

Suddenly, there was a quiet, uneven rapping on the other side of the door before it creaked open.

"Neo...? Neo, I'm scared. I heard a monster."

The toddler was rubbing his eyes with the backs of his wrists. While the motion blocked his vision, Celine quickly rose to her tip toes and moved to glue herself to the wall that would be covered by the door as opened further.

Yawning, Eve walked over to Neo's bed and heaved himself up using the frame as his anchor. He made himself comfortable beside his uncle, never noticing the stranger in his house.

Sure, she could easily take the boy and earn her first check from his organs, or whatever. But that wasn't the objective of Project Neo. Her objective was revenge against two who were dead. It required precision.

Celine looked down at the flower and thanked Yves. The thought of controlling a puppet excited her. Especially one that found ways to cut their strings.

She wiggled her fingers like how a puppet master would and her cheeks reddened. How exciting.

But her left hand... it felt awkward and light.

Celine gasped as a thought abruptly crossed her mind.

At the noise, Eve shifted in the bed and she clamped a hand over her mouth. The child whimpered, moving his head left and right to scan the darkness for the monster he heard. When he saw nothing, he scooted closer to his uncle until his sleepiness took over again.

Celine carefully let out the breath she had been holding in. Evaughn was too light a sleeper.

Carefully, she left the room to attend to the thought that caused her gasp. That is, there was a way to fill the space on her empty hand.

In fact, there were eight.

Eight more puppets to play with.

***

Present

The gunfire reminded her of a fear she acquired when she started her puppetry.

It was that her children would learn how to cut their chords.

Celine's head jerked towards the storage room when she heard the shot. The audience reacted the same, shifting in their seats and building up a low murmur.

She cleared her throat away from the microphone as she tried to relocate her placing. She didn't bother to smile; her mask did what it was meant to.

"I actually..." she paused to let the chatter die. "I spoke to many of you and gathered that there is a common reason you all have come here. All of you are here for... revenge against his father. Is that right?"

They only nodded their heads in unison, probably seething behind their masks.

Celine nodded. "I also know how painful it is to wait so long for revenge. So, I won't take any more of your time. Damien Ruhl's son will be out shortly."

They applauded. She bowed her head before she began descending from the stage with the help of a male guard whose hand she took. The guard winced at her grip. If he could see through the mesh hiding her lips, he'd know she was seething.

Once her heels met the lower surface, she used a delicate finger to tuck her hair behind her ears.

Celine pushed on the door to the room her children stood in, jaw clenched in place. The scene that met her eyes confused her. She took it in slowly.

They were pointing guns at each other... but why? Her eyes traced each weapon in the room to find which puppet's string had been broken.

Was it Juliette, or... Marie—no, she looked just as confused.

Celine's finally landed on Dimitri. He was the only one without his mask, and the only one crying. Crying? She noticed his empty earlobe—it was his strings that were broken.

Coralie spoke first. "Mother, I can ex—"

"Bring. The boy. Now."

Her words were directed at Dimitri. He cried out and made his body a shield that protected Evaughn.

Celine stomped over to the other side of the room and slapped him across the face. Hard. He choked.

Her daughters averted their eyes. Behind him, Evaughn flinched.

"Dimitri, I will not accept this." She glared. "What have I taught you? Repeat it to me. What is the most important rule?"

"T-to fi... to finish our.... Oh god."

"To finish our projects no matter the cost," she finished. "So step away from him."

"Mom..." Dimitri's voice croaked. He moved aside and took Evaughn's hand in his shaking ones. "You remember him, don't you? You... took me with you that day and he... he was... he was the boy with Neo. It was him."

Celine gave a grimace of wry amusement. Of course she remembered. It was she who made it happen!

She had eyes on Sarah, and with Devil's Breath, she told him to throw Sarah over that exact bridge. It's the only reason she knew to be there the moment it happened.

"Move aside, Dimitri. We should not let the crowd wait any longer." Celine turned her head. "Rosalie. Tie him. You have two minutes to get him out of the door, two!"

Rosalie nodded, picking up the rope from the ground beside her and then walking over to Evaughn. She yanked the latter's hand from Dimitri's hold.

As Rosalie tied his limbs, Dimitri grabbed both of his mother's shoulders. He wasn't done yet. Not done cutting off his chords like a disobedient puppet.

"Why, Mom? Why did you bring me there?" He hiccuped. "Why did you t-tell me to kill that girl?"

"What does it matter, Dimitri? If I hadn't, would it erase everything else you've done afterwards?"

"No." He dropped his head. "But it was different with Evaughn, he... he begged me not to."

She scoffed. "What are you talking about? He didn't speak a word to you."

"I just do." He lowered his hands and looked at Evaughn, whose wrists were now crossed over his thighs. "Please don't take him... Not him at least."

"You know the answer to that."

"Hey, Dimitri?"

Dimitri turned.

Evaughn pulled his lips into a thin line. "I don't know if Sarah would forgive us. I can't speak for her. And I... well I haven't even forgiven myself either, but... uh..."

Evaughn looked at the rope around his hands in search for the right words. When he found them, he lifted his head and smiled.

But not like a Cheshire Cat, like a flower. And not like Devil's Breath, like the sun—the real one; not the counterfeit one that Celine was.

"But I will. I'll forgive myself someday. And you should do the same. We should both try." He shrugged. "It has to count for something."

From the look on Dimitri's face, Celine could tell he was realizing who the real sun was. She folded her arms. It didn't matter, anyway. Not while Project Neo was nearly complete.

Evaughn lifted his pinky finger, though it looked awkward with his restraints. "Let's make a promise. The next time we see each other, we'll make sure we forgave ourselves. Or that we tried."

Dimitri wrapped his smallest around Evaughn's. "I'll... try."

"Thirty seconds. We're going," Rosalie said. She tugged the rope and Evaughn stumbled forward. He quickly found his footing and was forced towards the door.

"Wait." Dimitri called out just before Rosalie opened the door. He grabbed Evaughn's shoulder, causing him to turn.

"What if it does get worse?"

He tilted his head.

"You said you don't think your life can get worse, but... Evaughn, those people are sick" Dimitri immediately undid his wording. "Well, I'm as sick as they are, but—"

"Don't tell me you forgot the promise already." He jokingly shook his head. "You can change, Dimi. I think it starts with forgiving yourself."

Celine rolled her eyes at that, but she held back her words. She had shown too much anger in one day already.

Even so, who was she to argue with the sun himself?

"That's not the point, Vaughn." Dimitri stressed. "It does get worse. Out there... they don't have good intentions. It won't be... sunshine and rainbows."

He chuckled airily. "You're right. It might just be fogs and clouds on the ground."