Author's Notes:
You awake from a horrendous nightmare and are in desperate need of cuddles. Blade is happy to provide.
The Ravager is an original Totem character from Puppet Master: The Game. He is the property of October Games. I just wanted to include him here because he is awesome. Who doesn’t want their ass beaten by that fella?.
Another night, another nightmare.
How many have you had since becoming the Puppet Master? Too many to count. Yet here you were, thrashing around and crying in your sleep once again. This dream was more frightful than the others and it felt extremely real to you. You were running through the unlit corridors of the hotel, going as fast as your feet would carry you. Something, or rather someone, was following close behind you, snarling and biting as it struggled to keep up with you. You dared not look back at your attacker, whose footsteps pounded the floor as it ran after you. Your body surged with adrenaline and you cried out for Blade, for anyone, to save you from this entity that was coming for you.
You felt like a little rabbit scurrying for its life trying to outrun the fox. Whatever it was that was hunting you through the hotel, it made you feel like prey.
You ran to the grand stairwell and sprinted down the stairs, crying out for your puppets to save you. Surely, Decapitron could finish this fiend off with one zap of his lightning or Pinhead could knock him out with one strong punch with ease. Blade would always rush to protect you, he would surely kill this thing with one thrust and slice of his knife.
Your cries and shouts and pleas echoed through the empty hotel.
No one responded.
Before you made it to the bottom, the entity that had been following you had lunged itself from the very top of the stairs to the bottom floor without so much as breaking a bone.
It was there that you finally saw your pursuer; a demonic entity that stood at least 7 feet, its skin as black as charcoal and its dark, long locks tied back out of its face. A bone white mask covered the upper half of its face where two piercing eyes stared you down. The predator had finally caught its prey and the evil thing in front of you opened its hideous mouth to let out an intimidating war cry. Sharp, pointed teeth adorned its abominable mouth and you were certain that this beast would eat you.
The demon dual-wielded two sharp daggers, both made from the bones of its fallen enemies. He lunged at you and used his body weight to successfully pin you against the floor. You screamed and struggled against it but to no avail.
It delved both of its daggers into your chest and ripped them down through your body, causing your organs to spill out onto the floors. It stabbed you over and over again, indescribable pain shooting through your body as you lay there helplessly in a pool of your own blood.
“Blade!” you cried out once more in agony before you were silenced forever; one swing of the demon's knife effortlessly cut open your throat, spilling your blood all over the stairs.
You bolted up in bed, desperately clutching at your throat. The sheets of your bed and your pajamas were drenched in tears and sweat and you looked around your room in a wild panic, expecting to see the demon waiting for you once again. When you saw that the coast was clear and that no scary demon was in your room, you let out a sigh of relief and began to feel a little silly about yourself. After all, it had just been yet another silly dream. Even if it had been frightening and felt real, it was just a dream and dreams couldn’t hurt you...right?
A familiar hissing sound at your side made you jump out of your skin and you screamed. Blade’s bullet eyes popped out of his sockets and he gasped at your distress. He rushed to turn your bedside lamp on and held his knife and hook hands up at you.
“It’s me! It’s me!” Blade hissed at you, though he knew you couldn’t understand him. “Please don’t be frightened. I am here.”
Blade had been sitting at your bedside the entire time you were having your nightmare. He had helplessly watched you thrash around and cry out his name, wishing he could wake you from your dream. Despite him carefully prodding you with his knife and hissing at you, nothing he did could help you and he dutifully remained at your side so he could at least calm you down once you woke up.
Once you realised it was only Blade who was in the room with you, you sighed with relief.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry Blade. I didn’t mean to scream at you like that,” you apologized. “I thought you were something else. I just had the most horrible dream.”
Blade nodded his head towards you in response and hissed.
“Yes, I saw. You called my name many times and I tried to wake you but you would not wake up."
Despite your distress, Blade felt slightly flattered that it was him you had called out for in your moment of dire need, even if it wasn’t real. There was a certain feeling of pride and honour that swelled up in the little puppet; he knew all too well that he was your favourite out of the bunch and he felt so fiercely protective of you. His friends would tease him endlessly about it, especially Jester, but Blade didn’t care.
All he knew was that you needed him at that moment and Blade would be willing to do anything to see you happy again.
“God,” you breathed, slumping back down onto your pillow, “remind me to never watch Predator again. That horrible thing looked almost like a Yautja.”
Blade tilted his head to one side, trying to recall the film you were talking about. He made a mental note to ask Jester in the morning; out of all of them, he was the film and book buff and would probably know what you were talking about.
He jumped off the bedside cabinet and landed on the bed next to you, keen to hear more about your dream. After all, the more you talk about it the better you will feel. You explained to Blade everything that happened in the dream and you went into great detail when you described the entity that attacked and killed you. Blade shuddered at the idea of this thing hunting you down and hurting you. He was also angry at himself for not appearing in your dream and saving you, though he knew it was only a dream.
The small puppet grew concerned; this hadn’t been the first time you had suffered nightmares of this nature. Ever since you took on the role of the Puppet Master, you had on occasion been plagued with night terrors and horrific dreams involving demonic entities and even God-like figures. In some dreams, you would witness a great battle that looked like it took place thousands of years into the future. In others, you were in a Hellish realm of sorts, forced to bow at the feet of a God whose face you had not yet seen. In each dream, you had felt terror not just for yourself but for the puppets whose lives you swore to protect and whose secret you made an oath to protect also.
“I am here for you,” said Blade, offering you his knife hand and saying your name. “I will protect you at all costs. Please rest now. I will watch over you.”
You held his knife hand in yours, feeling comforted by Blade's affection. Though you could not comprehend his hissing, you usually got the gist of what it was he wanted to say to you. You weren’t entirely sure how you knew but you assumed that since being the Master, your intuition had heightened to such an extent that communication between you and your puppets became easier as time went on.
“You’re a good man, Blade. Thank you for watching over me.”
“A good man? I am far from being either good or a man,” Blade mused as he shuffled his feet, "but for you, I will always try to be the best I can be.”
Blade moved back over to the bedside cabinet where he had originally stationed himself and you made your best attempt to relax in bed. Sweat still clung to your skin and your clothes and bedsheets had remained sticky and damp. What made matters worse was that every time you closed your eyes, the image of the demon with the piercing eyes stared back at you. You did everything to try and rid your mind of the abomination, focusing your thoughts to happier topics.
After around fifteen minutes of tossing and turning, you sat up again in defeat.
“This is no good Blade," you sighed. "I can't sleep and I'm still all sticky and horrible. I need to change the sheets and my clothes and open up a window or something, I need air. Would you mind coming with me to the bathroom?”
“Of course, anything,” Blade nodded dutifully, allowing himself to be picked up by you and carried to the bathroom where he would be on watch for any nefarious demons that might try and hurt you whilst you freshened yourself up.
You removed your sweat-drenched clothes and washed yourself which helped you cool down as well as calm down. Though Blade was supposed to be on demon-watching duty, he could not help but be on Master-watching duty instead. It hadn’t been the first time that Blade had seen you naked; on the contrary, Blade had seen you naked many times though you had no idea about it.
As you patted yourself dry, you looked into the mirror and caught Blade admiring you. Blade’s head spun the other way the moment you turned around, your cheeks hot from embarrassment.
“I should have known! That little pervert!” you thought to yourself. “He seemed to like what he was seeing though…”
You hastily changed into a fresh pair of pyjamas, replaced the bedsheets and opened up the window to your room. Cool air soon filled the room and you were able to get cosy in bed once more. Your mind continued to race with the thoughts of the dream and you remained on edge; the piercing demonic eyes stared back at you whenever you shut your own and the sounds of his guttural war cry rang in your ears. Your chest and throat ached where the demon had sliced you up.
“More like completely obliterated me,” you shuddered, remembering how the knives felt as they delved into your flesh.
You opened your eyes and looked across to Blade who sat on a stack of books on your bedside. He had kept the lamp light on to help bring comfort to you whilst he sat quietly in thought.
You watched your little man sit there and you felt your heart swell at the sight of him. There was a reason you had called out to him in your dream; only Blade could ever make you feel at ease and safe. Though you loved and adored all of the puppets, there was something about Blade that had attracted you and pulled all of your thoughts towards him. Over time the two of you had bonded in no way that a puppet and their master had bonded before. You took him everywhere with you and he refused to leave your side in fear something might happen to you. He had never felt so protective of a Master before and you had never felt so transfixed and in awe of a living puppet before.
You pulled back the duvet and called over to Blade.
“Do you want to sleep in the bed instead? I could probably do with some company tonight and some cuddles,” you laughed.
Blade nodded and hissed with enthusiasm before making his way over to you. Before he laid with you, he glanced down nervously at his hands.
“I might hurt you,” he hesitated. “I don’t want to accidentally cut you.”
“Hey, you’ll be fine. You won’t hurt me,” you reassured the puppet, gently positioning him into your arms.
You removed his black hat and put it at the side of your pillow before throwing the duvet back over you and Blade.
“How’s that?” you asked him.
“Yes this is fine, danke,” Blade hissed back at you and nodded.
For Blade, it was more than fine. He was snuggled up against your chest, his face resting by your heart where he could hear the sound of your heartbeat start to calm down. Your arms were wrapped protectively around him, holding the little puppet close to you. His knife and hook hands were resting with care against your body and Blade remained vigilant so that he would not accidentally hurt you.
You kissed the top of his head, causing Blade to let out a very small, delightful gasp.
“Thanks, Blade,” you whispered against his head, “for everything.”
Blade sighed as he relaxed into the cuddle, your arms a fortress around his small body. He could feel the warmth of your body sink into his wooden figure and for once, he could relax. The ever so dutiful puppet was always on edge, anticipating danger from every other human you came into contact with. You were his beloved master and it was his duty to keep you safe. Now though, he melted at your touch and began to feel cosy.
Holding Blade in your embrace was of great comfort to you. Though he had no bodily warmth and cuddly flesh to cling onto, you still felt comforted by him being there. You knew that nothing would ever harm you so long as you had Blade around. You played with his long, white hair causing the puppet to murmur and hiss in delight. He loved being played with by you, even if it was just stroking his hair. His hair was so soft to the touch and it helped keep your mind distracted for a time.
A cool breeze entered the room and fanned down your face. With the little puppet in your arms, you felt very comforted and at ease and were soon able to nod back off to sleep. Blade would remain awake for quite some time before joining you in sleep. He wanted to take in this special moment and savour being held by you so intimately. It was in this cuddle that Blade realised something very important; he realised just how much he would do for you, just how much he loved you and how much he would die for you. No other master had made him feel like this; though he was loyal and dutiful to his previous masters, his feelings never went any deeper than friendship and duty. With you, he felt a burning and a longing for you that even he didn't quite understand.
“I will protect you, my darling. I will always protect you,” Blade swore to you in his thoughts before allowing himself to fall asleep in your arms.
When Blade first awoke the next morning, he was delighted to find that he was still wrapped up snug in your arms. Despite your horrendous nightmare, you had managed to peacefully drift back off to sleep and hadn’t moved a wink. As you continued to sleep, Blade decided to make the most of your warm cuddles and remain still against your breast. He listened to your breath and felt the steady rise and fall of your chest.
It was still very early in the morning; the sun had only just peeked over the horizon, casting a gentle golden glow into your room. It was then that Blade got a glimpse at your face and admired how beautiful and peaceful you looked as you slept. He raised his knife hand and traced your lips, wondering to himself how they might feel pressed up against his own.
Blade now understood why Pinhead loved cuddles from Jane so much and was so often by her side. In the fortress of your arms, Blade felt a peace come over him that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Most of all, Blade felt completely loved and completely in love.
