Nightmares had become the new norm for your dreams, the Puppeteer or Father John usually taking on the lead antagonist role. And Wally being, as you had jokingly dubbed him, your 'knight in shining armour,' entered your unconscious mind every night to do away with whatever horrors wished to make an appearance.

That's why you knew he was really here.

You were positioned in the same place you had been when the Puppeteer had first arrived in all its horrific glory, Wally standing at your side, watching the clearing. You both waiting for the monster to arrive with bated breath.

Only a few moments passed by before the creature took form from behind the apple tree, the black haired man staggering into the opening before his body twisted in on itself, skin pulling and stretching to create the hand and string covered Puppeteer, Julie's sisters already present, tangled in the threads.

Enthralled by the man's transformation that you had bore witness to on your first night in Home, you almost missed how Wally gasped, eyes dilating down to pinpricks, his body quivering in fright.

"That- that's not possible..." he breathed, stepping back from the field, shaking like a leaf.

Unfortunately, Wally's foot landed on a branch, the reverberating snap echoing through the clearing. The Puppeteer instantly darted toward the sound, right to where you and Wally were standing.

Grabbing your hand roughly, Wally sprinted with you as fast as he could, dragging you through the forest at his top speed. You cried out his name in shock, forcing your legs to move in tandem with his.

Typically when within your dream, Wally would fend off the Puppeteer by controlling your dream and getting rid of the problem all together, but today he appeared to be lost, forgetting that this was a figment of your mind.

"Wally! Stop running!"

You called out to him, his face contorted in what looked like pure terror, his hair down and a knotted mess, leaves tangled in his locks- this was so unlike him, he seemed even more terrified than when the Puppeteer chased after you originally.

He wasn't able to help you with your nightmare now, so it was up to you. Focusing as hard as you could on the world around you, you imagined that every heavy footfall you made on the forest floor was actually trampling over the beautiful flowers of a sunlit meadow.

Willing your image of calamity into existence, you only opened your eyes when Wally began to slow, his felt hand shivering in your hold. Surrounding you was the stunningly gorgeous land you had brought into fruition, white fountain grass brushing against your knees as you drew Wally to a stop, his pupils flicking anxiously.

Concerned for his health, you asked; "Are you alright? What happened?"

The puppet's frightened hands jaggedly snatched ahold of your shoulders, his ebony eyes intensely boring into your face.

"What you saw there- with that man, did you see that exact scene on the night we nearly got tangled?!"

His fear was beginning to spread to you like a virus, your form trembling beneath his fervent gaze.

"I- Yes. That's exactly what I saw that night, why?!"

Wally's fingers started to dig into you, arms shaking with restraint. He sharply released you, crumpling to the ground like a stringless marionette, his fists slamming against the flora whilst the sky darkened and glitched out of existence.

"THAT BASTARD!" Wally screamed, hands reefing on his dishevelled hair in distress. "I KILLED YOU, YOU'RE DEAD !"

The sheer rage in Wally's voice had you cowering on the ground, paralyzed with fear. He was so utterly terrifying when angered that you found yourself spewing out whispered apologies to the puppet as though you yourself had done something wrong.

Your terror-stricken apols appeared to have knocked Wally out of his enragement, his eyes instantly softening at your petrified form curled on the ground, hands covering your head to protect yourself.

Gently he stood, approaching where you lie, he crouched down, pulling you into a warm embrace.

"Shhh, you're alright, you're safe, shh." Wally soothed, pressing your face into the crook of his neck as you sobbed in fright. "I'm sorry. You just revealed something I didn't know about. I'm sorry I frightened you."

Your body wouldn't stop trembling, arms snaking around Wally's waist, holding him close as you silently begged him to never yell or get angry again- that was horrifying.

"What-" you sniffled softly, trying to compose yourself "-didn't you know?"

Wally's fingers fiddled with your hair, brushing through the tousled mess with delicate hands.

"That man you saw, I knew him, he should be dead ." Wally sighed, combing out the knots in your hair painlessly with a practiced technique that only came with using three bottles of hairspray every morning.

Leaning back from his welcoming hold, Wally's hand moving with you, you pried deeper, intent on learning more about the puppet.

"How did you know him?" you brushed away your tears with the back of your hand. "And why should he be dead?"

The puppet sighed at your further questioning.

"His name is Ronald Dorelaine and he was the director and creator of Welcome Home- I guess you could blame him for my existence~" Wally glanced over to the field of fountain grass, watching ponderously as the calm wind lightly bent the stems with its breeze. "And he should be dead because I killed him."

Your eyes widened a fraction. Truthfully, you had forgotten who exactly you were talking to, the puppet's comforting presence tricking your mind into downplaying just how ruthless of a person he could be. Wally was a killer, you knew this- you had witnessed this and yet still he talked about it so nonchalantly as though he didn't quite understand the concept of death.

Did he understand the concept of death?

"Wally, you do know what dying means, right?"

The puppet's pupils flicked over to you, a smile beaming on his face like the last ten minutes, that had led to both of you sitting on the grass, didn't exist.

"Yes, when someone dies they move on from their world, leaving their physical body behind!" he answered confidently, grinning from ear to ear.

Yeah, that sounded about right to you, but if that were the case, then how was the director, Dorelaine, here? Unless... his soul took a little detour before departing.

"What if Dorelaine ended up here..." you mumbled, catching the hand Wally had been combing through your hair with, grabbing his attention. "Wally, why did you kill the director?"

It was scary how easily you could talk about death after witnessing it and nearly experiencing it firsthand, it was almost like you were merely discussing the weather, not the act of revoking someone's life.

"Oh, he wanted to cancel the show after finding out about my sentience- and I was being well behaved at that! He managed to burn Frank and Julie's puppets before I could stop him, but once he set his eyes on what he considered to be the 'heart' of the problem, me, he met his fate~"

"So you were just trying to protect your friends?"

" And the show. Though as it turns out, a show can't run without its work crew, ha! Might've been a small oversight on my behalf! But at least I was able to spare a copy of each episode, which is what wound up in your father's hands and then in yours- and how lucky I was to be passed down to you~"

Of course, only Wally could take a conversation about murder and spin it around to flirt- he teased nearly everybody as far as you had seen, however he seemed to target you more often than the others, probably due to how often he'd see you; his unofficial roommate- or bedmate for that matter.

"Right... And could Dorelaine's spirit-soul-or whatever-thing, could it be trapped here?"

"..."

Wally's form hastily faded out of sight, his colours melding and mixing with the realism of your dream before dispersing, proof that the puppet had woken up. He must have needed some time to think about the question you had brought up.

The rest of your unconscious time was spent braiding the fountain grass stems into a crown, your thoughts unnaturally absent.

When you finally decided to leave your beautiful meadow paradise and join the waking world of Home, it was late into the morning, the bedsheets tangled around your form, Wally nowhere to be found.

Yawning, you rolled onto your side, but flopped onto your back the instant something metal poked your arm. Reaching blindly for the culprit of your startled reaction, you discovered a small key which you recognised as Wally's, being the one he wore around his neck that unlocked the basement. It must have accidentally fallen off of him in the night.

Flipping the bronze key around in your hand, tracing over the small floral carvings, you were half tempted to see what exactly was down in the basement to warrant a lock, your curious disposition swaying you in favour of breaking into the lowest level of Wally's Home. However, your respectful side outweighed your inquisitiveness, not wanting to invade the puppet's privacy. You were after all stuck with him and you didn't feel like throwing stones in your glass house, lest the shards slice you if they shatter.

At this point, you had little faith that Wally could bring you back to your world and he had repeated himself a hundred times over telling you that he couldn't, furthering your belief. As sad as it was to say, you weren't as devastated as you could've been. Yes, losing your siblings was pretty harsh, though Wally had confirmed that you were free to use his phone if you wished to speak with them. However, you never took him up on that offer, too afraid of what new judgement the rest of your family would have for you next. You doubted they'd even believe you if you told them what had happened.

Oh, well.

Slipping yourself out of bed, your bare feet making contact with the cool hardwood, you headed over to Wally's closet and grabbed brown trousers and a green hued diamond sweater. Thank goodness Wally was your height here, it meant that you could steal his clothing instead of borrowing any from the local giants he called neighbors.

Quickly, you got changed into the loaned clothes and trotted your way to the kitchen in search of food, Wally's key in hand. Entering the dining area, you found Wally already sitting there snacking on pancakes, another plate set up on the other side of the table for you. His head shifted up to face you, presenting you with a small smile.

"I made you some breakfast~" he beamed, motioning towards the meal set out for you.

"Thanks, um, by the way, you must have lost this in your sleep, thought I'd return it to you."

Graciously, you handed him back his basement key, startled by how swiftly he snagged it from your hand. Looking over the bronze key and then back up at you, he appeared to be analysing your features for something.

Did he think you checked out the basement? If so, why did suspect he'd be able to find proof in your complexion if you did? What was he hiding?

You were beginning to regret giving him the key, now desiring to learn what he was hiding from you. The puppet tied the string attached to the bronze item back up around his neck and slid his ascot over top to cover it with a smile, thanking you for returning it.

Eyes narrowed skeptically, you joined him at the kitchen table, eating the breakfast provided. The entire time, Wally appeared to be lost in thought, barely responding to you when you spoke or asked a question.

When Wally finished his food within the span of two blinks, he abruptly stood up from the table and placed his plate by the sink before darting over to the door.

"I'm going to spend some time with Barnaby, be back soon~"

And with that, Wally left you alone with Home, whomst rolled his eyes at his friends' antics.

"Well, it's just you and me Home... How do you feel about duets?"

—

Wally fled Home the moment he had finished his meal, requiring the advice of Barnaby in regards to the odd feeling in his chest that had been bugging him for some time now. Despite the sensation of fluttering and tenseness, it was rather thrilling and he had to know just what caused it, so he would ask his best friend who knew more about emotions than him.

Charging over to his best friend's house, Wally exuberantly knocked on the door and waited, Barnaby opening the door a second later.

"Hey, lil buddy, how's the day been treating you?" the canine greeted, moving aside to invite the smaller puppet inside.

"Delightful as always, Barnaby! How about yourself?"

"Same as you, Walls, just peachy!"

"That's good."

Wally slipped past Barnaby, taking a seat on his best friend's bright red couch, Barnaby taking the chair across from him, a simper on his face.

"So what brings you by this early in the mornin'?" Barnaby questioned, pulling out his wooden smoking pipe and adding a generous amount of tobacco, patting it down as Wally spoke.

"I've been feeling weird lately like there's a tightness in my chest, but it isn't unpleasant and goes away whenever I leave Home, do you know why that is?"

Barnaby hummed thoughtfully, "You said it only happens when you leave Home?"

Wally nodded.

"Hmmm, does it feel like a lil tingle in your chest and whenever you do leave Home, it feels like you need to go back- a longin' a sorts?"

Wally nodded again, more enthusiastically.

"And this, I'm guessing, started a lil while after the new neighbor moved in with ya?"

"Yes."

Striking a match and lighting his pipe, Barnaby took a long drag, breathing out the vibrant coloured smoke toward the ceiling.

"Well, bud, it appears you're head over heels for Songbird. What you're feelin' is called a crush."

"A crush?" Wally cocked his head, smiling expression unchanging.

"Means ya like 'em more than just friends, like how Frank an' Eddie started out all blushy and avoidin' each other. It's like that, 'cept you're far more confident than either of 'em so you'll probably be a bit more upfront, just don't go sayin' a declaration of love to their face though, plan something out first."

Is that what he was feeling? The reason why he craved your attention and smile? The incentive he felt which coveted his desire to keep you here and with him where you'd be safe and protected in his arms? Was it love?

"What should I plan then?"

"I don' know, you said they like music, so why don'cha sing 'em somethin', perhaps a love song?"

Hmm, a love song could certainly work, but which one? There were so many! Recalling all of the sensual songs he could remember, Wally inferred that he should listen to what you would sing at the slumber party, Sally already planning on having you show off your talents. And once you gave him another taste of what music style is your favourite, he could conclude which one you would enjoy him singing the most.

"I will! Thank you for your help, Barnaby!"

Rising from the couch, Wally was suddenly thrown into a tight hug and lifted off the ground by the massive dog's strength. The embrace lasted around a minute before Barnaby released him, the small puppet unable to return the affection as Barnaby's arms had trapped his own.

"Go get yo partner, lil bud." Barnaby swung open the front door, Wally exiting the canine's home and onto the cobble path. "And let me know if you need any help wooin' 'em, I'd be happy to lend a hand!"

"Thank you, Barnaby, see you at Sally's slumber party!" Wally called, waving to Barnaby as he headed back to Home.

"See ya there, buddy!" the dog hollered in response, taking another drag of his pipe.

Practically skipping through the front door of Home, Wally was met with an interesting sight. You and Home had decided, in his absence, to do a duet and it actually sounded really nice, Home taking on the role of percussion as you sang on your chair.

"~No, take me home, home where I belong, no, no~"

"~No, take me home, home where I belong~"

"~I can't take it anymore~"

The song came to a close, Wally having walked in at the ending verse, Home going silent so your vocals could take over. The last note was held with your stunning vibrato, Wally clapping with a radiant smile, already awestruck after only hearing the final few lines.

"That was delightful, Songbird~ You truly live up to your title everyday~"

Squeaking out in shock, Wally's presence in the room having gone unnoticed, you fell off the chair with a yelp.

"Wally! Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, sweetheart~" he cooed as you scrambled onto your feet, dusting off your borrowed clothes.

"I thought you were hanging out with Barnaby?" you asked, crossing your arms, looking at him expectantly.

"I was, but then I came back, like I said I would."

"When you say you want to 'spend time' with someone, usually that means you'll be gone for at least an hour, not all of twenty minutes!"

"Well, maybe I just spend my time wisely~"

"Or you spend it scaring me shitless!" you retorted with such vulgar language. It was clear you had a small habit of using crude language when excited- he should probably curve that now if possible.

"Ah, no foul language in Home!" he scolded, placing his hands on his hips to come off as authoritative.

You cackled, slumping back into your colourful chair.

"Says the one who screamed 'bastard' earlier."

Wally froze. The first dream you had in which he joined you was lost beneath the blanket reality, but now somehow you could recall more?

"How did you remember that?" he pried, stalking up to where you sat, kicking your feet.

"I don't know. Ever since you started hijacking my dreams, I have been able to remember more and more of them. Now it's like I'm living two lives, one awake, one asleep." you shrugged, throwing your head back to face him.

Wally let out a thoughtful hum, gently nodding his head. Without a word, he left the living room and entered his room to start packing some clothes for your night stay at Sally's.

Your ability to adapt, learn and grow was truly impressive, along with your newfound ability to manipulate your own dreams, though Wally felt a bit useless now that you could perform his typical nightly duty.

He needed to find something else that you required that would attach him to you, besides just comfort at night. Perhaps... no , he wasn't that cruel. He learned from his past mistakes, this time he would gain your permission before ridding you of your mortality.