Esmeralda smiled with childlike wonder at Parker, dressed in her pink tutu. The guards were coming rapidly, and Parker tried to close and bolt the door. Her plan was foiled by Esmerelda's small wooden foot in the way. With little choice or hope, Parker grabbed the purple gypsy and pulled her inside. She slammed the door shut and used her body to bar the door. Soldier's pounded against the wood, but Parker could withstand their blows for the time being.
Coppelia had gone back to the edge of the bed. Her legs were propped en pointe and her arms mimed holding a book. Esmeralda had propped herself up on the floor. She smiled coyly toward Parker. "How long do you think you will last against toy soldiers? You're practically a toy yourself."
"I am not." She shuddered against the charging toys. "Why, look at the joints in your elbow. Look at your perfectly white skin. Look at your bright cheeks. You're a doll faster than almost any other toy in that room. Aside from myself, obviously."
"We will shoot!" The soldiers said from the other side.
"Uh, oh. You're in trouble now." Esmeralda laughed gleefully, and then looked up longingly at Coppelia. "Once we're all back in the playroom . . ." her voice trailed off. The soldier's pounded the door once again. The gypsy took a closer look at the blue dressed toy. Parker gripped the door handle. Esmerelda's jaw dropped and looked back at the ballerina, "You're . . ."
Parker opened the door. Three quiet popping noises sounded. Coppelia didn't flinch as a pellet hit her. A second pellet struck Esmerelda, and the gears inside her body locked into place, leaving her eyes still wide and jaw open. The last pellet hit Parker, who fell to the ground as if she was just another doll.
Clockwork whimpered a little, but nonetheless continued to dance. She was surprisingly agile in her oversized boots and mechanical movements. The steam driven doll tried to fight off her brilliant tin smile, but to no luck. Tinkerbell felt for the toy and they way she was locked inside a body she didn't control. But she still laughed, shaking glittering dust off her body. The slippers on her feet grew pom poms as her transformation was still ongoing.
Lionheart didn't smile, but ducked beneath a tin arm just in time to kiss Clockwork for an extra long beat of time. Clockwork stopped fighting her smile and continued her dance. The large superhero reached next to the dresser and pulled out a red gun half the size of Tinkerbell.
"That doll's going to be at the door soon; we need to move, hot legs." the superhero said, slapping Tinkerbell's ass on his way from the room. The fairy jumped at his giant hand in places it shouldn't be.
"You two have relaxed rules about touching, don't you?" She said as they went down the stairs, Lionheart trogging down in front, Tinkerbell skipping behind. They reached the landing just as the doorknob started to turn. Tinkerbell skipped ahead while Lionheart stayed just a touch out of sight.
The door came open to reveal the ravishing Rosalita.
"Oh, Peter!" She paused at Tinkerbell's wings and breasts. "Oh, what happened to you?"
"I had a teensey change." The fairy giggled, forgetting herself. Rosalita cooed and started to come inside, but stopped herself suddenly. "You haven't seen a mean tin girl and a scary superhero, have you?"
"I saw them," she laughed, "but they couldn't move!"
"Oh, good." The dancer said, stepping inside.
"Well, until I turned them on." Tinkerbell said cheekily. The flamenco dancer didn't have time to look surprised before Lionheart's gun lit up and roared. The key in her back stopped turning and her body froze in place.
The superhero clodded up to the frozen dancer while Tinkerbell rubbed her head. "I'm so lightheaded right now." She laughed, "And I can't stop acting like a pixie!"
"That's the spells working on you, working to transform you. It's fun for a bit, until you remember that you're a person."
"Oh." Tinkerbell didn't care what he had to say, preferring instead to skip around Rosalita and pretend to fly like a real fairy. She saw the big key coming from the toy's back and grabbed onto it, pulling with all her pixie might. The key slid out and Tinkerbell went falling backwards through the door. She landed on her butt in the real living room, sending fairydust everywhere. On the other side of the door, she had become proper human sized once again, though perhaps a bit shorter than she had been when she was still Ryan and not Tinkerbell.
"Good thinking, Tink." Lionheart picked up the flamenco and set her down in a darkened corner of the dollhouse where she couldn't be seen by glass or human eyes.
BANG! The house shuddered. The pixie looked upstairs toward the source of the noise. BANG! Again the walls shook. Being curious, the fairy jumped up on her green slippers and started to skip to the big staircase. A third BANG!, the loudest she had heard, slowed her down, and she crept closer to the landing. Tinkerbell realized that tiny bells chimed inside her body every time she moved. A tin hand grabbed Tinkerbell's arm just as she peaked around the staircase.
Clockwork pulled the slightly shrunken pixie back. "Not that way, little bug."
"Oh! I'm so happy to see you again. We can play games together now." Clockwork replied with a pinch on the pixie's arm. "OW!" Tinkerbell said, a cry muffled by a timely BANG! upstairs. The fairy shook her head and looked down at her even more girlish body. "Oh, come on!" Her voice was light and sweet, but at least she was acting normally again. She looked at Clockwork. "How'd you get here so fast?"
The steam girl shrugged. "The dance didn't last too long. I'm just glad I didn't fall out of the house or something."
Lionheart closed the closet door and joined the pair. "I missed you." Lionheart said, embracing his steam powered girl. He was careful not to trigger her button a second time.
"Enough with the chit-chat." Tinkerbell crossed her arms. "I'd like to stop being a girl fairy doll."
Calliope slid into Jewel's soft body and looked down delightedly into her sisters plastic eyes. "Hey! Owner needs us to get to playin."
"We're the best at playing, aren't we?"
"Yup. Now, c'mon." Calliope didn't wait for her sister to get her doll legs beneath her, and just grabbed a soft wrist and pulled her across the room to the closet of wondrous costumes. Jewel was content to be dragged away, just another rag toy.
The room they left was filled by the bustle of a dozen toys. But the costume room was quiet, and the jesters sat down in the center of the room, as always facing each other.
"So, what kinda play are we going to make? I don't care, really, but I would like to wear a pretty costume."
"You're already wearing a pretty costume, Emily." Caliope's voice was sad and quiet, which made her sister doll very confused. She looked around the room quickly.
"Who's Emily?"
Calliope bopped the red jester on her small nose. "You are. But, it's a secret. You can't tell a soul, not even owner."
Jewel's mouth opened wide. "Oh, I have a secret identity! What is my other me like?"
"I only know the important things. Like, Emily loves Parker more than any other person in the world. She loves Parker even more than you love me. Parker says she's very responsible, but I think Emily likes to cause more mischief than her friend realizes. Emily is also curious of pretty things like you and me."
"I can be curious. Like a cat. Oh, I could be a kitty for the play!" Jewel stumbled to one of the racks of costumes, while Calliope sighed and went to the overlooked corner of the closet where the props for the toys were kept. Perhaps she could still save Emily.
Parker looked up the ceiling, her gaze never wavering from the popcorn roof. Two soldierettes in short flowing skirts and thick white tights and a soldier in red jacket and sharp white pants stood over her. The ballerina's right leg stabbed into the air, not responding to her commands. The soldiers bent down, each grabbing Parker, and heaved her high into the air. They took her unmoving body down the hall and back into the playroom.
The room was entirely different now that it was lit up The soldiers lowered her again and straightened her leg, which clicked with noises as it moved into place. They then squared her shoulders and put her arms down along her body. The ballerina stood at rigid attention when the old doctor walked into her view.
He had been worrying over the frozen Esmerelda with a peasant rag doll with flowers along her skirt and a bunny girl with a top hat and tuxedo. "Oh, blast." He said, "She won't start up without her key." He stamped his foot a few times before his gaze turned to Parker. "Oh, my beautiful Swanhilda!" He came forward with his arms wide and smile tall. "I am so happy to see you here." He laughed a little as he came closer. "But why are you standing like a soldier? You should stand as a ballerina."
Parker's body betrayed her suddenly, her arms moved up and over her head, one clicking step at a time. Her heels clicked together and toes angled out. She tried to struggle against her own body, but whatever wheels turned inside her didn't let her move. But her eyes widened a little in fright.
"So perfect." He said, admiring his lithe toy. "Come, Mary found this for you. I have longed to display a doll on here for ages, but have yet to do so." Parker propped up en pointe and followed the old man – her owner – to a large box with pretty gold trimming. The lid was open to reveal a shining mirror on the back and a turntable on the box. She hopped up onto her place. Her owner breathed in deeply.
"You are mine now, sweet Swanhilda."