While concussed in the clinic on Sunday

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia is sitting on Walter's bed, after being attacked by the laundry machines. Walter sits next to her, and she leans against his arm.

Her Walter, that is. Something in her brain wants to make that perfectly clear. Something is also drawing her eyes over to the side, to look at Walter's night table.

And the statue of the kneeling man. She shivers.

Must be the exhaustion.

"Where'd that come from?"

"London." Walter says. "When we were acting as the distraction team in that Watcher's house? I picked up a pair of them. I gave the other to Pippi since she liked it."

"Oh." Nadia presses a little tighter against Walter's arm, even though it makes her ribs hurt. The statue's head isn't bowed any more. It's looking at her. "Hey, statues aren't supposed to do that."

Walter grabs her arm, hard. "Not really, no."

Then they're not in Walter's room any more, even though the bed and the nightstand and the statue are still there. Two statues. The one Walter gave Pippi stands next to Walter's. The kneeling statue stands. It has a ponytail, wears a monocle. Thin wires stretch between its hands. Nadia turns to look at Walter, again. "You have to get rid of it!"

Walter shakes his head. His eyes seem to be rapidly changing color, and his grip on her arm tightens until she cries out. "It's . . . not that . . . easy. . . ."

Pippi's statue turns. It's a statue of Pippi, but her eyes glow purple and she holds a puppet, a marionette in her hands.

A marionette of Pippi.

Nadia wrenches her arm from Walter's grip and grabs both statues. She holds them high above her head before slamming them down to the floor.

They bounce. And the figures seem to grin at her.

Something grabs her from behind. "Told you it wasn't that easy,"

Nadia screams.