Author Note: I didn't like how empty the last chapter felt, it was too empty to leave for another week, and if you didn't think it was lacking...thanks.....but it was lol♥ I didn't sleep very well last night but I can't imagine how a high society Demon pretending to be a beggar living in a crack of a building would feel so let's get onto it~ Enjoy this week's double update of Playhouse m(_ _)m Do you want to play?
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How was one suppose to sleep in these sort of conditions?! He groaned as he moved the jagged rock out from under him that had been stabbing his side. He growled in his throat as he tried to stretch his long legs but the area was too cramped, too confined, and he felt as if he was caged and the walls were closing in on him.

The air was thin despite the opening and he found himself wheezing and hacking every time a car zoomed by leaving behind a black cloud of exhaust that would travel into his lungs and choke him.

His stomach was feeling nauseous from the smell of rotting garbage and decaying dead street animals and no matter how hard he covered his face with his hands to find some relief it was as if the fumes were literally piercing through his skin and entering his nostrils.

The loud chatter of drunken business men followed by the sound of them vomiting became more and more frequent the later it became. Rebellious teenagers would kick trash cans over and spew vulgarity at the top of their lungs and there was nothing Mark wanted to do more than to shift into his Demon form and show them what a real roar was.

He slowly flipped inwards so he was facing Chrysalis and his scowl immediately softened. Instead of using the little pillow from Mari under her head she was cuddling it tightly to her chest.

She was in fetal position, curled so tightly to accommodate for the small space she was likely to wake up with a very sore spine. Her face unlike when she was sleeping in her own bed at the manor was impassive, there was no sense of peace and her brows were furrowed.

She hadn't moved from this position once and it made him feel bad. If he weren't here then she'd have a bit more room to unwind herself and relax but he didn't regret his decision.

Since they were so close already Mark rested his forehead against hers and sighed deeply but then pulled back believing he would accidentally suffocate her by covering her face.

It was a given he was already hungry, his body ached being away from his king sized bed with his soft yet firm mattress and silk sheets. His psyche missed the aroma of the flowers constantly drifting through the manor and he cursed. It's not even been a day and he wasn't sure how he would survive.

His inner Demon growled, it's eyes glowing a dark blue. Leave her it coaxed him. You don't need to be subjected to such torment, you are an all mighty Demon and she is but a feeble human.

Mark sat up contemplating whether he should or not. It's not like he'd be far away, he would just be on the roof tops with Jaebeom and Jinyoung watching over her. He could change back to his normal attire, lay in a more comfortable position and snack off of either Jaebeom or Jinyoung's hidden stash.

He started for the exit then stopped and smirked. If a feeble human could cope with such conditions then a mighty Demon should have no problem then. With a new found determination to prove himself Mark laid back down pulling his hoodie over his head and crossing his arms while forcing his mind to sleep.

Jinyoung made a face of disgust as he munched on his chips while watching Mark's attempt to leave. He had already lasted longer than he had initially thought he would.

"I adore my Dolls as much as the next decent Puppeteer but if you were to ask me to do something like this I'd laugh in your face"

Jaebeom chuckled as he surveyed the rest of the roof tops. He had created the Puppeteer society more than a millennium ago, just a little experiment to give him something to preoccupy himself with.

Humans were the lowest of all creatures, easy to manipulate, easy to dispose of and easy to replace. They were exactly as he had made them to be, toys, a Demon's Doll.

But as old as he was, he was not unaffected by time and experience. He had grown to pity the humans thus allowing himself to collect more of them to give them a better life, but only if they were deserving.

He changed the rules so Puppeteers may have more than one Doll and maybe in a few hundred years he'll raise the limit again so more humans, abandoned by society and God will find sanctuary.

Jinyoung looked up as Jaebeom chuckled and shook his head, an unexpected chuckle that was a mix between his humanistic sound and his deep demonic sound. His thoughts were sounding soft, too soft, he was a Demon after all.

"Master......Master wake up......."

Mark squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head as Chrysalis shook him gently.

"Master we have to get up now......."
"No"

His voice was deep and groggy and completely dead pan. She sighed deeply and apologized before taking her little pillow and whacking his shoulder with it making the Demon sit up right while growling with his eyes blazing irritated.

"How dare you!"
"I'm very sorry Master but we really do need to get up. The soup kitchen stops serving soon and I've let you sleep as long as possible."

Mark rubbed his face with his hands and glanced outside with puffy eyes. It was barely light out and the world was actually quiet so this seemed like the most ideal time to sleep. Maneuvering very slowly Chrysalis managed to crawl past him and step out of the crack and she held a hand out to him.

She frowned as he ignored her gesture and followed her out and she pushed the dumpster close to conceal her hideout. The street lights were turning off one by one as the sun began to rise and Mark swayed back and forth as he followed Chrysalis up the road.

As they arrived at the back of the Church she smiled in relief that it was still open and there wasn't a long line. She looked back at her Master and he looked at her and frowned annoyed.

"What?"
"It's just....it's a Church. Will you be alright going into it even though you're......a Demon Master?"
"It's too early for such jokes Pretty."

She shrugged her shoulders and grabbed onto his sleeve so they could fall in line behind the rest of the homeless and less fortunate. As they entered Chrysalis sighed, it looked exactly like she remembered.

A large cafeteria like area with long tables and benches. People squished together to sit at a table or crowded around on the floor. Elderly were yelling and babies were crying and Mark groaned and pulled his hood down.

The air smelled of soiled laundry and it mixed with the fragrance of the food being served by volunteers. A small bowl of rice, a small bowl of stew and a few pieces of fruit along with a plastic cup of water.

"Thank you"
"Is that it?"

The volunteer withered under Mark's glare and Chrysalis immediately apologized and pulled Mark to follow her.

"Master....."
"How is anyone suppose to survive on this amount of food? I believe Herbert would still be starved after consuming this"

She sighed and pulled the brooding Demon into a corner and she was constantly apologizing as Mark practically stepped on everyone in his way without so much as a pardon.

As soon as he sat on the floor Mark started shoveling food into his mouth and Chrysalis frowned.

"If you have something to say then say it Chrysalis."

She shook her head and began to eat her rice and stew slowly, very slowly, savouring each and every bite.

"They have a lot of people to feed Master. These are volunteers who give up their time to help us, this food is from donations and we have to be grateful we're getting anything at all. Yes it is a small amount but at least it'll keep us alive for another day and I hope you learn to appreciate that."

Mark glared, his cheeks full, as Chrysalis' became very serious as she spoke to him as if he were a greedy child. With her gaze not faltering he sighed and apologized for his behavior and it was enough to make her smile and continue to eat.

Once they were finished Chrysalis had quickly pulled Mark towards a construction site. She held onto the fence and glanced around and once the coast was clear she motioned for him to follow her to the portable toilet.

She held the door open for him and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"You don't look like you'd be willing to do your business in the alley like every other person so I suggest you use this quickly before the workers come"

Confused for a brief moment Mark's lips formed an O and Chrysalis looked away embarrassedly. He hopped into the little area while Chrysalis stood guard and they switched places once he was done.

The sun was beginning to come up as the two wandered in the darkness away from society.

"Strangely enough that portable restroom smelled a whole lot more appealing than your alley"
"We're really not suppose to use it........."
"Why not? We're human, so to speak. We need to release our bowels just like everyone else despite our state"

Chrysalis smiled sadly and shook her head.

"To other people we're not humans, we're lower than that. They fear us, think we're disgusting and want us to disappear honestly."
"Have you done your business in the alley as well?"
"I ugh....I'd rather not talk about that Master."

She kept her head down as they crossed the street. People were looking at her that way again, pity, disgust, hoping she'd evaporate under their gazes yet Mark walked with his head held high and his hands in his pockets.

They had arrived at the back of a small factory and Chrysalis lifted a board of wood to reveal a hidden walk way. It led to a path that headed under the bridge and Mark's eyes narrowed in recognition.

When watching human movies and they would portray poorer society they would always be seen under roads with tins of fire and clustered in groups and it looked exactly like this.

Dirty individuals huddling together and their eyes turned to look at them and they started whispering amongst themselves. Children in tattered clothing stopped running and stared at the strangers and even though beggars the teenage girls couldn't help but stare at Mark a little longer than necessary.

Chrysalis' eyes scanned the area eagerly and when they arrived at their destination she frowned. This spot that was once inhabited was now vacant for what seemed like a while now.

"Wee one?"

An elderly voice called from behind her and she turned excitedly but her face fell when it wasn't the person she was expecting. Mark noticing her expressions took a step foward to shield her and the elderly man in a wheel chair smiled.

"Wee one I thought it was you"

She placed a hand on Mark's arm and she walked by him to bow to the man.

"Let me take a look at ye Dear. My how you've grown"

She smiled weakly and knelt next to the elderly man in the wheel chair wearing layers upon layers of tattered clothing. His face was pale but spotted with freckles and  by the look of his wrinkles he was well past the age of 80.

His white hair shot out in different directions under his dirty red beret, and his frail hand was cold as he placed it on Chrysalis' cheek but his dark eyes warmed as he gazed at her.

"Hello Moody"

She whispered softly and grasped his hand in hers. He looked from her to Mark and smiled.

"Friend of yers?"

Before she could accidentally let the word Master slip from her lips Mark bowed slightly.

"Yes sir. My name is....."
"Don't bother son, I'm too old to remember anything new hahaha. I'll just call ye Wee one's friend"

Moody faced Chrysalis again and his thin pale lips frowned as she looked up at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry Wee one. He's gone. He passed a while back."

Mark watched as her face paled and her eyes began to glisten. She grabbed the old man's hands and gave them a firm squeeze.

"How?"
"Ye know how he was, stubborn, so it was the old age that finally got em"

Chrysalis sighed deeply and sat back on her behind and Moody smiled sadly.

"When ye stopped coming around he got worried about ye. Thought something bad had happened to ye or something. But then he had hoped that ye had found a better life for yourself, hoping you were somewhere safe and happy but by the looks of it yer still the same Dear where'd you go??"

"I...."

Lost in her emotions the old man rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Ye don't have to explain anything. I'm just glad yer safe."

He patted his lap and Chrysalis smiled and shook her head.

"I'm too big for that now Moody"
"Whatcha saying? I still got some strength in these old bones of mine haha Come come"

She defeatedly stood from the floor and dusted herself off before sitting on the old man's lap. His frail arms shook as he tried to grab onto his wheels and Mark quickly cleared his throat and walked behind the chair.

"Allow me"
"Why thank ye Wee one's friend."

Mark wheeled the two back to his little area and motioned for Chrys to grab the little red velvet pouch in the corner. She opened it and she couldn't hold back the tear that threatened to roll before.

"He would've wanted you to keep them."
"Are you sure Moody?"
"As sure as I know I'm old"

Moody coughed, his whole body shaking and he wheezed. Chrys shoved the little bag in her pocket and tended to the old man and he smiled.

"It's so good to see you Wee one. I was hoping I'd get to see you before....."

He coughed again and Chrysalis wrapped her arms around him and the old man shoved her away softly.

"I don't want ye catching anything. I'm glad ye have someone by your side to watch over you now."
"Moody....."
"Don't frown like that, it's tainting yer beautiful face. Now Wee one I'd think it's best you don't return here again....."

He slowly lifted his beret off his head and held it out to her and she shook her head desperately as she took it.

"Don't....."
"Wee One we both know my time's up. Today, tomorrow, in a few minutes, you never know but I don't want you to come back here and have no one to come back to. I want you to keep fighting okay, keep looking for that light, you're still young, you need to live....live for me and Gunnie."

He weakly took some blankets off from his lap and handed them to Mark and he accepted them with a small sincere smile.

"Thank you sir"
"You'll be needing them more than me. I'd rather you have them than the people who'll end up robbing my corpse"
"Moody...."
"Sorry Wee One but it's the reality. I have a can of food make sure to take it with ye along with my old canteen. Watch over her son, I don't know what yer relationship with her is but she's a diamond living in a world of coal. She's beautiful and she's tough and never asks for anything but she deserves so much mo...."

The man coughed painfully into his fist and waved them off not wanting her to see him this way. Reluctantly Chrysalis bowed to the old man with a smile, the smile on her face he wanted to see to remember her by, and the two left without looking back.

Mark didn't have to be inside her head to feel the sadness and guilt radiating from Chrysalis. She kept her impassive gaze in front and she was quiet the entire way back to her alley and he couldn't bring himself to say a word to her.

She jumped and pulled herself over the edge of the dumpster and Mark carefully followed behind her. Once they crawled through the rusted hole she still pushed the container away from the crack so Mark could get at least a little more air in the cramped space.

After all the journeying Mark was famished and was ready to tear the tin can open with his fangs when Chrysalis held out her fruit from earlier.

"I'd save that for a dire emergency Master. I saved this for you."

She shook the canteen and smiled sadly from the full sound and held it out to Mark who looked at her with utter confusion on his face.

"Aren't you hungry Pretty?"
"I need to take care of you Master. I'll be fine. Tomorrow the restaurant will be open and we can have scraps for dinner but for now I'd rather you have it"
"You're my Doll Chrysalis I need to look out for your well being."
"You're my Master, and it's my job to serve you"

She urged him to eat and it literally pained him to do so. He wanted to fight back, say if she weren't eating then he wouldn't but he couldn't ignore his stomach pains. He wasn't used to living like this at all. He'd rather have the trait of not needing to eat rather than not needing to breathe at the moment.

"So....may I ask who he was?"

Chrysalis took the red velvet pouch from her pocket and dumped it's contents. Inside was a swiss pocket knife and an army medal with a faded name.

"I was looking for Gunnie. He was ex-army who got screwed over by the government and became a beggar. A very stubborn old man hahaha When I first ran away from the orphanage, the men who worked there followed me all the way to under the bridge. I had accidentally ran into Gunnie and when he noticed I was being chased he scared the men off with this very knife."

Her face lit up with nostalgia as she opened the multiple compartments of the knife.

"Once he saved me I ugh I stayed with him for a bit which was lucky since he didn't tolerate younger people very much. Moody who you met, was his best friend and they called me Wee One. I think he was an immigrant from a European country who also ran out of luck in life and ended up there."

Mark held out an apple slice to her and he frowned as she shook her head.

"Why did you leave them? They seemed like they cared for you."

"I didn't want to be a burden to them. I didn't want to eat their food anymore or be warm while they froze in the winter when they gave me their blankets. I ran away and found my own alley, my own life to fend for myself so I wouldn't be a burden to others. After a few years I returned and I thought they'd hate me for leaving but they welcomed me with open arms. Gunnie gave me that lamp and these blankets. But I still wouldn't visit often or else I'd feel like I wouldn't want to leave."

She wiped a tear from her eye as she remembered the tan old man with salt and pepper hair.

"He once told me he tolerated me because I was a kind soul. Self-less and that other people should learn to live like me. I never believed him though. I was nothing."

Mark's never seen Chrysalis this way before nor could he ever imagine her like this. She was different from the kind, innocent girl who was scared of everything that he's come to know. Right now she was the same way the other Dolls had been when they first arrived, hardened by their life, frightened and feeling alone.

She was still self-less but maybe too self-less, the light had disappeared from her eyes and she looked hopeless again.

Mark crawled over and placed a hand on her cheek.

"Hey don't speak that way. You are so much more than you think you are Chrysalis. You're not alone, you have the girls, Mona, and you have me."
"Until you get rid of me Master"
"I wouldn't get rid of you"
"You got rid of the others so easily. You can replace me so easily."
"That was before"
"You're still a Demon Master. You'll grow bored, it's inevitable and you'll toss us away like trash or maybe you'll find pleasure in disposing of us yourself instead of Miss Mona...."
"I'M NOT A MONSTER!"

She flinched as he roared, his eyes blazing blue and she quickly cowered and apologized for speaking out of line. Pebbles fell from the roof top and Mark took in a breath to relax himself.

"I forbid you from ever thinking so little of yourself Pretty, do you understand me?"
"Yes Master"
"You're beginning to forget yourself, you are not the beggar you once were, you have a family, a life, people who depend on you and love you okay? You are living the way Gunnie and Moody wanted you to so don't forget that. Once we achieve our mission you'll never come back to this alley again I swear on my life."

Chrysalis couldn't tear her eyes away from Mark's serious yet sincere eyes. They were flickering between dark and blue and her gaze followed down his face to his lips that were set in a firm line.

Her heart started to beat faster, she was beginning to feel shy and she nodded slowly.
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Author Note: Now I'm satisfied lol Now I can leave you all till next week xD ♥ Until next week then I'll see you for another Playhouse m(_ _)m Do you still want to play?

PS# I'm very curious, don't ask me why, but if I didn't put "Do you want to play?" in the beginning would you guys notice? Now tell me how many of you scrolled back up to see if I didn't write it lol