DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, the song, nor Vocaloid-or anything that is related to them. I only write stories for fun. ^_^
junkosakura01: I don't know why I wrote this story. ^_^
Trick or Treat, Ken
Located in the forest is a seemingly normal house made of sweets. Ken is just wandering around, even though his mother told him never to go out to the forest especially at night. That is obvious for a mother to say because she loves her child so much. But Ken is a little stubborn only because of a rumor of a house of sweets located deep within the forest outside-that will come alive during midnight. He also heard of rumors of the said house taking in children who never returned from there. True or not, it is evident that the children were not able to return. Sweet, innocent young Ken ignores the warning and goes deeper in and sees the said house.
"Aha! I think I've found it! But I wonder what time is it now," he then looks at his watch.
~Dark Hour~
Lights began to emit and swarms around the area. It filled the darkness with bright colors of green and blue, a shade of pink peers within the shades as well. It is also as if it can blind you with its brightness.
"The lights were so bright... Ah, so the rumors were true! At last, a place where any kid dreams of! Eh? What happened to the forest? It looks like it vanished..."
Just then, he hears a voice... A male voice singing among the silence...
Deeper, deeper, you come into the forest, pulled by a voice so sweet
Come on, come on, you want to go even deeper to meet
"Who... W-Who's there...?"
"Ah, so you heard me?" said a blue-haired male in a butler outfit. "That's nice..."
"Who are you?"
"I am just one of the two who owns this place. We're delighted to see you, young boy. Have you come to enjoy at our little home?"
"We?"
"Yes, we. My sister, she is right over there," he points over at Ken's right shoulder.
Appearing from the shadows is a pretty young brown-haired female wearing a maid outfit. "Hello there," she giggled, "Welcome."
"Is it alright for me to come in?"
"Yes, of course!" they said."We've been waiting for someone like you to come..."
"Alright, then lead the way please!"
The girl giggled again, "If you say so."
The surroundings fade; even the two disappeared, turning into darkness. Ken could only stand still in fear, "This isn't funny, you two...!" His body shaking, tension fills his mind. He hears the boy's voice once again.
"Now, now, don't you just stand there? Come inside! Run! It's just right in front of you."
Quickly, quickly, come as fast as your little legs can run to the dark
"I can't see! Are you sure it's just up front?" he said while still running.
"Yes, yes!" the girl replied. "Oh I know! Let's play a game!"
"What kind of game, sister?" the boy asked.
"Any game!" she laughed. "But that will have to wait until he reaches our house."
Come on, come on, it'll be fun, let's playa game, on your mark!
Soon as they finished their sentence, Ken finally reaches the front door and went inside. Huffing and puffing, he gasps for breath, "I...made it..."
"Oh good, you've made it!" the girl pranced in front of him, "Oh my, are you tired?"
"Yes, of course he is," the boy appeared, "Come here, I will give you something..."
"What is it? It smells so yummy!"
This cinnamon stick is a wonderful magic stick
"What am I supposed to do with it? Eat it?"
"No, no, no," she waved her finger, "It will take you on a sweet dream," she waved the stick over at Ken's nose.
"What...is going on now...?" Ken's eyes grew heavy, and fell asleep in the girl's arms.
"Look, isn't that adorable? He's sleeping."
"You made him fall asleep. Why don't you say something to sweeten his dream?"
Imagine that you're drowning in the sweetest syrups
Dreams relieve of you of your problems and sorrows that make you weep
Because they are heaven-made,have one and fall asleep
But they're only good if you are surrounded by hallucinations
When you take the blindfold off, there's no more pleasant creations
The girl created an illusion that filled Ken's mind-a world that only composed of chocolates and sweets. Fountains of soda sprung, and the rivers made of syrup. Candy canes were the trees, and marshmallows as clouds. The sun was a peppermint candy and the animals were made of gummies.
"Mmm... What happened? Why can't I see anything? But I smell something sweet! Ooh, I think I also smell some chocolates! No, there are also other sweets! Aww... If only I can see them..."
"You've woken up!" she said. "How was that cinnamon stick?"
"Shouldn't I be eating it instead of making me smell it and putting me to sleep?"
"It may smell nice, but it's not for eating."
"H-Heeey... Why am I tied up too...?" Ken struggled to get loose. "Help me... Where are you two...?"
You will see that your hands are tied and bound, dragging at my heels
"What?" Ken feels the threads linking to the boy. "Now I'm getting scared..."
You've already given up,don't take it back, it's a deal
"I-I won't give up! And I won't lose to the both of you! You two are evil; no wonder those other children weren't able to return! You trapped them here!"
"Trapped?" she giggled.
"We just took them away from the harsh real world. 'Taken care of'' is much more suitable to use."
"All we did was took care of them. Look over there!" she pointed at a cliff.
"Don't tell me you..." Ken slowly walked towards it.
"Hee hee, silly, you have the wrong idea!"
"That is just nonsense! We would never put them into their eternal slumber; we just kept them in a world filled with their hearts' wishes."
"Hey, would you like to dine with us?" she gave him a poke on his cheek with her finger, "I'm sure you're hungry right now."
The scenery changed and turns into a dining room. There, Ken is tied up in a chair, he also feels something was covering his eyes. But his eyes aren't covered by anything at all...
"You blame us?" she slowly points a knife at Ken.
"Is that a knife...?"
"You can tell?" she makes a quick point at his cheek, "Hee hee, why do you ask when your eyes aren't even covered?"
"That' hurts...! Did you also blindfold me?"
"Yes, I did. Is it tight enough? I should tighten it more if it's loose."
"How can you tell? Actually, there isn't anything covering your eyes from where we are right now."
"I can feel you're right in front of me, and there are a lot of sweets because I can smell it. Wait, there isn't? What?"
"Your body is fast asleep in our bed of soft marshmallows. You fell asleep right after smelling the scent of the cinnamon stick my sister waved at you."
"But your mind is awake, that's why you are witnessing this right now. We're surprised to know that you're strong enough to withstand it all."
Sometimes we see the shine of doubt flickering on the double-edged knife
A faultless love that does not exist, there's no perfect feeling in this life
Through a hole in the blindfold, there was something I thought I'd never see
Lantern shadows that grew at night unconsciously frightened me
"You know," she gently caressed Ken's hair, "you should be happy that you're here. Without knowing us, you might be still living in that ordinary reality."
"Humans are so gullible. Whatever interesting may happen to them, they will find ways to know more just to satisfy their curiosity."
"There's no way...that I'll give up!" Ken shouts, making her suddenly stepped back. "I won't be kept here in this false dream. My mother must be worried about me... I also disobeyed her, so I'm going to go back and apologize! I want to see her now!"
The threads covering his eyes breaks, and Ken wakes up on a marshmallow bed inside a huge room. The blue-haired boy picks up his sword and points it directly at him.
My, my, you bad kid, how dare you wake up so early
The girl draws her naginata and makes a swishing motion, "My, my, you aren't so weak after all. Those other children were much more gullible than you. It's a shame to see the blindfold off you."
If your blindfold comes off, should I blind you instead?
Hey look, you're laughing, now isn't that the cutest sight?
"Why shouldn't I be? I got away from your trickery!" he begins to make slow steps towards the large door that might lead him to his escape.
But you still wear lies,so let's go back to our play tonight
"No! Don't you go near me!" he suddenly draws a gun (Evoker).
Hey...
Can I have that...?
*giggle*
"Ahh! My Evoker!"
"What is it? It's not a real gun, is it?" she toys with it and threw it to her brother.
"You think you can easily escape from here? We control this place, and you are far from your world. You won't be able to leave!"
Why are you trembling in front of me like a scared little mouse?
Milk is what you want because it made you well at your old house?
"I may look like I want milk right now, but that won't bribe me to stay! Stop singing so much! I won't stay here!"
"Is that so? Then we'll just have to force you to stay," she said, and her slash makes another scenery.
This is my domain, my place where it's just as warm as any place
I'll just toll what's in your pocket, now you should not lose any face
"You won't be getting out, that's for sure," he said and quickly rushes to bind him again.
But Ken makes a dash for his gun that's lying right under a candy-filled decoration, "Aha! Now that I've gotten my gun back, I can summon my Persona!"
"You can't beat us... You'll stay here forever just like the others," they said.
Give me that, quickly, quickly, just give it here right now
Don't ask why or when or where, you don't even to need to know how
"As if I'll just hand it over!"
Eat these sweets, they tempt you into believing fake hospitality
"No, I won't let you have it! You can't keep me here!"
Give me that, quickly, just give it here right now to me
"NOOO!" Ken pulls the trigger a blinding light surrounds them.
"Ken? Ken, dear... Are you alright?" said his mother.
"Mom...? Mom!" he quickly embraced his mother.
"Oof... Oh, Ken, you were having a nightmare. But it's over now, I'm here," she gently caresses Ken's back.
"Mom, I'm sorry I disobeyed you! I shouldn't have gone to the forest!"
"I know you're sorry," she gives him a smile, "But you didn't went in to the forest."
"What...?"
"Two kind people brought you here; they said they found you unconscious right near the path to the forest. I think they were siblings."
"Siblings...?"
"They quickly left to say farewell because they said they had other matters to attend to."
"(Could they be...?)"
Was it all just a dream...?
Or was it perhaps a nightmare...?
The question remains unanswered. But one thing's for certain: it was real enough for Ken.
- END -