"So, ah, what exactly are we lookin' for, guys?" Phoenix asked as he tipped his head to the side and scratched at the base of his skull. He blinked wide-eyed at Goten as the older Saiyan clapped a hand to his own face. "Whaaaaat?" Phoenix asked and pulled the tie from his hair to adjust his ponytail.

Goten heaved a sigh as he rolled his eyes to the sky, asking the powers that be to grant him patience. "We're looking for that bitch that Paige fought at the tournament. Or did you forget the entire reason we came here?" he asked.

"Well duh, I know that," Phoenix snapped back. "But I doubt she's just going to pop out and be like, 'oh hi, I'm over here.' I meant are we looking for clues or what?" He felt that excitement bubbling up inside him again. He'd grown up hearing about the adventures their family had gone on; now it was his turn. He couldn't stop the huge grin that split his face.

Goten snickered at his nephew and shook his head. "Well, this is supposed to be someplace magickal, let's just see what we can find, I guess," he said. He really had no idea what they were doing or what they were looking for. But just standing around wasn't going to get them anywhere. He turned and surveyed their surroundings, his eyes landing on the ancient castle near a cliff. "I'm guessing that might be a place to start? Let's head that way."

Paige's ears twitched as she looked at the castle they were heading towards. "I have an interesting feeling about that place," she said as she opened up the book and flipped to the section that had listed Ireland and the banshees. "Something about a source of magick should be nearby or somewhere in the country. What better place to start than in an old, creepy castle?" she asked with a toothy grin. Her eyes drank in the details of the structure, the moss covered stones, haunting archways and dark windows. She couldn't be certain, but she was about to swear there was a blue dot of light that kept appearing in her peripheral vision. It vanished as she turned to get a better look at it. "Place is giving me the creeps."

"Yeah, no kidding," Goten agreed as they got closer. It looked as if the place hadn't been visited by anyone in years. He shot Phoenix an irritated look as the younger Saiyan bounced happily along. "Be careful, would you? Be just our luck that you would bring the whole damn place down on us." He led the way into the castle, peering curiously around. There was an unsettling presence there that he couldn't define. It felt as though they were being watched and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "HELLO?" he called loudly and listened as his own voice echoed back at him.

"I don't think anyone's home," Phoenix snickered. He stepped inside, looking around with his hands on his hips, his tail swishing behind him. He tipped his head to the side and looked through a doorway. "What was that? I swear, there was a light over there," he said, walking towards it, his curiosity too strong to resist. "C'mon, guys."

Paige frowned at him, reaching out and giving his tail a quick pinch. "Hey, easy. Down boy," she said as she flipped through the section in the book. She sighed heavily, reading really wasn't her thing. She didn't much care for books, that was Alice's area. "I think the balls of light I keep seeing out of the corner of my eyes are will-o-wisps. Spirits of something. Definitely some kind of magick. Maybe they are attracted to it or something." She snorted, "They could be the spirits of curious adventurers who were killed here in the past."

Phoenix yelped and wrenched his tail out of her grasp, shooting her a sulking look. "You are so MEAN to me," he pouted as he smoothed the fur back down. "Better watch your ass, Namek, or I'll pinch your ears," he grumbled under his breath as he wrapped his tail tightly around his waist again.

Goten shook his head as they walked through the castle. "Wisps, huh? Are they good or are they bad?" he asked, but paused when a little flash of blue light caught his eye and he turned suddenly, but it was gone. He scrubbed at his eyes and blinked several times, but the light was no longer there. "What the?" He felt it again, stronger this time; a presence that seemed to watch them. He turned suddenly and looked around, calling out, "Who's there?!" He frowned and stepped back with one leg, raising in guard. "We're not alone in here. I can feel someone watching us."

Paige's ears twitched and she suddenly cried out, dropping the book as she clapped her hands to her ears. There was a high pitched scream that came from somewhere in the house and with her sensitive hearing, they might as well have been screaming right in her ears. She winced as she felt something hot and sticky start to drip out under her hands. "Damn thing's making my ears bleed!" she shouted to be heard over the shrill cry, "Where is it coming from? Make it stop!"

Goten winced at the high-pitched scream that flooded his ears. He clapped his hands over them, trying to drown out the sound. If it hurt his ears that bad, he couldn't imagine what Paige was feeling. "I don't know!" he shouted back, cringing as the sound only seemed to get louder. He growled at the pain in his ears and gasped as he looked over at Paige who had fallen to her knees. "We have to get out of here!" He looked around, but couldn't seem to remember which way they'd come in. Had they really walked that far into the castle?

Phoenix was frozen to the spot, his hands over his ears as well, staring wide-eyed into the next room. "What the fuck is that?!" he cried, stumbling backwards. It looked like a woman, well sort of, with long, dirty silver hair. The closer the figure got, the more his ears seemed to ring. He couldn't see its face, but it was enough to scare him half to death. He barely heard Goten shouting at him. He turned and saw Goten with Paige in his arms and he grabbed up the book to follow them.

Goten ran for another doorway, trying to put distance between them and the ghostly hag, but the next second, another figure appeared before them and the shrill keening seemed to amplify in the room. He was going to go insane if that noise didn't stop. His breath seemed to catch in his throat as the old woman looked at him, her hair falling away to reveal her face. Her long, twisted face was set with blood-red eyes and her mouth hung open in a scream, showing her sharp, rotted teeth. "GO BACK!" he shouted at Phoenix and turned on his heel to run the other way, but was stopped by yet another figure, identical to the others. He cradled Paige tighter to his chest, feeling the blood dripping from her ears onto his arm. She was going to go deaf if they didn't get out of here soon.

The sound was deafening and Paige wasn't sure how much more she could take. It was like a red hot poker was being shoved into her ears repeatedly and the more of those creatures they ran into, the louder and hotter it got. Her mind clicked as she wrenched an eye open to look at one of the shrieking figures. "Banshees!" she shouted. "I'd put money that they are trying to confuse us, trying to keep us lost in this castle! But there has to be a way out! Go higher! Blow up this place, SOMETHING!" she cried

Phoenix shook his head as if he was trying to shoo away the sound. He grit his teeth against the pain building in his head. He turned suddenly as he saw the blue light again, but this time it didn't vanish. A smoking little blue orb hung in midair near a stone stairwell he hadn't noticed before. "The wisp!" he shouted to Goten, looking at his uncle for direction.

Goten gave a nod and together, they ran towards the little light that floated up the stairs. He didn't know how much longer he could stand this place. His knees nearly gave out under him and he barely managed to use his energy to stop himself from falling as he flew the rest of the way up the stairs. The banshees were right behind them, drawing closer, the screaming making his eyes water with pain. There was a large rectangle of light ahead of them. A window? A door? He didn't care. As long as it got them out of this God-forsaken place. He dove through it, expecting to fly out into the clear Irish countryside again, but instead landed on his side in the middle of a forest with Phoenix right behind him.

Phoenix looked around, frightened and confused. "Where the hell are we?"

"Never mind that," Goten said as he sat up and looked down at Paige in his arms. "Shit. Paige, are you okay?" he asked softly.

Paige's head was still ringing, spinning from the screams that echoed around in her head. She could feel blood dripping out of her ears and she gingerly lifted her hand to her face, frowning at the splash of purple she saw there. "Oh fuck me, let's not go back there." She winced and went still in Goten's arms as she tried to feel her healing energy. It seemed as though that place had sapped her of her magick, maybe the banshees were doing that. It would have only been a matter of time before they would have died. "Why aren't they following us?" She cracked her eye open, speaking louder than she probably had to, but she could barely hear herself over the ringing in her ears.

They were in a forest, tall trees, a sense of magick around them. There seemed to be a sort of mist that seemed to hang in the air and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. There was an odd smell in the air that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I don't think we're in Ireland anymore," Goten said, his arms still around Paige as he took in their surroundings. He didn't like this place. It had the same uneasy feeling as the castle, but the eeriness was permeated by a sadness he couldn't describe. What was this place and how did they get here?

"No kidding, Toto," Phoenix replied sarcastically and dropped the book on the ground next to them. "Next thing you know, we'll be attacked by flying monkeys." He stood up and looked around, narrowing his eyes at what appeared to be brightly colored tape on some of the trees. "Duuuuuuude, wait a minute," he said and took a step back. Something was clicking in his mind, this place seemed familiar. Something he'd studied in school? "I think we might be back in Japan."

Paige blinked at Phoenix and followed his eyes to the tape on the trees around them. "Why? Do you know where we are?" she asked, finally able to summon a bit of magick to her hands before she pressed them to her hears. Relief washed through her system as the pain in her delicate ears finally faded away until it was no more, but for some reason, such a simple act made her feel exhausted and wiped out. "These magick areas are taxing," she muttered as she turned her head into Goten's side, breathing in his comforting scent.

"I remember hearing about this place," Phoenix said, his mind working furiously to recall the history lesson. "That tape. I remember that tape. People use it to find their way back out of here. But why were they going in here in the first place?" He paused as he looked around again, frowning deeply. He wished he could remember things as easily as his father did. He shivered violently as a thrill of fear shot up his spine. He remembered. "Guys, I think this is the Suicide Forest."

"Oh well that's just great," Goten muttered. He looked Paige over, relieved to see that she wasn't bleeding anymore, but she looked incredibly tired. "I think we're going to have to rest for a bit before we do anything else. Paige needs time to get her strength back. It's getting dark here anyway. Let's set up camp for the night."

"Suicide Forest?" Paige echoed, her voice thick with fatigue. "You boys sure know all the best places to take a girl for a good time," she said, though her sarcasm was lacking its bite, "Fix me up something tasty to eat and after a night's rest, I should be good as new. Granted no more screaming ghosts come after us." She looked over at Phoenix, "What else do you know about this place? I wonder if this place is in the book." She closed her eyes, trying to sense out her parents' energy or at least Papaw's. She frowned as she felt them, but couldn't get a distinct lock. It was as if their energies were being covered by a haze. "Fuck, I don't like the feeling I'm getting here."

"I don't like it either," Goten said as he finally stood up, making sure that Paige wouldn't fall over. He shrugged his pack off and pulled out a tent, quickly setting to work to get it set up for them. "I'm amazed you paid attention in class enough to remember a lesson, Phoenix."

"Oh haha," Phoenix answered, but then looked guilty the next minute. "Only because it was a video and it was actually interesting. It was spooky as hell. But I don't really know that much about it. Just that lots of people come here every year to kill themselves. I don't know why." He watched as Goten set up the tent, then moved around their area to grab up some pieces of wood to make a fire. He offered them to his uncle. "Can we hurry, please? This place is starting to creep me out." He was grateful that he would get to share the tent with both of them. He didn't want to sleep by himself in this place.

"Yeah," Goten agreed and dug around in his pack, pulling out a capsule he'd stashed in there with some food. He knew he could've foraged and found them plenty to eat that way, but he really didn't want to venture too far into these woods in the growing darkness. That unnerved him in itself. He'd never been fearful of a forest. He'd grown up in the forest around his parents' cabin, often going off alone for well over a week or more and just living off the land. But this place was different. He didn't like it at all.

They were soon feasting on a gourmet meal around the little campfire. The food and the warmth of the fire seemed to ease their worry just a bit. It was unusually cold for that time of year and Goten couldn't understand it. "This place is just beyond weird," he commented as he sat back from the fire and looked around at the thick fog again. "You guys about ready to turn in?"

Paige had long scraped the last morsel from her plate and she had to stop herself from licking the plate clean. A full stomach and the warmth of the fire and her companions was quickly making her eyes grow heavy. "Just about there," she murmured as she looked around the area. They had come from a place that was louder than anything she ever remembered hearing in her life, to this place. Where she had yet to hear a bird call or an insect chirp. It felt as if the very joy had been sucked out of the earth here. "Take me to bed, guys. This gal is tired," she yawned before she rolled onto her hands and knees, crawling into the tent.

Goten couldn't help himself. "Now that's the way I like to see you, Namek. On your knees," he teased before he got to his feet and kicked some dirt over the fire to extinguish it. He chuckled and crawled into the tent behind her, groaning as he flopped down on the sleeping bag. "Well this has been an interesting first day." He watched as Phoenix followed them and zipped the tent before crawling into his own sleeping bag. Goten rolled to his side to look at Paige, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry about that castle. Are you sure you're okay now?"

Paige rolled on her side, facing him. "Yeah, just dead tired now. I don't know what it is, if it has anything to do with the magick or the fact that I was hurt so badly because of those fuckers." She shivered as she recalled the horrible sound of their screams. "And this place is no better. It feels as if we're not really in Japan. It feels as though we are, but that we are cut off from the rest of the world. That this forest is on its own, if that makes any sense?"

Goten nodded. "That totally makes sense," he answered. When Phoenix had announced that they were back in Japan, he almost expected to feel a sense of being home. But he didn't. At all. This place was different, so much different than anywhere else he'd ever been in his home country and it felt foreign. He settled himself down and pulled Paige closer to him, wrapping his arm around her. "Let's try to sleep. We'll check this place out in the morning when it's light outside. I just want to sleep. I'm getting creeped out."

Phoenix wrinkled his nose at the two of them cuddling together. "You all are weird," he muttered and turned his back to them, trying to curl up as tightly in his sleeping bag as possible. He shivered in the cold and the eerie feeling that surrounded him and despite himself, he scooted back until his back was flush with Paige's. He sighed contentedly at the contact, making him feel warmer and safer, and drifted off to sleep.


Phoenix started awake in the middle of the night, unsure at first what had woken him. He sat up sleepily and shivered in the cold. Even in the darkness, he could see his breath misting in the air before him. That wasn't right. It was late summer here in Japan, wasn't it? This didn't make any sense. He turned suddenly and heaved a sigh of relief to see Paige and Goten sleeping next to him. For a split second, he thought he was going to find himself alone in this creepy forest.

He was just about to settle back down and try to go back to sleep with the sharp snap of a twig made him jump. He sat bolt upright, clutching his sleeping bag in his hands, straining his ears to listen for what had caused that sound. It was as if he could hear his own pulse in his ears, his breathing so heavy it nearly drowned out all other sound. His mouth went dry and he swallowed painfully as he heard the sound of distant footsteps through the dead and decaying leaves outside. He shook with fear as a black silhouette crossed over the tent. Normally, that wouldn't have frightened him, but there was just one problem. Whatever was outside the tent didn't have a life force. "G-Goten!" he hissed in a panicked whisper and swatted at his companions, waking them from their sleep.

Paige's eyes snapped open as she woke from a deeper sleep than she would like to admit, Phoenix's frantic whisper getting her attention a moment before her eyes focused on the shadow that fell across their tent. She could hear a raspy breath, so quiet it was almost as if it wasn't there at all. The once silent forest was now hosting random sounds and nothing of what she was hoping to hear. No nightly bugs, no chirping crickets. There were footsteps, she could hear sobbing in the distance. Footsteps all around and the twang of rope as it was suddenly pulled tight.

Goten sat up quickly, fighting the chill that settled into his bones as he listened. Where the woods had seemed empty before, now they felt full of restless souls, wandering miserably about in the darkness. His hand went to Paige's and he curled his fingers around hers. He looked at her and Phoenix, his voice barely above a whisper. "No one leaves the tent, no matter what happens." He didn't know why, but it seemed safer in there. He wasn't afraid to fight anything, but somehow he knew deep down, you couldn't physically fight off a ghost. He gave a frightened jump as something brushed against the tent, making the side move.

"Jesus!" Phoenix hissed between his teeth and scooted closer to Paige, watching as more shadows seemed to approach the tent. He could see their heads tipping to the side as if they were curious about the tent that had shown up in the middle of their forest. His heart hammered against his ribs. This was even more frightening than the damn banshees in the castle. He grabbed for Paige's other hand as if he was afraid he might lose them both if he didn't hold onto them. "Fuck this shit."

Paige linked her arms with the other two, they were all practically sitting in a heap. She sighed as the warmth seeped back into her. "Maybe if we pay them no mind, they'll just fuck off," she said in a hushed whisper as she reached for the blanket, pulling it up over the three of them as they huddled together. She could hear a few more things that she was certain the two Saiyans could not. The whispers on the wind, in the background. Prayers to save souls, forgive me's, and the bone chilling silence that followed.

The bitingly cold air surrounded them as the shadowy figures wandered closer, their silhouettes appearing on the tent walls. Goten grit his teeth as he panted in fear; something strange was happening. The scars on his back were beginning to sting. There hadn't been any real sensation in them in years. He didn't understand why now, of all times, he would feel this sharp stinging pain. He gripped Paige's hand a little tighter as the fear curled around his heart. So many figures and not a single life force to be felt. Were these the spirits of the dead who had killed themselves in the forest?

Everything went deathly silent all at once, although the shadows remained. No more footsteps. No more whispers. Nothing but a deafening silence that set Phoenix's nerves on edge. He barely dared to move his lips as he whispered, "Guys? What's going-"

All three of them screamed and fell back flat the next second, cutting off Phoenix's question as the entire tent began to shake. Hands pressed in on them as the mournful sounds of moaning and wailing filled the air. Phoenix thought he'd never heard anything so saddening in all his life and tears prickled the corners of his eyes. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it completely over their heads, gasping, "Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Paige would have rolled her eyes at herself if she could, so rarely it was the case that someone would leave them alone just because they extended them the same courtesy. There had to be hundreds, thousands of spirits in that forest. Why were they angry at them? Were they angry because they were still alive? That they hadn't come to this forest to take their own lives? The mournful cries were almost too much to bear. "LEAVE US ALONE!" she screamed out at them, huddling close to her companions.

Goten flung his arms around Paige and Phoenix, holding them as tightly as he could, trying to ignore the stinging in his back as the tent shook and swayed, the moans and cries becoming louder, more anguished. Could spirits hurt the living? He wasn't sure, but he didn't want to find out. His hand went to his necklace and wrapped around Thor's hammer. "Please, please make them stop," he whispered. Just when he thought that the tent poles were going to snap, that the whole thing was going to collapse on them, it stopped. The tent went still, the voices gone, and a warmth returned to the air. He cautiously sat up, looking around; the shadows were gone. "What the fucking fuck?" he breathed.

Paige's body didn't seem to want to stop shivering even though the danger had passed. She pressed herself closer to the trembling bodies next to her as she swallowed harshly and dared to pull the cover from their heads as she looked around. The tent was as it had been, no shadows could be seen over the fabric. She wasn't about to admit she wanted her father there in that instant. Or maybe her sister. Her sister would have known what to do with those spirits. "Fuck. The hell do we come to these places in the first place?" She cursed under her breath at Antonia. This was all her fault.

Goten swallowed harshly. "I don't know," he answered, his voice a bit rough. He reached back and touched his scars, but they had stopped hurting. What could that mean? He was so confused. It took him a minute to get control of his breathing. "I think we're safe now. Why don't you two try to go back to sleep? I'll stay up and keep watch."

"How the fuck am I supposed to sleep after that?!" Phoenix demanded. "There's no fuckin' way I'll get back to sleep now!" He was starting to doubt this whole thing. This didn't seem anything like the adventures his grandpa had gone on. In fact, this seemed more like a nightmare or a poorly filmed slasher flick. He huffed at Goten and threw himself down on his side, trying to bury himself in his sleeping bag. "Go back to sleep? You must be smokin' crack."

Paige snorted and looked at Goten. "He has a point. How the hell are we supposed to sleep after that shit." Though, even as she said it, her body reminded her that she was still exhausted from the events in Ireland and she couldn't stop the yawn that escaped past her lips. "Dammit all to hell," she muttered and laid back down, "But mark my words, Saiyan. If you let those things come back and eat us, I'll kill you again in the afterlife."


Author's Note: Go to Youtube and do a search for the Suicide Forest in Japan. Seriously sad and creepy stuff. Yes, this is a real place. Thanks to all our reviewers! You know we love to hear from you guys.