10 days later, Ashley woke up and saw Ciel still sleeping. She grabbed the bottle of medicine from the bedside table and gave some to Ciel, who drank it easily. "Hmm. I'm running out of medicine for you." said Ashley to him. Ashley got out of bed and went over to the calendar.

"July 4th. Independence Day. But wait, do the others celebrate that?" said Ashley. She got dressed in a red shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes. This was her way of celebrating the American holiday. She went downstairs without Ciel and saw the others eating breakfast.

"Happy 4th of July, guys." said Ashley as she hugged Punkish in one arm and Aitetsu in the other arm.

"Wow, Ashley. You're happier than ever." said Jersey.

"That's because the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays ever."

"Oh. What's the 4th of July?" asked Asymmetry.

"Here, I'll tell you." said Ashley.

After breakfast, Ashley went over to see Starmine in his room. Ashley saw him sleeping. Ashley smiled and went over to his bed. She decided to not wake him up yet, but instead to watch. Ashley got off of the bed after a few minutes and watched the other Len modules play volleyball from the window. Ashley then heard Starmine moan. Ashley went over to her boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." said Ashley.

"Morning." said Starmine.

"So, how's the baby doing?"

"She's been kicking all night. I couldn't sleep at all."

"Oh."

"But enough about me. How's Ciel doing?" Ashley shook her head.

"Still the same, huh? He hasn't improved?" Ashley nodded.

"Hey, what's the date today?"

"July 4th. Why?" Starmine gasped.

"Ashley, do you have any idea what today is?"

"Besides the 4th of July, I can't really think of anything special."

"Ashley, it's Trickster's birthday today." said Starmine. Ashley gasped.

"Oh. Now he's going to be mad at me for not remembering again." said Ashley.

"Have you thought of a gift for him?"

"I don't really know what he likes. He already has a necklace." said Ashley.

"You need to think of something. And fast. I didn't see him at the breakfast table. That means he's either in his room or out of town."

"I'll think of something."

"He'll be back sometime today."

"Thanks, Starmine." said Ashley as she quickly kissed him and left the room.

Later that afternoon, Ashley was pacing around her room thinking about what Trickster would like.

"Okay, Ashley. Don't panic. Just think about all the times you visited him this year." said Ashley. Suddenly, candles came into her mind. Ashley looked at the lavender-scented candle that stood in her room and never even used.

"He can have my candle. Perfect. Ashley, you're a genius." said Ashley. So she got to work on wrapping up the present in a bag. After she got done, she left the bag in her closet. She heard Ciel moan in his sleep.

"Oh, right. He's out of medicine. I can't give him some. Sorry, Ciel, but the medicine costs a fortune." said Ashley. Suddenly, Ciel started coughing up blood. Ashley held a handkerchief up to his mouth until he stopped. Ashley sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry, Ciel. But I can't help you get better until I get some money for the medicine." said Ashley.

Ashley went over to Trickster's room, even though she was not supposed to. But she learned from Dark that he was still out of town. So Ashley thought now was the time to sneak in and look around a little. Ashley opened the door. To her surprise, it was unlocked. Ashley looked at the large room.

"Why does he have a room this big? I never remembered that." said Ashley in her head. She looked around the room. The entire room was gray, black, and white in color. There were gears on all of the walls. Suddenly, Ashley looked at the wall where his bed was next to a big window. There were pictures of dead girls all over the wall.

"Why are there pictures of these girls on the walls? Were those his clients in the past?" asked Ashley. She picked up one of the pictures and looked at it. She gasped. The girl looked familiar to her. There was her oldest sister, Amanda, looking pretty much lifeless.

"Amanda." said Ashley sadly. She put the picture back where she found it. Ashley saw Trickster's white cane in a corner. Then suddenly, Ashley saw a bookshelf.

"Oh, right. Trickster likes books, too." said Ashley. She picked up one of the books and started to read it. It was one of Ashley's favorite books that she read when she was a child. Ashley smiled to herself at the memories. Suddenly, the bookshelf started to move. Ashley gasped and saw a passageway.

"What's a secret passageway doing here?" asked Ashley.

"Ashley? Are you alright?" asked a voice. Ashley heard footsteps coming into Trickster's room. Without hesitating, Ashley grabbed the person by the arm with one hand and covered his mouth with the other. Ashley saw that it was Phoenix. Ashley uncovered his mouth.

"Phoenix? What are you doing here?" asked Ashley.

"I was trying to take a nap in my room, and then I heard noises coming from here." said Phoenix.

"Sorry. But I was curious on what Trickster's room looks like."

"We're all curious."

"Really? None of you went in here before?" Phoenix shook his head.

"So, what was making all that noise?"

"Oh. The bookshelf. I got curious."

"Man, this place gives me the creeps. It's like a torture chamber. Let's get out of here." said Phoenix as he was looking at the dead girls' pictures.

"But I want to see where this passageway leads."

"Alright. But I think we should get the others. They're just as curious as we are." said Phoenix.

"Fine. Go get them." said Ashley. Phoenix went out of the room and came back a few moments later with the other Len modules, even Starmine.

"Alright. What did you want to show us, Ashley?" asked Blue Moon.

"This passageway. Come on." said Ashley. She led the way, and everyone followed.

"Ashley, I don't think we're supposed to be here." said Aitetsu.

"Yeah. Let's go back." said Jersey.

"But guys. Don't you want to see what Trickster does to all his clients?" asked Ashley.

"We do, but we could get in trouble." said Stylish.

"I don't care." said Ashley as she walked forward.

"Ashley! Wait for us." said Receiver. Ashley then saw a huge door with a passcode.

"We can't get in. Okay, let's go back." said Aitetsu.

"Wait a minute, Aitetsu." said Ashley as she grabbed Aitetsu's arm, preventing him from leaving. She looked at the passcode. The letters of the alphabet were on it. Ashley typed in something and pushed enter. The word she typed was 'girl'.

"Access denied." said a computer voice.

"Hmm. Any ideas, guys?"

"I got one. How about we leave before we become like those girls in those photos?" asked Yukata.

"I agree. Besides, we'll never figure out the password." said Phoenix.

"Alright. Let's go back." said Ashley. Everyone went back to the first room and out of Trickster's room.

"Phew. That was close." said Asymmetry.

That night, Ashley was waiting downstairs for Trickster to come back. He was gone all day. Everyone else was fast asleep. Ashley went back upstairs and saw Trickster's door wide open. Ashley went inside and saw the bookshelf not moved in the spot where it was supposed to be. Ashley decided to go down there again and try again at the password.

"Let's see. I tried 'girl' last time. What else could it be?" asked Ashley. She tried a lot of words that could fit Trickster. But none of them worked.

"Hmm. Let's try 'monochrome'. said Ashley as she typed that word.

"Access denied." said the computer voice. Ashley sighed in frustration. She then started thinking.

"Ugh. This is hard!" said Ashley. But she could've thought to lower her voice. Ashley tried something random. Ashley typed the word 'Amanda'.

"Access allowed." said the computer. Then the door opened wide. Ashley gasped in amazement. She then walked in. She saw a dark room. Ashley felt around for a light switch. She found it and switched it on. She saw a gigantic room filled with statues of young girls. Ashley looked at the girls. Each one of them had their eyes closed. Ashley touched one of the girl's hands. The hand felt like a real hand.

"They're not statues at all. They're real. They're just like the girls in the photos." said Ashley. She then looked ahead at the front of the room. There stood a throne. Ashley slowly walked up to the throne and sat on it.

"Cozy." said Ashley. But suddenly, she heard some noises. Ashley thought that Trickster might be back. Ashley hid behind one of the girls. She took a peek and saw Trickster walking up to the throne. He sat down on it.

"Phew. He didn't see me. I need to get out of here." said Ashley in her head. She quietly sneaked to hide behind another girl. Then she looked back at Trickster. He still didn't hear her. She kept doing the same process over and over until she got to the door. But suddenly, she gasped.

"Who's there?" asked Trickster. He was wearing his ruby necklace around his neck. Ashley hid behind the first girl on the left side of the room. Trickster was looking around for his intruder.

"I have a weapon. And I'm not afraid to use it." said Trickster. Ashley took this opportunity to look at the baku. Suddenly, his ears perked up and he looked at her direction. Ashley gasped and hid again. But she knew she was busted. She's so dead. Trickster looked behind the first girl. But he didn't see anything there. Ashley moved to another spot at the last minute. Suddenly, Ashley saw the lights turn off. It was pitch dark. The only light in the room now was the dim light of Trickster's ruby around his neck.

"Shi no Suimin." said Trickster in a low voice. Suddenly, Ashley saw the ruby glow really bright. But that was the only thing she saw, because she felt asleep mysteriously.

"You will forget you saw anything, Ashley." said Trickster.

Meanwhile, Ashley woke up in her room. It was still nighttime. "Who brought me back here? Was it Trickster? Did he know that I was snooping around in his room?" asked Ashley in her head.

"Yes, it was me. And yes, I knew you were 'snooping around'." said a voice. Ashley saw the baku sitting beside her.

"Trickster? What happened? I suddenly went unconscious." said Ashley.

"That's because I put you to sleep, using one of my famous baku spells." said Trickster.

"Baku spells?"

"Yes. Shi no Suimin means 'death sleep'. And it's the spell that I use to eat dreams, like your sister's." said Trickster.

"What are some others?"

"Mezameru means 'awaken', and 'Shiki Mimi' means 'commanding ears', meaning I can basically control your mind for 1 hour." said Trickster.

"Ah."

"So, I have to ask. Why were you snooping around in my room?"

"Well, me and the other Len modules want to know what you do to your clients. And like they said 'curiosity killed the cat'." said Ashley.

"You're right about that. You really want to know?" asked Trickster. Ashley nodded.

"Well, basically I eat their dreams. And until the full moon, I collect my pay. Meaning, I drain the colors away from them."

"Yeah. All the girls look gray and lifeless. Why is that?" asked Ashley.

"After a while, they get driven to insanity and then die out. And so, I kept their bodies down in that room that you weren't supposed to see."

"Sorry. But like they said. 'Curiosity killed the cat'. Did you do the same thing to my sister?"

"Your sister was a special case. She was like someone I haven't seen in a long time. About halfway through the month, she didn't want my help anymore. So, what did I do?"

"You took her colors away." said Ashley. Trickster shook his head.

"No?"

"I ate her soul." Ashley gasped.

"So, that's why she died last year. She didn't die from that car crash. She died because of you. You killed her. Amanda was never in a car crash."

"Just doing my job, Ashley. And by the way, she died a long time ago. Back when she was about 10 or 11 years old." said Trickster.

"You lied to me." said Ashley.

"Pretty much." Ashley grabbed his neck, which took him by surprise.

"I'll kill you! You don't do that to my sister!"

"Ashley, haven't you forgotten already? You can't kill me. I'm a baku. I'm immortal." said Trickster. Ashley gasped. He was right. Suddenly, her grip on his neck loosened, and he grabbed her neck now.

"Shi no Suimin." said Trickster in the low voice that he did before. Suddenly, Ashley let go of Trickster. And her eyes rolled back to the back of her head.

"Shiki Mimi." said Trickster in that same tone of voice. Ashley's eyes came back and she saw Trickster with red eyes instead of his usual dark blue.

"You must not tell anyone else what you saw in that room. Anata wa watashi o rikai shite imasu ka?" Ashley could tell that the last sentence was 'do you understand me' in Japanese.

"Yes, Master." said Ashley like she was in some kind of trance.

"Good. Mezameru." said Trickster. Suddenly, Ashley woke up.

"What? What happened?" asked Ashley. She had no memory of what happened in the room with the dead girls and the throne.

"Much better. Now, Ashley, I'm not your enemy here. I'm not like Rose, who killed your parents." said Trickster.

"I know you aren't. I'm sorry that I tried to choke you before." said Ashley.

"Apology accepted. Remember the first time we met?"

"Actually, no. I don't."

"Well, I remembered it. Like it was just yesterday."

The date was July 4th, 2011. Ashley and the other modules were watching TV when suddenly, the door knocked.

"Ashley, were you expecting somebody?" asked Asymmetry.

"No. I thought you were supposed to be the last one to live here, Bad Boy." said Ashley. Bad Boy just shrugged. Ashley got up to answer the door. There stood a Len module wearing black dress pants that were tucked into his knee high socks, charcoal with a single chain of ash-colored diamonds. Under his black dress coat, with its twin tails was a yellow vest that had three pairs of shiny black buttons, and white undershirt. His coat sleeves were rolled to his elbows, revealing pale, wiry arms and hands that were in short black gloves. In his right hand was a white cane, while his left was placed on top of his hat. His hat seemed like it didn't belong in this decade, a velvet black fedora with a yellow ribbon around it, which matched his yellow bowtie. From beneath his hat, fell blond locks that went to his eyebrows in the front, and to his neck in the back, where they were tied up into a small ponytail with a black bow. And Ashley saw that he had ears like an elf's.

"Are you the new manager?" he asked.

"I am. Who are you, may I ask?" asked Ashley.

"I am the Dream-Eating Monochrome Baku. But you and the others can call me Trickster." said Trickster.

"W-Well, nice to m-meet you, T-Trickster-sama." said Ashley, stuttering.

"There's no need to be afraid of me. We're all friends here." said Trickster with a sly smile.

"Can we help you with your bags? They look like they're pretty heavy." asked Starmine. Trickster frowned and looked at Starmine with red eyes, which creeped him out.

"Shi no Suimin." said Trickster in a low voice.

"Starmine!" said White Edge as he and everyone else went up to Starmine, who just collapsed.

"What did you do to him?" asked Ashley.

"I did nothing, but put him to sleep. You will be helping me carry my bags, Miss Ashley." said Trickster.

"Uh, o-okay. Follow m-me." said Ashley, still stuttering.

"Now I remember. Bad Boy wasn't the last one to come here. It was you." said Ashley.

"Guilty as charged. And that was the first time you called me Trickster-sama." said Trickster.

"Now that I think about it, I remember when you started eating my sister's dreams, too. My parents were still alive, and I was only 5 years old." said Ashley.

5-year-old Ashley heard her oldest sister Amanda screaming. Ashley yawned and got out of bed to go to her sister's room. Ashley pressed her head to the door to hear her sister crying. Suddenly, she heard another voice, a voice she's not familiar with. Ashley opened her sister's bedroom door to find her sister huddling in the corner. Ashley saw a man that looks like a teenager. He wore black dress pants that were tucked into his knee high socks, charcoal with a single chain of ash-colored diamonds. Under his black dress coat, with its twin tails was a yellow vest that had three pairs of shiny black buttons, and white undershirt. His coat sleeves were rolled to his elbows, revealing pale, wiry arms and hands that were in short black gloves. In his right hand was a white cane, while his left was placed on top of his hat. His hat seemed like it didn't belong in this decade, a velvet black fedora with a yellow ribbon around it, which matched his yellow bowtie. From beneath his hat, fell blond locks that went to his eyebrows in the front, and to his neck in the back, where they were tied up into a small ponytail with a black bow. And Ashley could tell that his ears were not human.

"The price... you already know, right? Those vivid dreams behind your eyes, I will take away all of them. You have such a miserable face, this is reality. Isn't this what you've chosen? If you drowned yourself in dreams, your dream will never come true. Welcome to this monochrome world!" said the strange man to Amanda. Suddenly, she fell limp. Ashley screamed her sister's name, and went over to her, trying to wake her up. The man then looked at Ashley.

"I never knew you had a little sister, Miss Amanda. And who might you be?" he asked.

"My name... is..." said Ashley.

"Hold it right there, demon!" said Ashley's dad named Gary, with a gun in his hand. His gun pointed at the strange boy with elf-like ears.

"You must be their father. I'm sorry, but you were too late. Your daughter is dead." said the man.

"You killed her! I'll kill you!" said Gary as he fired his gun. It went to the man's chest.

"Daddy! You killed him." said Ashley.

"There's no need to be alarmed, Miss Ashley." said the man as he healed himself. Gary was shocked. This man was no human.

"How do you know my name? What are you?" asked Ashley.

"I know everything about my client. And I'm a baku, dear child." said the man as he went up closer to Ashley. Ashley was confused. At this age, she didn't know what a baku was.

"Stay away from my daughter, demon!" said Gary.

"Shi no Suimin." said the man in a low voice. Suddenly, Gary collapsed.

"Daddy! What did you do to him?!"

"Relax, child. I only put him to sleep. Now, I did what I came for. But, something tells me that in the future, we will meet again." said the man.

"C-Can I get your n-name first, b-before you leave?" asked Ashley in a scared voice.

"You can call me... Trickster." the man whispered in Ashley's ear. Ashley shivered. His breath was as cold as ice. And suddenly, he bowed to the little girl and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"After all those years, you have forgotten about me." said Trickster.

"You haven't changed a bit after that day. By the way, happy birthday, Trickster." said Ashley as she reached into her pocket and brought out the bag. Trickster accepted the bag and looked inside. There was Ashley's lavender-scented candle.

"How did you know I liked candles?"

"I remembered that you lit a candle every time we had a meeting." said Ashley. Trickster took the candle out and took a sniff.

"Lavender. My favorite. Thanks, Ashley."

"Oh, you're welcome. Now, I should get to bed. It's like midnight." said Ashley.

"Oh, wait! Before I forget, there should be something on your bedside table in your room. Check that out before you go to bed." said Trickster. Ashley nodded and went back to her own room. She saw a bottle of medicine on her bedside. And a note. Ashley read the note:

"Dear Ashley,

I knew you were running low on medicine for Ciel. While I was gone, I went to the Miku modules' place and asked Spacy for more medicine for Ciel. She gave me some. And she told me to tell you that the medicine is now free. You don't have to pay a penny. Next time you see me, you better thank me.

Sincerely,

Trickster."

"Thanks, Trickster." said Ashley. She opened the bottle and fed some medicine to Ciel before going to bed.