Aya lumbered slowly to the Cellblock, barely able to keep her chainsaw from dragging along the floor. She was reluctant to rest any more than she had already, but ultimately relented and sat on the cot back in the cell she entered the cave from. She rested the chainsaw on the floor. The crow had wasted no time in feasting upon the remains of the first doll Aya had killed. Aya Noticed that it had largely ignored the gray doll. Whether it was out of respect or there was something wrong with the doll, Aya wasn't sure.

Aya's body ached all over. She was pretty fit for her age, all things considered; the Doctor was always sure to feed her a healthy diet and make sure she was active regularly, but she was still only a child and one who hadn't gotten a full night's rest at that. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she could barely hold them open. She was reluctant to rub them given the state of her hands after the battle. She let out a yawn and her eyes watered as they shut reflexively. She shook her head rapidly, desperate to resist her body's cries for rest. Have to save father first. I can rest after that.

Aya allowed herself only a few minutes before returning to the fray. She forced herself up off of the cot and hefted the chainsaw in her hands. At the very least, she didn't need to have her knife out as well. She ultimately decided to make one last detour before returning to the iron doors. Her hands were slick with blood, and she didn't want to risk anything slipping out of her hands in a fight. She washed her hands in the washroom sink and took the time to clean off her weapons as well. She plunged her face into the icy water, the shock making her awake and alert once more.

Aya made her way back to the doors. The hand lever slotted into the switch easily enough. It seemed like it had been made to be detachable, presumably so no one could open the door unless they got it from the Doctor. As she pulled the lever, the rhythmic noise of spinning gears echoed from inside the walls as the massive doors creaked open. Aya entered the passageway, to find what appeared to be a church.

It appeared to be an entirely conventional chapel save for the fact that it was underground. The walls and floors were made of polished stone bricks. They were a lighter gray than the ones of the rest of the basement and notably cleaner. A short, wide set of stairs lead from the entrance to the pews, which sat next to marble columns. Each column had an odd decoration on the pillars. They were made of wrought iron and looked like a scepter or mace with bat-like wings coming out of them. Aya had to wonder what those were supposed to be.

There were six pews in total, three on each side with a clear path leading to another se to stairs, only two tall, leading to an alter which consisted of a wooden table with a golden trimmed red tablecloth surrounded on both sides with ornate golden candlesticks. Two large metal torches like to ones by the Zeus statue under the stairs in the foyer stood in the corners. Behind the alter were four red stained-glass windows depicting several holy figures. Aya wasn't sure who they were, but one seemed to be a pope. To the sides, there were two doorways, with the left barred shut. By the second pew on the left, there stood a familiar figure.

"You might no be able to go back for a while if you go this way." Mr. Ogre said abruptly. Aya had barely even approached him.

"Why's that?" Aya wasn't really expecting answers, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Greater obstacles lie ahead. One is rather rudimentary, but more than sufficient to trap you for some time." Mr. Ogre said, being as helpful as ever.

Aya groaned in frustration. "Why are you always so vague? Can't you give me something useful for once?"

Mr. Ogre chuckled. "Ah but I have, haven't I? I believe I have given you more than enough information to proceed. Everything else, you've managed to figure out on your own."

"It'd go a lot faster if you just told me what's going on!" Aya was officially through with his riddles.

"Ah, but where's the fun in that dear? Far more interesting to see how far you can make it on your own."

Aya groaned in frustration. "Fine, whatever!" She stomped off to the right doorway. If he wasn't going to help, she didn't care to talk to him anymore.

Aya approached the open doorway to the right. The door slammed shut, and Aya almost ran into it. She groaned in frustration before opening it again. If it shut again, she'd need to use her saw, and that would be a pain.

Fortunately, the door stayed open this time. Evidently the spirit responsible was putting in a token effort. The door opened to a cafeteria, one for patients and staff. A crow sat perched atop a pushcart near the china cabinet to the left of the room. A decorative plant in an alcove by the tables seemed to be long dead. Aya questioned the wisdom of having such plants under ground in the first place.

A hallway led to a nearby kitchen. Another china cabinet sat at the end, the dishware atop it had been shattered. Next to it was a rack of sausages, and next to that, the room widened into the kitchen proper. Several wooden tables in the center of the room had a variety of cooking equipment and ingredients on them, while firewood and clay pots lined the south wall. The north wall had several brick ovens, one of which was lit. The ovens had iron griddle stoves atop them with pots and pans left on them. Aya wondered if that was standard practice. Shelves full of cooking ingredients and racks for pots and pans hung above the stoves. A hallway further in lead to a storehouse. Aya elected to explore that room before doing anything else.

As she entered the narrow passageway, she heard a crash as a clay bottle on the last table crashed to the floor. Suddenly, a ghastly figure in priestly garb descended from the ceiling and grabbed Aya. He wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed as hard as he could. Aya fought with the man, kicking, and pressing her arms against him. Her lungs ached as she fought for air. Finally, she punched at the priest, catching him in the eye. He shouted in pain and dropped her to the floor.

Aya knelt on the floor, fighting for air. She heaved deeply and her lungs stung with the flow of fresh oxygen. Her breathing slowly steadied, but she felt dizzy. The room seemed to shift in and out of place as she fought fruitlessly to stand. Eventually her body gave in, and she collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Aya dreamt of the past once more. This time, she lay in bed, her mother knelt beside her reading a story.

"The Red Eyed Stranger gave Jack the power to curse others. And Jack said 'Thank you, Red Eyed Stranger. Now I can get my revenge." Monika spoke with dissonant serenity.

That was always Aya's favorite part. Finally, the villains would get their comeuppance. The gleeful anticipation of the havoc Jack would wreak on those people never lessened no matter how many times she reread the book.

Jack was no angel himself, but the villains were utter scum. Aya was pretty sure at least one was a serial killer, even if the never showed him kill anyone. Jack had just barely escaped that axe wielding woodsman in the black forest. Then there were the people who chased him into the woods in the first place. The ones sent by his landlord to collect payment that he couldn't afford, the reason being that he'd spent all of his money on a cure for his illness that turned out to be a scam. Aya had heard similar stories from some of the Doctor's patients and it only deepened her hatred for these people.

The book was Aya's favorite because of that. So many children's stories had endings where the villains never got truly punished. Either they got away, and just conveniently never hurt anyone, or they got forgiven when they really didn't deserve it. That's why Aya always liked older books, like the Grimm's Fairytales collection. The villains never got away in the end there.

What Aya loved about this book was that Jack got his revenge. Not only that, but he went on to become a local hero, hunting down brigands and cursing the evil and the greedy. Even better, for every person he cursed, he could help another. He cured his illness when he cursed the woodsman with sickness. He made his family rich when he cursed the landlords and the con artists of the town with poverty. He even brought back an orphan he'd befriended by cursing her killer with death.

Aya always wondered if she too could take revenge on the wicked, like Jack. Doctors weren't supposed to hurt people, but why help bad people? Won't they just hurt more people? If doctors are supposed to help people, shouldn't they get rid of bad people so they can't hurt anyone else? The teachers always got worried when she talked like that, but a lot of kids liked her for it. They thought the books she got to read were so much cooler than the ones their parents read to them.

Despite its morbid nature, The Red Eyed Stranger never failed to calm Aya. She took some solace in the idea that all of the horrible people in the world would be punished in the end. It made the world feel right, balanced. Every night she'd fall asleep imagining Jack's heroic deed of vengeance. That night though, something was troubling Aya.

"Hey mom?"

"Yes Aya?" Monika was somewhat surprised when Aya interrupted. She never interrupted during this part.

"What's Father always up to down below?" Aya had been having nightmares again. She hadn't told anyone about them yet. Her parents knew she'd been having them, but not what they were about.

"It's a very difficult job. You'll understand when you're older, Aya."

"I wanna be older soon then…" Aya said, dejected. She hated that answer. It was the one her father had given too.

Monika took a deep breath. "Aya… whatever happens, you shouldn't hate your father."

"Mom… why say that all of a sudden? Of course, I wouldn't hate father!" Aya may have been young, but even she knew how suspicious that was.

"…I see…" Monika closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Mom, do you not like father?"

"No… nothing like that. I'm just like you, Aya. I love your father very much." Monika quickly clarified before the thought could set in. Something like that'd keep her up all night.

"Whew." Aya relaxed.

"He can be a bit… unpredictable. So, let's both support him no matter what. Promise?"

"Okay!" Aya was calm now. It was still kind of an odd thing to say, but she brushed it off quickly.

"Now, back to the story…"

I promised mother that no matter what, I'd support father. Wait for me… father.

Aya came too laying down on a pew in the church. She noticed someone was sitting there at the end of it, next to her. Aya recognized the figure immediately. It was the blonde boy from earlier.

"You came too!" He spoke, excitedly.

Aya darted up, letting out a startled gasp. She stood and tried to run, but her legs felt wobbly.

"Don't worry, I'm your ally!" The boy spoke again. Aya noticed that his missing eye was now covered with bandages.

"Huh…?"

"Sorry I gave you a fright earlier. My appearance must have surprised you."

That was quite the understatement. Aya stood silent for a moment, thinking.

"That wound on your face, Was it from my father?"

"Don't worry about that. That's in the past." The boy seemed nearly as evasive as Ogre, though probably for different reasons.

"Everyone has it out for father, you hate him too, don't you?" Aya looked down dejectedly. She could put two and two together easily enough.

The boy sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead. "Cursing your father's name isn't going to save us." He said, finally. "but I'm here to save you." He grabbed Aya's hand and lead her forward. "Let's get away from here together."

Aya stopped. "I can't… I have to save father!" Aya broke free and darted to the left door.

"Don't go!" The boy sounded worried now. "Some of those creatures will try to drag you into death as well! If you stay here, they will take away your life."

Aya had to wonder why he put it in such a verbose manor. Still, she wouldn't back down. "But I promised that I'd save father no matter what!"

The boy walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Give up on your father!" His voice was a mixture of desperation and annoyance. He understood that it was her father, but it was senseless to throw her life away for someone like that.

"No! I'm going to save him!" The boy wouldn't let go. "Let go!"

"Listen to me! She asked me to do this! She asked-" Before the boy could finish, several knives flew through the air and stabbed through his chest. The boy collapsed to the ground and Aya fell backwards, the momentum from her struggling pulling her to the ground.

"Mistress?" Maria ran over to her. "Mistress, are you alright?"

"Maria…" Aya slowly got to her feet. She looked to the side at the boy. Despite his attempts to stop her, she felt a little sad at this turn of events. She never did find out where she knew him from either.

Mistress, why will you not escape?"

Aya suppressed a groan. If she was just going to say the same thing, she shouldn't have thrown the knife. She began to answer. "Because father- "Aya suppressed further frustration when Maria cut her off.

"Leave the Doctor to me please. You have my word I will bring him back. So please mistress, you must flee somewhere safe!" Maria ran to the cafeteria door, trampling the corpse of the boy in the process.

"Maria! Let me go with you…!" Aya begged.

Maria sighed. "If anything happened to you mistress, the Doctor would mourn. Besides, what awaits ahead, well… It would be harsh for you mistress. I shall go ahead alone. Wait here for the guards, they will be on their way soon."

Aya rolled her eyes. Did everyone know what was ahead except her? As she was about to contest, they heard the door creak open.

"Hoho… It would seem that she 's coming to greet me. Milady… This shall not go as you wish it. I shall settle this." Maria spoke to an unknown third party.

Aya stared at her in confusion. Before she could ask for an explanation, Maria ran off to the cafeteria.