"Mama ain't raised no fool
Daddy told me never leave the house without my tool
Grandpa told me never trust a sucka nigga from the street
Grandma said she love me and she always praying for me
But I just wanna party, I don't wanna hurt nobody
I just wanna party, I don't wanna hurt nobody
I just wanna party, I don't wanna hurt nobody
But I'll beat the fuck out of a nigga!"
Marco was in the Dark Room. Ganger was standing in front of him, smiling.
"I'm Ganger. I just attacked your girlfriend and nearly raped her." He raised his right hand. It was covered in Ai's blood. "Now, what are you going to do about it?"
Marco punched him in the face. Ganger disappeared and reappeared behind him.
"Always quick to fight, aren't you, Marco? Mine's just like you." He laughed. "You can't hurt me, Marco. But I can hurt you."
"Why did you hurt Ai?"
"She reminded me of Yuno. Now, back to you. You're a good fighter, Marco. I'll give you that. But you're not good for much else, are you? You're a complete idiot. You have no friends-"
"Yes, I do!"
"You have no normal friends. And if you're good for nothing but fighting...then how can you protect Ai against something you can't fight?"
Ganger vanished, leaving Marco to think about his words.
"Mama ain't raised no fool
Daddy told me never leave the house without my tool
Grandpa told me never trust a sucka nigga from the street
Grandma said she love me and she always praying for me
But I just wanna party, I don't wanna hurt nobody
I just wanna party, I don't wanna hurt nobody
I just wanna party, I don't wanna hurt nobody
But I'll beat the fuck out of a nigga!"
"Back when Mark Wahlberg was Marky Mark
Fucking faggot!
This is how we used to make the party start
We used to mix hen' with Bacardi Dark
And when it kicks in, you can hardly talk
And by the sixth gin, you gon' probably crawl
And you'll be sick then, and you'll probably barf
And my prediction is you gon' probably fall
Either somewhere in the lobby or the hallway wall
And everything's spinnin'
You're beginning to think women are swimmin' in pink linen
Again in the sink
Then in a couple of minutes, that bottle of Guinness is finished
You are now allowed to officially slap bitches
You have the right to remain violent and start wildin'
Start a fight with the same guy that was smart eyein' you
Get in the car, and start it, and start drivin'
Over the island and cause a forty-two car pile up
'Earth calling, pilot to co-pilot
Looking for life on this planet sir, no sign of it
All I could see is a bunch of smoke flyin'
And I'm so high that I might die if I go by it
Let me out of this place I'm outta place
I'm in in outer space, I've just vanished without a trace
I'm going to a pretty place now where the flowers grow
I'll be back in an hour or so.'"
"Hello, Tsubaki."
Tsubaki was standing across from Ganger.
"You're-"
"Yuno's monster, yes, yeah, whatever. The name's Ganger. Welcome to your Dark Room. It's-"
"A part of the Dreamlands separate from the main part and located inside the human mind. I've read a lot on the occult."
Ganger glared at her. "Don't ever fucking interrupt me again." His smile returned. "Anyway, how do you feel about Keigo?"
"Other than a strong urge to call him 'daddy'? He's a friend."
"You know, people often use humor to cope with tragedy. I think that deep down, you hate him. Don't you? You despise him because he never helped you. You had to do it yourself. Same with Yomotsu, same with Marco, same with Ai."
"It's not their fault! They didn't know." Tsubaki looked down. "Nobody knew."
"Maybe they just didn't care enough to look into it. I think on some level, you also blame yourself. You didn't just run away."
"I never had the chance! They would've killed me!"
"At least that's what you tell yourself. But a part of you agrees with me. That's where your eating disorder and low self-esteem comes from. You make yourself throw up and call yourself disgusting, fat, ugly, and stupid because you're punishing yourself for not leaving." Ganger stroked her cheek. "You drink, do drugs, and whore yourself out to cope, and when you're sober, you throw up to punish yourself, partly because of what I just said, and partly because you hate yourself for being an alcoholic, drug-addicted slut."
He pushed her down and grabbed her chin. Tsubaki was trying to hold back tears.
"For all I know, you could've been asking for it."
He got up. "And of course, there's the other thing..."
Tsubaki stood up. "What other thing?"
"We haven't talked about her." Ganger laughed. "I've only just learned about her by going through your memories. Honestly, I can't believe I never realized it sooner. I mean, a girl going through puberty is raped for...what was it, two years?"
"You shut your goddamn mouth."
"Rose, such a pretty name." His smile grew wider. He began to sing: "Give my love to Rose, please, won't you, mister?"
"Stop it."
"Take her all my money, tell her to buy some pretty clothes."
"S-stop it!" Tears flowed down her face.
"Tell my boy that daddy's so proud of him."
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
"And don't forget to give my love to Rose." He grabbed her face again and forced his serpentine tongue down her throat. After a few seconds, he slowly pulled away.
"What..what are you?" asked Tsubaki. She was shaking with fear.
"I'm Yukiteru Amano of Earth-1A."
"...What are you really?"
Ganger laughed his horrific silent laugh. "I am hatred. I am vengeance. I am rape, I am murder, I am necrophilia, I am pedophilia, I am infanticide, I am suicide, I am torture, and I am envy, lust, sloth, greed, gluttony, pride, and wrath. I am the average fourteen year old Japanese boy. I am the anger and self-hatred produced from divorce and from young love gone bad. I am insanity. I am psychopathy and I am sociopathy. I am humanity at its worst. I am Ganger."
He disappeared, leaving her with the music:
"But when it's all said and done, before I know it
I'll be forty with a forty on the porch, tellin' stories
With a bottle of Jack, two grandkids on my lap
Babysitting for Hailey, while Hailey's out gettin' smashed
'Cause every time I go to try to leave
Whoa
Somethin' keeps pullin' on my sleeve
Whoa
I don't want to, but I gotta stay
Whoa
These drugs really gotta hold on me
Whoa
'Cause every time I try ta tell 'em "No,"
No
They won't let me ever let 'em go
Go
'I'm a sucker,' all I gotta say
Whoa
These drugs really gotta hold on me."
