Before we get into this chapter, I wanna say thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this! If you could, please leave a review letting me know what you think. I appreciate every single review that I get, and they really encourage me to keep writing! Again, thank you so much! And as always, I hope you enjoy!~

Chapter 3: Where the Skies End

Do you hear me?

You're a Goliath to me

I'll be there when the bombs unfurl

Till the war is over

Lay your burdens on me

I can bear all the weight of the world

With you on my shoulders

Bulma groaned softly as the morning sunlight pulled her from her slumber, sitting up as she reached a hand up to rub the sleep from her groggy blue eyes. She immediately noticed the lack of warmth next to her, and turned to see that Yamcha's side of the bed was empty, her boyfriend nowhere to be seen.

She bit her lip a feeling of worry bubbled within her. Yamcha had been having recurring nightmares for the past few nights, and she was silently hoping that wasn't what had woken him up again. She knew it was wearing on him, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud.

Bulma shook her head as she got up from the mattress, placing her feet in a nearby pair of slippers and putting a robe over her nightgown. "Yamcha?" she called out as she walked down the hallway, expecting to hear him call back. She received only silence.

The Capsule Corp. heiress frowned. While it wasn't unusual for Yamcha to head out on his own, he would always give her some kind of notice before doing so. Where the hell was he?

It didn't take long for Bulma to make her way downstairs. She paused as she entered the living room, seeing a plate of cold food and a drink on the coffee table. Confused, she walked over to the table, but just as she was starting to wonder who left this here, she spotted a piece of paper in the center of the table. Bulma picked it up, looking over the hastily written message.

I've gone to visit my sister and an old friend. The letter will explain everything. I promise I'll be back soon.

Yamcha

Bulma…wasn't sure what to make of this for a minute. Sister? An old friend? Since when did Yamcha have a sister? Neither of them had come up in conversation.

An arrow had been drawn right under Yamcha's name. Probably directing her to said 'letter', if she had to guess. She looked back at the coffee table and…

Bulma frowned in confusion. She put Yamcha's note back on the table and looked all over it, even getting on her hands and knees to look under the table and the nearby couch. Was she missing something? Was this some kind of sick joke?

Yamcha had said a 'letter' would explain everything, but there was no letter to be found.

OoOoOoO

With a flashlight in one hand and the map in the other, Yamcha wasn't having the best time trying to figure out where to go. He had already tried heading to different, nearby shops, trying to restore any memories he might have of going there, but nothing had resurfaced since he left the schoolhouse. The snow was still falling, now covering the streets in a light, blood-splashed dusting beneath his feet, and half the battle was keeping any flakes from landing on the map and soaking it.

Yamcha grumbled under his breath, currently standing underneath the cloth awning of an abandoned flower shop. Sure, over half of the awning was torn up and stained with blood and grime like everything else in the town, but the section where he was standing provided shelter from the snow, and he was more than thankful for that as he tried to look over the map again. He scanned over the map once more, shining his light on it, silently debating where he should head to next.

He froze in his actions as he heard it. The siren was going off again, though it sounded a little bit closer this time. Oh Kami…the last time it went off…

The same spike of agony surface in his head, forcing Yamcha to shut his eyes tightly as the sound echoed throughout the town. When the siren finally died down into silence after several long seconds, the pain vanished along with it, just like last time, and Yamcha hesitantly reopened his eyes, which widened in surprise.

The world was back to normal. It was no longer dark and stained with blood and grime, and the constant rotting stench around him was gone as well. He could see perfectly fine without the flashlight now, though the world was still gray, foggy and cold. Yamcha exhaled in confusion, his breath clouding in front of him, before he turned the flashlight off and storing both it and the map in the messenger bag.

He found himself asking the same question for the umpteenth time: Just what the hell was going on? What was behind all of this?

Yamcha was snapped out of his thoughts as movement caught his eye again, and he looked up to see a figure slowly walking around not too far from where he was. Yamcha was hesitant to head in their direction, still unnerved about what happened the last time he went after someone, but found himself trying to find reason. As strange as it all was, that monstrous creature from the schoolhouse had only appeared after the first siren went off and turned the world gruesome, so things were only bad when the world had been dark and dilapidated…right?

After all the confusion since he arrived in Kioku Town, that kind of logic made sense, and he found himself walking out from underneath the awning and towards the figure. They stopped as he started to draw closer, but just as Yamcha got close enough to determine that the figure was female and had blue hair, she suddenly turned and ran off into the fog, almost mirroring what had happened with the brown-haired figure when he first arrived.

Yamcha's heart had leapt to his throat the moment he realized she had blue hair. Was that…?

"Tenshi?" He called out. No response came, and he rushed off after the woman. "Tenshi, wait! It's me, Yamcha!"

But just like last time, there was no sign of the figure as he gave chase, no matter how fast he ran. He stopped after a few minutes. Nothing. And just like the last time, he couldn't feel any nearby chi.

He took in his surrounding after a moment or two. The ground beneath him, though still blanketed in a light dusting of white snow, was now dirt and grass instead of asphalt and cement. Nostalgia and curiosity began to bubble up inside of him, and he immediately pursued the emotions and continued walking. This area was familiar.

It finally hit him where he was when he stopped a few feet away from the edge of a lake, which hadn't even begun to freeze over. There was an old wooden deck that went out several feet into the gray water, and just a couple of yards away from him was an apple tree. Despite the gelid weather around them, the leaves still clung to the tree and were surprisingly green, as if the frost and snow hadn't affected it at all, and the fruits that hung from it were fresh and bright red.

This was the town's park—Hikari Park.

The moment the realization struck him, the familiar images and colors from before began to flood his vision. He looked up and around at the new memory. Thanks to the lack of fog, he could easily see the rest of the park. Bright green grass covered the ground beneath his feet, and warm sunlight reflected off the blue waters of the lake. Various flowers, bushes and trees were planted all around the park, including the apple tree close to him. A single sidewalk looped around the entire park, and there were several benches in the area. All around him, the ghostly images of people—of the residents of Kioku Town—went about their days; talking, laughing, relaxing, walking, and generally enjoying their time here at Hikari Park.

"Okay, I give! I give! Uncle!" An all-too-familiar voice made him turn around, and he nearly laughed at the sight of his younger self being pinned down on his front with his arms behind his back by Tenshi, who sat triumphantly on his back. The blue-haired girl smirked in satisfaction and released her grip on his wrists before jumping off of him.

The image of the younger Yamcha quickly pulled himself up to his feet, dirt and grass stains covering the front of his shirt and shorts. He huffed and narrowed his onyx eyes into a glare at the image of Tenshi, who had begun to walk over to the apple tree. But it seemed that he couldn't stay mad for long, as his annoyance was eventually replaced with a small smile as he followed her.

It…It was all starting to return to him. Tenshi…she had been the one who got Yamcha into martial arts in the first place. They would watch various martial arts movies and even the Tenkaichi Budokai together whenever it was on TV. It was something the two of them had bonded over. They would even have sparring matches from time to time. Tenshi, proudly dubbing herself the 'tough girl', and earning that title in Yamcha's opinion, had managed to beat him up and win their little scuffles every single time. Yamcha chuckled under his breath as he remembered making it his personal mission to one day beat Tenshi in a fight.

Tenshi had climbed up the tree and picked two of the red apples, placing one in her overalls pocket while she held the other in one hand. She jumped down from the branch she was on, landing on the grass with ease and holding up the apple in her hand to the younger Yamcha, offering it with a grin. The younger Yamcha looked happy as he took the apple from her hand, the two of them then sitting at the base of the tree together. Tenshi pulled out the apple from her pocket, and the two of them bit into their fruits, seeming to enjoy the sweet taste they provided.

This had been a little 'tradition' for them, Yamcha remembered as he watched this unfold. They would run around, play and spar in this park, and once they had either exhausted themselves or were satisfied, they would sit underneath the apple tree and enjoys its fruits together. And then, once they were done…

The images of Tenshi and the younger Yamcha finished up their apples, which were nothing more than cores now, then silently glanced at each other, both of them still smiling as they picked themselves up and walked over to the dock. It was usually occupied by people either fishing, using it to dive into the lake, or to simply sit on the edge and relax, but it was thankfully empty at the moment. The duo made it to the edge of the dock and simultaneously chucked their apple cores. Once they were done, they would always throw the cores to see who had the better throwing arm.

The cores soared through the air for several seconds before splashing into the waters. It was a bit difficult to tell from this distance, but they could both tell that Yamcha's core had gone slightly further. The little black-haired boy grinned as he let out a noise of jubilation, while Tenshi's blue eyes narrowed into side-eyed glare at him. The younger Yamcha looked at the blue-haired girl as she sat down on the edge of the dock, staring off into space, then his face lit up as if an idea had struck him.

The younger Yamcha turned and ran back to the tree. Tenshi stared after him with a confused look on her face. Yamcha watched as his younger self climbed up the tree and picked one of the apples, landing back on the ground and running back to Tenshi, who he sat right next to on the dock's edge and held up the apple to her.

Tenshi blinked in surprise, but smiled warmly as she took the apple and held it in her hands, her cheeks now dusted pink. Then, surprising both Yamcha and his younger self, she leaned over and pressed a kiss against his tan cheek. The younger Yamcha's face immediately turned as red as the apple, his dark eyes widening and he froze in place. Tenshi giggled softly at his reaction and bit into the sweet fruit.

The colors and images faded away, giving way to the cold, gray and foggy world once more. Yamcha couldn't take his eyes off of the spot where the images of his younger self and Tenshi had sat. He had a crush on Tenshi when they were kids. He remembered now.

Hold on. Yamcha frowned as a new thought crept into his mind. Did he…Did he fall in love with Bulma…because she reminded him of Tenshi?

No. Yamcha shook the ridiculous thought from his head. Maybe their similarities had initially attracted him to Bulma—his mind clearly hadn't remembered Tenshi, but it seemed that his eyes did—but he loved his girlfriend for who she was. Underneath her temperament and everything else was a tender, loving spirit and a heart of gold, and Yamcha loved all of her, even her flaws.

Smiling at both the memories and the thought of his beautiful lover, Yamcha walked over to the tree, simply reaching up and picking one of the apples. He hadn't eaten breakfast yet, after all, the mild pangs of hunger beginning to hit his stomach. He bit into the apple, savoring its sweet taste as the juices poured into his mouth, and walked to the dock. He finished his treat to the core as he made it to the edge; he knew the core would go flying for several hundred miles and probably burn up like a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere if he chucked it as hard as he could, so he instead chose to simply toss it into the lake, landing in the waters several yards away with a splash that sent ripples on the previously still waters and floating on the surface.

The music box suddenly came to life, playing its soft tune inside the messenger bag. Yamcha paused and looked down at the bag. What was that about?

No sooner had the question entered his mind when something suddenly moved beneath the water, sending ripples across the lake and effortlessly snatching up Yamcha's attention. A few bubbles began to slowly surface and pop in one small area, as if someone was underwater and slowly breathing out. Then, the bubbles moved. The source was moving, or rather swimming, and heading towards the apple core. And the moment the bubbles reached the floating core, something suddenly pulled it into the waters with shocking speed, the core nowhere to be seen.

Yamcha blinked at the sight. The bubbles remained there for a moment, then started to move again, this time towards the dock. More bubbles surfaced as the source moved, popping faster and with greater intensity. The music box's volume increased, growing louder and louder as the bubbles drew closer and closer, and something about it sent chills down Yamcha's spine, making him take a step backwards.

The furiously popping bubbles stopped just a foot away from the dock, the music box now louder than even, and the bubbles suddenly ceased. Yamcha stared down at the water. The bubbles had stopped, but the music box was still playing at full volume. For a moment, the world was silent apart from the music box, and nothing happened; all around him was still and calm.

The calmness was instantly shattered as a loud, wet, crackling snap sounded behind Yamcha, making him jump and whip around. A large, bony, clawed hand had broken through the dock just a couple of feet behind him, having shot up directly from the water. Dark eyes widened at the sight, and Yamcha hurriedly jumped over it with ease, landing back on the grass several feet away. The sound of wooden snapping reached his ears the moment his feet touched the ground, and he turned in time to see something pulling itself up on the dock through the hole it made, effortlessly breaking the wood as it did so.

It took Yamcha a moment to realize that the thing was humanoid, looking to be nearly as tall as the ex-bandit. It was hairless and gray-skinned, lacking any facial features except for a mouth and eyes, the latter looking like they had been gouged out, and had no visible genitalia. The creature was bone-thin, nothing more than a skeleton with skin stretched over it, not a hint of muscle or fat in sight. Multiple bruises covered its soaked body. It only had its left arm, with the right arm looking as if it had been ripped off at the shoulder, leaving behind a stump with rotten scar tissue; the one hand that it had was enlarged and the fingers were long and claw-like. The mandible was missing as well, as if it had been ripped off like the arm, with dried blood running down the front of its neck; rotten teeth were displayed on the top jaw, and a raw, black tongue hung from what was left of its mouth.

Yamcha found himself frozen on the spot; his eyes were locked on the emaciated creature. But…But that didn't make any sense! The siren hadn't gone off again; the world wasn't dark and gruesome. And…these monstrous creatures only came out when the world was like that…right?! It was starting to hurt his head. Just when he thought he was figuring out what was going on, everything was tossed out the window and he was back to square one.

A strained gurgling noise came from the creature as it limped towards him at a surprisingly quick speed. Yamcha found himself and backed away. Despite the consternation welling up inside of him, Yamcha curled his hands into fists, ready to fight back if this thing tried to attack him. No sooner had he done this than the creature suddenly spewed brownish bile in his direction. Yamcha quickly rushed out of the way, watching in shock as the bile hit the ground, bubbling and hissing as it melted the snow and turned the grass black the moment it touched it. If that had touched him…

The creature suddenly broke out into a sprint, quickly closing the distance between them despite its limp. The gurgling noise escaped it again as it drew closer. Thinking fast, Yamcha rushed forward and slammed a fist in the creature's middle, eliciting a gurgling shriek from it as it was thrown back towards the water. Acidic bile was hurled into the air as it did so, which Yamcha quickly dodged as the creature fell into the lake with a splash.

"Knock it off!" Yamcha yelled, sweat beginning to drip down his brow despite the cold around him, his eyes never leaving the creature's form in the water. Please let this be an innocent, injured person. The ex-bandit desperately prayed that it wouldn't end like the last encounter he had. "L-Look, if you need help, just tell me! Don't attack me!"

Several long seconds passed, slowly turning into a few minutes, and the creature didn't move once in that time, the waters becoming still around its form. Yamcha stared at it, starting to relax himself as he walked towards it, stopping just in front of the water's edge. Did he…?

Yamcha swallowed a lump in his throat. Something told him that just couldn't be the case. He tried to think back to what happened the last time this happened. And that's when it hit him. He looked down at the messenger bag, the music box still playing its song at full volume. It was only quiet when—

He didn't get the chance to finish his thought, as the creature suddenly shot up and raked its clawed hand at him. Yamcha jumped back and instinctively raised his left arm up to defend himself. Except he wasn't quick enough, and he felt agony course through his left temple and forearm. Warm liquids trickled down the side of Yamcha's head as he stumbled back for a moment.

The creature pulled itself back up to its feet and started to limp its way out of the water, the gurgling sound returning once again as blood dripped from its claws. Yamcha mentally chided himself. After what happened last time, he should've known better. "Fine," he growled under his breath, narrowing his eyes as the creature drew closer. "You asked for it!" He cupped both hands to his side, a bright blue glow building between his palms. "Kamehameha!" he shouted, firing the chi beam at the creature. The attack hit its target dead on, slamming into the emaciated creature's stomach and severing it in half.

Both halves of the creature flew back into the water, accompanied by a shower of bile that erupted from the creature's body, splashing into the lake. Yamcha had to turn away, fighting back the urge to vomit at the sight. He despised this. He had always hated even the idea of killing. His mind kept telling him that these things weren't human, that they were trying to kill him first, that it was on the verge of death anyways and he had just put it out of its misery. He honestly didn't know what to think anymore, but one thing was becoming clear.

It was kill or be killed.

Just what had happened that caused the peaceful Kioku Town to twist into a nightmare?

Yamcha exhaled heavily as he slumped down to his knees in the snow. That's when the pain of his injuries reared its ugly head up, blood dripping from his fingertips and staining the snow red. The scar-faced fighter groaned under his breath. At this point, he was just grateful for any kind of distraction from his racing thoughts. He inspected his left forearm first, finding that the white sleeve was now torn and bloodstained, allowing him to see the deep, red marks that the creature had left. Yamcha raised his right hand to his left temple, wincing as he placed pressure on the wound, and pulled it back to see red liquids coating his fingertips.

Yamcha placed his hand on his forearm in hopes that it would at least help with the bleeding. What he'd give for a Senzu bean right now. After a moment, Yamcha glanced down at the messenger bag. Now he understood. The music box was silent now, but…it had warned him about those creatures. The ex-bandit still didn't really understand how or why, but he was momentarily grateful for it.

Yamcha wasn't sure how long he had stayed there—whether it was only a few minutes or several—before a strange, faint sound reached his ears. He paused and looked around. It was a soft hissing noise. It sounded like…static. He scanned the area, trying to figure out where it was coming from, but couldn't identify the source.

The noise slowly but surely increased in volume; whatever made it was getting closer. In that time, the sound changed as well, becoming shrill and whirring, vaguely reminding him of radio static. Several more seconds passed before the music box suddenly sprung to life, playing its beautiful yet haunting melody again. Yamcha looked at the messenger bag with wide eyes before scanning the area around him, trying to locate whatever was making it play.

Approaching footsteps hit his ears, the music box growing louder as they drew closer. Yamcha stood back up. The familiar feeling of dread clawed at his gut…but something was different about this one. He couldn't explain it, but something about this one sent chills down his spine in a way that the other two creatures hadn't.

Movement out of the corner of his eye made Yamcha turn his head. There was another silhouette in the distance, except this one was much taller, easily towering over some of the nearby trees. It wasn't too far away from him, looking to be coming towards him from the other side of the lake. The silhouette drew closer to him, and once it was close enough for Yamcha to make out its shape and appearance through the fog, he swore he felt his heart stop for a second when he recognized it.

The creature was easily forty feet tall, at least. Similar to the last monster, it was bone-thin with the skin stretched over it, except this creature had dried, mummified skin that was the color of rusty metal; silver wires stuck out in several areas of its body, almost as if they had been crudely stitched in. Its arms were as long as the length of its body, its fingertips reaching past its knees. Most notably of all, instead of a normal neck and head, the creature had what looked a pole fused into its body with a pair of dark, bloodstained megaphone speakers where the head should be.

Oh Kami…

The ex-bandit normally would've been more than ready to fight back. But right now, every fiber in Yamcha's being was screaming at him to run. Only thing was…he couldn't. He tried to run, but it felt as if his body was paralyzed. His limbs wouldn't respond to his commands, almost as if invisible chains held him in place as he stared at the creature in pure, unadulterated horror.

The music box grew louder with each thudding step the creature took, growing closer as the snow crunched beneath its feet. The hissing of static coming from its speakers started to change as well, morphing into a low humming noise accompanied by what sounded like whispering voices played backwards, only furthering to unnerve Yamcha.

A few more seconds that dragged on much longer than Yamcha would've liked continued before the creature came to halt. His eyes never left the creature as it slowly turned its 'head', as if scanning the area. It was several yards away, much too close for Yamcha's liking as it towered over him. He practically held his breath as his heart pounded in his chest, silently praying that it wouldn't notice him, that it would turn around and walk away—preferably sooner than later.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A shrill, bloodcurdling scream erupted from Siren Head's speakers, forcing Yamcha to cover his ears as it practically shook the air around him. But as if that scream had flipped a switch, adrenaline shot through Yamcha's veins, and the second the screaming cease, he turned and bolted as quickly as he could.

He could hear Siren Head give chase, the thundering footsteps behind him telling him everything he needed to know, though he didn't dare look back. The grass and dirt soon gave way to the concrete and asphalt of Kioku Town, but Yamcha barely noticed this as he ran. He managed to put a bit of distance between himself and the monstrous creature, but it did little to ease his nerves. A deafening alarm blared from Siren Head's speakers, echoing throughout the town as he continued to run.

To hell with this town. Yamcha had no idea what was going on or what had happened to the town, but it didn't matter anymore. It was no wonder he couldn't feel any chi in this town. Sencha and Tenshi weren't here. And why would they be? Everything here had tried to kill him, so of course they wouldn't be here! He momentarily forgot about his desire to see his sister and childhood friend, wanting nothing more than to get out of this place. All he needed to do was find the entrance he came through and—

Yamcha's thoughts were cut off for what felt like the umpteenth time as he raced down the road past several shops and establishments, and a shape in the fog came into view. It didn't take him long to get close enough to make out what it was. And just like with the last three, he didn't like what he saw.

The creature looked to be a naked, feminine human torso and long legs, its entire being covered in what looked like putrid skin. It lacked any arms, shoulders, neck or head, looking like someone had removed and replaced them with another pair of legs. The top pair of legs lacked feet, and Yamcha watched as it rubbed its upper legs together like an insect would do with its mandibles as it slowly walked down the street. And sure enough, the music box continued to play at full volume as he drew closer to it.

It took everything in Yamcha's willpower not to scream out his frustrations at the top of his lungs. He really didn't want to deal with another creature right now. He silently debated flying out of here, but almost immediately scrapped that idea. Siren Head was still right behind him, and there was no doubt in his mind that it would catch up to him before he could get very far in the air.

Thinking fast, Yamcha looked around for anywhere to hide. He hated sounding like a coward in his own thoughts, but just the mere thought of trying to fight against Siren Head petrified him to his core—he had no idea why; the feeling was just there—and he wasn't about to argue with his instincts. His eyes finally fell on an opening in a nearby shop, the door and part of the windows looking as if they had been blown out, leaving only the metal framing.

Yamcha didn't think twice about turning himself and bolting into the store's opening, taking care to jump over the shards of glass and broken boards on the floor and getting to a safe distance from the opening before he finally stopped. The ex-bandit inhaled deeply and silently to calm is nerves.

By now, he was starting to become more aware of his surroundings. He looked up and around, realizing that he wasn't in a shop. Rather, he was in a diner. Beneath all the dust and decay, Yamcha could easily tell that this was once a retro-style diner. A now filthy and cracked black-and-white checkered pattern covered the floor, the blue paint on the walls was faded and chipped away, old red leather covered the booths and chairs and bar stools, and neon lights that probably once glowed a pinkish-red color had been burnt out a long time ago.

Nostalgia flooded Yamcha as he realized this, drowning out his previous fear and confusion, and he understood why as a new realization surfaced. This was Amai's Diner. It was where he and his family would go out to eat every Saturday.

Light and color flooded his vision again. Another memory. The sounds of Siren Head and the music box faded away and were replaced with chattering and laughter. Before his eyes, the diner looked clean and alive again, full of the ghostly images of people as they chatted and laughed, enjoying their lunches.

Yamcha looked around, hoping to find the images of his family. It didn't take long, as he spotted them at a nearby table—three adults and three children. His younger self, Sencha and Tenshi were there. And he immediately recognized all three adults.

One of them was a tall, muscular man with tan skin, choppy dark brown hair that ended at his shoulders, onyx-black eyes, a goatee, and dressed in a black tank top, tan cargo pants, and brown-gray boots. And most notably, his facial features were identical to the little boy sitting next to him. Chawan, the father of Yamcha and Sencha.

The woman sitting next to him was beautiful, possessing fair skin, wavy reddish-orange hair that ended at her midback, deep green eyes, and wearing a green sundress and white sandals. Fukusa, the mother of Yamcha and Sencha.

And finally, the third adult at the table was a middle-aged woman. She had porcelain skin, smooth black hair with a few gray streaks that was tied into a low ponytail, warm brown eyes, and dressed in a white blouse, blue jeans, brown sandals, and a silver locket around her neck. Ochako, Chawan's mother and the woman that Yamcha had inherited his black hair from.

The family of six were clearly having a good time, smiling and laughing as they talked and waited for their orders to be taken. Yamcha couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Welcome to the diner! Have you decided what you'd like today?" A feminine voice asked cheerfully, and the family and Yamcha turned to the source. An older woman was standing at the end of their table, giving each of them a warm smile. She was quite thin and tall, easily standing at Yamcha's own six-foot height. She had milky skin, crimson-red hair with a few silver streaks that was tied into a low ponytail ended at her hips, brown eyes, and she was wearing a short-sleeved black dress with a frilly white apron over it and white sneakers.

Yamcha blinked as he recognized her. It was Amai, the owner of the restaurant and one of the best cooks in Kioku Town. Now he remembered. She had personally served his family many times. The images faded away, leaving behind the dilapidated diner. A loud shriek, sounding as if it had been blasted from a megaphone, snapped him back to reality. Yamcha whipped around in time to see that Siren Head had stopped outside of the diner and snatched up the other creature in its large, bony hand.

Yamcha couldn't see what it was doing as it lifted the squirming creature up, but the action was followed by a shrill blaring of an alarm, forcing Yamcha to cover his ears. There was a squelching snap, and large splashes of blood fell onto the snowy ground, staining it red. The body of the creature fell to the ground a moment later with a sickening thud, unmoving and silent.

The scar-faced warrior felt the color drain from his face, slapping a hand over his mouth to prevent any sound from escaping. Outside, Siren Head stayed in place for another minute or so, whirring radio static playing from its speakers, as if silently contemplating what it should do next. Yamcha stayed as still and silent as possible as he watched Siren Head's legs from inside the diner, praying that it would just leave already!

Finally, it seemed that his prayers were answered, as a moment or so later, Siren Head slowly began to walk away, leaving the corpse of the other creature in the screen, and the music box began to quiet down. Relief flooded Yamcha, and at that moment, he looked around the diner again, the memories of this place coming back to him. It made him smile. He and his family had come here more times than he could count, and the food was always amazing. Yamcha wished he could have Amai's famous Everything Burger and sweet chocolate-raspberry lava cake again.

The moment that thought entered his mind, however, his smile fell as the familiar feeling of nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He swallowed heavily, confusion brewing within him for the umpteenth time. Where…Where had that come from?

Dread started to pool in his stomach again, and Yamcha instinctively took a step backwards. It didn't register how much of a mistake this was until his foot came in contact with a shard of glass on the floor, shattering it into tiny pieces with a surprisingly loud crack.

The sound of Siren Head's footsteps immediately halted, and Yamcha's blood turned to ice. He mentally cursed himself and was ready to book it to the entrance and run to another part of town—maybe then he could escape this damned town—but quicker than he could blink, Siren Head rushed back to the diner's entrance and reached inside at break-neck speeds. Siren Head's enormous, bony hand engulfed his entire being and yanked him outside before he had a chance to properly react.

Siren Head's grip was unyielding, constricting Yamcha, and it began to feel hard to breath. The ex-bandit could hear his heart rapidly beating in his ears. The fear he felt earlier had come back with a vengeance and seemed to paralyze him, his limbs not responding to any of his commands. All he could do was stare at this creature, his pupils becoming little more than slits at this point. Siren Head lifted him up in the air, refusing to loosen its grip as Yamcha became eye-level with its speakers. The music box was playing its song at full volume.

Even though the creature had no eyes, Yamcha swore it was looking directly at him as it held him up. He was just waiting for Siren Head to do whatever it had done to the other creature minutes before, waiting for the inevitable agony to coarse through his nerves and the warm feeling of blood escaping his body. He had already died once before, he knew exactly what death felt like, and he was just waiting for it to come back to him.

Except it never came.

The shrill, whirring static from before sounded from Siren Head's speakers, seeming to echo throughout the entire town. "Yam…I'm…e…Come to…cha…ting for…id you k…Yam…" A voice sounded from the speakers, but was constantly getting caught off by the static, making it impossible to tell what they were trying to say.

What…?

"KYAAAAAH!" Yamcha barely had a moment to process this before another shriek erupted from Siren Head's speakers. Pain practically exploded in Yamcha's mind, forcing him to shut his eyes. He desperately wished he could place his hands to his ears and head, but instead he was forced to will away the pain as best as he could.

The scream was barely even over before he suddenly felt Siren Head pull his arm back and chuck him away as hard as he could. He soared through empty air for not even a second before he colliding into something. Agony pulsated through his body as he crashed through what felt like several layers of debris, the sounds of crunching and snapping roaring in his ears. The feeling of something warm practically exploding accompanied by another burst of agony all over was the last thing he felt before he blacked out.

We won't just fall away

We weren't just born to fade

Our stories are past the horizon

We're chasing the sun till we find them

Goodbye to what we made

No matter anyway

We're climbing until we transcend

Higher, higher to where the skies end