Chapter 7: Telekinetic (Part 1)

I found my role in a tragedy

I lost my soul in the make-believe

Just a doll with your threads sewn into me

Paralyzed when you finally cut the strings

So stick your pins in the effigy

Run my life till you rip the seams

Build it up in a Technicolor dream

A prisoner just for you, now set me free

As the door groaned shut behind him, Yamcha looked around as far as the flame could stretch. The large room vaguely reminded him of a front desk area at a hotel. A long desk with a door behind it, chairs scattered across the floor, and metal double doors on the other end of the room. The room itself looked identical to the rest of the outside world—walls covered in grime and dark red stains, black gunk eating away at the broken chairs, and parts of the walls and floor were ripped away to reveal metal structures underneath.

Yamcha grimaced slightly. The air in here felt stuffy, with the rotting stench still hanging heavily all around him. Just another reason to get out of here quickly.

First, this room. Yamcha checked the desk first, and was rewarded with three things. He picked up the first and realized that it was a map of Geppei Prison. He grinned despite himself and folded it up, placing it in the messenger bag. The second was a simple red marker; he pocketed that as well, figuring he might need it later on. The third, however, was a single piece of paper with writing on it.

'I give you blood to atone for the Three Sins'

Yamcha furrowed his brow. Was this another puzzle? He groaned inwardly at the thought. How many of these was he going to have to go through in order to find Sencha and Tenshi? And what exactly did this particular riddle mean?

He pulled out the map of the prison again, giving it a once-over. It showed both the first and second floors of the building. From what he could see, he was currently standing at the main entrance. The 'visiting area' was behind the double doors, and that led to another hallway with several other rooms and the stairs. He looked up at the door behind the desk; it was boarded up, so it didn't look like he was going that way. After taking a minute to memorize it, Yamcha put the map back in the bag and headed towards the double doors.

The metal doors shrieked as he pushed past them. He looked around once he was in the visiting area. It was in a similar state to the main entrance, except there were several more filthy, torn chairs. Yamcha looked around for a few minutes, and sure enough, he spotted something on one of the many chairs. He walked over and picked it up to examine it. It was a red ceramic square tile, roughly the size of his hand, and had a picture of a faceless being wielding a knife carved into it. And carved at the bottom of the tile was the word 'OPPRESSOR'.

Yamcha placed the tile in his bag. He then pulled the map and marker out, drawing a red 'X' over the visiting area after making sure there was nothing else in the room. He placed everything back in the bag, headed towards the door that led to the hallway and…

Yamcha's eyes widened as the single door suddenly fell off its hinges the moment he pushed it open and collapsed to the floor. Or it would have, had the floor been there.

The hallway floor and ceiling were both gone, revealing nothing but a dark abyss above and below them, with the walls stretching into the inky blackness. There was a chain-link fence positioned a few feet above the door, acting like a makeshift ceiling. The door plummeted into the darkness below, disappearing from sight in barely a second, and he couldn't hear any kind of thud from it landing, no matter how hard he listened or how much time passed.

Yamcha grit his teeth. It looked like he only had two options: fly through the building—used chi, so that was out the window—or…

He sighed and closed the lighter, storing it in the bag. The flame immediately died and he was plunged into darkness. It took several minutes, but his eyes soon adjusted and he could see just well enough to get around. Yamcha made sure that the bag was secure, then jumped and hooked his fingers into the gate, effortlessly pulling himself through the hallway like a kid would on the monkey bars.

As he maneuvered over the abyss, Yamcha scanned the hallway. Almost identical to the Hotaru Apartments, all the doors he passed were either boarded up or encased in cement. It didn't take long before he reached the end of this part of the hallway and turned right at the corner. But as soon as he did so, he felt an odd sensation in his hands. He paused and unhooked his right hand from the gate, examining it as he dangled, only to see nothing there.

The sensation came again, this time only in his left hand, and he immediately realized that it was the gate trembling. He quickly grabbed the gate again. It would only shake once every few seconds, and it seemed to be getting stronger with each one.

The faint sound of metal rattling reached his ears. And sure enough, the music box began to play its song again. Yamcha looked into the direction of the rattling, which, unfortunately, was also the direction he was heading. It didn't take long for the source it make itself known.

A single figure made its way towards him, also dangling from the gate. He couldn't take in its full appearance thanks to how dark it was, but he got a good look at its silhouette. It was freakishly tall and had a distorted appearance that seemed the mock the female form, was wearing a short dress that looked like it was made from a straightjacket, had long legs, was dangling from its grotesquely-large, swollen forearms, and he couldn't make out any facial features.

The creature let out a noise that could only be described as a wet, gargling growl as it swiftly drew closer. Yamcha was about to move, but before he could, the creature halted just a few feet away from him and detached one of its 'hands' from the gate, making its palm face towards him, and a sharp, blade-like bone shot out of its palm at him, looking to be roughly the length of its long arms. Yamcha barely had a second to react, the monster did it all so fast; he managed to let go of the gate with one hand and swung himself so that the blade wouldn't puncture his torso. But he wasn't quick enough, and realized this too late when he felt a sharp pain in his right side.

He grit his teeth again as the monster retracted the blade back into its arm. Not wasting a beat, he hooked his hand back into the gate, swung himself back, and kicked the creature as hard as he could in the stomach the moment he swung forward. The creature let out a surprised or pained—he couldn't tell which—shriek and nearly fell from the gate, panicking as it tried to steady itself. Yamcha took the opportunity to hurriedly pull himself past it, and halfway through this section of the hallway, he spotted a door that was open slightly ajar and caught the sight of a floor inside the room.

Yamcha didn't hesitate to jump and kick the door open, landing on his feet with ease and slamming the door behind him once he was inside. The music box died down into silence, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He dug into his bag and pulled out the lighter again, the flame coming to life after a few clicks. With his other hand, he gingerly touched his right side, immediately wincing as pain coursed through his nerves, and pulled it back to reveal blood on his palm.

Yamcha looked around the room for the first time. It was immediately obvious that this was a janitor's closet. The room had several shelves stacked with old cleaning supplies and towels, a few large trash bins were placed in the corners, and some brooms, mops and buckets laid haphazardly on the floor. In any other situation, Yamcha would've been tempted to steal one of the towels and use it as a bandage, but everything here looked just as filthy and decayed as the rest of the town, so he decided to just deal with the bleeding for now.

However, there was one item that didn't belong there. Sitting on a shelf was another ceramic tile, the same size and shape as the first one, except this one was purple. Yamcha wiped the blood off on his pants and picked up the tile, which had the image of a beautiful, naked woman with her back turned to him carved into it, and the word 'SECUDTRESS' right below it.

Yamcha put the tile in his bag next to the other one. He pulled the prison map back out along with the marker. He crossed out each of the rooms in the hallway that had been inaccessible, then circled the janitor's closet. He put the marker away and looked back at the map, realizing that the closet was right across the door that led to the staircase. With a determined nod, he placed the map back in the bag, snapped the lighter shut, and turned back towards the door.

BANG!

Yamcha nearly jumped out of his skin at the noise. It sounded like a door slamming open, and he could easily hear it echoing across the hallway. He was reluctant to open the door at first, but when the music box remained silent, he turned the handle and pushed it open with a loud, metallic groan.

Just in time to see the door across from him starting to close.

And a small, familiar figure running up the stairs, visible for just a second before disappearing from sight.

But during that one second, Yamcha caught just enough details. A young child…messy dark hair…dressed in black, white and blue clothing…

His eyes widened. "Chibi?" he said without thinking. But how…It couldn't be…

Yamcha leapt from the janitor's closet to the stairwell entrance, slamming the door back open with his shoulder and rushing up the stairs. He couldn't see Chibi anymore, nor could he feel the boy's chi. The door at the top was open slightly ajar, and without thinking, he bashed it open and rushed inside.

Dark eyes widened as he realized too late that, just like the first hallway, the floor and ceiling were missing, with a long chain-link fence replacing the latter. He began to fall into the empty air, but reacted quickly and grabbed the edge of a boarded-up doorframe that was across from the stairwell entrance. His heart hammered in his chest from the shock.

He craned his neck back, catching sight of the fence overhead. With his immense strength, he easily catapulted himself up from the bottom of the door and hooked his fingers into the metal. He exhaled in relief. He was trying to avoid using his chi like the plague; if it led monsters to him like he suspected, then he couldn't risk even a second of flight or a single chi blast.

Yamcha rapidly looked around the immediate vicinity. "Chibi!" he whisper-shouted, his voice echoing off the walls despite its low volume. He didn't receive an answer, and frankly, he wasn't even sure why he had expected one. "Chibi!" he tried again, only to get the same response.

He didn't understand it. What was Chibi doing here? He had only seen the boy in a dream, but…Wait, did that mean it wasn't a dream? His mind had been really fuzzy when he came across that clocktower…but he immediately woke up in the Hotaru Apartments after that…It just didn't make sense! And even if that wasn't a concern, what was Chibi doing here in the first place? Where did he go after running up the stairs?

Yamcha shook his head. This town had become so warped, he didn't even know what was real anymore! Thinking about it only induced another headache.

He looked around again. There were only two ways to go down this hallway. After silently debating for a minute or two, he decided to head down the left section, swiftly pulling himself across the fence with ease. He kept an eye out for Chibi as he passed the blocked doors. It wasn't until he got to the end of the hallway that he finally found an uncovered door. Or rather, doors. There was a pair of double doors at the end, with one being open slightly ajar.

Just like with the janitor's closet, Yamcha jumped forward once he was close enough and kicked the door open. The moment his feet touched the solid floor, he reached inside the bag and pulled the lighter out, igniting the flame after a few clicks and looking around.

This time, he was in the prison's cafeteria; a quick glance at the map confirmed his suspicions. Several large tables with chairs surrounding them were scattered across the large room, there was a serving line on the far side of the room, and the few windows were covered with black bars. All of it was just as decrepit and disgusting as the rest of the building.

"Chibi?" Yamcha called out, a little louder this time, as he placed the map back in the bag. Once again, the only answer he got was silence. The former bandit slowly walked around the room, hoping to catch sight of the boy or at least somebody in here. As he looked, a splotch of bright orange amidst the black and reddish-brown room caught his eye. He walked over to investigate and discovered that it was another ceramic tile sitting on one of the tables.

This one was a bit more…disturbing than the last two. He didn't know how else to describe the way it made him feel. Carved onto the orange tile was the image of an obese man, on his knees, with what looked like the mangled corpse of an animal in front of him, and he was scarfing down the animal's flesh and internal organs. And right below it was the words 'GLUTTONOUS PIG'. Yamcha quickly shoved the tile into his bag, refusing to look at it any longer.

BANG!

Yamcha nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise. A table had been chucked across the room, slamming into another and sending several chairs flying. At the exact same moment, the music box starting playing its song again. Yamcha immediately turned to the source. The creature from the hallway was in here. Now that the lighter was out, he was able to get a good look at it, taking in details of its appearance that he wished he wasn't.

Its entire body was an ugly brownish color, as if every inch of it were rotting. Yamcha knew before that it was freakishly tall and, for the most part, gangly, but looking at it now, it was easily twice Piccolo's height. Sections of the creature's arms appeared to be stitched together and bandaged up. And…its face was completely distorted. Actually, it looked like its entire face resembled a pair of lips and nothing else. The creature's face/lips twitched and rotated relentlessly, emitting a wet sound.

Yamcha barely had a second to process this information, though. Because as soon as the light hit the creature, it suddenly let out a shriek and scrambled away, looking like it was trying to hide its face in its grotesque arms and shrink back into the dark corners of the room. Dark eyes blinked in surprised, then quickly looked between the creature and the lighter.

Was it afraid of…?

As this realization clicked in his mind, so did an idea.

Without missing a beat, Yamcha set the lighter down on the closest table and pulled the pipe wrench out of the bag. He picked up the lighter with his free hand, and immediately snapped it shut, plunging the room into darkness once more.

He was completely blind now. His eyes didn't have time to completely adjust. But that didn't matter.

He could hear the wet sounds the creature made. It no longer sounded terrified. Thudding footsteps were slowly making their way towards him. The music box grew louder alongside them. He could barely hear all of this over his own heartbeat, feeling a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck.

Louder. Closer. Wait…Focus…

Then, just as it seemed like the creature was right in front of him, just as the music box peaked in volume, Yamcha held the lighter up and ignited the flame with a single click.

He was right, the creature was barely a few feet away, its arm raised up in preparation to stab him again. Even though he expected this, it didn't stop his heart from skipping a beat. The creature let out the same shriek from before, momentarily making Yamcha's ears sting. But he ignored that, and quickly rushed forward and swung the wrench at the creature as hard as he could. He struck its middle, unprotected thanks to it raising its arms to shield its face.

The creature was sent stumbling backwards a few feet, but it wasn't enough to knock it down. Adrenaline burst through his veins like fireworks. He kicked the creature's middle harshly, this time sending it flying several more feet and actually knocking it down with a thud that shook the ground beneath them. He didn't hesitate to rush up and try to slam the wrench into its head. But before the wrench could make contact, the creature bolted upright, swinging its arms faster that he could register and hitting him hard enough to send him backwards.

Yamcha landed on his hindquarters with a yell of surprise, dropping the lighter and wrench in the process. The former went out as soon as it hit the ground, drowning the area in darkness once more. Yamcha could hear the pained noises of the creature, though it was barely audible above the music box and his own heart.

Panic gripped at his stomach and he quickly turned himself onto his hands and knees, quickly rummaging around in hopes of finding either item. Come on, they had to be around here somewhere! The music box grew louder with each passing second. This hadn't gone the way he planned!

The creature's wet noises, albeit sounding pained now, were right on top of him. Without thinking, Yamcha jumped to his feet and swung a punch in the direction of the noise, but only hit empty air. Before he could do it again, he let out a yell as sharp pain suddenly ripped through his back.

But that was all the information he needed. Despite the pain, Yamcha whipped around and launched himself in that direction. He made contact with the creature's flesh, hearing it shriek again as he tackled it to the ground with a hard thud.

He showed no mercy this time. Without a second to waste, Yamcha blindly grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be one of the creature's arms, and yanked harshly. He heard the sound of flesh ripping as it disconnected from the creature's body, causing the creature to once again shriek and squirm beneath him. But he wasn't done.

Yamcha tossed the first arm aside, hearing it crash into something nearby. It didn't take him long to grab the second arm, as the creature was beating it against him in its panic. And just like last time, he pulled hard enough to remove the creature's second arm entirely and threw it somewhere else.

The squirming intensified, as did the creature's agony-laced howls. It was just motivation to end it already. His heart beating like a jackhammer, Yamcha's hands eventually found the creature's head, which he slammed his fist into as hard as he could. A sickening crunch mixed with a squelch filled the air. The creature stopped moving, and alongside the music box, it became silent.

Yamcha wasn't sure how long he stayed there, sitting atop the creature and panting as his heart eventually slowed its pace and the adrenaline began to dwindle. He could feel the warm, sticky liquids on his hands, dripping to the floor beneath him. It seems that the dripping noise was what brought him back to his sense, as he quickly scrambled to get off of the creature and went back to rummaging around for the lighter and wrench.

After a few minutes, his hand finally connected with the familiar texture of a pipe wrench, which he immediately grabbed. One down, one to go.

It wasn't any easier, but soon enough, his fingertips brushed against a small metal object. Yamcha snatched it up and flicked it open, hurriedly clicking the button to light it. It worked after a few attempts, a bright flame igniting less than a foot away from his face.

Yamcha sighed heavily in relief. Though once the light was back, he saw the fresh blood that covered his hands and a good portion of his front. He turned to look around, mostly out of curiosity, and half-regretted it when he saw the creature motionless in a pool of red, with both its arms tossed in different directions. The top half of its head had been split open, with skull fragments and brain matter splattered around it. The red was also smeared on the dirty ground, showing the path Yamcha had taken to find the wrench and lighter.

He grimaced in familiar disgust. As soon as he found Sencha and Tenshi, he was taking them straight back to Capsule Corp., where he could take a nice long shower. The sooner, the better.

Yamcha placed the wrench back in the bag, and wiped as much of the blood as he could off onto his pants, before pulling the map out again. He located the cafeteria, which he circled, then drew an 'X' over each of the rooms he passed to get here. It looked like the next thing to do was to head back down the hallway and take the opposite route this time.

The second he made this decision, the music box suddenly sprung to life, startling him. The creature let out a gurgled, muffled shriek, and began trashing violently in the pool of blood. Yamcha stared at it in bewilderment. How the hell was this thing still alive?!

Without its arms, it couldn't pull itself back up. Instead, the creature flipped itself over so that it was on its front, and started dragging itself towards him. Its movements were much more sporadic now, twitching at neck-break speeds and jerking itself around like a puppet on strings.

That was more than enough to make Yamcha shove the map and the lighter back in the bag and bolt. He was plunged into darkness again, but thankfully he found the doors relatively easy and kicked them open, jumping up to grab the fence and hurrying away from the cafeteria. It didn't take long for the music box to dwindle into silence.

Once he was sure he was safe, Yamcha stilled himself to pant heavily. It was only then that the pain in both his back and his side returned with a vengeance, making him grit his teeth. He wasn't sure how deep the wound was, but he could feel the blood running down his back and soaking his clothes. What he'd give for another Health Drink or even a Senzu bean right now…

It took a few minutes for his vision to adjust to the darkness, during which the music box was mercifully silent, and he continued heading down the hall. However, after passing the door to the stairs and a couple of blocked doors past it, Yamcha was startled when he reached up to grasp the fence again, only to grasp empty air. He looked up to see a large hole in fence, big enough for someone to squeeze through.

Curious, Yamcha swung himself far enough to grasp the edge of the hole and pulled himself up, and soon found himself standing atop the chain-link fence. Relieved that he no longer had to hang, Yamcha pulled the lighter out of the bag and flicked it on again. As soon as the light penetrated the darkness, he noticed for the first time that there were also doors up here, though they were also boarded up or encased in cement. Were they always up here, and he just couldn't see them until now?

Nevertheless, Yamcha continued down the hallway, feeling the gate rattle beneath him with each step. He turned left at the corner and continued for another minute or so before the music box quietly started up. Yamcha stilled himself and gulped, scanning the area. He couldn't see anything, the gate wasn't moving at all, and the music box didn't increase in volume during the minute or two he stayed still. It was only when he started to slowly walk forward again that the music box got louder.

Pulling the wrench out with his free hand, Yamcha cautiously continued down the hall, readying himself for anything. And several seconds later, he froze up again when he found the source.

There was a small intersection in the hallway; one heading forward, and the other one turning left. Barely a foot past the intersection, several metal poles had been erected through the gate. Each one stretched above and below the gate, to the point where Yamcha couldn't see where they started or ended, completely blocking the way forward.

And standing on the other side of the bars was none other than the Masked Clone, as silent and still as a statue.

It felt like a stone dropped in his stomach. Yamcha couldn't move for a few seconds, fear paralyzing his limbs. No, not again…

Why did he have to keeping running into him?!

Yamcha didn't want to fight him. He couldn't explain it why, but the man's mere presence went waves of fear through his body. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run. Whether it was a dream or not, memories of what happened in that alleyway happily clawed their way to the surface of his mind.

So, with pretty much no choice, Yamcha picked up the pace and bolted around the corner as fast as he could, trying to avoid looking at the Masked Clone, who turned his head to watch as he ran to the left. Yamcha wasn't sure how long he ran, just that it was long enough for the music box to quiet down.

Even though it had required little to no effort, Yamcha still found himself panting and shaking as he slowed to a stop, his heart beating like crazy. As if this place wasn't bad enough. Now he had something worse than that grotesque creature and Chibi to worry about.

Speaking of Chibi, Yamcha was feeling perturbed. None of it made sense. Was the boy even here? Or was the insanity of this town starting to get to him, starting to make him see things that weren't really there? He didn't have an answer for that.

"Chibi?" He called out. "Chibi, are you here?" Only his own echo answered him.

Unsure of what else to do, Yamcha continued down the hall. It only took another minute or so for him to reach the end of the hallway, which had another set of double doors, the only one that wasn't blocked off. Yamcha pushed it open with his shoulder, heaving the familiar groan as he stepped inside.

It was a large room, containing a row of cells on either side, and an open area that had a few tables, a large TV mounted on the opposite wall and a couple of couches in front of it, more windows with black bars on the same wall, and a few phones on the wall near the doors. And just like the cafeteria, the entire room was dilapidated and filthy.

Yamcha started looking around, wondering what he'd find this time. Some of the cell doors were open, so he peaked into a couple of those, only to find nothing and move onto the next one. It wasn't until he got to the fourth open cell on the right side that he got something new: three square indents on the wall above the torn-up bed, with dried blood splashed across them.

Yamcha glanced at the indents, then put the wrench away, looking down at the three ceramic tiles resting in the bag…Surely it wasn't that easy. Right?

At this point, it was worth a shot.

Yamcha dug the red Oppressor tile out first and pressed it into the left indent, hearing a satisfying click as he did so. He repeated the process with the purple Seductress tile, pressing it into the middle indent.

The moment his fingers grazed the orange Gluttonous Pig tablet, a shrill ringing noise pierced the air. Yamcha nearly jumped out of his skin. It took him a moment to realize that it was one of the phones. Baffled, Yamcha stepped out of the cell and looked over at that wall.

He debated whether or not he should answer it, but after it continued to ring for a solid minute and showed no signs of stopping any time soon, the ex-bandit reluctantly walked over and picked it up. "Hello?" he said.

Silence answered him.

"Hello?" he tried again, getting the same result. "Is someone there?" Third time apparently wasn't the charm.

He was about to hang up when—

"2-0-4-8-6-3."

Yamcha's eyes widened in surprise. "W-What?" he said. The voice wasn't familiar, and he couldn't quite tell if it was male or female.

"2-0-4-8-6-3," the voice repeated the same string of numbers.

"Who are you?" Yamcha asked. A second later, he was met with a click, followed by the dial tone.

If Yamcha was confused before, he was completely befuddled now. He sighed. Just another thing to add to the list of confusing events.

He hung the phone up and headed back to the cell, where he pulled the third tile out and pressed it into the right indent. The moment he did so, a light suddenly turned on in the room. Yamcha stuck his head out and realized that the TV had suddenly turned on, pale static appearing on the screen.

Yamcha walked towards it, and after a couple of seconds, the screen flickered before turning black. It remained blank for a second, then whitish-blue words appeared on the screen one-by-one.

'The doctor's coming with her needles and gloves,

But the whole town won't be abuzz

Throw a penny down the well,

You'll wish you'd never dwell…

A house of books tells this story,

But the key won't unlock any glory

The path it'll show is red,

A picture I wished I had misread…

The doctor's coming on her train,

And when you see her Wonderland, it's ignorance you'll feign

So hush little ones, and have no fear

The woman in red is the engineer.'

Feelings of déjà vu were growing stronger with each passing word. Whether it was some kind of poem or lyrics to a forgotten song, he wasn't sure. But he knew those words somewhere…

It wasn't until the last line appeared, and suddenly his mind was flooded. Not of ghostly images, but a memory itself playing before his mind's eye.

OoOoOoO

"Uncle Tasseo!" Yamcha exclaimed cheerfully, the ten-year-old removing himself from his father's side to run up to his uncle, who was sitting at a nearby table. The room was full of other people visiting prisoners, as well as a few guards scattered about.

Tasseo looked very similar to Chawan. They both possessed the same tan skin tones, and even though their facial features weren't identical, the resemblance was uncanny. Tasseo had black hair that was just as unruly as his brother and nephew's, and the friendliest pair of hazel eyes that Yamcha had ever seen. His attire was similar to the other prisoners, consisting of a white shirt, tan pants, and sneakers.

Tasseo smiled as little Yamcha climbed onto the seat across from him. "Hey, kiddo," he said, his deep voice warm and welcoming. "How've you been since I last saw you?"

"Doing great!" Yamcha beamed. He might not have been very confident in school or in public in general, but his friends and family were the few people he was loud and cheerful around. "Mrs. Kyoshi said we only have a couple weeks of school left, then we'll have Christmas break!"

"Sounds fun," Tasseo grinned back. Chawan had caught up by this point, and sat down next to his son, giving his brother a small smile.

"I wish you could spend Christmas with us, uncle Tasseo," Yamcha said.

"Me too, kiddo," Tasseo said. "But hey, look on the bright side. My sentence ends next year, and then we can spend as much time together as you want."

Yamcha brightened up again. The three of them remained there for a while. Tasseo constantly switched between hearing Yamcha's stories of his little 'adventures' with Sencha and Tenshi, and talking with Chawan about work and other family matters.

While Chawan and Tasseo were laughing over childhood memories, a nearby voice caught Yamcha's attention. He turned his head in the direction of the voice, finding that it belonged to a young man sitting at a nearby table. He was another prisoner, dressed in the same attire as Tasseo, but he didn't look very healthy. He was thin and pale, with dark bags under his eyes. An older woman was sitting across from him, giving the young man a patient smile as she chatted with him.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Dengon," the woman said. "The doctors said you're making excellent progress so far."

"Y-Yeah…" the man, Dengon, said, though his voice didn't sound very confident. "I hope so."

The woman's smile never faltered. "Before you know it, we'll be back home together," she told him. Then, she stood up from her seat. "I'll be right back."

"W-Where are you going?" Dengon asked, sounding worried.

"To the restroom," the woman replied. "I'll only be a few minutes."

She walked away from the table. Dengon kept his eyes on her until she disappeared into the restroom, then lowered his gaze to the table, shakily grabbing his own arms.

"The doctor's coming with her needles and gloves," Yamcha heard him mutter to himself, though only loud enough for the boy to hear. "But the whole town won't be abuzz. Throw a penny down the well. You'll wish you'd never dwell. A house of books tells this story, but the key won't unlock any glory. The path it'll show is red. A picture I wished I had misread. The doctor's coming on her train. And when you see her Wonderland, it's ignorance you'll feign. So hush little ones, and have no fear. The woman in red is the engineer…"

He kept muttering those words on loop until the woman returned and sat back down. It was only then that Yamcha heard his father say his name. The black-haired boy jumped a bit and turned back to this father who was giving him a rather amused look. "Stuck in your own little world again, buddy?" he chuckled.

Yamcha felt his face heat up a bit, and chuckled nervously in reply. Tasseo laughed a bit as well. Then, out of curiosity, he asked, "Uncle Tasseo, who's that?" He motioned to the young man.

Tasseo turned to look, and a sad smile appeared on his face. "That's Dengon," he answered, leaning in closer to talk quietly. "He's a good kid, but he's got some…issues. I don't know all the details, but the others told me that he had a mental breakdown and ended up assaulting somebody. The doctors figured out he has some kind of mental disorder, and thankfully he's been getting help for the past couple of years."

"Poor guy," Chawan quietly commented.

"Tell me about it," Tasseo sighed. "He occasionally talks to himself and steers clear of everyone. Sometimes he talks about the 'secrets of Kioku Town', but none of it makes sense to me. But I'm glad he's getting help. Kid's got a lot of potential."

Tasseo quickly changed the subject, clearly not wanting to gossip about his fellow prisoner. Though Yamcha's mind was racing. Secrets of Kioku Town?

"You guys havin' a good time?"

The new voice made the three of them turn to see another man, slightly older than Tasseo and Chawan, at the other end of their table, giving them all a polite smile. He had an olive complexion, light turquoise hair, and golden-brown eyes. He was Shoppai, one of the prison guards, and was always friendly with everyone.

"Hey, Shoppai," Tasseo greeted. "Yeah, things are going well, man."

"That's good," Shoppai responded. "Sorry to tell you, but your visitation time's almost up."

"Yeah, yeah," Tasseo sighed, still smiling. "I got it." Shoppai looked amused as he walked away.

Chawan and Tasseo wrapped up their talk, and the former left with his son. As they walked along the bustling streets, filled with people going about their day, Yamcha was still silently thinking about what he had heard.

Dengon's words were definitely odd to him, but Tasseo mentioning 'secrets of Kioku Town' made him wonder. Maybe it was just crazy talk…But weren't the people telling the truth usually labeled as crazy? At least, that's how it was in those stories Sencha liked to read.

Were there really secrets about this town?

Only one way to find out!

OoOoOoO

Yamcha found himself staring at the screen long after the words finished appearing. Now he remembered. He had gone home and told Sencha and Tenshi everything he heard. Sencha, the bright girl she is, deduced that 'house of books' was referring to a library, and that if there was a 'secret', that's where they'd learn about it. And even if it was just a bunch of crazy talk, to them, the adventure to learn the truth would be worth it.

They went there the next day and…and they…

What did they do there?

Yamcha retrieved the map of Kioku Town and searched it, and found Rosewater Public Library. More memories resurfaced as soon as he saw the name. They would often go there for their schoolwork, whether to do research or to read a certain number of books. And…wasn't there a piano there? Yeah…Yeah, there was! Sencha liked playing the piano, and would often perform there whenever they'd take a class trip there.

And then there was Shoppai.

He was one of Kioku Town's original founders.

Kioku Town was a relatively new town, having been founded as a safe haven for refugees fleeing the Red Ribbon Army's tyranny.

Umami, the mayor…Amai, the owner of the local diner…Karai, the librarian…Nigai, the nurse at the health center…Shoppai and his sister Suppai, a police officer…

They had all fled the Army's conflict, and ended up banding together to create Kioku Town. They wanted nothing more than a place where they, and others like them, could live peacefully after losing everything they had to the Army.

If Yamcha had to guess, he'd say that they went to the library and asked Karai if Kioku Town had any secrets. Is that what they did?

Regardless, if there was a 'secret', then maybe it had to do with Sencha and Tenshi's whereabouts. Knowing the two of them, they'd want to meet up in a place that was special to them. And maybe those 'secrets' were the clue to that place.

Yamcha grinned despite himself and folded the map back up, putting it away. He was so close now!

"You shouldn't be here!"

Yamcha jerked in shock at the sudden voice. He turned and looked down, and he could scarcely believe his eyes. Chibi was standing just a few feet away from him. The boy looked furious, dark eyes narrowed into a harsh glare, and his grip on his teddy bear was white-knuckled.

"Chibi?" He breathed out in astonishment.

"I told you not to come here!" Chibi yelled at him. "I told you to leave!"

"H-How are you here?" Yamcha asked, crouching down so he was at eye level with the boy. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Why would I be?" Chibi asked, his tone a mix of confused and annoyed. Then, he shook his head. "You need to leave!"

Yamcha blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"What part of 'leave' don't you understand?!" Chibi snapped. "You can't be in this town!"

That was all the young boy said before the music box suddenly started playing its song. Yamcha inhaled sharply and stood back up. Please don't let that be—

One of the double doors flew open with an echoing bang, and before Yamcha could see what the source was, something came flying through the door and landed on the floor with a wet, meaty thud. It took Yamcha a moment to realize that it was the same grotesque creature from earlier. Or rather, it was the creature's upper half.

More stuff was thrown into the room and landed in various places across the floor, much to Yamcha's horror. The creature's arms, legs, lower half…All of them had been torn off and chunks of flesh were missing, a vivid red coloring mixing in with its brown flesh.

One more thing came through the door. A familiar silhouette slowly walked towards them. The music box grew louder once he was inside. As soon as the light hit him, it was impossible to miss the fresh blood that was practically dripping from his front and from underneath his mask.

Without even thinking, Yamcha scooped Chibi up in his free arm, holding the boy to his chest with an iron grip. "Hey!" The boy yelped in a flabbergasted tone. "What are you doing?!" Yamcha could barely hear his question over his own heartbeat, refusing to tear his eyes away from the Masked Clone.

He momentarily debated running around the Masked Clone and back into the hallway, but then the fear of Chibi falling into the darkness drowned that out, especially with how much the boy was squirming and protesting. He rapidly scanned the room, and his eyes found one of the barred windows. Yamcha didn't hesitate to snap the lighter shut and shove it into the bag as he bolted towards the window in darkness.

Chibi tried to wriggle free, but Yamcha kept a firm grip on him. The moment he reached the opposite wall and found the window with his free hand, Yamcha effortlessly ripped the black bars off and threw it somewhere to the side. The music box's volume was growing slowly but surely. Yamcha slammed his fist into the glass, hearing and feeling it shatter as he quickly turned so that none of it would hit Chibi.

Yamcha bit back a curse as he felt a shard of glass graze his right cheek, but thankfully Chibi was okay, based on how the boy continued to protest instead of cry in pain. Without a moment to lose, Yamcha jumped out of the window, feeling the frigid air hit him the moment he did so, and started descending in empty air. Chibi seemed to noticed that they were falling now, as he starting screaming in fright. Yamcha wrapped his other arm around the boy and braced himself. It only took a few seconds for them to the reach the ground, and when they did, Yamcha landed on both feet with ease. The music box was silent now.

Yamcha barely had a moment to breathe in relief before Chibi started violently squirming again. The ex-bandit quickly moved away from the glass-filled snow, and once he was positive they were back in the street, he gently set the boy down.

Chibi let out an exasperated noise once he was out of the man's arms. "Are you insane?!" he yelled as Yamcha hurriedly took the lighter out again. The two of them were standing in the streets, just outside of Geppei Prison. Chibi had gone back to glaring daggers at Yamcha, but the latter was grateful that he couldn't see any marks on the boy's body. It was then that Yamcha felt a stinging sensation on his right cheek; he raised his free hand and brushed his fingers against it, feeling a little bit of warm blood smear against his skin.

Yamcha lowered his hand and gave Chibi a nervous smile. "Sorry, kiddo," he apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just…wanted to get away from that man, and I couldn't think of—"

"What man?" Chibi asked skeptically, furrowing his brow. "There was no one else in that room! You really are crazy!"

Yamcha was nonplussed for a second. "Wait, you didn't see him?" he asked. "W-What about those…things he threw at us?" For a moment, he silent debated whether or not it was better that Chibi didn't see that. This town was horrifying enough as it is for him, let alone a young child.

"There was nobody there!" Chibi argued, looking more infuriated by the second. "Ugh! Look, I told you to leave! You need to leave!"

"Chibi, that's enough," Yamcha said sternly. "I know this town isn't safe, but I'm here to find my sister and friend. But this place is too dangerous for you." He crouched down again, giving the boy a patient smile and holding out his free hand. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe."

Chibi looked at Yamcha's hand like it was something toxic. "Yeah right!" He snapped. "You're just gonna leave me somewhere and then come right back here!"

Yamcha blinked at the boy, but then narrowed his eyes. "Chibi, this town is full of monsters!" he bluntly reminded him. "I can bring you to a safe place, but my sister and friend are still here, and who knows how many more innocent people! I need to find them, too!"

"What are you talking about? I haven't seen any 'monsters' or anyone else since I got here!" Chibi angrily shook his head, clutching his teddy bear to his chest. "I should've known adults were nothing but crazy liars!"

Before Yamcha could open his mouth to respond again, Chibi turned and bolted down the street.

"Chibi!" Yamcha yelled, quickly standing back up and running after the child. To his astoundment, Yamcha found that Chibi was a lot faster than he predicted, to the point where he was barely in the edge of the flame's light, regardless of how fast the ex-bandit ran. "Chibi, stop!"

Chibi soon escaped the light, but Yamcha was still able to hear his footsteps in the snow ahead of him. The boy led him through long stretches of road and took more than a few turns. Thankfully, the music box remained quiet the whole time. Just as Yamcha was sure he'd catch up with Chibi, the sound of the boy's footsteps abruptly stopped.

At the exact same moment, Yamcha gasped sharply as he was forced to hastily skid to a halt, staring in horror at what was before him.

The road was gone, replaced with a giant chasm, as if the road and everything around it has collapsed in on itself. Yamcha couldn't see how far it stretched or even where the other side was.

"Chibi?!" Yamcha called out frantically. Had the boy fallen into the chasm?! Surely, he would've heard a scream or a thud or…anything! "CHIBI!" he screamed again, but only his own echo answered back as he rushed around the edge of the chasm. "Chibi! Where are you?!"

Yamcha wasn't sure how long he did this, but his search proved to be fruitless and only left his throat feeling raw. It wasn't until he came back that he realized just where he was. There was a sign on one side of the road. It was covered in grime now and looked even more faded than before, but it still displayed the words 'Welcome to Kioku Town'.

He was at the town entrance. Yamcha looked back up at the chasm. He could easily fly over this. He could just abandon this horror show of a town and go home.

But…

Sencha and Tenshi were still here. And so was Evie. And Chibi! Now that he thought about it, it's possible that the boy hadn't fallen into the chasm at all. Yamcha had been right behind him, and definitely would've heard it if Chibi had fallen. Had he just been running in a random direction, or did he purposely lead Yamcha to the town entrance and then run off somewhere else once he did so?

The latter made more sense. Yamcha sighed heavily. He couldn't leave. Not yet. Not while there were still people here.

So, with pretty much no options left, Yamcha double-checked the map for the quickest path to the Rosewater Public Library, turned around, and headed back into the darkness of Kioku Town.

I can't breathe at the thought of you

It's a telekinetic issue

Set me free, I've been caught in you

Overcome with a heartsick voodoo