Uranometria Volume 2--Chapter 6

This is the sixth chapter of the second volume, isn't it beautiful? So many ideas swirling in my brain, THANK YOU LORD!!! Sorry about that. But don't think this chapter is going to be something sweet, some ideas were inspired from CreepyPasta. Oh good Lord, what have I done? But I made something up in order to create something about how Melisande meets three strangers and she does meet them in their darkest memories and the saccharine life that was really crap and torment that turned them into monsters--Wendigos. And also, Charon Surtur makes his appearance in this chapter so you guys get to know more about him. Anyways, I wrote this amazing novel as a way to tell that everybody needs help breaking free at some point in there lives, right? Enjoy this masterpiece for I have written this as some wonderful thing called hope and liberation. --KatDon

Chapter 6: The Three Faces of Wendigo

One day subsequently....

There was a voice on the opposite side of the door. It was just a quiet, whisper voice. And then she could other two more of them. There was three? "Why don't you open the door?" said the first. "We've come for you." said the second. And then the third, a woman's voice said, "You'll be happier if you open the door. It's not so bad..." Melisande trembled, however she didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe it won't be so bad. However, she won't fall for it but she musters the courage. Panting with fear; Melisande had her pen knife in her hand as she mumbling to herself in a mantra: "I'm OK. I'm not scared, I'm not scared. I can do this. I'm not afraid....." She went out there, looking around as she stepped out of her hiding spot. She looked left, then right. Breathing a sigh of relief, Melisande walked as she said to herself over and over again, "I am not scared, you hear that? Not scared at all." Then she shouted out, "I AM NOT SCARED!!!!!" Just then, a crash of thunder was so loud that made Melisande screamed and jumped. "Oh crap." She muttered. Then laughed to herself. However she finds something fell and she jumps. Little did she know, she would be faced with fears and horror, and other great things that will make her sick. Surviving is the fittest and she was sure she would get out alive but someone or more than one is out to persuade her. 

One day earlier...

Melisande was standing around, waiting. She waited. And waited. And waited....Until he came, when she deflects the attack as Tristan tried to surprise her by ambush. They back away from one another as part of their training. "Not bad, Mel." Tristan called out. "Heh, I knew you were coming for me." replied Melisande smugly. "Don't be too haughty, my friend." Tristan said. They both spare on another as Melisande seemed good and she wasn't using her abilities. Melisande fought with each movement of kick or punch--Everything that Tristan taught her, it was amazing on how well she was fighting. Once that was over, Tristan had to laugh: "You did good." He praised. Melisande giggled in agreement, "Yeah, I can't lie--I'm pretty good at this myself." She admitted. And then looked away shyly, "I guess I got myself a great teacher." Tristan grinned, "Me? Aww, you're just being modest." He said lightheartedly. "No, I'm serious. You really helped me through, I can't thank you enough." said Melisande. It's true, if it wasn't for him; Melisande would have taken her own life by now. Poor thing, she was a nervous wreck but now she was calm, collected, strong, and more confident. Melisande had to give gratitude to the person that helped her. "Thanks." said Tristan. Then, the subject was changed when Melisande asked him, "Oh, that reminds me. You said you had something for me to do, right? What is it?" 

"That's right." remembered Tristan, thoughtfully. "Mimir Sofus had something for you that he had given me, it's a mission involving some scarface, tough guy and a three siblings allied force. He wanted you and me to check it out here in the city." "What?" Melisande asked, disappointed. "I don't suppose he can get someone else to do it, right?" "He says that you are one of the best he's got." reminded Tristan. Melisande sighed deeply, she can't let this one fly--She had to repay him the favor and also who knows what this guy was.  During this time, Melisande and Tristan couldn't believe who they were seeing: It was the Lotus Eater Symphony. The siblings were Verdandi, Urdar, and Skuld. Verdandi was a beautiful, buxom and sweet young lady. Skuld was also a busty girl too but not as much as her sister. Skuld was more of the modesty type while her sister showed off her nice, long, and slender legs. And Urdar was a brute but with a big heart for children and animals. But among the siblings was some sort of young man with a look of a thug. The guy with the lean muscular figure is shown to have a very fearsome, thuggish face. The expression of the face angles down but the eyes look up. However he was kind, calm so somehow this guy was not too bad. Verdandi would glance over at the guy and wink at him, she wasn't the least bit scared of him at all. The guy looked at her with his seemingly glare before he smile back faintly. Verdandi beamed while she continued with the performance. The thuggish man was Urry Telephus, he was an ally of Samson. Verdandi, her brother and sister were good friends with Proteus and his boys. Melisande wondered how Urry, Verdandi and her siblings met anyway. 

All of sudden, someone was watching them and clapping when they finished. It was a young girl with long, curly black hair. She wore a maroon top as well as black leggings. She wore a cross section of maroon and black slip-on flats. Verdandi smiled at her, she then spoke to the crowd: "OK, I'm going to need a volunteer to come up here, anyone interested?" Everyone screamed, waving their hands wildly. Verdandi looked around and could see that curly black haired girl, she bent over at the girl, "Wanna come up?" She asked. The girl was surprised, she nodded and went up as everyone cheered. Melisande is impressed by how kind Verdandi was by having sympathy for the girl. The girl was happy to be up there as Verdandi let her join in the fun of being onstage. But Tristan noticed that not everybody was happy, a man in black watched. He looked like a preacher, but his face didn't seem godly or merry. It looked anger and then he throws a pebble hard at her. The girl reacted, the crowd gasps. The evil preacher calls out, "This woman is a deceit, she has bewitch you all!" Melisande is confused as she and Tristan watch in fear when the  crowd turned on the girl as they pelted her with many things while chanting things such as: "Vixen!", "Witch!" and "Demoness!" The girl begs them all to stop but they jeered and laugh at her. But Verdandi stops the crowd and comes over at the girl, who is in tears. Melisande is surprised by all this, she didn't know people like her care. "Hey, are you OK?" asked Verdandi. The girl shook her head, still crying. "It's OK, it's OK. I'm sorry." soothed Verdandi. Melisande and Tristan are touched by her acts of sympathy. The girl hugged Verdandi, who patted her back and continued to comfort her. 

"You, young lady! Come down from there this instant!" commanded the evil preacher. "Yes sir, just as soon as I free this young lady." said Verdandi. "I forbid you." replied the evil preacher. Verdandi glared at him as she used a knife to cut the ropes loose, the crowd gasps. The evil preacher was furious, "How dare you...." He said. Verdandi point a finger at him, scolding at him: "You mistreat this girl and the other outcasts like you mistreat my friends and allies. You speak of rightgeousness, yet you are nothing but a sadist." "Silence!" The evil preacher cried. "Righteousness!"  cried Urdar. He chanted until the crowd was chanting it. The evil preacher could not believe this was happening, Melisande and Tristan were amazed by how much this people were. "Mark my words, you bastards. You will pay for your sins! I pray that the heavens will have mercy." The evil preacher called out. Skuld came over to see him and said, "You should say this to yourself, the only sin I see is your cruelty." The crowd applauded. Melisande grinned, but the evil preacher was angry and cried out to his guards, "Arrest her! Arrest them all!" Urry used his attacks as Verdandi, Urdar, and Skuld did too. The girl was in shock that these people can fight too. This was Melisande's chance, she managed to get over to the girl and said, "Come on, let's get you someplace safe." The girl was confused, "Who are you?" She asked timidly. Melisande looked at Tristan, who says to the girl, "People just like you." With that, The girl went with Melisande and Tristan. She had learn something from her parents: "When a person comes into this world, they are alone but there are people like everyone else and no one is not alone. People will try to knock a victim down but a time is coming and everything will change. Everybody wants to give up sometimes, however don’t let anyone get another down." 

At Silver Branch; Melisande and Tristan talk to the girl. The girl is Danae and that preacher man was her father, Acrisus. This shocks Mel and Tristan. Something happened to Danae and they were right. Danae had witnessed her mother in an abusive relationship with her radical religious father. Her mother, Savitri, remarried a man after divorcing from Acrisus. The distress that was put on her life when she was going through the abuse made her come to the conclusion that when she’s in the situation her parents were in she will never let the abusive relationship become like her mother was in. Danae has seen her mother fall apart in the abuse and fears it from happening to her so she tries to be as simple as possible to refrain from her future marriage from being abusive. She, herself, already experienced being hurt in the abuse just like her mother and is more reserved because if she doesn’t, she’ll end up getting hurt by an abusive man. Although her heart is healing, Danae still feels very broken from all the damage that was caused from the abuse her father had and still has to fake looking happy. At night she heard the weeping of her mother who was in pain and would cry to Danae instead of finding real help. Divorce will really mess with her way of thinking; The fear of seeing her relationship turn out like her parents has made her become afraid of being committed with a man as she is afraid of getting hurt. Something people make it as something dangerous, like Danae's father. Right away it’s established her father had something to do with what happened. Danae claims that she will give her father an 'I owe you'. And now it’s time to make sure her dad gets it. Danae asked for a cup of water and Melisande leaves with Tristan following. The two of them talk as they wonder if Danae would be able to join Silver Branch however Tristan looked at Danae as she looks calm but something inside her is going to break, just for a moment, it might. Just then, Danae was kidnapped by her father as she screams for help. Melisande and Tristan tried to save her but Acrisus was quicker as he drove off. 

Melisande and Tristan searched for her, they looked for her everywhere in the city. And just when they were about to give up, they found her. Underneath train tracks! In a bit of bait-and-switch, it’s not Danae who was under a train, but her father, who she killed and ditched the body on the tracks. Danae is found by the lake, where the train tracks were and Melisande confronts her. But she realized Danae has become crazy, and now she won’t be the way she was before she got a gun. Melisande was horrified when she remembered what Danae said earlier: "I will give him an 'I owe you'. And now it’s time to make sure he gets it." Melisande realized that Danae was going to give him a painful death, that's what the 'I owe you' meant. "Where's the gun now, Danae?" asked Melisande. "I threw it in the river, but I crushed it into pieces." replied Danae. She begins to cry and through her tears, she said: "I try to drown out the abuse that my dad was giving me. I didn't want to deal with his anger. I wanted to leave or have someone help me or my mom. I didn't want anything to do with him anyway. He make me sick. I don’t understand how he could hate me so much. I even though admired him when I was a kid and try not to think about the times he did to me and mom." Melisande felt like crying, she put her arms around Danae, "He didn’t really love you if he constantly hurt you. People who love you will only harm you in any way if it’s necessary to get you to stop doing something. Furthermore, people who love you will look out for you, instead of treating you like an arch nemesis--The way your father did."

She sighed and continued, "Typically in a abusive relationship, the person being abused will do all they can to make everything good, showering the abuser with love and affection. However, the abuser will treat these gifts as if they’re entitled to them. So, nothing the abused person does is ever good enough in the eyes of the abuser. An abuser is not someone who will change for the better. They’re not the kind of people who wake up one day and see the error of their ways. They never show any real love, and constantly try to break them down." She explained. Danae embraced her new friend, "Thanks. For everything." She said. Danae pulled away as she wiped her face and said, "I'd paid my dues and now I'm ready for my reward. As they say, 'Only the strong survive'. I will survive." But some sort of prophecy was about to happen to Melisande, she was having Chinese for lunch and found a fortune cookie. Inside the fortune, there was a line that was referenced from a book called The Hunting of the Snark: 'Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: That alone should encourage the crew. Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.' This was strange, very strange fortune that she had ever received in her whole life. She had never seen things like that. That night, she had a dream where she entered a mansion as she looked around to see a soup bowl and eats out of it. She sat in a chair however she found it was dented a little. She gets up after finishing it and looks at the chair as she tried to break it but it breaks. She sweep it up as she puts in the disposable tin however she saw dust coming at her. Suddenly, Melisande was so dizzy that she fell asleep and when she woke up to feel shadows upon her. When Melisande felt them, she turned and saw three sets of eyes staring down at her. 

Melisande screamed with terror as she flared her arms away and tried to get out but there was no escape. She felt the pair of three eyes staring down at her, they were about to get closer and closer until Melisande awoke with a shriek and sat up the night, trembling with fear. One day; Mimir has given an assignment for Melisande where she was to investigate a strange building of a sadist man and his experiments. The man was named Charon Surtur. But while doing this mission, Melisande was standing in the rain, at a building to get to the bus stop. She was dropped off by an agent however she was soaking wet. Just then, she thought someone called out to her: "Are you going to a bus stop?" It was a young man, he was stoic looking. He wore an attire of grey jeans and blue plaid blazer. "Um, yes. I am!" Melisande called out shyly. "Would you like a ride?" asked the young man. "I would, thanks." said Melisande, and she entered the passenger seat. "Thank you for rescuing me from that awful rain." She replied. "You're welcome." answered the stoic man. While driving, Melisande was so grateful by this young man's kindness; she couldn't help it: "Uh...My name is Melisande Zebedee." "I'm Demetri Stein." said the stoic man. Melisande talked, the man was not the chatty type but he listened and kept his answers simple. The rain had stopped, Melisande and Demetri noticed. "I'm quite glad it rained." said Melisande, smiling. Demetri looked at her and he smiled faintly at her. The two of them arrived at the bus stop, Melisande could see the blue sky and clouds that were white. Demetri stopped his car, Melisande left but not before saying goodbye and thanking him once again. Demetri nodded and Melisande went to the bus stop, just in time to see the bus approaching. She looked back but found the car was driving away. "Maybe he's in a hurry." thought Melisande. She turned and climbed up onto the bus. 

Melisande was sitting next to a weird looking guy on the bus. He had a stylized contact lens in one eye, heavy make-up, black eyeliner, jet black hair, and heavily tattooed arms. But he didn't look too bad. The guy took out a book and begin to read it. The bus stopped twice at different locations however the guy never looked up not once no matter how many times the bus stopped. Curious, Melisande glanced over; watching him for a while and then she asked, "What'cha reading in there?" "It's a horror book. It's good, very eerie indeed." said the man. Melisande looked over at him, the man looked over and asked: "Have you seen anything horrible in your life?" "I believe, I mean I don't want to talk about it but yes, I have." admitted Melisande. The man nodded, "I see." He said. Then, he got off and said, "See you around--By the way, my name is Kephas. Remember that." Melisande seemed troubled for awhile by this. One night while having water at a bar, Melisande had met some strange young woman name Alexia. She had bright reddish pink hair and there was a heart drawn on her cheek, "Nice heart. It looks good." said Melisande. "Thank you." said Alexia, "It's supposed to represent for protection." While the two girls strike a conversation; Melisande decided that Alexia was one of the nicest people she had ever met. They talked together most of the evening. At eleven o’clock Alexia said, “I hate to end this, but I have to leave now. Can you give me a ride?” "Sure," said Melisande. "I’ve got to go home, too." Alexia laughed as she said, "I accidentally drove my car into a tree on my way over here. I guess I wasn’t paying attention." Melisande drove her to the head of a road she didn’t know very well. "Why don’t you drop me off here?" Alexia said. "Here? Alone?" asked Melisande. 

"The road up ahead is in really bad condition. I can walk from here." explained Alexia. Knowing that was best, Melisande nodded as she stopped the car and held out a flower. “Take this,” she said. “I got it from the bar. and I hope you remember me by this.” "Thank you," Alexia said. "I’ll put it in my hair," She placed in her hair as it looked radiant in there. "Would you like to go out on a girl's night out?" Melisande asked. "That would be fun," Alexia said. After Alexia left; Melisande went to the forgotten mansion and tried to go in when two boys, Momus and Gelos, wave their hands in such a panic. "What's the matter?" She asked. "Whatever you do, do not go in there!" Gelos warned. "Why not? I was sent here to investigate this place." explained Melisande. "Trust us, there are three monsters in there who will eat you." Momus cried. Melisande looked at them as she begins to look at them. "Something tells me that there is a lurk of horror and I need to clear this away. I don't want to be troubled by nightmares, I just want to get out alive once this is all over." She explained. "Don't go in there!" The boys cried however Melisande disobeyed and the two boys freaked out, "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" and they ran away. Melisande watched them go, then she shake her head and laugh but as she opened the door, there was no turning back now. While looking around, she saw that it was empty for years. "Now, let's see....Which way do I go to?" muttered Melisande, looking around. Just then she heard a tweaked sound of a clock turning. There was a pause and then there was a glimmer sound to a music box. Melisande wandered around until she found the music box, a crystal ball like one with a figure of a ballerina pirouetting. She was so delighted to see this beautiful thing as she beckons it over to her telekinetically and held it in her hands. 

She looked at it as she watched the ballerina twirl, however in the reflection; she thought she saw someone there and turned but found no one was there. Melisande shake her head and rubbed her eyes, "I must be seeing things." She muttered. Melisande watched the mechanic ballerina dance until its tired, machine heart beats slowly until the song disappears. Then it stops. There was an eerie silence until Melisande heard singing, sad but soft crooning: "There was an old woman all skin and bone Who lived near the graveyard all alone. She thought she'd go to church one day To hear the parson preach and pray." And another voice went, "O-o-o-o-o-o! O-o-o-o-o-o!" The singing went again, but the words were different than the first: "And when she came to the church-house stile She thought she stop and rest awhile. She came up to the door, She thought she'd stop and rest some more." Then, the same voice after went, "O-o-o-o-o-o!  O-o-o-o-o-o!" Melisande was a little freaked out when she heard the singing again with different words, somehow this song sounded familiar, "But when she turned and looked around She saw a corpse upon the ground. From its nose down to its chin The worms crawled out, and the worms crawled in." There it was again! "O-o-o-o-o-o!  O-o-o-o-o-o!" The singing came there again, "The woman to the preacher said, 'Shall I look like that when I am dead?'" Then, it was there the last time: "O-o-o-o-o-o!" and the singing said in a creepy, low tone, "The preacher to the woman said, 'You shall look like that when you are dead!" 

There was something that made Melisande shrieked when she heard a shock, panicky scream, "AAAAAAAAAAA!" Melisande ran as she went to the bathroom, which was the safest place she could think of. There was a voice on the opposite side of the door. It was just a quiet, whisper voice. And then she could other two more of them. There was three? "Why don't you open the door?" said the first. "We've come for you." said the second. And then the third, a woman's voice said, "You'll be happier if you open the door. It's not so bad..." Melisande trembled, however she didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe it won't be so bad. However, she won't fall for it but she musters the courage. Panting with fear; Melisande had her pen knife in her hand as she mumbling to herself in a mantra: "I'm OK. I'm not scared, I'm not scared. I can do this. I'm not afraid....." She went out there, looking around as she stepped out of her hiding spot. She looked left, then right. Breathing a sigh of relief, Melisande walked as she said to herself over and over again, "I am not scared, you hear that? Not scared at all." Then she shouted out, "I AM NOT SCARED!!!!!" Just then, a crash of thunder was so loud that made Melisande screamed and jumped. "Oh crap." She muttered. Then laughed to herself. However she finds something fell and she jumps. There laying on the floor was a mascot on the floor. It looked like some sort of disturbing looking one that remained unfinished, Melisande looked at it and then to her horror; the mascot started to get up. First sitting up, then climbing to its feet, the mascot stood there at the center of the room, its fake face just starting at Melisande directly as she mumbled "No...This can't be happening..." over and over and over. She wanted to run however her legs refuse to work. She wanted to scream however she was so terrified that she could not make a sound! 

The mascot now quietly sizing her up. Melisande raised her eyes once again to the costumed figure."Hey," it said in a hushed, perverted voice, "Wanna see my head come off?" It started to pull at its own head, working its clumsy, glove-clad fingers around its neck with clawing, impatient movements similar to a wounded man trying to pull himself free of a predator's jaws. As it worked its digits into its neck. So much blood...thick, chunky, yellow blood. Melisande turned away, sickened by the sight, she only cared about getting away. Above the doorway out of this room, she saw a message clawed into the metal with fingernails it said, "ABANDONED BY FATHER". Melisande ran away in fear and she tried her best to not look back. "Abandoned by Father? Who is this Father? What father? And what was that thing?" thought Melisande with fear in her mind. Finally, as she calmed down; Melisande walked down the hall to the door and tried the handle. Sure enough it was locked. She bent down and looked through the wide keyhole. Cold air passed through it, chilling her eye. What she saw was a bedroom and in the corner was a woman whose skin was incredibly pale. She was leaning her head against the wall, facing away from the door. She stared in confusion for a while. Melisande almost knocked on the door, out of curiosity but decided not to. As Melisande was still looking, the woman turned sharply and she jumped back from the door, hoping she would not suspect he had been spying on her. The scenery changed before her eyes, all she saw was redness. She couldn't make anything out besides a distinct red color, un-moving. Perhaps these inhabitants of the room knew she was spying the night before, and had blocked the keyhole with something red. 

Melisande backs away but then she found a record about that room: A long time ago, a man was killed after he murdered his wife in there, and what people find that even now, whoever stays there gets very uncomfortable. But these people were not ordinary. They were white all over, except for their eyes, which were red. Melisande was scared, however she found something that frightened her. There were four test subjects also had large portions of muscle and skin torn away from their bodies. While the heart, lungs and diaphragm remained in place, the skin and most of the muscles attached to the ribs had been ripped off, exposing the lungs through the ribcage. All the blood vessels and organs remained intact, they had just been taken out and laid on the floor, fanning out around the eviscerated but still living bodies of the subjects. They continued to scream to be left in the chamber and alternately begged and demanded that the gas be turned back on, lest they fall asleep. One of the subjects died from having his throat ripped out, another was gravely injured by an artery in his leg severed by one of the subject's teeth. When heart was seen to beat for a full two minutes after he had bled out to the point there was more air in his vascular system than blood. Melisande was scared, she thought she heard someone's footsteps as she pulled out her pen knife and prepared for anyone who might be coming would attack her. There was a figure standing there, she didn't know who it was. It looked like a silhouette of a man and then a creature. Melisande pointed her pen knife at the remaining figure, "I won't be locked in here with you! Not with you!" She screamed at the figure. "WHAT ARE YOU? I want to know!" 

The figure replied, "Have you forgotten so easily? I am the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind. I am what you hide from in your beds every night. I am what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go to the nocturnal haven where we cannot tread." Melisande got away as she didn't look back. Meanwhile, Momus and Gelos told Tristan about Melisande is in a 'creepy place' and begs him to come. Tristan, who had been worried sick about her of where she had gone. Tristan, Momus, and Gelos--even Danae--hurried away but not before being confronted by Urry, Verdandi, Skuld, and Urdar. "It's you!" Danae gasped. "What are you guys doing?" asked Urry. Tristan explains what's happening, and when he's done, he waited for a response. Urry looked at him and said, "Want us to come?" Tristan smirked, "Yeah." He said with triumph. In the meantime, Melisande got away as she found a movie player which she saw a girl starting to run. Then, Melisande saw the girl as she was scared to see small animals lying dead on the ground bleeding. The girl had a shocked and saddened look on her face however she kept moving as she begins to walk a little more with that worried look. As she kept moving, there were more dead animals as the girl moved past them looking more and more worried She was shocked to see how they all died in rather gruesome ways; a puppy was hanged on a tree with what appeared to be his viscera hanging out, a kitten had all four of his limbs torn off and a bunny had his eyes gouged out and his throat slit. The girl was running up a hill and then she stopped, there was a man in black with his back against the girl with his eyes closed. The girl looked happy to see the man in black but then her smile faltered, obviously noticing that the wasn't responding to him, if not acting as if he was totally oblivious of the girl's presence. 

The girl walked closely toward the man. In a split second, the girl saw the man facing towards her with his eyes open and they were black with those red glowing dots. He laughed as he said, "Hello. Do you want to play with me?" The girl ran, looking scared out of her wits. Suddenly there was a creepy laugh, the girl was  seeing flashes of the man popping everywhere, again with those black and red eyes. The man behind the girl slowly gaining up on her running! This time he had the most deranged looking grin on his face, he looked as though he was enjoying the torment he was giving the poor girl as he gained up on her.The girl tripped and laid there and started crying. But then the man appeared right in front of her and the girl looked up in horror. Blood started to come down those blackened eyes of the man's as a grin slowly grew from his face as he looked down at the horrified girl. Just in a split second the man lunged at the girl who let out a loud screeching. "You're too slow, want to try again?" said the man. Melisande was scared but didn't stop to watch these memories: She saw a dark reddish cloudy sky. There was a young boy who looked afraid just like the girl did, though not as much, more rather he looked a little unnerved. Then there was that maddening laugh came again. The boy saw several bloodstains on the ground as he looked nauseated walking down this blood-stained road, still he kept going. As the boy ran, the man appeared right in front of him with those black and red eyes, "Found you!" He said. The boy tried to punch the man, but the man vanished in black smoke. Then the man appeared behind the boy again and then the boy punch again, and the man vanished again laughing. 

The boy was panicking even more, he then fell to his knees and clutched his head sobbing. The man lunged at the boy who let out a distorted screeching and a terrified Melisande was scared that she begins to hallucinate and saw the boy and girl pleading: "Help us...Why did you give us to him? Run away, before he gets you too..." Their cries died out as she heard the man's laugh, "You're a lot fun to play with sweetheart, just like they did, though they didn't last long. It won't be long now until you join him and all my other friends. You can't run, girl. You're in my world now. Just like the others." When the man grabbed her, Melisande saw his bleeding black and red-eyed, grinning face. Then, Melisande saw a memory of another boy but he looked eccentric as it seem however he was walking in a hallway. The floor was shiny and checkered, the walls were a dark greyish purple with animated candlelight’s and a few dark bloodstains here and there, and there was a dark red curtain hanging above on the top part of the screen. Then, the red curtain sways very slowly. The boy didn't look entirely nervous like the other two did, but he did have a suspicious look on his face as if he was just a bit paranoid. He went down a long flight of stairs leading downward, the boy seemed unsure of himself, though he pressed onward. Down the steps, the boy noticed that the walls have gotten darker and more reddish; the red torches are now an eerie blue. The walls turned more dark red and the torches were a black flame now. Suddenly, the man in black popped right in front of the boy. Melisande was scared as she looked away as she could hear someone whisper, "Try to keep this interesting for me, Melisande Zebedee." Melisande turned around to see where the voice came from, and what she saw made her scream. 

Sitting in a chair, staring right at her was the man in black smiling with bloodstains under his eyes. Melisande ran, clutching the music box. She found herself in a basement and found a diary in the middle of the room, it was a black one with metal like decorations and a skull. When she opened it, she read the entries which said: "The world is a scary, crazy place and you have to be kind of insane to play the game properly. In other words, you will lose sleep because you have to spend so much time working. You have to stalk things if you want them, in the sense that you have to be manipulative and cunning. You can’t think about morals when you’re going after something. You have to strike violently and swiftly or else you’ll miss it. Soon you can start to be a little more slick about it, or more groomed, as it were; you get a handle on playing the game. You start to get the look of the people you run with and the mannerisms." Melisande turned the page and read the next entry, "You have to jump at the chance to step on somebody for your own gain. You've got to watch to make sure nobody stabs you in the back. The older you get, the harder it’s going to be to keep up the game of using and being used, and you'll eventually retire and move somewhere. Everybody that lives this way dies the same, sad and alone." In the next page of the entry, it said: "When you get to the end of your life, you will look back and look back on all of the actions you took in your life. The closer you come to death, the more you stop caring about your enemies and the people that you have hurt or have injured you. feeling more helpless and useless. Being a corner of your bed, trying to psyche yourself up to rid himself of  sad thoughts. If you were running in a pack, but you realize you feel that you are unique. You need to break out of that world." 

Melisande was perplexed after she stopped reading the journal, she turned around but she saw a door and she went over to open it. Inside it was a small room, and an extremely morbid scene. There were traces of blood and tiny bone fragments lay scattered across the floor.What truly frightened her to hear strange, agonizing screams that were extremely frightening and on the walls, she found letters that said: “That's where three kids went.” and she looked over to found dead people slumped in pools of their own blood. Melisande looked over at them, she kicks one over gently and saw their eyes gouged out. Melisande was shocked by this as she backs away in fear. But she thought she saw someone there, when she glanced over; no one was there. Melisande did find something on the floor, it was a ripped out entry from the journal she read. It sounded like a rhyme, "It was four o'clock, there were slimy badgers. Going around and making holes in it of the grassy plot at the sundial. All it was misery, with wings less parrots and a green hog from home whistles. Beware the Jezinkas, beware their beady eyes squinting at you. Beware their orangutan jaws and their slit like mouths with vague expressions." Melisande read this again, "Who is the world are Jezinkas?" She thought. She had never heard such terror of things however she used the Moneta and Melisande read the information about the Jezinkas: It appeared that Jezinkas had beady eyes, a jaw like an orangutan, and an alien-esque slit-like mouth. The expression they wear on their face is vague, nobody can tell if it is happy or sinister. They would be 'smiling' at their victims for a moment before would gouge the eyes out of their victims. Melisande was horrified about this, wondering what was going on around here. 

Then, Melisande found 'treasures' and there was another entry that looked as if it was written by a girl. It sounded intense, not sad, but really intense. The entry went like this, "A music box ballerina spins around, so my gray mindset stems from within. Day after day I've become monotonous, creating a stable but spiritually draining life. I yearn to escape from the container. I'm sick of rotating around day after day and want my soul to fly free—even if that involves becoming broken. I'm afraid of changing my ways, so I'm frozen, unable to do anything. Please let me go free; I don't this to be shattered, but erased, so I can forget about it as I reconnect with the world. On one hand, I desire freedom. On the other, I want to stay safe. I might be unhappy inside the glass, but at least I know I’ll be okay. If I escapes, I might die outside. Birds are free, but open to the sky’s dangers." Melisande wiped her tears away, it was a heartrending entry. It sounded so beautiful. Whoever wrote this, must be talented. She had to dig deeper about this place, whoever it belong to; they sure had a lot of gimmicks of fear, horror, and a lot of mind screwing. Just then, she could hear a familiar voice: "Mel, Mel! Are you down here?" Melisande turned around and saw Tristan, Danae, Momus, Gelos, Urry, Verdandi, Urdar, and Skuld were standing there. Melisande was thrilled to see them and told them everything that happened. The others looked at her, then Tristan remarked: "So, that's what happen. I'm surprise you're still kicking." Melisande nodded and so the others managed to explore more of this place, then Verdandi found something really interesting. 

As if three is a common number in ensembles. This is the dynamic that makes the ensemble powerful. These true companions also actually have liked each other at first, but they know they can depend upon each other in a crisis. Their relationship considered to be deeper than mere friendship but more innocent than romance. Melisande is curious to know the names of these people, she found them: Demetri Stein, Kephas Jesper, and Alexia Paley. Melisande stared at those names, they sounded very familiar to her. But then she saw their pictures of their younger selves and she remembered! "Oh. Crap." was all Melisande could say and she threw up on the dirty floor.  She stumbles away and faints but not before Tristan caught her. "Was it all a lie?" thought Melisande.