Decembersville Ch. 54

Chapter 54 – Villainy in the Theater District
    "My child, welcome to the Theater District."
     Sophia could only stare with wide, dazzling eyes at the beauty that stood before her, shimmering in snow and clean blue lights. With the carriage ceiling down and mechanical umbrellas high above their heads to shield them from the rain, the girl and the Meowsician looked from their self-driven vehicle at the magnificence that was called the Theater District, miles away from Kallavient Carnival and even farther from the Emptylands, now settling back in another part of Downtown Decembersville. As the carriage rolled forward, meeting itself with the icy tiled floors of the outside lanes, Sophia gazed at the differences in architectural design from the Neighborhood and other parts of the freakish city. All around her were tall and eccentrically-shaped buildings, yes, but even taller staircases and balloon lanterns as well. The residents chatted and laughed merrily up and down the snowy lanes in their fanciful attire and silver jewelry; some wore their protective shades to save their straining eyesight due to the blue candle-lighting. Everything reminded Sophia of what would have happened if Kallavient calmed itself down yet still smiled its wide encouraging smile.
     And then she could see the Decembersville Clocktower, standing high above its heaven from a few districts away; Sophia had never seen such a huge building before in her entire life or one so beautiful and magical. It was tall and almost invisible, its black outer camouflaging into the dark night besides the many tiny white lights decorating its thick body. But when I say it was tall then I mean it. The main clock, brimming in dull yellow, was hidden high above the foggy rain clouds, showing itself off ever so tenderly like a gold angel watching over deformed children. Sophia loved it all.  
     The carriage was making its way down the icy road of other vehicles, slowly sliding through a jungle of lamp posts and over the bridge that stood high above icy black waters filled with candle-lit gondolas.  
     "How beautiful…" she gasped, finding herself open-mouthed in awe. "This is so, so, so beautiful."
     "Yes, Sophia," Meowsician giggled. His tone fell to a whisper, "Beautiful… and mysterious, too."
     "It is like living in a magical storybook, almost. If I lived here forever then I would live in this place with my family and friends and would build a house like a castle or something. That would be a lot of fun." Her head lowered. "But I would give anything if Zero could see this." She winced a little. "I really hope he's okay."
     "There, there, my dear. I am quite sure that Zero is alright, as are your companions Melloni and Pendulum Tin." Sophia never mentioned Tin and Mellon were her friends. "Uh-oh, trouble ahoy."
     The stranger's finger pointed ahead at a group of Doll soldiers stalking down the roads, past the residents and in their direction. Meowsician clapped his hands rasping "Make haste, girl! Make haste! Abandon ship!"
     "How come?" Sophia looked behind her and saw what he meant, instantly standing up to join him. She took hold of his hand as he hopped off the open carriage, him helping her down as well. "But where are we going? What if they—" she stuttered, hoping not to get attention from nearby freaks.
     "No problem at all, love, but just hurry up before they catch us; on the double, sweetie, on the double!"
     Hand in hand, Sophia and the Meowsician scurried away from their empty vehicle and gently shoved past costume-wearing citizens in hopes of not raising suspicions; the odd villain himself tried to cover up the little girl with faith that she would be unrecognizable to them. He did not want people pointing and asking "Are you the trouble-maker from this morning?" When he had the chance, he yanked her along with him into a lit passageway, decorated with shops and other party-goers and even bothering to wave a good night to a few. "Good lord, this is a tinge frightening; with all these people around, those Dolls could be anywhere."
     "Be careful!" Sophia warned, tugging her savior-of-the-hour with her behind the outer wall of a costume department shoppe. Two or three officers hauntingly strutted down the path, not noticing them at all. "What will we do now?"
     "I will tell you what we shall do now, my dear," Meowsician whimpered, taking her wrist softly and tip-toeing hurriedly to the other side of the busy lane, making his way over to a bunch of rime-stoned side staircases. "We, meaning I, am taking you to Wonka, or any rebel related to Wonka, while I have the chance. He told me to meet him at Klanivi's Kavern with you alive and well." He looked down at her and his silver eyebrows lurched with worry. "You are well, are you not? Did the drink serve your fever in… erasable ways?"
     Sophia giggled and nodded "Oh yes, very well. I feel a trillion times better, thank you."
     "Jolly good, then!"

     It took a very long time to get to the entrance of Kallavient, but it took less than standard time to get there thanks to light-winged guidance (and yes, that was in fact a pun). It also did not take as long to get to the Theater District for the carnival was originally placed on the other side of the chasm before the district itself, not Chiaroscuro Bayou where one of the side entrances were visible. About forty-five long minutes it took to make the trip and if it were not for the fireflies then the freaky trio would have been wandering for hours, never mind Mellon lived in the Emptylands and should have known his own darn way around.
     The alleys were chock full of people going up and down the cobblestone lanes in fancy attire, totally ignoring the metal-enclosed boxes of cargo settled safely on the sidelines and behind others. The stores were rather small in Decembersville and there were at times no room for space, so the owners placed metal boxes of items outside and behind their stores for further use. Sure, due to the heavy weight they were unable to be stolen, but they made perfect hiding spots.
     "This is bad. This is so very bad," Tin whimpered, crouching with his knees high behind and box while yanking his ears down. He chattered "H-h-how are we going to find that sweetie in a place like this?"
     Zero was sitting down behind a box as well, knees high and hands settled in the snow near his sides. He whispered to his friend with a disgusted mother's tone "Mellon, out of all the things you have ever done—"
     "Cut me some slack, kid, I'm brainstorming here," Mellon snapped lowly, peaking out from behind the boxes with his heart pounding immensely. "Yeah, that cat has got her somewhere around here. It ain't difficult sniffing cats out and I gotta say he's close."
     "I can't believe you gave Sophia over to a loon like that! She'll get hurt, don't you get it? How could you?"
     "Of all the ungrateful— be happy that I spilled my guts about the psycho 'cause once he finds out then I'm next on his list, d'you hear? I'm doing ya a favor."
     "But this man is insane! He's got everyone around his finger and you just kept quiet about it? And you just handed Sophia over to him?"
     "Hey, bucko, I didn't do it physically."
     "Still!"
     Tin moaned and squeezed his bat ears in hopes of drowning out the two, but something else swam into his thoughts like a stringy red fish. It was questioned before of what has been making him feel more uptight than usual but he did not have the multiple hearts to actually respond for his allies already knew what he was thinking about. The thoughts became a maze, a labyrinth of musical smoke the spelled out the codename "Meowsician". That word finally reached a new level of skepticism in the three, but Mellon's information on the word was far from abortive. It was just a big puzzle that needed time to be put together, but it would surely be accomplished for not a piece seemed to be missing.
     Pieces of the puzzle included: sorcery, illusions, music notes, red, power, cats, superiority, and fear. For someone so unknown, the Meowsician held very tight and very vast dominance according to information about the vultures and the resources given by the dog. Every word was admitted as well as every piece based on the obscure director, the keys to a stitched up piano and the cleaning of glass shattered against a cat's venomous shield.
But Tin didn't care about cats. He cared about its victim; one that cut her hair due to the horrors she was poisoned with. In other words: Meowsician was big trouble and they all knew that. They wanted to stop it, though with a rather hazy start.
     Then a phantom bat hit him across the face and he took notice of a great crowd bantering in a mob, outside in the snowy road. "Uh-oh, uh-oh, situation," Tin said hastily, pointing down the alley. Zero and Mellon shut their mouths and heeded to his warning, noticing the crowd as well.
    Mellon poked his head from behind the boxes and sighed "Yeah, no masked vulture fans in sight. We better go check it out." He got up from behind the box and quickly made his way into the mass of citizens.
    Zero hesitated but followed half-heartedly, scared of his recognition in public followed by his scrambling clock friend. "C-could it be Candell?" he asked Mellon, cautious with his words in the communal area. He received no reply and just rushed past other freaks to keep up with the gangster. Only Tin recognized the surrounding faces and how they eyed them with… suspicion? He made a gulp in response, feeling their already-demolished luck sink lower.
     Finally making it to the crowd, the three asked around what was happening but instead they were either unheard or were looked at strange. Tin was able to see from the back at what they were all looking at while Zero and Mellon shoved past others to take a better look. Zero expected Sophia to be standing there, but instead they all got a major clue. A great one.
There was an empty carriage there, but it was slowly starting to fade away into ghostly vermillion strings. It took its time doing such a thing, attracting interested and wondering onlookers, but three in the crowd seemed more fearful and amazed than the others. The sinewy strings emitted one or two fading music notes before fully vanishing into red fog, which became nothing, leaving the clamoring spectators to stare at a snowy sidewalk and its lamppost.
     Zero looked at Mellon, who looked back at Tin, who looked at the two of them; they all shared the exact same expression. "The Meowsician is here."
     "E-excuse me!" Zero turned around, calling out to everyone as they stared at him in the mob. It got him sweaty and nervous to be stared at and he grinned sheepishly with a blush, "Th-this will sound silly but… wh-who is the owner of the disappearing coach? Someone? Uh… anyone?"
Then all hell broke loose.
     The crowd dispersed into mass chaos and shouts, running away from Zero and Mellon and Tin as if they were infected with deathly plagues that could kill in contact. The trio flailed and scrunched together, looking all around at the terrified citizens and how they ran away in terror. They could hear "Get the Dolls! It's them!" and "Sophia's helpers! They are here!" and so much more.
    Exchanging looks again, hearts racing, a bunch of other freaks motioned at them to get away from the site. "Zero, run! The Dolls are coming! Run for it!" and many screamed at them to get away, as if they were on their side.
     The three could hear the sounds of Doll cycle sirens approaching fast and they immediately dashed down the road as quickly as they were able to; Tin whirling his arms all around while screaming like a woman as Mellon shouted at him to shut the hell up, yanking Zero by his thin wrist and trying to make him keep up.
     Pushing past so many and jumping over tiny citizens, the three confounded cronies managed to outrun the sirens and they made haste into another lit-up, box-filled, fairly populated alleyway.
     They all settled themselves in the alley behind the stacked metal cubes, well out of harm's way and managing to catch their breaths, humid from exhaustion. "W-what…" Zero started between breaths. Tin was hyperventilating with his hands on his knees, eyes wide open and veiny for obvious reasons. "W-what… w-what ha… happened… M-Mell…Mellon?"
     Mellon, in the same state as Zero, answered carefully "B… beats me, man… but… n-now we know… th-that… that the kid is here."He let out a frustrated sigh and drew in some more air, hoping to cope fast.
     Tin straightened himself and frantically looked around; it seemed everybody was distracted, just enough to keep the three on the down low. Taking in another breath of air, trying not to get so lightheaded, he turned his back to the boxes to gaze upon the frosty back wall. His lazy eyes teeming with tiredness opened widely like perfect ovals in an instant and he opened his mouth in sheer horror. "Ahhhhhh…" he whined highly with a lot of warning, bringing a shaky finger up to point at the wall. "Ahhhh… ahh… ahhhh…"
    "And what's your problem now?" Mellon said to Tin, annoyed. He and Zero noticed their companion's distress and they both turned to check out the problem. Then their mouths dropped and their shoulders slumped, staring at what the wall had in store for them.
     WANTED! Zero of Decembersville! In league with Sophia Lilbette of Washington! So it showed a badly drawn cartoon of what looked to be a ravenous ax-handed creature, violent and mean-looking.
     WANTED! Pendulum Tin of Decembersville! In league with Sophia Lilbette of Washington! So it showed a sketchy caricature of a sharp-toothed, grinning monster with a clock hat and what looked to be a tongue with crayon-drawn pink blood on it.
     WANTED! This guy! He's bad too! And he's a dummy-brain! So it showed a childish drawing of a curly-haired cartoon with crossed eyes and giant serrated teeth, making it look more idiotic than menacing unlike the other two.
     They gawked at their giant wanted posters in utter surprise, ignoring the Drawn by moi. Steel and I keel you!!!! I keel you all!!!! Rawr!!! note at the bottom of each followed by a crookedly written signature: C.V.P. Mellon was growling then he clawed at the air and screamed frustratingly "Awwwwww, COME ON!"       

     Darkchovi was rustling through his coat for his medicine and pulled it out, taking a gulp of the lotion and smacking his lips afterwards. He chuckled at Burnsy as he lied over his shoulder. "Jeez, Burnsy, what's with the sour look?" Placing the treatment back into his coat, the bartender of Dark Brothers Pub took a sip of his ordered rum and let out a loud whoop, getting the surrounding freaks to smile and roll their eyes at him. "Come on, people! This is the fanciest district Downtown! Might as well have a bit of fun eh?" Nobody responded and he laughed "You guys are no fun. No wonder we weren't invited to that Opera crap."
    "You were not invited, Chovi?" the bartender of the outer blue kiosk (simply called Klanivi's Kavern) asked, cleaning up a glass chalice with small handkerchief fingers. "What are you doing here at the Theater District, then?"
    "Hey, when your brother is an illegal exile who PO'd the world, then you yourself should know that, hey, you're not on the guest list for anything," Darkchovi said with a grin; the grin was hard to translate. His tone said that his smile meant darkness. His jolly eyes said that it meant light. "Besides, I love this joint! One time of the year its open and I'm just taking advantage of it. I mean, you sure aren't getting free drinks at my place. Heck, if there was one place I'd like to be caught dead in, it would be here. End of story, baby."
    Burnsy meowed loudly in his master's ear and he looked at him intensely. "What's up, Burnsy?" Darkchovi giggled again and took up his glass of rum, turning in his round chair to take a look at the outfit stores, phone booths, high pathways, and treat stalls brimming with candlelight, staining the cold air with the smell of Decembersville – jasmine and vanilla incense. Beyond the upper grounds of the district and not too far from the lower was the Decembersville Clocktower, shimmering brilliantly in its splendor. Burnsy meowed again and Darkchovi looked into the crowds of freaks from where he sat. He asked "What's up, dude?" Bringing his rum up for a drink, he mumbled "You meow only when we're screwe— PFFAAAAAH!!" He spat out his drink and got all the freaks at the outside table to jump in their seats. "Whoa! What the…?"
Darkchovi could see a familiar little girl with candle's on the sides of her head walking happily through the crowd, but there was someone else with her laughing along – a stranger, a bad guy, a kidnapper!
     "Oh no, no, no, no, NOOO!" Darkchovi hopped off his seat and skated into the colorful mass, almost slipping on the icy platform tile-work thanks to his disturbance. "Really big problem! All aboard the problem train!"
     Darkslaw's brother skated fast and fluidly past residents with expertise, disappearing behind a few and coming out from behind another group; such was his strange talent.
After much warping, he finally screeched to a stop right before Sophia and her new friend, the Meowsician.
     "Eek! Huh?" Sophia twitched, followed by Meowsician's high but short squeal. Recognizing who stood in front of them, Sophia beamed and said excitedly "Hello, Darkchovi! What are you doing here?"
    "BAD TOUCH! BAD TOUCH! Stranger danger! Gimme that!" Darkchovi grabbed Sophia by both shoulders and pulled her up into a great embrace away from the Meowsician, screaming his head off as if he witnessed a murder. "Not today, pal! Go find yourself a nice orphanage to pick your favorites in cuz this one is mine!"
     The Meowsician stood there with a slightly open mouth and lurched eyebrows, terribly puzzled, "M-my dear? Do you know this fellow?"
     Sophia, in Darkchovi's overprotective hug, choked a bit and said with a tremble "Well… kind of."
    "What, did he hit you or give you a clammy-wammy-Easter-pajammy pat?" Darkchovi asked her hastily. Then he pointed at Meowsician with one hand while the other held the child, chuckling in disbelief "Buddy, she sure knows me but I sure as toast haven't seen you around here before! Begone! Vamoose!"
     Sophia struggled out from under his arm and skipped in between the two opposing forces, trying to talk some sense into Darkchovi, "Y-you don't understand; he rescued me from the Doll guys. H-he's a very nice guy." Then she turned to look at Meowsician and said "S-sorry about that. Uh… this is Darkchovi. He's a restaurant person."
     The bartender struggled to find the correct words and then he clamped his hands over her mouth, saying with a big silly smile of anxiety "Did this mouth just say my name to a child-nabber?" He looked up at the shy Meowsician and said "You won't be stalking me next, would you?"
     "Truly, sir, I have no idea what you are talking about! I am simply being a good neighbor to the poor thing."
     "Ahhh, so you really are a straight guy, never mind the ponciness. Of course you'd go after cute little girls like this and not dudes such as myself. You lack good taste, my friend." Sophia knew that Darkchovi hadn't a clue of what he was talking about. Then he said "Well, I'm takin' her off your hands from here on out; so come on, short stuff, and I'll teach you a little something about not talking to thirty-year-old strangers."
     "B-b-but I am forty-six!"
    "AW MY GOD!" Darkchovi threw his fat cat into Sophia's two arms and nudged her from behind to walk along, even though she had no idea whether to resist or not. "Kid, we're out of here. Pack your bags."
     Meowsician was about to walk after them, calling out in worry "S-Sophi—"
    "It's okay, Meowsician, he's a friend," Sophia called back at him as she was being led away. "I'll be fine. But thanks for everything! Thank you very much!"
    The Meowsician made a heavy sigh, waving nervously at the child with seeming worry that he left her in the wrong hands. But she knew him and he knew her and he seemed to be protective to make such rash statements, so it was all good. Then he smiled shyly, watching her disappear. With the same kind smile, he whispered to the air while waving, "Best of luck to you." Then he slinked away, giggling.

    "Sheesh, you attract all sorts of company, don't you?"
    "You mean you don't know him?" Sophia asked, holding the fat white cat in her arms as she walked alongside Darkchovi, who was skating slowly like he was taking small steps. "But he said he was Wonka's friend."
     The bartender whistled out loud then smiled down at the girl, nodding his head mischievously "You can't believe everything people say, pixie. BUT I'll give you a grade A for making it this far. Wonka's been getting me spooked with all his calls. Am I glad to see your pretty face again or what?"
     Sophia could not help but blush at his words, but the suspicion that entered the conversation was starting to get a bit brutal. No. Perhaps Darkchovi never met the Meowsician before because… well, there were many rebels in Wonka's rally. It was likely that he knew only a few out of so many, hence his rashness.
     Eyeing the faraway Decembersville Clocktower with glittering eyes, the girl said "What a beautiful clock."
    "That's the symbol of this world, I hope you know," the bartender giggled sweetly, turning his head to the side to see the darker silhouette of the tower against the stormy, snowing sky. "That tower has been there since forever; since the first freak entered this city, that clock just stood there, high and proud." He sounded both melancholic yet full of commemoration to the tremendous monument; it was unlike him, but it was nice to hear his change of tone. "It is our mother."
    The human loved those last words he said and said with a smile "Mother? Is that what it means?"
    "Well… sure, you can say that. Me, I say that if it goes down… then so do we." His voice was quiet, serious. "As long as that tower still stands, then we will thrive in its shadow – in our freedom – forever and a day."
     She looked at the gorgeous building with newfound hope. It was as if the tower came to life, grew some hands, and handed the little girl a box full of hope. For it to always be there, then the Clocktower was pretty much Decembersville's guardian angel. It worked mysteriously. "Why is it so big?"
    "Beats me, but it is the tallest building there is. Funny story, though," Darkchovi stopped and turned full-body towards the clock as did Sophia. They both looked at the glimmering black tower, like it was the Messiah. "Darkslaw always raced me in there." Silence; short and sweet. Sophia looked up at her companion with rather sad eyes.
    "It was raining, and we were far from Wonka's house," he began quietly with a hint of laughter. "We were running down the streets and then… and then Darkslaw took me to the entrance of the Clocktower. We were not allowed inside, you know. Nobody was ever, not even today." He waited a little before continuing; Sophia was all ears (or candles or whatever). "So then he dragged me in there and we decided to wait around till the rain cleared up. Uh… he started to fool around in that place and then we noticed a bunch of stairs. They were a bunch of stone stairs; you know, the ones that go up? Yeah, I didn't know they existed either. My bro took me on a bet that… that whoever reached the top first would be crowned the better. Well, that was a bit unfair because those words kind of hurt. I mean, he was the favorite, I was not, all that jazz. So then I took him up on the bet and we sped up the tower. I was winning, but… but the steps refused to end. The higher I went up then the darker it got, you know?" He sighed. "I got scared."
     "I got so scared that I told Darkslaw that the rain was ceasing and that we should go back downstairs before we got into any trouble. But… but no. He kept on saying 'To the top! To the top!' and then… well… he just wouldn't shut up. I was really scared. So I kept telling him 'No!' but he just kept on going 'To the top! To the top!'So then… I began to cry because it was too scary. Not that I had claustrophobia or anything, but… I don't know if it was the dark or the fact that we were a million miles high. Anyways, I started to cry. Darkslaw gave in instantly and decided to go back downstairs." There was an uncomfortable silence after that, as if admitting such a thing was a full blow to his pride. He concluded his tale with "I never really forgave him for that." Then the snowy atmosphere became colder; almost numbing.
     There was another chronicle of silence between the two and Sophia stared up at the freak with narrowed eyes before taking a better look at the tower far off. She disliked the way Darkchovi's voice became so deep; how serious and… and how cruel he sounded during his last few moments of nostalgia. It was awkward, really, just standing around. Thank goodness Burnsy broke the silence with a long meow, snapping his owner back into his jolly old mood. "Whoops, I did it again," he laughed energetically down at his cat. "Thanks a bunch, my man. You're my life-saver."
    Sophia worryingly asked "Darkchovi, are you okay?" He tilted his head and she gulped a bit. "Are you alright?"
    "Aw, yeah! I'm a-okay, aren't I always? Come on, pixie." He nudged the girl to follow him again. "Everyone's got to learn how to let things go."Although he's the one who said it, Sophia knew that he did not follow those words.
     
     Darkchovi took Sophia to the entrance of the Opera House, which was teeming with light and fantastic architecture. Like the Clocktower, the Opera House was grand but it was lit in actual color, rare for such a city of black, blue, and gray. The colors included dull pinks and slightly bright hues of orange and red, the entrance stairways etched with glowing lime. The building itself was rather dome shaped, though seemed like a giant model made after a bunch of unevenly stacked plates, decorated with windowless towers and encrypted spirals sketched colorfully over its strong-looking surface. But, for a place lacking windows, it did hold a good many balconies encircling it, where even more light shone from; most likely chandelier light. Sophia could hear music escaping the structure and she could see the wonders such a lovely place beheld in a world that was dyed in sunless daytimes and stormy nights; and in the snow, no less. Like the city, the Opera House looked like something out of a lost fairytale.
     "Why are we here? Can we go inside?" the child asked her guide.
    "Nnnnnnope, babe. Nowadays you got to be invited by the vultures themselves and I'm one out of million on their 'most hated' list. So yeah, methinks nothing's going to happen. Besides…" he pointed ahead at the grand line of aristocratic residents going in. "Dolls check the invitations and I highly doubt they'll accept either of us inside."
    "Oh," Sophia sighed pathetically. "It would be nice to go in there."
    "But we have to!" Darkchovi said with a matter-of-factly tenor, smiling widely as he grabbed his cat from Sophia and placed the fat creature over his shoulder. "How else will we get to Wonka, by just waiting around? I don't think so, my friend!"
     Sophia was confused. "Huh? B-but… but you just said—"
    "Follow the yellow brick road, pixie. Your neighbor Chovi is going to show you how it was done back in the glory days. No membership required, thank you."
     Taking hold of her hand again, Darkchovi led her to a lamppost and tightened his grip on her, getting the two of them to disappear flatly behind the tall lantern and reappear in what looked to be a less-populated area of the upper level. Sophia felt dizzy when such a thing happened. It felt as if her eyes crossed and tightened a string around her brain, making her feel heavy. It felt familiar. All she needed was an immense forest, Darkslaw, a stormy night, and a giant demon vulture monster chasing after her. "Ugh… I hate that thing you do."
     "Less talky, more walky, because me wants ya to looky," he responded lightly, leading Sophia around an area right outside the Opera House, ignoring random freaks that decided to chat from behind the building. "I got a key to the richies nest, if you catch my drift." No, she did not catch his drift.
     Finally in the back of the tremendous building, out of sight, the freak in skates led the small human over to a well-closed aperture; a grimy, dusty, obscure porthole in the wall. "Behold, Darkslaw and I got our secret little entrance. Made it ourselves… well, with a little help from Wonka, you know."
Sophia did not quite understand what he was trying to tell her. "Yeah, it's open now for one reason only: Wonka beat us to it."
     "You mean we are sneaking inside?" Sophia exclaimed, taking a step back. "Will we get in big trouble? I don't want to get in trouble."              
     Darkchovi shot Sophia a skeptic look that reminded her of his brother, which was not so good on her part. He shrugged without care and said casually "Getting caught out here is the only trouble we'll be hitting, pixie. This little tunnel here leads to the investigation room which leads aaaaall the way to the top level of this monster house." He extended a hand towards her and Burnsy already waltzed into the fissure. "It's either here or nowhere at all; your choice."
     So much doubt recycled through her mind, but, next thing she knew, Sophia hopped into the porthole and slowly started to crawl through it. Hearing the guide tell her "Either here or nowhere at all" reminded her of his brother's "To the top", only she was not in the mood to cringe in the presence of the blackness of the tubular passageway. As long as she could hear Burnsy's meow ahead and Darkchovi's encouraging words behind, she was going to be alright.
Or so she thought.
   
For being so high up, the crawl through the passageway was not tedious nor was it frightening at all. Perhaps it was her company? Indeed so, for Sophia found the small trip to be a bit enjoyable for she blabbed her tiny mouth off the entire way. "And then Tin's tongue broke and I almost drowned!" she would say, to which her friend answered "Oh, that's great. That's great," which translated to "For the love of God, PLEASE shush up!" Then came the glimmer of rusty light, taken in the shape of a thin circular ring of a reddish glow against a piece of black, where Burnsy approached to a stop. "Darkchovi? Are we here?"
    "Almost! Make way for his highness," he replied with a chuckle, scooching past the little girl without crushing her. "Sorry! Sucks to do this stuff in skates, you know." His noise echoing in the passage, he raised a fist and punched forward, making the crooked circle of light break open to reveal the exit of the crudely-shaped porthole, flooding the passage with burgundy light but no sound. "Oh boy, there better not be any Dolls in here," he laughed, rolling out of the grate. "Nope! Its all clear in here! C'mon, pixie, we made it. This here is the Investigation Room, though, so I warned you."                 
     The chamber was dully lit with simple torches and crude redness, making it contrast greatly against the chilly and bluish outside world. Sophia most certainly did not appreciate it nor did she like the vastness of the warm lair, so she was fine with Darkchovi edging her to hurry out with him before the worst could happen. "Up-and-at-em, pixie, and follow my lead."
     Darkchovi held Burnsy in his arms and fluidly skated out from the giant grate, sliding around and past shrouded tables that were scattered throughout the grim empty room, accidentally bumping his head on a webby hanging glass lantern. Sophia remained inside the damp tunnel until he turned to gesture her out of there. "You heard me, right?" Then she hopped out and ran after Darkchovi, past some standing tables filled with personal items and tools. She finally made it over to him and looked up with a worrisome look. "Be very scared, pixie, because this is where the investigations are taken."
     "What do you mean?"
    "Your 'victims' are looked at in here. Yup, the vultures are so cheap that they use a props building for their bloody ones." Sophia trembled and refused to look back. "Come on, kiddo. I don't like you being in here."
    Following Darkchovi through the lair, the little girl turned her head and noticed something on a table that really caught her attention in a heartbeat. It was a top hat that she saw, but there was only one person in the entire city she knew that wore a yellow top hat like that one. Slowly but surely, she walked quietly over to the table to examine the blood-spattered hat which obviously belonged to a rotten fellow she fell prey to only the day before. She touched it. It was real, alright. Then she took a look down at its surrounding items: poker cards with blades corners, some matches, and what looked to be a silver band with a heart pendant attached to it. She took hold of the necklace, feeling fearful and so curious all at once.
She opened it and she could see two very familiar faces, together in gray, black, and white. She could see a familiar blond girl, about her age, laughing spritely at the camera that took her photo as she wore the top hat. Next to her, placing the hat atop her head was a silver haired energetic young man with roach antennas, looking so truly happy that you would never have guessed that he was a criminal. She could tell that they were acting so silly during that moment.
Then something told her to turn around. She did, and she noticed the worst: a long, red, open coffin, settled upon a white table.
    "Hey, pixie? Hey! I wouldn't look in there if I were you. If the coffin is red then that certainly means the unlucky sap is no one worth remembering," Darkchovi warned. Sophia pretended not to hear him and she stared at the coffin from where she stood, the pendant clasped in her paling hands. Taking a gulp, the child sluggishly walked her way over to the coffin, her tiny heart elevating with every step she made. Then she took a look into the open coffin, sweating with a scream stuck in her throat.
     The Emcee was lying in there, limp and painstakingly quiet like the dead he has recently joined. His yellow-blue outfit was stained in dried vermillion, all of it that escaped the gaping wound in his abdomen that the Dolls did not bother sealing or cleaning up; the fatal stab was encrusted with infected gush, making him such a sickening sight to behold. He just lied there on his back, his silver bangs covering his deathly eyes; but even there Sophia could tell who he was and what he must have been feeling. There were some rash veins noticeably visible inches beneath where his eyes were being covered and the little girl remembered that she blinded him that night. And, for someone that threatened and played a villain against her, she could not help but feel so guilty and awful thinking that if she had not escaped, if she had not blinded him, if she had done things at a different time then he would still be alive. It was all a matter of timing, really. If one thing happened instead of the other, everything would have changed for better or worse.
     "Aw, come on!" Darkchovi commented out loud, crossing his arms and letting Burnsy rest lazily over his shoulder. "Dude, he ain't going to spring up and say 'Hi, you wanna be a star-a', we gotta leave already!"
     Sophia ignored him and looked down at the tiny pendant's photo, seeing Cheshira and the Emcee laugh with so much light and love in their smiles. She never knew.
     The girl whispered weakly to the corpse "I don't know why you were so bad to me…" and then she slowly stuck her arms into the coffin and carefully opened one of his cold white hands, placing the locket into the palm and closing his fingers around it. He was not going to be alone any longer. "…but even you did not deserve this."  
     Darkchovi was losing his patience and hissed at her to hurry along. She sighed and said softly "Please take care, Matazz." Then she ran off to join her guide, who led her out of the room.
     The Emcee slept forever in that red, nameless, unmemorable coffin with the only thing in the entire world he had left to be reunited with his loving adopted daughter, who he had no chance to bid goodbye to – no chance to say he loved her with all his crooked heart. – trapped in the coldness of his dead hand. He was going to have no funeral. He was not even going to have a grave; it was a sad truth that those put in red coffins – nameless ones – were to either be burned away to nothingness or sink into oblivion. He was going to be forgotten by everyone in the city. But… for an arcane cause that none would ever find even to this day, from beneath his bangs something emerged and gently dripped down his face.
It was a tear.

     The upper level was terribly quiet and empty of people and items, but there were murmuring sounds of laughter and music coming from the floors below that could not help but make Sophia feel disturbed. She felt like someone was going to pop up out of nowhere and scare her into an endless sleep. But, even so, the emptiness was rather nice. The floors were made of rich red fabric and the walls crystalline in black and white flavored pattern-work. The ceiling, of course, was terribly tall and enriched with silver chandeliers that shone in emerald candlelight. But that was something else that she noticed. "Why is the fire green?"
    "Green is darker than yellow, no? It's the perfect color for Night Stalkers to deal with. Bright yellow is just… yeesh. That stuff is strong."
    "Like the sun."
    "The sun? The sun ain't yellow, missy!" Darkchovi skated down the carpet hallways, turning solid corners with Burnsy and Sophia sprinting after him. "The sun's whiter than the skins on our muscles! Now try to keep up."
    "Where are we going?"
    "To Wonka, of course; he's in the props room, just behind the main stage; told me to meet him there and I doubt that he's ready to wait another hour." Sophia followed after, keeping up without any trouble for Nutty Jimmy's makeover served her physical strength well. If she was not Candell then she would have been dead already. Sophia was just the child that hid behind Candell, whimpering and whining all the way.
Oh great, now she was feeling down. Not a word was raised about it, though.
     The skating freak skidded to a stop, poking his head out from behind a corner of the hallway to warn Sophia of a little something else. "Beyond this hall is the props room, but we have to go through this ring, first."
    "What ring are you talking about?" The little girl and the fat white cat scampered over to where their guide was peaking and she first noticed a bunch of ghostly, colorful lights decorating the curving hall ahead. Then she noticed that the lights were coming from the curving left wall made entirely of stained glass.
     "We are high above the crowds of the auditorium. If we hurry then I doubt any attention would be directed up here."
     Sophia would have loved to check out the crowds below, but the stained glass made everything fuzzy to look through and she barely had time to obtain visuals for Darkchovi and his cat were already shouting at her to hurry and keep up once more. She made a tut and followed after, running slanted through the bended hallway that seemed to encircle the top of the building, overlooking the crowds of laughter and music below. The human already guessed that the stained glass spelled out something for all to see, but she was in a hurry.
     After the stained glass hallway and after a series of stairs, the three (including Burnsy) made it to the props room, a place where you would swear it was the Opera party itself! Sophia's mouth gaped open at the sight of the tremendous hollow. The lair was unbelievably wide and stretched up to a nerve-wrecking height, but the mass was decorated in so much brilliant joie de vivre and animation for a place that lacked thespians. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sophia twirled all around with circular eyes, close to rubbing them to make sure she was not going crazy. "This is the coolest place in the entire WORLD!" she said, amazed.
     Being in the props room was no different than being in a giant wonderland of color and vivacity, bright lights emitting from the multi-colored chandeliers above and the carousel-like clothing racks glimmering in eccentric designs. There were treasure boxes packed with decorations, some knocked over with their items piled up on others and some hanging from high above. The floors were bedecked with ornaments on wooden tiles, turning the giant bejeweled city into a tinier Kallavient Carnival. For goodness sakes, there were bridges and stairways in there, leading up to other levels of toys, theater weapons, attire, and more.
     Darkchovi poked his head out from a curtain of costumes, giggling excitedly "Peek-a-boo, I see you."
    "Very funny," Sophia said monotonously with a lopsided smile. She liked his silliness in such detailed a tundra such as the props room.
    "Pretty hot, isn't it!? Oh jeez, Darkslaw and I used to fool around in here all the time." He blushed a little and said "Then one of the actors caught us and Wonka grounded us for a week or two. And he's the one who helped us get here in the first place, the hypocrite!"
     After taking another look around, Sophia asked with a smile "Oh yeah, I almost forgot: where is Wonka?"
    Darkchovi skated out from the stand of costumes and spun, smiling thinly, "Well, he said he'd be here."
There was something wrong with the way he said that.
     "What did you say?" Sophia asked, aching for him to repeat himself.
     He shrugged carelessly and said "He's got to be here somewheeeere, though I don't think I hear him."
He almost sounded like…
    "Wonka is here, right?" she asked with eyes that said she was not willing to put up with any jokes.
    "Oh, yeah; sure he's here, pixie. I'm sure he's somewhere." He brought his hands up and called up at the ceiling "Wonka! Hey, Wonka, you home? We're here!" There was no worry or care in his voice.
Nobody was responding. It was just him, her, and dear little Burnsy lying over a small mountain of treasure chests and detailed objects. Darkchovi beamed a mask down at Sophia, hissing "How's about you search over there and I'll search over here?" He was pointing down the direction of items behind the girl.
     There was something wrong with the way he said that as well. Sophia's heart was beginning to hammer, but she was unable to find a logical reason for it. What was wrong? According to her senses, something was very wrong. Eyes squinting, she said "Alright," and slowly turned her back, mind starting to cloud. "Alright, I'll look for him." Then she began to walk forward, not hearing her companion say one word or call out Wonka's name. She did not do so either, but there was a voice jabbing at her brain going "Don't turn your back. Too late? Then get out. Get out." But why? Nothing was wrong, was there? What was happening?
     "Hey, Chovi, I don't think Wonka is here."
     "He's not."
     "What?"
     "Nobody's here, Sophia."
Get down!
     Sophia threw herself to the floor as something sliced the air above her, right where her neck used to be. The top pieces of her candles plopped cleanly to the wooden floor as she covered her head, eyes wide in horror as something metallic scraped against a twin. Hastily turning over, ready to scream vulgarly at the freak, her voice collapsed as something sharp was settled a mere inch away from her eyeball. Her heart froze and her nerves shook with the power of an earthquake in her tiny body. She looked up and she could see him.
     Darkchovi was smiling down at Sophia, his right hand extended towards her, but long, sharp, spiked, metallic shears were embed into his hand and settled right at her face. There was an intense silence. The smile widened and Darkchovi giggled at the little girl's terrified face. "You and the Emcee make the most darling faces," he said indifferently. The room darkened from a world of colors to a hell of dimming red and black.
     "Dark… chovi…" Sophia said wordlessly.
    He read her lips and giggled "No, not 'Darkchovi'." His smile reddened. "I'm 'Sophia'. Heheheheheheheh… I'm 'Sophia'." He laughed playfully and maniacally at the joke. That was when the child finally realized that she was face-to-face with the true killer of Decembersville.