"He was right here! Where could've he gone?" I screamed as I panicked, running across the empty stage of where Saragona and Sally once stood. My heart was racing like crazy as I wondered with all my life; where could Saragona Levoy Drosselmeier be?!  I trailed my eyes up and down to see where the barbie was because she was last seen with him.

Soon, I found something which left some sort of trail to where he could've been. There was a trail of thread which guided me to a steel door which was one of those push doors where you had to push on a bar to be let in. I forgot what those types of doors were called, but if anyone knows, let me know. Pushing on the bar, I wasn't able to go any further as the door remained shut.

I kept trying and trying to push the door open for me to fail multiple times. It was no use. I sat on the floor, pondering on what we should do. I stared at the door, eyeing it up and down before using what I felt was all of my might to push down the door. The door, unfortunately, stayed still as it never budged once.

Many thoughts were rushing through my head on what was going to happen to Saragona. Many of them were thoughts that I deemed too harsh for him to even live through, while others were too realistic to think about. My heart started pounding like the running of deer in the forest. Soon, my eyes trailed towards the right side of the door, seeing that there was an arcade machine near the end of the stage. I approached the machine to see that it was a game of Galaga, with a sticky note saying, "Beat 3 Levels to open the door." I cracked my neck and knuckles as I prepared myself; I had prepared a whole lot for this opportunity.

Back at home, I was considered to be a master of Galaga or any arcade game that I'd play back either at Planet Arcade or Dave & Busters. I remembered each pattern thoughtfully and thoroughly, even if I was a bit distracted, my hands would still be at work on the game.

There we were, standing in front of the game as the screen blinked: "Press 1P to play. " I looked at the machine; my finger pressed the 1P button and there we went, the game started up with its starting music and I had to start blasting the aliens in a certain pattern/direction. I thought so hard for seconds, as even if one mess-up in the pattern would make me lose a life. The sheer determination that went into my brain when staring at the arcade machine screen, my fingers pressing the buttons along with moving the joystick.

Soon enough, the third level was complete. My hands melted with sweat after focusing on the game for what felt like 10 whole minutes. We heard a buzzer come from the door, and then a small but loud click. I quickly stopped playing, pushed the door and it slowly opened.

Through the opened door was a small hallway that had limited lighting, dimmed down to the brim; even the most fully functional lights were blinking for a few seconds. Walking down the hallway sent shivers down my spine; feeling the cold breeze on my face signaled something off-putting, especially since this is supposedly backstage and I'd be invading someone else's privacy. I then tripped on something wooden or plastic as I landed on the floor face flat.

I groaned in pain as I turned to see what I tripped on. What I saw, I barely had words to describe it. It looked like a toy soldier... it was a toy soldier but his eyes looked lifeless; blanked out to be more exact. I screamed, kicking off the blanked out soldier's head as oil dripped off his decapitated head. Processing everything I just saw, it felt ominous as more corpses of toy men were laid to rest on the floor.

Each had oil dripping from their wooden skulls and some having their entire body dismantled. As we continued forward, I stopped to see that I was near the blinking lights. I peeped through a small crack through the wall, seeing something that tightened my heart strings before it sank deep into my stomach, but even then couldn't back down on the horrors I saw when I opened that small plastered door. There, on the floor, with what looked like a mix between blood and oil dripping down his mouth was Saragona!

It looked like his soul was no longer there, his eyes were blanked out and he didn't even move an inch. I ran to Saragona, shaking him to move and/or to wake up. I screamed, "Saragona! Wake up! Please, wake up!!!" His body just sloped, landing on my shoulder as I held him upright trying to balance him. But he slouched back, shattering a mirror. His head rolled off his body and I screamed in horror. I backed away as I approached Saragona.

I panicked, exclaiming, "Who did this to you?!!" But then, I heard slow clapping from the shadows. As the claps continued, the figure exited the shadowed area; it was revealed to be Sally... the Barbie that seduced Saragona to join her on the stage. She approached me, only for her to laugh like a deranged maniac. She then spoke, "Well, this is interesting indeed. I couldn’t even possibly believe that some stupid foolish human would snoop around in my casino!"

"I only snooped because the men around your stage vanished." I scolded her.

"Oh, those men? Hehe, didn't you notice those men were the men out in the hallway?" She snickered. As I then realized, most of the men looked familiar. Then I suddenly just realized everything.

I could just hear Sally's sinister laughter as she wipes her tears away from all the laughter.  pushed me back slightly, only for her to approach Sally slowly. Sally glared at me, and at a blink of an eye, her eyes looked like something you'd see either out of a lizard or a reptile.

Her voice sounded demonic as she then pointed at me, "I think the soul you possess will give me the most amount of beauty that I've ever received in 64 years and your corpse will be perfect for a WELCOME floor mat at the front of my casino!" As I got out my pistol, I loaded up my ammo. Aiming at her arm, I pulled the trigger as her arm flew off.

I thought she would bleed to death but instead, like some sort of reptile, she regrows her arm. Her head snapped towards me, pinning me to the wall. Her hands grabbed hold of my jaw, digging her nails deep within my skin, trying to pull down my jaw to open my mouth.

"OPEN IT!! I NEED YOUR SOUL!!!!" She screamed, only for her to be pulled away. I slouched on the wall, landing on my tush. Holding my head, I narrowed my eyes to see what was going on.

Her relentless grip sought to claim my essence, urging me to break free before succumbing to lifelessness. Leaping forward like a predator awaiting it’s nightly meal, I wielded everyday objects—a chair, a table, and shattered mirror—as weapons. The room became an arena, echoing the imminent threat.

Amid the chaos, I used a chair as a makeshift weapon to stand against the darkness. Each swing of the chair felt like a battle against unseen forces. The room became a battleground, witnessing the clash of makeshift weapons. Every impact against the walls told a story of my unwavering spirit in the face of adversity.

In this struggle to survive, the room became a silent witness to my fight, absorbing both the physical blows and the emotional echoes of my determination. Through the chaos, I continued to navigate this diary of survival, turning ordinary surroundings into a testament of the human spirit's capacity to endure, even when the odds seemed insurmountable.

The battlefield, strewn with shattered illusions, depicted a relentless struggle. In this tumultuous clash, shadows and echoes converged, forming a symphony of chaos that showcased the indomitable will to endure.

“No matter… How hard you try… I’ll live forever!!!” She laughs.

“How about I try killing you from the inside then, since I can’t kill you on the outside!!” I exclaimed, before my fist dashed towards her chest only for my hand to me completely soaked.

Drip....Drip... The heart kept dripping for a few seconds only for me, using my grip, to smash it into little glass pieces. Sally breathed heavily as then after a while, she became motionless. I threw her to the floor, her body rolled towards my feet as I backed up a bit before looking at the glass shards that amputated my hand.

My heart pounded like mad crazy when I just stood there, staring at the oiled corpse of the corrupt casino owner. Soon, her body dissolved into dust as small blue lights flew around the room, flying into the hallway and entering the corpses of the men that Sally had killed; Saragona also had a blue light enter via his mouth. I then jolted again when I saw his hand slightly moving.

Then, all of a sudden, his body stood up... but what about his head? Then, I heard muffled voices from my foot... my left foot. I saw Saragona's head on my foot so I just kicked it lightly. "YEOW! Ms. Stahlbaum! I thought you knew better than to kick a pri-'' he exclaimed but then I hugged his head, smiling happily. He stopped complaining and then he sighed, I could see the smile on his face. His body then grabbed his head and placed it back on; he looked at me solemnly and sighed, "I apologize for leaving you and being fooled by that temptress."

"I forgive you, Prince Saragona Levoy Drosselmeier." I chuckled, but before we all left... I noticed something right by the shattered heart of Sally... It twinkled at the side of my eye as when I neared closer... It was a silver key piece. I picked it up, staring at it. One down, 4 to go.