Richi's vision blurred as he faded back into consciousness. The stone ground felt cold under his body, and as he picked himself up, his head began to throb with pain. Using a nearby ukuta to help himself into a standing position, he winced as a sharp pain suddenly came from his sides. Bars blocked him from leaving his apparent cell, and light shone through from the hallway. Richi felt blood trickle down from his cheek, and he saw that several bruises and cuts were all over his body. He felt his rib-cage and counted three broken, at least four fractured. "Wha-" he began to ask himself before his memory came flooding back to him. The injuries on his body combined with the shock of what had occurred earlier made his legs give out, and Richi slid against the ukuta as he slumped back into a sitting position. "Well, damn." He grimaced as he contemplated their possible fates, and cursed at himself for risking their lives for something that shouldn't have mattered to him. Despite his own current situation, Richi felt a wave of calmness wash over him, and he felt drowsy. His eyes slowly began to close, and he was then asleep.

Richi began to dream for the first time in days. He was standing in an open, wide grassy field with nothing around him for miles on end. Taking in his surroundings, he soon felt a familiar presence behind him, and a pair of arms gently wrapped around his neck for a hug. The girl comforted him, and Richi felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Her soft skin caressed his own, and she began to speak in a sweet voice.

"Wake up."
.....
"Wake up!"
.....
"WAKE UP!"

Groaning, Richi slowly opened his eyes and found an unexpected scene in front of him. Two teens, a boy and a girl, were standing over him with an expression of curiosity on their faces. Richi looked back with the same look and took note of their appearance. From the looks of it, they were also prisoners. They both sported ragged and torn clothing and dirt streaked across their body in numerous areas. The girl's soft eyes and dark red hair reminded him of an old childhood friend, as well as the boy's serious expression and dark black hair. "Who are wewe two?" Richi asked them. The two continued to stare at him, ignoring his question. Richi sighed, cursing at himself for his own predicament. From his back pocket, he pulled out an old mask which he's kept since he was 8. It was an old birthday present, and he had treasured it ever since. He heard a gasp from one of the teens, and as he looked up, Richi was essentially tackled kwa the girl. "What the-?" Richi exclaimed before the girl interrupted him.

"It IS you!" She shouted happily. The boy behind her simply grinned as the girl held him in a tight hug. "Who ARE you?" Richi asked again, now feeling slightly annoyed. The girl looked at him with an expression of confusion. "You... don't recognize us?" The boy spoke up before Richi could, no longer grinning, but still obviously elated. "It's been years, Jenna. It's not a surprise he doesn't recognize us." The girl nodded. "I guess that makes sense, Sean." Richi looked at both of them, surprised to hear the names of his old childhood friends. "You mean...." Jenna looked at him with an excited expression, and tightly hugged him again. "You do remember us." While Jenna embraced her old friend, Sean simply watched with a curious expression. "Richi..... What are wewe doing here?" Richi sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "It's a long story that's not worth explaining. To sum it all up, I'm being blackmailed, and I'm running an errand." Jenna looked at him with concern, and asked," Blackmailed? With what?" Richi looked at the pair before replying, his face slightly blushing from embarrassment. "....You two and your safety."

Jenna smiled at this and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Thanks." Richi gave a small smirk and picked himself off the ground, still groaning from the pain. "Let's get out of here, shall we?" Richi asked. Sean noticed his difficulty in moving, and expressed his concern. "Hey... Are wewe sure it's alright to be moving?" Richi looked at the black-haired teen and grinned. "Yeah. I'll be fine. My regenerative powers will speed up my healing." Slowly, he made his way to the cell bars and tested them. "Still tight. Age must've weakened them a bit at the very least." Before he could try anything, however, Jenna held Richi back. "Why don't we try together?" The three tackled the bars simultaneously, and after several slams, the bars gave away and the teens began to escape.

Richi took in his surroundings. He now noticed that he and his Marafiki weren't the only ones in this dungeon. As he ran down the corridors, shouts came out from other cells, all pleading au threatening him to open their cell. He ignored the majority of them, but a bright color in the corner of eye caught his attention. Slowing down, he looked inside through the bars. A small girl about 6 au 7 years old was quietly sleeping on one of the cots in the cell, and like his friends, sported ragged and torn clothing. Her blonde hair looked like a dirty yellow with the grime and dirt. "Richi!" Jenna shouted. "Come on!" "Y-yeah. Coming." Richi shouted back. Richi ran to catch up with his friends, who had stopped for some unknown reason. "What's up?" he asked. Sean looked over at him. "Someone's fighting up ahead, and from the sound of it, it seems we're going to have our hands full in a minute."