Mansion of Marionettes.The SI drives into a dusty town, so run-down it doesn't even have an inn. Goku can't wait till they reach the next village to eat, so Hakkai and Gojyo go off with him to locate snacks and pick up some cigarettes for Sanzo. The monk waits for them, leaning on Hakuryu and puffing one of his last remaining smokes. A lot of crows are about...the wind rises ominously... someone is sneaking closer and closer to the jeep--someone who looks oddly small--and then approaches Sanzo, whose eyes widen in alarm. When H, G&G return, both priest and jeep are gone, but Hakuryu's frantic kyuu-ing from above points the way...And we see a creepy Gothic-looking mansion on a hill, with rooms full of jointed dolls, mostly unfinished [the BJD Workshop from Hell!]. A blank-eyed Sanzo is sitting in a room gazing at a TV monitor which clicks through shots from a battery of surveillance cameras outside [huh? since when did the Saiyukiverse have this sort of technology?]. Behind him a finished doll appears--a silver-haired boy in traditional dress--, saying that Sanzo's face is beautiful, and he's sure many people loved him. [--Well, he's half right.] The doll's annoyed to hear the screech of brakes as Hakuryu and the trio pull up outside. Gojyo complains about Sanzo being the only one invited to the mansion. The gate creaks open by itself: Hakkai says grimly "looks as if they want us to come in", while Gojyo grumbles that this is no way to treat guests ("Self-service?" he complains in English. =) . --inside the gate they're greeted by rows and rows of Chinese mandarin dolls who stand silently watching them pass. If this has been written by someone who knew the series both Hakkai and Gojyo would have Chin Yisou flashbacks and be deeply creeped out, but *sigh* this is Tomonaga-san's first Saiyuki script, so Hakkai just chuckles and reassures Goku that they're only dolls. G&G are really uneasy, which isn't helped by Hakkai adding spookily "the dolls are laughing at you" [--evil 'Kai. =)], and