A/n: Guess who's back? I've been hella dead lately, but itching to start something new. So hang on tight, kiddies, and enjoy the ride.

Warnings: Language, substance abuse, sexual themes, horror, and gore.

–

Phantasm and Cowardice

Chapter 1: "It's All Fun and Games until Someone Loses Their Mind."

"This is not a game.

"Once you begin, you're main goal is to survive. Destroy any who get in your way.

"You get one chance. There is no 'game over,' no retries. If you lose, you are dead."

Hatsune Miku glanced up from the scrap of paper held between her fingers, looking into the expectant faces of her friends. They shot her back the same curious stare, each passing around the plain, cardboard box that had arrived on her doorstep an hour prior.

–

It was Friday, and as such, Miku had invited her five very best and closest friends to her home, as they did every weekend. The first one to show up was, naturally, Megurine Luka, who always made it a point to show up a half-an-hour earlier than needed. She had helped the teal-haired girl set out snacks and pick out some good horror movies, since it was pretty dark and dreary outside. Next to arrive had been Kamui Gakupo and Shion Kaito, brandishing booze and heading straight for the refrigerator. Unsurprisingly, the Kagamine twins, Rin and Len, showed up last, fifteen minutes late. Complete normalcy. They settled into their normal routine, passing around drinks and stories.

Until there was a knock at the door.

These gatherings had been happening for the better part of two years now, and not once had a seventh party ever shown up. Questioning glances were thrown about the room. Nobody had invited anyone else; no one had ordered food.

Since it was her home, Miku had gotten up to answer the door. When she opened it, there wasn't a soul to be seen. She stepped over the threshold, ready to glance around the corner to see if some kid had ding-dong-ditched her as a joke, but her foot knocked over a plain, inconspicuous looking cardboard box. She bent over to grab it, looking at it from all sides but seeing no sign of a postage stamp of any sort.

"This is so weird," Miku commented, from the kitchen, shuffling around drawers to find her box-cutter. When she found it, she gave a victorious nod and headed back into the living room to join her friends. Luka, Kaito, and Len were squeezed together on her love seat, while Gakupo looked quite comfortable in her favorite armchair. Miku joined Rin on the floor, who gleefully took the knife from her and made quick work of opening the mysterious package in Miku's hands. Her brows then furrowed as she saw it's contents.

What looked to be pieces of a doll house stared back at her. "What kind of doll house has to be put together?" Rin questioned. Miku shrugged, dumping the contents of the box on the floor. Len left his position squished next to Kaito to start fiddling with the pieces, putting them together.

A loose piece of paper caught the tealette's eye.

–

"So... is it, or is it not a game?" Gakupo asked once Miku finished reading the note. She shrugged in response, squinting at the words as if they'd give her a better clue that way.

Len cleared his throat, gathering the attention of everyone. "It certainly looks like some kind of board game—see?" Sure enough, he had finished the simple task of putting the doll house together. Upon completion, it looked much like some sort of Victorian mansion, with about fourteen rooms in total and five floors. However, along the hardwood and carpeting of different rooms were ticks that Miku assumed was meant to serve as a path. It really did look like a board game.

"Are there any instructions?" Kaito asked, leaning forward in his seat and examining the play set. "Wow, look how much detail's in here—there's even cutlery in the kitchen!"

Rin pushed past her brother, reaching into the doll house and running her fingers along the bookshelves in the library. "Doesn't something seem off about this one?" she mumbled motioning to a case that was lighter in color than the rest. She applied pressure to it, and they were shocked when it pushed into the wall without resistance. "Holy shit."

From the corner of her eye, Miku noticed yet another slip of paper from underneath the bookshelf Rin had moved. "Hey, let me see that." Obligingly, Rin handed the scrap to her. The tealette unfolded it, smoothing it out on the floor so she could read it aloud.

"'To start the Game, all players must form a circle around Hell's Mansion,'" Miku gave a roll of her blue eyes and someone snickered. "That's kind of a stupid name."

"What else does it say?" Luka prodded.

Miku cleared her throat, continuing. "'All players must then clasp hands and repeat the phrase 'I am a sinner; bring me redemption' one time for every person present. If you release someone's hand, you will lose them. Then, and only then, will the game begin.'"

"That doesn't sound like instructions," Kaito piped up.

"Yeah, it sounds like some sort of demonic ritual," Len added, frowning. "And what about the first note? With all that vague death stuff?"

Rin scoffed, pushing herself to a stand. "Oh, come on guys. Do you think this stupid thing is cursed or something? I, for one, am very curious." She looked down at Miku, adding, "It's just a game, what harm could possibly come of following simple instructions?"

"I'm kind of intrigued myself, "Gakupo admitted. "I mean, it's not every day you receive such a vague package. Besides, our gang has been lacking in the adventure department recently, right?"

Miku nodded. They'd all been really busy as of late, which was why they made it a habit to hang out at least once a week. All of them had been close since high school, but now they seemed to be getting crushed by all their adult responsibilities, like jobs and college. They didn't really have time to go crazy anymore. To enjoy life and take risks. Even if it was just some stupid board game.

Today was their day.

"Okay," Miku said with finality. "Let's try."

One by one, they sat by the doll house. Miku sat directly in front of it, with Luka on her left, and then Kaito next to her, and then Len, followed by Gakupo, with Rin closing the circle to her right. "Everyone hold hands okay? And there's six people here, so we have to make sure to say 'I am a sinner; bring me redemption' six times, got it?"

"What do you think happens if we mess up?" Kaito whispered.

"Don't fuck up," Len hissed back.

"Ready?" Miku asked with an excited smile, grabbing Luka and Rin's hands, she started.

"I am a sinner; bring me redemption. I am a sinner; bring me redemption. I am a sinner; bring me redemption. I am a sinner; bring me redemption. I am a sinner; bring me redemption. I am a sinner; bring me redemption."

For a long moment, nothing happened.

"Aw, what the fu—"

The ground started to shake at the same moment the lights blew out. Someone shrieked, but Miku couldn't tell who in this chaotic darkness. "Luka? Rin?" She looked around blindly, noticing she had lost her grip on either of them. Beginning to panic (you will lose them), she started to scream.

The unconsciousness that followed shortly thereafter was something of a bliss.

–

Rin awoke slowly and painfully, not entirely sure what was going on. Her head pounded, her throat felt scratchy, as if she'd been yelling. Her mind raced, trying to catch up with the present. She'd been at Miku's house—they got that weird game and—

Baby blues shot open in panic. Her left hand that had been clasping Miku's was empty, and there was no trace of the girl anywhere. Her right hand, however, was clutched in a painfully tight grip. Ignoring the pain shooting through her skull, she turned to look at Gakupo. He was still passed out, but he didn't seem to be hurt anywhere. Which was great, because Rin wouldn't be able to carry him anywhere.

Carefully, she sat up, taking in her surroundings. Tall, weathered bookshelves lined the walls. They were all light brown in color, except for one, that was slightly gray. Rin stared. It looked like the library in the doll house. More rundown, she thought as she noted some random holes in the floorboards, but similar all the same.

"Shit," she whispered. Besides from the sleeping man next to her, she couldn't see or hear anyone else. Did everyone else come here, too? Reaching into the back pocket of her denim shorts, she grabbed her cell phone. No service. Instead of throwing the damn thing like she really wanted to, she pocketed it once more. Rolling onto her knees, she crawled closer to Gakupo, wriggling her hand out of his death-grip. Was that why they were together? She could distantly recall one of the notes saying not to let go of anyone or else— No. She poked at the purple haired man a few times, and when he didn't wake, she began shaking him. "Gakupo! Hey, you big lug, get up!"

Blissfully, she noticed his eyelids twitch as he came to. "Damn, my head," he mumbled groggily. His blue eyes met hers questioningly. "Rin?"

"It's about time," she huffed, slightly stumbling as she climbed to her feet. She offered a hand to Gakupo, who took it and stood as well.

"Wh... Where are we?" Gakupo asked haltingly. He looked around, and as his eyes lingered on the bookshelves, Rin was sure he came to the same conclusion she did. "No way."

"You think so, too, right?" she asked. "This looks just like the library from that doll house. But... but there's no way. It's just a game, right? The rest of them—they're just playing a prank on us, right, Gakupo?" she was starting to panic. She could feel it in the depth of her, the anxiety overflowing.

"I—" the man looked around, looking as lost as she felt. "Probably? I don't know."

"There has to be a way out," Rin rationalized. "If there's a way in, there has to be. Come on, Gakupo. We have to find something—a door, a window, anything." He nodded in agreement, and Rin was ready to head out of the room already, but something gave off a slight glimmer from a glass shelf, and she couldn't help but wander over in curiosity. It looked like some sort of newspaper clipping. Eagerly, Rin opened the cabinet and started to read aloud. "'February 23, 1939.' What?"

Gakupo walked over to her, taking the clipping from her. "That's more than 70 years ago. Just what is going on here?"

Outside, the thunder clapped ominously.

–

The first thing Luka noticed when she awoke was that she was very much alone.

The second? None of the windows seemed to budge in this place. She pressed her hand flat against the glass. There was nothing outside, no hint of life or light. Just an inky blackness that she was sure could drive her insane if she stared too long. She was in some sort of bedroom, though it seemed like it had been a long while since anyone had slept there. The sheets were covered with thick dust, but she could vaguely remember seeing this room somewhere.

Holding her aching head, the pink-haired woman tried to collect her thoughts. They'd all been together at Miku's, and had all decided to play that game. Then... nothing.

Was that it? Had she—had they all managed to be trapped inside? She remembers that she had been holding onto both Miku and Kaito's hand before she lost consciousness, but neither of them had been with her when she came back. Her heart stuttered in her chest as she realized, once again, she was alone.

Miku could be alone, she reminded herself. The thought gave her strength. Miku was easily frightened—she could be crying right now, lost and terrified. Before doing anything else, Luka promised herself that she would find her.

She approached the door to the hallway, eying the shelves and bureaus for anything that seemed useful. As she passed a vanity, she paused, her eyes flickering back to the mirror. Squinting, Luka could have sworn she saw someone following her.

–

The first thing to run through Kaito's mind upon regaining himself was that he didn't remember drinking that much last night. Not enough for this splitting headache. The second thought was that he didn't really drink at all, hadn't even gone to bed. In fact, instead of a mattress, he was laying on a dirty tile floor, and there was someone laying on top of him.

Green eyes opened to reveal that, sure enough, he was no longer in Miku's living room—and Len was half sprawled across his chest, unmoving. Adrenaline starting to pump through his veins, he sat up carefully, rolling Len onto his back and gently shaking him. "Hey, Kagamine, get up."

The blonde's eyes shot open and his arms lurched forward, shoving Kaito back to the floor as he stood up in a panic, looking around hurriedly. Finally, his eye settled back on the blue-haired man. "Kaito?"

"Morning, sunshine."

"Don't 'sunshine' me, where the fuck are we? Where's Rin?" From his position on the floor, Kaito could tell the younger man was almost shaking. Looking around, it was pretty obvious they were in some kind of bathroom. Everything was filthy. Still, Kaito got to his own feet, and headed towards a faucet. It would be good to know if they had running water or not.

To his horror, it ran black.

Immediately, they both clamored away from whatever it was. Clearly, it wasn't drinkable, and that's all Kaito needed to know.

"Where the fuck are we?" Len repeated. "D-doesn't kind of look like—"

"Maybe," Kaito whispered. The doll house. The stupid game.

But it really wasn't a game after all, was it?

Kaito swore as he patted down his pocket. "Do you have your phone? I left mine at Miku's, I guess." He saw Len dig around, smiling slightly in victory as he produced his cell. However, he quickly scowled. "No signal. Of course."

"Well, we should probably look for the others. And a way out," Kaito mentioned. Besides that, he really wanted to get out of this creepy bathroom with the black water. Alas, he could tell Len was pretty freaked out, so he'd have to keep him calm. He wondered how everyone else was doing, and could only hope no one was stuck alone.

He reached the door.

Locked.

–

Miku regained consciousness much how like she lost it; alone and terrified. She was laying face first on cold cement, and her head was pounding even louder than her heart. She shakily climbed to her knees, and than her feet, ignoring her aching limbs. Her eyes watered when she realized just how she got here.

I let them go. I need to find them. What she assumed to be the basement was dark and damp. She could hardly see in front of her, but she felt around the wall until she discovered the stairs, which she took slowly. At any moment, she was expecting something to jump out at her. She wondered if it would feel at all reassuring, just to know she wasn't all by herself.

She needed to find them.

Wrapping her arms around her torso, she reached the top of the stairwell that opened into a large hallway. Just as she had feared, it looked just like the game. If that was so, however, the others must be around somewhere, she told herself. Five floors. Five other people. She was bound to run into someone, somewhere. She just had to keep looking. And she was sure they were looking for each other as well. Maybe they'd all met up, and were eagerly trying to find her now. They would all be worried sick by now.

With that, she began moving quicker through the hallways, stopping every now and then to try and open one of the large windows. None of them ever gave. Assuming she had woken up in the basement, this would be the first floor, so the exit should be around somewhere.

In some dark corner, Miku could noticed subtle movement. Slowing her pace and turning, she noticed a figure lying on the ground, curled up on their side. Hope and fear fought for dominance, but she found herself rushing forward nevertheless. They were small—could it be Rin, or Len? She dropped to all fours, grabbing their shoulder and turning them.

Two empty sockets gleaming with maggots belonging to the smiling face of a corpse greeted her. Propelling herself backwards, Miku started screaming.

And screaming. And screaming. And screaming.

–

A/N: I've clearly been playing too many horror RPGs. But this is my first time writing anything in a long while, and I'm really going to try to update weekly but ya'll gotta tell me what you think.

Anyway, putting my favorite Vocaloids in a horror situation such as this just had to be done. Maybe. Or maybe you'll all hate me for this.

R&R