She could hear the humming. That young voice, the one belonging to the one who had raised her like a mother raises their own child… It echoed down the hall, yet she could not find it. Why? Why couldn't she find the source of that voice when it seemed so close? Where was she? Where was her Mistress?

The maid stopped running – probably a terrible idea - and frantically looked around. The humming ceased as she did so, leaving her in silence, surrounded by darkness. She'd never had reason to fear the dark before, consider she was a Devil's servant, but that… that being, roaming around the mansion. Chasing her, coming out when she least expected it… Killing her companions… First the lights went out as she went to deliver tea to her Mistress, and then she heard the librarian's assistant – Koakuma - scream as she attempted to figure out what was happening. By the time she got there… Koa was dead. Before she could even comprehend what was going on, it attacked her.

A dark, shadowy beast with what seemed like no true form. It lunged at her from the shadows, and probably would have killed her had she not seen it in time. Her attempts to fight back were futile – her powers would not work, leaving her with no choice but to flee. So she ran, having it chase her for only a short time. When it disappeared, she searched for her other companions.

Each and every one of them had been killed by the time she found them.

The only body she hadn't seen was that of her Mistress. Remilia Scarlet, the Devil who owned this mansion, would not be so easily killed. But if she wasn't dead, where was she? Did she make it out? Would she just leave the mansion, thinking everybody had been killed? The maid was unsure, which bothered her. Never had she doubted Remilia. Maybe… Maybe she had gone to get the shrine maiden. Yes, that seemed likely.

Either way, Sakuya needed to get out and find help. She had neared the clock tower by now, and it seemed to be the quickest escape route. She began running again, feeling as though that thing would pop out of nowhere any second now and attack her. And even if it did not… The darkness seemed to threaten to swallow her whole.

Little time passed before she had made it, getting up to the clock tower, to freedom… And there she was. Her Mistress, her mother figure, the one who had raised her, was standing in front of that huge clock and staring at the sky, where the moon was full and absolutely red.

"Mistress!" The maid ran to the Devil's side, collapsing onto her knees beside her, so relieved to see her there that she might have cried. Looking up at her face, she said, "I've looked everywhere for you! I thought you were dead! All the others are gone, there's something chasing me throughout the mansion, and-"

In an instant, without her expecting it, she was grabbed by the neck and thrown against the large clock, falling to the ground and groaning. Her eyes were shut tightly, and she tried to recover from the sudden attack, barely able to wonder if that thing had snuck up behind her. Before she could completely recover, she felt more pain, this time in her chest. She screamed, opening her eyes, her hands moving to grab at the source of the pain and finding—

Gungnir.

"Naughty girl, naughty girl. Time was almost up. You should have stayed inside." Mixed with the sounds of the maid's own gasps was the childish voice of that Devil, that Devil she loved, the Devil who loved her. Her vision was blurred, but the figure in front of her was unmistakable. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts. But we've been through this before, so I know it won't last long. Actually, you've only got a few moments left. You do this every time, you know. When will you learn?" There was a pause in which the maid tried to say something, but was interrupted by a somewhat hysterical, "Why can't you just play by the rules and let it end?"

The world was fading around her. Sakuya turned her head, her vision clearing only long enough for her to see that somehow she had ended up facing the clock tower. She reached out toward it, willing her abilities to work, but they would not. Why… why did Remilia do this…? Why did it have to end like this…? Please don't let it end like this…

The world and the clock tower faded into nothingness.

Okay, so, preface. Yay. It's not the best preface, but I didn't want to go into too much detail and if I didn't rush through it, it was going to be way longer than necessary. SO THIS IS WHAT YOU GET. I'll work harder on other chapters.

This is sort of based on Clock Tower. Sort of. Not really. It started out with a Clock Tower-ish concept, now it is what it is. Also, I'm bad at writing as Sakuya, don't have the mindset for it, but she's the best choice for main character in this situation.

Okay, yeah, Imma stop talking now. Hope it was decent.