Disclaimer: Although it breaks my heart, I own NOTHING, except part of the
Zellbadian thing, which will be explained more thoroughly in a moment. I do
not own Final Fantasy VII and VIII. I do not own Fatal Frame. I do not own
Gundam Wing. I do not own Persona. I do not own Trigun. Period. End of
story. And please don't try to sue me. I'm poor, young, and am currently
out of work. School does that to you.
And now for my brief introduction to the story. This was written for one of my college classes, and I came up with the idea after getting addicted to Fatal Frame and Persona at the same time. What a great combination. It breaks my heart that there aren't any sites really, REALLY dedicated to the games. But the Zellbadia idea and everything that ties in with it was an idea that evolved from my friend and I in art class one day. You'll soon find out the rest. Oh yeah, this story is completely MY version. So, there are people who are supposed to be dead but are miraculously brought back from the dead and other people who aren't even supposed to know each other but do, or vice-versa. Oh yeah, and Maya has a brother. Don't ask me why I decided to make her brother the lead character from Persona Revelations, I just wanted to. Why? Because it's my story, that's why. Another thing. I already have this story all typed out and I'll post more of it if I know that people like it. That means reviews peoples, pretty please. But I ask, please, no flames. I don't mind constructive criticism but I will not tolerate flames. Besides, you're the ones who clicked on the pretty link to the story. It was your decision to read it, not mine. I just posted this for entertainment. And now, without further ado, on with the story.
Four Days And Four Nights-The Zellbadian Version
The world is dark. Clear your mind of what you're doing-of what you're feeling. Relax and let yourself slip into the world of enchantment. This is my story, told from my point of view, of course. It was the way that I had seen everything, hung in this musty chamber on the top floor of this mansion. I was haunted by eerie sounds and piercing screams. Do you know what it's like to be truly asleep? Free me...from this mansion.....
This is what had sunk into the mind of Maya Amano for the last seven days. She sighed as she crumpled over on top of her desk. Her dark hair swept about her shoulders as she rested her forehead on her keyboard, imprinting a variety of random letters onto her screen.
It had been seven long days since her brother's disappearance.
She had remembered his wanting to visit that old mansion, despite her warnings. He was a journalist and he told her that it was a "journalist's instinct" to explore such a place. Who knew? Maybe this was their big break.
Maya was a journalist, too, and editor, of Sumuru City's infamous magazine company, Coolest. Her brother just happened to be her partner in all of their big stories. But lately, Coolest ratings had been dropping and her brother said that they needed something juicy to bring it back on the charts. After he embarked on a journey to the haunted Himuro Mansion, Maya hadn't heard so much as a word from him.
And now, she was scared.
Her brother, Hero, had such a fascination with horror stories and ghost stories, so there was no changing his mind once it was set to explore Himuro Mansion.
"It was where those unsolved murders took place," She breathed to herself as she closed her eyes. "That place is so ancient that it doesn't even appear on the map and no person dares to speak its name. Why would he want to venture there?" But she knew the answer to that.
Just then, she noticed a shadowy figure hovering above her and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. There, stood a tall, handsome man about the age of twenty-five. He was dressed in a snazzy gray suit and he straightened his square, maroon colored glasses. His brown hair slicked to one side but his bangs playfully hung in his eyes. It was her long time friend and companion, Katsuya Suou.
"You never keep in touch," The Detective of the Konan Police Department scolded gently as he crossed his arms and pretended to sound mad.
"Sorry," She gave a half-hearted smile and rose to her feet, "Just been thinking lately."
"About your brother again?" He asked her.
Nodding, she reached down to pick up her book bag and started out the door with him behind her.
"Yes. I'm just very worried about him. You've heard about those unsolved murders that happened there all those years ago. That house is so haunted, I don't see why ANY person in their right mind would travel there." Her eyes began to wander down the street.
"Well, that's Hero for you." They stopped at a crosswalk. "He's always been so adamant about making it to the top."
"Just didn't think that he'd risk so much..." She nearly muttered above audibility.
"I had my men check around the Himuro area for him, but there have been no traces." Katsuya hoped to bring some faith back into Maya's lifeless eyes.
"See? No one in their right mind would even venture directly into the house- not even the police." Seeing that his attempt to cheer Maya up had failed, Katsuya left it at that and walked her home in silence.
Unbeknownst to the young woman, the Detective had had a long time crush on the editor, and vowed to do whatever he could to find her younger sibling. And after he had arrived at his own apartment and checked to see that his own younger brother was still at high school, he found an odd looking letter on the table.
The envelope was a lavender color and smelled of sweet flowers. Curious as to see what could be inside, Katsuya tore open the envelope and pulled out a small letter from inside of it.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL
CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
The letter was printed nicely in big block letters and Katsuya noticed some small writing at the bottom of the paper.
YOU ARE 4 OUT OF 8
Puzzled, Katsuya reread the letter several times, but still could not grasp it. Himuro Mansion? The same Himuro Mansion that Maya's brother had last ventured into before he became missing? The same Himuro Mansion where so many unsolved murders had taken place? Why in the world would there be a celebration there?
"It's obviously a scandal, or perhaps a sick-minded individual's doing. Whatever the case, I am bound to find out. Anything to find Maya's brother." And to score points with Maya, he thought. This would be very interesting...
Meanwhile, a young man about the age of twenty-one sat inside of his $16 million mansion located outside Sumuru City. Snuggling further into his leather recliner, he flipped through his 500 channels of pure goodness. He finally stopped on a channel that displayed a football team on screen-The LA Doggers to be exact.
The young man slicked back his black hair and wiped his glasses with the blue scarf around his neck with the number "1" imprinted largely on the fabric. He unzipped his black leather jacket and pulled his dark gloves off of his wrist and tossed them down by his feet. It was great to be the heir of an entire estate and all of Japan's most important companies.
"Alfred!" The young man called to his butler, not taking his eyes off of the TV screen. "I would like a cookie. Bring me one."
An exasperated sigh was heard from the back and the old butler slowly walked into the Lounge.
"Sir Nate, the refreshments are on the table over there." Alfred pointed across the room.
"I know," Nate Nanjo replied, "but I don't feel like getting up."
Sighing again, the poor old man trudged to the table and plucked a cookie from the top of the stack.
"Laziness..." Alfred mumbled, "Sheer laziness. The boy is about to become president of all of his father's companies, and he can't grab a cookie off the table; a table that is less than TEN feet away from him..."
The old man handed a cookie to the rich boy and turned to walk out the door when Nate's voice stopped him.
"Has the mail come yet, Alfred?"
"Yes, Sir Nate, shall I bring it to you as well?"
"I would appreciate that, Alfred."
Alfred shook his head in despair and retrieved the mail from the Grand Hall. He flipped through it, glancing at random letters. Bills, letters, advertisements, chain letters, jury duty.....but what was this?
"It looks as though it is a very important letter..." Alfred noted to himself as he scanned the lavender colored letter. The envelope was scented, and that could only mean one thing. "It's an invitation to a party." Alfred put it back into the stack and handed the mail to Nate when he arrived back in the Lounge.
"Thank you Alfred...but what is this?" The purple-tinted letter caught Nate's attention. "It has my name on it. Odd...."
"It's just probably another letter inviting you to a dinner party." Alfred told him and walked back out of the room.
"A party, huh?" Nate tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. "Don't they ever get tired of seeing my face?" He read the letter aloud and then became puzzled. He read it a second time.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Scratching his head in thought, Nate began to fold the letter back up until small writing caught his eye down at the bottom of the page.
YOU ARE 2 OUT OF 8
"Himuro Mansion? Isn't that located at the bottom of Himuro Mountain? Is it that haunted mansion that no one ever talks about? Odd...why would a party be held there? Oh well, there's only one way to find out."
In the country of Zellbadia, located 20 miles east of Sumaru City, seventeen-year-old Zell was busy looking out the window of his HUGE mansion as he filed his nails. His black tattoo of some design stood out brightly as the light above him hit it.
Once, Zell Dincht had been nothing but a low-life living in the city of Balamb with his mother and a few friends. And though Zell had many friends, nothing could amount to the pain he had felt after they had saved the world from a near-death experience. All of his friends were rich and famous, only because they had saved the world at one point, but Zell had been forgotten. He was only a martial arts fanatic who had an obsession with hotdogs and nothing more.
But Zell had struck oil while he was trying to bury 20 pounds of hotdogs in his backyard so his mother wouldn't find out that he had used up over half of them for his big cookout. And Zell had become immensely rich and had taken over the whole country of what used to be Galbadia. Zell had renamed every city after him and had changed every product by putting decals of himself on the labels. Ah yes, life was great.
And his friend who had been a brother and leader in his eyes, the one who had been teacher's pet in the school that had specialized in eliminating sorceresses, called Garden, had declared bankruptcy and had been living in his tow truck ever since. Yes, his one friend, Squall Leonhart, had only managed to become president of his own towing business, "Squall and Rinoa's Towing Company" while Zell was out ruling the world. Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend.
Zell had become the wealthiest man in the whole country of Galbadia.er, Zellbadia. He had it all, from Zelling City, to Zellsthar City. From the "Zell's Lunatic Pandora" to "Zell's Ragnorak" and "Zell's Garden-Zellamb Garden". And Zell loved every minute of being a bajillionaire.
Zell was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his robot servant that had wheeled up behind him and held out some letters.
"Here-is-today's-mail-Master-Zell." The robot dumped the letters onto Zell's lap and stood there for a moment.
"Yes, what is it, Zellbot?" Zell asked, scanning through each letter carefully. "Is there something else? Wait, I KNOW there's something else because you are still here disgracing yourself in my sacred presence."
"Forgive-me-sire-but-I-only-wanted-to-remind-you-about-your-meeting-with- Martine-sire." The robot said as he handed Zell a glass of lemonade with a little straw umbrella in the drink.
"Oh yes, the old president of Galbadia Garden, AKA, Zellbadia Garden now..." Zell took the drink and sipped off of it diligently. "Well, if it's about buying Zellbadia Garden back from me, tell him not to bother. I will NOT give up my rightful land."
The lavender colored envelope caught Zell's eyes as he looked through the large pile of mail.
"Yes-Master-Zell. I-shall-see-that-he-is-executed-if-he-tries-to-waste-your- valuable-time. How-would-you-like-him-terminated?"
"I never said I wanted him killed! I just want him off my back, that's all."
"Yes-Your-Highness. I-will-see-to-that." The robot left in a hurry as Zell tore open the envelope and looked inside to read the letter.
"Hmmm..." Zell said as he overlooked the letter quickly. "Probably another campaign to release all monsters from my 'Zell's Highly Expensive To Visit Zoo'. You know I hate it when they send me this garbage!" But two words caught Zell's attention. "What? Himuro Mansion?" Zell read the letter more thoroughly.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Zell's face became confused as he reread the letter over and over again. Then he spotted something down at the bottom of the page.
YOU ARE 5 OUT OF 8
"What!? Only 5 out of 8? I should number one. And how can this be? Himuro Mansion, isn't that place haunted? Oh well, it will be another great opportunity to buy myself a summer resort. I'll just bomb the house to the ground and make "Zell's Dream House". Yes, that will only cost me a few million, but I'll still be rich. I must call my friends and tell them the good news!"
Zell called Squall up on the Zellaphone and waited as it rang three times before a cranky voice picked up the phone.
"What?" Answered the irritated voice of Squall Leonhart.
"Squall!" Zell greeted, "How ya doing?"
A short pause.
"Zell!? Is this you!?" Squall screamed into the phone. Zell didn't seem to notice the anxiety in his seventeen-year old friend's voice.
"So what have you been up to?" Zell smiled as he fingered the lavender paper.
"What have I been up to? WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO!? Zell, you ruined my life! You took Garden from Headmaster Cid and then bought me out of my estate to Esthar! And you're asking what I've been up to!?" It then dawned on Zell that Squall's father, Laguna Loire, had been the president of Esthar and had left the entire estate in Squall's name. That is, before Zell took over Esthar and renamed it "Zellsthar".
"Guess what?" Zell said, changing the subject.
"What?" Squall's dejected voice came over the receiver.
"I got this really cool letter inviting me to Himuro Mansion to a celebration." Zell felt pleased with himself. He knew that he'd be the only person in Zellbadia to receive such a letter. That soon changed.
"So?" Squall said indifferently. "I got the same letter."
Zell felt his whole world crumble and there was an awkward silence before Zell spoke again.
"YOU!? SQUALL!? POORER-THAN-DIRT SQUALL!? IMPOSSIBLE!!! I'M THE RICH GUY, SO WHY SHOULD YOU GET A LETTER!?"
"I don't know, but it invited me to the same thing and down at the bottom it said, "You are 7 out of 8", so there must be eight people attending this thing. Too bad you're one of them. And I wouldn't be poorer than dirt if a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, hadn't taken over the country and stole my estate and put my father back into the fishing business." Squall was referring to the fishing company in Balamb (or Zellamb) that his father now worked for.
"Ah, put a cork in it, Squall!" Zell snapped, glowering at the phone. "They probably just sent it to you by mistake," He told him, more of trying to reassure himself than Squall, "and tomorrow morning they'll call and tell you just that."
"Sure they will, Zell." Squall said with a bit of sarcasm. "Anyhow, I need to get going. Someone just paged me about a car that needs towing in front of a pizza building. See you Zell. Hopefully it won't be TOO soon..." And with those final words, Squall put down the phone and Zell soon followed after, fuming.
"Him of all people!? Why him!? Why would HE receive a letter!?" Before Zell could think of any reasonable explanations for this situation, a knock came to the door.
Zell stomped over to the door and swung it open. There stood the last person he had hoped to see-Seifer Almasy.
"Well, greetings, Chickenwuss. Bet you didn't expect to see me, huh?" Chickenwuss was Seifer's nickname for Zell.
The arrogant man flicked at his short, blonde, spiky hair (an indication that he was showing off, or trying to at least) as he walked past Zell. His light gray trench coat flowed in behind him and he turned around, tugging at his black leather gloves and dusting off his dark blue and white shirt and black pants.
"What do you want, Seifer?" Zell was quick to get to the point. Seifer looked somewhat hurt by Zell's 'warm' welcome.
"Why Zell, I thought that you'd be eager to see me again, after all that we had been through. I hope that all of this money hasn't gone to your head."
"No, Seifer, I'm not giving you free tickets to go to Zell's Amusement Park."
"Actually, I was going to show you something." Seifer dug deep into his pocket. "Seeing as YOU are the richest man in the whole country right now, I just wanted to see if you received one of these..." Seifer pulled out a lavender colored letter that had the same invitation on it as Zell had received. On the bottom it said, "YOU ARE 3 OUT OF 8".
"Aww man! Not you too!" Zell slammed his fist into his forehead and Seifer's face became confused.
Zack Terain finished his work for the day and headed home to his run-down house in the East Side of Midgar, 5 miles from Sumaru City. When he barged in through his door, he threw his brown leather boots in one corner, his metal arm plates in another, and jumped the side of his so-called 'couch'. Wiping the sweat from his face, Zack ran his fingers through his black porcupine-styled hair and sighed.
Zack was a mercenary and worked for whatever money he could. It was tough being poor and living in a poor town, but Zack wasn't cut out for better paying jobs with higher industries. Actually, he had tried once, but it hadn't exactly worked out. Zack had once worked for Shin-ra, a very rich company, as a bodyguard. These bodyguards were apart of a military camp called SOLDIER, and Zack had been top rank, too. But the ex-member of SOLDIER felt that this type of lifestyle was not suitable for a guy like him and he wanted to do something a bit more ordinary, though being a mercenary was somewhat just as dangerous as SOLDIER had once been.
He leaned across the couch to pick up what little mail he had gotten and a lavender colored letter caught his attention. Opening the letter carefully, he looked inside the letter and began to read.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Confused, he continued to read until six small words caught his attention.
YOU ARE 6 OUT OF 8
What in the world did that mean? And wasn't Himuro Mansion haunted? There had been many unsolved murders that had taken place there, Zack had recalled, so why would there be any sort of celebration there?
"Well," He said to himself, "This might just be the big break I needed. I do get tired of these small-fry jobs I've been receiving anyway. Maybe it's a mercenary request..." He grinned and tucked the letter into his dark purple pants. After all, he was still young, only twenty-four. He could manage a big job.
"Maxwell! This is the LAST time that I trust you with my white Mercedes!!!" Milliardo Peacecraft gestured to his now mutilated car, and glowered at the young man in front of him.
"Geez, Zechs, it was an accident! I didn't mean to crash your car into the McDonald's building, and can you blame a guy for being hungry?" The young man held his hands up in defense as he began to sweat uncontrollably. Milliardo could be very scary when he got mad.
"That's why they have drive-through windows, Maxwell, if you're THAT hungry!" Milliardo sighed and sat down at his kitchen table.
Fifteen-year-old Duo Maxwell followed after him, his long braided hair that ended at his thighs, tagging along behind. He rolled up the black sleeves of his shirt and wiped his sweaty palms on his black pants. Straightening the white collar of his white undershirt, he nervously tried to think of another excuse to calm his older friend.
"It was packed, Zechs, and what are you suppose to do on such short notice?" 'Zechs' was Milliardo's name back in OZ and Duo thought that his old name sounded better than his real name. He stared at his ex-military friend, who leaned down to take a bite of his steak. His long white hair fell in front of his face and Milliardo pushed it back.
"That's why you go to another fast food joint, Duo. We only have TWELVE other McDonalds in town."
"...Can't argue with that." Duo mumbled and Milliardo's wife, Noin, came into the room, carrying a plate full of food.
"Duo," Noin glanced at Duo as she set the food in front of her husband, "are you trying to give Milliardo another thing to be mad about?" Her short, dark blue hair covered her face. "You know that he just got out of GAMP last week." GAMP stood for 'Gundam Anger Management Program'.
"Woah, woah! Are you bringing up that hair curler incident again?" Duo asked as Noin's eyes widen and she mouthed "no" to him.
Milliardo stopped eating.
"Duo...I suggest that you stop talking..." Noin said quietly to him. Duo didn't seem to hear her.
"You know, when I hung that hair curler in the shower by accident and left it plugged in and then Zechs got into the shower and knocked the thing down and it electrocuted him and he was on life support for three months?" Noin slapped herself in the forehead as Zechs' face grew bright red with anger.
"That...was...YOU WHO DID THAT!?" Zechs growled at Duo.
"You never told him that I did that?" Duo asked Noin. She sighed and shook her head.
"You nearly killed me, Maxwell! I still have a bald spot on my head where my hair fell out!" Zechs showed the spot on the back of his head to him. "You know how much I love my hair!" Zechs jumped out of his chair and got into a fighting stance. "Where's a rope!? I'm gonna strangle him!"
"Now darling," Noin put a hand on his shoulder, "That's why we took GAMP. Remember what the counselor said, Milli. He said to remember the good times, like your stuff bunny Uncle Bubbles." Noin handed Milliardo a small stuffed bunny and he snatched it from her hands. "Now think of happy thoughts. What made you the happiest when you were a child?"
"Well...there was the time when I had a rocking horse and..." Noin led him into the back room, leaving a dumbfounded Duo in the kitchen.
"...I never knew that Zechs had a rocking horse. Oh well." Duo looked down at the table where three letters were sitting comfortably under a vase. A lavender colored envelope stood out the most and he slid it out from under the vase and opened it.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
At the bottom of the letter, he saw some small text. Bringing the letter closer to his face, he read it carefully.
YOU ARE 1 OUT OF 8
"Hmm...I've heard of this place. It's suppose to be haunted or something. I don't think Zechs would mind if I went instead of him. After all, I "AM" his best friend." Duo grinned and trotted out of Zechs' apartment.
"MR. Vash! Just WHERE do you think that you are going?" Meryl Stryfe put her small hands on her hips and glowered at the man with long blonde spiky hair irritably.
"Look Insurance Girl!" Vash flashed a flyer in front of the younger woman's face. She snatched it from his hands and read it over.
"Part-time workers wanted for...NO, Vash, you are NOT working THERE!"
"But it pays so much money and all you have to do is dance."
"Did you even READ the bottom part?"
Vash snatched the paper back from his younger companion and lowered his eyes to the bottom of the paper. "Please apply only if...yeah, yeah, yaddy- yaddah...WHAT!? Okay, I've changed my mind, I like being broke."
"That's what I thought."
Vash stood up from his chair in the bar, exposing his entire figure. He was a tall man in a long red trench coat with big black buttons down the middle. Pressed upon his nose were round yellow tinted glasses. Under his coat, he wore black body armor and black boots. He trotted out the doors, Meryl following behind.
"Where are you going now?" She asked.
"To find a job."
"No one's going to hire you, in case you haven't noticed. Your reputation is."
"All right, all right! I'll stay in the poorhouse, geez."
Vash's eyes shifted to his left, where he spotted his friend, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, leaning against the wall of an abandoned building, smoking a cigarette.
"Hey Priest Man!" Vash waved. "What'cha doing all the way over there!?"
Wolfwood was a traveling priest, earning money for his orphanage located way out in the boonies.
"Thinking."
"About what?" Vash inquired.
"Look at this," Wolfwood dug deep into his pocket and pulled out a lavender envelope.
"What's that?" Meryl asked as she joined the party.
"I found it," Wolfwood replied, "Laying on the desk in YOUR dorm," Wolfwood kept his eyes glued on Vash. "I don't know who sent it or what it's for, or HOW they EVEN found you, but it looks important."
Vash took the envelope into his fingers and gently tore the top open. He removed the paper from inside and read it aloud.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Vash paused, squinted, and then shook his head.
"No way, I am NOT setting foot in that place."
"What?" Wolfwood asked, "Why not? Surely a gunman with your experience shouldn't have any worries about going there."
"Are you a moron!?" Vash sighed. "Himuro Mansion is HAUNTED. Do you know how many unnecessary deaths took place in there? If I was to trot in there that night, do you think that my gun would have any effect against a GHOST?"
"Well..." Wolfwood laughed nervously. "Of COURSE I knew about that place.but."
"But WHAT?" Meryl asked, catching on that he obviously no clue as to what he was talking about.
"Um...The sky's blue." Wolfwood said quickly, catching his two companions off guard. Wolfwood looked at the letter and spotted unread text at the bottom. "Look Vash, it says that you're "8 out of 8", so there will, without a doubt, be more people there than just you."
"..." Vash was not convinced. "WHY do you want me to go so bad?"
"Because he's a desperate human with no mind or will," Vash turned and watched as his twin brother, Millions Knives, strolled down the dirt road. "Besides, haven't you heard of the forgotten treasures in that mansion?"
"Treasures?" Vash and Meryl asked in unison.
"Of course," Knives shrugged. "That mansion is so old, it's worth money alone on that. Also, they have expensive and rare antiques in that house, so it won't be TOO much of a waste if you decide to venture there."
"Mr. Knives," Meryl protested, "That's not such a good idea..."
"Well, the letter was sent to Vash," Knives pointed out. "So it really can't be all that haunted if they're inviting people to the mansion."
"MAYBE it's a trap!" Meryl argued.
"And what if it's not?" Wolfwood asked. "We won't know until Vash goes. Besides, weren't you just complain how you don't have any money anyway, Vash?"
"Yeah...well..."
"It'll be fine." Wolfwood assured.
Vash scowled. "You just want the big bounty on my head if I die, that's all, Wolfwood."
Well? Should I post the next chapter? Let me know!
Parallel_Blue13115
And now for my brief introduction to the story. This was written for one of my college classes, and I came up with the idea after getting addicted to Fatal Frame and Persona at the same time. What a great combination. It breaks my heart that there aren't any sites really, REALLY dedicated to the games. But the Zellbadia idea and everything that ties in with it was an idea that evolved from my friend and I in art class one day. You'll soon find out the rest. Oh yeah, this story is completely MY version. So, there are people who are supposed to be dead but are miraculously brought back from the dead and other people who aren't even supposed to know each other but do, or vice-versa. Oh yeah, and Maya has a brother. Don't ask me why I decided to make her brother the lead character from Persona Revelations, I just wanted to. Why? Because it's my story, that's why. Another thing. I already have this story all typed out and I'll post more of it if I know that people like it. That means reviews peoples, pretty please. But I ask, please, no flames. I don't mind constructive criticism but I will not tolerate flames. Besides, you're the ones who clicked on the pretty link to the story. It was your decision to read it, not mine. I just posted this for entertainment. And now, without further ado, on with the story.
Four Days And Four Nights-The Zellbadian Version
The world is dark. Clear your mind of what you're doing-of what you're feeling. Relax and let yourself slip into the world of enchantment. This is my story, told from my point of view, of course. It was the way that I had seen everything, hung in this musty chamber on the top floor of this mansion. I was haunted by eerie sounds and piercing screams. Do you know what it's like to be truly asleep? Free me...from this mansion.....
This is what had sunk into the mind of Maya Amano for the last seven days. She sighed as she crumpled over on top of her desk. Her dark hair swept about her shoulders as she rested her forehead on her keyboard, imprinting a variety of random letters onto her screen.
It had been seven long days since her brother's disappearance.
She had remembered his wanting to visit that old mansion, despite her warnings. He was a journalist and he told her that it was a "journalist's instinct" to explore such a place. Who knew? Maybe this was their big break.
Maya was a journalist, too, and editor, of Sumuru City's infamous magazine company, Coolest. Her brother just happened to be her partner in all of their big stories. But lately, Coolest ratings had been dropping and her brother said that they needed something juicy to bring it back on the charts. After he embarked on a journey to the haunted Himuro Mansion, Maya hadn't heard so much as a word from him.
And now, she was scared.
Her brother, Hero, had such a fascination with horror stories and ghost stories, so there was no changing his mind once it was set to explore Himuro Mansion.
"It was where those unsolved murders took place," She breathed to herself as she closed her eyes. "That place is so ancient that it doesn't even appear on the map and no person dares to speak its name. Why would he want to venture there?" But she knew the answer to that.
Just then, she noticed a shadowy figure hovering above her and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. There, stood a tall, handsome man about the age of twenty-five. He was dressed in a snazzy gray suit and he straightened his square, maroon colored glasses. His brown hair slicked to one side but his bangs playfully hung in his eyes. It was her long time friend and companion, Katsuya Suou.
"You never keep in touch," The Detective of the Konan Police Department scolded gently as he crossed his arms and pretended to sound mad.
"Sorry," She gave a half-hearted smile and rose to her feet, "Just been thinking lately."
"About your brother again?" He asked her.
Nodding, she reached down to pick up her book bag and started out the door with him behind her.
"Yes. I'm just very worried about him. You've heard about those unsolved murders that happened there all those years ago. That house is so haunted, I don't see why ANY person in their right mind would travel there." Her eyes began to wander down the street.
"Well, that's Hero for you." They stopped at a crosswalk. "He's always been so adamant about making it to the top."
"Just didn't think that he'd risk so much..." She nearly muttered above audibility.
"I had my men check around the Himuro area for him, but there have been no traces." Katsuya hoped to bring some faith back into Maya's lifeless eyes.
"See? No one in their right mind would even venture directly into the house- not even the police." Seeing that his attempt to cheer Maya up had failed, Katsuya left it at that and walked her home in silence.
Unbeknownst to the young woman, the Detective had had a long time crush on the editor, and vowed to do whatever he could to find her younger sibling. And after he had arrived at his own apartment and checked to see that his own younger brother was still at high school, he found an odd looking letter on the table.
The envelope was a lavender color and smelled of sweet flowers. Curious as to see what could be inside, Katsuya tore open the envelope and pulled out a small letter from inside of it.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL
CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
The letter was printed nicely in big block letters and Katsuya noticed some small writing at the bottom of the paper.
YOU ARE 4 OUT OF 8
Puzzled, Katsuya reread the letter several times, but still could not grasp it. Himuro Mansion? The same Himuro Mansion that Maya's brother had last ventured into before he became missing? The same Himuro Mansion where so many unsolved murders had taken place? Why in the world would there be a celebration there?
"It's obviously a scandal, or perhaps a sick-minded individual's doing. Whatever the case, I am bound to find out. Anything to find Maya's brother." And to score points with Maya, he thought. This would be very interesting...
Meanwhile, a young man about the age of twenty-one sat inside of his $16 million mansion located outside Sumuru City. Snuggling further into his leather recliner, he flipped through his 500 channels of pure goodness. He finally stopped on a channel that displayed a football team on screen-The LA Doggers to be exact.
The young man slicked back his black hair and wiped his glasses with the blue scarf around his neck with the number "1" imprinted largely on the fabric. He unzipped his black leather jacket and pulled his dark gloves off of his wrist and tossed them down by his feet. It was great to be the heir of an entire estate and all of Japan's most important companies.
"Alfred!" The young man called to his butler, not taking his eyes off of the TV screen. "I would like a cookie. Bring me one."
An exasperated sigh was heard from the back and the old butler slowly walked into the Lounge.
"Sir Nate, the refreshments are on the table over there." Alfred pointed across the room.
"I know," Nate Nanjo replied, "but I don't feel like getting up."
Sighing again, the poor old man trudged to the table and plucked a cookie from the top of the stack.
"Laziness..." Alfred mumbled, "Sheer laziness. The boy is about to become president of all of his father's companies, and he can't grab a cookie off the table; a table that is less than TEN feet away from him..."
The old man handed a cookie to the rich boy and turned to walk out the door when Nate's voice stopped him.
"Has the mail come yet, Alfred?"
"Yes, Sir Nate, shall I bring it to you as well?"
"I would appreciate that, Alfred."
Alfred shook his head in despair and retrieved the mail from the Grand Hall. He flipped through it, glancing at random letters. Bills, letters, advertisements, chain letters, jury duty.....but what was this?
"It looks as though it is a very important letter..." Alfred noted to himself as he scanned the lavender colored letter. The envelope was scented, and that could only mean one thing. "It's an invitation to a party." Alfred put it back into the stack and handed the mail to Nate when he arrived back in the Lounge.
"Thank you Alfred...but what is this?" The purple-tinted letter caught Nate's attention. "It has my name on it. Odd...."
"It's just probably another letter inviting you to a dinner party." Alfred told him and walked back out of the room.
"A party, huh?" Nate tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. "Don't they ever get tired of seeing my face?" He read the letter aloud and then became puzzled. He read it a second time.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Scratching his head in thought, Nate began to fold the letter back up until small writing caught his eye down at the bottom of the page.
YOU ARE 2 OUT OF 8
"Himuro Mansion? Isn't that located at the bottom of Himuro Mountain? Is it that haunted mansion that no one ever talks about? Odd...why would a party be held there? Oh well, there's only one way to find out."
In the country of Zellbadia, located 20 miles east of Sumaru City, seventeen-year-old Zell was busy looking out the window of his HUGE mansion as he filed his nails. His black tattoo of some design stood out brightly as the light above him hit it.
Once, Zell Dincht had been nothing but a low-life living in the city of Balamb with his mother and a few friends. And though Zell had many friends, nothing could amount to the pain he had felt after they had saved the world from a near-death experience. All of his friends were rich and famous, only because they had saved the world at one point, but Zell had been forgotten. He was only a martial arts fanatic who had an obsession with hotdogs and nothing more.
But Zell had struck oil while he was trying to bury 20 pounds of hotdogs in his backyard so his mother wouldn't find out that he had used up over half of them for his big cookout. And Zell had become immensely rich and had taken over the whole country of what used to be Galbadia. Zell had renamed every city after him and had changed every product by putting decals of himself on the labels. Ah yes, life was great.
And his friend who had been a brother and leader in his eyes, the one who had been teacher's pet in the school that had specialized in eliminating sorceresses, called Garden, had declared bankruptcy and had been living in his tow truck ever since. Yes, his one friend, Squall Leonhart, had only managed to become president of his own towing business, "Squall and Rinoa's Towing Company" while Zell was out ruling the world. Rinoa was Squall's girlfriend.
Zell had become the wealthiest man in the whole country of Galbadia.er, Zellbadia. He had it all, from Zelling City, to Zellsthar City. From the "Zell's Lunatic Pandora" to "Zell's Ragnorak" and "Zell's Garden-Zellamb Garden". And Zell loved every minute of being a bajillionaire.
Zell was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his robot servant that had wheeled up behind him and held out some letters.
"Here-is-today's-mail-Master-Zell." The robot dumped the letters onto Zell's lap and stood there for a moment.
"Yes, what is it, Zellbot?" Zell asked, scanning through each letter carefully. "Is there something else? Wait, I KNOW there's something else because you are still here disgracing yourself in my sacred presence."
"Forgive-me-sire-but-I-only-wanted-to-remind-you-about-your-meeting-with- Martine-sire." The robot said as he handed Zell a glass of lemonade with a little straw umbrella in the drink.
"Oh yes, the old president of Galbadia Garden, AKA, Zellbadia Garden now..." Zell took the drink and sipped off of it diligently. "Well, if it's about buying Zellbadia Garden back from me, tell him not to bother. I will NOT give up my rightful land."
The lavender colored envelope caught Zell's eyes as he looked through the large pile of mail.
"Yes-Master-Zell. I-shall-see-that-he-is-executed-if-he-tries-to-waste-your- valuable-time. How-would-you-like-him-terminated?"
"I never said I wanted him killed! I just want him off my back, that's all."
"Yes-Your-Highness. I-will-see-to-that." The robot left in a hurry as Zell tore open the envelope and looked inside to read the letter.
"Hmmm..." Zell said as he overlooked the letter quickly. "Probably another campaign to release all monsters from my 'Zell's Highly Expensive To Visit Zoo'. You know I hate it when they send me this garbage!" But two words caught Zell's attention. "What? Himuro Mansion?" Zell read the letter more thoroughly.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Zell's face became confused as he reread the letter over and over again. Then he spotted something down at the bottom of the page.
YOU ARE 5 OUT OF 8
"What!? Only 5 out of 8? I should number one. And how can this be? Himuro Mansion, isn't that place haunted? Oh well, it will be another great opportunity to buy myself a summer resort. I'll just bomb the house to the ground and make "Zell's Dream House". Yes, that will only cost me a few million, but I'll still be rich. I must call my friends and tell them the good news!"
Zell called Squall up on the Zellaphone and waited as it rang three times before a cranky voice picked up the phone.
"What?" Answered the irritated voice of Squall Leonhart.
"Squall!" Zell greeted, "How ya doing?"
A short pause.
"Zell!? Is this you!?" Squall screamed into the phone. Zell didn't seem to notice the anxiety in his seventeen-year old friend's voice.
"So what have you been up to?" Zell smiled as he fingered the lavender paper.
"What have I been up to? WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO!? Zell, you ruined my life! You took Garden from Headmaster Cid and then bought me out of my estate to Esthar! And you're asking what I've been up to!?" It then dawned on Zell that Squall's father, Laguna Loire, had been the president of Esthar and had left the entire estate in Squall's name. That is, before Zell took over Esthar and renamed it "Zellsthar".
"Guess what?" Zell said, changing the subject.
"What?" Squall's dejected voice came over the receiver.
"I got this really cool letter inviting me to Himuro Mansion to a celebration." Zell felt pleased with himself. He knew that he'd be the only person in Zellbadia to receive such a letter. That soon changed.
"So?" Squall said indifferently. "I got the same letter."
Zell felt his whole world crumble and there was an awkward silence before Zell spoke again.
"YOU!? SQUALL!? POORER-THAN-DIRT SQUALL!? IMPOSSIBLE!!! I'M THE RICH GUY, SO WHY SHOULD YOU GET A LETTER!?"
"I don't know, but it invited me to the same thing and down at the bottom it said, "You are 7 out of 8", so there must be eight people attending this thing. Too bad you're one of them. And I wouldn't be poorer than dirt if a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, hadn't taken over the country and stole my estate and put my father back into the fishing business." Squall was referring to the fishing company in Balamb (or Zellamb) that his father now worked for.
"Ah, put a cork in it, Squall!" Zell snapped, glowering at the phone. "They probably just sent it to you by mistake," He told him, more of trying to reassure himself than Squall, "and tomorrow morning they'll call and tell you just that."
"Sure they will, Zell." Squall said with a bit of sarcasm. "Anyhow, I need to get going. Someone just paged me about a car that needs towing in front of a pizza building. See you Zell. Hopefully it won't be TOO soon..." And with those final words, Squall put down the phone and Zell soon followed after, fuming.
"Him of all people!? Why him!? Why would HE receive a letter!?" Before Zell could think of any reasonable explanations for this situation, a knock came to the door.
Zell stomped over to the door and swung it open. There stood the last person he had hoped to see-Seifer Almasy.
"Well, greetings, Chickenwuss. Bet you didn't expect to see me, huh?" Chickenwuss was Seifer's nickname for Zell.
The arrogant man flicked at his short, blonde, spiky hair (an indication that he was showing off, or trying to at least) as he walked past Zell. His light gray trench coat flowed in behind him and he turned around, tugging at his black leather gloves and dusting off his dark blue and white shirt and black pants.
"What do you want, Seifer?" Zell was quick to get to the point. Seifer looked somewhat hurt by Zell's 'warm' welcome.
"Why Zell, I thought that you'd be eager to see me again, after all that we had been through. I hope that all of this money hasn't gone to your head."
"No, Seifer, I'm not giving you free tickets to go to Zell's Amusement Park."
"Actually, I was going to show you something." Seifer dug deep into his pocket. "Seeing as YOU are the richest man in the whole country right now, I just wanted to see if you received one of these..." Seifer pulled out a lavender colored letter that had the same invitation on it as Zell had received. On the bottom it said, "YOU ARE 3 OUT OF 8".
"Aww man! Not you too!" Zell slammed his fist into his forehead and Seifer's face became confused.
Zack Terain finished his work for the day and headed home to his run-down house in the East Side of Midgar, 5 miles from Sumaru City. When he barged in through his door, he threw his brown leather boots in one corner, his metal arm plates in another, and jumped the side of his so-called 'couch'. Wiping the sweat from his face, Zack ran his fingers through his black porcupine-styled hair and sighed.
Zack was a mercenary and worked for whatever money he could. It was tough being poor and living in a poor town, but Zack wasn't cut out for better paying jobs with higher industries. Actually, he had tried once, but it hadn't exactly worked out. Zack had once worked for Shin-ra, a very rich company, as a bodyguard. These bodyguards were apart of a military camp called SOLDIER, and Zack had been top rank, too. But the ex-member of SOLDIER felt that this type of lifestyle was not suitable for a guy like him and he wanted to do something a bit more ordinary, though being a mercenary was somewhat just as dangerous as SOLDIER had once been.
He leaned across the couch to pick up what little mail he had gotten and a lavender colored letter caught his attention. Opening the letter carefully, he looked inside the letter and began to read.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Confused, he continued to read until six small words caught his attention.
YOU ARE 6 OUT OF 8
What in the world did that mean? And wasn't Himuro Mansion haunted? There had been many unsolved murders that had taken place there, Zack had recalled, so why would there be any sort of celebration there?
"Well," He said to himself, "This might just be the big break I needed. I do get tired of these small-fry jobs I've been receiving anyway. Maybe it's a mercenary request..." He grinned and tucked the letter into his dark purple pants. After all, he was still young, only twenty-four. He could manage a big job.
"Maxwell! This is the LAST time that I trust you with my white Mercedes!!!" Milliardo Peacecraft gestured to his now mutilated car, and glowered at the young man in front of him.
"Geez, Zechs, it was an accident! I didn't mean to crash your car into the McDonald's building, and can you blame a guy for being hungry?" The young man held his hands up in defense as he began to sweat uncontrollably. Milliardo could be very scary when he got mad.
"That's why they have drive-through windows, Maxwell, if you're THAT hungry!" Milliardo sighed and sat down at his kitchen table.
Fifteen-year-old Duo Maxwell followed after him, his long braided hair that ended at his thighs, tagging along behind. He rolled up the black sleeves of his shirt and wiped his sweaty palms on his black pants. Straightening the white collar of his white undershirt, he nervously tried to think of another excuse to calm his older friend.
"It was packed, Zechs, and what are you suppose to do on such short notice?" 'Zechs' was Milliardo's name back in OZ and Duo thought that his old name sounded better than his real name. He stared at his ex-military friend, who leaned down to take a bite of his steak. His long white hair fell in front of his face and Milliardo pushed it back.
"That's why you go to another fast food joint, Duo. We only have TWELVE other McDonalds in town."
"...Can't argue with that." Duo mumbled and Milliardo's wife, Noin, came into the room, carrying a plate full of food.
"Duo," Noin glanced at Duo as she set the food in front of her husband, "are you trying to give Milliardo another thing to be mad about?" Her short, dark blue hair covered her face. "You know that he just got out of GAMP last week." GAMP stood for 'Gundam Anger Management Program'.
"Woah, woah! Are you bringing up that hair curler incident again?" Duo asked as Noin's eyes widen and she mouthed "no" to him.
Milliardo stopped eating.
"Duo...I suggest that you stop talking..." Noin said quietly to him. Duo didn't seem to hear her.
"You know, when I hung that hair curler in the shower by accident and left it plugged in and then Zechs got into the shower and knocked the thing down and it electrocuted him and he was on life support for three months?" Noin slapped herself in the forehead as Zechs' face grew bright red with anger.
"That...was...YOU WHO DID THAT!?" Zechs growled at Duo.
"You never told him that I did that?" Duo asked Noin. She sighed and shook her head.
"You nearly killed me, Maxwell! I still have a bald spot on my head where my hair fell out!" Zechs showed the spot on the back of his head to him. "You know how much I love my hair!" Zechs jumped out of his chair and got into a fighting stance. "Where's a rope!? I'm gonna strangle him!"
"Now darling," Noin put a hand on his shoulder, "That's why we took GAMP. Remember what the counselor said, Milli. He said to remember the good times, like your stuff bunny Uncle Bubbles." Noin handed Milliardo a small stuffed bunny and he snatched it from her hands. "Now think of happy thoughts. What made you the happiest when you were a child?"
"Well...there was the time when I had a rocking horse and..." Noin led him into the back room, leaving a dumbfounded Duo in the kitchen.
"...I never knew that Zechs had a rocking horse. Oh well." Duo looked down at the table where three letters were sitting comfortably under a vase. A lavender colored envelope stood out the most and he slid it out from under the vase and opened it.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
At the bottom of the letter, he saw some small text. Bringing the letter closer to his face, he read it carefully.
YOU ARE 1 OUT OF 8
"Hmm...I've heard of this place. It's suppose to be haunted or something. I don't think Zechs would mind if I went instead of him. After all, I "AM" his best friend." Duo grinned and trotted out of Zechs' apartment.
"MR. Vash! Just WHERE do you think that you are going?" Meryl Stryfe put her small hands on her hips and glowered at the man with long blonde spiky hair irritably.
"Look Insurance Girl!" Vash flashed a flyer in front of the younger woman's face. She snatched it from his hands and read it over.
"Part-time workers wanted for...NO, Vash, you are NOT working THERE!"
"But it pays so much money and all you have to do is dance."
"Did you even READ the bottom part?"
Vash snatched the paper back from his younger companion and lowered his eyes to the bottom of the paper. "Please apply only if...yeah, yeah, yaddy- yaddah...WHAT!? Okay, I've changed my mind, I like being broke."
"That's what I thought."
Vash stood up from his chair in the bar, exposing his entire figure. He was a tall man in a long red trench coat with big black buttons down the middle. Pressed upon his nose were round yellow tinted glasses. Under his coat, he wore black body armor and black boots. He trotted out the doors, Meryl following behind.
"Where are you going now?" She asked.
"To find a job."
"No one's going to hire you, in case you haven't noticed. Your reputation is."
"All right, all right! I'll stay in the poorhouse, geez."
Vash's eyes shifted to his left, where he spotted his friend, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, leaning against the wall of an abandoned building, smoking a cigarette.
"Hey Priest Man!" Vash waved. "What'cha doing all the way over there!?"
Wolfwood was a traveling priest, earning money for his orphanage located way out in the boonies.
"Thinking."
"About what?" Vash inquired.
"Look at this," Wolfwood dug deep into his pocket and pulled out a lavender envelope.
"What's that?" Meryl asked as she joined the party.
"I found it," Wolfwood replied, "Laying on the desk in YOUR dorm," Wolfwood kept his eyes glued on Vash. "I don't know who sent it or what it's for, or HOW they EVEN found you, but it looks important."
Vash took the envelope into his fingers and gently tore the top open. He removed the paper from inside and read it aloud.
YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO HIMURO MANSION'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION HOSTED ON DECEMBER 10TH, @ 10:45 P.M.
Vash paused, squinted, and then shook his head.
"No way, I am NOT setting foot in that place."
"What?" Wolfwood asked, "Why not? Surely a gunman with your experience shouldn't have any worries about going there."
"Are you a moron!?" Vash sighed. "Himuro Mansion is HAUNTED. Do you know how many unnecessary deaths took place in there? If I was to trot in there that night, do you think that my gun would have any effect against a GHOST?"
"Well..." Wolfwood laughed nervously. "Of COURSE I knew about that place.but."
"But WHAT?" Meryl asked, catching on that he obviously no clue as to what he was talking about.
"Um...The sky's blue." Wolfwood said quickly, catching his two companions off guard. Wolfwood looked at the letter and spotted unread text at the bottom. "Look Vash, it says that you're "8 out of 8", so there will, without a doubt, be more people there than just you."
"..." Vash was not convinced. "WHY do you want me to go so bad?"
"Because he's a desperate human with no mind or will," Vash turned and watched as his twin brother, Millions Knives, strolled down the dirt road. "Besides, haven't you heard of the forgotten treasures in that mansion?"
"Treasures?" Vash and Meryl asked in unison.
"Of course," Knives shrugged. "That mansion is so old, it's worth money alone on that. Also, they have expensive and rare antiques in that house, so it won't be TOO much of a waste if you decide to venture there."
"Mr. Knives," Meryl protested, "That's not such a good idea..."
"Well, the letter was sent to Vash," Knives pointed out. "So it really can't be all that haunted if they're inviting people to the mansion."
"MAYBE it's a trap!" Meryl argued.
"And what if it's not?" Wolfwood asked. "We won't know until Vash goes. Besides, weren't you just complain how you don't have any money anyway, Vash?"
"Yeah...well..."
"It'll be fine." Wolfwood assured.
Vash scowled. "You just want the big bounty on my head if I die, that's all, Wolfwood."
Well? Should I post the next chapter? Let me know!
Parallel_Blue13115