A/N: Just a quick ramble. When I said "take some pink and green fairies" in the earlier A/N, I'm not really talking about Cosmo and Wanda appearing in this fic as fairy godparents. They will appear as something else, but definitely not fairies. Also, I'll be putting in some references about all three Fatal Frame games in here like dates, the rituals, the people, etc. That being said, we're not just going to stay in Dimmsdale for the duration of this fic. Okay, now all that hoo-haw's done, onwards to the story!

Disclaimer: See the Prologue.

Snow was falling continuously. An infinite night shrouded where I was. I am scared. Somehow, I get the feeling that I shouldn't be here. But...where exactly is "here"? I was standing in front of a large gate leading into the village inside. From here, I could see a towering manor. Its vast size was intimidating, as if the building seemed to loom over me. I could make out another big and even older mansion behind the first one. Could they be connected somehow, I questioned silently. My thoughts were disrupted by the sound of voices. Voices coming from inside the village walls. Strangely, I seemed to want to go through the gates. I claim that the voices were beckoning me. They sounded familiar, until I realized that they were the voices of my departed colleagues. Besides their beckoning, what drove me to go inside was my urge to meet them. I was hoping I could reach them and undo what has happened. So I decided, I will go in. I put my hands on the wooden double doors and pushed them open. As the doors spread apart, their voices got clearer...

Nicolette...

Nicolette?

"Nicolette? Oh, she's coming to." A blur said to another. The woman who fainted earlier opened her eyes into narrow slits. Her eyes felt tired and they cannot transmit any clear picture at the moment. Everything around her was a hazy fog, but she can make out that she was reclined on a bed. The woman, referred to as Nicolette by the "blur", shifted her head to the two smears speaking with each other. They seem to be talking about her.

"Wh-where...?" Nicolette asked feebly. One of the blurs walked over to the bed and sat near her. Nicolette realized that the blur was a friend of hers. "...Chester?" The haze grabbed something from the nearby table and handed it to her.

"Yeah, it's me. Put these on." Said the blur, as Nicolette took the object from him. It was her glasses. She put it on and the surrounding came into focus. Her eyes still hurt, resulting in a muddled eyesight. Sitting next to her was the one she called Chester. He was roughly two years older than she is, with blonde hair that reached to his neck, but was kept in a short ponytail. As he smiled, he bared his bracket-encrusted teeth. Nicolette glanced around and saw that she was indeed in a bed; one that came with a remote control and sheets bearing the insignia of Dimmsdale Medical. She has been taken to the hospital. Standing behind Chester was an Indian man who was wearing a white coat and was sporting a stethoscope. He was obviously the doctor.

"Why am I here?" Nicolette asked, completely oblivious of the whole Starbucks commotion.

"You don't remember?" Chester blurted out in surprise. Nicolette shook her head. The Indian doctor stepped forward to give Nicolette's medical report. He adjusted his glasses and then flipped through the papers clasped on his clip board.

"Ms. Satriani, you fainted while you were in a coffee shop." The doctor said, his native Indian accent kicking in as he spoke. "By the way, my name is Doctor Sanjay Gupta. You were brought here by some of the other customers in the café. They said you were in uncontrollable discomfort before you fainted."

"They had to get hold of your I.D. for you to be checked in here." Said Chester. "They also called me on my cell when they found the 'in case of emergency' crap on it. Too bad they left the bill with me." He added as a last minute joke.

"Wow. I must remember to thank them." Nicolette muttered, but since she didn't get a look on their faces, the chances of doing so are pretty bleak.

"And speaking of those people," Dr. Gupta began. "They said you were muttering things like, 'I'm sorry' and 'stop it', while you were experiencing pain. They said it was like you were being haunted by your thoughts." Interesting choice of words. Nicolette said nothing. She remembered the strange manor that appeared in her head. It seemed so familiar, like she's been there before. Besides experiencing déjà vu, what's weirder is that all her dead and missing colleagues were there. They were beckoning her. It was not at all weird—it was spooky. Nicolette knew it couldn't be real. They're all dead, She thought. And that village-manor. There was something very wrong with it. Nicolette wanted to steer clear of those visions. She did not want to see them anymore. But she couldn't help but wonder:

Are they appearing to me because they have a purpose?
-----

After a few hours of rest, Nicolette was discharged from the hospital. She sat near the reception counter as Chester handed the nurse the money for the bill. After Chester was done, he walked past Nicolette, but gave a "let's go" gesture while he was at it. They walked out of the hospital building and towards the parking lot where Chester's car was.

"You should avoid drinking too much coffee." Chester intended to joke about it, but somehow, his voice fell on a serious note. Nicolette slipped into the passenger seat and buckled up. Chester did the same on the driver's seat.

"It's not the coffee, Ches." Nicolette merely mumbled. "Lately, everything seems so out of proportion."

"Coffee." Said Nicolette's blonde friend in the driver's seat, his voice lighter now. Chester revved up the engine and drove off into the street. Normally, Nicolette would turn this thing into a heated debate, but she was not in the mood for any arguments with Chester. All she can think about were her visions and dreams. Chester would occasionally glance at her to see if she was okay. She just sat there without any word. "...You okay, Nicolette?" Chester couldn't hold the words much longer.

"I'm fine." Came her answer. There was nothing occupying the woman's mind except the manor and her dead companions. She wanted to know many things—why they were killed off one after the other, why did some of them disappear, how did all of this happen and what is up with that creepy manor. Chester looked at her, puzzled.

"Okay...maybe a little snack would do you good." Chester proposed, steering off the main road. A towering pole with a huge, curvy, yellow "M" was visible from the car. Chester drove to the direction of the "M tower" and saw the McDonald's food chain next to it. Chester saw a good spot to park the car in and moved towards it. "Well, that's a good pick." He added. But as Chester was about to place the car in the slot, the wheel was taken by a panicking Nicolette.

"Chester, look out!" Nicolette screamed, grabbing the steering wheel and swerving the car to the side. A man suddenly walked into the parking space just before Chester drove in it. A loud screech came from the wheels, leaving a few black trails on the asphalt. The man had his back turned against them and he doesn't seem to want to move. He was wearing a dirty green shirt and pants that had many stains on them. Nicolette couldn't see his face.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Chester's voice was a mix of alarm and annoyance. "I was about to park this thing!"

"You were about to hit that man over there, Chester!" Nicolette argued angrily, pointing to the parking space. The man was still there, and he was very hard to miss. Chester looked over to the car park space. He looked at Nicolette with frustrated green eyes.

"Nicolette," Chester said, trying to suppress an outburst. "There is nobody there!" Nicolette looked at the parking space.

The man with the dirty clothes was gone.