This is an INSANELY long dream-sequence, so brace yourselves.
I'm trying to finish the dream levels in one chapp each, to make it easier for yall, but i don't think that's gonna happen on some of them.
Oh well. Enjoy!
Luna woke up in the room where they had encountered Postal Lady. Rei and Naruto were sitting in the corner, waiting for her.
They were talking. "Yuu was my fiancee. He did in a car accident almost two months ago, because of my careless driving. It was...It was raining so hard, and the road was slick, I.." Her voice cracked at the end, and she sniffed.
"Sorry."
Naruto shook his head. "Don't be. It's not your fault, anyways. I'm sure he doesn't blame you, wherever he is."
Luna decided now was a good time to sit up; her head immediately started pounding from dam spiritual pressure again. "Our favorite crazy lady's back," was all she said.
Rei and Naruto turned to look at her, and sure enough, they heard Postal Lady's familiar ragged breathing and the high-pitched sound that came with the Shadow People.
Naruto jumped right up and pulled out his camera. "I wanna try this thing out so bad."
Luna held up a finger. "Um, Naruto, maybe you shouldn't-"
"Luna, I got this!" He said defensively as he steadied his camera. A Shadow Person appeared out of the wall.
"Three O' Clock!" Luna shouted. He turned in that direction and snapped a shot. As that one disappeared, another reappeared.
"Nine O' Clock!" She shouted.
Another one tried to flank him on his other side, and she snapped a shot of that one right before it hit him.
He let out a sigh of relief. "Jeez, Luna, cut it kind of close, didn't ya?" Before she could reply, Postal Lady appeared in front of him, lunging for him.
"AAAAHHHHH!" He shouted, taking a random picture. Luna took one as well, and she staggered back.
She looked at him expectantly as Rei took on Postal Lady. He waved her off. "Ehh, thanks, whatever."
Luna sweatdropped. "You're so sincere." She then noticed something shiny on the floor, and bent down to pick it up.
It was an old, half-rusted brass key. She wiped off some grime and squinted to read it; Naruto shined his flashlight on it, scaring the crap out of her.
"Dammit, Naruto, WARN ME next time!"
"You're WELCOME!"
She sighed and could just barely make out a pattern. "It looks like a...well. With four corners."
Naruto sweatdropped. "So...A square well."
"Yeah, but a well with four corners sounds a bit more mysterious and dramatic, don't you think?"
Rei smiled. "It's the Four-Point Well key. I know where to take that. Follow me."
They followed her to the door, but before Naruto opened it, they heard a very creepy voice talking in the room they had fought Postal Lady in.
They all looked at each other, and Luna squeezed herself in front of Naruto, opening the door. "Nope, let's just go, I do NOT wanna know!"
"I second that," Rei said quickly, following Luna. Naruto groaned. "Aw, you guys! It could've been something cool!"
Luna sweatdropped. "Whatever happened to 'Lunaaa, that's such a stupid thing to do in a horror movie!' Huh?"
He waved her off. "I have better reflexes. I would have a better chance than you."
Of course, almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, a creepy woman appeared right behind him.
"Have you seen...my husband?" She asked in a hoarse voice.
Luna swore that Naruto got goosebumps, and he turned around with a ninja yell. "Hell no I haven't seen him! Get lost!"
Luna rolled her eyes and snapped a picture right as the capture circle turned red, causing the woman to be blasted back. She followed up with several more shots with the red circle, and soon the woman was gone.
Luna brushed her hands together in a smug "Job Well Done" kind of way, and Naruto huffed. "Yeah, well...I decided you could use a couple glory moments."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. And for future reference, all you have to do to get them away is wait until the capture circle turns red, THEN shoot a picture. From what the book on Asou's inventions said, it's called the Fatal Frame. Apparently you get combo shots sometimes, as well."
With that, she fell into step with Rei. Naruto lingered behind, then stomped after them. "...Showoff."
THREE MINUTES LATER...
They went down a flight of stairs and the first thing they saw was a shelf lined with books and boxes.
"Shiny," Luna declared as she picked up some more Type 14. NOW they knew what it was for. Something told her she'd need all the film she could get.
Rei led them to a spot underneath the stairs, and they stared at the extremely small door.
"..It's a...midget door."
Luna sweatdropped. "Wow. Thanks for that, Naruto. It has such deep meaning."
Rei smirked and unlocked the door. "Are you two always like this?"
"Pretty much."
"Sometimes we're worse."
"Oh yeah, that's true. We cause a lot of bodily harm."
"Yeah."
She swung the midget door open and crawled in. "Sounds like fun."
Luna was the last to go in, but she made it just in time to turn the corner and notice several things.
One, the walls had human-shaped stains on them.
Two, the stain in front of them was moving. It soon seemed to fade a little, and the stain was...just a creepy stain.
And three, Naruto had already wandered off and was taking pictures of something. Luna sighed and went after him. He was blocking her view of whatever it was.
"Naruto? What's so interesting?"
"Oh, nothing major...just, you know...A MUMMY HAND POKING OUT OF THE WALL!" He announced, stepping out of her way and gesturing dramatically to...well, a mummified hand poking out of the wall.
Rei's jaw dropped, Naruto grinned smugly, and Luna just calmly snapped a picture. "Is that all?"
This time Naruto's jaw dropped, too. "EHHH? How are you NOT impressed by that?"
She sighed. "Naruto, my job deals with stuff like this almost every other assignment. Can we please keep going now?"
Naruto huffed and stomped after her. "I hate your job. It's so hard to get you excited over the bizarre and macabre."
Rei was about to laugh, but they started hearing moans and decided to go through the nearest door to get the hell OUT of there.
Naruto opened it, and both girls gasped. "This is.."
"Where I had the first dream," Luna finished for her. Rei glanced at her. "You too?" She nodded, walking briskly for the huge double-doors.
Poor Naruto had no choice but to follow them. Luna tried opening the door, but it was shut tight. She sighed with agitation. "It wasn't locked LAST TIME. Then again, last time it was scary as hell in there."
"EXACTLY, so WHY would we wanna go through all that again?"
"It's not like we have much place else to go now, do we?" Luna snapped.
Rei leaned against the door. "It looks like the lock is in the shape of two mandarins."
Both teens sighed. "Great. MORE keys to find. B-e-a-fricking-BEAUTIFUL!" Luna muttered. Rei lingered by the door. "Yuu was in here..."
Naruto and Luna exchanged a look. Wasn't Yuu dead? Then Luna realized something. "Everyone here's dead, Naruto."
He nodded. "True." They sighed heavily and turned back the way they came. "Back through the Creepy Moaning Midget Door," Naruto said gloomily.
Rei hesitantly followed them.
They did fine through most of the passageway, moving as fast as possible. But then the moaning grew louder, and creaking was thrown into the list of Sounds Luna Never Wanted To Hear EVER Again.
Rei had somehow gotten ahead of them (even though they were hauling ass to get out of there), and before Luna could get to the doorway, something grabbed her from behind.
Naruto and Rei started trying to snap pictures, while Luna simply wrenched herself out of her grip and kicked the ghost guy where no guy, living or dead, should ever be kicked.
He groaned accordingly and staggered back, and Luna took a few Fatal Frames while Naruto took care of the OTHER guy.
When that was over, Rei's jaw was on the ground, Luna was smug, and Naruto grinned at her. "Did I mention today that you were kick-ass?"
"No, I don't think so."
"I think it's gonna become daily routine in this place," he said as he opened the door.
Luna just grinned at Rei, who gave her a high-five. "I'm gonna try that next time, Luna." "Go right ahead, I'd love to see that."
They headed up the stairs, and were walking down the hallway when they saw a man run up the stairs beside Rei. "Get back! Stay away!" He said in a ragged voice.
Naruto was lucky enough to get a good shot of him before he disappeared, but his pride was ruined as he saw the look the two girls exchanged.
His face fell. "...We're gonna do the exact opposite of what he said, aren't we?"
"Yep," Luna said excitedly as she and Rei dashed up the stairs. Naruto sighed heavily again and ran up there behind them.
There wasn't much up there; Luna DID notice a red cloak draped over something. She slipped it off and screamed bloody murder.
Naruto and Rei both whipped their cameras out, but then they sweatdropped. Naruto was the first to say something as Luna started turning redder and redder with embarrassment.
"...Aw, c'mon Luna. Your face isn't THAT scary."
Rei laughed as Luna smacked him upside the head, to which he stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes and headed for a door that she had noticed earlier.
Luna sighed. Locked. "Crap. Now we need a...'Sleeping Stone'? Yeah, Sleeping Stone."
Rei grinned and held up what they assumed to be a Sleeping Stone. "One of the men in white dropped this."
"Was it the ghost I owned or you owned?" Luna asked as she fit the stone into the slot.
"Um, Naruto did the owning, actually."
Naruto grinned smugly, but Luna just shrugged. "Whatever." He drooped again. "Luna, you know JUST how to rub my ego in the dirt."
She smiled apologetically, then read the inscription on the door. "..'Something-Something-Something The Number Of Pains Etched On The Sleeping Stone'. Great."
Naruto sweatdropped. "Does it actually say 'Something-Something-Something'?" She rolled her eyes. "NO, I can't READ what it says."
"So technically, it COULD say that."
Luna sighed. "Would you shut up and lemme think? ...Thank you," she said brightly. There were several stones there; one had 1 line, one had 2 lines, and one had 3 lines.
From what she could gather, they could move, so...
She gasped. "I got it!" Thirty seconds and six moves later, the door unlocked itself and she pushed it open.
"Nice one!"
Naruto sniffed importantly. "...I could've done that." "But you didn't," Luna replied in a sing-song voice before going through the door.
She stopped abruptly; they were on the roof.
His temple throbbed as he followed and accidentally rammed right into her. She stumbled, and he grabbed the back of her shirt.
Rei stopped just in time, so luckily Luna was able to regain her balance. She was also able to see a little girl on the other side of the roof, grinning at them before vanishing in front of a door.
Luna pointed to where she had been. "I'm guessing we're heading over there." She started to walk in that direction, but was yanked back and stumbled not-so-gracefully.
Naruto laughed nervously and let go of her shirt. "Sorry. Forgot I was still holding it."
She narrowed her eyes before carefully scaling the roof. "Likely story." She was already at the other door by the time they took five steps, and Naruto sighed.
"Hey, Rei."
"Yes?"
"Let's let Luna get this one. She scales rooftops for a living."
"What is she, Cat-Woman?" She retorted skeptically. Naruto just laughed and helped her back across. "Yeah, let's go with that."
Luna smiled despite herself before opening the door, but that smile soon faded. It was very dark, and small, and reeked.
So basically, it was like any other room in the manor, minus the small part.
So basically, the manor reeked and was insanely dark.
And basically, Luna was just rambling to avoid the fact that her pulse was skyrocketing.
She realized this and shook her head before stepping cautiously into the room. She did a quick sweep with her camera, but the filament stayed the same.
Usually, if there was a ghost around that wanted a piece of her, the filament turned red. Although, she did notice a random object laying near the edge of the room.
Luna picked it up and sweatdropped. "A door? And what the hell am I supposed to do with this? Hit ghosts with it?"
As if on cue, another man in white appeared, staggering towards her from within the wall. Luna jumped in surprise and decided to try out the door.
She swung it as hard as she coud...and ended up ripping a hole in the worn fabric of the sliding door with the ghost's head.
And what's worse? It didn't really affect the ghost whatsoever.
Luna groaned with disappointment and snapped a Fatal Frame. Two combo shots later, he was gone, and she sighed heavily.
"...When am I gonna wake up?"
"All too soon."
She whirled around, and the woman from her very first dream was there. Luna couldn't help but stare in awe. Her skin was extremely pale, practically translucent. Her hair was so dark a shade of black it almost looked blue, and it cascaded down to her waist. She was wearing a kimono that was all white; it looked a lot like the one Luna somehow obtained when those damn kids almost hammered her limbs.
"W-Who...Who are you? Are you dead?" Luna asked carefully. She didn't like how much this woman's appearance made her head hurt, and it wasn't just in a spiritual pressure kind of way. It was more like a memory.
She simply smiled. "You'll figure it out soon enough. I see you picked up my knack for photography."
Luna was now beyond confused, but just looked down at the Camera. "I guess...Seriously, who are you?"
She laughed. "Always so impatient! More impatient than little Will, and that's saying something."
Her head jerked right back up to stare at her. "How do you know my brother?"
She laughed again; Luna had no idea she was so amusing to people. "Stop asking so many questions! There are plenty of clues laying around for you. Although, I feel it is my responsibility to warn you; unless I am in pure white, it is probably best to have your Camera at the ready, Luna. The Manor of Sleep does terrible things to people, and I was no exception."
"Wait, what do you mean you were..." Luna trailed off with a groan. The odd woman was gone. She noticed something shiny on the floor, and picked it up. It was a key, and looked like two musical instruments were carved into it.
"Two Mandarins," Luna said in disbelief. The woman helped her out after all.
"Got it!" Luna announced while more-or-less running across the roof. Rei watched, then let out a breath. "Okay, I'll admit, I'm impressed."
Naruto scoffed. "You should see what I do five days a week!"
"Hopefully she won't ever have to," Luna muttered as she opened the door they had come from.
THREE MINUTES LATER...
Rei unlocked the large double-doors excitedly and flung them open. They all blinked as everything got noticeably brighter.
The figure of a man was walking away from them, and Rei outstretched a hand out of reflex. "Yuu! Wait!"
Luna's temple throbbed. "Naruto, would you stop trying to freak me out with that heavy breathing in my ear? This is a dramatic moment!"
She heard him clear his throat...from beside her, NOT behind her. "Um, Luna, I'm over here." They all turned around, and some blue chick with no shirt and a preistess-like skirt was standing there.
And she did NOT look happy. She stretched her fingers towards Luna, and Rei pulled her backwards. "Don't let her touch you, no matter the cost!"
Blue Chick turned towards Naruto, reaching for him. "I don't want to see...any more," she rasped.
Naruto stumbled, and her fingers were mere centimeters away from his chest when Luna shoved him to the ground.
"Then close your eyes, bitch!" Luna growled.
Naruto lifted his camera to get a shot, and the flash went off. When the room dimmed down, the Blue Chick was gone.
Rei's eyes were still wide with fear, and Luna noticed a pattern much like the one she saw that first night fading away from Rei's shoulder.
"Hmmm..."
Naruto stood up and grinned at her. "Has anyone ever told you how hot your growls sound?"
Luna sweatdropped. "Has anyone ever told you you should get your head checked?"
Rei started snickering, but then Blue Chick appeared behind Naruto, touching the back of his neck before stepping around him.
"Gah! Cold!" He managed to get out, dropping to his knees.
She tried to touch Luna, who dodged her right in the nick of time, but then Naruto ran right into her and knocked her to the ground.
"Naruto, what the hell!"
"Sorry, I was trying to save you!"
"You're doing a crap-tacular job so far!" Right after those words were out of her mouth, Blue Chick's fingers reached for her at the same time Naruto helped her up, causing Luna and the fingers to collide full-on.
She felt an excruciatingly cold pain on her left shoulder, and knew she was turning red with anger as she went right on ahead and kicked Blue Chick in the gut.
Of course, THEN she woke up.
