Chapter 4: A Thousand Words

AN: This is a songfic chapter. This will all be in 3rd person POV. I don't own this song. 'A Thousand Words' comes from Final Fantasy X-2.

I know that you're hiding things

Using gentle words to shelter me

Your words were like a dream

But dreams could never fool me

Not that easily

Touma coughed as he looked at the Lakeview Hotel. The mildew was filling his lungs form the fog and his throat tickled. Niki crossed her arms and put on her glasses. "This place has been abandoned for a while now." She said

Touma walked to the stairs and Niki just sighed. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" she asked

He just ignored her and she growled. Being a doctor, she had to observe her patients and take note of what they did very carefully. She followed him up the stairs but he stopped her. He gave her a look that even made her think about the analysis she gave about his behavior. From what he told her, Mika had to be dead, so his reason for going into the abandoned hotel to her was absolute insanity. "I'm as serious as a heat attack." He said

His voice was so cold and she felt a chill run up her spine. Touma turned and went into the hotel before Niki could say anything else. He shook the flashlight and flashed it around. He could remember looking in room C14. All he could find was a key. On the tag read 312, the room he and Mika stayed in. He was starting to think that Sam was a stalker. He flashed the light around and couldn't find anybody anywhere. Touma felt as if he were going back in time, walking down the musty halls of the Lakeview Hotel. He opened the door to the lobby and looked around. He could envision the people, the maids and bell boys attending to every person's need. And there he stood, with Mika. They were so happy…look at them now…she was six feet underground and he was trying to find the person making a joke about her death. He heard the other lobby doors open, and he saw a flashlight. This one was different; it looked more like fog headlights than a regular flashlight. He heard the familiar footsteps of high-heeled shoes. He flashed the light and there was Niki. She had a gun in her hand. Touma gave her an evil glare. "I couldn't let you walk around here on your own…" she said, "For a second there I thought you were one of those…things…"

I acted so distant then

Didn't say goodbye before you left

But I was listening:

You'll fight your battles far from me...

Far too easily

Yuki gripped his arm as he closed the door to the amusement park. What Sam told him was no joke. There were horrible monsters in that park, and he almost got killed by the haunted house. In the process of running away, he got a deep cut in his arm. Her map was very detailed. He felt strange as he went through the underpass. It was his fear. A fear he didn't feel since the time…Yuki Kitazawa…raped him. The feeling got worse as he approached the door to the church. He thought of Sam, and of her fears, how she faced them, and how she said she'll never fall for their tricks again. He opened the door and was hit with nothing but darkness. He looked behind him and found nothing but darkness as well. Yuki felt around and flicked on a light switch. As he did, he looked below and found the Seal of Samael, or at least that's what he read. Sam told him this seal could bring the world into complete darkness. Of course, he didn't believe in this. He believed in the Shinto religion, just as his family did. He heard footsteps, two of them. He realized that he was in the sanctuary of the church. A woman with pale blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing an all-black dress came out. With her was a cloaked figure. "Eiri Yuki…" she muttered

"Where's Shuichi?" he asked with a flat tone

"How dare you come into this holy place asking where your lover is! Your lover is gone!"

Yuki let his injured arm go and pulled out the gun that Sam gave him. The blonde just tisked at him. The person in a cloak pulled over his hood to reveal himself as none other than Shuichi. Yuki lowered the gun as his pink-haired lover approached him. The blonde woman turned and walked in the back. "I'll be waiting for you." She said

Shuichi nodded and turned back to Yuki. The cold blonde was confused. The way she looked at him was as if he followed her beliefs. "Shu?" he asked

Shuichi's eyes changed to the one Kitazawa had the night he was raped. Yuki felt like he was going to fall over in fear. The memories of what happened to that night flooded back to his head. The pink-haired youth took out his knife and stabbed Yuki in the arm that was injured. Yuki cried out in pain and pushed Shuichi away from him. "Shu, what's wrong with you!" he yelled

"Death to all unbelievers…" muttered Shuichi

Yuki's eyes widened as Shuichi came straight for him again with the knife. The blonde moved out the way and pulled out his gun. It was pointed at Shuichi's head. The pink-haired youth just smiled. "So you were planning to kill me…" he said

Shuichi's voice was so cold, so unlike the Shuichi he came to love. He walked closer to him and Yuki loaded the gun. He wasn't sure that this was the real Shuichi or not, but he didn't like this delusion one bit. Shuichi pointed the gun to his forehead. "What are you waiting for?" he asked, "Shoot me like you did to Kitazawa."

"Save your tears 'cause I'll come back."

I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door

But still I swore

To hide the pain.

When I turned back the pages:

Shouting might have been the answer...

What if I'd cried my eyes out, and begged you not to depart?

But now I'm not afraid

To say what's in my heart

Touma walked down the stairs with a lot on his mind. Niki said that she would wait for him outside the hotel only if he promised to be out in less than an hour. It wasn't much of a proposition, but it was the only thing that would keep her out. Before she left, she gave him her gun. She said that this hotel was full of monsters, despite the lake that separated it from the town. He was looking for the ballroom. He needed to find the key to open the third floor, so that meant that he had to look on every floor. He heard the sound of voices and put his hand on the rusted doorknob of the Grand Ballroom. It was only out of curiousity that he went down here. Why was a Grand Ballroom down below was beyond him. When he opened the door, he found ghosts of people all over the ballroom. Some were at the bar, others at tables. The candles were light and gave a romantic light to the dark room. His eyes widened as he saw who was on stage, Sam! She wore a light pink dress with red frills, and white knee-hi's with red shoes. Her hair was much longer and she had a pink bow in her hair. She touched one white gloved hand to the mic and picked it up. "I'd like to thank everybody in Silent Hill for coming out!" she said, "I would really like to thank my husband for coming out."

A man with brown hair and brown eyes wearing glasses waved to her. She motioned for the band to start and two backup singers wearing the same outfit came out. The music was slow and romantic (1). The song, however, was abruptly stopped when a younger-looking Alicia came storming in the room. She pointed a finger at Sam. "Traitor!" she yelled, "You dare to mock God for the last time!"

'Cause a thousand words

Call out through the ages

They'll fly to you

Even though I can't see, I know they're reaching you

Suspended on silver wings

The gun slid to the other side of the room. Yuki had no life in his eyes. It only took a second to realize that this was the real Shuichi Shindou talking to him. The wound that was cut open had opened wider, like the back of a shrimp. He was getting dizzy from blood loss and he knew he couldn't keep up the fight for much longer. After he was cut in the side, he fell to the floor. He had lost too much blood, and he was getting dizzy. Shuichi gave him an evil smile and sat on his chest. Dropping the knife, he wrapped his fingers around Yuki's neck. Shuichi's fingers were the same size as Yuki's, despite his height. Yuki's life was draining from his fingers. "Shu…" whispered Yuki

Tears streamed down Shuichi's face, but he felt as if he couldn't stop. One of Yuki's hands touched Shuichi's face, where the tears were coming out. Yuki started crying as well, but no sound came out of his mouth. "I hate you…" sobbed Shuichi

"Shu…" whispered Yuki

The hand dropped from Shuichi's face and he looked as it fell. Something broke inside of him and he let go of Yuki's neck. "No!" he sobbed, "Yuki!"
Whatever had posses him had stopped. Shuichi couldn't bear to hurt Yuki any longer. The tears dropped from Shuichi's face onto Yuki's. He shook him as hard as he could but couldn't feel anything. "Please Yuki…" whispered Shuichi, "I can't go on without you…"
Without warning, he felt something sharp and painful go through his back. His heart started thumping and he felt himself fall onto Yuki. "Sinners…" muttered a familiar voice

Oh, a thousand words

One thousand embraces

Will cradle you

Making all of your weary days seem far away

They'll hold you forever

Touma walked from the Grand Ballroom confused. He didn't know what to think of this. Alicia had strangled Sam then stabbed her, but it was confusing to find Sam still walking around. She felt like flesh and blood, but he always knew there was something strange about her. What caught his attention was the tattoo on the lower left side of her back. He pushed the elevator door and he heard the whirring of the machines. The sounds of loud footsteps made him look behind. He flashed the flashlight and he saw these creatures coming straight for him. Its skin was peeled over like a door and it had legs. He could see the blood dripping from the opening that was its mouth. It was two of them, and they were breathing heavily. They began to run to him and he open fired on them. The handgun wasn't powerful enough, and only one fell. The other knocked him over and began 'biting' him in his arm. He felt the skin rip from his arm The door to the elevator opened and he heard gunshots. Then, he saw someone's sneak knock the thing over. A pair of thin, female arms pulled him into the elevator. The thing got up and went straight for him. The gunshot went of again and it fell over as the elevator door closed. He was breathing heavily, but he looked up and saw Sam. She wore a pair of shorts and a white tank top. Touma slowly got up and looked at her. She put the gun in her back pocket and gently grabbed his arm. She examined it. "We need to wrap this up quickly before you get an infection." She said

Touma wrapped his fingers around Sam's neck and began choking her. She gasped for air and grabbed his wrists. "Touma…" she choked

"You caused all this!" he growled, "Put it back the way it was! Bring Mika back!"

"Didn't…cause…change…" she gasped

The wedding ring necklace that Sam always carried fell out of her shirt. Touma looked at it and his eyes widened. The rage that was inside of him was taking over again. He immediately let go of Sam and she slid to the floor, gasping for air. "Sam…" he started

Sam pulled herself and rubbed her neck. "Can you keep your anger in check long enough to explain why you're here!" she asked, "Geez…"

The elevator dinged when it got to the basement, however, both of them were up to their ankles in water. Touma quirked a brow. "Why are we down here?" he asked

"For some reason the third floor was locked." Answered Sam, "I knew Alicia was up to something here so I followed her here. I figured she'd be up on the third floor since it was locked, and she knew we were coming."
The elevator doors opened and they were then up to their knees in water. Touma was now glad he wore his jeans (his only pair since he wears slacks) instead of his usual slacks. "Ugh…" muttered Sam, "This is dirty lake water."

She pulled out her gun as soon as she heard a splash. "Something's here." She said, "Be ready."
Touma quirked a brow but pulled the gun out anyway. They stepped out, Sam being first. "How do you know so much about this town?" asked Touma

"I was born and raised here." Said Sam, "This town is full of nothing but cult members, and some 'normal' people. It all began such a long time ago…but now the whole town's engulfed in darkness because of it…"
There was the sound of heavy breathing and rushing steps. Sam cocked her gun and aimed forward. A beast with two childish faces, two pale long arms, and a black furred body came into view. Sam immediately fired three shots while Touma shot two. It laid there on the ground and Touma was grabbed by Sam. She began running. "That thing won't stay down for long." She said

She turned a corner and opened a door, then slammed it shut behind her. Touma jumped when he heard the creature slamming at the door. Sam put a bar on the door and Touma looked around, the kitchen. "It'll back off soon." She said

Sam took her bookbag off her back, now that Touma had noticed it, he did hear a thumping sound. She pulled out her first aid kit and went straight for Touma's arm. She cleaned it with peroxide, and then began wrapping it. Touma looked down at the wedding ring that was on a necklace. "Sam, were you married?" he asked

"Once." She answered, "I'm a widow, just like you."
Touma looked as she applied more gauze and wrap with a sad face. "I miss him, and I know that he was killed here in Silent Hill. Vincent and I grew up in this town. I was a normal resident, and he was a priest. Our marriage was forbidden, so we got married in Ashfield. Claudia got suspicious so I moved away, getting a small singing career, and Vincent would come and see me every night. It wasn't until…that fateful night when Alicia came in and called me a traitor when our marriage was revealed. Claudia called me an unholy traitor and banished me from The Order, not that I was in it mind you. All of the kids that were born and raised here are often stuck in it.

"Sam…" started Touma

He touched her face with his uninjured hand. She looked up at them and they got close. As they kissed, it was the first time the both of them felt any kind of closure sine their spouse's deaths.

Oh, a thousand words

Have never been spoken

They'll fly to you

They'll carry you home, and back into my arms

Suspended on silver wings

Shuichi pulled hard on the oars of the boat. He looked at the little blonde girl still rubbing Yuki's arm. Her name was Laura, and she said that she was looking for some girl named Sam. She also said that she saw him at her house. She said that Alicia was at the hotel, getting ready for a ritual. When Shuichi asked what it was, Laura just shrugged and said that she didn't know what it was either. The pink-haired singer felt like crying again. He didn't know why he felt like killing Yuki, but it felt good. Then he saw for the first time in his life, Yuki Kitazawa, and he was raping Yuki. Then he realized he was making the same sin as Yuki did, murder. He was only hoping that he would get to Lakeview Hotel, because Laura said Sam was the only doctor there. He looked back at the shining light coming from a distance. "The hotel's close!" she said

The boat rocked and Shuichi was about to tell Laura to sit down again, but then saw Yuki sit up. "Ya damn brat…" he muttered

He was still half-asleep, and Shuichi just sighed. Yuki was back to normal. "Get back to rowing, I need to meet up with Sam." He said, "She's the only one who knows how to get out of this hellhole."

And a thousand words

Call out through the ages

They'll cradle you

Turning all of the lonely years to only days

They'll hold you forever

Touma opened the door to room 312 and Sam stepped in behind him. Shutting the door, she looked around the room. Touma lightly touched the sheets on the bed, then the dresser. He looked out the window at the foggy lake. "It used to be so peaceful here…" muttered Sam, "This hotel I mean…"

Touma shook the tape in his hand to make sure it was real. He remembered making at tape of himself and Mika when they first arrived here, but he thought he took it with him when he left. "Touma…about that kiss…" she started

"I felt something too." Said Touma

She gave a small smile and then looked at the time. "I'm gonna go on ahead." She said, "Listen, it'd be better if you keep the radio on."

Touma pulled the small white radio from his pocket. "Keep that on so you know when the monsters are coming." She said

She threw him a key and he looked a the label: Observation Deck. "I need to Apagothis, I think I dropped it, and it might be the only thing that will stop Alicia." She said

With that she left. Touma walked over to the tape player and pushed the tape in. When he turned on the tv, he sat in the armchair and looked at the screen. The zoom was going in and out, and Mika was on screen. She gave him a serious look. "Get that damn camera out of my face." She said

A thousand words...