Lil' Ed: LMAO! Just
to tell you the first 8
chapters are already
posted elsewhere but
I'm editing for
Dude, you have
issues.
Lil' Ed: I DO NOT!
Lloyd: (sweat drops) She still doesn't own
Tales or Namco.
Lil' Ed: STOP DEPRESSING ME!
oOoOoOo
Chapter Two: The Haunting Woman
oOoOoOo
"Raine! Wake
up Raine!" Genis yelled and
shook his sister to no
avail. Raine's eyes
remained shut as Genis
laid her down again.
Kratos wandered over
to Raine and gently
scooped her up,
letting her head rest against
his chest. "It's
best we find a way out, or
things might get only
worse," he said coolly.
Lloyd and Genis,
though uncomfortable at
his actions, nodded.
Lloyd took the lead
down a dirt path
towards the village with the
rest of the gang
following.
"What's this?" he asked and everyone
stopped to see. "A
black bag," Presea said.
She pulled out two
news paper clippings
and a photo. Scanning
the clippings in a few
short seconds, her
stern complexion fell and
became full of
sadness. "Apparently, a man
came to survey this
area and was forgotten
about a few days
later," Presea quietly
replied. "That's
horrible!" Colette
exclaimed. Sheena
nodded in agreement
before making a double
take looking near a
house. "Uhh,
guys?" she whispered and
pointed. They could
make out a woman
disappearing within a
nearby house. Zelos
looked and said "A
local hunny." Regal
looked confused as did
Genis and Presea.
Lloyd looked wide eyed
and Colette
shivered.
"She's
heading in that house. We should
follow," Lloyd
said. "Why exactly?" Sheena
questioned. "Maybe
this person would know
a way out," Genis
replied. "And other than
that, we can leave a
hunny all alone," Zelos
guffawed earning a
smack. "We shouldn't
stand around,"
Kratos said and headed
towards the house and
the disappearing
woman. Lloyd sighed
and followed with
everyone else on foot.
A sign on the house
read 'Osaka.'
oOoOoOo
The Osaka Household
oOoOoOo
"She should be
here somewhere, shouldn't
she?" Colette
asked in her bubbly attitude.
Presea shivered at an
odd presence beyond a
barricaded room. It
was a pale woman
whose hair grew over
one eye. She wore a
pale, white blouse and
a tattered black skirt.
She appeared ghostly
compared to the party
and suddenly, in a
split second, vanished.
Presea gasped and
grabbed the door on the
other side of the
entrance hall. "She's inside
already," she
whispered. Everyone but
Kratos (and the still
out Raine) looked
confused.
They
filed into the main room. There was a
staircase, old and
rotten, a hallway with a
tattered cloth over
the entrance, and several
doors around the room.
Lloyd walked down
the hall to and
intersection with two
hallways and a corner
staircase. Looking
down the hall straight
ahead and saw the
vanishing figure of
the same woman again.
"Lloyd! I found a
notebook and..." Colette
exclaimed but Lloyd
covered her mouth for
a second to listen.
"I came to find you. Where are you?"
The
ghostly voice of the woman disappeared
as she traveled down
the hall. Lloyd and
Colette sighed in
relief before she handed
him the notebook.
Lloyd read.
#1 Woman's Notebook
"I've heard rumors about the lost village
before. Long ago, a
massacre occurred on
the day of a
ceremony, and the village was
wiped from the map.
Twin Deities Statues in
the forest lead
lost people to the village
entrance. Once you
passed the gate
however, you cannot
go back.
The village eternally relives that
night of
death. The insane
laughter of a woman is
said to echo
throughout the village. The
only survivor of
the massacre at the village
was a lone woman."
Colette's mouth was agape. "A massacre. Oh
goddess, this is
horrible." Lloyd nodded in
agreement. "Hey
Lloyd! Colette! Let's stay
together! It's not
safe to wander around
even in groups!"
rang Genis' voice. "Ok!
We're coming Genis!"
Lloyd called back.
As they returned, they
could hear Sheena
reading what sounded
like another notebook.
#2 Woman's Notebook
"Sometimes
I sense someone passing by the
window. He carries
a torch, and mutter
things. He seems to
be searching for
somebody, but it is
not Masumi.
In the distance, I can hear some
kind of sad
ceremonial song
being sung. They say that
this village
vanished on the day of a
ceremony, and that
day is repeated over and
over again."
#3 Woman's Notebook
"Masumi... It's me, Miyako.
I came to look for you.
Let's go home together.
Together, we can make it.
Call for me if you find this.
I'll be nearby.
Miss You!"
#4 Woman's Notebook
"Someone! Anyone!
Whoever sees this, look for me.
I'm trapped in this village.
HELP ME!
Miyako Sudo"
"So this woman is somewhere in here?"
Genis thought aloud.
"Probably, or they're
dead," Regal
calmly replied. A door creaked
within the hall Lloyd
was in. Traveling
back, he opened it to
find it lead into a
ransacked room. Boxes
and scrolls were
tossed carelessly
around the room with
blood stains among the
walls and floors. "A
light?" Regal
questioned and picked up the
metal object along
with notes on something
called Camera Obscura
and another
notebook. He started
reading:
"The "Camera Obscura" is a special
camera
created by Dr. Aso
to capture supernatural
phenomenon that
couldn't be seen with the
naked eye. It was
designed to photograph
visions of the past
and spirit entities, but it
was a prototype and
its functions hadn't
been fully tested.
Photographing "things
that ordinary
people couldn't see" with this
camera had an
exorcism effect. Seijiro
Makabe, a
folklorist who had come to
investigate All
God's Village, borrowed this
camera from Dr. Aso
to photograph the
village's rumored
Forbidden Ritual. Dr.
Kunihiko Aso was a
folklorist who studied
the spirit world.
He modified the latest
gadgets of his
time, the camera, radio and
projector, trying
to create a machine that
could capture
supernatural phenomenon.
He was shunned by
the academic world but
friends with
Makabe."
#5 Woman's Notebook
"Sometimes
I hear an eerie song-like sound
coming from the
family altar. It sounds like
it's coming from
deep below. Maybe it's just
the wind? Or maybe
there really is
something behind
that wall..."
No one was really paying any heed.
Hitting
the flashlight several
times, Colette got it to
turn on and waved it
around the room
spotting a camera
among the rubble. "Lloyd,
there's something over
there," she said and
pointed. Lloyd, who
was tossing aside
scrolls, picked up the
camera with some
interest but dropped
it suddenly. A vivid
image had flashed in
his mind.
oOoOoOo
"So this is Camera
Obscura…." The man
said. The forest
was dark and foreboding;
the fog swimming
lazily through the leering
trees. He walked
steadily towards a group
of boulders,
covered with ropes and
talismans. He
raised the camera to his face,
looking through the
lens at the tome like
structure. Before
he could react, gray
ghostly hands
reached towards him in an
attempt to kill.
In shock, he
stumbled back dropping the
camera, the hands
disappearing without its
aid. "This is too
dangerous," he muttered,
rising to his feet
and walking away, camera
in hand.
oOoOoOo
"Lloyd? What's
wrong?" Colette asked
before a scratching at
the door was heard.
Carefully, Regal
cracked the door open a bit
to reveal the ghostly
woman again, her hair
draped over her right
eye still. Lloyd
fumbled but snapped a
picture. The woman
disappeared and the
door swung open.
"Cool," he
said.
A scream was heard from within the house.
They raced out.
oOoOoOo
Kratos and Raine were inside the Big Tatami
Room when she awoke.
There,
unfortunately, was a
blanket with a human
shaped lump and the
woman appeared
again. Raine just woke
up, confused and
wasn't ready for
either encounter and was
holding onto Kratos as
though her life
depended on it. Kratos
wasn't ready either
for Raine's scream or
the ghost, and held
onto Raine as she
calmed down. A board
fell next to them a
few seconds later and a
key.
"What
happened?" Genis exclaimed
entering the room.
Kratos still held onto the
shivering Raine and
threw the key to Genis.
"See what that
works on," he ordered. Genis
nodded and left coming
face to face with
everyone else. "That
key should work for
the door upstairs,"
Sheena said dragging
Zelos with her. "Yes
it should. Ouch!
Sheena, can you let go
now?" he whined.
"Okay, let's go
then," Lloyd said.
oOoOoOo
(Skipping sum stuff
like walking up the old
stairs)
After
snapping another picture of the woman
upstairs crossing
through the rooms, Sheena
and Zelos retrieved
four more notebooks in
which they started
reading.
#6 Woman's Note
"How much time has
passed since I came
here? How long will
this night last?
I can't take the darkness.
It's driving me
crazy... I have to
get out of here! I have to
see Masumi."
#7 Woman's Note
"I must be tired. If I start
to relax, I pass out.
Even in a crazy
place like this. The darkness
here is creeping
into my dreams. Slaughter,
rivers of blood,
fallen people, and a woman
in a bloodstained
kimono, insane laughter,
and twin sisters
calling out "Don't kill me!"
That
woman's laugh is seared into my mind.
I don't want to
sleep anymore."
#8 Woman's Notebook
"Masumi found my note.
He WAS in the village!
I can see him soon.
I can't move...
I'll wait here.
He'll be back
He'll find the way out.
If he comes back
(empty page)
(empty page)
He came"
Folklorist 1
"The Ceremony
Master, Mr. Kurosawa, gave
me a very warm
welcome. The village has
no "chief".
The Ceremony Master presides
over the village. I
wonder if this village was
founded by people
who wanted to preserve
their sacred
rituals and festivals?
Most notable among All
God's folklore is the
"gate to hell"
legend that has been passed
down for years. It
is an archetypal tale of a
gate or hole that
marks the border to the
world of the dead,
also called Hades, the
underworld, or the
netherworld.
It is a
forbidden place that is feared and
hated, but it is
also worshipped as well. The
idea of hell has
been a core belief of humans
since ancient times. This village
supports the theory
that the belief is
universal.
The
Forbidden Ritual regarding this "gate to
hell" that
takes place here is something no
one is allowed to
see or speak of. This strict
taboo is probably
the result of a ceremony
concerning the
border with hell coming
closer to the
living world.
Villagers lead a simple life.
Deep in the
mountains, they
struggle to forage food for
their daily meals.
The village has little
contact with the
outside world. They
continue to
practice the ways of old, frozen
in time."
As
Lloyd gazed over the scraps and
notebooks, Colette,
Genis, Presea, Sheena,
Zelos, and Regal
backed into the walls in
fright. Lloyd only
then felt an unearthly
presence on his left
shoulder. There she
was, Miyako Sudo, her
hair covering her
right eye and a
feeling of malice within.
oOoOoOo
Lil' Ed: Longer than
the last chapter.
HAHA…
Lloyd: Your scaring people, ya know?
Lil' Ed: …….. Cool.
Preview of the Next Chapter:
With hatred boiling
within her, Miyako
attacks the group.
Her icy gray hands
stretch out to
Lloyd's neck.
Chapter 3: First Fight