Fatal Frame: Lost Reality

Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own it.

Chapter Five: Butterflies

Sever a rift in the red-stained clouds with my torn wings
See, I can flutter better than you thought

Mayu slowly opened her eyes. She sat up, still feeling a bit groggy, and looked around. She was still in that room where the ghost of that woman had attacked her. The Camera Obscura was sitting on the floor beside her, along with the flashlight. There was no sign of Miyako…or Mio.

Grabbing only the flashlight , Mayu scrambled to her feet and ran out to the landing. From there, she could see her sister down below, pulling open the door that led to the outside.

"Mio!"

The younger twin glanced back at her. "It's calling me…" Without another word, she left.

Mio stepped out into the cold night air. Everything was in black and white. Crimson butterflies appeared, guiding her deeper into the village. She followed them until she came upon a woman in a red and white kimono,

Mayu could feel tears springing to her eyes. Why had Mio left her? She had promised she wouldn't do that anymore…It had to be this village. Mio had been acting strangely ever since they had first laid eyes upon it.

"I've got to find her." She went back and got the camera. It was awkward to carry around with only one hand, but she did not want to risk encountering any more ghosts without it. Then, she went outside. There was no sign of Mio anywhere.

Using what she had seen through Mio's eyes just a moment ago, Mayu went to the spot where she her sister had last been. Sure enough, she caught a glimpse of Mio rounding the corner and limped after her. She had to go down a flight of stone steps and around another corner before she saw Mio again, pushing open a pair of large double doors quite some distance from her.

"Mio!" She tried to reach her before she went through, but her weak legs made her fail. She pulled frantically one the stone door handles, but they would not even budged. She cried, pounding on the doors desperately with her fists. "Mio! Mio! Please, don't leave me!" She finally realized it was not doing any good and lowered her hands, resting her head against the doors as she wept. "Please don't leave me alone again…"

A bell-like sound pulled her attention from her sorrow. A crimson butterfly was fluttering around her head. Turning, she saw that there were even more of them. Like in her vision of Mio, they seemed to be beckoning her. Hesitantly, she followed them , past the house she had explored with Mio, to a storehouse.

"Itsuki…Why?"

It was locked, but she found a small door off to the side that led to the area behind it. As she approached the back of the storehouse, she heard a boy's voice calling out to her timidly.

"W-who is there...?"

Afraid to answer, for fear it might be another ghost, Mayu cautiously moved towards the voice. There was a barred window in back of the storehouse. As she stepped closer, she saw that a boy about her own age was inside. He had black hair that fell like silk to his chin, shining in the moonlight. She was relieved to see that he was not transparent and appeared to be as frightened as she was.

"S-Sae? Is that you?" He sounded so hopeful that she couldn't bare to tell him she was not who he thought. "Thank goodness! You've got to hurry! Yae, they are going to…" He looked away, unable to finish. "They took her to your house. The doors are probably locked. There are two stone engravings needed to open them. They should be hidden by two of the twin statues in this village."

Mayu did not entirely understand what he was talking about, but now she knew how to get to where her sister was. She began to wonder around the village, searching the statues she came across. The first one was hidden in the grass by one with crimson butterflies flocking to it like moths to a flame. She found the other one was also by a statue with butterflies around it-where they trying to help her? Together, the engravings showed twin girls…

"There seem to be a lot of things involving twins in this village." She said out loud to no one in particular. "And butterflies, too…"

With the two keys tucked under her arm, Mayu made her way back to the gate. Her leg was hurting quite a bit, but she could not rest until she had found Mio-not in this creepy place, all by herself.

The stone tablets fit into the handles of the door, unlocking it. She went inside and found herself at one end of a long, eerie bridge over jet black waters. There was another large door across it. What was waiting for her there?

I rip a hole through the clouds dyed red by my torn wings
Look for me, flying with ease

And yet another update! It shall start to get even more interesting now.