Fatal Frame: The Endless Defacement

by Dharknia

1st per POV. FF 1, 2, and 3 A girl must survive the horrors and terrors of a much larger and more dangerous village and its own reason for destruction. New and old spirits make their way into a haunting plot of rituals and deaths. COMPLETE!

4. His

Disclaimer

Please read: I do not rightfully own the Fatal Frame title or its trademarks. This is only a fan fiction story. It is slightly based on the second Fatal Frame, but includes my own characters, locations, and certain items. Any mentioned subjects that are Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly characters, locations, and certain items are owned by TECMO and used for fan fiction purposes only.

Fatal Frame

The Endless Defacement

Chapter Four

His

"I can feel the sorrow from him,

It is just like mine,

But it isn't mine… it is his"

I am seated next to Dagan on the ground. I open the leather book. The pages are much like the ones I've seen before. They all seem worn and aged. I cannot help but wonder just how long they have been waiting around for someone to find them and read their sorry words. The people who have written them must have been worried that no one would see it. I can see in the language of their sentences that, although most are diaries, they want someone out here to read it, to know what they are going through. Perhaps they knew what was to come of them? As I ponder deeply Dagan glares at me. He just doesn't understand… doesn't understand.

Woman's Recollection 3: "My entire run-in with this village has only gotten worse. I can feel their hatred as they stare at me. I swear I didn't kill him! I was only protecting myself! It was his fault… all of this is his fault!" 1/6 "The Master of the Village has been preoccupied with the other outsiders lately. I'm glad they are here. Finally, people of my species! I mean, I'm no peasant, and I surely don't like their ancient customs. I think I can leave now. I've befriended one the outsiders. It seems there is more to this place than I knew." 2/6 "Someone's entered my dreams… They're not me! No… it's not me! It's not! IT'S NOT!" 3/6 "I… I keep seeing the red… the red, the red, the red… The redness everywhere… creeping, seeping… relentless voices that never shut up… SHUT UP, SHUT UP! SHUT… UP!" 4/6 "Why do they watch me like always? Like always, they watch me… taunts… twists and turns in a tunnel… God, why? I miss him… I miss him… I think I'll go find him now. He needs me." 5/6 "I… … … … … … … … … …found him… …He isn't dead! He waited for me! I'm so happy… we can be together again! Wait… just another… just another bad day… just another dreamless night… awake… He's gone… SHUT UP!" 6/6

Dagan shrugs. He goes on to inform me that a lot of his surveyors and investigators have uncovered such text that depict a crazy woman rambling on about the village and something that has happened to a man. A few claim they have seen her spirit wandering around. They say she's angry and only wants to kill. I guess Dagan is trying to warn me, but he will not come right out and say that there are ghosts. I think he's in denial. I can't say I blame him. No one wants to be insane! I feel the same way, but… I also know what I have been hearing and seeing… what I feel… when I think about her face… and what she calls me… It's not me… It's not…

Blue Crystal: Woman's Voice (deep, almost like a growl, static, a background of crying): "It hurts me to know that one day… you will leave me…That our worlds will no longer coincide with each other…I will grow old and grey by myself… You might not see me anymore. You won't recognize me. It's my face… It's mine. It really is… I can't let that happen…"

Rough Cut Ruby: Young Boy's Voice (confused, insecure, warped screams in background): "I'm sorry! You don't need to get angry anymore! I won't break promises ever again! I swear! Please, sister! Don't… Don't… Don't do it… please… DON'T!"

I shake my head in disbelief. This is all so surreal. Dagan can tell that I am upset about everything. He hands me another photo from his Camera. It shows a tall man with short, black hair and dark colored eyes standing next to a large stone in the middle of a forest. A rope is wrapped around it numerous times. The man is dressed like he's on a safari, only without a hat. The picture is dark and looks fairly old. Dagan tells me that it's his father, Murdock Murrioko. He says his father disappeared after trying to find the Lost Village. Dagan wants to put his mother's pain to rest by searching for clues. He laughs at the thought of how people discouraged him from going. 'It's gone! It probably didn't even exist!' He now smiles thinking, not only did he see the Lost Village, but now this other one. I am happy for him. I am also afraid, though. This place isn't right. The photo of his father isn't either… I am about to hand it back to him when I spot a transparent form near the stone. After tipping the picture just right I can see more. It looks like sets of arms are reaching up from the ground like they are growing from a garden! As I move the picture the 'glare' makes it look like they are swaying back and forth. The figure I see is a woman with a severely warped face. She wears a silver kimono with blood splatter on it. She has jet black hair. She stands next to Murdock with her hands towards his neck like she is going to choke him. I… decide not to tell Dagan when he asks me what is wrong.

I suddenly hear the floor boards outside of the door creak. I get to my feet and swing my body to the door with my Camera raised. Dagan tells me not to worry so much. He says there are friendly spirits and harmful ones. He's admitting their existence? Maybe… he notices the odd things in his father's photo. I simply stare at him in admiration. It takes heart to do what he is doing. Here I am chasing a silly childhood memory all because my life is rotten and there he is… searching in a dangerous and mysterious place for the only father he's got all because his mother is suffering. Why am I so pathetic? Dagan gives me one of those, 'you're-thinking-too-much' looks. Is it obvious when I'm in a deep thought? Anyway, he explains to me a certain function that is on the Camera Obscura. He says when the detect function is blue, that the spirit around me is either hidden or just a memory. Ah, yes, memories. If only all of them were harmless… He goes on to tell me that when it is orange to be careful. This means the spirit around is dangerous. I nod in understanding. I look at the door through the lens. It indicates that it is friendly. I snap a picture. Dagan takes the photo from me and shows me what it reveals. 'Listening Through' (a photo of Gerald Hemmingway emerges from the door; He thinks he hears his daughter's voice coming from the room.)

"Who is he?" I ask.

Dagan lets me keep the photo. "He is a grief-stricken father searching desperately for his daughter. This is the first time I've experienced his spirit, but Yumi says she always sees him. A lot of the girls on the team say he often calls out to them and follows them around. I feel really bad for the guy. He must have gotten trapped when trying to find his daughter."

"Has anyone seen her?"

"It's hard to say… He doesn't seem like a villager, so my guess is they are both outsiders. They might have accidentally wandered into the village. How exactly, I'm not sure. As far as my team and I know… there isn't a way out or a way in…"

I think back on how I managed to get here. "What about the Lost Village?"

"Haven't you asked yourself why I was so hell—bent on knowing who you were?" Dagan raises an eyebrow.

"Not really…"

He glances at the pocket where he placed his father's photo. "No one in my team saw the Lost Village unless I was right with them. The valley was flooded, and most people see it as just that… and nothing else… but people like us…" He holds my hands. "We have something more. We can see this place because we still have a part of us here. I'm looking for my father… That man is searching for his daughter… He became trapped… I won't let that happen to us! No matter who you are or why you're here… I intend on getting the answers and everyone out alive!" He lets go of my hands and apologizes for being so intense.

I smile. "Thank you." It's all I can say. It's not much, but between the two of us… it's enough. We head out of the room and down the stairs, and just before I go to open the door with the key Dagan found in the one book I get a strange image in my head. It is like I am there watching it from inside the room. I don't know what it means, but Dagan seems awfully concerned…

(Somewhere on the other end of the Village)

Yumi enters a warehouse. Its size is beyond anyplace else in the village. It stretches for what seems like miles. The outside appears to be a large and wide building made of wood and stone, much like everything here. There are holes that have rotted into the walls and floors. She watches her step carefully as she moves around. It's dark and damp. A cold air whistles about the warehouse. She shines her flashlight around. There isn't much to see. She walks along the west wall to keep a good distance from the middle of the area. A single rope dangles from the ceiling. It is tied into a noose. As it swings it makes an irritating and occasionally sketchy noise. As she gets closer to the back of the warehouse the voices start. It sounds like a whispering female. She can't be too much older than the red-haired girl I have seen. She almost sounds like the spirit of the woman who keeps harassing me. What does she want with Yumi? "Bleed… bleed…" Her soft, melodious way of speaking is frightening and relaxing at the same time. "I cherish what I know… Their blood… It's not my fault. They couldn't die, wouldn't die… Alive… never dead, never dead… Always alive, alive… Bleeding… bleeding like my heart… the blood never stops… … … never stops…" Everything, even Yumi, falls silent.

"I killed a million worthless souls, but I couldn't kill you."

Yumi's eyes widen in terror. "Ah!" She gasps as a rush of white light engulfs her. The warehouse turns black and white. Yumi has even lost her color. The flashlight she holds goes out. She curses and throws it down. The phrase 'I couldn't kill you' repeats over and over like a broken record. It gets louder and louder as well. Yumi panics and runs to where she entered, but before she reaches the door the red-haired girl appears from nothing. She walks straight at Yumi. 'I couldn't kill you' is now being screamed at the top of the voice's lungs. Yumi covers her ears and yells for silence. She starts backing up… She's going right for the noose! I want to tell her to move out of the way! No, don't back up any further! It's too late. The red-haired spirit pushes her back until she is directly under the noose. The screaming of the voice stops. Yumi uncovers her ears and opens her eyes. Everything is still in black and white, but she doesn't see the ghost anymore. I do. It's behind you, Yumi! The spirit pulls down the noose and tightens it around Yumi's neck. She pulls tighter, and tighter, and then even tighter. The spirit whispers into Yumi's ear. "I have to make up for past mistakes…" She pulls one last time and the entire scene goes white. I think everything is over, but then I see the room again. It's still black and white, but the noose dangles loosely and empty. Blood is under the noose. Things switch to two hands clasping together. I hear the last whisper as I see the last image of Yumi being hung, her eyes rolling in the back of her head. "Endless…"

My eyes open to the dusty and aged appeal of the Okura house. My head throbs with all the pain of the sickest of imageries. I clasp my neck with a fearful thought that I am dead. My chest rises and falls with each breath. I am alive. I sigh heavily and tell Dagan not to be worried. I am just fine. When he doesn't reply I look about me. He isn't here. The key is missing, too. The door that was locked is now slightly ajar. The key rests in the keyhole. I quietly call my companion's name. I get to my feet and open the door the rest of the way. There is a small room here. Some dolls line the back wall on a shelf. A bed is neatly made with a diary on the pillow. An ink pen rolls off as I sit down to look at the text. I reach down to pick it up when I get a sense that I am no longer alone. A pale arm reaches out and grabs the pen. It starts to pull it back in. I snap a photo before it is completely under the bed. I've acquired the 'Hidden Soul' photo (a little boy's spirit hides under the bed from a raging sibling.) I wait with the Camera still in my hands in case things take a turn for the worst. When nothing occurs after a short while I return my attention to the small diary. It seems like whoever wrote in this was a very intelligent person. I skim over it at first. It's a red diary with black floral designs on it. It seems roses are popular in this village when it comes to keeping a journal.

Red Rose Book 1: "I'm thrilled about moving here. We used to live across the village, but father says it was too close to the Ceremony Grounds. All the chanting and fire blazing kept people awake. A lot of families moved out and to different locations within the village. The other day I saw the Sutuki Family leave their place of residence. They are a really nice bunch. Father works with Mr. Sutuki at the Church. Both of them vie for the Head Priest title, but they are friendly and generous towards one another. I do feel bad for the empty houses that are left. They seem so… sad somehow." 1/5 "Tomoya won't keep his hands off of my belongings. He tends to get into things. I don't want him snooping around anymore! What if he finds my jewelry box? I can't have that little annoyance rummaging through that stuff. I told mother, which she tells me to take it up with father. I tell him and he says to take it up with her. I ask Tomoya to please respect my property… he's too young… he doesn't get anything… I guess I have to teach him a thing or two about maturity!" 2/5 "Master Tanaka keeps asking questions around the village about the researchers. He seems destined to figure out why they are here. No, he is destined to keep US from figuring out why they here. I know what he's hiding. How could I not? I'm the middle of things…" 3/5 "I told Tomoya to keep the Master out of my room… Do you think he's listened? No… the box… it's opened…Your picture… it's gone!" 4/5 "… I came looking for you… Where did you go…? I'll wait until the red clears… forever… I'll wait forever…" 5/5

I hear someone's steps at the back of the room. There is another wood panel door. I hadn't seen it before because it had been closed. It is now open and I think I can see a little boy peeking through the crack between the door and the wall. I leave the diary and the bed. I approach the wood panel with my hands on the Camera. I don't raise it up, but I am ready to at moment's notice. The wood door closes abruptly just as I am to head through. The little boy gasps. "Oh, no! She's coming! She's here!" My flashlight starts to flicker. I shake it and tap on it. It's dieing out! I feel someone's presence behind me. Their feet creak on the floor boards. I take my hands from my pocket that the flashlight is in and I place the Camera to my face. I count to three and turn around. Through the lens I can't see a thing! There's nothing! Someone puts their cold hand on my shoulder. I look back and no one is there. A loud thud comes from beyond the wood panel door. "I think she's gone!" The little boy whispers again. The panel door cracks open. My flashlight is back on. I lower the Camera. Am I going crazy, or what? I open the wood panel door to reveal the place that I had seen in the vision of the little boy's death.

It is quiet until I take a step into the room. A little boy's spirit holds a train. He smiles and turns back to me. "Jun, look what father gave me!" I snap a picture. I've acquired the 'Playing Soul' photo (Tomoya Okura plays with his favorite toy before he faces a brutal murder). As soon as I lower the Camera one more time and his spirit vanishes I get a sense that I am not alone again. My flashlight isn't flickering out, but it is dimming from time to time. The detection of the Camera indicates that it is an evil, harmful spirit. I panic. The wood panel door closes and the little boy's spirit appears in front of me. He's transparent, wearing the clothes that I have been seeing him in, but something is off. His head is bent to the left and a rope dangles from his neck. His arms and legs are not attached, but they are around. His hands drag his arms across the floor. His legs wander about. I start frantically snapping pictures of his limbs and him. His limbs disappear almost instantly. Tomoya's spirit runs at me and he manages to strike me with his small head. It almost seems like he is trying to bite me! I push him away and quickly take a few more shots. It isn't long before he cries in pain and disperses into orbs of white lights. His transparent form falls to the ground and vanishes. A spirit stone is left behind. There is another one of those orbs like the one I received from the woman in the lighthouse. I forgot to mention it to Dagan. I pick up both. The stone is a Turquoise Gem. There is also a new photo in my Camera. It's the 'Tomoya Okura' photo (a priest's son that was brutally murdered in his sister's room. He longs to see his mother and father one last time.)

Turquoise Gem: Little Boy's Voice (Crying, scared, hysterical laughter of a young girl in background): "No… No, I won't leave them here alone… I don't want to leave them here…I miss them… Please, don't make me do it, Jun… Please…I'm all alone… What did you do to everyone? Why are they gone…? Jun… Jun…"

I leave Jun's room and I take a look over at the stairs. Is… is that the notebook that fell downstairs? I approach the collapsed staircase and see the text that had fallen earlier when I first entered the Okura house. I can think of no possible explanation for its sudden return. I pick it up.

Monroe Accounts 1: "It's amazing how alike the villages are. They share their differences, but in those differences is where the similarities lie. Each one had their ancient customs and gruesome rituals. All God's, which I never saw for myself, felt that Twins appeased the Gods and the Hellish Abyss. There is only one set of Twins here. What is the power of this unknown place? What actually takes place here?" 1/2 "The Master of this Village has never given us a warm smile. The others seem kind and relatively decent, but the Master, Kazua Tanaka, refuses to tell us anything regarding All God's and this village. What is its history? Its role in this forest? Its name? The villagers won't tell us anything either. I can see in their eyes that they long to say something, but the Master has his own pair that loom over this entire place… I'm almost afraid to stay here any longer." 2/2

Gerald's spirit appears by the wood panel door. He shakes his head. "I can't find her anywhere…" I snap a photo. I've acquired the 'His Disappointment' photo (Gerald Hemmingway is losing hope of ever finding his daughter alive.) His spirit soon goes right through the door. I head over to the wood panel door, which I had been unable to open earlier. A strange feeling is coming from it. I lift my Camera and through the lens I see what looks like six ghostly faces staring at me. They do not seem to be fatal. I take a picture anyway. The faces morph into an image of a straw doll on the ground with a rope around its neck. It is the one I saw in the pitch black room upstairs. I head up to the room. I got the same strange sense from the doll. I took its picture and the six faces appear. They swirl and vanish. The feeling is gone. I got a new photo from it, too. It is the 'Hung Doll' photo (Jun Okura's favorite doll, she tried to strangle it when she thought it was going to kill her). I return to the wood panel door. I can open it, and I do.

Inside here it is like a family room. A pastel blue blanket is on the ground to my right. There are two pillows on opposite sides. They are the same color as the blanket only they have white stripes on them. They look hand sown. A cabinet is beyond there. A drawer is ajar. I approach it. Behind me (which is to the left from the entrance) is a partition screen and a lattice beyond that. An atrium for the garden can be seen. I haven't seen it from anywhere else in the house before. I figure it has something to do with the lower level that I cannot reach at this point in time due to the collapsed stairwell. I find a note scrawled in the wood at the back of the cabinet. I take my flashlight from my pocket and shine it on the words. It says, 'Help Me. I Can't Get Out. I Can't Get Out. I'm Trapped Here. Trapped.' I am startled when I hear knocking on the wood panel door. I turn and shine the light about the room. Gerald's spirit must be lingering. I can hear his groans. "I tried to find her… I can't find my daughter anywhere…Where did you go…? Oh, where did you go?" After a few moments things are quiet again. I see no real reason to stay any longer. I am worried about Dagan and Yumi. I head out to leave the Okura house and back to the village path.

There is a house across from the village. It is larger than the Okura house. I open the door and step inside. A spirit ambushes me. It looks like a woman with her long hair halfway pulled back. She wears a dark blue kimono and brown sandals. It looks like she has a brown mark around her neck. Has she been hung, too? I run into the center of the first floor to escape being cornered. The ground is on one level and there is a wood panel door in the same place as the Okura house. The hallway is next to it. I don't see any stairs yet. It is very dark here. The walls and the floor are all made of wood as far as I can tell. There is not much else to notice beside the severe worn appearance of this house. It must be decades older than the Okura house. I aim the Camera Obscura at the spirit. I wait until she is close enough. I snap a shot and wait for the film to reload while backing away from her advancing. I take another shot. She is pushed away, but not vanishing. The dark kimono spirit comes at me again. I snap two more times. She bellows in pain before disappearing. I try the panel door. It opens without trouble.

It is highly dark. I hold the flashlight in my hand now. I move it around to take in my surroundings. The walls are deteriorating badly. The floor is noisy with each step I make. To the left is nothing but a broken chair. To the right is an ancient scroll hanging on the wall. I cannot read it. It looks like it was important to the people who lived here because there are candles around it. The candles, however, don't appear so aged. They are lit and burn with a vanilla scent. I go over to it. Am I imaging things here? They are even new. The wax has hardly melted. Gerald's spirit appears next to me. He looks over me with his hand on my shoulder. He stares at the scroll before focusing on me. "I almost remember…" His grip intensified. I move away and snap his picture. Nothing happens. I panic and run to the door. Gerald's spirit stands in my way. He's teleporting! I try to keep my distance from him. He advances toward me. "I almost remember where I hid her…" His hands come at me. I try to capture his spirit, but again the Camera has no effect. On the last try I am out of film. I lure his spirit from the door. I dash for it and exit the room. Of course, Gerald can follow. I try to leave the house, but the door refuses to open. I look down the hallway and hope there is safety somewhere. A staircase is on the left and a door is in front of me. The door will not open either. I take a turn up the stairs.

I appear to be in an attic. Cobwebs are on every inch of the place. A small window is to the left. A chilly breeze brushes through. There are piles and piles of old items like clothes, toys, pictures, pillows, blankets, some pottery, and a small blue box with a two-headed lion made of gold on it. It reminds me of the key in the Okura house. Is it the jewelry box Jun Okura had been trying to keep hidden? Why would it be in the house across the path? Gerald's spirit comes moping up the stairs. "I kept her hidden somewhere… I almost remember…" I pull a white blanket over top of me and I hide behind a pile of old stuff. I turn the flashlight off. I hold as still as I can in my dusty, allergenic tent. Gerald's spirit lingers in the attic for a little while before he weeps into his hands and leaves. As soon as things are dead silent I reach my arm around the pile of old toys and stuff to grab the jewelry box. I am remaining under the white blanket incase any more ghosts decide to harass me. I open the box to see a folded note and a black pearl. I pocket the Black Pearl for now. I unfold the note and read it.

Jun's Note: "If you found this, then you've come back to see me. If you're wondering why it's here, then let me tell you. I thought Master Tanaka stole it from me, but it turns out I misplaced it. The Shimo Widow passed away recently. No one touches her house because they say it is discourteous. It gives me the perfect place to hide our past. If someone found it…you know. If you need a way to exit the Shimo Widow's house without being seen, use the door at the bottom of the stairs. It will take you into Mr. Yoshiawa's house. If you've made it during the day, he is at the Church. Go ahead and exit his house. No one will question you because it's his place. He's the Head Priest. Nanako, I'll wait for you…We can do this. I know we can."

A picture of Jun Okura in a silver kimono with her arm around an unknown, pretty girl is tapped to the bottom of the jewelry box. The strange youth wears a short, pink kimono. She has black sandals and her hair is long and black. Her eyes are the same color as mine. Her face is slightly blurry, though. Wouldn't it be funny if she looks exactly like me! Ha, ha… ha… ha… … … ha. I look on the back of the picture to see something written in Jun's handwriting: 'Nanako, I will always love you. Forever." I try the Black Pearl in the Radio, but it won't play! I don't let it get to me too much. I have other things on my mind.

"This is the Shimo house?" I glance at the attic walls in the darkness. I whisper out loud my thoughts as I descend the attic stairs. "Did the widow die here?" I stumble upon another picture. It shows Gerald standing next to what might be his daughter. Something is not right about the picture. His daughter looks completely blurred and scratched out. The more I look at it, the more I want to look away. Another one of those black and white images scold my eyes. I can see Gerald wandering around aimlessly in the paths of the village. I can see things through his view. He scuffs his feet along the dirt path. As he makes his way slowly about the village the image flickers to other random things. One such thing is the scene I have seen before. It is of the blood running down the pale cheek. It often gets interrupted by another flickering image, however. It occasionally looks like Jun Okura is sitting on her knees in front of the unknown girl in the photo. She sits the same way. Next to them are a thriving forest and the village. Jun leans closer and closer to the face of the girl, which cannot be seen because of her long hair (she is dressed like the spirit in the lighthouse that wore the dark red kimono). Something else appears, but only for a short while. I can hardly tell what it means, but it looks like Jun Okura wearing a black wig, which she removes to reveal her red hair. Her silver kimono drips with blood. It goes back to Jun and the other girl sitting close together. They seem like they might kiss. "We can do this together. I know we can. If we escape, we can be with each other. Forever." Suddenly a rush of villagers holding torches and pointing at the girls screaming silently run at them. The two girls get to their feet and start running for their lives. The gate that leads out of the village and deeper into the forest is starting to shut. The unknown girl, most likely Nanako, manages to slip through. She keeps running. She does not notice that Jun is no longer at her side. Jun is on the other end of the gate being dragged back to the village by the villagers. She screams for Nanako. Jun is already pulled back into the village by the time Nanako makes it back to the gate to see what happened. She has her head lowered, so her face is still not visible. "I'll come back for you… I promise…" The image now focuses mainly on Gerald wandering around the village. He pulls out the picture that I have found. The scene focuses on the warped face of his daughter in the picture. It flashes to a gruesome depiction of slaughtering and blood shedding of the villagers. Jun Okura starts to mutilate her own face. She peers into a river. Her blood drops, making it slightly red. It then cuts to a scene of a huge tsunami of blood red water consuming the village. It now goes back to Jun looking deep at her reflection. "It's endless…" The images stop.

The picture trembles in my hands. "This… " One of my tears falls on the warped face of his daughter, "… must be his…"

End

Chapter Four

Any and all reviews welcomed!

I will revise if needed!

Next time: This Pain

Thank you!

Author's Note

Jun Okura and Nanako's role in the plot is complex and extensive. It also merges with another plot that is coming up soon. I will let you know this: Jun wearing a black wig is an important thing to remember.