Haunted
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By Guardian795
Author's Note: Sorry about the short chapter, and for the song at the beginning, for those of you who don't like the band. It's not my favorite, but I heard it one day while playing the Fatal Frame 2 Promo Video, and nearly fell out of my chair. It's a good combo. But, anyway, to inform you, this chapter WILL BE LONGER. Good news for you people out there who like this story: I will be writing a Fatal Frame 1 fan fiction when I am finished with this story. I have already started (mostly because I had some inspirations for the first few chapters), but I need a poll once more.
Again:
1) Which ending should be done for this fan fiction?
2) Would you like me to use the same format of writing the Fatal Frame 1 that I used here? (Going in chronological order and filling in the blanks later) Or, would you rather me tell it like the game goes?
3) What ending should I use for the Fatal Frame 1 fan fiction?
Yes, I know, crazy stuff, but I want your opinion. I already chose a name for my next fan fic, and it should be just as good as this one (I'm hoping so, anyway).
BREAKING NEWS! Fatal Frame 3 will have three playable characters:
Rei Kurosawa
Kei Amakura
Miku Hinasaki
Yes, our beloved Miku is back! And…the hell? A LIVING Kurosawa? Anyway, head to Beyond the Camera's Lens and check out that info. More to come. Release date is July 28th for Japan, November 20th for US.
The name is Zero Shisei no Koe. English version will be Fatal Frame III: The Tormented.
Recap: Mio and Mayu have stumbled on everyone's favorite village and must now try to escape it. Those of you who have played the game know what will happen, but I won't say anything, because there are some who have not played it.
Have fun!
§ § §
Chapter 10: The Lost Village
Mio stared straight ahead, down the long hill that she stood on, at the dark and luminous village. Old and decrepit, it had not been inhabited for years. But if this was true…why was no one here any longer? Did they all pass away? Did they contract a strange disease? Mayu stood not two feet from her, clutching her hands together before her in fear. Her fragile frame shook lightly, either from the cold or from her fear, and her eyes were wide as she looked at the village. Her gaze was strangely distant…as though she was experiencing something horrid, or something from a long lost memory, just out of reach.
Mio put her hand on her twin's shoulder. Mayu looked at her, her gaze growing normal as she focused on her sister. "You okay, Mayu?" Mio asked.
Mayu nodded, a small smile forming. "Of course, Mio. I'm just cold…and a little afraid…" Mio nodded, taking her hand.
"Come on, let's leave," Mio told her, leading her towards the Torii gate she had passed under. Upon reaching it, she stopped. "Mio?" Mayu called.
"There's no path…" Mio muttered. Mayu glanced around her. "What?" she asked. Her sister walked up to the gate. Tall grasses and thick briars lay in the covered path. Trees enclosed around the end of the gate, like the forest had closed itself off. Mio walked into the bushes, but the briars stuck and stung at her legs. She gave a gasp of pain and looked around for an exit.
A small opening in between the briars and the trees could be seen. It was small, filled with rocks and thorns above. Mio blanched – Mayu would not be able to leave that way. It was too risky, for she could be hurt. "Mio?" her sister called. Mio turned around and made her way back to her sister. "Is there a way out?" Mayu asked.
"No," Mio lied. "There's no way out this way." Mayu looked past her eyes and saw the real truth. There was a way out - Mio wouldn't take it because of her. Mayu looked down. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. Mio placed her arms around her sister.
"Never be sorry about anything, Mayu. It's not your fault. I would never leave you behind." Mayu rested her head on her sister's shoulder. "We made a promise, always to be together, Mayu. We'll keep that promise. I won't go anywhere without you by my side," Mio assured her.
Mayu looked up at her sister and slowly nodded. "Okay…let's go, then. I don't like this place at all." Mio nodded and took her sister's hand. She walked with her back to the top of the hill, looking down into the village. What can we do? thought Mio. Mayu, beside her, pointed down a small path to their right. "Mio…there's a path to the village."
"Are you sure that it's safe to go?" Mio asked. Mayu shook her head.
"No…I don't…but maybe someone's there with a map or something." Mio shrugged. It was doubtful…but the only plan they had. She walked with Mayu down the small path, looking around at the scenery. Mio noticed the large bits of fog and the darkness that seemed to close around the village like a blanket. It wasn't too hard to see where they were going…but it wasn't very open either. Mio kept walking until she tripped over something and landed with a hard thud on the ground.
"Mio!" Mayu cried, going to her sister. Mio slowly picked herself up. "I'm fine…just…" She showed Mayu a large black side bag. "I tripped on this.
Mayu investigated it and dug her hands into it. She pulled out several red notebooks and a photo. "Mio, look!" she said, showing Mio a photo of a woman and a man, college aged. The woman had long, black hair, and wore a black skirt and white shirt. The man wore tan pants, white undershirt and tan jacket. His short, black hair was combed back neatly, and his arm was around the woman's waist. "They must've liked each other," Mayu commented.
"But who are they?" Mio asked. "Is there a name?"
Mayu looked the picture over, and read aloud, "College photo, 1855. Makimura and Sodou." Mio reached into the bag and withdrew two newspaper clippings. "What's that, Mio?"
"They're newspaper clippings from last year. One is about a man named Masumi Makimura, who was a surveyor for the dam that's going to be built here. He disappeared mysteriously. The second clipping talks about how the search parties gave up after ten days."
"That's terrible…" Mayu murmured. Mio put the papers and the picture back into the bag and put it down. "Maybe…whoever brought this…is still here…" Mayu said quietly.
"Let's hope," Mio told her. The twins began to walk along the small path towards the village below. As they walked, Mio counted two more stones with twins on them. The stones were covered in moss, and weeds grew around them…but both twins seemed intact with hardly any scratches on them, unlike the one she passed earlier. As they wound around the trail, two houses came into view. One, on the right, seemed destroyed, barely intact. The one on the left seemed very different, like it had be cleaned up around the front recently. As Mio and Mayu approached the houses, a pale apparition passed 50 yards in front of them, walking towards the door to the cleaner house. Mayu paused for a moment, and Mio stopped to look back at her. "What's wrong, Mayu?"
Mayu looked at her sister with a look of confusion and doubt. "Oh…nothing…" she muttered, going over to her sister. Mio looked at her with doubt, but continued to walk forward towards the house. As the girls walked by a closed lattice window, a light passed over it…like the light of a flashlight or lamp that came from the inside. Mayu looked at Mio's back, but stayed behind her younger sister. "I wonder if somebody's here…" she said. As Mio stared ahead, a gentle hand touched her right shoulder. Mio looked back only slightly and put her hand on the other hand, believe Mayu was there.
Mayu walked in front of her younger sister, and the hand remained, attached to another arm. Mio's eyes widened. "Are you leaving me again?" a voice whispered as the hand slipped out from under Mio's hand. Mio whipped around, but found no one there. Mayu looked back at Mio, who was now staring at her hand in disbelief.
"Mio?" she called, a little worried. Mio looked over at her. "Oh…sorry," the younger twin said. Mayu nodded and opened the door to the house, Mio beside her.
§ § §
A small open hallway to put shoes and other things greeted the twins. A lattice to their left stood before them, and Mio could see that a small room lay beyond it. Two kimonos hung from stands, and three boxes were in the back. Mio saw a door up ahead, in front of them, and walked towards it. Mayu followed, and as the older twin passed the lattice, the pale woman with black hair watched her. Mayu looked back, but saw no one. Mio opened the door to the house, and Mayu came to her side.
Mio opened the door and walked into the larger portion of the house. The sunken fireplace, in the center of the room, was filled with mold and dust. The paper folds to block out viewers were ripped and torn, the paper old. The floorboards were dusty and old, and creaked when stepped on. But, the strangest thing, was that there were lit candles everywhere. Mio looked around at all of the moldy and dusty things. "Isn't there anyone here?" she asked aloud. She turned around to Mayu. "Should we look around?" she asked, then saw Mayu shaking. "Mayu?" she asked. Her sister continued to shake.
"What's wrong?" she cried, putting a hand on Mayu's arm. Mio's mind exploded into a vision. She tried to pull her hand back, but Mayu grasped hold of it. She wanted her sister to see the vision she was having.
"Masumi!" a voice called. Female…soft…and so distant. A young woman wearing a white shirt and a black skirt came into the scene. She held a flashlight in her hand that reflected her black eyes and hair. "Where are you!"
She was looking through the woman's eyes now…Mio could feel the woman's feverish mind as her own. She walked down a forlorn hallway in the darkness. "Masumi…" the woman's voice rasped, so unlike what she said before. "Where did you go…" she rasped again, as two twins in violet kimonos were shown, their throats hanging in nooses in an unknown hallway, not the one she was walking in moments before. The twins disappeared, and as the woman walked, a white, shadowy figure of a man turned the corner up ahead. Strange noises occurred, but the woman continued to go on.
A face in the wall, staring at her…always staring… Mio could feel the tension in the woman as she walked past.
"I don't want to kill her…" a little voice said. "Azami…"
"Why didn't you kill me back then…? Kill me, Yae…"
The woman was now in front of a wooden door, which she opened. She entered the next room, a painting to her left, and a light flickering above her head. The man she had seen before stood, his back turned. He jerked, and the light went out.
I don't want to kill anymore
Mio could see the woman now, not through her eyes, but as if she was looking at her. The woman shrieked at the top of her lungs, as the man lunged onto her, grabbing her throat and crushing her windpipe. Her scream died in her throat as she looked up at the man, who was bitterly slashed and bleeding profusely.
A girl in a white bloodstained kimono, laughing maniacally amidst all of the bodies of those she destroyed. Laughing…
Why…!
Mio jumped back a bit as the vision finally ended, her hand leaving Mayu's arm. She stared at her hand as the thoughts soared through her mind like rockets. "What was that?" she asked Mayu.
"I don't know…" Mayu replied, also shaken by the vision. "I don't know."
Mio shook her head. "Come on…let's look around." She took her sister's hand and walked with her down the hall. As they walked, they passed under a drape with the symbol of Ginger on it, the symbol and fabric worn away with age. Mio looked around at the old walls, filled with cracks and rust. As she passed down the hallway, a path opened to her left, and another to her right. The left led to another hallway, the right led to a staircase. She continued on though, and when she did, her sixth sense went off. She looked up and saw the black haired woman turn the corner down the hall.
"Masumi…"
Mio halted, confused. How did that woman suddenly appear there? "Wait!" she called, running off down the hall after her. "Mio!" Mayu cried, limping after her sister. Mio turned the corner, but the woman was no longer there. Another drape was at the end of the hall, and a door. Mayu caught up to her sister. "Why…did you…run?" she asked.
"That woman…she was just here!" Mayu looked at her with uncertainty, but followed her sister as they continued down the hall. Mio opened the door at the end, going inside with Mayu right behind her. As they entered the room, both girls could feel a great difference. Mio looked around the darkened room, trying to see everything. To her left was a paper screen, filled with dulled and old colors. As Mio walked further into the room, she went around the screen and saw only a coal brazier, and an open door to the outer garden.
"It's…a bit cold…" Mayu commented. Mio nodded in agreement and continued to look around. She stopped when she saw another little red notebook. She picked it up and opened it, reading the words.
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!
Mio looked to the front cover and scanned it. The date was around one year ago. "Someone WAS here, Mayu. About a year ago, at least."
"Where are they now?" Mayu asked. Mio shook her head. "Let's go, then. There was another path that we can take. Maybe it has something we can use to leave this place." Mio nodded and followed her sister back out into the hall. As they rounded the corner again, the woman appeared, heading down the hallway they were about to go to.
"Why…"
Mio and Mayu hurried after her and into the next hallway where she had disappeared. A door was at the end, and Mio went to it. "It's…it's slightly open," she told Mayu. Mio opened the door the rest of the way, revealing a ransacked case of books and files, a small table and, to the left, another open room. Mio went over to the table while Mayu looked over to the other room.
"It's completely open…like a living space," she said. Mio looked over the table, but something shining caught her eye. A small mirror stood on a much smaller table nearby. She kneeled down and looked into it. Her long hair was a bit disheveled from running, but she looked fine. In the mirror behind her, Mayu stood nearby. Mio smiled to her through the mirror, then gasped.
The girl in the white kimono stood beside Mayu, smirking. Mio whipped around, but only Mayu stood there. "Mio?" she questioned.
"Nothing, don't worry," the younger twin said, getting up. She crossed over to the table, where she found a flashlight. "Mayu, look!" she cried. Mayu smiled. "Good, this'll help."
Mio also found a manual under it. "The…Camera Obscura?" she asked. "Created by Dr. Kunihiko Aso."
"What's that, Mio?" Mayu asked. Mio shrugged, but as her hand touched the manual, her sixth sense went off, guiding her. She turned her head and shined her new light onto the floor, where an antique camera lay on its side. She walked over to it and leaned down. As she touched it, Mayu cried, "That's…!"
§ § §
"So…this is the Camera Obscura…" Seijiro Makabe murmured. He brought the camera down from his eyes to look at the stone in front of him.
"It is said that the camera takes pictures of impossible things…" he muttered, bringing the camera back up. He looked through the viewfinder, centering the stone in his sights. As his finger rose to take the picture, multitudes of hands shot out at him, grabbing for him. He quickly hit the shutter button, and a picture was taken.
The stunned man fell to the ground. "What was that!" He stared at the stone, which did not move. "I can't believe…so it's true."
"This thing must never be used again…"
§ § §
Mio came back to reality with a start. The Camera Obscura…
"Mio?" Mio lifted her head and turned. She pointed her flashlight at her twin sister, who looked pale and worried. "What's that?" she asked Mayu. She grabbed the camera as she stood. A loud knocking came on the side wall. Mayu grabbed Mio's arm.
"Is someone there?" Mio asked quietly. The banging continued on the walls, going down the hall towards their door, each time…louder. The two twins clutched each other tightly. Finally, there was a banging on the door, which gave way to silence.
"Mio…" Mayu moaned in fear. Mio slowly let go of her sister and walked towards the door. "Mio, don't go…" Mayu called. Mio looked at her.
"Just stay there…I just want to look," she said. She got to the door and pulled it open quickly. The door opened about an inch before it was stopped forcefully. A dark, lifeless eye stared at her. Mio gasped and jumped back, the door shutting. Mayu grabbed her own arms and fell to her knees as a coldness came into the room. She shuddered visibly.
Mio could only glance at Mayu before a figure of a woman passed through the door. White shirt, black skirt, black hair…it was the woman leading them! Mio looked at her in utter confusion, but also in wonder. She pulled up the camera and aimed at her, taking a picture. Within moments, the apparition vanished, leaving no trace.
Mio lowered the camera. "It's gone…" she said quietly. She stared down at the camera in her hands. Mayu came to her side, looking better.
"Come on, let's get out of here," she urged her younger sister. Mio nodded in agreement, and the girls hurried out of the room. Mio ran for the front door, grabbing the handle and pulling. The door refused to budge.
"No!" she cried, pulling harder. Mayu gasped behind her. Mio turned around and looked over Mayu's shoulder, where a strange, silhouetted figure stood for a moment before disappearing. Mio walked up to where the figure once stood, trying the door. Once again, locked, but the camera in her hand started to vibrate and react strangely.
Mio held it up to the door, and took a picture. The door's photo showed a coal brazier. Mio and Mayu looked at it closely. "I know where that is…that room, remember?" Mayu said. Mio nodded and the two girls returned to the room where they found the note.
There, Mio searched the brazier carefully, finding nothing. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked. Mayu looked over. "Take a picture?" she asked.
Mio nodded and took a photo of the brazier. She gasped in fright and dropped the camera.
"Mio, what is it!" Mayu cried. Mio showed her the picture that came out. A man, his face torn and slashed, was looming in the shot, as though the camera was shown through the eyes of another. Mayu backed away.
"W-w-what…what is that!" she cried.
"I don't know…" Mio said. "Come on, let's go back to that room." She took Mayu's hand gently and led her sister back to the door. Mio opened it with ease, unlike before. The two girls went into the room, Mio shining the flashlight.
The room was dark, with two kimono boxes nearby, a lattice on the left wall, a drape on the right, and a closet on the right. "Mio, look!" Mayu cried. Mio looked over at the drape, and behind it lay a blanket with a lump in it. Mayu trembled, but Mio went ahead and looked. "It's okay. It's not moving," Mio told her. If that's a good thing…
Mio looked around that corner of the room. "There's nothing here."
Mayu sighed. "Let's keep looking." Mayu went to the door, and Mio followed. Suddenly, with a loud thump, a piece of the wall fell off. There, in a part of the wall, was a key. "Mio…the key!" Mio ran over and grabbed it.
Mayu looked at her with a smile as they exited the room with their prize. "That key must be to the upstairs room. Maybe it'll help us get out."
Masumi…
Mayu jumped, and the two girls looked up. Climbing the stairs which they were next to was the woman with black hair. She ascended the stairs slowly. "She's leading us…" Mayu said. Mio nodded and the girls followed her. The woman's image led them to the room before it disappeared. Mio quickly used the key and the girls went in.
They entered a small hallway with a room to each side. Mayu looked in the right one. "Nothing here," she said. Mio nodded and walked with her older twin to the left room. There was another doorway there, which they entered. This room was also empty, save for an unused kimono, but there was another doorway in front of them.
They entered the room, which they could see was a small study. Mio walked into the room, holding Mayu's shaking hand. It was cold in this room. Suddenly, the door to the other room closed and locked behind them. Mayu made a small noise of fear.
"Shhh…it'll be okay, Mayu," her sister reassured her. Mayu suddenly pointed downwards. Mio followed her gaze and spotted another red book. Mio kneeled down and read from it. Mayu kneeled behind her and did the same. All of the writing was nonsense and insane ravings.
"She came to this village looking for her boyfriend," Mio said. "And then…where did she go?"
Mayu stood up from her sister's side, taking her hand from her sister's shoulder. She went over to the boarded up window. "This place…must be…"
Why…?
Mayu turned around and saw the woman's ghost kneeling behind Mio as Mayu had done minutes before. The woman's hand was on her sister's shoulder. "Mio!" she yelled. The woman immediately took her hand from Mio's shoulder as the girl turned around.
Mayu began to back away slowly towards the door and away from the ghost and Mio. "Mayu?" Mio asked.
Why…?
Mio heard it this time, the sound of the woman's dead voice. She slowly turned her head to her right shoulder, and there was the woman's face, or at least half of it. Mio screamed and fell onto her rump. She quickly scrambled backwards as the woman stood up and stared at her with cold eyes. "Mio, the camera!" Mayu yelled. Mio raised the camera towards the woman, but she vanished.
Mio turned around and looked about the room. Mayu put her hands over her head and bent down slightly in fear. The sound of crying filled the room, and the woman appeared again, her back to the sisters. She was sobbing into her hands.
Oh, Masumi…why…
Mio stepped towards her, but the woman suddenly disappeared again. Mio looked around. Mayu screamed behind her, and Mio turned. The woman had Mayu by the throat! "Mayu!" Mio screamed. She turned the camera on the woman and shot a picture. The woman screamed and was thrown back, Mayu crumpling to the floor. "Are you okay?" she asked Mayu. Mayu nodded, looking up.
"Mio!" she screamed, pointing behind her.
Mio turned around as the woman's hands grabbed her own throat. Mio screamed, the feeling of being strangled filling her body and soul. Death began to creep into her body. Mio turned the camera down and shot off another picture into the ghoul's face. The woman was flung back a few feet, then sprang back. Mio shot another picture as she drew close. The woman's hands went through the camera and back into Mio, as though to grab and rip her soul. Both Mio and the woman were thrown back.
Masumi… the woman whispered before she sank to the floor and disappeared. Mio hit the floor on her back, everything spinning and her world turning white as her sister rushed to her side. Mio saw the woman, Miyako Sudo, being killed by her boyfriend one more time.
Another image flashed into her head: of Mayu running off, following a butterfly.
"Crimson…Butterfly…"