Oblivious presents...

A Fatal Frame/Rozen Maiden Fusion.
(He does not own any of this even though he wants to.)

Manikin: Chapter 2

"Hah hahahahahahaha…"

Mayu was laughing a laugh that was as smooth as silk, yet mercilessly cruel. It was a laughter that sent shivers down Rei's spine and dread into her heart.

"It's been a long time… Shinku. I was literally counting the hours…" said Mayu, leering at Shinku with an amused expression on her face.

"Suigintou… that human has nothing to do with us or the game! Release her at once!" Shinku commanded imperiously, staring up at Mayu with narrowed eyes.

"She was a part of the game the moment she stepped into Father's Manor, My… sweet… Shinku… both she and her sister."

So there were other people in the manor. Even though Rei did not know them, it gave her a minute sense of solace that she and Miku were not alone in this place… where ever Miku was. The cold weight of reality was setting in now; the constricting pain upon her wrists… and other areas of her body was real. There were powerful spirits in the area that could take control of the bodies of dolls and humans alike, for what sinister purpose she could not fathom. This was a good time to wake up in her bed.

"Miss Kurosawa?" Shinku asked, the politeness and control evident in her voice.

"This girl has been possessed by an Evil Spirit-"

"How RUDE!" Mayu yelled indignantly.

"-I can free her, but I am going to need your assistance."

Shinku seemed to know the spirit that was in control of the girl, and seemed to harbour a sort of enmity for it, which seemed mutual. Mayu's scowl faded away as a grin crept across her face, giggling to herself in the dim darkness. Rei seriously felt that there was really something creepy about that girl.

"Assistance?I'm so sorry, but these hands have a tendency to slip and strangle assistants." She stated with a mournful tone in her voice.

From the way she thrust her weight from her right leg, this girl was a limp, but she was pretty fast for one. Rei grabbed Mayu's arms and held them in place as she made another harrowing effort to strangle the life out of her. She was as strong as before, much too strong for a school girl whose head only reached Rei's chin. Then there was the frigid cold seeping out of her arms and into Rei's hands, slowly chilling her to the bone.

"My, my, aren't we pretty." Mayu chided as she stared into her eyes, her thin but mighty arms of creeping cold soon overpowering Rei.

It was then Rei noticed that Shinku had somehow gotten to the top of altar beside her and was now standing at nearly equal height to her. She held out the back of her hand, around whose ring finger was a silver ring upon which sat a tiny gold rose.

"Swear upon this rose… that you will protect my Roza Mystica. Only then can I free her." The blonde doll said with a note of urgency, staring straight into Rei's olive black eyes with her own sapphire ones.

The possessed girl was strong, but thankfully her weight had not changed. Rei was slightly larger in stature then her, so she used this to her advantage, and thrust her weight behind her arm into Mayu's solar plexus, pushing her back.

"Oh… someone needs a diet."

Rei found her lips tightening at that comment about her weight. Even though she was in a cursed manor that was full of fear and danger, and just had her definition of reality stomped over and overwritten, Rei was still a woman. Suigintou… that was quite underhanded. Rei looked at Shinku, a measure of resolve steeling her eyes.

"Cast out that Evil Spirit." Rei requested of Shinku, with just a tiny edge in her voice, as she lowered her head to Shinku's outstretched hand, planting a soft kiss upon the ring of rose.

"Teaming on poor little me are we?"

"With pleasure." Shinku replied to Rei with a smile. As Rei took a step back, a brilliant ruby beam of light projected upwards from Shinku's ring, and descended upon Rei's ring finger on her right hand. The finger she had been saving for so long… it burned hot as a thin sliver of molten mass constricted itself upon her finger; it seemed to be determining a perfect fit. Soon, the ruby light died down, revealing a slightly glowing ring of rose on the base of Rei's finger, exactly like the one Shinku had. It was a warm piece of metal, as if it were newly forged. There was something peculiar about the ring in that it fit so well that it was like a part of her skin… or a part of her.

"Playtime has ended, Suigintou." stated Shinku as she held the palm of her hand in front of her face. She blew a gust of wind into her palm, materializing dozens of ruby red rose petals that flew out before her, soon filling half the room in a storm. Rei noticed the ring on her finger growing hotter and glowing bright red as Shinku demonstrated her powers.

Smoke arose where the petals touched Mayu's body, who shouted deafeningly in agony, flailing her arms in vain at the petals that surrounded her. Rei noticed then, a black ring on Mayu's finger emanating a bright purple light. Mayu turned to flee, but was held back by Rei, who restrained her from behind in a tight arm lock. The first thing Rei noticed was that Mayu's struggling body was getting warmer by the second. Then finally, with a final exhausted groan, Mayu ceased her struggling. Rei carried her over to the veiled bed beside the altar and carefully rested her limp body upon it.

"Shinkuu…" Mayu uttered intensely before unconsciousness claimed her, the black ring on her finger gone without a trace.

"What happened to her?" Rei asked, the awe in her voice evident.

"She was forcefully made into a medium. This girl must be highly sensitive for Suigintous control to be so… complete." Shinku answered appraisingly.

"A Medium?"

"A Medium is a plane upon which a force expresses itself. She was possessed." Shinku explained.

"I see…" Rei had read about spirit possession in certain books and the internet, but she would never have believed it until seeing it firsthand. Metaphysics… He was involved in this field.

"Just for your information, -You- are my Medium as well." informed Shinku with a slight smile on her face.

"…And?" queried Rei as she a raised eyebrow at the doll clad in red.

"The difference is that you are a Medium of agreement, the ring on your finger is proof of our contract. It cannot be broken easily by a third party."

"...but that doesn't explain-" Rei began.

"Patience. The link of Mediumship goes both ways, while I can project myself onto you, I can draw power from you as well, through your ring. The hotness you should have felt was caused by resistance opposing the flow of energy. It was your power that drove out Suigintou."

Now that Shinku mentioned it, Rei was feeling a slight bit winded. It felt as if she had just run halfway around a block; that was quite a bit of energy. Then she remembered a question she had wanted to ask Shinku.

"How… did you know I was a Miss? Lucky guess?" Rei asked as she stared at Shinku with a discerning frown.

"Come closer, Miss Kurosawa." Shinku requested, smiling an enigmatic smile. Rei did so, walking over to the altar where Shinku was standing.

"Closer."

Rei hesitantly lowered her head closer to Shinku. The aristocratic doll put her tiny hand upon Rei's cheek, feeling her smooth, pale skin, and her sharp sky blue eyes into Rei's jet black ones.

"You have beautiful eyes, Rei. A deep, sorrowful longing like the one I see should not exist were you in Union."

A gasp was all Rei managed.

So she sat there, on the wrought iron railings of a staircase, almost unseen in pitch black, a twilight angel of death with dark wings hanging in the air like a thousand black fingers radiating from her body, a doll's body. From her scalp flowed long silver blonde hair that parted the dark hands extending from her back. To her crown was affixed a laced black hair band which had a black rose in its centre. Over white underlinen she wore an elegant dress of sable; body hugging around her torso to exemplify her figure yet loosening around the sleeves that split midway to allow pure white ruffs. The skirt was tastefully jagged at its edges, trailing gracefully behind her form like the wings of a bat. A dark aura of Malice hung around the figure, radiating its desire to obliterate all that lives and return its warmth to the darkness of the Abyss.

"This was just a greeting Shinku. Please be ready for me… I want to enjoy slowly squeezing the life out of you." said the pitiless yet velvety voice of the dark figure in excitement, its arms wrapped around its body in anticipation; it was almost time for that human to reach her destination. She needed her help to obtain an artefact of certain… power. She still remembered how she had been repelled by the powerful seals surrounding it. It was not meant for the usage of the Rozen Maiden, especially one as corrupted as her, but that only made her want it even more…

"Do not avert your eyes papa… from me, the most beautiful of your daughters. Only I will do what is necessary to fulfil your will. Only I will become your Alice… only I; Suigintou." At these words, her folded, inky wings shot open, more than doubling their size before the doll glided off the railing, laughing her sweet laugh.

Mio raised the aged but still serviceable flashlight she had found in one of the decrepit rooms of the manor. She was aware that there were forces in the manor, malevolent forces she had no idea existed before setting foot into the dark manor in pursuit of her sister, and much less forces she could defend herself against. She had been… assaulted, the best word she could think of to describe it, by an entity of black, violent emotions whose touch left her physically and mentally exhausted. She managed to fight if off and escape, though how exactly she did this, she was not sure. It was almost as if a warm strength within her rose up in a burst of emotion that repelled the force long enough for her to make her escape… it was when she remembered her sister, Mayu. She resolved to do whatever it would take to find her sister, alive and well.

She looked at the old journal (Which apparently belonged to a Metaphysicist) she had found lying on the ground in one of the rooms she had passed through after she escaped the spectre. It was quite fortunate, because she might not have found it if she was in a hurry. When she found the room, the door was slightly ajar while most she had passed by had been closed, not to mention that the flashlight she had found was lying right next to the journal, allowing it to be read in the dimness. Mio felt a certain oddness about the find, but still she would have missed learning about the Camera Obscura had it not occurred.

(A Metaphysicist' Journal)

21st April, Monday

The Camera Obscura; said to be able to take pictures of impossible things. It seems to be sensitive to a band of electromagnetic (EM) waves as yet documented scarcely by western science. On a higher frequency setting it is able to capture pictures of the EM Fields produced by living things; humans, plants, animals and so on. It should be noted that this is quite different from the scam known as 'Kirlian Photography', which produces images by capturing gas ionization caused by the current that is run though the subject, as opposed to a true EM Field. A simple test conducted by submerging the subject in a vacuum easily proves this. The Camera Obscura, however, seems to be the real thing, with the genuine ability to capture EM waves propagated by living things. A rather disturbing effect of the camera is that it seems to pull energy from objects within its capture circle; subjects seem to report minor feelings of disorientation when this happens, and one subject actually burst into tears when her picture was taken, which seems to be consistent with the effects that occur when human EM fields are disrupted or diminished. This does not happen when the camera is set to a lower frequency, as the camera then seems to target more… elusive entities.

Mio noted that it seemed that the owner of the journal had come to the manor to investigate the camera he had come to know about through various sources. Interestingly, the manor was occupied at the time, by people. Whatever the camera was, she felt that it would be useful if she was going to stay in the manor for any length of time.

Finally, she reached the room stipulated by the journal that contained the camera. She pushed the door open, a musty smell greeting her as she entered. Her pittance of a torch scanned the dark room. It seemed to be a storeroom of some sort, filled with rows of shelves that housed a wide variety of books and items that may have served ritualistic purposes, like candles, incense and sacred rope. It was quite a large room, and as she walked deeper into it, the shelves of old looking books and ritual tolls turned into shelves filled with… dolls. It was at this point she could detect a stale smell of iron. Various dolls in various states of completion filled the shelves, some merely unfinished while others were broken or damaged. There was a girl with blonde hair in a blue dress and a cracked face, missing an eye, a cruel hollow were it should have been. There was also a clown doll, still smiling almost psychotically though its ruined body was missing a limb or two. They all stared at Mio accusingly with those false eyes, almost daring her to mock them, as they were left to languish eternally, incomplete and broken, as junk, in this graveyard of dolls.

She tore her eyes away from the sorry sight, focusing once again on the task at hand. She found the camera at the end of the doll shelves upon a pedestal. It was covered methodically with long strips of yellow paper with various chinese characters upon it scrawled in what looked like dark red dye. The wax blots of burnt out candles also marked the site. She tore off the paper strips on the camera and picked it up. It was a very old fashioned camera, like those very old models that utilised a magnesium powered flash to create a picture. There were mysterious dials on the camera Mio assumed must have been used to adjust the frequency of the wave the camera captured. She turned around to the shelves and looked through the camera lens… and saw thick red liquid flowing copiously from the shelves around her, almost as if the dolls were bleeding. In shock, Mio looked with her own eyes. The blood had vanished. She looked again through the camera; the blood reappeared, along with a winged female doll in black. She had a deathly pale face and long silver blonde hair that flew subtly in the stagnant air. She floated in midair between the bleeding shelves, smiling at Mio deviously, staring at her with calico, pupiless eyes.

Mio took away the camera. The doll was still there, radiating a biting cold that swept over Mio, whose skin had broken out in a sea of goose bumps. A primal fear had awoken in Mio; floating before her and approaching her ever so slowly was a being that radiated a frigid lust for death, without a trace of humanity. Its huge black wings hung out around its figure like the dread hands of the Grim Reaper himself, poised to snatch the life from her body.

"Welcome… welcome…" said the doll in black melodiously, to a chorus of child like voices behind her, also voicing their hospitality.

There was a doll. It was like a child, with a huge lacy pink ribbon upon her head of shoulder length blonde hair, bound spirally in huge locks. Large and bright green eyes on this head stared out upon the world, its playground. It was wearing a pink overcoat secured by a silk ribbon, with thin lines of orchid patterns running down its front and intricate lace on its hem and sleeves. It was worn over a white, sleeveless dress. It floated in the air in the middle of a dark hallway, beckoning with its arms outstretched, as if waiting for a hug.

"Your brother is this way. Hina will show you the way. You can be together… forever." Hinaichigo said as she flew backwards, careful not to lose the human on her trail.

Miku looked at the doll, and saw beyond it, the back of a young man in white, walking down the hallway… away from her. Could it be?

"Mafuyu…!" Miku called out with longing in her voice, but the figure did not reply, nor give any indication she was heard. She had waited so long… so long just to see her brother again. The pining in her heart was a tangible knot in her chest, twisting painfully when she considered being together with her beloved brother again; the only one who truly understood her, the only one she truly loved. Her arm outstretched, she silently bade the figure to stop, so she could take a closer look, just one look. To take a look upon his face she had not seen for so long… so long.

"Come… be with me." bade the child-like doll in an innocent yet hypnotic voice. The crimson strings flowing from Miku's body, winding deep into her flesh, were being pulled taut by an invisible force. None noticed a tiny crimson spirit orb fly off into the distance.

"They told me to stay in there… never come out they said. It was so dark, so cold. Hina… must thank you for releasing her."

Miku did not know where she was going, completely focused upon the vision of Mafuyu. She was vaguely aware that she was heading deeper and deeper into the manor, where the light of day was nowhere to be found. Shadows whispered to her upon the edges of her hearing, or perhaps her sanity; shadows of the guilty past longing to right their wrongs, voices of the vengeful swearing bloody oaths and pleadings of the fearful with no where left to run. Within the cascade of voices from the void, Miku was slowly losing her grip on the world; her eye lids were getting heavier, and her consciousness was starting to waver…

When she awoke, Miku found herself lying on hard wooden floor. It was dark around her so she assumed she was still in the Manor. Lifting her head up, she gasped; at the thick, pure white ropes hanging from the ceiling, billowing subtly in the stale air. A chill ran up her spine when she noticed her own pale face staring back at her at the end of the hallway; a mirror, a very familiar mirror. She was in one of the hallways of the mansion where she had lost her brother a few years ago. She was in the Hall of Ropes. Within the mirror she could also make out a small figure hovering over her back…

"Are you here already? Your brother is just up ahead…" said a child's voice with disturbing calmness behind her.

"Mafuyu…" said Miku, the strings around her body tightening and the invisible force strengthening as she said this. Miku did not wince nor moan from the pain; she hardly felt it. All she cared about was seeing her brother again, she may have lost him the first time, but she would not lose him again. Back again in the cursed mansion to whom she lost her beloved; with darkness encroaching all around, there was only one way forward, which promised neither darkness nor light.

Mayu stared up at those eyes, one of crimson and one of emerald, that were looking down at her in sorrow, as if they were the only things in the world. She could feel strong, shivering hands pressing their thumbs upon her throat, slowly squeezing the life from her. It was strange, that though she was being murdered, she did not struggle or resist; she merely lay there, staring at those beautiful eyes. She felt neither hate nor fear; they had no place in her mind. The only thing there was, flowing endlessly from her heart at this moment; was gratitude and love. Soon overflowing, those eyes wept warm tears of sadness and regret, tears that fell upon Mayu's serene expression. Though she could not, she wanted to say it was okay, that she was content to die, if it were by the hands of bearer of those beautiful eyes. All she could do was smile with her lips and with her eyes.

"Suiseseki… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she said, her tears continuing to fall.

Mayu raised her hand to her murderer's face, slowly and carefully wiping her tears away. Her arms were already getting weaker, and her vision was starting to fade away. Finally, they would be one, together forever… then she awoke.

She was lying in a bed, rather soft and comfortable. The soft light of a candle filled her eyes, though her vision was still blurred upon awakening. She sat up, groaning at the infernal aching in her arms and her body in general. It felt like she had been doing push ups for hours, and her mind was cloudy and weakened. It felt like her brain was just run through a washing machine; recalling the recent past seemed impossible. What had she been doing all this time? Mio…

"You're awake? How do you feel?" Mayu heard a young woman asking.

Finding the source of the voice, Mayu set eyes upon the candlelit face of a middle aged Japanese woman with short, raven black hair. She was sitting on the bedside at her feet, looking at her with a watchful yet caring gaze that hinted of maternity. Mayu held the woman's gaze for an extended moment, her eyes still taking their time to adjust. Most people would avert their eyes when confronted with this, but this woman did not, smiling faintly instead.

"I'm… not so sure." Mayu replied quietly.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll be fine." She kindly reassured. "My name is Kurosawa, Rei. Call me Rei... and this is…"

Mayu looked down from Rei's face and saw a rather well made doll in a crimson dress of Victorian origin sitting in her lap. The doll was staring at Mayu unblinkingly with sky blue eyes unmoving, as all dolls tend to do.

"I am Shinku, the fifth doll of the Rozen Maiden." Spoke the doll, which dolls tend not to do. Her voice and speaking lips… it sounded so natural; it was almost like a real girl. There was something telling Mayu that the doll sitting before her was more than that. Her eyes were alive, not dead.

"Awesome…" Mayu whispered with consummate awe as she continued watching Shinku, unable to look anywhere else.

The doll called Shinku smiled indulgingly at Mayu before asking a question.

"And you are?"

"Oh sorry… Amakura, Mayu. Mayu's fine… but… where am I?"

"I regret to inform you that you are in the Manor of Roses." said the doll, causing Mayu and Rei to exchange glances. Rei noticed Mayu's expression was not one of bewilderment or shock, merely one of grim confirmation. It was almost as if she already knew.

"I would rather not involve those who have nothing to do with us, but it is as Suigintou said. There are… those within the Manor who would use the living for their own ends, or consume their life force to ease their own pain… carried forth from when they lived."

"What exactly is happening to this Manor? How did you end up here?" Rei asked, seeming to have accepted the situation she was in.

"What indeed… I suppose I will have to explain it sooner or later. It should be noted that not all the details are clear to me as I have just awoken…" She paused for a few moments to organise her thoughts. "This Manor was created for the purpose of sealing shut the gates of the Abyss, which lies deep beneath it. It is an abominable, hellish place, the evil in it growing ever stronger; likely the same evil which now covers this Manor. We, the Rozen Maiden were the ones who should have sealed it forever… but before we could, something happened, and none of us were awakened to participate. Without any of the Maidens to close the Abyss… it must have broken free."

"I see… You mentioned 'those within the Manor' just now. Who exactly?"

"Suigintou for one. Then there are those poor souls trapped in this place, and the Puppets."

"Puppets?"

"Humans who could not let go of the past, letting it pull their strings. Literally." said Shinku, looking up at Rei, who noticed her gaze and knew the reason behind it.

It was some time ago, however, it was still fresh in Rei's mind… like a knife of guilt lodged in her brain. They were driving along the road of a mountain pass, together with Him, her fiancé, Yuu Asou. It was a humid night, and fog had descended upon the road. The fog lamps were at full blast, but visibility was still impaired. Rei was driving as she usually did; fast. He had told her to slow down, but she did not listen... After she lost control, they were hanging precariously on the edge of a steep slope. The tree holding them would not hold for long, and if either of them left, the weight imbalance would cause the car to fall. Ignoring her protests, he pushed her out of the car to safety, just before the young tree holding them gave way. She could not bring herself to look at his body.

A sharp, constricting pain around her limbs and places around her torso snapped Rei out of her reverie, causing her to wince in pain. Shinku sighed.

"It is not my place to tell you this Miss Kurosawa…"

"Please, Rei's just fine."

"Sometimes… Rei, it is just better to forget." Shinku said, her expression turning slightly morose. A moment passed in silence before a tiny wisp of crimson light that was flying about stopped in front of Shinku, who paid close attention to it.

"Speak of the devil… it seems a puppet is about to be made." Shinku said, finally.

"What? Who?" asked Rei, who was afraid to hear the answer. She had been looking for a chance to continue her search for Miku, but she would not leave Mayu all alone in this forsaken manor. She was glad to have her company anyway. Mayu, who had been quiet for awhile, was staring into space, seemingly lost in thought. Sensing Rei's gaze, Mayu turned to look at her with a somewhat glazed expression, and spoke.

"The curse has overwhelmed her. We must find her before she gets there…"

Shinku eyed Mayu appraisingly. Indeed, she is a sensitive. Rei simply stared at Mayu, uncomprehending of what she had said.

"I cannot tell exactly whose, but I sensed the door to someone's dream opening just now; it looks like this is confirmed." Shinku said.

"What will happen to her?" asked Rei with urgency in her voice. If it was Miku they were talking about she would not sit by idly.

"Her spirit will follow those of her loved ones into the Abyss and her body will forever walk the halls of this Manor."

"It's her." Mayu whispered as she stared meaningfully at Rei, understanding coming to her with unpleasant tidings.

"We have to help her…" said Rei, anxiety rising up within her heart. There was no way Mayu would have known about that, but as Rei looked into her eyes, she found no other reason to distrust her.

"There is only one way, by entering the world of dreams, the N Field… but… you may be turned into a Puppet yourself"

"I'll do anything." said Rei, conviction in her eyes. Miku was the only family she had left after her loss of Yuu, there was no way she would lose a loved one again without a struggle.

"Very well. I shall not stop you... Please lie down." said Shinku standing up from Rei's lap.

"Good luck." said Mayu softly, getting off the bed to make space for Rei. She walked over to the altar and stared vacantly into the candle flame.

"Thank you…"

Rei steeled herself for what was yet to come as she lay her head upon the pillow, staving her trepidation. The bed was still possessed of Mayu's warmth. It was then she heard the door creak open.

"Where are you-" Shinku began.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." Mayu said as she held the door open, before she headed out into the pitch dark corridor, closing the door behind her.

"We'll have to trust she knows what she's doing…" Shinku said before walking over to Rei's head and kneeling beside it, speaking with a hypnotic voice that seemed to be getting further and further...

"I hope so…" said Rei, her eyes getting heavier and heavier before a vision of a raven haired man whose face was all too familiar to Rei appeared before her.

Yuu?