Aya was a little girl again, running around in several circles in the flower choked grasses of her backyard, her mother sitting in the middle of those circles.
After awhile, her mother called her over. "Come here, Aya." She said, opening her arms.
Aya squealed and ran into her mother's arms. "Mom, you're warm." She commented, burying her face into her mother's breasts.
Her mother pushed her away slightly and looked at her, her arms still around her little girl. "Close your eyes, Aya." She said softly.
Aya did as she had been asked to do.
Her mother kissed her forehead. "May you be smiled upon." She said.
Her little girl opened her eyes. "Mom, what was that?" She asked curiously.
Her mother chuckled. "Why, it was a good luck charm."
Aya looked into her mother's eyes. "…a what charm?"
Her mother giggled again. "I charmed you so that you'll always be happy from now on." She said.
Aya hugged her again. "Wow…Mom, I love you…" Aya said, burying her face once again into her mother's sweet-smelling bosom.
"Mm…mom, you smell nice…" Aya stirred awake from the words she had just spoken. The perfume mom always used. Aya turned her head to the side and found herself staring into green eyes, which were staring back at her.
"Ah!"Aya screamed, the rest of her sleep disappearing from her instantly. She stood up on the bed she had been resting in and pressed herself against the wall.
A giggling blonde girl was the owner of those green eyes and she still stood by the bed, looking at Aya with amusement and mischievous dancing in her eyes. She had ridiculously large bags under her eyes and a ragged dress covering her starving body. She had a goofy grin on her face.
Wait…she's the one who smells like mom….why does she…?
The girl brought something from behind her back and held it up to her nose, her smile never disappearing.
Aya's eyes widened when she realized what the girl was holding: Her Mother's perfume.
"Give it back! That's my mom's!" Aya cried, swiping her hand at the perfume bottle. But, the girl easily dodged out of the way and through the door, giggling while she did so.
Aya jumped out of the bed ad ran after the girl. She swung the door open and ran out, the door swinging closed.
She spotted another door and tried opening it, but her struggle was in vain, for it was locked. Aya looked around, but spotted no other doors and all that was really in this hallway was stored garbage. What do I do now?
She did notice another passageway leading away from the door, so she walked through there instead. As she got deeper into the passageway, she noticed there were a whole bunch of mice and rats.
Suddenly, she saw a key shining in the extremely dim light that was in this hallway. When she picked up the key, she began to hurry back, only for the rats and mice to begin biting and scratching her at every opportunity they had.
She yelped and began shaking off the rodents, pulling them from her legs and arms until she was back in the other hallway. The rest of the rodents that still clung to her fled from the light and scurried back into the dark hallway.
Aya sighed with relief but sharply inhaled a moment later from the bite and scratches she had received. She shook her head to clear any thought of pain and turned the key in the lock.
She flung open the door and immediately spotted the girl. She was trying to get a mouse to approach her, but it scurried behind some barrels that were placed in the room.
The girl's face fell. "Guess this scent's no good. Animals seem to hate it," she said to herself. Aya's anger took over and she ran over and pinned the girl against the wall. "Where's mom's perfume?!" She asked.
The girl, startled by Aya's outburst, grinned when she heard her question.
Aya stepped back, horrified. "What…is it?" She suddenly did a pat down on the girl, the girl giggling. "Wait…you don't have it? W-where did you put it?" Aya asked.
The girl shrugged, her smiled still on her face. "I dunno. Look around?" Suddenly, the girl bolted from the room.
Aya decided to let the girl go and turned back around to inspect the room. What was with her?
She walked around and inspected everything she could, opening drawers, barrels, and look on the shelves of the bookcase. When she got close to the bookcase, though, she heard squeaking from more rodents behind the shelves.
Aya took it upon herself to go and investigate, pushing the shelves aside with ease and spotting a very large crack in the wall, large enough for her to squeeze through.
She did manage to squeeze in and practically stepped on her Mother's perfume.
Aya picked it up and cradled it before putting it in her pocket along with everything else. "Thank goodness it's safe." She put it gently in her dress pockets.
A low moaning suddenly heard from one of the walls and a corpse broke through.
Aya screamed and ran out of the crack in the wall, the corpse not giving up and chasing her to the door. But Aya ran out and slammed the door shut before the zombie could get to her.
It banged up against the door as Aya kept it from opening. Before long, the banging subsided and the groaning stopped.
Did it calm down? Aya wondered, opening the door a crack and looking inside. Nothing was inside the room, so Aya went in. Why is nothing here? Where did it go? Those were some of the many questions that little Aya asked herself, before she gave up on trying to find something else useful in this room.
She closed the door behind her, staring into the dark hallway she was about to go into. Aya took one step closer before a blood-written message suddenly appeared on the wall to her left.
. . . . . . . ¶ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Π • • •
(If anyone in the review section could tell me if I used the wrong symbol and/or tell me what those translate to, that would be very much appreciated!)
Aya cocked an eyebrow and read it over again a few more times. What does that mean? She shook her head and turned back to the dark hall. When she took one step towards it, she remembered what had happened with the rats from before. …Hm…how will I get through…
Guess this scent's no good. Animals seem to hate it.
Aya's eyes rested on her mother's perfume bottle as she lifted it closer to her face. "Just a little bit. Okay, mom?" Aya said softly as she took the perfume bottle back out and spritzed a little on her face and neck. She put it back afterwards and bravely stepped into the dark hallway once more.
She still heard all of the mice and rats still scurrying around, but none of them came near her as she passed. She thanked her lucky stars as she saw a light at the end.
She sighed in relief as she turned a corner, but quickly stopped when she saw yet another doll standing on the side of the hallway she was about to walk into. As Aya cautiously stepped closer to the doll, which was dressed as a nun, its jaw dropped and spewed a blood waterfall, while its eyes rolled to the back of its head.
Aya stopped and stared, hearing what sounded like a creaking door sound coming from the room next to her a few moments later.
She cautiously stepped into that room, but before she closed the door behind her, she peeked back through the doorway to make sure the nun doll was still in its place. Fortunately, it was.
She closed the door and turned around to find herself in what seemed to be another hallway with a bunch of "guest bedrooms" in it. Aya examined the third and fourth bedrooms from the right, being the only two rooms that their doors weren't locked for, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
But as she walked away and towards the door on the other side, she heard a growling sound come from the dark doorway. Something's coming! I have to hide! She thought quickly as she ran back to the fourth room, the only room out of the two to have a door in the first place and shut it fast.
As she peeked through the bared window of the door, she saw an undead practically zip to the door she was behind and try to open it. Wow. That's a really fast zombie. She thought as she held the door tightly in place.
The creature gave up after a few minutes and just lazed about the hall, not going anywhere in particular, but not moving too far from the door.
Realizing that she couldn't escape, she sat down on the bed in the corner, and thought for a while. After even longer, she lay down on her side and closed her eyes for a few moments, being awoken abruptly because of her bed, which was moving on its own.
Aya squeaked and jumped of the furniture, spotting a hole in the wall that had been hidden behind the headboard of the bed, and was big enough for one little girl to crawl through.
She did just that and crawled through the hole, finding that the little passage she had just entered was tall enough for her to stand up comfortably in.
As she moved through the passage, she found a large pot in the way of the exit. When she pushed it to the side and crawled through the exit hole, she found herself in the fifth room from the right, one of the bedrooms that had been locked.
She walked over to the door and opened it slowly, her heart lurching when the door made a loud creak, which caught the attention of the undead.
It zipped over to her and swung the door open fully, before lunging at her and trying to grab her.
Her reflexes kicked in as she dodged and ran back to the hole and crawling into it. The corpse grabbed her foot for a second before the little girl kicked him off and ran back through the passage.
She spotted the pot and pulled it back to where it had been originally before she truly exited the tunnel, which blocked the zombie from proceeding.
As she crawled back through the entrance hole, she ran back to the fifth room and locked the door before shutting it, encasing the undead corpse inside of the now exit-less room. It banged against the door and moaned as she walked past and away from the rooms, exiting into the dark hallway the beast had come from.
She chuckled mentally before taking note what was before her.
A female doll, who was staring blankly at the doorway Aya had just come through, was sitting in a lonesome chair in the middle of a short, red carpeted hallway. A set of double doors stood behind her.
As Aya passed the doll and opened the double doors, Aya felt a strong force push her back roughly and away from the doors, the sound of breaking glass ringing in her ears.
"You won't pass." A voice said behind her.
Aya turned and looked, but saw no one. She stood up shakily and walked back over to the doll and stared into the doorway, thinking something might be on the other side.
"You won't pass." The voice said again, but this time, it was right next to her.
Aya looked down sharply at the doll, who was still staring into the doorway.
"You won't pass."
"So you're the one who's keeping me from moving on." Aya said. "Why are you doing this?" She asked it.
Suddenly the doll looked up at her. "You won't pass. You won't pass. You won't pass. You won't pass. You won't pass. You won't pass." It looked back down and continued to stare blankly.
Suddenly, the girl from the perfume incident earlier appeared behind Aya and whispered into her ear. "You're going to have to destroy that doll if you wanna go any farther." She hugged Aya slowly from behind. "Burn it up real good and the spirit inside will burn real good, too. And then bam goes the invisible barrier around that door." She said, pointing to the far double doors.
"Stop." The doll said.
The little girl paused and giggled before running out of the room. Aya watched her go before turning back to the doll.
"Do you really believe that brat?" The doll asked.
Aya stayed silent, before picking up the doll from its perch and began to carry it with her as she went back to where the nun doll had been. But it was nowhere to be seen. A blood spot on the ground indicated when it was there.
Aya looked closer and around the hallway before realizing that there were some bloody footprints leading away from the door she had just come from. She followed them to yet another door around a bend. She heard a cat's meow come from inside, but when she went in, she found a dead cat instead of an alive one.
Aya grimaced, but she continued through the passage nonetheless, coming to an extremely thin ledge that connected the doorway she had just come from to another one.
She slowly crossed it, the sound of a crow scaring her half to death and making her lose her balance. She still had the doll in her grasp, so she could only hang on the ledge with one hand. As she hung down helplessly, she suddenly felt a strange surge in her energy and she pulled herself back up and into the other doorway.
As Aya was catching her breath, she heard footsteps and let her night-vision kick in before realizing it was a doll like back in the jail cells.
She ran around a corner when the doll stopped and moved further before she heard another set of footsteps. Then she saw a doll running back and forth with a knife, also having the ability to look around the corner.
Aya waited patiently and when the doll was running away from her, she ran right behind it until she came to a hole in the wall. Before she could analyze if it was big enough, the doll was running back to her and would intercept her any moment. Aya quickly climbed in and stayed absolutely still as the doll passed.
Aya went unnoticed and waited for the doll to pass again. Then she jumped out quickly and went to her left where another passage was. Oh no! Dead end! She realized as she hit a wall. She then turned back around and prepared herself to go back to the hole. But before she bolted, she spotted another gem and took it. She then looked around the corner, saw no doll, and ran to the hole just in time for the doll to round the corner.
When the doll passed, Aya bolted again, but this time to the right, and came to another doll soon, who was standing in one place but turning around quickly in her spot. Aya waited silently as she turned, then stayed against the wall when she was turned away, getting to an entrance to another passageway safely.
She went in to be greeted by a zombie swaying in the doorway. She gasped and quickly hid in the passageway she had just come from. The zombie groaned and walked in the opposite direction.
Aya peeked in, confused. Did that zombie see me?... Maybe its eyes are bad…? She shrugged after a moment and moved on, a crow landing on a nearby barrel. "…You're always by my side, aren't you, crow?" Aya asked. The crow cawed loudly at her before just staring.
Aya stared back before moving a little ways down the passage. She stopped dead when she heard a voice from a nearby doorway.
"Augh! What are you doing?!" The voice screamed.
"Why do you want to save her so bad?" Another voice said calmly.
"Save her and we won't be able to go back to normal!" Yet another voice chanted.
"Why not drag everybody here? That's way more fun!" A last voice laughed.
"…Yaaah! Stooooop!" The first voice said.
Aya then heard something heavy fall to her ground along with the sound of something metal falling afterwards.
"…What was that about?" Aya asked softly before opening the door a crack and peeking in, seeing the girl from earlier who'd stole her mother's perfume laying on the floor with several cuts adorning her body and a scalpel in her chest. Dolls surrounded her but didn't move.
She slowly walked in, afraid the dolls would hurt her, too, but they stayed in place. Aya then walked up cautiously to the girl and pulled out the scalpel, earning a reaction from her.
The girl then looked up at Aya and said, "…I just wanted… to be part of your family…" She began to fade away.
Aya quickly put the scalpel in her pocket without thinking. "Wait! What's your name?!" Aya asked quickly.
The girl chuckled weakly. "…Coron." Then, with a sigh, the girl completely disappeared.
Aya stared after her for a few moments, then she tried to open the doors that were ahead of her, but they were locked, so she headed back out into the passage way. As she left, she could've sworn that she'd heard a strange sound emit from the doors, but didn't pay attention to it.
As she left and went down the passage, she came around the corner and stepped on something hard. "…A key?" She bent down to pick it up, but suddenly, the sound of growling came from the darkness ahead.
"Something's coming!" She ran back to where she came from and peeked around the corner, the key forgotten until that moment. "On no, the key-"
The dog that she'd seen eating in their kitchen earlier trotted from ahead and came to where the key was laying, before bending its head and eating the key. It then turned back around and trotted away.
Aya waited until she was sure it gone before coming out. "…The key's gone…" She frowned, but moved on down the passage even further and found herself in a room with a corpse pacing back and forth furiously fast.
Aya quickly jumped behind two barrels and hoped it would leave, but to no avail. Aya then happened to spot a ladder leading to a higher elevation than the zombie, so when it was turned the opposite way, she ran and climbed up quickly.
She stood there at the top to make sure the zombie didn't see her before getting an idea. Maybe if I cut the rope… She wondered silently as she reached out to the chandelier. She pulled back. Mm… can't reach. She looked around for something to use and thankfully found a sturdy looking board and some sandbags to use as weights.
She placed them as soundless as she could have, then stepped onto the board. Thank goodness… She thought with relief. It can hold my weight.
Aya pulled out her chainsaw, never taking her eyes off the zombie's pacing, until it was practically under the chandelier. Then she cut the rope and watched as the heavy chandelier came crashing down on the corpse, splitting its limbs and crushing its head.
She crawled down the ladder and poked a part of the corpse with her foot, earning no reaction. She sighed and moved on seeing two doors and a passage way ahead of her. Rock, Paper, Scissors… She choose the right door next to the passage, and walked through to find another door and a hallway with a picture frame at the end. The door was locked, so she went down the hallway instead.
When Aya got closer to the frame, she realized that there was no picture in it and pieces of what she assumed were the picture were scattered around.
A picture puzzle? Aya asked mentally as she instinctively began to put it together in the frame. When she finished, she realized that the picture was a drawing she'd done of herself when she was five and that an unlocking sound came from somewhere where she had entered.
A crow landed on the table next to the entrance door as she made her way to the now unlocked door.
Aya entered and found herself in what seemed to be a room for experimenting on plants; several pots a cracked pot that was covered, and glasstubes.. She spotted some notes on a shelf of a bookcase and decided to read them, considering she was slightly afraid of touching something poisonous.
One note read:
"Alraune"
A perennial plant in the Mediterranean. Also known by "Mandrake" or "Mandragora".
Due to its toxic composition, it has long been used for sleeping medicine and sedatives.
In folklore, it is used in magic and alchemy. Also, when uprooted, it gives a hellish scream that brings death to those who hear it.
Aya couldn't read the rest of the notes and decided to move on. I'm sure glad I read that… She mused as she approached some potted plants. The leaves of the plants swayed and bounced. But there's no wind in here… Aya wondered. Her curiosity wanted her to uproot the plant and see what the plant looked like, but she remembered what the note had said and decided against it. Instead, some strange part of herself told her to take the whole pot along with her, and she obeyed.
She then exited the experimentation room and went back to where the chandelier was, then ventured down the passageway. As she did so, she heard the familiar growling of a dog. That sounds like the dog from earlier! She was going to confront the dog, but she grew afraid that it would hurt her, and she stayed back.
Suddenly she saw something shiny matte material a little ways away from her and she went to investigate, finding that it was a hammer, and she knew exactly what to do with it. She went back to the room with the incredibly cracked pot and swung the hammer at it, the pot practically exploding, with random items flowing out.
Anything I could use in here?... She dug around and found a pair of earplugs. These could be useful… She thought as she put them in her pocket and went back to the dog.
Now what do I do in this situation…? How do I get past?... She stuck her hand in her pocket and touched the earplugs.
Also went it is uprooted, it gives a hellish scream, bringing death to those who heard it.
Aya placed the mandrake down and put in her earplugs. Then, she uprooted the plant. She couldn't hear anything, but when the plant stopped shaking, she put it down and took out her earplugs. She then looked over the rocks she was hiding behind and saw the dog laying on the ground unconscious.
She then looked back at the mandrake, which was standing and swaying in front of her. Its eyes looking at her.
…It won't attack, will it…? Aya suddenly dawned upon. She touched it and it seemed to give out a giggle sort-of sound. Aya giggled, too, before leaving it for the dog. She kneeled before it and searched it, seeing if there was any opening in its body, considering it is a zombie. She couldn't find one and instead brought out the scalpel that had been lodged in Coron.
"Sorry…" She spoke to the dog as she cut open its stomach, the key falling out immediately. She grunted happily as she wiped it off and placed it in her pocket.
Suddenly, from the experimentation room, she heard the sound of glass breaking. She rushed in to find that almost every single mandrake that had been trapped in a glass tube had broken free.
She shrugged and exited, then going the opposite way of the passage with the dog. As Aya passed a door that had been locked before, she heard a girl's scream come from inside and a mess of crashes. Aya rushed over and grabbed the handle of the door. She was about to open it when she heard the sound of growling coming closer to the door and the door became as cold as ice.
She immediately let go and ran off back to the room Coron had been killed in.
She then stopped to catch her breath before using the new key she'd found and stepping into a dark room. She walked forward until she reached what she realized was a ledge and found that there was some sort of fire or lava spouting flames below her.
Who need this was down here? She continued to stare, mesmerized.
Coron's voice echoed in her head. You'll have to destroy that doll if you wanna go any further. Burn it up real good and the spirit inside it will burn real good, too. And then bam goes the invisible barrier around that door!
Aya slowly reached for the doll that had been placed in her big apron pocket.
"You want to destroy me?" The doll asked.
Aya stayed silent and stood at the edge of the cliff, ready to drop the doll in the flames below.
"I won't open the door if you do!"
Aya looked down at it. "…we'll just have to see about that…"
"S-stop! Please stop, Aya!" The doll said, its voice suddenly that of Aya's mother.
Aya's heart skipped a beat. "…Mom?"
"Please, Aya. Listen to your mother."
Aya suddenly frowned before lifting the doll above her head. "Stop! You're not my mom!"
"I want to see you, my sweet daughter…" The doll said.
"Stop!" Aya screamed as she chucked the doll down, watching the flame engulf the doll before heading back through the passageways to get back to the doll's door.
It opened and Aya found herself in another lab-like room. There was a glass tube bigger than the rest she'd seen that contained what almost appeared to look like a black hole.
What… is that? Aya stepped closer.
"That will take you to the other world." A familiar booming voice said behind her.
Without looking back, Aya said, "… He's up ahead." She heard Ogre sniff, and turned to face him.
"Are you truly going? A reality too harsh for such a young lady may be awaiting you… will you still go?"
Aya nodded after no hesitation.
"You seem adamant. Then let me give you this…" Ogre walked towards her, holding out something to Aya.
"…what's this, Mister?" She asked after a slight inspection.
"Magic Water. A product of my company." Ogre said, bowing slightly.
"Magic Water…" Aya repeated to herself. Sounds made-up… Aya smiled to herself as Ogre continued.
"Please, take this with you. The power kept within the water shall no doubt be of help to you."
"…can I save father with this, too?" Aya asked as she put it in her pocket.
Ogre nodded. "Of course. The water has the power to seal the power of the curse."
"So I can stop the curse…" Aya said, staring into space as she touched the water container in her pocket. Mom… she must be in pain… "So I can save mom, too! Will mom be able to rest once the curse is gone?"
"Yes, I'm sure she will. If you're love reaches her, I am sure your mother can be saved."
Aya stood silently for a minute. "…Okay. Thank you, Mister."
Ogre bowed. "It was nothing, madam. I pray for your safety." He smiled as Aya turned towards the strange anomaly.
Aya took a deep breath before walking towards the black hole, but before she stepped into it, a crow landed on a crate no far away. Aya stopped in front of the world door and braced herself before jumping in. Everything went black.
"…so she went." Ogre said to himself as he looked at the chainsaw that lay in front of the portal. "What will she choose, I wonder…" Ogre turned around and chuckled. "I shall see this to the end."
"…..mm?..." Aya sat up and rubbed her eyes. "This must be… it's like some storybook world." She stood there for a minute before saying, "Better move on."
Aya stepped forward and was startled by the sound of the floor, which sounded as if it was a drum. She stepped again to make sure it wasn't her imagination but then shook it off.
As she was about to go down a narrow looking way, a levitating, red gem appeared next to it.
Aya stepped towards it and lightly touched it but pulled back sharply as a burning sensation went up her finger and through her arm before disappearing at her shoulder. She shuddered as she continued.
Another portal appeared up ahead and Aya jumped through, this time not fainting, though it did take a moment for her to regain her vision. And when she did, her heart skipped a beat.
"Mom…" She said softly.
"…So you came, Aya." Her mother said in a low tone.
Aya stepped forward. "So it's… really you, mom… Mom!" She ran up to her only to be knocked back by an invisible force. She lay on the groung crying. "M-Mom…"
"You shouldn't have come." Her mother said.
Aya sat up. " Why… why did you do this?" She asked.
"…you've seen it on your way here, haven't you, Aya?" Her mother stated. "The atrocities this man continues to commit?" She turned her head to look down at her husband. "I don't want any more victims of his!"
"…Y-You lie!" Ata said as she stood up shakily. "If anyone understood father, it was you, mom! It's Maria you don't like, right?" Aya asked as she looked over at her father's assistant lay unconscious on the ground.
Her mother took a step back, but said nothing.
"She loved father, so you didn't like them getting along… I know how you feel!" Aya said. "I love father, too, so I feel like she took him away… I was so scared I couldn't breathe."
Her mother smiled after a short while and then began to laugh. "I know that. Yes, it's all as you say. I couldn't stand to see her and your father together…"
Aya stepped closer. "… but, you still love father, don't you?... If so, then why are you making him suffer?!"
Her mother turned towards him again and towered over him. "I don't want to make him suffer…" Her mother sat on her knees next to him and held his hand. "I just don't want to give him to anyone… So I'm taking him with me."
Aya's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Y-You can't… without father, I'll be all alone! And I don't want that! I just want to live with father and you! Mom… take me with you, too!... Please-"
"I can't possibly do that." Her mother interrupted. "I want you to live and be happy."
Aya stepped forward and shook her head. "I can't! I'm happy when I'm with father and mom… so please don't leave me alone!" She ran at her and was blocked yet again.
Her mother began levitating and her hair began to sway furiously. "No one shall interfere…" She slowly went back to the ground and sat besides Aya's father again.
"…M-Mom…"
Aya mother smiled. "Now, honey, let us go…" She said in a motherly tone as she rose, Aya father levitating up beside her.
Aya sniffed helplessly. "Father… Mother…"
"A…ya…" Her father said weakly. "…Aya!"
"Father?!" She asked running up then getting knocked back, her father getting knocked back, too. "Ngh… Father! Father, are you alright?!" She asked frantically as she tugged his arm.
Aya's mother sat alone as she rose. "Aya… why won't you listen to your mother?"
"Please, don't take father away!" Aya pleaded.
"…Out of my way!" Her mother said, her hair frantically swaying again.
"….Mom…"
Her mother began to move forward towards her daughter. "No one shall have him…"
"Mom, st-"
Her mother levitated in front of her daughter. "He is mine and mine alone."
What's this, Mister?
Magic Water. A product of my company. The power kept within the water shall not doubt be of help to you.
I… can save father with this. But what about mom?
If your love reaches her, I am sure you mother can be saved.
Really?... I'm really not sure… What… should I do?