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 One

Arms of Apathy

"As the cold nights return,

I remember the red on my hands,

And the hands on my neck"

I take my hand from the cool water of the running stream. I splash a little on my face. It is so warm out here in the deep forest. The trees even seem like they are melting under the unbearable sun. My green eyes, as pastel and mint colored as they are, scan my small reflection. I smile as the ripples make me look ten years older. I shouldn't have wrinkles yet! I laugh to myself. I caress my lower back-length black hair with my damp fingers. It will probably make my hair frizzy, but who will see me out here? I am alone in the deep forest with the cool water of the running stream. I am. I am and I prefer it that way. You cannot begin to understand what I went through, and I regret even mentioning it thus far. Let's just say the world is cruel and I wish I never had to face it.

Carelessly, I throw my large bundle of small belongings over my shoulder. It is the basic traveler's knapsack. I tied a blue bandanna to a stick. It is not much, but it is something to me. My denim jeans are ripped and my left knee is bleeding from a small cut (I tripped a few hours ago.) My white tank top is filthy with sweat stains and smudged make-up that I wiped from under my eyes. The weather is not kind to eyeliner! As it smears down my cheeks, it only makes the heat worse. I think most of it is gone now. I must be on my fifth day out here. The days are hot and sticky and the nights… They are cold, frigid at arctic levels! It may be my teenage imagination, but I keep hearing things, scary, strange things. But… I don't believe in ghosts.

"Something…" He says to me every night in an eerie whisper, "… happened…"

Pages after pages come swirling in the breeze to me. I started putting them in order. I'm only on the fourth page, but most of them come in scraps. Did it belong to someone in the village? Does it belong to the man that I keep hearing? The owner of this apparent diary must be elderly. They look so worn out and old. It's almost like the pages have mold growing on them. Ugh, not the best thing to deal with. I can barely make out what the words say. Certain ones are fairly readable. It mentions a strange place with something dark and mysterious happening. Here and there are ramblings about researchers and priests. This isn't the first time I've heard of this. I just never thought this forest is a way into the area. I came here all the time when I was younger. This woman I often talked to is very nice. I had no idea that she is… her…

You don't need to know me. You just need to know not to come here: ever! The nights aren't the only things that are cold. The voices aren't they only things that are strange. I have seen it all happen. I was there. I can remember holding the putrefying flesh of a stranger's hand. It shook with great pain and fear as if the very emotions were breeding in their veins. I remember watching the doe eyes becoming hollow. The seeing organs just dispersed to the back of his skull. I can remember whispering into the ear filled with maggots. "I want to crawl inside your head… and eat my way out." I was about to hang him up to dry… when… I wake up.

I do it every night. It is always the same thing. Am I supposed to hang them? Should I free them? Their cries and screams are so real. It is just a dream? I was there. I am there… here… That woman I visited as a girl… She was, is somebody I am close to, someone I have known all of my life. Her name haunts me. It drives me. I run in this deep forest in hopes of finding her, finding the dark place, but… I only hear the man's voice and receive the pages that I do not understand. I wish… I wish the voices would stop. Although, if they did stop… I'd want them back.

Aside from everything, I carry on. I pick up my stuff and keep on walking. I am walking deeper and deeper. I will not sleep tonight. I will remain awake and find my voice. It is exasperating to me. My hiking boots are ruined and feel like they will fall apart on any step. I will go barefoot if I must. I will be impervious to pain. I keep pushing through the thick trees and follow the narrow path that turns left and right. This is when I see it. It's the woman. She's wearing her white kimono. I call out to her, but I cannot hear her name. I know I am saying it, but my words choke. She keeps wheezing. I hope she is alright. I quicken my steps, but no matter how fast I become her injured steps are always ahead of me. What's going on? It is not long before the night suddenly strikes me. The forest becomes darker and the strong smell of burnt ashes rushes my nostrils. I can almost see the fire.

I continuously call after her, but the name does not surface. A listless sorrow scolds my longing to get her to look at me. I know that if I can just see her face that I will remember everything; that the answer to my dreams will come to me. If she will just look at me, then I will finally be able to sleep! It's her face that I cannot remember. I reach out when I seem closer to her, but my hand swipes through. She's a pellucid memory that vanishes away at the edge of the path. I gasp in disbelief. It is not for the fact that she disappeared, but it is the sight below me. The dark place, can it be? I heard that it is nothing more than a figure of people's imagination, but there are lit torches next to me. Someone is here. Is it my childhood memory (the woman)? Her presence may be leading me to my past. I cannot wait! Sadly, I find, I will have to.

My mortification continues as I take a quiet path to the left of me. It leads me to a long bridge. I can see the ghostly white figure of a small girl. She is not facing me, but that pink kimono… I had one once… She kneels over and picks something up. I cannot see it, but it must have been a plant of some sort. I think she smells it. I can hear her giggle. A shiny object gleams through her translucent form. It appears to be a small trinket of some sort around her neck. The color is so attractive, kind of like a mint green… I go to step onto the unstable bridge just as a ghost's arms reach around me. It looks like it is trying to cover my mouth as if it is afraid I'll scream or something. My heart begins to pound so hard like it's on fire even though the contact is cold and numbing! Who, or what, is it behind me? Why does it feel like they are trying to kill me? What is happening here?

I close my eyes in instinct. I feel my calf muscles tighten as my brain commands my legs to turn and run as fast as I can. It seems like years before the signals are noticed. I kick up lose soil behind me as I take off. I head past whatever 'thing' is here. I never once open my eyes. I let my memories lead me. It makes the night lighten. The air is slightly warm with a tranquil breeze. The trees are full of color and stand proud amongst the bright forest. I cannot smell the fire. I can only smell… roses? Something strikes my right knee at this moment. I fall to the ground. My memory dies off. The night returns as my eyes open. The ground is as cold as the air is once more. The trees are all dead and bare of everything except leafless despair. And her whispers, "This…This was never to be… If only you had stayed…with me! We could have left this world in each other's arms… Now I'm cold… so cold…" My heart froze. I heard it from somewhere before. It was a part of something in my past. I knew this person? So I am like… her…

I turn around with hopes of seeing the spirit's face. She isn't here anymore. I quickly look around. Everything is like it remains to be each night: quiet, still, eerie, and dead. It is only after I get back on my feet that I notice something glistening under some dirt. I brush away the coverings to unearth a rose head (no stem.) It is very pretty. The pedals are soft and the nicest shade of red that I have ever seen. I gently cuff my hands around it when it disintegrates before my very eyes. I blink rapidly in confusion. Did I just see what I think I did? It did not wither away in dust. It withers into warm droplets of blood. It is all over my hands and quickly spreading. It makes me remember something; something very precious… divine… beautiful. I can't quite make it clear in my mind, but I can see a blurry face. They are smiling and I think they are holding my hand. My hands feel a little warm and soft. Something happens. They aren't smiling anymore. They are crying. They start to grab at my face. Their blood moistens me with its warmth. Strangely, I feel nothing for them. I wipe the blood away… and I look at my hands.

A young man's voice echoes from the village below. I am back at the edge of the path. My hands are filthy from the fall to the ground, but are otherwise clean of any evidence of blood. I am really confused. What is he saying? Is he saying it to me? Why do I feel like I should be crying? I try and listen more intently to the young man's voice. I catch only a fragment of what he says: "The… Angel… ble---… bones in the—Tougher than… --ought… be…the darkness… ruins… ch--… bloody carp--… Bla--- Mas—er Tanaka… Maybe… the priestess—wi--… --nd me… Stoned… -eath…" Why is there so much static in his echo? It sounds like it is over a phone or a radio or something. I am relieved in thinking someone else is here. I can only pray they are human. As the wind picks up something hits me in the shoulder. I jump and look over. It's only a worn notebook. It feels severely wet like it has been under water for a period of time. The cover of it is purple and velvety. Most of the pages are missing, but about four of them are still well intact.

Woman's Recollection 1: "His kiss is poison. I found myself no longer in love with him. I saw the look in his eyes. He wants to kill me. Why hasn't anyone come to save me? We've been out here in the forest for days. I'm so scared. He says I am crazy, but I know I can hear people talking. I… I don't believe in ghosts, not usually. They… say things… really weird stuff. He won't admit it, but I know he hears them. I can see his body tense when the man whispers, 'We need another one… Fresh meat… Look at this stranger… His heart is…already bloody…' 1/4 I find myself forgetting why we even came out here. I think he tricked me into believing it's romantic. I forgot my family. I can't remember their names! What happened to me? I can FEEL everything changing. It's like thousands of parasites are pulling at my chest… He wants to kill me…I know it…2/4 The nights are getting longer as we keep traveling deeper into the forest. Why are we moving? Shouldn't we be heading back the way we came? He must want to lure me somewhere further away from humanity so no one will see; no one will find my decaying body. Oh, well… I have nothing left…3/4 Fire… the hands… They are all leading me to the place…The blood comes over the railing, over the bridge… The river is drowning him… He WANTED to kill me…He should have when he had the chance to…Villagers are—4/4"

"Huh?" I flip through the remaining pages. "They're blank… I guess the river explains why it's wet… What happened to her, I wonder? Is she still here?" I look back at the village below. It is way too foggy to see anything besides pale roofs and deserted paths. The young man's echo has since disappeared. It doesn't seem very threatening to me. It looks like it is just a deserted place. I cannot comprehend the horrible things I heard. Folklore is folklore, I guess. They can't all be true, anyway. I did hear that the dark place vanished along with its rituals and cultural customs. I mean, look! It's right before me. It is supposed to be flooded, too. Even if civilization has left it, it couldn't hurt to look for a place to sleep and eat for a night. I'm low on food and sick of resting my head on rocks. It will be a change for once… Did… that just echo?

I take the path to the right now. The trip down is without disturbance. Although I am still leery of the desolate trees and the humdrum night, I find relief in the fact that I cannot feel any strange 'thing' around me. I do find myself often jerking my head quickly in all directions when I think I spot something in the corner of my eye. So far it is only the slight rustle of the grass or the last leaf letting go of a branch. When I think I hear her again I find it is my own breath or my own footsteps. I am worrying too much. The entire scare can be caused by self-delirium. It is possible for one to hallucinate after sustaining hours without food or water, or even decent rest. Each step I take is another whisper I think I can hear echoing in the hollow wind. Every time I wearingly blink is another movement I think I see in the corner of my eye. I am so weak. I hope I can find someplace nice in the village.

I just enter the edge of the village when a spirit pops up from behind me. It's a little boy dressed in peasant clothes. He has messy brown hair and bare feet. He laughs playfully while running right past me. I recant from the closeness and bring my clasped hands to my mouth, but I relax and smile at the spirit. He looks so happy! "You'll never catch me!" He stops running and looks at me. He laughs again. I blink my eyes for an extended time while nodding. The boy's spirit motions for me to follow. I have no reason not to. I think this is just my stomach's way of getting me to food. I'm so hungry! I say aloud my answer, 'Yes.' With this, the little boy's spirit starts running again. He takes off to the right. I jog behind him every way. The path is so wide and distorted from thick, dark fog. I can see a large building on the left and a smaller one to the right of me as I follow the boy's spirit to the end of the path.

There are a few more buildings around. They might be houses. One looks like it is white. Why would it be? The others appear to be made of wood. I do not think more on it. The boy's spirit is stopped in front of an old well. His arms are raised while he faces me. A huge smile decorates him. I laugh out loud to him. 'I found you!' I say to him. He stops smiling. I look at him with concern and worry. 'Wh—What?' I ask. The boy's spirit starts to shake his head violently. Something is scaring him. I turn around, but there is not anything here. I look back at him to see two long arms are reaching up from the old well. They grab him from behind and start to pull him in. I run, but it's too late. I lean over the edge of the well to barely grab his arm. Something isn't right. My hand closes… and it's empty. The boy takes the fall. I hear his curdling screams and a woman's insane laughter. I bring my hand closer to my face. He is not my creation. The village… is it all like this? "I felt those arms earlier…" I fall to my knees by the old well. I can hear the sounds of a struggle. He is crying while being ripped apart, at least I think that is what is happening. I can hear the tear of his clothes… and his body. The woman's laughing does not stop. Why is she doing it? Am I dreaming? I then notice something beside the well. It looks like another soggy notebook made of purple velvet. This time only two pages remain.

Woman's Recollection 2: "His body washed on shore. The Master of the Village gave me a dirty look. 'He was your husband, after all.' He says to me. I told him not to rub it in. Bad mistake… He has the entire village whispering about me… I can hear them judging me… 'Murderer…' They say… Their words are feeble sheep… Sheep? They eat grass… If there's no grass… 1/2 The river that runs red is being drained. It taints the village… they think… I look at it with a reminder of my glory…The statues around here… I am their only protector… That's why the whispers came to me! That is why he could not kill me… and I could kill him… and…2/2"

A loud shriek comes from the old well. A woman's spirit flies up. She's wearing a white and red kimono. I understand the white, but the red must be… blood. Her scraggly black hair flares up as she darts for me. Her long nails measure about an inch or more. I get this close view because her hands go for my neck. I back away, my feet hardly getting me anywhere as the dirt comes loose. I try and use it to my advantage. I kick it in hopes it will get in her eyes, but she's a spirit. It obviously does not work. My body, unknowingly to me at the moment, twists around and my nails dig into the ground. I pull myself straight to my feet. I now waste no time in running for safety. I don't know this place. Where am I going?

The path heads straight until it forks to the left and to the right. I turn to the right because I am closer to that side. I can hear the woman's spirit whispering things behind me. I know she is getting nearer to me. The chill pokes at my spine. "I never saw a darker face… The water dries… Don't run from me… child…" The path takes various turns. I go down sets of stairs. A bridge connecting houses resides over me for a moment. I take a left to see a set of double doors. I run right into them. They're locked! I scream in terror. My heart is thumping through my skin. I slide downwards in disbelief. My cries shake my entire body. I cannot stop crying. The woman's spirit sweeps down and puts her hands around my neck. I feel my life being strangled right out of me. I don't even try to pull her off. I continue sobbing. If I die, I won't have to hear the whispers anymore. I won't have to see the blood anymore. I won't have to dream anymore. I am just now accepting my fate when I can hear someone's footsteps. Someone else is here? Another spirit, perhaps? Suddenly, there is a very bright light. The strangling lightens. Did I die? Did I just see the 'bright light' that everyone talks about? The woman's spirit shrieks when another light flashes. My hands, they feel wet and warm, like they're bloody again… I… I am so cold… There is another flash, but this one is accompanied by a click. Did… Did someone just take my picture?

End

Chapter One

Any and all reviews welcomed!

I will revise if needed!

Next time: Pass Me By

Thank you!

Pronunciations

You will hear some odd names in the next few chapters

(Tanaka is pronounced Ton--ack--ah)

(Miaka is pronounced My--ack--ah)

(Mika is pronounced Me--kah)

(Dagan is pronounced Day--gan)

(Yumi is pronounced You--me)

(Nei is pronounced Knee)

Author's Note

I am currently past chapter seven at the moment. The story takes on its own plot and evolves in chapter three. Chapter two introduces some new characters. After Chapter three the meaning of this story really takes off. I am not using Crimson Butterfly's plot as my own, but rather to connect mine to the game. New and interesting characters emerge along with an enormous village (not All God's, by the way) to unravel a sickening twist to cultural customs often associated with ancient Japan. A different type of sacrifice surfaces with new victims and sinful rituals. I am informing you about this so you do not get the wrong idea about this fiction. The plot greatly differs in most ways from FF II's. I did use some similarities to keep the fiction true to the game. I hope I did it justice. Please continue to read and review. I appreciate it. Thank you.