After defeating Baby and inserting the fuse, we boarded the elevator. Then, that all-too-familiar eerie voice echoed again.
Da-da-da-da-da~!
"Gah!? It's back!?"
"Is that thing immortal...!?"
With a crash, Baby slammed into the elevator's closed iron grate. It should have been reduced to bloody chunks, but it had regenerated—or maybe it was a different one. Either way, the impact was tremendous, yet the grate held firm, and the elevator ascended without issue. Phew... that was close. As we stepped out, a shrill laugh rang from somewhere. It was her. The world flickered dark for a moment—every time this happened, something bad followed. Probably an omen.
"Ahahahahahaha!"
"That voice... the damn doll kid!"
"So, you've finally shown yourself?"
Returning to what seemed like the living room, we found it filled with countless dolls. As we approached, a woman in black garb—like a puppeteer's shadow—appeared instantly beside the doll called Angie, as if teleporting.
"A psychic like Madao?"
"Whatever you are... are you Mia?"
"You already seem mad enough that I made it stronger than planned... so why could you fend it off...?"
The voice from the woman—likely Donna—wasn't Mia's. I sighed in relief. But if so, who was the Mia I'd seen until now?
"Tough luck. I've got a reliable ghost on my side."
"Ghost? How rude."
"A ghost...? If you're haunted... that makes sense. But don't go... I won't let you... because dying here is for your own good."
"Ahahahaha!"
Donna raised her hand, levitating Angie into her grasp. Angie opened her mouth, screeching in that grating high pitch, while the creepy dolls at our feet floated up, armed with blades, and attacked me and Evelyn. I swatted them away. Some spider-like ones clung on, so I crushed them. Evelyn punched and kicked, sending them flying, but they wouldn't dwindle. Damn!
"You're still alive? Impressive."
"Damn it, what the—!? Stop!"
"Hey! Take this! I can touch them, but they just keep coming!"
"But hurry and find me, or your friends will slaughter you! And since you're too strong, I prepared special friends. Donna worked hard on them, so enjoy!"
Shaking off the dolls, Donna had vanished. Angie floated close to me and Evelyn, and suddenly the roof blew off.
"Uuuuu... Boom! Your friends have arrived~!"
"What... that's possible!?"
"It's huge!? No explanation needed!"
What appeared was a colossal Angie doll, towering over the house. It trembled like a marionette, but no way a doll that big exists. Then, from beside it, a black-robed figure flew in from the sky—like a Western reaper with a massive scythe. Hooded, it circled us, peering down with its grotesque face: Baby's. And its legs were backward. You again!?
Pa-pa-a-a!
"That face is terrifying, I said!?"
"Enough already, you brat!"
"Goliath Angie doll and cute little Reaper Baby. Tick-tock... if you don't want to die, search desperately! Find me if you can!"
Angie flew off somewhere amid the dolls' laughter. The Goliath Angie raised fists, and Reaper Baby charged with its scythe. I dodged with Evelyn, evading the blows.
"Evelyn! They're probably like Baby."
"So my attacks work! Eat this!"
Pugyaaa!?
Evelyn blasted Reaper Baby skyward with a shockwave and repelled Goliath Angie's fist. Never felt more grateful!
"For some reason, my attacks hit—curse that! I'll handle the big one; Ethan, find the doll kid!"
"Got it, on you!"
"Don't wanna, but ultimate move time!"
Evelyn melted into black liquid like against Dimitrescu, forming a mold pool. A face emerged, neck stretching into a monstrous form that leaped skyward, tackling Goliath Angie. She couldn't separate from me, so the mold followed—surreal, but fine. The problem...
Pa-pa-a-a!
"You're persistent!"
The powered-up Baby—Reaper Baby—returned fast, attacking repeatedly. Dodging while searching Angie's direction was hell. If only I had weapons!
"Enough!"
Pa-pa-a-a!?
It lunged close to scare me, so I punched its oversized left eye. Reaper Baby screamed and vanished. Amid laughing dolls, I rushed upstairs, finding Angie sprawled in a back room. As I grabbed her face, she bit, laughing, then floated close. I seized her with my left hand; she thrashed.
"You..."
"If Rose hadn't been born, none of this would've happened!"
"Shut up, monster!"
Holding her down left-handed, I pulled the scissors from the basement—used against Baby—and stabbed Angie's face. Blood spurted inexplicably; she screamed. Not just a doll? She laughed and fled; I chased.
Exiting, Evelyn (berserk form) crashed down from above. Goliath Angie was tough.
"You... having limbs is cheating... Ah, Ethan, I saw her! Back room there!"
"Thanks!"
Pa-pa-a-a!
In the room Evelyn indicated, Angie lay plainly. Reaper Baby reappeared, attacking, so I grabbed Angie and hurled her face-first at it.
"Pigyaa!?"
"Thanks, that helped. Here's your reward!"
Reaper Baby vanished. Without pause, I stabbed the prone Angie with scissors; blood sprayed, screams echoed.
"H-how did you...?"
"I told you, I'm not alone."
"You'd do this to Rose too!? Screw you! Dolls!"
"Gah!? Damn!"
Angie commanded; dolls swarmed, stabbing me with blades. Not as bad as Dimitrescu's gut stab. I'm a father—for Rose, I'll endure! I swept them off, grabbed Angie's neck left-handed, scissors ready.
"Not escaping!"
"You'll never leave! Ahahaha!"
"Then you're coming with!"
Angie's face split, exposing fungal threads. I stabbed her brow; massive blood gushed.
"You bastard! What'd you do to my cute doll!? Wrecked Goliath Angie and Reaper Baby too! What trick!?"
"What?"
"Sorry for the wait, Ethan."
Behind, Goliath Angie's head was halved, fallen. Reaper Baby, sneaking up, was chomped by berserk Evelyn. Stunned, I faced Angie.
"Sorry, but hide-and-seek ends here."
"Aaaaaaaa!? ......"
One more stab; screams, vision whited out. Coming to, where I'd pierced Angie lay a black-clad woman—likely Donna—her pretty right face half-eroded by fungus. She calcified and crumbled. Left was an unharmed Angie doll. The ruined ceiling restored; sniper rifle on my back, handgun and Samurai Edge at waist. Bag probably in basement.
"It's over...? Her doing? All hallucinations?"
"So that's why I could touch and see... First Mia was illusion too?"
"A phantom tricked by illusions..."
"I helped this time! You'd be dead without me, right?"
"Yeah, true."
A pedestal with a flask appeared by the entrance. I picked up silent Angie and the flask.
"Alright... grab the bag and leave."
"I can separate now. Checking basement."
"Yeah, thanks."
As Evelyn descended, I found a fetus-engraved key amid Donna's remains. Combined with four-winged key parts: four-winged fetus key. Meaning unknown. I pulled the family photo from my pocket, now returned.
"Mia... what are you hiding...?"
Casually flipping it, woman's handwriting on back:
[Protect Rose forever. Ethan]
"Obviously..."
The Goliath Angie doll's inspiration is obviously Alice Margatroid from Touhou. Reaper Baby draws from the reaper evoking Donna in the opening picture book "Village of Shadows." Set as the strongest illusions prepared after reports of Ethan's madness and defeating Baby. Both got wrecked by Evelyn, though.
Looking forward to next time. Appreciate ratings, feedback, typo reports. More comments speed up writing.