Welcome back! I hope you are guys are ready for the holidays. I will try to get another chapter out before the holidays but it will just depend on work, and if not then Happy Thanksgiving to all everyone! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thank you for all of the reviews and support. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters just the OCs and the plot.

"Mai! I need you to tell me what's going on." Madoka try to plead with her but Mai was gone before she very got her answer. Mai's instincts were on fire, guiding her feet towards the main stairwell. She had practically skipped down the stairs, with each step the pull got stronger. The next thing she knew she was standing underneath the chandler looking up at it. "Mai!" Madoka called out again.

The stage.

Mai twisted to see Madoka coming off of the last step and stepping towards her. She saw the worry and confusion in her eyes but she didn't have time to explain. Madoka open her mouth to speak but Mai had beat her to it. "I need to get to the stage."

The statement had thrown Madoka for a loop. Not really sure what to do, she replied. "Uh-okay. Yeah, um-this way." She pointed the hallway just behind her and once again Mai took off without her. She followed it down to a pair of large doors on the left side, the same side of the auditorium and forcefully, she yanked the doors open. She was greeted with the sight of a barely lit room. Madoka's footsteps echoed behind her as she tried to keep up but Mai couldn't wait. Her eyes instantly locked onto the stage. It didn't matter that the others were heading towards her, clearly finished with their tour and the interviews, or that they could hear Madoka cries. None of that matter to Mai because her only goal was to get to the stage. She needed to be there. Brushing right past the confused group, Mai rushed down the long aisle, ignoring the ever joining cries of her name.

Mai didn't even bother to look if there had been stairs. As she approached the stage, she placed her hands on the smooth wood and lifted herself up onto the stage.

"Mai!" A voice called out to her but it was all background noise to her now. She walked over to the middle of the stage and looked up into the rafters.

A man hung himself…

"You said a man hung himself here, right?" Mai didn't really care who answered.

"Uh, yes. In 1987." Madoka's voice echoed throughout the giant room. Though she was confused by Mai's behavior, she trusted that there was a reason for it.

No…It's not him. He left a long time ago.

Mai turned back to the front of the stage and walked right up to the edge. She peered out into the auditorium, scanning each of the sections slowly. Mai wasn't sure what she was looking for. Instead, she was baited her time, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Mai-" Naru tried to speak but Mai raised her hand, silencing him.

"He is here." She whispered. The feeling hit her like a brick wall. The invisible gaze watching her from all sides. The feeling had come out of nowhere and now drowned her senses in a thick fog. Her eyes jumped up to the third level balcony, glazing over it even more slowly than before.

WHAM!

Her heart jumped into her throat as the sound rang out from behind her. Slowly she turned. It had sounded like a door being slammed but there was something off about it. Maybe it was how clear it was as if it was almost too clear to be real. Or maybe it was the soft echo that seem to reverberate painfully in her skull. Her chest clenched as she looked into the shadows of the stage. The large curtains loomed over her, seemingly hiding the secrets that lay in waiting just beyond them. Her eyes scanned across slowly. Then suddenly out of the corner of her eye something moved.

"Hey!"

The swaying curtain was the only evidence to what she saw and it was all she needed. Just like before, Mai took off after it, not really sure herself of what she was chasing. Whipping around the heavy curtain, Mai anxious search for where it could have gone. The only light came from a open door at the far end of the back area. Mai took a step forward but as foot landed lightly on the old wood the door closed shut.

There.

Her instincts knew that was where she needed to go. Both quickly and as cautiously as she could Mai navigated through the darkness to where she thought the door was. She reached out searching for the wall and within moments her fingertips came into contact with the cold stone. She hoped that she hadn't overshot the door as she followed the wall down but slowly she began to doubt herself. Then, just as she was about to give up and head back the other way, the wooden edge of the frame brushed against her hand. Quickly with both hands Mai felt for the small door knob and twisted it to reveal the warm light of the hallway.

It was narrow passage. The floors were a dark oak and to Mai's surprise in good condition still. The walls were lined in a gold and red patterned wallpaper and the source of lighting came from small lamps that resembled the old electric lamps.

This is probably what it looked like back in the day… Mai entered the passage way admiring the ornate beauty. They did a wonderful job restoring it. But it was only a passing admiration as her mind snapped back to the matter at hand. Mai figured she was being lead somewhere but she needed to keep an eye out for the clues. For a moment though she wondered about the others. She thought that they would have followed after her but she could no longer hear them.

creeeeaaaaakkkkkk!

The sound had been faint this time. Up a head the passage way took a spilt. One to the left and the other to the right but it was hard to tell which side the sound had come from. Mai cautiously stepped forward into the intersection, unsure of what waited for her on either side of the corridor. She looked to the left. Pale wooden doors lined the one side of the hallway while lamps lined the other side. Mai stretched to see if she could anything unusual but all of the doors were closed. That left only the other side. As she turned it had been magnetic the way she eyes locked onto it. The right hallway matched the left side identically except that for the fifth door down. Mai's eyes had been immediately drawn to the open the door.

There was no effort as she walked forward. Fear coiled inside her stomach but her body moved without restraint, as if it was being called to the door. She had to know what laid inside no matter the cost, and there was always a cost.

A dark flickering light barely lit the room as Mai came around the corner. The door blocked most of the view from the hallway. Mai would have to go in. Pushing it open further Mai stepped in. Once she was fully inside the door suddenly closed softly. Mai looked back at it but remained calm. Weird. She thought as she turned back the room.

It looked to be a dressing room. The walls and floor matched the hallway perfectly and at the opposite side of the small room was a small loveseat which looked Victorian to Mai. The only however came from a small table lamp on a vanity that rest against the left wall. On the wall was a giant mirror that could see every corner of the room. There were no windows and the small lamp did very little to bring light to the room. Mai eyes bounced around. She was brought here for a reason but she couldn't see why. She turned back to the mirror. Unconsciously she glanced herself over, a habit most people had when they looked in a mirror. However, it wasn't until her eyes drew back up to the her face did she see the shadow that twisted and grew behind her.

Shi-

Mai whirled around to face the shadow but it was gone. The coil in the stomach tightened painfully. She backed away slowly, her eyes darting back and forth searching for the shadow. However, the vanity was the only thing preventing from going any further. Her hands gripped the edge fiercely. Mai could feel it. Whatever it was, whatever he was, was still in the room with her.

Squeak, squuueeak, squeeak…

Sometimes I really hate my life. The thought crossed her mind painfully. She didn't want to turn around but she also wanted know what was happening behind her. A thousand yen that it is writing on the mirror. She had been threw enough cases to see almost everything now and as she turned around she discovered that she had guessed right.

In in a red liquid, without an origin, a word was slowly spelled out across the mirror. Mai watched and listened to the squeaks as it finished it's work.

M I N E

It was a simple word but it spoke volumes to Mai. The sudden urge to run shot through her but it the shadow that lurked once again behind her in the mirror that made her consider the thought. She didn't know how she could tell but this time the shadow was reaching towards her.

NO!

Mai made a break for the door. She didn't know what possessed her to do so but she wasn't going to fight it either. She grabbed the handle and rushed out, but as her body passed through the opening pain exploded through her head.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Over and over the sound echoed painfully into ears. It was unbearable. Mai couldn't even hold herself up. She instantly dropped to her knees while her hands covered her ears, her fingertips twisting into the loose strands of her hair. It was so painful. So very painful.

Please. Stop.

"Mai!"

Hands were wrapped around her wrists trying to pry her hands down. Mai opened her eyes. The sound was gone, instantly silenced by her name. Mai looked up to the owner of the hands only to see Naru before her. Distress and anger swirled inside those blue eyes. She had caused this in him. Yanking her hands out of his grasp, Mai tried to distant herself from him.

"Mai, what is going on?" Madoka's voice pulled her out from her guilt.

"I…" She didn't know what to say. There was too much but there was nothing useful. "There wa-" She tried to explain but something caught her attention. The light. It was white now. Very different from the yellow light that she had experienced earlier. Mai snapped her head up and realized something very important.

What the…

The walls that once were covered in a red and gold wallpaper were now white. The floor was now covered in a stiff beige carpet and the lamps had been replaced by long thin lights along the ceiling. This wasn't the hallway she had entered. Mai stood up and turned back to the room she had just left. The door was wide open but room was dark. Mai felt around the corner for a light switch and as expected there was a small one. She flicked the lights on and expected to see some recreated version of a dressing room. However, that was not the case. The room looked to be a storage closet now and was completely empty of anything resembling the room she had once been in.

How didn't I notice?

"Mai?" Madoka called out again.

Mai, feeling defeated and exhausted, turned towards the group. She looked at the Elena Dartford and quite boldly asked. "Do you have any photos of this place?"

Elena, for a moment, looked unsure that Mai had been talking to her but once realizing that she was she answered. "uh-Yes we do in the main office."

Mai nodded. "May I see them?"

"So…?" Madoka looked eagerly at Mai as the she flipped through the large album.

The main office's walls was covered in a variety of historical items including photos, articles and some boxed trinkets. However, most of the photos were inside a large leather bound album that Elena Dartford kept behind the desk. She only ever brought it out on special occasions.

Mai flipped through each of the thick pages slowly. Carefully she glanced over each of the photos. Most were taken in the grand foyer or in the auditorium, especially the of stage. They depicted the actors on the stage in mid-performance and showcased the various guests that had come to visit; the earlier photos were even of the grand opening but none seemed to show Mai wanted she needed to know. Page after page she searched for the answer until finally a small photo had caught her attention. In the corner of the page there was a photo of a young woman standing next to a older gentleman, and their location happened to be the backstage hallway. It matched what Mai had seen perfectly.

Elena noticed her hesitation at the sight of the photo. "That's Mary Anne, the wife of Jonathan Edwards. And next her is the general manager, Maxwell Hemingway." She offered. Mai glanced up to her, taking in what she said.

"Was this before or after the fire?" Mai asked.

"Before." She spurted out.

"Do you recognize someone?" Naru asked rather eagerly. Mai rolled eyes up to him. Then, quickly darting her eyes to the woman standing next her and then back to him, Mai silently asked if he wanted the owner to be here for this.

Naru immediately knew what she was asking. "Mrs. Dartford, do you think we could have a moment alone?"

The woman, startled by the request, replied. "Oh! Yes of course." And then left the room.

"Mai?" Naru turned his attention back to her.

"No, I don't recognize anyone but-I do recognize this hallway." Mai point to the background of the photo. Madoka shifted over to the her and leaned down. "That's the backstage hallway, isn't?"

"Yep. And up until Naru grabbed me, it was what I had been seeing."

"What?!" The idea alarmed Madoka.

"A vision perhaps?" Martin asked, suddenly very intrigued.

"No, Mai has to sleep for visions." Lin spoke up. "We had followed behind her the entire time and she definitely was awake."

"Maybe she was sleep walking?" Martin guessed.

"Nope." Madoka defended. "She was awake upstairs, unless…she fell asleep in-between running down the stairs and the stage?" Madoka didn't even sound convinced herself. The idea seemed rather ridiculous.

They do realize that I am standing right here, right? The conversation in a way annoyed Mai. Not that she planned on disclosing her secret to the masses, but she would have rather they ask her and she turn them down than have to listen to them dissect her powers.

Naru listened quietly to the others discuss their theories but he knew it was pointless. They were going off old information. The Mai before him wasn't the same one he left in Japan and if he had to guess whatever had happened was something very different to what they had seen before. "Mai." He called out, silencing the others. "What happened?"

"There was a sound."

"A sound?" Naru interrupted. Mai confirmed with a nod. "Yea, upstairs in the balcony. It sounded like a door being slammed but it was so loud. So I ran out to the hallway to see if I could see anything." Mai recounted the event, however, Naru became confused.

"Then why the stage?"

"Huh?"

"You heard the sound upstairs but came down and went to the stage. Why?"

Mai had to think about how she want to answer that. He had a point. She had heard the noise upstairs but her gut told her to go to the stage. "I had a feeling." It was the best she had and she wasn't actually lying to him.

"A feeling?" He didn't know if he should buy it. "Then what happened?"

"I heard the sound again, on the stage. It was behind me that time and that was when I saw something shift behind the curtain." Mai sighed. It wasn't until after she returned to the auditorium that she discovered that while the room itself was not extraordinarily lit, the back stage had been fully lit up and had been the entire time she had been here. The sad reality was that she hadn't been seeing the place as it actually was since she arrived. "I ran after it and it led me to the hallway. The hallway, it looked exactly like this." She pointed once again to the photo. "I followed it down and about halfway down I heard a creak, as if a door was opening….the door was on the right…the fifth one down." Slowly, it was as if she had entered into a trance as recounted the memory, as if it had been a dream. "I went inside-it was a dressing room. There was a couch and this big vanity with a massive mirror. The only light came from a small table lamp sitting on the corner…." Mai trailed off.

"Mai."

His voice was like a knife cutting through the inviting daze that encased her. Mai glance over the unreadable man. Whatever he was thinking of feeling, it was hidden from her. "I saw a shadow in the mirror. When I turned around it wasn't there but I could still see it in the mirror when I turned back."

"What was the shadow doing?" Madoka asked quietly.

"Nothing at first but then it tried to reach out to me." Mai shook her head. "That was when I left."

"Did it touch you?" Naru asked. Mai looked at him curiously. "When you left the room you looked to be in pain?"

"Oh that." Mai stepped away from the table and walked to the wall just behind Naru and began to look at the different items that hung on it. "No he didn't, but as I was leaving the first sound, the door being slammed, it started again but this time it repeated over and over again. And it was louder this time. I guess you could say that it did hurt a little."

Naru sighed. He thought about what Mai said and how it pertained to the case. "And that is everything?" He had to ask, Mai knew that.

"Yes."

He didn't believe her.

"Well that at least confirms our suspicions that the activity pertains to the fire." Madoka chirped in.

"Barely Madoka." Naru replied.

"It is a start and is more than the other teams could confirm." Luella finally spoke. "Speaking of which, we should probably get started on the setting up the cameras incase anything else happens." She suggested. Martin agreed with his wife instantly. Lin and Madoka also agreed and the four of them instantly jumped into discussing how to accomplish the work when Mai interrupted.

"When did you want to do tour for myself?" The group fell silently. Mai twisted to look at them. "Madoka mentioned that I would go on a separate tour. I just didn't know if you wanted to do that before or after setting up the cameras."

"Yes, you're right." Martin pondered it for a moment. "We should probably do it before….Koujo, why don't you take her around the place-"

"I will go with her." Naru volunteered without any hesitation and suddenly all eyes were on him. If the room hadn't been tense before it was now. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, there isn't." Mai replied. At least not yet.