And now, for the answering part of our program. Also: DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING… Except my OC's. The SONG IS NOT MINE.
Lizzieeliza1998: Thank you. I do try. I wanted to give Mai a slightly different take (and by that, I mean completely different)
Wolfie: Nice to hear from you again. I hope this lives up to your expectations.
Joys: well…. You'll find out. In this chapter. And the next chapter.
Vampgirl1309: wait no longer!
MirandaLovespie: wait a bit. It'll get better.
Okay, so I think I should give you a warning: There is a mention of Sex in this chapter. Not enough to be rated M, but I need to warn you, anyway. It's not enough to be a citrus of any kind, and more awkward than anything. So, you are warned. Have fun with that….
Chapter 11- It Rains in Hell
I see your heart washing away
And that's how you left me in the cold.
It's pitiful how you let me loose, better run, better run
Your time is out, there's nothing you can do
Better run, better run…
~Angels- Vicetone feat. Kat Nestel
Mai and Tohru stepped out after Lin and Madoka, and stared up at the house. It was beautiful, that was for sure, it took both girls by surprise, though Tohru always thought that Mai's mansion in Japan was beautiful, with its half-traditional architecture, this house was full Western style. Large, elegant archways…. Beautiful gardens… the works.
However, it felt…. Dark. Darker than one would expect such brilliant- and white- architecture. The whole place must have been made of marble, because when Mai stepped in, all she felt was cold…
And then, she wasn't even in her own body.
She was descending the grand staircase, dressed in white, to her father's waiting arm. At last, she was to be married to the man she loved. Her papa would walk her down the aisle, and into his arms. Everything would be perfect…. She giggled to herself.
All those secret kisses and touches… she shivered with anticipation… tonight…...
Mai gasped as she woke up. "So over this," she groaned, rubbing her head. "Ouch."
"Not surprising that you'd be hurting, Mai. You walked in, and crumpled. Most graceful faint I've ever seen." Yasuhara snickered. Mai stuck out her tongue. "I don't see you getting highjacked by ghosts…" She grumbled.
"Yeah, but still. Lin had to carry you up. A job that was usually reserved for the Big Boss."
"Na- Dr. Davis never carried me anywhere, thank you, Yasu." She retorted. "he was much too concerned with himself to do that."
Yasuhara snorted. "Okay, that's why he took the brunt of the blown when a wall fell on you two during the job you took at my school." He drawled. Mai made a face. Maybe Na- Dr. Davis had indeed saved her life a few times… but carrying her around was a different story, entirely.
He had never indicated that he was anything more than her boss, she thought with a pang of hurt. He hadn't even wanted to be her friend.
"Anyway, what was the dream about this time, my dear dream Queen?" Yasuhara asked. "Madoka-san asked me to find out."
Mai sighed. "Well, this one was…. Her wedding day. She was getting married. She was so happy." She frowned. "She got married here. The staircase in the entryway. She was walking down to her father."
"That's it?" Yasuhara frowned. Mai shrugged. "For now. I guess I get to see her life after marriage." Mai murmured, frowning thoughtfully. "It's going to be interesting to see what happened…" she murmured.
Yasuhara didn't think she wanted to hear what he thought of that. Maybe she shouldn't be dreaming of this, at all, though. He frowned. Mai sighed and settled back on the couch. "I'm going to try and get some actual sleep, sans dreams, because I have a nasty feeling that I'm not going to get much normal sleep, and I need it."
Yasuhara nodded. "Yeah. I'll go tell Madoka." He said, still lost in his musings. This was proving to be a strange case. He walked out, and nearly ran into Tohru.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said softly, frowning. "I was about to check on Mai." Yasuhara nodded. "she's trying to get some sleep," he reported to the other girl. "She hit her head pretty hard, and she just wants to rest a bit." Tohru frowned slightly.
"I feel a bit useless… maybe Psyche should have come…" she said. Yasuhara blinked. His face went flat- serious. So, unlike his usual expression. "Why would you say that?" he asked. The young woman shrugged. "Psyche can heal. I can't. Hell, I can't even control what I do." She replied. "I can't help my friend. It's kind of… annoying."
Yasuhara snorted. "I don't have any psychic ability. Unlike the majority of people here. The only other one here who doesn't have any ability is Madoka. I feel useless quite a bit, myself. No use focusing on that, though. It's useless to brood."
Tohru blinked, and frowned up at the young man. He was usually rather blithe, if she remembered what Mai said about him. "How can you be so… cheerful all the time?" she asked.
"Hm?" he looked down at her, and gave her a vague smile. "Does it seem that way?" She blinked. He wasn't like other people, she realized. He was angry. Angry that he hadn't been there to help Mai. He didn't show it as much, or he hid it. This, in Tohru's mind, made him a bit scarier than any one she'd ever met.
How do you deal with someone when you don't know what they're thinking, or feeling? She shivered, but followed him to the sitting room that they had taken over as a main base. "How're we looking, Madoka-san?" Yasuhara asked.
The woman turned to look at the two who had just entered the room. "We've got everything set up. How's Mai?"
"catching some Z's. She said she wanted to sleep a bit before all she did was dream the case." The bespectacled boy said cheerfully. Madoka nodded. "That's a good idea." She murmured, turning her attention back to the screen.
"There was something Mai told me before coming here. She said that you and the other men might be at risk. SO, I need you to stay here." Madoka smiled wryly. "If what Mai said is true- and she usually has pretty good instincts about these things, the ghost has a thing against men…"
"Like Yuki did…" Tohru grumbled.
"Yes and no. I don't' really understand, as I wasn't on that case, and only read it secondhand from Professor Davis, but from what I read, she didn't… kill… she only tried to hurt. This woman has claimed the lives of 12 men already, I'm not keen on making one of ours the next target." Madoka said it grimly.
XXXXX- LINE BREAK -XXXXX
London, England
The thunder was sounding outside of the classroom where they were. They faced off, Gene thought, much like Mai and Naru had only the day before. Silver eyes flashed and burned against green. They stood exactly ten feet apart. The air inside the building cracked with energy. From both.
Gene shook his head.
"Just be glad there's only two of them right now. If Mai was here, she'd be on the edge of a fight with Dr. Davis…" he heard someone behind him say. Psyche Mallory stepped forward, and looked at him. "So much repressed tension… they're actually worse than Mai and Dr. Davis." She said. "I get the feeling that this has been going on longer, and therefore it's more… potent."
"According to Finn, it's been going on since they were ten." He muttered, shuddering, and thanking his lucky stars that Mai and Noll had not known each other that long. It would be maddening. Much like this was for Finn.
"My bloody git of a brother has problems…" Finn muttered, glaring at his brother. Psyche snorted. "What are they fighting about, anyway?"
"I have no clue." Gene muttered. "They've been in a staring contest of sorts since I got here. About half an hour ago."
"He's goading her on, again." Finn grumbled.
"What's going on out here?" Professor Davis asked, frowning.
Eugene snorted. "The same thing that's been happening between Noll and Mai. This is the second edition…" he muttered. Martin sighed. "This place used to be so… quiet…" he murmured. "I miss that…" Emiko snickered. "Quiet is something that you'll never have to worry about again." She told the professor.
"There's a thunderstorm outside," Oliver stated. "And as much as it interests me how a thunderstorm could magically appear out of nowhere at noon, on an otherwise completely cloudless day- and only above this area of Cambridge, I suggest we stop them."
"Right…" Finn said. "Before he gets hurt again." He walked over to his twin and dragged him away. Oliver, meanwhile, approached the small brunette. "Would you come with me for a bit, Miss. Fitzgerald?" he asked.
She looked up at him, silver eyes churning with anger. He frowned. They seemed different. Much like Mai's when she was angry… only instead of gold, hers were silver. "Fine," she hissed out. "So long as I don't have to deal with that…. Bloody arsehole for a while."
He took that as an affirmative, and just shrugged, motioning for her to follow him. "This way." He said. "We'll be going to the white room." Where he'd just gotten a table to replace the one that Mai had broken the day before.
When she sat, he got his notebook. "I have a few questions that Mai told me to ask you about." He frowned. "It seems that you know more about some of her abilities?"
Anabelle blinked. "She told you to ask me?" she asked, frowning. Oliver nodded. "When I asked her about the Biokenisis, she said that you knew more about it, to ask you." He stated. "I wanted to know more about it."
Anabelle nodded. "Ah. That does make sense. She wouldn't know, because it's a family trait… actually, its something that doesn't normally come out on its own. Eventually, much later in life, mind you, the ability might have been… unlocked, so to speak. However, you and your brother gave it a… jumpstart, so to speak."
At this, Oliver frowned. "In what way?"
Anabelle smirked. "You see, it came out almost from birth with me, as my mother and father were both around, and used their powers quite a bit. For Mai, however, it was different. Her father died when she was rather young. Her mother was careful not to use her abilities around her child, so, the power stayed dormant… until she met you- and, subsequently, your- at the time- dead brother, who visited her via astral projection. You both had psychic ability, and your…. Let's call it aura, was absorbed by her."
"How does that work?" Oliver asked. He had an idea, but he wanted to be sure before writing it down. Anabelle grinned outright, sensing the thought.
"Much like a car with a dead battery. If you hook it up to another car, and give the battery some juice from the working battery, the other battery gets charged." She replied.
That was what he had thought. He nodded as he wrote it down. "and the weather thing," he continued. "tell me about that."
She sighed, now, and sat back in the chair. His eyes- a brilliant shade of blue, she noted- were completely fixed on her. An odd feeling, she thought, but shook it off. "Do you know the Viking myths about the Valkyrie?" she asked him. He nodded.
"They sustain themselves on the energy of the world, giving back electricity. The storms they cause are from their emotion." She went on. "The myths are based on biokinetic women like us. Actually, we're descended from them." She said. "As I said, the biokenisis is a family trait. When Mai, myself, or my mother get…. Upset… or elated…" she looked a bit uncomfortable at that last part, Oliver noted, "We… er… give off lightning." She sighed. "When we're angry, we start thunderstorms."
"What do you mean, elated?" he asked, ruthlessly. Her face went red.
"I… um…" she stuttered, and then she sighed, and looked down. "Put it this way, Dr. Davis," she muttered. "I always knew when to make myself scarce…"
An eyebrow jumped up. Interesting. "Was your mother prone to anger?" this was almost as fun as needling Mai, he thought, fighting a smirk.
"No…" Anabelle muttered. "She was not." she…. Um… do you really need to know this?" she asked finally.
"Unless I'm asking about someone else's personal life," he drawled. Finally, she found an opening. "You are." She hedged.
"Ah." Well, that answered that question, the young doctor thought, smirking, as he made another note in his book. And he'd keep an eye out for more lightning in the future. "thank you, Miss. Fitzgerald." He said. "That was all I wanted to know about."
She nodded and got up. The man was potent, she realized. It explained a bit were Mai was concerned, she thought as she exited the white room. She was frowning with the realization as she met up with the others. She couldn't quite figure out if she'd given him another thing to use against Mai… or not…
Though she had a bad feeling that that was just what she'd just done.
Well, crap.
XXXXX- LINE BREAK -XXXXX
Esther House, Englad
Mai woke up to the sound of thunder, and a face as red as a tomato. She could not believe this…. She shuddered. She'd thought that she'd had it bad before, when she'd had dreams of dying… and now, she was having dreams of the ghosts'…. She whimpered as she thought…. Sex lives.
How was that even right? She wondered. "what the hell?" she growled. It had been a first person dream, she recalled. She was in the ghost's body…. And… no, the dream had been something she'd dealt with the first few years of her astral projecting. It had been her… and Naru.
She moaned, and slammed a pillow against her own face. Oh, god, it was humiliating. And the lighting outside didn't help matters. It was him in the dream… and she could still feel every kiss and touch… and…. And….
She let out a quiet moan of embarrassment. Oh, dear Kami-Sama, what the hell?
"Mai, are you okay?" Tohru asked from the bed next to hers. Mai's face burned as she answered. "I… had another dream…" she muttered.
"Okay…. But… uh, why are you…?"
"I really don't wanna talk about it." Mai muttered.
"You realize that you're going to have to tell Madoka, right?" she asked. "What's going on?" Ayako had woken up, and Mai whimpered. Oh, kami, why?
"Mai had a dream… and it's…. well, I don't know. She won't tell me what the hell happened…"
"Ooh… it was one of those dreams, wasn't it, Mai?" This time, it was Masako who spoke, with an odd sort of knowledge in her voice. Mai whimpered. "If by 'one of those', you mean it was a first person dream of our ghost, then yes."
"Madoka's up with Lin… they're on watch right now."
"I am not doing this in front of LIN." Mai hissed. "It's humiliating enough."
And that was when it dawned on Tohru just what the other girl had dreamed about. "oh- OH….. wow. Kami, Mai…"
"What? What am I missing?" Ayako asked. Tohru started snickering. "Oh, god the only way it could get worse is if you weren't even her and it was…." She gaped, suddenly, as Mai's face actually started to glow in the dark. "Oh. My. God…." She gaped.
"What the hell is going on?" Ayako growled, as Tohru started outright laughing. Masako started to smother her own laughter. "Do you remember when Mai would dream as if she was the ghost?" she asked the redhead. Ayako nodded slowly. "Yes…"
"Well… it seems that she had a dream like that again… although it also seems that it was the ghost's… erm… honeymoon…"
"Ah… Oh!" Ayako shrieked. "You had a s-"
"Don't say it, Ayako." The small brunette hissed. "I don't wanna think about it."
"And yet you still have to tell Madoka…" Tohru drawled. "So just go do that… while the dream is fresh."
"I am not telling her I had a dream about s-s.." She couldn't even say the word. Oh, this was so mortifying.
"You have to. It pertained to the case." Ayako drawled. Mai let out a sound of misery, but got up.
As soon as she walked out, the three remaining women burst into laughter, and she felt her ears burn. God, why?
Madoka and Lin were indeed in the HQ when she walked in. "Madoka- san… I…. had another dream…" she muttered. The pink haired woman looked up and blinked. "Oh, great. I was just…." Lin looked over at her, as she got out a notebook. Mai winced.
"What was it?" Madoka asked, preparing to write it down. "First person…" Mai muttered, her face was still red, and Madoka frowned. "Mai, what happened in the dream?" she asked.
"Honeymoon." Mai choked the word out.
Madoka gaped, "Oh… dear. Has this ever happened before?"
Mai shook her head. "No… this was actually the first… I can tell when a dream pertains to the case because of the… err, feeling I get. The feeling was in this one… but… it was me…. And…." She cleared her throat, "Dr. Davis." She said.
"Was the dream like the one at the family inn?" Lin asked. "you never told us that one either."
Mai nodded. "Well, that was tame compared to this." She muttered. "It was just a hug. I couldn't tell the difference at the time, between Dr. Davis and Eugene… because I didn't know that Eugene had existed. Looking back, now…. I know that the other person who jumped with the princess was Dr. Davis. It was the same with this dream. It was me, physically, but it was her mentally. It was him physically, but the husband mentally." She frowned. "If that even makes sense…"
"No, it makes perfect sense." Madoka said it slowly, writing it down. "Do you suppose that night has something to do with the case?"
"She's manically attached to him. It's almost obsession, the way she loves him. In fact, I'd say it is obsession… kind of like…. Uh… did you ever watch any anime?" both of the older hunters nodded. Mai nodded. "She's like the Yandere character. Obsessed with the man she loves. To the point that she will hurt anyone who gets in the way." She said.
Madoka blinked, taken aback. "Well, that's a way to put it."
"It's the only way to put it. In one of the other dreams I had, there was a girl… a girl who looked quite a bit like the woman who haunts this place…. I think it was her daughter. I think she may have killed her." Madoka gasped, and Lin stopped typing. "Are you sure?" the older woman asked. Mai nodded. "Almost completely." She said.
"Well, shit, we've got ourselves a hell of a ghost…" Madoka grumbled.
"I'm going back to bed." Mai muttered. "Maybe I'll have a dream where she's killing someone… I think I'd rather dream of that…"
Lin snorted.
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The Next Night
She slept fitfully after that. Still, her dreams gave her a bit of insight, and she decided to accompany Yasuhara to the Library. "I can do other things besides sleep, you know," she had snapped at Ayako, who had suggested that she stay and rest more.
The dream still scratched at the back of her mind, and she wanted to find the ghost who'd made her dream that… and give her a good hard bitch slap. God, even thinking about the dream…. It still made her blush.
Yasuhara was gleeful at this. "Aw, some dream you had last night if you're still red…" he drawled. Mai rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Yasuhara," she muttered. "I don't wanna hear it."
At the library, they searched, until Yasuhara let out a sound of victory. "Got it! Woman jumps off the cliffs after death of her daughter!"
"Is there a picture?" Mai asked, craning her neck to see what Yasuhara was reading. "Matches your description of miss sex dream."
"Yasuhara…" She growled menacingly.
"Sorry, sorry. Had to be said. Anyway, according to the paper, they talked to her husband, who says that she'd been so distraught over the death that she'd thrown herself off the cliff." Mai frowned, and scanned. "Names, Yasuhara, I need names."
"Mr. and Mrs. Drake." The other hunter replied promptly, "Jacob and Cassandra."
She blinked. The name did ring a bell. She looked back into her pile. "Hm… this is interesting…. It looks to me as if Sempai was out a-wandering…" she murmured. Yasuhara snorted. "So… he was a hound dog?"
"So, it seems..." Mai murmured. "According to ye old gossip column, he was quite the wanderer…"
"How bad are we talking."
"He was always trying to find himself… he went every night looking for himself, and… well, on the way, he found Ruth, Gladys, Rosemary… and Erving…." Mai's voice was bland, as she quoted the musical number.
"So, he had it coming…?" Yasuhara asked, grinning as he caught on.
"Yeah. He had it coming." She answered dryly.
"He only had himself to blame…." He sighed dramatically.
They started getting strange looks from passerby book seekers, though some of them smirked, and the librarian snickered.
"So, class act, this guy."
"Yeah. No kidding."
They went on reading, right up until the phone call came. "Hello?" Yasuhara asked. "Mai, Yasuhara, get back to the mansion. John's missing." Madoka's voice was sharp.
Mai froze. "Did he go on the road?"
"Yes."
"She shouldn't have attacked…" Mai muttered. "John's single, and he isn't the type to cheat…"
"I don't' think she cares, Mai." Yasuhara said. "She's crazy, and she's been wronged."
"But…"
"Masako is missing, as well. But she went missing inside the mansion…" Mai frowned. True, she'd sensed a ghost in the mansion, as well… but…
"I need to astral project again, first, Madoka. Maybe I can find something."
"Get back here, don't let Yasuhara out of your sight."
They broke the speed limit to get back. Ayako and Monk were both looking nervous. "She'll keep him around." Mai said, "She's got to. He hasn't done anything."
She sat, cross legged on the floor, before she closed her eyes and took a breath. She sent herself out of her body.
She walked up to the room… the room that had been the place where the daughter had died. While she passed the master bedroom, she heard it. Well, she heard them. She did not pause as she made her journey, coming to a stop at the daughter's room.
Masako was there.
"Mai." She whispered, not looking afraid. "I'm okay… but John…"
"Tell me what's going on." Mai snapped. "I can't do anything without it."
"I can answer that." Another voice said. Mai turned to face another ghost. She looked calm, though the macabre cut on her throat did not seem to stop bleeding. She grinned darkly. "My father… cheated on my mother."
"Funnily enough, I figured that out, myself." Mai snapped. The girl snorted. "he wasn't quiet about it, or his wide range of lovers, both male and female."
"Yes, I noticed that, too."
"eventually, he started looking at me." The girl continued. Mai recoiled. "Oh god, that's just…."
"Sick? Yes. Both my parents were. My mother… well, she did not take too kindly to my father's… escapades… and she became distraught. When he started looking at me… that was when she lost it. It was bad enough that he was cheating, but… then it was a whole new low."
"No kidding. What the hell?" Mai growled.
Masako let out a strangled whimper. "Why did you snag Masako?"
"I needed to tell someone how to end my mother's…. haunting."
"Makes sense. How do I do that?"
"Bring her to me." The girl said simply. "She killed me. But not because she was jealous of me. She was insane, and I had been about to leave."
"Fun."
"Yes, well, my father was starting to creep me out."
"So, just get her spirit here?"
"that's the gyst of it…" The ghost nodded. "Do you have a way to do that?"
Mai blinked. "The dolls…."
"What?" this was from Masako. Mai looked at the other medium. "The dolls. You put the name of the person on it and the doll becomes like a substitute for the person whose name is written on it."
"That… just… might work…. IF you put the husband's name on it…" Masako whispered.
Mai nodded. "Yeah, I know."
Mai woke up. "Okay, Lin, can you make one of those dolls, again?"
Lin nodded. "How will this help?" he asked. "The name of the man is Jacob Drake. Birthday, December 12." She growled, not answering. "I told you guys to be careful. Don't you listen?" Madoka gaped. Lin frowned. "We did not think…"
"Oh, you mean like I don't think?" she snarled. "Because my track record is so good when it comes to this shit, right? Because I've never been the target of an insane and possibly murderous spirit, and nearly gotten killed because I didn't think I was in danger, right?"
Ayako and Monk both gaped at the young, rather pissed woman. The storm outside grew worse. "Because every time I blow you off and don't think about my own safety, I don't end up getting hurt, or nearly maimed, or nearly killed by the crazy ass ghost!"
No one dared speak. She was right, Lin thought wryly. She glared. "Make me the damn doll, Lin. I gotta save the exorcist." Her eyes ewere glowing golden, as she started growling.
"Next time, LISTEN TO ME." She yelled, as she stalked outside. She looked back at the house. "I wish I had a chance to meet you, you bastard." She hissed, "You're the reason she's like this." Lin came out, holding the doll. "As you requested. "Good, clear out of the fucking enterance hall. No one go in until I get back." She snarled.
She stalked off. Down the road, and held out the doll. She used herself as a conduit, letting the power flow through her. "Cassandra Drake!" she called, though her voice came out different. Male. "Come out."
Whew. That was a doozy. I kinda got carried away. FYI: the Japanese are a shit ton more reserved about PDA. Hence why Mai wasn't so keen about sharing the dream about the two lovers in the anime that jumped off the cliff. This was a whole new level of PDA, though it was Private. But… well, temper. Read and Review. As always, thank you for reading, AOP