So, I'm going to level with you… I did not expect it to turn out this way… I really didn't… but it happened. I never believed it when an author explains in their stories that the thing took a life of its own, but damn, did this one ever do that. I got an adrenaline rush writing this, it just sort of ripped out of me…. Anyway, this chapter's a bit (ridiculously) fast-pace. Hope you enjoy.
I DON'T OWN GHOST HUNT, ITS CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG. And yes, this is the same song from the last chapter…. This case just kind of screamed it out at me.
Now, to answer your comments, or the comments that have all come before I posted this damn thing:
Lizzieeliza1998: thank you again. And, what do you expect after living on the streets, and then joining an almost gang and having powers that require constant control? I'm secretly proud of her…. I never did like the damsel in distress, Mary-Sue heroin, and frankly, girls like Mai get cast too often in that light. She's an amazing character to begin with, but after what she's gone through, anyone's personality would change.
MirandaLovespie: I do my best, and I will continue to do so. Honestly, the whole sequence was fun to write, though I have to admit, that's what my reaction to such a thing would be. What made it worse was that- like her first dreams of the Astral nature, she was experiencing the ghost's past herself. The voice change thing was a part of her manipulating her own abilities as well as that of the doll's- really, she created an illusion that made the ghost follow her.
Wolfie: Astral projection gets tough, what can I say?
RichkeyZero: Here's what happens next.
Also, taking a poll. should I jump this up from T to M? I'm starting to think Mai's foul mouth is getting the better of me… also, I can write steamier things if it gets bumped up to M. Tell me what you think.
Chapter 12- Angels Can Be Bad
I can't remember when you hurt me so bad
But now the tables turned, Apocalypse is coming
I can't remember when you left me so sad
But in the end, I learned it rains in hell
And angels could be bad
Angels- Vicetone Feat. Kat Nestel
Mai was surprised at how quickly she appeared. She was indeed beautiful. Or, had been. However, John was not with her. This was disconcerting to the young woman.
Jacob…
The ghost smiled, and held out her arms. You came back for me…
Mai just nodded, knowing that Cassandra saw not her, but the mirage of her husband. Her cheating bastard of a husband, but Mai couldn't care less about that. She just beckoned the ghost forward. "Let's go home." She said.
Cassandra hesitated. I cannot leave. She murmured. Her eyes were narrowed suddenly. And it's your fault. She said it suddenly.
"I want to try and work it out." Mai said, almost desperately. "I'll never cheat on you again…"
The ghost still hesitated. She needed to move, Mai thought, thinking of John. Masako's large, violet eyes flashed in her mind. She didn't know that John was missing. Shit. What was she going to tell the other woman if she didn't bring the exorcist home? She pushed more of her energy through the doll. The illusion needed to work just long enough to get her to the entryway.
What was she going to tell Madoka? Or the others? She steeled herself. Now was not the time for that. Now, she needed to get the ghost to the entryway. Apparently, her daughter would take care of her from there. Cassandra followed.
This will not be easy. As soon as she sees that she's been tricked, she will attack… another voice came into her mind. She knew that voice. It was Cassandra's daughter.
Victoria. In any case, be ready. You will need to fight.
'Now you tell me,' Mai thought back in the other apparition's direction.
I thought it was a given….
Mai snorted quietly, as she lead the distraught woman back toward her former house. She edged up the front porch… and then…
You are not Jacob….
Aw, shit.
You are not Jacob. Where is Jacob? The woman howled, she lashed out, long nails turning to claws as she advanced the young woman.
"That depends, bitch, where the fuck is my friend?" she hissed, dodging an attack, as she performed a spell. One to trap. She'd worked endlessly on that spell with Anabelle.
Release me! She screamed.
"How about no." Mai growled. Lin, Madoka, Yasuhara, and the others came out. Ayako gasped, and latched onto Monk. The ghost saw the men and hissed, throwing herself at the barrier that Mai had forced up.
Release me!
"I think not." Mai growled. "Where is John?"
Dead! As they all should be! She shrieked. Mai's eyes glowed gold. "For your own soul's sake, you'd better hope that he's not dead." Her voice had turned thick, somewhere between a hiss and a growl. Guttural. "You'd better hope with all your immortal soul that he is not dead."
She lost control for a second, the fear for her friend momentarily took over. But, unfortunately, that moment was all that Cassandra needed. She broke through Mai's spell, and launched herself at Monk. Mai did not think. She screamed. "Rin, Hyo, Toh, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" the spell fell as naturally as rain from her mouth. She was battling her own fury as she performed the nine cuts.
Cassandra screamed, as the nine cuts imbedded themselves into her ghostly back. She turned instantly, and launched herself at Mai once more. As Cassandra was now more demon than human thanks to all the people she'd killed (maybe it had not been as many as Urado, but that didn't seem to matter), she was tangible enough to touch Mai. The woman slammed into her, knocking her down.
The next thing that Mai felt was considerable pain as Cassandra stuck her hand straight into Mai's chest. Directly over her heart. Mai screamed. Lightning struck. Chaos reigned. And no one could figure out what to do, as the flash of natural electricity hit its target- Mai.
Lin whistled, calling forth his Shiki. They went at the ghost, and restrained her. Mai panted as she got up, though now her shirt was torn to shreds, hanging off of her small frame, as if Cassandra had ripped at it. She was bleeding, five circular slashes… directly over her heart. She stood her ground, her dark hair had fallen out of her braid, the scrunchie holding it up long gone. She looked like a wild animal, her skin crackled with energy… almost like she got power from it.
"Fuck… You…" she gasped, coughing, as she glared at Cassandra. "You don't fucking get to kill people because you married a fucking shitbag. That is just not allowed. Especially when it's my family." Her words crackled with energy and rage as she stood in front of the bound ghost.
Monk was murmuring his own mantra, helping keep the ghost at bay, though he needn't have…. Lin's Shiki were rather strong. Mai looked down at the ghost in front of her. "you will tell me where John is or so help me god I will fucking destroy you."
Never! He is Dead! Mai let out a shriek, a sound that was completely feral. She was not just angry, she was livid at this ghost. Lin watched in abstract amazement as the girl's physical appearance seemed to change more- furiously glowing, gold eyes became almost completely eclipsed by her pupils, which had dilated. Her canine teeth seemed to get… longer? Lin blinked at what he was seeing, this was impossible.
Not one of her colleagues from SPR had ever seen her like this. They had never seen Mai when she went feral on someone- actually, Tohru had only seen it once, when the younger girl had followed her home one day, and seen her family.
It had terrified her then, and nothing, it seemed, had changed. Mai was different. She was strong, and right now, Tohru could only compare Mai to one of the warrior queens of old. As it was, Cassandra shrieked her displeasure at the living girl and lashed out again, managing to get one arm free of Lin's Shiki.
"MAI!" Ayako screamed, as the wind picked up. The ghost's hand raked at the younger girl's face, leaving bloody lacerations. Mai snarled something, and a ball of blue fire appeared in her palm. She threw it at the ghost. It hit the woman in the face.
"You don't get who you're dealing with here." She snarled, as the ghost screamed, the fire had actually touched her. "I'm not giving you a choice. You're going to tell me where he is. In fact, you're going to bring him back." She hadn't noticed it, but she was no longer speaking English. She had reverted to Japanese.
She cast her eyes at Lin. "Tell me the spell." She snarled at the Chinese man.
"That spell is extremely advanced, as you have been told." The Chinese man said, coolly. Mai snorted. "I don't give a shit, Lin. Tell me the fucking spell."
"What the hell is she going to try and do?" Madoka yelled over the wind, trying to brush her hair out of the way.
"She's going to try and turn Cassandra into a Shiki." He replied, his bangs whipped around his face, one blue eye focused on the ghost still being held by his own Shiki.
"But… doesn't she have to be an Onmiyoji?"
"I've been training with a fucking Onmiyoji for the better part of two fucking years!" Mai yelled. "Tell me the gods- damned spell!"
Lin hesitated. "God damn it, Lin, we don't have time for this! I can do it. give me the spell!" Mai bellowed. "It's the only way to get John!"
"By binding Her to you?" he growled. Mai looked at him. "I don't have time to argue. Give me the spell!"
"Lin." He looked at Madoka. He was surprised to see the odd look on her face. "Give her the spell. She can do it."
He sighed. "Yīdàn gūshēn yīrén, zài yīqǐ, wǒmen shì yī kē xīn. Shòudào mófǎ, guāngxiàn hé shèngrén de shùfù, tōngguò wǒmen de shídài gòngtóng shēnghuó. Bèi yán, ròu, huǒ suǒ shùfù, wǒmen kěyǐ fēnxiǎng yīyàng de yùwàng ma? Yóu zhòng shén gòngtóng huìjí, ràng wǒmen yǒngyuǎn bùyào jiūjié. Mìfēng zài yīqǐ, nǐ hé wǒ. Yīgè rén huózhe, lìng yīgè bùsǐ!"
Mai turned back to the ghost, a viciously victorious look on her face. "You're mine, bitch." She hissed. Then, she repeated the spell. Word for word, though, unlike Lin, she put her power- a considerable amount- into the spell. Like she had been taught, by both Takeshi and Lin, she added a personal touch to the words. She drew a pentagram around the ghost, conjured candles, and spoke, using Chinese. "Wǒ yǐ shuǐ, tǔ, huǒ, kōngqì hé yìzhì de míngyì wèn" As she spoke, the first part, each of the conjured candles lit with fire. As the first was lit, the rain from the thunderstorm grew heavier. The second candle brought forth greener grass, while the third lit, and the fire grew larger than usual. The fourth brought the scent of the wind, cool and fresh, and the fifth seemed to burn with Mai's power. She recited the spell that Lin had given her.
Cassandra started to scream and thrash, to no avail. Mai was using every ounce of power she had to finish this. Her way. The woman was all but a demon, now- much like Urado. That much was evident. She had stopped killing those who had wronged other woman, and had started on those with no crime against them.
When the spell was done, when the vengeful spirit was tied to the brunette, she glared. "You will bring me John. You will do it now." She snarled. Unable to disobey, Cassandra- in a different form- a badger- disappeared.
Yasuhara spoke first. "A badger…" he drawled. Mai looked over at him. "Revenge, and self-expression." She said. "Fits, doesn't it?"
"How do you even know that?" the man asked, incredulous. Mai shrugged. Don't know…" she muttered, as Cassandra returned. With John. Mai sighed with relief. He was alive. Hurt, and barely breathing, but alive. Finally, Mai thought, she was done for now. She swayed, but eyed Cassandra. "Begone for now…" she growled. The badger disappeared.
Mai nodded to herself, and turned to Lin. "Told you I could…."
She never finished the sentence, and crumpled to the ground. "Mai!" Yasuhara yelled, running to her. "Shit, she's lost a lot of blood!" he freaked out, ripping what was left of her shirt away. Lin and Madoka were at her side in seconds. Ayako shooed away the black-haired boy, and inspected the girl she'd once thought of as a daughter.
"You little idiot…" She hissed, as she used the tattered shirt to stop the bleeding. She turned to Monk "Get an ambulance, Monk, Now. She needs blood, and she needs it soon. So does John." She glared. "And someone, go find Masako!"
"Spoken for." The petite medium spoke. "I found my way down with Victoria Drake's help. She moved on shortly after." She looked at the yard. "It looks like a battle was waged here…" she murmured. Lin snorted.
"Something like that…" he grumbled, looking at Mai.
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Cambridge, England, around the same time
Anabelle looked up, suddenly, her eyes went wide, and she gasped. "Mai!" She yelped, running from the room. She frantically grabbed at a phone, the others followed behind her in confusion. "What's going on, Anabee?" Finn asked, worried.
"I don't know!" the young woman wailed. "That's what I'm going to find out. God, I could feel it from here! What is she thinking?"
"Feel what?" Adrien growled. She shot him a withering glare before dialing Madoka's number.
"Hello?"
"Madoka, it's Anabelle. What the hell did Mai just do?"
"So, you felt it, then?"
"Yes. That's why I'm calling. Where are you, what happened?"
"We're on our way to the hospital…."
"What?" This got Oliver's attention, and he snatched the phone out of Anabelle's hand. "Who was hurt?"
"John…." She said. "and Mai."
"What happened?" Eugene yelped. "What was the ghost after this time? Why'd Mai get hurt if this lady hates men?"
"… I can't explain it. You'll have to wait until we get back." Madoka said. "We've got the whole damn thing on camera, and I honestly cannot wait for you lot to see it." the woman was seething. "It's a sight to see…"
"…. She did something that was either stupid, dangerous, or really, really, impulsive…" Psyche muttered from behind Eugene. Everyone froze.
"All three. Definitely life threatening…." Madoka growled.
"Why is she going to the hospital?" Martin Davis had just entered the room. All business. Madoka snorted over the phone. "Blood loss. The ghost attacked her pretty bad, after she learned that Mai had tricked her, she went all out. Tried to yank Mai's heart out… slashed at her face when Lin pinned the bitch with his Shiki… and that was all before Mai decided to make a Shiki out of her."
"She did What?!" Eugene yelped.
"Turned the ghost into a familiar." Madoka growled. "So she exhausted herself psychically, as well. She needs to get stitched up."
"Why did she turn the ghost into a Shiki?" Martin asked, frowning.
"Because the ghost took John. We caught it on camera. The whole thing. I already checked. The ghost is visible. And Audible."
Martin's eyes widened, and a grin broke across his face. "Excellent!" he said. "That's going to make for an interesting show."
"Oh, you have no idea, Martin." Madoka said drolly.
"What hospital are you going to?" the professor asked.
"Royal United Hospital, a bit outside Bath." The researcher replied. She sighed. "she's got five lacerations in her chest, from where Cassandra- the ghost- tried to rip her heart out, and four nasty cuts in her face, from the harpy trying to rake out her eyes. It may scar over… not that Mai'll care. She fought like a warrior, professor. It was actually a bit scary."
Oliver frowned. That did not sound at all like Mai. She'd always been more… "If you say she's always been more Docile, you'd be right…if this were four years ago." Psyche told him. Catching onto his thoughts.
Madoka hung up, after saying they'd arrived at the hospital, and Oliver rounded on the brunette. Green met blue.
"I thought you didn't have telepathy." Oliver snarked. Psyche snorted. "Oh, please, your thoughts are written on your face. I don't have to read your mind. There was this once… I'd just gotten to Japan, we got attacked on our way to a café right around the corner from the campus, and she did a 180 from sweet college student to a Yankee bitch from hell."
Emiko and Izumi snickered at the American woman's description. Kuroda smirked as well, but turned to the young man. "She's changed." She reminded him. "Four years is a long time, Dr. Davis. She once told me that you said she had instincts much like that of an animal?" she cocked her head to the side, waiting for an answer. Oliver nodded. She smiled "She's gotten much more… feral is the word, I guess, in that time. We used to tease her about being like a momma wolf- territorial and protective as hell. If someone in her family is threatened, she will attack, and it is never pretty."
"Really?" Martin looked even more interested. "Has anything else changed? Besides her attitude and personality?"
The five young women looked at each other, before Anabelle answered slowly. "She said her eyesight's gotten better, as has her night vision."
"her sense of smell, too." Emiko added. Izumi put her two-sense into this as well. "her instincts go into overdrive, sometimes. She can tell when someone enters her… territory, I guess you call it, immediately. She doesn't like it when someone intrudes on her space."
"Her hearing." Psyche recalled. "She mentioned something about that, too. She can hear ranges that nobody else can. She picks up voices of ghosts that not even an EVP can pick up."
Oliver was gaping as the girls spoke. This was… ridiculous. There was no way that all of this could be true. "She noticed her eyesight was getting better when she found out that she had 20/10 vision… that was four years ago. She took another test before coming to Cambridge… and it was 20/5." Kuroda said it thoughtfully. "She's got the best vision of any human I've ever met."
"20/5 vision is almost impossible without surgery." Oliver said stiffly. Kuroda shrugged. "Test her yourself when she gets back." She returned. "I'm not here to argue. I'm telling your father what we know."
"Why didn't she tell me all of this herself?"
"You may not have asked, you know between your constant pokes at her intelligence and egging her on…" Izumi drawled, buffing her nails on her jacket. "Who can blame the girl?"
"Now, Miss. Masumoto," the professor drawled. "Let's not antagonize my son, hm?"
"Sorry, professor…" She did not sound sorry at all, Finn thought with a smirk.
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Two days later, Royal United Hospital, outside Bath, England
Mai had not woken up. Because she was related to her, the only one allowed to go in was Anabelle- though the rest of her adoptive family of sorts raged at that one. Anabelle came out finally, looking tired, but happier. She sunk into a seat beside Adrian- not caring that he'd tried to start yet another fight with her on the way to the hospital- and closed her eyes.
"How is she?" Finn asked from beside Tohru. He wasn't sure what to think about the almost silent girl, but she was rather gorgeous. Tohru's eyes were trained on Anabelle, who shrugged tiredly. "She used a lot of energy fighting and then sealing the crazy ghost lady to herself."
"I thought only onmiyoji could do that?" Anabelle frowned as she looked at Lin. He shrugged. "Not quite. Technically, anyone can bind a spirit to them, as long as they know the words and have the power to back it up."
Oliver got up. "I'm going in." he said simply. Completely disregarding the rules of the hospital, and walking into the room.
She lay there, unconscious. Her upper torso was bandaged up, and her left cheek was covered in gauze. Her eyes were closed, and her body, he knew, was covered in bruises from hitting the ground at high velocity, and then rolling. She was a mess, and he intended on chewing her out for this. He'd never been so worried.
He could admit that much. The girl fascinated him more than another living being ever had. The feeling had gotten stronger with age and with distance. He wanted to know everything. She wasn't leaving anything out this time. It was a matter of life or death.
"Wake up, Mai." He growled. "Everyone's out there worrying. Even John is awake and worried." Actually, he'd never seen the exorcist that angry at someone, either. When the young man had learned what Mai had done, he flew into a bit of a rage.
It had been even more terrifying than watching his mother get angry, or at least that was what Eugene said. Oliver hadn't believed it. Then again, it was always the quiet, even tempered ones that had the worst tempers. Or, so they said.
As if he'd spoken the magic words. He heard a soft moan from the bed. He turned, to see her eyelashes flutter, before opening. He frowned. Her eyes were… different.
Where they used to be warm, cinnamon brown, they were… lighter. A mix of gold, russet and brown. "Ow…" she muttered, as she closed her eyes again, and threw her (really heavy) arm over her face. "Too bright."
He walked over and shut the light off.
"Thanks, Naru…" she murmured. He sighed. "You shouldn't move around." He stated, walking over to her. He took her arm and laid it at her side again- thank god, she'd used the one that did not have needles imbedded in it. she snorted.
"Yeah. Like you follow that verdict so well when you end up in one of these places…" she grumbled. He smirked at that. "I am not the one that used a spell that was out of my league. I am also not the one that wasted my energy keeping a ghost at bay, or throwing fire."
Mai winced. "Oh, gods, I'm going to get it when I get out of here…" she looked at him, on blurry reddish-gold eye open and resting on him. "You're going to give it to me too, aren't you?"
"No. John is pissed though. As is your housekeeper and your… er butler…. Your cousin- who subsequently called your aunt- will too. As well as Madoka, Lin, and possibly everyone else." He smirked.
"You don't have to sound so smug, Naru." She grumbled.
"Too much energy to call me Dr. Davis, I see?"
"Shut up."
"That is no way to talk to your boss, Miss. Sullivan."
Mai snorted and made a face. "You aren't my boss, anymore, Naru." She pointed out. "Your dad is my boss. Thank you very much."
"Oh, I forgot him, as well. Though I don't think you need to be as worried…. Especially after he sees the footage that Madoka brought of the whole thing." At this, Mai did groan. "Oh, god, please tell me she only got the last part where I sealed the ghost?"
"No. she's showing all the footage, starting with the first time you… collapsed, was it?"
"Shit…."
"Language, Mai." he was actually enjoying this. The fact that her face- that had been horribly pallid when he came in the room- had flooded with color, much to his relief. "Shut it. I'm tired." She moaned.
"What happened that you don't want me to see?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She groaned again. "The horrible witch made me participate in a part of her personal life that I really didn't want to… and she did it the way it used to happen, which means you were there, too."
"I believe it was Gene." He said, frowning. His brother had been the one in her dreams when she'd first started having them. Mai snorted.
"No. It was you." She replied. "I can tell the difference between you and your brother. I've been able to pick out the differences, funnily enough, for myself. Even looking back into my old Astral Projections, I can pick you out from Eugene."
"How?"
"You don't smile. Your mannerisms are a bit more formal."
His frown deepened. "hm… interesting."
"Yeah…" she was nodding off. "'Mm sleepy…" She murmured, slurring the words. She yawned, a small fang (that had yet to shrink down after her fight with the nearly demonic entity) flashed as she did, and he blinked, fascinated.
He could not ask about it, however, as she had drifted off into sleep. That annoyed him. But he knew well enough that she'd woken up once, and- much like getting her to call him Naru again (which, he realized with a smirk, was all she'd called him upon her waking), the first time was the hardest.
He walked out of the room. Everyone stood up. "Well?" Ayako asked, sharply. Eugene was staring. He let a small smirk make its way on his face. "She woke up." He reported. "But only for a few seconds. She's out like a light, but she's coming out of it."
They all sat down, many breathing sighs of relief. "Oh, thank god…" Anabelle whispered, leaning against Adrian. "We were so worried…"
"She's okay?" they turned to see John, who had changed from the hospital gown to jeans and a t-shirt. He looked tired, but otherwise, he was okay. He'd just been discharged. Lin nodded. "She's okay, asleep again."
The blond nodded. "Good."
"She's got a Shiki… does that mean she's an onmiyoji now?" Emiko asked the tall Chinese man. He blinked and shook his head. "An onmiyoji is a practitioner of onmyōdō. She is a spiritualist, but not an Omniyoji." He replied.
"Are you all here for Miss. Sullivan?" a nurse asked. Professor Davis stood up. "yes, we are."
"She's going to be discharged the next time she wakes up." The nurse said promptly. She frowned. "Just… make sure she knows how to take care of those stitches, and she'll be allright."
"Will do, ma'am. Thank you." The professor said. He looked at the others in the hospital waiting room. "Finally, time to go home…" he murmured.
A chorus of agreements sounded.
…Well… that happened…. Not quite sure why… but it happened… anyway, read and review, and, as always, Thank you AOP
By the way, the spell that she said to bind the crazy bitch to her is translated as follows:
Once alone, born apart, Together, we are a single heart. Bound by magic, light, and Sage, Live together through our Age. Bound by salt, flesh, and Fire, may we share the same Desire. Brought together by the gods, let us never be at odds. Sealed together, you and I. While one lives, the other shan't die.
The beginning of the spell, where she used the conjured candles was just asking the elements of water, fire, earth, wind, and will for help. I changed it from English to Chinese because why the hell not?