Elsewhere, Drake was laughing at the guaranteed confusion of the Chief. He knew about the fact that the beast had gotten into Japan, the only question was how. He knew the magick that spirits were composed of in Japan, and the magick that composed the Wendigo were completely incompatible. If a Wendigo spirit were introduced into Japan, it would be corrupted by the native magick's and turned into something different. No matter how many times he looked at the situation, it came up totally impossible. The only way that anything could've created a Wendigo in Japan, was if the magick itself had been corrupted; if that had happened, then the whole ecosystem of Japan could fall apart, and the island could be lifeless in the span of ten years.

Drake decided to call up an old friend of his that had experience with the traversing of one magick from its environment to another, alien, environment. When he finally answered, he told Drake that he knew why he was calling, and the books he needed would be waiting at his hotel room. Drake began to ask him what was up, but he hung up before he had a chance. Laughing, he knew that he would be in for an interesting read.

When he got to his apartment he prepared the things that he needed, he found that there were several packages waiting for him. One was from his brother in the Marines, the other three were from his mom, back in Dublin. For smaller packages, Drake was surprised at how heavy they were, but knowing his mother, she knew where he was heading and had packed a "care package". If she did, it meant that she knew what he was hunting, too...Drake grimaced, thinking of he loading the packages with all that stuff, with her bad shoulder...Sighing, Drake began to open the packages, expecting little and being nicely surprised.

He had been expecting winter clothes and non-perishable foods, but there was a major difference in all of it; most of it was from home. His mother usually bought stuff off the internet that would help him blend with the crowds where he was heading, but all the clothes were Irish goods. Wool jackets, hand knitted sweaters, and more home made deer jerky than he'd seen since his last trip home. The note on top fell to his feet as he was looking at stuff, and he picked it up to read it.

"Dear Son,

I know that you're headed to that awful Japan, so I packed some things that you might need while you're out in the forests. The paper that is under the next sweater you get will give you the package that is waiting for you in customs. Don't even THINK of calling me and complaining, the magick will help you out. The books will also make things a bit easier.

Be careful and remember, even if you are surrounded in shadow, that just makes the light of your power that much brighter.

Love,

Mom"

Drake shook his head, finding it funny that everyone but him knew where he was staying when his plane landed. He figured that the Chief had arranged things, and everyone else knew that the packages would be sent to where his name was registered. He figured that, or they all KNEW, and just didn't realize it, which felt like the real reason to him.

The only thing in any of the packages that didn't make any sense to him, was a camera. He shrugged it off, though, because the alarm on his watch started to go off, telling him that he only had thirty minutes to get his ass to the airport. "Shit...Time to book!" he thought. Throwing his suitcases in his Jeep, along with the one that he put all the packages in, he got on his way to a new adventure.

At the airport, he found himself under the impression that it was still under construction, but he knew that it was impossible; he flew out of there all the time. His vision flashed, and he saw the airport as he should, and then, like a double exposure he could see the under construction version. Knowing that there was something he was supposed to find, he began paying close attention to the vision, blocking out the built terminal completely. He wandered back to where his plane was waiting, both because he needed to be there, and because that is where the pull of the vision was strongest.

When he got to his terminal, he could see a slight glow coming from under the tile by where the fire exit would've been. He shook the vision long enough to ask an employee if anyone had lost something important during the construction of the terminal.

"I don't really know, sir, but if you ask Jane, she might know. She was one of the original stewardess' when this building was built."

Drake thanked the woman, and approached Jane. "Miss? I need to ask you something."

The older woman looked at him with a smile. "Yes, what can I tell you?"

"Well, I saw that someone lost something important to them during the construction of this building. Would you happen to know who, and what it was?"

The old woman looked at Drake with confusion for a moment, and then realization hit her features.

"Oh, my! I lost my wedding ring during that time! But...how did you know?"

Drake looked at her and smiled. "Let's just say that it is a talent I've always had. Who would I talk to so I could have part of the floor pulled up?"

The woman looked at Drake in astonishment. "You mean, you know where it is! I'll go get the manager!" The woman headed for a phone just as a man about her age stopped her. After some rushed whispering, Drake was sent two men, a wedge, a hammer, a bucket of water, and a warning. He was told if the ring wasn't there, he would be held responsible for destruction of property, and be reported to the police.

With a grin on his face, Drake began to pull up a two foot section of the floor. After about three minutes, he reached into the crawlspace he had opened up. With a grimace, and the sound of squelching mud, he brought up his hand. Dropping the muddy contents into the bucket, he began to vigorously wash something off. With a flourish, he brought his closed hand out of the bucket, and motioned for Jane's hand. With a wolfish grin, he dropped her long lost ring into her hand.

Tears immediately began to flow from both Jane's eyes, and the eyes of the manager that she brought with her.

Drake made the connection instantly; they were married, and that was the ring he gave her. He then saw that she wore no band on her finger, and Drake was compelled to ask.

Smiling the woman knelt in front of Drake, and kissed him, to emotional to talk. Her husband, told him the story. He had been one of the men on the construction team that built the building, and Jane had visited him often on the site. One day, after months of saving, Randy was able to get a ring, so he could properly propose. Which he was able to do the next day, much to Jane's shock, and the encouraging hoots and hollers of his fellow workers.

However, Randy had partially overestimated the rings size, and it was slightly loose on Jane's finger. She loved it though, and wasn't going to say anything to Randy for fear of hurting his feelings. It was a mistake on Jane's part, though, because she didn't realize just how loose it was. Later on in the week she went to go see Randy, and walking over to where he was, she felt the ring slip. She began to look for it, but it fell in a patch of thin mud, and sank. She refused to get a new ring, because Randy had saved for months to get that one, and it was the only one she wanted. Even for just the wedding, she refused to have a temporary ring for the ceremony.

The couple thanked Drake endlessly, and pulled some strings and had him bumped to first class, as thanks. Knowing the expense of the gift he had been given, Drake told the couple to call him if they ever needed any help of any kind. Giving them one of his cards, he smiled, thanked them again, and went to catch his plane.

After he left, the couple looked at his card. It was bare of graphics, but it didn't need any, his name was world renowned, it read simply, "Drake Masters, Psychic, Spirit Hunter" and his numbers. The old man turned sharply to look at the terminal he had disappeared into, ans said his name to feel if it was right. A feeling of doubtless confidence hit him; he knew that a world famous man, had just done a simple job, for which the old man could never really show his full thanks for. He thought, however, that his gratitude was enough for the young man; the upgrade was luck, or a lucky break. The man looked at his wife, smiled, and the two went to the lounge for coffee.

Upon entering the plane, Drake knew that he was out of his element. He was used to riding coach, since he had been doing it for so long on is travels. He wasn't used to the extra leg room, or the better meal; on his lay over at Soekarno- Hatta International Airport in Indonesia he was re-downgrading, it was much too luxurious for his tastes. He supposed though, that maybe he shouldn't, because if the old man somehow found out, he would be crushed by Drake rescinding his offer at the next stop. He decided that maybe the attention might do him a little good, because first class did have first class Scotch, after all...

At his layover, Drake went to the gifts shop so he could send his mother something small. Her tastes were still for those tacky ceramic figurines, so he commenced his search for one or two. Just as they began calling his flight, he found some in one of the shops. They seemed...out of place, though. The little man looked as though he had seen a horrid tragedy, and was then frozen with the look if pure fear still on his face; the woman, however, sent shivers down Drakes spine. She reminded him of one of the three crones of Roman Mythology; one of the fates. That wasn't what got him though, it was the...the look she had about her. Her black eyes seemed to pierce into him, and her smile was hate filled, but not stupid. Her hair, though carefully molded, seemed ragged, and horribly ratty. Her whole appearance seemed...dark, hateful, wrong. Drake suddenly had the same feeling that he did on a trip to Haiti; like there was a deep wellspring of darkness nearby. He all but ran from the store.

Back on the plane, Drake suddenly felt tired, as if he had walked for miles. As he asked a steward for a pillow, he also inquired about the little gift shop across from the café on the end. Looking at him oddly, the steward went and grabbed him a pillow. On his return, he told Drake exactly what he was hoping not to hear: The little shop hadn't been in operation since the owner had been executed for Voodoo. Drake saw that this trip was going to be the one that put him in either a booby hatch, or a grave. He hoped for neither, but didn't set his sights at coming out unscathed, either. Drake decided that he should get the sleep that he could so he would be ready to go after he landed at Haneda International at Tokyo. He knew that customs would take an hour or so, and then he'd have to wait for his luggage, and then find his contact. Though the first two wouldn't be that bad, he knew that the third could be awful. Most of the time, he would meet his client directly, but the way this all was sounding, he was going to meet the Chief of Tokyo Police. He didn't think that they would find him a security risk, but it was possible that out of those killed, one or more of them could've easily been researchers. With a mental shrug, Drake turned over on his side, and went to sleep.

"Falling...why do I feel like I'm falling? Is this a dream, or a vision?" Drake wondered this to himself, but could feel the words, like they were a pliable substance in the air. He only had this sensation in his dreams, so he thought that he would wake himself up. He couldn't. "Great...the dream and the vision are tied together. I wonder who wants to talk to me." He got his answer almost before he could finish the thought. Fading in out of the darkness was a gigantic shape; like a life-size monster, the Wendigo was standing not twenty feet in front of Drake.

"So then...It seems that we meet, hunter..."

Drake knew the moment the beast began speaking that it was in another language. His mind heard it all in English, simply because that was what the beast wanted. The meant that the creature had something of importance to say to him. What it was, Drake couldn't guess, but knew that he would be finding out soon enough.

"I come to you now, in peace, because I know that this is the only chance. I may be a being made of 'evil', but know this, hunter, even a creature such as I can be controlled."

Drake woke with a start, drenched in sweat, with a stewardess gently rubbing his shoulder to rouse him. He looked at her and smiled, she looked confused for a moment, but then she knew, not how she knew, but she knew nonetheless that the man under her hand knew why she was there. She then returned his smile, and walked away, obviously shaken.

Drake sat up, fixed his chair, and prepared for the landing. The way he felt at that exact moment, was as if he had just had a conversation with an old friend, not a demon that walked the plains of the land, and those of the mind. The idea of it being controlled, however, didn't strike Drake as unplausible. In fact, it felt like the only thing that was making sense enough to say that, that was why the beast hadn't been corrupted by the native magick of Japan. The power that would be needed to do it, though, was beyond Drakes grasp, because the power needed to control even a lesser demon was beyond the grasp of any living man. Well, he amended his thoughts, beyond any living man he knew of, anyway.

As his plane landed, Drake saw that he was expected. There were banners all along the strip that announced welcome to him, both in English and Japanese. He laughed, because this also meant that there were throngs of media groups waiting to get an official statement regarding his business in Japan. With another laugh, he got the mental image of hundreds of amateur Paranormalists that would want either his secrets, or his autograph.

He supposed that this was what it was like to be a celebrity, but knew that this much attention could lead to big problems. There would be so much confined chakra to make his senses reel, and if there was enough people, it could render him unconscious. From there, he couldn't be responsible if his mind lashed out to defend him. He decided right then that he wasn't going to be leaving by way of the terminal; he would use one of the crew exits that lead right to the parking lot, and would call the Chief from his waiting rental. He thought, though, that such a tactic may be expected, so it might be better yet to just hide his general appearance and go right to the streets, and grab a cab. Digging in his luggage, Drake found his hat and his cloak. The hat was more or less a beanie, but it looked like Link's hat from OoT, and the cloak was much like those seen im paintings of Druids, with the deep hood, and long flowing cape. It was more of a joke between him and his brother, since the day Drake had played Merlin in the Renaissance Fair when he was 18. The cloak just kinda stick as an appearance thing, so he kept it for just such an occasion. He put on the hat, and then the cloak, leaving the hood down, and looked outside to see how lighted the area was. The major lights had been shut down, since the airport proper had shut down for the night, but the walkways, halls and the such were still bright. Taking his bag to the bathroom, he used a but of stage makeup to cover his scars temporarily, so he would seem less himself. When the time came, he spoke with the pilot, who realized what Drake was asking, and took him along with him. So far, Drake's plan was working.