Being In Love Is Never Easy
By: Sailorjj07
13. A Cure
A/n: Hi everyone! Come on, don't tell me you DON'T know what this chappy is about, lol. I totally had to go back and re-edit the last chapter, because I forgot about the fact that Natalie and Tory had not only gone on a date before, but they had kissed before too! So, I kinda had to go through and make sure I made proper references and such in Chapter 12. They're just small edits, though, nothing really big. I just have bad memory, lol. THANKS FOR REVIEWING!
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
"Is this the right place?" Natalie was staring up at the huge building in shock. Why did it look so different from the last time she had been here? The most shocking thing was the huge word sculpture out in front. Natalie knew that hadn't been there before.
"Nate, don't you remember coming here to see Lan's Dad last time?" Tory turned to watch Natalie's reaction to the building. He nearly felt the same because it really had changed, but she had to remember coming here before.
"Well yeah, but...it looks so different." She commented, walking up the new stair-walkway. Tory followed suit, then turned at the last minute toward the ramp. He was not pushing a stroller up all of those stairs. No sir.
"You're right. I wonder when they did all this?" Nadalia asked from her place inside Natalie's PET. She could see the entire new layout and was slightly surprised. The SciLab made this much money? Goodness.
"Dad says they've been working on this for about a month. It's been done for about two days now!"
Natalie stopped mid-step and turned to find Lan and Maylu walking behind them. Maylu was on the ramp with Tory, pushing her baby's stroller.
"Lan? Maylu? What're you guys doing here?" Natalie questioned, smiling at them both.
"Running errands for Mom. Dad forgot his lunch so we're bringing it up to him." Lan said, catching up to Natalie. He began to walk in step with her, with a wide smile.
"Hehe. That makes sense."
"I take it you two are here to see Dad?"
"Yes...We're trying to solve my problem." Here, Natalie trailed off a bit and looked away from Lan's smiling face. She knew she hadn't told them about her current problem and she was in for a firm chewing out as soon as they found out what was going on.
"You're problem? Natalie, what's wrong?" Maylu called, from her spot behind Tory and Anastasia. Natalie looked up at Tory, to see if he would answer for her, but his silence said everything.
"Can I tell you once we get inside? I'm afraid I'll be out of breath after all these stairs!" Natalie smiled sheepishly and both Lan and Maylu nodded; it was understandable.
"Aren't you two surprised to see Tory and Iceman?" Nadalia made sure her sound was turned all the way up so that everyone could hear her, and her question was answered with laughs from Lan, Maylu, Megaman, and Roll.
"We already knew he was coming! He told us before he left and when he got here. Surprise!" Roll cried, giggling happily. It had been so hard keeping it a secret too!
"Roll's right. We've known for a while now." Megaman added, chuckling some himself.
"Well, wow...I don't know if I should be mad or happy! You guys kept it a secret from me this whole time?"
"We didn't want you to worry about us at all. We were afraid that if you knew Tory was coming, you wouldn't get better the right way." Maylu told Natalie softly. Maylu's face looked sad, but her eyes were bright and hopeful.
"Get better the right way? What do you mean, Maylu?"
"We were worried you would try to cover up what was wrong so that Tory wouldn't worry about you...Like you had done with the rest of us..."
"Oh Maylu..." Natalie waited until Tory walked past her with Anastasia's stroller before she hugged her friend. Maylu was trying so hard to help without smothering her, she knew. "Thank you so much for being my friend. I love you guys!"
"As long as you love Lan the same way you love me, hehe. I love you too, Nate. Now let's go talk to Dad and see what's going on in that pretty head of yours!" Maylu said, hugging Natalie back tightly. Then she let her go, following Lan and Tory to the elevators.
In Mr. Hikari's Office
"So what brings you all here today?" Lan's Dad was sitting at his desk, looking at his computer screen for a moment before he turned and faced the group of teens in front of him.
"Dad you forgot your lunch. Again." Lan said, smirking at his father as he handed him a three-tier bento box.
"Oh, did I? Hahaha, was your mother angry?" Dr. Hikari asked, taking the box from his son with a smile. He placed it on his desk and faced the group once again.
"Nah, not really. She just told me to bring it to you and remind you that dinner is at 7."
"Of course! I'll be home a little before 7, then. Is there anything else I can help you guys with today?"
This time Tory spoke up, "Well, Mr. Hikari, we were wondering if you could...take a look at Natalie."
Dr. Hikari's eyes landed on Natalie and he lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, "Is something wrong, young lady? There aren't any complications with those old injuries, are there?"
Natalie opened her mouth to speak, but the embarrassed blush running across her face said it all. Natalie felt like her throat was closing up and knew she wouldn't be able to talk in length with Lan's Dad...It was just too much.
So Tory spoke for her, "No sir. She's just been having visions lately...Or rather, nightmares. She keeps seeing Dex."
"The young man who shot himself in the head about a year ago?"
Lan winced visibly and nodded at his father, "Yeah Dad, him. He and Natalie used to be really close and they used to work together too."
"Oh? So what has he been saying to you Natalie?"
Natalie swallowed and forced herself to talk. If not, she wouldn't get better. "He told me that I had a chip in my brain that would allow me to see him even after his death. He said that he was really alive and that if he wanted to, he could control me using the chip."
"He said he put a chip in your brain? Are you aware that's against the law?" Dr. Hikari's face grew gravely serious. Where had this girl worked?
"Well, sir, I did work for World Three?"
Dr. Hikari blinked in surprise, "World Three? Oh my. Well, no wonder he threatened you with things like that." Turning around in his chair, Dr. Hikari shook his mouse and clicked on a few icons on his computer screen. He typed in some things and then nodded, before putting the computer to sleep.
"Well have to do a scan to see if there are any foreign objects in there. Do you remember any procedure like that occurring? Do you have frequent headaches or anything of that sort?" Dr. Hikari began walking and the group of four followed him down a pure white tiled hallway. Lan waved at various people in their offices, as did Maylu, but Tory and Natalie walked straight forward, keeping their eyes ahead of them.
Finally they reached a room, with a huge machine and a dark room in front of it. Dr. Hikari ushered Lan and Maylu into the room, making sure that both babies were in the dark room with them. Tory went into the room with the machine with Natalie and Dr. Hikari.
"Ok, Natalie, I need you to lay down on this table right here. You'll have to put both of these on too, before you can go in there." Dr. Hikari handed Natalie a hospital gown and a pair of dark colored goggles. With everyone's back turned, Natalie changed into the gown and put the goggles on, before she lay down on the table.
"You guys can turn-n around now." Natalie told everyone loudly, and they all uncovered their eyes and did so. Tory watched Natalie's hands on the table and could see her visibly shaking. She was scared and nervous.
"Natalie...don't worry." Tory told her, walking to the table. He took hold of Natalie's hand and leaned down by her ear, smiling warmly as he whispered to her, "When this is over, I'll take you out on a date with me, ok?"
Natalie face flushed bright red and she looked up at Tory in surprise, "A-A date? Really?"
"Yep. So be strong, honey. You can do this." Tory pressed a soft, quick kiss into her cheek before he straightened up and followed Dr. Hikari into the dark room with the others.
"Natalie, lie very still, alright? This shouldn't hurt, but if it does, press the red button that'll be directly above your head."
"OK!" Natalie called out, as the table slowly, slid back inside the huge machine. It made a whirling sound as it came to life and soon, big circles were overlapping each other and scanning Natalie from head to food. She lay perfectly still and closed her eyes; even with the goggles, the light was bright.
Ten minutes passed before the machine was done and soon Natalie was sliding back out into the room, wanting to get off the table.
"Natalie, we're going back to my office. Get dressed and we'll talk about these results." Dr. Hikari was looking down at a long sheet of paper and barely paying attention to Natalie's response. He was out of the door in an instant with Maylu and Lan following, both pushing a stroller. Tory stayed in the dark room, waiting for Natalie.
"Tory, turn around!" Natalie cried, already starting to unbutton the back of the dress.
"Ok, ok!" Tory turned his back to the dark windows and covered his eyes, so he wouldn't be tempted to peek. Not that he was that kind of guy, but it was Natalie after all...
"'I'm done! Let's go!" Natalie cried, walking into the dark room and grabbing Tory's hand. They both took off at a run down the hallway.
In Dr. Hikari's Office (Again)
"Natalie, the only thing I'm finding are traces of some sort of gas." Dr. Hikari stared at the results and wrote a few things in pen on the paper, before he looked back up at Natalie.
"Gas? What kind of gas?"
"Well, that, I'm not totally sure of. I'm wondering if this gas is giving you some kind of hallucinations. That could be the only thing I can think of."
"There's gas like that, Dad?" Lan asked, slightly curious about it too. He had never heard of that before.
"Yes. There's been some testing of it too, here at the SciLab. We call it Nightmare Gas. It makes people see what they are the most afraid of." Dr. Hikari ran his fingers through his hair as he read over the results one last time, before he dropped the paper down on his desk.
"You guys are testing it on people?" Maylu questioned, nearly horrified. They can't be testing it on people!
"Oh no. We only do human testing unless they volunteer themselves. And they're paid for every test as well as possible side effects. It's a pretty nice paycheck, but sometimes the cost is too much. No one's ever died from our testing though."
"So have there been any human test subjects for this Nightmare Gas?"
"Hmmm, now that, I'm not too sure of. I don't believe so, but I don't exactly work in that department." Dr. Hikari reached for a little notepad that his name and title at the top. He pulled one off and wrote on it quickly, handing it to Natalie. "On the third floor, three doors to the right, directly off the elevator is Dr. Rose's office. She is probably the most knowledgeable person on this subject."
Natalie took the note with a nod and with a small wave; the group of four took off to Dr. Rose's office.
In Dr. Rose's Office
"Oh my, it's Lan Hikari! You're such a cutie-pie! Every time I see you, I just want to eat you up!"
Dr. Rose was a rather plump woman, but she was incredibly sweet. The three watched as she practically smothered Lan in her breasts, while he gasped and sputtered for breath.
"And is that little Maylu? I haven't seen you in nearly a year! How you've grown!"
Natalie and Tory had to cover their mouths to hold in their laughter as Maylu replaced Lan between the woman's breasts. Finally, she let the pink haired girl go.
"What can I do for you lovely teens today?" Dr. Rose's office was had flowers everywhere and big, plump couches that the group sat on, facing her desk.
"We came to see if you could tell us about the Nightmare Gas." Natalie told her seriously, handing Dr. Rose the note from Dr. Hikari.
"O-Oh my! You have been exposed to it, darling?! Oh, how horrible!" Dr. Rose was near hysterics as she read the note from Lan's dad. As soon as she read the note, she reached out and grabbed Natalie's hand.
"You, child, will need to be treated right away. Come with me, now. You others stay right here!"
Tory stood up, "Can I at least stand outside the room?!"
Dr. Rose stopped in mid-step, turning to look at Tory's face. He looked really worried and she knew without a doubt that he and the girl she was dragging along were involved with one another. It was written all over their faces.
"Yes, yes, child, but hurry along! We have to get this out of her body, right away!"
Twenty Minutes Later
"Continue to take slow deep breaths into the mask, Natalie, darling. We're almost finished!" Dr. Rose had a huge smile on her face as she said this, while she wrote more on the clipboard in front of her.
"Where's Tory?" Natalie asked, between breaths.
"He's been outside the door this entire time, darling. He won't leave your side!" Dr. Rose winked and stood up, finally removing the mask from Natalie's face. Natalie sat up slowly, immediately feeling different. The room seemed brighter, somehow and she was hopeful.
"How are you feeling, sweetie?"
"Better. Much better."
Dr. Rose clapped her hands, grinning happily, "Well that is always good news. Now, let's go back to my office so I can explain this to you in detail. I'm sure your young man's legs could use the break too."
In Dr. Rose's Office
"The Nightmare Gas is a weapon of biological warfare. Some Corp. created it about two years ago, for the military. But it was declared unethical so the cooperation and the gas was supposed to be burned to the ground and disposed off." Dr. Rose took a sip of her tea, before she continued, giving the teens an encouraging smile to drink their tea as well.
"From what I've heard and this might not be completely true...The last dose was given to an underground group called the World Three. But their location had been discovered after that one young man had killed himself, so all of it was destroyed as well..."
"World Three had some there?" Lan asked, sipping his tea, but still watching Dr. Rose.
"Yes, that's why I'm so curious as to how this young lady was exposed. And if she was exposed at that time why was it only making itself known now? The only thing I can think of is a recent exposure."
"How recent?" Tory questioned, placing his tea down on the coffee table. He wanted to focus on the problem at hand.
"For the effects to be showing up just now, the longest length of time I've ever witnessed was two months. Any longer than that and it would've been out of your system already or passed on to someone else. And since none of you are having hallucinations, then I know it hasn't spread."
'The church!' Was the first thought in Tory's mind as she named the amount of time it took?
"So do I need to do anything else now that I'm clean of it?" Natalie hadn't touched her tea - she was entirely too worried.
"Nope! We gave you the vaccine, so you're cured! No more problems! The world should already appear brighter to you than it was yesterday!" Dr. Rose said to Natalie, gleefully. Natalie nodded then downed her entire cup of tea in one swallow. Dr. Rose clapped in her amusement, very glad to be of help.
"Now I have much work to do! With that blood sample you gave me, I can perform lots of tests! That's your payment for my services too! Off with you!" Dr. Rose cheerfully shooed the group away, turning to the paperwork on her desk. Each teen said a tanks and a goodbye, before they all left to pack themselves into the elevator.
An Hour Later
"Ah! I'm so full!" Natalie patted her stomach as Mr. Match handed the group their bill. Maddy sat at the booth behind them, counting out her tips for the day.
"Me too!" Lan agreed, happily.
"Gosh, Natalie, you totally have a boy's stomach. I thought you and Lan were competing!" Maylu exclaimed, earning a nod from Tory.
"I guess I just haven't been eating as much as I should...That whole seeing Dex thing murdered my appetite. And all the food just looked so good, I couldn't stop myself!" Natalie was telling the truth. She had been starving as Match but the large bowl of curry in front of her. But that wasn't enough, she had order another large bow, and a small bowl of noodles. Then she had some ice cream to top it all off.
'Food is great...Why doesn't it feel like I've eaten in weeks? Goodness.'
"You're probably just relieved." Tory said softly to Natalie. She nodded and took a spoonful of his curry, winking at him as she put the spoon in her mouth. Tory blushed and then began laughing as Natalie started to fan her mouth.
"AHH! IT'S SO HOT!! WHOOAA!!" Natalie gulped down her iced tea as quickly as she could, hoping to calm her mouth down. By the time she reached the bottom of the cup, her whole face was flushed red.
"HAHAHAHAA!! Natalie, you know Tory eats spicy stuff!" Nadalia cried from her PET, rolling on the floor in laughter at her OP.
"I didn't know it was THAT hot!"
"That was the Atomic spice curry," Mr. Match said, trying not to laugh himself.
"A-Atomic spice? Tory, how can you take that?!"
Tory shrugged and ate another spoonful with a smile, "It just isn't hot to me."
"Ice runs in his veins. That's why Iceman is his navi." Lan whispered across the table to Natalie. She nodded as if she agreed, then giggled sheepishly as Tory gave her a somewhat stern look.
"Tory, we have to go home in a little while if we want to stay on schedule." Iceman said, seriously from his PET. Tory nodded and finished off his curry, then looked at the bill from Match and handed him the money.
"W-Whoa, Tory, this is almost ten zenny over, are you sure you want to-?" Mr. Match said, but he didn't get an answer; Tory and Natalie were already out the door.
Nothing was going to mess up his date with Natalie today. Not even time itself.
End Chapter 13