This is the next to last chapter….this is the longest story that I've posted! I think most of you might be cheering for Gene in this chapter! I love that boy!!!
Chapter 10- Disappearance Pt. 2
By nature Gene was not a violent person. He did not hit people and he did not fantasize about hitting people. He didn't like to see people in pain and when he had been alive he had even worked at a refuge for battered women, of course he was in the back cooking so they couldn't see him but still. It made him feel good. Gene had never hit anybody in his fifteen years alive. So one would wonder why Gene Davis wanted to throttle his younger brother.
Gene himself couldn't explain it. He leaned back in the darkness and closed his eyes. Not that it made much difference. For him to sleep he didn't need to have his eyes closed. It came naturally. And it was getting closer and closer. He found himself appearing less and less in Mai's dreams.
Gene smiled at the thought of the girl. She made him feel alive again. He wondered at the irony of falling in love after he had been killed. He shuddered slightly as he remembered the feel of the car hitting him. He sighed as his thoughts, and anger, turned back towards his brother.
What was wrong with that boy?! Had he lost every brain cell that he had?! Noll was supposed to be the bright one! He was the one that had got the doctorate at fifteen and had given a speech at the same age!
'He's not a people person.' Gene reminded himself amusedly. He could remember every time that they had been a crowd that Noll would find a corner somewhere and pull a book out from nowhere and begin to read. Gene could never figure out where his brother kept the book. He had asked once and Noll had just stared at him like he was an idiot. Gene had resisted the urge to slap him upside the head. Now he was wishing he had done so when he had the chance.
Gene wished that he was alive so that he could strangle his brother. Noll had nothing to prove to him so why was he trying to do so?! And in the process couldn't he see how much he had hurt Mai? Gene wished more than anything that he could communicate with his brother at the precise moment and let the younger man know exactly what he thought of his treatment of Mai. But then his thoughts turned to Noll's powers and he frowned.
'Oh, no. If he cares for Mai, like I know he does, and she's….like me…oh, lord. He'll lose control of those damn powers.' Gene closed his eyes and focused on trying to find Mai but found a barrier blocking his way and his eyes snapped open. 'Madeline knows about me and how I communicate with Mai…' he thought before putting his hand over his face.
"Naru….someone….help me…." Gene's head snapped up at the sound of Mai's voice. He looked around in the dark expecting to see her and yet praying at the same time that he wouldn't. Because if he did see her in this abyss it would mean one thing. And that was one thing he didn't want. Because he knew what it would do to his brother, as much of an idiot as he was.
'Hurry up, Noll. If I can hear her here she's in serious danger. Hurry up.' Gene prayed silently as he waited in the dark as he continued to try and contact Mai to maybe figure out something that she could do to give Noll a hint to her location.
"We've searched everywhere." Madoka confirmed as she and Lin were the last ones to reenter the library. Naru had his head bent slightly and Takigawa, of all people, was the one with his hand on the younger man's shoulder in an attempt to calm the young man. Everyone in the room could see what Naru was thinking and no one had the courage to try and deny the fact that he was wrong.
"I believe there might be one place you haven't looked." said a voice and everyone looked at the doorway of the library in surprise. And there stood none other than Jonathon Lunar.
Gene knew something was wrong when he could see the floor he was sitting on. He looked around as walls appeared and even a ceiling. It wasn't the main hall that Gene was used to being in during one of Mai's dreams. And then he realized that this didn't have the same feel as Mai's dream. That's when he knew something was terribly wrong.
He watched as the outline of a body formed on the ground and he felt his breath catch when finally it revealed to be Mai. He went to her and saw that she looked as though she were asleep. There were dirt smudges on her face and her clothes looked torn as though from a struggle. Gene reached out and touched her forehead praying that she wouldn't respond to his touch. His prayer wasn't answered, her head turned towards the touch but her eyes remained closed.
"Mai?" he whispered and this time she moaned but that was the only response she gave and he sighed. 'She's getting closer to the edge. Hurry, Noll! Hurry!' Gene thought in a panic. The last thing he wanted was to have Mai join him in death.
"Uncle?" Kim asked as he led them down the steps of the conservatory. The werewolf didn't answer and instead went to a wall that the stones were a slightly different shade than the rest of the stones. Everyone watched as the man kicked the wall and it lowered down into the floor.
"This is where I hid when my father went into one of his moods. There are several doors, I'll stay here with Kim as it would undoubtedly be a bad idea for me to go. I might kill Madeline, again. If that's possible." Jonathon said and the rest of the team ran down the hall with Naru in the lead. They stopped as the passage split into the three different directions. Naru directed the couples down the two he didn't want to go down and then he turned to the one that seemed to be pulling him towards it.
He cast the beam of his flashlight back and forth as he waited for some sort of sign that would help him figure out where Mai was. His heart had stopped beating and he was beginning to question if he was even still alive. He could still remember how Gene would always laugh at him when he said that he thought the heart was nothing more than an organ to keep people alive.
'She's getting closer to the edge. Hurry, Noll! Hurry!' Naru's head snapped up. He would know that voice anywhere.
"Gene?" he whispered, wondering if he had finally gone crazy. It wasn't impossible. He had failed Mai and he knew that if she was dead that he would never be able to return to Japan. He wouldn't even be able to look at the damn country without thinking about he had failed yet another person that he lo-cared for. He shook his head as his subconscious tried to use the 'L' word. He did not love Mai!
'Hurry!' Gene's voice was urgent and Naru frowned as he picked up on the note of panic in his older brother's voice. That's when it hit him.
"Damn it!" he swore loudly. The only way that Mai would be with Gene would be if she was dead. "MAI!" he screamed. He never screamed but he supposed there was always something to learn about yourself. The silence that followed his outburst was unnerving, even for him.
He heard a small groan and he frowned before he went in the direction that the groan had come from. He found himself at a wooden door. He tried to open it and was unsurprised to find that it was locked. He stepped back and kicked the door in with all his might. He found himself in a round stone room with a dirt floor and lying on that dirt floor was Mai.
"Mai…" he went to her as quick as he could without running. He knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her forehead and he could feel his breathing accelerating when he realized she was barely breathing.
"Mai, wake up!" he reached out and shook her hard but she gave no response. Naru looked up as he heard laughter and he felt a growl form when Madeline appeared before him looking pleased with herself.
"Well, look here. The little boy is trying to save the little girl. To bad that you're late. She's already dying…probably already so close to dead that you can consider her gone. And before you ask how…I'm a witch. I don't have to use a weapon and if you know what's best for you…you'll let her go." Madeline said cheerfully.
"Naru?" Gene's eyes widened when Mai's eyes snapped open and he shook his head and he saw her look at him confused.
"No…I'm not him. Mai…my name is Gene. I don't have time to explain how I'm your dream guide right now. But you have to wake up, Mai." he told her and Mai blinked and he knew what was coming.
"Why?" she asked, she knew that normally she would have been demanding an explanation but the fear that she saw in Gene's eyes scared her. If he was telling the truth about being in her dreams then she had never seen him look so fearful. What was she missing that was scaring him so much?
"Because, if you stay here…you die, Mai. You have to go back. I love my brother and I don't want to see him get hurt again." he told her and Mai gave a small smile as her eyes began to slip close.
"You really are a good big brother…and nicer." she whispered softly as her eyes closed but before she lost consciousness she felt lips on her forehead.
"I love you, Mai." was the whisper in her ear.
Naru was losing control. He could feel it. But he had long since stopped caring about the control. He'd failed Mai and now he was losing the tight control that he had over his powers. He could feel the lose stones vibrating around him and underneath him as he held Mai against his chest and he glared at Madeline who seemed to be enjoying herself.
"More powerful than I thought. This must be easier than I thought." the witch cackled and neither noticed how Mai's eyes fluttered open.
'Ow…' Mai thought as her head was pounding. She closed her eyes before opening them again as she heard a loud thud. What she saw made her eyes widen. Stones from the walls around them were flying everywhere! She looked up at Naru's face and what she saw scared her. His eyes were blank and he blinked once in a while and then she realized what was happening. She had to stop him before he killed himself!
"Naru, stop it! Stop!" she whispered but it didn't catch his attention. Mai tried to say it louder but her voice wouldn't work. She felt tears in her eyes as she heard more stones hitting the walls around them. She reached up and touched his cheek and he looked down surprised at the touch.
"Stop." she whispered. He blinked his eyes before shaking his head as dizziness swept over him. She managed to sit up on her knees when Naru finally released her. She put both her hands on his face. 'Come on, Naru. You can regain control. I know you can, please.' she prayed fervently. Finally Naru's eyes closed and he pitched forward and Mai 'eeped' when he landed on her chest.
"And here I thought you were dead." Madeline said angrily and Mai wrapped her arms around Naru as Madeline appeared in front of her.
"I know the secret Madeline. You know if I say it out loud you have to disappear and you also know that you have no choice. Where's Rena?" Mai asked, she wasn't exactly sure where she was getting her bravery, she just knew that she had to stop Madeline before it got anymore out of control.
"She's hunting me. I don't know where she is." the woman growled and Mai closed her eyes for a moment before she gave a small smile.
"The curse will break once you're gone. I know what your family did. The secret that you've held so long in your hearts is the fact that you betrayed the Emperor of China. You helped Japan invade by giving them money and weaponry. I wasn't sure but after doing research on the family I finally put two and two together, Madeline. You may be a witch but even witches can't change the past. You lost…now leave!" Mai whispered and Madeline blinked before a wind began to blow.
Mai held on tightly to the unconscious Naru before burying her head against his shoulder as Madeline's screams echoed through the air as she began to disappear. Mai felt tears in her eyes as she clung even tighter to the man.
"Bitch! I was so close to stopping that secret from coming out!! DAMN YOU!!!" Madeline screamed. Once the wind stopped Mai raised her head and saw the woman was gone and she sighed in relief. It was finally over.
The sound of an engine caught his attention. He opened his eyes and found himself standing on a runway near a plane. He frowned as he saw Mai boarding the plane. He tried to call out to her but it was no use. The plane turned towards the right runway and began to take off.
"Noll." Naru whirled around and felt his eyes widen. It was as though he were looking in a mirror. For the first time in a long time Naru smiled.
"Gene." he replied and the older boy sighed before going over and putting his hand on Naru's head like he always had before bonking the younger man on the head.
"That's for being an idiot. Now wake up and go after her before I decide it's time that you join me here and I kill you." Gene said affectionately.
Naru's eyes fluttered open and he was unsurprised to see that he was back in the hospital. What he didn't expect was his mother hovering over him. He saw her eyes light up before she turned around and spoke to his father who he realized was sitting beside him.
"He's up! Give him the surprise!" Naru pushed himself up before a key ring and plane ticket fell in his lap. He looked up at his father before the man smiled at him.
"That's a ticket to Japan and keys to a house we bought for you. So that you can stay there. But on one condition." the man didn't get to finish.
"You have to find Mai and apologize." his mother said and Naru smiled as he finger the keys causing his mother and father to blink in surprise. They hadn't seen that smile since Gene had been killed.
"I think I can manage that." he told them, he already had a plan. The only thing left was to hope Mai didn't kill him when she saw him.
In the next chapter you'll find out what happened to everyone including Kim's family and wonder how the man that never apologizes does so to Mai? You'll have to wait I'm afraid! Oh...and as always...REVIEW!
