Synemoyoa: Here's another update! A longer one to make up for the short one before this! :) I'm in a good mood right now. I just finished watching Step-Up 3, and I loved it! (I looooove MOOSE!) ...well, I hope you'll like this, too.
Naru covered his pale face with shaking hands. After they had discovered Mai's unconscious and battered body, he had been having second thoughts about continuing the investigation. This wasn't any ordinary spirit they were dealing with. No, it was something entirely different… something truly evil, warped, and much more powerful than usual.
For now, Mai was safe. Well, as safe as she could be. Bou-san was watching over her in a guest room. She still had not awaken. Naru needed to figure out what was doing this now or to admit defeat and retreat. His gut clenched as he remembered the sight of Mai's bloody forehead once again.
Ayako approached Naru, her mouth set in a grim line. "Naru, I'm going to tell you this straight up. I don't want to continue this case and I don't think the others should either. It's getting to be too much. Mai was almost killed! You saw that pentagram… it was sliced into her skin. Do you know how painful that had to be? I don't want something like that to happen to me… or to any of you guys. Who knows what might happen next? Whatever it is… I don't think the victim will survive next time."
Naru glared at her. Why was she complaining to him as if he didn't already know how dangerous this was… He knew from the start that this wouldn't be easy. Wiccan powers are so unpredictable… and from what Brown-san had told him, it seemed that a former leader had tampered with their natural course. If only he could find out how to put the course back on track, then things might return to normal. "I understand, Ayako-san, and you may leave whenever you want. I won't stop you. However, I want to try and push the case a little longer… just a little. We finally know this has something to do with the Wiccan Goddess and the flow of power. We just need to correct the power problem. I'm sure of it."
Ayako sighed. She didn't want to abandon them, but she didn't want to die either. Perhaps she could stay a little longer… "Naru… I've been meaning to tell you about this, but I wanted to wait and see if you were going to stay first. It's about the footage caught earlier. I took a look at it and I think you need to see it. There's something about it, but I can't put my finger on exactly what."
Naru raised a brow in question, sure that nothing caught on tape could save them now. However, he complied with her request and made his way to the video monitor. He rewound the tape and clicked play.
The fuzzy screen sparked to life with a crackle. Nothing of particular interest showed on the screen. It was a normal scene, just the front yard with a few trees and statues. Everything was silent, except for the wind and some chimes clinking in the background. Then, out of the blue, a high pitched mewling emitted from the audio. A slinky black cat emerged from behind one of the statues. But then, the cat itself wasn't something out of the ordinary, was it? That's what Naru thought, until he saw the cat's right flank. A symbol, much like the one's around the house, marked the cat's fur in a light bluish color. It was the mark of the Goddess' protection. The cat turned its gaze towards the camera, as if knowing it was being watched. Its ice blue eyes, filled with mysterious wisdom, seemed to be trying to speak to Naru through the screen. With tail twitching, it turned away from the camera and gracefully stalked towards one of the larger and older statues. It meowed loudly and rubbed against the statue, with the symbol on its body touching a smaller symbol carved into the marble. Suddenly, a blue glow emitted from the statue's symbol and the statue slid backwards to reveal a pitch black passageway disappearing into the earth. Apparently, something had been left out of the home's blueprints. Naru had no idea where that passageway might lead, but he did feel certain that it was the missing link to the puzzle.
"Ayako-san, tell the others, except for Bou-san, to get outside and start searching for a cat."
"Alright, everyone needs to search in pairs. Do notgo off alone. If something happens, make some sort of sound, loud enough for us to hear. I don't want anyone getting hurt again." Naru looked at his team. "We're looking for a black cat with a blue symbol on its right hind leg. If you find it, come back to the house and make sure to alert the others."
"Stop! Wait!" a voice called out from in the house just as they were about to leave. Aimi came running out of the house, looking haggard and weak. She stumbled forward and Lin caught her before she reached the floor. "I… I can help you find Midnight. I overheard you guys…" she said, gasping for breath. Her frail body shook as her eyes welled with tears. "I'll find her."
Lin knelt down next to her and took her face in his hands. "It's okay, don't strain yourself. We'll find her."
"No… I know I can help. I want to help. This… it's all my… my fault anyway," she said shamefully.
Naru looked at her with disbelief. "Your fault? How could it be your fault?"
"I read them, the books in the secret basement. I wasn't supposed to go down there until one of us, I mean my sisters, was chosen to inherit the line. But… when I saw it open one day, I was curious. The books of our past history are down there, but there was only so much that I could understand. After I read them, blood began to pour down from the ceiling… I never went back after that. That's when all the strange stuff began to happen. I think… I think she'salive, still living down there somewhere, the lady mentioned in the books…"
Brown-san cut in, "Do you mean your previous leader? But how could she still be alive? Hasn't it been decades since she was the leader?"
"Yes… but I can feel her. And I can feel our Goddess too. She speaks to me, but… it's strange. She's so scary… and the things she says…" Aimi shuddered. "She hates us, all of us. Well, except me, but I think that's because of my power. I… I tried to help Mai when she got hurt. I could feel all of it happening. The Goddess seemed to want me to know."
Naru thought about it a little while, and tried to piece all of the information together. "What if… the Goddess has been twisted by the stealing of power? Her follower pretty much tainted the line, and she was supposed to be her most loyal and true follower, since she inherited the Goddess' power."
Masako's brows pinched together with worry, "But, if we're dealing with a Goddess, this could get very bad. How are we to appease her? Is there really anything we can do?"
"If the previous leader is still alive… killing her should solve the problem," Ayako offered with a hushed tone. Her hands shook slightly in fear. "I don't think my powers can help with this one though, especially if she is beneath the earth. Aimi would have to help us. If she can sway the Goddess enough, and have her be the main focus, then maybe Brown-san can expel the leader's spirit. I don't think the leaders physical body is still here."
Masako nodded in agreement. "I feel two evil spirits, not one. There's no way that either have a physical body. It's most likely that the previous leader's spirit has been hanging on to the power, and thus corrupting the natural inheritance of power."
"Great, then at least we might know what we're dealing with." Naru let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Brown, get prepared for an exorcism. Aimi, if you can, lead the rest of us to Midnight."
They eventually found Midnight lounging in a tree. He stared lazily at them as they approached, then yawned and stretched out along the length of a branch.
"Midnight, come here. Here, Midnight!" Aimi called from below. Her voice sounded hoarse.
Midnight turned his icy gaze towards hers and let out a loud meow. With feline grace, he leapt from the tree and unto the ground below. With no hesitation, he ran to Aimi and jumped into her waiting arms. "Mrrow!" he yowled with pleasure as she scratched under his chin. "There you are, silly cat. I was looking all over for you." The cat purred with satisfaction, then meowed again. "I knew you'd heard me calling. Now, can you open the passageway for us? We need to get down there." Aimi said, as if conversing with the cat. Midnight looked up at her as if in understanding, and then rolled out of her arms and onto the ground. It then began back the way they'd came, running towards the house. They followed, and eventually arrived at the statue seen in the video. There, Brown-san was waiting for them, with cross, candle, and everything else he needed in tow.
The cat ignored Brown's inquiring look and gently rubbed against the statue. It slid back to reveal the hidden passage. "Oh, thank you Midnight!" Aimi cooed.
They descended down the eerie, dust covered steps into the darkness. Knowing not what awaited them.