Oh dear, look how long I've been gone. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be gone this long, but writer's block is killer. That's no excuse and y'all have the right to cuss me out if you like. I'll take it with dignity (shriveled as it is).
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt!
Chapter 17: Apologies
Gene and Mai were just pulling their shirts down past their wet hair when Yasu banged through the door. He was breathing hard, despite the short distance it actually taken to run to the bathroom from the Base. He leaned forward, holding himself up with the doorjamb, John protesting from behind his bible. Glancing up, he looked between the pair. "We've got a huge problem."
Rubbing his fingers quickly through his already brushed hair, Gene pulled his hair back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. "What do you mean? What happened this time?" he asked. He turned to Mai, quickly running his fingers through her hair.
"Gene, I just brushed my hair. What are you doing?" Mai complained, swatting at his fingers.
"Just being a mother duckling," Gene replied, hugging her to his side.
Yasu sighed loudly, dropping his head further. "Gene, this is really important. Can you stop screwing around for just a moment? Both of you need to come see this right now." He looked back at John, his face still covered and ears burning red. "You too, John."
Eyebrows high, Gene and Mai gathered their clothing and hurried after him. "Okay, we're coming," Gene muttered, sounding rather chastened. "What happened to him?" he asked Mai, voice nearly silent.
"I don't know," Mai whispered back, sniffing and running the back of her hand beneath her nose. "I really don't know anymore."
The skin around Gene's eyes tightened as if the tone in her voice caused him physical pain. He'd thought that maybe if she cried she'd feel a little better… that he'd feel a little better. Obviously that wasn't the case in the least. He could feel the tears at the back of his throat, waiting for that single moment for him to be vulnerable enough to take back over.
"We're losing the battle," Yasu finally muttered, his voice more wounded than it had ever been in his entire life.
Eyes going wide, Gene jogged to catch up with Yasu. "What do you mean we're losing? What happened while we were cleaning up?"
Rubbing his hands up and over his face, he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. "Several things. Several things happened in the ten minutes that you were stuck in the bathroom. Several bad things, one okay thing. We are so…" He trailed off, sighing.
Gene was silent for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at Mai and John leaning over John's bible. They were obviously trying not to listen too closely to what they were saying, but neither seemed all that interested in the passage. "Bad news, then the okay news, if you would."
"I'll let… Lin or Ayako or Monk or someone else explain. I-I just can't. I can't do it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Gene." His voice had faded to only a whisper, not loud enough for the pair behind them to hear.
Gene wrapped his arm around Yasu's shoulders, pulling him into his side. "Why are you saying sorry? There's no need for it. You've done nothing wrong."
"You'll understand in a moment." Yasu shoved open the Base door, grabbing for the handle before it could slam against the opposite wall. He stepped aside as a body hurled itself through the opening.
The mass slammed into Gene. Before he had a chance to react, unfamiliar lips were pressing to his, pulling him down a few inches to a shorter height. "Oh, thank god!" the mass shouted as it pulled away, looking him up and down, "I thought Ash had really gotten you, but I knew you'd be…" The mass turned out to be a nicely tanned boy with curly brown hair, and his words trailed off as his eyes snagged on Gene's. Slowly, he backed away from him. "Your eyes are wrong, purple instead of red. You- you're not Nat. Who the hell are you? Why are you using her body? Where is Natalia?!"
Mai shoved through the gap between Gene and the doorway. "Desi? Oh god, thank everything that is good!" she cried, rushing into the room and throwing her arms around the surprised Cuban.
"Mai? You're with this person? Why is she in Nat's body? Where is Nat?" he asked, hugging her tightly. He wiped the stray tears from her cheeks, searching for any sign that she was hurt.
"Point of clarification," Gene interjected, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "I'm a person of the male persuasion, even if my body is female."
Ignoring him, Mai explained, "His name is Gene Davis. He's Naru's brother. You've seen him before. He's just borrowing Nat's body for now. As for Nat, I," Mai's lip trembled, her eyes welling again, "I don't know where she is. I just hope that she's safe. Last I knew, she was fighting Ash's control."
Desi bit his lip, glancing at his shoes. "It's alright. She's alright. She's strong. She's stronger than any of us. She always has been." He pulled Mai back into his chest.
Looking over his shoulder, Mai spied a dark form in the farthest corner from the group, Rex curled up at its side. "Naru?" Mai and Gene asked together, concern overshadowing any other emotions they may have been feeling. Stepping away from Desi quickly, the pair rushed for the corner, dropping in front of him. "Naru, sweetie, what's wrong?" Mai reached out trembling hands, smoothing his bangs away from his forehead.
Naru sat with his knees halfway to his chest, his forearms resting there and his face pressed into his hands. He didn't respond, simply shook his head.
"Noll, you have to tell us what's wrong. What happened?" Gene asked, gently tugging at his twin's hands.
"What do you think is wrong, Gene?" Naru spat, acid searing his words, "What is missing in this room? Who have you not noticed is gone, Gene? Tell me. Tell me what you see."
His eyebrows pulling together, Gene turned to stare around the room. Mai stared up at him with wide, horrified eyes, the absence slamming into her with more ferocity than she thought she could handle. John stood in the doorway, concern written across his features. Yasu stood turned halfway towards the door, ready to leave at a moment's notice. Lin leaned against the table of monitors, pinching the bridge of his nose. Masako sat by his feet, tears streaming down her face, arms clutched around her knees. Monk stood by the window staring down into the yard, arms wrapped around Ayako's shoulders as they shook with silent sobs. Desi tried to make himself inconspicuous. He was not part of the grief raging through the room.
"T-the twins, Tamaki, Kamin, my children, where are my children?" Gene turned in a circle, horror taking over his face. "Where are my children, Naru?!"
"Ash has them," Lin murmured.
Gene spun on Lin, eyes wide. "Why? How? How did that dick get my children? Why does he have my children?" His voice had risen to a shout, the motherly instincts of his body kicking in right alongside the fatherly instincts of his soul. "Where are my twins?!"
"We don't know. Ash used one of his captives to knock us all out. Masako and Naru managed to throw up a thick enough shield that they were paralyzed for a few moments before passing out, long enough to see Ash take them."
"I'm so sorry, Gene, Mai, Naru. We couldn't protect them. We couldn't stop him. We didn't even have a chance," Ayako sobbed.
Masako whispered, tightening her arms, "I'm so sorry."
"Shut up! Everyone just shut up! I don't want to hear your damn apologies!" Gene shouted, stepping over Mai. Monk and Ayako scrambled back away from the window, leaving the space free as Gene threw his fist, throwing his entire body into it. The glass shattered beneath his knuckles, cutting deep gouges into his flesh. Blood welled, slipping down his arm, but he was numb to the pain. The tears took their chance, springing from him and betraying him.
Blood dripping down glass, Gene stared at the herd of children slowly trying to find a way inside. They worked at every window, every door. After a long while of silence, he muttered, "This is the other bad news." He said it as a statement, not a question, but Yasu answered.
"Yes."
"Why aren't they coming inside? They have the numbers, they have the strength, Ash has the means."
"We put up more wards on the rest of the windows and doors, just to make sure nothing entered," Monk volunteered the information, rubbing gentle hands between Ayako's shoulder blades.
Gene nodded just the slightest bit, eyes narrowing. "This ends today," he snarled. Spinning away from the window, he marched from the room before any of the others could react.
"Gene!" Mai and Yasu cried. Yasu took off, sprinting down the hall. Mai struggled to get to her feet, but her body was still recovering from the death it had suffered within it and the deterioration. Naru lifted her too her feet. Wrapping her hand in his, they followed after Yasu. "Gene, come back!" Mai shouted.
As they hit the end of the hall, Yasu was already disappearing through the open doorway at the bottom of the staircase, flinging himself around the corner. "Gene!" he shouted, louder than any sound Mai could produce in her weakened state. He tore down the hallway, trying to catch a glimpse of the flying black hair.
Mai and Naru took the stairs two at a time, jumping the last five in a single leap. Mai's knees crumpled beneath her, sliding against the hardwood and leaving rub burns on her knees. Pulling on Naru's hand, she pulled herself back up, keeping pace with him. They could hear Yasu's shouts, but they'd lost sight of him after he disappeared from the staircase.
Yasu caught up to Gene just as he managed to wrap his hand around the front doorknob. Grabbing his upper arm, Yasu yanked Gene away from the door with bruising force, turning him to face him. "Don't do anything rash!" Yasu cried, staring at purple iris eyes that were focused only on the door.
"Let me go. Let me go now," Gene snarled, only just struggling against Yasu's grip. If he wanted to, he could easily break his hold or his nose depending on what kind of mood he was truly in, but all he wanted to do was scream.
"No!" Yasu shouted, "Look at me!"
Gene's eyes squeezed shut. "No! Let me go!" He ripped his arm from Yasu's grasp, turning to glare at the man. "You don't understand! You can't understand, just let me go!"
Yasu shook his head hard, glaring just as viciously back at the boy in the girl's body. "No, listen to me, Gene. You open that door and you endanger the lives of all of us, of your friends and your family. You're right, I don't understand, but that doesn't change a damn thing. You need to realize that the twin's lives aren't the only ones in danger. If you open that door, we won't have a chance to help them."
Narrowed eyes and clenched teeth greeted Yasu's reasoning. Gene understood the words falling from Yasu's mouth, but the only thing he could think about was the clenching of his heart and the heat of hatred racing through his bloodstream. He couldn't sit back and wait. He couldn't quietly plan plans that would never work. He couldn't simply wait for his demise to come. He wouldn't have it, not in this house, not on this land, not without saving his children.
Mai and Naru slowed to a stop, watching the pair. Her fingers tightened around his. The bell in her chest rang out. Gene was going to do something dangerous, something stupid, something she herself would do if her body wasn't so weak, if her soul wasn't so tired.
Whirling back around, Gene wrenched the door open, storming down the front steps. "Come out, come out wherever you are, Ash! Come get me! I'm right here with my brother and my best friends, you spineless coward! I know you can hear me! Come and get me!" he shouted, turning in a slow circle.
"He's gone insane," Yasu muttered, quickly following after him. Mai and Naru couldn't argue with that.
Well, there you go. Hope it wasn't too terrible. Again, I'm so freaking sorry for being so late. We're nearing the end here though, so you won't have to put up with me much longer. Thank you everyone who has stuck around this long and put up with my crap, and to those who have reviewed. Seriously, I love all of you guys. See you soon.