Chapter 8 – Icarus: Bastille

Day 2: 1430
Naru

"This is why I seriously hate dealing with other doctors. They're stubborn to the core, and they think they know everything!" Dr. Hiroa grunted out checking over Mai's vitals once again and taking down their measurements.

"I share the same sentiments. Doctor," Naru growled back.

"All I'm saying is that you are going to be no help to either myself or to our patient-"

"Her name is Mai-" Naru interrupted.

"If you don't eat some god damned food!" Dr. Hiroa finished, slamming down his notebook on a nearby table.

Naru was working on checking over the bandages he helped put on Mai's forehead. He had to make sure everything was perfect. He wasn't knowledgeable about wound care, but with Dr. Hiroa's help, he was understanding more of the basics. As a perfectionist, however, he often neglected himself or his bodily needs in favor of getting an answer or making sure everything was perfect.

"As I mentioned the last two times, I don't want to eat those garbage rations right now. If I do I'll be sick," said Naru still not looking up at the other doctor.

"Any food is better than no food. If you want to have any chance of surviving using your PK-"

Naru slammed the side of his fist into the wall next to him. The silence that followed was deafening as Naru and Dr. Hiroa knew the answer to that statement. Yes, Naru would need to eat and be at full strength to use his PK and survive. But the fact of the matter is that if he used his PK, he'd have to use Mai as a buffer and that would mean killing her. He didn't want to think about it; he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he would have to do that or they would kill Mai anyway.

"Dr. Hiroa, are you finished with your vitals readings for now?" Naru asked calmly but through gritted teeth.

Dr. Hiora looked as though he wanted to say something else, the tension in the room making it hard for the both of them to breathe. Eventually, Dr. Hiora said, "Yes. I am. I'll give you two some privacy."

With that, Dr. Hiora picked up his notebook and knocked twice at the door. The door swung open briefly, just long enough for the doctor to leave, and the door slammed shut again. Naru sighed and looked down at Mai again. He knew he should eat, but he wasn't hungry. He wasn't lying when he said those MREs were going to make him throw up. Nerves from being in the situation they were in, barely getting enough sleep, keeping Mai in his sights to keep her safe. Yeah. Food? Not happening.

"Hhnnn..." A small breathy groan disrupted Naru from his thoughts. Looking up at Mai he saw her face begin to pinch. Her eyebrows began to furrow inward, her eyes scrunched, and her mouth began to twitch a little.

"Mai?" he asked lightly sitting on the edge of his chair. He began to stroke his hand through her hair soothingly on instinct.

"Hmm...? Wha...where...?" She mumbled so quietly that if Naru hadn't been giving her his full attention he might not have noticed it.

"Mai," he said a little louder, "Can you hear me? Wake up."

"Na...ru?" she whispered.

"Yeah Mai, I'm here."

In that next moment Naru would later describe as the most beautiful and breathtaking thing on the face of the Earth, Mai carefully opened her big brown eyes, blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light, turned her head to look at him, and smiled.

"Hey," she whispered.

Naru's brain shut down for a total of 3.29 seconds as he took in the sight. 'She is the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Even in this state she...' he could barely finish the thought. Only she had the power to completely turn his brain off and mush it to the level of softness it has become. This infuriating slight of a girl had completely taken his heart and had it wrapped around her finger.

"How're you feeling?" he finally asked.

"Nnn...groggy..." She mumbled shifting a bit on the bed.

"Here," he said reaching over to the table behind him to grab a cup of water. "You should drink this, slowly," he added remembering Dr. Hiroa's orders when he asked what to do when she woke up.

Mai started to try and sit up and started to wince in pain. Naru set the cup down behind him and leaned forward to help her sit up. He placed a hand on her right shoulder and his other on the small of her lower back and gently pushed her into a sitting position. When she was upright she looked right at him and he noticed her face reddening. Their faces were merely inches apart by now and he could feel the faint, gentle breath of hers on his lips. She must've felt the same thing because she then sucked in her lower lip and held on with her teeth.

Once he finally got his many, many running thoughts in his head to stop he asked, "Are you comfortable?"

"Nn," she muttered in affirmation.

Releasing his hands from her he reached behind and grabbed the water cup. He held it out to her and noticed how sluggish the movements in her arms were to reach for the cup. Once she had grabbed hold on both sides, he lowered his hands to the bottom of the cup to keep it balanced and steady while she sipped. Finally, once she had had her fill she lowered her arms and looked at him. "Thanks, Naru," she said.

"Yeah," he replied setting the cup down. "You were out for some time. It makes sense that you'd be feeling sluggish."

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"By my and the doctor's understanding, about a day. Maybe 18 hours."

"Ah, that makes sense," she said. "He said it would take a day or so to heal."

"He? Who?" he questioned. He had a gut feeling he knew what she was going to say. He didn't want to think about what she had said before they were moved again. He didn't want to believe that his brother...dead brother...was channeling through his Mai.

"Well...erm..." Mai turned her head. A flush came across her face and a look of...embarrassment? Shame? replaced her earlier smile. "Gene. Your...brother," she finished softly.

"I see," he said because honestly what else could one say? "And how long has Gene been channeling through you?"

Now he recognized the look of shame that replaced her earlier happiness. He almost regretted asking but he had to know.

"I think for a while now," Mai sighed. "Perhaps, if I'm not mistaken, since I first met you. When I first got injured on our first case at my school, I blacked out; but when I woke up in the spirit realm I saw you. You helped me up and assured me it was going to be ok. You acted differently, so I started to call him Dream Naru. I think it was him though. Gene."

Naru was stricken silent. This whole time. This whole time his brother had been using the girl he had fallen in love with to channel his spirit. He knew that he was looking for him to put him to rest and he was, what, hiding under his nose this whole time?! Why? What game was he playing here? Why use Mai? Why not tell her that he wasn't him? And Mai? She thought it was him. If she had any feelings for him it definitely wouldn't be because of anything he did. It was Dream Naru. Gene! Girls always fell for Gene anyway. He was the more outgoing and friendly of the two of them. It makes sense that Mai would've fallen for that too. Oh, how pathetic he was. How love made him pathetic.

"Naru?" Mai's voice cut into his self-deprecating thoughts. Right. Mai was still here. She had nearly died and he was helpless to help her but through Dr. Hiora's efforts, she was still here. Regardless of what feelings he was having about Mai and Gene had to wait. They had bigger things to handle now.

"What else did Gene say?" he asked monotonously.

"Oh! He helped me understand how to buffer your PK! We spent a while talking about it and then practicing recounting the ways and methods he used to ground you," she said smiling once again. "I'm confident in what I'm doing."

"So wait, he just went along with it? Just like that?" he asked snapping his fingers for emphasis.

"I wish. I practically had to scold him as I do you to get him to tell me anything. The two of you are stubborn to the max. He didn't want me to go along with it but given our situation...I told him there was no alternative. He gave in after that."

Naru started chuckling. Gene sounds like he's grown very protective of Mai as of late. Another pang of jealousy hit him. Mai must've seen his face change after that because she put her hand on top of his on the bed.

"Naru. I know what you're thinking right now," she said.

His heart plummeted. "You do?"

"You feel like you've been lied to? That I would keep this from you? Or that he would keep this from you? I would be angry and upset in your situation too. But I didn't know it was him. To me, it's always been you." she finished the last sentence in a whisper and squeezed his hand.

His eyes widened. How did this girl read his heart like an open book? How did she break down his carefully placed walls so easily? So quickly?

"Mai..." he whispered so softly.

The door flew open and he and Mai jumped.

"How's she doing?" the voice of Dr. Hiroa came in interrupting the softened moment between the pair.

Naru scowled and said louder, "She is awake Doctor." He looked up at Mai who was wide-eyed and beginning to shake. "It's ok Mai. This is Doctor Hiroa and has been...assisting in your recovery. He'll be here in the event of our...failure attempts at using PK."

"Nice to finally meet you Miss Taniyama," he said with a smirk marching over to shake her hand. Mai shrank inwards and closer to Naru. Her shaking increased to trembling. "Er, my bad. I know it's been quite an ordeal for you the two of you." He moved his hand away and scratched the back of his head.

"So what's the news from your not-colleagues?" Naru asked cynically.

"They want the two of you ready to start the first test of PK at 17:00. I'll be there on the side to monitor your condition and intervene if needed. They will have "escorts" ready at the door at 16:50. I will once again suggest to Dr. Davis that you please eat something. You will need your strength," Dr. Hiroa explained.

"Naru you haven't eaten? In how long?" Mai chided.

"Almost 20 hours now according to when he told me the last time he ate was," the traitor said.

"Naru! I'm starving, but I will not eat anything until you do first," Mai said with an authoritative grunt.

"Alright, alright fine. Dr. if you'd please?" he said extending his hand out for an MRE packet.

"Hehe, right away Dr. Davis," he said tossing him a package. He left the room muttering something along the lines of "Boy she's got you whipped."

-o-

After lunch, Mai and Naru talked. Mai informed Naru as to what Gene's advice was, and the training during her rest between the movement of one place to the other. On the flipside, Naru informed Mai as to what happened after they were separated. He mentioned how when they arrived she was barely breathing and needed life-saving treatment to be stabilized. She paled at this and looked pensively down at her lap.

"I didn't know it was that bad," She whispered.

"Yeah. Mai, why do you make nearly dying on me a recurring theme? Honestly now, one would think you like going toe to toe with death," he chided lightly.

It was supposed to be a joke to rile her up. Either get her flustered or angry at him and they would banter like usual. This time however she said nothing. She continued to look down at her lap as a dark expression filled her features. He didn't like that look on her.

"It was a joke, Mai. You're allowed to laugh you know?" he tried.

"Gene...asked me the same question," Mai said.

A stone sank to the bottom of his stomach. 'Gene asked her why she toes the line with death too? Maybe there's more to that train of thought than I originally suspected.' he thought.

The sound of footsteps interrupted any further train of thought. The door to the room swung open and Dr. Hiroa entered followed by two others; both wearing black shirts, cargo pants, black ballistic vests, and carrying rifles at the low ready slung across their front.

"Time to go you two," Dr. Hiroa said stoically.

He got up and held his hand out to Mai who took it without hesitation. He helped stand her up and stayed still as she regained her balance. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she affirmed and together they walked to the front of the door.

Dr. Hiroa turned and left the room and the two followed behind him. Behind them, the two armed escorts followed. In front of the doctor were two other armed guards and two others to the side. They made their way down a long, tiled hallway up to a pair of double swing doors. Now that Naru could see he noticed that it was set up like a medical facility with various corridors and doors that lead to who knew where. Turning left and walking to another pair of doors, Naru also noticed Mai continuing to hold his hand tightly as though if she lessened her grip he'd disappear. Trying to give her some comfort he squeezed her hand back. A soft sigh escaped her lips. He also relaxed a little.

Finally, they stopped at a pair of doors with a keypad code on them. The two guards in front stopped and the one on the right went to the keypad while the one on the left turned and gripped his rifle tighter and raised it a little bit higher. A warning to them to not try anything while his buddy's back was turned and attention occupied. A chirping sound followed by an unlocking sound and the doors opened automatically. They were marched forward.

The room they were in was as large in length as it was tall. It reminded Naru of a banquet hall that had been reduced in length by half. Along the sides of the room were computers, satellite dishes, measuring meters, and other pieces of equipment Naru very easily recognized. The same equipment was set up as when he performed the first and only public viewing of his PK abilities. This time however they were all set up behind cubicle walls of plexiglass.

'Guess they thought if we were able to do it, we'd try to attack our way out of here. Smart,' he thought.

He heard snickering from some of the men as they walked in. Mercenaries standing nearby talking with some of the others working on the technical side of things. They were staring at them like they were pieces of meat and they were dogs who hadn't been fed in days. Naru stood taller and glared them down. He felt Mai shrink closer to his side though and although he wanted to comfort her, he'd give his hand if he did right then.

"Ahh, welcome! Welcome!" A voice rang out from the other end of the room. Naru looked up and saw Akio, one of the men Alaina was talking to when they were first taken. "I'm so glad you both are here. Welcome to our little base of operations. As you can see, we've set things up for you, our honored guests," he finished his welcoming speech by walking up to the pair and bowing dramatically.

"We can see that," he said coldly. "And what do you expect us to do now?" He knew the answer. He could see that in the equipment set up in front of him. They wanted them to recreate the experiment that made him famous. He just wanted to see what additional information this Akio might be able to provide him.

"Oh-ho, oh Dr. Davis. I think you're smart enough to figure that out on your own," Akio replied.

'Fuck. The hard way it is then. Sorry Mai.' he thought. "Then explain it to my assistant here. She's not as smart as I am, you've surely seen by now."

"Naru!" Mai growled.

"Haha! Yes, yes you're right. Well, we need to be able to read your abilities, record them, and save them for our buyers and investors. We have all the necessary equipment set up to do just that. We want you two to launch this box here into the testing wall as hard as you can using your PK abilities," Akio finished explaining as he leaned forward and down toward Mai. "Was that simple enough for you sweetheart?"

"Call me sweetheart again and I'll have Naru drop the box on your head," Mai growled.

"Oooh so feisty. Still, got some fight in you huh? I like that in a bitch." Akio sneered and a few others laughed too. "Test starts now."

The men cleared away from the two of them and soon they were the only ones in the center of the room.

"Naru, that box has to be over 100 kilograms!" Mai whispered, "We'll have to generate a lot of power to lift that."

"I know. It's not going to be easy," he said 'This is going to end badly!' his brain screamed at him. 'Go out with style I guess as the saying goes.' He pulled Mai to him and she instinctively latched herself to him. She looks up at him, her brown eyes wide and flushes sweeping across her face. He smiled down at her. If this was the last thing he got to see before he died then so be it. "Try not to get me killed Mai."

"Trust me, you aren't getting away from me that easily. If you die I know where to find you. I'll make your afterlife a living hell," she said smirking.

"Do you mean an unliving hell?"

"I know what I said."

He chuckled and gripped her tight to his body. He tried to focus on the task at hand and not on the fact that she fit next to him as if she were made to be there. On the box in front of him and not on the feeling of her fingers slinking around his back and grasping tightly. On the PK flowing through his body and not on the heat that he can feel radiating off of her body filling him up with her scent.

He began to focus on the PK in his body building to the surface. Like fire with oxygen being added to it, it grew and answered his call. He feels confident in calling it this time; not reluctant or forced like the last times he's used it. He begins to slide the feeling of his PK over to Mai who accepts it naturally, almost like an embrace.

When she slides it back to him, however, a new feeling slides into his body as well: euphoria. It's his PK. It recognizes it as such, but it's as if it were wrapped around a warm hearth. It feels like it wants to make every icy feeling inside his body melt away and leave only it in his core. He adds more PK to it and slips it to Mai and he immediately feels lost without it. He gasps in the shock of its loss but doesn't wait long as it is slipped back to him with even more of that feeling attached to it.

He never experienced this before. Not with his brother, not alone, never. But with Mai...the second it came rolling back to him it was like a pulsing heat and sent his mind crazy. He felt driven by its power. He felt he could do anything at that moment. Just then he felt his spirit leave his body and the energy hit him in full force.

It was hot, pulsing, dizzying, and cleansing. A feeling he could only describe as love. This was his PK wrapped up in Mai's love. It felt like coming home after a long day and lying down. But more than that it felt like lust. Those nights he'd spent alone in his room thinking about a certain brown-haired girl and the way she would whisper his name that would bring him to completion embarrassingly fast.

And it wouldn't stop. Oh, he'd accept all that she was willing to give him right then and there. 'More...' his mind craved 'Please...more, I neeed it please.' he begged.

His internal begging answered him and soon as he was walking toward the box he felt the PK enter his body in a pulsing wave. It ebbed and flowed and it was all given to him. He started to chuckle over how good and right it felt. He started to pick up the box and felt the pressure of the box's weight. It started to budge and lift upwards like it weighed nothing. The PK wave started to lessen in intensity. Right. He needed to slip it back to Mai. He did it as an afterthought and nearly wailed at its loss from his body. 'I need it back...I need more. More Mai, give it to me...MORE!' his mind screamed through the bond.

But his mind wasn't the only one screaming a higher-pitched screaming made its way to his spirit and made him turn towards his and Mai's bodies. Mai was struggling to clutch onto his body as it was being wracked with electricity from his PK. She was screaming as if it wouldn't stop; it was killing her, he was killing her!

'Oh god, oh god! No no no! Stop STOP!' he thought frantically. The box dropped from his grip and he felt hollow. The PK was gone from the both of them suddenly and his connection to his body felt less like 10 feet and more like a cavern opening up between them getting larger and larger. 'Mai please...help...'

His spirit began to fade as the cavern began increasing. Just when he thought he'd never see life again, a golden sphere of light came bustling across the darkness. Was it beckoning him to follow? No. That sphere picked up his spirit and hurled him hard towards his body. The next thing he knew he was in his body, falling to his knees gasping for breath. He was in so much pain he thought he might pass out from it. But remembering a scream made him look at the girl he just realized was still clutched to him.

"Mai..." he groaned. "Mai, are you ok?" He looked at her slumped in his arms, her hands clutched on his shirt. "Mai, look at me, are you ok?" he asked a little desperately now. He rolled her onto her back with her head in his lap. Her arms finally slacked and slipped from him and her body became dead weight. He put his hand to her chest and felt no heartbeat. His breath hitched and he put two fingers to her pulse point on her neck. Nothing.

'Nonononononononono NONONO!'

"MAI!"