Chapter 9: Chasing the Dragon – Epica

Day 1: 2100
The Team

After an hour of setup and concentration (despite the obvious blood-stained floor from one of their colleagues and friend getting shot) the team was able to settle in and get working. Takigawa started some of his more basic chants to help raise the spiritual energy, John bowed his head and started offering prayers of encouragement and safety, and Ayako (despite there not being any trees within 50 feet of the office) called upon their healing nature to cleanse the air of negative energy. Masako thought that doing nothing might've honestly made as much of a difference as she was doing right now. She decided to keep that opinion to herself for now. She and Yasu watched on for about twenty minutes while they continued their work, waiting patiently out of the way of the exorcists.

Masako did feel the spiritual energy of the room rise, however. The lights in the office dimmed on their own. The group stopped what they were doing. Masako stepped forward into the center of the room. "Good evening," she said delicately. "We are calling upon the shiki left behind by Lin Koujo. You are bound and loyal to your master but we call upon you to ask for your guidance and help. In help of your master and for the friends he was trying to protect. The ones you have protected before. Please...reveal yourself to us."

For a minute nothing happened. However just as she began to say something else, a white, lanky silhouette appeared before Masako and the others.

"You've...called upon me...jusssst as master said you would do...clever humanssss..." the shiki had a very slithering drawl to its voice. As if it tried to manifest a voice to transmit to humans, beyond its native spiritual language, on the spot.

"Yes," Masako answered. "Do you know what has happened to your master? Lin Koujo?"

"Ssssilly human..." the shiki sinuously slithered and manifested in front of her. "I wasss there when he was attacked. Other humansss came and...attacked. They took the young onessss...They left my masssster to die!" The shiki emphasized the last sentence by flaring its energy, making Masako and the others shiver where they were standing.

Nevertheless, Masako stood firm. "That's why we're here. Ayako was part of the team that helped save Lin's life. Your master is alive."

"Hmmm...intriguing newsss indeed...I'm glad..." he slithered over to the others and stopped in front of the priestess. "Thank you, dear lady...Now...what isss it you need from me? I mussst return to him before I lose my connection to him entirely..."

"Do you know who took Naru and Mai? Do you know why?" Takigawa said a little hastily.

"That I do not know young monk...They were very...militant in their ways...this wassss planned...Ah! They did say they wanted to take my massster at first..." the shiki replied.

"Wait they were initially going after Naru and Lin?" Yasu asked.

"Yesss...They wanted him...but thought he wassss going to die... sssso they took the girl..."

"Oh my god..." Ayako whispered in horror. "Why would they want to take Lin with Naru?"

"Of that dear priestess, I do not know... I mussst return to him now...Thank you..." With that, the shiki spiraled in on itself and faded away into the mist. The lights in the office returned to normal.

"Well, that was something," Yasu commented breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Weird. I've never had to use my work to summon a spirit instead of exorcising it before," John replied.

"That still doesn't tell us anything about who took Naru and Mai though. Just that Mai wasn't supposed to be taken in the first place. Naru and Lin were their targets!" exclaimed Ayako.

"Well, it doesn't do us any good speculating on it now," Takigawa intervened. "It's late; it's already 2300. Let's all go home and rest for the night and check in with each other in the morning."

"I'll go to the hospital in the morning and wait for Lin to wake up," Yasu said. "I can call you guys when he does."

"Good call Yasu. Everyone else, let's get going."

-o-

Day 2: 0130
Masako

By the time Masako finally got home after dropping off everyone else it was past midnight and she was still too wired from the day's events to go to sleep. Nevertheless, she laid down in bed and sighed.

"Oliver..." she whispered to herself, "Why'd you have to go and do this? Let yourself get so careless."

Before she knew what was happening she closed her eyes for what she thought was a blink. Only to wake up in the astral plane when she opened her eyes once more.

She's familiar with this place and its aura of calmness it brings. She's been able to go to this place ever since she was little. It no longer frightened her as it did when she was a child. But why was she here now? What did the spirits want with her now that was so important that she couldn't get a night of sleep first? Oliver and Mai were kidnapped, Lin was in the hospital, and she felt sick to her stomach after using her powers to communicate with Lin's shiki.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out to the ever-expansive aether.

"Masako," a very familiar voice resounded behind her.

"Oliver!" she cried in happiness. She turned around and saw what looked like him looking pensive? and uncomfortable. "Oliver? What's the matter besides the obvious?"

"I'm not Oliver. I'm Gene," he said.

"Gene? Eugene?!" Masako cried. She was in shock and she wasn't sure how to respond. Eugene. Oliver's brother. Oliver's dead brother. Was coming to her? Why now? How?

"We've met before. That's how I'm communicating to you now," he explained.

This was a lot to take in. She stared slack-jawed. She normally has the conscious mind to cover her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. Now that she was in such shock she didn't even think to do that. "When?" That was all she was able to get out to ask.

"That haunted mansion case? When you were taken to the basement I visited you in your dream," Gene explained.

All at once, the memories started flooding back to the forefront of her mind. A light blush coated her cheeks. She finally shook herself out of her shock and looked downcast. "My apologies Gene. I...wasn't expecting any of this really," she said politely.

"You and me both Masako. But this isn't about me right now. It's about Noll and Mai."

At once her head shot up. "Do you know where they are? What's going on?!" she cried.

"I don't know exactly where they are. I have an attachment with Mai through her spiritual energy signature. It's like a beacon to me. I am drawn to it, but my place in the astral plane and the living world prevents me from understanding where I am. It's honestly like...sifting through a heavy fog?" Gene explained.

"I see…" Masako replied. "Then why are you here? Is there anything you can do to help?"

"I can explain what I know so far from what Mai has seen and what I've noticed," Gene said. "Oh! I can try to enhance your connection to Mai! Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

"Wait, what? How? What do you mean?" she asked, still very confused.

"You may not be close to Mai, but you are close to her. You must've picked up on her spiritual aura right? I can try to enhance that feeling and lead you right to her and my brother! I'm a genius!" Gene started pacing in excitement.

"I mean we could try? It can't hurt. Tell me all you know and we'll try this connection sharing," she said determinedly.

-o-