Chapter 28: Heroes Fall - Hidden Citizens

Day 10: 0200

Dr. Yuuto Hiroa

This chapter contains scenes of medical misuse, gun violence, and minor character death.

They killed her. They killed his Aya. He got the call about thirty minutes after he left the building. A nurse was currently being investigated for medical malpractice and manslaughter. A nurse was having a bad day, the police said. He knew this was not the truth. He knew that Akio and Alaina gave the order to kill her. To try and keep him in line he guessed. But now as he had no reason left to live and serve these monsters, he was going to do his final act in Aya's name. He would do his part in the escape of Oliver and Mai. First, he'd need to make one final visit to his closest friend and former colleague, Dr. Nakano. Whenever he needed medicine or major medical supplies, he went to him. Now he was calling upon him one last time.

He pulled into their usual arranged meeting spot a few kilometers from his hospital. Outside of any CCTV cameras, surveillance, people in general. He got out and met with his friend.

"Yuuto," Dr. Nakano said, "You gotta stop this, my friend. I can't keep doing this work, and they're going to kill you! Please, let us help you."

"Thank you, my friend. This is the last thing I will need. This is my official resignation from the yakuza's grip," he said.

"You sound so resigned. Please tell me you're not going to do anything stupid and reckless. Think about Aya!"

"I am. I will never stop thinking about her. I do this act in her name," he said.

"Then take it. Take it, and get out of here. Please," Dr. Nakano said, handing him a brown paper bag.

"Thank you, my friend. May we meet again one day," he said.

He got back in his car and drove off to make his final preparations. When he was a little over 30 kilometers away from within the perimeter of the facility he stopped his car on the side of the road. Opening up the bags he grabbed exactly what he had requested: 5 prefilled syringes with an intramuscular injection of succinylcholine chloride. A paralyzing medication that works in under a minute.

He smiled and drove his way back to the facility. He knew the patrol would not expect him back until the next morning. He parked five miles away instead of the usual three. He hiked his way back to the facility; taking an hour walking at a brisk pace. By the time he got there, it was 03:30. He was exhausted but he pushed on. He was sneaking his way into the facility through a side entrance. Only a few guards would be awake for a patrol and to guard Oliver and Mai. He made his way inside, syringes at the ready.

Day 10: 03:37

Naru

The sound of grappling and a struggle outside their door startled him and Mai awake. They quickly sat up in bed and listened closely. Grunting and the sound of a couple of loud thumps were heard and they held each other's hand, PK building up between them both. The door creaked open and Dr. Hiroa came in, syringes in hand and a look of righteousness on his face.

"It's time to go, you two," he said solemnly but determinedly.

He looked at Mai with wide eyes. "You ready?" He asked through the bond.

"I'm more than ready," she replied and gripped his hand tightly.

They left their room and stepped around the bodies of the guards guarding their room.

"What do you think he did?" Mai asked through the bond.

"Not sure, maybe a lethal dose of something?" He replied.

They made their way through unfamiliar hallways, turns and doors, and finally, a door leading outside. When they stepped into the rainy and brisk air outside he was hit with feelings of being overwhelmed at being outside again coming from Mai. They followed Dr. Hiroa across a dirt path and road and over to a forest line. It was ever expansive and dark. Brambles, rocks, and plants cluttered the forest floor.

"We make our way through here and travel north to my car," Dr. Hiroa whispered. He made his way into the forest.

"Naru, we don't have shoes or socks on. This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Mai asked.

"Yeah. A small price to pay for freedom though," he replied.

They both took a deep breath and followed Dr. Hiroa into the forest. It was cold, wet, muddy, and dark. They had to watch their step and fight the instinct to cry out in pain every time a sharp rock, thorns, or branches got them on their feet or ankles. The deeper they traveled the deeper the muddy areas got. Mai, feeling weak from dehydration and malnutrition, slipped a couple of times already, but thankfully he reacted in time to catch her. They were soaked to the bone and one of the times she slipped, her hand slipped from his due to the rain. She fell and caught her ankle on a sharp rock and spattered her legs and arms in mud and foliage. She silently whimpered and he helped her to her feet to clean her off. She was bleeding steadily down to her foot.

"Doctor, how far is your car parked?" He whispered as he applied pressure to her wound.

"You're going to hate this. It's eight kilometers away," Dr. Hiroa replied.

"Eight kilometers. We have to survive this for eight kilometers?" Mai groaned. "We can do this. We just have to push through." She said determinedly. She got back up and winced, but she limped onward.

Naru could feel his own feet bleeding as they quickly made their way through the forest. They both reached out through the bond and sent each other jolts of PK and healing from their auras. It would work until the next branch would cut them. They walked for a long time. Trying to go as fast as they could, as quietly as they could, without letting go of each other. They made their way into an empty clearing with a hill just north of them.

"We're almost there you two," Dr. Hiroa whispered, "Stay strong and we'll be out of here-"

A shot rang out and Dr. Hiroa collapsed to the forest floor.

"No!" Mai screamed, rushing over to him. Naru threw up his PK barrier around them all.

Alaina's voice rang out from the forest. "Sorry doctor; you really were an amazing doctor, but you got just a little too attached." She stepped out from the forest and that's when Naru realized they were completely surrounded. It was a trap. They knew!

"For three years you worked for us, and this is how you treat us? Doctor, doctor, doctor. You really are an idiot," Akio said, coming up to stand with Alaina.

Mai was holding up Dr. Hiroa's body as he braced himself on a tree trunk. Naru was able to keep the shield going while he kneeled next to Mai to assess the damage. He was shot in the chest at center mass. Mai instinctively helped hold pressure on the area to stop the bleeding. The doctor was turning pale.

"Dr. Hiroa, just hang in there! I'll heal you! I promise I can! Let me just-" Mai rambled until the doctor put a hand over hers.

"No, don't. This is…the end of the line for me," he said.

"Don't be stupid! Your daughter, Aya, still needs you. She needs a father!" Mai sobbed.

"Aya is dead."

Naru's heart dropped and he felt Mai's spirit begin to crack. "What do you mean she's dead? You just saw her! She was stable!" Naru countered.

"Yesterday…when Alaina said I would regret rescuing Mai from her…well…apparently a nurse just happened to have a very bad day," the doctor groaned.

Mai's eyes were glowing gold and tears would not stop flowing down her face. Another crack in her spirit. "Then why…why? Why even be here? Why aren't you with her? Why are you still rescuing us after all they've done?! Why are you here?! Why did you rescue me?!" Mai sobbed. Naru's heart broke on those words. She's spiraling hard. He could see her energy flaring rapidly and causing another crack in her spirit.

"Because…" He coughed and blood trickled out. "I regret a lot of things. I regret what I've done to Aya. I regret bringing her into this. I regret not just calling Aya a damn taxi that day. The only thing though that I don't regret is rescuing you, Mai. You gave me my daughter back…one last time…You two…you two I can try to rescue and save."

A fourth crack. "Please," Mai begged. "Don't do this. Don't give up on us!"

Dr. Hiroa raised a bloody hand to Mai's cheek. She froze in shock. "I died in that accident. You two have brought me back to life these past couple of weeks. But…I…" The doctor looked at Naru. "Dr. Davis, Mai, it's up to you two now. Get out of here. Go to your family. They're looking for you,"

"Dr. Hiroa…" Naru whispered. He was crying now as well.

"Oliver…Mai…A-Aya…" he gasped, "I'm sorry." The doctor stopped breathing and choked on blood, his eyes widened pupils dilated, and his body slumped. After a moment he stopped moving altogether.

"Dr. Hiroa, Dr. Hiroa! Please! Wake up! Don't! Don't do this!" Mai screamed, shaking him aggressively.

Nothing. Naru felt the final crack, and the bond shifted. A feeling of dread settled in his stomach. Mai was going to die.

Day 10: 04:45

Mai

This can't be happening. This can't be. No no no no no no no! Their last hope in getting out, now lying dead braced against a tree.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Mai screamed.

She felt her spirit shatter and try to split out of her body. She was losing her grip on reality! She was going to be destroyed! And then the pain hit her.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" She screamed as she fell backward. The pain was unreal. It was so much pain that it almost felt like no pain at all. It was unfathomable to the mind. She couldn't deal with this! This pain was unlike anything she'd ever felt, including the bond disconnection. It felt like her very essence was trying to stab, carve, and undulate itself out of every surface of her body all at once.

"MAI!" Naru yelled, hovering at her side. He gripped her hand tightly. "Hang in there, don't lose your grip on reality! Your spirit, you need to fight this Mai! Don't let it fade!" He shouted through their bond.

"Naru, Oliver, this hurts so much! I'm dying! I'm being split apart! I don't want to die! I don't want to leave you!" She replied. Pain wracked through her as she wrangled and wrestled the parts of her spirit trying to leave her body. She screamed in agony.

Naru was sobbing and shaking. "I don't want you to die either. You can't! Use your PK, grip your spirit, and tether it back with your PK Mai!"

She tried to reach in and find her PK but the pain made it hard to focus and concentrate. She pushed through pain to try and find it. She found it fluttering everywhere. It was hard to get a grasp on it. "I can't get a grip on it! It keeps jumping out of my grasp. Naru, help me! Use your PK, your aura, something!" Her body convulsed in pain. This was madness! It never stopped! She gasped and heaved trying to clutch onto her throat and chest for air.

Naru was also cringing in pain. He was feeling everything that she was feeling through their bond. It was a phantom pain, however. It was like he could feel what she was feeling but as a muted pain. As if the soul bond was trying to protect one of them to buy time to save the other. "I can't…I can't keep the shield around us and push your spirit to your body! It's too much!" He was sobbing so hard now and she could now feel his pain through the bond. She was causing his pain!

"You two are so much more trouble than I ever thought you'd be," Alaina said walking closer to them. "Control yourself girlie, and we'll get you both back to your cell."

"No! I won't go back there! I want to stay with you! Naru, I love you. Help me please!" She cried.

"Mai…please! I'm begging you here. Stay with me. My golden light, my angel, please! I can't do this!" He panicked. He gripped her upper body and held her close to him; hoping that the closeness would help restore her spirit. It made no sense, but desperation and panic guided his actions.

"When you two come back, I'll have great pleasure in fulfilling those thoughts that girlie saw in my head. Fantasies coming to life. Your powers will be mine, and Akio and I will be filthy fuckin' rich!" Alaina taunted.

"Shut up!" Mai screamed out loud at her. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You know nothing about wielding this power. You never understood this power!" She growled, "I only do because I know just what it is on an intimate level. Because I know what it truly is!" Her face scrunched in pain and she gasped and panted in exhaustion. Tears spilled from her eyes. "It's Naru's…it's Oliver's power. It's his emotions; his love and hatred, his sorrow and joy, his spiritual being becoming amplified by my love for him." She sobbed, waves of golden energy pulsing outwards. "That's why you'll never have control over it! You'll never have control over him!" Her eyes glowed gold and her energy reached a peak. "He's mine as I am his! Heart, mind, and soul! I won't leave my best friend, my heart, MY PROTECTOR!"

"Mai…" he gripped her to him. His PK increased dramatically. "I love you so much. I will protect you. I won't let you die!" He reached through their bond and to her subconscious. He yelled with all of his strength, "Gene! We need you! Help us!"

A blue sphere of light came into existence from the astral plane. Gene had extended his powers once more into the physical realm to protect them both. He placed himself in front of Naru and Mai with arms outstretched to the side. His being there helped to amplify the shield they had around them.

"I told you all before! She is under my protection! They both are! You all will not touch them!" Gene's ghostly voice called into the night air.

Mai can feel Naru's PK flow through her and work now on finding the shattered pieces of her spirit. She felt him use his PK to amplify her own. "Mai, work with me. We're going to find the pieces of your spirit and bond them together with our shared PK," he said.

"Ok!" She cried.

She felt him search with her trying to keep her spirit connected to her. He found one piece and another and sent PK from one to the other. They rejoined instantly.

"AAAHHH!" She screamed.

"That hurts! Naru, I'm scared," She sobbed.

"I know, I know! It's working though. Try to bear with it a little more."

"That's him! That's the spirit who attacked me!" Akio yelled at Alaina.

"Well I'll be damned, you know who that is? Eugene Davis. It's nice to finally meet ya in the flesh! Oh wait, I guess only one of us is flesh," Alaina said, chuckling.

Naru found another piece of her spirit and helped reconnect it again. Her body jerked and convulsed in pain. She bit her cheek as the pain gripped her. She was trembling so hard now. "How many more?! This is torture!" She begged.

She felt his tears dripping onto her face. "Three more times; just three more," he said.

"You know we've got allll fuckin' night, right? You're gonna have to lower that shield at some point? And when I get them back, I've got a nice, good pair of iron shackles and iron collars made just right for both of them," Alaina taunted.

"I won't let you do that to them!" Gene growled.

Another piece of her spirit was found. He jolted and connected the piece to the others. "I want to stay alive! I want to live with you! You're my protector!" She cried. She felt Naru's determination through the bond.

"How long do you think she has?" Akio asked. "Surely not much time left."

"Probably not, and Eugene over here…how long can you survive being out here?" Alaina asked.

"As long as I need to!" He lied. "Come on Noll, I can't support this shield for long!"

Another piece. "Mai, you have to survive this. We need to go home. We need to drink tea together and argue over how heavy the equipment is for you to carry. We need to stop hexes and curses in homes and schools. We need to go home to our family!" Naru sobbed.

"Naru!" She cried in agony. She was panting and gasping for air that just seemed unwilling to enter her lungs.

"No one is coming to rescue them! Why even fight?!" Akio asked.

"They fight to survive! Anywhere is better than here!" Gene retorted.

The final piece. "BECAUSE ONE LIFETIME ISN'T ENOUGH TIME FOR ME TO SPEND WITH YOU! I NEED YOU TO LIVE, SO I CAN TELL YOU I LOVE YOU EVERY DAY!"

Her spirit was reconnected, and golden and silver light erupted from the both of them in a tall cyclone of energy. Spiraling and swirling so high into the air it was like a beacon. Erupting so powerfully it shook the earth below like an earthquake. A shrill high pitched ringing filled the air. It was so powerful, that the energy pushed away the rain clouds from the entire vicinity and shook the trees' leaves and branches until they broke off.

After what felt like forever, but was only twenty seconds the light died down and everyone could see the two of them clutching each other in a desperate embrace. Their shield was gone, Gene having gone back to the astral plane once more, and energy pulsing from them like a heartbeat.

Mai felt her spirit and her body work as one again. She felt life enter her and she looked up at Naru. At her protector. Her soul binder. He had combined part of his spirit into hers. She could feel it pulse inside of her heart as she was filled with his aura. He stared at her with silver eyes shining so brightly. He smiled at her and caressed her cheek.

"My golden light," he whispered.

"My protector," she whispered back.

"DON'T MOVE!" The yakuza members around them started shouting. They raised their rifles and began to close in on them.

"How annoying," they both said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

Then, the most amazing sound in the world hit their ears. A very familiar high-pitched whistle pierced the early air. There at the top of a hill in the distance stood Lin with his shikis, Ayako with her charms and the spirits of the trees around her, Takigawa with his beads and a baseball bat, John with his crucifix, and Masako with arms outstretched. All of them glared down at every person below. Behind them and to the sides surrounding them was a never-ending army of spirits and ghosts. The trees and foliage around them began turning white with frost due to the amount of spiritual activity in one area.

"Oh my god, NOW WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" Alaina yelled.

"Lin! Everyone!" Mai sobbed.

"Spirits of Limbo!" Masako commanded, her eyes determined. "These people stand in the way of your forever afterlife!"

"Protect Oliver and Mai, and save our family!" John commanded. "Fight for your families! Be ready to pass on with no more regrets!"

"ATTACK!" They both yelled.

A swarm of ghosts and spirits charged down the hillside, screeching in rage and determination. Mai and Naru braced themselves against each other and erected another shield of warmth around them.

Their family has arrived.