Chapter 30: Hang On A Little Longer - UNSECRET
Recovery Day 1: 0530
Mai
The feeling of familial warmth was overwhelming. From seeing her parents one last time, to now being embraced by her chosen family. She wasn't afraid anymore. Her feet and legs were still bleeding and they felt so cold. She had only one request.
"Can we go home now?" She whispered.
"Yeah, let's get you two home," Lin answered. "We'll have to call Yasu with Martin out here to help with data recovery before we call in the police."
Mai felt Naru's dread through the bond. "Martin? Luella and Martin?" He asked.
"Yes, who else?" Lin asked.
"YOU CALLED IN MY PARENTS?!" He yelled. "They're here? Right now?"
"Waiting in one of the vans, yes," Lin answered.
"Oh god no. I'm not ready for this," Naru said through the bond.
"Your adoptive parents?" She asked.
"Oh no, Mai I wasn't ready to introduce you to them so early either!" He panicked.
"It'll be ok. We're going home now," she replied. She sent her own small jolt of PK to him.
"Mai, not in front of everyone!" He said, feeling flushed and flustered.
"Can you two walk?" Ayako asked.
"Not…really no. My ankle is messed up, and our feet are bleeding and frozen," she answered.
"We're exhausted too. I don't think we can move far," Naru answered.
"Not a problem you two. Takigawa, you take Mai, I'll take Noll," Lin said.
She was lifted into Monk's arms as everyone began to stand up. She looked over to Naru and saw him in Lin's arms as well. She reached out to hold his hand and he reached back. They connected again and they both felt at ease. They held hands as they were carried out of the forest and to a clearing where they could see two vans. Their regular work van and a multi-seat van. Upon them coming out of the forest the work van door opened and out came two adults with Yasu. They rushed over to the two of them, worried and concerned.
"Oliver! Mai! Oh, you two, I'm so glad you're safe now!" the woman cried out.
"Yes, let's get you two home," the man said.
"Luella, we're going to send you with them. Martin, we'll need you here with us to collect their footage and wait for the police to get here," Lin said.
"Got it."
They opened the door to the van and Lin placed Naru inside. He slid over to the other side as Monk placed her gently inside. Luella came in next to them carrying blankets, pillows, towels, and a thermos.
"Let's get you two comfortable shall we?" She said, "I brought the tea, just like you asked Oliver."
"So they watched the footage as well," She said through the bond.
"Thank you, Mother. This…isn't exactly the introduction I had planned. Mai, this is my adoptive mother Luella. Mother, this is Mai," he said blushing.
"It's nice to meet you-" she started to say, but Luella pulled her into a tight embrace.
"You need no introduction, my dear. You are a remarkable, wonderful girl. You've been through so much," she said, then pulling back and smiling. They both gasped in shock seeing her openly weeping as well. "You were so strong. You protected Oliver, and you healed him. In more ways than one. You are Mai Taniyama. A name that needs no introduction and will forever be known in our family as 'the one who heals'."
Mai's heart leaped to her throat. She felt so much love coming from her. She felt Naru's feelings of shock, surprise, and joy. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged her again.
"I've never heard mother sound like this. She loves you already," Naru told her through the bond.
"Thank you, Luella!" She cried. They broke apart and Luella smiled.
"Not to mention, you've got a mean right hook! Nothing made me more happy than to see that monster go down!" Luella said, raising her fists.
She giggled and Naru felt embarrassed. "It's ok Naru, our parents will always embarrass us somehow."
"She's right though, you do have a mean right hook," he replied.
"Now, let's get you two comfortable," she said, organizing the pillows and blankets.
They got settled in and she snuggled into Naru's side. Their feet and legs were wrapped up in clean and fluffy towels. Naru paid close attention to Mai's ankle by applying enough pressure to stop the bleeding and clean the area to prevent infection. He wrapped an arm around her and held her tight. Luella poured them a cup of tea into a couple of cups. They both smiled at each other and drank. It was so warm. So nice.
"I'm feeling so tired now," Mai said, eyes feeling heavy.
"Same here," Naru said.
"Sleep you two. We'll take care of you," Luella whispered.
She held Naru's hand and he squeezed back. "Let's go to the garden, love," she said through the bond.
She was out in no time.
-o-
Recovery Day 1: 05:55
Takigawa
"You ready to go, you three?" He asked.
Ayako, Masako, and John all nodded and made their way to the van. Luella was already in there with Mai and Naru. They were curled up and passed out curled around each other. Masako and John slid in the back, while he and Ayako sat up front. They started up the van and took off.
"I'm so glad they're back with us," Ayako said looking out the window. "I don't know how they both survived this."
"Yeah, I know. They almost didn't," he said.
"I have my work cut out for me with those two. Both physically and mentally. Even said, that Dr. Hiroa really came through for them," she added.
"He really did," he replied. They drove on.
-o-
Recovery Day 1: 06:30
Lin
They grabbed the camera from Dr. Hiroa's shirt and they made their way over to the facility. They needed to ensure that the footage that they got on Oliver and Mai did not fall into the hands of the police. That had sensitive data on the two of them and their abilities. It had evidence of them that the police shouldn't have.
They made their way inside. Everything had been abandoned. All of the mercenaries and yakuza were gone and everything was left just how they left it. Yasu got right to work on the computers and getting into their network. Martin examined the main testing room they were in. The smell of burnt flesh was an overwhelming presence.
"They were trying to recreate the same experiment Oliver and Eugene performed," Martin commented.
"Yes, it would seem so. There seem to be a couple of spiritual presences. My shiki can sense them," he said as they whispered to him.
The realization that this was supposed to be meant for him and Noll was not lost on him. He and Martin made their way over to the office area they saw in the video. He saw the metal room that Mai was put in. It was heavy and thick with solid steel.
"It's no wonder their bond was disconnected so harshly. The thicker the metal was the harsher the effects," Martin said.
"This looks to be smaller inside than outside. We'll need to do some measuring, but just based on what I see alone, the room has multiple feet of steel plating," Lin replied.
They went into the other room next door. There was a picture on the desk of Alaina with someone else. Martin quickly grabbed the photo off the desk.
"My god, I know this man in the photo!" Martin said, astonished.
"What? Who is he?" Lin asked.
"He's the owner of one of our business connections in the UK. Oliver has met him a couple of times as we worked to branch out into Japan. That's Jack McClaren!"
"Well now we know how Oliver's identity was leaked," Lin said.
"Guys! Guys get in here!" Yasu called.
They both ran back into the room and over to Yasu. "What is it, what did you find?" Lin asked.
"They recorded everything," Yasu said shakily.
"Like everything in this room?" Lin asked.
"No, I mean, everything, everything," he emphasized.
All of the halls, all of the rooms, had a small hidden camera that recorded video and sound. Going back to a random part of the files labeled with different names, they clicked on files that were labeled 'Subjects room 1' and 'Subjects room 2'. Clicking on both brought up cameras in both Noll and Mai's shared bedroom and adjacent bathroom. It recorded everything.
"They never had a chance of escaping unnoticed. They knew it from day one," Yasu said.
There was another file they found labeled 'experiments' clicking on that revealed a list of videos from 1-9. All of them with either 'failure' or 'success' next to the file name.
Yasu clicked on the first experiment. It showed Mai and Naru holding each other as they worked to build up PK. Once enough was built up you could see the box begin to tremble and lift, but then after a flash, Mai started screaming and after a few seconds, they fell to the ground. Naru checked Mai over, scrambling and panicking to hear anything, and then began CPR. It was hard to look at.
They clicked on the first 'success' video four days later.
It showed them much more easily picking up the box and throwing it, but the two were surrounded by guards, grabbed, and separated. It showed Naru fighting to get them to let go as the other man began assaulting Mai. After the worst two minutes of their lives, Naru's PK traveled from himself to Mai. She was able to kick the man off of her and send PK straight through him. After ten seconds the light settled and the man's face melted and his body burnt to a crisp.
"Let's see, complete obliteration of a target from…23 yards! We'll stretch that to 25. Doesn't fuckin' matter," Alaina said. She walks over to Mai. "Well done indeed. You're a killer now. How does it feel?" she asked.
Mai looked at her. "I-I-I'm not!" she stammered. "H-He tried t-to…h-h-he-!"
"Oh self-defense won't work in this case sweetie," Alaina said kneeling in front of Mai. "I saw the hatred in your eyes; you burnt him to a crisp, you did! You hated him…you wanted him dead. That makes you a killer. A murderer…." she whispered. She caressed Mai's cheek and Mai flinched back. "You did me a favor, you know. He was really fuckin' annoying. You murdered an absolute idiot. But it was still murder missie. Intent matters you know, and I saw murderous intent in your eyes. You have great potential. You'll make my buyers very happy."
Mai looked up and glared at Alaina. "You don't know anything about intent! I intended to protect Oliver! I intended to survive without being raped! If that means I have to go through everyone here to do so, then I will! The only murderer here is you!" Mai screamed at Alaina as she sobbed and shook.
Alaina slapped her hard across the face. "You will watch your tongue there, or I'll have it cut from you instead." Alaina got up from the floor. "Go clean yourself up girlie. You look ridiculous. He barely even touched ya' bits. I need to have a talk wit' your boss here." Mai was taken away and Naru's gag was removed.
"You bitch, I'll kill you!" he growled.
"Save it, Doctor. You won't do shit," she said. "I expect more of those results from now on. If not I won't hold back the rest of these men from doin' a fuckin' train on ya' girlfriend. Do better tomorrow. This isn't a fuckin' game Oliver. And now I know you two are very capable of killin'. I want to see just how powerful you and ya' girlfriend really are," she said before storming off.
"Oh god no…" Martin whispered.
"That's enough now. I'll review all footage later, but for now, just grab all the data you can and then wipe it all clean," Lin ordered.
"On it," Yasu said darkly.
Lin cringed hard. This was sickening. And he knew what would be on those tapes. He debated telling Noll that the first time he ever had sex, the first time he and Mai ever had sex, was being secretly recorded and probably rewatched by these sick bastards. Oh god, and Mai, what would she say? How would she react?
'This is going to be a headache,' he thought.
-o-
Rescue Day 1: 08:05
Masako
She relaxed against John in the van as Takigawa drove on. "We did it," she whispered.
"Yeah, we did. Ten years," he whispered back.
"Ten years," she repeated.
They waited a few more moments before John said, "I want to apologize for my actions in Limbo."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I kissed you. I shouldn't have done that, especially when you or I couldn't speak. I don't know what came over me." He said.
"It's ok John. I needed it. I was so lost and depressed. You helped guide me through it all. I know it affected you too," she replied.
"Yeah, it did. It did. I'm going to have to think about this. Maybe talk to some other clergy," he said.
"Yeah. I'm just glad they're back," she said.
"Same."
"I'd do it again. For them, for the chance to meet Mai's parents, to rescue them. It wasn't easy, but I'd do it again," Masako said.
"I'm not convinced that Death didn't know that we'd meet them down there," John pondered, "I mean if you think about it, what are the chances that her mother could sense us from the moment we entered Limbo? Or that the only way we were able to communicate our intentions and message was through her telepathic father? I bet Death knew, and that meeting them was part of the game."
Masako thought about it with a new sense of things. This was going to have to be an existential crisis question for later.
"Maybe," she said as she drifted asleep.
-o-
Rescue Day 1: 08:30
Naru
He found a new happy place. There is no other way to describe it other than pure joy. Laying down in the grass, in the center of the mental garden Mai created just for them, with the most beautiful person imaginable. Looking at the clouds pass by, listening to the sounds in the garden, and kissing Mai in every way imaginable have completely changed his idea of what PK and astral projection can do.
"Mai," he moaned as they broke away from another kiss.
"Oliver," she whispered. "This all feels like a dream. A dream I don't want to wake up from."
"Not a dream. We're going home. And then we work on recovering from everything," he said, caressing her face and neck.
"After a week alone," she reminded him, smiling.
He smiled. "After a week."
"Hey, lovebirds! Mind if I join you two?" Gene's voice called out.
They both sat up and looked over to where Gene was standing on the side of the clearing. He was smiling ear to ear.
"Gene!" Mai cried jovially.
"Get over here brother," he said, beckoning him over.
Gene came over and sat down with them. He pulled the both of them into a hug. "I'm so glad you two are safe now. I was honestly terrified back there! If I was any later, Mai's spirit might have been completely lost," Gene said.
"I'm glad too," she said, holding Naru's hand. "That was the most pain I think I've ever experienced. To put it into perspective, the metal room was extremely painful, but the pain of my soul splitting and being reformed was worse."
He pondered that statement for a second. The pain of a bond as deep as theirs disconnecting for four hours was less painful than her spirit splitting apart and being reformed? He would never take her being in his life for granted ever again. He put a finger under her chin to turn her face towards him as he leaned down to kiss her gently.
"So what ended up happening to Alaina and Akio? Did you two end up…well, you know?" He trailed off uncomfortably.
"No," he replied, "Mai was right. They wanted murderers. Our PK should never be used in that regard. She stopped me from killing them."
"'Our'? What do you mean by 'our PK'? What did you two do?" Gene asked.
"We found out last night that I have latent PK-LT! With it, we were able to rewire their brains and curse them for ten years." Mai said with a smile. "I have already proven it can be done with PK when I made Akio forget he saw us kissing. I tried it out after your lesson on the brain and its electrical activity. Seriously, why do you two stare at me like this every time I mention this?"
Gene's eyes were wide and terrified. "That's…that is…I-I didn't teach you that," was all that Gene was able to get out.
"Nope, she used her imagination, intent, and her newfound latent PK-LT," He explained. "My degree in neuroscience and ability to place curses on top of that, and the spirit of Dr. Hiroa guiding the PK through the brain, made for what I think is the most powerful curse I've ever seen."
"That's incredible! Terrifying, but incredible!"
"Due to how much energy it took to place that curse, I almost completely drained my aura," Mai said.
"What?! So how did Noll heal you?" Gene asked.
"He didn't, my…parents did. They were stuck in Limbo, but Masako and John found them. They healed my aura by giving me theirs. I got to see them one last time."
"Oh Mai, I'm so happy for you. And Noll, you are amazing. You two deserve rest. Should I leave?" Gene asked.
He looked at Mai and he agreed with her train of thought. "No, lie down with us. You need rest too after everything," Mai said while lying down.
Gene lay down on her right side and he lay down on her left. They held hands as they looked up at the clouds. This was the first time in a long time that Naru himself felt safe.
