Chapter 25: The Resistance - Skillet

Day 9: 15:00

The Team

The prior night the team worked hard to research and gather the materials needed to send Masako and John to Limbo. All the while they gathered themselves weapons, medical supplies, their recording devices, and anything else they might need for their rescue. This was rough on everyone and the tension around the group was high. This group was no longer a rag-tag group of people invested in and interested in hexes, curses, apparitions, and ghosts. They were a family sworn to fight whatever they needed to, to bring their family back home.

Once they finished their preparations, it was already 02:00. Everyone was mentally exhausted so they decided to call it a night and sleep at Lin's apartment. They woke up and began working again at 10:00. The ritual would involve sending their spirits into Limbo while their bodies remained in a coma state in the living world. Ayako was preparing the medications needed to keep them comatose while they traveled to their destination. They would travel two miles out from where Dr. Hiroa's location said that he was. That way when their spirits returned to their bodies, the portal to Limbo would follow behind them and they'd be exactly where they were supposed to be. It was around 15:00, and they were about to begin the ritual when Yasu called everyone into the computer room.

"Dr. Hiroa just uploaded another video!" Yasu said.

"Already? That can't be good," Takigawa said. They all made their way into the computer room and as they did the night before the video was pulled up on all four monitors. He pressed play.

"Good morning everyone," Dr. Hiroa's voice came in as he was adjusting the camera into his shirt. "Here's to another day of Hell. I normally start the day by getting Dr. Davis' and Mai's breakfast trays. I've been the one bringing it to them every morning. If it wasn't me doing it, they'd probably just get war rations. I told Alaina and Akio that they need real food for morale and nutrition."

He made his way outside his room, down the hallways, and to a trailer out the back of the building. While he was walking Akio was talking to Alaina as he was walking by, "Listen, I'm not going anywhere near that bitch this morning. After what happened yesterday? Fuck that."

"Good, hope it stays that way," Ayako said.

"Oh doctor, are you going to bring the test subjects breakfast?" Alaina asked.

"Yes,"

"Let them know I want to speak to both of them soon. We have some auction details we need to go over."

"Will do leader Alaina," the doctor replied.

The doctor continued to make his way outside where breakfast was being served. It was some sort of mobile kitchen in a trailer. Men were in there cooking up food for everyone and serving it. Dr. Hiroa got his two trays and started making his way over to Mai's and Naru's room. He looked at the guards and said, "Here to do my morning checkup and provide breakfast."

"Duration?" the guard asked.

"Fifteen minutes tops."

"Understood." The guards stepped to the end of the hallway. Dr. Hiroa knocked at their door. He waited for about a minute before he opened the door. Naru and Mai were awake and standing up, by the bed and looking at the doctor. Nothing was said initially until Dr. Hiroa asked, "I trust you two slept well?"

"Very well, thank you," Naru replied.

"Incredible!" Martin said, looking at the two of them. "Yesterday they looked to be on Death's door and now they look as if nothing had happened!"

"But look," Masako said, pointing to the glow around them. "I can't tell any difference between Oliver's or Mai's aura. It's all…blended."

No one said anything, but Lin inwardly was chuckling to himself. 'Even in a life or death scenario, teenagers are going to be teenagers. I'm glad though that they were able to be happy for at least a night,' he thought.

"Good. Leader Akio seems incredibly shaken up today. He is refusing to go near you Mai," Dr. Hiroa said, putting the trays down.

"Good," Naru growled.

Dr. Hiroa grabbed his clipboard and began taking notes. He turned around and started working with some equipment.

"Hey, Naru, hand me your tea please," Mai implored. When she got it, they saw a jolt of energy go into the tea. Naru sipped it and smiled.

"Alaina wants to talk to the both of you later today. I think they want to explain more about how you two are going to be auctioned. I've been working on the escape plan to happen the night before this happens," Dr. Hiroa said.

"When does she want to talk?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. Sometime soon. She hates waiting," the doctor said.

"Well let's try to enjoy this breakfast until then," Mai said dejectedly.

"I'll leave you two to it then. Be safe you two," said Dr. Hiroa before he left.

"Yasu, fast forward until you can see Noll and Mai again," Lin said. Yasu did as he said and skipped ahead a few hours.

They were being led out of the room by Dr. Hiroa and a couple of guards. When Mai passed by she stopped and looked at him.

"What did you say, doctor?" She asked.

"Hmm? I didn't say anything," Dr. Hiroa said.

The two of them looked at each other a moment before carrying on. As they were walking Mai stopped briefly again and looked concerned for a moment before continuing walking. They got out to the testing room and Dr. Hiroa positioned himself to the right side of the room and within close distance and sight of Naru and Mai.

Mai held her head with her hand, scrunched her face in pain, and leaned against Naru. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. Their auras flashed again, indicating that they were using telepathy.

"What's going on with Mai?" John asked.

"She looks sick. Like she can't focus and looks unsteady," Ayako said.

"Aah, good morning you two. How are we doing today?" Akio's voice came in as he strode up to the both of them. Naru positioned himself in front of Mai. He leaned down into Mai's face. "Are you feeling better today sweetheart?"

After pausing a moment Mai's eyes widened and she gasped and clung to Naru tighter. "Back away. Now!" Naru growled at him.

Mai looked even more unsteady on her feet now as she was having to have Naru support more of her weight. She looked pale, dizzy, and nauseous. Their auras flared up as they began talking. Mai began to deep breathe and try to regain her balance.

She stood up taller and locked her eyes on Alaina. Mai stared unblinking with wide eyes in shock. Her aura began to pulsate wildly. Static began building around her and her eyes narrowed into a glare. Naru looked at her, concerned. She let go of Naru completely and faced Alaina.

"RIN! PYŌ! TŌ! SHA! KAI! JIN! RETSU! ZAI! ZEN!" She screamed and performed the nine cuts at Alaina.

"WAIT WHAT?!" Lin shouted.

Before the cuts even landed she was charging at Alaina. "MAI!" Naru tried but failed to reach out and grab her in time.

"AAAHHH!" Alaina screamed as blood burst open on her. She didn't even have time to clutch her face, because Mai's fist, glowing gold with PK, collided with her face.

"OOOOHHHH!" The group cheered on.

"Way to go MAI! JUST like how we taught you!" Takigawa cheered and jumped with his fist in the air. Then he turned to Ayako and gave her a high five.

Mai and Alaina rolled on the floor, gripping onto each other and pulling, as they both fought for dominance. In the end, Mai came out on top and started laying blow after blow into Alaina's face. Each blow was worse than the last as more and more PK was fueled into her fists.

"Atta girl! Lay into her! Give her a right hook and knock her senseless!" Luella said enthusiastically, raising her fists as well.

"Luella!" Martin said, but he was smiling too.

Alaina was able to hook her legs up and kick Mai off of her. Mai rolled backward but got up quickly. Her fingertips were glowing gold and crackling with PK. Her eyes flashed gold and glared Alaina down. Alaina was holding her face in pain on the floor. Dr. Hiroa briskly walked closer to the back of the room to get a look at the both of them.

"I'll kill you if you touch him!" Mai screamed at her.

"Woah, what is going on with her? I've never seen Mai act this way!" Takigawa asked.

"I'm not sure, something's changed about Mai," Lin said.

Alaina started getting up from the floor. She lowered her hands and blood dealt by the nine cuts and her punching started dripping out and onto the floor.

"You bitch! What the fuck did you do to me?!" Alaina yelled back. She looked into Mai's eyes and stopped. "Now when the fuck did your eyes turn gold missie?"

Mai growled and bared her teeth. The glow on her hands increased in intensity and her aura flashed wildly around her. A guard to the left positioned his rifle and aimed at Mai.

"Oh god no!" Ayako screamed.

Naru raised his hand to Mai and a silver burst of PK erupted out and to Mai. It surrounded her in a cylindrical shield of PK energy. The man fired his rifle at Mai and the bullet disintegrated into dust upon contact with the shield.

"OH THANK GOD OLIVER!" Luella cried.

"A PK shield! My god, our boy's talents have surely increased," Martin commented. "And such a quick reaction time!"

Alaina had pulled her pistol from behind her and aimed it at Mai. Mai equally held out her right arm, stabilizing her elbow with her left hand, and aimed her fingers at Alaina. PK focusing into a golden sphere of crackling energy surged and she held it there. Her arm was shaking under the pressure.

"Look at that Martin! She's able to focus the PK into a fixed position! Look at the precision and concentration!" Luella commented. Everyone else waits apprehensively as they watch Mai glare down a gun to her face.

"It would seem like you've gotten some new abilities missie," Alaina said while panting. "It also seems like you read my thoughts. Telepathy right? That's what it's called? You heard the things I was thinking about doing, let's see if you can see them!"

Mai's PK fluctuated and her face went from wrathful to fear in a heartbeat. Her eyes flickered from gold to brown rapidly. Her aura flared around her as she gripped her head and grimaced in agony.

"GAAAAAAHHH! STOP! STOP! MAKE IT STOOOP!" She screamed as she continued clutching her head in severe pain.

"Mai!" Ayako cried.

Mai bent over screaming and suddenly stopped as she threw up in front of her. The shield around her faltered as Naru's concentration broke with her screaming. Alaina took this opportunity to front-kick Mai hard in the chest. She flew backward and nearly smacked her head on the floor, but Naru dashed forward and caught her.

"Mai!" He yelled. Mai began to shake uncontrollably while clutching her head.

"Come here, you wretched girl!" Alaina growled. More nausea and vomiting as Alaina started to approach them both.

He threw up another PK shield around them both. "Get away from her!"

"Telepathy? Plus nausea and vomiting, sudden headache, dizziness, trembling…her brain is overloading! She's seizing!" Dr. Hiroa said. "STOP!" Dr. Hiroa called out. "EVERYONE! CLEAR THE ROOM! NOW!" Dr. Hiroa stomped over to the two leaders. "Everyone! That means you two as well. Go!"

Alaina looked pissed as her face, neck, and chest were dripping with blood. Bruises evident from the punches Mai landed, and a burst blood vessel in her right eye. "You'll regret this doctor," Alaina said before they both backed out.

Dr. Hiroa waited until they were gone before turning around to Mai and Naru. Naru dropped the shield and started panting with exhaustion. "Mai…doctor what's wrong?"

"Dr. Davis lay Mai on her side. Put her head in your lap," he said.

They reposition her with Mai's head on Naru's lap facing Dr. Hiroa. Naru gently stroked her hair as she trembled uncontrollably. Dr. Hiroa brought Mai's leg up and brought her arm in front of her face.

"Dr. Hiroa, what is happening?" Naru asked. He looked pissed and panicked at the same time.

"Hold on," he said.

Hey, trembling began to simmer down onto minor shaking. Their aura fluctuated again indicating communication and Naru sighed and relaxed a bit.

"When Alaina mentioned telepathy, I paired that up with her other signs and symptoms. Sudden headache, nausea and vomiting, dizziness; Alaina sent so many thoughts into Mai's brain that the electrical impulses in her brain couldn't handle it all at once. It sent her into what is called a Grand Mal seizure. She should be coming out of it now though. Are you with us Mai?" The doctor asked.

She opened her eyes only to immediately close them shut tightly and scrunch her face. She brought her hand to her head. "My head…my head hurts!" She cried.

"That's normal just after an episode. Just breathe and we'll be able to get you some pain meds soon. We need to gently move her back into bed. If we go too quickly it could send her into another episode," he said. They began slowly walking back; Naru holding Mai in his arms.

"So wait, Mai can read everyone's thoughts now?" Asked Yasu.

"That seems to be the case," answered Lin. "She can hear their thoughts and see them as well apparently. Whatever Alaina sent over happened so much and so quickly that it overloaded her."

"And whatever those thoughts were," Masako said, "they were bad enough to cause Mai to go into a rage."

"And visually bad enough to make her look the most afraid I've ever seen her," John said softly.

They got back to the room and Naru gently put Mai down on the bed. "Doctor, am I safe to sleep?" She asked.

"Yes, you should be fine now. We'll keep an eye on you to make sure you're ok," the doctor said.

Their auras flashed up once more before she fell asleep. Naru held her hand and looked at her intently. "Dr. Hiroa, whatever Mai heard, whatever she saw, it couldn't have been good. We need to speed up our escape," he said.

"I agree. I'll get everything set up. You guys won't see me for a while but rest assured, I will be back."

With that, Dr. Hiroa left and made his way back to his room. He took off the camera and looked directly at them. "This is getting bad. Very bad. I'm going to try to help them escape tonight, but I need time and supplies. I'm going to upload this and hope you all can make it here in time. I'm going to leave the compound, so I'll call in one hour after uploading this video. Be ready."

With that, he turned off the camera.

"So we have like 20 minutes until he calls?" Takigawa asked.

"Yes. Let's get the vans ready and pack out! We'll take his call on the road. John, Masako, good luck you two," Lin said.

Masako and John nodded and looked at each other. They were determined to return successfully. And in that regard, return at all. Ayako got them ready by getting a saline lock inserted into both of them. Once they got into the back of the van with seats, they buckled in, reclined back, and held hands.

"You ready Masako? Are you ready John?" Ayako asked.

The two looked at each other. John smiled and squeezed Masako's hand. "More than ready. What about you Masako?" John asked.

"Let's do this John. Guide me through Limbo," Masako said smiling.

"John, I'll start with you first and then move to you, Masako," Ayako said, readying the syringe. "John, count backward from ten."

"Ten, nine, eight, seeeven, siiix…" And he was out.

"Masako, be safe. Both of you, come back safe. Army or no army, come back to us," Ayako said as she readied the second syringe.

"We will," she said.

"Count backward from ten."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, siiiiiix," she mumbled before passing out.

Ayako sighed. "Good luck you two."

"Ayako, Lin's on the phone with Dr. Hiroa," Takigawa said, coming up to her.

They both made their way over to Lin and he put the phone on speaker. Standing with them were Yasu, Luella, and Martin. "Alright, we're here," Lin said.

"You guys all watched the videos?" He asked, his voice sounding forlorn.

"Yes. Both of them. We're getting ready to go down to their location now," he said.

"Good. I've had to get some medical supplies to assist in escaping. I'm planning on the escape happening at four in the morning. These people…they should all die for what they've done. Not just to those two," Dr. Hiroa said.

"We have some further assistance too. Oliver's adoptive parents are here as well. They've been financially funding our operations."

"Dr. Hiroa, we know this hasn't been easy on you or your daughter. We thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for keeping our children as safe as you can. Keeping them alive. We owe you our lives," Martin said.

"We can fund your daughter's medical treatments if you wish. We can get you out of this mess as well!" Luella implored.

Dr. Hiroa sighed hard. "Thank you, but there's no need for that anymore," he said. "Aya is dead."

"WHAT?!" They all cried out in shock.

"What happened?" Lin asked, using his hand to indicate for everyone to settle down.

"You saw the video right? When Alaina said I would regret it? Well…here I am. As Akio said, one phone call is all it takes. She was overdosed and went into shock. Her heart couldn't take it, and on top of the brain damage she's already sustained, her body just…quit. She's dead…but I regret nothing of what I did. I don't regret saving Mai and Oliver from that bitch. I only regret everything I've done to put my little one into this mess, to begin with. I couldn't save Aya…but I can save those two under my care. If I can just have one request from you all that would be enough," he asked.

"What is it?" Lin asked.

"Mai…she not only looks like her, but she acts almost the exact same way. She…she deserves a family who will love her and care for her. Right now, she has Oliver, but…she needs you all. She's going to need a lot of mental help after this. He as well, though he won't admit it. Please…someone adopt her. She needs a family. A family who will love her the way I love her. She is like my own," he said tearfully.

Ayako was sobbing silently. "I will. I will adopt her!" she cried.

"Not if I adopt her first, you old hag!" Takigawa said, also sobbing.

"That's only if she doesn't want to live with us!" Luella said.

"Living with and legal adoption are two separate things!" Takigawa said.

"We know, we adopted two!" Martin butted in.

"Everyone stop!" Lin yelled, "Dr. Hiroa, we are all Mai's family. We'll settle who's going to adopt her once this is over, but rest assured, she has a family who will care for her."

Dr. Hiroa sighed with relief. "Good. And, you said Oliver's adoptive parents are there as well?"

"Yes, we are," Martin said.

"Your son…your son is the most remarkable man I've ever met. He's powerful, resilient, a genius, and an astounding doctor in his field, with an ego to match me as a neurosurgeon. You've done exceptionally well raising him. My daughter, Aya, is…was a huge fan of his work. She insisted I read his publishings and I did. His writings and works are but a fraction of his genius and character. It has been an honor to meet and help him. He is still young though. He's been through a lot. He'll need your guy's love just as much."

Luella was crying, holding a hand to her mouth. "Thank you doctor; from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We raised him and his brother, but he is an especially bright and kind young man. We love him as any parent should," she said.

"I hope to see you all again soon," Dr. Hiroa said before hanging up.

"Well," Lin said, "Everyone ready?" They all nodded. "Let's go bring our family home. Let's move out!"