Chapter 8 - Ultimatum

When the trio arrived back at base, they were surprised at what was waiting for them; one of the maids was sitting on the couch as she dried her leaking tears with a tissue. Mai wasted no time in racing over to the woman and wrapping an arm around her in comfort. "What happened?" Naru asks the group.

The are many hesitant looks, and Naru would have snapped if Ayako had not finally spoke up, "She went into the kitchen and found something you need to see for yourself."

Mai stood up with a pat to the woman's shoulder as she followed Naru out of the base and to the kitchen, curious to know what it was. Mai released a gasp of horror when her eyes settled on exactly what it was, another one of the maids, gutted like an animal. Mai felt sick at the sight and the smell, it was horrible. Then her eyes trailed to the wall beside the dead woman to find words written in her blood. A chill went down her spine as she read what was written there.

I will take your life Mai, or the child will die.

At first, Mai was confused, of which child did Rina speak, but then she remembered with startling clarity. She ran back to base, ignoring Naru's cry of her name as he followed behind her. She bangs open the door to base, searching the room for the person she was looking for. Not finding him, she turned to someone who should know where he was. "Madoka, where's Sora?" she asks desperately.

"In our room," is Madoka's confused answer, yet Mai was running back out the door before she had finished responding.

Mai ran straight for Madoka and Lin's room and saw exactly what she had feared; their three-year-old son was not where he was supposed to be. "MADOKA!" she yells, wanting her friend to get here quickly.

Lin and Madoka must have already moved to follow her because they arrived only a few seconds later. It is not hard to guess why Mai had yelled out for Madoka based on her question to the older woman and the glaring lack of their son. Madoka breaks into tears as she realises her son is missing, pressing her face into her husband's chest as he holds her. Everyone else, who had still been in base when she had yelled, eventually arrived. Their confusion at Madoka's state is cleared when Lin looks over to Mai, "Where is he?"

"Rina has him," she replies sadly, her own tears threatening to fall. "That message that she left, Sora is the child she mentioned, I should have realised immediately, he's the only child around."

For all that Rina was angry at her death and the death of her unborn child, Mai could not fathom why she would put an innocent child at risk because of her own vendetta. She was giving Mai an impossible choice, to decide who lived between her pseudo nephew or that of her own life and the life of her child. She moves over towards Madoka and wraps her arms around the parts of her not crushed against Lin. "We'll find him," she whispers into Madoka's back.

Having said the only thing she could say to her friend, Mai made her way over to Naru and pressed her face into his chest, letting loose the tears she had been holding back. The atmosphere in the room was morose, the other members of the team in similar states to the two couples. Yasuhara had a rare look of seriousness on his face as they all tried to comprehend that this had happened as in most of the cases they took, the ghost tended to leave Sora alone.

When Madoka had calmed down a little, the group made their way back to base, finding Mr and Mrs Koiya waiting on a couch. It was clear they were both grieving for their maid, as shown in the tears on Mrs Koiya's face. They looked up as the team entered, and upon noticing their expressions, Mr Koiya asked if something else had happened.

"The ghost has taken Sora, the bloody writing on the wall was an ultimatum for Mai," Naru explains, his tone not showing his fear and anger, though Mai could hear it. "She is giving Mai and impossible choice, either she dies or Sora does."

The older couple stare in horror at the news, and Mai knew Naru also felt guilt after he had assured them Sora would be fine. "I apologise for bringing you in to this and the boy has been taken," Mr Koiya says, addressing the last part to Lin and Madoka. "Such a horrible decision she is forcing upon you, I hope now, more than ever, that you are able to deal with her. Hopefully the boy is also returned to you unharmed."

Madoka manages a weak smile and a thank you towards him, Lin also letting loose an almost silent thank you. It was not unexpected when the scared parents made their way from the room. "Naru, we should leave them alone for a while," Mai whispers to her boyfriend.

"Of course," is all he says as a response before turning back to face the couple sitting on the couch. "I apologise that we have been unable to solve this case and that as a result, another of your maids has been murdered. I ask you to please be patient with us further so that we can solve the case and save the ones in danger. Though I wish not to sound rude, if you could please leave us so that we may get back to work?"

They only shake their heads, brushing off his words about sounding rude, and solemnly make their way from the room in much the same fashion as the last couple who had just exited. The team, despite Naru's words of getting back to work, fall into the couches from exhaustion. For the moment, all they could do was pray that Sora remained unharmed and that they could solve the case soon .

As Mai settled herself on Naru's shoulder, she was unable to stop herself from falling asleep.

As is a constant, Mai was unsurprised to find herself in the darkness again. Though in a much more rapid fashion, she is thrust into Rina's memories, though this time the incident of her death happens in a series of flashes. Most likely because the incident where Kiseki kills his brother and then himself comes in a similar fashion.

The images will not leave her head, and to make matters worse, she then watches as women she did not recongnise die in their sleep. It is only when she sees the most recent death of the maid killed by a floating knife does she realise she was witnessing the deaths of the other maids as well. Though it does make her wonder why the first were killed peacefully in their sleep while the most recent one was killed more brutally, was it just because of her attempts to threaten Mai?

Mai closes her eyes in an effort to block out the visions when she suddenly feels strong arms wrapping around her. She looks up into the face of someone she was not expecting.

"Gene."

A/N: I was really mean to the characters on this case, wow