April 27

He sighed as he listened to the voice over the phone. "Yes, I understand, we'll be there in two days," Oliver Davis placed the receiver into the cradle. The ebony haired teen ran a hand through his hair and threw his hands up in the air in an "I give up" gesture.

He glanced at the calendar and ground his teeth together in silent anger. He turned his chair and noted Mai as she ambled down the sidewalk toward the office. He glanced at the clock, she'd be a little late, but he could overlook that.

Rising from his chair, he exited his office with a slight limp and knocked on Lin's office door. The sound of the click-clacking of the keyboard stopped, and Naru turned the doorknob and pushed the door open as he limped into his friend's office. Leaning on the doorframe, he sighed again, "Lin we have a case in Nagoya, one that I can't refuse.

Lin knew the cases he couldn't refuse would come from Madoka. "Was Madoka on the phone?"

"No, my father and we're to meet them at the airport in Nagoya. We'll not only be meeting my parents but the clients are flying in with them. Then we travel to the location from there."

He turned towards the bell that rang on the door. "That should be Mai," he exited his friend's office closing the door behind him on his way out."

Ambling towards the reception area where her desk sat he spied her as she put her book bag on her desk.

She looked his way and bowed twice towards him. Pink tinged her flushed cheeks. "I know I'm late. I'll get your tea." She moved to bypass him but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"The tea can wait."

Her eyes grew large as she looked at him, "the tea can wait?" Was he sick, or was he still in pain from the ankle. "Naru, are you okay? You're not sick are you?" She reached out and placed a hand on his forehead.

He brushed her hand aside as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "We have a case."

"Another one, already?" she lowered her eyes to the floor.

He reached out and placed his hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry Mai, but I can't refuse this case." He pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on her head as he closed his eyes. "This is from my father, and he's bringing the clients, Madoka, and my mother with him."

"Your mother," her voice squeaked as her breathing increased. Her chest tightened painfully, as dizziness struck her.

He led her to the couch and sat her down, she struggled to try to gain control over her emotions as panic set in. "Tea, you need your tea," she muttered as she stood as she took a step towards the kitchenette. Her knees buckled and she fell.

"Mai," he yelled as he reached her side.

Lin raced out of his office upon hearing Naru's cry.

Naru looked up at him. "Call Miss Matsuzaki and ask her to come over here as soon as possible."

Lin nodded silently, and pulled out his cell and made the call.

A half an hour passed as Ayako flew in the office not caring how loud she was. "Where's Mai," she yelled as her eyes scanned the room quickly, settling on the black-clad teen who knelt on one knee next to the girl on the floor. "What happened?" she looked up into Naru's eyes.

"We have another case, and I was explaining it to her and mentioned that my parents are flying over with the clients."

"What the hell is going on in that brain of yours. She's terrified of meeting your parents. She told me so over the phone last night."

"Why would she convey that to you and not me?"

"She was afraid you'd call her an idiot, seriously Naru I don't know which one of you two is worse, you, or Mai." The doctor sighed as her hands skillfully checked the girls head and neck for injuries. She drew a penlight from her purse and flashed it in Mai's eyes. "That's a relief, as far I can tell she doesn't have a concussion. Move her to the couch."

Naru lifted her up in his arms and placed her on the sofa. Lin appeared as if he'd stepped out of a puff of smoke with a wet cloth in hand and passed it to Ayako who placed it Mai's head. "Now back to what we were talking about earlier. Mai called me last night, she had a dream about meeting your parents, and she's afraid that they won't like her, or that they'll see her as a gold-digger or something along those lines."

"I really don't know what she's so worried about, Mother will love her. She has much the same personality, although mother can be a bit more manic."

The girl in question stirred on the couch and blinked trying to clear the fuzz that filled her brain. "What happened?" she glanced at the three faces staring down at her.

"You became panicked, and collapsed," Naru replied as he brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "When you feel better, you need to call everyone, and then you can make my tea."

She smiled up at him, "Sure."

The tall man glanced at his wife of over thirty years he smiled in her direction. "What's troubling you, Luella?"

The woman in question whose brown hair was interspersed with gray looked at her husband as she fidgeted in her seat at the dining room table. "What if she doesn't like me?"

He chuckled as he reached out and took her hand. "You worry too much, my dear." He looked over the latest report from Lin, "seems she's worried about meeting us too." He chuckled again as he handed Luella the report.

She read the report and gasped. "She collapsed in the office?"

"Calm down my dear, everything will be okay," he patted her hand and then continued with eating his dinner.

"How can you be so calm over this, I mean after all her mother was your research assistant."

"And her father was a good friend besides a good researcher. Let's just take this meeting one day at a time. Besides Lin says that both Oliver and Mai are completely in love with each other, and both would do anything to protect the other." He smiled at his wife and took her hand in his again. "Everything will be all right."

She hesitantly smiled back in return. I suppose your right."

"That's my girl. We need to go pack and get ready for our flight to Nagoya."

April 28

Naru kept the SPR office closed as he, Mai and Lin went over the equipment. Both Lin and Naru had the sleeves rolled up on their dress shirts as they worked. Mai found it hard to keep her mind on what she needed to do as a flush crept across her cheeks.

Though all the equipment had been cleaned the last time before being put away, it still was in their best interest to check and make sure everything worked properly.

Though not as clumsy as she had been two years ago when Naru first met her, Mai still got into trouble without even trying. She was checking the thermometers and as she went to set it down in the box, she stumbled as she tripped over the box. She closed her eyes expecting to feel the impact of the floor. Instead, she felt arms catch her.

"Mai," Naru sighed as he steadied her. He rubbed his forehead trying to ward off a headache that was building. "I know you want to help but I have to get this camera fixed before tomorrow and I can't do that if you keep on tripping over your feet."

Mai's eyes widened as she lowered her head and her chin trembled. "I'm… I'm sorry." Her face flushed as she looked up at him. "I didn't realize that I was getting in the way."

"Mai, we're on a tight schedule as it is. I can't just drop everything to keep you from getting hurt. It would be best if you weren't in the way right now."

"In the way?" she backed away from him. She dropped the thermometer into the box and ran out of the room as tears gathered at the back of her eyes. Time seemed to stop as Mai threw herself onto a couch. A tear slipped out the corner of her eye as the thought struck her. I knew it. He thinks I'm a burden as her eyelids grew heavy.

Naru turned to find Lin giving him a stern glare. "You know you didn't have to be so annoyed with her." Lin frowned as his face tightened. "You need to go talk to her Noll. Every relationship has its moments but you hurt her over nothing."

Naru sighed as he tucked his hands in his pants pockets. "You're right. I should go talk to her."

Lin reached out as his expression softened and he squeezed the younger man's shoulder. "This will not be the first time you two will fight and it won't be the last."

Mai woke to find she was laying on a metal table. She was strapped down to the table and couldn't even move her head. Bright lights from overhead blinded her as she heard a whistle came seemed to bounce around the room. The tune was something she'd never heard before.

The whistle appeared to come closer and she trembled and whimpered as memories came back to her of a similar table she was strapped to in the blood stained labyrinth. She tried to speak but found something hard was jammed into her mouth and a strap over her chin held her mouth closed. Mai struggled to fight out of her restraints. The whistle turned to a tuneless voice who began to sing some weird song about being surrounded by bad girls.

Something metallic slammed hard as click sounded followed by an electrical hum as her body arched. Mai couldn't get the scream out of her mouth as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through her body. She heard a maniacal laugh as the switch turned off and her body collapsed onto the table. She heard the slam of the switch again. Her body arched up faster as the pain was more intense than the first. Gagged sounds came from her throat as she tried to scream again.

Naru entered the room. He found Mai asleep on the couch. He turned to head back to the storage room but her body suddenly arched in a contorted position and she screamed.

He was at her side in an instant, "Mai, wake up," he ran a hand over her cheek. Naru took her arms in his as he gently shook her.

Lin raced into the room after hearing the scream. He found the usually unflappable Naru nearly in a panic. "I can't get her to wake up," he looked up at his friend.

Mai felt her spiritual body being ripped from the scene and found herself in Gene's arms. "Gene," she whispered as her knees buckled and tears slipped from her eyes. "He killed her didn't he," she stated.

Gene rubbed her back, "Yes, he did. I'm sorry you had to experience that, but you need to go back," he brushed the hair out of her eyes as he kissed her on the forehead.

Gene hated that she had to undergo the terror, but any clue for Noll was a good one. "Keep her safe, Noll," he whispered.

Mai opened her eyes and reached out grabbing Naru's hand. Her throat hurt from screaming, and she sniffed as Naru turned to her. Her voice croaked as she tried to speak, "I had another dream," her voice cracked and her mouth felt dry.

Lin fetched her a glass of water and held it out as she sat up. Naru sat next to Mai rubbing circles on her back. She took the glass and drank the water greedily as though she'd been in a desert for a year. She sat the glass down on the coffee table.

Mai wrapped her arms around her midsection. "I was strapped to a table. I couldn't even move my head." She trembled, "I couldn't see around me because of bright lights. I heard this creepy whistle and heard something that might have been a switch being turned on. Then the electricity went through my body…" she shuddered. "The pain," she whispered.

Naru wrapped her in his arms as she cried, "Shhh…." he murmured into her hair.

Lin left the pair alone as strode back to the storage room to continue working on the camera. He stopped walking as a realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He actually did love Mai as a daughter, and like Naru, he wanted to protect her. Tonight he'd teach her a meditation breathing technique.

April 29 4:00 am

Mai looked up awed as in the darkness of bright night stars shone like jewels. This was a view she didn't get to see often. Naru locked the condominium door and stood beside her for a moment looking up at the sky. "Let's go," he grabbed her by the wrist and tugged.

"Why do you always have to be such a buzz kill, I mean I hardly ever get to see the sky like this? It's just so… romantic," she finished with a whisper.

Naru sighed as he smirked at her. "Yes, it is, but we need to go. Even if we make a stop or two for fuel and any other requirements along the way I want to be there by the time my parents' plane lands."

Naru took her hand in his and gently tugged her along behind him. She forgot she was going to meet his parents today. Mai's stomach churned as thoughts of worst-case scenarios flashed in her mind.

"Mai, stop worrying, my mother is going to love you."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stop thinking about it."

Mai climbed into the van and Naru followed. He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and pushed her over onto his shoulder. Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and murmured, "It doesn't really matter what they think, it only matters what I think, and I'm head over heels in love with you."

She smiled as she snuggled into him. "I love you too, Naru."

The SPR group headed out on the road. Along the way, Mai grew bored with nothing to do. She had watched the scenery go past but she lost interest in it. She pulled out her cell phone and played a couple of games on it, but lost interest in that too. Placing the phone back into her pocket, she sighed. She felt her eyelids closing and she could not stop it. Her head nestled against Naru's shoulder.

She woke and found herself running through a verdant forest. Panic gripped her heart as her breath came in ragged gasps. She winced as her bare feet bled and bushes slashed at her exposed arms and legs. The gown she wore fluttered around her body as it was snagged in the branches. Her lungs burned, as did her leg muscles as she ran. Heavy footfalls came from behind as it smashed through the bushes. She could see the edge of the forest ahead of her. Almost there, I'm almost there.

Something grabbed her hair and yanked hard as she screamed. The force of the pull knocked her off balance and she fell into the decaying leaves from previous seasons. The smell of the earth cloyed into her nostrils. A voice came from behind her, "Bad girls need to be punished." She reached out trying to grab onto anything that would stop her momentum as she was dragged her away by her hair.

Mai woke with a start and found a set of concerned blue eyes staring into her face. "Calm down, you're safe." She gave a quick bob of the head as she tried t gain crontrol and calm her breathing as tears ran down her face.

"Mai, use the deep breathing technique we worked on last night," Lin commented from the right behind the drivers wheel.

She took a deep breath and held it for a count of five. Slowly she released the breath feeling more like herself. "I was running through a forest trying to get away from something I could hear was coming closer. It grabbed me by the hair and dragged me, but I listened to that same creepy voice again." She sniffed as she fought to stop the tears that continued leaving their tracks on her cheeks. "I think he killed her too."

Naru glanced at Lin and he nodded in silent contemplation of her words. Naru ran his hand over her hair, "Try not to think about it, we'll be in Nagoya soon."

She nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. In a matter of minutes, she was asleep again.

The morning sun shone down on the earth with a bright intensity promising a sweet sunny day. Lin was forced to speed up as he glanced up in the rearview mirror and noticed the nose of Jessica's car nearly on his bumper. She gazed at the Chinese man's reflection in the rearview mirror of the van with an apologetic expression on her face. He observed when he put some distance between the vehicles the turn signal flashing in Jessica's car. "Naru, Jessica is indicating to take the next exit."

"Alright," Naru's ankle chose to throb to the beat of the transmission of the van. His muscles felt stiff, as he gave Mai a nudge to wake her. "Mai, wake up."

Her eyes opened and she rubbed her eyes. "Are we in Nagoya, yet?"

"Not yet, but we're pulling off at a rest area."

She yawned. "Okay."

Lin pulled into a parking slot, Jessica pulled her car into the slot next to the van, and Monk pulled in next to her car. Doors squeaked as people slid out of the vehicles. When Naru's feet hit the ground, he stumbled and Mai was at his side, holding him to her. She gazed deeply into his eyes, "Let me help, please." He nodded grateful no one else had noticed. "Your ankle's hurting again, isn't it?"

Naru reached out and lovingly brushed her hair out of her face as a breeze stirred up. He bent over her and brushed his lips against hers. They both looked up as Jessica slammed her door, hard. "Mind explaining to me just what in the hell you were doing back there?" she rounded on the monk as her eyes flashed in anger.

Monk glanced her way. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you almost plowed your car into mine back there, I had to speed up, and might have scared Lin."

"Well, that was Ayako's fault."

The redhead rounded on the monk who tried to back away from both women. "What do you mean, it was my fault? I'm not the one who was making kissing noises at Masako and Yasu."

"Well, you're the one who slapped me."

Jessica rolled her eyes at the pair.

Mai stood off to the side with Naru, she giggled at the couple. "You know, you two have been circling each other for a while now. Just admit it, you both like each other."

"This time, I agree with Mai," Masako chimed in.

John stood off to the side blushing at the conversation. He silently looked at the sky and whispered, "Lord are you testing me?" He turned his attention back to the scene that was unfolding before him.

Mai glanced around. Ever since the last case, it was as if Masako and Yasu were joined at the hip. "Where's Yasu," Mai asked.

Masako wasn't about to answer that question when the bespectacled teen popped up from behind Monk and Ayako. "I'm here," he smiled and then grabbed Monk and Ayako both by the head and rammed their heads almost together but stopped when their lips touched. He backed away in case Ayako or Monk decided to chase him.

The pair in question felt a jolt of electricity pass between them, as the kiss actually passed several minutes. When they parted they both had to blush as almost everyone except Naru, Lin and Masako clapped.

An hour or so later the mini SPR caravan reached Nagoya and headed for the airport. Naru, Mai, and Lin exited the van but Mai pulled off the sweater she had worn that morning to keep the chill away from the early morning dampness. Naru placed his arm around her shoulder noticing the top she wore was sleeveless. He gently traced the scar from her stabbing. "Does it still bother you?" he whispered.

Mai nodded, "sometimes when I have to carry something heavy."

"Mai…"

She held her hands up, "I didn't want to worry you."

Naru sighed, "This time it has nothing to do with worry, it's more about your health. Sometimes knife wounds will take as long as three months or more to heal internally. If you start hurting, you need to tell me so I can get someone else to do your work so you don't hurt yourself."

Mai's face flushed. "Like you were going to tell me about your ankle at the rest stop," she hissed in anger.

Naru leaned over and kissed her on the tip of her nose, and smiled, "Touché."

"You're still acting like a Jerk."

They left the others in the car park and strode into the terminal. The closer they ambled to their destination to meet the Davis' and the rest of their party Mai kept seeing worst-case scenarios in her mind. Her mouth felt dry.

They spotted Madoka, who waved in their direction walking behind a distinguished looking man and woman. With another pair of men behind Madoka, who must have been the clients.

As the new arrivals made their way through customs and then baggage claim Mai was so nervous, she felt like she was going to be sick. Naru held her tight and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Your fine, they are not judgmental people, and if you must know mother and father both trust Madoka's feel for people and she gave you a glowing report."

"Are you sure?"

Naru chuckled, "Yes I'm sure."

The decisive moment had arrived as Madoka approached first. "Naru, Mai, and Lin these are our clients," she indicated the two men, "Christopher Bailey and Mark Westin."

She turned to the two men and announced in English, "This is Doctor Oliver Davis," who nodded to the men, "and his assistants Lin Koujo and Mai Taniyama." Both Mai and Lin bowed to the men.

She turned to Mai with a soft smile she put her hand on Mai's shoulder pushing her toward the Davis'. "Mr. and Mrs. Davis I'd like to introduce to you, Mai Taniyama."

Martin approached her and he smiled at the girl. "Can you understand English?" he asked gently.

Mai nodded as she blushed timidly. "Yes sir, I'm at the top of my class."

Martin smiled again and pulled the woman next to him who seemed to be just as timid as Mai was. "This is my wife, Oliver's mother, Luella."

Mai bowed to the Davis' and blushed again, "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Davis."

Luella took a small step toward Mai, "Your beautiful, Mai. I'm glad that Oliver has found someone like you."

Mai actually smiled at both the Davis'. She felt better about meeting them, couldn't sense anything that would set her intuition off. Mai bowed to them again, "Please call me Mai."

Luella smiled at Mai, "Call me Luella."

Martin led the party over to a quieter area of the airport. He knew his son would want to interview the men. "This is a good spot."

Everyone took a seat, and Oliver produced his black notebook. "What is the nature of the problem?"

The oldest of the pair of men nodded. "We buy abandoned hospitals and refurbish them. We purchased a hospital outside of Nagoya intending to reopen it since there is a need of specialized medical care in this area. The building itself is sound, just needs a lot of work done inside. However, something keeps scaring the workmen off."

At this point, the other man Mark Westin took over. "There's another problem every crew that has a woman with them, she disappears. The last one, her body was found in the woods, someone had killed her."

Oliver took a moment and Mai's dream in the van this morning came back to him. He glanced at her as he wrote down some notes. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Christopher Bailey ran a hand through his graying blond hair, and an air of sadness hovered around him. "I can't understand how she was killed, we have security on the site, and all of the men said they heard nothing, but they do complain of being watched."

Closing his notebook, Naru gazed at his adopted father. "We should go."

Martin nodded, "I have to go pick up the van and trailer we had shipped over. I brought some extra equipment along."

Mai glanced at Naru, and could almost see the wheels turning in his brain. She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Idiot scientist," under her breath.

Luella turned towards Mai, "Did you say anything, my dear?"

Mai blinked rapidly as her hands began to sweat. Rubbing her hands on her pants, she laughed, "Oh no, I didn't say anything."

Naru coughed into his hand and glared at her, her face began to flush in a pink color. "Thought so," he smirked in her direction.

Lin smirked at both teens.

"Mr. Davis," Baily eyed Martin. "We'd like to accompany you on your investigation, to protect our investment."

Martin gave the pair of men the nod, "That is within your right, but if the investigation gets dangerous I'll ask both of you to leave."

The clients agreed.

Martin went to go claim his cargo.

Mai couldn't put a finger on it, but something about these two men didn't feel right to her.

Four SPR vehicles pulled out of the airport, Martin Davis taking the lead hauling a good-sized trailer behind it. They headed to the outskirts of the city and up into the foothills. Lin noticed the turn signal on the trailer ahead and hit the turn signal to let the drivers of the other cars know of the sudden change.

They pulled onto a barely there road that was overgrown and pulled up to a dilapidated former hospital with five floors. They saw two security guards step out of the building to greet the clients.

Mai sidestepped but kept her gaze on the hospital. She reached into the van, pulled her backpack out, and rummaged through it finding her digital camera. She snapped off pictures of the front of the building. She examined each picture and found something in the picture. Naru needs to see this.

Stepping up to Naru, "I found something," Mai whispered, drawing his attention from the clients and the security guards. She handed him the camera. He examined it carefully, mentally noting her reaction. There was the figure of a man looking out the window at them. He couldn't make out many details other than the man appeared to be dressed in the scrubs of a doctor.

"Yasu," he called over his shoulder.

"Yes boss?" the bespectacled teen moved up to stand next to his commander-in-chief.

"I need you to do some research on the hospital. Look up anything you can about any deaths that seem strange."

"Will do," he ran back towards the others and began unloading personal belongings to take into the building.

Her skin prickled with that feeling that something wasn't right as she tried to take everything in at once. Come on Mai you're not a scaredy- cat, she mentally scolded herself.

Mai felt a hand on her shoulder and she flinched. "Come on, quit day dreaming."

"I wasn't daydreaming."

Naru took her hand in his as led her into the building following everyone else.

The group entered the hospital to find a complete mess. Everywhere they looked paint peeled off walls and windows were broken out, graffiti painted on walls, and a thick layer of dust covered everything. Many rooms had bedframes stacked one atop the other as if they were the skeletal remains of odd dinosaurs that once roamed the halls of the building. Floors were disintegrating leaving chunks and chips all over the place.

Martin gave a slight hand gesture only known to Madoka, Lin, Naru, and Luella. "Let's step outside. The base will be in the trailer I brought. I also brought some tents just in case this happened."

"Wow Mr. D. You've thought of everything," Yasu spoke without thinking.

Naru's eyes narrowed as a vein began to throb in his forehead as he rubbed his brow to ward off a headache. "Yasuhara, that is my father you're speaking to," his voice held a sharp tone.

Martin chuckled, "it's fine Oliver. I don't mind it."

As they exited the hospital a cold chill swept over Mai, she released her hand from Naru's grip as she froze in her tracks. She heard a female voice whisper in her ear, "Leave this place or he'll kill you too." She gasped as she held her heart and it raced.

Naru stopped and turned to see her in a state of distress. He stepped over to her side and gripped both of her arms with his hands. He stared into her eyes seeing them slightly glazed. "Mai, what's wrong?"

Mai looked up at him, "It was a voice of a woman… she said to leave or he'd kill me too."

"Who is he?"

Mai shook her head, "I don't know."

Naru pulled her into a tight embrace and lowered his head to her ear. "We'll get through this, together," his voice was soft.

Luella leaned on Martin as she gazed at her son in what appeared to be a loving embrace. "They are so cute together. I can't believe he's actually showing affection for someone."

Martin glanced at his wife. "I agree Lin was right she really is good for him."

Martin turned to the others. "I believe we need to leave them alone," he motioned his head towards Naru and Mai. "We can get base camp set up and then someone can run into town and pick up some food. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving."

The soul-stirring colors of sunset shone as the sun began its downward spiral. Stars began to twinkle in the clear sky as a campfire blazed, the flames munching happily away at the wood. Wood smoke filled their nostrils as the smell permeated their clothes. A breeze rustled through the leaves of nearby trees as the leaves sang their song to welcome the night.

Mai leaned into Naru as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She couldn't help but smile. It was so serene and calm, but she felt something was wrong about the hospital.

Naru gazed at everyone, "I'll be assigning teams Takigawa and Matsuzaki, Hara and Yasuhara, Lin and Madoka, Jessica and John, Mai and Myself. I don't want anyone inside the hospital at any time alone." He scanned the faces around the fire. "Yasu did you find out anything?"

"Not yet, but I'm still digging into information that I can find on the internet which is pretty sketchy about the hospital's history."

"Tomorrow I want Takigawa to drive you to the library in Nagoya. We'll search the hospital and see if we can find any records, which were usually kept in the basement."

"Naru," Takigawa chose that moment to speak up, "You just assigned us to teams what will Masako and Ayako do while we're away."

"I'll send them to the hospital with Lin and Madoka while John, Jessica, Mai, and I will be searching the basement for records." He snapped his notebook closed. "For now, I want Miss Hara, Yasu, Monk, and Miss Matsuzaki to go in and do a sweep of the first floor before it gets too dark. Remember to stay in radio contact."

The group of four left the safety of the others and entered the Hulk. As they walked, dust floated through the beams of their flashlights. Monk got on the radio, "There are all kinds of crazy cold spots in here."

Ayako tripped over a broken ceiling tile lying on the floor covered in dust. Takigawa grabbed her by the elbow steadying her. She blushed and glanced his way, "Thank you, Hosho."

All four stopped to listen intently as disembodied voices spoke around them. The words were incoherent, but each person's scalp prickled. Masako rubbed her arms while Ayako played with the necklace around her throat.

"We're coming out," Monk radioed base. He didn't want to stay one-minute longer in this building at night.

As they walked to the exit, Masako gasped and froze. "Something just grabbed me by the back of my neck," she trembled as a hand materialized and rubbed her shoulder and down her arm.

"Naumakusan Manda bazaradan kan," Monk recited with prayer beads in hand as the ghostly hand disappeared. "Let's get out of here," he called to the others as they ran for the exit.

The four ran out of the building and collapsed near the fire. Each one gasped as they tried to catch their breaths. Masako glanced in Naru's direction not looking at him. "The first floor is awful. There are so many lost souls inside each wanting to be released from their torment, and something touched me."

Yasu took up the story at that point as he held Masako, who trembled and buried her head into his chest. "When she said something grabbed her by the back of the neck, a hand appeared, just the hand, and it ran down her arm."

"I used a mantra to drive it away, and we ran," Monk finished the story.

Naru nodded as he dismissed them. "I believe it's time we all got some sleep."

April 30 7:00 am

The morning dawned bright as the birds sang their early morning songs to the sun, as the first rays of sun shown over the camp. Everyone woke to some degree of aches and pains from sleeping on the ground. The day promised to be a hot one. The clients were on the phone to the water company to send someone out to turn a portion of water on to the building.

Mai pushed her food around on her plate at breakfast. Her appetite seemed to have left her as she put a forkful in her mouth. She glanced at Naru, who eyed her. She shrugged her shoulders, put her fork down, and left the group.

Naru stood to go after her but Luella motioned for him to sit back down. She rose and followed the girl. "Mai, let's talk."

The girl in question looked down at the ground as her shoulders slumped. "Okay," this was it. Mrs. Davis was going to tell her in private that she wasn't good enough for her son.

"Mai, I want you to know something paramount to Martin and me. We knew your parents."

She gasped as her head rose up. "You knew my parents?"

"Yes, your mother was a beautiful person, much like yourself. She was one of Martin's research assistants and your father was a researcher much like Oliver. They came to Japan after they married in England to start SPR here."

She glanced up at the sky. "You're very much like your mother, you know, and to tell you the truth I couldn't be happier that you and Oliver are together."

Tears filled Mai's eyes at the revelation. She didn't know what to say or do, she was happy to know that Mrs. Davis approved of her but sad that her parents weren't here to meet Naru.

Luella reached out, pulled the girl to her, and held her as she cried. "It's alright, just go ahead, and let it out." She noticed Oliver approaching as worry etched itself across his face. She waved him away.

"I'm sorry," Mai raised her head as she wiped some tears away. "I didn't mean to lose control like that."

"Mai, it's quite all right," she smiled down at the girl. "Sometimes we need a good cry. If you wan to talk about anything, you can call me when I return to England."

Mai nodded and smiled up at her.

Takigawa stood next to his car, "Come on Yasu, and get it in gear."

The younger man gave his medium girlfriend one last kiss. "Hope I find something at the library."

She hugged him tightly, "I don't want to let you go, but I have to."

He hesitated but separated himself from her. "I love you, Masako."

She dipped her head down and blushed. "As I love you too,"

Yasu turned and sauntered over to Takigawa, who at this moment was watching Mai and Luella. "What do you think is going on over there?"

"I don't know, but you just wanted to spend some time with me alone," the sunlight glinted off Yasu's glasses.

"Would you stop joking around, man you creep me out sometimes." Takigawa pushed Yasu away who was trying to caress the monk's arm. "Let's just go," he rolled his eyes in the boy's direction.

"I know why you reject me. You just want to play kissy face with Ayako."

Takigawa's face reddened as he jerked his car door open, "Shut up and get in the damn car."

Martin Davis pulled open a drawer from a file cabinet he had on the trailer. He pulled out several weird sets of wires with a little piece of plastic at the center. He stepped out of the trailer into the daylight. "This little gadget I have here is a hand free radio. They fit around the neck like a collar and the microphone sits on your vocal cords, they're voice activated and will keep each team in contact with the base, and each other. There's an earbud that you can fit in the ear so you can all hear what is going on with each team." He passed them out to everyone who was going to the hospital.

Naru gazed at everyone who was putting on the microphones. "If you run into any problems get out of the building but stay with your group," his eyes settled on Mai.

"I know to stay with you at all times," she pursed her lips and frowned.

"Let's go," Naru said to the rest of the team as the two groups entered the building.

He looked down at the groups and sneered, "So many bad girls to punish."

They found a stairwell, Lin's team climbed up the stairs, while Naru's walked down into the basement. Standing in front of them was a pair of gray metal doors. They were innocent looking, but Mai's intuition was screaming in her brain to flee. Her hands trembled. She glanced at Naru who pushed the doors open and walked through followed by John and Jessica.

Mai wanted to move forward, she had to if she wanted to keep up with Naru. Her breath caught in her throat and felt like she was moving in slow motion as she stepped through the doors. Her skin tingled as she shuddered from the cold of the basement and glanced around looking for the others, oh great I'm lost again, she thought. Mai gasped as a rat scurried across her path and she bounced to the side and bumped into something soft yet firm.

She swiveled to find herself gazing into a pair of dark blue, cerulean eyes. "Keep up, we've found the file room." A flush passed over Mai's cheeks as she blushed and followed Naru to the archive room.

Every floor Lin, Madoka, Masako, and Ayako climbed they found more cold spots, shadow people disappearing and reappearing through walls. "I'm sorry, I can't go any further," Masako trembled, "All these souls… it's too overwhelming," she stumbled as Ayako steadied her.

They were on the third floor and a vision of a girl about ten years old formed in front of them. "Please, wait… don't leave," the child appeared to be crying. "Please… stop him… or he'll kill again—."

"Who will kill again?" Lin's kept his stoic mask over his face.

Terror seemed to fill the ghostly child's eyes. "He's near, you must leave."

Naru's voice came over the ear bud in their ears. "Go on get Masako out, we've got the files that were left behind here, and we're bringing them out with us. Miss Matsuzaki can help us go over them."

Before both teams could completely exit the hospital, Martin, and Luella Davis both looked at each other nervously as they heard shouts over the speaker inside the trailer. "Mai… Masako…"

As the teams left the hospital, the Davis's met them. "What happened," Luella wrung her hands nervously as she kept pace with her son.

"I don't know, she was fine and then she just collapsed."

Martin was getting the same story about Masako.

Ayako took charge of the situation, "Bring them over here," she had Lin and Naru put them into one of the larger tents. Both Lin and Naru laid both girls down on a futon and Ayako quickly began checking them over for any signs of injuries or reaction to pain.

She exited the tent and glanced at the concerned faces as she rubbed her brow. "I'm stumped. They should be awake and walking around."

"Could it be spiritual," Jessica offered from the side.

"It's possible it is," Ayako turned to Lin. "Is there a way you can detect if this is a spiritual attack?"

"Yes," he nodded. He entered the tent and called forth his shiki. They circled Lin as he silently gave them their orders. Immediately they circled the girls and returned. The shiki shook and bounced as they gave him their report. "Find the source and stop it."

Lin knelt down next to Mai and took her hand in his, a bit of moisture collected in his eye. "I promised to keep you safe and I will." He brushed her bangs out of her closed eyes in a fatherly fashion.

"Ahhh," he screamed as the balls of light found him and attacked. "What are you things," he howled as they passed through him and severed his connection to the girls. "Bad girls must be punished," he screamed.

Mai woke to find someone holding her hand, as her mind cleared of the fog she looked up to find it was Lin. "Lin?" she questioned as she gained her voice.

"Lay still, you and Masako came under attack from the ghost. My shiki severed the connection. You both need to rest, I'll inform the others." Masako opened her eyes, as she heard the explanation.

Masako groaned, "Lin has Yasu returned?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm sorry Miss Hara."

She frowned and sighed. "I suppose Naru will want my report."

"Yes, Miss Hara he will but for the moment, the both of you should rest. I'll let Naru and Miss Matsuzaki know the both of you are awake. However you both should realize there might be residual effects from such an attack."

"Like what?" Mai asked fearing the worst.

Lin smirked at Mai. Her innocence was like a breath of fresh air at times, "headaches."

At the same moment outside the tent, Naru and the rest of the group were pouring over the files. Some of the descriptions of the deaths were so graphic that John had a green tinge to his complexion. He looked as though he would be sick at any moment.

Mark Westin approached the group. "What's taking so long Dr. Davis, when can we get the construction crews back in here to work on the building again."

"This could take as long as a week to get to the heart of the problem. I'm not going to guess until I have more information as to what we are dealing with. Until then I suggest you go back to the trailer and wait," Naru replied.

Bailey appeared next to Westin as if out of thin air. "No you look, we're paying more than enough money, and so far there's nothing to show for it."

Naru rose from his spot and shot both men an icy glare. "For your information, two of my team are injured, I will not risk any more lives until I have confirmation as to what type of ghost or whatever it may be. Until then stay out of my way." He moved away from the group heading over to the tent where the girls lay waiting for some kind of news.

Halfway there his father met him. "What was that all about?"

"Father, the clients want to get in there now and continue to stir up the ghosts by bringing the work crews back in, and I let them know that I wouldn't risk another member of my team from being hurt, that's all."

"I'll go talk to them. Christopher and Mark are just too impatient at times."

Naru nodded as he joined Miss Matsuzaki in waiting on any news.

Lin exited the tent and glanced towards Naru, Ayako, and Luella Davis. "They're awake, my shiki were able to trace the attack back to a malicious spirit within the hospital and sever the connection." He turned and retreated to the trailer.

Madoka followed him inside and wrapped her arms around his waist while resting her head on his chest. "You were worried, too."

He wrapped his arms around her, "Yes, I wasn't sure it would work. Now I will need to teach Mai how to erect a barrier to protect her from such malicious spirits. Masako was already weakened by some ghosts in the building which is why her barrier failed." He smiled on Madoka, "Besides you know how I feel about Mai."

She giggled, "Took you two years," she broke out in bubbling laughter. "Two years ago you thought she was a clumsy, airheaded, disaster-prone magnet, but now you think of her as your daughter." She snuggled into his chest.

"Times change and so do opinions," Lin leaned over and kissed her tenderly. When they parted, he pushed her away slightly giving her that all knowing look of his. "Now, why did you follow me?"

Madoka pouted, "You know me so well." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Be a dear and run a check on this name please, I need all the information you can dig up on him."

"Using me for research again," Lin sighed.

Madoka moistened her lips and glanced at him suggestively, "I'd rather use you for something else."

"You read my mind."

Ayako entered the tent and smiled at both the girls. "Lin told me what happened, and I'm so glad to see your both okay." She quickly checked each of them out.

"I could have said that," Masako stuck her nose up in the air.

"I can see that, but until I say otherwise you are to stay here and rest for a few hours." Ayako glared at both young women. "Being that I am your doctor, the both of you will listen to me or there will be no visits from Naru or Yasu when he returns. Do I make myself understood?"

Both women glanced at each other as a creepy smile crossed their faces at once and in unison, they gave Ayako their answer. "Yes, mother."

"Mother, I'm nowhere near old enough to be your mom."

Both girls burst out laughing at Ayako's reaction.

Luella smiled at Oliver when they both heard the laughter of the girls and Ayako's raised voice.

"Mother, what were you talking to Mai about earlier?"

Luella smiled at her son and looked everywhere but at his face. "Oh, it was nothing but some girl talk that's all."

"Mother, I know better," he reached up and grabbed the bridge of his nose trying to fight back a headache that was threatening. "Girl talk doesn't make Mai cry."

Luella looked him straight in the eye, "Are you sure you want to know."

"Yes, when it concerns my girlfriend I think I have a right to know."

An impish grin crossed his mother's face. "I think you'll have to ask Mai about that."

"You're going to play this game again like you used to do when you and Gene had your private conversations."

Luella nodded, "Yes there are some things that a mother and daughter share."

"Women," Naru muttered under his breath. "Fine, I'll ask her."

She patted his shoulder. "Now get in there, and tell her you love her. Oh and do me a favor, make me some grandbabies to spoil." She smiled as he blushed.

Though it was a slight pink in color, it was there. "We haven't gone that far yet." Before Naru could say anything else, Luella grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the entrance of the tent.

Naru turned his head to stare at her and she had a self-satisfied smile on her face. Again, he muttered, "women."

The sound of an engine caught his attention. He forcefully exhaled air through his compressed mouth as he rolled his eyes skyward. Interruptions always interruptions and all I want to do is check on Mai.

Ayako stepped out of the tent and almost bumped into Naru. She gasped as her hand rose to her mouth. "Oh Naru, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I wanted to check on Mai and Miss Hara."

"They're both sleeping now. I gave them both a light sedative to make them rest, they were uncooperative," she glanced at the watch on her wrist. "They'll sleep for about two hours."

Mai woke to find she was again in the inky blackness of the astral plane. Little balls of light passed by her confirming her location, she looked around hoping to see Gene but didn't see him. Instead, she saw what looked like the hospital although now it gleamed in the sun all shiny.

"I guess since Gene isn't here I should go look for clues." She entered the hospital and watched as medical personnel moving about this way and that going about their business of trying to save lives.

One doctor walked past her caught her attention. He stood out not only because of his blond hair but also because he wasn't Japanese. He was humming an odd tune.

She chewed on her thumbnail as she followed him. Something about him didn't feel right, deep down she just knew it.

She felt pulled out of the hospital to find herself facing Gene. "Gene," she stared into his eyes, "why did you stop me?"

"I can't explain but you need to go back."

"Why Gene, please tell me why? Is my body in danger?"

"No, but others are. You need to go back. Lin will teach you how to create a barrier to keep malicious spirits out of your mind."

She huffed, but finally agreed. "I'll go back, but just so you know I'm not happy about it."

He smiled at her and took her face in both his hands. "I know you're not happy, but believe me, when I tell you this the training you have received from Lin and what you will be trained to do tonight will help greatly to solve this case." He kissed her on the forehead.

She mumbled aloud, "Gene, what do you mean?"

"Gene? Did he tell you anything useful?" Masako was sitting on her knees next to Mai as the girl's eyes fluttered open.

Mai groaned as she sat up next to the other girl. "No, it was more like a riddle that I have to solve. Ugh… he can be so infuriating sometimes."

Masako giggled. "Sounds like Naru is rubbing off on you."

Mai smiled brightly at the mention of his name.

The girls stepped out of the tent in time to see the group gathering around the fire someone had started seeing that the sun was beginning to set again. Mai glanced at Masako. "Where did the day go?"

Masako was also confused as she shrugged her shoulders.

Mai giggled, "And Yasu is rubbing off on you."

Masako looked shocked when Mai took her hand in hers. "Come on let's go join everyone especially the guys we love."

The other girl nodded, she was glad she quit wearing kimono's. She felt more like a regular girl than the Japanese doll her parents wanted her to dress like.

Mai sat down next to Naru and he took her hand in his, and Masako sat next to Yasu as he read off the facts that he had discovered at the library.

"What I found out about this hospital is disturbing. During the time it was open, there were twenty mysterious deaths. There's also a possibility of more that weren't recorded. These deaths were of women and girls from the ages of ten through eighty-five. Each one was admitted for something minor, not even life threatening."

Jessica took up the story from the assembled files. "Twelve died in the operating room each one was an unnecessary surgery. However, the records say each one was performed without anesthesia. Two were morphine overdoses, one was found dead at the bottom of the elevator shaft, one through electroshock therapy."

Mai's face paled as she remembered the torment that girl had gone through. She still felt the electricity coursing through her body.

Naru felt her hand tremble in his. She was practically in tears; he pulled her over to him and hugged her tightly.

Lin gave Madoka the paperwork she wanted and stepped over to Naru and whispered in his ear. Naru nodded as Lin stood up. "Mai, go with Lin to the trailer."

Mai remembered what Gene had told her. She nodded and followed the older man into the trailer. Her eyes widened and she shortly forgot all else as she was awed by the amount of high tech equipment. A giant screen broken into squares covered the wall and each square had a different camera view.

"Mai, this is difficult for me to speak of. You remember when we, Naru, and I came back from England and we reopened SPR."

Mai nodded, "Yes, I told you that I thought of you as a father figure."

He took her hands in his, "I think of you as my own daughter. When I saw you lying in the tent earlier, I actually felt rage and wanted to destroy the spirit myself." Lin took in a cleansing breath and let it out to rid himself of the unsettling feeling of rage that still clung to him. "Instead I would like to teach you how to create a barrier, kind of like a shield to surround your mind to keep you safe from other spirits that we may encounter like it in the future."

"You really think of me as your daughter?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I do."

Mai leaned into him and hugged him tightly around the waist as she cried in happiness.

"Did anything happen, like with a dream?" John gazed at Naru as Mai followed Lin.

"Yes, she had a dream where she relived the death of the electrocuted girl."

John crossed himself, as others gasped or gave their comments of sympathy for Mai .

"Let's get back to business, Jessica…"

"Uhm… Yeah, well four drowned in the therapeutic wading pool, and then there was the woman on the construction crew."

"We have a pattern. Someone on the hospital's staff held a grudge against women." Naru stood up, "No one especially the women goes anywhere without someone with them."

Monk looked at the teen genius. "Naru, who would have access to all the areas and medications, where the patients died?"

Ayako answered for Naru, "A nurse or a doctor."

Madoka while reading over the paperwork Lin had given her. "Here's your most likely suspect. During the time of the deaths, a Doctor Brenner Merkel on staff came from Germany after World War II. He was accused of war crimes but was well respected as a miracle worker. That is until one of the nurses walked in on him in the middle of torturing a patient. The police were called and he was arrested, tried, and executed for his crimes in Japan. Because of the bad publicity, the hospital was forced to shut down." Madoka pulled out a piece of paper, wrote something down on it, and passed it to Naru.

He raised an eyebrow and then nodded, as he walked away from the group.

Monk sighed, "I really wish he'd stop doing that."

Jessica gazed at Madoka. "What was the note about?"

"I'm sorry but that was a message Lin wanted me to give to Naru." She smiled sweetly at the others but no one really believed her.

Naru stopped near the trailer and reread the note that Madoka had given him. He crumpled it up in his hand, he knew he should disclose this information with the rest of his team, but with the clients near he didn't want them to overhear. The two men were grating on his last nerves as it was. He pinched the bridge of his nose with forefinger and thumb. This case had just become even more dangerous.

He heard a shuffle of footsteps behind him and turned to see John Brown. "I received a note too."

Naru nodded and motioned toward the trailer, both men entered to find Lin typing away on his laptop, and Mai asleep in the corner. "Lin, we're here."

Lin pushed his chair out slightly. "Don't wake her."

"How did she do?"

"Very well, she learns fast." He chuckled slightly, "She learned faster than Gene did, and this is one reason I wanted to talk to you Naru. I think she's a perfect medium. If she is, she needs more training and that can be handled better in England at the BSPR."

"I refuse to allow her to become a guinea pig."

"You misunderstand, Naru. I would never allow anyone there to touch her."

Naru raised an eyebrow at Lin, and then gave him a tense nod of consent to continue.

"I tried to fight these feelings for a year until Mai confessed that she thought of me as a father figure. I now feel like a father towards her and I would never allow them to put their hands on her, but Madoka wants to help in Mai's training and I feel your father would too. So if it might be a good idea to do this at BSPR."

"I see, have you spoken with my father about this yet?"

"No I have not, but I will once this case is finished." Lin's granite-like face betrayed nothing. "The case is actually what I wanted to talk to you and John about. Madoka came across some accounts of more murders but these happened around the other ruined hospital buildings that our clients bought, refurbished, and reopened. Therefore, I did a check on both of them. Mark Westin is not who he claims to be, although his identity I have not been able to ascertain. Christopher Bailey is actually the ghost's nephew. I believe that with his recent behavior, he's looking for another victim. If I'm right, he will play his hand soon."

"John, pass this news quietly to the others. Tell them to never go anywhere with either of the clients alone, and ask Miss Matsuzaki to come here."

John nodded and exited the trailer.

"Lin, try to find out anything else on who this Mark Westin really is…" He rubbed his forehead. A headache that had threatened to start was at a full pounding. He had a mental picture of Yasu using his brain as a base drum.

The fiery redhead stepped into the trailer. "What do you need, Naru?"

"Tomorrow morning I would like you to perform an exorcism but only if the trees are useable."

"Yes, they are."

"Very well I want the entire hospital cleansed, no matter what. Then I believe we'll just have to deal with the doctor's spirit."

"Naru," she placed her hands on her hips, "why are you so secretive?"

"John relayed the information about our clients, did he not?"

"Yes he did, but neither of the clients are around camp."

Naru's head shot up. "Break off into pairs, search the camp and find them." Martin burst into the trailer. "Oliver is your mother in here?"

"I haven't seen her for a while."

"I can't find her. Your mother is missing."

"Mrs. Davis, fine night isn't it," Christopher Bailey approached Luella, who stood near Martin's van. His translucent green eyes flashed.

"Why yes, it is."

"I have a bit of a problem and I was hoping you could help me with it," he smiled his most charming smile.

Luella nodded as she dug into her bag looking for her camera, "In a minute."

He stepped up close to her and placed the rag of doused in chloroform over her nose and mouth.

She tried to fight him off but he had wrapped his other arm around her waist pulling her into his body as he forced the rag tighter over her face. She fell limp in his arms and he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her toward the hospital.

Mai woke to find herself in the astral plane. She looked towards the hospital and saw a man carrying something over his shoulder. She couldn't see what it was but saw it was a person slung over his shoulder.

Looking around she saw Gene approaching, but he wasn't wearing his customary smile. "Mai, let's see where they go."

"Who is it?" she glanced at his troubled face.

"It's Bailey and he has my mother."

Mai's eyes widened as she covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Gene grabbed her hand, yanked her behind him across the astral plane into the hospital, and followed as he took her to the second floor and into an abandoned operating room.

Bailey had placed Luella on an operating table and strapped her down. He pulled a smaller metal tray next to the table and pulled out a small pouch that was tied up with a leather strap. Untying the belt, he placed the bag on the small tray and unrolled it.

It was a set of surgical instruments. Mai felt sick, "he's going to do to your mother what the doctor did to those other women."

Gene grabbed Mai by her shoulders. "Mai you need to wake up and if you can get Naru, and bring him here. The two of you will be able to stop these monsters."

"I don't understand, Gene."

"I don't have time to explain all this to you, just do as I tell you too and everything will be all right."

Mai nodded as Gene continued, "Now it's time to wake, don't worry about the other spirits here, the only one to worry about is Merkel and of course Bailey."

Instead of the customary kiss, Gene shoved her a bit roughly. Mai woke and looked around her surroundings. She was alone. "Got to find Naru, but what if I can't find him. How much time do I have? Can I do this?" she whispered to herself. "I've got to."

A couple of teams had returned to camp, Yasu held Masako as she cried into his shoulder. Jessica was trying to comfort her, as was Yasu. John sat with his shoulders slumped. John thought he heard a sound from the trailer and saw Mai as she ran towards the hospital. "Mai," he yelled as he gave chase. I have to stop her.

On the other side of the camp, Naru turned as he heard the shout from John. "Mai… what are you doing now," he mumbled.

Martin seeing his son's expression knew he was bitten, "Go to her, and we'll continue searching for your mother."

He nodded and ran towards camp. "Mai…" he yelled as he reached the others.

Jessica looked up at him, "She went running towards the hospital. John was chasing her."

Not wasting a moment, he ran after the pair. He didn't know how much ahead of him they were, but he had to stop her. He heard footfalls near him and glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Mark Westin paced him. He had no time to stop. Mai and his mother were both in danger.

He heard John yelling almost pleading for Mai to stop. Naru's heart beat faster and his legs ached but he continued despite the returning pain in his ankle. He had to stop her before she did anything foolish.

Mai gasped as she sucked air into her lungs. She had to get there. She felt eyes on her and knew the doctor was following her. She put her barrier in place as she raced up the stairs two at a time. She spotted the door and pushed through to the second floor.

Sweat ran down her face as she continued to run. In the gloom of night, she saw the door to the room where Bailey had taken Luella. Pushing the door open, Mai ran in and saw him near where he had strapped the woman down. She knew she wasn't physically strong enough but if she hit him at full speed, she might be able to push him away.

She hit him with all the speed of a linebacker going for the Super Bowl win and shoved him into the wall. His head hit the wall stunning him as he slid down to the floor.

Luella was just waking up from the chloroform. She went over to the table and her fingers fumbled as she tried to unbuckle the straps. She heard John at the doorway, as she managed to get one strap unfastened.

He reached into his jeans pocket, pulled out a pocketknife, and quickly sliced through the other straps.

Luella smiled up at her, "Mai, help me up."

Both John and Mai helped her up and they moved towards the exit when the door slammed shut in front of them. A voice seemed to come from everywhere in the room. "Bad girls must be punished."

"He's here," Mai whispered as John stood protectively in front of both Mai and Luella.

John pulled out a bottle of holy water and splashed it around the room. He began to pray, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me."

The spirit screamed as Bailey rose from the floor. He shuddered for a minute and then looked up at all three. The voice that came out of his mouth was a combination of both Bailey and Merkel's. "Bad girls must be punished priest, get out of my way."

"John," Mai screamed as Bailey grabbed a scalpel from the tray and advanced on the priest. He jabbed out with the knife as John jumped backward.

Bailey's face was screwed up into a sneer that looked nothing like the man. The surgical instrument hit John in the arm.

The Aussie grimaced as pain shot through him from the cut, but he held his ground.

Mai heard a voice on the other side of the door that she had longed to hear. "Mai…"

"Naru, help, the doctor has possessed Bailey."

"Stay away from the door. I'm going to kick it in."

Mai heard a voice in her ear. "Gene?" she whispered.

"Use the nine cuts. It will force the doctor out of Bailey."

She drew up her arm and began with the movements as she recited the words of power. "Rin Pyou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zai Zen."

Bailey screamed and writhed in pain as the spirit of the doctor was thrown out of the man's body.

Naru entered the room madder than a wet hen in a thunderstorm. He felt he was losing control.

Mai heard Gene whispering in her ear. He was explaining to her what she needed to do. Mai stepped up behind Naru and placed her hands on his shoulders, drawing some of his energy away. Siphoning it into her own body through one arm and sending it back into Naru through the other arm.

His power grew as his aura began to grow brighter and the wind literally picked up in the room blowing everyone's hair around. "You will never harm another woman ever again!"

Lifting his hand in the air a ball of pure energy began to glow. When he was satisfied, it would destroy the doctor's spirit he threw the ball, which impacted with the creature who glowed for a moment. It screamed as it began to disintegrate and bright points of light shot through it, and then it was gone.

Mark Westin stepped into the room and pulled out a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on Bailey's wrists none too gently. He smiled at everyone in the room, "Thanks for your help. I've been on his trail for some time."

"Care to explain just who you are?" Naru asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

He suddenly lost his neutral accent and began to speak in a British accent. "Michael Dearing is the name. I'm from Interpol. We've been trying to track him down for years for the murders he's committed."

He yanked Bailey up onto his feet and shoved him out the door.

"Mai, we have to talk," Naru began but felt a hand on his arm.

"Noll, please don't be too harsh, after all, she is the one who found me." Luella helped John out the door. He was still stunned at the display of the funneling of Naru's power through Mai.

"Naru, please can we talk outside."

At the campfire, Masako suddenly stood up. "All the spirits including the doctor are gone."

Everyone noticed Luella and John approaching. Ayako spotted the injured arm the priest was trying to slow the blood flow. She raced over to them with Martin at her side. Martin pulled his wife into his arms and gave her a long, loving kiss.

Yasu catcalled and whistled at the side. Madoka reached out and slapped him upside the head. He glared at her, and Madoka smiled sweetly. "You know that's fun, now I see why Ayako does it to Takigawa all the time."

Martin released her. "What happened to you… who found you?"

"Short version because I don't feel like going into details, Bailey kidnapped me because I was alone, Mai found me, and Oliver and Mai destroyed the doctor's spirit."

"With the destruction of the doctor's spirit, the ghosts of his victims were set free," Takigawa surmised.

Naru nodded and entwined his fingers through her hand and led Mai over to the cars and the SPR van. He pushed her gently against the side of the van. "When did you learn to funnel my energy?"

Mai smiled gently. "Gene was there and whispered what I needed to do in my ear."

Naru decided to change tactics for a moment. "Mai, I know you wanted to help but I don't want to lose you. You mean the world to me."

Mai hung her head as she sniffed, and then she gazed up into those eyes that made her heart skip a beat every time. "I know, and you mean the world to me."

"Then why put yourself in danger?"

"There wasn't any time, Naru. Gene showed it to me in a dream and he said that together we could defeat the doctor."

Lin chose that moment to check on the two teens and passed something from his hand to Naru's hand. He walked back to the fire and whispered to Madoka, who squealed in delight. She motioned for everyone to watch the pair at the van.

"Mai… I should be furious, but actually, I'm happy to know that your powers are growing. Though your still head strong, I guess I can overlook that part of your personality." He knelt down on one knee and opened the box in his hand.

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the man she loved.

"Mai Taniyama, I want you to always be by my side, always. Marry me."

Her heart swelled with joy as she pulled him up by his collar and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling his face down to hers. She kissed him with everything all the love she felt for him at this moment. As they parted, she stared deep in the eyes. "Yes, I'll marry you."

The End