A/N: Holy cow guys, this has to be one of the longest chapters I've ever written, and it took my less than six months this time! I hope ya'll enjoy. I apologize for any typos, misspellings or grammar errors.

Remember to read and review and I'll try to have the next installment up soon.

Chapter 18: Scooby Doo, Where Are You Part 4

When Mai woke up the next morning, Marshall was waiting for her in the lounge a cup of strong coffee and a bagel in hand. She groaned, running a hand through her hair. He was the last thing she wanted to deal with after just getting up.

"Morning Ms. T," he said, handing the food over; "large Sumatran blend one sugar and cream, and a whole grain bagel with honey almond cream cheese."

"Thank you Marshal," Mai said. She sat the coffee down on a table before biting into the bagel. She looked down at the coffee table. There waiting for her was a black portfolio she knew contained the day's itinerary. Beside the binder was a folded piece of paper. She ignored the piece of paper before picking up the portfolio. She opened it glancing down at the day's itinerary.

"You've got to be kidding me Marshall," she said.

Marshall looked over her shoulder at the day's schedule. "Wish I was boss."

There were not one but two signings, a reading, and an interview with a magazine. She wouldn't have time to breathe today, let alone do her job with SPR. Hell, whoever than scheduled the day had given Mai only half an hour for lunch, and even that was a working lunch where she'd been hammering out the details for an upcoming book tour.

"It is too early for a drink," she asked looking back at Marshall. He nodded.

"Damn," she said, taking a swig of her coffee. "I'm going to go shower," she added getting up and heading to the bedroom; leaving Marshall to organize everything for the day.

Mai stood in her bedroom one of those fluffy hotel bathrooms looking at her suitcase. She was torn between wearing her black wig or leave her hair natural and claim that she's just trying out something new. She picked up her wig, fluffing the hair turning it this way and that on one hand.

"Natural it is," she said carefully retuning the wig to its bag. Next she needed an outfit that screamed celebrity but was still practical for a day at the amusement park. She started to pull clothes, laying the outfit out on her bed. She reached for a bag and accessories.

"Hey Marshall, could you come in here a second?" she called through the door.

Marshall peaked his head around the door, "yes boss?"

"Want to come approve my outfit?" Mai turned her head to him. Marshall opened the door, walking over to the bed. Mai had pulled out a red corset top with a flower pattern and waist accentuating bow, tan skinny jeans, red patent Michael Kohrs sling back wedges, her coveted channel cross body purse, ray bans, and some simply jewelry.

"Well, I don't know about the dragon lady, but I definitely approve," Marshall said. "by the way, we leave in half an hour, and there are paps outside.

Mai groaned. Naru was going to be pissed when he saw that. He specifically preached avoidance of the media, but she was a celebrity now, the media was going to show up occasionally whether or not she wanted it. She dressed in record time, applying a small amount of make up knowing there'd be a makeup artist waiting for her at the park. Luckily Janice had agreed to leave her hair alone for this trip in an attempt to make her more relatable.

"Alright let's do this Marshall," Mai said, as she emerged from her room. She stopped to pickup the portfolio with her schedule. The folded piece of paper was still there. She sighed, and bent down to pick it up. If there was a spare moment maybe she'd read it.

As they entered the elevator Mai took a deep breath knowing what was waiting for her downstairs.

"You'll be fine, boss. You always are," Marshall said, glancing over at her in the elevator. She met his glance smiling a half smile.

The doors of the elevator opened to a quite lobby, but Mai could just make out the barricade of paparazzi that awaited her. She held Marshall back for a minute, allowing herself to collect her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, Mai lowered her ray bans over her eyes and started across the lobby. The doorman opened the door for her and the onslaught started.

"Maria is it true you've eloped?"

"Is the amusement park a gimmick to get younger fans?"

"Are you going to rehab?"

"Is Oliver Davis with you?"

"Are you pregnant?"

The questions fired at her from all directions as Marshall helped push through the group. Mai worked hard to keep her head down and not answer anything. She could feel the anger bubble up at more questions about her personal life and Naru. They made it too the car just in time. Marshall had the door open and Mai in just as she blew up.

"Who the hell do they think they are? Worthless bag of trash, all they seem to care about is their next scoop." Mai said as the car pulled away from the curb.

"Mrs. T, breath. They just say those things because they want to rile you up and get a reaction. Just breathe. Your fans love you," Marshall said.

Mai took that breath, releasing as much frustration as she could.

"Do you think we could make a stop before meeting with make-up," Mai asked.

Mashall nodded, "that shouldn't be a problem."

The car arrived at an empty park. No people in sight. Mai stepped out and made her way to the employee entrance to the park. The gate guard waved them through directing them toward the dining venue at the rear of the park. According to Marshall, Janice had it rented for the day specifically for this spectacle. Instead of heading toward the venue, Mai veered off toward SPR's base

The base had a decent amount of activity in it. Naru and Lin were situated as always in front of computers, probably going over the night's footage. Masako was sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine. On the wall of camera monitors Mai could make out Bou-san and Yasu on rounds checking the cameras and temperatures. Ayako was also out wandering around the park.

"Hey Naru, did we get anything on camera last night," she asked over his shoulder. Naru flinched at her words.

"There are some interesting anomalies," he said not looking up from the screen. Mai at the screen as Naru played a clip that looked to be from the around near The Wolf's tracks. On the screen was a raggedy mascot outfit, that seemed to appear on screen. It turned to look at the camera for a second, as if pondering something, before through a maintenance gate that led to the path under the wolf. As the mascot disappeared from the camera's view, the camera's frame seem to shake, before the feed seemed to cut off.

"Why'd the camera cut off like that," Mai asked. She'd only seen a camera do that in the presence of a ghost of some kind.

"Someone either unplugged it or cut the feed," Naru said.

"Are you sure," Mai asked, "it looks more like spectral interference."

"I sent Bou-san out to check on it. He said both the power and the input cords were pulled out," Naru said. Mai sighed, he wasn't going to deviate from work right now.

"Alright then, I'm off to my other job. I should be back tomorrow," Mai said looking between Naru and Lin. The pair nodded in conformation.

As Mai left, she glanced back to see Naru had moved behind Lin, probably looking at something Lin found on another camera.

"Ready boss," Marshall asked as she emerged. Mai nodded, continuing walking not waiting for Marshall to catch up. The venue for the signing was on the far end of the park in the same section as The Wolf. It was the largest food venue in the pack, a huge cavernous space with a huge stage.

The make-up artist was waiting for Mai when they arrived, hurrying her off into a back stage area. "Hi Maria, I'm Lou, and I'm going to be your make-up artist/stylist today." They shook hands as they made their way to the small make-up station.

"I want to keep you as natural as possible and complement the outfit, which it amazing by the way," Lou said, moving around pulling out all the brushes and make-up containers she planned to yse.

Mai nodded in understanding, cleaning her face with a provided wipe and allowing the woman to get to work. Mai's phone buzzed in her pocket. Her fingers itched to check it, but she couldn't reach for it at the moment. Whoever it was would have to wait.

"You look nervous," Lou said, working a sponge of foundation over Mai's features.

"I'm not nervous," Mai answered, "just waiting to hear from this guy." Lou nodded in understanding moving to working on Mai's eyes.

"Did you go on a date and he hasn't called back," she asked. Mai shook her head lightly in between applications of eye shadow. "Ah, must have been a fight then."

"If you could call it that," Mai said. "We had a disagreement about the state of the relationship."

"Oh, honey, that sounds like every relationship I've ever seen. Someone thinks it's more than what the other does and the relationship goes down the drain." Lou said.

"It's not quite that bad. We both want the relationship, it's really about timing. It's just a really bad time for anything to happen. I'm going to be gone for weeks at a time, and he's always working." Mai said. It was refreshing, having someone to pour her soul out to.

"Ah, it's one of those. I'm met those to sweetie. You're not only. Just remember that everything will work itself out eventually," Lou said, applying a light pink lipstick. "And your make-up is done. Now, about your hair, I know we promised not to do anything really drastic, but would you be open to a quick trim to get rid of those dead ends?"

Mai nervously smiled, mulling over the prospect of an impromptu haircut. "Just a trim okay," she said. Lou nodded, picking up a small pair of clippers.

A few minutes later, Mai was ready for the first signing of the day. She was introduced by a lovely woman in a barmaid costume and took her seat on stage as a group of eager fans lined up to get her autograph.

Time seemed to pass slowly as each person passed in front of Mai. Some tried to start conversations with her, whiles others spent their brief interaction verbally vomiting their hero worship. Every so often an aspiring author would come up and want to talk about getting into the business. Mai would smile and reassure them that publishing is not an easy business to get into and to never get up. With each passing person, her hand got more and more cramped. Finally the end of the line was nearing and Mai was getting antsy, she needed to get up and walk around. As the last person stepped up to the stage, Mai started to fidget.

"Who should I make this out too?" she asked not looking up from the book.

"Oliver Davis," the voice above her said. She looked up and smiled a bit. Naru had come to her signing. He had taken a bit of time out of the hunt to come to see her.

"Would you like my Japanese or English signature," she asked, chuckling to herself.

"Is there a chance I could get both," he asked leaning down to her.

"Of course, sir," she said.

Naru leaned down just a bit father to the point where Mai could feel his breath on her ear.

"I'm sorry about last night," he whispered. "You haven't read the note yet have you?"

Mai shook her head, finishing her signatures and handing the book back over.

"Thanks for your support. I'll do that. It's great advice," Mai said smiling. Naru rolled his eyes a little, annoyed with her attempt at disguising their exchange.

As Naru walked off stage, Mai was ushered to the back for make-up touch-up and a quick break.

"Are you having fun Maria," Lou asked as Mai sat down in make-up chair. Mai shook her head, massaging her writing hand to get the cramps out.

"Not really," she said as Lou began to touch up her make –up.

"Oh, so who was that lovely young man," Lou asked with a hint of amusement.

"No one important," Mai said.

"That's not what it looked like. Is he the boy you're having issues with," Lou asked as she dusted Mai's cheeks with powder. Mai worked to keep blush from creeping on to her cheek. Lou gave her that motherly knowing look that made Mai want to roll up in a ball and hide. With one last brush, Lou shooed Mai out of the chair and toward a small table that held what looked to be an array of snacks.

She looked at the spread. It was a decent spread, not the best she'd ever seen, but at least in the top 20. There was both vegetable and fruit platters, a bowl of tea bags and instant coffee, and a variety of meats, cheese, and crackers. Marshall sat in a chair nearby as if guarding the table.

"Better grab something quick boss. You need to be back out there in a couple of minutes," he said not looking up from his phone. Mai looked over at him for a second, before grabbing a small paper plate that was provided and loading it up with fruit and vegetables. Next se riffled through the small bowl of tea bags, scowling at the selection. Popping a couple tomatoes in her moth, Mai headed back out. According to her schedule it was time for the reading, then lunch. She took a deep breath, thinking about all of the possible passages she wanted to read.

The crowd seemed responsive as the same women from earlier reintroduced her and handed her a mic.

"Hello everyone," Mai said standing at the middle of the stage. "I want to start off by thanking all of you for coming to see little old me today. It seems like just yesterday, I was naïve student desperately trying to pay rent." Mai continued with a short introduction and discussion about the book. The crowd was decently engaged asking questions about this and that, about the pacing, and how she picked the cases she wrote about. Finally she picked up a copy of her book, and flipped it open.

"This is the part of the talk where I get to bore you all to death with a short reading from my novel," she paused to let the laughter settle, "Normally, I know exactly the passages I want to read as they tend to be my favorite. But, when I was thinking about what passages to read from First Case nothing came up. So I thought I'd keep this simple." She opened the book to the first page and began to read.

Most teenagers spend their afternoons playing sports, participating in clubs, or even working. My friends and I do none of those things. Instead, we commandeered the computer lab after school twice a week to swap ghost stories. Tory to tell urban legends, the more obscure the better. Jen, on the other hand liked to tell us about actual hauntings. Then there was me. I have always been a more traditional ghost story girl. The classics just never get old. Those afternoons were some of the best at our little boarding school. We'd turn off the overhead lights, in favor of flashlights. Then we would each tell a ghost story. After each story, a flashlight was turned off so at the end only one light would be left signaling that there was another person in the room.

That day we were telling stories with a more local flair. Tory started us off with a retelling of an old story about one of the rooms in the local hospital being cursed. One light down. I went next, telling a story about a haunted bathroom stall in a shopping mall. Two lights down. Jen went last. She retold a story the three of us knew well. Our boarding school had nearly twenty buildings decorating it's picturesque campus. All but one of the buildings were used for all the school's needs. The one building the school refused to use was the original classroom building. Over the years it had garnered a reputation for being haunted. There were lots of stories about the structure ranging from shadow people to full blown apparitions depending on who around campus you asked. As Jen finished her story, the three of us shared a look. One, two.. Jen turned off her light. The room descended into darkness

" Three," said a voice behind us. We screamed. The overhead lights were flicked on to reveal a guy not much older than me.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said as Jen and Tory ran over to him.

"Hi, there. We haven't see you around here before," Tory said, "what year are you?"

"I'm seventeen," the guy said, a smile crossing his face.

That was weird. Normally when you asked someone what year they were they'd just say they're a junior or something, not their age. Plus, he was not wearing the school uniform, a dead giveaway he didn't attend our school.

Jen and Tory soon dug out of him that his name was Nathan, and that he too had a penchant for ghost stories. He even asked when we met so he could join us next time. I rolled my eyes. He was good, but from where I stood Nathan had no intention of joining us. In fact, he seemed almost bored by the prospect of telling stories with a bunch of teenage girls….

Mai took a breath as she reached the end of the passage, before flipping through the book looking for another section. She read two more passages from the book, before she opened the floor for questions.

After the reading her day seemed to blur into one big blob of color. She couldn't tell what had happened at all other than a short argument with the women, Cheryl, who was in charge of scheduling her book tour. Cheryl was abrasive and downright insane. She insisted that Mai would be able to cover twenty major US cities, three Canadian cities, and four Australian cities in a month and a half. Marshall had been able to talk her down to making the tour three months, with a solid weeks break in between each leg to allow Mai to rest and work.

By the time she left the venue the park was all but deserted, just a few stragglers were left getting in one last ride before the park closed. Marshall had left an hour or so earlier with instructions to secure dinner and hire Lou as she stylist for the book tour. Walking across the park as the sun set, Mai began to regret wearing her red wedge pumps. They were comfortable to a point, but that point had been reached almost two hours earlier. She glanced as the various rides as she walked, enjoying the play of the fading sun on the steel and wood. Passing The Wolf, Mai stopped by the railing to admire the sunset through the loop de loops of the coaster.

Movement just inside her peripheral vision startled her slightly. She turned her head, hoping to catch a better glimpse of what had moved. Another flash of movement caused her to squint. There was something moving between the trees. Another flash of light blue caught Mai's attention. She closed her eyes for a second hoping she'd just seen the sky reflected off some hidden piece of track. A figure emerged from the tree line, it's cartoonish face and light blue body told Mai everything she needed to know. It was one of the park's mascots. But it seemed to be different than the ones Mai had seen earlier. This one looked older and more beaten up than the other ones. There were several places on it where chunks of fur were missing showing the underlay of fabric. One of the eyes hung on by a mere thread, and the mesh that covered the mouth where the person inside could see out hung down across the lower lip and chin of the head. It reminded Mai of what a beaten up teddy bear would look like. But what made Mai stop moving, but it looked as though there was no one inside.

Mai turned and ran, hopping the team was still in the base. Or that Naru was being is usual workaholic self and still there. She reached base quickly, her feet screaming from the abuse of the heels. The door was locked. Everyone was gone for the day. Just great, the one day Mai needed her former boss to be a workaholic he hadn't. Looking around she found a small vendor that was still open and bought a pair of flip flops to replace her heels.

Leaving the park, Mai went over what she had seen. How would she report this to Naru, and what did it mean. She lost herself in her thoughts as she left, and through the ride to the hotel.

A small dinner was waiting for her as she collapsed on to the sofa. She had been sitting less than five minutes before she was asleep.

Sitting up, Mai found Gene waiting for her; his back to the small television that had been a part of her last dream.

"Gene," Mai said moving closer to the boy she'd become accustom to seeing in her dreams.

"Have you figured it out yet," Gene asked, a smirk gracing his face. Mai couldn't think of another time he looked so much like his brother.

She shook her head. She knew the key piece was staring her in the face, but she couldn't figure out what it was for the life of her. Gene shook his head, the smirk still evident.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You might even beat Naru to this one," Gene said turning back to the television. As the opening titles appeared, Mai sighed. She took a seat by Gene and became enthralled with her favorite meddaling kids and their oversized great dane

Mai's Outfit: it's a outfit I made- /cgi/set?id=83760520

P.S: So the link is for what I imagine Mai's outfit to be. Thanks again, and I promise more ghost hunting and Mai/Naru action next chapter