Turn 64

--- Maya ---

After spending who knows how long sitting there, she forced herself to her feet and made her way back to her lab, only one thing on her mind at the moment.

The moment she stumbled into her lab, where by some luck she found all of her minions (kids) as the LCMs were helping the DMs store away their latest haul of scrap. All four of her (kids) turned towards her and she felt something ping inside of her chest as she half-walked half-collapsed towards them before reaching out and pulling all four of her (kids) into her chest.

With the four of them in her arms, her eyes started to water and DM-1, DM-2, 1A and 1B all began fidgeting over her trying to figure out what was wrong.

“Nothing’s wrong mis hijos.” She promised them, holding them just that little bit closer.

For the most part she’d always been split on whether they were just her minions or her kids as her inner passion called them. But after everything with Elizabeth and hearing how she’d lost her own child, and then talking about her own kids, Maya found she didn’t even want to consider what would happen if she lost one of her little minions.

“Mamá loves all of you,” she cried, “you know that, right?”

---

“Are you alright mija?” Her own mamá asked after she’d managed to stumble her way home from the hospital.

“I…” She swallowed before shambling over and hugging her mami. “I really need a hug mami.”

Her mami seemed to freeze before gently returning her hug.

“Te amo mami.” She mumbled into the hug.

“Yo también te amo, cariño.” Her mami returned gently stroking her hair.

---

Finding herself unable to sleep, and getting tired of staring at the dark ceiling for hours on end, Maya quietly rolled out of bed before grabbing her laptop and sitting somewhere she wouldn’t end up waking Izzy.

Seeing as she promised to help Elizabeth, and that she had few other ideas on how, she began hacking into every local hospital to see if she could find wherever the Dead Woman’s records had been transferred after the hospital had closed down.

(If they transferred.) It was fully possible that Elizabeth had died long enough ago that her records hadn’t been moved when the hospital’s patients were scattered, but instead thrown away or left behind in the hospital. (In which case I’ll have to find the administration section of the hospital.)

A quick search revealed that Beacon Hospital’s administration and archives had both been moved to the Alchemilla wing -(otherwise known as the hospital’s hell wing)- after someone had tried to shoot up the old administration back in the nineties.

(Shit… Fuck, alright where else could those records end up?)

(Given her death, perhaps the police would have something of value.) Her inner reason suggested, speaking up for the first time in nearly a day. (Apologies, but I just deviated enough to offer any counter insight.)

“Right…” She sighed, before going through her backdoors into the city’s various precincts. An effort that proved futile when after an hour of shifting through old cases she’d discovered a dozen or so dead Elizabeths in the city. None of which were the Deadwoman she was looking for. “Damn it… This is getting me nowhere.”

(Quite.) Her inner logic agreed. (As unfortunate as it is this investigation likely isn’t to go much further without actual information from Elizabeth.)

(Yeah, but given how emotional she was when we were talking, how much can she actually help us here?) She wondered to herself.

(Given how we have no other leads? She’s likely the only lead we’ll be getting.)

---

If any part of her had believed herself capable of sleeping once she had something resembling a plan of action, it slowly realized just how mistaken it was after another hour spent staring at the ceiling. (Well I could hope couldn’t I?)

Sighing to herself she once more snuck over to her laptop before taking it back to bed with her and throwing her covers over her and it so that the light wouldn’t wake her sleeping sister. (After all I just got back into her good graces.)

And so with little else to do she began working on the program she’d started before her numerous revelations towards the hospital’s resident ghost. A mindless sort of work that thanks to the whispers constant direction left her with little space to actually think about everything bothering her at the moment.

At least until she finished the program and was presented with another problem.

(Okay, how are we supposed to test this without waking Izzy?) From her work she was able to piece together that the whispers had been giving her a way to manipulate light photons within a certain range of her. Unfortunately this wasn’t exactly an easy energy to play around with in the middle of the night without waking someone.

(Perhaps we should hold off on testing our programs until tomorrow?) Her inner reason suggested.

(What? No, I’ve waited long enough for this!) Her inner madness refused, finally breaking away from the mainstream of their thoughts. (Well, sorry I’m late getting back from our hiatus. At least I still showed up this chapter instead of next.)

Closing her eyes, she briefly wondered what it’d be like if she had any personality other than the insane one residing inside her mind.

(Peaceful and on track for once?)

(Nah, it’d be half as funny and twice as boring.)

“Yeah, I’m just going to ignore you two and test this now.”

(Yay! Instant gratification for the win!)

(Um, are you entirely sure this is a good idea?) Her inner logic asked in a vain attempt to dissuade her current course of action.

(At least you’re aware we aren’t going to listen to you.) Her inner passion consoled. (Now Maya, hit the switch!)

She clicked a button to run her new energy type through her COMP before a sudden flash of light erupted beneath her covers burning her eyes, and causing her to topple off of her bed in a shriek of agony.

“Maya?” Izzy called half asleep. “Wha happened?”

“Rolled off my bed and hit my head.” She admitted in half-truth, not wanting to admit to accidentally injuring herself due to her own impatience and recklessness.

“Oh…” Izzy yawned before seeming to settle back into her bed. “You need to stop doing that.”

(Yes… Yes we do…) Her survival instincts sighed.

---

“Mija, how are you feeling?” Her mamá asked the moment the rest of her siblings were distracted. “You don’t look like you slept all that well.”

“Yeah, I, uh, I didn’t.” She nodded, pawing at her still heavy eyes.

“Is everything alright?” Her mamá frowned in concern. “I know you didn’t feel up to talking about it last night, but it’s not like you to…” (breakdown like a little bitch) “get that upset about something.”

She was about to deny being upset about anything, before remembering everything with Elizabeth and her daughter as well as her own feelings towards her kids and her mother.

“I… I’m okay, but not?” She tried instead. “Yesterday I met this… girl I guess, and one thing led to another and she ended up talking about all of this stuff and… it just messed me up I guess…”

Her mamá bit her lip for a moment before putting an arm around Maya’s shoulders and asking, “What did she talk to you about?”

“She um, well she told me that apparently she’s a mother… or was a mother…”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…” She chuckled solemnly, leaning into her mami’s touch. “I don’t think, or know if she meant to tell me as much as she did but it um… Hearing the way she talked about her kid it uh, it messed me up, and I… I just really needed a hug… From you specifically.”

“That’s…” Her mamá stopped herself before wrapping her other arm around her. “I’m, I’m sorry for your friend mija. Losing a child, it’s… it’s something I don’t even want to imagine. The mess at the summer festival, and everything with Tommy… That’s already more than I can handle. And honestly something I feel like you’re too young to have to deal with this kind of thing either. But at the same time this, this isn’t a problem that we can deal with beyond trying to be there for your friend… Just like I’m always going to be here for you.”

“I know mami.”

Her mamá kissed her forehead before pulling back a little bit. “Hey, since it’s Friday and you’re not feeling all that well, how about you stay home from school today?”

“No, I don’t… I’m not that messed up.” She told her mamá while wiping at her eyes.

“Maybe not but… when was the last time we had a day just you and me?” Her mamá asked.

She blinked. “Um…”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” Her mamá agreed with a sad smile. “So, why don’t you take the day off and we’ll both stay home and just watch TV, eat ice cream, and whatever else we feel like.”

“I… I think I’d like that.” She admitted quietly.

Her mother pulled her in for another hug. “So would I mija.”