Sanctify
Chapter 23 - Loose Ends

Days later, before Mavis chose to leave the states for Europe permanently, he asked to meet Noriko once more. It was a reasonable request, since Topher and Diane were gone. And he asked her to meet him in the only place they had shared the most amount of time together. He said he wanted to take one last ride with her.

The streets were filled with people hurrying home. Noriko walked down the steps of the subway station entrance and tapped the chip within her index finger on the sensor before passing through the laser gate. She heard the beeping of the platform warning the arrival of the hover trains that passed through. She felt nostalgic stepping on to the one she had ridden, so much change had passed during her sleep. She wasn’t complaining, for the liked and greatly appreciated the change, and as she looked up and down the rows of people, the kind eyes of Mavis greeted her.

He waved her over and she sat down next to him, no one else paid any attention to their presence. “This is the first time I didn’t have to fight for a seat for you.”

Noriko sat back in the seat and sighed, “This is all so familiar.” She looked up and added, “I dropped by the orphanage but it had, apparently closed down.” She turned to Mavis, who leaned in, instinctively.

Noriko was quiet as Mavis sniffed her hair and sighed, “Jasmines, as usual.” He sat back and smiled, “Some things never change.”

Noriko stood and walked over to the large window. The memories of their past flooded back to her, along with the memories of Mavis embracing her, and Hayden embracing her, and Diane embracing her, and Professor Egas embracing her. She was sad to think of all the people she had lost and swallowed back the tears.

Mavis stood next to her and smiled, seeing their reflection in the window, and chuckled, “You look the same, if only I could, too. We look like a father and daughter traveling together.” Noriko didn’t respond and when the train stopped, they got out. In the midst of the crowds, Noriko moved easily but Mavis held her back. Noriko turned to him and he covered her eyes with his hand. “Do you remember that last day? When you had one of your moments and I freaked out? I always remember it.” Noriko nodded once and Mavis replied, “Please, see me as the boy who was in love with you. Let my age fade and time reverse, just for today, Riko.”

Noriko let tears fall as she processed the request. She knew it was his way of letting her go and saying good-bye. And so, when she opened her eyes, she saw the youthful face of Mavis Toppercani smiling back at her. She smiled and extended a shaky hand. Mavis looked at it and took it. They climbed the stairs together and left the platform one last time.

The usual walk was quiet as Noriko recalled the crunching of snow under their boots. It had been a crisp day, similar to the weather they were going through. Noriko smiled as they walked, remembering that day vividly.

Noriko turned to Diane, “Di, what do you think about the Y2K rumors?”

Diane rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell me you believe those. They’re just rumors. If anything happens, the Haven will respond.” The air of the 1999 winter was chilled.

Noriko shook her head and insisted, “And what if they don’t catch it?”

Mavis thought for a moment and then asked, “You mean, if someone hacks the Haven?”

Diane frowned and then replied, “No one can hack the haven. The security is a bit tougher than that. Come on, give me some credit,” she added, feigning insult.

But Noriko swept right over it and corrected, “Hacked the Haven as a hacker.”

“Cracker,” Mavis put in.

“Right, cracker. It’s possible, right?” Noriko asked.

Mavis stopped and Noriko looked up to see that they had reached Professor Egas’ Haven for the Bright Minds facility around the Grove. As Noriko entered the elevator, she could almost see Topher holding open the elevator door for them.

“Topher always grabbed Diane’s bag because he said that’s what gentlemen did,” Noriko recalled fondly.

They rode the elevator quietly, watching the numbers shoot by until they reached the lowest level and the doors opened. The activity surprised Noriko but not Mavis, as they walked down the hall. They stopped at a door shaped like a giant R2-D2 and Mavis punched the passcode into the number pad. Whereas the door would decompress and unlock, it simply slid open.

The foyer behind R2-D2 that Noriko remembered still had shoe-cubbies filled with shoes. “Is this place still running?” Noriko asked, peering at the walls that seemed unchanged, filled with hooks and coats.

Mavis nodded, “Of course. Naomi thought it best to keep it going.” He waved her on without removing his shoes. Noriko followed and stopped when they reached the office Professor Egas had when he ran the place.

Mavis stepped aside and Noriko stared at it. Without needing encouragement, she knocked twice and a voice inside permitted them entrance. She opened the door and looked into a younger face of Naomi. She gasped and would have fallen had Mavis not grabbed her shoulders in time. The young male face looked alarmed as he stood and hurried over.

“Are you alright? Do you need anything?” he asked, very concerned.

Noriko sat down in a chair and the young man observed her carefully. Noriko swallowed and asked, “Who are you?”

The young man smiled and leaned against his desk, “It’s so great to meet you in person. My name is Edward Egas. I took over after my father passed on. It was always his dream to give this to you,” he added, reaching onto his desk and lifting a black padded folder. He handed it to Noriko and smiled.

Noriko opened it and clenched her jaw, feeling the tears rise as she looked over her certificate of graduation. She brushed her fingertips over the signature of Professor Egas and bowed her head. “I’m so sorry I’m so late,” Noriko apologized.

As she closed the folder, she clutched it to her chest. In that moment, Naomi would usually be there to hug her and comfort her, or Diane would wrap her arms around her, but neither of them did. And, Noriko was sure, neither of them would ever again.

Still at The Grove, Mavis sat next to Noriko as they did while people watching in the past. Noriko sighed and asked, “What happened to Naomi?”

“Cancer,” Mavis replied. He didn’t need to say more and Noriko wouldn’t have asked him to. They were quiet and then Mavis let out a frustrated growl, “Just as well, my line ends here.”

Noriko saw the torn expression and turned away. “You should leave. Go to London and don’t ever come back. There’s nothing left for you here.”

Mavis turned to her and looked her over, “Nothing?”

“No,” Noriko replied firmly, “nothing.”

The façade Noriko had allowed to blind her was over and she looked into the old eyes of the boy she once hoped to loved, the father of the Origin of the Shadow she had loved, and both of them now lost to her. As if sensing the change in her, Mavis smiled sadly, “If you never left –”

“Don’t,” Noriko whispered, feeling the emotion followed by guilt well up.

Mavis ignored her, closing his eyes and letting himself dream. “We would have gone to prom and then fought our way through a long-distance relationship in college. We would have attended graduate school together and lived together, next door to Diane and Topher. We would have been married in spring and our kids would have played with Di and Toph’s. Maybe they would have married and then we would really all be one family,” Mavis opened his eyes to see Noriko already out of earshot. He was thankful she had walked away first. For sure, he wouldn’t be able to get himself to walk away from her again.

Dr. E watched Jenna watch Noriko and smiled. “So, you met my little brother then?” Dr. E asked, breaking the long and stale silence. Michel and Oren had dropped the girls off before heading off to do some reconnaissance work of the old Burbank Water and Power facility. Jenna had insisted on staying with Noriko, and Dr. E didn’t mind the company. It was the silence she minded and did everything she could to break.

Noriko smiled and nodded, “Yes, Edward is a replica of your mom. It was quite intense.”

“He gets that all the time,” Dr. E replied, waving her hand in the air. “Since we’re taking a stroll down memory lane, I found some stuff Dad put away that you might want to see.” Dr. E pulled up some plans and a skeletal frame to go with it.

Jenna frowned, recognizing the patterns but it was Noriko who breathed, “Is that for me?”

Noriko turned to Dr. E, who looked over the outlandish plans. “It’s not impossible, but I think Dad was drunk when he drafted the schematics. It is dangerous.” Dr. E sighed and whispered, “Crazy old Dad.”

Noriko smiled, looking at Dr. E and agreed, “He was a nut, but the best kind.”

“Definitely,” she smiled.

With eyes ablaze and excitement unseen by any of them before, Noriko smiled, “Let’s do this.”

Jenna froze and recovered with a frown, “Noriko, are you sure you want this?”

“He made these plans for me. He must have for my benefit. I want to do this for Professor Egas,” Noriko answered.

Jenna looked to Dr. E for help but, after a deep breath, Dr. E stated, “Well, it isn’t the easiest operation, but we have all the parts and all the instructions. I’ll send for Edward to help me implement the procedure. But, are you sure you want to do this? There is no going back once you’ve integrated,” she added.

Noriko nodded, “If I kill the human in me, the pain will ease.”

Dr. E swallowed and put in, “That’s not always the case.”

Noriko turned to the plans and closed her eyes, “No matter. Just do it,” she added.

A while later, Edward and Jenna entered in white garments and gloves. With stiff hands, Jenna swallowed and placed the anesthetic mask over Noriko’s nose and mouth. When Noriko looked up at her, she asked, “You’re not objecting?”

Jenna blinked back tears, “I trust your decision.”

Noriko’s eyes fluttered as she breathed deep and peacefulness fell over her face. Jenna had long-since forgotten that expression on her predecessor’s face. She remembered the first time she laid eyes on Noriko through the glass, before anything had been figured out and when Hayden was standing on the same side of the glass with her.