Chapter ~ Nine

Chapter ~ Nine

       
           Stopping at nothing to get the truth


Zaydie:

We all stuck together after the fight with the dogs, and we quickly started to run down the halls of the Catacombs.
We only had the general direction of north to go by, which wasn't much of anything seeing as the halls took so many turns that it was hard to judge what direction we were facing.

I stopped suddenly causing the domino effect.
"What?" Kigo asked.
I turned to Kylun and held out my hand with a cocked eyebrow.
"Why are we running around here blind mister?" I demanded.
He stammered for a moment. And everybody else started to laugh.
"Because... you didn't ask?" He suggested. I rolled my eyes.
"Your so full of it."
He chuckled and ran his hand through his blond wave.
"Please?" I asked. He laughed and gave me a smile.
"Yes. I'll get us out of here."
I grinned and rose myself onto my tiptoes, and gave him a quick kiss.
"Thank you." I said cheerfully. I turned to the rest of the gang and offered my hand to Savrin.
"Can we all go at the at the same time please?" Lexi pleaded, taking Kigo's hand.
I turned from Sav to Kylun.
They both shrugged.
"sure Lexi." I said quietly.
The three of us closed our eyes and opened our hearts to each other.
I was glad to see that there was only a sliver of shadows in Kylun's heart, unlike last time.

Sav's was as strong as ever. And mine looked so small compared to the boys'. Oh well mine was just as strong.
Sav and I handed over our Power energy to Kylun, who took it and teleported the five of us out of those dreaded Catacombs, and back into the streets of Ulrikima.

My knees buckled up and I fell into the snow.
"Zaydie!" Lexi cried, Kigo walked over, and I found that Kylun and Sav were bent over trying to get their breath back.
"Forgot how much that took out of me." I muttered as Kigo lifted me off the ground.
"come on. Lets get you back to Juwela's place." He said. Lexi helped Savrin to his feet along with Kylun. I was shocked when she stood in between the two of them and supported part of their weight with out breaking a sweat!
In fact. She started to hum.
She sure is something. Haha.

Inside we were all collapsed random places. Well at least us three. Kigo and Lexi stood around and helped Juwela and her family with making warm drinks.
"Here you go. It's really hot." Lexi said skipping over to me and handing me a mug.
I smiled and took the cup as I raised myself into a sitting position. I took a small sip and the warm drink immediately warmed me up.
Lexi smiled and ran off to help some more. I shook my head and grinned. She's a mess.
Soon all of us had a cup of... what ever the drink was, and we were all sitting around as Juwela's mother stoked the fire.
"You children did well. I hear that the one who got separated from you has recovered the princess with the help of a mysterious man." She said in a calm tone.
I froze.
"What man?" Kigo asked.
"They say he's in a black trench coat." She said, a little confused by our shocked faces.
Sav gasped and shook his head. We all looked at him.
"Havrin. Why would she team up with Havrin?!?!" He asked himself.
I groaned.
"That's just like her. Make rash decisions and never weigh the consequences." I snapped. I jumped up and shoved my feet back into my boots.
"Lexi can you come with me?" I asked, slipping on my cape again.
Lexi nodded and jumped up.
Kylun made a motion to get up, but he was still to weak to be of much help. I pushed him back down and held out a finger.
"Stay."
He opened his mouth to talk but I pressed my finger against it.
"don't argue. Just stay. I'm a healer. I get my energy back much faster then you. Now stay." I ordered. I gave a sweet smile and then spun around on my heel and marched out with Lexi by my side.
I heard some arguing inside, and then heard Kigo talking over it all.
"I'll keep them out of trouble." He said. Stepping outside and keeping stride with us.
"Yes because we get into trouble so often." Lexi commented, rolling her eyes at him.
He shrugged.
"That's what they say. But what's life with no trouble?" He asked with an evil grin.
We both laughed.
"Ok.... so where is Quorra?" Lexi asked.
"Um... That's a good question." I said hesitantly. I stopped, and looked at Kigo.
"What?" he asked, glancing down at himself.
"You got a phone?" I asked. He nodded and pulled it out of his pocket. "Thank you."
I dialed in my number on the small holographic key pad that came out of the side on the tiny tube like phone.
"'ello, Kigo why are you calling me? You never call me. What happened? Is somebody hurt, bleeding? dead?" I chuckled as Quorra started to ramble.
But she must have heard my chuckle.
"W-why do you sound like a girl? if this is some kind of trick, I do not like it. Come on stop it."
I laughed out loud.
"It's me, Zaydie Quorra."
"Oh! Wait, you heard all that? Why didn't you tell me, so I didn't sound like an idiot?"
I laughed again.
"where are you?"
"Well... lets see... I am trying to figure out what the heck is going on with this twer-princess, who has stolen my idenity. While trying to ignore this retarded boy that keeps breathing down my neck."
"Wait, who's breathing down your neck?" I asked. That immediately caught Lexi's attention, she looked up at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged.
"Well the only other boy besides Sav, Kylun, and Kigo. Annoying kid, back off."
[I wasn't talking to you in that last sentense by the way.]
Ha! Well I kind of figured.

"Ok well Quorra tell me where you are so we can come and get you. Or meet up with you or what ever."
"Oh your out of the Catacombs?"
"Yup. Now, location please."
"Oh, ok um... we are, where are we?" She seemed to be talking with someone else next to her. I could hear a conversation going on. Kigo shifted his weight to and Lexi started to hum.
I held up one finger and waited for Quorra to come back on the other end of the line.
"We're in a lab in the palace." Quorra said to me. "I'll send Havrin to go get you-"
"Me? Why can't you go?" Havrin cut in.
"Because I'm in charge and, because I said so." Quorra stated. I laughed.
"You tell him girl. Ok we'll be there in a minute." I said I then hung it up and handed the phone back to Kigo.
"We'll meet Havrin at the palace." I reported, as we started moving again.
"Havrin?" Lexi asked.
"Yeah. Just keep on guard around him. I don't trust him." I said. Stopping and gazing up at the palace. I saw Havrin move out of the dark in the door way.
"Oh... yeah. Ok I'll take your advice." Lexi said when she noticed Havrin.
"Yeah." I muttered. "Well come on. Let's get it over with."
We started again, and Havrin disappeared into the palace.
Walking fast to keep up with him we followed him through passageways and down a few flights of stairs.
My heart pounded at the thought that we might be going back into the Catacombs. But it was soon clear that we weren't going there.

He led us silently down another set of stairs that had been hidden, and we came into a large room.
Looking around, I found that there was two cylinder like things that looked big enough to hold a full grown human.
The center of the room was occupied by a kind of bed surrounded by several tables that held different things such as surgical knives, shots ect. That sight made me shiver.
At the back of the room was a long table of computers, and I found Quorra standing there... looking into a microscope!! A microscope.... tell me what's wrong with this picture.
[What's that suppose to mean?!]
you guess.

I also saw that Venila was standing next to her. Only she had changed out of her gold fancy dress into a colorful skirt, and a long sleeve shit and corset like the rest of us girls.
She turned and her head full of blond curls had been pulled back into a braid running down her back, which was.... weird to see. Even though Quorra's wasn't curly, she had done the same to her strait blond hair.
"Ok that's just.... freaky." I stated coming up next to my sister.
"Yeah and that's what we're trying to figure out. Venila's the one that led us to this lab, so we could figure out if we really are twins or if something hinky's going on."
"'Hinky'?" Kigo asked as he peaked over my shoulder to see what Quorra was doing.
"Yeah, hinky. Out of place, weird, insane,-"
"Odd, not believeable, you get the idea." Venila cut in, looking into her own microscope.
Kigo looked at her momentarily and nodded slowly.
"Right..."
"Ok so what are you doing?" I cut back in.
"Well we're comparing out blood to see if they match. But look this is what's hinky." My sister moved over to one of the computer screens and showed me what looked like random dashes on lines. Kind of like a music sheet, only there wasn't a pattern.
"See this is my DNA, but then.... this is hers." She pointed to the one below her lines and dashes.
"It's all funky, and messed up. It doesn't match mine, it doesn't match anyone's! Not even Reese's!"
I looked closer at Venila's. Quorra was right, it was all funky and messed up. The dashes were everywhere and some weren't even on lines!
But I got an idea.
I walked over to the two cylinder things and looked at them. I started to tap away at the key pads and the doors slid open.
I  motioned to them as I faced the two girls.
"Step in."
Quorra walked over hesitantly.
"What is that?" Lexi asked.
"This... um I don't actually know the names, but it'll compare the two of you and tell me what you really are."
"'What we are'??" Quorra asked stepping into one of the cylinder things.
"Yeah. Not to sound cold or anything. Go on Venila. It won't hurt." I said with a kind smile. She hesitated for a second but then stepped in.
I pushed a button on each key pad and the doors lid shut.
Venila got nerves and looked around, as the machine started to whirr to life.
It's hard not to comfort her but there was a wall of glass in between us.

I pressed a few other buttons and then I stepped away to watch. There was a bright light that hummed to life, and it moved up and down, over the girls. At that moment both of them were pretty freaked out.
"Just stand still." I called out. They looked at me with scared eyes and it was like I was looking into a mirror.
Venila was like the kinder, more feminine part of Quorra. Where as Quorra was the warrior, the tough hard set girl yet with the sarcastic, fun loving side.

The light finished and the doors opened again. I moved over to the key pads again and pressed the green 'enter' button.
Then walking back over to the computers I brought up the restults.
"How is it that you know your way around this things so well?" I jumped when I heard Havrin suddenly behind me.
"He does that." Quorra whispered.
"Because, I've picked up a few things." I answered. "Ok... whoa wait... that can't be right." I muttered.
"What?" Venila asked, keeping her distance but looking at the screen with a hand over her mouth and a startled look.
I turned to her with a confused look and studied her.
No... way....
"You... your a clone."