Aretha Tesla: A Worthless, Lying Heathen

Aretha neatly stacked her excessively large pile of papers, filing them all into their respective folders, and stood up for the first time in three hours, stretching and yawning. It had been another long day at the Sanctuary. Files, warrants, orders of arrest, attempting to organize strategies… It was exhausting, and all the more difficult to put together without a shunter. Without Niccolo… But he’d left, and wasn’t coming back. And she liked to think he was happier this way.

She strolled down the New York City streets until she found her portal in a small back alley, and fell through to find herself in the garden just outside her cabin. Fake half-smile still plastered on her face, she stepped onto the porch, and immediately felt that familiar sting under her eyes. He was definitely not happier this way. And neither am I… You idiot, Niccolo… But crying wouldn’t change anything, and Aretha knew it. She had to keep her head up- Mevolent was back, and she needed to act like the dependable authority figure she was supposed to be. So she sighed deeply, and stepped inside her house, heading for the basement. If she was ever letting go, she would have to decide what to do with all those paintings.

The wooden floorboards creaked beneath her feet, and the sturdy ladder she descended already felt old, even though it had only been there a few months. She turned around, and stopped in her tracks. She gasped, tears streaming from her eyes before she could fully register what she was seeing, and she dug her fingernails deep into her arm. In the tiny basement room she saw herself with her family- the three of them tied carelessly to tables, and she standing over her brother with a raised rusty scalpel.

“No, please…” Aretha whimpered, barely able to form coherent words, as she watched herself tear her family apart. “No, stop!” She cried out, her plea mixed with the sobs that had already overtaken her. She begged her past self to stop, to die, kill someone else- anything, anything at all, to keep her family safe. But either the four people in front of her were no more than an elaborate trick of the mind- and she’d trained herself to know the difference- or they were some other form of illusion, because when she tried to pull her younger self back, her hands fell straight through, as if she was touching a ghost.

Maybe minutes passed. Maybe hours. Maybe only seconds. It made no difference to a girl with no perception of time.

“Have you had enough?” A familiar smooth voice sounded from the shadows in the corner of the room, and she froze, staring at the spot, too excited to realize that he wasn’t quite the man she remembered.

            “Niccolo?” She whispered hoarsely, her voice trembling just as much as the rest of her body.

            “Yes, it’s me. The real me.” He said “real” as if there was some obvious alternative. But before she could ask, he continued, “The version of me you spoke to was a copy. A clone. A fake.” He stepped out of the shadows, revealing a tear-streaked face, his voice growing angrier, but also more pained. “I, meanwhile, rotted in hell,” He elevated his voice to some cross between a snarl and a yell; even when he’d nearly killed her, he’d never yelled at her before, “Looking at what you see now every day.” His voice cracked and broke every now and then, and the sound of his smooth voice quivering was what scared her more than anything else. He was broken. Really broken. And maybe this time she couldn’t fix him. “Not just every day- every hour, every minute, every second. And it matters to me! I can feel time passing! And I killed them all- every one of them- over and over! And you never even thought on it, did you?”

            She just stared for a moment, hating herself for feeling relieved that at the very least the illusion he’d made for her was gone now, until he still hadn’t spoken and she began to think he meant for her to answer. “I-

            “Shut your fitlhy mouth, you little heathen!” He hissed at her, cutting her off. “You worthless,” a strong gust of air shoved her against the wall behind her, and she could feel the painting her back was pressed against break beneath her as the air rushed out of her lungs, “Lying,” excruciating amounts of pain and guilt suddenly assaulted her mind, and she couldn’t feel the tears that ran like rivers down her cheeks anymore, “Heathen.” She felt a blade slice deep into her stomach, cutting through God knows how many of her organs, and her skin began to burn and boil where the knife had touched it. She screamed out loud until the pain was too much, and blackness overtook her. It was a welcome relief.

            In a haze of anger, guilt and darkness, Niccolo felt a familiar presence touch his mind. Oh go look what you’ve done to friends, Aro told him, and all at once his will came rushing back to him. He might have lost himself immediately to another name if it weren’t for the sight before him. All of the nearby paintings were torn and spattered with blood; Aretha’s blood. And Aretha was… “Oh, good God…” Releasing the air he hadn’t even realized was holding her up, he caught her limp body and healed her quickly. He thanked God he had reclaimed control when he did, or he would have dragged her to the palace and torn her apart more “creatively” than he had Zafira. And because he had no idea what he should do, or what he could do, he left Aretha on her bed upstairs, gently brushed the tears off her face, left a note by her bedside, and set out in search of someone, anyone, who could put a stop to his madness.

Zafira Kerias: Life In Another World

Takes place in the dimension Mevolent is ruler. I will let the rest show itself

The tortured cries of prisoners was creeping into the room. The Sense-Wardens who had been interrogating Zafira were now guarding her in case she tried to escape. She was on her knees bloody and beaten. It had taken years to find her, and Mevolent would be thrilled. She had been on the run in America until Mevolent's forces destroyed a lot of her country and she fled. Baron Vengeous had found her the day China Sorrows had died, as did he but it was Serpine who brought her in. It took a lot out of everyone to take the Grand Mage in as she knew her true name and was hard to beat. 

The seconds past by. Zafira could barely stay in a kneeling position but the Redhood beside her would kick her until she knelt, or a Sense-Warden would send spikes of pain in her mind. She heard footsteps and she felt a hand, gloved, on her shoulder, 

"If you look the master in the eye, I will assure you are punished severely. You have no right to look upon his face." Serpine's voice was in her ear. He didn't wait for an answer. She was forced to her feet and brought to what was the throne room. She knew who was there. Mevolent. In simple robes and that veil covering his face. The god-killer sword was in a case too. She was forced into a kneeling position. Figuring it wise, Zafira kept her gaze to Mevolent's hands. This was the man who had nearly killed her so many times in battle. She knew he was a skilled fighter. And she loathed him. Serpine had told Mevolent something because he spoke as soon as she was looking at him.

"The Sense-Wardens say you have a skill that no other mage of our time has, Zafira." Mevolent said keeping his tone calm. 

"What would that be? I know many things you can only dream of." She replied coldly. Nobody moved. 

"I believe you to know exactly what I meant. You are intelligent I do not deny that. So let us not play games." 

Zafira shook her head, "I can revive the dead. So? It wouldn't matter to you if you want me dead. 

"I do not wish you dead, yet. You have a talent I find useful. I'm offering you a chance at freedom. You have been imprisoned for a decade. You know exactly what will happen to you everyday. I do not offer freedom to just anyone. You have a chance to show yourself worthy of the Dark Gods, I speak for them. Serpine and many others who fought you say you are incredibly talented, I could use people like you." Zafira stayed quiet. She did not believe in the Faceless Ones, yet every instinct told her to admit defeat and join him. She knew what was America is now his. She also knew she'd die painfully if she refused. Zafira spoke, her voice steady, 

"I will join you." She said. Mevolent must gave been pleased but he didn't show it in his voice,

"Nefarian, take her to Nye. The Sense-Wardens say she speaks truthfully." Serpine nodded and motioned for Zafira to stand, she tried to and once up she followed. They entered a room and Nye was there.

A few months had gone by. Zafira had been much more recovered. Nye had warned Mevolent that she was still weak from her years in the dungeons. She lived in the City. Though Zafira was not permitted to leave unless patrolling with a general. She was a fighter for Mevolent. She knew she was not trusted and that was fine. One of the generals would take her when patrolling the streets, only because Mevolent was testing her loyalty. Many Resistance members were found by her. She proved herself daily. In a world where mortals were slaves, it was strange. 

Zafira stood with a now living Baron Vengeous. He kept her in his sight at all times. They were waiting for the morning patrol to come back. The time came and there was commotion, a person was brought in. Serephia Jackson. An assassin who was working under Zafira until Mevolent took over. A close friend. Serephia saw Zafira and broke free of her guards and Zafira found herself pinned to a wall, Serephia strangling her.

"TRAITOR!" She screeched. Freaked Zafira drew her dagger and cut Serephia. 

"Get....off...of....me...." Zafira gasped struggling to get away. Serephia's grip loosened. Zafira stood up again and went back to where she was. The Redhoods had Serephia and led her to the dungeons. The Baron's gaze was on Zafira. 

"I knew her when I was an Elder in America. She was one of my assassins." Zafira explained.  The Baron nodded and led them out into the City. Who else thought her a traitor? She was loyal to someone now, years ago Mevolent was an enemy, but now? Now he was her master. 

An Explanation of Zaf

So I realize Zaf's love life totally is weird. So here's a basic explanation.

30+ years ago Zaf was married to Ravel and they split since she cheated on him with Crux, now we have Javier who she finds and then you all know he goes insane. Well long story short Javier and Zaf are together as he's cured and all but a few weeks ago Javier killed someone, Zaf's aunt. He's also hired to kill Zaf and so she starts working with Ravel and that old love they had rekindled and they're very happy, Javier is around but Zaf is terrified to go anywhere near him. 

Alexis: Silver Sucks.

Alexis stood watching Lorcan. He was out of it and the whole thing hurt to watch. The silver was hurting him and she was powerless against it. Drew tried everything. Everything. Yet Lorcan remained poisoned. Her eyes felt wet and she felt someone touch her arm.

"Alexis." Cane Zafira's voice, gentle. "How is he?" 

"No better." Alexis said hugging her mother. Zafira kissed Alexis' cheek.

"We'll find a way." She whispered letting go of Alexis. Zafira placed a necklace by him, her lucky one. Alexis almost cried again. Zafira left and Alexis was alone. The time watching Lorcan hurt. He was just in so much pain. She didn't know if he would even live. She hoped he would. She did. Finally she fell asleep too afraid of what would come. 

Again, no change. Lorcan was still throwing up blood and still spazzing out. Alexis held his hand as he slept, Rose and others watched. Alexis wondered why Niccolò hadn't come. She'd wanted to see if his disease magic would help. She shrugged it off, Niccolò was often busy anyway and Lorcan wouldn't be any of his problems. Alexis focused on Lorcan. She didn't know what to do so she got her homework, falling asleep hours later.

Judi had come and gone. Nobody would say what she dic but Lorcan was alright. Alexis was tempted to find Rose and thank her if she could. Tears of joy filled Alexis and she ran off to the treehouse to change. She'd be seeing Lorcan again soon.

((Right my Lorexis chapter I said I couldn't write deep emotions as I suck at that but here. Merry Christmas, Enjoy.-Zaffy)) 

Oh look, Fabi has a criminal record

Fabienne S.--

Charges-- Murder of 27 individuals, 25 of whom were Sanctuary officials, two of whom were freelance mages who did most of their work for the Sanctuary and were generally on good terms with said organization.

Possible Motive-- The majority of the victims were known to dislike her. It's possible that she was attempting to eliminate people who were suspicious of her so she could get away with something else.

Evidence-- Many of the victims had hurriedly snapped photos of a young woman of similar description, but in nearly all of them, the lighting was off and the face in shadow. In one of the Montreal cases, however, the suspect was seen standing under the light of a nearby bank, her face angled well enough to be seen by the ATM's security camera. The lighting was still off, making her skin look gray-white and her usually midnight blue eyes empty and black. Despite this, the face was unmistakably Fabi's. Frank tried to speak with her first, but she ran away, so he assumed she was guilty. That and the photo pretty much gave it away.

Known Accomplices--

Snow Stormberg
Charges-- Withholding information on the suspect from the operative, and accomplice to murder.

Status: At large.

Fabienne S. (Parallel)
Charges-- Harboring a criminal, manufacture of false identification, trespassing, murder (the other dimension's problem, really), impersonation, accomplice to murder, lying to a Sanctuary official, assault on a Sanctuary official, et al.

Parallel Fabienne has several employees, but had unfortunately taken care to make sure that none of them can be tracked.

Status: In custody, awaiting trial

Alastair Cruciatus/Justaria: The Confrontation of Two Names

This was orginally never roleplayed but it happened between Justaria and Alastair a little after Zaf was released from Alastair's head. 

Justaria watched from her favorite tree. Her eyes locked on Alastair. The bastard threw her in a bloody <i>canyon</i> earlier. Or was it him? She didn't remember much because all Zafira could remember was screaming. Of course. He'd tied himself to her mentally and physically. Justaria jumped down from the tree and stood a good fifteen feet from Alastair.

"Pokey!" She laughed. She figured he'd murder her in close range, but she wanted his attention. She wanted Alexis too. Well Zafira did. 

Alastair cocked his head to the side, grinning. "Hello, love. What do you want?" A strong breeze tossed her hair back and sent a few sticks flying into her face. In a matter of seconds, it grew until she felt a moment longer would sweep her right off her feet, and then stopped just as suddenly. His eyes glittered the way they always did when he /knew/ he was more than a match for his chosen victim. "I hope you know I can attack you perfectly well from here."

Justaria kept silent as the breeze kept going until it stopped suddenly. She stepped forward and rolled her eyes,

"Show off." She told Alastair laughing, "I came to uhm talk to you. Well try to." She felt shadows around her. She could see the flow of magic come from Alastair. He was powerful and that made her nervous.

"You should be nervous. But if I'd wanted to kill you, I'd have done it already. You want to talk? By all means," he gestured outwards, as if presenting her with an invisible audience, "Talk." While his favorite thing to do, invariably, was maim and kill, he was first and foremost a curious creature, and he liked questions and discussions, even when he didn't start them. He also liked to see how many people he could convince of his own philosophy before he killed them. The percentage was high enough to suit him, although he was fairly certain Justaria already liked pain well enough.

Justaira looked him in the eyes. Her heart was racing. She knew how dangerous he was and she was certain he'd kill or torture her but she spoke her voice relatively normal,

"Alastair, why did you take Alexis, Zafira and Aretha hostage? Mainly why take Alexis?" Justaria moved forward closer to Alastair more like a normal person would choose to near someone who they were conversing with. 

His eyes glittered. He still had Alexis, and she had a beautiful scream. It was so raw, and hopeful. His favorite thing about children was how strong their instinctual will to live was. The younger they were, the more little they knew, and when they're small enough the only thing they know is their own will to survive. He liked to hear their little hearts pounding, racing, so powerful. So intense. Their tears were so honest, their pain was so pure. "She's a child. I like children. And she's your child. I can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, as long as I have her." He stepped around her, observing her as if apprising her value. "But why would you ask a silly thing like that? Surely you could figure it out by just thinking. What do you really want from me?" He came around full circle, and stopped, staring back into her eyes.

Justaria listening to him thinking how truly insane Alastair was. It was a miracle Niccolò had some control over this name, well did. 

"Why? Why hurt us? We all want Niccolò back. Is that so hard to do? Don't answer. I know what you'll do. You'll stand here and tell me how it was his own fault for stealing your name. So again, why do you want to torture us all?" Justaria remained semi calm. She realized how epically screwed she was if Alastair wanted to hurt her. It was a risk worth taking.

"Tell me," he said, flashing images of thousands of eyes, all wide with fear as they glazed over, each accompanied by a scream, "Doesn't some part of you like to see people suffer? I know you do. We all do. The only thing that makes me different is that I embrace that part of myself. I let it run rampant." He grinned. "You ought to try it sometime. It's loads of fun."

Justaria winced seeing the images. 

"Not the innocent. I never would hurt an innocent child or adult. I'm not like you. I'm normal." She said. Alastair was weird but this was toping the weird. "Why would I see joy in hurting people?"

"No," he told her, "Don't be modest. We both know you're far from normal. You'd harm your own daughter if you thought you could get away with it. In fact, you will. Give it a few weeks, maybe a month or so. You will. And you say not the innocent as if that makes you a saint. Think about it. You know those people who always get in your way? They're so irritating, aren't they? And you'd love to see them suffer. That's no different." Alastair sighed, before drawing a knife from his coat and stepping closer till the blade brushed against her cheek. "Don't try to be normal. It makes you so bland."

Justaria listened to him thinking how to actually to reply. She felt the knife against her and she could hear Zafira's petrified screams inside her mind. Justaria kept calm,

"Right. Like I'll hurt Alexis, compared to you dear Alastair I am sane. I rather be normal then clinically insane." She replied cooly. Her eyes flickered to Alastair's hands. She didn't know what he wanted to do to her and she stupidly had come alone. If he wanted to hurt her no other Bloglandian would hear her screams. A mistake on her part.

"Oh, you will. I've seen it." He trailed the knife over her smooth skin, pressing just hard enough to make a thin slice across her face. "I don't have premonitions often, but when I do," he leaned in close and whispered, "They're always right." 

He laughed, low and cold, into her ear before pulling away. "I'm scaring you, love. It's fun." She felt the cold blade slip away and he brushed his fingers against her jaw instead, lifting her chin so their eyes met. "You know, I've seen better, but your eyes are rather pretty when you're frightened." He grinned, his eyes sparkling. 

Justaria saw his dark eyes she actually wished it was Niccolò. 

"Scaring me? And thank you, you can hardly compliment me, Alastair. I must say you are rather attractive when torturing people." She smiled. It didn't matter to her if this man could kill him, she was already prepared for that. But as he wouldn't give her an explanation to her likings, she would mess with him and see how far she could take it. 

"Oh, am I?" He smirked. "I'd thank you, but it's not my body, and this isn't torture. When I make you scream until your throat bleeds, that's torture. This is child's play. But you're not the first to think that. I doubt you want to know what I did to the others."

Justaria gave a wicked smile. Her mind raced, could she do this? Without him killing her? She had to save Alexis. 

"What did you look like?" She asked cautiously. She kept her gaze on him not hinting her next move at all. The shadows formed and she appears next to Alastair, now holding her own knife to him. 

"Now, let's play on MY terms shall we?"

It was all he could do not to throw his head back and laugh. "Go on, do it. I dare you. Drag your blade across my neck and see if it'll kill me." He took a moment to consider the fact that she actually thought they would work, and then laugh lightly, before he continued. "It won't, in case you were wondering. But you can try anyway. What would your terms be, anyway? What do you care about the little girl?"

Justaria bit back a snarl. She used the knife that she held and quickly stabbed him in the stomach. 

"She is my daughter. I may not have been in control but she is my daughter, Zafira or I would die to protect her, something the clinically insane like you cannot comprehend." She twisted and pull the knife out. 

"My, you really are fun when you don't listen. I mean, honestly, this is bordering on outright stupidity." He healed himself quickly, and wondered for a moment why she'd chosen to stab him in the stomach instead of slicing his neck open. Choosing the former would be a deadly mistake on any other day, but he wanted her to live to the day when she would attack Alexis. For a moment he almost forgot she was there. "Are you done yet? He asked her, quickly growing bored.

Justaria sighed, 

"No. I planned to kill you." She spat. She focused on trying to enter his mind. Maybe she could get Alexis out this way. It was a long shot, he could easily trap her again. 

He sent a round kick into her left leg, then another just after it, before actually bothering to try to push her out of his mind. "Oh come on, you know that's not going to work. Will you just give up so I can go actually kill someone? Or at least make yourself more interesting."

For being kicked she didn't move. 

"No." She said, a gleam in her eyes. Justaria grabbed him by the throat shoving him into a tree. Her free hand drew her knife as she slowly cut something into his face, barely missing the eye. 

"Hamarabi's code said an eye for an eye I can take that litteral"

"Well, if you wanted to take it literally, we'd either have to exchange eyes- you'd be even more hopeless than I thought if you trusted me to do that- or you'd have to steal the consciousness of my daughter. But I don't have one." He shifted easily into a bird and slipped through her fingers, flying upwards until he found a branch large enough to stand on, and landed as a human. His face was healed again before his feet touched down. "Let's just face it- you know you can't beat me. And I don't want you dead before you get a chance to harm your precious little girl. So we might as well just stop wasting time and go our separate ways. To put it frankly, you're boring."

"I don't run. You run like a coward. And I really don't want your eyes, well Niccolò's eyes as you're not really anyone but him you're simply a name, a screwed up name. You say I bore you you won't fight back, wow Niccolò must have had courage to steal your name." She laughed and pushed the air attempting to knock him off the branch. 

"I'm not fighting back /because/ I'm bored. This is a waste of time. And you know I can overtake you easily. I've already done it, what, three times? And you always start out bold like this, like you can do anything. But you can't." He used the breeze she provided as a cushion as he jumped off the branch, landing gracefully on the ground. "Thanks for the air." And without another word, he vanished.

Justaria cursed. She hated when he did that. She walked to the treehouse and Zafira was out. She climbed up beside Javier.

"Any luck?"

"No." She said burying her head against him. All they wanted was Alexis back. Javier's eyes were soft as he held her. Maybe Niccolò would come back, maybe Alastair would get bored. 

Sapphire Iota; The only me

A/N; This takes place after Saph has seen her adopted family in the parallel universe (who have no idea who she is) and is running around panicking. I've been meaning to post for a long, long time :P

She bolted through the streets, the wind tearing at her face and hair. The long brown strands tangled in her face, obscuring her vision, but she continued on blindly, narrowly dodging walls and parked cars. Her feet pounded in a steady rhythm, the only steady and reliable thing in this world. Her head was spinning, too full and loud and confusing and so she just ran.

But her legs and chest were starting to hurt from sprinting this far. Corners and people and streets whirled around Saph and her breathing was getting shallower, louder, until she was gasping for air and the small, fragile little girl crumpled to the pavement, searching her pockets for her inhaler.

She took three quick puffs, ignoring the concerned passers-by. Deep breaths. Deep...

Somehow she got to her feet again and started limping, fighting through the dizziness brought on by the Ventolin. Every muscle in her leg ached- although not as much as her head- but that was nothing compared to how it had felt to see her sisters and not see the love and recognition in their eyes. Her sisters, who had mopped up her tears when she needed comfort, who had taken her in when she had no-one, who woke her up each morning with smiles and laughter, who she loved more than anyone else.

It's not them, Saph told herself sternly. This is a different dimension. They aren't my real family.

So why does it still hurt?

She should go home, back to Blogland- and she would, soon. But Saph needed a little time to calm down. She didn't want her friends to see her in this state. Just a few more minutes...

**********************

The fresh air was tinged with the scent of food and the sound of laughter. Sunshine beat down on old rocks as people flowed around contently, chattering and pausing to admire the market stalls that had sprung up around the town square.

It was a picturesque scene straight from a book, almost too good to believe. Saph stood completely still, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to enjoy the myriad scents that touched the air. Flowers, meat, fresh bread- a wave of dizziness and hunger made her take another look around before she headed for a table selling seafood.

Something collided with her legs, painfully hard. Saph staggered in surprise and looked down to see a mess of dark brown hair.

"Sorry!" whimpered a black-haired boy of about five or six. He looked up with big, fearful eyes set in a delicate face.

The world began to spin, blurring around her and the only still point, the only thing she could see was a pair of bright blue eyes, the colour that only her own could be.

But these weren't her eyes.

They were the eyes of her little brother.

*********************

His mouth was moving, lips wobbling as he apologized, babbling. This little boy was on the brink of tears.

Sound came back into her world, fading in like a speaker being turned up.

"-sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me! I just want to go home!"

He was backing away, stumbling backwards as tears started to trickle down his chubby toddler cheeks. Saph forced her mind to work again, realising she hadn't spoken or even moved. She was staring at him so hard it was probably terrifying the poor boy, so Sapphire blinked and crouched down so that they were the same height, ignoring the crowd still surrounding them.

"Sorry," she echoed him, inwardly wincing. She tried to be as calming and kind as she could bear right now. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

The boy tilted his head down self-consciously so that a black fringe covered his forehead. He blinked those bright eyes- wow, was the colour really that distracting? - back at her, still wary and afraid.

"What's your name?" she asked as gently as possible.

He sniffled at wiped one eye with the back of a faded red sleeve. "Robin." His voice was quiet, timid.

"Are you lost, Robin?" Saph questioned. The back of her legs were beginning to protest against her uncomfortable squatting and her coat was being trodden on, but she ignored the distractions.

Robin hesitated, before nodding once. His little mouth crumpled and she had a sudden, fierce, overwhelming desire to wrap her arms around this lost boy, the first real family she could remember, and never let go. Was this what it was like to know someone who shared your blood?

She straightened up again to full height and tentatively reached out a hand. "Would you like me to give you a piggyback so you can look around?"

A pause, and then another nod. Robin's cubby little fingers curled around her pale battle-scarred hands. Saph twisted around so that he could jump up and felt the surprising weight of him on her back. She held on to jean-clad legs as his young arms wrapped around her, tighter than the vice squeezing her heart.

She slowly turned in a circle, letting Robin look around for whoever he'd been with, overly conscious of the fact this was her first real contact with her brother. His black hair tickled her jacket-clad shoulders and hot breath warmed the back of her neck. Saph wondered what the odds were against this little boy, out of anyone in this dimension, running into her. Surely it was a massive coincidence!

But Saph was a Sensitive. She had seen the threads of fate and knew that however randomly they appeared to have been woven, there was an intricate pattern that would only ever lead her into pain.

"You look like Lucy," Robin said suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Who's Lucy?" Saph said absent-mindedly, scanning the area for anyone who appeared to be looking for Robin.

"Lucy's my big sister!" Robin announced proudly. "She's brave and tall and she likes to play with me. And she always tells me she loves me this much!" He tried to spread his arms to demonstrate and nearly fell off Sapphire's back.

"Careful!" she yelped, catching and straightening him. "Just concentrate on holding on."

She wasn't sure how she was holding on. Inside, her thoughts were screaming and bouncing off the walls in her mind. Lucy, she thought. Is that me?

Robin didn't seem to be bothered by nearly falling and just played with her hair.

"Your hair is darker," he said thoughtfully. "And Lucy's older." Her brother started giggling. "She's old, old, old."

Watch it, Saph thought. I'm older than you think. Except... Saph didn't actually know how old she was. That was a disadvantage of losing your memory and your life- as far as she was concerned, her life had started with her lying on that sick bed. Scared, confused, feverish, and completely alone in the world.

The realisation hit her so hard, she stopped in the middle of the square. She and this 'Lucy' were different people. All Lucy had ever known was her family. But Saph couldn't remember having a family, didn't share any memories with her parallel opposite. Robin obviously came from a mortal home, with no weirdness or magic. She had Lucy and no common ground, no shared memories, no similarities in their lives at all. There was only one Sapphire Iota.

I'm the only me, she thought. The only me in any universe I've ever heard of.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Robin yelled in her ear and she started, almost letting go of him. Then her heart processed the words and suddenly pounded, slamming into her chest and echoing in her ears. Please, please, she thought, but she wasn't sure if she was wishing to see them or not. There was a kind of fear she'd never felt before, but hope shone in her mind bright enough to let her turn, turn and see where Robin was pointing.

But he had leapt off her shoulders and ran as fast as his short legs would allow towards a couple in the corner.

"Mummy!" he squealed again.

The woman spun around and a relieved smile broke across a beautiful face that was only marked by laugh lines. Long blond hair traced its way down elegant shoulders. She was no film star and something about her face was tired, weathered, but Sapphire thought she had never seen anyone more beautiful.

"Robin!" she cried in a voice so full of love that Saph had to swallow hard and remind herself that this was not her mother.

He ran into her arms and she hugged him tight, tears leaking from green-grey eyes. The man, a gentle giant with brown hair put an arm around her shoulders and gently drew them both towards him so that they were locked in a group hug.

Saph should have gone hours ago. The others might be wondering where she was. She had things back home to do, people waiting for her. There was no sense in hanging around here. What had she been thinking? Just get out of here now. Get out. Get out get out getoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetout.

She began to back away, aiming to subtly slide out of view behind a food van.
 
"This nice girl helped me!" Robin declared happily, turning around and gesturing at Saph.
 
She was frozen in place, suddenly afraid to look up, afraid to catch her parent's eye. They were looking at her now; she could feel it, imagine what they were seeing. A girl a few years younger than their daughter, an apparently shy young woman with long, dark brown hair. Black jacket, jeans and a blue top. Worn black boots scuffing the dirt, with her hands in her pockets and head down. If she looked up, would they notice that her eyes were the same colour as the eyes of their son and daughter? What would they think?
 
“Thank you,” her mother (Saph couldn’t think of her as anything else) said cautiously, curiously.

“You’re welcome,” Saph replied as she took a few awkward steps forward She was right in front of her parents, close enough to smell aftershave and perfume, but the courage to look up had abandoned her. “I’m glad Robin’s okay.”
 
“So are we,” her father said dryly. Sapphire saw his feet turn to face Robin as he knelt down to pick him up. “Don’t you run off again, little man!”
 
Robin squealed again, kicking and twisting and laughing.

Somewhere in front of Saph, her mother laughed. “Boys. Why did I marry one?”

Finally, Sapphire Iota found the courage to raise her face to look at her mother, to really examine her for the first time. Her hair was different, that was true. And neither of her parents had the bright blue eyes Saph and Robin had inherited, which puzzled her. Her father was rugged but gentle, full of content confidence. Her mother displayed an unintentional beauty that Saph had never had. Even the way their faces were set out was different!

But she watched her family, saw her mother laughing, and realised that they did have something in common. Their smile was the same.

This moment was something she had wished for, dreamed of. To see her family happy and whole. But the pain in her heart reminded her that she wasn’t the one who could make this family whole.

“Thank you again,” her father said with a touch of breathlessness as he set the little boy back down.

“It was no problem,” Sapphire smiled. There was a wild animal inside of her, clawing and scratching and tearing her heart to shreds and she didn’t know how much longer she could survive. So she quickly bent down and placed a kiss on Robin’s pale forehead.

“Take care,” she managed, and with a final wrench of her heart she turned and forced herself to walk away, step by step, from the life she could’ve had. Mortal. Happy. Loved.

I love you I love you I love you, she thought, silently begging them to recognise her.
 
Stop it, she scolded herself. They were never your family, remember? You’re the only you.
 
The only you in the world…

A/N Just to be clear btw, my real name isn't Lucy :P And if you've managed to read down to the bottom, you deserve a virtual cookie (::) (::) (::) (::) :D