Prologue April 30, 1999 The two burly men drag the young woman kicking and screaming down the stairs. She struggles to yank free from their grasp but is unsuccessful.
"This one is a real wildcat, just like the other kid." One of the men comments as he yanks on her long brown hair painfully. "Course she is much prettier. Oh, the things I could do with you, little girl."
"Don't even think about it, Damarias, you will be castrated if you lay on finger on her without the master's approval." The second man, taller and meaner looking than the first, stands in front of the door. "Struggling will only be painful for you, little one. Just ask your cell mate."
Opening the door, he dumps her inside and slams it behind her. She rises to her feet and pounds furiously on the door, cursing in Greek.
"They won't open the door until he tells them too. You should be grateful that he hasn't asked to see you yet." A voice says from behind her.
She turns to face the stranger, her eyes wild and dangerous, her body ready to fend off any attack he could make. When he slowly emerges into the dim light, she gasps, he's just a boy. Not much younger than herself, she'd wager. His eyes are flat, his face is covered in bruises, his lips swollen. "Who are you?"
"Why should I tell you?" He asks suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't part of his plan?"
"Um, I don't know, THE FACT I'M LOCKED IN HERE WITH YOU, COMES TO MIND." She glares at him. "Don't tell me, why the hell should I care what your name is, I'll just address you as Hey man."
"My name is Lucky." He says with a slight smile. "Though, I don't feel that way most days."
"How long have you been here?"
"I don't know, days and nights are hard to keep track of in this place. Do you know what day it is?" Lucky asks as he takes a seat on the cot closet to the door.
"Friday."
"UM, the date would be nice." Lucky muses.
"April 30."
"Damn, it's been eleven days." He sighs. "They think I died."
"Who?"
"My family, friends, Elizabeth." Lucky sighs heavily. "Maybe it's better this way, at least with them thinking I'm dead they won't spend the rest of their lives waiting for bread crumbs to lead them to me."
"No one will care either way for me." She says honestly. "I have no family or friends. In fact, I can pretty much guess who is behind my abduction."
"He won't tell me his name, but he told me who hired him." Before Lucky can say it, his new cell mate beats him to the punch.
"Helena." She says simply.
"How do you know her?" Lucky asks.
"I can't remember a time when she wasn't a presence in my life. She took me from my father after she killed my mother."
The door opens to the cell as the captor and his minions enter. She lunges at him, only to be backhanded to the floor. Lucky growls at him as he goes to help her to her feet. "How dare you? She's a girl!"
"Aww, how sweet. A family reunion and you're already protecting her." Faison laughs cruelly.
"Reunion?" Lucky asks.
"Sit down children, I have a story for you. One that will warm your hearts and then make your skin crawl."
When she lunges at him again, he grabs her by the throat, pinning her to the wall as the guard hold Lucky back. "You stupid wretch of a girl. I could break you in two, here and now." He sneers at her. "I could rape you in front of the boy." When Lucky curses he adds. "Or, you can sit down, shut up, and stop trying to cut my throat with your nails. Don't be a fool, Anya, get past the rage and listen to what I have to tell you. It could prove quite interesting."
He releases her and then slaps her across the face. "Sit down before you regret it."
She takes a seat next to Lucky as Faison paces. "It's a real chilling tale, but it is begging to be told and you're such a captive.." He pauses and chuckles. "Audience that I feel it's my duty to inform you. Nineteen years ago, a young woman was kidnapped from her home town and taken to an Island in Greece inhabited by Royal heathens." Faison sneers at them. "Want to guess her name?"
"What does this have to do with my Mother?" Lucky asks bitterly.
"Well, the girl was supposed to produce an heir to this powerful family, however it was soon discovered that there were a few problems. Both sons of the matriarch were sterile, seems they were poisoned as children by a disgruntled family member who wanted to end the family line. Their Mother was livid, until fate smiles on her. The girl on the island was already with child."
"What?" Lucky asks, not sure if he is truly understanding what the madman is telling him.
"Your Mother was already with child before she came to the island." Faison repeats slowly, as if talking to a young child. "Do you need me to spell it out for you?"
"Nikolas is a Spencer?" Lucky asks.
"Yes, but it gets even more complicated. Your father killed Helena's husband and Brother-in-law, what better revenge than to make his son the heir of a family he despised. There was still another problem."
"What?" Lucky asks, his head spinning.
"To many babies." Faison says. "It was discovered that Laura was pregnant with twins, she was never told though. In fact, she and the Cassadine brothers were lead to believe she wasn't even due until a month and half after her real due date. Helena made sure they were on an extended business trip when Laura went into labor. That way, only she, Laura and the Doctor were present. Laura was drugged and a cesarean was performed, she came too, she was told she had a son."
"The other baby?" Lucky asks, attempting to digest it all.
"A girl, Helena always hated girl children. To keep the Doctor quiet, she gave him the little girl, because his own wife couldn't have children of her own. She was raised by them until she was fifteen."
"OH God." Anya says as it hits her like a ton of bricks.
"Helena escaped from Stefan's close guard and enacted her revenge. She held Doctor Lataris accountable for not helping her escape from the clinic Stefan sentenced her too, so she killed his wife and took back the girl." Faison looks at the trembling young woman. "Perhaps you'd like to pick up the story from here."
"She's my sister?" Lucky asks. "She and Nikolas are twins and my father is their father as well?"
"Correct, you are a bright one after all. I'll leave you to get aquatinted, play nice or I'll have to separate you." Faison leaves them alone as Anya continues to tremble.
"You okay?" Lucky asks her gently.
She looks at him like he's grown a second head, pulling her knees to her chest, she wraps her arms around them and begins to rock back and forth. Everything was a lie, the only good thing in her life, the time with her parents, was a lie.
Lucky watches her for hours as she continues to hide within herself. Never a tear, a scream, just the constant rocking and blank stare. The door opens and food is left for them. He retrieves the trays and sits them on the bed. "You should eat."
"I'd rather stave to death." She says, snapping out of her trance.
"If we have a chance in hell at escaping, it will be because we're strong. You have to eat something." Lucky says firmly. "You're already kind of scrawny."
"Excuse me?" She asks angrily. "What did you say?"
"No offense intended, it's just, you're so tiny. Ten pounds would make you look a lot healthier."
"You are one to talk stick boy." She says as she grabs her tray, looking down at it, she's surprised to find stroganoff. "No bread and water for the condemned?"
"Actually, the food is the best thing about this place. He says he see's no reason to have his chef make two separate meals, so we eat what he eats." Lucky begins eating as Anya continues to study the plate.
"Are you certain it's not poisoned?"
"For a girl who wanted to starve to death a few minutes ago, you seem pretty scared to try poisoned food. Death by poison would be a lot faster than starvation." Lucky says with a slight smile. When she glares at him, he laughs. "I'll understand if you're to frightened to eat."
"I'm not scared." She begins eating, ignoring his amusement at forcing her to give in and eat. "Don't gloat, I would have ate it eventually."
"Yeah, but it tastes better hot." Lucky touches her bruised cheek and winces. "The more you fight, the worse it will be. He will rape you if you defy him, I saw it in his eyes, so don't provoke him."
"It wouldn't be the first time." Is all she says before pushing her half eaten food towards him. "Eat, I'm going to sleep, feel free to smother me with a pillow once I'm in a deep sleep."
Chapter 1 July 1st 2000 Nikolas enters the penthouse and takes a seat on Sonny's couch as Sonny closes the door behind him. "You found something?" Sonny asks.
"Yeah, Jerry turned up something in Greece." Nikolas takes a deep breath. "I didn't tell Luke because I didn't want to get his and Mother's hopes up, but this looks for real."
Sonny takes a seat next to him and cocks his head to the side. "Tell me."
"He found a paper trail between Helena and some Gem dealer in Amsterdam. Jerry did a thorough check, this Gem dealer had business with Luke on numerous occasions and has continued to do so even after Lucky died." Nikolas says grimly. "The thing is, Jerry has discovered some stuff that indicates everything isn't as it appears to be."
"Nikolas, don't take offense to this, but you are starting to remind me of your father with all this drawing out the mystery in your report. Tell me what Jerry found." Sonny says wearily. It's been over a year since Lucky died, and he and Nikolas managed to form quite the bond since that day. After the fire was ruled an accident, Luke had apologized to him, but he couldn't let himself off the hook. The accident theory never held water for him, and surprisingly, Nikolas came to the same conclusion. They formed an alliance with Jerry and the three began a desperate search to put closure on that night. None of them told the Spencers or Elizabeth what they were doing, hoping to spare them the anguish of a day after day search for answers.
"An anonymous source told Jerry they saw the Gem dealer enter a home in Amsterdam, after a young boy and a young girl were brought there. He has been seen coming and going but the kids have never been seen since." Nikolas looks Sonny hard in the eyes. "The boy fit Lucky's description."
"Son of a bitch...Lucky is alive?" Sonny asks with disbelief.
"He was alive after the fire." Tears well in Nikolas' eyes. "Who knows how he is now. I don't understand it, why would Helena fake Lucky's death? Why not mine?"
"She wanted to destroy your parents, and she damn sure succeeded in that. Dammit, do you know where this home is?" Sonny asks.
"Yeah, Jerry is gassing the plane, I figured you might want to come along." Nikolas says.
"I do, but I don't think you should. It might get messy and your mother can't take losing another child." Sonny says, already knowing it's a losing fight.
"I'm not a kid, Sonny, and I will be damned if I sit on my hands if my brother could be somewhere alive. I'm going. Jerry has already talked to Jason, they are waiting for us."
"Okay, then let's go." Sonny says as he follows Nikolas out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lucky paces in the room as Anya continues to do her yoga. "How can you concentrate on that?"
"I told you I would teach you." Anya says as she stretches before ending her session. "If you don't stop pacing I'm going to have to kill you. Day in, day out, pace, pace, pace. You are driving my crazy."
"Listen, sister of mine, I'm already crazy, so excuse me if I don't cry for you as you join me. Dammit, how long have we been here??? Do you even know anymore?" He runs his fingers through his longish brown hair and sighs. "I say we attempt it."
"Sure, last time it went real well, those cuts ever heal?" Anya says bitterly. "How many times have we tried to escape, little brother? How many times have they beat us senseless? Sorry, call me crazy, but I am tired of fighting them." She lays back on the bed and sighs. "I think I should just give in and sleep with him. He swore he'd let you go if I did."
"Anya, don't even think about it. He is lying." Lucky says firmly. "You can't let him..." He shudders, unable to finish the sentence. "You just can't."
"Lucky, he's going to grow tired of waiting sooner of later. Those guards become more adamant about wanting me every day. So far...he has kept them at bay, but if I continue to spurn his advances, he may just let them loose. If I marry him, as he wishes, he will let you go, and he will not share his bride with those minions. I should have done this a long time ago. I can separate my soul from my body, he won't posses me completely and you will have your freedom."
"Anya, NO! If he so much as breathes on you, you know I will try and kill him and then I will die. So, if you think you can live with my death on your conscience, so be it..." His voice trails off as she growls at him. "Get mad, I don't care, but this is the end of discussion. I will always through that in your face and you will always have to give in. It's been over a year of this argument, can't we just resolve it once and for all."
"Lucky, we have no life here. How much worse could it be to be his bride? I would be able to see the outdoors again. He hasn't let us outside since he brought us here, I don't even remember what it looks like. Thank god for the sun that glimmers in here during the day, because I don't think my eyes could take this darkness day in and day out." She closes her eyes. "Can you still picture it? What it looks like outside?"
"Sure, when I close my eyes and think about it really hard. Anya, you have to understand why I can't let you make the deal with him." Lucky says softly as he joins her on the bed. "Everything you've told me, about when you were with Helena, I can't let you be sacrificed like that again. I won't let it happen, not as long as I'm breathing. This is hell, I won't argue with you on that, but it could be worse. Losing yourself to save me...to have a glimpse of the outdoors, come on, you will never survive it."
"This is survival??" She asks incredulously. "How many times have we begged the other to end our life?? I don't see how it could be worse, Lucky. I don't. One of these days, I'm going to have to give in, because I can't do this much longer. I can't continue to just exist."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luke sits at the bar, gun on the table, bottle of tequila next to it, quarter in his hand. "Heads, I drink, tails, I shoot myself." He flips it as a hand reaches out and grabs it. "Sweet Caroline, give me back my quarter and be gone. I don't want to be baby sat tonight."
Taking the gun off the table, she unloads it. "Uncle Luke, you know it's my night with you. Now, you don't want to take a field trip to Ferncliff with me, do ya? Remember I told you they have a nice coat ready for you."
"Stuff it and pour the damn shot." He growls as she obliges.
"God, and to think I only do this twice a week, I must spend more quality time with you." She says as he downs the shot. "Now, talk to me, you haven't pulled quarter suicide in months, what happened?"
"Nothing." He mumbles.
"Uh huh, no more whiskey till you talk." She says firmly.
"You remind me of your mother." He says with a glare.
"I know, and that's why you can't kill me. Come on, tell me what the problem is." Carly says as she waves the bottle in front of him. "You can tell me and I will give you a reward."
"You are beyond obnoxious."
"Yeah, pot meet kettle, you're black." She retorts. "Now, tell me. I don't have to be anywhere, the hubby is on a trip, Michael is with his biological daddy, and you and me can spend all night drinking and playing pool, but first, you got to tell me what the problem is."
"Laura came by." He says.
"Nuff said, want me to shoot her for you? I can ask crazy and say the devil made me do it." She says with a twinkle in her brown eyes.
He offers a slight smile. "You've grown on me..like a fungus, but you've grown on me. She and Stefan are getting married in three weeks. She wanted me to be the first to know."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Luke." Carly says sincerely. "I don't know what else to say."
"Nothing to say, so I confessed, can I have my gun back?" He asks as she pours him another shot.
"Nope, I warned you last time, I see it, I keep it. You'll just have to buy another one. One of these days you will realize I do this because I love you." She says with a smile.
"Na, you do it cause you can't buy your own fire arms so you keep stealing mine." Luke says with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but then Jason finds it and takes it away from me. So, I understand your suffering. Okay, old man, 50 dollars a game, I break, let's do it."
"I let you win last time." He says as they head towards the back room.
"Sure and Sonny and Jason say the same thing, It's okay to admit I'm the better player. It's not a shot to your masculinity..well not a big shot."
Chapter 2 July 1, 2000 Nikolas and Sonny board the small aircraft as Sonny groans. "Aww hell, we couldn't afford a jet between the four of us?" He asks, praying to god his claustrophobia doesn't show it's ugly head.
"Corinthos, we're trying to make it to Greece without drawing attention to ourselves. Now, Carly mentioned once that you have bouts with claustrophobia, you want to ride up here with me or in the back?" Jerry asks.
"Up here, at least I can see the stars and stuff." Sonny says as he makes his way into the co pilots seat. Jason and Nikolas takes their seats in the back of the plane as Jason produces a deck of cards. "No gambling boys." Sonny teases.
"I told Bobbie we were checking into Nikolas' birth records." Jerry says as he begins driving the plane down the runway.
"You know why you couldn't tell her the truth. We can't give the Spencer's false hope." Sonny says as he buckles his seat belt.
"You don't understand, you aren't married to Bobbie." Jerry says as Jason chimes in.
"No doubt, Carly is madder than hell that I wouldn't tell her where I was going. Thankfully, it's her night to be with Luke, so she will have to pick up the argument with me when I return home."
"Emily was pretty miffed at me, but she didn't push to much. Of course, I'm sure there will be a few broken dishes when I return back to the penthouse." Nikolas chuckles. "She may not have been born a Quartermaine, but she learned how to fight like one."
"I don't have to worry about any of that." Sonny says with a grin. "I answer to myself."
"Yup, and an empty bed." Jerry says with a laugh as Sonny glares at him. "Face it Corinthos, a dalliance with the occasional waitress at Luke's doesn't count as a meaningful relationship. I might as well give you fair warning, Carly and Bobbie have been heard plotting to get you a woman."
Jason nods his head. "Yeah, I hear they are taking applications."
"Emily has been scanning the campus at PCU looking for eligible girls." Nikolas throws in as Sonny shoots them all a glare.
"You're funny, you should take your comedy act on the road. I don't have time for a relationship, I haven't found anyone who peaks my interest, and my sex life is not for your concern." Sonny rolls his eyes. "I am going to tape this and put on my answering machine for you guys, your women and Mike."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Faison enters the cell and grins wickedly at Anya. "Hello, you asked to see me?"
"Shh, Lucky is sleeping." Anya says in a whisper. "I need to speak with you alone."
"I am not going to take you out of here until you accept my proposal, Anya." Faison says firmly, but in a hushed tone. "What is it that you wish to discuss?"
"If I marry you, how can I be certain you will let my brother go?" Anya asks, praying Lucky stays asleep.
"You have my word." He says. "Isn't that enough?"
"Hardly. I will marry you, but it will be in Port Charles, after you have let my brother go." Anya says as he laughs at her.
"I don't think you understand the way things work, dearest. You are in no position to make deals, I am holding the power." He says as she begins to unbutton her dress slowly.
"Really? You hold all the power?" She asks as she allows the dress to fall just a bit over her shoulders, giving him an eye full. "You have been dreaming of having me in your bed since you first grabbed me in Amsterdam. I am offering you myself, but you have to at least meet me halfway. Let Lucky go and we will be married. I would never go back on a deal, you must know that."
He runs his fingers over her flesh lightly as he sucks in the air. So young, beautiful, breathtaking. "I will consider it." He manages to say before turning and walking out the door. She walks back to her bunk and lays down, saying to herself. "I can do this. I can do this for Lucky."
"The hell you will, Anya Eleni." Lucky says as he rises from his bed.
"You saw?" She asks angrily. "Why didn't you make your presence known?"
"I wanted to see just how foolish you were going to be! Dammit, Anya, what in the hell are you doing?? Look at me!" He rages as she turns her back to him. "Look at me, Anya, don't you dare tune me out."
"I do not wish to discuss this with you, Lucas Lorenzo." She retorts. "I am an adult, I can make my own decisions. I have chosen to no longer live this way! Don't you see?? I can do this, I can be his bride, it's not that big of a stretch from the life I'm already accustomed too. You are the one who needs to be free from this hell hole. I never understood family, Lucky, not really, until now. The bond you and I have developed, it's stronger than anything I ever imagined possible. I can't sit here, day after day, watching you rot away when I know in my heart there is something that I can do to make it better."
"You are out of your mind, Anya." Lucky yells as he crosses the room and stands infront of her, toe to toe, he is inches taller than her. "That bond you feel?? I feel it too, as much as I love my brother and other sister, what you and I have developed over this time in hell, it can't be touched. You know me better than anyone, so how in the hell can you ask me to sit by and take my freedom at the loss of you soul??" He cups her chin in his hand, his blue eyes boring into her. "I won't do it, ever. Helena Cassadine...she hurt you in ways that can't be described, ways that I can't even begin to fully understand. However, I know enough to realize that you falling back into the patterns SHE TAUGHT YOU."
"Lucky, enough!" Anya says as she jerks away from him.
"No, it's not enough. Dammit, Anya, are you going to let her forever control your life?? Every decision you make you're gonna base on what you learned at her hand??" He asks as she clenches her fists. "Yeah, baby, get mad. Hit me, scream at me, show some emotion. Stop hiding in yourself and in what happened to you."
"GO TO HELL!!" She screams as she throws a right punch that connects with his jaw. She swings again and again as he just stands there, taking her blows until she realizes who she is hitting. "Lucky!" She screams as she cowers away from him. Sinking to the floor, she draws her legs up to her chest and begins to rock back and forth.
"No, come on baby, don't do this." Lucky pleads, desperate not to lose her again. "Come on, I'm here, don't go to the dark place. Fight it, Anya. You got to fight it."
"I'm sorry." She whispers as she blinks back tears.
He kneels next to her and cradles her in his arms. "Shh, it's okay. You have me now, you will always have me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The four men stand outside the building and watch as Faison leaves. Nikolas glares at the man. "That's him. He's the gem dealer."
"OK, so if he's gone, we should make out move now." Jerry says as he loads his gun.
"We have to be careful, if Lucky is inside, we don't want whoever else is in there to kill him." Sonny says as he checks his weapon.
"We have to make a move though, Sonny." Jason says as they begin running towards the building.
"I know." He replies as they reach the door. He nods at Jerry who knocks on it. When the door opens they easily over power the guard. Sonny spots a housegirl and approaches her.
"You speak English?" He asks, when she nods he says. "We don't want to hurt you, where is the boy??"
"No, I can't." She says as Jason pulls a gun on her.
"Forget what he said, we'll hurt you if we have to. Where is the kid?" Jason growls.
The girl trembles and points to the stairs that lead to the bottom of the home. "Good girl, now be smart and go." Sonny says. He turns to Jason. "That was pretty good."
"Good cop, Bad cop is kind of fun." He says with a laugh as the four make their way down the stairs. Nikolas slams the butt of his gun down on the top of one of the guards head as Jerry does the same with the second one. As Sonny and Jason continue to make their way down the stair way, Nikolas and Jerry secure the guards and lift the weapons.
Sonny reaches the door first and tries to open it. He looks around the room and see's keys hanging from a nail in the wall. He slides one of the keys into the door, when it opens he walks inside and feels the air leave his lungs..."Lucky??" He asks as Lucky looks up at him.
"Sonny??" Lucky asks before screaming. 'SONNY!!" The two embrace as the other's run into the room. Nikolas leans on the door for support when he see's his brother.
"Lucky." He whispers as Lucky lunges at him, embracing him in a bear hug.
"Nikky!" He teases. "I never thought I'd be this happy to see YOU again."
Sonny takes one look at the girl who cowers in the corner of the room and approaches her slowly. "Hey, Sweetheart. It's okay, we're the good guys." He kneels next to her but she closes her eyes.
"Sonny!" Lucky says. "Don't man. I got it." He calls out to her. "Anya, it's okay, they're friends." Anya looks up at Lucky and then at the men in the room, when her eyes fall on Nikolas she gasps, the resemblance is uncanny. "Lucky??"
"It's okay, come on, we have to get out of here before the madman comes back." Lucky says.
Sonny extends his hand to her as she takes it, allowing him to help her to her feet. When she begins to shiver, he takes off his coat and wraps it around her. "It's okay, Sweetheart, we're going to get you both out of here."
Jerry looks at both of the kids and curses. "I think I'd like to stick around and kill the bastard myself."
"We need to go." Jason says. "You don't come back with us, Bobbie will kill us all. Let's get a move on."
They make little time in getting out of the house, once they are outside, both Lucky and Anya just stop and look around, clearly amazed. Nikolas nudges Lucky gently. "Come on, we'll have time to stop and look around later."
Anya doesn't move as she looks up at the stars, tears falling from her eyes. "Oh God, it's so beautiful."
"Come on, Sweetheart, if we can get the hell out of here, I will show you all kinds of great sights. "Sonny says gently as he grabs on to her hand and begins running to catch up with the rest, pulling her behind him.
She is surprised at how easily she keeps pace with him, it's been so long since she last ran. They make it to the rental car and all pile inside, Jason, and Jerry upfront, Nikolas, Lucky and Sonny in the back. Sonny pulls her on to his lap and smiles. "Sorry kiddo, no other place to sit."
"It's okay." She says as Lucky takes her hand and pulls her over to sit between him and Nikolas.
"Don't mind Sonny, he's a sucker for a damsel in distress. Sonny, if you want someone to sit on your lap, all you had to do was ask me." Lucky teases as he plants a kiss on top of Anya head. "We made it, Anya, we made it." He points to Nikolas. "This is Nikolas."
"Hi."
"Hello." Nikolas says as he studies her, she looks so much like him that it's scary. "Lucky, is there something you need to tell us?"
"There is a lot I need to tell you, but I guess I should start with Anya." He takes a deep breath. "I don't know how to tell you this man, so I'm just going to say it. Anya is your twin sister."
"Excuse me?" Nikolas asks, clearly taken back.
"It's a long story." Lucky says as Anya closes her eyes and leans next to him. He strokes her hair gently. "Go to sleep, honey, I'll explain everything."
"Thanks." She whispers.