Author's Note: LOL, yeah, now the title of Mosemotsane is starting to make sense. :-) I probably should have named the series that, not the story, but oh well . . . just a few notes on the three planned stories for anyone confused:

MOSEMOTSANE (second child in identical twins) focused on Sydney's capture by K-Directorate and introduced Syd's doppelganger.
MYSTERIA (mystery) is explaining who this doppelganger is and her relationship to Syd.
AGRACIANA (forgiveness) will go into how Syd must deal with the doppelganger.

On this note, I need to change what I labeled as the genre of this piece. Mosemotsane was mostly action, but I think Mysteria will end up more a blend of general and a little mystery. I'm planning for Agraciana to go back to action, if anyone's interested. Okay, onto today's segment of the story. :-) -Ashni

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MYSTERIA: Part 2
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"Devlin wants you to halt work at SD-6 until we find out more about this woman," Vaughn said, jamming his hands in his pockets.

"That could take forever!" Sydney cried. "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? When they see me walking around, Sloane'll wonder what I'm up to." She shook her head. "It won't work. She's in *Pennsylvania,* for crying out loud! I have to go back to SD-6."

"No, you can't." Vaughn risked a glance at her. She was pacing the length of the floor, cheeks red with frustration. "You knew this was a possibility when you asked me to investigate," he continued wearily. "Look, if we don't see her in a couple of weeks Devlin will probably let you go back. It's just right now, we can't take the risk. Take a vacation. You of all people deserve it."

Sydney flashed a strange look at him that he couldn't interpret. She sat down on a box, tapping her fingers together impatiently. "Fine," she said at last. "I'll spend two weeks in Tahoe, but that's it. I'm not kidding."

"Two weeks," Vaughn repeated. "I'll tell Devlin."

* * *

Kesi chose a table by a window and settled back, enjoying the view of the people hurrying past, rushing about their busy lives. She'd never been to Los Angeles before, and the city fascinated her. The pace was so different from what she was used to. It was faster, more reckless, more competitive. She found it exhilarating.

"Are you ready to order?"

She smiled up at the waiter and shook her head. "I'm waiting for my dad," she explained. "But a glass of water would be nice."

Kesi shivered in happiness. She hadn't had lunch with her father in years. Necessity had always dictated that she remain far away from Sydney to avoid confusion, and in the three months since her father had recruited her to his company, that need had only grown. Although this meant she saw her father less and less, she hadn't minded. It had been the first sign that she held value Sydney could never match.

- Flashback -

"Sydney was chosen because she matched a profile. You have been chosen because you match Sydney. If you agree, your training will focus on one thing-being able to impersonate her. I've watched you carefully as you've grown up, and I think you will succeed remarkably. I won't lie to you. It's hard work, and the strain of dealing with two lives is enormous. On top of that, you will have to fool some of Sydney's closest friends."

"I can do it," Kesi said proudly.

Her father smiled warmly at her. "I know you can. Very few people could, but--" he reached out to pat her on the shoulder, "--you're one of them."

Kesi could never describe the sheer joy she felt as she learned to imitate Sydney. Others might have felt resentful, put in her position; after all, her life now revolved mainly around Sydney. Kesi, however, knew that the ability to change into another person at will gave her more freedom than she had ever experienced before.

- End Flashback -

The ring of her cell phone jerked Kesi back from her memories. She glanced at her watch. 2:04. It was probably her dad, then . . .

"Hello?" she asked cautiously.

"Hi, Kesi. I'm sorry, but I can't make it for lunch. Sydney called to tell me she's going on a vacation and--"

"It's okay. I understand."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then her father said, "Good. I'll see you later." A soft click and he was gone.

Kesi stood up, tucking her cell phone back into her purse. Her vision seemed blurry, but she resolutely refused to admit that it was because of tears. *So what if my only worth seems to be that I can imitate Sydney? I saved her life, that's all that matters, right? I succeeded in something she couldn't do.* She felt oddly betrayed. Of course her dad had to attend to Sydney; Kesi didn't even officially exist. Not here.

She kept her anger and hurt at bay as she hurried to her hotel room, where she was staying under the name "Lydia Stone." She wouldn't let her control waver. Her discipline had always been her main point of pride-she wouldn't lose it to Sydney.

Upon reaching her room, she locked the door and leaned against it with a trembling sigh, letting her purse drop to the ground. For a moment, Kesi just let herself sink into blissful numbness. She couldn't back her feelings for long, though, and when they returned she threw herself into the only other escape she knew: her journal. Her white fingers gripped the pen as it etched her pain into the white pages, nearly illegible. But she didn't write for a record in years to come. She wrote to free herself of her pain.

Some time later, Kesi lay back on her bed, feeling drained. She'd written until she felt she could write no more; bled until she could bleed no more; hated and mourned and lost until every and no emotion swept through her. The pen fell to the floor, abandoned, but she clutched her journal to her chest and curled up on the bed.

She had to win her father back. She had to show him she could be valuable. And if Sydney suffered because of it, so be it. Kesi had suffered long enough because of Sydney.