Chapter 9: The Promise

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Hope:(Riding in Double Helix to Genomex, thinking) So, the day has finally come- Brennan, Shal, Jesse, Lexa (Why her?), Darien, Mother, and I are about to face Mason Eckhart at last! Mother agreed to the plan, but I'm beginning to regret it all. (Looks at Aurora with sad eyes) I'm a fool to put her at risk in the first place. (Looks at her hands as one of them moves) What am I doing? What in the world am I even thinking, trying to outwit someone like Eckhart? (Sees a silver promise ring on the hand which moved) The promise- yes, that is it! It was the promise I made with my new friends- to help them save my biological father and to rebuild what was shattered! I even promised Lexa, even though something tells me she's putting on a facade for us all. (Looks over at Darien, who is talking with Brennan about something) A promise is not just a promise to me anymore- it is a vow, one which I do not intend to break for anything! (Faces the front of the Helix, a determined smile on her face) My new friends, my mother, my first boyfriend (Smiles again, lovestruck at the thought), myself, and most importantly, my biological father- I will not let any of them down! Eckhart, on the other hand, is going down! (Looks out window and sees Genomex approaching on the horizon slowly) Eckhart, eat my dust! (Snickers aloud at the pun)

Shalimar:(Aloud, to Hope) What's so funny, Hope?

Hope:(Aloud, to Shalimar) I was just thinking about something, and at the end of it, I said to myself, "Eckhart, eat my dust!"

Shal: So?

Hope: Shal, I can cause earthquakes, remember? Earthquakes? Dust? Get it?

Shal:(Finally catches on to the joke, and laughs) I don't know where you get these thoughts, but I gotta admit- that's pretty clever!

Hope, Shal, Darien, Brennan, and Jesse all laugh at Hope's inside joke, leaving Lexa clueless (as usual;).

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The Double Helix landed just a few feet away from the Genomex complex and the door opened, releasing one lone girl with red hair. Acting as though she were going to her own execution instead of fighting an enemy, she cautiously approached the door, knowing that it was unnecessary to knock- the camera had already spotted her and sent a signal to the control room. A second later, the bolts on the other side of the door clicked, and the door opened to the sight of Mason Eckhart himself standing there.

"Well, well! I see that you have kept your promise to me," the scientist said, grinning wickedly.

"Yes, I did- now it is your turn to keep yours," the redhead stated bravely.

"Ah, yes! The release of Adam Kane, correct?"

His sneer made the real Hope Landos, who was hiding in the bushes closest to the invisible Helix, want to throw up. 'How gullible,' she thought, 'can this guy be? Being totally evil is one thing- being totally evilly proud is something totally different, and this guy just doesn't know how foolish he really is!' Slowly, she slinked out from behind that bush. Sure she had missed some of what had been said, but she knew when she was cued in anyway.

"Wait a second!" The second red-head shouted as she approached the first. Pointing an accusing finger, she said, "This woman is an imposter, Eckhart- I'm the real Hope Landos!" That was the cue that Aurora, disguised as Hope, was waiting for.

"Oh, no, no, no, I'm the real Hope Landos," Aurora said, speaking, with complete accuracy, with Hope's voice.

"Oh, yeah, and I'm Steven King!"

"Alright, then what is the capital of England?"

"London- duh!"

"Is a right angle ninety degrees, one hundred eighty degrees, or three hundred sixty degrees?"

"That is way too obvious- it's ninety!"

"Okay, last one- what do you call a man who doesn't know how to care for anybody except himself, huh?"

Then, in usison, the mother-daughter team looked at Eckhart, Aurora not yet back to her original state, and said, "A fool, like you, Eckhart!"

Then, with a swift motion of her cape, waving it in front of her, Aurora returned to her own body shape. Eckhart looked horrified, as she walked towards him, backing up and shouting, "No! It can't be! Go away! Don't touch me, or I'll call the police!"

Cackling, the older woman continued to move towards the mad scientist, as she began whispering repeatedly, "Lead me to the man that I truly love- I shall take him off of your hands! If you do not, however, then I shall take your life!" Reaching her hand forward, Eckhart continued to back away from her and started running down the hall, going at last into the room that Hope had never seen from inside, forgetting to close the door.

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Adam had never seen such fear in the eyes of anyone, much less in the eyes of the man who was his enemy. Eckhart rushed over to the Vampire and pressed some buttons. Adam felt sad and closed his eyes, sure that the daughter he had so hoped to finally meet had lost. Despite the fear in the madman's eyes, he had won. Just as he finished this thought, he felt a tug on the arm that had the needle in it and, sort of hurriedly, Eckhart slid the needle out and unlocked Adam's bonds as a woman with silvery hair slowly entered the room.

"Take him! Whatever you do, take him, but leave me alone! Am I to be blamed for all that has happened to you?" The man shouted and got down on his knees in a pleading manner.

"Are you to be blamed for all that has happened to me, you ask?" Aurora said, offended. Then, with a scowl, she answered with one word; "Yes!" She then looked at Adam, who was breathtaken by her ability to look like a ghost, and asked, "Adam, will you come with me to safety? Where I am staying, you will not want any more than what you will have, and, with your wisdom and scientific knowledge, you will make friends quickly."

Only Aurora and Adam knew that she was talking about Sanctuary, but neither showed it in their actions or words, and Eckhart, being as frightened as he was, wouldn't have caught their meaning, anyway.

Pretending to be hypnotized, Adam slowly walked to Aurora and took her hand, saying, "Of course I will." Within an instant, Adam's appearance was like Aurora's and, having put Eckhart in the same chair he himself had been in and locked the bonds around him without hooking him up to the Vampire, left the complex, leaving Eckhart to starve for quite a while.

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Hope had been waiting outside for them to come out and hadn't expected the rescue mission to be quick. But after five minutes, she was puzzled. 'Surely they would be out by now, wouldn't they?' She thought to herself as she looked through the doorway. Just then, as she was planning on going into Genomex herself, two figures appeared, moving right towards the entrance.

She couldn't believe it- she was finally going to meet her biological father! He saw her, too, and began running over to her, carefully hugging her in his strong arms. A tear made it's way down her cheek and, when Adam saw this, he asked concernedly, "Hope, I know we don't really know each other all that well, but why are you crying?"

Wiping the tears away, Hope sweetly said, "I'm happy- I'm just so happy we've met at last! My tears won't stop!"

Brushing her cheek very gently, Adam whispered, "And I'm so happy, too, Hope! Now, what do you say we get out of here and go home?"

"I second that," Aurora chimed in.

With a smile on her face, Hope whispered, in a level loud enough for the three of them to hear, "Yeah- let's go home now."