Look into thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another
Shakespeare, Sonnet III
~*~
Chapter Seven - Singsong
Jim sat in his seat, the strange silence of the room, making him feel a bit nervous and anxious. The woman in front of him was placidly drinking from her teacup, perusing the different types of cookies that were laid out on the small plate on the coffee table between them. Jim didn't feel like drinking anything at the moment and his own cup sat there, cooling rapidly. This woman's strange greeting had been running through his mind on a loop. She obviously knew who he was; he, on the other hand, hadn't the faintest clue as to who she was.
"So, Jim," the lady said. "It's been a long time. What brings you all the way here?"
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" he blurted out suddenly. He flushed with embarrassment.
The lady smiled before she picked up a bite-sized cookie and ate it. "That's quite all right." She said once she swallowed. "Perhaps you've forgotten me over the years, but I certainly haven't forgotten you."
Jim simply blinked before he brushed aside her cryptic words. "I came looking for you because Khujesta said you knew someone?"
"Khujesta?" the lady said after a few moments. "How is Khujesta doing?"
"She's dead," Jim said quietly. "Her last vial of P-18666 was destroyed and she didn't have an extra."
The lady rested her teacup back on the saucer on the table, her face grim and sad at the same time. "I always told her things would catch back up with her. Jim, I am going to ask you something. What did Khujesta say and do before she died?"
"What did she say and do?" he paused for a moment. "She told me about the Rebirth Project and how it was supposed to create the perfect solider in, what I guess was to be, a two step system. She was one half with the brawn and her mate was the other half with the brain. Presumably, the scientists wanted them to have a kid, who had both brains and brawn genetically. She said to let Sebastian have free reign to take care of her."
The woman gave him a strangely pitying look and nodded her head. "Please, continue. Did she do anything?"
"Um…" Jim found himself strangely reluctant to say anything. "Not to the best of my recollection."
"Jim," the lady said in a weary voice. "Don't lie to me."
Jim sat there silently, studying the tabletop. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The lady looked at him for a moment, before she picked up her teacup once more and took a sip. "You know Jim," she murmured, placing her cup down again. "You can refer to me by my first name."
"You never told me your name to begin with."
"Tsk," she shook her head. "You'll know it if you try hard enough."
"Just what are you getting at here?" Jim demanded.
"I want you to do two simple things for me Jim. Look at me and focus on my name," the lady said simply before looking over the cookies again.
Jim frowned. This was ridiculous. But he had to get information from her and sometimes that required a bit of humouring. With a heavy sigh, he shrugged and looked at her intently, allowing his mind to focus on the question of her name. She was simply sitting there now, calmly eating a cookie in between sips of tea. His brow furrowed together as he scrutinised her, mind focusing intently. He gave a small involuntary gasp after a few minutes as well as Khujesta.
Images started flooding his mind in a torrent. A nametag with the name Pandora Uaithne Richter. A small black haired girl, sobbing in the corner of a shadowy room. And the same black haired girl playing happily with a ball. And the jade necklace held out, spinning slightly on its gold chain in front of the wide-eyed girl. A gloved hand holding a scalpel as it cut through pallid flesh, bright crimson blood oozing through followed by hands wet with tears. Then she looked, red in the face as she launched herself at a large burly man, knocking him over and connecting her fist with his face. The girl was pulled off and the man rose clutching his nose…and then… then flames filled his vision, licking all around-
"Argh!"
Jim managed to tear his eyes away from the woman, finding himself gasping and suddenly short of breath. He sagged back in his chair, eyes darting to and from the woman…no, Pandora who had a similarly shaken expression to her face.
"What the hell was that?" Jim demanded in a trembling voice.
"That," Pandora managed. "Was your abilities and their rather large kick start," she paused for a moment. "Gods, I didn't think it would be anything like that!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jim was more than shaken now.
"Tell me Jim," Pandora said as she shivered a bit, pulling her jacket in closer around her. "Was anything odd about what you saw?"
"It was as if they were my memories," he said, swallowing hard.
Pandora didn't say anything for a moment. "What was your earliest memory Jim? Of your childhood that is."
"From when I was 7, with my parents. Well my-"
"Adoptive parents?" Pandora cut in.
"Yes," Jim said quietly.
"Didn't you ever find it odd, Jim?" Pandora asked quietly. "That you never had a recollection of anything previously, like most kids? Or that you could always use your brain better?"
"What do you mean by 'better'?"
"I mean…did you ever find something glaringly obvious or things that should be complex very simple and straightforward to understand."
"I figured that was because I had a higher IQ!" Jim said a bit defensively.
"Or accelerated brain patterns." Pandora replied quietly.
"But…those only exist in one species in the entire universe."
"But it's in their genetic code…and what nature doesn't give man, man tries to obtain on his own."
"You mean it was worked into the actual structure of human DNA? The entire race of humans?!"
"No, just one person." Pandora didn't say anything for a moment. "That one person was me."
"But, you just said I have accelerated brain patterns!" Jim felt as if he was floundering by the moment.
Pandora didn't say anything for a moment. "I didn't think much of it when they asked for some of my DNA, and I gave it. When I found out it was too late, and I wouldn't let them terminate the foetus."
Jim stared at her in disbelief for a good while. "Wh-What?!" he managed to croak out. "You're my mother?!" this conversation had officially gone from peculiar to something straight out of a movie. He couldn't help but wonder when exactly he would be waking up.
"In a manner of speaking, I am," Pandora nodded her head sadly. "And you're the son I always and never wanted."
Gene grumbled as he adjusted his blonde wig. When he agreed to do this favour for Ark and Hadul, he didn't realise it would entail resurrecting his supposed sister, Jenny Starwind. But here he was backstage, wonder how it was that women managed to make underwire bras look comfortable. Considering the way it was digging into his side, Gene figured he'd have a repeatedly punctured lung by now.
"You'll do fine," he muttered viciously, mimicking Ark's voice. "Make sure you sing something within your range," now it was Hadul. "I swear to fucking God, those two have got to be-"
"Excuse me, Miss?"
Gene whipped around, finding himself facing a rather short girl with bright purple hair, with a mic headset on and a clipboard in her hand. He cleared his throat. "Yes?" he asked in a soft contralto. He would not look down her rather open and enticing shirt…and it certainly did look enticing from-
"Have you selected your song and wardrobe?"
"Erm…" Gene had absolutely no clue as to what she was referring to.
"Well, come along. We'll pick your costume first and then a song around that. Much easier that way," the girl said seizing his hand and dragging him off.
Gene closed his eyes, doing his best to remain calm. It seemed perfectly easy; enter this silly little singing contest and win that dinner with Aphra Gtrey for Ark and Hadul. But when he found out the men's section was full, he'd been pressed to bringing back Jenny, and thus he now found himself in a room swamped with clothes and being pressed towards a change room with an armful of them.
"Well, are you done in there yet? Sheesh, you have to be the longest! None of the other girls took this long to change."
"Yeah, I bet they didn't have fake boobs," Gene groused under his breath to himself as he adjusted the bra. "Coming out now!"
And with that, gene tottered out in the heels and stood glowering in front of the mirror. How women walked in these things was beyond him. The purple haired girl on the other hand looked rather ecstatic.
"Look at you! You'll have all the guys after you, and probably Aphra too!"
"What?" Gene rounded on her.
"Oooooh! I have just the song for you! It's a rock song though, hope you don't mind! And look at that face! You don't even need makeup! But if you make your voice kinda gravely and just belt it out and strut your stuff on stage," the girl gave a resounding smack to Gene's ass that made him squeak and jump with a start. "You'll have them all eating out of the palm of your hand! Oooooh, I have to go get your song lined up and tell the others!"
And with a final squeal of delight, the girl took off, leaving Gene alone in the dressing room, bewildered and thinking that for once, he may have just bitten off more than he could possibly chew.
"What I need now," he muttered, collapsing in a chair. "Is a good stiff drink. Those two owe me big time, since I'm prancing around in ripped clothes, heels and stupid fishnet stockings." He growled, glaring at his legs.
Sebastian blinked and looked around as he stepped out of the spa, Melfina just behind him. After finally being released from the spa, he found himself thinking about picking up where they had left off before the rather impromptu pampering. Of course, before he didn't have a large fruit basket to cart around with him. At least they'd save some money if they were hungry; simply eat something from the bag. Gods knew there was enough fruit there to last them a week.
"Um…Sebastian?" Melfina said in a quiet voice, tugging on his sleeve.
"Yes, Melfina?" he asked, looking back at her, trying to resist a rather soppy smile; since when had be come whipped?
"Maybe we should try that crowd there and see if anyone has seen anything."
Sebastian frowned as he scanned the crowd; it was rather large and if they weren't careful, his target could easily pick them off in that press. But Melfina raised a very god point. It could be a veritable mine of information. And he wasn't about to let this opportunity pass by
"That's a good idea. But stick close to me, all right? We don't need to get separated in that crowd."
Melfina smiled and slipped her arm through his, taking the basket of fruit. "Would this help?"
"Yeah!" Sebastian's voice sounded a bit high, his face going bright red.
"Your voice is doing that funny thing again," Melfina said with a smile as they started for the crowd.
Sebastian flushed a bit more. "It's the air, what can I say? It's not used to rapid changes in temperature and that massage room was a bit cool."
Melfina's smile grew a bit wider before she looked at the crowd. "We should see if we find Aisha in here as well too. Knowing her, she may be here."
"What makes you say that?" Sebastian asked, grateful his voice was returning to normal.
Melfina pointed to a large banner over a table that read, 'Free Lunch, Courtesy of Sahaym Records'. Sebastian nodded his head in understanding; he'd yet to come across a Ctarl-Ctarl that would pass up a free meal. "Should we see if they're there before we look through the crowd?"
"Let's look through the crowd first," Melfina said, before she paused for a moment. "Aisha can be a bit…um…"
"Intimidating and blunt when she wants something?" he offered.
Melfina nodded her head, not saying anything. Sebastian simply nodded his head in agreement.
"We'll look through the crowd first. Last thing we certainly need is a Ctarl-Ctarl making a scene, and then no one will talk to us."
Aisha paused for a moment to gulp down her drink before speaking. "Ariel, sandwiches?"
"Busy," Ariel growled before she promptly made three burgers disappear in rapid succession.
Aisha sighed and reached over for the plate, smacking away the other hand that reached for it at the same time. It seemed that the record company had prepared for the rather prodigious appetites of any Ctarl-Ctarl that may show up. And it was a good thing they did since there was a table of thirty of them, attacking the food ravenously, as if they hadn't had a decent meal since last week. She growled, stabbing a few burgers and sliding them onto her plate, before she swallowed them, as well as the sandwiches, and went after something else.
It seemed like a long while before the eating died down, and everyone was sitting contentedly at the table, patting their stomachs and picking at their teeth with toothpicks. She glanced over at her purple haired cousin who was currently flicking her tail in content and purring a little bit with her eyes closed.
"Oh, there you are Aisha!"
Aisha looked over to see Melfina come walking over, Sebastian on her arm and a fruit basket on her other free hand. Aisha sat up, ears perking up a bit as she regarded him suspiciously for a moment before she leaned back against the table. If Melfina was walking around with him like that, he wasn't posing a threat any time soon.
"So, what can I do for you my friend?" Aisha asked with a satisfied and smug smirk.
"We were just trying to find you. I figured you'd be here eating." Melfina said with a gentle smile.
"I've done my part! LostJimthough…" she said quickly, finding her sandaled feet interesting.
"You lost Jim?" Melfina asked after a few moments. "Oh my, Gene's not going to be happy with that. Maybe we should look for him now…"
"Speaking of Gene Starwind," Ariel said lazily. "Where is he? I've been meaning to discuss something with him."
"You never told me that!" Aisha bristled.
"I don't have to tell you everything dear cousin. But I believe I have pertinent information that may be relevant to his current…endeavour."
"And what information would that be concerning…Ariel Pri Pri." Sebastian said quietly.
Ariel didn't say anything for a moment before she opened her eyes and regarded Sebastian as if she was a spider that just caught a very fat and juicy fly. "Sebastian Delacour…or is it Sebastian Hayaes this time? Or maybe it's Sebastian Janome."
Sebastian didn't say anything as Aisha watched him suspiciously, lips pulling back into a snarl, while Melfina looked at him with a slightly puzzled and hurt look.
"What? Is what she saying true Sebastian?" Melfina asked.
"It is…I've used many names. I told you Delacour because that the one I use the most. Not many know my real surname."
"What is your real surname?" Melfina asked curiously.
"It's better that I don't speak of this now." Sebastian said quietly, eyes darting around.
Ariel nodded her head. "We'll talk later. Perhaps on the XGP before you all leave Tenrei. What I have to say and what we both know is far too sensitive."
"Yeah, I'll say!" Aisha said, giving Sebastian one last look. "The contestants are coming out and…holy! Do you see what that guy is wearing! Just…holy! I've got to see that up close! Come on you guys! We're going to the front of the stage!"
And with that Aisha stood up, as did Ariel and they bulldozed their way to the front to get a very better view of the contestants.
Gene swallowed nervously as he peered out the curtain. He'd managed to get the hang of walking in these heels and even strutting a bit. He was pretty sure he could do this, if it were not for the fact that Aisha had dragged Melfina, Sebastian and another Ctarl-Ctarl to the front of the crowd and was hollering, catcalling and stirring up the crowd with every act. And he was up as soon as this person finished.
"Could really use that drink right about now," he muttered, taking a deep breath.
"Something wrong Miss?" the purple haired girl was back.
"I need a drink," he said.
"We have water, juice-"
"A tumbler of whiskey." He groaned, hearing Aisha start cheering wildly.
"We don't serve alcohol here," the girl looked at him for a moment before disappearing and coming back a few minutes later with said tumbler filled with the wonderfully aromatic amber liquid. "You really do look as if you could use it."
"Thanks," Gene gulped it down quickly, before handing the tumbler back. "How are you going to introduce me?"
"Jenny Starwind," the girl cocked her head. "Was there a problem with that?"
"I'd really appreciate it if you introduced me as just Jen. Please?" he pleaded. The thought of having to face Aisha and Melfina, much less Sebastian, after this would cause him enough problems; at least this way he stood a chance of remaining as some obscure performer.
"Not a problem. Do you know the lyrics to Unforgiven? That's the song I picked for you; it's a really old Earth song, but it's all gritty and still excellent. As you can see, the lyrics are on the monitor and-"
Gene had to restrain himself from literally kissing the girl right then and there. "Oh, I know the lyrics off by heart! I don't need the screens. Kill them for all I care!"
The purple haired girl beamed. "I'll leave them on just in case, because you saw what happened. Some of the people totally choked up and forgot."
Gene didn't feel as bad as the girl bounced off, and he held his mike, twirling it between his fingers, grinning a little bit. He could already hear the crowd cheering as the girl on stage finished. He took a deep breath and strode out onto stage, seeing all the expectant faces waiting for him to start. 'This had better work, because I refuse to do God knows what else for those two dirty old perverts.'
Jim looked out the train window a bit absently while listening to the random squealing noises the track made. Pandora sat in the seat opposite him, flipping through a discarded copy of 'Tenrei, Today!' the local tabloid paper. He shifted his eyes to see the reflection in the glass; smack dab on the cover was a picture of Aphra Gtrey, winking with a seductive smirk on her face. Jim sighed and turned his gaze back to the landscape.
He was starting to wish that what had happened at the summit of Mount Nyobi was nothing more than a bad dream, but it wasn't easy to prove something otherwise to yourself when tangible physical proof was sitting right in front of your face. Jim was seriously wishing he had stayed back on Hayfong and not gotten involved in this entire mess. It would have been less of a headache that way, and he wouldn't have so many questions swirling around in his head. And the strange thing was, he felt as if he already knew the answers to a vast majority of the questions that he wanted to ask.
"Jim?" Pandora asked quietly as she looked up. "Would you like to go to the dinner car and get something to eat?"
Jim glanced at her reflection before he quietly nodded his head. Maybe getting something into his stomach would help it settle down a bit. He hadn't eaten anything all day and his stomach was gnawing away quietly at itself in hunger. They rose and made their way down the car, walking through the doors until they came to the comfortable dining car, selecting the closest booth, one with four spaces. There weren't many passengers on this train to begin with, and no one else was even in this car, so Jim was fairly sure that they wouldn't be bothered.
"So…what would you like to eat?" Pandora asked as she looked over the menu.
Jim gave a half-hearted shrug as he looked back out the window, watching the landscape pass by. Pandora gave a heavy sigh and ordered as the waiter came and disappeared promptly. Pandora folded her hands on the table, studying them long and hard for a moment before she finally spoke.
"I know everything today must have come as a shock to you Jim," Pandora began. "But you must understand, once I gave my DNA to them, it was all beyond my control what they planned to do with the results. It was worked into my contract and legally binding."
Jim didn't say anything, continuing to look out the window.
"I know this entire mess is the direct result of a disgusting amount of hubris from a group of arrogant and conceited people," she lapsed into silence for a moment. "And that things never should have escalated out of control as they did. Surely you of all people can understand the desire to do something great for humanity and be remembered in the history books."
"No, I don't." Jim murmured, still looking out the window.
Pandora gave a small 'Ah' before she continued to speak. "Then is there any way that I can relate to you the…sensation we all felt when we first started this project?"
"I highly doubt it." Jim said.
"I see," Pandora didn't say anything for a moment. "What do you see when you look at me?"
"Someone who bitterly regrets what happens, but isn't ashamed of her actions." He said, drumming the fingers of one hand against the table, the other holding his chin up. "Someone who knows the painful sting of…science gone awry."
"Science gone awry…that's something of an understatement," Pandora said with a wry bark. "If I may, what are you feeling now?"
"I think I'll keep that to myself if you don't mind," Jim said, glancing at her reflection.
"I understand," Pandora said. "I know I wouldn't feel very talkative if I were you at the moment."
Silence returned for a few minutes to the table as neither of them said anything. Then the waiter returned, bearing a plate of macaroni and cheese, which was placed in front of Jim and a large salad topped with chunks of chicken and croutons and grated cheese was placed in front of Pandora. Jim turned his gaze to his plate and started eating, picking at the noodles drenched in the cheese sauce. He was busy systematically slicing one with his fork when the train lurched to a complete stop. By the time the waiter came around again, he'd eaten the noodles and was working his way through the remainder of the cheese sauce.
"Excuse me," Pandora asked, catching his arm for a moment. "Is there something wrong?"
"There's a technical malfunction in the engine room. We should be moving along shortly. Is there anything else I can get you?" he asked, looking between the two of them.
Jim shook his head, while Pandora said, 'No, thank you.' The waiter nodded his head and continued walking, leaving them alone in the dining car once more. The silence descended once more until Pandora excused herself to take a quick trip to the washroom. Jim waited until she was gone before, eyeing her salad and quickly stabbing a chunk of chicken from it. He was still pretty hungry.
"Hey," he called as the waiter was coming back. "Can I get another plate of macaroni and cheese, but with some chicken mixed in?"
"Certainly Sir, right away." The waiter said, scribbling it down on his pad before disappearing again with Jim's plate.
Jim found himself looking out the window at the stationary landscape with his thoughts wandering once more. Was Pandora actually his mother? He couldn't believe he had blurted something like that out. Giving DNA didn't automatically make someone a parent. And from the way she said it, she gave only a sequence of genes, not a full set. But all she had done was say she'd given her DNA; Jim couldn't be sure if she just gave some of all, unless he asked her, and he didn't feel much like talking to her. The waiter had already returned with his order and he said a quick 'Thank you' before picking up his fork and eating ravenously. He was much hungrier than he'd originally thought.
"Hm," Jim mused as he swallowed and looked at his watch. "She's been gone for almost ten minutes now. What did she do, fall in the toilet?"
He turned his attention back to his food; he'd look for her as soon as he was done eating. It wasn't as if they were going anywhere any time soon. It wasn't all that hard to notice when a shadow fell over him, but he continued eating anyway. And he had an odd feeling that it wasn't Pandora. But with everything that had happened, he figured it was just something akin to temporary paranoia that was making him feel like this and so he continued to eat. The sound of the salad being eaten put him to rest. It was Pandora; maybe that's why her hair was so green; he'd never seen anyone eat lettuce in such prodigious quantities.
When he finally put his fork down and sat back in the seat looking out the window, he got something of a shock that made him turn his head to see the occupant in Pandora's seat. The black haired girl from the alleyway was sitting there watching him. Simply watching him and nothing more. Jim cleared his throat, unsure of what to say at the moment. She smiled slightly, taking a deep breath before she spoke.
"I've had to tie up Pandora and lock her in the bathroom so we could talk alone." She said quietly. "Do you mind Jim? Or would you like me to go and release her?"
"No, I don't mind." Jim said, feeling his heart pick up a bit.
She smiled a bit more. "Good. I've been wanting to talk to you for a long while now."
Jim felt himself smile in return and it was at this point that his brain seemed to enter a rather conflicted dialogue. "Really? So have I." He admitted. 'So have I? Sheesh Jim, don't spill it all out at once now! First you make googly eyes at her, and now you're heart's pounding away as if you just met the girl of your dreams. Pull yourself together and snap out of it!'
The girl blushed slightly, her finger tracing out random patterns on the tablecloth. "I wasn't expecting to see you that day in the alleyway."
"I had no clue of who you were," Jim admitted with a small laugh. The girl laughed as well, although a bit sadly. "Did I offend you?" he asked when the laughing died down.
"No, you didn't." she said.
"All right," Jim had a niggling feeling that she was lying for his sake. "So what's your name?"
"My name? I don't have one." She said quietly. "I was never given one."
"Never?" Jim asked, his eyes drawn to her neck and the jade pendant that rested there. "You've never had a name?"
The girl shook her head remaining silent. Jim paused for a moment, musing, as he looked at her critically.
"Jade." He declared finally.
"What?" the girl looked up at him startled.
"Jade. It's a nice name. And it seems to fit you fairly well." Jim smiled at her as he leaned forward and slipped the necklace under his fingertips, skin brushing skin. "And not to mention this necklace you're so attached to."
The girl blushed even more this time. "I like that name." She said a bit shyly. "Jade it is."
"What did you want to talk to me about Jade?" Jim asked as he let the necklace fall back against her skin and he sunk back into his seat.
"I'm assuming that you've talked to Pandora and Khujesta and know everything now?" she finally said after a few moments.
"I barely got anything from Khujesta and, according to what Pandora told me, I'm supposedly her son in…some manner."
Jade nodded her head. "You are. She gave a full set of DNA for Styx to use in the growth of a foetus."
"So she is my mother?" Jim asked in something of a horrified voice.
Jade nodded, reaching over the table and wrapping her fingers around Jim's hand. "They used DNA from one human and the other half needed to grow a foetus was custom created. I know this seems strange and decidedly peculiar, but trust me; you got the better one of the deal. I just found out who my parent was."
"Who is it?" Jim was finding it hard to concentrate with Jade holding his hand like that.
Jade made a face. "I'd rather not say…not now."
Jim nodded his head in understanding. "How do you know all this is for sure?"
"I've been doing research. After the…incident I swore I would make them all pay with their lives. But now…I'm tired of it all. I'm just going to find this one place that will give me all the answers." She paused. "I wanted to go with you."
"With me?" Jim asked in disbelief.
Jade nodded. "I understand if you want to stay with your friends on the XGP and-"
Jim was completely unprepared for the large metal bar that came swinging out of nowhere and smashed against the back of Jade's head. He scrambled up of his seat, angry and ready to give someone hell, when he realized it was Pandora and she was holding a large metal pipe.
"Come on Jim, we're leaving now!" she said, dropping the pipe, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from Jade's unconscious figure.
"What? What are you doing?" Jim demanded shrilly as he yanked his hand back. "What the hell was that?! You don't just go smashing people in the back of the head with a pipe and-"
Jade gave a groan, stirring a bit. Pandora picked up the pipe and cracked it against Jade's skull once more. Jade slumped against the table motionless, and Jim was horrified to see the slow trickle of blood creeping down the once white plate and immaculate tablecloth. He started to the booth, but was yanked and dragged away once more.
"Is what she told me true?" Jim asked furiously, digging his heels in. Pandora had too good a grip on his wrist for him to break free. "That you gave a full set of DNA?"
"Yes, I did! Now move before she regains consciousness!" Pandora snapped as they exited the train. "We're lucky we're just on the edge of a town. I can rent a car and drive us back to the port."
"Why the hell should I believe you when-"
"Jim, she's a killer! There were fifteen scientists working on this project and now, fourteen of them are dead. I'm the last one living. She killed the rest of them all. You can't believe anything she says! She'll use you to get to me!"
Jim fell into sullen silence as he was dragged towards the town, stuck into the passenger side of a car and pointedly ignored by Pandora. He scowled and looked out the window, as the landscape passed by. Why did he suddenly feel as if Jade was far more trustworthy than Pandora at the moment?