Chapter 17: No Doctor in the House

Now

I knew Cliff was taught under Seto, but everyone knew that she was far from his level. He had skills none of us knew and the ones we have seen seem almost impossible. Cliff was skilled, I'd seen her magic but it was limited. The great tasks that Seto could do could knock Cliff back for hours. Nonetheless, now she was the most experienced magic user in base. She was all we had.

Again, we were looking through the one-sided glass, watching Dawn as she sat alone. Cliff was beside me. I felt her shaking. She hadn't been feeling well since the Hunger Games. I had talked to her but she always seemed distracted, like something was playing in the back of her mind. Now, her eyes were focused on Dawn. They were wide. She saw something we didn't.

"Do you know who this?" whispered Ty who stood behind her.

"Dawn…" she replied softly. "Corrupted."

"What?" Ty perked.

"She is corrupted. Dark energy surrounds her," I heard her voice shake.

"Can you fix her?" Sky's voice was softer than anyone's, coming from the doorway. Ty looked away from him.

"I'm not very good at cleansing magic," whimpered Cliff, but she nodded. "I think I can, though."

"What do you need?" Ty instructed. "Can you find them in Seto's office?"

"Maybe," sighed Cliff. "What happened to Seto?"

"We don't know," replied Ty.

"He left," sighed Sky. "It's my fault."

Cliff's eyes narrowed, staring at him intently. I knew Seto and Cliff's relationship was close. I wasn't sure how close but I knew she was lost without him during our previous adventures. I wasn't sure of how she met him or even how long she'd worked with him. The way she looked at Sky though, said that she was mad at him about him. She blamed in and rightly so. After a moment, she looked away, turning back to Dawn.

"I'll do what I can, sir," she whispered.

"Can Fia help you?" Ty offered.

"She wasn't much for this kind of magic," Cliff nodded. "I'm sure she's better off making healing potions or something for any upcoming stuff."

"That makes sense," chuckled Sky, trying to levitate the tension. No one else laughed.

"I'll check Seto's library," gulped Cliff. "Perhaps they might help."

She left, pushing passed Sky. The tension left in the air was thick. I felt like I was choking. I looked at the ground. The two needed to talk about their previous conversation, but maybe now wasn't the best time. It had only been a short time since their argument. I'd never seen the two more heated at each other. I felt like such a third wheel.

"I'm going to talk to her again," Sky sighed, tapping on the door.

"I figured," nodded Ty. "I'm not gonna stop you."

"I…I think I can get to her."

"I know you do."

"Ty…"

"I'm not sticking around to listen to this again," groaned Ty, leaving. He brushed up against Sky before completely leaving.

Sky gulped, looking up at me.

"Can you…keep an eye on things?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

Sky left the room, reentering the interrogating room. Dawn seemed to perk upon his entrance, smiling and relaxing as he sat across from her. I could hear him sigh. She chuckled, leaning on the table. He leaned in too.

"Dawn," he whispered, "I'm not giving up on you."

"Enjoy your delusions," she giggled. "It'll make this all the sweeter when I kill you."

"You won't kill me," Sky shook his head. "We were close once. You can't just forget that."

She leaned in, whispering into his ear. I couldn't see her lips move or hear what she said but I saw Sky's hands tighten into fists, knuckles turning white. My stomach dropped. Dawn stood up, cuffs dropping from her wrists. Sky's stood up, stumbling back. He held his side. Red. Dawn looked up at the glass. She looked at me. I wanted to scream. The only form of reason I had was to hit the alarm.

Reaching over, someone grabbed my wrist. The sticky, sweaty palms tightened around my arm until it hurt. I couldn't scream. The door closed behind the doubleganger Sky. He pulled my hand down, away from the alarm button. My heart was pounding in my chest. I couldn't speak, only stare into the eyes of this clone. Her grinned, twisting my wrist. My scream caught in my throat.

"Thank you, miss," the copy spoke, "but I'm afraid I can't let you alert anyone just yet."

I snarled, using my free hand to scratch his face. I ripped the fake skin off his cheek, revealing blue scaly flesh. He tightened his grip, twisting my wrist again. I finally screamed. The copy looked around, spotting his queen through the glass. Looking back at me, he smiled again. I gulped.

Taking hold of my waist, he lifted me up and threw me against the glass. It shattered against my weight, breaking outward and allowing me to tumble into the connecting room. I couldn't move. Everything hurt. Sky sat in the chair beside me. I couldn't tell if he was awake or unconscious. I could see the red swelling on his clothes. Air. Was I breathing?

"My queen…"

The double crossed over the newly formed window. Dawn grinned, offering him a hand. He bowed, kissing it. She giggled, looking away. It was like some messed up flirtation system. The double stood up straight, pushing his original aside. With Sky joining me on the ground, I realized how much my head hurt. Tired. Very tired. I heard Sky's labored breathing. He was still alive. Tired. I closed my eyes, listening to my breathing and beating off my heart. Soothing. Tired…