The human flesh had gone cold on the kitchen counter as hours went by were Carvo interrogated Lalo. Abigail had asked many questions but then she retreated to a corner and wished to go back to her little hideout. She was anxious and troubled, her mind filled with what-ifs. Lalo's information couldn't be confirmed, and Abigail had to live with the fear of being stripped of her free will at any moment, considering she had any.

Although she was terrified, she began to wear a calm face around Carvo who was even more terrified than her. Since this old man was just a tiny being, she learned how to comfort him. Her habit of soothing his stress never went away, and even though it's been years, it was only natural for her to lay down her hand on Carvo's shoulder and hold him close to her, and the old man's heart became even heavier.

His attachment to her grew stronger.

What she had become made him question the validity of his actions towards her, but every day Abigail would prove to him she was even more human than him. Carvo understood that just like Luther, Abigail was stripped of her human body only, she was 'upgraded' as Luther claimed.

"This isn't what I hoped for." Carvo sighed as Abigail patted his back. Her hands were almost shaky he felt that and so, he reached out to grab them, feeling an illusion of warmth through the cold silver steel. "You know there's nothing I can't solve." Carvo smiled at Abigail, assuring her this wouldn't hinder their progress. "But for now, the operation must wait. I can't risk anything until I know exactly what is anatomy." He continued, and Lalo seemed to agree. "What about you, Lalo?" Abigail asked Lalo in a challenging tone. "What about me?" He replied. "Why were you so close to the 'elders'?" Abigail moved closer to him with her eyes full of suspicion. Lalo sighed and took a step back, escaping the deathly grip of her ocean blue eyes. "I told you I don't remember much." He answered her, shrinking in his flesh suit. "Nothing ..at all?" She asked in a condensing tone.

"They don't piece together well.." He stated, "Just memories here and there, and feelings attached to most of them. But they fade over time. I am not remembering as much as I am forgetting." He declared in a sad tone. Unlike Abigail and Luther, Lalo only possesses free will thanks to Carvo severing his signal, but even before that, he had lost his humanity long ago. Even the way he spoke, walked, and acted was very strange.

Abigail wasn't told much about what an original was, but she was told that if she were to be "at the top of the hierarchy" as Lalo stated, she would most likely be a sleeper to an original, one that could lose control in the blink of an eye, and one that has all of her movements monitored by their original.

Abigail felt a little bit of sympathy towards Lalo and so, she retreated and excused herself to go to her room. Lalo went to finish their meal while Carvo headed back to the basement with a notebook full of new scribbles and leads, but these weren't the only attendants in this peculiar house. In the library, Eman had been sitting there all along, eavesdropping on their conversation while she pretended to read a book. That child was so scarred by what she saw, and felt vengeful towards the hand that fed her. Abigail had tried to befriend her but to no avail, she refused to speak. In the back of the book, she began to write her hidden notes.

"Abigail is a Zenith." She wrote. "Perhaps a sleeper of Adra." She hastily noted as she looked left and right.

Eman knew too much.

II. Hidden trail.

After Quinn left, Andrew himself hurried to Ivanka's hangar. With many thoughts on his mind, he was struggling to remember who was involved that night. Early on that day, he remembered Brando's disappearance report and Carvo's butchered operation where Brando was regarded as an escapee.

There were two many footsteps in the mud, all intertwined together forging a roundabout path. Andrew was left to piece everything together on his own. Even his brother was being eaten alive by his paranoia. The soldier found himself in front of the heavily guarded hangar without an excuse, only a wish to see Ivanka. After being left out in the cold for almost thirty minutes, he was granted entrance.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

As soon as he had stepped foot inside the hangar he was met by the smug face of Julies. Andrew was shaken by the sight of a council member where he preferred to speak to Ivanka privately. Julies had worn an overall, tied his hair into a bun, and proceeded to drown into a hundred blueprint while Ivanka welcomed the young man in with a concerned look on her face.

"Welcome back." Ivanka said, "I hope your arm is..better." She awkwardly blurted as she remembered Andrew had lost his arm. Andrew was in visible distress as he could feel Julies intrusion from the other side of the hangar. Whatever he was about to say, it should never be heard by a council member, especially Julies.

"I would like to speak to you in private." Andrew asked. Julies attention grew stronger and Ivanka was aware of his eavesdropping ever since he came. She nodded, asked him to follow her into her tiny office on the second floor while Julies sank into his sea of blueprints.

He was still cautious.

As the two entered the office, Julies tilted his chair at an angle where he could see the door which was now closed. "Interesting." He whispered as he slowly left his seat, sneaked underneath the stairway.

In the office, Andrew decided to not waste time. "I need an explanation, what the hell happened at the church?" He asked. Although Ivanka was hesitant about having this conversation, she couldn't stop Andrew from wondering.

"Perhaps it's better if you keep your voice a little bit down." She asked him, going to her seat. "And it would be even better if you choose ignorance." She continued, and Andrew was slightly angry.

"I've lost an arm for God's sake! I was chipped, what did that even mean?" He interrogated her.

"I'm telling you again, Andrew. Choose ignorance." She advised him.

"It's too late." He replied. "My feet are too deep in the mud."

There was a bit of silence from Ivanka's side. She was hesitant about indulging such an important figure in this game, but she knew right from that start that Andrew is trustworthy. After his traumatic injury, she owed him the truth.

"They've had their eyes on you." Ivanka spoke. "Someone chipped you, they wanted to copy your DNA to clone you-"

While Ivanka began to enlighten Andrew, a sudden thud not so far from the door echoed in the hangar. Ivanka quickly got up and was alerted. She signaled Andrew to stay silent, and on a piece of paper, she hastily wrote the words.

"He was listening, change the conversation quickly."

Julies might have been a prodigy when it came to the wonders of mechanics, but other than that he was quite a stupid man. That was the reason Ivanka didn't suspect he would be up to anything, but little did she know he was a planted owl silently gathering information about her.

He quickly bolted back to his seat, and the conversation ended as Andrew scribbled the words, "We have eyes on us."

Ivanka sighed and nodded, she knew their time must be cut short for now and so, she wrote him a note where they should meet while Andrew kept blabbering over unrelated topics to divert Julies' attention, but it was a little too late as Julies had written down the few sentences he had heard in his note, and laid back on his seat in great confusion.

"Why the hell is everybody getting cloned?" He wondered.

III. The Rebels.

Arthur had cooked his plan very well. Having spread around the picture of Abigail, his subordinates were on a witch hunt.

It was in the middle of the cold night when Arthur wore his white cape and walked to the southern gate with his eyes on his shoulder. He held a letter in his hand and a vial in his pocket. He was anxious yet steady, looking around him as he reached the destination marked by an electric carriage tire laying on a lamp post. "This is it." He sighed, clearing the area with his sharp eyes.

He stood still, awaiting his visitor. The coldness bit his wrinkled skin as the minutes passed as hours until the cold air rushed faster and a carriage approached him. A small opening was opened through the misty windows and Arthur quickly walked closer. "Go-good evening.." He stammered, handing the stranger the envelope he had.

The strange cleared their throat. "And the serum?" They asked, revealing their feminine young voice. "Ah, my bad! There it is.." Arthur trembled as he handed her the vial containing a dark yellow liquid with a stinging greasy smell.

"I've included all the names, photos and everything." Arthur explained, he was met by silence. "Our deal is still the same.. Right?" He asked fearfully.

"I expect her to be found before the next full moon." Spoke to the lady. "I am doing my best, I won't fail you!" Arthur cried. "And you shall get your reward." The lady promised and Arthur's grinned happily.

"Till our next meeting, Lady Nelly!"

The carriage left and Arthur stood gathering his thoughts and heavily breathing. He was a step closer to his goal, and no one could stop him.