Keeper of the Lost Cities: Unlocked: A Fan-fiction

Chapter Three - Sophie - Part One

The memory wasn't over, not yet.

It had blackened out right as the human had doubled over, but now it was fading back to the light. The scene was very familiar. It was the one she had just seen, with only a few differences. Again there were two figures, and again, one was in a black cloak with no white eye on the sleeve. The only way Sophie could tell that the second figure wasn't the same human she had seen in the last memory was because this figure was shorter.

Sophie watched in horror and astonishment as the same scene, different only by the changing of the second figure and the exact words Vespera said, replayed in front of her. Over and over, memory after memory. Very little differed, but Sophie could see Vespera getting more and more frustrated as she kept trying experiment after experiment, vial after vial of liquid.

Slowly, the memories sped up, until the only thing Sophie saw was flashback after flashback of Vespera pouring liquid down different human's throats.

And then it stopped.

One memory was playing – and Sophie gasped as she looked closer and realized what it was of.

"Let's try this out," the figure in the black cloak – this time with a white eye symbol on it – whispered, and Sophie was shocked to realize it was Lady Gisela's voice this time. And that meant... if this was Lady Gisela, talking to a human, Sophie was likely about to find the truth about Ethan Benedict Wright.

"Perhaps I can finish what Vespera started," Lady Gisela murmured under her breath.

She stalked toward the figure, who stood tall, unlike the ones before that Sophie had seen with Vespera. The figure's face was hidden in shadows, but Sophie could have sworn she saw a tremble, despite the defensive stance.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't done anything to you!"

"You're right. But I needed someone to help me, and you were there. Isn't that convenient?" Gisela asked, smiling. "Really, you should thank me. It isn't every day that someone gets the chance to be a part of such a grand motion. If all goes right, both of our worlds will be hailing our names by the end of the year."

The man had a catch in his voice as he said, "Please. I have a wife to take care of. I have a life to live! I don't want to be a part of your creepy experiment."

And that was where he went wrong. Gisela's eyes, or what Sophie could see of them beneath the hood of the cloak, grew cold.

"You have no choice."

She reached into a pocket in her cloak and pulled out a small vial. Just like Vespera had, she uncorked the bottle. She opened the figure's mouth.

"You will thank me later," she said, almost gently. Then, she poured the contents down his throat.

A flash of bright light lit up the room in the memory, and it seemed to stem from the man. Like the others before him, he doubled over. But a minute later, the glow around him slowly lessened, until he looked normal. He straightened. The hood fell off his head. Bright red, frizzy hair, and thick glasses greeted Sophie. She sucked in a breath as her suspicions were confirmed.

Ethan Benedict Wright the Second.