Sabrina Keys

Now, Sabrina didn't know what to expect when they got back. Her thoughts ranged from a new discovery on Clank, or said robot going rogue or even a blown up kitchen.

The look on Riley and Cody's faces as they headed down with a confused Archer were indecipherable. She had to admit that she was confused too.

She looked to the door on her right.

What's in there?

However, nothing could have prepared her for what awaited her in the manager's office.

She entered and looked around, her eyes caught on a figure leaning against the desk, twirling a pen around his fingers.

She froze.

"Jason?"

He stopped what he was doing.

"Sabrina," he breathed.

The world seemed to stop around her as she took one step forward, then another before she sprinted and threw herself into his open arms.

"Jason," she sobbed, "Is this real?"

"Yes," he said, wrapping his arms tighter around his little sister. "It is."

"You're here. You're actually here!", she said with a wet chuckle.

This was real. Not a nightmare, not a hallucination. Her brother was alive and right in front of her. He'd found her!

Sabrina felt utterly relieved and so incredibly grateful. Tears cascaded down her face, soaking his shirt but neither of them cared.

Jason laughed as they separated, smoothing down his shirt. Sabrina wiped away her tears and laughed. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, shining brightly.

Her brother's expression mirrored her own.

"Why the hell did you take so long?", she yelled suddenly and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey!", he exclaimed with wide eyes, "I tried my best! Besides who found who?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She gripped her arm, "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I am too, nerd."

Sabrina beamed at the familiar nickname.

"How'd you find me?", she asked him.

"I ran into your friends. You guys have been busy," he commented.

"Yeah, we have."

Sabrina wanted to tell him so much. She wanted to tell him about her friends, what they've been doing, how she's doing and what he was doing all these months.

Her mind was swarmed with thoughts and emotions. In fact, her mind was still processing all of this, but she had calmed down considerably despite still being elated.

I wonder what the others are doing.

Her eyes widened. She turned to Jason.

"They know my name?"

He looked away, "Yes."

Sabrina turned away.

"I didn't mean to reveal your secret or whatever you were doing. I just—", he tried to explain, but Sabrina cut him off.

"Hey, don't apologise. You couldn't have possibly known," she moved to lean against the table beside him, "This is my fault. I should have told them earlier, but I kept pushing it back."

Jason looked down at her, "Speaking of said secret. Why did you do it?"

"I was scared, okay? I don't know-- I just-- Vision came after dad. They followed us down to Sednum and...," she trailed off, her breath starting to quicken.

Her brother's breath caught as well. Of course, it would have. He wasn't there when it had happened. He had no idea what happened to their parents.

"Jason, I—"

"No. It's okay. I think you should go down to your friends, yeah? You guys have a lot to talk about."

Sabrina reluctantly obliged. One thing she knew about her brother was that he would talk when he wanted to. If she tried to talk about that right now, he'd just stop talking altogether.

On the other hand, she was terrified of what lay beyond the bunker door.

She entered the code to the vending machine, sighing in relief once she found that they hadn't changed it because of her.

She began her descent down the stairs.

xxx

Archer entered the convenience store with nothing but concern flooding his mind. A little left once he saw that Riley and Cody were standing in the vestibule.

The expressions they wore were enough to let some of that concern seep back in.

"Hey Archer," Cody greeted, his usual cheerfulness was muted quite a bit even though he still smiled.

"Let's go down," Cody said. Riley looked the other girl in the eye, "Just check the office before you come down." She turned around and walked to the vending machine without another word.

Archer gave Sabrina what he hoped was an encouraging smile, but anxiety scratched at his brain as he tried to understand what was going on. He could certainly tell that something was wrong, but it didn't seem that much of an emergency. What he also knew was that they wouldn't ask them to come back unless it was extremely necessary.

What could be so important?

He decided to ask exactly that once they were confined in the safety of their bunker.

Riley looked at him with what seemed like pity when she answered. "Maybe you should let," she paused, her eyes moving away from his, "Lia explain."

And the plot now thickens. What could she have possibly done? She was with him the whole time at the farm, right?

Archer found himself getting increasingly more confused as the seconds ticked by, each feeling longer than the last.

Cody and Riley had peculiar expressions on their faces, both different but so similar.

He'd never been good at reading people, but that didn't stop him from burning holes into their faces, trying his best to decipher what each blink, each breath meant.

He hated waiting. He hated being left in the dark. He was confused, frustrated and now he was starting to fear what this summon had meant.

He had a feeling that things were going to be different when he heard the familiar hiss of the bunker door.

xxx

Sabrina swallowed as she entered the bunker. Her heart hammering with each step she took down the stairs.

What did they think of her?

Would they still want a liar around?

Are they ever going to trust her after this?

Is she going to lose them?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

It's not like I did it without reason.

I won't lose them.

I just have to tell them everything.

Oh, how easy she had made it sound in her head.

As their bodies came into view, she could feel her resolve flickering. Their feet, their middles, shoulder and lastly, their heads.

She struggled to maintain her composure and keep eye contact. She didn't deserve to be here.

Her stomach did a somersault when Archers eyes widened, and he got into a fighting stance.

"Who's that guy?", he asked warily, brandishing his stun gun.

Sabrina let out a shaky exhale and stood in front of said male.

"This," she gestured to her brother, "is my brother, Jason."

"Your brother?"

She looked down, "Yes."

That answer seemed to appease Archer, and he put his weapon away instantly.

"So what did you call us here for?", he asked the rebels.

" 'Lia'?," Cody called out, "Would you care to explain to your 'friends' what's going on?"

She looked around at everyone. Her hands were shaking. Her legs felt like jelly. She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder and discover that it was her brother's hand. She looked at the floor.

"I'm not Lia. My name is Sabrina. Sabrina Keys," she confessed. She'd always wondered what this moment would feel like. The weight being lifted off her shoulders was something she'd feel. Unfortunately, fate had other plans and have her the outcome she'd been dreading. Instead of relief, all she'd felt was sick.

Her eyes traveled up slowly to gauge their reactions.

Riley's head was bowed down as she stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the kitchen counter. Cody's hands were trembling, his brows furrowed. His eyes had so many emotions brewing in them that it looked like a storm.

She felt culpable. She hated seeing them like this. Knowing that she was the cause of it, made her feel utterly repulsive.

But when she looked at Archer, she felt the impact of her heart shattering.

He stared at her with wide brown eyes. He was shaking ever so slightly. His mouth was partly open, his expression unbelieving.

His eyes screamed, 'Tell me it's a lie.'

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only seconds.

"I was going to tell you," she tried to amend, taking a step forward.

"When? After we were almost taken? Or even killed?", Cody snapped.

Sabrina reeled back, startled. She'd never heard Cody sound like that.

"Taken?", she quaked.

"There was a bounty placed on Sabrina Keys and by extension, the people she worked with," Riley explained quietly.

"A bounty?", Sabrina whispered to herself looking to the side, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Riley, Cody. I'm so sorry. I didn't know—"

"It doesn't matter if you knew or not. We're your friends. You attacked me when we first met and I still trusted you. We all did! Why didn't you trust us?", Cody yelled waving his arms around to enunciate every word he spoke.

Sabrina battled to keep her voice steady, "Of course, I trust you. You guys are important to me."

"It doesn't seem like it," he whispered.

Those words felt like a punch to the gut.

"Please Cody. I was going to tell you," she pleaded.

Sabrina didn't care that she was begging. She didn't care that she sounded so desperate. She'd give her own life for these people in a heartbeat. Losing them was not something she wanted. 

"When Lia?!", he screamed.

Silence.

He narrowed his eyes, "I meant Sabrina."

Sabrina never thought that she would hate her own name so much. But at this moment, she really did.

"I was going to. I really was. It just wasn't the right time. I didn't want this to happen. We couldn't afford to get distracted," she tried to justify.

"Is the mission more important to you than we are?"

The sound of Archer's voice startled everyone. It was so quiet, yet it's impact was deafening.

"Please," she trembled, on the edge of crying, "Let me explain."

Cody was about to say something, but Riley who was quiet for most of that entire exchange spoke, "Let's hear her out."

That's how they found themselves sitting in the place where they usually ate together and talked about the day.

Riley sat with her legs crossed and hands clasped together on her knee. Cody sat next to her on the couch with his arms crossed. Archer sat on one of the single chairs beside the couch. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and he was deadly silent.

Jason sat next to Sabrina who was sitting opposite the others.

She looked to her brother who just nodded.

She took that as the cue to tell them everything.

"Our dad worked for Victor as the head scientist and engineer at the main building of Vision in Ariden City. Most of the recent breakthroughs were because of him. They were working on something classified. Every time I asked dad about it, he'd brush it off, saying I'd see it once it's done."

"Your dad is Michael Keys?", Cody asked surprised. His tone was less hostile than before and Sabrina found herself thanking every deity there was.

She nodded.

"A few weeks after you left," she looked at Jason and then back at the table, "he just told us that we were leaving. He didn't give any explanations, just that it wasn't safe. We moved down to a small house in Sednum.

"I noticed an increase of patrols in certain areas, only they weren't the police. They were Vision's security team. We made it to the house and everything was fine was for a couple of days. They told me that Vision was looking for us. They wanted something from him. Something that will tip the scales in Vision's favour for whatever he had planned.

"I wasn't allowed to leave. We practiced all my combat moves that I'd learned when I was younger. We couldn't use any communication devices. All electronics were kept to a minimum, but it was a lost cause. Vision runs almost everything. Has eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time that they found us.

"One day I woke up to the house burning and mom screaming. Dad told me to run away through a door that he'd built that led to a forested area behind the house."

She clenched her fist so tightly that her nails made crescent shapes on the ball of her palm and gripped her chain with the other hand.

"He gave me this and told me to keep it safe. Then he told me to run. So I did."

A single tear made its way down her face as she recalled the events. The sounds of their voices filled her mind and left her with a bittersweet feeling. She really missed them.

She looked at Riley and Cody whose faces now looked upset. Of course. Of course, they'd be worried about her after they found out that she had been lying to them ever since they met.

Sabrina chuckled wetly as she wiped the traitorous drop off her face with the side of her hand, "No, don't feel sorry for me. Not after what I did. You can decide what to do after I'm done explaining."

She watched as they looked at her and then each other unsure, before settling for a neutral expression.

Archer was scowling, but she knew he wasn't angry. He was hurt.

"I spent a few days avoiding the police, Vision's team and the general public. There wasn't much I could do. And then the community androids turned on everyone. The world went to chaos. People were being taken to camps as a search was implemented for something. Probably what dad was working on. So I did what I did best. I ran.

"I met a few people who were able to evade capture. Some tried to turn me in to receive some kind of reward or protection from Vision, but I always managed to get away. One particular encounter had me falling down a deep gully. They lost me so I just kept walking. Then I found this place. And well, you guys know the rest."

Jason raised his hand, "I don't."

Oh, how Sabrina missed this idiot. She could always count on him to break the tension in a room.

She saw its effects working as Riley tried to stifle a laugh while Cody smiled slightly.

"So you didn't tell us because you thought we'd turn you in?", Riley tried to clarify.

"Yes. I thought that at first," Sabrina said carefully, "I did for the first few days, but for some odd reason, I knew I could trust you. I just didn't want to take any chances."

"I see," was all Riley said.

"I know. If I trusted you, I should have told you. I was afraid that I'd ruin everything. But well, I did, anyway."

Nobody said anything to that.

"I understand if you guys don't trust me anymore or you want me to leave."

Again, silence.

"You can stay in for tonight until we make a decision," Cody stated.

Sabrina gulped, but nodded.

"I'm sorry. I really am."

She got up and left the bunker.