"Sarah!" My cheek burns and it feels like someone just smashed a golden statue across my face. My head slams against the carpet but it slams into it so fast and hard that my head rings. "Wake up, Sarah! Come on, you have to wake up! I don't know what's happening to you, but you need to wake up!"

Carpet never felt like a hard stone before. Am I still reeling from what just happened to me? Wait - if I'm on carpet then I'm out of the dream. Somehow I broke free.

"Keep your eyes open!" That same smashing feeling burns into the side of my face. I can feel the bruise starting to form already and it stings in such a sharp, deep, painful way. Ow! I've had some injuries in my life, but it's the small ones that always hurt the worst. If my head had been lobbed off it wouldn't have hurt at all, but this is the worst suffering I can remember feeling.

With a sharp cry I raise my hands over my face before starting to swat out madly with the arm I'm not half squishing under my own weight. "Stop! Stop, please! Ow! Fucker, I'm awake! I don't know who the hell could sleep through being hit like that!"

I keep flailing my hand out to hopefully smack my attacker, The Domina, Ember, the boogeyman, whoever it is, but they end up grabbing my wrist. The hold feels like some kind of golden glove and . . .

"Olivia?! Ow! Why the hell did you do that?!" I try to struggle away, but her grip on my wrist is a thousand times too tight. If she wanted to, I can tell that she could break my wrist in half. The thought is very unappealing but that does mean that she could pin me down even if she is so much shorter than I am. I'll have to do some research into that if her explanation for what the hell she just did makes any sense.

"You got out of bed. You were kneeling on the floor and glowing with this bright silvery light! I don't mean just a little light, but as if you were some sort of human light bulb." She releases my wrist and there's an almost silent sound before I feel her arms wrap around me and both of her hands feel much more like flesh and a lot less like metal.

With a sigh I melt into her hug and shake my head. I'm not going to leave Midas. The Domina actually was sparking me from a distance but I will not leave Midas! I can't leave before I'm done stopping her at any rate. Olivia, or Aureus, whichever counts, interrupting the process must have stopped it.

Not a single part of me wants to leave. She'll have to try more than just sparking me up in a dream to make it stick. I did miss that feeling though, just a little sparking can go a long way . . . but . . . "Okay, I really appreciate it, I mean, something very bad was happening, but . . . Why in the hell did you need to hit me like that?! Sure, it was nice to know that when we try to go out together to take out The Project you can pack a punch but . . . fuck!"

Olivia just sighs and kisses my cheek. It's a nice feeling even if any pressure to the bruise stings. It's a lot better than ending up a little spark puppet that's for sure. "I tried whispering to you. I tried yelling at you. I shook you. The most you did was mumble. I slapped you and you blinked, but it took a smack of gold to get the glow to go away. I was worried about you!"

Sleeping with her really was a good idea. If Olivia and I hadn't been in the same room I'm sure I would have gotten haphazardly dressed and speeded off on Sylvia towards the sunset. Well, towards the sunrise at least.

Having a partner watch my back really does make things so much better. Pandora should probably be arriving tomorrow and I can only imagine that the three of us will fare even better for it.

"Thanks hun . . . Sorry I yelled at you just . . . fuck that smarts. Please, never do that again, okay?" I kiss Olivia's forehead before wrapping my own arms around her with a sigh. "Well, mine as well get started early, or late, whatever time it is. I need to run some errands. A few of my harder to procure supplies are running just a little low. Alyssa is probably still fishing for information . . . is it dark out yet? I don't think the black market opens up before nightfall." I can just see it now, a bazaar of black market goods stretching far as the eye can see under the bright light of an afternoon sun.

It would make finding what you want a lot easier if you could manage to avoid the police confiscating it first.

"You didn't sleep that late Sarah. It's only . . . uhm . . ." Olivia leans up over me to look at the clock radio next to Savor's bed and then sinks back down to hug closer. "It's only two. I don't think you can start with that yet. That doesn't mean there's nothing to do. We can grab a shower, throw your leotard in the wash . . . And I actually have some contacts of my own that I could hit up for some info."

If it's still only two in the afternoon then that means I have a lot of time. Clean my uniform, shower nice and long with my lovely new companion, and then see about hitting the black market followed closely by picking up Savor's science project.

"Sounds good to me. I'll just go and throw that leotard in the wash, and meet you in the shower? I think it's my turn after yesterday." My lips press to her forehead and I giggle when her face scrunches up cutely.

My cheek still burns, but at least she's adorable. That makes up for it. Maybe. "Sounds even better with you saying it. I've been wanting to have a taste for awhile . . ."

With how constant her flirting has been I don't doubt her for a second. There is nothing that is any less than absolutely delicious about this woman in every way I can imagine. She's saved me from my evil twin from a past version of the future, helped me indulge in control that was actually consensual, and is one of the most beautiful, and delicious women I have ever met. "Then if I were you I would get moving . . ."

Olivia pulls away and begins to saunter her way off towards the bathroom. I glance over at my leotard and sigh. Of course Olivia would be the one to get it dirty.

Showers are such a motif in my life. I wonder what this one is supposed to represent.

My shopping trip went quickly, but the night is still young and it's been awhile since I've hit my old stomping grounds. Sylvia can't exactly climb fire escapes so I'll just be hitting the streets. Either way, just the thought has a feeling of nostalgia and excitement to it. Going back to Susan's house had a similar feeling to it but not nearly as good.

The streetlights are all almost painfully kind to me and I only hit a single red the whole way to the edge of my old patrol area. Olivia is probably already starting to wonder why I'm not back yet but I'm not in the right mood to just go back.

Savor's science project should be done by now. First thing once the sky turns pitch black tomorrow I'll have to drop her off at Midas's central most police department. The news hasn't covered the mysterious drop off of four women admitting to crimes of brainwashing and kidnapping but it's not surprising that the cops are keeping this one out of the media. I am doing this a little bit far on the vigilante side of the line, but I don't really see what choice I have.

At least, I don't see what choice I have that I'm willing to choose.

Pearce Street's familiar sign marks the entrance into what I used to pretend was my territory. It makes me feel a lot smarter to realize how naive I used to be. I wonder what I would do if I was in The Domina's place coming back to interfere in Silver's life.

Still, I have no proof that The Domina is me besides the fact that she looks so much like me and acts in ways I can remember or imagine myself acting. She still could be an imposter who just learned as much about me as she could. She knows all about my time in Chronos which should narrow the list but if she captured me during a recruitment mission that I don't remember going on for Her, then anything is possible.

More of me believes she's telling the truth. There are much more influential or powerful women to dopplegang. She could be one of those damned witches, or maybe the first time I met The Domina it really was her but since she's been replaced.

Ow. There are too many theories about space and time to know which one is true. After all, testing some of these theories would be rather suicidal. For now I just have to stop second guessing myself and prepare for the worst. In the worst case scenario, no matter who she really is, she's got a trump card up her sleeve that nixes out any chance I have at stopping her.

I take a left down Everett Boulevard. Never before have I been so thankful that Sylvia's breaks are so quick. As soon as I'm around the corner I see a bright flash of silver light on a nearby rooftop.

That rooftop used to be the one I would most often just stop my patrols on, raise up a hand, and make a spark just to watch it travel up towards the stars and wonder all sorts of existential things about my existence. Calling this a coincidence sounds unrealistic. The Domina Argenti is up on that rooftop either waiting for me or waiting for enlightenment from the universe. Neither of those possibilities are good for me, but one of them is going to come true whether it's the smartest idea in the world or not.

Sylvia's engine silences easily enough and slowly I walk her over to right underneath that building's fire escape. Part of the locking mechanism is broken so I've never even needed to jump very high to start climbing up. I'm in even better shape than I used to be so making my way up is easy.

Each time I slide my boots onto a new rung it's a soft and delicate movement. Even if she heard Sylvia she can't be sure exactly when I'm going to come up over the edge. Surprise might be the only edge that I can have so making use of it is crucial.

On the last ladder up I only climb with one hand so the other can grab a small pouch from my belt. If she really is me, then my palm light won't do anything but make the rooftop more illuminated. Using light against her will be a trick, and that's been one of my core means of hypnotic attack. A little dose of Shadow's Embrace could end up going a long way as long as I can use it subtly.

Finally my boots softly click down onto the rooftop and I mentally curse for loving that clicking sound. It's had its uses, but right now it may have just damned me. Neither possibility would especially surprise me.

The Domina is still wearing the last set of clothing I saw her wearing at the end of my encounter with Yanuka. She's wearing my uniform. Not the one she used to wear, but the one that was stolen from me when the Slut Squad captured me. Then again, if she gave it back to me right now I wouldn't want to wear it. It's far too bright. Silver skin already has a problem blending in the night so on her it just looks gorgeous but on me it would make me stand out like a sore thumb.

Her back is tuned to me and she looks so graceful just staring up at the silver light she no doubt just sent up towards the stars. The curve of her back is so graceful, and her legs, what of them I can see, look so beautiful. It's hard not to admire her and see what people saw in me, though at the same it's just not the same.

She's me, but she's not me. She's the reason I'm free of The Lady and she's the reason my skin tone is a much more natural one. I have so much to thank her for and so much to loathe her for. If I really was going to become her then her interference stopped that. Still . . .

She's right on the edge of the roof. A part of me so strongly wants to just lean down and try to shove her right off of the rooftop but that wouldn't be right. Besides, wouldn't that be suicide?

Slowly I step closer, and when I'm about half way to the other edge of the building. Her voice breaks the silence and it sounds the way mine used to sound when it was recorded, though at the same time different. "You should just leave, now. It will be much better for both of us if you would just leave! You can have the open road, I don't care about that! I don't want to enslave you or shove you in a drawer somewhere. Please, make this easier for both of us."

"No. Tell me what the Argentum Project really is. I don't believe the fairy tale you're telling everyone. This isn't some humanitarian project you're doing just for good will towards humanity." Slowly I step closer, and keep the slick black pouch in the middle of a clenched fist. "Tell me, Domina."

"Domina? Do I look like I'm the Domina Argenti to you right now? No. I'm Silver Girl. Right now . . .Patina . . . You're just a vigilante who thinks she's made her big break by finding out about what she thinks is a horrific conspiracy threatening the safety of Midas, or even the world."

She steps closer too, and her eyes sparkle for just a moment. If I'd ever felt that happen before then I might have some clue as to what it means. Is she preparing to send out a barrage of sparks, or is that just a sign of her mood? "We have so much support, Patina. We have so many resources. You're out numbered, and out gunned. If you don't leave, it won't matter what you know or think you know. You won't be remembering it long enough to cause any damage."

My fingers start to slowly undo the rope holding the slick pouch shut as I continue to erase the distance between us. The sparks she put up around me last time were effective at keeping me still and frying my mind, but her sparks require concentration. "You have a chance to finally make things right for yourself and instead you twist it into some scheme? You're not Silver Girl."

"I am!" Her face twists in rage, and I can finally see why people thought I looked ferociously beautiful when I was angry. "If you don't leave, now, then you won't ever leave. We always used to overestimate ourselves, but maybe this time one of us really is prepared to be worthy of it."

Something in her voice reminds me of how mine sounds when I'm lying. Either she's bluffing or she really does intend to cage me up if I don't behave. This is going to be my only chance to get her one on one and I know it. The next time we meet she's going to have Amethyst with her, or Ember. Worse yet, she could have the both of them and Aureus's Mourning Frost. This might be an even bigger conspiracy than I'm aware of.

I have to take the chance.

"All right then . . . Silver Girl . . . You might have the silver skin, the silver eyes, the silver hair, and the silver sparks . . . but while you've been enjoying the light, I've learned how to use the darkness." In a quick flick of my wrist I thrust the contents of the pouch at The Domina and smile at her sharp gasp of shock.

It looks like pure darkness, nothing else describes it adequately. As it moves towards her it begins to take a more definite shape, twisting into what looks like a cloud with a million tendrils slowly wrapping around her. It starts at her legs, and in a moment they're bound together, sealed shut with pure shadowy tendrils wrapping between them and around them, solid but ethereal at the same time.

Her eyelids flutter as she tries to aim her fingertip at me but her hand just quivers and falls to her side as the shadows begin to wrap around her arms.

Shadow's Embrace isn't so much my standard fare, mostly because of the cost. It's not a drug, it's more an artificial shadow that wraps it's way through and around the victim slowly sapping their will as it goes. Once she's completely covered she'll be more than willing to tell me everything and help me stop her own plans.

Her legs twitch and shudder as they try and pull apart, but it's her own legs keeping them shut. The shadow uses her own control to trap her, binding her up inside of herself and outside of herself. The feeling is both one that her own body is obeying some unknown impulse, and that something is forcing her body to obey with sheer force.

The Domina whimpers in a slow and pitiful way as she tries not to kneel even as her knees begin to twitch. Soon it'll all be over, and I know a part of her must be craving it. "Just surrender now, it'll be so much easier for both of us . . . Besides . . . turnabout is fair play isn't it?"

"It isss . . ." Her voice shudders out, whimpering. We are the same person. I can see it in the helplessness in her eyes as she struggles against it but only ends up craving it more.

The sight of my alternate self succumbing right before me is more erotic than I could have ever imagined. Did my eyes always look so hot when they hooded? Did my lips always look so pouty, so kissable, so warm when they half parted in a plea? Did my body always shake in the same way that makes every part of her look so desirable, so yummy, so fucking perfect?

Slowly I move to behind her and slide my fingers through her hair, slowly clawing down her scalp. With a sharp cry she arches out her back as the shadow wraps its way around her elbows. "It's over. . . You made a good try of it, but now you're going to just surrender . . . We can discuss everything that's happened . . . But you're the one coming with me . . . You're going to be the one helping me . . . And that, is really what you want, if you're honest with yourself . . ."

"Yesss . . ." She cries out and sinks down to her knees and follows the motion with a loud scream. "It's . . . what I want . . . surrender . . . Make everything surrender . . . That's the project . . . The point . . . Surrender for everyone . . ."

"What . . .? Explain, come on, tell me, what's going on . . .It'll all be okay, you're not responsible anymore, you're not a part of it anymore, and soon, you won't be responsible for anything besides your own surrender . . ." How could a space station pull off such a lofty goal as controlling everyone in the whole world? Then again, there have been rumors spreading recently, about something like this that might have already happened . . .

But who would ever believe in such a tacky thing as the Mind Five?

She takes a deep mewling breath, and is about to say something, is about to reveal everything to me . . . when a sharp hissing rush of air plunges into my shoulder. The scream tears out of my throat without me even trying to or realizing what's happened, all I know is that I'm in horrific pain and my shoulder burns.

Quickly I look to my shoulder, and then the direction I heard the sound from. Shit. In my shoulder, is an arrow. On a nearby rooftop, is Jade. She's already loading up the second into her bow, and she'll be rushing for me in no time.

This must be the not so fun part of being an anti-hero, having heroes shoot you down when you're trying to save the world.

Two options present themselves. I can stay and try to convince Jade that I'm the peach Sarah that left Yanuka with her. There is also the option of running like hell and avoiding being arrowed again. As much as having Jade on my side again is a temptation, the fact that she's closing in far too quickly and probably will be less willing to listen to the woman who just used an illegal substance on her not readily apparent doppelganger . . .

My legs have never moved so fast before. The fire escape is close, and instead of using the steps I just grasp onto the sides and slide down each flight before swinging myself down onto Sylvia. The arrow makes it very hard to use my left arm but I grit through the pain and start to drive.

Steering a car with only one hand is something you see a lot on TV, in movies, and in reality. Driving a motorcycle with one hand is another thing entirely. It feels like a combination of driving and pushing a broken shopping cart. If I don't get away fast I'm screwed, but if I slam into a building or a light post I'm not going to be doing a lot better.

Struggling against the pain and the lack of mobility I try to figure out just how far away I am from where I need to go. The wound didn't look like it was losing blood or anything like that, but it is buried inside of my shoulder. The less I can manage to think about it the better.

If I'm where I think I am, the hospital shouldn't be too far from here. It's a risk if The Domina has already told Amethyst about me more than I'd like, but I can't really take this arrow out on my own.

I need to be in good shape, not falling apart at the seams!

My head is thumping sharply with each and every thought. My shoulder thumps with every beat of my heart, and that isn't feeling too good either. Damn it, I forgot to take my medication before I left. Hopefully Lida's pendant can keep me okay until I've managed to throw some meds down my throat.

My vision feels like it's swimming. Only enough to make me feel like driving is a bad idea, but to know that I really can't manage it any other way. Above me red lights glow in their tacky way, and I feel a whole lot better.

The Midas Touch is right where I left it when I stormed out in a fuss. Hopefully Valerie doesn't work the night shift, but someone just as good does. Carefully I hide Sylvia behind a dumpster and stumble through the emergency doors. It looks a lot better than I remember it looking, a new paintjob, but more than that. I didn't spend a lot of time here so I could be wrong, but who am I to know.

Clutching around the arrow I stumble up to the counter where the woman behind it stares at me. There are a few other people in the room that appear to be waiting, a man clutching a leg that looks in poor condition, a young woman holding ice over her head, and another man with both hands over his stomach.

I'm not sure if the woman knows what to say, so I slouch against the counter and laugh with a crooked grin. "Well . . . you see . . . I sort of fell on it . . ." Laughing more is really irresistible, so I just keep on laughing, louder and longer. It feels nice to laugh, but it does make me really dizzy. Being dizzy does feel really funny, it's like laughing, but laughing so much that you just need to pass out.

Sounds like a plan.

"As if an arrow in your shoulder wasn't enough, you gave yourself a concussion when you smashed your head into the reception desk. It was a light concussion, but there's really no such thing as a good concussion." A familiar voice rouses me out of the white nothingness I'd melted away into, and it's considerably difficult to focus on it though I manage to hear the words.

Blinking takes a lot more effort than it should. My whole body feels heavy and like I've been through hell. My shoulder . . . doesn't. When I look over at it, it's fine. There's a band aid over the place the shaft was buried, but I can move it easy as I can move anything.

Groaning I sit up and slowly blink my eyes to look up and see the nurse that helped me out before standing over me. "Gale . . .?" I think her name was Gale anyway. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a couple of hours really. It's still dark out there in case you're wondering that too." Gale shakes her head and sets down the clipboard that was in her hand. "The arrowhead wasn't buried too deep into your shoulder and we were able to repair all of the damage . . . Sarah."

Yawning I nod and smile, patting the band aid and blinking in surprise when it doesn't feel weird or gross. "Thanks a lot. Well, if I'm okay, like, the concussion isn't too bad or anything, then I should probably just go."

Wait a second, Gale just called me Sarah. Quickly I reach up to check, and sure enough, the mask is still surrounding my eyes. My hair is still tied up. I can feel that my contacts are still in but it's not as if she saw much of my real color last time we met anyway. Did she lift up the mask, put down my hair, and take out my contacts?

Gale's lips slowly twist up into a smile and she just shakes her head. What is it? How does she know? What does she know?

This is going to drive me insane. Linda couldn't recognize me when I wasn't even wearing a mask, and now Gale can spot me this easily. "How-"

"-Call it intuition. As to how your arm went from having an arrow buried in it to being fine in just a couple of hours . . ." Gale rips off the band aid and I screech. It's amazing! There's still some nasty bruising and a scar, but nothing nearly as bad as it should be. Gale reaches out a single fingertip and slowly slides it across the length of the scar.

As she does her fingertip starts to glow a soft gentle yellow, and the wound just disappears. It actually looks like I was never hurt in the first place and my shoulder feels just as good. I still feel like I got hit by a truck, but that's my own fault. Stressful situations and heart medication should go together.

She is no ordinary nurse. Somehow she can accelerate healing, or maybe just force things to heal. I don't have the time to prove either theory. I do however have proof that it works attached to me.

"I don't know why you're not all shiny, but your outfit sure is. Always wanted to lend a hand to the effort out there again. I used to a while back. Not as Gale, but still, if you ever end up getting yourself hurt again, I'm always here." Gale must work here because of that ability. If all she needs to do for most injuries is just rub her finger over it, she would make anyone seem like a miracle worker and probably seem like one herself.

"So, you work nights but Valerie doesn't, huh?" I manage to get myself standing and shake my head to clear out some of the dizziness. It'll probably be awhile before I feel back up to one hundred percent again, and it sure as hell won't happen before I get a catch up dose.

Gale just stares at me and slowly her gaze becomes more and more worried. "You didn't hit your head on the counter that hard, Sarah. You were the one that came in here, dressed up like some big business executive, and offered Valerie a position on the Argentum Project. The donation from the project covered upgrades to all of our equipment, some equipment we'd never had, and some new hands."

Our eyes stay locked and I have no clue what the hell to say. Valerie is part of the Argentum Project. Alyssa said she was on the verge of a break through, and she'd told me before that the public information about the project seemed to be slow to update.

Their website mentioned a medical researcher and doctor for the staff but said their information was coming soon. Is she a part of this plot? Did I fall for a villain?

Every second Olivia is seeming a better and better woman to keep around. She's just your regular run of the mill woman who can turn herself into gold. She has no ties to the Argentum Project besides enemies. She has no ties to me besides through how we met and how we're working together.

"Sorry! You ever had a dream, and thought that the alternative reality you were living in inside of the dream was the real one? I just had one of those . . ." Gale stares at me and doesn't seem to swallow my explanation. I wouldn't either, but it would swallow it better than the truth.

That bitch. Valerie thinks she's with me. Well, she is with me. The Domina must have used the previous meeting with Valerie that she never really had to get close to her.

My chest hurts just thinking about it.

"Right. Well, you can go I guess. Don't worry about the charge or anything, consider this complementary." Gale looks me over, very slowly, and for a moment a part of me worries that somehow she'll figure out that I'm actually the Sarah she doesn't know, but there's no logical reason for why she should figure that out.

My chest and my brain hurt.

"Thanks a lot Gale . . . Thanks a lot . . ." I wave, just a full handed wave, and head out as quickly as I can. There's no way that I can hold this off any longer. If Alyssa doesn't have any information then I'll just have to figure out how to stop this on my own.

Well, Olivia will be helping too I hope. Pandora should be here tomorrow. My new toys should be ready. It's now or never.

My phone rings, and I answer it just as I'm getting Sylvia out from around the dumpster. "Hello, how can I help?" I'd love to just hang up and shove the phone into my belt before zipping off, but being rude hasn't helped me yet.

"You could start by telling me where the hell I'm supposed to meet you, Patina. I just got into town." Pandora's familiar voice is as refreshing. I was sure that it was going to be The Domina calling to let me know just enough information to lure me into some sort of trap, or worse. "Would love to find a place to sleep, the sun is coming up."

That did always seem inconvenient about being a vampire. "No problem. Let me get up on my bike and I'll meet you wherever you are. We have a lot to talk about."

If only Pandora knew how much we had to talk about, I think she would have stayed home.