THE MIRROR TRILOGY

PART 1/4: THE MIRROR PAST

I know that mirrors give us a false sense of confidence. I
continued. The reflection that we see everyday has nothing to do
with how others see us. The glass lies.
Rasmenia Massoud, Human Detritus













THE MIRROR PAST

PART 1/3: SPRINGTIME
















1



Winters End




Reina Gaully sat on the park bench, watching what was
presumably the last snowfall in Chicago for nearly eight months. It
was mid-April, meaning that the nature was all coming back, the
already fallen snow melting, and new beginnings would begin. It
was like everything was given a chance to come anew.

But one fact remained the same.

The fact that Chicago wasn't just one city, but it was connected to
an identical city and many others-where even the people were
the same as the people Reina had shared the city she lived in
with. They were connected by portals that resembled pools of
water on the ground.
It was kind of nice though,knowing that there is another you out
there who lived acompletely different life than yours. That you
essentially lived twice so if you found that identical person you
would learn about your life from a different perspective. This was
called a Mirror Twin.

But the Mirror People weren't the most trustworthy people out
there. They were malicious people who were never safe to be
around, and using the portals was against the law there. Only rich
people like CEOs and celebs--people with money to burn.

And then there were police officers. Which is why she had forced
her best friend Ellis to join with her just a month ago.

Ellis was across the street, handing the coffee vendor a bill and
taking the cardboard tray. When he had crossed the street and
was approaching her, she yelled. "Hey, are one of those mine?"

"Sure," he said playfully. "For $3.29. Plus tax." He handed her one
of the Styrofoam and plastic cups that held one of her greatest
joys in life. Coffee: lots of cream, little sugar. She sipped
desperately from the cup, being it her first since Tuesday morning.
It was a Sunday.'

"You're a lifesaver Ellis Black." She said beaming at him from her
cup. "I was surviving on tic-tacs and Pepsi for the duration of my
Coffee-holics anonymous week." The previous week, she had
been bouncing off the walls so Ellis hid the espresso maker in
their apartment somewhere.

"I do love helping out a damsel in distress." Ellis joked as he sat
down on the bench next to her. Reina looked up to find his blond
and spiky hair, silvery green eyes, and hard and defined body
shining on her day like a second sun. In fact being her all-time
greatest joy. But she knew what was going on--she was likely in
the friend zone. After all, she had brown eyes that did her no
justice, black and shoulder length raven hair that was dyed orange
at the tips. She thought she looked like a Goth high school
freshman when she was really 17 years old and just short.

"Very funny," is all she said.

"Whats wrong?" Ellis leaned into her.

"I...just have something to tell you..."

***

Ellis Black hated being in love. It was as bad as the T.V. tells it. He
was in love with Reina and everything about her. Her height, she
was only a head shorter. Her orange dyed hair, it looked like fire.
Her brown eyes, there were pretty brown things somewhere.
Everything she got down on herself for, he could counter because
he saw the best in her. After all, he should be the depressed one
because she doesn't have any issues.

Or none that he knew of...

"Ellis..." she leaned into him, "I have something to tell you." Her
lips seemed to radiate with sunlight and something peachy
smelling. He could tell they were delicious. Especially since he
fantasized about kissing those lips, those bearers of good will,
those over achievers, those pants wetters, those too-good-for-
lipstickers, those emotion swallowers, those

"Ellis." She said with more urgency. Ellis realized that he was
staring intently at her bottom lip while she was talking.

"Sorry," Ellis said. It was annoying that he couldn't keep his
feelings to himself.

"Look Ellis Wi-Fi" Reina pointed excitedly at the park sign,
ultimately pissing off Ellis.

He thought the sparks were supposed to go insane. To light the
park on fire. That singular moment could've written a whole
Jennifer Anitson movie.

"Oh, yeah I've been using that Wi-Fi for a long time." Ellis said
with whatever cool he had left. He turned away from her, wishing
he could curse her out he didn't want to risk losing his friend.

"Look, Ellis." Reina began to say. "I really want you to her voice
was drowned out by a ringing noise. That was his ringer.

"I got to take this," he said gruffly as he got up from the bench.

***

Reina should've known she would chicken out. She always did.
Last time she tried to ask out Ellis, she ended up telling him to
check if The Carrie Diaries was still on the DVR. Other times, she
asked if he had ten extra inches and he actually said yes. Her best
friendsbesides Ellis--Lana and Herschel proceeded to give her
advice, yet they liked each other and were having the same
problem as she did with Ellis.

But why would Ellis want her?

Ellis came back. "We have a case." He was excited for some
strange reason. Cases were usually tedious and boring--searching
for a pantyhose thief at the Target, or a library vandal. This better
be a job that would get them out of novice rank. Herschel and
Lana were both at junior level-being partners of course. But that
didn't make it less pathetic for her.

"No its not that case with the transvestite drug ring." Ellis said,
reminiscing on the one time where they thought they were
hunting for a girl and they totally felt salty. "This is even better."

"Come on," Reina begged. "Don't kill me with the suspense."

"We're to meet the Chief at The New Justice Building." Ellis said.
"Because someone broke into it."

"But isn't that a junior case?" Reina asked skeptically. For the past
week, peoplemirror or materialwere trying slip into The New
Justice Building. But to find what, Reina didn't know. Maybe they
were just vandals? She only knew what her friends would tell her.

"No," Ellis said. "Well not now since we were given part in it."
Though Reina could swallow every word that came from his
mouth. It was the measure of her love for him. But she just
couldn't trust him this time. This time there seemed to be
something behind all of this. Something wicked.

***

"Yeah, of course I put the Moran twins on the case." Chief
Nightingale said into the phone. "Don't even worry Mayor. The
Moran Twins--" he broke off as Ellis and Reina approached. "Hey,
this just in. The Moran Twins are on the case."

This is The Chief, Chief Nightingale. He's tall, about 30, African
American, dark-haired, honey colored eyes. He had muscular arms
and a honey-tanned complexion that matched his eyes. He also
has some sort of fascination with the Moran Twins, who were the
mystery badasses of the Police Department. No one really knows
about them though because they have been spending lots of time
in New York where their mother lives. Ellis thought that if they
had the Chief's undying respect, then they deserved his too
since the Chief was almost like a father to him.

"Chief, Black and Gaully reporting for duty." Ellis said
professionally, Reina snickered.

"Guys, I have someone for you guys to meet." Chief gestured to
his side. "Meet, Mr. Alan Sherlile." But there was no one there.
Chief noticed from Reina's quizzical look.

"Um..." Ellis said.

"I swear that he was just here. I'll call him up and--"

"No need." A British accent spoke with authority towards them.
"I'm right here." A handsome man with messy black hair and blue
eyes like frozen water in the winter: icy. His hair was contrasted
with snowflakes that speckled it like an ivory crown placed on
Jesus. He was tall, lean, with broad shoulders.

Ellis turned to Reina. She was awestruck, her cheeks roseate and
the snowflakes hailing from the sky put out her flame, her
independence. Ellis could tell she was in love. "Hi I'm Reina Gau--"

"He told me already. Now lets get down to working on this case."
Alan said, clapping his hands together.

"Huh?" He and Reina both said dumbfounded.

Chief Nightingale cut in. "You guys get to go on this case because
you'll have Alan's supervision."

"So you mean-?" Reina said intently.

"Yep, give a hand for your new teammate!" Alan exclaimed
cheerfully. Reina joined in.

Dammit.

2

House of the Rising Sun




"Why are you so upset about being a threesome with Alan?"
Reina asked tiredly. The bag of groceries was heavy in her arms
and she was barely making it to the counter of the apartment
they shared.

Nothing sexual of course. After getting told that the job at the
police station would cover college if they wanted to retire, they
realized that they were that broke. So they pooled in their money
to buy an apartment in Rising Sun complex. It was a convenient
set up too. A conventional two bedroom apartment with a minute
kitchen--equipped with the basics, a wide living room with three
sofas. The color scheme was black and grey. They lived on the
13th floor out of 26, while Lana and Herschel lived together in the
penthouse.

"Wait?" Ellis stopped, staring at her blankly.

"Oh no, I don't do that stuff." Reina said apologetically. She put
the tomatoes in the fridgeEllis made a mean omelet with these
so she handled them with care. Alan said that he could take care
of the situation that happened at the New Justice Building, so
Chief Nightingale went to City Hall while she and Ellis went to the
grocery store since they were running low on food.

"Its just," he said, shelving a bag of tortilla chips. He made a good
bean dip and they always used tortilla chips. Reina realized that
she doesn't do any cooking around the house--or well, apartment.
She needed to be more domestic. Instead, she was wild and
rambunctious, always rushing into things head on. "Don't you
think its suspicious that they sent us home without any
background information about our own case?" Ellis asked her. He
was always the one over-analyzing things so they balanced each
other out and made a good team.

What did Alan do?

"Well shouldn't we call him and ask him whats up instead of
plotting his death slowly?" Reina asked, flashing him a smile. Ellis
was always over-protective of her and it was cute. "And besides,
when you've lived in the dark so long, when you're exposed to
light you'll get blinded. I don't want to go blind. Do you?"

"Reina..." said comfortingly. I'm sorry." He knew and understood
what she meant by that statement. Not many people did though.

It was about her mother, who Reina never knew or remembered
because she had aborted Reina's younger brother and
disappeared, leaving her alone with her father. Those cold, sad
eyes never stopped believing when she would come back. They
outlasted Reina's hopes for sure. Even at his sickbed, he was
wondering where Marelli Gaully was, hoping that she would show
up. He died of cancer at age 59Reina was 16 and in high school
then. After his funeral, after trying to hunt for her mother through
the sad eyes and blown tissues for the last time, she moved in
with her best friend in high school, and

"Reina," Ellis said. He was waving his hand in her face. "Look, I
know about your dark past, but if it makes you feel any better I'm
an orphan."

"How would that make me feel better?" Reina said aghast.

"Point being, we need to be searching for answers. We have to
reclaim this case." Ellis said firmly.

"Why because you're scared Alan is going to take your place or
something?" Reina said. For some reason, Ellis froze. He looked
like a statue. Ha, Ellis Island is where the statue of liberty was,
right? She didn't know. She was about to shake him when there
was a knocking on their door.

She walked over to open the door. In their hallway stood Herschel
and Lana. She opened the door for them and they rushed in.

"Did you bang her?" Herschel asked Ellis. Ellis unfroze and Reina
gasped.

"Well did you eat Lana? Huh, didn't think so." Reina said wildly.
Ellis and Lana just stood there, blushing. She and Herschel
laughed. He was the one she moved in with during high school, so
they were used to teasing each other. Lana and Ellis however--
who knew each other for the longest, for some reason, weren't
exactly loose together. Reina made a memento to delve into that
story.

"I ate her long and hard. She couldn't stop screaming about how
much she missed being a full course meal even though she would
probably feed my whole family." He said, making Reina laugh
harder. Lana and Ellis glared at her stonily. Right.

Everyone knew about how Lana liked Herschel and Herschel liked
Lana. Everyone was itching to get them together to end all of the
awkwardness, but the both of them sworn whom they told to
secrecy. Because friends try not to keep secrets from each other,
but some secrets deserve to be buried.

"Hey Herschel!" Ellis said. "I just realized that we forgot the butter
in the cart."

"Butter is $1.79, don't be a cheap-ass--" Herschel started but Ellis
grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the door. "Be right back!"
He called, halfway down the hall.

Reina turned to the other girl in the room. "I hope he's not"

"What, gay?" Lana said blatantly. "Look, I'm pretty sure he likes
you."

Reina looked in the grocery bag that she forgot she was holding. It
contained eggs, cheese, some potato chips, and...Butter? She held
it up to her friend.

"Well there are plenty of fish in the sea," Lana said absent-
mindedly, twirling her pretty brown locks and looking off into
space. "In fact, I heard one of The Moran Twins is really cute."

"Not helping." Reina said. She wanted to deny it but she was
desperate to see Alan.

***

The two boys exited the building they both lived in, and Ellis lead
him into the alley way.

"Dude, I think I'm in love!" Ellis said excitedly.

"With me?" Herschel faked being flattered. "I don't play for your
team."

"You? Idiot, I'm talking about Reina!"

"Well everybody knows that already."

"Like we all know about how you love Lana?" Ellis snapped back at
his friend.

"Well go in there and tell her that. Instead of dragging me into an
alley."

"It's not that easy though." Ellis said breaking off. Everything was
normal outside. It seemed like coexistence was mandatory in this
life, even if it was an abnormality. But his life was different. It was
heartbreak, betrayal, love, everything else that was poisonous.

"How so?" Herschel shrugged, wanting to knowsort of.

"I think she loves somebody else." Ellis groaned.

"Who," a voice said from the other side of the alley. It was a thick
British accent, a voice like poisoned honey--calm and seductive to
the ladies, but it had sickening wavelengths only a man could pick
up. It was a voice that belonged to the twisted bastard who had
just wormed his way into Ellis's life.

Alan.

***

"Stalking as usual." Ellis glowered at the man who Herschel didn't
even know.

"Oh sure, like I'd follow you." The British guy said. Herschel got
bad vibes from British people. Ever since Lana became obsessed
with One Direction. But this was different. This guy was messing
with his best friend for some reason.

"I think you should get off our case." Ellis frowned.

"I think you could snog my ass." Alan said, smirking. Ellis gave him
a confused look.

"Who the hell says 'snog' anymore? Go back to Hogwarts."
Herschel said, stepping in for his friend.

"Racist Americans." He said. "You know it's me who Reina has
feelings for."

"Dude, I think its tea time so get out of our faces." Herschel said.

"You shouldn't mess with me," Alan said to both of them. "I was
top of my class at Exeter. In strength and conditioning." He hissed.

Both of them were unfazed by this remark. "Really?" Ellis finally
broke the two minute silence.

"Oh, I wouldn't be doubting me if I were you. You don't know
exactly what I'm capable of."

"Try me," Ellis said. "And stick to the sea change

***

The skylight in the penthouse where Lana lived with Herschel--
non-sexually of course--scattered the rays of sunlight through
stain glass lenses, making her floor look like a dance floor/
rainbow/ pride flag. It made everything so much prettier,
especially when the sun rose. The skylight would seem to
illuminate her whole world, life, existence; and she would
treasure these moments with Herscheleven if they consisted of
them sitting uncomfortably, him reading with his reading glasses
that made him 100% cuter. It was these moments where she
wishedno, hopedhe was straight, because these moments
that would be better as a couple.

That was why she was overjoyed that day when Reina spilled the
beans that he had feelings for her. After all, she would know
because they were best friends for four years.

They had met each other, her and Ellis + him and Reina at an open
house. Ellis kept pointing towards "that one girl with the raven
hair" so she dragged him over to meet her. The three of them
talked it out together and then Herschel came over, sweeping
Reina up in a big hug and kissing her on the cheek. It had shocked
her that the hottest guy in the whole room's face lit up when he
was with this girl, this short girl with black hair and no chest.
While she on the other hand was considered a Greek goddess, she
was her school's Aphrodite. But maybe he could since how she
wasn't available because she was in a sort of relationship with

She looked to her wristwatch, Gucci syncshe was loadedand
saw that it had been a whole ten hours since she left Reina's
apartment. Which meant that the boys had been gone for 11
hours. She was about to call, when Herschel burst through the
door frantic and wild.

"Lana!" He said rushing towards her.

"Good Hersch. It's almost sunrise." She said calmly.

"No we need to be at the police station to testify for Ellis!" He
exclaimed.

"Why? What happened?" Lana asked, shoving popcorn in her
mouth.

"Alan set up Ellis so he could work with Reina alone!"

Who the hell is Alan?












3

Paths of Glory




"Alan, are you okay?" Reina dusted off his studded biker jacket.
"Ellis, that jerk! I never understood him."

"No no," Alan said. He touched Reina's shoulder and then the
bruise on his cheek. "Don't be so hard on him; he's probably
manic at the loss of his parents recently."

Reina knew exactly what he was talking about. It had barely been
a month since he found out that his parents had died in a freak
train wreck. Never had he brought it up, just merely neglected the
truth ever since he found out the truth.

It was likely what he had just doneattacking Alanearlier, out
of retaliation or for some form of consolation.

"I'll check on him." Reina said stone cold with guilt.

***

House arrest was a bitch. Alan had called Chief personally, and
since he trusted Ellis, he sentenced him house-arrest, meaning
that he would be absent from the case and wouldn't be able to
attend the party for members who were graduated above novice.

Now Ellis sat in the apartment he shared with Reina, hoping she
wouldn't come angry at him. He picked up a book, The Dark
Hearts [Season 1], and tried to read it. But the suspense was
distracting him from Charlie Matthews and his wicked adventures.
He could barely think about the book that lay opened to a random
page, sitting in his lap. He thought of random things; like celebrity
news, food, and the weather. Somehow, he got on Lana and
Herschel's skylight. His floor didn't get skylights. It was only
complemented nicer windows and

The Fire Escape! He could find a workaround to his house arrest,
and help complete the mission without Alan's help. He went to
the closet and found a small pistol that he loaded fully. The top 11
floors had to go down a ladder to the stair case that was right
outside their back door. Meaning it was easier for him to slip out
of the apartment at a moment's notice, without making contact
with people. In this case, especially Reina.

Which was crucial to his plan. He was going to crack the case all
alone, no Alan or no Reina. He whipped his phone out of his
pocket and--trusting his friend--sent Herschel a text message
saying, "Gone after glory. If I don't come back, tell Reina that I do
love her."

And made the descent down the fire escape, scared that it was
harder coming back.

***

Ellis stood outside of the portal in the police station. He had read
through the files, and they said it was Mirror Chief Nightingale
who had robbed the New Justice Building of certain legal records.
The reports also stated that the Chief's clone escaped into a
portal.

Which likely meant that Alan was headed for the Mirror World
already.

It seemed about time to settle the score, Ellis thought.

And he jumped into the clear pool, its crystal surface darkening to
black as Ellis sunk further. He could see darkness curl up around
him as his descent took him further, like if he died and was
headed towards hell. The black waters were cool against his skin
but it hurt, it hurt, it hurt him dragging his head below the surface
of his consciousness. Finally he blacked out and gave the water
permission to let the flow of the water drag him to his
destination.

***

Reina sat on Ellis's bed and dialed his number for the tenth time.

And yet the operator's voice came on for the tenth time again.
Reina hung up before the message would repeat itself. She was
worried to death about Ellis. After hearing about how he attacked
Alan she got very worried. He had been bottling his emotions for
so long and now he attacked Alan. But what had been his motive?

She heard a knock on the door. Hopefully it was Ellis. She rushed
over to the door, looking through the peer hole. And an impatient
Alan waited outside her door. "Mr. Sherlile?" Reina opened the
door for him. She stepped back so he can step into the living
room.

"Please call me by my Christian name." He said kindly in his sexy
British accent. "Is Ellis here?"

"No--Alan," she caught herself before saying 'Mr Sherlile'. "I hope
you came to apologize to Ellis? I can take a message."

Aln stepped closer. "No I came to do this." And he kissed her.

At first she was apprehensive, but then she leaned into it, melted
into it and the two of them became one. It was brilliant and she
needed to absorb every second of it. Every second of Alan, dark
hair, blue eyes, the second hand of the clock frozen in time for
eternity. He was the second most beautiful man she knew.

The first was

She pushed him away. "This isn't right."

"Bad timing?" Alan asked as he ran his fingers through his messy
black hair. "I guess there's so much going on right now, that you
begin to feel like you're running out of time and you need to grasp
love in the instant, but you seem to forget that life lives on
without love but love can't live without life..." Reina could tell he
was rambling.

She looked down, ashamed that she betrayed her feelings for
Ellis. "I guess," she said finally.

***

Herschel's fingers drummed against the desk. He was almost s
nervous as any other time in Nightingale's office.

But this time was with Lana--the love of his lifeand they were
discussing the future. Ellis's future.

"So you're telling me that Ellis didn't attack Mr. Sherlile?" Chief
Nightingale asked inquisitively.

Lana put her hand on his leg. "I'm s-s-sure!" Herschel stuttered
out. Lana gave him a strange look and he turned away,
embarrassed.

"What my partner is trying to say," Lana covered for him. "Is that
what happened with Mr. Sherlile is inaccurate because he was
there. Alan is faking it."

"And do you have any proof of that? Ms. Kizensky? Mr. Ray?"

"Well I was there and"

"Look at the Moran Twins. They are even rumored to descend
from Bugs Moran. But they're cops."

"So" Lana started but Herschel shushed her.

"What I'm saying, is give Ellis some time and he'll be off the hook
and off house arrest."

What did that have to do with the Moran Twins?

***

Everything was familiar to Ellis as he was spat up onto the surface
of the blackened water. Everything was the same down to the
finest detail. The marble tiled floor held true to its black and white
checkered pattern, and all the desks and paperwork cabinets
matched their original placement perfectly. But something was
off. Ellis shifted into a sitting position when he heard the whistle
of a bullet. He heard the sound of glass breaking behind him. The
ornamental vase behind him shattered to the floor beside him. A
few inches and that could've been him.

"I'm proud of my marksmanship skills." Mirror Chief Nightingale
said arrogantly as he stepped out of the darkness. Both Chiefs
were identical: the same rich skin tone to the feet, which were
wearing the same dress shoes that he had been wearing to work
that day. If he dared to ask, then he was pretty sure that he would
start lecturing him about the Moran Twinswhoever they were.

"So you really did break into the New Justice Building?" Ellis
asked, getting up in a standing position, a hand on his gun.

"I suppose you could say that." He said coolly.

"This means that I can arrest you." Ellis smiled, drawing his gun.

"This means I can kill you." The shots rang out through the office.
BANG!













4

To Kill a Nightingale





Reina picked up the phone when she saw it was Lana calling.
Maybe she knew about Ellis's whereabouts?

"Lana?' Reina asked.

"Yep its me," Lana said. "You're going to want to come down
here."

"Why? Is it Ellis?" Reina panicked.

"Yes' but this--just come down here!"

"Why?" Reina was beginning to get annoyed with Lana. "Just
freaking tell me already!"

"Okay fine. Ellis... He went through the portal."

Reina accidentally dropped her phone.

"Rei--" Lana's voice was drowned out by the crunch when the
phone hit the floor. Without thinking she ran, bursting through
the doors and sprinting like a pro down the stairs.

***

Alan opened his car door for Reina. She got into the car and he
drove forward into the night. His face was completely stoic; his
features unmoving like a statue.

He finally pulled up in front of the station and Reina opened the
door.

"Thanks Alan for doing this." She smiled at him sweetly.

"No problem, anything for my favorite girl." He said without
smiling still.

"Okay, pick me up soon. In an hour maybe?"

"Sure, why not?" He said driving off. He didn't even smile until he
made it there. To the other portal across town. This was his case
after all.

***

Ellis ducked behind a mahogany desk as the bullets ripped
through it. Not even all of the training at the academy could've
prepared him for being attacked by one with as much experience
as the Chief. But that wasn't going to stop him.

***

"What do you mean she's gone?" Lana screamed into the phone.

"She went into The Mirror World chasing after Ellis." Alan replied
with no effort.

"Well did you go chasing after her?" Lana asked expectantly.

"Why would I?"

Herschel had the bug ready, recording the conversation. Lana
nodded at him.

"She's like your girlfriend or something right?" Lana said. "You
guys made out in an apartment and she loves you."

"Why would I care? This was my case at first, until you meddling
kids came along."

"You're our age though." Lana frowned. She looked towards Ellis
and put speaker phone on.

"You don't deserve her." Lana said calmly.

"Those spoiled brats don't deserve my case. Ascension is
everything. The main goal, the last hurrah."

"If you say so." Lana hung up, smiling.

***

Reina came out of the pool, dodging a bullet--literally. A bullet
whipped through her hair, grazing her earing.

"Reina!" Ellis said.

"Oh, look who decided to show up." Mirror Chief Nightingale said
coldly.

"Why did you rob the New Justice Building?" Reina said, getting to
the point of things.

"Why of course," he said in his icicle cold voice. "The New Justice
building has police records on everyone..."

"So you're trying to clear your records?" Ellis asked The Mirror
Chief. Reina and The Mirror Chief both looked at him blankly.
Duh.

"And I'll make sure that you cant stop me, and neither can your
Chief Nightingale."

It seemed that Reina had only blinked before the two boys were
wrestling--or just rolling around on the floor--pulling their
punches on each other. It was totally unprofessional. "Men," she
said with a sigh.

***

Alan rose out of the portal to see Reina hovering over around Ellis
and Mirror Nightingale--wrestling? It was actually funny to watch.
Reina looked like some sort of wasp fluttering above a flower,
calculating whether it was safe to land. Ellis; blonde, tall, and
Alan was upset to admithandsome, was beginning to wear out,
and Chief Nightingale was working his way up on top. He saw
Reina's face shift into a look of shock, her calculating brown eyes
widening enough to swallow the world.

It was still surprising that she or anyone didn't notice his entrance.
This is the part where he saves the day, saves the princess, earn
the case, and ascends. It was his routine.

He drew the gun and fired, missing Ellis and hitting Mirror Chief
precisely between his eyes like he wanted to. Ellis yelped and
rolled off of the dead body.

"Alan? Why and how are you here?" Ellis glowered at him.

"There are other portals in Chicago aren't there?" Alan joked.

***

Herschel waited with Lana at the police station.

When they heard of Alan, Reina, and Ellis's adventure in The
Mirror World, they had rushed over to the police station.

"Look, Lana." This was it, the moment of truth. He was going to
tell her about how he felt, felt for so long since they met.

"Yes," she said softly. It was soft but somehow powerful,
seductive. He felt himself spiritually falling to his knees.

"I--" Herschel stopped as The Chief--the real Chief Nightingale--
walked into the waiting room with two other people.

Lana sat up instantly, glowing like if Herschel was standing too
close to the sun. One of them were male, the other was female.
They both had honey colored eyes and sea green eyes. The girl
was short and the guy was tall and muscular. Lana's body was still
but he could feel her swooning in her seat, emanating negative
energy.

Lust. Attraction.

***

"What do you mean that we don't get to ascend?" Ellis whined at
Chief Nightingale.

"I'm sorry. You guys do get to ascend, just not in time for the gala
next week." Chief Nightingale replied, looking somber. Why the
hell was he upset?

"If that is so, then why did Alan get an invitation to it?" Reina
asked, her voice hinting suspicion of The Chief's motives.

"Because Alan saved you two from your impulsive actions." Chief
frowned.

"After Ellis went in, he took me to one of them and entered
through a different one." Reina whined.

Chief just shook his head at them. Why didn't he believe them at
all?

Ellis looked like he was about to add his input when a phone
vibrated. Reina knew that her phone ringer was "Bugatti" so she
didn't bother to check hers. Ellis's was "Only If for a Night" so he
didn't check his either. It was The Chief's.

He checked and showed the two of them. It was a message from
Herschel with and audio clip labeled 'Proof'. The Chief looked at it
skeptically, his brow furrowing. He finally played it after a minute
or so.

It was Alan and Lana's voice.

Lana: Shes like your girlfriend or something right? You guys
made out in an apartment and she loves you."

Alan: Why would I care? This was my case at first, until you
meddling kids came along."

Lana: "You're our age though. You don't deserve her."

Alan: "Those spoiled brats don't deserve my case. Ascension is
everything. The main goal, the last hurrah."

Lana: "If you say so..."

The clip ended. Reina smiled. They had all of the proof right there.
It meant that she could actually go to that party after all. She and
Ellis could both go. She looked to him, expecting him to be smiling
because he was as excited about the party as she was. But his face
was in a tight frown, his eyes were watering and he was clearly
pissed.

"You and him...dating?" Was all he said.

"Why do you care anyway?" Reina snapped back at him
defensively. Who was he to say who she can and can't date? Even
if she was dating the psychopathic jerk who wanted to get above
them and that was it.

"Because...Because I fucking love you! Always did!" Ellis shouted.
Chief Nightingale looked between the two of them back and forth.
He was just as appalled as she was. Ellis got up and left, slamming
the door behind him like an angst-ridden teenager. But weren't
they all one?

***

"You must be the Moran Twins?" Lana said excitedly. "Ty and
Trina? I've heard so much about you two."

"Yes we are." Ty said with a wink. Trina just nodded.

Lana instantly forgot her feelings for Herschel. This boy was just
brilliant. He was just like Herschel, but he was sweeter; with
beautiful, olive skin. She had to do her research.

She got up and pretended to trip. Herschel--who knew what this
was--rolled his eyes. She fell backwards into Ty's arms, her butt
pushing against his crotch.

"Oh," he said wincing. "Are you okay?" He lifted her up, seeming
completely oblivious to the fact that she just tried to grind on him.
Nothing happened...down there.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lana said, feeling defeated. "Can you be a
gentleman and fetch me some water from that tank over there?"

"Sure," Ty said playfully and went over to the water tank and
grabbed one of the paper cups, filling it with water.

She could feel Trina glaring at her. Like Herschel, she knew what
that move was. "So, you and Silas?" She was talking to Ty, but
wasn't facing him so she could give Lana an evil smile. "Did you
guys go to ManDate when you guys were on vacation?"

"Oh my God, Trina!" Ty blushed as he brought Lana her water.
"Stay out of my love life!"

Dammit, he's gay. Lana frowned at Herschel, who was smiling at
her.







5

Party in the USA




Alan got a suspension, he told his feelings and he didn't have to
hide them anymore, and they were invited to the annual gala for
those who have ascended. But why was Ellis so upset? Many
reasons floated in and out of his head. Was it because he raged
out on Reina? He had hurt her, nearly shattered her and he hated
himself for it. She was so shocked and frail that he wanted to hold
her in that moment, but he couldn't. He was pretty sure that she
wouldn't have let him anyway.

Or it had something to do with the fact that she was dating Alan,
the same person who tried to get them suspended, the same
person who tried to exclude Ellis from Reina's life, the same
person who just made him feel so jealous. He had worked extra
shifts and had stayed in a hotel just to avoid Reina. It was his
punishment for being a jerk and her punishment for pushing him
away unconsciously. It was the crack of dawn and the party wasn't
until 6 but he already decided that he wouldn't attend. He needed
to make amends.

***

Reina scribbled in her notebook with a furious hand. She had to
find out from her friends that Ellis was not going to the gala they
had worked so hard to get invited to in the first place. So she
wasn't going either. She had to find Ellis and make it up to him. In
some way, shape, or form. She knew she should've just waited on
Ellis instead of going with Alan. Alan was a traitor and he was not
to be trusted. But those seemed to be the ones that she wanted.
Ellis wasn't a back stabber, but he had his fair share of being dark
and brooding. He was a moody person at times and Reina couldn't
seem to figure him out. It was like walking through triggered
mines, being friends with Ellis, for Reina. She wanted to know
about him, but there was nothing to know, nothing he knew
himself that could help her. She was lost.

Reina looked down into her notebook and saw what she was
doodling. It was a picture of a sword; the blade sleek and elegant,
piercing through two hearts. Was that what love was, a stab in
both hearts?

***

It was six o'clock and the party was in full effect. People were
dropped off at the gates by any form of transportation available.
People stepped out of horse-drawn carriages, fancy sleek cars, old
and raggedy used vehicles, trucks, horses, and then there was
Lana. Herschel sighed when he saw her means of transportation.
She looked like a Persian princess, carried by four shirtless men in
a sedan chair. Her hair was adorned with rubies and pearls so that
it sounded like Christmas when she shook her head. She was
beautiful, as always.

Lana smiled when she saw him. "Hey why don't you strip and help
carry me?"

"I'm not about that life. Can I get on?" Herschel asked curiously. It
looked fun up there, on top of the world and opulent.

"Chester," she snapped at a bronze-skinned man with a profound
8-pack that made him a little jealous. "Lower me for the prince of
New Delhi to board." The men lowered her so Herschel could step
on. He looked apologetically at Chester as he stepped down and
sat next to Lana. The four men lifted the pair and the walked into
the door way of the station,

"Isn't this dangerous?" Herschel said anxiously. He was worried
that if these men tired out and keeled over, then they could fall
off the chair and break their necks.

"YOLO." Lana said, smiling. "Besides, have a pearl necklace." She
gestured to all of the jewelry that lay around them. There were
rubies, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, gold nuggets, and...An anal
string. When Lana saw him staring at it, she flung it out the
window and into the crowd of party goers and hitting someone on
the head.

For what seemed like hours, the men carried them around the
party so Lana could find a place to park her sedan chair. Herschel
noticed her brow was furrowed, despite her being the star of the
party. Whispers of her being Cleopatra or just an opulent freak
danced from mouth to mouth in the ball room that was strewn
with streamers and illuminated by golden ceiling lights that
pierced the black room. It was nice riding higher than the crowd
like he was on top of the world with the only Lana that existed to
him. Except Lana Del Rey because she was a goddess. He knew
LanaLana Kizenskywell enough to know that if she wasn't
happy being compared to a queen that she was pent up over
some guy.

She was muttering to herself, "Silas Robinson is a jerk." Over and
over again, like a song on repeat. Oh lord.

"Silas Robinson is a jerk."

"Look Lana, Ty likes guys and--"

"Silas Robinson is a jerk."

"He wouldn't betray his partner--"

"Silas Robinson is a jerk."

"For a girl. If you got a sex-change, god forbid it, then--"

"Silas Robinson is a jerk."

"You would have a shot but--'

"Silas Robinson is a jerk."

"You know what!" Herschel screamed, making Lana stop
muttering. "Lets just have a good time at this party. Okay! You
can mope over gay men as long as you want after this party."

"Fine Mr. Bossypants." Lana usually called him that when he told
her to do the right things. "I still think he's closet straight."

Huh?

"I'll just ask Silas then..."

"No!" Lana pleaded with him. "Ignorance is bliss."

"Exactly." Herschel nodded.

***

Ellis's thumb hovered over the call button. He was seriously
contemplating on whether he should call Reina or not. He was a
little bit of a jerk right now. But she was being a bigger one.

She didn't trust her instincts enough to go out with the same guy
who tried to screw them over royally. He decided to call Lana.

***

Lana was in an intimate moment with Ty; her back against a cold
wall, Ty's large--but soft--hands caressing her delicate body with
care. And then...her chest began to play "Cola".

My p*ssy tastes like Pepsi Cola...My eyes are wide like cherry
pies...I got sweet taste for men who're older...It's always been so
it's no surprise...


Lana snapped from her daydream, as bodies collided against hers.
People were grinding, twerking, stripping, bopping, waltzing,
everything was like some STD party on the dance floor. She side-
stepped to avoid someone who looked like they had syphilis. Ty
was nowhere to be seen and she needed a drink. She floated her
way to the bar and sat down in one of the stools.

Collin Artwood sat behind the counter. "What can I get you?"

"Anything over $100. I need to feel classy again."

"I'll check Paris..." He said disappearing into a store room. He was
cute, tall with brown eyes and black hair. They had sex once too,
but he kinda has a grudge against her because after the sex, she
told him to date men because he wasn't doing girls any justice.

Lana remembered that her phone went off during her fantasy. It
was a missed call from Ellis. She redialed him.

"Hello," she said when he picked up.

***

"Lana," Ellis said. "I need advice."

"Ask Herschel then. Do I look like Wendy Williams?"

"No, I mean about Reina."

"Oh," Lana said sincerely. "I heard. Was it that bad?"

"Yeah, I said I loved her and I stormed out."

"Oh, there's still hope then if---" Lana's voice was drowned out by
the hotel room's doorbell.

"Could it be Reina?" Ellis asked her.

"How the hell would I know?" Lana screamed at him.

"Sorry, geez. I'll answer it." Ellis walked over to the door, the
phone against his ear. "Look if you're a girls scout then--"

"You know I don't like being called a girls scout, Ellis." Reina said,
standing in the door way. Ellis just frowned at her, making her
face fall. "Look Ellis..."

"No you look." Ellis cut her off. "I don't care if you're sorry, I just
want to know if this was all just in my head or not. That I loved
you and there was a chance that you loved me back."

"No, it was in my head too." She said, pulling him to her face hard
and kissing him. But she tasted like Alan.

***

Herschel had stalked off when she was talking to Collin so he
could go to the bathroom while Lana was in safe hands. Except
she was nearby alcohol, and Collin had a grudge against her. He
would only be gone for a second and then he would be there to
watch her. A roofie-slipped Lana is just as hard to reason with
than a normal Lana.

He walked up the stairs--because the downstairs bathrooms were
stopped up by some partier--and he seemed to be the only one
who remembered there were bathrooms on all 3 floors. He was at
the top of the staircase when he heard something...something
wet, carnal, wild. He turned to see Ty and Silas--Tylas, Herschel
was obsessed with ship names for some reason--making out
wildly in a dark corner. This was the guy that Lana put before him,
and he was dating someone, who was another man. He had to
take control of his love life.

He rushed down to the bar to find Collin all alone.

"Have you seen Lana?" He yelled over all of the noise.

"Not in a while I'd--" Herschel ran off without hearing the rest of
what Collin was saying.

He checked everywhere in the station. He checked the corner
where they left her sedan chair; he checked the margarita
fountain, the room with the glory hole, everywhere. Herschel had
gotten more and more restless by the millisecond. Where was
Lana? Every room had no sign of Lana. Where is Lana? The bar
was empty. Where was Lana? She wasn't sleeping with her bronze
men inside of her sedan chair. Where was Lana?

People banged on the bathroom door, desperate to get in, making
Herschel realize that he forgot to go and that it was the last place
to check. He ran and kicked down the door of the bathroom to
find Lana slumped over on the bathroom floor, a bottle of pills
rolling away from her body.











6

The Truth in the Morning




Ellis woke up, woke up with Reina besides him. They were both
naked and tired. Which only meant one thing.

"Gah!" Ellis got up out of the bed and grabbed his underwear. This
awoke Reina.

She looked at herself. "Oh...My...God..."

"Look Reina..." Ellis said as she was already getting dressed
frantically. She pulled her shirt over her head and slipped into her
shoes.

"No you look Ellis. I'm not ready for this!"

"But--"

"What?" Reina turned on him, her eyes glowed, glaring daggers at
him. This was the ascended Reina, the scarier one.

"I was going to say that too."

Reina stormed out.

***

Lana woke up in the hospital, feeling woozy. The other night's
memories danced around in her head. There was blond hair,
sunglasses, a bottle of pills...next thing she knew, she was in the
bathroom trying to throw up. She was crying for Herschel to come
and save her. They always had each other's backs no matter what.
But he wasn't there. She cried and yelled, the pill burning her
throat and she screamed. Her field of vision went black and she
stumbled blindly. The orange pills rolled around on the floor in
their bottle. She rolled and scrambled, trying to rub away the veil
from her vision so she could see Herschel before she missed her
opportunity to come clean. She had died for two seconds then
came gasping again. She finally went to sleep, the bathroom floor
turning into a pillow so she could lay in peace. She thought she
had departed from the world for a second. Then a tirade of voices
made their way into her head as a door was kicked open. She
heard familiar and unfamiliar voices, taunting her, ranting about
inconsiderate people. Couldn't they see she was dead? Herschel
wrapped his arms around her, cradling her, rocking her to sleep. A
living sleep, peaceful. The burn in her throat was gone and her
stomach just felt a little tingly. The sirens in her head came closer
and she was hauled off into the back of an ambulance. She longed
for Herschel to hold her, but she knew it wasn't allowed. It was
her at her worst.

The doctor, a stout Hispanic woman with curly brown hair,
handed her a pillow. "Some boy came here to see you. Sat here all
night until I made him leave."

Ignoring her statement, Lana asked another question. "Did you
call my friends to let them know that I was here."

"You didn't have your phone on you. Or your purse." The doctor
smiled at her kindly.

"Really?" Lana said dazed. She looked out of the crack in the
blinds. It was a bright day, the sun was up and the clouds were
puffy like cotton.

"The boy said that he would be coming back," the nurse smiled. "I
think a pretty girl like you would want a mirror right now.
Especially with such a hot boy coming to see you."

She peeked her head out the door and smiled. "He's coming down
the hall." She giggled as she stepped out.

Lana sat, waiting for Herschel to come and wondering what she
would say to him. Would she tell him how much she loved him or
something? He would be coming to take her from the hospital,
that isn't romantic at all. She decided to start with something
friendly instead, save all of that when she wasn't bedraggled and
looked like a raccoon.

Finally the door opened with a click and Lana waited for her 'it
guy' to walk into the door way.

"Herschel?" She said with a weak smile on her face.

"I'm flattered that you think so." An unfamiliar voice said
condescendingly. It was male, deep.

A tall man stepped into her field of vision. He was pretty
attractive, even Lana had to admit. He was tall, blond, and he
wore dark sunglasses that seemed to be hiding more than his
eyes. He wore a biker jacket to match, with a blue shirt
underneath and beige pants. He was a badass, she knew that
much. Of course now she had to ask men this but...

"Are you gay?" Lana asked curiously. This guy was bad news and
she wanted a piece of the action. So what else was a girl to do?

"No," he smiled at her. He was clearly pretending to be unfazed
by her gesture, but those sunglasses weren't big enough to hide
the truth. "I'm here to tell you hello and sorry." He smiled, "and
I'm 100% straight."

"I'm guessing you're sorry for the sex, if we had sex?" Lana had
the cards for meeting strangers who knew her ready and planned
out in her mind. "Though I wouldn't be sorry for the reason you
lasted 4 minutes instead of 2."

He was taken aback. "No, we didn't have a one night stand. I'm
sorry that I slipped you that pill."

The pill. Of course. "The darker the berry, the sweeter the fruit"
people say but it isn't true. The strange pill that found itself in her
throat, had burned it and left her near dead in a bathroom.

"You owe me my dignity!" Lana shouted at him grumpily. She was
here because of him so she had every right to.

"Gee, I'm sorry. How about I show you something that would
make you not as cranky?" The man said.

"What's your name anyway?" Lana frowned.

"Teddy Hilson."

"You sound rich." Lana said, making small talk. There's a chance
that he was a creep, so she needed to be ready to scream for the
nurse.

"You are rich." Teddy replied coyly.

"What do you want to' show me in the first place?" Lana asked,
ignoring the statement. Only she got to throw her father's money
in every one's faces. He was clearly trying to throw her off of her
game.

"Just a little secret."

"Better not be your penis." Lana grunted, making him laugh
unintentionally.


























THE MIRROR PAST

PART 2/3: SUMMER'S EVE












































7

The After Shock Party



Herschel was too afraid to face Lana. So he called Ellis over.

"And you're telling me this why?" Herschel saud, after Ellis described his
Reina situation.

"I don't know, you guys called me over."

"When did Silas get here?" He said.

"Herschel, you called me." Silas said.

"Okay! But the reason why I called you guys over is because I want Ellis
to be there for his best friend, Lana." He pointed at a confused and
weirded out Silas. "And for you, to send Ty over with Ellis."

"Why can't I go?" Silas whined.

"Why aren't you going yourself?" Ellis pouted.

"Silas, Lana has a crush on your boyfriend. And I'm not going because
seeing Lana like that freaks me out. I'm scared of how I would react."

"Since you're being pitiful," Ellis huffed. "I'll do it."

"Silas," he said, giving Silas an expectant look. This may have been
awkward for him, since he was throwing his boyfriend into Lana's web
while he had to sit on the sidelines. But Silas was cool, not stuck up like
the Moran Twins. He was the son of a man who was up in the workforce
but wasn't all jet set, fancy champagne, and bragging 24/7, like his
boyfriend.

"Okay, fine." The other boy groaned. "Herschel, this could turn out
really badly for you, so I hope you know that before you send us in to do
something dumb like this."

Herschel ignored his comment. What did he know about Lana Kizensky?
"Thanks guys!" He said, smiling at them. They didn't return it, they just
left and Silas was texting Ty.

Things would be alright, he reminded himself as he opened up a book
titled: My Demons, My Angels.

***

Reina looked at the house in front of her. It was gorgeous, it was huge
It was Alans.
She walked up the steps to the door of the huge white colonial mansion,
with periwinkle blinds in every window.
She had driven all the way to this isolated house to break up with Alan.
All of this Ellis drama that was sort of turning out in her favor only
meant that it was time to decide on what she really wanted in life. Alan
or Ellis. When she reached the doorbell, she realized two things that
made this quite a bad idea. She was all alone, out in the middle of
nowhere, to breakup with a psychopath. It wasnt the best thought out
plan. She was going back to home, to her decision. To bring Ellis with
her instead maybe?
***
Ellis and Ty sat in silence the whole way to the hospital.
I cant remember the last time when Lana fell head over heels in love
with somebody. Ellis said, hoping to break the ice.
Tys face set into a frown. Hmm.
The rest of the ride was just as silent. Occasionally Ellis would reach for
the radio dial and Ty would smack his hand. When they pulled up at the
hospital, Ellis hurried out of his seat and to the hospital door, leaving Ty
to lock and park his car. He waited in front of the receptionists desk for
Ty to catch up.
The receptionist was a guy who wore pink and orange eyeshadow and
had assorted earrings in different places of his left ear. Ellis counted
seven.
Ty? Ty Moran? It couldnt be? The receptionists eyes sparkled at Ty.
Oh, hey Carlos. They embracedsort ofover the desk.
Whos the hunk? Carlos said, eyeing Ellis like he was a piece of candy
on a shelf. Ellis got a little freaked out.
Whoa, Ty said. Hes my straight friend. Friend, Ellis thought to
himself with surprise. Ty was the offices golden boy, but he considered
Ellis to be his friend.
Hi, Ellis said nervously. I work with Ty. Im here for Lana Kizensky.
He gave Carlos a weak smile. He was still a little creeped out by his
remark.
Oh, she left. Carlos grunted absentmindedly. With some blond hunky
guy named Teddy Hilson.
While Ty probably had no idea who this was because he was always in
New York, and Carlos because he wasnt connected to the force, Ellis
knew exactly who this was. Teddy Hilson had died quite some time ago
after discovering a strange portal or something like that. He went in and
came out torn and bloody. Thats why portal activity must be approved
by the Chief nowadays.
Who? Ty asked quizzically.
Mirror Teddy Hilson. Ellis murmured under his breath.





















8
Thawed Out



1 Week Later


So little can happen in a week that it makes the phrases that say
otherwise irrelevant. Reina sat on the park bench, deep in thought and
fighting back tears.
So little did happen, the only solution the force had was to search The
Mirror World for ID47182. Which was Lana. Instead of being a human
a friendshe became a number, a priority. 2 officers had been assigned
to search the Mirror World, while four went to the library where a
breach had happened recently.
Though the snow had finally stopped and spring was in season, Reina
felt colder than ever.
Besides, Ellis nor Alan had called her. Not once.
**
Ellis knew that Reina wanted to talk to him. It was part of the reason
why he didnt talk back.
He had visited Teddy Hilsons grave, time and time again instead. It was
when he tried to dig up the grave in a wild frenzy when he gave up on it.
He was demoted to paperwork wing anyway. Now he was sitting behind
a wooden desk on a computer and looking through records of olden
criminals. Tedious and boring.
It was a low position in the office. All of the fresh and young officers
worked in the field, while the old people sorted out through paperwork
on old cases and went through evidence brought in by the detectives.
Just then Ellis got a brilliant idea. He could find the information he
needed about Teddy Hilson in his wings archives. But he would need to
be secretive, for it wasnt exactly legal to do so
**