Two of a Kind

[Yanaike]

In the corner of a side street, near the backdoor of an electronic store, a shim could be spotted. Rain poured down as the poor-looking homeless girl seemed to be occupied with something. Yanaike knew she needed shelter. Her clothes had been soaked and she felt cold. Equipped with pincers in her one hand, a machine that emitted electronic pulses in her other hand, and a screwdriver gripped firmly with her long brown-haired tail, she nifty dismantled the security system.

After Yanaike had put everything back in place to make it at least appear normal, she put her tools back in her bag and by leaning against the door with her full weight, she entered the building. With a slam the door immediately shut down behind her.

It only took a while before Yanaike's eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She looked around, seeing glass cases covering a large amount of electronic devices, which she recognized as cell phones. Her tail started wagging around cheerfully. It appeared she'd found the perfect place to spend some time. She kneeled down at one of the glass cases. She closed her eyes, whispered a few words and aimed her hands towards the glass. When she opened her eyes again, Yanaike held a black cell phone in her hands. It was as if it passed through the glass. A grin appeared on her face, curious to figure out how the machine worked.

About half an hour passed, when suddenly Yanaike's investigations were interrupted by a rumbling sound close by. She shook up and quickly grabbed the content of the, now four, mobile phones almost completely disjointed, as she hid behind the counter.

 

[Sail]

The rain was cold against Kadva's skin. Too cold. But, Kadva pushed the thoughts away, focused on the task at hand. Kadva's makeshift pick slid into the lock of the electronics store, already slick from the rain that poured around him. He looked over the door, noticing that the security system had already been disabled. "Strange....they must've forgot to lock it. Better for me, means I don't gotta do no hacking..."

Soon enough, the lock clicked, signaling that the door had been unlocked. Swiftly, he pushed the door open, and was greeted with a large swath of electronics and the like. Nothing had seemed extraordinary. After a quick survey of the room, he saw cameras covering everything excluding the door. Reaching inside, he allowed his body to feel lighter, soon enough feeling nothing. To the normal person, he'd be invisible. Walking ahead, he smashed a glass case open with a small hammer, then pulled out the phone. Soon enough, he knew that he'd become visible.

 

[Yanaike]

From behind the counter, Yanaike kept an eye out for what was about to happen. The backdoor opened, and moments later it shut down again, indicating that quite likely someone else had entered the store. Could it be the owner of the store? It seemed very unlikely, Yanaike had made sure that no alarms went off when she hacked into the security system. She looked around through the store when suddenly she noticed a few electronic devices in the top corners of the room. She identified them as cameras. They were like eyes, except not human but mechanical, tracking every movement. Shoot, that meant that the owner might have seen her through the camera! She hopelessly stared to the little disjointed pieces of the cell phones, now even shuffled through each other. No worries, she could fix it! She just had to… Nervously, Yanaike clicked two pieces together, but they didn't seem to fit at all. What once were four very interesting gadgets, now looked more like a complicated puzzle.

But it wasn't the owner didn't enter the store. Actually, no-one entered the store. After the door shut down for the last time, it stayed surprisingly quiet and Yanaike couldn't see anyone in the store either. She was starting to wonder if she'd heard things that weren't actually there. Suddenly the glass was smashed, shattering in million pieces and falling down on the floor. Much to her surprise Yanaike saw how one of the cell phones miraculously flied out of the glass cabinet and disappeared soon after that.

Wha… what just happened? She just got over the last surprise, when the next surprise already started happening. Just next to the smashed glass case, a young man appeared out of nothing, dressed in a mysterious looking coat. It took only seconds for Yanaike to realize what had happened. Invisibility! And the guy… he must be another thief. Yanaike couldn't help but giggling. She emerged from her hiding place.
"It looks like your spell ended a little too early" she grinned.

 

[Sail]

Kadva was startled by the young girl's voice, causing him to jump in shock. "She...she must've broken the security system. But...she looks so young."

"Yeah, it seems it did. But, I didn't expect it would take so long to break the glass, let alone get out of this here place. Lemme guess, you stole a few phones too? Maybe even shut off the security system? Thanks for that by the way." Kadva turned on the cell phone, then pocketed it in the upper pocket of his trench coat. Looking around, Kadva noticed that a few display cases were suspiciously empty, yet no obvious exit points were there. He took a deep breath, glad he had full control over his emotions.

 

[Yanaike]

The guy seemed to be shocked at first, but then responded rather calm.

Steal? What exactly did he mean with that? Yes, she grabbed a few phones and experimented with them, but with the owner of the store placing them behind glass like that, Yanaike could hardly consider it as stealing. It was as if he was basically inviting people to grab those phones. Besides, he had plenty of them anyway, it wasn't like he would miss a few them.

"I didn't steal anything" Yanaike responded indignantly. "Who do you think I am anyway? A th…" Yanaike didn't finish her sentence. A thief. That was what people had been calling her. The habits of city-people made Yanaike so confused. They had plenty of stuff and yet cared about each and every single item. They were so possessive. This guy was the first city-inhabitant that was more like her. And besides that the guy had a cool invisibility trick. Normally Yanaike wouldn't care a lot about 'hummies', but this time was different.

 

[Sail]

"Well, let's tally up what's happened so far, and then I'll say what you are to most people. Somehow, you turned off the security system, then somehow got phones out of the glass without touching the glass, and then dismantled all of them! Most people call people like that a thief, I would know, I am one. But, it seems as if you deny being a thief. Why is that?" Kadva said in his calmest voice possible. He knew that most people would be bothered by his odd calmness in the face of a problem, but not him.

"I'm...I'm glad she's a thief, or I'd be in deep trouble now..." Kadva thought to himself.

 

[Yanaike]

Yanaike turned her head down, avoiding direct eye-contact, fiddling with her fingers nervously. She was slightly annoyed by the guy. Yes, he was right about everything. She did turn off the security system, she did get the phones out of the glass cases without touching the glass and she did dismantle the phones, but she didn't understand how that made her a thief. Hummies were so quickly labeling others. She'd been called many things: thief, witch, beast, monster and no-one ever looked past that. Yanaike looked up again, with tears in her eyes. "Well, I think you are a 'hummie'!" she yelled. "Oh, and you're a thief too!"

At that point Yanaike's ears twitched as she heard a siren. The sound was still faint, but it seemed to come closer and closer. She knew it was the police. "Quick," she said. "We have to run." In a flash Yanaike sprinted to the backdoor and pulled it will all of her strength, but the door didn't budge even an inch. In panick, she stared to the unknown guy. "Could you maybe help me? I'm kind a… weak."

 

[Sail]

"What's a freakin' hummie!" Kadva thought to himself. "You don't gotta tell me what I already know. Been a thief for a few years..." Kadva said with a smile, which quickly faded into emotionless when he heard the sirens, heard her ask for help. Pulling out a gun from his trench coat, he calmly told the unknown girl, "Of course I'll help. Don't want both of us to die, or for one to rat out the other."

Stepping forward, he pressed his hand against the cold metal door. It felt a tad heavy, not giving easily under his hand, but he knew he'd be able to do it. Pressing hard, the door swung open, and with a wave of his hand, Kadva said, "Ta-dah. Now, ladies first."

 

[Yanaike]

As Yanaike sprinted outside, she remembered that the pieces of the disjointed cell phones were still inside. It had never been her intention to break the cell phones. Eventually she would have put them back together. It just took a little too long to figure out how. After the unknown guy had appeared she'd wanted to ask him if he knew how to fix them, but she didn't got the time to ask him. Ah well, she would think of a way to make up with the owner of a store, but for now she had to run.

Yanaike placed her steampunk-like googles over her eyes and after that she jumped for over, landing on her hands. On all fours, she continued running. The street narrowed down a bit and made a sharp turn to the right. Yanaike knew that with her speed she wouldn't be able to take the turn, so there was only one solution left. She stretched her legs and launched herself from the ground. With her hands she grabbed the gutter, and from there she quickly pulled herself up onto the roof.

She glimpsed back for a moment to see if the unknown guy had still been following her.

 

[Sail]

Walking onto the street, Kadva was constantly reminded by the blaring sirens that they were being chased. They. Of course, the girl seemed to have some form of monkey tail, and also seemed to have no concept of "friendship" or even "alliance" as the moment he opened the door, she dashed out and away. He could likely beat her in a foot race if she didn't have the tail, but nonetheless, he had to catch up.

Kadva followed the pattern the strange girl had taken, excluding the part about jumping onto the roof. At that point, he stuck to the shadows, and continued to run, hoping he'd find her soon...

 

[Yanaike]

Unfortunately, the guy didn't climb up on the roof and continued his escape in another direction. Yanaike continued in roughly the same direction, but then a few feet higher. Luckily the rain had stopped. More or less. There was still a bit of drizzle, but it couldn't be compared to the heavy rainfall of an hour ago. As Yanaike ran further and further away, the roaring sound of the sirens weakened, until it was nothing more than an annoying background noise.

Yanaike knew she was safe from the police for now. She stared down into the streets and alleyways, trying to find the unknown guy. Eventually she spotted him. Yanaike jumped from the roof and with a soft landing without any sound her white boots touched the ground. From a safe distance she followed the unknown guy to see where he would go.

 

[Sail]

Kadva looked up at the roof, noticing the absence of the strange girl on the roof. He took a deep breath, then continued running ahead. He knew he'd have to rest soon, as he'd never been one for distance running. He knew where he was going, a place he had made just in case he was on the run. He couldn't go to his normal house, his parents would be questioned. He will be arrested if he goes back.

At that moment, Kadva realized he'd never be able to return home. He continued running ahead, then took a sharp left into a dark alleyway. A large trash bin sat at the edge of the alley, and a slowed to a walk. It was time to open the Vault...

Quickly, Kadva lifted the trash bin lid up, then dropped the knife he was holding into the bin. For a moment, all was silent. Then, the trash bin mechanically split in half, then sunk into the ground. A golden glow bathed the entire dark alleyway. As Kadva prepared to enter the Vault, he turned around, then speaking to the air, said, "You coming, or what?"

 

[Yanaike]

Eventually, the unknown guy stopped running. His escape ended in a dark alleyway. Yanaike wondered what he was going to do next. Was this like… his home? Or was he just taking a break to catch his breath? Yanaike took of her goggles, and strapped them back around her witch hat. From behind a wall, she kept a close eye on him. Her tail was straight up, as a result of tension and adrenaline left from the escape.

He went to a trash bin at the side of the street and opened it. Yanaike's eyes widened out of amazement as a golden light illuminated from an opening that he created. Her eyes sparkled. It was like… a secret hideout!

Suddenly he turned around. In a reflex Yanaike shook back. Had he seen her? No, that was impossible. His glimpse wasn't focused at her direction. Yanaike felt in doubt. On the one hand she was curious to the content of the hideout, on the other hand, maybe the unknown guy didn't even want her to find out about the hideout in the first place.
"You coming, or what?"
Huh? How… did… Was his message meant for her? Did he just assume she'd followed her. Yanaike took another glimpse into the alleyway to make sure he wasn't been talking to someone else. But nope, no-one else around.

With a giggle Yanaike came out of her hiding place as she walked towards the secret hideout.
"What is this?" she asked with a grin on her face, as she turned her head towards the unknown guy.

 

[Sail]

With a brief laugh, Kadva proceeded to respond with a proud expression on his face, "It's the Vault." He paused for a moment, then motioning toward the Vault, "You know, I can't let people I don't know enter. What is your name? Of course, my name is Kadva Hale."

He stood on the stairway of the vault, waiting to see if she'd answer the question or not. He knew he'd have to let her into the Vault, to protect her, to keep her from the police. She now had his name, and could turn him in if she were caught. But, he only trusted other thieves.

 

[Yanaike]

The Valut? Giving a secret hideout a name like that made Yanaike only more curious to the content of the so called Valut. The guy who was apparently called Kadva only allowed people in that he knew. Yanaike didn't really see any harm introducing herself. And if she got to enter the hideout as a bonus, that only made her more prompted to do so. She circled her tail around her witch hat and took it off as a sign of respect.
"My name is Yanaike" she said followed by a deep bow. "Now can I take a look inside?" she asked almost immediately as she came back up again. She put her hat back on her head and tried to glimpse inside.

 

[Sail]

"Of course you can, now that I know your name." Kadva said with a deep, hearty laugh as he descended into the Vault. Once light sat on the center of the room, casting an eerie blue glow onto Kadva, as well as the Vault. "Vault, open."

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, loud clicks of machinery, and puffs of air rang out through the Vault. The lights flicked on in a circular pattern, lighting the center room with a bright flash. A glass tube sat in the center of the room, filled with fish of various types and water. A large monitor on the east wall, with a large keyboard and two chairs. The wall facing away from the entrance was blank, a chromatic white color, and the west wall held a single, large door, set into the wall. It was mechanical and nature, and about five feet in height and six feet in width, and painted a shiny black color.

"Welcome, Yanike, to the Vault, the ultimate place to hide from the police! I've poured a majority of my money into this, and diverted little funds into another project to keep my parents from discovering this place." Kadva said as he stood in the center of the room, motioning around the room with his hand.

 

[Yanaike]

Yanaike slowly walked into the Valut. At first she didn't say anything, she just looked around, full of enthusiasm and amazement. How… did he build this? The materials? The magic to hide the place? And how much time did it cost to build all of this? And what had he been using this hideout for? She had so many questions to ask Kadva, but was too much bewildered to actually ask anything.

Suddenly Yanaike dashed straight forward. Just before she bumped into the aquarium, she came to an abrupt halt. "Fish!" she exclaimed as a rather pointless remark. She pressed her finger against the glass. Fearing for their lives, most of the fish rapidly swam away. Next, Yanaike dashed forward to the wand with the monitor and the giant keyboard. She jumped on one of the chairs and made herself comfortable.

"I think I'm going to like it here" she said as she thought of the things she could do with a huge computer.

 

[Sail]

"Yes, you likely will. We'll have to stay here for a little while. C'mon, lemme give you the tour of the other rooms." Kadva said as he placed his hand onto the black door. "Open." He said to the door.

The Vault began to shake, and then the door slid backwards into a hole, very much like a sliding door. Behind, a white floor with three normal doors were revealed. Each had a metal plate on them, one with "Storage", one with "Barracks", and one with "Lab". Looking to each door, Kadva decided that he'd let her decide which they'd enter first. "Hey, Yanaike, which would you like to enter first?"

 

[Yanaike]

With a slight hesitation Yanaike followed Kadva until he walked through the immense door. Kadva had opened it by placing his hand against the door and giving the door the command to 'open'. Was it like magic? And did the door only work for a specific person, or could Yanaike also open the door in the same way as Kadva did? Because… well… she certainly wouldn't be able to reopen the door by brute force. Could Kadva, the guy which Yanaike only just med, be trusted?

Even though she was aware that it could be a trap she followed him through the door. They came in sort of a hallway with three new doors and Kadva gave her the option to choose one. Yanaike walked closer to the doors and read the metal plates that were pinned to the doors. 'Barracks'. Just reading that word made Yanaike shiver. It reminded her of things that… She quickly shook the thoughts away as she moved to the next door. 'Storage'. She giggled a bit, unable to understand how the storage room would be interesting enough to pay a visit. 'Lab'. The last word appealed most to her. 'Lab' as in 'Labratorium', as in a place with chemicals and scientific tests?
"Let's go in this one, please" Yanaike said as she pointed to the door with 'Lab' written on it.

 

[Sail]

"Very well." Walking up to the door labeled "Lab", Kadva pressed his hand against the cold metal. He felt the door almost...humming, beneath his fingertips. "Lab, Open." he calmly spoke to the metal.

Much like the door to enter the hallway with the three doors, this door slid into the wall, revealing a large lab. Nearly triple the size of the first room, the lab was incredibly large. In a thirty feet box around the door, the room was completely empty, save for a few chairs, and it was a black painted floor. Outside of this "box" lie three lone tables, stretching from one end of the room up to the end of the black paint. Each table had various scientific instruments, and six chairs on each side. The tables were thirty feet each, and had a computer set up in front of each chair.


"Yanaike, welcome to the Lab!" Kadva said with a smile. This was his most prized possession, the Vault was. And, gladly, he had recently finished it, and planned on moving into it as soon as possible. Of course, he'd have to find a way to keep his parents quiet, and he planned on likely faking his death in order to live in the Vault without his parents knowledge. "Each and every computer links up with the main computer. If you'd like, since I don't have anyone else here, you can claim one full table as your own. Each table has microscopes of various typing, centrifuges, drawers with any scientific tool you can hold in your hand. This room is the most expensive room in the Vault."