The Grand Finale

.......But so many other things had happened, and now she was really in for it. Here she was, hundreds of other "hers" out there somewhere, and she was stuck with an elf girl whose mind had been taken over and a duplicate of herself. She had been in plenty of bad situations before, but with Shara wearing the bracelet and ready to kill her, not a glimmer of hope seemed to be left. Pulling herself up hurt incredibly, and her arm was about ready to fall off, or so it seemed. A hazy green light filtered through the trees in the strange jungle, making Shara look a rainbow of colors with silver in her skin, the white of her dress reflecting green light, and blue-Burgundy eye...wait!Latika watched in fascination as Shara dropped her sword, and her eyes flashed and melted from blue into burgundy, then from burgundy back into cold blue, showing two different personality's . Curiosity overcameLatika, and she forced her way into Sharas mind. What she found there just about knocked her out. The good Shara, the Shara she first met, was fighting her hardest against theAlamiri ghost that had taken over her mind. The Alamiri ghosted screamed in Sharas head, and Sharas eyes turned blue. Then with a sobbing yell/cry, Shara fought back with all her might, Latika could feel it. Sharas eyes turned Burgundy again, and the presence that filled her mind softened. This battle raged so hard, so beyond Latikas power of comprehending she could not stand it anymore. She pulled herself out of Sharas mind and sat herself on a rusty piece of machinery to try to take a better assessment of the situation. She could no longer float, but had to walk like an ordinary person. Her arm had been clumsily bandaged, probably by the clone that stood quietly in one place. This clone had hair likeLatikas, a red dress, and her full battle garb still on her. She decided to name this clone Marrilisa, Latikas name in the language of the pixie people. That's what the abused pixies had called her. Oh, how she missed her home, and her old adventures that were not quite so dangerous.
Shara was still struggling, Tears now coming from her strange eyes, her hand pulling at her long hair in distress. Latika looked away.
The hover bug was what had crashed to the ground, and it lay there still smoking. Just from one glance you could tell it was beyond repair.Marrilisa looked at her curiously," Are you all right?" Marrilisa kindly thought to her"I am duplicate number 246, what is your number?" Latika realized that Marrilisa had no idea who she was.
" I'm...uh...number one," Latika thought back, hoping Marrilisa would understand. She did. A look of surprise and awe crossed over her face, and she put her hands to her mouth. "You are...who I come from?, " Marrilisa thought. Latika decided to speak out loud.
"Yes"
"I don't exactly know what to say...I thought you were just another clone."
"How many clones of me are there in total?" Latika was curious.
"About 2 thousand were completed"Marrilisa answered.
Now Latika did not know what to say.
"W..we...were are we?" She finally stuttered out.
" We are in the lost island of the Caribbean islands, we were trying to make our way back to the third world, but, thanks to my driving and the hover bug breaking down, we crash landed here. We are not that far away now, but with out thehover bug, I have no idea what we will do."
"Do you know this island very well?" asked Latika, eying Shara, who was still fighting.
"A little, I was given knowledge of it in the hover bug map system, but that broke along with the rest of it," Marrilisa shrugged.
" What did you find out about it?"
"Not much, it is about 2 miles wide and 3 miles long, there is no one else here at all, and it is used as a dumping ground for the creatures of the third world. We are right in the middle of the island is my guess," Marrilisa looked around, "I'm also guessing that since this jungle is so dense, it will be hard to get out of here on foot." Latika only nodded in response. Great. Things just kept getting better and better. How could they get Shara out of this jungle?Latika finally went to the elf and got back into Sharas battling mind. She had no idea of what to do, but she at least wanted to see how the battle was going. Poor Shara. If only Latika could help her. But it was all in vain. The ghost was strong, and neither were getting the upper hand in this battle of wills. Latika quick drew herself out and looked once more at her dismal surroundings. As if to wave farewell, the hover bug groaned and rolled on its side, sickening crashing sounds coming from its interior.
"lets try to find the shore, and then we'll work from there on," Latika sighed. She took hold of Sharas hand and tearfully led her away. The direction did not matter, as they were simply trying to get out of the forest. They stumbled through heavy undergrowth, climbing over logs and strange hunks of old metal. It was slow going. A half mile and twenty minutes later, they could hear the boom of the waves on the shore.Latika, wiping her dirty nose and going that direction, asked Marrilisa if she had any ideas of what to do once they got to shore. She shook her head. She was leading Shara now, as if the poor elven girl was blind. And indeed she well might be to the things of the out side world. Her eyes still flashed, from an almost fearful burgundy to the unnatural blue. She gasped pitifully as if being choked.Latika look away. She could not stand it. No one should have to go through that.

An hour later, they burst from the dense jungle onto hot sand as if from night into day. Shara was on her knees, holding her head and screaming out loud. The burgundy was winning! But the battle still raged. Tired, footsore, bug bitten, and hopeless, bothLatika and her clone plopped on the beach. Latikas arm hurt. Oh, how it hurt like crazy. She fell back in the sand, nearly hitting a seashell with her head. It was a pretty thing, large, about the size of her hand. All pink and white and brown, she held it up in front of her.


And that's when the best idea she had ever had in her life struck her.



Well, that's all for now folks, I will write the rest in a second part coming soon!