Victory is something that always matters. There is nothing better than achieving everything you've wanted in your life, which Hope has every chance to do.

Hope sat in a green lawn chair, watching Kai and Alexandra look at each other, disoriented on someone's deck.

"You!" Alexandra exclaimed, turning from outside a wooden deck. "What did you do?"

"Always an idiot, aren't you?" Hope sighed, snapping her fingers.

Alexandra fell to the deck unconscious while she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she deviously grinned while staring directly at Kai.

"Where's Amaris?" Kai demanded.

"Don't fret, Kai; Mari is fine with Caine. Do you know what that means? She will go with him and whatever people she finds to figure out how to stop the meteor shower. This will lead to bonding, and you know what bonding creates," she said, putting a finger to her temple. "Love and tragedy, but I always have Josh up my sleeve to use."

"Don't do it."

Hope laughed with a smirk. Rare children seem to have everything, but she needed more than just everything she had.

"I wonder if it's possible to kill Amaris in Alexandra's body," Hope sighed, raising her eyebrows. "I wonder if that works."

Before Kai could speak, she lunged at him, gripped his chin and pulled it right toward her eyes.

"You're going to follow my rules."

Kai nodded slowly, with his green eyes now looking faded. Rare children may look identical in every way, but the eyes always changed when they were in control.

"Tie this body up because I have a plan.

Hope snapped her fingers and found herself in an abandoned building. She looked at her hands back and forth, seeing her own body. She may have all the powers she needs now, but she knew Amaris was looking for a way to stop the curse.

She walked down an empty street but spotted her sister waving her hands back and forth with a smile.

"I think I know how we can get you the power," Aubrey said breathlessly. "Caine."

"Of course I know that. Mari is off with those randoms trying to save the world, but that's just a cliché."

"So we're going to stop them?"

Hope held out her palm, directed it at an old brick bank, and hurled it into the air with an invisible force, over their heads. It smashed on the opposite side of them with a car alarm starting to go off.

"I'm going to do what I'm best at."

"Murder?"

"Yes and no."

"So do you want to take or just kill Alexandra?"

Hope stopped and turned toward her older sister."Getting Mari to kill Alexandra first. I don't get why some people are so sensitive."

Sensitivity was a weakness. If someone is sensitive, they are blinded by everything around them. Being powerful and suppressing feelings becomes important.

"Hope, can we go back to that other place?" Tamara whined from behind. "It's cool because I found these circle things."

She turned back, seeing Tamara holding white bottles. She snatched one and examined it, knowing exactly what it was.

"They're drugs, idiot; it's how people heal here. They don't have the fancy power to heal their bodies or bring people back to life," Hope said, smirking.

"Look! Look!" Tamara pointed to the top of a candy store building, where Sydney and Josh Waters waved their arms frantically.

"We could hop off the buildings!" Sydney called, pointing to the buildings that weren't even a meter apart.

"Why does mind control have to make you guys dimwits?" Hope sighed, waving a hand. "Do whatever you want, but I want to achieve my goal."

"Do you still want me to fake being in love with her?" Josh asked, jumping down from the building.

"No, we'll do that plan later."

Exploiting Alexandra's weakness was simple: it was love. She knew people could die from a broken heart, but she'd just come back to life, so that was pointless.

"I could always say that rareness goes away after she kills Alexandra," Hope said, looking up at the dark sky. "Alexandra's always mad, and Mari is literally always crying."

She had to think in the situation where the best place would be to go. Kai is still in Claymore like them with Jaxton somewhere, and she tied Alexandra's body until she got out of her trance.

"Let's go to Chatham and explore," Hope said deviously, snapping her fingers.

They all landed on a paved road before Tamara ran straight into a light post. Josh and Sydney started laughing while Hope shook her head.

"Amaris isn't going under a street light," Hope said.

Tamara wobbly stood back on her feet, holding her forehead with her teeth gritted. Sometimes her slaves can be such idiots.

"How are you going to convince Amaris?" Sydney asked.

"What's that?" Aubrey exclaimed, gripping her arm, and pointed down at the ground at something green and white.

"Snake," Hope said plainly, stepping on it and dragging the knife down the middle of the snake's body. "Some have poison inside, and others are nothing but boring."

Josh walked over with a stick and started poking it. The snake was dead on the ground while the three of them examined it.

"Can they eat us?" Sydney asked.

"They can kill, but you're important for my achievements."

People in this world know nothing about the future. Amaris won't spill the truth because of her own secrets, and Jaxton isn't going to come running.

"Where is Jaxton?" Hope asked.

"Wasn't he in Claymore?" Aubrey asked with her head tilted.

"I left Kai in Claymore, but his mind control will be up soon. He's probably in Claymore still," Hope grumbled.

Suddenly, she heard an explosion from behind her. They all turned while a smirk grew on Hope's lips. There, standing with his arms crossed, was Jaxton Crossfield.

"Controlling my brother. Are you serious?" he inquired.

"It's easier for Alexandra to be quiet that way."

Aubrey went running toward Jaxton with a smile. He didn't look at her, but at Hope.

"You're planning to mind-control Caine's feelings, aren't you?" Jaxton spat.

"No, I'm exploring because there are probably more threats lurking in this area. See, the reason we succeed is always being four steps ahead," Hope said with a smirk. "I swear you two assume I'll always do the worst."

"Well, considering you possessed someone after you died, use people as your personal slaves, are a serial killer, always want power, and are someone with a literal black heart, there is worry there."

Hope waved a hand and started walking down the street. She didn't see the point of sticking around when Jaxton could just find Amaris himself and protect her. The Crossfield twins think they can be Mari's superhero, but that's not how she wanted it to go.

She spotted two people walking from a distance, causing a grin to spread across her lips. It was Amaris talking with one of those random people outside some large apartment building.

"Amaris!" Aubrey screamed from behind, running in her direction. "Why do you look like you've been crying? It's not a sad thing that we're here."

Hope stopped from a fair distance away, watching Aubrey talk to Amaris. She could spot the wide eyes and face-drained of colour before slowly turning her head to look at her.

"Hey Mari, don't worry your sister isn't here," Hope said with a smirk.

"Why do you call her Mari?" Caine asked.

"People get nicknames if I see them as powerful."

Nobody else had a nickname because there wasn't anyone else powerful. Jaxton and Kai were identical with most of their personalities, so there was no threat other than Jaxton having more powers.

"Hope," Amaris's voice quivered. "What do you want?"

"I want you to find a way to get rid of the curse." Hope sighed. "I've mentioned this many times."

"What if I don't want to?" Amaris blurted out.

Hope arched an eyebrow at her bravery. It wasn't often that she talked back to her, especially with everything that she was capable of.

"Then I can kill your new friends like dominoes," Hope said, pulling out a sharp knife. "I don't hesitate to murder people."

"I remember you," Caine said, stepping in front of Amaris. "You killed my family."

"Since they interacted with Jackson, they had to be killed," Aubrey chimed with a smile. "It's why he's dead in the first place."

Caine's face drained of colour before she felt a punch in the back of the head. She glanced behind her, seeing Jaxton with his palm raised and fingers extended.

"What? Am I supposed to be scared?" Hope snarled. "I have the same powers flowing through my veins that I sapped away."

"Stop using my body."

Hope heard Alexandra's voice echo inside her head. It wasn't anything she was new to hearing, especially since she possessed her own body.

"I'll do it," Amaris whispered.

"Do what?" Hope asked smugly with an eyebrow raised.

"Kill Alexandra..."

That wasn't the exact decision she thought she'd hear, but that doesn't matter. If Amaris kills Alexandra, that's one problem out of the way to reach her own achievements.

"What changed your mind?" Hope asked.

"You're right."

"I'm always right; that's nothing new. If you kill your sister, it is the main way to stop this curse, but your main problem is how you decide to do it."

Hope watched Caine trying to convince Amaris, but that wouldn't work. Killing Alexandra was the only objective that mattered now for her own plans.

"Why are you convincing her? She shouldn't trust you!"

"Nobody trusts you after everything you've done," Hope muttered with a smirk.

Hope watched Jaxton walk past her toward Amaris, trying to ask her the reasons why they shouldn't listen to her. They could try everything to prevent the situation, but that wouldn't work after everything that has happened in Claymore.

"I just so happen to have your sister tied up; we just need your weapon," Hope said. "Either a knife or dagger are your two options. It has to be in the chest in one straight kill."

Hope waved a hand to have Amaris follow her down the rest of the road. She could hear mumbling from behind while Aubrey came bolting by her side to look around the abandoned place.

They stepped inside a hotel with many floors and the lobby empty. The walls were painted orange with black chairs knocked over at the seating area. This would be a better meeting place then on the road.

Tamara started to ring the bell on the reception desk multiple times, looking back at them with knitted eyebrows.

"What's this for?" she asked with knitted brows.

"It's a bell," Hope said flatly. "I really need to fix how you behave in these trances."

Sydney and Josh both stared at her with knitted eyebrows. She didn't quite understand why the three acted like airheads; then again, it could be because she used the trances through Aubrey's body instead of her own.

"Trances?" Jaxton asked, glancing at her.

"It's a state of mind control where they still act normally as a person but are wired to do what I want."

People from this time would probably call them robots or mechanical beings that allow them to act however they please. Yet, since powers don't exist in this place, it gives her the advantage of controlling these stupid people.

"What's your plan?" Jaxton demanded.

Hope walked casually over to a red couch and sat down on it with her legs crossed.

"Deception," she said with a smirk. "Mari has to pretend she wants to be nice to her sister. All Rare twins have a certain darkness that isn't just pain and suffering, which means you know how."

Amaris stiffly walked over to a red chair, gripping the handles and slowly sitting down in it. It would be quite easy for her to use such a method.

"Mari, Alexandra is no different than Jackson," Hope started. "They are both violent people who will—"

"Says the one who is a serial killer," Jaxton interjected.

"You have to trick your sister just like I do with everything," Hope snarled. "That's the only way you'll be able to kill her."

Amaris sat frozen with her eyes wide. Hope didn't care if this panicked her to killing someone's because it should be simple for her to do.

"Your sister killed Jackson and murdered people. Do you really think I'm the bad person here? I'm doing a deed that will help all of us."

Hope spotted the hesitation in her eyes. She couldn't mind control her to do the deed of murder, since she's considered the older twin between the two. Then again, Alexandra did end up sapping away Amaris's powers ever since she has grown up.

"Can't she read my mind?" Amaris mumbled.

"If she does, then we're going to do something that will make poor little Alexandra sad. We'll just reveal her true colours before this meteor shower starts back up again," Hope sighed. "Time is ticking which means we have four days left for everything."

"I thought you said we had more time?" Jaxton asked, walking over with crossed arms.

"I lied."

Hope glanced over and watched Josh play with the bell on the floor, before he held his head and groaned. She sighed, walking toward the boy and staring down at him. He glanced up with narrowed eyes before slowly looking around his surroundings.

"Am I in hell?" he asked.

"Guess your trance is ending," Hope said. "I'll have to put you back in one later. Actually, I know what I need to do."

Hope walked over and gripped Caine's hand, dragging him away from them. She knew the overall truth from her mind control, but she wanted to hear the honest answer that he would reveal.

"Do you like Amaris?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yes," he whispered with his lips pressed together. "Don't tell her."

"Why would I tell her? That ruins the opportunity."

Hope grinned deviously and walked away from him. This would be the perfect opportunity to figure out what she needed to do next. If she could get Alexandra here without her screaming or yelling by trying to cause a scene, that would work. No, she had a better idea that would be able to reveal the truth.

"How about we have our own mini-dinner?" Aubrey suggested it with a wide smile. "We could bond! We're all on the same side of things now!"

"I don't remember agreeing to being on sides," Jaxton said with raised eyebrows. "This part of the Earth has us and that other group still living. We aren't making friendship bracelets and celebrating how many people Hope has killed."

Aubrey started pulling on Jaxton's sleeve. Her sister was the complete opposite because Rare twins weren't the only one's who were different in the new world that they lived in.

"Friendship bracelets?" Tamara asked with a tilted head. "We're friends?"

"Of course we are! We all have similar goals that have to be achieved!" Aubrey exclaimed, hopping toward Tamara.

"Secondary Rare," Hope said slyly. "Fraternal twins with the same gender are abnormal in our world too. I'm the one who has powers, and Aubrey doesn't."

Jaxton stared directly at her, unimpressed. He never seemed phased by any information that she said could alter to their lives because like Kai, that didn't matter. All they wanted was the curse or whatever gone.

"They both died but were brought back to life. One died of a heart condition, and the other committed suicide," Hope said, glancing at Aubrey. "Mari's father knew something was wrong with this society. I think Aubrey's idea is excellent."

"So, we're having a party when people all around have died? I think that's wrong," Caine said, walking back over.

"What do you think, Mari?" Hope asked slyly, staring directly at Amaris.

"Don't you dare force her."

Hope felt a smirk crack on her lips when she saw Amaris slowly nod her head. She didn't even have to mind-control her; then again, she never puts her in a trance.

"Then it's settled that we get to have a party to know each other better," Hope said with a smirk, clapping her hands together.

She knew this wasn't some celebration that this world was ending or that the curse would be lifted, but that the main goal would finally be achieved after years of waiting.

"So, we're killing Alexandra, then what?" Jaxton demanded with narrowed eyebrows. "Burn down some buildings?"

"Well, we have to see what happens when one Rare child dies. If we figure that out, everything will come together like magic."

Hope grinned deviously, walking toward one of the vending machines filled with snacks. She held up her palm, causing the entire machine to fall to the ground. Glass smashed everywhere while she used an invisible force to flip it over, pulling out some potato chips.

"What's this?" Sydney asked, holding up a small box.

"Tampons," Hope said flatly. "What did they call them again? Wasn't it periods?"

"I'm not researching whatever those were," Jaxton said, leaning against the wall. "We do know that girls don't have those anymore."

It was one of the other changes their new world had. People did say it was a horrid experience for whatever a period was for girls, but that didn't matter to Hope.

"What's this do?" Tamara asked, pulling the fire alarm.

Loud sirens erupted throughout the entire building. There was water from the ceiling that began to spray down on them, and all over the place.

Jaxton held up his hand and the entire thing stopped. He lowered his hand slowly, seeing that the fire alarm did not start back up.

"Oops!" Tamara laughed nervously.

"I think it's time we start this bonding," Hope said smugly. "I'll tell you something you don't know about your sister, Mari."

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-Lexi