Past-Tense: Her Spirit's Presence

2- Mo

Mo shut the door of the hospital behind her with trembling arms. That girl—the one with the same name as her—must be from the Mages, disguised as an elf, and SHE WAS THE ONE WHO HER LOOKS WERE BASED OFF OF!! That was the only conclusion that made any sense; what else, this was a coincidence? Right after the War of Magic and Earth, and during  the Mana-Surge War? It was obviously a trap to ensnare Elves to trust Kosmo, the doppelgänger; she was a spy! She had to be!

Maybe the Mages would kill Mo, and Block the town's memories, having them remember 16-year-old Kosmo as the girl who'd always lived there...and they'd go la-di-da in their lives, not knowing their fellow Elf was murdered and they had been deceived! And what had Mo done, since she was scared of what Kosmo had said, TOLD HER WHERE HER HOUSE WAS!? 

Mo just HAD to warn Yggdrasil. But right now, the most important thing was her father at home. I'll have to wait for Kosmo tomorrow. After I do that...I can keep a close eye on her and what she might do. Well, if you're spying on us, I guess I'll spy on you, too! Creepy doppelgänger, you'll get what's coming to you! 

***

It was almost midday. Kosmo would be there soon... and Mo just realized that she was still wearing her sleeping garments. Mo rubbed her forehead and darted into her room, getting ready quickly. She pulled on her cloths and checked herself in the mirror before going outside to water her mana-roses. They did supply the village with the proper amount of mana so that her fellow tribemates could quickly regain any lost mana. 

But generally, her father did this; today she was just getting things done so she didn't overthink about Kosmo and hide in her room to plot something. She didn't want to seem suspicious...especially since Kosmo could put her village in danger. 

But just as she finished that thought, she heard footsteps. 

"Hey there! How are you? Did I come too early-? I can't stay long, since Pomegranate wants me to do stretches and recheck my health..." Kosmo rolled her eyes as she eyed Mo and her roses. "Pretty flowers; what are they?" 

Mo narrowed her eyes. Doppelgänger, you are digging your own grave. Every elf knows what a mana-rose is. Spare me your lies. "It's a replenishing flower. It's called the mana-rose. It replenishes any lost mana that may have been lost. But it can, and will, poison Mages. It makes them pass out..." Show me a response. Flinch, and give yourself away!

Mo smirked and crossed her arms, proud of herself. 

"Oh, that's neat! I wonder why it would do that to mages," Kosmo said, eyes shining. She gave no response. 

"Oh, I don't know. But I hear sometimes they never wake up after they pass out," Mo shrugged. "I think it's the pollen. The pollen may have attributes that counteract their man-made Mana that they have. That's why, after the Mana-Surge War started, we started planting it all around the village. To...rid the village of any...let's say...fake...Elves...like a doppelgänger, for instance." 

"Oh, wow! The power of nature sure is...freaky!" 

This time, Mo did get a response; but one of approval. One that said that she was impressed. Is she...not a doppelgänger? But if she wasn't...why doesn't she know anything about elves? If she wasn't, she would know all of this already...if she wasn't, why would she come right after our main village was burned out? 

"Tell me more about yourself," Mo said. If she had to think, then that probably meant she was lying. 

But there was an immediate response: "Well, I woke up in a field yesterday...I don't seem to have any memories. I'm actually pretty sure..." she trailed off, then waved Mo closer. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually pretty sure that I'm a ghost, an undead Elf. When I looked at my fingers, they were see-through. But then I woke up in the hospital bed, after falling down a—um—hill, they weren't." 

Actually, Mo had a pretty good idea now of what happened. Now she felt kind of bad she doubted Kosmo...though Mo was still slightly suspicious of her. She would not hesitate to fight her if Kosmo just had good reflexes and a skill for lying. 

"Oh, well if you were an undead, that would make sense, I suppose...Especially since ghosts can adjust their visibility, generally by surges of emotion. Since you were surprised and embarrased, both strong emotions, you might've been more visible...but it would have reverted. It might also be because of the mana-roses... because it takes mana to stay in your human form, you may have been... completely visible because of the constant flow of mana that you've been sucking in... There is a kind of mana, called Memory Block mana, that can block your memory, but I highly doubt that. Some humans do that when they have enslaved persons under their will, so they think they were born at the Human's hands, not like that's ever going to happen to you or me, though. But also, sometimes if you loose too much mana, you can pass out and forget things. But your entire past? Mmmn, I'm not so sure—" 

Suddenly Kosmo keeled over, banging her head on the tough rock of the Walkway to Mo's father's garden. 

"KOSMO!" Mo raced up to Kosmo, who had clearly passed out. Mo finally had a good look at Kosmo's face, though. Dark skin, purplish blue hair, and a strange diamond scar on her forehead that seemed to be glowing a little. Same with the diamond necklace dangling from her neck, which had cracks growing across it. Extreme mana was flowing from Kosmo, who was slowly reverting to her see-through form. 

And something strange left Kosmo's lips—"I'm sorry"

Mo felt a strange sense of déjà vu before she felt dizzy and toppled over. She felt a pain in her chest, but mostly from her forehead, which hit the ground with quite a force. The throbbing cut off, though, as her world went dark.