5. Sisters

3.5 – Sisters

Teaser:

Fi: Looks can be decieving...take an apple for instance.

Looks great on the outside...I'm ready to eat it!

But, now, I wouldn't.

Now how about this one? Looks rotten...

But on the inside, it's fit for a king!

What does that tell us? Don't judge a book by it's cover? It's what we've been saying for generations. But could there be an exception? What if someone that looks weird...really IS weird on the inside, too? OK, enough talk.

Hey, mom, do we have any applesauce?

"Great, just great!" Irene says right outside the bus at the Hope Springs Tune-up and Fix-it Garage. "What's the problem, Irene?" Molly asks, also standing outside the bus, with everyone else. "The club won't postpone the gig. We're gonna lose it," Irene says. "Darn!" Molly says. "We just HAD to breakdown when we were going through Hope Springs, too!" Ned says. "Well, at least we're home," Carey says. "Yeah..." Fi says, and looks up at the mountains. "I guess we could head home...that alright Ned?" Molly says. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll take care of this," Ned says. "Thanks," Molly says, and they start walking to the Phillip's house.

That night, everyone is at the Phillip's house, in the living room. Everyone doing their own thing, quietly, when everyone hears a CLUNK outside the front door. "What in the world?" Molly says, as she gets up to see what it is. She opens the door and sees a strange, older lady standing there with a big, heavy trunk. "Uh...can I help you?" Molly asks. "Molly? Molly Phillips?" the lady says, anxious. Molly looks at her...she seems a bit familiar, looking alot like herself. "Yes, who are you?" Molly asks. "Molly, you won't believe this, but I'm your sister!" the lady exclaims. Molly just looks at her with big eyes.

"Who's this Moll?" Irene asks, as Molly brings the lady into the living room. "Uh...guys, this lady says that she's my...sister," Molly says. "What?" Fi says. "Who is this, Moll?" Irene demands. "I told you...she says she's...my sister," Molly says. "I thought you only had a brother," Ned says. "Let me...uh...check," Molly says, and walks into the kitchen to get the phone. Everyone watches her, except for Fi, who keeps looking at the lady. Molly picks up the receiver, and dials her parent's number. Then the lady, who doesn't know Fi is watching her, waves her hands toward Molly and the phone. Then, Molly only hears "Cannot complete the call." She grunts, "Why?" "Molly, why don't you believe me?" the lady says. "Maybe because people don't just come up to a house and say 'I'm your sister!'!" Molly says. "Would you like proof?" the lady asks. "Yes!" Molly says. The lady pulls out of her purse a drivers license and a piece of folded up paper. "Here is my drivers license and my birth certificate," she says. Molly reads the license, "Michelle McQuinn. Born March 3, 1948." She looks at the birth certificate. "Looks real..." she says, "So you're really my sister?" Molly says. The lady smiles and says, "Yes." She walks over to Molly and touches her hands. Only Fi sees a brief glow emitted from her hands. "Yeah...you must be!" Molly says and hugs her, "Hi." The lady hugs back and looks over at Fi. She winks at her, but Fi just gives her a look.

"So we have a new aunt, huh?" Jack says, walking into Fi's room later that night. "Yeah, I guess so," Fi says unassuringly. "What's wrong?" Jack asks. "I...I just don't trust her," Fi says, and decides not to mention the weird stuff Michelle did. "Why?" Jack asks. "Uh...uh...do you really think someone just walks up to your doorstep and says, "Hi! You don't know me, but I'm your sister!'," Fi says. "Well, I like her," Jack says, "Look what she gave me." Fi looks as Jack holds out his hands. She sees a gold chain. "Wow...wait, she TOUCHED you to give it to you?" Fi says. "Yeah, that's usually how things are given to one another," Jack says. "OK," Fi says. "Well, see ya," Jack says walking out. "See ya," Fi says and turns to her computer. She goes to "Favorite Links." She clicks on "O'Shannon Family Tree." It takes her to webpage of the O'Shannon family tree we saw in "Move." She moves down until it comes to "Kathleen O'Shannon and Colin McQuinn." She moves her finger down, while reading. "Molly...Sean. No Michelle," Fi says. She does a people search on Michelle. Nothing. She logs offline and picks up the phone in her room. She dials her grandparent's number, and it rings. Three time. After the third ring, Michelle, who is downstairs talking to Molly, looks up and lifts her hands. "What are you doing?" Molly asks. "Uh...just streching," Michelle smiles. Molly looks up and shakes her head. W1hen Michelle lifted her hands, upstairs, Fi gets the "Cannot complete the call" message. Fi grunts and ends the call.

"So what do you think Moll?" Irene asks that next day, in the Phillip's kitchen. "I don't know...she...knows everything that she should..." Molly says, making coffee with Irene. "I don't like her. Sorry, Moll, but there's something weird about her," Irene says. "I know what you mean...it's like she's...not human or something," Molly says. "Molly! It's your sister!" Irene jokes. "Ha ha," Molly says. They don't know Michelle is right outside the room, listening to every word. She smiles and walks away. "Hi Jack!" she says, passing him, patting him on the back. When she touches him, he has his vision, zooming into the castle. He shakes his head, and walks into the kitchen. "Hey, mom. What's up with Michelle? She's acting really weird," Jack says. "Acting?" Molly says, and smiles at Irene, and they start laughing hard. Jack looks at them and wonders what was so funny about that.

That night, Michelle walks into Fi's room, and her hand starts to glow. She touches Fi's laptop with the glowing hand, as the glow covers the laptop and then disappears. Michelle smiles and walks out, passing Fi in the hall. "Hi Fi!" she says. Fi gives her a look and walks into her room. She opens her laptop and goes back to the family tree site. Now, there IS a "Michelle" listed. "No way!" Fi says. Suddenly, the screen goes blank. Then it comes back with an error message "Hard Drive magnetic field misaligned. Please restart your computer." "What?" Fi says, pressing all the keys. Then she does reboot and shakes her head. She walks downstairs.

"And, so then..." Michelle is story telling to the gang. Everyone is listening closely, and after awhile, Fi sees something astonishing. Her lips weren't moving to what she was saying! It was as if she was wearing a mask and it was starting to come off. Michelle, realizing this, makes one quick motion, pretending to itch her mouth. No one notices anything unusual, except Fi. Fi just stares at her. She thinks, "So, what? She's wearing a mask? Why? No, that can't be it...could it?" Fi sighs and starts to listen to Michelle's unbelievably real stories about her life.

"...'Cause when I miss you, when I'm dying to kiss you. I need to let that flow, more like a river..." "My sister has a really good voice," Michelle says in the control room. Molly is recording for her CD. "You mean you haven't heard it before?" Fi asks. "No," Michelle says. "I thought you said you've followed her every song," Irene says. "Oh! Well, what I meant was, well, that, you know, when...heh heh, well, you know what I mean," Michelle stutters as everyone stares at her. Her lips look "loose" and "coming off" of her again. "Oh!" Michelle realizes and tries to push them back. "Skin thing, you know," she says, nervously. Everyone just turns back to Molly. "Can I be, more like a river..."

At home, Fi is online. Looking at the family tree again, "Michelle" is listed under Molly and Sean! "What??" Fi asks, "Where'd that come from?" She runs out of the room, and runs downstairs. "Mom! Mom! Mo.." she yells, turning a corner, but runs right into Michelle. "Fi! What's the rush?" she asks. "You...you...who are you? WHAT are you?" Fi demands. "Fi, Fi! You think I'm someone else, don't you?" Michelle asks, smiling. "Well, are you?" Fi asks. "Fi...you're right, I'm not here for Molly," Michelle says. "Then...what?" Fi asks. The lady smiles and starts melting, only melting into herself, instead of dripping downward. This "melting" continues until a new body that was underneath her "human" layer of body appears. Fi now looks at a creature, beautiful, but disgusting. "You...you're NOT human," Fi says. "Yes, right again," Michelle says, now in a mono-tone voice. "So, why are you here?" Fi asks. "Fiona Phillips...I am here as a messenger, and a messenger only. I am to tell you to prepare. Prepare to meet your destiny," the creature says. "Huh?" Fi asks, "Who sent you?" The creature thinks for a moment, then answers, "Let's just say that we're on the same team. I was sent to tell you to prepare for your climax in your destiny, which you will encounter sooner than you think." "You mean...the truth? What my father was looking for?" Fi asks. "Yes...but that is all I know. Now I must go..." the creature says. "But...what are you?" Fi asks. "I am a creature of Oldtche. It is a group working for the same cause as you. We came up with the sister idea just to get into the Phillips household. Now, I must go. Goodbye," the creature says, and disappears into thin air. "Wait!..." Fi says, but it's too late. Then, Molly walks in the front door. "Hey baby," she says. "Hi mom," Fi says. "Where's Michelle?" Molly asks, looking around. "Oh, she left. Some family matter," Fi says. "Really? What do you know...don't you think that it would be my family too, then?" Molly says. Fi shrugs. "Oh well," Molly says and walks out of the room.

"So...I never had a sister?" Molly asks her mom on the phone. "Isn't that weird...maybe she realized what she was doing was wrong, and just left," Molly says. "OK then mom. Yeah, bye!" Molly hangs up the phone. She just smiles and shakes her head. Upstairs, Fi is at the family tree website again. The "Michelle" listing is still there. "What you got there, sis?" Jack asks, walking in with Carey. "Oh, just a family tree," Fi says. "Hey, check it out, that Michelle is there," Carey says. Suddenly, they are distracted by thunder outside, and all look out. When they turn back, "Michelle" is gone. "Woah...how...how did that happen?" Jack asks. "Uh...I don't know," Fi says. "OK, we'll be going," Carey says, and pushes Jack out. Fi looks at the boys walk out, and looks back at her laptop. Her eyes get big as "Michelle" is there again. Fi sighs, but smiles, and closes her laptop.

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