There was something about encountering a problem and not being able to solve it that really ticked off Dawn.

Sitting in a chair-as comfortable as it might be-and staring at the same stretch of information while barely moving her eyes away from it for a period of three days was starting to tear at her consciousness.

The musky stench of damp dirt and the acrid smell of rusted metal bit unremittingly at her nostrils, and the reek of the moist and musty air compelled her to hold her breath at intervals in a useless attempt to preserve her sense of smell.

Dawn didn't really want to be here, but this was her thinking place-something about being put in a distressing situation and trapped in solitude improved her inventiveness. But these seventy-two hours of stillness, hunger and self-punishment would all be in vain if she didn't get the answer to what she was looking for by today.

The room she sat in was dimly lit and small. A single, ancient light bulb swayed teasingly above her head, flickering with varied brightness as was expected in an abandoned cellar-at times it sporadically switched off only to spark back to life with a burst of current.

Thin wires snaked around the floor with faint glimmers of electricity running over their supposedly insulated surface. Seeing that, Dawn knew that she should have gotten the more expensive kind, but still the faulty cables served their purpose. The blue, red and black strips of plastic-dressed copper twisted around on the cemented floor her feet rested on, like little worms with a visible pulse wiggling around the legs of her table and ending in a tangled ball of electronic disaster by an unseen outlet somewhere in the room.

The professor shifted her body away from conducting cables and dragged her gaze back to her computer screen. At this point all the words looked like little lines of black blurs, obsidian technology that poured from her CPU and was transformed into a string of coded characters.

Dawn felt like throwing up.

The creaking steel walls around her danced and spun, nauseating movements in the faintly flashing light. The cables on the floor slithered like slippery serpents in a pond of melting concrete, bewitching to look at but terrifying to acknowledge.

She heard their soft hisses and felt the painful nudges from their fangs.

Dawn tried to remind her mind that there was a floor-and that she was hopelessly alone underground-but somehow the thought of being in the company of snakes and sinking deep into the earth seemed much better than forcing herself to calm down and continue her pointless research.

A groan slipped past her parched lips as she placed her head on the solid steel table in front of her and sucked in a deep breath while resisting the urge to throw up.

"Well braek," she cursed fiercely and bit her lip, peering at the screen in front of her and choking on the bile in her throat.

I've gotten nowhere. Dawn shook her head in displeasure and wiped the drool at the corner of her mouth with her stained sleeve-originally a vibrant sky blue but now with an additional blend of dust-colored rust water and gall.

Corey was still unconscious the last time she checked and yet-despite the amount of time she spent on finding a solution-she didn't know what was wrong. Dawn wasn't afraid that he would die, she was scared that he would never wake up again.

In this day and age there was almost no ailment that couldn't be treated but Corey had been sick for years. That was what put fear in her heart-the possibility that he wouldn't ever recover.

It was maddening.

Drowning in an unending tide of emotion and terror was maddening, and purposefully trapping herself in an abandoned underground bunker was insane.

A part of her had forgotten the real reason she was here, but she knew. She was fishing for answers while being the bait.

She now remembered why her guards had tried to dissuade her from doing this, it was madness. But again, most already thought that she was crazy.

True to what was expected of her, Dawn felt herself lose her mind. Her hands wove into her hair as her fingers rubbed circles round her scalp in an attempt to calm herself down.

The sound of dripping water echoing off in the distance-previously the only thing that alerted her of passing time in the near silent room-was slowly dragging her mind into a state of constant frustration despite her efforts to stay passive.

The drops seemed to bounce against the four walls that surrounded her, turning into a steady stream of noise that pierced into her eardrums till she got tired of the unending rhythm and let out a loud scream.

Finally the pain and confusion died down, the bubble of monotonicity that surrounded her popped with a burst of imaginary sound. She slumped down in her chair, her head pounding, fingers numb and limbs exhausted.

The world seemed alive again-and loud.

Holding unto her chin with a trembling hand, she stared blankly at the monitor in front of her, finding herself lost in a random train of thoughts as she wondered why she hadn't upgraded her tech to the holographic model. The system she had now was based off late 21st century and early 22nd designs-things from that era comforted her in an unexplainable way.

Dawn's dazed stare quickly turned into a glare as a not so unfamiliar voice snickered in her mind: I'm sure there's just something about typing on air that simply annoys you.

She scowled and pulled her fingers away from her face swivelling in her office chair to face the smiling woman that now stood behind her.

She came! Dawn rejoiced triumphantly in her heart and took in the sight before her, slightly afraid that it was another hallucination. Her guest appeared right out of thin air after all.

Soft curls of deep red brushed gently against the remake of a 21st century stethoscope that hung freely off the female's neck, and with a sullen gaze Dawn let her eyes fall down to the pale hands flaunting nails dressed in a fine red polish-one hand underneath the other in front of the woman's lab coat.

Get out of my head, Rhea Lee. The leader of the Cipher Squad gave the red-haired lady a final once-over, tempted to zap the smirk off her face with a taser.

"Oh, c'mon Dee." Rhea Lee stretched her hands wide with a sly smile pulling at the corners of her lips, the lights reflecting off the red that coated them as she took a cautious step forward. "I come in peace."

"I don't remember the definition of peace including the invasion of personal space." Dawn coolly snapped her fingers and turned back to her work-most of which consisted of glaring at the monitor and tapping incessantly on the the table it rested on. "And when did my name change to Dee?"

"Aw," the redheaded woman lifted her head haughtily as she flicked her decorated nails in the professor's direction. "It is a pet name, Darling."

"And I look like a pet to you?" Rolling her eyes in derision, Dawn once again turned to the woman, her shoulders slumped and eyes narrowed into slits. "Darling." She added with an exaggerated drawl.

"No, no." Rhea Lee frowned and twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers, the corner of her lips turned down as her expression hardened. "I am here because of the minister."

"What?" Hearing her words Dawn shot up, all evidence of exhaustion wiped from her face as she got on her feet and staggered unhesitatingly towards the doctor. "Did something happen?"

Rhea Lee let out a dry laugh and harshly took Dawn's hand in hers, pulling the professor closer to her.

"And you said that you weren't a pet." She simpered and tittered, a condescending laugh bubbling from her chest as she hunched over.

Dawn's expression turned grave, her voice dreary and eyes dim as she looked down at the laughing woman. "What happened to him?"

The seriousness in the professor's usually playful tone made Rhea Lee cleared her throat and straightened up. She let go of Dawn, scratch marks evident where she had held her.

Reaching a finger into her lab coat, the doctor clicked her tongue and shrugged. "He's not dead, if that's what you're asking."

Dawn scowled and pulled her hand to her side, taking a few steps away from the older woman. "If he dies you wouldn't be able to laugh." she hissed coldly.

"Hm," Rhea Lee hummed, her tone unconcerned as stretched her hand forward to lightly tap Dawn's nose and beckon her closer. "I'm sure you wouldn't either."

"What?" At first Dawn didn't get it, but taking a closer look at the finger in front of her till it was almost stabbing at her eye. She felt her pulse speed up. "He hasn't been taking his medication?"

"Dee Darling, your boy is looking to die."

Dawn paled and stumbled back, her hand shaking in a mix of fury and fear as she held onto herself tightly. "He can't. . . I always check, I know I do."

Being his best friend, Dawn was more concerned about Corey's health than anyone, and even though there was almost nothing she could do to alleviate his pain she still took it upon herself to keep an eye on him, so to hear that he was purposely hurting himself was near heartbreaking.

Dawn wanted to deny it and say it was a lie, but she knew it was the truth.

Currently in the 26th century non-robotic medical personnel were scarce. No one needed to be a doctor anymore when there were so many computerized solutions for everything. An example was the near extinction of pills, tablets and capsules. When taking drugs, instead of swallowing medicine patients had small chips implanted into the skin on the inside of their wrist that administered the required dosage of medication at the appropriate time.

It was almost impossible to tamper with.

"Well, he fooled you." Rhea Lee pursed her lips and replied Dawn as though she had read the her mind. Her eyes were set into a glare as she fixed her gaze on the blinking red chip on her finger. "I'm his doctor and he fooled me too."

"But that isn't the only reason why I came here." The woman continued, the red she wore appearing very ominous in the inadequate lighting as she stuffed her hands nonchalantly into her pockets and revealed the dark maroon dress she wore underneath her lab coat. "I'm here to talk to you about Dad."

A curse escaped into the air before Dawn could restrain herself. She clenched her fists tightly. Trying to control her anger, she forced a smile on her pale lips. "What does he want?"

"Do you think father dearest would poison our precious minister if he was given a good reason?" Rhea Lee answered the question with one of her own then proceeded to give her half sister a shallow smile. "I've been thinking about that. Why would Corey fall ill every three months and why is there no cure? Is it a virus, bacteria or a biological weapon?"

Dawn looked at her in shock almost dismissing the notion, then stared down at her chair. She placed her gaze on her blinking computer instead when the chair's rotation began to make her dizzy.

She knew what her father was capable of. It would be easy for him to kill off a minister, and much easier for him to poison one.

"Why?" Her voice choked up. "He loves Corey, even more than he loves you."

"Yeah," Rhea Lee agreed but still shook her head. "We both know he loves power more."

"What does he gain from this?" The rage Dawn felt seeped into her words and she slammed her fist on the table.

"I shouldn't have let down my guard." Her anger faded away, quickly replaced by guilt.

"Corey might die because of my negligence." Her voice contained a hint of frost as she spoke, there was no remorse present in her voice. If Rhea Lee had looked closer she would have noticed the scornful smile on the edge of Dawn's lips, but she didn't.

"Hey," the doctor placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "It isn't your fault."

Dawn instinctively shrugged off the touch and stared at the other woman with a blank gaze. "You knew, didn't you?" It was more of an accusation than a question.

"I'm not sure of anything."

"If you weren't sure you wouldn't have mentioned it." Dawn's doubts were confirmed even before the sentence slipped past her lips. She knew her sister better than she knew herself and the only reason Rhea Lee would personally seek her out would be if she was ordered to.

Dawn's expression darkened and in a swift motion she had her sister's neck caged in her hand. "You are a traitor to the North, aren't you?" A spy for father, in other words.

Despite being sure of herself Dawn still asked that question in hopes that her sister would prove her wrong. The one thing she couldn't tolerate was having someone deceive her, and when that deception led to the harm of a person she cared about the only option was to get rid of that someone.

"Are you sure. . ." Rhea Lee spat out the words slowly, pronouncing each syllable in a bored tone as though her life wasn't on the line. "That you want to kill me." She ended the sentence with a knowing smile and said nothing more.

Dawn frowned and deliberately loosened her grip, watching the stethoscope by her hand fall to the ground with a sharp 'clang'. Regardless of the treachery she was faced with and the fact that the entire nation might be affected by her indecisiveness in this moment, she wasn't a killer-well not anymore.

Taking her hand off her sister's neck she walked back to her chair and sat down, her eyes back on the bright screen of the monitor like nothing happened.

"Sorry about that." She smiled good-naturedly and took in the disgruntled expression on Rhea Lee's face.

"I hope you understand that I'm not in that great of a mood." Dawn laughed lightly, playing off her murderous intentions as nothing but an outburst. "So let's discuss this like civilized people, shall we?"

Rhea Lee scoffed and furiously rubbed a spot on her neck, red marks Dawn had left behind. "As expected from daddy's least favorite daughter, you lured me here, didn't you?"

Dawn threw her sister an overly sweet smile, her tone low and mysterious as she replied. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

It looks like I'll be getting those answers after all. She drew her eyes from the clock on the taskbar of her computer, a faint smile on her lips as she powered down the system and promised herself a treat when this was all over.

Three days of waiting is finally over. Getting back on her feet, Dawn stretched, pulling her arms above her head as she glared at the steel walls around her. She silently vowing to burn this place down when she got the chance.

"Let's go." She turned to her oddly silent sister and beamed at her. "I'm sure you are exhausted from journeying all the way over here?"

"Go where?" Rhea Lee muttered moodily and looked around. "There's no exit or entrance!"

"Well," Dawn tapped her chin and pretended to think. "You will be going getting detained for crimes against the nation, and I will be at the spa."

"How about if I give you some information in exchange for my freedom?"

"It depends on the information you're selling." Dawn answered radiantly and didn't stop smiling. Give me all you have to offer, Lee.

"I can tell you who is behind the fog." Rhea Lee announced eventually, annoyance evidence on her features as she let out a pained sigh.

"Oh?"

"What in hell do you want, Dawn?" Her sister pressed, her words tinged with desperation.

Dawn said nothing and quietly enjoyed the pleasant sensation of ruffling the feathers of her usually carefree sister. She had just spent three whole days pretending to be working just for this moment, how can she just waste it?

No, she thought, catching her reflection on the computer's screen, I am going to enjoy this.

†

AN: Is this a new side to Dawn?

And she has a sister (shocking). Who is her father? And why would he want to poison Corey?

What do you think is wrong with Corey, and was this whole "staying hungry for three days" thing a trap?

Most importantly, was this elaborate set up even necessary or is Dawn really just over thinking things/losing her mind?

Thank you for reading!
Please vote and comment (it makes me feel special)

Have a swell day.