Aelia headed straight to the secret lab after work with the coordinates Cassandra had given her. Perhaps Cass had assumed they would go together but Aelia did not want to put her friend in danger.
The odd plants were in abundance at the lab, which while being worrying, was a good indication that she was in the right place.
Unfortunately she hit a roadblock almost immediately, the door deeper into the lab was sealed shut.
Thankfully it looked as though the scientists had left in a hurry and didn't have time to clean up, there were quite a few files and papers to shift though.
The place was a mess, but that proved useful to Aelia. They were out in the open so there was no reason not to read them, right?
Aelia was able to hack into one of the computers, might as well go all out while she was here. The information she found told of an explosion that happened, leaking out whatever they had been working on. The doors were then sealed quickly afterwards to prevent further contamination.
Even more worrying was her suspicion about the out-of-this-world plants was true, reports indicated they were experimenting on alien flora... how they had managed to get any was left unanswered.
Without anything else to dig around in Aelia went back outside, only to be accosted by the General himself.
"This is a restricted area!"
"Wuah!"
"Don't do that, you scared me!" Aelia exclaimed.
Buzz clearly wasn't used to people talking back to him, his eyes widening as he realized who it was. "I apologize but-"
"No buts! I know this place is restricted, I am here on official business, you see?" Aelia gestured to her lab coat, and showed her ID. "I am a scientist after all."
Buzz seemed to be at a loss for words but finally nodded, "I see, have a good evening, then." He murmured, a frown rested on his features but if he was suspicious he didn't argue any further.
Aelia left Buzz before he could think of any follow-up questions but paused to document one of the strange plants on the way out of the lab.
The next day, Aelia visited Cassandra at her home to discuss what she found.
"You went there alone?" Cassandra frowned.
"It was just a preliminary scouting mission." Aelia assured, "I do this sort of thing all the time."
"Okay... well what did you find?" Cassandra pushed away her worries, they needed information, after all.
"The door to the inner lab is sealed shut, but I found papers they had left behind as well as a computer I was able to uhm-"
"Hack into. It's not like I'm going to tell on you, Ally."
"...Right, and I found some usual information. The biggest thing is that we were right, the plants did come from the lab following some explosion. I think we're on the right track!"
"But how are we going to get into the lab?" Cassandra asked, "My mother could be down there."
"It requires a keycard, I am not sure where to find one, however." Aelia admitted, "Perhaps one of the old lab technicians although..."
"The only ones I know of are the Beakers." Cassandra scoffed, "Good luck with that."
"Hey, sorry I was listening but... you're trying to find mum?" A young man snuck in to the living room, a hopeful tone to his voice.
"We don't know anything for certain yet, but, yes." Aelia looked up at him.
"This is Alexander, my brother." Cassandra commented, "And this is Aelia, she's been helping me."
Alexander sat down with them, a determined look on his face, "I might be able to get that keycard for you."
"What? How?" Cassandra eyed him.
"You'll just have to trust me, I want to find mum just as much as you, Cassie." Alexander replied grimly.
"If you can, that would be of great help." Aelia chimed in, "The more help, the better."
After a few more minutes of game plans, an older gentlemen came into the living room.
"Welcome! I did not know we had guests, Cassandra."
"Sorry, father, this is a friend from work."
"Aha! I'm glad you're making friends my dear. I am Mortimer Goth, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Aelia Novis, the pleasure is mine."
"Well, you must join us for dinner, I need to make up for being such a poor host." Mortimer smiled.
"Oh! Well, I cannot refuse, thank you." Aelia replied, sim customs were very odd.
"Sorry about my father, he can be a little pushy at times." Cassandra shrugged sheepishly.
"It is no problem at all, I enjoy trying new foods." Aelia grins, "And it is pleasant to dine with others, I find my own table rather lonely."
The banter died away suddenly and Cassandra glowered at the doorway, "You've got to be kidding me..."
"Oh thank you again, darling!" In plain view of everyone to see, a rather colourfully dressed woman pecked Mortimer on the cheek.
"What the woohock is she doing here?" Cassandra complained, "Don't tell me she's having dinner with us."
Aelia sat quietly, looking between the two with some manner of confusion.
"Cassandra! That is no way to talk." Mortimer chided, "Yes, Dina is joining us for dinner, and no I will not hear another word about it!"
Dina snuck a rather smug smile Cassandra's way but wiped it off her face before Mortimer could see. "Oh, don't worry Cassie! I'm just here to help your father at such a troubling time."
Cassandra gawked at her father, a mixture of surprise and hurt on her face. She opened her mouth to retort to Dina but the words died on her lips as her father gave her another look.
Dina attempted to ask Alexander to move so she could sit closer to Mortimer but she was met with a rather cold look, "I want to sit by my father."
Dina's lips scrunched but she was quick to fall back into a smile, "Of course!"
The dinner fell into an awkward silence as they quietly ate their meal, Cassandra snuck a miserable glance across to her father before murmuring a quiet, "Sorry." to Aelia who shook her head with a tight smile.
She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but this Dina person didn't strike her as a good person.
"So! Who are you, hon? One of Cass' little friends?" Dina smiled over at Aelia, it looked fake and the way this woman said Cassandra's name sounded belittling.
"Yes, I am Cassandra's friend from work." Aelia replied, "She is a vastly intelligent woman." Unlike yourself.
"Oh, haha, she is! Such a busy bee." Dina chattered on as if Cassandra wasn't even in the room. "So you just met Morty?"
"Yes, a few minutes ago." Aelia confirmed.
"Good, good!" Dina smiled wider, turning then to chat at Mortimer now that, in her mind, there wasn't competition.
The rest of the dinner was spent listening to Dina prattle on, ignoring the rest of the table in favour of gushing to Mortimer.
Later that night at an abandoned gas station...
Alexander Goth stood nervously in front of a few dumpsters, fretting at his hands as he looked about, waiting for someone to arrive.
As the moon rose higher into the night sky, a familiar face appeared, silently heading towards the meeting point.
"Were you waiting long? Sorry I couldn't get away from my father sooner." Tank murmured in a hushed tone.
"You're worth the wait." Alexander murmured, taking Tank's hands in his own.
"Hah.. hush." Tank's face reddened, glancing away sheepishly.
"I got what you asked for, father is none the wiser." Tank continues.
"You did? Oh, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me." Alexander exclaimed quietly, "This could be the key to finding my mother."
"If there's even the slightest chance I can help you, I'll do it." Tank murmured, taking out the disguised keycard and handing it off to Alexander. "No one should grow up without their mother."
"Thank you so much, Tank." Alexander rocked forward to give Tank a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, no problem." Tank warbled back, trying to sound cool and collected, but colour on his cheeks suggested differently.
A knock at the door broke Aelia from her normal bedtime routine and she opened the door to find Alexander with a timid smile on his face.
"I have a present for you."
"Come in, come in!" Aelia ushered Alexander inside and he took out the package containing the hidden keycard.
"I was able to come through and got you that key." Alexander smiled, "Just don't ask me how I got them."
"Thank you, Alexander! You have my gratitude."
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