Fanfiction || City of Thieves || Leverage/Angel Crossover Fic || Part Nine

[cuzimastripper]

Title: City of Thieves
Author: Sapphire Smoke [cuzimastripper]
Fandom: Leverage/Angel
Setting: Post "The Second David Job" in Leverage, Beginning of "Five By Five" in Angel
Rating: NC-17
Genre(s): Crossover/Team!Fic/Het/Femslash/Slash
Word Count Thus Far: 83,823 words
Summary: A prophecy of the splitting of darkness and light, of strength and intelligence. The Leverage team finds themselves mixed up in a destiny and in a world they never knew existed.
Feedback: Give it to me, baby ;]
Chapter Titles Notes: At first I just had the chapter titles be the character's names who's POV it was in, but because FanFiction.Net apparently won't let you have the same title name twice, I decided to actually name all of them. So it will tell you the characters name, but also have the chapter title.
Story Notes: So this is going to be my 'epic fanfic' for the downtime between seasons. I've decided not to tell you guys the pairings... ever. This is mostly a Team!Fic, and any sex and/or relationships are minor plot points and plus I don't like to spoil anything. Making you go 'OMG' makes me happy lol. Hope you guys enjoy! Suggestions and feedback is always appreciated!
Other Parts: PART ONE | PAT TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR | PART FIVE | PART SIX | PART SEVEN | PART EIGHT

CHAPTER FORTY SIX NOTES: I've had one review in the last 14 chapters. I know I'm writing like a mad woman here and wrote all of those in like two and a half days, but um... R&R? Por favor. Like, just a little. Thx

CHAPTER FORTY SIX
[ Sophie ]
Resisting Temptation

Sophie Devereaux was a liar.

Then again, she was a con artist, so what else was new?

She sat there and lied straight to Nate’s face. No, it wasn’t about being in love with him. She was, completely and utterly, had been for a long time. It wasn’t about wanting to be with him, because she did want that too. I mean obviously.

It was about Parker.

She made it seem like because Nate finally admitted his feelings to her that she was over Parker. Just like that. But that didn’t even make any sense, did it? She was surprised he believed it. But he trusted her, he trusted everyone. His one fatal flaw, wasn’t it?

It wasn’t like she didn’t want to be over Parker. But that was kind of hard, considering they had sex yesterday morning. Things don’t just evaporate into thin air. She did have feelings for Parker, strong feelings. She didn’t know where they came from, but they were there… still. But the fact of the matter was, Parker hurt her. Parker hurt her really bad, and she still wasn’t over that either.

Eliot, Angel, and Buffy didn’t come back with Faith until about five hours after they left. They locked Faith up in a cage, put on video surveillance, and everyone went about the rest of the day. Faith wouldn’t wake up until the next morning because of the tranquilizer, it was heavy duty stuff.

Nate and Sophie slept together that night after their dinner date. Not sex because Nate was set on treating her like a lady, but just sleeping. It was nice, Sophie found that she loved falling asleep in his arms. She felt protected… cared for. She could at least forget for a little while that her heart had been stepped on again. Now it was time for him to repair it.

But it was breakfast now. Everyone was gathered around the table, eating pancakes and eggs that Eliot had made. Mindless chatter ensued.

Sophie tried not to look at her. She was afraid things would be read on her face if she did. She took to ignoring Parker’s very existence. It was kind of difficult, what with her living in the same house as her and all at the moment. But she didn’t want to fuck things up with Nate just because she loved the way Parker screamed her name during an orgasm. She knew if she fixed things with Parker than that’s exactly what she would be tempted to do. Sophie was really bad at resisting temptation.

But Parker just keep looking at her. Not staring, but her eyes flickered to her every now and then, Sophie could see it out of her peripheral vision. She ignored her, talking to Nate about what they were going to do about the Faith being in the basement situation.

“Well we can’t do anything until Wesley does the spell to get the scrolls,” he told her.

“We should be able to do that this afternoon,” Wesley said, piping up. “I’m nearly ready.”

“Good,” Angel said, sipping on his blood. “Will you need all of us?”

“No, I only need four other people. Representation of the five corners of the pentagram,” he replied.

“Well I’ll help,” Angel said, then waited for more volunteers.

Sophie didn’t answer; she didn’t want to be involved in all this magic stuff.

“I will too,” Cordelia said, and raised her hand and shrugged in a ‘why not’ kind of way.

“I’ll do it,” Parker said, and Sophie finally looked at her. Why the hell did Parker want to get involved in that stuff?

“I guess I will too,” Nate said, and then Sophie turned to him. He barely even believed in the stuff, why was he?

He looked at her, noticing her look and shrugged. “Curiosity,” he explained.

Sophie could feel Parker’s eyes on her again. She dove into her pancakes like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. She just wanted her to stop staring, she was making it harder. She was trying to forget her, and the whole staring thing made it next to impossible.

After breakfast had ended, Sophie went to the bathroom to reapply some of her makeup and fix her hair. Mindless stuff really, she didn’t actually have to do it. She just kind of didn’t want to think too much, thinking complicated things and finally things were the way they were supposed to be.

“Why are you ignoring me?”

Sophie jumped halfway out of her skin and turned around, her hand on her chest, trying to stop the heart attack she was sure was about to start. She hated when Parker did that. She didn’t even hear her come in and yet she was standing behind her.

“Bloody hell! You’re going to kill me, Parker!” Sophie exclaimed, then wished she didn’t say that because she just got a flash to them on the ground, Parker’s lips on hers, her hands on her breasts and those words coming from her mouth…

Oh god, stop thinking right now, Sophie.

“Don’t worry, you’ll still be alive when I’m done with you,” Parker said, cocking her head to the side and raising and eyebrow at her, using the exact same thing she said before. More flashes to naked Parker on top of her.

“Don’t say that,” Sophie said firmly and turned back around to look at herself in the mirror again. She could still see Parker in it, but chose to not focus her sigh on her.

Parker repeated her question, “Why are you ignoring me?”

“I’m not,” Sophie lied and started to reapply her lipstick. Not thinking.

“Yes you are, you won’t even look at me,” Parker told her. “Do you not want to be friends anymore?”

Sophie sighed and looked at Parker through the reflection in the mirror. “It’s more complicated than that, and you know it.”

“Why? You’re with Nate now, I’m with Hardison, why can’t we be friends?” Parker really didn’t get it.

“It’s just complicated, okay?” Sophie said, not wanting to go into it at all, but knowing Parker was still going to push it. She always needed to understand everything.

“Why? I still like you, Sophie,” Parker said as she came up behind her and put her hand on Sophie’s that was resting on the sink. Sophie jerked her hand away like she had been burned.

“Please don’t touch me,” Sophie requested, not looking at her again.

“What’s wrong?” Parker asked. Sophie was inwardly screaming, why wouldn’t Parker just get it?

“You’re what’s wrong, Parker,” Sophie told her quietly. She knew that was going to hurt, but it was true.

Parker just looked at her like she had been hit. “But…” she started, “I thought everything was okay because Nate wanted you now.”

“Things don’t just magically fix,” Sophie told her, turning to look her in the eyes. “Whether you like it or not, you hurt me. Really bad.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Parker said, looking at her kind of sadly. “I really really like you, Sophie. I do.”

“You like the way my body looks naked,” Sophie clarified for her, and started to put her makeup back into her bag.

“Yes, I do,” Parker told her. “But that’s not the only thing.”

“Parker please don’t do this right now. Please,” Sophie said, slightly begging her. She really didn’t want to hear what was about to come out of the blonde woman’s mouth.

“I like how you can be anyone you want to be,” Parker said, looking at her. “I like how you know how to talk to everyone, no matter what. I like that you try to teach me how to too.”

“Parker… please stop,” Sophie said, grabbing her makeup bag and trying to leave, but Parker grabbed her wrist to make her stay for just a minute longer.

“I like when you look into my eyes, it’s like I can hear what you’re thinking even though you’re not speaking. I like the way you smile. I liked that when you touched me, when you looked at me when we were outside, you didn’t see all the marks and the bruises, you just saw me. You told me I was beautiful and my body was broken.”

“Parker…” Sophie started, feeling herself about to cry again. “Just get away from me, please. You’re going to screw everything up again, you’re going to…” Sophie sighed and wiped the tear that fell from her eyes. “You’re going to make me want things I can’t have. We have other people now, we can’t do this. We can’t do this to them. You broke it off with me, remember?”

“I’m not trying to…” Parker said and looked down before looking up at her. “I just wanted you to know. I want to still be around you. I like being around you.” She paused and said softly, “I like being with you.”

“We can’t,” Sophie said, taking her wrist away from Parker roughly so she wouldn’t have a hold on it anymore. “Just stay away from me… please.”

Sophie left the bathroom and went down the hall to another one, she needed to clean herself up. Damnit, she just reapplied her makeup and Parker had to go and say… those damn things she said. What the hell was she thinking?

“Are you alright?” Nate said, looking at her watery eyes as she tried to go into the next bathroom.

“Got some eyeliner in my eye. Let me wash it out, hold on,” she lied and went into the bathroom. She ran the water and splashed it onto her face. She sighed and wiped her face off with a towel. When she looked up, Nate was behind her. She put on a fake smile and turned around.

“Sorry, the eyeliner slipped. Stupid, I know,” she said with a little laugh.

“It’s alright,” Nate said and came a little closer to her, so much that she was pressed up against the sink and him against her. He kissed her softly.

Sophie closed her eyes and willed herself to think only of Nate, she needed to pretend everything with Parker didn’t exist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeper, moaning softly against his lips. When they broke she bit her bottom lip softly and said, “Still set on that three date rule?”

“Yes,” he said, with a laughed.

Sophie pouted. “Well, we have one down, only two to go.”

“Impatient?” he asked her, amused.

“Maybe a little,” she said with a smirk.

“Do you want me to ask you out on another date?” Nate asked her, chuckling.

“Yes please.”

Nate laughed. “Alright, well how about tonight then?”

“That would be wonderful, I accept,” Sophie said, giggling. She kissed him lightly on the lips again.

Screw Parker. She was trying to mess this all up, wasn’t she?

No, she wasn’t, Sophie realized. She just wanted both again. But they couldn’t have both, Parker still didn’t seem to understand that.

Sophie could just hope that Parker would listen to what she said and stayed away from her, because Sophie didn’t do well with temptation. If something was right in front of her to take, usually she just took it.

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN NOTES: For those of you not friended to my journal, I'm sure you all have been wondering why I just dropped this fic. Well, I didn't. I got robbed two weeks back, and that included my computer. I moved to a different state to be with my family and then I was in rehab for a bit. But I'm doing outpatient right now, so I'm going to still try and write a little bit. This is not my computer, I can only borrow it very infrequently so don't expect much, but I'm not dead. I'll be around more once I have my own computer. Also in regards to this chapter, to understand why things happened like this you're going to have to go back and reference Chapter 31 when Wesley explains the effects.

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
[ Faith ]
Changes

Faith awoke with a headache that felt like it was splitting through her brain. She groaned and reached up to feel the lump she was sure had formed on the back of her head, but found none. Her memory was fuzzy; she couldn’t remember what happened. Someone must have knocked her good; it would have taken a lot to take down someone of her strength and stamina.

She opened her eyes and squinted, confused. She seemed to be in some sort of basement. It was dark, dank, and musty. She could smell the damp floor and hoisted herself off of it with one elbow, groaning again from her sore body. She blinked again, trying to have her eyes adjust to the dark, and when they did she found that she was locked in a reinforced steel cage.

“Aw hell no,” Faith muttered as she sat up a little more and remembered what had happened.

Buffy.

Faith cursed and rubbed the side of her neck where they had stuck her with the needle. Closing her eyes she slumped against the wall and sighed. It was over; they had her. Faith had no idea what they were planning to do to her, if they were going to try to kill the child that was growing inside of her or try to save it. Either way, Faith didn’t get what she wasn’t.

She was just… so tiered of all of this. She just wanted it to be over. Forever.

But Buffy wouldn’t kill her. For some fucked up reason Buffy just wouldn’t stick it to her and be done with it. Faith didn’t understand; she tried to do it once, why wouldn’t she do it again? Second times the charm, right? Or maybe it was third, who cares.

Light suddenly flooded the room, and Faith shielded her eyes from its bright invasion. She knew who it was before she even spoke; she could feel her.

“Sleeping beauty finally woke up,” Buffy said. But it wasn’t so much in taunting jest than Buffy usually spoke to her. She was looking at Faith with pity, and Faith hated it.

“Find me beautiful, B?” Faith responded, though it wasn’t to start the usual banter. Her voice was tiered; she was worn out, beat down, sick and tiered of life in itself. She just didn’t want to be a part of it anymore.

“It’s not an opinion, it’s not what I think. It’s just a fact,” Buffy told her, advancing slowly to the cage until they were both at the distance they could both handle.

“Yeah, I know,” Faith responded and winced as she used her arms to get herself off the ground to stand. She looked across the room at Buffy. “So what are we doing?”

Buffy just looked at her and shrugged lightly, “I don’t know anymore.” She was tiered too, Faith could tell. They both had just reached a place where the hate no longer mattered; it was too exhausting for both of them. Seeing Faith completely break must have been an eye opening moment for Buffy.

Faith walked to the edge of the cage and wrapped her hands around the steel bars, which made the connection grow stronger, making Buffy back up a couple steps. “No, B,” Faith said, looking at her like she was drained. “I need to feel it.”

Buffy looked at her apprehensively, eyeing her down. “Why?” she asked her.

“Because I’m empty, Buffy.”

Buffy took one hesitant step closer to her, and Faith closed her eyes as the feeling washed over her. Buffy’s heart sped up and she took another step, which started both of them to breathe a little faster.

“I can’t go any further,” Buffy told her breathlessly.

“Because you’re afraid,” Faith whispered and opened her eyes to look at her blonde counterpart.

“Maybe,” Buffy said and stared at her. Faith’s heart was beating even faster now and Buffy revealed, “You feel different, it scares me.”

“Nothing matter’s anymore,” Faith told her. “That’s why. It’s just… it’s just over for me. I’m done.”

“The past can’t just erase, Faith,” Buffy told her, but yet took another step. Faith could tell she had no idea why she was doing it.

“No, but I could,” Faith told her breathlessly after she had gasped for a minute from Buffy getting closer. “Make things so much fucking easier, wouldn’t it?”

“For you,” Buffy told her, who was starting to play with her hands to trying to distract herself from the feeling. “The rest of us still have to live with it.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t want me dead,” Faith said, her grip on the bars tightening as the feeling in the pit of her stomach got stronger.

“I don’t know what I want anymore,” Buffy told her honestly in a whisper.

Then there was a flash of blinding light out of nowhere, and Buffy and Faith were both blown backwards. Faith hit the wall and swore loudly. Pain shot down her spine but she shook it off; she would be okay. She got up and looked across the room from Buffy, but found that she couldn’t see her anymore; the electricity was out.

“Damn,” Faith heard Buffy say somewhere in the darkness. “I didn’t think it would be that bad.”

“What was that?” Faith asked her.

“The spell they’re doing upstairs,” Buffy responded, then was silent for a minute. So was Faith. They both felt it: nothing.

“It’s gone,” Faith said, almost like she was upset about it. The Slayer Connection was gone…. completely.

“It’ll be back,” Buffy said, and Faith could finally see her as she came to the cage, though still stood a couple feet from it. “Effect of the spell, I guess.”

Faith’s feet took her to the edge of her cage automatically, like she was desperate to finally be able to be close to Buffy. Buffy didn’t dare get closer to her though, Faith was sure she thought that Faith would try to snap her neck or something. Not that she could. If it was one thing about Buffy, it was that Faith could rarely ever best her no matter how hard she tried.

Faith didn’t want to hurt her though. It was like all the rage she had for Buffy just didn’t matter anymore. She wanted to be dead; there wasn’t much room for hate. She was just empty, and maybe a little desperate to feel something else from Buffy besides all the hatred.

“I don’t bite, B,” Faith told her.

“I very much doubt that.”

Faith laughed softly, she couldn’t help it. “Well maybe when I’m having some fun.” She smirked at her, and Faith said Buffy smirk a little despite herself, but turned away and tried to hide it.

“You felt me, “ Faith told her, sighing a little. “You know I won’t. So can we just pretend for a minute that nothing matters, get away from reality for a minute?”

“This basement isn’t a fantasy, Faith,” Buffy told her quietly. “Nothing changes down here, no matter what I felt from you. No matter how tiered I am of all of this.”

“I’m tiered of this too. We can go back to reality later, but can we just for once feel what it’s supposed to be like?” Faith asked. She held out her hand to Buffy for a moment and whispered, “Just for five minutes.”

Buffy stood there for a minute, debating. Her hand rose up a moment to take Faith’s, but then stopped and said barely above a whisper, “But what if it does change?”

Faith shrugged, “Then it changes.”

Buffy took a deep breath and then finally took Faith’s hand in hers. Faith pulled her slowly over to the bars, until they’re bodies were touching through it. The bars pressed up against Faith’s ribcage were uncomfortable, but she didn’t care. They just looked at each other and smiled because they could feel it.

The Connection, it was back when they touched. It wasn’t intense like it was before, but it wasn’t how it originally was either. It was so much… lighter. Faith laughed a little, just enjoying it. Buffy smiled and willed herself to pretend for five minutes, “It’s nice to see you laugh.”

“I laughed all the time, B,” Faith said, and laced her fingers with Buffy’s in the hand that they both held.

Buffy shook her head, “Not genuinely.”

Faith shrugged a little and bit her lower lip, “No, probably not.”

Then the ground shook beneath their feet and they both held on to each other for a moment until the shaking subsided.

“Spell,” Buffy said once it stopped, guessing.

“Yeah,” Faith said. The heat of Buffy’s body wrapped up in hers, even though the bars was intoxicating, and making her feel so many things. She was silent for a minute looked away before whispering, “I don’t want to be this person anymore, Buffy. I’m killing myself.”

Buffy squeezed her hand and said, “Hey,” making Faith look up at her. “Then don’t.”

“Its not that simple.”

“No, it’s not,” Buffy said. “But nothing ever is.”

Their faces were really close to each other, and Faith’s breathing was starting to pick up. She knew Buffy could sense her heart start to speed up, and she was scared she was going to let go, knowing what was going through Faith’s mind.

“Faith…” Buffy started, feeling Faith through the connection, but she didn’t let go. She just whispered, “Don’t change it this much, please.”

“Why?” Faith whispered, looking her in the eyes. It was all she ever really wanted.

Buffy didn’t have a chance to answer though, a large flash of light lit up the room, but then the light bulbs in the room exploded. And then Faith felt it, the Connection. It was amplified, but ten times more. Faith gasped in pleasure and Buffy moaned slightly, and before either of them knew what was happening, Buffy’s lips were on hers.

Faith groaned instantly at the contact, and grasped at Buffy’s shirt to get her closer to her. Buffy was panting against her lips and hand her hand cupping the back of Faith’s neck which was sending shivers down her spine. “Fuck, B,” Faith moaned out against her lips. “The bars…” she tried to tell her, but her thinking was so clouded.

Buffy understood though. They broke for a second so Buffy could unlock the cage, and once she was inside, Faith pinned her up against the wall. Buffy clawed at Faith’s back as Faith bit her neck softly, making the other woman gasp out in pleasure. “What… god… what’s happening?” Buffy asked between moans.

“I don’t know,” Faith said breathlessly. “I just need you, Buffy.” Faith grabbed the hem of Buffy’s shirt and lifted it over her head as Buffy scrambled to grasp at Faith’s. Faith took the matters into her own hands though and lifted her own off of her head, but then to her surprise was pushed on the ground by Buffy.

Buffy straddled her waist and crashed her lips to Faith’s, making Faith gasp. The connection was so intense it was like both of them was about to pop any moment, but they both held it in for a little longer. It was like Buffy’s hands were all over every inch of Faith’s skin, not just cupping her breasts like they were at the moment. It was like she could feel every part of her; inside and out.

Buffy’s tongue explored Faith’s mouth as her fingertips brushed lightly over Faith’s nipples. The feeling was so intense Faith moaned loudly and arced her back into Buffy, grasping at her bare back. Buffy’s lips found Faith’s neck and she sucked on it softly before moaning quietly in Faith’s ear, knowing it would drive her crazy.

“Jesus, Buffy!” Faith exclaimed and her inner walls clenched. She tried to stop it, but she couldn’t. Buffy’s mouth was now on her nipple and grazing her teeth against it softly and when she bit it Faith cried out and her wall clenched again, this time harder. “Fuck!” Faith cried as Buffy’s hands found their way into her pants… and she was done. She came all over Buffy’s hand, screaming as he back arched in pleasure.

Buffy laughed softly and continued to kiss on Faith’s neck as she came down from the high and whispered, “I thought you could hold it a little bit longer than that.”

“Fuck you,” Faith whispered breathlessly, but it wasn’t menacing. “You know why it happened.”

“Because you’ve wanted me forever,” Buffy whispered in her ear. Faith could feel her panting breath against it, and the feeling was growing stronger again. It was like the connection wouldn’t let them find any kind of release. She needed it again.

“Yes,” Faith whispered back and rolled over so that she would be on top of Buffy. She started to undo Buffy’s jeans, and she looked at the woman below her. Buffy was flushed, panting hard like she needed Faith to release her more than anything in the world. Faith didn’t want to tell her that it wouldn’t do much good, because she was going to keep wanting it as long as this connection kept up the way it was.

“Tell me you want me,” Faith said once she had gotten the other woman stripped and was raking her nails down Buffy’s sides, knowing the feeling would be so amplified that she could barely stand it.

“I want you, Faith,” Buffy breathed out then looked her in the eyes, “Please.”

Faith smiled and leaned down to kiss Buffy again, her tongue claiming the other woman’s mouth. Her hand snaked down between their bodies and when Faith touched her, Buffy almost exploded right there.

“Oh god!” she screamed; breaking the kiss they shared.

But then the feeling was gone. The connection wasn’t crazy amplified anymore; it was normal. Normal like it used to be before all this stuff started. Faith looked down at Buffy, scared about what was going to happen. Scared Buffy was going to tell her to stop, was going to tell her to get off of her. Scared she was going to come to her senses.

“Faith if you stop I swear to god I’ll kill you,” Buffy said breathlessly, obviously too far into it to care anymore. She was genuinely turned on, not just from the connection anymore. She was also far, far too into it to stop now.

Faith smirked and slid her fingers into Buffy, making her gasp. “Oh my god Faith,” she moaned and grabbed onto her back with her nails, digging them in.

Faith started to slowly move her fingers in and out of her, and with a clear head Faith realized she loved doing this so much more. She was watching Buffy’s body move, watching the faces she was making because of the pleasure Faith was giving her. She loved every moment of it.

Faith kissed Buffy’s neck, but it wasn’t in the need that they previously had. It was softer, more sensual. Buffy was gasping softly, holding onto Faith’s back for dear life, her hips falling in time to Faith’s movements.

“You’re going to regret this, aren’t you?” Faith whispered in Buffy’s ear, needing to know. Buffy couldn’t blame the connection anymore for this.

“Just shut up, Faith,” Buffy moaned out. “This is your five minutes out of reality, so fuck me harder.”

Faith smirked and sped up the pace of her fingers, making Buffy cry out and raise herself up off the ground. “Oh my god, oh my fucking god!” Buffy cried out, and Faith could feel Buffy start to clench around her fingers before she screamed Faith’s name and came hard, gasping and grabbing at Faith’s flesh, trying to hold on.

The moment they both came to their senses was the moment Faith feared. Buffy looked at her, then looked at herself naked. Faith could see the fear in her eyes as plain as day. Buffy scrambled to get her clothes and when she left the cage she closed it and locked it behind her. Faith sighed and started to get her clothes together as well.

“This didn’t happen,” Buffy told her quietly as she dressed.

Faith just shook her head, “Whatever you want, B.”

Buffy looked at her for a minute after she had completely dressed and nodded her head a little before turning and leaving up the basement stairs. Faith just put her shirt back on over her head and bit the inside of her cheek.

Of course it didn’t happen.

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT NOTES: I love how I can manage to screw with everyone with just one simple spell. Muahaha. And as for the slash pairing, I hope it doesn't come as too much of a shock, I did try to hint at it here and there for the last... I don't know, maybe 10-15 chapters or so. Subtly though, I did still kind of want to shock you guys lol.

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT
[ Wesley ]
Clarity and Confusion

Wesley was pretty sure he knew what he was doing.

At least, he hoped he did.

A large pentagram was drawn on the floor beneath his feet, white candles accenting each tip of its points. If he wasn’t mistaken, it should work like a charm. It was a simple spell, though laced with difficult concepts and lined with chanting in an extinct language, thus making it appear more difficult than it actually was. But if you knew the language and knew the laws that governed magic, like Wesley did, than it should be a piece of cake.

But then again, those are always famous last words, aren’t they?

“I want that corner,” Parker said, and pointed to the one Cordelia was standing on.

“What?” Cordelia asked, then looked down at her feet and then back up to Parker, clearly not understanding why it was different. “Why?”

“I just like the direction of East.”

“Actually,” Angel said, interrupting, “You are standing on East.” Eliot snickered from the corner of the room as he leaned against the wall, watching. Though seemed to be watching more of Angel than anyone else. Maybe he was still a little untrustful.

“Am I?” Parker asked, then turned herself completely around in a circle, moving her fingers a bit as she tried to figure out her true direction. “Oh, I am. Nevermind then.”

“Where’s Buffy?” Cordelia asked, looking around.

“Faith just woke up, she’s checking on her,” Angel replied, nodding to the other room where the surveillance video was.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cordelia asked, weary.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sophie asked Nate at the same time, also weariness hinting in her voice.

“I’ll be fine,” Nate replied, giving her a little smile to try and convince her.

“Oh don’t say that,” Parker said, which made everyone look at her. “You know the person who says that is always the first to die.”

“We’re not in a horror movie, Parker,” Sophie replied, looking at her like she couldn’t believe that she just said that. It obviously made her fears worse. Parker just cocked an eyebrow at her, which in no way meant an apology. There was something going on with the two of them, but Wesley really didn’t want to know what. Delving into petty personal dramas never went over well.

“And plus,” Hardison said, interjecting his two cents on the matter. “The black guy always bites it first in those movies, so you’d have fair warning when I suddenly keel over.” He smirked, Sophie rolled her eyes.

Wesley was about to ask everyone for some quiet and attention when suddenly Cordelia put her hand on her hip and asked, “Can we just do this, please?”

She was looking at Wesley like it was his fault he hadn’t started yet. He sighed and said, “Yes, we can.” When everyone looked at him he started, “First; Eliot, Hardison, and Sophie, it would probably be best if you all went into another room.”

“What? Why?” Sophie asked, worried, looking at Nate again.

“So you don’t get blown up if it backfires,” Parker told her maliciously.

“Parker!” Hardison said, and now it was his turn to look at Parker like he didn’t know what was getting in to her. Parker just shrugged, trying to look innocent. Which she usually does very well, Wesley was never sure if the woman ever knew if she was being rude or mean in any way, but this time it was obvious that she did. Parker didn’t look innocent, she looked more angry and hurt with a transparent mask, which might not be good for the spell.

“Actually, I think it’d be best if someone took Parker’s spot,” Wesley said carefully.

“Why?” Parker asked, rounding on him now.

“Because you’re being a bitch,” Sophie muttered.

“And no one else can be one but you,” Parker finished for her. She just shook her head and was quite for a second before deciding to finally let it out, “Nevermind, I should have realized it’ll never be my turn to hurt, will it? I get tortured, beaten down, not to mention all the emotional bullshit I’ve been dealing with, but it’s always you that has to be the victim.” And with that, Parker just walked right out the door. No one moved or spoke for a minute.

“What was …?” Nate started to ask, but Sophie put up her hand.

“Please, not right now.” She looked like she was in some kind of physical pain. She put the hand that was up to stop Nate over her mouth and bit on her thumbnail, obviously trying not to cry.

Hardison left the room to go after Parker, and then Sophie excused herself, needing a minute alone. So that left…

“I guess that means I’m nominated to be the East,” Eliot said, shaking his head at all the drama and stepping up to plate. He looked over at Angel across from him.

“Let’s just do this,” Cordelia said again, looking at Sophie go with a worried look. She wasn’t the only one; so was Nate. Wesley knew he had to hurry up before everyone became too emotionally distracted.

“Alright, everyone please join hands,” Wesley said and extended his own arms so Eliot and Angel could grasp either of his hands.

When they all did so, Wesley started chanting. A light wind started to pick up in the room, making every shiver a little. The flames on the candles flickered a little, and then suddenly they shot up like pillars and then extinguished. Before anyone had a chance to take it in, they were all blown on their backs and darkness consumed the entire house.

Wesley grunted and got up from the ground and then he saw it, the scrolls. They were glowing, hovering a few feet above the air, transparent but still clearly visible. He scrambled over to them; he knew he would only have one chance to do this.

He scanned the scrolls, trying to find the rest of the prophecy that they didn’t already know. Then he started speaking as he read, translating as fast as he possibly could:

“The ground will shake as strength recognizes his twin face as his brother, paving the road for light to merge with darkness. The eclipse will show the path to redemption and a change of destiny will thus form from a once split whole.”

“What?” Eliot asked in disbelief, looking at him as Wesley paused to take a breath, sinking in what he just said.

“Lindsay’s your brother?” Nate asked, out of breath from being blown back. He tried to stand, but then an earthquake shook beneath their feet, making him fall back again.

“Fuck,” Eliot swore, though whether from the revelation or the sudden realness of the prophecy, Wesley wasn’t sure.

Wesley continued reading as the shaking subsided:

“Intelligence will break the forming of the whole, though if stifled by strength as the first moon rises, the earth will break and light will overbear the darkness.”

“Wesley,” Cordelia said, trying to tell him that the scrolls were starting to fade.

“I know,” Wesley said and tried to finish. But he didn’t get another word in as suddenly the scrolls faded into nothing and a large flash of blinding light went through the room. Wesley shielded his eyes, knowing it was the energy being dispersed back again ten fold.

Then weird things started to happen, and Wesley wished he thought that this could be a possibility, because it never even occurred to him.

Nate started to cry, Cordelia started to have some sort of mild panic attack, Wesley was more confused about what was going on more than anything, and Eliot…

Wesley blinked. Did Eliot just kiss Angel?

What the…?

“She’s in love with her, I know it. Isn’t it obvious?” Nate cried, tears actually falling from him eyes.

“She’s not okay, Parker’s going to kill her for being so mean, don’t you realize that?” Cordelia said to him, curling herself into a little ball and rocking back and forth, looking at Nate like he needed to get up and do something about it.

Wesley shielded his eyes from the sight of Eliot and Angel, who were trying to attempt to speak to each other through their… attachment.

“I didn’t know you had ever-” Angel started to ask, but Eliot finished:

“I haven’t.”

Wesley could hear the noises they were making and blinked again. Something wasn’t right, right? I mean they couldn’t really be…

“Then…?” Angel tried again, but Eliot shushed him.

“Just recently,” Eliot answered his unasked question and then took Angel’s face in his hands, kissing him deeper. Angel reciprocated, quite enthusiastically actually.

“What the bloody hell is going on around here?!” Wesley cried, his confusion making him irritated.

“Sophie’s in love with Parker!” Nate yelled, at the same time that Cordelia yelled:

“Parker’s going to kill Sophie!”

Wesley shook his head. “Why would Parker kill Sophie?” he asked, confused.

“Because!” Cordelia screamed at him, finally getting out of her initial panic attack of shock and getting up, looking like she was going to do something about it. “Sophie keeps hurting her! And Sophie’s so selfish she can’t even see it, and it’s making Parker mad! I need to do something! I don’t want her to kill my friend!”

“Cordelia wait- Lord! Will you two just stop for one bleeding moment, please?!” Wesley started to say to Cordelia, but interrupted himself to yell at Eliot and Angel, who were getting a little too into what they were doing.

“Chill out, Wes,” Angel told him, before getting back to Eliot.

“I can’t let Parker have Sophie,” Nate said, standing up himself and wiping away his tears, suddenly determined.

“Now just wait one moment… Everyone stop!” Wesley screamed at all of them as Cordelia and Nate went to go confront Parker.

But then suddenly Wesley’s feeling of immense confusion disappeared and he could think clearly again. He looked around the room at everyone else; they all seemed to be coming to their senses as well. Cordelia and Nate looked embarrassed, and Eliot and Angel stepped away from each other looking confused.

“What happened?” Cordelia asked slowly, looking at Wesley.

“Everything we were feeling when we did the spell… it amplified,” Wesley said, suddenly realizing.

Eliot and Angel looked at each other, shocked. Then Cordelia turned and looked at them both, it suddenly kicking in what they were doing.

“You two…?”

“No,” Angel and Eliot both said quickly.

Wesley got to his feet and shook his head. He wasn’t going to be around for the aftermath of all of this. As far as he was concerned, confusion was a nicer place to be around this house.

CHAPTER FORTY NINE
[ Hardison ]
Parker’s Secret

One thing about Parker: when she didn’t want to be found, you couldn’t find her.

It was a good thing when running from the law, but right now it was starting to frustrate Hardison. He crossed the yard, shielding his eyes from the sun that was starting to beat down on his shoulders from the hot afternoon rays. He came to the middle of the yard and still didn’t see her in any direction, so he sighed and found the closest tree to shade himself. Leaning against it, he still searched the yard looking for her, but Parker was no where in sight.

Then a branch cracked above his head.

He looked up and saw the blonde way up in the branches, staring out at the sky. “Parker?” He asked, though he knew it was her.

She looks down at him, pursing her lips a little. “Oh… hi, Alec.”

Hardison put his hand over his eyes, trying to stop the sun from assaulting his vision through the leaves as he looked up. “What are you doing up there?”

“Just thinking.”

Hardison put his other hand on the tree to steady himself so he didn’t crane his neck too far back and lose his balance. “Are you okay?”

Parker’s eyes flickered down at him and then back to the sky and she shrugged.

Hardison looked at the branches, trying to figure out a way to get up there with her, but finding that his athletic abilities seemed to fall short of climbing a tree. He sighed softly, “Are you going to make me kill myself trying to get up there to you?”

A small smirk crept across Parker’s lips before she looked down at him and shook her head. Then like a cat she perched herself on the branch in delicate balance before jumping down, grabbing onto another branch and using it to break her fall to the next before letting go completely and hitting the ground next to him.

She tilted her head a little at him and apologized, “Sorry, I should have known you would have come to see if I was alright.”

Hardison wrapped his arms around her and they stayed that way for a little while; her head resting on his shoulder. Hardison could feel her body sigh heavily, but he didn’t ask. He knew she would talk when she wanted too.

Finally Parker shrugged a little and said quietly, “I know I was being mean to Sophie, but she’s been so mean to me lately.” She paused. “I know that sounded immature, but that’s just how I feel.”

“It’s perfectly understandable,” Hardison told her, stroking her blonde hair between his fingers softly.

“You have to say that because you’re my boyfriend,” Parker told him.

Hardison laughed a little, “Maybe, but I actually mean it too.”

Parker stepped back a little and Hardison let go of her, and she looked at her feet and went on. “I was just trying to be her friend earlier and she told me to stay away from her, it just kind of hurt. I thought she’d be okay because she’s with Nate now.” She looked up at him.

“You know how Sophie is,” Hardison told her softly. “She’s all about her, just ignore it. She’ll realize how she’s been treating you soon enough and then she’ll come apologize. Watch.”

“You think?” Parker asked, hopeful.

“I’d bet my flat screen TV on it,” Hardison replied.

“But not your computer?”

“You crazy, woman? Even if the bet was that I’m a man and I know that’s true, I’d never bet my baby on it.” He looked at her like she was crazy, but then cracked a smile. Parker giggled.

Then she was quiet, and she turned and sat down on the ground Indian style. Hardison cocked his head in curiosity at her change of manner, but walked over and sat down next to her.

“Can I tell you something, Hardison?” Parker asked quietly.

“Anything,” he answered, wonder what was up.

“And you promise you won’t tell?” she asked him.

“Promise.”

“Swear on your baby.”

Hardison cracked a smirk, but then said seriously, “I swear on my baby.”

Parker was silent for a minute, and started picking at the grass. She took a deep breath and said, “Something really bad happened to me when I was little.”

Hardison could feel his heart sink, he was pretty sure he knew the gist of whatever it was that she was about to say, and he wasn’t going to like it. He took a breath and mentally prepared himself, and then put a hand of comfort on Parker’s leg. She took his hand in hers and she went on.

“I didn’t know at the time it was bad, I thought it was just what people did, but I know it is now and um…” Parker let it out all in a rush, staring at the house in the distance, not wanting to look at him as she admitted her deepest secret. “And it keeps… it keeps bothering me. Recently. Because of all the… other stuff. That Faith did, you know? And it’s…” She paused, sighing deeply, trying to finish it.

“You don’t have to…” Hardison started to say, but Parker interrupted.

“I know, but I need to tell someone and you’re… I just, I trust you.” She said and looked over at him and gave him a little smile, but it was sad. She turned again and looked back at the house and said, “He used to stick me with needles, to keep me quiet…” She bit her lower lip hard and pulled out a larger chunk of grass, this time with dirt attached to the bottom. She threw it across the lawn.

“Parker…”

“And I didn’t know it wasn’t okay,” Parker said, her voice becoming a bit higher as she tried to keep herself from crying. “I don’t like drugs… they make you weak. They make you not be able to… to do the things normal people do. They make you feel different feelings than what you’re supposed to have.”

Hardison wrapped his arms around her and she buried his face in his chest and said softly, “Faith stuck me with that needle and I saw him… I saw him again and I don’t want to see him again, Alec. He’s not real anymore. He’s… he’s just…”

She trailed off, trying to calm herself down. Hardison resisted the urge to ask who ‘he’ was so he could go kill the mother fucker, but he didn’t want to push Parker so far that she would break. He knew she had to do this on her own time.

Parker took another deep breath, willing back her own tears and continued, “I’m not a little girl anymore, it shouldn’t bother me like this. I keep… I keep dreaming about it now. It used to go away, and now… now when I close my eyes it’s back again and I don’t like it.” She shook her head, trying to be strong. Parker was always trying to be strong, and it broke Hardison’s heart that she thought she had to be all the time.

“I just want it to go away,” Parker whispered, pulling at the grass again. Hardison could feel a shiver run through her body, but she shook it off. She blinked back the tears that were starting to form and looked at Hardison.

Hardison didn’t know what to say. He wanted to say he was sorry, he wanted to say he’d find the bastard that did this to her and make her pay. He wanted to say he’d go kill Faith for making her relive it, even though he was sure he wouldn’t be ‘allowed’ to do so. He wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to make her feel safe. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, even though he didn’t know if it would be.

Hardison finally took a deep breath and said honestly, “I don’t know how to make it go away, Parker. I’m sorry… I wish I could just…” he trailed off and sighed again, squeezing the hand he was holding of hers.

“I know,” she said softly, and gave him a sad smile. “I just needed to… I don’t know. I needed to let someone know. It’s…” she looked down and used one of her hands to indicate her body, “Its all inside all the time and it hurts all the time so I just… I guess I wanted to get some of the hurt… out.”

Hardison nodded and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She looked down for a minute before looking up in his eyes and bringing her lips to his, kissing his softly. After a moment she whispered, “I’m glad you’re my boyfriend, Alec Hardison. You’re… you’re really sweet.”

Hardison smiled and replied, “I’m glad too.”

Parker looked up over to the house and Hardison followed her gaze. He saw Buffy exit it, looking a little lost, or possibly distraught. Then Nate followed not soon after, and after seeing Parker and Hardison in the distance he turned and walked back inside.

“I guess the spells done. What do you say we go find out what happened?” Hardison said, trying to help Parker go back to normal, since he knows that’s what she likes the best.

Parker nodded and got herself off of the ground with some help from Hardison, “Yeah, let’s go back inside.”

CHAPTER FIFTY
[ Cordelia ]
A Different Kind Of Merging… Hopefully

Seeing Angel make out with a man was pretty much the icing on the cake of all things weird. And with the life Cordelia leads, that’s saying quite a bit.

She didn’t know anything about Eliot, but the way Nate looked at him it seemed like that came as a shock too. But she really shouldn’t have been that surprised about Angel, the man has lived over two hundred years after all, he was bound to at least have tried something like that.

God, she hoped it never was with Spike. That’s all kinds of gross. GOD! Now she just got a mental picture. She wished she could scrub her brain after that one. She shook her head, trying to clear it from the gay possibilities invasion.

Wesley was about to leave, leaving the entire episode of a Jerry Springer show for her to deal with. Oh no, that wasn’t about to happen. She grabs his arm and says, “You’re not going anywhere. We need to have a group meeting about the scrolls.”

Since when did Cordelia become the voice of reason? Geesh.

Wesley sighed and looked back at Angel and Eliot, who were still staring at each other without saying a word, probably both afraid to start. He looked back and noticed Nate had already slipped out and he replied. “I’ll find Nate and Buffy, I guess you go after Parker, Hardison, and Sophie.”

Cordelia saluted him with a smirk and he scoffed at her mocking before he stalked off to find his designated members of the team. Cordelia just laughed a bit before turning and telling the two men behind her, “Don’t move, we’ll be right back for the meeting. Then you two can…” She waved her hands, “Whatever all you want.”

Futile protests fell on deaf ears as Cordelia found her way out of the living room and down the hall to Sophie’s bedroom. She knocked on the door softly before just opening it and walking in, knowing she would be in there without question.

Sophie looked up from something she was writing when she heard the door open. She gave her a little smile and said softly, “Hey…”

“Hey, you alright?” Cordelia asked and sat next to her.

Sophie shrugged a little. “Yeah, just kind of slapped in the face by reality, but I’ll be alright. It’s Parker I’m worried about.”

“She’ll be alright, Hardison went after her,” Cordelia told her, and then watched Sophie noticeably sink a little. Cordelia cocked her head to the side and said, “I’m sure Nate’s coming to find you right now.”

“Then why did you find me first?” Sophie said, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

“I don’t know, maybe his first thought wasn’t ‘her bedroom’ like mine was.” Cordelia paused for a minute before speculating on her thoughts, “Your getting drawn in again, aren’t you?”

“What?” Sophie asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Parker.”

“No, of course not,” Sophie replied, but Cordelia didn’t find it all that convincing. She let it go though; she knew Sophie needed to work through a lot of stuff. So many things happened for her so fast over the last couple of days and she was, to say the least, confused about it all.

Cordelia patted Sophie’s leg a little and said, “Come on, we need to go talk about the scrolls.”

“Right,” Sophie said, and slowly put the notebook she was writing in down beside her before standing.

“What were you writing?” Cordelia asked as they both exited her bedroom.

“A letter to-” then she saw Nate coming towards them and exclaimed, “Nate, hi.”

“Sophie,” he said, coming up to them and taking her into his arms. “I was worried, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We’ll talk later, okay?” Sophie said, just as Wesley came around the corner and said:

“Oh, there you are.”

“Yeah, we found Nate, so go find Hardison and Parker,” Cordelia said, not really feeling the urge to run around the whole house.

“I can’t seem to locate Buffy either,” Wesley said with an annoyed tone.

“They’re all outside,” Nate said, and everyone looked at him. “I saw them when I stopped out there for a minute.”

Wesley put his hand up, “I’ll get them.” He turned and disappeared around the corner, leaving the three of them to walk back to the living room together.

When they got there, Angel and Eliot seemed to have decided to absolutely not move or speak at all. Cordelia stifled back a giggle before saying, “Alright boys, sit down. You both look broken.”

“What?” Angel said, confused for a minute, then realized he hadn’t moved and said. “Oh,” before promptly sitting down. His eyes flashed to Eliot, who sat directly next to him on the couch, before they both moved a little farther away from each other after realizing they were so close, though not by much.

“What’s going on?” Sophie asked, picking up on the vibes in the room.

“Fill you in later,” Cordelia whispers, which provoked a glare from Eliot.

Cordelia turned as she heard the rest of them walk in the room, and they all scattered around the living room to sit in various places. When everyone had gotten settled, Wesley started talking.

“As some of you know, I failed to read the prophecy in it’s entirety, but we do have some new information. For starters, Lindsay and Eliot are in fact twins.”

“I don’t know how I couldn’t have known that,” Eliot said, still trying to pretend that the prophecy is a bunch of crap.

“Separated at birth? Who knows?” Nate replied.

“Want me to try to get some information on it?” Hardison asked, looking at his friend.

Eliot looked at him and was silent for a minute, nodding, before saying sincerely, “Thanks man, I’d appreciate that.”

“No problem,” Hardison replied, and Cordelia saw Parker smile up at Hardison, who she was leaning on, which made Sophie glance over at them and Nate look at her. Oh boy.

“But the important thing about that, about Eliot recognizing Lindsay as his brother is that apparently that was when darkness and light will merge,” Wesley went on.

Buffy choked on her own breath and started coughing.

“Buffy?” Angel asked, looking at her.

“Huh? What? Nothing, I’m good,” Buffy answered, clearing her throat before anyone could pose the question.

Wesley blinked, but continued: “I’m not exactly sure what that means, because it spoke of a merging when Faith was impregnated, but I’m sure it doesn’t mean the same thing.”

“Definitely not,” Buffy said quickly. Everyone looked at her and she looked around at them, “What?”

“You’re acting like a spaz,” Cordelia told her, folding her arms in front of her chest. “What aren’t you saying?”

“Nothing!” Buffy protested. “I swear.”

“Liar,” Cordelia said, but turned away from her and back to Wesley. “Go on, Ms. Self-Righteous doesn’t want to share with the rest of the class.”

For once, Buffy didn’t retort back, probably happy the subject had been dropped.

“The merging is supposed to mark the start of a redemption, which I assume would mean the child, but I’m not positive. I’d have to go over this some more, but it also mentioned a change in destiny, so something good will ultimately happen from this merging,” Wesley said.

“So if me and Faith…” Buffy started, but then revised what she was about to say. “Merge or whatever it’s talking about, then the child will be good?”

“That’s what I can gather, but I’m not certain yet. For one, if that is true, then the redemption would have been predestined, which would leave nothing to chance, which it’s supposed to be. For two, it also spoke of Lindsay breaking a bond and if Eliot can prevent something, I’m not sure what, from happening before the ‘first moon rises’, which I believe signifies the turn of the first month since Faith’s conception, then I believe that means the child will be good.”

“Oh,” Buffy said, and made a grumpy face. “So within the next two weeks then probably?”

“Wait, what do I have to do?” Eliot asked.

“Like I said, I’m not sure. Will you all listen to me when I talk, please?” Wesley said, annoyed a bit.

“We’re just trying to figure all of this out,” Angel explained.

“Here’s a question,” Sophie said. “If Wolfram & Hart have the scrolls, why haven’t they come after Faith yet?”

Everyone was silent for a minute.

“They probably will,” Angel said, with a little sigh and looking at the basement door where Faith was being held.

“Uh, should we do something to beef up security around here then?” Hardison asked.

“I’ll get some more security cameras in a bit,” Nate said. “And we should probably take shifts watching the feed.”

“Just when I though I actually could get a full nights sleep,” Cordelia said sarcastically. “Sluts-A-Lot always ruins everything.”

Buffy shot her a look, which made Cordelia raise her eyebrows. Why was Buffy looking at her like that? But before she could question her, Wesley spoke again.

“Just let me mull over the prophecy for a bit and when I figure some more things out, we can hold another meeting. I don’t have it in front of me anymore, so it might take awhile to remember all the details.”

Nate nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll go get the extra cameras right now. Hardison, you can hook them up when we get back.”

“We?” Hardison asked him.

Nate looked at Sophie, “You’re going to come with me right?”

Sophie gave him a little apologetic look and replied, “I’d love to, but I’m not feeling so good right now, I’ll see you when you get back.”

Nate’s eyes flickered to Parker, and Cordelia inwardly groaned. He was so paranoid about her. Then again, he might have a reason to be. Not that she was entirely sure on the matter though.

As everyone departed, Cordelia followed Sophie back into her room. When she closed to door she said, “That letter is for Parker, isn’t it?”

Sophie shrugged and sat down before picking it up again. “I just want to clear some things up… but I don’t want to do it to her face.”

“Cop out,” Cordelia stated.

“No,” Sophie protested. “Just trust me, this is better.”

“Whatever you say,” Cordelia said and looked over the already half written letter, catching the part that read: ‘...fact that I care about you that I didn’t want to be around you, because I’m so bad at resisting temptation and you’re like a walking billboard for it.’ Before Sophie noticed her looking at it and put it away.

“Girl,” Cordelia warned, shaking her head. “Don’t mess with her head.”

“What? I’m not. I’m just being honest, and I know for a fact that’s something Parker appreciates,” Sophie justified.

“If you want my advice, which I know you don’t but I’m going to give it anyway: just let it go. You think you’re going to clear things up when in fact you’re going to complicate them even more,” Cordelia told her.

Sophie sighed, “I think… I just need her to know, that’s all.”

Cordelia shook her head again as she put her hand on the door handle to leave. “Just think about what I said. It’d be better if you didn’t.”

And then she was gone, leaving Sophie to think about what she just said.

REACHED THE POST LIMIT!
PART TEN IS HERE.