Introductions

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Part 25

( Last Hypatia part: Ricky shrugged and gave her a smug smile. "Why be formal? We're family, after all."

"Yes," Hypatia sighed sadly, "And that fact brings me no joy whatsoever," she said quietly, "brothers.")

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Iggy-- or Farrell as he prefered to be called-- let his irritated gaze sweep over the woman. "You chose well. Your body, anyway. What do you want?"

"Gods, Farrell, shut up! She could..."

"Do exactly nothing to us? Yeah, I know, Ricky. We can't harm each other, remember?" He stared at Hypatia, crossing his arms. "Well? I'm waiting."

She looked around, one brow arched. "If this is really where you want to have this conversation, fine. It'll save me some time."

She brushed past the two men and stepped into the recessed doorway, straightening the drugged blonde's skirt and turning her to sit in the doorway, propped against the door. With any luck, she'd think she'd just gotten drunk and wandered off before passing out.

"As for what I want," she continued coldly, "I want to know what the HELL you two think you're doing! This is NOT what we became human for, in case you've forgotten."

Farrell laughed, truly amused. "We became mortal, sister-dear, to FEEL. To exercise free will. Unfortunately for you and your precious 'Powers', MY free will tells me that this is JUST what we should be doing."

Hypatia blinked, her stomach rolling sickly all of a sudden. "And you, Ricky? This is what you think is right? You're not worried about what you're doing to innocent people, to yourself, even to your sou..."

"Oh, I know you're not about to say 'soul'." Farrell was laughing again. "Or haven't you figured it out yet, sis? We don't HAVE souls. How could we? We may be mortal and have human bodies now, but we're NOT human. Not on the inside. How can you not see that?"

He obviously believed what he was saying; it was clear in his eyes, his face. The only question was how he'd gotten such a bizarre idea.

"Don't tell me you're buying his line of bullshit Ricky. Is that why you're letting him tell you what to do? Letting him make you hurt people?"

"Nobody's getting hurt!" Ricky finally said, glancing at Farrell quickly. "They don't remember it and... come on, Hy. It's just for fun! Besides, Farrell's right. We DON'T have souls. None of us. If we did, do you really think I'd be..."

Her violet eyes narrowed and she wanted to scream. "So you DO buy his crap. That's perfect. I suppose I chose my body better than you did yours. At least mine has a functioning brain."

The shorter, darker man laughed again, bitterly this time. "You really HAVEN'T figured it out yet, have you? We. Have. No. Souls. Because WE aren't HUMAN. Or to put it another way... the souls that were born to our bodies, sister...? They DIED with the brains and bodies for that moment before WE took over. We moved into empty shells. A few memories but no personalities, no SOULS!"

His smile was just as bitter as his laugh had been. "WE provide the... spark. Not anything born of light. We may be mortal, but we are NOT human, Hypatia. Not in any way that counts. There is no Heaven or Hell dimension waiting for us. What we do... doesn't matter."

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She'd waited for long, stunned seconds, waiting for the Powers to tell her Iggy was lying... that he misunderstood or was just plain wrong. Then she'd waited for even longer disillusioned minutes, still hoping as the two men stared at her.

"That... I... it isn't..." she frowned and swallowed hard, shaking her head. "I refuse to accept that. It can't be true. If it is, then... our whole existence, the deal we made, our whole purpose is..."

"Death and nothingness," Ricky said sadly. "We're just here to feel. And when these bodies... die, we'll just disappear. And maybe that was the plan all along. The Powers couldn't kill us while we were one and eternal, could they? We were too strong. But if they could trick us, get us to choose mortality, then..."

"They remove a whole lot of power that could be used against them someday," Iggy finished for him. "And it worked, didn't it?" He frowned. "Do you get it NOW, Hypatia? Your Powers SCREWED us. Me and Ricky... we're just screwing them back a little is all."

"No," she almost whispered, backing away towards the girl who was still collapsed in the doorway. "I don't... I WON'T believe it! They're just... testing us! Yes, that's it! The Powers are testing us and you two are going to FAIL!"

Farrell shook his head and looked at Ricky. "Let's get out of here, bro." He glanced back at the tall black-haired woman. "When you realize we're right, Hy, find us. We'll teach you how to have some REAL fun."

She barely even noticed them walking away. She was too busy listening to the echoing silence in the corner of her brain where the Powers should have been telling her that Farrell and Ricky were wrong.

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(AN: Thanks to the ever faithful TheShadowCat ReityGirl Cathy and Susan for the reviews Always appreciated guys! *grins*)