Sofi cocked her head to the side as she watched Connor bite down on a screwdriver and unsuccessfully unravel a cord of orange wire. "Need some help?" she offered, pinching the tip of the screwdriver.

"Thanks," Connor said, licking his lips. "It was starting to hurt my cheeks."

"I know we were supposed to work on this together, but then Nick railroaded the idea," said Sofi. "But you don't have to do this alone, you know? I can still help."

Connor nodded and carefully plugged the orange wires into the back of the black box he was leaning over. "I know, but you said that you had no idea how to create an electrical current to block anomalies," he said.

"Yeah, but I can still research magnetite and electrical currents," said Sofi. "You could've finished this by now."

"Eh, it's alright, I had fun researching different minerals and currents," said Connor. "Your job is pretty easy."

Sofi barked out a laugh. "Easy?" she repeated. "You think deep research is easy? You haven't done it properly if it was easy, Connor. Deep research is about deep diving and overturning every stone in your sights, and still not being satisfied with your answer."

"I found my answer fairly easy."

"Was you waist-high in books and papers?"

Connor shook his head.

"Then your deep dive and mine are two very different things," said Sofi. She looked around as the doors swung open and Lester, Nick, and Jenny walked out. "I hope you're prepared for a little show and tell," she added to her friend. "This is where your deep dive usually pays off."

"What do you -" Connor broke off as he spotted the others. A little bit of colour drained from his face and Sofi quirked an eyebrow at him.

Lester cleared his throat as he adjusted his tie. "So, this contraption is going to seal the anomalies, is it?" he asked Connor.

"Uh... in theory, yeah," said Connor, awkwardly.

"You know, after a million pounds' worth of research and development, I'm hoping for something a little more than theoretical," said Lester, clearly unimpressed.

"And you'll get it," Nick assured Lester. "I mean, in simple terms, this machine will reverse the polarity of the anomalies so that nothing gets in and nothing gets out."

Connor nodded.

Sofi smiled as Lester looked her way. "It's works on paper, which is why it's still theoretical," she explained. "Once Connor has got the device all set up, and in front of an active anomaly, will we be able to confirm it in active trials."

Lester took a deep, steady breath and then looked from Sofi to Nick, and finally to Connor. "I hope you're all right," he said, before walking away as Jenny called him.

Connor released the breath he had been holding and turned back to his device. He jumped as Cutter clapped him on the shoulder.

"You sure about this?" Nick asked.

"Pretty sure," Connor replied.

Sofi offered Nick a reassuring smile just as the Detector alarms started to blare. She jumped in surprise and followed Connor over to the three screens as he searched for the coordinates of the latest active anomaly.

"Oh my god," Connor breathed and Sofi felt her heart stop as the anomaly area was highlighted on the screen.

"Where is it?" Jayden asked, running into the room with Ryan and Becker.

"London General," Connor replied.

Sofi turned quickly to Nick. "Sam's working today," she said. "I can call ahead and start making plans to evacuate if needed."

"Call Sam and warn her about the possible threat," said Nick. "Don't make any drastic changes, just yet; we don't want to cause a panic."

Sofi nodded and took out her phone. "Call me as soon as you locate the anomaly," she called as Nick run out of the Ops room.

"You aren't coming?" Jayden asked as he passed.

"You've got this," Sofi said, holding her phone to her ear. "Just be careful."

Jayden looked curious as he followed Becker out of the main ops room, leaving Sofi and Ryan behind.

~X~

Jenny looked up from her workstation as Sofi entered the room behind her. "Hey, how you feeling?" she asked.

"Still a little freaked out, I guess," said Sofi.

"Have you spoken to anyone about what happened?" Jenny asked.

"Does Ryan count?"

Jenny smiled. "If his reaction was the desire to kill the dead guy, then I'd consider talking to someone else," she said. "You know, to spare him the mental imagery of another guy watching his girlfriend in the shower. That should be solely his job."

Sofi laughed and blushed simultaneously. "Okay, changing the subject," she said, chuckling. She glimpsed Jenny's computer screen and cocked her head to the side. "What you doing?" she asked.

"It seems you're not the only one with a stalker," said Jenny. "This is Mick Harper. He's an investigative journalist for the Evening News."

"I remember him from the Mammoth incident," said Sofi. "He was interviewing Jake's mother about what had happened."

Jenny nodded.

"Why's he stalking you?"

"Unfortunately, he knows something about what we do," said Jenny. "He showed up outside my house this morning, wanting an exclusive about the ARC and the anomalies. I told him to stay away from me or I'd call the police and have him arrested, but I'm concerned he may try and turn up here."

Sofi skimmed the article about Mick and then looked at Jenny. "If you print that off, I can put it on the bulletin board in the REC room. That way everyone is aware of this guy, and have a physical description of what he looks like. I can also warn security and they'll keep a lookout during patrols."

Jenny nodded and hit print on her keyboard. "This is why you're a genius," she said, causing Sofi to smile.

As the image and article printed out, Sofi's mobile vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out and answered the call. "Nick, is everything okay? Did you locate the anomaly yet?" she asked.

"We did, and I may need those beautiful brains of yours," said Nick.

Sofi laughed. "They're ready and abled," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to identify a creature for me."

"Do you have a description?"

"Not a very good one, I'm afraid."

"Tell me anyway."

"It's about medium-size, protruding teeth, with claws. It also scuttles around on all fours, belly against the floor, and it's said it looks like a ratty, beaver, chipmunk."

Sofi sucked the inside of her cheek as she fed the description into her computer. "Mhm. You could be dealing with some kind of rodent," she said. "What's the scene like? Has anything out of the ordinary been happening? Sam's texting me like crazy saying the lights are flashing and she's concerned about evacuations."

"The generator does seem to be on the fritz," said Nick.

"Electrical problems," said Sofi, tapping away at her computer. "Okay. You could be dealing with a Diictodon."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked. "Those creatures are socially inclined. There could be hundreds of them in here."

Sofi nodded. "Which is why after we hang up, I'm calling Sam and having her prepare evacuations," she said. "A Diictodon will chew its way through anything, including electrical wires. Their beaks would protect them from any running currents and they can do a lot of damage in a small space of time."

"Okay. Thanks, Sof. I'll call you back once we've finished," said Nick.

"Good luck." Sofi hung up and turned to Jenny. "They've got their hands full," she chuckled. "I better call Sam." She dialled her best friend's number.

While Sofi waited for an answer, Jenny fussed with her binder of papers. She arranged it and the rearranged it several times during the short conversation between friends. When it was over, Jenny turned quickly to the youngster.

"Can I ask you something?" Jenny asked.

"Does it have something to do with why you're so fidgety?" Sofi asked.

"I'm not," said Jenny.

Sofi quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned.

Jenny sighed and composed herself. "What do you think about Cutter?" she asked.

"That depends," said Sofi, setting her phone down on the desk. "In what way are we talking? I mean, I could list a thousand different ways of how he's a great guy. But, if you're thinking in the terms of, oh, I don't know, romantic? It would probably be a very shortlist."

Jenny looked pleading at Sofi.

Sofi sighed. "Alright. It's like this," she said. "I can't say much given the fact that he is my professor, and the whole student/teacher relationship thing is a taboo subject, also to mention the fact I am in a great relationship already with a guy that I'm totally in love with. But, if I was single and Nick wasn't my professor, then I guess I would say he's hot."

"Just hot?" Jenny asked, stunned.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Sofi whined.

"I'm curious," said Jenny. "Describe it to me."

Sofi groaned and took a deep breath. "Cutter is pretty hot, in an emotionally toxic 'don't come near me, I'm a romantic disaster' kind of way."

Jenny chuckled as Sofi buried her face in her hands. "Just my type, then," she said, reaching across to pat the young red-head on the shoulder.

"We're so going to hell," Sofi grumbled, raising her head.

"We?" Jenny laughed. "What did I do?"

"You made me say it," said Sofi. "I'm going to hell for saying it, and I'm taking you with me for making me say it."

Jenny laughed.

"Now I'm curious," said Sofi.

"Uh-oh," Jenny murmured causing Sofi to smile. "Nothing has happened," she added, pointing at the youngster. "Yet."

Sofi grinned. "I love how you added yet," she said. "So, when are you thinking of making the first move?"

"I'm still thinking I shouldn't."

"Why?" asked Sofi. "It's clear you're both head over heels for each other."

Jenny shrugged. "Sometimes I look at him and he stares at me like I'm her, you know?" she asked.

"Claudia Brown," said Sofi, sighing. "Look, I was there when Helen explained how you were supposed to have been Claudia Brown but evolution changed you into the woman you are today, and I've been thinking about it since she said it, and, to be honest, Jenny, I don't think she's right."

"You don't think I could've been someone else?"

"I'm not saying this Claudia Brown person didn't exist," said Sofi. "I mean, both Nick and Ryan described this woman to me in great detail. It'd be strangely weird for them both to create the same woman out of thin air, so I am inclined to believe that a Claudia Brown did exist once in both their lives."

Jenny looked interested.

"But for her to have changed into you? We would've known about her, too," said Sofi. "By we, I mean, me and the others. But we don't, we don't have any memory of her. Furthermore, both Ryan and Nick say that I am different, too. My history has changed from what they knew about me, which makes me think that this Claudia Brown exists in another timeline."

Jenny cocked her head to the side. "Different timeline?" she repeated.

"Can you pass me a sheet of paper from the printer?" Sofi asked. Jenny did and placed it on the table. The redhead took her pen and drew a line on the paper. "This is our timeline," she explained, before drawing a second line adjacent to the first. "This is the line that Claudia Brown exists in. My theory is, and I've shared this with Connor, and he backed me up with his knowledge on timelines."

Jenny nodded as she followed along.

"Now, both Nick and Ryan have memories of me that don't align with my history," said Sofi. "They both say that when they first met me, I either spoke of my father Christopher or I was seen with him. My dad has been dead for eleven years, so how could they have met him? The only thing that fits my history, is that my dad worked for the Home Office. Still with me?"

Jenny nodded. "I think so," she said. "One thing I'm still confused on, however, is if Nick and Ryan came from that timeline," she pointed at the second line. "How are they here?"

"When you were a child, did you ever look in the mirror and think that a whole other world could exist in there? Another you existed?"

"Sometimes, yeah."

Sofi nodded. "I did too. I even gave it a name - the Mirror Effect - It's like the flipside of our lives. Nick and Ryan stepped through the Forest of Dean anomaly, and when they returned they came back to our world, not theirs. They're on the other side of the mirror. Everything is essentially the same in these two worlds, except minor things have changed - Claudia Brown became Jenny Lewis, Christopher Wyatt died from his injuries instead of recovering, I was raised by a foster family, instead of my dad."

"But how could all these things have changed?"

"In layman's terms, I would say that Helen exploited the Mirror Effect," said Sofi. "She experimented with Nature on a small scale to see just exactly what she could do, and she created a whole other world - a reversed world, where things are the same, but also a little different."

Jenny nodded slowly.

"That didn't help answer your question, though, did it?" Sofi asked, smiling.

"Not really, no," Jenny chuckled.

Sofi nodded. "Then, try and think of it this way. We've all got baggage when it comes to relationships," she said. "Try not to dwell too much on Claudia Brown when you're with Nick. Just enjoy your time with him. I'll admit, when Ryan first told me about this other Sofi, I was jealous and scared. Everything about her is the reverse of me, and I was concerned that he wouldn't want to be with me because I wasn't the girl he fell in love with. But, I had to stop worrying, because there is nothing I can do to change what has happened."

"Now that is what I would call layman's terms," Jenny teased.

Sofi laughed and lay back in her seat.

~X~

Later, after their chat, Sofi left Jenny at her workstation and headed back to her lab. She was in the process of researching the myth about the Kraken when she heard Lester's voice outside her door. Looking up, she caught sight of Cutter through the glass and checked her phone. He was supposed to have called her when he was on his way back.

Shaking her head, Sofi put down her phone and slid off her seat. Underneath the table, playing with a dropped pen lid was Topaz, the pup lifted his head and yapped as Sofi wandered towards the door, opening it an inch and sticking her head through the gap.

"Cutter, you're back," Sofi said, smiling. "Great. I've just started researching the Kraken, but I did manage to verify another date. I need you to check it before I add it to the model."

Sofi withdrew back into the lab and Cutter followed her. He watched as she gathered her papers and stuffed them into a yellow binder, storing them on the desk behind her. When she turned back to face him, she smiled and nodded to the adjacent door. "How did it go at the hospital?" she asked. "Was I right about the creatures being Diictodons?"

Nick didn't reply. He merely stared at Sofi.

"Are you alright?" Sofi asked, cocking her head to the side. She then shook it and led him through into the storage room. "You know what? Never mind. Let's just take a look at these equations. They're as accurate as possible, but I still need you to give them the once over."

"I'm busy now," said Nick. "You carry on with your work."

"Yeah, trying," said Sofi. She picked up the marker from the board and pressed it against the palm of her hand. "Now, if we feed these figures into the model, I think..."

"Be quiet."

Sofi lifted her gaze to meet Nick's and furrowed her brow. "What?" she asked, stunned by the bluntness of his tone.

"I said, be quiet," Nick repeated.

"But -"

"You've changed," said Jenny, appearing in the doorway. She was carrying a folder under her arm. "Your clothes," she added as Nick turned to her. "You weren't wearing that before. Did something happen at the hospital?"

"Yes," Nick answered, still staring at Sofi. He could see the confusion in her eyes as she maintained his gaze, but he could also tell that she was thinking long and hard about every word he was saying.

"Sofi, are you okay?" Jenny asked.

Sofi tore her gaze away from Nick and offered Jenny a half-smile. "Everything's fine," she said. "Just got a lot of work to do." She returned her attention to Nick. "I understand that you're busy, Professor. I guess we'll go through this later. I've got other work to be getting on with."

Leaving the room, Sofi headed down the hall to the armoury and found Ryan cleaning his gun. He looked up as she entered, concern etching its way into his eyes as he saw the look on her face.

"What's is it?" Ryan asked, setting down his gun. "What happened?"

"It's Nick," said Sofi. "I think something's wrong."

~X~

After her conversation with Ryan, Sofi headed back to her lab. Her thoughts were still clouded with their conversation and her concerns that something was very wrong with her professor. He had never once cut her off when speaking, and he usually always looked forward to what she had to say in terms of her research.

The anomaly model was as much her baby as it was his, and she put most of the work into creating it. While Nick was the one that had created the grand sized on in the storage lab, Sofi had been the person that had initially created it on a computer. She researched the different points in time were myths were created and seen, and Nick verified the calculations before adding them to the model.

It was how they worked. She researched and he verified. So why was Nick seemingly shutting her out now?

Returning to her lab, Sofi stopped dead as she caught movement through the window. She peered in through the glass and saw two soldiers moving in on Topaz, having cornered him under her desk on the far side of the room. Furrowing her brow, Sofi pushed open her lab door and whistled.

Immediately, Topaz evaded the soldier's hands and bounded over to Sofi, she scooped him and glared at the two men as they turned to face her. Sofi felt her eyes widening as she recognised the faces of the two men. They were identical, but, what was more, and definitely strange, was they were identical to the man that Becker had shot a few days ago, and the man that had died at the jaws of a mega scorpion.

"No way," Sofi breathed.

Backing out of the room, Sofi collided with another body and turned quickly to apologise. She stopped dead as she looked up into the face of a smirking Aaron Black. He grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall outside her lab door.

"Hello again, Sofi," Aaron said. "Did you miss me?"

Sofi swallowed hard.

"Easy, kid, I need her alive."

Sofi groaned inwardly as Helen Cutter appeared behind Aaron. Being herded behind her, by another cleaner clone, were Lester and Jenny.

"What the hell have you done, Helen?" Sofi asked.

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Sofi?" Helen asked. "I'm disappointed."

Sofi glared at the older woman. "How did you even get in here?" she asked. "The ARC has been on red alert since my brother killed your lapdog."

Helen laughed. "I guess I knew the right people," she said, looking over Sofi's head.

Sofi followed her gaze and her eyes widened. "I knew something was wrong with you," she said, as Nick walked towards her.

"Then why didn't you say something?" Lester asked.

"Because I had to be sure," said Sofi. She stared at Nick but he merely walked straight past her and held a gun at Lester's head.

Lester's eyes widened and then he met Nick's gaze. "You are so fired," he said.

"Don't kill him yet," said Helen, walking past her husband.

"'Yet', hmm," said Lester with his usual sarcasm. He looked back at Cutter, "What have you done?" he asked as the cleaner clone urged him to follow after Helen.

Aaron tightened his grip on Sofi's arm and dragged her down the hall after the others. "Where's the Captain, Sof?" he asked. "Uh? Where's Ryan?"

Sofi glared up at the soldier that had tormented her since the moment they had met two years ago. Without saying a word, she turned and walked into the room that Jenny and Lester were in, and turned to face Helen as she stood in the door.

"I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish here, Helen," said Sofi. "But, whatever you've done to Nick, won't last."

"You think so?" Helen asked, smirking. "I guess we'll see who is right, huh?" She turned to the Cleaner clone. "Guard this door. Shoot anyone who tries to get in or out. Obey no one else. My voice is the only voice you recognise."

The cleaner clone nodded.

Helen locked gazes with Sofi once more and grinned. "Don't worry, Sofi, you won't be in here for very long," she said.

The door closed.

"So, Cutter's finally gone native," said Lester, folding his arms.

"He would never betray us," Jenny defended.

"If I'm not mistaken, he just did," said Lester, holding up his phone. "Great. No service."

Sofi turned to Jenny and Lester. "Ryan's still in the ARC," she said. "I just left him in the armoury. He'll figure out soon that something is wrong and either come to help us, or call for backup."

"Unless he gets caught first," said Jenny.

"He's a trained soldier. He knows what he is doing," said Sofi, shaking her head. "I'm more concerned with how Helen spoke to the guard. It was like as if he had no will of his own, he just responded to everything she told him."

Jenny looked thoughtful and then nodded. "You're right, it was like he was programmed to obey her voice," she said.

"Exactly. He didn't even seem to hear the rest of us," Lester agreed.

"The only person that seemed to interact with us, at all, was Black."

Subconsciously, Sofi rubbed her arm.

"So all we have to do is get her to change her instructions," said Lester, sliding his hands into the pockets on his trousers.

"Why would she do that?" Jenny asked.

"Maybe we can do it for her," said Lester, looking up at Sofi.

Sofi cocked her head to the side and then turned to the only computer in the room. "I have an idea," she said, pulling out the chair and booting up the system.

Jenny and Lester crowded around.

"If I can access the archives," Sofi explained as she worked. "Then I can find the interrogation file that we have on Helen from the last time she was here. I can then rearrange the wording and create a whole new file, using just her voice and a very specific set of instructions."

Sofi worked in silence for a few minutes. She entered the archives through a back door server, as not to set off any alarms in the ARC and alert Helen to what they were doing.

"Is there anything in my voice, Lester? Anything at all that's telling you there's nothing you can do to make me obey you? Nothing will stop me doing what I have to do."

Sofi moved the mouse over the wavelength box and highlighted the dialogue sequence she needed, she then copied it into a new file, before doing the same procedure again but on a different part of the wavelength. When she was done, she looked up at Jenny and Lester and pressed play.

"Stop. Do nothing, obey my voice."

Jenny gasped and looked at Sofi, clapping the young girl on the shoulder. "Way to go," she said.

"Now comes the hard part," said Sofi. "We have to play it over the internal sound system. Only problem, we can't do that from in here."

Jenny and Lester sighed.

The door opened and the trio looked around to see Connor and Abby shuffle into the room. The guard pointed his gun at Sofi and motioned for her to move.

"What do you want with her?" Jenny asked, standing in front of Sofi.

"Helen wants her," said Abby. "Her orders were to put Connor and I with you, and bring Sofi to her."

Sofi squeezed Jenny's hand. "I'll be okay," she said. "Just figure out how we can stop this."

Jenny held on to Sofi for as long as she could before the Cleaner clone pulled the youngster out into the hallway.

The doors closed again.

~X~

Nick looked from his clone to his wife, and then back again. Under any other circumstances, he would've been thoroughly impressed, maybe even flattered, but this wasn't something he had been expecting when he returned to the ARC. "You created this?" he asked.

"I borrowed the technology from the future," Helen answered. "He's made from your DNA. Perfect in every physical detail."

"Physical?" Nick repeated.

"Hmm. It has limited intelligence, enough to follow basic instructions," Helen explained.

"He's still a human being, though, right?"

Helen shrugged indifferently. "Free will is what makes us human," she said, staring into the face of her creation. "This creature is... well, it's nothing more than a living photocopy."

Nick run his eyes over the clone and then paused, taking in and understanding Helen's words. He sighed and looked at his wife. "Please tell me you didn't do this to Stephen," he asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.

"No matter what they look like, they can never be the original," Helen stated. She turned away and smiled as a cleaner clone returned with Sofi. She watched as the youngster spotted Nick and his clone, and looked between the pair.

"Nick?" Sofi asked, warily.

"It's okay, Sof," Nick said, as the clone remained motionless. Despite it not saying anything, though, it did turn at the sound of its name.

Sofi run across the lab and wrapped her arms around her Professor. She could already tell, by the sound of his voice and the fondness in how he said her name, that he was the real thing.

Helen sniffed as she watched her husband hug the youngster back. Their relationship had changed from the teacher and his student kind, and into something more domestic, familiar. Helen hadn't been entirely sure before now, but she could see that Sofi view Nick as a surrogate father, and Nick saw her as an adopted daughter.

"I knew it weren't you," said Sofi, spying the clone. "I just couldn't be sure." She pulled out of the hug and looked around for Helen. "I don't understand why you're doing this. What do you get out of this?"

Helen cocked her head to the side as she leaned against a work station. "I've seen the final destruction of almost every living creature on this once beautiful planet," she stated.

"Humanity has been heading for an extinction event since the minute they evolved," said Sofi. "It was only a matter of time before Mother Nature wiped them out, or they wiped out themselves."

"But I can stop it," said Helen, boldly. "I can save us from them."

Sofi shook her head.

"Look, whatever is going to happen is going to happen, and we have to leave it alone," said Nick. "I mean, look what happened the last time. You killed Stephen."

"I didn't kill Stephen," Helen replied, defensively. "You did. You both did," she added, casting a look at Sofi.

Sofi glared hard at the older woman.

"We all know that the course of evolution can be changed," Helen continued. "I can restore balance."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Nick interrupted. "That no matter how many times you interfere, you still can't get the result you want, because evolution can't be bent to your will."

Helen stared at her husband. "I hope you're wrong," she said, quietly.

"I still don't understand what this has to do with the ARC?" said Sofi. "I mean, of all the places to ambush us, you do it here? Why? There has to be a reason. You don't take over a place unless there is a significant value to it, or you can exploit something to your advantage."

Helen chuckled softly. "You don't know it yet, but I do," she said.

"Know what?" Nick asked, exasperated.

"Your work will lead to predators being created here in this precious ARC of yours," Helen said, looking around the room.

Sofi bit back a scoff and shook her head. How naive did Helen think they were? The future predators were not a force to be trifled with, and there was no way either she or Nick would ever consider, much less allow anyone, to create them in the ARC.

"I'd never sanction that," said Nick.

"I've seen them, in the future. Troops from the ARC," said Helen.

Sofi shook her head. "If everything has been destroyed then how do you know that the troops were from the ARC?" she asked.

"The ARC changes over time," Helen explained. "The uniforms will soon adorn the crest of the ARC on their shoulders. I've seen them."

"Oh, no, you've got it wrong," said Nick.

"You haven't done it yet, maybe not," said Helen. "But sooner or later you will and it has to be stopped. You... you have to be stopped."

"You're talking crazy!" Sofi protested.

"Am I, Sofi?" Helen questioned. "You can't stand there and tell me you've never been curious about where the Predators came from? How they were created? Who created them?"

"Of course I have!" Sofi stated. "But that doesn't mean I'd recreate them. Those things took my whole family from me; they killed my friends and almost got Ryan, too. So no, I don't believe you when you say that we'd create them."

"If you're so sure of this, then why didn't you get your creature to kill us when he had the chance?" Nick asked, nodding at his clone. "Why don't you just shoot us now?"

"Because there is something I still don't understand," said Helen. She removed the long tube from her back and set it on the table.

Sofi watched as she unzipped the top end and removed a thick, steel tube from inside. It was decimated and covered in dirt and grime, but it looked like a battery for a supercomputer. "What's that?" she asked.

"That's what I'm hoping you'd be able to tell me," said Helen.

"You expect me to know just by looking at it?" Sofi asked. "Come on, Helen. You know me better than that. I need to clean it up first, and then look into research before I can give a definite answer."

Helen shook her head. "I don't have time for all that," she said.

"Then I can't help you," said Sofi.

"Shame." Helen turned to Nick. "What about you, Professor?" she asked.

Nick smirked and met his wife's gaze. "I know exactly what it is," he answered, turning his back.

Sofi furrowed her brow and looked after him.

"Tell me," said Helen.

"No," Nick replied, simply. "You can go to hell."

Sofi met Nick's gaze, and although he didn't say anything, she could tell that he was bluffing. She bit back a grin, realising his game plan.

"Give him ten seconds, and then shoot Sofi," said Helen.

"What?" Sofi cried. She looked from Helen to the Cutter clone and stepped back in alarm as it raised a gun right at her.

Nick took a step forward but was stopped as Aaron Black got between him and Sofi, holding him at gunpoint also.

"Nick," Sofi pleaded, her eyes trained on the gun aimed at her head. She'd been hurt a few times in the past - collided with, attacked by a predator, hit over the head numerous times - but she'd never been shot, and she didn't expect it to feel all that good.

"It's okay, Sofi," Nick said, trying to sound reassuring. "He won't shoot you."

"I think he begs to differ," Sofi said, as the clone started counting. He was already at five, and he didn't seem to intend on stopping,

Nick looked from Sofi to Helen. "What does this get you?" he asked. "If you kill her then I will never tell you what that is. Stop it, now."

"How much does Sofi mean to you, Nick?" Helen asked. "Surely her life is worth more than the titbits' of information you can give me."

The clone had reached nine.

"Nick," Sofi pleaded. "We're out of time."

"Okay," Nick said, quickly. "Okay, I'll tell you."

Helen walked over to the clone and smiled, patiently. "Put the gun down," she ordered. The clone did and Sofi sank onto a stool, gasping back a sob as tears appeared in her eyes. She'd been close to death before, but somehow this time it felt different.

Shoving past Aaron, Nick knelt beside Sofi and drew her into a hug, her body trembling in the aftermath.

"Do nothing, obey my voice. Stop, do nothing, obey my voice."

Nick looked up as Helen's voice echoed around the ARC. He sighed in relief and looked down at Sofi, her eyes shone with unshed of tears but there was a look of victorious relief on her face. "You did this?" he asked, quietly.

"I can't take credit for the idea," Sofi said.

Panic and anger flashed across Helen's face as all over the Ops room her clones looked up and lowered their weapons. "No, stop, that's not me," she shouted, trying to drown out the recording. "Stop, that's not me. That's not me!"

"It's over, Helen," Nick said, straightening up.

Helen glared at the pair and then turned to her Cutter clone. "Listen to my voice. Complete your mission," she ordered.

The glassy look in the clones eye nerved Sofi, and the feeling only got worse as he turned away and opened one of the black boxes near the detector. Sofi's eyes widened and her heartbeat quickened as she recognised the final part of Helen's plan.

"That's a bomb..."

Leaving Sofi's side, Nick raced to his clone and attempted to get him to reconsider his orders.

"You don't have to stay here, Sofi," said Helen, turning to the youngster. "I've offered you a place at my side many times, and I'm still waiting for you to realise your potential. But, I can assure you that it is wasted here at the ARC. You're destined for great things, but the ARC only looks to exploit you. Come with me."

Sofi glared at Helen. "I know where I belong, Helen," she said. "I belong here, at the ARC. Trying to protect two of the Earth's biggest species. I'm not interested in what you've seen, or any theories on what you believe may happen. My future isn't set in stone."

"You're making the wrong choices, Sofi," said Helen. "I hope you realise that."

"I'm ready and willing to face the consequences of my choices. Are you?"

Helen smirked and turned to Aaron. "We're leaving," she said.

"What about her?" Aaron asked, nodding at Sofi.

"Not yet," said Helen. "I'll give her one more chance to see things my way. But this is the final chance, Sofi. Next time you won't get away alive."

Sofi watched as Helen and Aaron left the Ops room, and she returned her attention to Cutter and his clone. He had managed to talk the clone down from detonating the bomb at least that is what it looked like. The clone looked to be contemplating his orders before he met Cutter's gaze with a defiant look.

"Save her."

Nick returned to Sofi's side and took her arm firmly in his grasp. "Run," he told her, pushing her towards the doors.

Sensing the urgency in his tone, Sofi didn't argue.

They had barely reached the second set of doors when the explosion hit. Sofi glimpsed a massive fireball engulfing the Ops room as she turned the corner, leading down to where the others had been taken.

She screamed, covering her head with her arms. The whole hallway rocked in the blast wave, and there were numerous crashes and smashes as objects fell from shelves and desks in the many rooms surrounding the Ops centre.

"Nick!" Sofi yelled as his grip on her arm disappeared. The ARC was filling up with thick black clouds of smoke, and it was getting harder and harder for her to see anything. The place had been completely and utterly destroyed, smaller fires littered the hallways, and rooms were completely obliterated.

Sofi stumbled past her lab and the matrix room, her heart falling into her stomach as she saw the destruction that had befallen them. Her research had gone up in flames, along with her laptop and thesis. Tears blurred her vision and washed away the soot and grime that had settled on her face as she stared around at the chaos.

"Sofi, are you down here?"

Someone barged and kicked their way through the destruction and Sofi turned to see that it was Ryan and Jayden. The pair looked relieved to see her, and she all-but fell into Ryan's arms as he reached her side.

"It's okay," Ryan said, cradling her head as she sobbed into his shoulder. He wound one arm around her waist, and then hooked the other under her legs, lifting her into his arms. He turned to Jayden and nodded once. "Let's get out of here."

Jayden nodded in return and led the way back through the chaos and out into the crowded carpark.

Sofi could hear people talking over one another, all of them wondering what the hell had happened. She lifted her head from Ryan's shoulder and looked around for her friends, spotting them all clustered together in a small group near Cutter's jeep.

Ryan headed in their direction, setting Sofi back on her feet. She was lifted again as Becker ambushed her in a hug, looking relieved that she was alive. A little banged up, maybe, but alive nonetheless.

"Where's Helen?" Nick asked, breaking the happy reunion.

The team turned in his direction. Why did he suddenly care about the woman that had just tried to kill them all?

"She must be still inside," Connor coughed, retching up the smoke that he had inhaled.

Nick looked up at the burning building and then turned to take a flashlight from Jayden.

"Nick, she wouldn't lift a finger to save you," said Jenny, striding forward and grabbing his arm.

"Yeah, I know," said Nick.

"Don't go," Jenny pleaded. "This is a mistake."

Nick stared at Jenny with a deep fondness before forcing a small smile. His mind had been made up, he was going to save Helen, despite knowing she wouldn't do the same in return.

"Nick!" Sofi yelled as Cutter run back into the smoke and flames.

"Where the hell is he going?" Lester asked, hanging up his phone call. "Cutter!"

But Nick didn't heed their calls, and soon they couldn't see him as he was engulfed in thick black clouds of smoke.

~X~

Time seemed to stop as the team waited for Nick to return with Helen. Neither of them was sure what was happening inside the ARC. Had he found her? Had she already disappeared and he was struggling to find a way back out? Had the entrance caved in after he had re-entered and he was trapped?

In the time that Nick had left them, Ryan had taken Sofi to a paramedic to get her checked over. She was relatively fine - a few bruises and minor scratches, but nothing serious, even the blood that pooled across her tongue, leaving a tangy and metallic after taste had a reasonable and minor explanation.

The paramedic had advised that she take it easy for a few days, but he didn't say that she needed to be off work. During the chaos, Sam had been called from London General to assist with the triage of patients, she had already checked on the team, agreeing with the paramedics' assessment of Sofi before moving on to other patients.

As she sat in the back of an ambulance, Sofi stared off into the distance. Her hands were clasped together and rested under her chin as she waited for Nick to return. Why was he taking so long? What was happening? Why hadn't he returned yet? Every possible scenario - good and bad - raced through her head, churning her thoughts.

Ryan sat himself down beside Sofi, a small bundle of fur in his arms.

Topaz barked and leapt into Sofi's lap, pawing at her chest with his front feet and licking her face. Her composure broke and she smiled down at the pup. He barked as she run her fingers through his fur, and he curled up in her embrace.

"He's been gone too long," Sofi whispered.

"Temple's gone searching," Ryan answered.

Sofi looked at him wildly. "What?" she asked, rising from her seat.

"It was against all better judgement," said Ryan, placing his hand on her shoulder and forcing her back down. "Besides, he had gone before we even realised what he was doing."

"You didn't go after him?"

"Jayden did."

In her panic, Sofi looked towards the ARC doors. Now, not only was her professor trapped in the burning building, two of her best friends were, too. "Someone has to go get there," she said. "Helen's not working alone anymore. Aaron is in there, too. Jayden's been wanting at him since he hit me down at the marina."

"Sofi, calm down," said Ryan. "They'll be -"

"WE NEED AN AMBULANCE!"

Sofi and Ryan both looked around as Lester's voice shouted across the carpark. All paramedics and first responders were busy checking over other patients, and most ambulances had already been dispatched to nearest hospitals with those who needed better medical care.

Through the chaos, Sofi was able to make out three figures stumbling out of the ARC. Connor, Jayden, and Nick. She breathed a sigh of relief, before realising that Jayden was carrying Nick, instead of supporting him in his walk.

"No," Sofi breathed, her breath catching in her throat. She stood, her legs mindlessly carrying her back towards the ARC. She pushed through the team, as they gathered around the trio. Jayden was kneeling on the ground and Nick was lying motionless beside him, whilst Connor stood over the pair, clutching Helen's artefact.

"WHERE'S THAT AMBULANCE!" Lester yelled.

"It's too late," Connor said his voice low and quiet.

"What?" Abby murmured her voice breaking.

Sofi stared at Connor, her vision blurring as tears filled her eyes. She looked down at Nick, the tears rolling down her cheek and smudging the grime that she had yet to wash away. Her heart raced and she felt light-headed as she gasped for breath.

Ryan tried to wrap his arms around Sofi. Tried to draw her in and offer her some form of comfort, but she wouldn't allow him. She pulled away and knelt beside Nick, brushing aside his fringe and hoping that he would wake up. But she knew he wouldn't. He'd never wake up. She'd never see his kind, blue eyes again, or hear his enthusiastic voice as she explained her theories to him.

He was gone.

"We need to get this man in an ambulance, now!" Lester yelled.

Squeezing her eyes closed, Sofi turned away from Nick and finally accepted the comfort that Ryan was offering. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried. She hadn't cried or felt this sort of pain since losing her family thirteen years ago, and while the pain should've been different, it wasn't.