A/N: Aren't I evil?  Another interlude!  But there's a reason…there's ALWAYS a reason for everything I write, even if it seems insignificant.  And this is a very important interlude.  Lyrics from Fighter by Christina Aguilera.

            ~Interlude Two~

            Leslie opened her eyes slowly, panic setting in before she remembered where she was.  She shakily sat up, eyes widening when she saw Kurt sleeping in a chair next to her bed.  Oh, sweet Lord…did I tell him I loved him?

            The Lord, being very busy with the infinite things He does, did not answer, at least not in a way she recognized.  Not that Leslie really expected Him to, but considering the way her life had been going lately, she was a little annoyed that he didn't.

            Oh, yeah, I'm definitely on pain killers.

            She rose on weak legs, silently and slowly moving toward the attached bathroom.  She sat on the toilet seat the moment she entered, exhausted from the short walk.  Reaching over, she grabbed a wash cloth, wetting it and doing her best to clean her broken body.

            No, she reminded herself, running the cloth over her neck and chest.  Not broken anymore.  Hank fixed that.

            But her heart told her otherwise as she removed the hospital gown to get to her tattooed back.  You'll never be whole again.  The Pontiff made sure of that…

            Well I thought I knew you
            Thinking that you were true
            Guess I, I couldn't trust
            Called your bluff
            time is up
            cause I've had enough

            She'd trusted him.  That was the thing that got her.  The whole time…she'd thought he was helping her, trying to cure her.  He'd made her believe she didn't even deserve clothes, then made her love him.

            You were there by my side
            always down for the ride
            but your joyride
            just came down in flames
            cause your deeds
            sold me out in shame

            She'd been worse than a slave.  Slaves had minds of their own, parts of themselves that were there's alone.  She hadn't.  He may not have been able to read her thoughts, but he'd hand selected them.  She'd been a Beast.  He'd made her one.


            After all of the stealing, your cheating
            you probably think
            that I hold resentment for you
            but...you're wrong

            Cause if it wasn't for all that
            you tried to do
            I wouldn't know
            just how capable
            I am to pull through 


            so I wanna say thank you

            But she felt…strong.  Good.  Since entering this world, she'd been scared and alone, dependent on others to protect her.  Not there.  There, she'd been the one to save everyone.  The Pontiff had made her strong.

            She didn't dwell on the thought.


            Cause it makes me that much stronger
            Makes me work a little bit harder
            It makes me that much wiser
            So thanks for making me a fighter
            Made me learn a little bit faster
            Made my skin a little bit thicker
            It makes me that much smarter
            So thanks for making me a fighter

            She stared at her naked back in the mirror, craning her neck to see the entire design.  She hated it…but she loved it, too, sadistic as it sounded.  She'd had words carved into her flesh with hot knives, a burning solution poured over them to make them dark…and she was still here.  Alive.


            Never saw it coming
            all of your backstabbing
            just so you could
            cash in on my good thing
            before I realized your game

            I heard your going round
            playing the victim now
            but don't even begin
            feeling I'm the one to blame
            cause you dug your own grave

            She'd killed them.  At least ten she could remember, their faces burned as deeply in her memory as the symbols on her arms.  She'd felt them die, the bright light that was Life going out in each of them.  The last thing they experienced was pain.  Horrible pain, and the shock of watching their bodies decay before their eyes.

            She felt no pity for them.  She wondered if she'd ever feel it again.


            After all of the fights and the lies
            guess you wanted to harm me
            but that won't work any more
            no more...it's over
           
            Cause if it wasn't for
            all of your torture
            I wouldn't know how
            to be this way now and
            never back down

            so I wanna say thank you

            She'd go through it again, if she had to.  Because the Leslie who'd been was gone, hidden in the back of her mind now.  She was new, fresh.  A baptism of blood and pain it was. 

            Cause it makes me that much stronger
            Makes me work a little bit harder
            It makes me that much wiser
            So thanks for making me a fighter
            Made me learn a little bit faster
            Made my skin a little bit thicker
            It makes me that much smarter
            So thanks for making me a fighter

            She stared at her reflection, forcing herself to stand in front of the mirror.  Her eyes…before they'd been like shadows.  Now they were flint.  Her hair, ragged and burnt…she grabbed a pair of scissors, evening it out.  It was still long, past her shoulder blades…but it too was different now.

            She made her way back to the bed, noticing with some amusement that Kurt hadn't moved.  Kurt…did she love him?  Did he really love her, or had she made him think so…And did she love him, or was it just her power picking up on his feelings.  More things to deal with.

            She came to a decision, then, though she wouldn't consciously recognize it until later.  She needed to be on her own…she needed to get away.  To think…to pray…and to plan a way to kill the Pontiff.  And if she needed the Darkness to do it…so what?