Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad you didn't wanted to tear me apart when Paige showed up :)

scabbedwings - As you wish my lady.

Number 6 - I hope you can forgive me for what's going to happen next :). Chocolate boy might be back for another short cameo

I know I'm a jerk for only now telling you what happened after Rhonda's party in the first chapter's flashback, but it must take place here.

CHAPTER 10 - I AM LEGION

7 YEARS EARLIER

Helga was crying. It did not happened to her too often, but now, she only felt such an overwhelming desperation she couldn't help it.. She was sitting in the City Park, glaring at the river. The fool moon was beautiful, and the air was so fresh - it was meant to be a night for love. And yet, she was alone, throwing rocks into the water - which was more pathetic than anything she did lately.

She lost Arnold for good, she knew that - It was only twenty hours passed, since the unfortunate party, when she punched Lila on the face, what resulted in her huge fall from the stairs. She didn't slept a moment since then. She never were the most popular person of the school, but after that night, when she beat the shit out of the school's favorite little cutie, who happened to be the class president too, in front of everybody, she will hardly find anyone who would talk to her now. But none of that mattered - the only thing mattered, that Arnold won't want to talk to her either. And that's felt like the end of all things.

"Hey Helga." - Helga turned looked back. She was standing right behind her. - "Olga said you might be here. Can I sit down?"

"This is a free country Pheebs." - she said as she throw another rock to the river.

"You know this sad "throwing rocks to the river" cliché is cute for a bad moody thirteen year old brat, but you know... you have woman sized hooters now."

"It's over Pheebs." - Helga said - "I lost him. This time it's final."

"Yeah I know. You just punched the worst person possible. It was expectable to happen sooner or later. Lila is a great victim you know. By the way, she's telling everyone she's not mad at you, and what you did was an understandable reaction, and how sorry she is. What makes them love her and hate you a lot more."

"There is no "lie" in "Lie-la" for nothing." - Helga said.

"So, you decided the only thing you can do, is sitting here and feel sorry for yourself?"

"I really don't have a better idea Pheebs." - Helga said.

"Well, how about standing up, and show Lila what you made of!" - Phoebe said.

"I don't want to competing with Lila!" - She turned to Phoebe. Now she were able to see, Helga's face is covered with tears. She never seen her like this - "Can't you understand! I can't beat her! Just like I can't beat Olga! I never could and I never will! I'm out!"

A small friendly smile appeared on Phoebe's face.

"I think that's exactly what you have to do. You can show you're able to go on. To quit the competition. Arnold is attracted to Lila's weakness, but he's a lot more attracted to your strength. You have to go on with your life." - she said.

"How?! I lost everything!" - Helga cried out. She was almost hysterical.

"Well, not everything." - Phoebe said - "You still have the Rogue Angel... Old Betsy..." - she looked into Helga's eyes - "And you still have me." - Helga's face just melted to pieces. She hugged Phoebe. She felt like, this hug - the fact, she had a shoulder to cry on just saved her life.

"Pheebs... Thank you for not giving up on me... If you were not..."

"Ssshhh... It's all right. I'm right here."

"Phoebe... I know I'm not saying that nearly enough times but... I love you. You're my best friend I ever had. I can't imagine my life without you. If you ever leave me..." - Helga said, as she slowly stopped crying.

"I love you too. And I could never leave you."

"Promise me!" - Helga said. After a little silence Phoebe nodded.

"I have a better idea." - she said seriously. Helga looked at her interested. - Do you have your penknife?" - Helga reached to the pocket of her jacket and gave here Sweden penknife to Phoebe.

"What are you doing?" - she said. She were only sniffing now.

"You know what is a "compact scaled with blood"?" - Phoebe asked.

"Are you out of your..?"

"It's played a major part in the history of lot of cultures."

"I... I heard Bob telling an old Hungarian story to Olga about the seven ancient leaders who decided to oppose Gingis Kahn and scaled the compact with blood. Or something like that.- " - Helga said.

"Well, you messed up the story, but that's not the point. The thing is your blood and my blood will be mixed, and fled to the river. The river is running to the ocean, which means our blood will be in every water of the world. We will be sisters in the eye of the forces of nature. Same blood. Same flesh. Same will."

"Let's do that." - Helga said after a moment of hesitation, and she felt indescribable love toward Phoebe. There was no real need of this ritual. They were sisters already. Phoebe raised her hand, and then cut her palm with Helga's penknife. She made a little sound of pain but the small Asians girl was tougher than she fought. Huge drops of her blood were falling on the grass. Helga did the same thing. The view of her blood somehow made her comfortable. It was a moment, a night when pain felt good. When it was necessary to make her feel alive.

"No matter what happens next. No matter even if the sky falls down. We will never let down each other." - Phoebe said.

"We will be sisters forever." - Helga said, as they touched their palms together. Their blood mixed into one and fled to the river. That moment, the full moon, the fresh air and the silence of the park burned into their memory forever.

"Sisters forever." - Phoebe said. Somewhere deep inside she knew she saved Helga's life tonight. Not from death, but from becoming a sad and bitter person. After this night they went to the same collage, and became roommates. Despite of the whole childishness of this ritual, they really meant it. They were sisters forever.

PRESENT DAY

There was nothing else in Phoebe's eyes, than hate and the desire for destruction. But after she fired the gun her face changed. All the evil joy turned into shock as she's seen the woman crawling on the floor covered in blood. She was probably not damaged deadly, but she was seriously wounded. The sight was enough to bring Phoebe back, from the depths of her subconscious.

"Oh my... Helga... Lila..." - she looked up to Gerald, who hung on the wall in a black leather mask. He was probably used like some kind of sex toy in the last hours. "Ge... Gerald."

Helga was crouching next to the wounded Lila. She did a pretty heroic thing, by throwing himself in front of the bullet, so it didn't kill Helga, but it got into her shoulder. Phoebe just dropped her gun, and it fell on the floor.

"But... what?" - she asked. Phoebe had no clue what's happening. Someone just grabbed her arm. She turned there, and noticed in shock, Brainy is standing there.

"Come on!" - he said, and started to grab her out of the room. She felt the darkness is coming again. She just could not accept what she seen. It was just like when she woke up in the parking lot of the Miller institute, and didn't know how did she get there. Or months ago, when she passed out for a whole day, and found a plane ticket in her purse from New York to Hillwood and back. And she always felt, her mind just don't want to care about these things. She felt a strange desire to forget it. The world was spinning around her, and then he fell to sweet unconsciousness.

Her face and moves changed again. The sweet little science geek was gone, and only the pure bitchiness left on her face.

"You're all gonna burn, just like that whore bathing in her own blood." - she said as she looked down to Lila. Helga looked pretty worried, but she knew, Lila's condition is not as bad as it seems. The wound must hurt like crazy, but it's nothing near to be mortal. She's just never felt pain like that and that's why she's in shock. Helga turned to Phoebe.

"Why... why are you doing this?" - she asked in desperation.

"Because I can." - she said smiling. Brainy already left on the back door.

"What did you do to Phoebe?"

"I am Phoebe you stupid whore." - she said - "I've been always a part of her, making the suggestions. Unfortunately, she almost never listened to me. But she was weak. She couldn't adjust to the fact, I am the part of her. So, when she realized she's spying after you and you're Football headed stud muffin, making photos and stuff, she decided it's "abnormal" so she tried to kill me. But instead, she gave me a real chance to shine." - she said. Helga understood her words perfectly, and they meant Phoebe is not really responsible for his actions. Paige looked down on her gun on the floor.

"Don't even think about it bitch!" - Helga said, as she took the position to attack Phoebe if it's necessary - You must know that. I will die a thousand times, before I let you hurt anybody! Especially Pheebs." - Paige laughed out loud.

"Oh my god Helga!" - she said still laughing - "I am the only one in this word, who you can't fool with this ridiculous act of yours! I know you more like anyone else! I know exactly! Inside you're still that little helpless girl, who crying herself to sleep night after night, because nobody loves her."

"You're wrong about that Phoebe." - Arnold said. He just showed up in the door, behind Helga. He looked pretty damaged.

"This is not Phoebe." - Helga murmured. - "She calls herself Paige. It's a whole multiple personalities thing. Are you alright."

"I've run into Brainy on the street. He's a nice guy. We had a few punches."

"Prince Charming arrives just in time to save the Princess from the Beast." - Paige said with a viscous smile. - "But unfortunately she's already down, so you will have to leave with Helga." - she said laughing, as she looked down on the wounded Lila.

"Pheebs..." - Lila said weakly. Both Helga and Arnold looked at her worried.

"Shut up, play dead!" - Phoebe said, as she suddenly jumped on her riff. Lying on the floor she grabbed her gun. Helga never seen her moving this fast. It was pretty scary. She aimed the gun on Arnold and Helga as she stood up.

"So, decide, which one of the you love-birds will go first?"

"Why would you do that Paige?" - Helga asked - "We never hurt Phoebe. We're her friends."

"Friend?" - she asked laughing, but suddenly her laughter turned into furious rage - "You call herself her friend? It's always have to be about you Helga! You use her as your secretary! When was the last time, you helped out Phoebe with her problems! Or at least asking her about it! You never cared about her, and never will! The fact, your this surprised by my existence shows you don't really know anything about Phoebe!"

"I know I love her. Just like all of us." - Helga said.

"You lie." - Paige said, still aiming the gun at them. - "But I enjoy to see you feel guilty. So I think I'll leave you guys alone with your thoughts for now." - she said, as she enclosed the back door. - "And Lila, just for the note, you're self sacrificing nature makes me sick beyond imagination. You have such a death wish because Football Head! You must get laid for god's shake! Next time, remembering me to introduce you to some of Phoebe's girlfriends." - Phoebe said, as she left the room. It took a moment for them to dare to move.

"How did you know we're here?" - Helga said finally as she crouched down to Lila and Arnold had ran to help Gerald.

"I was in the Miller Institute. There was an explosion, what she used to bust out Brainy from there. One of the security guards talked about a pretty Asian woman who visited him, and I know only one pretty Asian woman, who has the skills to make such a bomb." - he said.

"Are you okay?" - Helga asked Lila.

"I'll be fine." - she said. She lost pretty much blood, but Helga agreed with her. The bullet went trough her shoulder, and it didn't touch any important parts.

"Stupid bitch." - Helga said, as she put a bandage to Lila's arm.

"Hey, don't be to hard at Phoebe. She's clearly not responsible for her actions." - Lila said.

"I was not talk about Phoebe, I was talking about you!" - Helga said angrily - "Throwing yourself in the way like that! What is your problem?!"

"But..." - Lila was shocked. If there was something she expected it was some thanks.

"What did you think you're doing? Phoebe may became Miss Psycho-chick, but she still has the shooting skills of Phoebe. She shots like a girl. She probably couldn't wound anyone if you're not going all Kevin Costner on me!" - she said. She was obviously frightened by the possibility for being thankful for Lila - "And why did you do that?"

"Because it was the right thing to do..." - Lila said.

"What? That's bull crap Lila! Why would you think my life worth more than yours! You would have every reason to want me dead, and you still try to sacrifice yourself to save me?"

"Well, I guess you always misunderstood me." - Lila said.

"Yes. I always thought your creepy, for being so super good hearted. I thought you're hiding something. And now I know you're not. You're really like that. And it makes you way much creepier."

"Arnold, how the hell can you bear these chicks! I will beg for Dark Pheebs to come back, if they don't shut up!" - it was Gerald. Arnold took off the mask from his face, so he got back the ability to talk. He was obviously to shocked by the recent events of the day to talk about it seriously. So he tried to joke. Arnold tried to open the cuffs that hold him on the wall.

"Are you okay dude?" - Arnold asked.

"Yes... I pretty much enjoyed the whole thing... Until she returned with Brainy. That kind of ruined the romantic mood. This Paige chick is something..."

"Okay. First, we will have to get Lila to hospital." - Helga stood up - "Tell them an unknown man injured you. Stranger to stranger. You haven't seen his face. I don't want no police, nor FBI. "

"You think we can get her back?" - Gerald asked.

"We have to." - Arnold replied. - "She's one of us. We look out for each other."

"She didn't kill us when she had the chance. I take it as a good sign." - Helga said.

"But she's smarter than us." - Arnold said. He looked pretty awful - "Probably smarter than all of us combined..."

"Dude are you okay?" - Gerald asked.

"I... I had that little wrestling with Brainy on the sidewalk... He run away but... I think he did something with me..." - he said as he fell on the floor. Helga run to him pretty fast.

"My shoulder... it stings..." - he said. Helga took a closer look on his shoulder, and she noticed a pretty huge red spot on it.

"Looks like some kind of injection." - Gerald said.

"Oh no." - Helga said. - "He shot you with an injection when you were fighting and you didn't noticed?"

"Looks like it." - Arnold said. He was getting closer and closer to pass out.

"What the hell was that?" - Gerald said.

"I bet it's that Salvazin shit!" - Helga said - "And it looks like an overdose. Oh my god! We have to get him to the hospital! Now!" - she knew she was panicking, but she couldn't help it. She just couldn't loose Arnold. Not now. She still had one secret left to confess - probably the biggest of the all. It was bad enough to see her best friend in a condition like that, and she sweared she will do everything to get her back. But now she had to face the possibility to lost her fiancé and the father of the child she had growing insider her. There were bad days in her life. It was only three in the afternoon, but she was pretty sure this one will make it to the Top 5.

Paige entered Phoebe's car. She kind of hated it's happy yellow color, but she didn't wanted to risk to steal another one. She was in a hurry. She gave specific orders to Brainy where to go in a case like this, and she was behind schedule. As she turned the key, the car's sound system started to play the "Phantom of the opera".

"Please." - she said, as she looked trough Phoebe's CD's. She didn't even watched the road, when she passed a red light. She only heard some cars honking. "Carmen, Marriage of Figaro, My fair lady, Beethoven symphonies... Phoebe you're such a goddamn dork! " At last she looked on the road just in time, to avoid a frontal accident with a huge truck.

"Hey, you won your driver's license on bingo, asshole!" - she shouted. Her driving style was very different from Phoebe's. She looked over the CD's again. The only not classic music she found was a Celine Dion and a Ricky Martin album. Paige looked into the mirror.

"No wonder we went crazy. Fucking pathetic." - She turned on the radio. Rock music filled the car.

"PLEASED TO MEET YOU! HOPE YOU GUESSED MY NAME!" - It was some new interpretation of Sympathy for Devil.

"This will do." - she said as she turned up the volume. She sang the song with the radio. Phoebe never did that in her life. She put her hand to her purse, and grabbed hypodermic syringe. Still driving, with her left hand, she shot it to her right arm, into the bloodstream. One could thing she's using some kind of drug, but that were not the exact truth. The purpose of the methodical shots of Salvazin-D, was to maintain the mayhem in Phoebe's mind. It was the same injection, that was supposed to end Phoebe's abnormal obsessions. And it fulfilled it's purpose - Phoebe never felt jealousy toward Helga's partners, Arnold or Joshua anymore. She never felt the furious anger, toward the world, what made her miserable. She were able to feel happiness again. But in the same time it gave birth to Paige - in Phoebe's mind all those repressed emotions forged into a new personality.

First, her evil twin had a very small influence, but with every shot she became more and more active. Phoebe stopped the Salvazin treatment, when some tests showed how dangerous it can be - although she didn't knew about Paige's existence. But Paige became strong enough to continue the treatment on herself until she earned perfect freedom to act. At first, she used this influence on Phoebe's body, to set things into motion from distance. She sent the pictures Phoebe did in her Helga-stalking days to Brainy, and poisoned him with small doses of Salvazin. And it worked out pretty fine. Fortunately, Phoebe never seen those photos, so she still didn't know about her existence.

Now, when Phoebe's re-appearing emotions toward Gerald messed her mind up enough, she were able to take complete control - not only permanently like before. Phoebe's highly organized, clear mind finally gave in for the madness, after months of struggle. That stupid little dork gone forever.

She looked into the mirror again. With one short move she took her hair down, and rumpled it a little bit. Then she put down Phoebe's glasses, and took on the sunglasses Helga left in Phoebe's car last week.

"That's more I like it." - she said to the mirror. With the "new" image, and the sick, viscous smile on her face she looked like a whore escaped from the deepest depths of hell. She continued singing.

"I WAS AROUND WHEN JESUS CHRIST HAD HIS MOMENT OF DOUBT, AND PAIN!"

"You'll be taken down by no time, you know that." - Paige heard the voice, but didn't know who is it coming from. But then she realized.

"Oh yeah, Pheebs. I can't say I missed you. What do you think, did I get your so called "friends" attention now?."

"Stop talking Paige. No more playing, no more riddles. They know everything. I know everything. You lost your only advantage. Eventually, you will be stopped." - Phoebe said. Her voice was cold and self confident. Not really what Paige expected to hear. There was no bagging or treating. Phoebe said everything as pure facts.

"And who's gonna stop me? Huh? The Football head, who always hides behind her bitch? Or you're Big Black Lovemashine? Oh wait, If I remember well, he was never seriously interested in you. But he really got the hots for me. Even when I tied him up. Do you really think he could hurt me?"

"How about me?"

"You? Hey, You're a crazy bitch talking to herself." - Paige said.

"Just like you." - Phoebe answered.

"Oh, this is the part where the new, scary-serious Phoebe gives me the creeps. Not gonna happen sister. You always bagged for me to take control. The best moments of your life was when you listened to me. You have nothing without me."

"I have friends Paige. You don't. Nobody wants you out there. And this will be your downfall."

"We will see, won't we." - Paige replied, as she throw out Phoebe's CD's on the window. Phoebe was forced back to the dark. She was too weak. So Paige parked the car. She reached her final destination. She got out of the car and walked to the door of one of the houses. She was in the heart of their old neighborhood again. She rang the bell, and soon, a huge man opened the door.

"What do you want?" - he asked.

"Hello Mr. Pataki. It's me Phoebe. Helga's friend? Don't you remember?"

"Yeah. Of course. Hello Phoebe. You look different."

"I had a makeover, thank you. Listen, can I go in for a minute? Helga will be here soon, and till I wait for her, I think we should talk. I'm really worried about her."

"Will this cost me anything?"

"Oh, I don't think so." - Paige said, with Phoebe's cute polite laugh.

"Okay then." - he said, as she let her inside. Bob made some huge mistakes in his life. Letting Paige into his house was one of the biggest ones.

As she walked in they were still able to hear the car's radio. Paige didn't cared to turn it off, after all, it wasn't her car.

"SO IF YOU MEET ME HAVE SOME COURTESY! HAVE SOME SYMPATHY, AND SOME TASTE! USE ALL YOUR WELL-LEARNED POLITESSE! OR I'LL LAY YOUR SOUL TO WASTE!"

So what do you think?

Is there any chance for Phoebe's redemption?

Next, there will be an experimental episode: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE UNREAL, which is became a little longer than the other chapters. I know they are too long, but I really can't help it :) And we're getting closer and closer to the final showdown too.