Mirrored Conflicts (a Sokeefe story)

Chapter 27: The Ending

At first, they'd decided that the one to explain everything to the Fosters should be Sophie, with Amy there to help. Basically, no one that wasn't from their original immediate family was supposed to intrude on the moment.

But explaining everything was hard, as was picking and choosing what parts they needed to know and what order to tell it in. Even Amy struggled. In the end, the person who was really able to make it all make sense ended up being...

"And the light travel thing really is scientifically possible, you just have to not think about it at all," Samantha yapped. "There also aren't supposed to be any bad guys, by the way. Apparently this place prides itself on having no bad guys, which is kinda hysterical when you consider the fact that ever since I learned that Lost Cities exist I've actually met just as many bad guys as I have good guys. And... I think I've covered everything. Any questions?"

Sophie's human parents looked a lot healthier. They'd been regaining strength quickly ever since the Black Swan administered the antidote, and weren't turning nearly as pale at the mention of the elvin world. If anything, they looked thoughtful, though they'd cracked a few smiles at the silly and flippant way Samantha liked to word things.

"So, Samantha," Emma began, "how do you... know all of this? If humans aren't allowed to..."

"They accidentally triggered Natalie's memories while I was there," Samantha explained. "So I kind of got swept up in all the stuff. Not that I mind. I love being swept up in the stuff."

Sophie could tell both of them still felt conflicted about the easy way Samantha still called Amy "Natalie" without thinking about it. It was a reminder that the memories they'd made in their new lives were just as real as the memories from their old life, and that the only thing that was fake was... all of the overlap? It sounded complicated even in Sophie's head, and once again, she resolved that she would not let anyone wash their memories again, no matter what the danger might be.

"What about Sophie being our child?" William asked. "Is that a fake memory, or..."

Sophie shook her head. "You aren't my biological parents, but you did give birth to me." She nodded towards Emma. "It's weird, and I really don't want to get into the details." Sophie was pretty sure she didn't even know most of the details, and she definitely didn't need to.

"Are we going to have our memories erased again?"

It was the first time she'd asked the question that had been sitting in the room from the very beginning. But the woman who raised her looked so devastated by the idea, her voice so... fragile as she asked the question. "Absolutely not," Sophie said with conviction. "Over my dead body."

"As if any of your snooty council members could win in a fight against you," Samantha joked. "If you say no to the memory wiping, it's a no to the memory wiping."

Sophie smiled at Samantha's words, but she couldn't help remembering what Stina had said about the Council doing whatever she wanted. It wasn't accurate, but hopefully she wouldn't see this as another instance of that. Besides, surely even Stina was sensitive enough to understand that her parents didn't deserve to have all of their memories wiped another time.

Speaking of Stina, Sophie still needed to reconvene with the other members of Team Not-Prodigious to decide what they were going to do about the Council's offer and what team name they would be replacing the Council's awful choice with. She sighed audibly. She'd need to check in with Keefe, too, since he'd just visited his father who was sure to mess with his head, and then she probably should fill Fitz in on everything they hadn't talked over yet...

So many things.

"I, for one, am not planning on letting anyone erase my memories again," Amy said confidently. "And if that means Sophie has to be the brave and valiant knight that rides in with a sword of... that was supposed to be an analogy about you saving us, but I think I lost it somewhere along the way."