Final Fate
By: Riley
Summary – -Sequel to 'Downfall'-. Nine years after Uriel's disappearance, Zack and Cody find there's always something that's going to come their way and Uriel kept his promise of making their lives a nightmare. When the EAC calls their entire team to deal with a threat, there are even more important things that come under fire. Their families.
CHAPTER ONE
"Hey. How much longer?"
Cody Martin took his time opening his eyes. A heavy sigh swelled in his chest and he resisted the urge to make an immediate sarcastic comment. (Years of conditioning had made it very hard to push down the natural instinct). It was the way he always managed to deal with his brother but he didn't want to ruin the mood. Nothing was better than the elation of knowing after a long time away to be returning home and not even his brother's impatience would throw him.
Swiveling his head to the side, Cody opened his eyes and blew his bangs out of his face. He found Zack staring back at him. Cody's eyes widened for a moment, already feeling his irritation start to come up once more, and then he shook his head. "About ten minutes less than the last time you asked me, Zack," he replied.
Zack continued to stare at him.
Cody closed his eyes and rested his head back against the headrest of his seat. "About an hour, Zack!"
Zack muttered something under his breath and turned back to face the front. He stretched out his legs, bumping his knee into the sat in front of him. He muttered a curse under his breath and crossed his legs at the knee, rubbing the wounded spot.
"You know, for someone who can actually fly himself, you seem to get really jumpy about being in an airplane," Cody remarked after a second. The corners of his lips pulled back into a humorless smile. "I seem to remember that only Blazen and Phantom got that way about flying." Then the humor and mirth filled his smiled; it was funny to see how much things had changed. His guardian used to go ballistic having to sit in an enclosed airplane, not just because he couldn't stretch his wings and fly, but because of the unfamiliarity of it all.
Now Cody had to practically drag him off of airplanes. It was helpful now that they didn't have to keep their guardians a secret. But it was more difficult going through the airport with their fame and celebrity now. He even had to turn down the chance of sitting in first class, which Zack clearly hadn't gotten over, because he didn't want to be treated differently.
It didn't matter how cushy their seats were, Zack's aversion to flying was going to take a while to get over.
"Yeah, well, you have your helicopter shot down a few times and you'd get a bit jumpy, too," Zack replied. He leaned down in his seat, stretching out his legs and crossed them at the ankle, and tucked his hands into his armpits. "I don't think I need to remind you that this is the first time we're going to be home for…three months."
"Congratulations, Zack! You've finally learned how to count."
"I'm twenty-seven, Cody. Not two."
"Two for two, if you get another one right I'll give you a sticker." Cody smiled as Zack rolled his eyes, turning away from him.
A yawn made Cody briefly close his eyes and when he opened them he took stock around the jet plane. Two soldiers sat at the back of the plane with their rifles sitting nearby as they had been since takeoff. Even being as far up the ladder on the EAC as he and Zack were they still had to have some sort of protection around them whenever they traveled. At least, that's what Diamond had said when they got onto the plane the first time and found them in the back.
Still, as strong as he and Zack were it probably wasn't a bad idea to have some back up. He just hoped the others would get it as well when it was their turn to be shipped out.
"So what are you going to do once you get back?"
Zack's questions caught Cody off-guard for a moment and he quickly twisted back around to face his brother, moving so fast that he felt a twinge in his lower back that shot up towards his neck. With a low groan, he rubbed at the knot his muscles made underneath his skin. "What'd you say?"
"I asked what you're going to do once we get back." Zack asked. "Like, first thing."
"Apart from getting a full body massage?" Cody grimaced, continuing to rub his neck.
"I thought that's what your wife was for," Zack pointed out with a lazy grin.
"When she's pregnant? I don't think so. I don't think she can bend over that far." Cody leaned back in his seat and mimicked his brother, crossing his legs at the ankle. "No, I think what I'm going to do is take a long bath or a shower. Anything that will get this nasty smell off me." He pulled the collar of his shirt away from him. "Can you believe how filthy the commodities were? I could take a shower and I'd still feel the tiny pinpricks of those amoebas and bacteria crawling all over me."
Zack snorted. "We were in Afghanistan, Cody, not Mexico. God, you still haven't changed. Don't you think by now you'd learn that your affinity for cleanliness doesn't work when you're in our line of business?"
"Oh, now you've learned even more words," Cody teased. Zack gave him the finger and Cody noticed the mischievous glint in his eye. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"Yes; that with all of the downtime we've had I've been reading a lot. Fuck you." Zack grinned and stretched his arms over his head. "I think the first thing I'm going to do is get a burger or a large pizza. Nearly four months without it has almost killed me. Good news is that I've managed to lose enough weight that scarfing it down once I get my hands on it won't make a difference." He placed his hands on his flat stomach and shook it back and forth as if to prove his point.
"Typical Zack, the first thing you think about is food."
"Actually, it's the second thing I thought about. The first thing I can't say or it'll make you blush."
Cody snorted, rolling his eyes. Okay, that was more typical Zack. He thought of something smart to say back to him but made a noncommittal humming sound in return. He continued to rub his hands up and down his arms, part of his mind still on the filthiness of the plane.
Zack sighed. "Cody, you control the power of water and cleaned yourself just fine when we were over there."
"And our conditions were still disgusting," Cody said. He ran his hands over each other wanting nothing more than his loofah and cleansing, exfoliating scrubs. Then he felt himself start to smile a little.
The wages of war they had come face to face with wasn't anything that would break him out of his normal habits despite the horrors they had seen over a significant part of his life. His and Zack's time were done and the next time the EAC would be called into action it would be someone else.
Plenty of time to get rest and acclimated back into regular society.
Well, as regular as they could be when he and Zack were well known for their powers and what they had done to save Boston and the entire world nine years before. Cody closed his eyes, resting his head against his headrest, thinking about what had changed. It had certainly been a lot; once Uriel had been defeated and they all were officially inducted into the Elemental Action Coalition things had progressed at a relatively fast pace. Then again they had waged war against everything that had come through the barrier that had separated Earth from the Element World and deserved a bit of normalcy.
But having children by the time you're twenty-seven wasn't something you would have ever considered normal, Cody reminded himself. Being a reincarnate of sorts of two of the four most influential parts of the Element World wasn't something he ever thought would be normal either, but he had gotten used to that.
His mother and father were together in whatever capacity they were, he had a career in the science field that he greatly enjoyed, and had a home life he imagined since he was young and planned his life out to the 't'. And as pessimistic as he was, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop at some point.
Yet, he soon found himself off the jet plane, having bid goodbye to Zack, and sat patiently in the back of the cab that drove him back to his house. It was a modest place out in the suburbs, not far from where the Tipton hotel was, and it was certainly a place he would call home. The bright light that reflected into the cab, enough so that the driver mumbled to himself and flipped down the sun visor, alerted him he was close to being home. His was the only place on the block that used solar energy and a backup generator to run the house, something he had insisted upon when it was being built. (Zack had given him hell for it but made sure the feature was put in).
Did Cody ever believe it would be a place to raise children? No, not initially, but it quickly grew that way. It especially helped that it was a place well equipped for the small bouts of elemental energy their kids would potentially hold. (Depending on whether or not it skipped a generation).
Stepping through the front door, Cody smiled and took in a deep breath. It smelled just the way he always remembered it to be. And it was already warm and inviting. He couldn't wait to be there long enough to remember he wasn't going anywhere for a while.
"Hey," Cody called, gently closing the front door behind him. "I'm back."
"Cody, hey!" he heard from the living room.
Cody tripled checked that he locked the door before turning around and immediately smiling with amusement. He watched as Crystal Martin—née Manning—slowly rocked back and forth as she tried to get off the couch, her heavily pregnant belly hindering her progression.
"Hold on," she said, shifting to the side. "Hold on." She shifted the other way. "I'm almost there. Almost up. Hold on." Finally, Crystal managed to get enough leverage underneath her to stand up, where she let out a breath of relief. Placing one hand on her stomach she walked—slightly waddled—over to Cody. "You know you could've helped me."
"And miss my free source of entertainment?" Cody returned, carefully taking off his shoes and returned them to their place by the stairs.
"You're lucky I'm pregnant or else I'd kick your butt," Crystal said. She came up and belly bumped him, making him laugh as he took a step back. Then she twisted her stomach away and wrapped her arms around him. Cody smiled and hugged her back, giving her a kiss. Then he knelt down to gently kiss her stomach. He ran his hands along the clothed skin, smiling as a bump smacked him in the palm. "Cassidy's been kicking up a storm lately. Probably knowing her father was coming home."
"Aww, I missed her, too," Cody said, continuing to rub Crystal's stomach. Then he stood up straight and kissed her again. "And, you."
"Mmm, knowing you I'm sure you missed the comforts of your own shower," Crystal pointed out.
"You know me too well."
"I should, you wrote about it enough." Crystal moved her hand to her stomach, the other to her lower back as she walked back into the living room with Cody following behind her. He glanced around at the living room, eyebrows rising when he noticed the knitting. "Did a yarn shop blow up?"
"Pregnancy project," Crystal replied, slowly lowering herself back to the couch. "There has to be something to do that'll hold my attention and this is relaxing. Plus, I've managed to make enough hats, scarves, and gloves that Cassidy won't get cold when she's born."
Cody sat down next to her, fatigue suddenly falling onto his shoulders. Real life was already coming back and striking him over and over again. "How much longer?"
"Next month," Crystal said with a small smile.
"Are you scared?"
"A little. I just want her to be okay, just like every other parent wants for their first born," Crystal replied. She lowered the knitting and smiled over at him. "But I've been thinking what sort of powers she'd get if she does get any. From the way she's been kicking around in there I'd think some sort of strength based one."
Cody laughed. "It hurts that much?"
Crystal laughed back. "Only when it's a sudden blow to the ribs. She can kick hard."
Then Cody's smile faded as he leaned back on the couch, resting an arm over his eyes. He let out a long sigh. This was always the best part and the hard part all the dame; getting ready for the baby and wondering what was going to happen next. If there was going to be something else that would tear him away quicker than any of them expected, it would come too soon.
Especially after what happened with…
Cody swallowed hard. He couldn't think about it again. It haunted his dreams enough.
"Hey." Crystal reached out and gently rubbed her fingertips into his neck, loosening the muscles there. "Is everything okay?"
"No," Cody said honestly. "There's a lot I need to tell you. But I don't want to think about it right now."
"That's okay. I'm just glad you're home." Crystal said. She then smiled a little as she noticed Cody's bag wriggling around. "And I think Phantom is, too," she added. Cody looked over and laughed as the zipper to the bag suddenly opened and his guardian blasted out of the opening, unfurling his wings as he did so. Phantom shook as a shiver went through his body, a few feathers falling to the ground.
"Do you know how stuffy it is in there?" He asked.
"Hey, I made sure there was maximum comfort in there around my efficient packing," Cody defended himself. Phantom made a huffing sound and flew over, perching on the arm of the couch beside him. He shot Cody a glare then hopped over, nestling atop Crystal's stomach.
"Are you trying to hatch an egg?" Crystal asked him.
"I'm trying to keep the baby warm," Phantom replied, gently nudging her protruding bellybutton with his beak.
"Well between you and Dricer I'm starting to think I'm not going to need to do anything else for this baby," Crystal remarked. "Looks like you all have it under control."
Cody reached out a hand and placed it on Crystal's stomach once more, gently rubbing his thumb over it. That was the best outcome they could have of everything they've been through. That everything was under control.
Now he could wait for the best thing in his life to happen.
Zack stretched his arms over his head as he stepped out of the backseat of the cab. Every muscle in his body momentarily seized before relaxing in relief. Being out of that cramped airplane was already doing wonders for his morale. He shook hands with the driver, passing over a tip as he did so, and then picked up his bag from the ground. He slung it over his shoulder just in time for a side pocket to wiggle before opening and Blazen stuck his head out.
"Everyone knows who we are now, why do I have to keep staying in your bag? Did you know how disgusting your socks are?" His guardian demanded.
"You've been spending too much time with Cody, Blazen," Zack commented to his guardian. "And you know how it is. People know who we are but I couldn't run the risk of someone trying to get to you. Little kids are okay. But everyone else is a little worse to deal with."
Blazen blinked twice. "Worse than your socks?"
"Get back inside." Zack reached out his hand and shoved Blazen's head back into the pocket, zipping it shut once more. "We're almost in the house, and then you can stretch out and do whatever you want." Running a hand through his hair, Zack turned back to the front of his house and tilted his head to the side. A wave of relief, excitement, and anticipation washed over him as he got a good look.
Three, almost four months away was harder than he thought it would be. The sight of his house was much more welcoming than it had been before.
Then Zack smiled; he could hear the excited cries come from inside the house. They started softly, increasing in volume as it moved closer to the front of the house. Then the front door flung open and a set of towheaded toddlers came careening out the front door. "Daddy, daddy!" they called as they ran.
Zack grinned and bent down to catch his twins as they slammed into him. He hugged the two tightly, half listening to the babbling that came out of their mouths and half wondering for the umpteenth time how his mother ever managed to deal with twins on her own. Their little hands clutched his shoulders as they hugged him tightly, both fighting for his attention.
He could barely decipher what they were saying between their hugs and shushing each other. Then their voices rose as they tried to talk over each other.
"Jayden, Emma, you're going to need to take turns or else I'm not going to get any of this story," Zack said to them, pulling his head back far enough so that he could hear them. Jayden looked up at him for a moment, then over at his sister, before he started speaking. Emma, who seemed to decide that she wanted to say something as well, frowned at her brother before reaching over and slapping him on the arm.
Jayden stopped in the middle of his sentence before he made a whining sound, grasping Zack's shirt. "Daddy, Emma hit me!"
"No, I didn't," Emma whined in reply.
"Yes, you did!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Zack sighed.
This was something he certainly didn't miss.
He gave his son and daughter a kiss on the cheek before shifting them up so he could look them in the eye. "Where's your mother?" He asked. Thankfully that took their attention away from their fight and Jayden and Emma immediately twisted around to change their cries to, "Mummy!" over and over again.
The front door to the house opened again and this time Riley Martin—née Jackson—stepped onto the front porch. Her eyes shifted to find her children, expression twisted into one of maternal concern, then lifted and rested on Zack's face. Her face cleared and a warm smile immediately came to her face. "Zack!" she cried.
Zack placed his kids the ground and hurried over to his wife, bending low to wrap his arms around her thighs and lifted her up off the ground. Riley threw her arms around Zack's neck and hugged her just as tightly, burying his face into her hair.
"You weren't supposed to be back until next month," she said, voice muffed against his shoulder.
"I know, but we got finished early," Zack replied.
Riley pulled back and placed her hands on Zack's cheeks, smiling down at him. Then she chuckled. "You smell," she commented.
Zack's smile widened. "I've been gone for three months and the first thing you need to tell me is that I smell?"
"And that you need to handle your kids."
"Since when are they my kids?"
"Since you got back." Riley grinned and the couple shared a long kiss. Zack could vaguely hear Jayden crying "eww" while Emma shushed him before the kiss ended. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Hot Stuff," Zack replied, causing Riley to roll her eyes. He placed her on the ground and kneeled down to ruffle his children's hair. "And you guys, I missed you a lot." He gave them each a big kiss on the cheek.
Emma wrapped her small arms around Zack's neck and looked up at him with wide, blue eyes. "Daddy, are you going to leave again?"
"Not for a while, sweetie," Zack replied. Which was true. Once someone on the EAC finished one of their assignments it was months before they were called out for another one, not unless their faction was specifically called in to handle something. He didn't expect to leave for another year at the most.
Not unless…Zack immediately pushed the thought out of his head. He absolutely hated to think about what had happened. He just hoped he could have the conversation once for debriefing then never have to speak about it again. Despite enjoying studying numerous wars in history classes (even though he did particularly enjoy school much at all) experiencing it was a completely different thing.
Riley, always able to tell when something was wrong, gave him a long look. "What's up?" She asked, watching him carefully as he straightened up.
"Nothing." Zack leaned over and kissed the side of her head. "I'll tell you later." He put his arm around her shoulder, laughing as he noticed Jayden and Emma grab onto the strap of his bag and tried to drag it towards the house. Then Jayden noticed the side pocket and unzipped it, laughing as Blazen immediately climbed out, clutching onto the bag with his talons.
He fluffed his wings seconds before Jayden grabbed onto him and hugged him to his chest.
"Jay, be careful," Riley called.
Zack waved his hand. "From how many times he's been thrown around by baggage handlers, that's nothing." He laughed as Blazen sent a glare his way. The front door opened once more and DalFang walked out, taking graceful steps across the front lawn. He bent his head and nudged Emma up onto his back, taking the strap of Zack's bag in his teeth.
Emma squealed in excitement, grasping onto his fur as he padded over to Jayden and did the same to him before disappearing into the house. Zack chuckled to himself, and then his eyebrows came together when he noticed someone missing. "Where's Koto?" He asked.
Riley looped her arm around Zack's waist as she leaned into his side. "I don't know. His room was empty this morning, I haven't heard from him since then." She lifted her free hand and laced her fingers with Zack's as his arm draped around her shoulder. "So everyone made it back okay?"
"As far as I know," Zack replied slowly. Eyes narrowing, Riley tilted her head to look up at him but he eased her thought, giving her another kiss. "I'm so glad to be home."
"Me too," Riley agreed. "The house has been really quiet with you gone. And Jayden and Emma have been asking over and over when you're going to be back. By the way, as soon as you sit down you're probably not going to be able to get back up."
"Why? Did you cook a lot of food?"
"No, because the kids have a lot of stuff they want to give you."
True to her word, as soon as Zack got into the house his kids presented him with different drawings and toys they had accumulated over the last few months, forcing him to play with them. Then when it was time for them to go to sleep, they continued to bring over book after book for him to read, snuggling up to his side as he did so. Then it took another hour for them to be put to bed and stay in bed.
Finally, Zack made his way back down to the living room where Riley sat on the couch, glasses on her face and looking over numerous papers and envelopes. With a heavy sigh he stretched out next to her. "Does it always take this long to get them to go to sleep or am I only just remembering it?"
"No, tonight was special, yeah?" Riley replied. She smiled teasingly at him. "You should be glad they didn't put up so much of a fight this time. Normally it takes another two hours."
Zack smiled. He watched her for a long minute, taking in everything he had missed while he was gone. People were right when they said absence made the heart grow fonder.
"The kids already ate, but our dinner will be done in about a half hour," Riley said, not taking her eyes away from the papers in front of her.
"I wasn't thinking about that," Zack said quietly.
A low chuckle escaped Riley's lips. "I know what you're thinking about, Casanova. But it seems to me that what you need right now is to actually get as much sleep as you can before the kids wake you up later. A king size bed isn't so big when you have two wiggling toddlers in there with you."
"I'd gladly take that over having to cuddle with Cody," Zack remarked. He put one arm behind his head, resting the other across his stomach. "What are you doing?"
"Bills. And before you freak out, I managed to run your company just fine while you were gone."
"Oh, I wasn't worried about that." Sitting up, Zack wrapped his arms around his wife's waist before lying back down once more. Riley turned on her side and wrapped her arms around him as well. "I was more worried to come back and find our house completely empty."
"They haven't developed any powers yet, Z," Riley pointed out. She reached up and started to drag her fingers around his stomach. "If they did I would've made sure you knew as soon as possible."
"I was more afraid that you would've left."
Eyebrows crinkling Riley lifted her head and looked her husband in the eye. "I've never thought of leaving, Zack, no matter what happened. Why would I do it now?"
Zack didn't respond. Instead, he placed another kiss to her forehead and tightened his grip on her.
He wasn't sure if it was a feeling or a premonition of some sort but the thought had been in the back of his mind; that he'd return home and things would've greatly changed.
If he had paid closer attention to that feeling he would've made the connection when later that night he had his first nightmare in over nine years.
A/N: Whoo, first chapter of the last story in the elemental series. This one anyway, still need to re-do its 'origin' within suite life. I'm still working on Intuition, Cody's sequel to Help Me, Save Me I just wanted to switch gears a bit.
Next chapter brings in everyone else, just wanted to show Zack and Cody first.
So let me know what you think.
-Riles