Chapter 2: Becoming a Family
Three months later
Aelita's POV
I was with Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Jennifer, Jeremie, Miranda, Christopher, and my mother at the Hermitage, scared stiff, wondering when the authorities would come for us.
"We'll be okay, Princess." My boyfriend said while he was binding my leg.
"How can you be sure?" I asked him trying to take my mind off my knee.
"I can't. All I can say is don't lose faith. We'll be just fine." He replied. Ulrich came back from town with Yumi, her ankle was worse than my knee.
"He's right, Aelita. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine." He said, making me feel much better, and not just because my boyfriend had finished binding my knee. He then moved onto Yumi's ankle.
"What happened, Yumi?" I asked her.
"Bullet shot." She replied as Christopher examined her ankle.
"Consider yourself lucky. Bullet went clean through." Christopher said.
"Great. By the way, who's gonna hunt our food?" She asked.
"I'll do it." I offered, but Christopher shook his head.
"You have a wound, baby. The best thing you can do is stay off that leg. Besides, I'm headed to the lake not far from here." He said, and I nodded my head in defeat. He finished binding Yumi's ankle, grabbed his Energy Dagger and went off to fish. As soon as he was out of the house, I got to my feet and limped over to my mom. Jennifer helped me and as soon as we got to her, I thanked her for helping me to my mom.
Christopher's POV
I reached the lake and felt like I was being watched. I activated my Energy Dagger and prepared to shoot. I turned around and saw it was Miranda.
"Next time, announce your presence. I could have taken your head off." I said.
"Sorry." She said.
"It's alright. Wanna keep me company?" I asked and she nodded her head.
"Hard to believe it's only been three months." I said.
"I know. It seems like an eternity." She said.
"In three months, she's conquered a fourth of the planet." I said and she nodded. I then decided to change the subject.
"Jeremie's grown quite fond of you." I said and she blushed.
"Yeah." She said.
"I see the way you two look at each other. It's the same way Aelita and I look at each other. The same with Odd and Jen. And Ulrich and Yumi." I said. We continued to make small talk until we reached the lake.
"Since you're here, why don't you collect some water while I catch the fish?" I asked her and she nodded.
"Good thing I brought the bucket with me." She said and I laughed. I readied my Energy Dagger and caught enough salmon to feed everyone in the house. I switched to the harpoon setting and pulled in the fish. And a good thing too, because Miranda got the water. I put the fish in the cooler I brought along with me and the two of us walked back to the Hermitage.
General POV
The arbiter and archer returned to the Hermitage with food and water. Jeremie waited outside for us to get back. When they got inside, Christopher put the fish on the grill and prepared dinner.
"So tin man, what are we having?" Odd asked.
"Salmon." The arbiter replied. And with that, the cat went back to Jennifer. Christopher then heard what he assumed was limping footsteps, and assumed it was Aelita. He turned around and was dead wrong. It was Yumi.
"Hey." She said.
"Hey." He repeated when he decided to ask how she was doing.
"How're you holding up?" He asked.
"It doesn't hurt as much anymore." She replied.
"That's not what I meant." He said. The geisha realized what he meant.
"Could be better. Already a quarter of the planet is hers." Yumi said, astounded that within three months, X.A.N.A. has managed to conquer 25% of the planet.
"Yeah. Miranda and I were talking about it on the way to the lake." Christopher said as he went to sit on the bench. Yumi came and sat beside him. Just then, Ulrich and Aelita came out to join them.
"Hey, baby." The samurai and arbiter said at the same time, causing the girls to giggle. Aelita then went and sat on Christopher's lap. Yumi stood up to match her friend's idea. She motioned for Ulrich to sit down on the bench. He obliged and then Yumi sat on his lap.
The salmon Christopher had caught were ready to eat after a few minutes. Everyone then crowded at the table and ate the catch.
"Odd, you do know there is such a thing as silverware, right?" Ulrich said as Odd devoured his first of his meal and quickly grabbed another. Jennifer playfully slapped him and he took it as a hint to slow down.
"Wow Jen. You've done something we've been trying to do for years: Get Odd to slow down on eating." Christopher said, causing everyone at the table to laugh. After dinner, they all went into the living room to watch the news and see what X.A.N.A. had done now.
"Breaking news just in: The maniacal tyrant X.A.N.A. has destroyed another resistance camp. Citizens everywhere are preparing for the worst." The reporter said as a video of Scorpions, Tarantulas, Kankrelats, and Hornets destroyed the insurgents campsite began playing. Christopher went wide eyed.
"Oh dear God." He said as he ran to find his cell phone.
"What is it, baby?" Aelita asked.
"That's where my dad is." Christopher said as he dialed his father's number.
Christopher's POV
I called my father's cell phone, desperate to find out if he was okay. He finally answered me.
"Son?" He said, and I immediately felt relieved.
"I just wanted to make sure you were all right." I said.
"Yeah, we're fine. Did you watch the news?" He asked me.
"We're watching it right now." I replied.
"You and your friends have to get back in the fight." He told me.
"Dad, we've talked about this. My friends and I are still wanted by the law. Yumi got shot in the ankle today. Aelita was shot in the knee yesterday." I said.
"I stand by what I said last time. We'll disappear for a little while and wait and pray this whole thing will blow over." I said. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Dad, I gotta go." I said as I hung up. I grabbed my Energy Sword and my Gravity Hammer as the others, except Aelita's mother, prepared to fight. I then looked to see it wasn't the authorities.
"Stand down. It isn't the cops." I said as I opened the door and Ulrich and Yumi were surprised to see it was their families. I looked at the couple with a look of accusation.
"What did you do?" I asked sternly.
"It wasn't us, I swear." Yumi said, then I looked to Ulrich.
"Wasn't me." He said. I then turned around and saw they weren't really their families, but polymorphic specters of them. I quickly devirtualized them and explained them they weren't their families.
General POV
Everyone then settled down in the living room, Aelita cuddled with Christopher, Yumi with Ulrich, Jennifer with Odd, and Miranda with Jeremie, and soon they all fell asleep.
That's chapter two. Next chapter will be set in a different location since the Hermitage has now been compromised. Review and I'll post more chapters.