AN: Hey guys, I'm super sorry about how long it's taken me to update, and for how much shorter this chapter is compared to the first. But the first was kinda an accident and I totally didn't realize how long it was until I finished writing it. Anyway, here's this for you and I hope you like it, feel free to leave a comment, in fact I live off of them so...yeah. Oh, and it's jumps around a little with time periods, but hopefully it's not too confusing. And Lily says a bad word in this chapter, just be prepared.
~1991~
"Lily come help with the groceries!" I can just barely hear my sisters voice carry through the walls from the front room. Because heaven forbid she should actually walk into my room to ask for my help. With a mutter I bookmark my page and put down my book. I walk around my little pile of boxes in the center of my room, that I still have to unpack from England, and open my door. Immediately my cat zooms in and dives for the safety of beneath my bed. He always does that when Carter appears, yelling and just being loud in general.
"You don't get to stay under there Psycho." I tell him, and he meows in return. He doesn't understand what I'm saying, but he can hear the tone of my voice, one he's heard a lot. But I let him have a moment to cower from the mighty beast, closing my door partially and flipping on the hall light. Carter isn't inside anymore, the door left open so she can go back outside and bring in groceries. Jace is still in his car seat, but looks pretty content with himself as I pass him. He squeals in a high pitched velociraptor impersonation as I pass, and I smile.
"There's not much left." Carter tells me, reappearing just as I reach the door.
"Where's mum?" I ask.
"Downstairs with dad." She shrugs, worming past me to put the bags down in the kitchen. I pull on my old brown tennis shoes real quick before stumbling down the stairs. Our apartment is an upstairs one, something I've grown unaccustomed to over the last two years in England. But I'll manage. I got used to the stairs before I left, and I'll get used to them again now. My mum is talking in a low voice to my dad, who's just returned from work from the look of it. They don't even look up as I pass his work car to get groceries from my mum's car.
A few groceries turns out to be one bag too many. But I manage to collect all of them and decide I'll just come back down to close up the car once I've dumped these. This time when I pass mum and dad, I get a smile from mum and a head tilt of acknowledgment from dad. I'll try to make small talk when I come back to close the trunk and doors. It takes longer than I'm proud to admit to get up the stairs, with all my bags, and Carter smirks when she sees me panting in the doorway.
"There's not much left?" I hiss, and her smirk gets wider. Sometimes I want to just slap the cruel smile off her face. But I'd never get away with that. I never get away with anything. But, I've kinda accepted that.
"But you got all of them!" She's trying to sound congratulatory, but it's just too snarky to really work. I glare at her, dropping all the stuff on the ground for her to put away, while I go lock the car. "Where are you going?" She asks suspiciously.
"Closing the car, nosy." I stop in the doorway, catching sight of dad getting back in his car to drive away. Neither he nor mum look pleased, and it makes me frown in concern. They like to think I haven't heard them fighting in their room. But ever since I got home, I can hear them going at it every night. The walls aren't that thick. But why are they fighting? They never used to fight, before I left for England. "What's up with mum and dad? I mean, where's he going?" Carter doesn't even look at me from where she's stocking pasta in the pantry.
"Probably picking up Leroy or something. Nosy." She can't hide the look of victory as I roll my eyes and head back outside.
"Thanks for helping Lily." Mum says as I reach the bottom of the stairs.
"No problem." It's a natural response, one I don't even think of as I say it. It's just...what I always say. She nods and starts up the stairs as I close the trunk. I close the back car door and listen for the automatic lock of the doors, smiling when I hear the mechanic click. I'm walking back to the stairs when I hear it, a sound like an air craft breaking the sound barrier, from directly over me. Instantly I look up, not seeing an air craft, but something completely different. It's like a black hole has opened up right over me, as crazy as that sounds. And from the black hole, white lights drift lazily down until they hit the atmosphere and then they quickly zoom down to surround me.
"Lily?" I look at mum, who's panicked face has appeared at the top of the stairs, obviously she heard the sound too. My eyes drop back to my hands and I raise them curiously. The white lights are circling my arms, my hands, my legs. My whole body is just circled by weird little white lights that make my skin tingle.
"Mum?" I yell over the rushing in my ears. What the hell is this? I may just be going crazy, but mum can see them too! I know she can, if the alarm on her face is anything to go by. The tingling gets worse, like the feeling you get in a limb that's fallen asleep. It gets almost painful, and very quickly. So quickly that by the time mum's gotten to the bottom of the stairs, it's almost unbearable. And then the whiteness starts. At the edge of my vision, then creeping up to completely blind me. The last thing I see before everything is completely white is my mum trying to reach out to me. I swear I can feel her hand move through me as the whiteness and tingling and pain overwhelms me.
Then the feeling of fading comes. The feeling that I'm being taken apart inch by inch and pulled up into the black hole, every particle of matter that's being undone in my body clinging to the white lights that are pulling me apart. I'm pulled up, up, up, and then through. It's like the most intense roller coaster I've ever been on, that feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach overcoming every bit of me. That constant feeling of falling that unnerves people on big rides. But this is so much worse somehow. So much better.
All at once the feeling changes. And instead of being pulled and dragged, I'm being pieced back together and set on solid ground. I'm arranged back to the form I had before, every minute particle realigning properly to make me one piece again. And the whiteness fades, leaving me at first with just shapes. But then the shapes take colors, and lines become sharper. The white lights are gone, leaving me in exactly the same shape as they found me, but in a completely different place. A place immaculately clean and bright, and just...not real somehow. It seems futuristic and shiny, and completely worthy of the headache and aching body I know how. Whatever just happened, it's taken me far away from home.
~2259.59~
I'm not sure if I should close his eyes or not. Don't people usually close dead people's eyes? But, to be fair, I'm not even sure if he has eyes anymore. I mean, I see them but they look like popped egg yolks. Still, he has eyelids. Albeit, popped eye yolk is dripping from the eyelids...but they're there. It's pretty gross, and the more I consider it, the more I feel like I might throw up again. There's nothing to throw up anymore, not after the ten times I've retched thus far, but it's the action that counts I guess.
I haven't been able to move for hours now. It must have been hours ago that Khan left. It feels like it's been days, years, left all alone with a bridge full of unconscious Vengeance personnel and a man with a crushed skull. I almost wonder if Khan is going to come back. And then I realize, I really don't want him to. He's probably found out about Spock's trick by now, and is probably really pissed. He's already told me what he'll do if I threaten him or try to shoot him again. I can't imagine what the punishment for knowingly tricking him out of getting his crew back would be. Maybe worse that popped eyes dripping from sunken eyelids.
I feel like I should close the eyelids. It seems like the respectful thing to do. I mean, as respectful as I really can be after puking on the guy. But I really can't summon the strength to reach forward and lower them. I can't move at all, come to think of it. My legs are crushed against my chest, my arms wrapped around them, as they've been for who knows how many hours. And my eyes are set firmly on the broken head of Ex-Admiral Alexander Marcus. God, Khan did this in front of Carol! He crushed this guy's skull in front of his own daughter!
I hear the door slide open behind me and I would tense up if every muscle in my body weren't already tensed in fear. Just being on the same damn ship as this psychopath is enough to make me a rock of anxiety. And now he's in the same room as me again. Probably mad as hell over the whole missile thing. Heavy, firm footsteps cross the the bridge and stand right behind me, causing the hairs on the back of my head to stand on alert. I'm sure he can sense every little flinch I make away from him. I bet he can smell my fear like an animal. There's a faint sound of rustling as he kneels behind me, then he puts a hand on my shoulder and I swear my heart jumps out of my throat and onto the floor in pure fear.
"Did you know?" His voice sounds heavy, like he's angry, but trying to contain it. I know what he's talking about, but I'm too afraid to answer. His hand squeezes tightly and I manage a nod, if for the sake of saving my shoulder from a fracture. His grip loosens a bit, so the impending crack of bones is thwarted, but he says nothing. I feel like I have to speak now, because his quiet is just too dangerous of a sound.
"Spock knew you'd betray us. He had to have a backup plan, in case I couldn't convince you to leave in peace. He would have detonated them if you had started firing. But he didn't want to do it if your crew was still inside of them. So he took them out." I manage to keep the shaking out of my voice. For a moment I remember who I was back in 1991. I would never sound like this, so weak and scared. Never in a thousand years. I could stand up to Darth Vader and not waver. But Khan can crush people's skulls in his hands and killed millions in a war I missed by that much. I think even Darth Vader would quiver in his presence. "Are you going to kill me?" I ask, when I realize he's probably more pissed now than before.
"No." He states rather resolutely. I will myself to tear my eyes away from the remains of Marcus and look at him over my shoulder. His eyes are dark, darker than I've ever seen them. Anger rages in the blue depths and hate for Spock, and probably me as well, burns me with his very gaze. He came so close to getting his crew back. The people he was fighting for all along. Within his grasp. And now we're who knows how far away from them and they'll probably be under lock and key in a room at Star Fleet headquarters within the next few hours. But, there's something else in his overpowering stare that even I can't understand. An emotion deeper and darker than the fury, one I can't name.
"Are you going to kill them?" I don't take my eyes off his, but I think he understands who I mean by them. The unconscious men surrounding us all over the bridge. After all, what use could they really serve to him now?
"No. Because I have lost my crew...again...I will need to make a new one. At least for the purposes of reclaiming my previous crew." He tells me, his voice flat, but his eyes still dancing with fierce emotions. His hand moves very slowly, off my shoulder and cups my upper arm.
"What do you mean? Make a new one?"
"The process of genetically engineering an Augment is simple enough, at least it is to someone of my intellect. These...bodies will make adequate Augments. At least good enough to provide a distraction for Star Fleet while I retake my family." He fades off here, finally moving his paralyzing eyes from me to the bodies littered about. He makes a face of disappointment at the condition of his future crew, but seems to push through it. "As for you, I have greater plans." He states, turning his eyes back to me. I feel like every cell of my blood has frozen in my veins and that my brain has just turned to mush.
"Painful plans?" I whimper, actually whimper! His trademark smirk pulls at his lips briefly before disappearing. Ignoring my question, he steels his grip on my arm and pulls me up, my limbs sore from disuse and screaming in protest. He hardly notices as he drags me along, off the bridge and out into the hallways. His pace is quick, well quick compared to my zombie like stumbling, as he transverses the halls. He designed this ship, so I'm not surprised he knows exactly where to go. Still, it's a bit alarming the familiarity he has with the layout. Like he memorized every passage and room. And this place is huge! My brain would explode before I could know my way around as precisely as he does.
Eventually he stops at a door, typing in a code too fast for me to catch it. When the door slides open he spares me no time to look around, simply pulls me through and deposits me on the nearest chair. He doesn't explain, doesn't say anything, just gives me a look that suggests I better stay put, then turns and stalks out. I wonder if he's going to start working on his new crew, while I just sit here. But really, what else can I be doing?
~1988~
"It's a brilliant opportunity mom! You know how much I want to travel, and this way I can save money for school, while I simultaneously gain knowledge about different cultures!" Mom gives me a bit of a stink eye as she pointedly refuses to show emotion. God, she seems like a robot sometimes! Like some sort of alien that has no emotions!
"I think it's a bad idea. You should stay here, get a job here, and go to school here." She states. I can't help but roll my eyes at her stubbornness.
"I'm freaking 18, I can make my own decisions! I'm going to England! Besides, there's nothing for me here! Just the same old people doing the same old things and never changing!" I storm out, slamming her door as I go, and stalk right past my room to the front room. Dayl and Anthea are over, but they quickly avert their eyes from me, probably hearing every word that was said. I feel my blood boiling as I pull on shoes and grab my car keys.
"Where are you going?" Only Carter would be able to see my despicable mood and still ask me questions that could potentially set me off.
"Out." I hiss, grabbing my wallet and phone from where I left them on the bar, and slamming the front door too. Muttering strings of curses I slink down the stairs and to my car, ignoring how crappy it is for today. As long as it gets me away from here and to somewhere I actually like, it's a wonderful creation. My phone rings, and I glance at it to see Carter's contact picture. I pointedly ignore it, driving away from the apartments, towards the library. The library always helps.
It's not that busy today, since it's midday and midweek, and school has started for most everyone. But the school I want to go to is really expensive, thus why I'm not going this year. And why I want to go to England and work, so I can save money and go to my dream school. But apparently that's never gonna happen, if my mom has anything to say about it. God, I just don't understand why she's pitching such a fit over this! I would think she'd be happy for me! She got to go to Australia and Portugal when she was my age, why the hell can't I go to England?!
My phone rings again, this one from Dayl, so I turn it off all together. I really don't want to talk to anyone in my family right now. They've never been concerned about me before, why the hell should they be concerned now? They have themselves to worry about, after all. That's all they ever worry about. Themselves. I glance down at my arms as I think bitterly about them. Covered with sleeves to hide something I do pretty regularly, but that they have no idea about. And they never will. Because I don't matter. Especially not when they have themselves to worry about.
I decide to wander through Science Fiction for a little while. I grew up watching Stargate and the like, and robots and aliens are familiar to me. Familiar and comforting. I remember spending days watching X-Files with my dad while mom and Carter went shopping. I was never a girly girl who could shop all day, like them. I preferred wrestling with my brothers and watching National Geographic specials about all the poisonous reptiles in Brazil.
"If you like those books, you should try this series." I jump a little and look towards the voice that's interrupted my internal flashbacks. It's a guy, a bit older than me, with brown feathery hair and green eyes like moss. He smiles at my startles expression and I quickly cover it with an uneasy smile. "I'm Tyler." He holds out his hand and I hesitantly shake it.
"I'm Lily." I tell him with a bit of a braver smile. "Thanks, for the book recommend. I've already read those though." I explain with a shrug.
"You have good taste. Who's your favorite?"
"Uh, probably this guy." I pull out a book that I've read ten times, but still return to every now and again just for kicks. It's really well written, about a sort of apocalyptic future ruled by machines. But I have a copy at home so I don't really check it out from the library. He takes the copy and reads the description on the back with a quirked eyebrow.
"Sounds cool. I'll have to check it out, unless you want it." He offers it back, but I shake my head.
"No, you should take it. I have it at home anyways. I was thinking about trying this one." I hold up the book I have in my hands, something about a kid who can connect with machines or something like that. "Do you read a lot of Sci-Fi?"
"Oh, too much of it, probably. But I think it'll come in handy when the future gets here and everyone else is stuck in the past." He smiles with a wink. "Like, I've heard there are scientist trying to genetically engineer people! That's some futuristic shit! And some people are making a fuss over it, but come on. The future's gonna happen whether they like it or not."
"I couldn't agree more. But some people are pretty stuck in their ways." I can think of a few that live in my own house! He smiles gently and bites his lip. It's about to get awkward, and I'm about to say something, when he chuckles.
"Hey, I don't suppose you wanna maybe have coffee?" He peeks at me from under his eyelashes and I'm a bit stunned for a moment. He's asking me out to get coffee? Even after he's seen my nerdiness? Weird, this has never happened. Usually if a guy asks me out, they stare at my chest or their shoes. This guy is actually holding my gaze, with a sweet smile, and he likes Sci-Fi! Plus he's super cute! Oh my god, what a catch!
"Sure. That would be nice."
~2259.60~
There's no clock in my little room, but I just feel like it has to have been at least twelve hours since the Vengeance showed up. It seems like time is passing very slowly. Maybe I'll ask Khan what time it is when I see him again. Then again, I probably won't. I have no idea if anything I say will set him off and make him change his mind. I don't know which buttons an innocent enough question might push, and that's a very dangerous thing to not know.
When I can't stand just sitting around anymore, I shakily get up and test my luck with the door. I need a code to open it, even from the inside. Apparently it's the captain's cabin, the second most guarded room, the first being the brig. No escape. With a huff I meander to a window, adjusting the dark tint of the glass so I can look through at the passing space. We're still at warp, but I've always liked how warp looks. It's remarkably like you'd expect it to be. Streaks of light flying by as we go faster than the humans of my time ever thought possible.
A hand grips my shoulder firmly, and I feel my heart exploding in surprise, an embarrassing shriek escaping my lips. Khan's dark chuckle does nothing to help my mini heart attack I just had, if anything it exacerbates it. My hands are gripping the window sill so tight, my fingers might as well dent the metal, or shatter trying.
"Are you sure you're not trying to kill me?" I growl, glaring at the passing space. His other hand settles over mine, making my hand seem so small in comparison. He slowly moves his hand up my arm, his fingers gliding over my skin and every now and then pausing to trace a ghost of a scar. I break out in goosebumps that just get worse as his hand travels over my shoulder, across my neck, and to my left cheek so he can turn my face towards his. His eyes are sparkling in what I assume to either be victory or anger, I can't be sure. But since he's got a deadly smirk, I'd say victory.
"We have a game to play Lily." He tells me, his voice a low, predatory drawl.
"A game?" I can't help how weak my voice sounds. The last game we played resulted in me being the focus of his attention and ending up on the USS Vengeance, millions of miles away from the crew I consider my family. But I feel like this game might result in something much worse, if his devastating grin is anything to go by. He drops his hand to my wrist and pulls me away from the window, pushing me, not to lightly, back into the chair he left me in. He takes the one across from mine and smiles ever so politely.
"We're providing answers for each other, but this time, you won't be asking any questions." He states quite happily.
"Isn't that a bit one sided?" I frown.
"Not at all. You give me answers to my questions...and I will give you answers about your family." Instantly I recoil, the thought of him knowing things about my family is just terrifying. But...how the hell could he know anything about my family that I didn't tell him? Clearly my confusion and shock is written all over my face, because he takes the liberty to go on. "All those months aboard a ship with nearly limitless information to be accessed, and the thought never occurred to you to seek out answers about the people you love."
"I never thought...I mean..." What can I really say? With all that "limitless information" at my disposal, I occupied myself by learning everything I could about history and science and advancements and alien species. But it never even crossed my mind that I could research my family, and discover how their lives played out without me there.
"I imagine in your mind you liked to think that they were frozen in place when you left. That they are still there waiting for you to come back, hundreds of years in the past. But the fact is, they lived and died and centuries passed. And then you were alive again, somewhere in the future where your family is gone. But their records are still very alive."
"Then I can access them through the computer, I don't have to play this game with you at all!" I point out. He smiles almost sympathetically, like he's dealing with a child. And maybe I am a child compared to him.
"You won't find anything. I'm afraid all records of your family are buried deep in the most restricted sections of the archives, sections that need Admiral Codes to access." He doesn't sound even a bit sorry for me.
"And I'm guessing, from your smirk, you've managed to gain access, most likely with Admiral Marcus' codes, and are going to hold all the information for ransom." I scowl at him and slump back in my seat, propping up my feet on the table that separates us. He nods, that smug smile still firmly in place. I have a small mental debate with myself before groaning and nodding. "Fine, I'll play."
"I thought you would. I'll start." It sounds like an order. "Who was Tyler Fuller?" I can't help the little twist of my stomach at the name. Tyler.
"How do you know about him? He wasn't my family." I keep my voice as monotone as possible, staring holes into his head.
"But he was in their history. Answer the question Lily." He demands. I consider not answering him. I mean, Spock promised me he'd come for me. And I believe he will. And when he does, after I'm rescued and Khan's dealt with, I can just beg for my families records. I don't technically need to play. But I don't even want to think about what lengths Khan might go to in order to make me answer his questions. He's obviously used to getting what he wants.
"He was my boyfriend. We broke up when I left to England, but we remained friends until the day I was beamed to the future." I admit, my voice dry and neutral. But I'm sure he can see past my cold exterior and into my heart where I'm missing Tyler fiercely.
"It's interesting. For how desperately you avoided relationships and their ends, you still allowed yourself to form them. What was so special about this boy that made you let him in?" He sounds so interested, and that's the most confusing part of this whole thing. Why is he interested in me? A lowly mortal human girl, from the past no less. Why am I the one he chose to investigate further?
"He was different. We could talk for hours about things that we both found interesting. He looked me in the eye instead of staring at my boobs. And he wouldn't leave me alone. He kept calling me and asking me out more and more, he wasn't put off by my temper or dry sense of humor or my family. He didn't care about any of my shortcomings. He cared about me. And I really needed that." I manage to keep myself as unemotional as possible. I remember reading about Vulcans and how insensitivity to emotions can come in handy. Especially right now. Khan watches me for a long, uncomfortable moment during which I stare right back at him. Then he slowly smiles and nods.
"Shall I tell you what became of him? Of the boy who was different?" I'm sure he can tell how anxious I am to know what he knows, but he only shrugs. "Maybe later. I think I'll start by telling you about your oldest brother. Daylan Watcher, called Dayl by his siblings. He was a brilliant man. Could have been a doctor or a psychologist. But after the disappearance of his youngest sister, through apparently alien means, he turned to science." I unconsciously lean forward, chewing on my lips nervously as he speaks. "In 1993 he was contacted by a few other scientist who needed his help creating something that was deemed impossible by most. The creation of a human Augment."
"You can't mean...Dayl...he helped start the Eugenics War?" My voice cracks in revulsion.
"It wasn't really his fault. He was assured that no one would be harmed, and that these Augments would be the first step on a road to the future. A future that could answer the question of what happened to his sister. Unfortunately things didn't go so smoothly, and he and his wife were killed by one of the Augments in 1994." I can feel my chest tightening at the information, and I have to fight hard with myself to keep the tears at bay. I won't cry in front of Khan, even for my brother. But...he was killed! Him and Anthea! Killed because he was looking for answers about what happened to me!
"How did they die?" I whisper. He considers me a moment, his face no longer snarky and cruel. He actually appears to be somewhat sorry for me.
"Augments are very effective. It would have been quick, a snapped neck or blow to the head." He sounds like a business man, discussing the assets of a product.
"Would they have been in much pain?"
"I do not believe so." At least there's that. "Do you need a moment?" I can't be sure if he's being malicious or not by asking. Honestly, I'd like a lot longer than a moment to recover from this news, but I need to hear more. I need to know what happened to the rest of my family.
"No, ask your next question." He watches me for a moment before nodding.
"Did you love your family?"
"Of course I did!" I nearly growl, but I'm still not over Dayl, so it's kinda half-assed.
"Naturally you would respond that you loved them, but I'm not asking if you loved them because they were your blood and you were obligated. I'm asking if you loved them because of who they were." He explains, kind of snappily.
"Well...I mean, siblings fight and all. It doesn't mean I hated them or something!"
"You are avoiding the question, Lily. Did you approve of your family as the people that they were?" He stands, towering over me and making me sink back into my chair.
"No!" I admit quietly. But it's enough for him, and he sits down. "No. Dayl was a control freak and a hypocrite who wanted everything and everyone to be what was convenient for him. Leroy drank all the time, and was mean to Carter and Jace, he hated them! He renounced our sister as his sister. And Carter...she got angry so quickly! The moment you said something, anything, to upset her, she would snap all over you! And she was such a hypocrite, lazy, controlling, leeching, angry person!" It all comes rushing out like a dam bursting, and frankly, it feels so good! To just talk and express what I've wanted to say for years!
"And your parents?"
"My parents. My mom was stubborn and irrational and a bit racist. And my dad detested shows of affection and would go into rages quicker than Carter could. So yes, I didn't like my family. But that doesn't mean I didn't love them. They all had redeeming qualities that made it easier as I got older to love them even more." His smirk is returning, and I really hate that smirk.
"Interesting. Perhaps you'd like to know what happened to your parents. I'll even tell you both of their fates." I can't help but perk up, curious and concerned about what happened to my mom and dad. "The official records didn't hold much by way of their lives. There was a divorce filed in 1990, which was voided in 1992, shortly after your...disappearance. According to Daylan's personal journals, they had been fighting for some time, but they made up to keep the family together in their time of trouble. Loosing their daughter made them realize they didn't want to loose each other." He tells it like a story almost. And here I am, soaking it all up.
"Well...at least I did one good thing." He smiles, and I think it might be genuine. "But what happened to them? How did they...you know..." I fade off, finding it bizarrely hard to say they died. He seems to understand for some reason.
"They too were killed by an Augment, in the same month and year as Daylan and Anthea." My eyes go blurry for a moment, tears begging to be shed, but I blink them back and close my eyes for a moment. This...sucks. So bad. I can't help but wonder if the Augment who killed Dayl and Anthea was the same one who killed mom and dad. "They were buried together. They were generally described as a content couple, both trying to accept the loss of their daughter and trying to keep the rest of their family close." That actually does make me feel a little better. But not even nearly enough.
"Next question." I mutter between my teeth. I want to get this over with. I want to find out about my family and then cry for...oh, a few years maybe. He's silent so I open my eyes to glare at him, demanding his question.
"Very well. You said before that the self injury helped you cope with the drama of your siblings and stressful classes. But why did you start? What was the trigger?" His eyes are glued to my arms now, assessing every scar, every indent left on my skin. It's a little awkward, and I almost feel exposed, but I don't move to cover my arms. At least he can't see my legs.
"It was ninth grade. My mom and my sister were arguing. It wasn't even about me, but I had a habit of blaming myself for every fight that happened at home. I locked myself in the bathroom and found myself staring at a razor. I had older friends who I knew had cut themselves, and all three of my siblings had a history. It just...made sense. I told myself that I wasn't going to do it again, but then a week later, my dad was yelling at me a lot, enough to make me cry. He was having a bad day and I was being a brat, so he really blew up. And I used scissors. From there it just steamrolled until I was cutting every day."
"What stopped it?" Khan demands the moment he senses that I'm done speaking.
"Tell me about my family first." He gives me one of the most annoyed looks I've ever seen, and growls when he senses my determination.
"Your sister, Carter, and her son lived long lives hidden far away from the Eugenics war, and all the world. There are no records of either after 1996." Well at least some of them didn't die horrible deaths. "Her husband, however met the same fate as your brother and parents." Death by Augment. I'm beginning to think my family did something really bad to piss off such an Augment. If he went as far as murdering even my brother-in-law!
"And Leroy? Was he murdered by an Augment too?" I find myself glowering at the table between us, wanting to kick and hit it until it breaks, or I do.
"It's my turn Lily." And that's the straw that breaks the camels back.
"This isn't a fucking game Khan!" I exclaim, suddenly finding myself standing and glaring down at him for a change. He makes no move to rise or challenge me, just stares at me with that ever analyzing gaze. "This is my family! And what happened to them after I got beamed to the future! They were not, and are not, leverage to get me to answer your questions!" I snarl, quite sure my face is red with a mixture of anger and fear. I'm stepping way over the line right now, but I could care less. Finally he very slowly stands, as intimidating as ever.
"Leroy drank himself to death, unable to cope with your disappearance. His death, and the pathetic way in which he brought his own death about, triggered a fierce dark anger in the Augment who killed Daylan, Anthea, Evan, and your parents. He saw the way Leroy wasted away as proof that your family had given up on you. He was angry with them for loosing hope of ever getting you back, so he killed them." I feel all my anger instantly drain away, to be replaced with a horrible gut wrenching despair and an even more horrible curiosity.
"Who was the Augment? Please, Khan, I'll tell you anything you want to know about me, just tell me who killed most of my family." His face remains as impassive as ever, but his eyes seem to spark just a little. The promise of information seems to appeal to him, but I also sense hesitancy in the shocking blue depths. A need to protect me from the knowledge of who killed them. For whatever reason, he wants to protect me. "Please." But I don't want him to.
"The Augment was the first to be made by your brother. He volunteered, led by the promise of being able to see you again. He was a success, but his emotions were severely out of control, thus the mass killing of your family when he thought they'd let you go. His name was Tyler Fuller."
~2259.01~
My head is ringing and I can't hear anything but a sort of static noise. My vision is still all white, but the lights that surrounded me are long gone. I can't feel anything in my body, I can't even feel my fingers. I can't move anything. I do feel something, a dull throbbing pain in my shoulder. And as the white blaring light that's highjacked my vision starts to dull, the pain in my shoulder becomes more pronounced. Like my senses are trying to start working again, but it's very slow going. I can hear what I think are very blurry and quiet versions of whispers, and the ringing is dying down.
"Doc-" The first fragment I can make out sounds like a guy's voice. He sounds...different. I'm not sure how. "Capt-" It's that same different voice, that gets fuzzy after the first syllable of whatever he's saying. He sounds...panicked? Maybe. But it's something about his voice...what is that word? It sounds so...
"Mr. Sc-" This is a different voice. It's not different like the first guy. It sounds normal. But panicked also. What the hell is that word? Ack...accident...absent...accent...adamant? No! It is accent! The first voice has an accent! And the second one doesn't.
"Can you-" Another new voice. It doesn't really have an accent, but it's strong and authoritative. The white of my vision is a lot dimmer than it started, grays and blacks creeping in to outline a lot of shapes in my close vision. One that kinda looks like a human is crouched over me, with some boxy shaped thing at his feet. Three others are nearby, and beyond them there are too many human shapes to count. All of them slightly leaning, almost curiously, towards me.
"Can you he-" The one crouched over me is trying to ask me something. But my ears only hear the first part of the question. It's funny, this one has an accent too, but I feel like it's not as strange as the first man's voice. Like it's familiar somehow. "Can you hear-" Is he asking me if I can hear him? Well I can, but not very well. Colors are starting to swirl back in with the black and white. A flash of brown and a lot of blue and tanned skin. The man leaning over me is wearing blue. He has brown hair, and tan skin. He has an accent. But...who is? Is he a doctor? Did I fall and hit my head when the lights came? Is my mom here with the man in blue? I'm sure she'll be able to tell them what happened.
"Doc, what's-" The second voice. It sounds younger than the other three. The ringing seems to be coming back, but it's fuzzy, like a lot of voices talking quietly. I suppose that must be the people behind the other three. I squint at them, willing the colors to arrive to them as well. There's one in red, with brown hair. And another person is in blue, like the one above me. But he has black hair. And the other one is in a vibrant yellow. Gold, I guess. And his hair is light. Much lighter than the others.
"I dunno Jim. I don't know how much-" I think he's saying that. I can't tell for sure. It's all blurry. But my senses are coming back faster, almost exponentially faster. Slow at first, but now the colors are taking shape and lines are getting sharper. The man above me has brown eyes, eyes that are narrowed in concern and maybe frustration. His lips are moving, but I'm only getting bits and pieces. "Her pupils...might be from...chance of concussion...infirmary." Infirmary. That's a hospital. But...where's my mom? I don't need to go to the hospital! Mom should be telling them that! I've hit my head before, I've had concussions before. I don't need to go all the way to the hospital when I just need to stay awake for a few hours and drink water.
"Bones, she's saying something." The young voice, from the one in gold I think, says. Am I trying to say something? My lips seem to be mumbling. What am I saying? No hospital? Yeah, that's it! No hospital.
"No..." I can't believe how exhausting talking is! I can barely get one word out! "No...hosp-"
"No hospital?" The man, who I now assume is a doctor, asks with a raised eyebrow.
"What's your name?" The guy in gold asks from over the doctor's shoulder.
"Jim, she's clearly still out of it." The doctor huffs at the guy.
"Lily." They both look at me instantly. "My name...is Lily."