Chapter 2: Tempus Fugit

He followed the trio to the door, and closed it behind them before turning back to the bed. He let the duffle bag slide off his shoulder, and an instant later he was at her side.

"The first time I see you in two years, and you're out cold." he whispered, tears forming in his eyes as he shakily reached his hand out. He brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes, a frown forming on his face. "What have they done to you, little dragon?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her right hand in his left. Her fingers twitched, and his frowned deepened.

"Not only did they break our bond, but they blocked your energy as well? This simply will not do, Little Dragon." His eyes flashed as he stood up. He retrieved the duffle bag from the other side of the room, and opened it as he headed back towards the bed. He set it down at the food of the bed, and pulled out a rather elaborate dagger.

He sat down on the bed again, this time choosing to sit next to her stomach. He held the dagger in his right hand, taking her right hand in his left. He turned her hand palm-up. He let out a deep breath, and then began to chant.

I summon the Fates to witness

As I bind two lives together

Turning each day to silent night

As a guardian comes to life tonight

I summon the Elements to witness

As I pledge my life to hers

I, her guardian, will protect

And get rid of those who object

Marlene's whole body tensed, reacting to the power that was being called forth through the chant. The young man loosened his grip on her hand, and slip the blade between their hands. Then, tightening his grip on her hand again, he drew the blade out, slicing both of their palms open.

As their blood mingled, the power swirled around them, making the air crackle. Marlene whimpered.

"Be calm, Little Dragon, " he said softly, trying to sooth the now shaking unconscious girl. "It will be over soon."

~.~

"Why didn't you tell him before?" Jet asked. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was watching the German man. After 004 had passed out, they had moved him from the floor to the couch.

"What do you think would have happened if I had, 002?" the professor responded. "After the nine of you rebelled, Hilda was already dead. If I had told him about Marlene, he would have gone to her, and that would have disrupted her learning."

The American's eyes narrowed. "So you denied him his daughter?"

"It was far safer to deny him his daughter, than risk the end of the world." Gilmore replied gravely, looking out the window.

"I don't get it." G. B. sighed, sipping at his tea. "What you're saying sounds like a bomb, rather than a girl."

"004 and his daughter come from a line of very powerful people. Each member of the family has control over an element, further back than can be traced. Once every fifty generations or so, someone is born with control over all of the elements, instead of just one." Gilmore paused, looking at the former actor. "If she were to lose control after her powers fully develop, it would be more than enough to start a chair reaction that could destroy the entire world."

"So they have magic? Yeah right." Jet snorted.

"No, 002. It is a connection with the elements, not magic. Other family bloodlines have similar connections with the elements, though there are few left. All of those with the ability pair with another. As a bonded pair, those with the connection help one another to learn control over the power. However, because of the intensity of the bond, if one dies, the other does as well."

"Always?"

"With the exception of 004 and Hilda, and Apollo and Marlene, yes. The only thing I can figure is that Black Ghost must have found a way to reverse or sever the bond, without killing the pairs."

"Black Ghost or not, he failed to protect her."

G.B., Jet, and Gilmore looked at the cyborg on the couch. He was laying there, staring at the ceiling.

"He was her guardian. He vowed to protect her, and failed. He is no different than any other Wunderlin." Albert's voice was cool as he spoke. "It is only by some freak chance of luck that she's still alive."

"Don't judge Apollo so harshly, 004, he isn't like his ancestor." Gilmore sighed.

"Then explain how Black Ghost got her."

Gilmore rose from his chair. "I can't explain what I don't know."

"Albert, out of curiosity, how long have you been awake?" G. B. asked as the target of his question sat up.

"Jet dropping me on the couch woke me up," came the dry reply. Jet grinned.

Francoise walked in, gently massaging her temples. "Something very odd just happened."

"My dear, are you alright?" Gilmore asked as he led the Frenchwoman to a chair.

"I…think so. But I could have sworn, when I walked by that room…" She shook her head. "It was as if a hundred voices were all whispering amongst themselves."

"Ah, good. Don't worry, it's nothing to worry about." Gilmore said, heading for the door. "Now, I suggest you all get some rest. Everything will be explained in time."

Silence fell after Gilmore walked out. After a while, Albert stood. "'In time' will be tomorrow," he muttered as he also walked out. The other three watched him go. After a while, Jet shook his head.

"I hate family drama."

~.~

Something cold was on her hand. She had no idea what it was, other than a mild annoyance. It went away, and she drifted back to sleep.

Then her hand was picked up, and something was being wrapped around it.

"Lemme 'lone, 'pollo, 'm tired, lemme sleep…" she murmured, trying to pull her hand away. When she was unable to move her hand, she let out a frustrated sigh.

"You've been asleep for a day and a half, Little Dragon, long enough for us to make it back to Hibiki's house. Doctor Gilmore is getting worried."

Her eyes snapped open, locking onto the hand that was holding hers. "This must be a dream. Apollo was shot. I…I saw him fall," she whispered.

"Fall, but not die, Little Dragon," Apollo replied softly, raising her freshly bandaged hand to his lips, gently kissing the back of her hand. Their eyes met. "You should know, Mari, that I could never allow myself to die while you still needed me."

"But the connection…"

"Black Ghost found a way to break our bond and suppress most of your power."

She closed her eyes as tears welled up. She took a deep breath.

"Give me something to make this real, Apollo."

"What would you like, Little Dragon? What will set your mind at ease, and make this not a dream?"

He gently ran his thumb back and forth across the palm of her hand as she thought. She opened her eyes, and looked up at him. "I need to talk to Gilmore. And the man who jumped out the window with me. I should thank him."

Apollo arched an eyebrow. "You want to thank him for jumping out a window?"

She smirked. "I recall thanking you for jumping off the roof once." She tried to sit up, and winced.

"Careful, Mari. With most of your powers suppressed, you really drained yourself with your little adventure." He rose from his seat on the edge of the bed, and lifted her into his arms.

"Hey 'pollo? How is our link back if Black Ghost broke it?"

"I preformed the ceremony the night the cyborgs rescued you. You woke when I was putting a fresh bandage on your hand," he replied as he carried her out of the room. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Marlene asked, frowning. "I'm surprised you didn't wake me up sooner. I'll probably be awake for a week now."

"Not for that, Little Dragon."

"Then-"

~I see you're awake.~

"Hi again, new voice in my head! You're 001, right?" Marlene replied to the voice, earning a chuckle from Apollo.

~Right. Everyone's waiting for you. Go through the second door to your right.~

"Alright. Shall we, 'pollo?"

"Of course, Little Dragon."

~.~

Gilbert, Jet, Albert, Joe, Ivan, G.B., and Francoise were in the room, scattered about, waiting for the Marlene and Apollo. As they came in, Apollo walked towards the couch, setting Marlene next to Albert. Marlene smiled at Apollo in thanks, and he kissed her forehead before walking over to Gilmore.

While Apollo and Gilmore exchanged greetings, the attention of the other inhabitants of the room were locked on Marlene, who had leaned over to give Albert a hug.

"Thanks for the other day!" She smiled at him. "Not many people would have just jumped out the window like that."

A bit shocked from the hug, Albert didn't reply right away. "Well, there wasn't much else we could do, was there?" He smiled back. "At least I had the decency not to scream bloody murder as we fell."

After introductions were passed around, everyone settled down. Jet, Joe, and Apollo were leaning against various walls. Doctor Gilmore and Francoise (holding Ivan) were sitting in armchairs, and Marlene, Albert, and G.B were sitting on the long couch.

"So, where to start?" Gilmore asked.

"The beginning would be nice." Albert answered, a cold note in his voice. Marlene raised an eyebrow at him.

"Very well." Apollo said from the wall behind the couch. "In the beginning, God got bored-"

"So he made humans. Then the humans started killing each other-" Marlene continued.

"And the Lord found it amusing, until they killed each other off."

"Afterwards, he decided that it wouldn't be worth the effort to make more humans. So he started playing The Sims, and bam! Here were are." Marlene grinned. "The end."

Silence fell on the room. Gilmore shook his head. "Wrong story, you two." The targets of his comment grinned at him.

"Sorry Gilmore," they said in unison.

"Where do you want us to start?" Apollo asked, suddenly serious. "I only know from when Mari's mother arrived in the states to the present."

"I know more about the mini-genocide than Apollo does." Marlene added.

"I doubt family ties have much to do with what we want to discuss, Marlene." Gilmore said.

"Actually, I was wondering which Wunderlin branch went to the states." Albert cut in. Apollo glanced at him. The tension between them did not go unnoticed by the others in the room.

"The Russian one, shortly after the Wunder-Heinro War." he answered.

"The what?" Joe asked.

"The Wunder-Heinro war," Marlene answered, "was the war between the Heinrich and Wunderlin families after a bonded pair had been killed. Each side blamed the other, and proceeded to take revenge for their loss. It lasted several years, until both families retreated, on the verge of extinction. The names of pair that died were Marlene and Dustin."

"You were named after her?" Albert asked. Marlene shook her head.

"I was named after both of them. Marlene Dustin Heinrich is my full name. Anyways, about the Wunderlins in the states. Apollo's family had been living in Virginia for about two hundred years. Mom and I moved into his neighborhood, and boom, the rest was chaos."

"Hilda Heinrich had been pulled out of stasis, and after having Marlene, Black Ghost wiped her mind of the organization. She was told that her husband had been killed in Germany, and that friends had taken her to America for a new start." Gilmore added heavily.

Albert's gaze was locked on the floor, his fists clenched.

"When I was around six years old, Apollo and I started training. It took until I was almost ten before I managed to control any of the elements." Marlene said softly. "But when I was twelve…" she trailed off.

All of the cyborgs tensed as Apollo suddenly appeared directly behind Marlene. He leaned over the back of the couch, wrapping his arms around Marlene's shoulders. He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded. He muttered something else, both of them oblivious to the looks they were getting from the others in the room. This time, she smiled slightly, shaking her head. He smiled in return, and backed away, once again leaning against the wall.

"Continuing on that, her twelfth year was not so good." Apollo paused. "She lost all of her control that year. My abilities manifested that year as well. We…started all over that year.

"A few years after that, Black Ghost attacked." Marlene murmured, "We were caught off guard, and Apollo got hurt. Things were quiet after that for a while."

"Until her sixteenth birthday, anyway." Apollo cut in. "One of the German Wunderlins found us, and tried to kill Marlene. He had been working for Black Ghost."

"But he wasn't a good Shadow Walker, and I kicked his ass in time for Apollo to take me to a 'sixteen years and still alive' movie!" Marlene grinned. Then, without warning, her head dropped, and her body slumped back into the couch.

Francoise gasped. "Is she-"

"She's just asleep, Miss Francoise." Apollo said softly, before glancing at Albert. "What exactly is it you want to know? I can see it in your eyes, you've got questions for me that your daughter might not be able to handle."

Gilmore looked surprised. "Apollo, what are you-"

"Gilmore, did you honestly think wiping Hilda's mind would work? She was part of the Wolfe line, Tonio Giovanni's pathetic mind tricks are no match for even a drop of Wolfe blood," he almost sneered, his eyes flashing. "Hilda remembered everything, and it tore her apart that she was never able to tell her daughter."