The Brothers of Light were still pondering their options, undecided, when Brother Franz announced unexpected guests in the form of Petra and Donte. They looked at each other, curious as to why they'd come back so soon, and without the rest of The Six, so they went to greet them personally and find out. Petra and Donte looked disapprovingly at the presence of Dr. Bender and his cronies. People all over the sanctuary shuddered as they felt the presence of two ancient and powerful beings in their midst. The brothers took them to a comfortable room where they could speak in private. "Forget about this foolish task Tory set you out to do," Petra said, "The doctor is a self-centered paranoid loser. He plans to double cross you the first chance he gets."
"Yes," Donte contributed, "Tory feels there is a lot you could learn from him, but he and that woman he works with are destined to be sucked into a wormhole and sent to who knows where, which is no less than what they deserve, considering their long term plans having you two in their custody."
Tomax and Xamot were touched. Did they come all the way back out of concern for their safety? Petra frowned, perturbed about something; they weren't sure what. She asked them, "Back in the day when you recovered from your gunshot wounds...do you remember anything about that day, or what happened around the time Tory sent you here?"
A memory came up in Tomax's mind, reminding him why they -or mostly he, as Xamot wouldn't have shared this memory- had always been a little bit fearful of the incredible power of The Six. Tomax had come to awareness knowing he was seriously injured, yet strangely, feeling no pain. He was paralyzed, however, and couldn't open his eyes to see or move his lips to speak. He could hear Petra in the background speaking to Tory gravely, saying, "Maybe it would be best to let them go. They'll never be the same if we bring him back. We don't even know what this will do to Max..how much pain it will cause." Tory had replied, "Of course not, what do think the point will have been?" Tomax became distressed. He hadn't wanted to be let go. ...Monty...Monty.. he sent into Xamot's mind, seeking his comforting presence, but Xamot had never seemed so closed off nor slumbered so deeply. They usually slept at the same time and even dreamed together. Had someone given his brother a powerful sedative?
Donte answered his question tersely, "When Tory found you after you had been shot, she didn't bother checking for a pulse on Monty. He was clearly dead. The theory we are to accept was that he had been standing in a position to receive most of the fire, and your sympathetic pain sharing would have caused both of your bodies to jerk from the impact of the bullets, confusing the gunman into thinking they were hitting both of you. The truth is, Max, you hadn't been fatally injured."
Xamot suddenly remembered that day, when he had done what he always tried to do his whole life, shielding his brother from danger. He caught an image in Donte's mind, of himself lying in a pool of blood touching hands with Tomax. His teeth were dark with blood he had coughed up taking his last breath, and most of the blood they had been lying in was his. It had been mercifully quick, over in a matter of seconds, almost a relief considering the anxiety he had felt every day since Tory's warning. "How am I alive now?" he asked, confused, struggling to remember anything. There was a gap in his memory; he would have to rely on his sibling's recollections.
Petra enlightened him, "Your psychic connection preserved your life. We believe that Dr. Bender has an idea of this possibility, and that is why he has a sudden interest in having you join forces with him. Maybe he went too far torturing one of you in his lab? Who knows, but on the day you were killed, Max was able to preserve your life by sending his vitality into your body, keeping your mind alive, making it possible to revive you. On the same token, your death was creeping into Max, causing damage to his body. It would have eventually killed both of you, unless we were able to sever your connection, but nobody knows how to do that. You are Siamese Twins of the soul, but so intertwined that it's impossible to know what is connected to where.
The brothers looked at each other horrified, more at the idea of having their connection severed than at dying. Tomax spontaneously embraced his brother, feeling his warmth and light flood his body and mind, overwhelmed with love and guilt in equal measure. He had recently said some horrible things to Xamot, about being selfish for taking punches for them, but really he was the selfish one. Their whole lives, Xamot had always been there when he needed him, -had died for him- but the one time Xamot needed him, Tomax had been furious and prideful. When they were being tortured in Mindbender's lab, Tomax had shut out Xamot's tears and cursed his weakness. He felt like more of a jerk remembering how Xamot had cried about being helpless to defend him. It was always about him. Xamot always put his brother before himself. He could sense Xamot was hurt all over again at the memory, but he felt love and forgiveness flood his mind at the admission of guilt.
Petra and Donte gave them a moment, being both touched and bemused by their exchange. They could hardly remember how it was to be so young and vulnerable. Finally Petra asked them, "What else do you remember?"
Tomax and Xamot remembered awakening to a long recovery process, sitting quietly, lost in each others thoughts. They remembered having to relearn how to speak and perform every day functions as simple as feeding and dressing themselves. They were helped by all members of The Six, even Aurora and Mishael, although because of their lifestyle choices, they seemed to treat the twins as a nuisance as much back then as now, and looked upon Tory and Mick with resentment and disapproval. Tory and Mick had been like doting parents, so fond of their boys that they weren't filled with quite so much moral outrage over their misdeeds; Petra and Donte even less so because they were only concerned about aiding their own. The twins sensed a tension in them, as if they were holding back something important. "You are very lucky," Donte told them, "Your psychic abilities brought back life in one of you, but in the process could have made both of you severely disabled. We were wrong to doubt Tory, but we disagree with many of the details involving how you've been treated by members of our group, including the reasoning behind why you were sent here. Do you remember that?"
They did. They had been hurt and confused, believing Tory was sending them into exile, to punish them for the sins of their past lives. Tory assured them she was giving them a gift, a home where they be themselves and heal in peace and comfort. "You should stay as long as you need to, in order to make new connections in your minds and become the incredible people you are meant to be." What she hadn't counted on was that they'd make connections alright..with other people when they started wandering in seeking answers they believed people with extraordinary psychic abilities might provide.
"We did wrong by you," Donte said, "During your first couple of years at the sanctuary, we looked in on you and saw you were getting along well. Then, as what happens with people our age, the years rolled by quickly as we dealt with other responsibilities. Before we knew it, twenty years had gone by, and Tory was contacting us with stories about some of the horrors -or rather the misguided judgements- that went on here."
Petra added, "We were outraged when we found out you had been allowed to be tortured. If we would have known, we would have went in and brought you out. Some believed you were supposed to have learned a lesson by it, but it would be incorrect to believe your crimes against disciples you genuinely loved could be compared to the actions of a madman who delighted in tormenting you, and who would have used you until he took everything you had, then thrown you away like garbage. We were disappointed by the attitudes of Aurora and Mishael as well, especially when we learned they had wanted to let Mindbender make you disappear. They've been generous and nurturing toward every stranger they've ever met, withholding judgement and showing kindness. It's astonishing they'd look harshly upon two of our own. You should have come to us first."
They were right. The brothers felt perturbed by the unfair treatment and realized they had committed another act of cowardice seeking help from Aurora and Mishael, who were the least intimidating if not the best allies. "I fully expect you to make a mockery of what we do." Mishael had told them on the day they were brought here.
"It would have been better for everyone if we had been the first to find you back in the day. Anyway, we came here today to ask you to come with us." Petra said, "It appears that time has indeed healed you, but we'd like you to stay with us for a while so we can be sure. You can even bring your family with you if you'd like." Tomax and Xamot read a desire in their two mentors to study them, but not in the same way as the evil doctor. They had a genuine interest in observing how two of their own would have weathered an experience like theirs, especially two with such a unique bond. Petra and Donte observed the twins for a moment, looking deep into their eyes and minds, searching for the least hint of something off about them that would indicate permanent damage. They seemed so still and quiet compared to the Max and Monty they used to know, but that could fully be blamed on focusing their powers incorrectly. Still, it would be good to spend some time with them to be sure. They wondered..were these the same two guys who could thrill seek and run a successful business? Now the twins seemed so overcome by their senses, as if every day being was too much for them to take in. Is this what you wanted, Tory? Petra thought, then remembered how Tory had told her the twins had all the time in the world to adjust. They certainly had been capable of organizing people to work the land, becoming productive and self-sufficient. They had also used technology to steal every dime of their disciples' money, and violated people they had conned into worshiping them as divine beings. That's as good as they could have done at Extensive Enterprises.
Tomax was still holding Xamot, hesitant to ever let go again after hearing of his near death. Now he understood his sibling's anxiety over the scar on his cheek. With that thought, it occurred to Tomax that, while he had his scars, Xamot was without blemish, his scars being all on the inside. If he had been shot to death, wouldn't he have marks from it?
Donte sensed this thought in him and answered, "Monty died for you, but you lived for him. We thought we were going to lose you both several times, but your will to heal your brother held steadfast." Tomax recalled instances of sudden agony, then a weariness of mind that made him start to slip into a deep sleep from which he'd never awaken. Members of The Six would feed him some of their energy and whisper encouragement to him. "Monty needs you, Max," they'd say, "Stay awake for Monty." At those words, Tomax would become more alert.
Petra continued with the rest of the story, "We positioned you both on your sides, touching, facing one another, the best we could. Then we helped Max 'remake' Monty with his psychic energy so that his body would be whole again. We believe someday you'll be able to do this on your own, even if one of you passed in such a way as to leave no remains. You are still young and have the potential to live a very long time. You have a long way ahead to grow into the full potential of your powers."
Tomax remembered this remaking. He had felt like he was being ripped apart. It had been a terrible shock, but so worth it now he knew the reason. Neither brother had ever dwelt upon this part of their lives much, but they knew that ever since, their bond had become stronger, more vivid. They felt each others thoughts and sensations more keenly now, and their psychic abilities had seemed to grow to god like proportions, even if they weren't as vigorous and athletic as before. They had become living angels, loved by many, cheating death and growing in power so much that they felt able to take on the world.
Petra and Donte did not approve of these delusions of grandeur, but they understood them. After all, they were young once, but couldn't have been nearly as bad as Tomax and Xamot, or could they have? -Probably not. Looking back on their lives, they had never made mistakes that would make them suffer anywhere near the bizarre consequences as the Brothers of Light had. They had never surrounded themselves with such bad company. "Tory had wanted to keep you here indefinitely, the theory we are to accept being to keep you safe from yourselves and those who would harm you." Donte said sternly.
Tomax and Xamot looked at one another with a sense of foreboding. They felt strongly there was something that they weren't getting or something being kept from them.
"Yes, the accepted theory..." Petra continued, "..was that your brush with death affected Tory badly. It isn't right to keep you here though. It's time you left this place and took your rightful places as one of us. You need to be treated as equals; none of us have the right to take liberties with your lives." Then they went silent, waiting for an answer.
"WE WILL GO," the brothers said without needing much thought.
Later, when the excited brothers were alone, they prepared to leave and made their plans, and they were to be THEIR plans. "We are forever being jerked around every which way..." "..It's time we figured out what we want to do with our lives again." -But then they had the same strange thought at the same moment. "What would Petra and Donte have done if we would have..." "..Refused to go with them? Would they have left?" They pictured Donte grabbing one of them under each arm and carrying them out unresisting, as they were at this time terrified of denying their mentors if ever they demanded obedience. Mindbender could go to hell; memories of captivity was still fresh in their minds. A random thought appeared, one of the doctor walking the dazed twins around and around a maze of rooms and hallways, to prevent them getting blood clots in their legs. -Or was that Tory after they had been shot? They were about to put themselves in the hands of two powerful beings who looked upon them like indulgent parents who possibly didn't care what they did. -But what did Petra and Donte do? -Or Tory and Mick for that matter? They knew about Aurora and Mishael's passion, but awareness of what the other four did with their time was hidden from them. Would they ever find out? Would they ever know who shot them? What would the future hold for the glorious Brothers of Light? They had incredible psychic power; many things were known to them, but they didn't know everything. "It's not as if we are asking for much.." Tomax said. Xamot nodded in agreement. They were asking for too much, however, acting as if they had a choice. For all their delusions of being divine beings, they were like Steve, like Mindbender, like their disciples and everyone else on God's green earth who were figures put into positions in a world someone else created. The Brothers of Light looked at each other with bright intensity, laughing and laughing at the insanity of it all.
