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Chapter 10: Happiest Place on Earth

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Cathy put her paper cup of hot chocolate on the bench and pulled her scarf up higher around her neck. It had snowed all morning, granting every child's wish of a white New York Christmas. She smiled at Jimmy holding hands with Lily as they skated away as quickly as they could from Jet on the ice-rink in the middle Central Park. Other couples and families strolled by and people warmly exchanged seasons' greetings. Lily had picked up Jimmy who held out his arms in front of him, in a superman, or rather, super cyborg pose. Cathy giggled at their antics as Jet pretended to fall after a mock punch from Jimmy.

'I am so happy for those two…. We are like an odd little family now,' Cathy smiled to herself recalling how at about 9am she opened the door to Jet and Lily. If it wasn't for the look of happiness on her face, she would have scolded her for running off. However, Lily explained over coffee what had happened; how Jet met her family, and how they are now going to be their own family. Jimmy walked in on them in the middle of a group hug and jumped on top of them all, claiming it was the "GREATEST CHRISTMAS EVER!" Cathy chuckled to herself. 'Well, it was definitely the most unique Christmas, talking about the real life adventures of Cyborg 002 and 0014 while having dinner.'

Jimmy presented Jet and Lily with portraits he had done of them as cyborgs, which Cathy had got professionally framed. Jet handed Jimmy an envelope with tickets for him and Cathy to go to Disneyland in Orlando with them. Jimmy's screaming nearly brought the whole house down and Cathy cursed herself for not getting it on camera. Lily had explained to her beforehand and after much arguing, Cathy finally accepted their present and made a mental note to get them an engagement present.

Jimmy skidded up the railing to call out to Cathy, "Mama! Did you see me? Did you see?!" Cathy chuckled and waved. "Of course. What's your cyborg name, Jimmy?" She caught him by surprise. "Oh, I don't know! I need to think of something!" Cathy stood up and Lily and Jet also slid up to the railing. "We better get home though; we need to pack for Disney tomorrow." Jimmy's eyes turned to stars, "Yessssssss! I get to fly like 002 tomorrow!" he laughed as he stretched out his arms like an airplane, "Zoooooooooom!"

….

Due to booking the tickets last minute, their seats were spread out in the remaining spots on the plane to Florida. Lily decided to try and use this time to jot down some of her thoughts in a pretty journal Cathy gifted her. She had not written anything like a diary since high school and she nibbled on the pen thinking of how to start. She could not write down everything that had happened, for fear that the wrong people could end up with this information. Lily put the pen to paper and slowly started writing.

Dec 26th

Dear Diary,

This does not even seem real. I can't even being to write down everything that has happened this past month, not a mind the past year….. I do not want to start this diary on a depressing mode, so I will list the positive things that have happened and will happen.

1. I AM GOING TO DISNEYWORLD RIGHT NOW

2. I met Jet, the love of my life.

3. We got engaged!

4. I opened my own store

5. I have my own house

6. I made new friends

7. I sang to an audience twice

8. I can speak Japanese

9. Jet and I are going to spend next year traveling as much as possible

Looking at this list, anyone would think I am the luckiest girl in the world. In ways, I am… but in others. I just don't know. I lost everything of my old life for my new one, and it could not have happened any other way. Is what I gained better than what I lost? Hmmmm, I am rambling, going down that depressing path again… like I was before Christmas Eve….. I just wish I could merge my old life with my new one.

But there is hope now for this new life. I have Jet. I almost messed that up completely a few days ago, running off to New Orleans… but now we are stronger than ever. Even though we have only known each other for a few months, he has shown me love like I never knew possible. I mean, I always thought I would find someone and get married, but I never thought it would happen this soon…. Guess I never thought of who because I had no ideal. I took mama's advice; that I would know when it happens. I can even pinpoint the exact moment I felt it and knew for sure. It was the day I had spoken with Cathy about not being able to have kids. I was so sad and angry at the same time that when I got home, I punched a hole in the wall in the living room(!). I told Jet that I cannot give him children and I was so worried what we had would end there and then, even though we had just begun our relationship. But he just turned to me and said, "Being here with you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I will not let anything ruin it. It's just you and me, okay? If we ever live a life peaceful enough to have a family, we'll figure that out when the time comes."

That was when I had the feeling like time stopped. Even though our future was uncertain, our present a mess, and our past hidden away, I just felt like everything became crystal clear in that moment. I knew then I loved him for him because even if the situation was entirely different, he would have made the same promise. That was back in October. Two months later he kneels in front of me and offers me a ring, calling me a pain in the butt and love of his life. It may not be the norm, but it's pretty normal for us, I guess!

….

Joe's phone pinged. Sipping his coffee, he pulled it out of his pocket to check. He dropped the phone on the table and snorted. "What is it Joe?" Francoise inquired. He turned the screen to her to show the photo of Jet with a young boy on his shoulders beside Lily. All of them were wearing Mickey Mouse ears in front of the Disney castle. Francoise took the phone for a better look, seeing Lily's name at the top of the screen. She was smiling, the little boy was laughing, and Jet looked like he'd rather be set on fire. Francoise giggled too, "Wall of Shame?" she asked, handing the phone back. "Oh, you bet!"

…

Lily finished checking in with her people by phone and popped it back in her bag. She jogged to catch up with Jet, Jimmy, and Cathy. She had made up with Francoise and Joe over the phone after the incident with R-02 and running away from home. She also spoke to Dr. Gilmore to assure him that there were no problems with the bite and promising to stay vigilant if R-02 turned up again. Lily linked arms with Cathy as they walked behind Jet, or rather, a very tall Jimmy. She smiled at how cute he looked, carrying Jimmy. "Thanks so much for coming with us, Cathy," she smiled up at the blonde. Cathy blinked at her, "What? No, thank you! This has always been Jimmy's dream!"

"Mine too, but I always thought it would be so much better to experience all this through a child's eyes. Plus, as grumpy as Jet is now, imagine how he would be if it was just the two of us," she added with a whisper. "I heard that!" Jet stated, turning his head to them. "I wanna go on Splash Mountain! Then I wanna go on Space Mountain! Then the Tower of Terror and THEN…." Jimmy babbled away, naming nearly every single one of the rides in the park. "Oh and I have to get SIGNATURES! I want to get Buzz Lightyear's autograph. He was my hero before you, Jet!" he squealed tapping Jet's head.

….

Sitting at one of the cafes, Lily looked through all the photos they had taken on the rollercoaster rides. "Oh come on, Jet, you could have acted scared!" Lily scolded, playfully shoving him. "Nothing scares me, Lily," he retorted crossing his arms over his chest. In all the photos, Lily, Cathy, and Jimmy were screaming, whereas Jet looked like he was about to fall asleep. Cathy took the photos to look through. "Oh wait, here is one…." She smirked, holding up the photo. It was from the Terror Tower, where Jimmy was holding onto Jet, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open screaming while Jet's eyes were as wide as saucers and teeth clenched. "Ahahaha!" Lily cried out taking the photo before Jet could grab it. She pulled out her phone to take a snapshot. "Perfect, one for the Wall of Shame!" Cathy chuckled, "What's the Wall of Shame?" Lily put the photo back on the table as Jet scowled at her. "It's our little dedication to all the silly stuff we do. It's 90% Jet. I'll send you a photo of it when I see it again," she winked. "Going to send this to Joe to take care of," she laughed evilly. Jet stared at Cathy with dead eyes. "See, what I have to put up with it?" Lily waved her ring hand in front of his face, "Till death do we part, buddy!"

…

As their day in Disney World drew to an end, Jimmy decided that the last ride they should go on would be Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They moved with the crowd, Jimmy still on top of Jet's shoulders giving him the best view. Lily held Jet's hand as she walked beside him. She squeezed it lightly, catching his attention. "Thanks for doing this, Jet," she told him warmly. He smirked at her, "No worries, it wasn't too bad I guess." Lily looked up at him, "I bet you really enjoyed it, you are just trying to save face, ya big softie!" This caused Jimmy to bend over on Jet's head to look him in the eye. "Jet! This is happiest place on earth! You better be happy!" Cathy laughed at her son as he almost had her tone of voice down. Jet reached up and ruffled his hair, "I am happy here but happier that you are happy, Jimmy!" Lily smiled up at the two, her heart skipping a beat.

Suddenly, someone pushed into her shoulder roughly as they walked by. Lily whipped her head around in annoyance. She felt a jolt in her stomach as saw that it was a tall woman with long, black hair. 'Could it be…' Lily slowed her pace, causing Jet to slow and look back at her. "What's wrong, Lily?" he inquired. Lily shook her head. "Just…. I thought I saw someone I knew," she muttered. Jet stared off in the direction she was looking in and then opened his internal communicator, -Who?-

-I think that was R-02. You take Cathy and Jimmy, I will investigate.-

-Are you sure that is a good idea?-

-No, but something is giving me the creeps. Keep your communicator open.-

-Okay, stay safe.-

"Hey, I will catch up with you at Big Thunder, alright?" Lily called out and left them before they could reply.

She moved through the crowd, zig-zagging her way forward. She looked left and right, trying to spot the woman with glossy, waist length black hair. Then she saw her.

Lily froze for a moment. Her dark eyes bore into Lily. She looked just as intimidating in a black t-shirt and jeans as her navy uniform. Lily tried to keep her composure and walked up to her, in the small clearing next to a souvenir store. "What are you doing here?" Lily hissed. "Nice to see you too, 0014," R-02 replied coolly. "Nothing nice about seeing you, you vampire. I should drop you where you stand," Lily snapped in a hushed voice. R-02 shrugged her shoulders. "Why are you following me?" Lily questioned, her gaze locked on R-02. "I am just keeping watch, 0014. I suspect something is going to happen soon, I can feel an energy disruption." Lily crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Oh, so you are physic now too?" R-02 ignored her comment and continued talking. "Something is coming. I am not sure what it is yet but I have a feeling it will strike in the next couple of weeks. I am going to Europe to scout as that is where the energy is coming from."

"Why are you telling me this? And why should I believe you?" R-02 gave her a smirk. "Because I am on your side." Lily raised an eyebrow. "You have a funny way of showing that, biting me and then disappearing," R-02 waved her hand dismissively. "I had to create a bond. That way I was also able to see if what you said about R-01 and R-03 was true." Lily flinched, "What? How?" R-02 looked at her with a lopsided smile. "You really don't understand how you work? I was able to see inside your subconscious and saw what happened when we bonded. I could not just take your word for it." Lily took a step closer and motioned to grab her by the collar but then stopped, realizing where they were.

"Something is changing inside you too, your self-heal is different. I hope it works in your favor, 0014," she started to turn away from her. "What do you mean?" Lily asked, raising her voice. –Lily, are you okay?- Jet's internal communicator interrupted. –Yes, all is fine- Lily thought bitterly. R-02 turned back to Lily. "You absorbed R-03's powers. Perhaps it will make you stronger or perhaps it will make you unstable. Nothing you can do about it now. Good luck." And with that R-02 disappeared.

-Lily?-

-It was her and she is gone now. She is messed up, Jet.-

-What happened?-

Lily started to walk about towards Big Thunder.

-She said she feels something in going to happen in a couple of weeks and she is going to Europe to scout.-

-Okaaaay. Did something else happen?-

-Yes. When she bit me, she was able to see inside my head and saw what happened with R-01 and R-03, just like you could see inside my head when I had the nightmare.- Lily breathed deeply.

-She also said something inside me has changed. Like Dr. Gilmore said.-

-What did she say changed?-

-She said I absorbed R-03's powers. It could either make me stronger or….-

-OR?-

-Unstable.-

-We got to get back to Dr. Gilmore ASAP-

-No, Jet. If he didn't get a reading then, it won't make a difference now. Maybe she is just trying to scare me.-

-Yeah, bu-

-She is crazy, Jet. A crazy vampire! We will continue with our holiday. We will be in Europe too. We can scout as well and see if we pick up on anything. Let's contact the others when we leave here and fill them in. I'm almost at Big Thunder.-

-Okay, we are in line. Over and out.-

Lily joined them in the queue and forced a smile. "All okay, Lily?" Cathy asked. "Yeah, all is fine, don't worry! Ready for the ride Jimmy?" Even though his eyes were heavy with tiredness, his little legs bounced on Jet's shoulders. "Yes! I heard this is the best one!" Lily smiled and took out her phone. She turned around in order to snap a photo of all of them. "Saaaaay, Disney World!"

…

Author's note: Just a fluffy chapter, featuring my ice queen, R-02! Intrigued by her? I am working on her backstory :DDD xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx