Note: So I apologize for the totally long wait for the update but my muse was leaving me
and I had to figure out how to retrieve it...This chapter gets crazy bear with me because
I totally rewrote Cassadine history to fit me...but heck it's a story what do you expect? Let
me know what you think and I promise I won't make you wait as long for the update.
Thanks EP!

Hours Later

Jason and Carly had left shortly after Zander's confession after Sonny had ushered them out claiming this was family business. They now were all sitting around staring at each other while waiting for Luke to arrive who Kristina had ordered to come over as soon as Zander had stated that Alexis was his mother.

Kristina sat staring at Zander in disbelief, "Why didn't she tell me? I would've never told anyone if she swore me to secrecy."

Zander shook his head, "She doesn't know that I'm her son. She doesn't remember that I exist."

Kristina looked at him in shock when the doorbell rang and Luke came crashing through the door, "Okay kiddies you called. What's the big deal besides Zander here being alive? Zander, I could've sworn you were burnt to a crisp, worse than the fried chicken Cook makes me sometimes."

Sonny slammed the door behind him, "Isn't that enough for starters? Where are we on finding Alexis?"

Luke sat down across from Kristina and Zander, "Alexis is currently under Helena's control. I've been instructed by Alexis to wait 2 more days before activating the device that will tell us her exact coordinates."

Sonny swore softly, "Do we have two more days? People keep popping up from the dead; children are claiming Alexis as their mother and we are still no closer to finding her or where she is or the plan even."

Zander rolled his eyes and turned to Luke, "How is she? You've seen her lately but I haven't, how is she feeling?"

Luke smiled softly, "I'll tell you everything you want to know about dear old mom if you tell me how she is your dear old mom and why she doesn't remember you? Most importantly, I'm not your father am I?"

Zander leaned back after rolling his eyes and shook his head, "She doesn't remember me because that's the way Mikkos ordered it. Look after I was conceived and she gave birth to me, she had an emotional breakdown after everything she suffered. Mikkos thought it was best if she didn't remember anything so they erased her mind. She doesn't remember anything since her boarding room days."

Kristina shook her head as the tears rolled down her face, "She teared up just telling me how Helena murdered our mother. She will have an emotional breakdown if Helena forces her to remember that she had a child that she didn't know about…Why does Helena hate Alexis so much?"

Zander shook his head, "She hates Alexis because Alexis is the only true descendant of the throne still left alive."

Luke stood up and said, "She's what? Alexis is the bastard daughter of Mikkos Cassadine. How does that make her a true descendant? I know the history on Alexis or Natasha Davidoch's past, so what the hell is going on here?"

Sonny stood up and turned to Zander, "You better start speaking Zander, you have everyone here completely confused, and we need some answers."

Zander looked at Kristina and smiled softly, "Kristina Bergmann was the true heir of the throne."

Jason's Penthouse

Carly stared out the window as Jason came in the penthouse with dinner. "What did you get us for dinner Jase?"

Jason shrugged, "Just some food. Emily called to check in and was shocked to find out that Zander was alive. I'm sure Nikolas will help calm her down. Courtney told me tell you hi, she's kinda worried about how everything is going here. She doesn't want you to get too upset with the latest about Alexis and Sonny; she knows you still have feelings for him."

Carly nodded and turned away from the window to help Jason unload the food so they could eat, "Next time you talk to her, tell her I'm fine and I'm over it."

Jason looked at her unbelievingly, "You over Sonny Corinthos? That will be the day; he's been your obsession, your love and your life for the last 5 years, what's changed?"

Carly shook her in disbelief, "I grew up Jason, whether you believe it or not. My being away in Fernhaven, made me realize a lot of things about myself. Most importantly that my obsession with Sonny Corinthos has to stop, it's gotten me nowhere. We were self destructing each other and destroying people around us to prove too ourselves that we should let go. I should have moved on instead of breaking him up from Alexis. He was doing well Jase, and not just emotionally but he was growing as a person. I faked my death and then…"

Jason watched in shock as Carly started to tear up as the magnitude of her mistakes were thrown back in her face, "What are you saying then Carly? Do you regret faking your death to make Sonny and Alexis pay?"

Carly nodded, "I regret that, and everything else I've done since then. I knew it and I was jealous of her so I tried to destroy her in Sonny's eyes. And even after all of that, she's still number one in his life. I mean, how does she do that Jase? It's like she…. she just wins and its effortless."

Jason nodded convinced of her sincerity and decided to come clean wit her. He she sat down, "I came back to Port Charles and I wanted to know the truth of his feelings for her but I never got a straight answer…until you. You faked your death to ensure she was away from him; you embezzled money to break them apart. Every time I looked up, he was in her apartment. It wasn't until she lost Kristina, that it became obvious that they weren't going to make it… All of your scheming convinced me that there was something between them because; you never needed to do that to anyone. That means that you saw the threat to was there and tried to extinguish it unsuccessfully."

Island (Helena/Alexis)

Alexis sat in the middle of the room, in a chair staring at the wall. As the memories of those beatings at Stavros's hands pierced her brain it had shut her down as her past came flooding back to her in an instant. She remembered the rape/conception, birth and then ripping the child from her arms and telling her that child was dead, none of which she had dared to share with Helena. Helena had seemed pleased with her retreating from the real world and had sent her to her room to see how long sitting in a chair in the middle of the room would affect her emotional stability.

Stavros used to beat her whenever the house was vacated at the orders of his mother. What else had she yet to find out? What other horrors had her mind saved her from that she had yet to voice to anyone else? What if she really did have a son that didn't die and was alive but hidden by Helena?

Alexis started rocking back and forth in the chair as the reality of her situation hit her, she could very well have a living child. A living child a son, which she didn't remember because his conception and birth were too horrible for her brain to process so she shut it out with the help of her father. As the goose bumps rolled up her arm, she tried to focus on the good memories in her life. Memories of Kristina, Memories of Molly, Memories of Stefan, Kristina, and Memories of Nikolas and Emily washed through her brain. When the shivers set in she knew she needed to try another tactic to calm herself. She exhaled softly and allowed memories of Sonny to embrace her brain and she instantly felt a calm come over her and she remembered the night they conceived their daughter.

The only sound that could be heard in the darkened room was, "Sonny I love you," repeated over and over again.

Sonny's Penthous

The room had been cloaked in silence for five minutes straight as the reality of Zander's words hit everybody hard.

"Kristin, my mother was an heir to the Cassadine throne?"

Zander shook his head, "Nothing like that. She was an heir to the throne that the Cassadines overtook so they could become the next in line to the throne. The Bergmann family was the family in charge of the Russian empire before Mikkos in accomplice with Helena took over the throne and slaughtered the whole family in cold blood. Kristina was the only living child left of that family and it was her goal in life to make the Cassadine's pay but she didn't…"

Kristina looked up as tears ran down her face; "She fell in love with her family's killer didn't she?"

Zander nodded, "She felt horrible but the love that she had for Mikkos overran any feelings of revenge on her part. Helena didn't believe her to be simply content being Mikkos's lover so she had her murdered, not only for creating children with Mikkos but allowing the person who was in a position to take their power away back in the family and into their circle. So after she had killed her, Mikkos of course was devastated to say the least and infuriated. He had wanted nothing more than to bring Kristina back to her rightful place as his wife and make Helena under her."

Sonny shook his head in disbelief, "Well that explains why she's always been hated by Helena, but it still doesn't explain how you are Alexis's son and how she doesn't know it?"

Zander looked into Kristina and Luke's eyes, "Look I don't trust Sonny Corinthos, if nothing for the way he told my mother that he would crush her, can we leave or can he?"

Sonny flinched visibly, "Alexis may be your mother, but she's the love of my life. I've treated her wrong before Zander and I've apologized to her and asked for forgiveness which she has granted me with. What more do you want from me?"

Zander snorted unbelievingly, "Maybe you writing it in blood would work for me. Look, if Kristina says your okay then I'll continue with the story but if she doesn't you leave and we search for my mother sans the mob."

Kristina laughed, "I always knew there was something about you Zander. Something I couldn't put my finger on, but you sitting here ready to defend her tooth and nail just proves it. Look, Sonny is fine you don't have to worry about him as a matter of fact, if you really are my sister's son then he may become your stepfather one day."

Zander coughed to remove the thoughts planted in his head by Kristina and then nodded and turned to Luke, "I know you stated that Alexis wants you to wait 2 days before turning on the device but after what I'm about to tell you, we have to turn on this device now. There's no way in hell, you can let my mother be in the clutches of those murderers for any length of time."

Luke nodded in agreement, "If the story is enough to make me move, we'll leave on the first plane out of Port Charles tonight. Besides, what are you talking about murderers? I thought we were only dealing with Helena?"

Zander sat back and said, "This plan includes you, myself and Kristina. No Sonny."

Sonny stood up and walked to the door, "Then no deal Zander. I'm not letting you go rescue her if my name and my presence isn't there. You don't know what state you are going to find her in! I've been with her after Helena had her once, it wasn't pretty. Alexis and I have a connection, a bond, an emotional bond that can't be broken. It hasn't been broken even after years apart; I can get through to her if I'm there."

Kristina nodded, "I didn't know her all that well at the time but Sonny did help her once and he can help again. Please Zander, for me trust him."

Luke exhaled loudly, "Okay so now you know who the cavalry is, please tell me why we have to rescue her now? And who the hell is the other person helping the Queen of Darkness."

Safe House (Everyone Else)

Note: I should've stated that my "Stefan" didn't try to kill Emily or any of those other crimes that happened while I wasn't watching.

Emily sat looking outside at the water when Stefan came up behind her. "You didn't want to eat inside with the rest?"

Emily looked up at the sound of his voice and shook her head, "I just wanted some alone time. It's not awkward to you that I'm being confined to a house with someone who was once my husband's lover is now pregnant with his child and her husband. Not to mention you that I haven't really gotten a chance to know all that well and oh by the way it appears that Zander may be alive? Why is everything happening like this, all of a sudden?"

Stefan sat down next to her and said, "You are a Cassadine now Emily and as a Cassadine you need to be prepared for anything. With this family, we have a tendency to come back from the dead, with vendettas to settle."

Emily closed her eyes as a single tear slipped out which she swiped away and then a muffled sob escaped, "Alexis is in the hands of people who can destroy her. She knows what the true meaning of being a Cassadine is all about but she fought it down to try and lead a normal life but she will never know normal having that in her bloodline will she?"

Stefan nodded and said, "Alexis always tried to break free of the mold but for some reason Helena always dragged her back in. She would never let go of her hold on my sister and to this day I still don't know why."

Sonny's Penthouse

Zander looked down at his hands before speaking the next words, "Look, what I have to say will change my mother's life… Alexis doesn't know about my existence because she was raped by Stavros…Raped when she was only 15."

Kristina felt the bile rise to her throat as she excused herself to vomit, hearing those words made her want to empty her stomach. Sonny stood up shakily and walked over to the wet bar to pour himself a drink and walked back to the table with two glasses in his hand and the bottle. Sitting down he slid the drink to Luke who shook his head and reached for the bottle. Putting it to his lips he downed a third and then turned to Zander and shook his head.

"I've heard of sick, but wasn't Stavros her brother? Half brother, but still her brother?"

Zander looked worriedly towards the bathroom, "Aren't we going to wait for Kristina?"

Kristina came outside the bathroom door with a wet washcloth patting over her face as she wiped the remnants of her illness away. She wobbly sat down in the chair next to Sonny who pulled her into his arms as Zander continued, "Look I don't have time to give you a brush-up in Russian history because I don't know it myself. Look all I know is that Stavros may or may not be Mikkos's son and if that's the case there's nothing legally binding them."

Kristina nodded, "Fine…So my sister was raped by Stavros but that still doesn't explain…"

Zander interrupted her statement, "Alexis was fifteen when she found out she was pregnant with me. Stefan doesn't even know because he was away at school at the time. They forced Alexis to have the baby in a dungeon with a birthing table with shackles…."

Kristina started gagging again as Sonny felt the tears well in his eyes. "No wonder she fought me so hard for Kristina. She knew what it felt like to have a child ripped out of her arms and she refused to go through that feeling again even if meant committing murder."

Zander nodded once and spoke, "I know this isn't easy on any of you but I only just found out that Alexis doesn't know and when I was told of the connection between her and Helena. Helena wants Alexis alive because she can either use her to gain the throne or use me to rule it… Either way we have to save my mother."

Sonny looked at Zander in confusion, "She wants your mother alive to gain control of the throne? How does that work exactly? Why would she want either you or Alexis for the throne? The deal was bringing back Stavros from the dead would help her gain control of the Cassadine throne and through Stavros; she could gain control of Nikolas."

Luke stood up and shook his head stalking towards the door. "Look, you guys have two hours to get packed. I'm going to the office to pack up a couple of things and light that device. We have to save Alexis out of Helena's hands once and for all and we can learn about the rest of this on the way there."

Jason and Carly entered the penthouse without knocking to see Zander, Sonny and Kristina packing for a trip. Kristina looked up as they came in the room but seeing who it was went back to her task without speaking.

Sonny nodded at both of them before going to the safe and extracting an envelope and handing it to Jason, "Just in case. There is enough money in here for you and Carly to start a new life together away from Port Charles. You can never return, not even for Bobbie Carly. It's the best for everyone. Make sure the children are safe."

Jason nodded while Carly looked at the both of them in shock, "What the hell is wrong with you Jase? What is going on here Sonny? I'm not leaving until I get some answers."

Zander exhaled a noisy breath, "Look, we don't have time for Carly's mini-meltdown we need to save my mother from Helena."

Carly turned disbelieving eyes on him and turned her rant, "Look I'm sure you're all pleased that Alexis the saint is your mother but she gave you up for some reason didn't she? I'm only trying to…."

Kristina pushed Carly out of Zander's face before she had a chance to open her mouth, "You will not be in the penthouse of the man that loves my sister and spew your venom or attack my nephew. You don't know the story so please don't come in here and make accusations about things you don't know… You haven't a fifth of a clue about why my sister has to endure and still managed to rise above it all? You are nothing but a….."

"What the hell is going on here? Why is there all this fighting?" Luke stormed into Sonny's penthouse with his backpack securely tightened to his back and a deep scowl on his face.

Thanks EP