A/N: Sorry for the long wait again. I'm really trying my best to update, but I have so much work. Feedback would be awesome. As for Evalasting Trouble, to anyone who's reading it (MA as well, the sequel to Ooh Baby) I'm sorry for the delay and I will try to write and post a chapter as soon as possible.

"So, who did that guy work for?" Mole asked as they walked in the darkness towards Terminal City.

"He's a Familiar," Max said.

"Come again?" Mole said, chomping on his tobacco.

She relayed what she knew about the Familiars and he frowned, his scales wrinkling on his green forehead.

"And I thought we were screwed up," he said.

"Tell me about it," Max agreed. "I think he's working with some government agency for cover, though. You know, the whole suit and tie look."

"Better not piss him off then," Mole commented. "We all know how testy those government people are. I think it's got to do with the long hours. No time to get laid."

Max rolled her eyes and glanced heavenward. "I'm never going to get away from that subject, am I?"

"What subject?" Mole asked.

"Never mind," she muttered. She cast a disgusted look towards his cigar. "Do you have to smoke that stuff?"

"Hey. You need your Tryptophan, Mole needs his smokes. Not as if I'm going to get cancer anyway."

"Forget I said anything," she said, shaking her head with a bemused smile. "To each his own."

"So, this… Coming," Mole said slowly. "It's basically deadly fireworks on Christmas, right?"

"Pretty much," she said.

"Well, that'll be a blast," Mole said, chuckling at his little joke.

"Why is it that there are about zero mature guys in this world?" Max murmured. Unfortunately, Mole still heard it.

"Hey toots, in case you haven't noticed, all the mature guys – as you put it – have something up their asses. Take that Eyes Only bloke, for example. He almost got us fried back at Manticore. And how 'bout the loony Familiar guy? They're no good, I tell you."

Max cringed at the reference to Logan but made no comment, secretly agreeing with the anomaly. She decided to let the subject drop for the moment as they reached the gates of Terminal City. With a furtive look around them, they both jumped the fence in one easy leap.

When she entered, she was surprised by the number of transgenics that were scurrying around inside. She vaguely recognized some transgenics she had had classes with back at Manticore, and as she turned a corner she caught sight of Seth. As if sensing her presence he looked up and smiled, making his way over. She hugged her brother tightly before letting him go.

"So this is where you disappeared to," she said, looking around. "I didn't know so many people were already here."

"None of the ordinaries come close to here, so it's the best place to be if you're hiding out," he said.

"I found Ben," she said. "He's okay."

"That's good," Seth answered.

"Max," a raspy voice said. She turned and Lydecker cleared his throat. "We've got Jondy, Zane, Syl and Krit here."

Her heart started to beat faster at the thought of finally seeing her siblings again, two of them for the first time in twelve years. Her eyes shined and she tugged on Lydecker's sleeve urgently.

"Where are they?" she demanded. He weaved through the crowd and she and Seth followed, leaving Mole behind to nurse his cigars. Lydecker stepped inside a poorly lit room that had the barest furnishings, all almost destroyed in the worst colour imaginable. But it was the occupants that held Max's interest and she barely glanced at the bad state of the place.

A redhead sitting cross-legged on the bed looked up and their eyes met, instantly recognizing each other. She bounced to her feet and was across the room in a matter of second, embracing her little sister and best friend.

"I missed you so much, Maxie," she whispered in Max's ear.

"Right back atcha Dee," she said. They both wiped a few tears from their faces in embarrassment and back away from each other slightly, taking up a cool, nonchalant stance. It was then that Max saw the three figures lying unconscious on the floor. She saw her brother Krit and Syl lying next to him, and another man – a brunette – who was drooling a few feet away.

She and Jondy looked at each other and broke out laughing at their brother, who was unmistakably having a rather nice dream.

"Zane hasn't changed much, has he?" Jondy remarked, a strange fondness in her voice that Max took note of.

"Nope," she replied. "Not at all. He's still a big oaf."

Zane snorted in his sleep and twitched, and then he stirred lightly. He eyes opened slowly and he rubbed his stomach.

"Damn, I'm hungry," he mumbled, licking his lips. Max and Jondy had another round at laughter and at the unfamiliar noise, Zane's eyes opened completely and he jumped up, fully alert. Max saw the surprise in his face when he saw them.

"Dee? Maxie?" he asked, as though needing confirmation he wasn't seeing things.

"In the flesh, big brother," Max said. He grinned wolfishly and whirled her around, putting her down and doing the same with Jondy who shrieked wildly.

"Put me down," she ordered, though without much conviction in her voice.

At all the noise, Krit and Syl began to wake as well. Syl shook her head to clear her mind and stood up, but Krit just rolled over and went back to sleep. Max grinned at her brother, and the hugging was repeated with Syl.

"My God Max, we thought you were dead," Syl said.

"Are you kidding?" Jondy scoffed. "As if anyone could make Max do something she didn't want to do."

Another clearing of the throat interrupted them and Lydecker stood there, with a faint proud look on his face that unnerved the four of them. But as soon as Max blinked it was gone, as fleeting as light.

"They need to know why they're here and what the situation is," he said gravely. "You do understand that time is running out."

"What's he babbling about?" Zane asked, turning to Max. "And why is he even here in the first place?"

"He's here… to help," Max said finally. At the disbelieving looks on each transgenic's face, she prepped herself for another long explanation.

And as she talked, Krit slept on.

Mina walked down the strangely quiet streets of Seattle, frowning when every so often she heard footsteps behind her and muffled breathing. Though when she inspected the shadows around her, she saw nothing, not even an alley cat in sight. She stopped for a moment, but froze again when she heard footsteps trying to match hers.

"Who's there?" she called. When she was met with no response, she called out again, but louder. "Who's there?"

The hairs on her neck stood on end and she felt something grab her arm. In reflex she slapped it away, but a hand grabbed her other arm, gently this time. She looked up into the face that had haunted her for a long time.

"404," she said. "I – I mean, 998," she corrected hastily.

"It's Jay now," he answered. He smiled weakly. "I thought it would help with the designation confusion. Identity crises are so irritating."

"No kidding," she said. "How'd you find me?"

"I didn't. I guess I was led to you for some reason," Jay said.

"You believe in that stuff?" Mina asked.

"Sure, why the hell not? After all, weirder things have happened, right?"

She gave him a dubious look but made no further comment. She just continued to walk at a slower pace, Jay matching her stride.

"I have some questions for you," he said, after a minute of silence.

"Like what?" she asked guardedly. She shot him a sidelong glance before looking away.

"About some things I've been remembering," he answered.

"How would I know the answers to that?" she posed.

"Well, I figure since your face keeps popping up in my head, you could fill in the very big blanks. Besides, I can't stop thinking about you."

"Isn't that every girl's dream," she said under her breath. "Okay, shoot."

"How do I know you?" Jay asked.

"You don't," Mina replied easily. At least not anymore. Not really.

He didn't bother to hide his frustration. "I'd appreciate it if you gave me straight answers."

"I'm doing the best I can," she said.

"Fine, I'll rephrase the question," Jay said. "How do you know me?"

She paused and took a breath before answering. "I wasn't always in Unit 8. And you weren't always a Psy Ops soldier."

"What were we then?" he asked.

"That's the complicated part," Mina said. "They did something to me too, to make me forget. It was only around the time that I met Max that I started remembering stuff, and even more when I saw you again."

"I'm still not following," he said.

Mina closed her eyes, trying to sort out her thoughts. She let the memories of her past, the ones she had so closely guarded from everyone, come back to her, remind her of what had happened.

A small girl ran through the woods, branches hanging low from trees scraping her skin, cutting her. She could barely feel the stinging cold from the snow, and she heard snowmobiles roaring around her. Somewhere in the distance she heard a gun go off, and she felt her heart sink when she realized that one of her brothers or sisters were dead. Still, she ran harder and faster, her thighs burning in exhaustion. She tripped over a hidden log, but jumped up quickly and continued running without hesitation.

She gasped when someone pushed her to the ground and she struggled to get up, but stopped when she saw who it was.

"Kavi?" she asked. Seconds later shots whizzed over their heads.

"Be more careful, Vada," he chastised, pulling her up hurriedly. They continued to run but Kavi cried out when a tazer hit him. He fell to the ground seizing and the same was repeated with Vada, who looked over to see that Kavi was unconscious. She felt something being put over her mouth so that she couldn't scream and then she and Kavi were dragged off, brought back to the prison they had tried to escape.

"839?" he asked. "Or – what's your name now?"

"Mina," she said, her eyes holding the faraway look.

"You didn't answer my question," he said. "What unit were we in?"

She rolled up her sleeve as she had done many times before and looked at the tiny scar on her wrist.

We're a family.

"Mina?" Jay asked again.

"Do the names Kavi and Vada seem familiar to you?" she asked him. He looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?"

"Do they?"

He thought for a moment. "A little, I guess. Maybe, like they were people I know."

Mina nodded absently and rolled up his right sleeve as well, glimpsing a tiny scar on his wrist identical to hers.

"How could I have forgotten?" she muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think we were in Unit 2," Mina said.

He let out a short laugh with no trace of humour in it. "That's crazy. The '09ers were in Unit 2."

"Exactly."

When it didn't seem like he was getting it, she drew another long breath.

"I think we were recaptured and simplified. I think we tried to escape in '09."

"Where are you going?"

"Would you stop that? It's freaky. I'm being stalked by myself."

"I don't know if myself is the right term because technically, since I was born first of course – "

"Oh, would you shut up about that? Jeez, obsessive much. You're all of what – a minute older?"

"Touchy, bro," Ben said. "I was just making conversation. You know, like 'how's the weather'?"

"Crappy," Alec answered.

"'Course it is," Ben said. "How weird would it be if it was a perfectly sunny day before the end of the world?"

"Dude, it's Seattle," Alec replied. "It's always raining, no matter what occasion. So don't get your hopes up for scoring a tan before you go kaboom."

"We're not going to get blown up, just sick," Ben said. "The ordinaries, on the other hand, are going to die pretty quickly if we don't do something about it."

The concern in his voice confused Alec, so he stopped walking for a second.

"Why do you care about what happens to them?" he asked.

Ben looked straight at him and answered without flinching. "Because I killed a lot of people before. And I want to make up for the horrific things I did. Help save some families I destroyed."

There was a silence that made Alec uncomfortable and for an instant he felt sympathy for the man who shared his face.

"We're not going to have some touchy feely moment now are we? Because that would be strange," Ben said, breaking the silence.

Alec scratched the side of his head. "Now, I think I know why Max can't stand me sometimes. Man, you're irritating."

Ben punched him on the shoulder. "Hey, you're my clone. Which means you're annoying too."

"No, I'm perfect."

"Face it. You bug people."

"You bug people."

"You're me."

"No, I'm not. I'm me."

"Which is me."

"Man, you're irritating."

"Right back atcha."

Alec groaned. "I can't believe I'm arguing with myself." He held up a hand before Ben could speak. "Oh, I'm sorry. Yourself."

"Dude, you got problems," Ben said.

"Wouldn't they be your problems?" Alec retorted. Ben grinned.

"Touché."

"Wanna go bug Logan?" Alec suggested.

"Why?"

"Do we need a reason why?" Alec asked.

"Good point."

"Vroom, vroom," Case said, playing with his toy motorcycle on the bus to Seattle. "Look mommy. It looks just like your motorcycle. Can I get one too when I'm older?"

At Charlie's uneasy look, Tinga grinned and shrugged noncommittally.

"We'll see, baby," she said in her way of answering.

"We'll see?" Charlie asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, you won't have to worry about him as much since he has my transgenic agility. I'm not saying he should have one, but one of my brothers will probably give him one," she replied.

Charlie gulped. "Right."

Not seeing his look, she added, "We should be thankful they haven't given him a gun yet."

Charlie's eyes grew wide and she laughed. "Don't worry. I won't let them do that. They know I'll beat their as – bums if they do. Max is really excited to see Case again."

"Entering Seattle," the bus driver called.

"Alright Case, pack up your toys," Tinga said. Case obediently listened to his mother and Charlie picked up one suitcase while Tinga took the other. Grabbing Case's hand, she stepped off the bus.

"Max said she'd send another transgenic to pick us up if she couldn't make it," Tinga said.

"How are we supposed to know who it is?" Charlie asked. He glanced at the dark sky, which had momentarily stopped raining. "That's not natural, is it?"

"I think Max said it was some of the effects of the Coming," Tinga answered. "She didn't give me the full details. As for the transgenic, I can usually tell by the way they move."

She scanned the crowd. "There," Tinga said, moving forward, but she stopped so suddenly that Charlie stumbled into her.

"It can't be," she said. She smiled and continued walking.

"Jace?" she asked. The woman turned around.

"Tinga? God, it's great to see you. Did Max call you too?"

"Yeah, and – " She broke of when she saw a small figure emerge from behind Jace.

"It's okay sweetie. This is your auntie Tinga," Jace said, pushing the girl forward lightly. "Tinga, this is Little Max. Say hi, Max."

"Hi," she said.

"I never knew you had a daughter," Tinga said.

"She's less than a year old, but I'll explain the details later," Jace said.

"Hi Max," Tinga said. "This is your cousin Case."

"Hi Max," Case repeated.

"This is my husband Charlie," Tinga said. Jace nodded at Charlie and he smiled back.

"I'm guessing you girls are the people I'm supposed to pick up?" a man said, approaching them. After watching the crowd carefully, he flashed his barcode. "Name's Chaz."

"How did you know who we were?" Jace asked suspiciously. Chaz tapped his head.

"Psy Ops," he explained. He waved his arm at a beat up car. "Your chariot awaits."

"Is that thing safe?" Jace inquired.

"Yeah. I put it together myself from some scraps I found," he said proudly.

"Mommy, why is that car so ugly?" Case asked. Tinga's hand flew over her son's mouth, but the offended transgenic just huffed and got inside. Charlie proceeded to put the suitcases in the trunk.

"It looks like a dump truck," Case whispered in his cousin's ear. She giggled hysterically.

"Ugwy," she said.

"Auntie Max is real nice," he said confidentially. "You'll like her."

"Max. My name Max too."

"Yeah, but she's got an ugly boyfriend. Some guy with glasses."

"Ugwy," she repeated.

"He's got some cool computer toys to play with, though. It'll be fun."

"Hehe," Little Max said.

Scorch rubbed his eyes as he woke up and sat up slowly.

"Mina?"

Hearing no answer, he got up and went into the living room.

"Mina?"

"She's not here little boo," Original Cindy said. "Don't worry. We can hang out."

"Where's Mina?" he asked.

"She's out with Max," Cindy answered. "Want to play a game?"

"Chess!" he cried out happily.

"That's all those soldier people let you play, huh? Well, okay. But you go easy on me. Original Cindy is not good at chess."

She set up the board and let him go first, figuring she would let him get a head start. She had lied before; she was actually quite good at chess but she didn't want to make him feel bad. He might be a genius, but she didn't think a three year old would understand the game very well.

She was wrong.

Five minutes later, he had beaten her, and he sat on his chair with a smug grin on his face.

"Again?"

This is going to be a long night.

"Shut up, you're making too much noise."

"I'm not making any noise, you idiot."

"Yes, you are."

"No, Ben, I'm not," Alec whispered back harshly.

They were hiding in Logan's penthouse while he was currently whipping up one of his so-called culinary miracles and humming an old pre-pulse song way off-key.

"If I have to deal with any more of this singing I'm going to die," Ben muttered.

"Ditto. Lydecker's gotta sing better than this."

"Ooh. Bad mental picture," Ben said.

"Try Renfro reproducing."

"That's torture. Why do you have to destroy my mind like that?"

"Because I'm mean."

"Shut up," Ben hissed. "You're making too much noise shuffling."

"I'm not shuffling."

"Yes, you are shuffling."

"I think I would know if I was shuffling," Alec said irritably.

"Well then, what's that noise?"

"Your imagination?" Alec offered.

"Shh."

They were quiet and could hear a distinct sound that neither of them were making. Finally, a few feet behind Logan, they spotted a figure making its way across the room, their feet dragging and making noise but not enough for an ordinary to hear it. As the figure moved forward, something in its hand caught the light and gleamed.

A knife.

"Oh great," Ben moaned.

"I know. Now someone else can off the guy and Max can't be mad at us because we didn't do it," Alec said excitedly.

"You're such a moron," Ben said.

"Wouldn't that make you one too? After all, I'm your clone," he said sweetly.

"You know we're going to have to save him," Ben said.

"Why?" Alec whined. "Can't we just pretend we were never here and grab a pizza and beer?"

Ben shot him a look. "Max'll kill us if she ever found out we were here."

Alec sighed. "This sucks, you know."

"You're so whipped."

"Bite me."

"I wouldn't want to."

They stood up and moved closer to the figure.

"I'd rather imagine Renfro reproducing than save him," Alec said under his breath so that only Ben could hear.

Ben shuddered. "Don't even go there."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"You shut up!"

"Why don't you – !"

Their voices had raised to screaming level and the figure turned as well as Logan. They couldn't see the face because of the mask it was wearing.

"Great. This is all your fault," Ben said.

"You sound exactly like Max."

"Note to selves: when there is a crazy killer with a knife in the room, use indoor voices," the figure said in a glacial monotonous voice.

The next words out of Ben's and Alec's mouths were the same.

"Oh shit."

A/N: I like this chapter a lot. I hope you do too. Well, I'm off to do more chapters for my other stories, but I'd really love it if you'd kindly review and lend me your thoughts. It would only take a second and your feedback is always appreciated.

Luv y'all, angelofdarkness78.