Oh look… it's been over a year. Oh well. Here. Have a chapter.
In Life and Death
Chapter 28: Closer than you Know
The silver haired angel gazed at her lovingly with clear, blue-green eyes. Those eyes dropped as the angel shifted her slightly in his arms. He unwrapped her from her warm cocoon, checking her arms and legs. Then that angelic face smiled, his hair glowing like a halo around him. "You aren't a freak. You're perfect Gliss."
The voice was one she knew, one she had heard frequently over the past couple months. She stretched out her tiny, chubby arms and was rewarded as the angel dipped his head. Her fingers brushed his nose for an instant before he pulled away and fiddled with something out of her line of sight. Then he held out a small, unknown object in front of her face, clearly pleased with it.
"Look. Your first picture with daddy."
An unknown voice screamed then, shattering the angelic moment.
"Sora?" The angel turned his gaze from her, fear in his voice and on his face. She didn't like it. She stretched her arms out to him again, trying in vain to regain his attention. Daddy! Daddy? An unknown set of arms grabbed her and her angel was gone from view. Daddy! She opened her tiny mouth and screamed as loud as her tiny lungs could manage.
More unknown voices and bodies buzzed around her and she was dropped on a cold surface. Her wailing intensified and her chubby arms reached out for her angel to save her once again. "Daddy!"
"Zoey! Wake up!"
Panicked hands gripped her shoulders forcefully and shook her. Instinctively she flailed against the arms, trying to get them off. "Daddy!" She wanted her angel back.
"Zoey! It's me, Zander. Open your eyes."
"Zander?" She fell limp against the bed and peered up at him. "I… must have been dreaming…" She shook the frightening images from her head and glanced away from him. "I'm sorry."
He eased up off her and sat down beside her, rubbing at a forming red mark on his cheek. "You okay?"
She nodded, lowering her gaze to her purple and green bedspread. The colors were familiar and it helped to quickly calm her. "I think so. But it was really weird."
"Yeah? What was it about?" Zander leaned towards her, his interest was piqued.
"There was this baby…" She started, looking up at him. Her brow furrowed with confusion as she thought about it. "Or I was the baby… or something… but there was a baby… and this angel… or something… was holding me… it…" She shook her head slowly. "Then he was gone and there was all this screaming."
Zander waited a few minutes, expecting more. "Wait…" When there wasn't, he leaned back rolled his eyes. "That's it?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean, that's it? It was weird."
"Fine, fine." Zander held up his hands in mock surrender. "You're right. Weird."
"Totally." She nodded and hugged her knees to her chest.
"It was just a dream." Zander insisted. "Lay down and go back to sleep." He moved farther back on the bed and bounced down beside her, stretching out on his back. Then he reached out and pulled her down beside him. "Sleep. Now." He yawned and rolled away from her.
She turned to look at his back for a moment before rolling over on her side of the bed and letting out a sigh. "Yeah." She agreed softly. "Just a dream." But she still couldn't shake the weird feeling it gave her.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"How long have we been here now?" Zander fell in step with his twin as they followed the sidewalk towards the house they were supposed to call their home. He dug his hands in his pockets as he waited for an answer. He was never the best with keeping time, not with something he hated. And he was still determined to hate everything currently around him.
Zoey shrugged, thinking as she slowed her steps. "Two weeks?" She said, tilting her head to the side to peer over at him. Two weeks sounded about right.
A smile spread across his lips. "Think that's long enough?" He mimed putting a phone to his ear. "'Sorry, we tried. We want to go home.'"
She laughed and slapped him in the arm playfully. "You act like this is the most awful place in the world."
Their first week there hadn't been exactly pleasant. Keeping up with a public school schedule had left them both too exhausted to be of any use. Or at least school had been Zoey's excuse. Zander had joked about being drugged a few times. But obviously it had to be school related, Zoey had argued with him a couple days ago. Because after a week of the new schedule, they were feeling better and sleeping less.
Zander groaned loudly as the house came into view. "It is."
Zoey let out a sigh as she adjusted the strap on her backpack. She didn't answer. It was hard for her not to admit to her brother that she wanted to run back too. Veera was nice enough and Zing seemed fine as well. The house was fine and school wasn't bad. But it still didn't feel like a home, something was off.
"I'm calling Xem when we get to the house." Zander said, breaking her thoughts. "I think I've waited long enough."
Zoey glanced over and smiled. "He probably hasn't had time to dig yet. He has a full time job, remember? Taking care of brats like us?"
"Exactly!" Zander paused and threw up his arms in an overly dramatic gesture. "Brats like us. We're still his brats. You don't know that he hasn't for sure."
"Fine." Zoey said, nodding. "As soon as we get back, you can call."
He threw her a glare and pushed past her. "Like I need your permission."
Her mouth dropped open and she ran to catch up with him. "Oh I didn't mean it like that. Zander!"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Did you do it yet?"
Veera refused to glance up from the magazine she was reading at the kitchen table. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her full attention. "Do what Zing?"
He stayed standing just inside the doorway. "Terminate the program."
"Yes Zing, I did." She lied easily, hoping he'd believe her. She had no intention of 'terminating the program.'
"Good… good. Then that takes care of everything." He crossed the room towards her and threw a shoe box on the table in front of her. "Doesn't it, Veera?" He tore off the lid and spilled out the contents. Pictures, papers, and a black cell phone clattered onto the table.
Her eyes widened as she stared at everything littering the tabletop. "Where did you…"
"Under the bed, Veera." He interrupted her. "When I was making sure nothing was left behind."
She glanced up quickly, meeting his eyes, and held up her hands. "Okay… before you get all mad…"
"Mad?" He interrupted, his eyes blazing. "I'm livid. No proof. I said no proof."
She took a deep breath, placed her hands on the table, and pushed herself up. "No, actually, you didn't Zing." She stood up tall, meeting his gaze again and fighting an urge to recoil.
His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "What?" He exclaimed in complete shock.
She flinched slightly but didn't look away. "When we left the island, I was too busy keeping them alive." She said evenly. "I didn't have time to break into houses, Zing."
His brow furrowed. "Break in…"
"Real, Zing. You wanted it to look real. Natural… to Sora at least. So he would believe me, fall in love with them, and not do anything to hurt them." She waved her hand over the table, indicating her hidden proof. "These are my notes… my pictures." She patted her chest. "Sora has much more. Ultrasound pictures and videos… the paperwork, the fake blood and paternity tests… my fake information."
For once, Zing looked completed abashed. "What? I thought you destroyed everything!"
She shook her head. "You assumed. You were forcing me to take two newborns from an already risky pregnancy and birth off-planet… in a hyperdrive shuttle!" Her voice rose until she was practically screaming. "I was keeping them alive!"
His eyes flared as he slammed his fists on the table, rattling its contents. "Damnit Veera! If you've fucked this up… after everything I've done…"
"You?" She snapped, interrupting him. "What about me? I've done most of the…"
The front door swung open and the twins came in, laughing and shoving each other. "Hey Veera. We're home." Zoey called out, dropping her backpack on the floor. She bent down to unlace her shoes. Zander said nothing as he plopped down beside her.
Veera composed herself quickly, pushed past Zing, and swept into the room, smiling widely and playing her role as happy mother. "How was school today?"
"Great!" Zoey exclaimed, setting her shoes on the mat beside the door.
She smiled and looked at Zander expectantly. "How was your day, Zander?"
"Fine." He mumbled.
"Did something happen?" She asked with concern, stepping closer.
"No. It was fine." He said, jumping up. "I swear." He insisted.
"Okay." She nodded. "I believe you sweetie."
Zander grabbed Zoey's arm and tugged her off. "Let's go do our homework now."
Veera waited until the twins had disappeared down the hall before returning to the kitchen and Zing. She opened her mouth but he raised his hand, stopping her. "It doesn't matter." He let out a sigh and shook his head. "If anything comes of it, any self-respecting doctor would think it fake."
"Yes…" She said slowly, looking away. She wasn't so sure of that factor but she wouldn't purposely give him a reason to be more cross with her.
"Just as long as the program is terminated."
She thought she heard a hint of smugness in his tone as he walked by her. She hated the way he called it a program, like it wasn't real. He was shoving it in her face what he really thought of nobodies. They were nothing. "They aren't nothing." She said under her breath.
Zing poked his head back into the kitchen a few moments later. "I forgot to tell you… I have a few more preparations to do. I'll be gone for a few hours but when I get back, I want that stuff gone." He pointed to the box on the table. "And then later this week we'll have a family meeting and let the kids know my job is transferring us."
Veera crossed her arms and nodded. "Fine."
"Good." He said with a nod and disappeared from view.
She waited until she heard the front door open and close. "Nobodies aren't nothing. I'll prove it to you." She stuffed the papers and pictures back into her box stalked down the hall, pausing at Zoey's door as voices wafted through it.
"And what'd you get for number four?" Zander asked.
There was a pause before Zoey answered. "75."
"Damn. How? I got 152. You must be wrong."
"Here… let me see."
After returning the box to its stop under her bed, Veera continued down the hall to her destination, Zing's office. The door was unlocked, a fact she found stupid. What if one of the twins decided to snoop? Zing had yelled at her for leaving a few pictures and videos behind but she knew Zing had notebooks full of his practically undecipherable notes.
So with a sigh, she looked around the small office and set off to find any information about his 'program.' She spent nearly an hour deciphering before she found mention of it. As with the few times he attempted to explain how it worked to her, his written words went over her head. Talk of his permalle theory and parallel existence and regenitive non-existences… the warp thresh and merge plate… it all sounded like words randomly thrown together and made up.
She set the notebook back down on the desk. With a sigh, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Okay… it was a parallel universe… an identical copy of Twilight Town. All residents were copies of real Twilight Town residents… except for the Nobodies. Were they simply copies as well? Reborn in Zing's clutches so he could cast them in his little play? But… how could they be copied if they weren't real? Are Nobodies really reborn… or had Zing really made copies? If they were copies… would it be alright to destroy them? And if they were real… did they hold memories of their previous lives? Did they still command their dark powers? Were they really alive in there? The twins had been there… and they had gotten out. Could she get the Nobodies out? Alive and complete with their past lives?
She glanced at the clock as she stood up. She'd have to hurry to beat Zing back. She wasn't sure how long he'd be gone. She grabbed the notebook and hurried out the door. For a second time, she paused outside Zoey's door. She knocked softly and opened the door a crack. "Hey guys. I'm going to run out for a few minutes and pick up something for dinner, alright?"
"Sure Veera." Zoey said with a smile as Zander narrowed his eyes at her. She knew he didn't trust them.
Veera smiled warmly and nodded before closing the door. Her mind was racing over thoughts of the Nobodies and twins and the alternate Twilight Town as she headed down the hall and out the front door.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Zoey grabbed a pillow and slapped Zander with it. She ignored his surprised yelp and narrowed her eyes at him. "Stop glaring at the door."
Ignoring her actions, Zander turned back to look at the door. "How long as she been gone?"
Zoey shrugged. "I don't know… like an hour maybe?"
Zander groaned and laid back on the bed. "I'm hungry. How long does it take to pick up food?"
Zoey shrugged again and looked down at him. "Maybe she had to run an errand or something too."
"Well… I don't care. I'm hungry now." He jumped off the bed and bolted through the door.
"Wait for me." Zoey called as she followed him down the hall.
Zander slowed until she was behind him and headed for the kitchen. "Think Zing will be gone all night again?"
Zoey shrugged as she pulled two glasses from the cabinet. "Four nights in a row? I don't know… how do you have a wife you never see?"
Zander pulled the jug of milk from the fridge and set it beside the glasses on the counter. "Or a family. What sort of work keeps him away so much?"
Zoey picked up the jug and filled the glasses as she continued the conversation. "Maybe he just likes his job."
"Or hates his wife."
She rolled her eyes as she put the milk away. "Zander…"
"I don't think she likes him much either." Zander grabbed a box of cookies out of the cabinet and opened it.
"Zander…" She dug into the offered box and pulled out a handful of cookies and set them on a napkin.
"Come on Zoey." He returned the closed cookie box to the cabinet and turned back towards Zoey. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed it." He picked up a cookie and dunked it into his milk. "The forced smiles, the bubbles of space around them…" He shoved the cookie in his mouth and reached for another. "Zing's never home and when he is, they've never in the same room long… he even…"
Zoey's gaze dropped to the floor and something shiny caught her eye. "A phone?" She said to herself, no longer hearing her brother.
"What?" Zander stopped mid-chew and gawked at her. "Zoey… are you listening to me?" He dropped his third cookie and reached out towards her. "This whole family thing is a façade."
She pushed past him and bent down to pick up the phone. "A phone, Zander." She said as she turned and held it up towards him. "There's a phone on the floor."
"Huh…" His argument momentarily forgotten and replaced with curiosity, he took it from her and flipped it open. "Never seen a model like this before. DIC." He read the letters from under the display. "What's that mean?"
Zoey shrugged as she stepped closer to see. "The phone company maybe."
"Maybe."
Zoey took it back and fingered the buttons. "Zing and Veera are planet hoppers. Maybe it's one of their old ones." She hit the power button and the screen lit up. "Oh! It still has a little power."
"No way! Let me see!" He snatched it back and started pressing buttons. "Contacts." He said, reading from the screen. "Dad, Kairi, Rain, Sora, Work…" He ran through the names. "No Veera or Zing. Wow! Lots of calls to the Sora number… all over a year ago."
"A year?"
Zander nodded. "Good battery, huh? Do you think they stole it? Never heard them mention any of these people. Phone numbers are defiantly off planet."
"I don't know." She peered closer at the front as he held it. "It's got a camera though. Check the media files."
"Good idea." He pressed more buttons and opened the pictures folder. "Lots of pictures. Mostly of a brunet dude." He turned the phone screen towards her briefly.
"Maybe that's Sora." There was something familiar about the name as she said it.
"Sort of a girly name, don't you think?" He looked at the phone again and continued through the images. "A red head girl… the brunet… brunet… again… the red head and brunet… an old lady… a black cat…" He stopped on the last picture. "And some silver haired guy and a baby. Nothing of Veera or Zing or anything around town." He held the phone to her again.
"Oh… well… it's probably nothing…" She stopped as her eyes settled on the image on the small screen. The angel from her dream. "That's him!" She snatched the phone and moved it closer to her face.
"Who? You know him?" He moved around behind her to see the picture again over her shoulder. The guy in the picture had the same silver hair as Xemnas, but then again, so did Zoey. It was weird, but the guy still didn't look familiar.
"No… not really… at least I don't think so… that's the man and baby I dream about all the time. The guy with the glowing hair and the baby… who's me… Zander…" She turned towards him, her eyes wide and looking completely freaked out. "I… I think… this is our real dad."
Zander rolled his eyes. "Zoey… check out the time stamp. That picture, and all the others, was taken over a year ago. It can't be you."
"But it looks like me." She argued. "And in the dream, he always calls out to someone named Sora before all the screaming."
His eyebrows rose. "It's a baby. All babies look the same. Plus it's a tiny picture on a tiny screen. How can you see anything?" He reached for the phone.
Zoey snatched the phone away from his reach. "Well… how come I dream about them two then?"
He shrugged. "Maybe you saw the picture before."
"When before?" She snapped. "Up until recently, we've been in an orphanage. I think I would remember seeing this picture within the last year."
"Zoey…" He gripped her shoulders, shaking her slightly.
"You think I'm lying?"
"No…" He said quickly. "I don't doubt your dream… I just…"
"It wasn't a dream!" She snapped quickly.
"Alright! Alright… I believe you." He let go of her and leaned back against the counter.
"Maybe… the time stamp's wrong." She stammered, grasping at straws. "Maybe that's not when the picture was taken… but when it was sent to the phone… it could still be me…"
Zander tilted his head to the side. "Fine. Say I believe you. This is you and our dad… then that means… Veera and Zing have the phone…" He smiled slowly, liking the idea more if it included a conspiracy with their adoptive parents. "Maybe it is one of theirs… an old one… they've seen the picture… do they know who our real parents are?"
Zoey's eye widened. "They have to if they have this… do you think the Counts knew?"
Zander shook his head. "I think Xem would have said something."
"Maybe not." Zoey said. "Maybe he didn't know. He's just a babysitter… but like the higher up people… like a big conspiracy!"
Zander gasped and then quickly frowned. "Are you teasing me?"
Zoey smiled. "Maybe a little."
He smiled and shook his head. "It seems pretty farfetched. But… I guess there's a chance it could have gone down like that. A small chance. Like microscopic."
She shoved him gently. "It could have!"
"We could call Xem and see what he thinks. Maybe he does know something. Or he could find out."
Zoey nodded slowly, looking at the picture again. "You call, I'll watch the windows for Veera and Zing."
Zander turned to grab the phone off the charger on the counter. "Uh… what's the number?" He left the kitchen and found her in the living room. She was sitting on the couch in front of the window. The curtains were pulled back. She recited the number from memory and Zander dialed it.
"We're sorry, but the number you have dialed does not exist. Please check your number and try again."
Zander pulled the phone away from his ear. "Uh… maybe I dialed it wrong." Zoey repeated the number and Zander got the same automated message. He tried a third time with the same outcome.
"Here, let me try." Zander handed over the phone and she pressed the buttons. "We're sorry…" She hung up the phone. "Maybe he changed the number…"
Zander shook his head. "You don't believe that. Something's… weird or something."
"I hear a car!" Zoey said quickly, handing the phone back to Zander. "Hang this back up." She shoved the unknown cell phone in her pocket and grabbed for the television remote.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"We're what?"
It was three nights later that the whole "family" sat down for dinner. Zander had tried to call Xemnas a few more times without luck and then resorted to trying Axel and the others and finally the orphanage. But not a single number they tried worked. Zoey had been doing her best to locate the owner of the phone. She snooped around the house when Veera and Zing's were both away. She found no reference to someone named Sora or any of the names and numbers in the phone. She found no pictures at all of anyone, let alone any that matched with the unknown. The phone itself had died seconds after she had written down a few names and numbers from it. She had wanted to try the numbers, but without an interplanetary phone, she couldn't. The only information she was able to find on the phone was that DIC stood for Destiny Islands Cellular, from some small island chain on a far away planet. It wasn't much, but it was a location.
"We're moving." Zing repeated his announcement. "My office is transferring us."
"To where?" Zoey asked slowly, pressing her foot down on Zander's under the table to distract him from blurting something out.
"Radiant Garden."
Zander gritted his teeth but remained calm as he asked, "Another planet?"
"Isn't it wonderful?" Veera exclaimed with a bit too much enthusiasm.
"But… school… friends…" Zoey started slowly.
"You'll make new friends. At a new school! On a new planet! Isn't it exciting! I've never been there!" Veera's enthusiasm didn't lessen.
"Wait!" Zander held up his hand. "You just adopted us… how can you be allowed to do this?"
"Allowed?" Zing's voice took on a darker tone, not liking being told me wasn't allowed to do something. "You're our kids now. Legally you go where we go."
"But it all happened too fast!" Zoey blurted out, speaking the doubts they had discussed briefly with Xem and among themselves. Clearly she was the one who needed her foot stamped on. "The adoption… you just showed up one day and took us. We didn't meet you… we didn't have time to get ready…"
"Zoey…" Zing started slowly, turning to look into her eyes. "I don't know who told you that… but it's a lie."
"A lie?" Zander asked skeptically.
Zing nodded. "We went through all the proper channels. We filed the paperwork nearly a year ago."
"A year?" Both twins gasped.
Zing nodded again, evenly. "We didn't formally meet you, no. But we spent a lot of time there, watching you."
"That was mostly my fault." Veera interrupted a tad fast and nervously. "I was nervous. I wanted kids so bad. And I fell in love with you instantly. We both did… I guess I was just scared."
"Yes." Zing cast a sideways glance at her. "But everything was legal."
"So… you really are… legally our parents?" Zander grimaced as he spoke. "We're really… a family?"
"Oh of course sweetheart."
Zoey glanced between the two nervously. "You don't know… anything about our real parents… do you?"
Zing shook his head. "Afraid not, kiddo. The orphanage had no information on them."
"So… when do we leave?"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Zoey!" Zander hissed loudly, falling back on Zoey's bed. "What are we going to do?"
Zoey tiptoed to the door and cracked it open to peek out. The light in the hall was off and the crack under their adoptive parents' door was dark. Zing was off where ever he went most nights and it looked as though Veera was tucked in bed.
"Zoey!" He whined when she didn't answer.
She closed the door softly and turned towards him. "What choice do we have? We go with them. It's our only option. They legally own us."
"Own us?" Zander sneered, sitting up. "We aren't property."
"Until we are adults… we may as well be."
Zander groaned and leaned back. "You're not happy about this, are you?" He cocked his head to the side, fearing the answer.
"Hell no." She crossed the room and slumped down beside him. "You've been right all along. This isn't home. I thought with time maybe we could finally have a home and a family." She sighed. "But not this one. Somewhere… someone lied."
"They're all probably liars."
"Except… Xemnas… right?"
He shook his head. "Hell yeah. That's our real family, Zoey. Xem and Axe and Rox and everyone back there. That's home and family."
"So… should we… run away or something?"
Zander got quiet and wouldn't look at her. He didn't want to contradict what he'd be saying all along, but he had a newer fear.
"What?" She asked pressing closer.
"What if we are wrong… about everyone?" He asked slowly.
Her jaw dropped open. "You just said they are our family!"
"I just… if we run away, back to them… what are we going to do? You said it… we belong to Veera and Zing. He'll come after us… he's so possessive…"
Zoey's eyes widened. She hadn't considered that. "Do you really think so? He'd come after us?"
Zander nodded.
"Okay… so we can't run away. We can't get a hold of anyone. And we certainly can't go off-planet. That doesn't leave us any options."
"We go…" Zander said slowly. "We go, lay low, play the good kids…"
"And?" Zoey prompted when he stopped.
"I don't know!" He snapped.
"Okay, okay." She moved closer to him and leaned against his shoulder. "We go, because it'll be easier. We don't have the time to plan an escape or anything."
"Two days! Who gives a family two days to relocate off-planet?"
She smiled. "Exactly. We'll have to snoop more, once we get settled. You've been right all along. There's some big conspiracy. The left the phone laying around. There has to be more."
Zander brightened. "Really? You think?"
She nodded. "Maybe we can get our hands on an interplanetary phone! I've read that Radiant Garden is huge and much more progressive than Twilight Town."
Zander rolled his eyes and shoved her away. "You want to go, don't you?"
She shrugged. "If we had stayed at the orphanage… we would have been kicked out at eighteen, gotten jobs, found a place to live, maybe gone to a crappy school, but we could have remained close. We'd never left Twilight Town." She bounced beside him, grabbing his shoulders in excitement. "Another planet, Zander! Think about it! Plus… it'll get us closer to Destiny Islands. Our parents… our real parents could be there."
"You really think that guy is our father?" He asked, his voice soft and sad. "You think he's still alive? On Destiny Islands?"
Zoey released her hold on him and shrugged. "Maybe. Anything's possible, right?"
They were silent for a few moments before Zander broke it with a sigh. "Okay. But I want to leave a note."
She cocked her head to the side. "A note?"
He nodded. "For Roxas and everyone. They know where we are. They might come looking for us."
"They haven't yet." She said skeptically.
Zander insisted. "They still could!"
"They'd have to do it before the house was sold."
Zander thought for a moment. "Maybe we can leave it with the old lady next door? Say it's for a friend who's coming to get it."
Zoey laughed. "Yeah, she'd do it. Or her granddaughter would. She has a crush on you."
Zander threw a pillow at her.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
End of Chapter 28. Stay tuned for Chapter 29: The Other Twilight Town
Author's Notes: Good thing is… chapter 29 is half written already. Hopefully won't take me too long to finish and get it typed and ready. I'm still determined to get this train wreck finished!
