typical disclaimer: i don't own any of these characters, except for maybe...well you'll have to read to find out
timeline: directly after ajbac.
author's note: this is completed repost of my story. i had to delete the other one because it wouldn't allow me to upload chapters.
---transcend---
chapter1: sacrifice
There was no doubt in his mind when they told him only an X-5 heart would do.
"Fight them Maxie."
If only she knew how much he loved her, that he was willing to do this for her.
"Promise me you'll fight them"
There was no other way. In his mind's eye it was a simple sacrifice. He would do anything to save her. Death was better, than living without her. Besides, she was braver than him. She always was. Willing to drop everything from their past and experience life like he never let himself do. With conviction he stood from her side, fingering the gun taken from the guard he had killed just moments ago.
"X5-599, I've got a heart for you."
He did not hesitate as he pressed the gun to his temple.
'I love you. Fight them,' was the last thought on his mind before he pulled the trigger.
The shot rang through the room like a thunderclap and everyone who could, jumped despite themselves.
The bullet was true and easily pierced his skull, fragments of metal and bone embedded in gray matter. There was no pain as the world around him faded to black and his body slumped over. 'I love you…'
*****
Though the heartbeat that filled the room, was eerily calming, Max could not help but be sickened by what the director said. Was it true that Zack's heart now beat in her chest?
Zack took it upon himself to make sure the X-5 who escaped survived, but Max never realized that he would go to such drastic measures to save them. Or was it just to save her? They were both so young, yet Zack had so much more to do in life. To settle down, make friends, find someone to love… Tears welled in her eyes. Why would he do that?
The constant unending beat of Zack's heart echoed through the room and reverberated in her skull. With each thump a vague whisper entered her mind. 'Fight them.'
*****
"You should really just give it a break for at least an hour," Krit said as he stood behind Logan, who sat at his computer furiously typing away.
"No."
"We will find her eventually. But you've been trying to hack into Manticore for over eight hours now. You need some food in you."
"No."
Krit shook his head and gave up on the monosyllabic friend of Maxie and headed to the kitchen to get himself some grub. Syl had taken it upon herself to cook them brunch.
"Have you seen his fridge?" Syl asked in disbelief, "Man, I would totally latch on to a meal ticket like this." Seeing Krit was not amused she continued, setting a plate down before him. "Lighten up, guy. We'll get them back."
"I know that. I'm more worried for Logan. He's gonna drive himself crazy."
"We X-5 girls tend to do that." Her smile was infectious and soon spread to Krit.
"Now what we really gotta do is convince him to use his hacking skills to get Zack's PIN for the contact line. Or at least get him away from the computer, so I can have my turn with it. If we can change that dopey message of Zack's, we could really have a party."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
They joked with one another to keep the mood light so that the burden of loss did not drag them down. Neither would voice the very real possibility that Zack or Max, if not both, were dead.
Finally, albeit eight hours later, Syl was able to peel Logan's eyes from the screen, and bring him to the table for an early dinner. From what Logan had eaten earlier, it was really his breakfast.
When Logan left, Krit took the opportunity to commandeer the computer and take the hot seat. Literally. He had to shift his position a few times, uncomfortable with the warmth, but soon lay his worries to the side. There were more important things to do.
On the screen he saw the fruits of Logan's efforts. He had come through the back door, and through the garbage files, pulling up a few old blue prints and the like. But everything he had access too was old by at least a year. Current stuff was firewalled pretty tight and it would be extremely difficult to figure out where exactly on the vast compounds Max and Zack might be held.
It was tempting to help Logan along, but Krit sensed it was a battle Logan wanted to fight alone. There was no way Logan could even hope to get out there with them and hurt Manticore in the physical sense, so he did his part in the virtual world.
After a few seconds, without disturbing any of Logan's work, Krit easily hacked into the phone company's database, where Zack had created their contact line. He raised an eyebrow at the speed and efficiency of Logan's computer. The rusty old thing he scraped together back home had less than a quarter this speed. Syl could have the food, he would take the computer.
His fingers flew across the keys, well accustomed to the board, and seconds later he tracked down Zack's PIN. He smirked as he saw the algorithm the company used to try and protect the users. It was such a simple bit switch he didn't even bother trying to crack it, easily decrypting it in his head. Krit was alone so he did not hide his disappointment. It would have been nice to see this computer at work breaking down and decoding something heavy.
62943
Krit picked up the phone, but before he dialed, he saw the letters above each number. He was always up for a quick challenge. Probably something military like, he laughed to himself.
But it turned out to be much simpler than that.
M-A-X-I-E
'Damn, Zack you really had it bad didn't you?' he sighed before dialing up the voice mail. After the prompt, he entered the pin and selected the option to change message.
"After the beep, begin recording new message." BEEP.
"Hey guys, this is Sylvan Krit. We want to have a get together with you guys, so give us a shout and the number and time we can get a hold of you and we'll plan things."
*****
It had been only a few days of senseless beatings that reinforced why Max called this place hell. They had strapped her down for most of the day, and would play the security tape from that night over and over. The tape had no sound; instead she was forced to listen to the drowning rhythms of her borrowed heart. They looped the goddamn tape so all she saw, over and over for hours on end, was Zack standing and killing himself.
At first she couldn't rip her eyes away from the screen because she had to know for sure that that film hadn't been tampered with. Maybe that wasn't what really happened. Maybe he didn't shoot himself, and that wasn't blood that splattered against the wall. She was not shown what happened before or after, just him standing, muttering something and then shooting himself.
Though she didn't mean to, she was able to read his lips. "X5-599, I've got a heart for you," was the last thing he said. She didn't need the audio from the tape to hear his voice form the words in her head. Why would he do that?
After a while she tried to close her eyes and shut out the images. But now, the scene was burned into her memory and played on the back of her lids. Even if she was able to clear from her mind the sight of Zack the perpetual pulsating of the heart would crawl through her skin, seep into her nose and mouth, and down her throat threatening to suffocate her with its constant pounding.
"Please!! Please turn it off!!" she screamed to the uncaring sterile walls, fighting her restraints. Soon, the exertion tired her bruised and battered body, and she could only raise her voice to a whimper, "Please…no more."
If they meant to break her spirit, they were doing a beautiful job.
She did not know from where in the depths of her mind the memory of Zack's disembodied voice came from but it was the last sliver of hope that she clung to. 'Promise me you'll fight them'
*****
One by one Krit and Syl contacted the others and a few days after changing the message, they started to trickle in, gathering in an abandoned warehouse. As of yet, only Zane had gotten there, but Jondy, Avery and Cam were confirmed and on their way. As much as they enjoyed gathering once again, something Zack never let them do, the circumstances under which they met made the reunion heavy hearted.
Zane turned a wary eye to Logan. He was an outsider and had no right to be there. Thankfully Syl and Krit came to his defense. How would they react when they found out they had Lydecker locked up in a cheap motel room, and he would be helping them?
They had sat down and planned for the past few days but they could not agree on anything. As much as they hated to admit it, they had never taken the reigns of an operation. Zack and the other older ones were always there to plan a course of action. All that did was help to bring down their morale.
Krit turned to Logan, "Logan, have you figured out exactly where they have them?"
"There is nothing in here about any captured...anything!" He slapped the table beside him. Even after a week, despite Logan's equipment, he could not find a crack in the firewall. It nearly drove him mad not knowing what happened to Max. But not for one second did he actually believe Max was dead. He still cursed himself for listening to Lydecker and just leaving her there. She was strong and she would have survived, why did he let himself just leave her there. It was that, more than anything, that tore his heart asunder.
*****
It was a cloudy day when they walked Max from one building to another. Her arms and legs tightly chained, her wrists secured to a chain belt across her waist. Though her will had been broken and she did little to resist their efforts, the guards took no chances with her.
The wind whipped her hair around her head, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Had she had the range of motion to tuck her hair behind her ears, it would not matter as her muscles were so sore that even this slow pace was a painful effort.
It was pure chance that she lifted her head that moment and saw him. He was walking, with no guards surrounding him, toward what seemed to be the main building of the complex. He was dressed in regular clothing. His blond hair was slightly shorter than she remembered. His build still muscular and firm. Sure that could be anyone, but when he turned his head and looked at her…
Those eyes. There was no mistaking those crystal clear blue eyes, that intense gaze so piercing. Those bastards, they lied to her, that tape wasn't real, he lived!
"Zack!" she yelled. Her sudden burst of energy took the guards by surprise, giving her a precious window to leap free from their circle. A few quick elbows to the gut and they were out of her way. With small shuffling steps, which was all the chains would allow her, she tried to reach him.
He, too, seem startled as she reached out to him as far as her chains would let her. "Zack! It's me, Max. Please, help me! Zack!" As quickly as they were pushed aside the guards were on her, beating her down with the butts of their rifles.
"Zack!" she pleaded to him, between the grunts of pain. The taste of the blood in her mouth almost made her wretch, but she did not care. Why was Zack staring at her like she was crazy? Why didn't she catch even a glimmer of recognition in his eyes? Had they turned him so quickly? Maybe they told him that she had died and he couldn't bare to handle the news.
"Zack. Please. You're all I have left." She yelled more to herself than this stranger who now wore Zack's face. At least he was here with her, alive. If anything she would resist the reprogramming to bring him back with her.
*****
XI5-603 was glad to be home and in regular clothes again, rather than the tattered clothes of a typical street bum. He had just completed a mission in Russia, and the assassination went smoothly. As much as he lived on the thrill of the mission, it was always good to come back to Manticore. After he handed in these reports, he planned on taken a nice long shower and getting some shut eye. It would be his first rest in two weeks. But Manticore took good care of her soldiers well, and allowed for a whole day of rest and relaxation before training would continue or another mission would be issued.
As he walked across the courtyard, on his way to the Director's office, he caught a quick glance of a new prisoner they must have brought in. Strange that they would assign six guards and chain one woman so heavily, but he never questioned Manticore's methods. The chilly breeze played with her wavy brown locks, her skin was a soft mocha. His natural curiosity told him to inquire about the girl, but he pushed those feelings down almost like a reflex. They told him his curiosity, when not directed toward reconnaissance, was his greatest flaw and it would be beneficial if he put such inquiring thoughts away. And so he did.
He turned his head away trying not to concern himself with such trivial things, but soon he sensed a pair of eyes studying him. XI5-603 always felt a chill up his back when someone watched him. Despite himself he turned again toward the prisoner, and this time he met her gaze.
It was as though a fire, long gone, had sparked in her eyes. From the way she looked at him, it seemed that she recognized him. But that was impossible. He ran a quick mental check of all the faces he knew, from the lowliest street peasant he met, to the prime ministers and their daughters yet he could not place her face. He knew he should have dismissed her, she had no relevance to his life, but there was something about her. She was so beautiful. The cuts and bruises from countless beatings could not hope to hide that. This time, though he tried, he could not tear his eyes from her face.
He would not admit it if anyone asked him, but he was startled at what she did next. Her pleading screams ripped through the quiet courtyard like a unexpected thunder. She moved quicker than she should have been able to with those chains about her appendages, and easily injured a few of the guards around her. Now he understood why she had her own personal army guarding her.
But what was she trying to say? Was she calling out to him? Her eyes were locked with his as she called out a strange name. Zack. Who was she talking to? The prisoner must have been undergoing preparations for an indoctrination of some sort, surely she must have been mad from the process if she thought she knew him.
It was strange though. From the moment he saw her face his body froze. Even now, as the guards beat her to bloody submission, his feet refused to move. The soft curves of her face and the fire in her eyes, were etched into his mind. This was a curiosity he could not push aside. XI5-603 had to know more about this prisoner.
timeline: directly after ajbac.
author's note: this is completed repost of my story. i had to delete the other one because it wouldn't allow me to upload chapters.
---transcend---
chapter1: sacrifice
There was no doubt in his mind when they told him only an X-5 heart would do.
"Fight them Maxie."
If only she knew how much he loved her, that he was willing to do this for her.
"Promise me you'll fight them"
There was no other way. In his mind's eye it was a simple sacrifice. He would do anything to save her. Death was better, than living without her. Besides, she was braver than him. She always was. Willing to drop everything from their past and experience life like he never let himself do. With conviction he stood from her side, fingering the gun taken from the guard he had killed just moments ago.
"X5-599, I've got a heart for you."
He did not hesitate as he pressed the gun to his temple.
'I love you. Fight them,' was the last thought on his mind before he pulled the trigger.
The shot rang through the room like a thunderclap and everyone who could, jumped despite themselves.
The bullet was true and easily pierced his skull, fragments of metal and bone embedded in gray matter. There was no pain as the world around him faded to black and his body slumped over. 'I love you…'
*****
Though the heartbeat that filled the room, was eerily calming, Max could not help but be sickened by what the director said. Was it true that Zack's heart now beat in her chest?
Zack took it upon himself to make sure the X-5 who escaped survived, but Max never realized that he would go to such drastic measures to save them. Or was it just to save her? They were both so young, yet Zack had so much more to do in life. To settle down, make friends, find someone to love… Tears welled in her eyes. Why would he do that?
The constant unending beat of Zack's heart echoed through the room and reverberated in her skull. With each thump a vague whisper entered her mind. 'Fight them.'
*****
"You should really just give it a break for at least an hour," Krit said as he stood behind Logan, who sat at his computer furiously typing away.
"No."
"We will find her eventually. But you've been trying to hack into Manticore for over eight hours now. You need some food in you."
"No."
Krit shook his head and gave up on the monosyllabic friend of Maxie and headed to the kitchen to get himself some grub. Syl had taken it upon herself to cook them brunch.
"Have you seen his fridge?" Syl asked in disbelief, "Man, I would totally latch on to a meal ticket like this." Seeing Krit was not amused she continued, setting a plate down before him. "Lighten up, guy. We'll get them back."
"I know that. I'm more worried for Logan. He's gonna drive himself crazy."
"We X-5 girls tend to do that." Her smile was infectious and soon spread to Krit.
"Now what we really gotta do is convince him to use his hacking skills to get Zack's PIN for the contact line. Or at least get him away from the computer, so I can have my turn with it. If we can change that dopey message of Zack's, we could really have a party."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
They joked with one another to keep the mood light so that the burden of loss did not drag them down. Neither would voice the very real possibility that Zack or Max, if not both, were dead.
Finally, albeit eight hours later, Syl was able to peel Logan's eyes from the screen, and bring him to the table for an early dinner. From what Logan had eaten earlier, it was really his breakfast.
When Logan left, Krit took the opportunity to commandeer the computer and take the hot seat. Literally. He had to shift his position a few times, uncomfortable with the warmth, but soon lay his worries to the side. There were more important things to do.
On the screen he saw the fruits of Logan's efforts. He had come through the back door, and through the garbage files, pulling up a few old blue prints and the like. But everything he had access too was old by at least a year. Current stuff was firewalled pretty tight and it would be extremely difficult to figure out where exactly on the vast compounds Max and Zack might be held.
It was tempting to help Logan along, but Krit sensed it was a battle Logan wanted to fight alone. There was no way Logan could even hope to get out there with them and hurt Manticore in the physical sense, so he did his part in the virtual world.
After a few seconds, without disturbing any of Logan's work, Krit easily hacked into the phone company's database, where Zack had created their contact line. He raised an eyebrow at the speed and efficiency of Logan's computer. The rusty old thing he scraped together back home had less than a quarter this speed. Syl could have the food, he would take the computer.
His fingers flew across the keys, well accustomed to the board, and seconds later he tracked down Zack's PIN. He smirked as he saw the algorithm the company used to try and protect the users. It was such a simple bit switch he didn't even bother trying to crack it, easily decrypting it in his head. Krit was alone so he did not hide his disappointment. It would have been nice to see this computer at work breaking down and decoding something heavy.
62943
Krit picked up the phone, but before he dialed, he saw the letters above each number. He was always up for a quick challenge. Probably something military like, he laughed to himself.
But it turned out to be much simpler than that.
M-A-X-I-E
'Damn, Zack you really had it bad didn't you?' he sighed before dialing up the voice mail. After the prompt, he entered the pin and selected the option to change message.
"After the beep, begin recording new message." BEEP.
"Hey guys, this is Sylvan Krit. We want to have a get together with you guys, so give us a shout and the number and time we can get a hold of you and we'll plan things."
*****
It had been only a few days of senseless beatings that reinforced why Max called this place hell. They had strapped her down for most of the day, and would play the security tape from that night over and over. The tape had no sound; instead she was forced to listen to the drowning rhythms of her borrowed heart. They looped the goddamn tape so all she saw, over and over for hours on end, was Zack standing and killing himself.
At first she couldn't rip her eyes away from the screen because she had to know for sure that that film hadn't been tampered with. Maybe that wasn't what really happened. Maybe he didn't shoot himself, and that wasn't blood that splattered against the wall. She was not shown what happened before or after, just him standing, muttering something and then shooting himself.
Though she didn't mean to, she was able to read his lips. "X5-599, I've got a heart for you," was the last thing he said. She didn't need the audio from the tape to hear his voice form the words in her head. Why would he do that?
After a while she tried to close her eyes and shut out the images. But now, the scene was burned into her memory and played on the back of her lids. Even if she was able to clear from her mind the sight of Zack the perpetual pulsating of the heart would crawl through her skin, seep into her nose and mouth, and down her throat threatening to suffocate her with its constant pounding.
"Please!! Please turn it off!!" she screamed to the uncaring sterile walls, fighting her restraints. Soon, the exertion tired her bruised and battered body, and she could only raise her voice to a whimper, "Please…no more."
If they meant to break her spirit, they were doing a beautiful job.
She did not know from where in the depths of her mind the memory of Zack's disembodied voice came from but it was the last sliver of hope that she clung to. 'Promise me you'll fight them'
*****
One by one Krit and Syl contacted the others and a few days after changing the message, they started to trickle in, gathering in an abandoned warehouse. As of yet, only Zane had gotten there, but Jondy, Avery and Cam were confirmed and on their way. As much as they enjoyed gathering once again, something Zack never let them do, the circumstances under which they met made the reunion heavy hearted.
Zane turned a wary eye to Logan. He was an outsider and had no right to be there. Thankfully Syl and Krit came to his defense. How would they react when they found out they had Lydecker locked up in a cheap motel room, and he would be helping them?
They had sat down and planned for the past few days but they could not agree on anything. As much as they hated to admit it, they had never taken the reigns of an operation. Zack and the other older ones were always there to plan a course of action. All that did was help to bring down their morale.
Krit turned to Logan, "Logan, have you figured out exactly where they have them?"
"There is nothing in here about any captured...anything!" He slapped the table beside him. Even after a week, despite Logan's equipment, he could not find a crack in the firewall. It nearly drove him mad not knowing what happened to Max. But not for one second did he actually believe Max was dead. He still cursed himself for listening to Lydecker and just leaving her there. She was strong and she would have survived, why did he let himself just leave her there. It was that, more than anything, that tore his heart asunder.
*****
It was a cloudy day when they walked Max from one building to another. Her arms and legs tightly chained, her wrists secured to a chain belt across her waist. Though her will had been broken and she did little to resist their efforts, the guards took no chances with her.
The wind whipped her hair around her head, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Had she had the range of motion to tuck her hair behind her ears, it would not matter as her muscles were so sore that even this slow pace was a painful effort.
It was pure chance that she lifted her head that moment and saw him. He was walking, with no guards surrounding him, toward what seemed to be the main building of the complex. He was dressed in regular clothing. His blond hair was slightly shorter than she remembered. His build still muscular and firm. Sure that could be anyone, but when he turned his head and looked at her…
Those eyes. There was no mistaking those crystal clear blue eyes, that intense gaze so piercing. Those bastards, they lied to her, that tape wasn't real, he lived!
"Zack!" she yelled. Her sudden burst of energy took the guards by surprise, giving her a precious window to leap free from their circle. A few quick elbows to the gut and they were out of her way. With small shuffling steps, which was all the chains would allow her, she tried to reach him.
He, too, seem startled as she reached out to him as far as her chains would let her. "Zack! It's me, Max. Please, help me! Zack!" As quickly as they were pushed aside the guards were on her, beating her down with the butts of their rifles.
"Zack!" she pleaded to him, between the grunts of pain. The taste of the blood in her mouth almost made her wretch, but she did not care. Why was Zack staring at her like she was crazy? Why didn't she catch even a glimmer of recognition in his eyes? Had they turned him so quickly? Maybe they told him that she had died and he couldn't bare to handle the news.
"Zack. Please. You're all I have left." She yelled more to herself than this stranger who now wore Zack's face. At least he was here with her, alive. If anything she would resist the reprogramming to bring him back with her.
*****
XI5-603 was glad to be home and in regular clothes again, rather than the tattered clothes of a typical street bum. He had just completed a mission in Russia, and the assassination went smoothly. As much as he lived on the thrill of the mission, it was always good to come back to Manticore. After he handed in these reports, he planned on taken a nice long shower and getting some shut eye. It would be his first rest in two weeks. But Manticore took good care of her soldiers well, and allowed for a whole day of rest and relaxation before training would continue or another mission would be issued.
As he walked across the courtyard, on his way to the Director's office, he caught a quick glance of a new prisoner they must have brought in. Strange that they would assign six guards and chain one woman so heavily, but he never questioned Manticore's methods. The chilly breeze played with her wavy brown locks, her skin was a soft mocha. His natural curiosity told him to inquire about the girl, but he pushed those feelings down almost like a reflex. They told him his curiosity, when not directed toward reconnaissance, was his greatest flaw and it would be beneficial if he put such inquiring thoughts away. And so he did.
He turned his head away trying not to concern himself with such trivial things, but soon he sensed a pair of eyes studying him. XI5-603 always felt a chill up his back when someone watched him. Despite himself he turned again toward the prisoner, and this time he met her gaze.
It was as though a fire, long gone, had sparked in her eyes. From the way she looked at him, it seemed that she recognized him. But that was impossible. He ran a quick mental check of all the faces he knew, from the lowliest street peasant he met, to the prime ministers and their daughters yet he could not place her face. He knew he should have dismissed her, she had no relevance to his life, but there was something about her. She was so beautiful. The cuts and bruises from countless beatings could not hope to hide that. This time, though he tried, he could not tear his eyes from her face.
He would not admit it if anyone asked him, but he was startled at what she did next. Her pleading screams ripped through the quiet courtyard like a unexpected thunder. She moved quicker than she should have been able to with those chains about her appendages, and easily injured a few of the guards around her. Now he understood why she had her own personal army guarding her.
But what was she trying to say? Was she calling out to him? Her eyes were locked with his as she called out a strange name. Zack. Who was she talking to? The prisoner must have been undergoing preparations for an indoctrination of some sort, surely she must have been mad from the process if she thought she knew him.
It was strange though. From the moment he saw her face his body froze. Even now, as the guards beat her to bloody submission, his feet refused to move. The soft curves of her face and the fire in her eyes, were etched into his mind. This was a curiosity he could not push aside. XI5-603 had to know more about this prisoner.