Chapter 3

Anise and Raav, one and the same

"So you're doctor friend was supposed to show up here to give me the antidote and pick up her son, but instead she leaves you a note, AND HER WHEELCHAIR, and says she has family business," said Max, "This sounds SO odd."

"Anise tends to disappear every so often," said Asha, "This is just the first time it's been without taking her kid first."

"I'm going to go find her," said Dan.

"No your not," said Asha, "Whoever got your mom is likely agfter you too."

"IS X5-452 AND G2-366 IN HERE?" shouted a voice from behind the door. Max's jaw dropped, as well as Dan's.

"Who is this?" asked Asha.

"Oh PLEASE TELL ME X5-452 AND G2-366 ARE IN THERE. X5-584 IS DYING AND SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP!"

"X5-584," said Max, "That's Raav."

"PLEASE!" pleaded the voice. Max opened the door and the young X8 ran inside.

"Who are you?" asked Dan.

"X8-701 SIR!" she barked, "But Raav said my name is Via. She's hurt. She was shot in the leg and she's lost a lot of blood."

"Where is she?" asked Max.

"A few clicks from here," said Via, "I would have been here last night, but I got lost. I'm only a bugler, not an X7."

"It's okay," said Max, picking up the six year old and motioning to Dan, "She asked for both of us."

"Wait for me," said Asha, "If the X5's are involved, Anise likely is too."

"Why?" asked Max.

"She admitted to me that her husband is your brother Kurt, X5-631"

"Kurt…" said Max.

"Raav was crying when I left," said Via, "We have to help her."

*+*+*

"Raav!" shouted Via as she ran into the apartment. There was a blood trail from the back bedroom, and a loud yelp pierced the silence.

"Get your hands off my sister!" shouted Max as she rushed forward and broke down the door. To her surprise, Alec was standing with a bloody towel in hand and a red hot blade in the other. Raav was sitting on the bed propped up on a pile of blankets, her leg bandaged up tightly.

"Max," said Raav, trying to put weight on her leg.

"Don't DO that," said Alec, "See what you cause Max."

"Raav!" said Max, rushing forward and wrapping her arms tightly around her sister.

"All right you X5, where is Ani…" said Asha as she walked in, but she stopped when she saw who was on the bed.

"Mom?" said Dan.

"Mom?" said Max.

"Dan," said Raav, "Damn…"

"Anise…YOU'RE THE X5?" said Asha, "I knew one of Dan's parents was an X5, and I had it figured for the mysterious 'father'. You're an X5. GREAT. Just what I need, another."

"Dan…" said Raav. Dan walked over and smacked Asha upside the head, rendering her unconscious.

"Raav," said Max, "You're here, I can't believe it."

"Believe it baby sister," said Raav, "And I'm only here thanks to Ben's clone over here."

"She was bleeding on my couch," said Alec, "Now can you get her out of here?"

"Thanks a lot Alec," said Raav, "And despite how sarcastic it sounds, I really mean it."

"Mom…" said Dan.

"OH boy," said Raav, "I have some explaining to do…"

*+*+*

"I brought you up some coffee," said Raav as she limped down to sit next to Max. Max had taken her usual perch on top of the Space needle and was staring out into space.

"How did you get up here?" asked Max.

"I'm an X5."

"You were shot."

"THAT. Well, you see, Manticore caught up to me a few years ago. I got caught and tested on by some real bitch. They saw that I heal REAL fast, and took some of my DNA. Then, they supplemented it to make me better. Problem is, when they did that, I ended up being able to shut out all pain. I stabbed myself in the leg, then ran to freedom and back to my man. Haven't looked back since."

"You're healed?"

"Almost. Give me a few days and let me sleep a little and I'll be better than ever," said Raav, grinning and giving her baby sister a thumbs up.

"You haven't changed a bit."

"You have Max, but I guessed you would."

"You of all people I had pegged to become the next Zack, what with Eva and all."

"I wish I could snap every bone in Lydecker's body, but I can't, so I put it behind me."

"From what Dan told me, you mean everything. He told me that you weren't an X5."

"There's a reason. It was Kurt's idea."

"You and Kurt are together?"

"Yep. We have been for a good nine years."

"How?"

"Zack let us."

"Why?"

"Well I seem to be the most maternal of all us X5 girlies. I take care of all the kids."

"All?"

"Eight of them now."

"EIGHT?"

"I have four…Three with Kurt. Jondy has a little girl named Trigs. Syl had Twins named Nami and Drake. And as soon as I find Charlie I'm taking Case."

"Three with Kurt, who's the fourth."

"Eva, Jack and Kat are all Kurt's. Dan is not."

"Who is Dan's father?"

"Zack."

"ZACK?"

"Yeah," said Raav, "He was getting me to safety, I went into heat, I made a mistake and wouldn't give him up."

"Whoa. Does he know?"

"No. Not yet anyway. Kurt and I will tell him when he's older."

"Wow."

"It kind of sucks though," said Raav, pulling her knees up to her chest, "Dan is turning out just like his father."

"I thought her looked like Ben."

"He does, don't he. I wish he acted more like Ben."

"You know about…"

"It's okay Max. I know what happened."

"I killed Ben."

"Yes you did. But no one blames you. I would have done the same if I were in either of your positions."

"Thanks Raav, I needed to hear that."

"I needed to hear someone tell me my son is like his uncle."

"You're still the same, I swear," said Max, "You still don't let anything get to you. You grin and let it roll off you."

"It's how I've learned to survive," said Raav, "I've had a lot to cope with. Zack and I used to fight constantly about Dan. Kurt and I knew we wanted children and after we realized they would have our genetics and barcodes, we decided it would be better if I played the normal human girl."

"Like Tinga and Charlie."

"I did NOT like that guy," said Raav, "Really didn't."

"He was okay."

"He called me Raven. My name is NOT Raven."

"Zack still called me Maxie until the end."

"At least you got a good nickname. When he wanted something he called me Ravioli."

"You never did tell any of us what the V stood for."

"Vim."

"Vim?"

"Vim. When me and the other ones my age were together, we escaped one night. I, being the curious one found a bottle of what I thought was a drink."

"So?"

"It was a bottle of Vim, an industrial strength cleaner. It nearly killed me."

"You took the name Vim because of that?"

"No, I was NAMED Vim. When I got put in Zack's unit, he decided no soldier should be named after a solvent, so he told me to change my name. I became Raav."

"I always liked your name," said Max.

"Do you realize how long I've wanted to be able to sit here and tell you what my name was. I always promised you I would one day tell you what it was, and now I can," said Raav with a tear dripping down her face.

"I've missed you too."

"Thanks Max."

"Any time big Sister."

"Max…About Zack…What happened to him. We all want to know…"

"He…" said Max, but she couldn't finish. All the emotions she had pent up inside of her ran amok and came streaming out her eyes.

"Oh shh shh shh," said Raav, putting her arm around her and pulling tissue out of her leather trenchcoat, "Max it's okay. It's okay Maxie, just don't cry baby sister."

"You're so motherly," said Max.

"One of us has to be. Just tell me, is he alive?"

"No."

"He died doing something stupid. Possibly heroically stupid, but stupid none the less."

"I died, and he gave me his heart, Manticore gave his heart in a transplant."

"Oh. Manticore tends to like to do that…"

"I feel so guilty."

"Zack was the master of guilt," said Raav, "He's never let me forget the one big mistake I made."

"Mistake?"

"I jumped him and had a kid. My mistake, in his eyes, was thinking I could raise the child on my own. I couldn't and I still can't. I don't know what I would do without Kurt."

"He still the same?"

"How so?"

"Pig-headed, stuck in his ways, protective to the tenth degree, a little bit slower than the other X5's?"

"Yeah," said Raav, "But I love him anyways."

"So how DID you get shot."

"I was rescuing little Via and two of ours."

"Who?"

"Kiri and Hack got themselves in a little to deep with Brin."

"Brin?"

"She's working for the bad guy who shot me, but I took her out."

"You took out Brin?"

"Yeah. I was on a mission to get her into the open, but she called my bluff and I snapped her legs and arms."

"But the bad guy is here?"

"Ames White. He's been on my tail fir a while."

"Why?"

"You see… He was kind of a member of S1W."

"What?"

"No shit Max."

"Damn…"

"He was an old friend of mine. That's how I got caught. I trusted him, and he gave me to Manticore when he got caught."

"Why?"

"I broke his heart. He loved me, but I never loved him back. You wonder why he acts like he's got something up his ass, it's because of your big sister."

"Damn…"

"When I rejected him, he sent X5-720 after me."

"Frankie…"

"She caught me, but I escaped again, and nearly took her with me."

"Is he going to come and get us now?"

"No. Kurt is poisoning the X7's as we speak."

"So now do I get to see him?"

"No…"

"No?"

"Yeah. You see, your dangerous to us. You're a hazard."

"Me?"

"This is our groups thinking. Jondy and I are your only advocates. The rest think you need to leave Seattle."

"No."

"Then all I can do is point Jondy in this direction," said Raav.

"You'll do that?"

"Seeing as I made a false claim…"

"The Virus?"

"Yeah. I'm so sorry Max," stammered Raav, "I've never dealt with anything this advanced."

"It's okay…" said Max, but then her pager beeped. She looked down, but when she looked up, Raav was gone. Only her comforting words and compelling story allowed Max to get up and walk away without crying.

*+*+*

"There she is!" shouted Eva, jumping up and down, trying to get away from her fathers tight grip.

"Hey baby!" shouted Raav as she got out of the car and hugged her oldest girl tight.

"Anise," said Kurt, leaning in to kiss his wife.

"Raav. My name is Raav."

Authors Note: The Story is kind of weak, but it's important. We will see Raav again in a future story, as well as Hack, Kiri, Kurt, and the two others I mentioned, Frankie and Gidra.