Angel of Darkness
By Astro Purple
AstroPurpl@aol.com
PG for language, violence, and some sexual references, but mostly language.
Timeline: After Jace met Max but before season two with a few minor changes. Okay, okay, rather big changes. I loved Ben, Brin, and Tinga a lot and can't bear the thought of not writing about them. So Brin was rescued safely from Manticore for a third time and is back to normal. Tinga managed to get to Canada, and Max got to Charlie and Case before Lydecker and they're with her. Plus Max managed to drag Ben out of the woods and get him some help. There was a chemical imbalance with his brain that medication corrected.
Summary: An X5 who didn't escape and is now sent to hunt down those who did.
Author's Note: First I'd like to say thanks to Nikki for pulling my head out of the muddle it's in. I got the Space Needle and the Sears Tower mixed up. But I swear those two look alike. Okay so the Sears Tower is an actual building and the Needle is more like the Eiffel Tower, but atleast I put down an American building. Also, I've made a small change to my satisfaction, it doesn't affect the first chapter, but I thought I should mention it. I like Lydecker, he had a weird way of showing affection (i.e. trying to protect Max at the end of season 1), but he was still a cool character. Lydecker right now is working with the escaped X5s, and the one in charge of Manticore right now is Renfro, a.k.a. Madame X.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel characters belong to the wonderful people who bring Dark Angel to us.
* * *
The weight of the duffel bag slowed her down, but it didn't stop her from scaling the side of the building. Once in a while she stopped and just hung there, suspended in mid-air with only a thin piece of rope keeping her from falling. Not that she minded falling; she just didn't like falling when the fall came unbidden. Satisfied that no one had heard her, yet, she continued with what she was doing. Her solo missions had never been this hard before. Maybe it was because of the people she had to kill. They weren't X5s, no acute hearing, no tunneling sight, not even fast reflexes, there wasn't any challenge involved in sneaking in and disposing of them quickly and efficiently.
Finally reaching the top, she pulled herself over the ledge and onto the roof, solid ground. The duffel bag dropped with a thump and she froze. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Her mind screamed at her as she stood perfectly still, letting her senses tell her what's going on. Nothing out of the ordinary. She sighed with relief. Apparently her fellow X5s thought they were perfectly safe. She smirked. Not for long. Unzipping the duffel bag, she pulled out its contents one by one, inspecting each item carefully.
Eleven X5s, are you sure you can handle them? A voice in her mind inquired. Her voice. "I'm perfectly capable." She whispered to herself. "They're not better than me." She added, to reassuring herself.
Silently, she picked out two wrist gauntlets, strapping on four thin blades each. Pulled down, her jacket sleeves covered up the weapon and she tested one, flicking her right wrist. One of the three thin blades shot out and buried itself into the now empty duffel bag. With a nod, she drew it from its soft sheath and slid it back into its holder. A disgusted glance was thrown at the various other weapons. Guns, rifles, grenades, and bombs. None of that was her style.
X5s. Her mind whispered to her, reminding her what she was up against this time. With a sigh, a .38 caliber found its way into her pocket. Even through two layers she could feel the cold metal of the gun. Pushing her thoughts to the very back of her mind, she began to gather her rappel rope. Her entrance would be through the skylights that rose like a pyramid before her. As for her exit, whatever was convenient. She tossed her gear together and shoved it with her foot towards a corner. If she had a chance, she'd return to collect it.
* * *
"Fala was one of the younger ones." Max explained as Logan listened. "We couldn't take her with us. She would be caught for sure. Zack's plan was for the stronger and older ones to get away, and then later come back for the younger ones. We. we promised them we'd be back. one day." She fell silent, allowing Logan to guess the rest.
Logan lowered his head, trying to hide the judgement in his eyes.
Krit spoke up defiantly. "We didn't leave them behind on purpose! They were our family, it was hard for us to leave them in the first place!"
Teary-eyed, Trisha murmured so low that Logan almost didn't catch her words. "We were only kids. Seven, eight, just kids. Fala and the others, they were five, we had to leave them behind. If we didn't, none of us would have made it. They would have held us back, and each of us knew that when we made the final decision. It wasn't just Zack calling the shots. We all decided. Our promise to them, we probably shouldn't have made it, but in our hearts we thought we could do it. We thought we could pull it off."
"We could've, but we were separated during the escape. We didn't know who was alive, who was dead. None of us knew how many managed to make it alive, how many were taken back, or even how many died." Zack said forcefully.
"When we did regroup, it'd been over ten years. We didn't know what had happened to them. They could have been reprogrammed and there'd be no way for us to ever fully get them back, and not to mention they could hate us now." Nick spoke softly, really shy for an X5, Max almost jumped for joy to hear her brother's voice. "By the time we heard solid information from when Lydecker defected, it was too late. The new director had relocated Manticore."
Logan took off his glasses and tried to occupy himself with wiping the lenses. "If this Fala shows up. what are you going to do? She wants to kill you, all."
"We'll take it as it comes." Max said stiffly, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She stood up, all the others following her example. "We should go, in case she finds out about this place. We don't want Manticore tracing us to you." She tried to make it sound like she was concerned for his safety, but from the look in Logan's eyes, he understood. If they have no choice, and it comes down to having to kill Fala, Logan would try to stop them. Best to take it away from his sight.
"If she's in town, she'll be at the High Place." Ben said reaching for the doorknob.
Just as Max was about to agree, a crash above her head caused her to look up. A black form was flying towards her head and instinctually she leaped aside. The figure landed in the midst of them and became a blur as it moved around the room.
"Fala!" Zane's voice yelled as he reached out to grab the figure coming towards him. All he received was a kick in the stomach, which sent him reeling backwards. He caught a movement of her wrist and didn't have time to think until Jondy came crashing against him, shoving him out of the way. He heard a grunt and felt a warm liquid trickle against his neck.
Brin's voice stirred reality. "Jondy!" She saw her brother fall from a kick, and then saw Jondy crash into him. She hadn't figured it out until she saw the thin metal buried in Jondy's shoulder and the blood. Fala's really trying to kill us! Her mind screeched at her after she did the quick calculations and realized that the blade had originally been meant for Zane's throat.
Fala turned, disgust filling her features when she realized she'd missed. Her aiming had to be better next time. She turned quickly looking for her next target, and found one. Ben, her mind somehow recognized as she let another one of the blades fly.
"Ben, outta the way!" Krit yelled for his older brother as he came up behind their assailant and grabbed her. He griped her wrists, keeping them pointed down as he waited for somebody, anybody to give him a hand. She struggled, losing two more of the blades to the carpet, while Krit did his best to avoid getting kicked in his shins. "Ow!" He growled as the heel of her foot made contact.
Lucas approached, cautiously. This was a Fala he didn't know.
"Hurry up dick-head!" Krit yelled at Lucas. "I can't hold her forever."
Fala grinned, seeing the apprehension on Lucas' face. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew she needed to be stopped. Fala ignored Krit for a second and lashed out with one of her feet to kick Lucas in the face. He managed to block two of her blows before faltering and letting himself get hit. He stumbled backwards crushing the coffee table, leaving her alone for now. "Pathetic." She retorted before catching sight of Max coming at her holding a syringe full of some crap. "No, I don't think so." She lost another blade as she finally managed to loosen Krit's hold enough to toss him off her and at Max. She shot out another blade, this one finding her target and lodging itself in Krit's back.
Ben glanced at a complete loss as to what to do to where Krit was writhing in pain to where Fala was beating Nick and Trisha. She had a lot of pain and anger inside her. Two emotions that were giving her the strength and the stamina she needed to beat them. This shouldn't be happening. He thought to himself. There were eleven of them against one.
Brin sat crying where she held Jondy. Zane had removed the needle like apparatus and was gone searching for bandages, but Jondy was still bleeding rather heavily from such a small wound. She could hear Krit cussing all the way across the room as Max held him down and Ben worked carefully to pull out the blade ingrained in his lower back. It had seemed like just yesterday when they would all gather at Ben's bunk and listen to him tell them stories or watch him do shadow puppets on the wall. "Fala, please." She whispered burying her face into Jondy's hair.
Fala threw one last kicked and turned her back, not waiting to watch Trisha sink to the floor like Nick had earlier. She managed to see Syl coming at her and she shot out another blade, watching Syl dodge it and then pull out a gun. Fala jerked to the side letting the bullet fly past her and shatter a vase. Without thinking she had dashed up to Syl and wrenched the gun from her hand while breaking one of her legs and knocking her flat on the ground. She twisted around to shoot at the guy in the wheelchair as he pulled out his own gun. She didn't care who he was, but he was interacting with X5s, that marked him as a target.
Zack swore after moving around to make sure everyone was alright. He straightened up from where he had checked Trisha and Nick's pulse, in time to see Fala shoot at Logan. He held no love for him, and it wouldn't kill him to know Logan was dead. But Fala's aim had been lost and the bullet only grazed Logan's shoulder. Her arm had wavered when she shot, which led him to believe she had no taste for guns. He watched her drop the gun on the floor, disgust flashing across her face and he saw his chance. He leaped at her bringing her down to the floor. "Fala! Stop it! Stop this!" He ordered in his most commanding voice as he pinned her against the floor beneath him. She continued to struggle as hatred met his gaze, making him realize with a sinking heart how angry she was with them, with him. It only took him a moment to make his decision and he released her, getting up. "Fala. we didn't mean to. We were going to come back. You're part of our family."
Fala had been surprised at first, shock was more closely to what she'd felt. She heard his words, and processed them. But it was too late, her judgment had been made also. Stupid. Her mind whispered as her last blade slid from its leather sheath into her hand and she jumped up, stabbing Zack with it.
"Zack!" Zane yelped as he walked back into the room. He dropped the sheet he was holding and dashed to be at his big brother's side. Zack waved him off, making him stop where he was. Zack had his reason. He'd seen his big brother grab Fala's wrist, slowing down the impact, but not stopping it. Zack had been hurt. He started towards his big brother again, but once against Zack waved him off. He saw his brother's lips move as he spoke to Fala. He couldn't hear what was being said, but it must have had an impact. Fala turned to take in the injury and destruction she'd caused. Zane thought he saw a tear in her eye, as if she felt sorry for what she had done. He saw her sorrow, and he saw the comfort Zack was trying to offer.
Fala wanted to cry. All her life she had been trying to convince herself that the hurt and pain her family felt had been Zack's fault. But nothing they felt had been pain, it had been love for one another and love for the freedom Manticore would never give. She acknowledged that if she was one of the twelve, she wouldn't mind being separated from her family. She knew they'd always be there for her when she needed them. As she took in all the pain her family felt now, it wasn't because of Zack, it was because of her. She had given them the hurt they were experiencing now. She felt Zack stroking her hand, trying to tell her it was okay and that it wasn't entirely her fault. But it was, it was her fault. She was the one who followed orders, orders given by Manticore to kill her family. She turned towards Zack, noticing for the first time that she was still hurting him. She pulled her hand back towards her and he made no move to stop her. The blade slid out from him, showing her that only about an inch had penetrated. He would be all right, he would live.
Ben watched his sister's expressions carefully. She was sorry, she was really sorry. "Baby sister." He said quietly. She must have heard him for she turned around to face him. He stood and stepped towards her. "It's all right, it's not your fault."
She was leaking. Fala reached up and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket. She'd seen forgiveness in Zane's eyes, and felt it in Zack's touch. As she met Ben's eyes and heard his voice, she knew he forgave her also. She became aware that she still clenched the blade tightly in her hand. She let it drop, hearing it hit the carpeted floor with a muffled thud. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready yet." She said slowly. Fala turned towards where she'd seen the large picture window. It was her exit, and she hurled herself towards it, feeling the glass crack and then break from her weight before she was free and almost flying. The ground was coming up fast, or rather the roof to another building, she tucked herself into a ball twisting her body to land on her feet. Without turning she ran as fast as she could to as far as she could.
"Yep, I can see the family resemblance." Logan commented dryly as Max wrapped up his shoulder.
* * *
The wind was whipping around her as she stood on top of the Space Needle. They'd find her here, she knew it. Somehow they were similar in that they were all attracted towards the tallest point they could see. Being above the world was their sanctuary from the everyday evils of the world. From Manticore, more specifically. What was she going to do? If the director found out she's bungled her mission, another soldier would be sent to take her place. Maybe not an X5 next time in case they held fragile visions of their "family." She didn't want to know what they'd do if they met up with an X6, or even an X7. They. funny how she thought of them as different from herself. She shouldn't, she shouldn't separate herself from them, after all, isn't she one of them now? Fala sighed. She didn't know who she was, or what her purpose in life was anymore. Everything was so confusing. She needed to sort everything out before she could go back and face "them." They might have forgive her, but she hadn't forgiven herself. She could never sit with them and talk with them without knowing that she had hurt them far worse than anyone else had. She, one of them.
* * *
So? What'd y'all think of this chapter? I know. it's a bit more emotional and a lot more somber compared to the first, but I'm just testing the water right now. This isn't that bad is it?
By Astro Purple
AstroPurpl@aol.com
PG for language, violence, and some sexual references, but mostly language.
Timeline: After Jace met Max but before season two with a few minor changes. Okay, okay, rather big changes. I loved Ben, Brin, and Tinga a lot and can't bear the thought of not writing about them. So Brin was rescued safely from Manticore for a third time and is back to normal. Tinga managed to get to Canada, and Max got to Charlie and Case before Lydecker and they're with her. Plus Max managed to drag Ben out of the woods and get him some help. There was a chemical imbalance with his brain that medication corrected.
Summary: An X5 who didn't escape and is now sent to hunt down those who did.
Author's Note: First I'd like to say thanks to Nikki for pulling my head out of the muddle it's in. I got the Space Needle and the Sears Tower mixed up. But I swear those two look alike. Okay so the Sears Tower is an actual building and the Needle is more like the Eiffel Tower, but atleast I put down an American building. Also, I've made a small change to my satisfaction, it doesn't affect the first chapter, but I thought I should mention it. I like Lydecker, he had a weird way of showing affection (i.e. trying to protect Max at the end of season 1), but he was still a cool character. Lydecker right now is working with the escaped X5s, and the one in charge of Manticore right now is Renfro, a.k.a. Madame X.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel characters belong to the wonderful people who bring Dark Angel to us.
* * *
The weight of the duffel bag slowed her down, but it didn't stop her from scaling the side of the building. Once in a while she stopped and just hung there, suspended in mid-air with only a thin piece of rope keeping her from falling. Not that she minded falling; she just didn't like falling when the fall came unbidden. Satisfied that no one had heard her, yet, she continued with what she was doing. Her solo missions had never been this hard before. Maybe it was because of the people she had to kill. They weren't X5s, no acute hearing, no tunneling sight, not even fast reflexes, there wasn't any challenge involved in sneaking in and disposing of them quickly and efficiently.
Finally reaching the top, she pulled herself over the ledge and onto the roof, solid ground. The duffel bag dropped with a thump and she froze. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Her mind screamed at her as she stood perfectly still, letting her senses tell her what's going on. Nothing out of the ordinary. She sighed with relief. Apparently her fellow X5s thought they were perfectly safe. She smirked. Not for long. Unzipping the duffel bag, she pulled out its contents one by one, inspecting each item carefully.
Eleven X5s, are you sure you can handle them? A voice in her mind inquired. Her voice. "I'm perfectly capable." She whispered to herself. "They're not better than me." She added, to reassuring herself.
Silently, she picked out two wrist gauntlets, strapping on four thin blades each. Pulled down, her jacket sleeves covered up the weapon and she tested one, flicking her right wrist. One of the three thin blades shot out and buried itself into the now empty duffel bag. With a nod, she drew it from its soft sheath and slid it back into its holder. A disgusted glance was thrown at the various other weapons. Guns, rifles, grenades, and bombs. None of that was her style.
X5s. Her mind whispered to her, reminding her what she was up against this time. With a sigh, a .38 caliber found its way into her pocket. Even through two layers she could feel the cold metal of the gun. Pushing her thoughts to the very back of her mind, she began to gather her rappel rope. Her entrance would be through the skylights that rose like a pyramid before her. As for her exit, whatever was convenient. She tossed her gear together and shoved it with her foot towards a corner. If she had a chance, she'd return to collect it.
* * *
"Fala was one of the younger ones." Max explained as Logan listened. "We couldn't take her with us. She would be caught for sure. Zack's plan was for the stronger and older ones to get away, and then later come back for the younger ones. We. we promised them we'd be back. one day." She fell silent, allowing Logan to guess the rest.
Logan lowered his head, trying to hide the judgement in his eyes.
Krit spoke up defiantly. "We didn't leave them behind on purpose! They were our family, it was hard for us to leave them in the first place!"
Teary-eyed, Trisha murmured so low that Logan almost didn't catch her words. "We were only kids. Seven, eight, just kids. Fala and the others, they were five, we had to leave them behind. If we didn't, none of us would have made it. They would have held us back, and each of us knew that when we made the final decision. It wasn't just Zack calling the shots. We all decided. Our promise to them, we probably shouldn't have made it, but in our hearts we thought we could do it. We thought we could pull it off."
"We could've, but we were separated during the escape. We didn't know who was alive, who was dead. None of us knew how many managed to make it alive, how many were taken back, or even how many died." Zack said forcefully.
"When we did regroup, it'd been over ten years. We didn't know what had happened to them. They could have been reprogrammed and there'd be no way for us to ever fully get them back, and not to mention they could hate us now." Nick spoke softly, really shy for an X5, Max almost jumped for joy to hear her brother's voice. "By the time we heard solid information from when Lydecker defected, it was too late. The new director had relocated Manticore."
Logan took off his glasses and tried to occupy himself with wiping the lenses. "If this Fala shows up. what are you going to do? She wants to kill you, all."
"We'll take it as it comes." Max said stiffly, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She stood up, all the others following her example. "We should go, in case she finds out about this place. We don't want Manticore tracing us to you." She tried to make it sound like she was concerned for his safety, but from the look in Logan's eyes, he understood. If they have no choice, and it comes down to having to kill Fala, Logan would try to stop them. Best to take it away from his sight.
"If she's in town, she'll be at the High Place." Ben said reaching for the doorknob.
Just as Max was about to agree, a crash above her head caused her to look up. A black form was flying towards her head and instinctually she leaped aside. The figure landed in the midst of them and became a blur as it moved around the room.
"Fala!" Zane's voice yelled as he reached out to grab the figure coming towards him. All he received was a kick in the stomach, which sent him reeling backwards. He caught a movement of her wrist and didn't have time to think until Jondy came crashing against him, shoving him out of the way. He heard a grunt and felt a warm liquid trickle against his neck.
Brin's voice stirred reality. "Jondy!" She saw her brother fall from a kick, and then saw Jondy crash into him. She hadn't figured it out until she saw the thin metal buried in Jondy's shoulder and the blood. Fala's really trying to kill us! Her mind screeched at her after she did the quick calculations and realized that the blade had originally been meant for Zane's throat.
Fala turned, disgust filling her features when she realized she'd missed. Her aiming had to be better next time. She turned quickly looking for her next target, and found one. Ben, her mind somehow recognized as she let another one of the blades fly.
"Ben, outta the way!" Krit yelled for his older brother as he came up behind their assailant and grabbed her. He griped her wrists, keeping them pointed down as he waited for somebody, anybody to give him a hand. She struggled, losing two more of the blades to the carpet, while Krit did his best to avoid getting kicked in his shins. "Ow!" He growled as the heel of her foot made contact.
Lucas approached, cautiously. This was a Fala he didn't know.
"Hurry up dick-head!" Krit yelled at Lucas. "I can't hold her forever."
Fala grinned, seeing the apprehension on Lucas' face. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew she needed to be stopped. Fala ignored Krit for a second and lashed out with one of her feet to kick Lucas in the face. He managed to block two of her blows before faltering and letting himself get hit. He stumbled backwards crushing the coffee table, leaving her alone for now. "Pathetic." She retorted before catching sight of Max coming at her holding a syringe full of some crap. "No, I don't think so." She lost another blade as she finally managed to loosen Krit's hold enough to toss him off her and at Max. She shot out another blade, this one finding her target and lodging itself in Krit's back.
Ben glanced at a complete loss as to what to do to where Krit was writhing in pain to where Fala was beating Nick and Trisha. She had a lot of pain and anger inside her. Two emotions that were giving her the strength and the stamina she needed to beat them. This shouldn't be happening. He thought to himself. There were eleven of them against one.
Brin sat crying where she held Jondy. Zane had removed the needle like apparatus and was gone searching for bandages, but Jondy was still bleeding rather heavily from such a small wound. She could hear Krit cussing all the way across the room as Max held him down and Ben worked carefully to pull out the blade ingrained in his lower back. It had seemed like just yesterday when they would all gather at Ben's bunk and listen to him tell them stories or watch him do shadow puppets on the wall. "Fala, please." She whispered burying her face into Jondy's hair.
Fala threw one last kicked and turned her back, not waiting to watch Trisha sink to the floor like Nick had earlier. She managed to see Syl coming at her and she shot out another blade, watching Syl dodge it and then pull out a gun. Fala jerked to the side letting the bullet fly past her and shatter a vase. Without thinking she had dashed up to Syl and wrenched the gun from her hand while breaking one of her legs and knocking her flat on the ground. She twisted around to shoot at the guy in the wheelchair as he pulled out his own gun. She didn't care who he was, but he was interacting with X5s, that marked him as a target.
Zack swore after moving around to make sure everyone was alright. He straightened up from where he had checked Trisha and Nick's pulse, in time to see Fala shoot at Logan. He held no love for him, and it wouldn't kill him to know Logan was dead. But Fala's aim had been lost and the bullet only grazed Logan's shoulder. Her arm had wavered when she shot, which led him to believe she had no taste for guns. He watched her drop the gun on the floor, disgust flashing across her face and he saw his chance. He leaped at her bringing her down to the floor. "Fala! Stop it! Stop this!" He ordered in his most commanding voice as he pinned her against the floor beneath him. She continued to struggle as hatred met his gaze, making him realize with a sinking heart how angry she was with them, with him. It only took him a moment to make his decision and he released her, getting up. "Fala. we didn't mean to. We were going to come back. You're part of our family."
Fala had been surprised at first, shock was more closely to what she'd felt. She heard his words, and processed them. But it was too late, her judgment had been made also. Stupid. Her mind whispered as her last blade slid from its leather sheath into her hand and she jumped up, stabbing Zack with it.
"Zack!" Zane yelped as he walked back into the room. He dropped the sheet he was holding and dashed to be at his big brother's side. Zack waved him off, making him stop where he was. Zack had his reason. He'd seen his big brother grab Fala's wrist, slowing down the impact, but not stopping it. Zack had been hurt. He started towards his big brother again, but once against Zack waved him off. He saw his brother's lips move as he spoke to Fala. He couldn't hear what was being said, but it must have had an impact. Fala turned to take in the injury and destruction she'd caused. Zane thought he saw a tear in her eye, as if she felt sorry for what she had done. He saw her sorrow, and he saw the comfort Zack was trying to offer.
Fala wanted to cry. All her life she had been trying to convince herself that the hurt and pain her family felt had been Zack's fault. But nothing they felt had been pain, it had been love for one another and love for the freedom Manticore would never give. She acknowledged that if she was one of the twelve, she wouldn't mind being separated from her family. She knew they'd always be there for her when she needed them. As she took in all the pain her family felt now, it wasn't because of Zack, it was because of her. She had given them the hurt they were experiencing now. She felt Zack stroking her hand, trying to tell her it was okay and that it wasn't entirely her fault. But it was, it was her fault. She was the one who followed orders, orders given by Manticore to kill her family. She turned towards Zack, noticing for the first time that she was still hurting him. She pulled her hand back towards her and he made no move to stop her. The blade slid out from him, showing her that only about an inch had penetrated. He would be all right, he would live.
Ben watched his sister's expressions carefully. She was sorry, she was really sorry. "Baby sister." He said quietly. She must have heard him for she turned around to face him. He stood and stepped towards her. "It's all right, it's not your fault."
She was leaking. Fala reached up and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket. She'd seen forgiveness in Zane's eyes, and felt it in Zack's touch. As she met Ben's eyes and heard his voice, she knew he forgave her also. She became aware that she still clenched the blade tightly in her hand. She let it drop, hearing it hit the carpeted floor with a muffled thud. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready yet." She said slowly. Fala turned towards where she'd seen the large picture window. It was her exit, and she hurled herself towards it, feeling the glass crack and then break from her weight before she was free and almost flying. The ground was coming up fast, or rather the roof to another building, she tucked herself into a ball twisting her body to land on her feet. Without turning she ran as fast as she could to as far as she could.
"Yep, I can see the family resemblance." Logan commented dryly as Max wrapped up his shoulder.
* * *
The wind was whipping around her as she stood on top of the Space Needle. They'd find her here, she knew it. Somehow they were similar in that they were all attracted towards the tallest point they could see. Being above the world was their sanctuary from the everyday evils of the world. From Manticore, more specifically. What was she going to do? If the director found out she's bungled her mission, another soldier would be sent to take her place. Maybe not an X5 next time in case they held fragile visions of their "family." She didn't want to know what they'd do if they met up with an X6, or even an X7. They. funny how she thought of them as different from herself. She shouldn't, she shouldn't separate herself from them, after all, isn't she one of them now? Fala sighed. She didn't know who she was, or what her purpose in life was anymore. Everything was so confusing. She needed to sort everything out before she could go back and face "them." They might have forgive her, but she hadn't forgiven herself. She could never sit with them and talk with them without knowing that she had hurt them far worse than anyone else had. She, one of them.
* * *
So? What'd y'all think of this chapter? I know. it's a bit more emotional and a lot more somber compared to the first, but I'm just testing the water right now. This isn't that bad is it?
