1 TITLE: Past and Present
SUMMARY: Jondy's heart is restless. Time to go to Seattle and maybe work out some other feelings while she's there....
DISCLAIMER: *Sigh* no none of the DA characters are mine; they belong to the DA producers. However Bree and the other little X5's are mine. ^_^
1.1 Past and Present: Family Reunion+1
They entered the apartment silently. Max motioned for Jondy to be quiet, pointing to the lounge room, indicating that that's where her brothers were sleeping.
"Max?" Jondy said, keeping her voice as low as possible, "can I see Eva?"
Max shook her head. "Tomorrow. I got her to sleep before I left. If we go in there now, she'll wake up. She doesn't sleep much. When she does sleep, we make sure nothing disturbs her. Eva has really sensitive hearing, if we go in she'll hear us straight away."
Jondy looked amused. "I wonder where she gets that from?"
"Shut up Jondy." Max smiled. "It's not easy looking after a genetically- enhanced baby, you know."
Jondy giggled as she and Max walked into one of the bedrooms.
In the lounge room, Krit's ears picked up low voices in the hallway. His heart began to beat a little bit faster when he heard one voice in particular. It couldn't be her, could it? Zack said he'd lost touch with her, although something in his face had showed that he did, in fact, have a way to find her if the need arose. Oh well…Krit shrugged it off as a dream, and went back to sleep.
Using her night vision, Jondy quickly picked up on who was in the room Max lead her to. She gasped and she cried for the second time that night, when she recognized all the faces on the bed. "Oh god…Tinga, syl…Jace! Wow, I haven't seen her for ages! She's here too!" Since the escape, Jondy had been a lot closer to her brothers than her sisters. In fact the only sister she'd seen since that night had been Tinga, and that had only been a few times. Oh and she'd seen Jace once, that had been a really big surprise.
"You were the only one missing Jondy. I'm so happy all my sisters are in the same room again," max gushed, as she settled down next to Tinga, who automatically, even in her sleep, wrapped her arms around her little sister. Jondy went to the other side of the bed and lay beside Syl and Jace, breathing in the familiar scent of her sisters. Jondy couldn't remember a time in her life she'd felt so happy and safe.
------------
The ground was covered in snow. It was cold, so cold Zack could barley feel his feet. And they'd only been out here for about an hour. Lydecker sent them out to the forest in the middle of winter, to survive on their own for 3 hours. That was their only mission: to stay alive.
Jondy cuddled closer to Max. She and her sisters were huddled together under a tree, looking at Zack expectantly, waiting for him to tell them what to do. Only the very youngest X5's were scared; the rest were old enough to have faith in Zack. Jondy looked over her sister's faces. Next to Max were Tinga, Marli, and Syl. Zeb, as one of the older ones, was cuddling Jace and Foxx protectively. Jondy could see that Eva's hands were blue, in fact all their hands, feet, ears, every part of them was blue and almost frozen. She looked over at Krit, who was about 3 meters away hugging Bree. She smiled. Krit and Bree were inseparable.
"Line up X5's!" Zack was using his tough, CO, don't mess with me voice. Instantly they all got up from wherever they were and stood in a line, waiting for their leader to tell them what to do. Zack smiled when he saw the others doing exactly what he asked. The Colonel had said once that X5599 made a good leader. Zack had smiled when he heard this complement. He always tried his best to make sure that he lead the others well. It made him proud to be worthy of praise…not that he wanted any from Lydecker.
"X5452, step forward." Zack waited until Max was listening before he continued. "Take one half of the squadron and lead them through the exercises we learned last week. Moving will help us keep warm, at least for a while. Do you understand your orders soldier?"
"Yes sir!" Max's tiny yet determined voice rang through the clearing. She was trying hard not to smile; it always made her happy when Zack thought she was worthy of helping take care of the others, especially since Max was one of the youngest.
"X5210."
Jondy's heart began to beat a little faster when Zack singled her out. "Yes sir?"
Zack smiled. "Help her."
Jondy nodded, and then she and Max took half of their siblings to the other side of the clearing.
"I don't want to do those exercises…I'm too cold." Syl shivered. "I can barley move anyway."
"You'd better not let Zack hear you complaining," Max said, "come on, he knows what he's doing. If Zack says exercise, we should exercise."
They nodded. Max was right. Zack had never been wrong before.
An hour later, they were beginning to get tired. "That'll do, soldiers," Zack signaled for them to stop. "I estimate that we have an hour before our mission is over. We'll just climb up the trees, to be out of the snow, and huddle together to stay warm. Understood?"
They all nodded, except for Marli, who sneezed. "Are you okay X5413?" Zack didn't bother to hide the worry in his voice. Marli had had a slight cold over the past week, and it certainly wasn't good for her to be out in the snow like this.
"Yes sir…"was the weak reply. Zack didn't hesitate. He took off his coat and put it over Marli's small shoulders, then instructed Zane to keep a close eye on her. He then scrambled up one of the trees, quickly followed by Max. Jondy went after her, and so did Krit and Bree. The others went up other trees close by.
As Jondy cuddled up against Max and Krit, she realized that despite it being freezing where they were, she felt unusually warm. Maybe it was because back at the Base they didn't have time to just cuddle, they were either training or sleeping. The hour passed quickly, and before they knew it they could hear the army trucks coming to pick them up.
They jumped out of the tree and lined up. Zack quickly counted his brothers and sisters, relieved to find that they all seemed fine. Zane threw him the coat that had been on Marli, Colonel would probably be mad if he saw Zack without it on. He wondered for a brief moment whether Lydecker would care that he'd given his coat to Marli, after all he was just helping her, and the Colonel seemed to like when Zack did that. Oh well, there was no point inviting trouble, Zack thought as he put his coat back on and stood up straight, waiting for Lydecker.
As the truck pulled up, the others all stood to attention, hoping the Colonel wouldn't yell at them for shivering a bit. Only 1 truck? Zack thought, that won't be enough to get all of us back to base. He got a weird feeling in is stomach; somehow he knew that their mission wasn't yet over.
"What is your Mission status, X5599?" Lydecker's loud voice filled the clearing, making them all shake even more.
"The mission has been completed successfully sir. We are all alive." Please take us back now.
"So I see. Good work X5599. Take them back to the barracks now for a hot shower." With that the Colonel got back in the truck, and drove off.
Zack looked down the path in shock. He's going to make us walk home? It takes at least half an hour to get back, probably longer because we're all tired. Zack glared at the spot where Lydecker had been standing. It wasn't fair, he thought. Being in charge of so many other lives is too hard. I'm only 8 years old…But Zack remembered his training. Age doesn't matter, only strength and determination does. It is an honor to be a leader. Zack sighed. It may be an honor, but it didn't make his job any easier.
"Zack?" Jondy had been watching him. It can't be easy leading all of us the way he does.
"Yes Jondy?" Drop the CO act. For a while I'll just be their big brother.
"What are we going to do? I'm cold, and tired. I just want to go to bed."
"I know. I'm tired too, but all we can do is keep going. We'll all make it home together. Right guys?"
They all smiled, and nodded.
Zack wrapped his arms around her, and whispered, "don't worry Jondy, I'm always going to take care of you. I promise."
Jondy smiled and hugged him back. "I know you will Zack, and I'm not scared. I know you'll always be there for me."
------------
End of Chapter Three
* This chapter is my personal favourite…I love flashbacks. *
SUMMARY: Jondy's heart is restless. Time to go to Seattle and maybe work out some other feelings while she's there....
DISCLAIMER: *Sigh* no none of the DA characters are mine; they belong to the DA producers. However Bree and the other little X5's are mine. ^_^
1.1 Past and Present: Family Reunion+1
They entered the apartment silently. Max motioned for Jondy to be quiet, pointing to the lounge room, indicating that that's where her brothers were sleeping.
"Max?" Jondy said, keeping her voice as low as possible, "can I see Eva?"
Max shook her head. "Tomorrow. I got her to sleep before I left. If we go in there now, she'll wake up. She doesn't sleep much. When she does sleep, we make sure nothing disturbs her. Eva has really sensitive hearing, if we go in she'll hear us straight away."
Jondy looked amused. "I wonder where she gets that from?"
"Shut up Jondy." Max smiled. "It's not easy looking after a genetically- enhanced baby, you know."
Jondy giggled as she and Max walked into one of the bedrooms.
In the lounge room, Krit's ears picked up low voices in the hallway. His heart began to beat a little bit faster when he heard one voice in particular. It couldn't be her, could it? Zack said he'd lost touch with her, although something in his face had showed that he did, in fact, have a way to find her if the need arose. Oh well…Krit shrugged it off as a dream, and went back to sleep.
Using her night vision, Jondy quickly picked up on who was in the room Max lead her to. She gasped and she cried for the second time that night, when she recognized all the faces on the bed. "Oh god…Tinga, syl…Jace! Wow, I haven't seen her for ages! She's here too!" Since the escape, Jondy had been a lot closer to her brothers than her sisters. In fact the only sister she'd seen since that night had been Tinga, and that had only been a few times. Oh and she'd seen Jace once, that had been a really big surprise.
"You were the only one missing Jondy. I'm so happy all my sisters are in the same room again," max gushed, as she settled down next to Tinga, who automatically, even in her sleep, wrapped her arms around her little sister. Jondy went to the other side of the bed and lay beside Syl and Jace, breathing in the familiar scent of her sisters. Jondy couldn't remember a time in her life she'd felt so happy and safe.
------------
The ground was covered in snow. It was cold, so cold Zack could barley feel his feet. And they'd only been out here for about an hour. Lydecker sent them out to the forest in the middle of winter, to survive on their own for 3 hours. That was their only mission: to stay alive.
Jondy cuddled closer to Max. She and her sisters were huddled together under a tree, looking at Zack expectantly, waiting for him to tell them what to do. Only the very youngest X5's were scared; the rest were old enough to have faith in Zack. Jondy looked over her sister's faces. Next to Max were Tinga, Marli, and Syl. Zeb, as one of the older ones, was cuddling Jace and Foxx protectively. Jondy could see that Eva's hands were blue, in fact all their hands, feet, ears, every part of them was blue and almost frozen. She looked over at Krit, who was about 3 meters away hugging Bree. She smiled. Krit and Bree were inseparable.
"Line up X5's!" Zack was using his tough, CO, don't mess with me voice. Instantly they all got up from wherever they were and stood in a line, waiting for their leader to tell them what to do. Zack smiled when he saw the others doing exactly what he asked. The Colonel had said once that X5599 made a good leader. Zack had smiled when he heard this complement. He always tried his best to make sure that he lead the others well. It made him proud to be worthy of praise…not that he wanted any from Lydecker.
"X5452, step forward." Zack waited until Max was listening before he continued. "Take one half of the squadron and lead them through the exercises we learned last week. Moving will help us keep warm, at least for a while. Do you understand your orders soldier?"
"Yes sir!" Max's tiny yet determined voice rang through the clearing. She was trying hard not to smile; it always made her happy when Zack thought she was worthy of helping take care of the others, especially since Max was one of the youngest.
"X5210."
Jondy's heart began to beat a little faster when Zack singled her out. "Yes sir?"
Zack smiled. "Help her."
Jondy nodded, and then she and Max took half of their siblings to the other side of the clearing.
"I don't want to do those exercises…I'm too cold." Syl shivered. "I can barley move anyway."
"You'd better not let Zack hear you complaining," Max said, "come on, he knows what he's doing. If Zack says exercise, we should exercise."
They nodded. Max was right. Zack had never been wrong before.
An hour later, they were beginning to get tired. "That'll do, soldiers," Zack signaled for them to stop. "I estimate that we have an hour before our mission is over. We'll just climb up the trees, to be out of the snow, and huddle together to stay warm. Understood?"
They all nodded, except for Marli, who sneezed. "Are you okay X5413?" Zack didn't bother to hide the worry in his voice. Marli had had a slight cold over the past week, and it certainly wasn't good for her to be out in the snow like this.
"Yes sir…"was the weak reply. Zack didn't hesitate. He took off his coat and put it over Marli's small shoulders, then instructed Zane to keep a close eye on her. He then scrambled up one of the trees, quickly followed by Max. Jondy went after her, and so did Krit and Bree. The others went up other trees close by.
As Jondy cuddled up against Max and Krit, she realized that despite it being freezing where they were, she felt unusually warm. Maybe it was because back at the Base they didn't have time to just cuddle, they were either training or sleeping. The hour passed quickly, and before they knew it they could hear the army trucks coming to pick them up.
They jumped out of the tree and lined up. Zack quickly counted his brothers and sisters, relieved to find that they all seemed fine. Zane threw him the coat that had been on Marli, Colonel would probably be mad if he saw Zack without it on. He wondered for a brief moment whether Lydecker would care that he'd given his coat to Marli, after all he was just helping her, and the Colonel seemed to like when Zack did that. Oh well, there was no point inviting trouble, Zack thought as he put his coat back on and stood up straight, waiting for Lydecker.
As the truck pulled up, the others all stood to attention, hoping the Colonel wouldn't yell at them for shivering a bit. Only 1 truck? Zack thought, that won't be enough to get all of us back to base. He got a weird feeling in is stomach; somehow he knew that their mission wasn't yet over.
"What is your Mission status, X5599?" Lydecker's loud voice filled the clearing, making them all shake even more.
"The mission has been completed successfully sir. We are all alive." Please take us back now.
"So I see. Good work X5599. Take them back to the barracks now for a hot shower." With that the Colonel got back in the truck, and drove off.
Zack looked down the path in shock. He's going to make us walk home? It takes at least half an hour to get back, probably longer because we're all tired. Zack glared at the spot where Lydecker had been standing. It wasn't fair, he thought. Being in charge of so many other lives is too hard. I'm only 8 years old…But Zack remembered his training. Age doesn't matter, only strength and determination does. It is an honor to be a leader. Zack sighed. It may be an honor, but it didn't make his job any easier.
"Zack?" Jondy had been watching him. It can't be easy leading all of us the way he does.
"Yes Jondy?" Drop the CO act. For a while I'll just be their big brother.
"What are we going to do? I'm cold, and tired. I just want to go to bed."
"I know. I'm tired too, but all we can do is keep going. We'll all make it home together. Right guys?"
They all smiled, and nodded.
Zack wrapped his arms around her, and whispered, "don't worry Jondy, I'm always going to take care of you. I promise."
Jondy smiled and hugged him back. "I know you will Zack, and I'm not scared. I know you'll always be there for me."
------------
End of Chapter Three
* This chapter is my personal favourite…I love flashbacks. *