Hey peeps! In the words that our good friend Original Cindy might've used,
how's it hangin'? He he he. Anyways, here's yet another chapter for all of
you, I want to thank everyone who's reviewed you made me feel special.
So, how'd you like the Sandeman thing? I think it's something that should be further explored in the show, I wanna know what's his connection with Max and the others. Read deeply and get used to him because eventually he'll be a very powerful tool in my DA world.
Health update: You'll be happy to know that it doesn't hurt that much now, those painkillers really worked. One of my reviewers thought I had cancer, I don't have it, a lil' friend of mine has leukemia. Thanks for worrying though.
Heads up for my special pal Lily aka kae an everyone else, I love you very much. So hang on, 'cause the ride's just begun…
" Oh…God! Was all her could say. Now everything was falling in to place, that's why Max felt something so familiar about this guy.
" What's wong daddy?" Dylan asked timidly. Logan held her tighter and Mr. Sandeman smiled at her.
" Hey there precious, you're very beautiful." He said caressing her cheek, she didn't dare to smile instead cuddling against Logan.
" Dyl, go play in your room." He ordered softly. She complied obediently without a word.
" That's a pretty little girl you got there Mr. Cale." Logan nodded slowly.
" So, that's why Max felt like she already knew you, that's why she kept thinking about you. She's your special little girl, right?" when the man nodded he sighed. " I'm guessing you're big boy is Joshua." At the mention of his creation, Sandeman looked up surprised.
" You know about Joshua? How? He was in Manticore."
" He escaped like the rest of the transgenics. He's laying low. He's never forgotten about you, he misses you." The man had grown pale.
' Oh God, I thought I'd lost him to Manticore. Tell me what happened please." He begged Logan with a sad look. Logan sighed and leaned back.
He told him everything, from how Max escaped to the destruction of Manticore and the release of the transgenics. He also told him about Lydecker, Renfro and White.
" I taught them everything they know about genetic engineering." The man said sadly.
" So, you were the one who started all this." Logan accused him merciless. After all, he had started the whole hell his woman was living.
" I did and I'm sorry. When I created Joshua and he came like he did, I dropped the towel. I kept him by my side and loved him like a son, he is my son. Then Lydecker came and started the X series, I left him do as he pleased untl 452. I don't know what I was feeling but when they were creating her I wanted in. I supervised the whole thing and did a couple things myself. I chose the surrogate that would carry her to term and I supervised her birth. I watched her grow and train, Lydecker thought that his perfect soldier was 599 but I knew it was her, 452. She analized every situation quietly, she was efficient and painfully perfect in training but she had what they all lacked. She had a heart pounding with emotions in her chest." He sighed and put his head on his hands.
" That's why you called her your special little girl." It was more of a statement that a question but the man nodded.
" After she got sick and I saw Lydecker's obsession towards her grow, I was scared. Scared I was losing her, losing the one other thing I treasured most in life, so I tried to take her in to another facility, where I could've run with her. But Lydecker read through my mask and manipulated everyone so the council retired me early."
" That's what you meant when you said that they forced you to leave. Tell me something, you said that you chose the surrogate that would carry her to term, so you knew her mother?" Logan asked cautiously.
" Alexia Bristle, the prettiest girl of all, she was slightly older than Max when she had her. She violated the rules and got attached to the baby they claimed theirs, she tried to escape when she was far too long and they trapped her. They forced Max out of her and then sent her to a mental institution for years, until she stopped talking about 452 and Manticore. After I retired, I went to look for her, she had left the institution and moved to another city. Her name that time was Trisha Peters, she went to college and became a teacher. When I found her she had moved to Canada and changed her name to the one she currently uses, Angela Warren." Logan's wheels were turning.
" Here's the deal. You tell Max everything you just told me, especially the part of her mother. If you do I'll take you to Joshua." At first the old man wasn't sure, to Logan he had grown older in front of him.
" Deal." He said finally, determination in his eyes.
Logan was about to say something when he heard the door knob turn and the door flung open. Max was home. He watched in awe as she dropped her back pack in a unceremonious heap by the door.
" Honey, I'm home." She called out before bursting in to laughter. " Oh I crack myself up." She said between laughs, Logan couldn't help but chuckle at her outburst.
" In here honey." He called from the living room, in seconds she materialized hersewlf in front of him.
" Hey babe I…Mr. Sanders? What are you doin' here?" She was utterly confused. How did this guy find out where she lived and how did he know Logan?
" Max, you better sit down for this one." Logan said softly grabbing her hand and pulling her down to his lap.
" How did you find me? who are you?" She asked, her anger starting to flare.
" Max or should I say 452." At this Logan felt Max tense up to every muscle in her body and he held her tighter.
" How did you know? Are you working for White?" She asked suddenly scared.
" No, I lied to you. My name isn't Tom Sanders, it's James Thomas…Sandeman." He said and Max's eyes opened wide as she drew in a gulp of air.
" You're Sandeman? As in…father?" She asked, her lower lip trembling as she gripped Logan's hand tighter.
The man nodded slowly and Max's eyes watered. " Yes Max, I'm father but let me explain." He begged to a confused Max.
He then proceeded to tell Max everything from the beginning. He told her about the first creation being Joshua, he told her about the X series and how he taught Lydecker, Renfro and White all they knew. He told her about how he supervised her creation closely, how he personally picked her mother and supervised her birth. He told her about her mother's suffering and how he was always watching her, in training, in classes and even when she sleeped.
Max listened in awe, quietly, feelings swirling in her eyes. She felt hot tears stroll down her face whenever he mentioned her mother and her suffering. But what struck her the most was that she was actually alive, living a fake life somewhere in Canada.
" …and that's why I'm here." He finished looking at Max.
" Max? baby, he's done." Logan tried to bring Max back from where she had gone. She looked startled for a moment but then sighed.
" Do you understand why I did all this?" Sandeman asked worried.
" I'm…I…I need time to think, this is all too much." She said desperately before walking away.
When she was on the hallway that lead to the bedrooms, Sandeman called out to her, she froze for a moment and turned.
" Remember that for me, you're my daughter and I'd do anything for my kid." He said solemnly. Max turned and disappeared.
She was confused, this was the man that had started everything, he was the one that had made it possible for her life to be a living hell. She went in to the guestroom and was surprised when she found it completely turned in to any child's dream. Decorated in baby blue and white and filled with toys and goodies for kids.
Dylan was sleeping peacefully on her brand new king-size bed, dolls scattered all around her. To Max, it was the most beautiful scene she'd ever seen. She sat next to her and caressed her dark lockets.
A song she'd recently heard from a woman in the park came in to her mind, she didn't know what it meant at that time but now she knew. The last words from Sandeman dancing in her head, ' I'd do anything for my kid'.
May the good lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
Sorround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud, dignified and true
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Be corageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever young.
She didn't even know when she had started singing, she just knew that it was her heart saying the words, she was overwhelmed by the growing love she felt for this baby, so quickly attached to her and she wandered if it was a test.
May good fortune be with you
May your guiding light be shone
Build a stairway to heaven with a prince
Or a vagabond
And may you never love in vain
And in my heart you will remain
Forever young
Dylan stirred and turned to her side, Max gently picked up the scattered dolls and put them in their shelf. She walked through the room, touching, feeling every little thing. This was how little girls should grow up, in beautiful rooms with loving parents, not in lonely bunks and TAC team leaders. Without knowing her voice raised and she sang with all the flowing emotion.
And when you finally fly away
I'll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell
But whatever road you chose
I'm right behind you win or lose
Forever young, forever young
Forever young, forever young.
She cried, cried for her horrible childhood, scratch that, she was never allowed to be a child. She didn't play with doll or use pretty dresses, she hadn't had a mother to comb her hair or tell her secrets, she didn't have a father who would call her princess.
All she had was superiors, training them to become what she dreaded the most, a killer. A hive-minded robot that could kill without the slightest bit of remorse or regret, just kill and move on to the other objective, the next mission. She couldn't turn back time and she was thankful for having all she had now, she was also aware that if she hadn't been in Manticore she wouldn't've met Logan.
But still, she longed for her forgotten childhood and now she was given a secongd chance, she would live her childhood in Dylan. She'd make sure that she had everything she needed, and she would giver her attention and love all her life.
When she turned she found a very awake Dylan waiting with arms wide open.
" Hey baby, did I wake you?" She asked sweetly, her heart melting when she smiled.
" No mommy, you sing pretty." She said in her childhood innocence. Suddenly Max burst in to tears, she wasn't able to hold them back any longer. " What's wong mommy, I say something bad?" Dylan asked worried.
" No baby, you just gave the best gift anyone could give me." Dylan seemed confused and frowned.
" What was it?" Max chuckled whole-heartedly.
" You just gave me my childhood back." She said hugging her tightly to her chest.
She fell alseep with her daughter unaware of the pair of men watching silently from the door.
" I want to thank you for giving my little girl the world I should've given her." Sandeman said in awe.
" No need to thank me, she gave me more than I could ever wish for. She gave me my life." He replied with his loving gaze fixed upon the queen of his heart.
" Now that I've seen my little girl and I know that she's alright, I'd like to see Joshua." He begged shyly.
" Come on, I'll take you to him but we've got something to discuss in the car." Logan replied closing the door slowly.
He wrote a note to Max, grabbed his jacket and waited for Sandeman to get out, then he closed the door silently and headed towards the elevator.
Hey everybody, I know that this chapter is a little gloomy but don't sweat it, it's really necessary in order to keep the story going my way. Next chapter will see how Joshua reacts to father, another mystery is revealed and some nice action.
We have special appearances by some crazy guest that will make this fic totally rock (if I say so myself) anyways, thankyou everyone who reviewed. I promise that I'll finishe my other two fics as soon as I finish this one, it's just that my mind is really in to this one right now.
I have ideas wracking my brain all day, but unfortunately I can't wrtie all day 'cause I have to go to rehab. Keep reviewing please, I love to hear aboyt your crazy ideas!
So, how'd you like the Sandeman thing? I think it's something that should be further explored in the show, I wanna know what's his connection with Max and the others. Read deeply and get used to him because eventually he'll be a very powerful tool in my DA world.
Health update: You'll be happy to know that it doesn't hurt that much now, those painkillers really worked. One of my reviewers thought I had cancer, I don't have it, a lil' friend of mine has leukemia. Thanks for worrying though.
Heads up for my special pal Lily aka kae an everyone else, I love you very much. So hang on, 'cause the ride's just begun…
" Oh…God! Was all her could say. Now everything was falling in to place, that's why Max felt something so familiar about this guy.
" What's wong daddy?" Dylan asked timidly. Logan held her tighter and Mr. Sandeman smiled at her.
" Hey there precious, you're very beautiful." He said caressing her cheek, she didn't dare to smile instead cuddling against Logan.
" Dyl, go play in your room." He ordered softly. She complied obediently without a word.
" That's a pretty little girl you got there Mr. Cale." Logan nodded slowly.
" So, that's why Max felt like she already knew you, that's why she kept thinking about you. She's your special little girl, right?" when the man nodded he sighed. " I'm guessing you're big boy is Joshua." At the mention of his creation, Sandeman looked up surprised.
" You know about Joshua? How? He was in Manticore."
" He escaped like the rest of the transgenics. He's laying low. He's never forgotten about you, he misses you." The man had grown pale.
' Oh God, I thought I'd lost him to Manticore. Tell me what happened please." He begged Logan with a sad look. Logan sighed and leaned back.
He told him everything, from how Max escaped to the destruction of Manticore and the release of the transgenics. He also told him about Lydecker, Renfro and White.
" I taught them everything they know about genetic engineering." The man said sadly.
" So, you were the one who started all this." Logan accused him merciless. After all, he had started the whole hell his woman was living.
" I did and I'm sorry. When I created Joshua and he came like he did, I dropped the towel. I kept him by my side and loved him like a son, he is my son. Then Lydecker came and started the X series, I left him do as he pleased untl 452. I don't know what I was feeling but when they were creating her I wanted in. I supervised the whole thing and did a couple things myself. I chose the surrogate that would carry her to term and I supervised her birth. I watched her grow and train, Lydecker thought that his perfect soldier was 599 but I knew it was her, 452. She analized every situation quietly, she was efficient and painfully perfect in training but she had what they all lacked. She had a heart pounding with emotions in her chest." He sighed and put his head on his hands.
" That's why you called her your special little girl." It was more of a statement that a question but the man nodded.
" After she got sick and I saw Lydecker's obsession towards her grow, I was scared. Scared I was losing her, losing the one other thing I treasured most in life, so I tried to take her in to another facility, where I could've run with her. But Lydecker read through my mask and manipulated everyone so the council retired me early."
" That's what you meant when you said that they forced you to leave. Tell me something, you said that you chose the surrogate that would carry her to term, so you knew her mother?" Logan asked cautiously.
" Alexia Bristle, the prettiest girl of all, she was slightly older than Max when she had her. She violated the rules and got attached to the baby they claimed theirs, she tried to escape when she was far too long and they trapped her. They forced Max out of her and then sent her to a mental institution for years, until she stopped talking about 452 and Manticore. After I retired, I went to look for her, she had left the institution and moved to another city. Her name that time was Trisha Peters, she went to college and became a teacher. When I found her she had moved to Canada and changed her name to the one she currently uses, Angela Warren." Logan's wheels were turning.
" Here's the deal. You tell Max everything you just told me, especially the part of her mother. If you do I'll take you to Joshua." At first the old man wasn't sure, to Logan he had grown older in front of him.
" Deal." He said finally, determination in his eyes.
Logan was about to say something when he heard the door knob turn and the door flung open. Max was home. He watched in awe as she dropped her back pack in a unceremonious heap by the door.
" Honey, I'm home." She called out before bursting in to laughter. " Oh I crack myself up." She said between laughs, Logan couldn't help but chuckle at her outburst.
" In here honey." He called from the living room, in seconds she materialized hersewlf in front of him.
" Hey babe I…Mr. Sanders? What are you doin' here?" She was utterly confused. How did this guy find out where she lived and how did he know Logan?
" Max, you better sit down for this one." Logan said softly grabbing her hand and pulling her down to his lap.
" How did you find me? who are you?" She asked, her anger starting to flare.
" Max or should I say 452." At this Logan felt Max tense up to every muscle in her body and he held her tighter.
" How did you know? Are you working for White?" She asked suddenly scared.
" No, I lied to you. My name isn't Tom Sanders, it's James Thomas…Sandeman." He said and Max's eyes opened wide as she drew in a gulp of air.
" You're Sandeman? As in…father?" She asked, her lower lip trembling as she gripped Logan's hand tighter.
The man nodded slowly and Max's eyes watered. " Yes Max, I'm father but let me explain." He begged to a confused Max.
He then proceeded to tell Max everything from the beginning. He told her about the first creation being Joshua, he told her about the X series and how he taught Lydecker, Renfro and White all they knew. He told her about how he supervised her creation closely, how he personally picked her mother and supervised her birth. He told her about her mother's suffering and how he was always watching her, in training, in classes and even when she sleeped.
Max listened in awe, quietly, feelings swirling in her eyes. She felt hot tears stroll down her face whenever he mentioned her mother and her suffering. But what struck her the most was that she was actually alive, living a fake life somewhere in Canada.
" …and that's why I'm here." He finished looking at Max.
" Max? baby, he's done." Logan tried to bring Max back from where she had gone. She looked startled for a moment but then sighed.
" Do you understand why I did all this?" Sandeman asked worried.
" I'm…I…I need time to think, this is all too much." She said desperately before walking away.
When she was on the hallway that lead to the bedrooms, Sandeman called out to her, she froze for a moment and turned.
" Remember that for me, you're my daughter and I'd do anything for my kid." He said solemnly. Max turned and disappeared.
She was confused, this was the man that had started everything, he was the one that had made it possible for her life to be a living hell. She went in to the guestroom and was surprised when she found it completely turned in to any child's dream. Decorated in baby blue and white and filled with toys and goodies for kids.
Dylan was sleeping peacefully on her brand new king-size bed, dolls scattered all around her. To Max, it was the most beautiful scene she'd ever seen. She sat next to her and caressed her dark lockets.
A song she'd recently heard from a woman in the park came in to her mind, she didn't know what it meant at that time but now she knew. The last words from Sandeman dancing in her head, ' I'd do anything for my kid'.
May the good lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
Sorround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud, dignified and true
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Be corageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever young.
She didn't even know when she had started singing, she just knew that it was her heart saying the words, she was overwhelmed by the growing love she felt for this baby, so quickly attached to her and she wandered if it was a test.
May good fortune be with you
May your guiding light be shone
Build a stairway to heaven with a prince
Or a vagabond
And may you never love in vain
And in my heart you will remain
Forever young
Dylan stirred and turned to her side, Max gently picked up the scattered dolls and put them in their shelf. She walked through the room, touching, feeling every little thing. This was how little girls should grow up, in beautiful rooms with loving parents, not in lonely bunks and TAC team leaders. Without knowing her voice raised and she sang with all the flowing emotion.
And when you finally fly away
I'll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell
But whatever road you chose
I'm right behind you win or lose
Forever young, forever young
Forever young, forever young.
She cried, cried for her horrible childhood, scratch that, she was never allowed to be a child. She didn't play with doll or use pretty dresses, she hadn't had a mother to comb her hair or tell her secrets, she didn't have a father who would call her princess.
All she had was superiors, training them to become what she dreaded the most, a killer. A hive-minded robot that could kill without the slightest bit of remorse or regret, just kill and move on to the other objective, the next mission. She couldn't turn back time and she was thankful for having all she had now, she was also aware that if she hadn't been in Manticore she wouldn't've met Logan.
But still, she longed for her forgotten childhood and now she was given a secongd chance, she would live her childhood in Dylan. She'd make sure that she had everything she needed, and she would giver her attention and love all her life.
When she turned she found a very awake Dylan waiting with arms wide open.
" Hey baby, did I wake you?" She asked sweetly, her heart melting when she smiled.
" No mommy, you sing pretty." She said in her childhood innocence. Suddenly Max burst in to tears, she wasn't able to hold them back any longer. " What's wong mommy, I say something bad?" Dylan asked worried.
" No baby, you just gave the best gift anyone could give me." Dylan seemed confused and frowned.
" What was it?" Max chuckled whole-heartedly.
" You just gave me my childhood back." She said hugging her tightly to her chest.
She fell alseep with her daughter unaware of the pair of men watching silently from the door.
" I want to thank you for giving my little girl the world I should've given her." Sandeman said in awe.
" No need to thank me, she gave me more than I could ever wish for. She gave me my life." He replied with his loving gaze fixed upon the queen of his heart.
" Now that I've seen my little girl and I know that she's alright, I'd like to see Joshua." He begged shyly.
" Come on, I'll take you to him but we've got something to discuss in the car." Logan replied closing the door slowly.
He wrote a note to Max, grabbed his jacket and waited for Sandeman to get out, then he closed the door silently and headed towards the elevator.
Hey everybody, I know that this chapter is a little gloomy but don't sweat it, it's really necessary in order to keep the story going my way. Next chapter will see how Joshua reacts to father, another mystery is revealed and some nice action.
We have special appearances by some crazy guest that will make this fic totally rock (if I say so myself) anyways, thankyou everyone who reviewed. I promise that I'll finishe my other two fics as soon as I finish this one, it's just that my mind is really in to this one right now.
I have ideas wracking my brain all day, but unfortunately I can't wrtie all day 'cause I have to go to rehab. Keep reviewing please, I love to hear aboyt your crazy ideas!