My Family
By Astro Purple
AstroPurpl@aol.com
G
Timeline: Anytime during the X5s' existence.
Summary: How each X5 sees their family and their special bond.
Author's Note: Each 'chapter' will explore one X5's feelings and thoughts. They don't have to be read in any order since it's not continuous.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel characters belong to the wonderful people who bring Dark Angel to us.
* * *
My family. I was the first born in Manticore and naturally their CO. I gave the order for the escape after seeing Jack and then Eva be taken away. Why? I'm not even sure myself. It had something to do with Max. She was starting to get sick, just like Jack, before he was taken. I couldn't let that happen. But I know now, that even if Max hadn't begun to develop seizures, I still would have given the order for escape. I cared and loved my family, even back then when we didn't know what caring or love was.
We were designed to be perfect, but our creators weren't. They messed up with the X1s, the X2s, the X3s, and even the X4s had been starting to go off, one by one. I didn't want that to happen to my family. I had overheard them talking, the people in the white coats, saying how even in the world outside people go crazy also, it's normal, but not at the speed it happens here, in Manticore. I think I had come to the conclusion that Manticore wasn't healthy, and it wasn't. But I don't know how I came to that conclusion. I had only been on one solo mission, and I hadn't seen that much of the outside, but I guess I knew. I had figured that the only way to save my family was to get them outside, where they could be healthy in a healthy environment.
When I made it to the outside, and I watched the sun rise on that rooftop, I knew everything would be all right. We were in a good and healthy world. Then the Pulse hit. Everything changed overnight, I saw everything as it happened.
Electricity and running water going out, the drains and sewage systems clogging up with muck. With electricity down, gangs and thieves moved freely to steal, knowing there would be no way for the police to know. The traffic lights were down, causing accidents and arguments on the roads. The rich could have sudden become the poor, and the poor suddenly the rich. It was all chaos, and I couldn't understand any of it. What had happened to the world I brought my family into? The good world where real families took us in to care for us, and we had plenty of food, clothes, and freedom. It had all changed. Everything was taken away, and just because the norms running everything couldn't stop a bunch of norm soldiers from planting an e-bomb. Oh well, what did you expect? They were norms.
After the Pulse, I began. What the world had become, I couldn't allow my family to live alone like that. I wanted to find them all and move them to a safe location where we could be together as a family again. But after I ventured out into the disgusting world, I'd learned how Lydecker could now conduct his search for us rather openly. Bribe local governments, set up new operations in old warehouses or factories or even military bases and not raise suspicion. I began to slowly realize that all of us together would not work. We'd draw too much attention. As much as I wanted us to all be together and live in a nicer place than where we were most of the time, I didn't want to risk their freedom. We all loved it too much. So I began to set up a system where I could keep track of each of them as I found them. I gave them a contact number, checked around the area they were living in, and let them settle. When trouble came, I would be there as their big brother, as their CO to help them move to another secure location.
My system worked, until I found Max. Even when she was a kid, she was headstrong and hated to be ordered around. I wasn't surprised when she declined, but I was when she chose to stay in Seattle. Lydecker already knew she was here. Staying here risked her life, I couldn't let her, but I didn't have the heart to force her away from the place she loved most. So I left her, even though I said I wouldn't ever see her again and that it was her loss, I found myself showing up in Seattle on a regular basis after that. Every two weeks, every three weeks, just to check up on her, and make sure she was safe. Deep down, to me I think she represented the spirit I didn't have.
When Krit and Syl 'accidentally' bumped into each other, I couldn't keep them apart. But they were always on the move, riding their cycles and cris- crossing the US for the fun of being together, so that was okay. They were always on the move, no way Lydecker could catch up to them. They were the explorers that I couldn't be.
Zane. What can I say about my favorite little brother? He'll never know that of course, but he is my favorite. I think, somewhere in our genetics we may be related. We both have the same baby blue eyes and the same blond hair. He's almost like a miniaturized version of me. I remember how he use to follow me around in Manticore, with those big blue eyes of his. Hoping there could be some way he could help me. We look a like physically, and many a times I've had to use that trait and pretend to be his big brother and get him out of jail for fighting, or out a jam with some street thugs, but that's where all the similarities end. We're different inside, as peanut butter is to jelly. I'm serious, and he's the jokester. I hope Zane can feel safe with me around, because when I look at him, I see what I could have been if I had that attitude about responsibility and safety.
Brin's discovery shocked me. Unlike the others I found, she hadn't forgotten Manticore since leaving. For the few nights I watched her, trying to validate her identity, she tossed and turned in her sleep. Sometimes waking up crying or screaming in a voice that would never be heard. Out of all the others, I stayed with Brin the longest, not out of want, but out of necessity. Manticore had traumatized her, making her jumpy and scared, I couldn't find any residue of the old soldier in her. I think being near me and knowing that I would never leave her helped her adjust. I worried about her for a while before she began growing and showing me she can handle herself. All she needed in her life was someone strong, and when Manticore returned to her life, she gratefully adjusted to something even stronger than I was. For that, I blame myself for allowing us all to be separated and not spending time to teach Brin, my little sister, about independence.
Jondy, even wilder than Max and more radical. Her physical appearance changes each time I stop by to see her. Her hair must have been over a hundred different colors at one time. I've seen her with orange, green, red, blue, black, purple, and silver hair. Along with countless other colors I can't place a name or a tag to. Jondy has pierced herself in different places, most somewhere on the face, she calls them pretty and accessories, but I don't see how someone could torture themselves in such a way. I wonder what Max would think of Jondy if they ever met, Jondy reminds me of the Steelheads in Seattle, except not in the self-improvement area because she is improved, thanks to Manticore, she is perfect.
Tinga had what I'll never be able to have. A real family. A family with a mother, a father, and a kid. Out of all of us, Tinga was the only one who settled down to a normal life, fell in love, and got married. She managed to put all the horrors of Manticore behind her, and forget that out there, there are people who want to take her away from the good life she has. I'm proud of her for taking a risk just to be happy and normal.
So far, I'm happy with all my siblings and their lives. They've all striven to get away from Manticore, as faraway as possible. But Ben, he didn't take Manticore's disappearance from his life positively. Unlike Brin who was scared of being taken back, he wanted to be back, but he didn't. It doesn't make sense, even in my own mind, but I'm trying. He wanted a life with order, not with the insanity and chaos outside. I remember first laying my eyes on him. He was walking down the street with a strict military stride and carrying an air of authority and command. Almost as if he expected Lydecker to pop up somewhere and reprimand him. I spoke with him, only once. And it's not an experience I want to repeat. I don't regret getting him out of Manticore, I only regret that he couldn't live without Manticore. I regret not being there to guide my little brother back from his strayed path, and I regret that in the end, Max was the one who had to kill him. Ben would have made a great CO, but the only thing holding him back was his dependence on Manticore.
I love my family. However they are or whatever they turn into, I love them. For every defect the Manticore doctors find in them, I can find something a perfection that pushes me to love them more. I won't let any of them get taken by Manticore against their will, and I'm sorry that they have to live with me pushing them to stay safe. When I die, I hope they someone can take my spot and protect them, or by then, Manticore is gone and they are safe.
* * *
Well? Should I continue with all the other X5s and move along this same path, or are changes needed? Review please!
By Astro Purple
AstroPurpl@aol.com
G
Timeline: Anytime during the X5s' existence.
Summary: How each X5 sees their family and their special bond.
Author's Note: Each 'chapter' will explore one X5's feelings and thoughts. They don't have to be read in any order since it's not continuous.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel characters belong to the wonderful people who bring Dark Angel to us.
* * *
My family. I was the first born in Manticore and naturally their CO. I gave the order for the escape after seeing Jack and then Eva be taken away. Why? I'm not even sure myself. It had something to do with Max. She was starting to get sick, just like Jack, before he was taken. I couldn't let that happen. But I know now, that even if Max hadn't begun to develop seizures, I still would have given the order for escape. I cared and loved my family, even back then when we didn't know what caring or love was.
We were designed to be perfect, but our creators weren't. They messed up with the X1s, the X2s, the X3s, and even the X4s had been starting to go off, one by one. I didn't want that to happen to my family. I had overheard them talking, the people in the white coats, saying how even in the world outside people go crazy also, it's normal, but not at the speed it happens here, in Manticore. I think I had come to the conclusion that Manticore wasn't healthy, and it wasn't. But I don't know how I came to that conclusion. I had only been on one solo mission, and I hadn't seen that much of the outside, but I guess I knew. I had figured that the only way to save my family was to get them outside, where they could be healthy in a healthy environment.
When I made it to the outside, and I watched the sun rise on that rooftop, I knew everything would be all right. We were in a good and healthy world. Then the Pulse hit. Everything changed overnight, I saw everything as it happened.
Electricity and running water going out, the drains and sewage systems clogging up with muck. With electricity down, gangs and thieves moved freely to steal, knowing there would be no way for the police to know. The traffic lights were down, causing accidents and arguments on the roads. The rich could have sudden become the poor, and the poor suddenly the rich. It was all chaos, and I couldn't understand any of it. What had happened to the world I brought my family into? The good world where real families took us in to care for us, and we had plenty of food, clothes, and freedom. It had all changed. Everything was taken away, and just because the norms running everything couldn't stop a bunch of norm soldiers from planting an e-bomb. Oh well, what did you expect? They were norms.
After the Pulse, I began. What the world had become, I couldn't allow my family to live alone like that. I wanted to find them all and move them to a safe location where we could be together as a family again. But after I ventured out into the disgusting world, I'd learned how Lydecker could now conduct his search for us rather openly. Bribe local governments, set up new operations in old warehouses or factories or even military bases and not raise suspicion. I began to slowly realize that all of us together would not work. We'd draw too much attention. As much as I wanted us to all be together and live in a nicer place than where we were most of the time, I didn't want to risk their freedom. We all loved it too much. So I began to set up a system where I could keep track of each of them as I found them. I gave them a contact number, checked around the area they were living in, and let them settle. When trouble came, I would be there as their big brother, as their CO to help them move to another secure location.
My system worked, until I found Max. Even when she was a kid, she was headstrong and hated to be ordered around. I wasn't surprised when she declined, but I was when she chose to stay in Seattle. Lydecker already knew she was here. Staying here risked her life, I couldn't let her, but I didn't have the heart to force her away from the place she loved most. So I left her, even though I said I wouldn't ever see her again and that it was her loss, I found myself showing up in Seattle on a regular basis after that. Every two weeks, every three weeks, just to check up on her, and make sure she was safe. Deep down, to me I think she represented the spirit I didn't have.
When Krit and Syl 'accidentally' bumped into each other, I couldn't keep them apart. But they were always on the move, riding their cycles and cris- crossing the US for the fun of being together, so that was okay. They were always on the move, no way Lydecker could catch up to them. They were the explorers that I couldn't be.
Zane. What can I say about my favorite little brother? He'll never know that of course, but he is my favorite. I think, somewhere in our genetics we may be related. We both have the same baby blue eyes and the same blond hair. He's almost like a miniaturized version of me. I remember how he use to follow me around in Manticore, with those big blue eyes of his. Hoping there could be some way he could help me. We look a like physically, and many a times I've had to use that trait and pretend to be his big brother and get him out of jail for fighting, or out a jam with some street thugs, but that's where all the similarities end. We're different inside, as peanut butter is to jelly. I'm serious, and he's the jokester. I hope Zane can feel safe with me around, because when I look at him, I see what I could have been if I had that attitude about responsibility and safety.
Brin's discovery shocked me. Unlike the others I found, she hadn't forgotten Manticore since leaving. For the few nights I watched her, trying to validate her identity, she tossed and turned in her sleep. Sometimes waking up crying or screaming in a voice that would never be heard. Out of all the others, I stayed with Brin the longest, not out of want, but out of necessity. Manticore had traumatized her, making her jumpy and scared, I couldn't find any residue of the old soldier in her. I think being near me and knowing that I would never leave her helped her adjust. I worried about her for a while before she began growing and showing me she can handle herself. All she needed in her life was someone strong, and when Manticore returned to her life, she gratefully adjusted to something even stronger than I was. For that, I blame myself for allowing us all to be separated and not spending time to teach Brin, my little sister, about independence.
Jondy, even wilder than Max and more radical. Her physical appearance changes each time I stop by to see her. Her hair must have been over a hundred different colors at one time. I've seen her with orange, green, red, blue, black, purple, and silver hair. Along with countless other colors I can't place a name or a tag to. Jondy has pierced herself in different places, most somewhere on the face, she calls them pretty and accessories, but I don't see how someone could torture themselves in such a way. I wonder what Max would think of Jondy if they ever met, Jondy reminds me of the Steelheads in Seattle, except not in the self-improvement area because she is improved, thanks to Manticore, she is perfect.
Tinga had what I'll never be able to have. A real family. A family with a mother, a father, and a kid. Out of all of us, Tinga was the only one who settled down to a normal life, fell in love, and got married. She managed to put all the horrors of Manticore behind her, and forget that out there, there are people who want to take her away from the good life she has. I'm proud of her for taking a risk just to be happy and normal.
So far, I'm happy with all my siblings and their lives. They've all striven to get away from Manticore, as faraway as possible. But Ben, he didn't take Manticore's disappearance from his life positively. Unlike Brin who was scared of being taken back, he wanted to be back, but he didn't. It doesn't make sense, even in my own mind, but I'm trying. He wanted a life with order, not with the insanity and chaos outside. I remember first laying my eyes on him. He was walking down the street with a strict military stride and carrying an air of authority and command. Almost as if he expected Lydecker to pop up somewhere and reprimand him. I spoke with him, only once. And it's not an experience I want to repeat. I don't regret getting him out of Manticore, I only regret that he couldn't live without Manticore. I regret not being there to guide my little brother back from his strayed path, and I regret that in the end, Max was the one who had to kill him. Ben would have made a great CO, but the only thing holding him back was his dependence on Manticore.
I love my family. However they are or whatever they turn into, I love them. For every defect the Manticore doctors find in them, I can find something a perfection that pushes me to love them more. I won't let any of them get taken by Manticore against their will, and I'm sorry that they have to live with me pushing them to stay safe. When I die, I hope they someone can take my spot and protect them, or by then, Manticore is gone and they are safe.
* * *
Well? Should I continue with all the other X5s and move along this same path, or are changes needed? Review please!