Disclaimer: (Judge) This court hereby grants all rights and legalities of Dark Angel® to Charles Eglee and James Cameron. Everyone else…you're out of luck. (Me) Aww, nuts…
Time-frame: post-Freak Nation
A/N: Hi everybody. Please accept my sincere apologies. With Spring Break right around the corner, it seems like all the teachers are conspiring against the students with the endless amounts of homework and projects and papers and tests….AHHHHHH!!! Ok, now that that's out. I'm sorry for having once again neglected my Dark Angel duties. I promise to try not to let it happen again. With Spring Break now upon me, I will have 10 days of what? Not endless fun in Jamaica, or partying in the Bahamas, or clubbing in Bermuda; but sitting on the couch in my home, pouring my blood, sweat and tears into my fanfic…why? Because I love my readers so much…well, that's most of it…the rest of it is I'm too poor to afford any of those places! I'm in college remember? Ok, thank you everybody.
A/N2: I actually had this finished last night, and was trying to post it, but the log-in part of ff.net was down again…go figure
Chapter 16
Chutes and Ladders
They had arrived in Terminal City later than they thought. It was early dusk when they entered the tall dilapidated building at the heart of Terminal City. Dominic followed closely behind his older sister as they headed through the halls towards the Command Center. Once or twice, he could've sworn they were being followed, and turned on his heels to catch the perpetrator, only to find no one there. He followed Dali even more closely now, and took hold of her hand. She smiled down at him.
"Since when have you been so shy?" she asked.
"This place gives me the creeps," he whispered up to her.
"It's probably just the X-7's and X-8's. They like to sneak through the halls. Must have alley cat in their cocktail or something." Max laughed at Dali's joke, but Dominic didn't get it. So he shrugged, but held even tighter to her hand.
After a few moments, they reached the Rec. room. It was exactly how Dali remembered it; though she didn't know why she had expected it to change. They had only been gone 4 days. When they walked into the room, everyone looked up and silence spread.
"What's up people?" Dali said as a smile crossed her face. "This is my brother Shorty. Shorty, this is everybody."
"Hi," he said in a small voice. People around him smiled, and nodded their greetings. The young boy instantly became a little more relaxed, and everyone went back to what they had previously been doing as the noise level returned to normal.
Logan emerged from a corner of the room, and stood watching Max with a smile on his face. When he caught her eye, she smiled and made her way over to him, stopping a few paces short. She cocked an eyebrow and stared at him.
"Miss me?" she asked.
His smile dropped and he looked seriously into her eyes. "Well, I only really thought about you on two occasions."
Max's look mirrored his. Is he joking? "And that would be…"
Logan closed the distance between them, and raised his hand to brush his thumb across her cheek. "Day and night," he whispered back.
Max gave him a hundred watt smile. "I missed you too." She reached up a hand and brought his head down to meet hers. Logan barely had time to think before he lost himself in the feel of her lips on his.
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Dali watched the two from afar. She was glad she had helped to bring them together. Much of it had been on their own of course, but she was proud of the small part she played. Speaking of bringing people together…
"Dom, why don't you go meet some people?" Dali asked him. Slowly, he descended the steps and began walking around taking everything in. It reminded Dali of how she had behaved the first time she'd come to Terminal City.
Dominic strolled past the couches, where a few transhumans sat, deeply into a football game on the television. Seeing the Seahawks brought back memories of the football game that his parents had taken them too when he was younger; so he continued. He stopped next at Dix to ask him about the bike that he was endlessly working on, but not really knowing much about mechanics, Dom soon lost interest in the conversation. He raised an eyebrow and approached Max and Logan, who were standing in the corner, still attached at the lip.
Max, lost in the world that was Logan's mouth, pulled away only when she felt the tug at her sleeve. She looked down annoyed. "What?" she hissed.
"Hi," Dominic greeted her letting the anger show on his face, "welcome back to the world of the breathing."
Max rolled her eyes and smiled. "What's goin on, Shorty?"
Dominic turned his attention towards Logan. "You must be Logan…my sister thinks you're hot." Both Max and Logan rose an eyebrow at him, and Max looked up towards the doorway, but Dali was long gone. She probably went to find Alec…hope she doesn't find him shacked up with someone else. It takes a lot to clean blood out of clothes.
"Who's Alec?" Dominic asked her, staring straight into her eyes.
"Uh…" Max didn't know how to answer. She wasn't exactly sure that Dali and Alec were together, and if they were or if they weren't, it wasn't her business to tell. "Maybe you should ask your sister," she replied carefully. "Did you need something?"
"What's there to do around here, that's a little more interesting than exercises in holding my breath?" he asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.
Max thought for a moment. "You know how to play chess?" she asked him. He nodded. "Wanna play me?" He nodded again, more eagerly this time. "Ok, see that boy over there?" she said pointing towards an X-5 who was pacing behind the computers. She knelt down at Dominic's side and rested her chin on his shoulder. He relaxed at her touch, breathing in the scent of cherries. But she didn't notice, and kept talking. "He's kinda moody, so you have to talk to him the right way. Go over to him and say 'Max says take a knee'. When you say that, he's gonna say 'Left or right?' and then you say 'Take your pick'. Got it?"
Dominic turned to look at her as if she'd grown a third head. "No English involved…got it." He shook his head and turned to make his way across the room. As he left, he could've sworn he heard Logan say 'Somebody's got a little crush, because the green eyed monster of jealousy is rearing its ugly head.' Dominic was glad Logan couldn't see the scowl on his face.
He approached the boy slowly, so as not to startle him. He had taken a seat at the desk with the computers and was concentrating on some kind of map on the screen. Dom reached his hand out and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy, who looked to be only slightly older than his sister, turned toward him.
"What do you want kid?"
Dominic almost spit out a smart retort, but remembered Max telling him about the boy's moodiness. He wanted to be careful he didn't ruin his chances of spending more time with her, and if that meant going through this guy, well…he'd put up, and shut up. "Max says take a knee," he said in an overly-confident voice.
The boy didn't flinch. "Left or right?"
"Take your pick," Dominic replied slowly with a smile on his face. The boy raised an eyebrow at him, and bent over to pull a box from under the desk. He rummaged around inside and came out with a smaller box that he thrust into Dominic's hands, and turned back to the computer without another word. How rude…Dom thought to himself, but turned and walked away nonetheless. He made his way back to where Max was waiting; taking note that Logan was still standing at her side. Dominic glared at him, and turned to Max.
"Wow," she smiled, "he even gave you a box. You must've had some kind of effect on him."
Dominic turned dreamy-eyed. "Yeah, I got it like that."
"So, how come Dali calls you Shorty?" Logan interrupted them.
"Think about it," was Dominic's only reply.
Logan looked down at him. I thought maybe it was a term of endearment, but it could be because you're short.
"Logan!" Max scolded him. Both Logan and Dom shot her a look of confusion, before the young boy turned back to look at the older man.
"For your information, I'm not short. I'm vertically challenged, unlike some people who are obviously mentally challenged. Now if you don't mind, we're in the middle of something." Dominic was highly sensitive about his height. Standing at only 3'5'', he looked more like 7 than 11.
Logan turned to Max. "Are you sure they're not blood related?" he asked her. He was taken aback by the small boy's strong disposition. What was it that they called it? The Napoleonic Complex? Whatever. He decided that for now, the boy was no threat to his relationship and, kissing Max on the cheek, left to join Dibs who was working at the computer, monitoring all entrances and exits surrounding Terminal City.
Max watched Logan cross the room, smiling to herself. Dominic also watched him.
"That must be the corner for the cynical people," he retorted, watching Logan join the moody boy who had given him the game. He turned to look at Max, a big smile replacing his frown. "Ready to play?"
"Sure," she said, smiling down at him. They found a couple chairs, and Max turned over an empty crate to use as a table. They set up the game and began to play. Within minutes they were very into it, and before long, Dominic picked up his queen, and moved it to the left of Max's king. "Checkmate," he declared. "I win!" he exclaimed, throwing both his fists into the air.
Max was surprised as she surveyed the game before her, checking to make sure he had really won. "Wow, I didn't even see that."
Dominic dropped his hands at his side, and his face turned serious as he stared straight ahead. "The element of surprise is a necessary tactical advantage when engaging an opponent in combat; it leaves your adversary disoriented, and hesitant of how to continue the battle," he said in a monotonous voice.
Max's head snapped up and she looked him straight in the eye. "What did you say?" she demanded.
Dominic shook his head as if just realizing what he said. Uh-oh.
"Uh-oh?" Max asked him. "What uh-oh?"
For the second time in ten minutes, Dominic looked at her confused. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
Max gazed at him warily. "I don't know." She paused. "We have to find Dali. Now. Let's go." She rose and left the room, with Dominic at her heels.
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Dali watched her brother circle the room before turning to leave. I think everything's gonna be ok. Oh, better knock on wood. It seems like every time I start to lower my guard, things take a turn for the worst. She headed down the long hall in the barracks, leading to Alec's room. She paused outside the door. I wonder if he's even still interested. Probably not…I've been gone 4 days…a guy like Alec? Some chick probably picked him up the moment I walked out the door. Not that we were ever really together anyway. After a few moments, there was no answer. He's not here anyway. She sighed and turned to leave. Allowing her feet to follow the wind and lead her around the city, she ended up circling the city, and then climbing the roof of the headquarters, with Joshua's flag whipping harshly in the cold breeze. She stopped and held her breath at the sight before her. Seated on the same small tin box she'd seen him only a couple weeks back, was Alec. He sat staring up at the darkening sky, not giving any sign as to if he heard her approaching or not. Slowly, she approached him, and sat down next to him.
"They're amazing aren't they?" she asked in a low voice.
He turned to look at her, as if only realizing that she'd showed up, and gave a small smile. "Yeah, they are."
"My mom used to take us star gazing all the time. Most of the time it was only in the backyard, but it didn't matter. All we needed were some binoculars, some smores, and each other."
Alec tensed at her sentimentality. "Yeah, well good ole' Manticore made sure we knew where the stars were just in case we happened to get dropped off in the middle of a forest a square mile thick."
Dali smirked at him. "They made you guys do that too huh?"
Alec looked over at her, surprised. "What do you mean 'too'?"
She looked up at the stars and shrugged. "I may have left at an early age, but that didn't mean that I got out with no training."
"Right," he answered in a cold tone. Dali noticed the hurt in his voice, and turned to look at him.
"It's ok, Alec. Manticore's gone." He didn't say anything, but nodded. They both knew the truth and lie of her statement. Sure Manticore was gone, but there was only something worse to take its place in the endless pursuit for the transgenics. That's the way it would always be.
He turned his eyes to her, watching the gleam in her dark eyes as she gazed at the stars in all their wonder. Her dark, creamy skin glistened in the moonlight. Looking at her, Alec's mouth almost watered. He wanted her so bad, he could taste it. Without further warning, he took her in his arms, and planted his lips on hers.
At first, Dali was surprised. She had expected something like this from him, and knew it was only a matter of time. She relaxed, and began to return it, enjoying the feel of Alec's soft lips brazening her own. He began brushing his tongue across her lips, begging entrance. After only a moment's hesitation, she gave it to him. Alec's tongue rushed inside, exploring every inch as though this were his only chance. His senses were reeling. What was wrong with him? Kisses weren't supposed to feel like this, they never had before…Dali was exactly right…amazing…
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Max stood in the middle of the intersection of hallways in the barracks. She had been to both Alec and Dali's rooms, and neither of them had been there. Where in the world is she? Dominic stood next to her, and suddenly jerked his head upward.
"She's on the roof." he announced.
Max didn't bother second guessing him, but took his hand, and led him up the stairwell. Dali, Shorty and I are on the way.
"Why are you warning her?" Dominic asked. Max didn't answer, but increased their pace as they climbed the steps to the roof. She paused at the doorway at the top of the stairwell, but Dominic quickly pushed it open.
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Dali heard the warning from some far away place. Max and Dominic were coming, but she couldn't seem to tear herself from Alec's kiss. It was almost as if she knew she needed it. It wasn't until the door flew open that she knew it was too late.
Dominic scrunched up his face at the site of his sister with this boy. Doesn't anybody get a room anymore? He marched straight up to them, and Dali pulled away.
"What's the problem?" she asked earnestly.
Dominic turned to Alec and landed a punch very hard to the side of his head. Alec fell to the ground, and glared up at the young boy. He wondered where the hell this kid got his strength from; it took a lot to drop an X-5 with one hit, especially for a kid. Was he an X-8? He looked young enough to be.
"No, I'm not an X-8," Dominic spat the term out as if it were dirty. "I'm not a freak like you."
"Dominic Christopher!" Dali yelled at him. "How dare you?"
"How dare you?" he yelled at her. "This is who you picked to replace Justin?!"
Dali's eyes softened as realization crossed her face. "Is that what you think? That's not true. I'm not trying to replace Justin. I loved him. No one could replace him. Ever." Her eyes hardened again. "But whatever the case, it doesn't give you the right to come in here and hit Alec and then call him that genetic slur. Because that's exactly what it is. Mom and Dad raised you to be better than that. Now apologize." The young boy glared up at her. "Apologize!" she demanded.
Dominic dropped his eyes to the ground, and then looked up at Alec, who had picked himself up off the ground. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Now what do you want?" she asked him, still partially angry.
Max stepped in before World War IV descended upon them. "Go ahead Shorty," she said to him softly. "Tell her what you told me."
Dominic looked skeptically up at Max. She's gonna be angry…
Max smiled softly down at him. What, more angry than she already is? She's gonna be even more if she has to find out from someone else. Besides, you're probably in danger now. Just tell her.
Dominic sighed and looked up at his sister.
"What are you guys talking about?" she asked.
Alec looked from her to Max, to Dominic, and back to Dali again, not understanding or hearing the flow of information.
"I was sent here to spy for the Conclave." Dominic looked up into his sister's face, and waited for the explosion to come.
Post: Hey everyone, next chapter up real soon.
