A/N- Hopefully the next part to this will be out on Friday- or before if I get bored. I'd like to know who you want to see more of since I seem to have a spare chapter.
Mini warning- No tissues needed but perhaps anger management classes would help.
Chapter 14- Homeward bound.
Feen poked her tongue out at Skye who shoved her over on the seat.
"Would you two quit it?" Steve laughed "Renfro will be here in a minute and if she sees you acting like squabbling children then," he left the sentence dangling and they rolled their eyes at him.
Pix snatched a sheet of paper off Chance and screwed it up. He peered at the door to make sure that Renfro wasn't about to walk in and then threw it towards the front of the room. The paper missile hurtled towards Alec, and Max twirled snatching it out of the air before it hit the back of his head.
"Pix!" snapped Sunny and he ducked.
"Sorry Sunny," he lifted his eyes to shoot her a remorseful look which was ruined by the mischief dancing in his gaze.
Sunny glared at him letting him know that she didn't buy it for a second and he winced.
"Sorry Sunny," this time he was much more believable and she nodded, sitting back against her chair with a little smirk.
"Scary," Biggs said impressed and Sunny nodded.
"I try."
"Hehe Pix is whipped," Flex chuckled and then shrunk under Sunny's glance.
Pix pointed at him and laughed, "Flex too!"
Chance elbowed him. "Behave already!"
In truth she didn't care much. It was almost as if the last three months hadn't happened and they were back to the way they were before Alec had gone on his mission.
Bonding over Max's pain and then the beating of Unit 6 had done them the world of good. Their level of comfort had returned and they were family again.
Chance felt good again. Not just emotionally or physically but somewhere deep down she knew that her pack-- Was that the right word? Well, her pack or family were close and that was more important that being physically okay as Zan could attest to. He'd only grumbled good naturedly before going off to Med Bay with Carrot, Tara and Mets to be checked out. Normally he'd be up in arms about it but thanks to their newfound level of comfort he felt good inside, good enough to go anyway.
Chance giggled as Drew and Dek were having a thumb war and Anna kept poking B.J in the back with her pen. It was like they were back to being children again and Chance loved it; loved the playfulness and feeling of—
"Hey!" she was startled out of thoughts when she was hit by the paper ball.
Max laughed and even Alec couldn't help the grin at Chance's indignation.
"Max!" she pouted and folded her arms over her chest.
"Don't sulk!" Biggs said and Pix leaned over his chair and kissed her hair.
"It's cute!"
"Aww!" Coco said and slapped Pix's shoulder.
He rubbed it shooting her a dark look, "What was that for?"
"For me!" Biggs replied happily.
"Kids!" Alec sang from the front of the room. "Don't make me come up there!"
They all heard the sound of heels clacking on the tiles outside and sat up straight, the playfulness pushed down as they waited for Renfro to walk in. At the front of the room Max and Alec stood to attention as the door swung open.
Renfro stalked in, a scowl apparent on her face.
Sunny exchanged glances with Biggs. What was she was mad about, they completed the mission? With an uneasy feeling Sunny wondered if someone from Unit 6 had let slip that they had been assaulted by them all.
"Report," she snapped and Alec saluted not missing a step.
"Mission successful, Ma'am. Retrieval of data and all members of Unit 6. No casualties although several were wounded in an attack."
Feen ducked her head and Drew smirked outright.
"Very good." Renfro started to tap her fingers in a rhythm on the desk as if to show her fury.
Drew leaned back to where Dek sat with Techie.
"What's with her?" she whispered.
Techie shrugged. "The data was all there and we got what she wanted, she should be happy as ham."
"I think the expression is happy as a clam," Drew hissed through her teeth making sure Renfro wasn't watching them.
Techie looked puzzled. "Are clams particularly happy?"
Drew opened her mouth and then closed it again shooting him an equally perplexed look.
Sunny, who had overheard, grinned hard and hid it behind a hand.
Strong strides were heard and it took their training for them not to turn towards the door in curiosity.
The door swung open and those heavy footsteps sounded across the room.
Everyone was watching the front of the room and so everyone saw Max's spine suddenly stiffen and her arms snap back exactly one inch from her body. Her head rose and her gaze fixed on a point just above Renfro's head. Her feet spread exactly 12 inches apart and her whole frame vibrated with tension.
They all saw Alec's brief moment of amazement as Max snapped to perfect attention.
Then the person came into view. He wasn't tall, maybe about 5'8 and heavy set with dark blonde hair framing a face weathered by age and harsh conditions. His physique was plainly that of a well built man growing old but there was nothing soft about him, his very being exuded confidence and power and as they met his harsh eyes they felt his authority.
To three people in the room he wasn't a stranger. To three people in the room he was judge, jury, executioner, father, guardian, protector and tormentor. To three people it was like seeing the past come alive.
Pix's eyes widened and he leapt to his feet seeing Sunny do the same out of the corner of his eye.
His body recalled the drills, the stance and the exact point that would be noticed and the punishment that would be meted out if he was found to be lacking. His body snapped to attention, as taut as Max's.
Biggs had been more or less leaning against Sunny and as she sprang out of her chair he almost toppled to the floor. As it was he couldn't help his open mouth as Sunny turned from the lovable mommy of the group to a cool soldier to attention faster than he could breathe.
Colonel Lydecker nodded to them.
Sunny's breath started to come in short bursts as she tried to ascertain if she was as perfect as she could be.
"521, your feet are not standard! Do you disrespect your Colonel in this way?"
"Sir no Sir!"
Desperately she edged her feet further apart and measured her breathing. He was closer now and she could feel her hands start to shake. Oh no, please no. the last thing she wanted to do was to get his attention. She hadn't had time to clean her boots completely and she didn't know that the Colonel was doing inspection detail. He was the one person who scared her the most. His imposing presence filled her with dread of displeasing him. He didn't even have to shout, his disappointment was bad enough and cut deeper than any words could ever do.
"521, you uniform is not to standard. This is unacceptable. Report to reindoctrination after drills. It seems we need to…re-educate you."
"Yes Sir," 521 was ashamed at the way her voice trembled but couldn't help it. He was her nightmare and he was watching her…always.
"Kids, at ease," his tones brought back memories of 0400 drills and hours in the pit and the tank. Max relaxed her body enough so that she wouldn't cramp but kept her soldier stance.
In unison Sunny and Pix snapped their legs further apart and their hands went behind their backs to cup just below the spine.
Unit 8 and the rest of Special Ops looked at them in amazement, unsure whether to stand to attention now with them or stay seated.
One growl from Renfro made up their minds and they stayed where they were looking uneasily from their team-mates to the imposing man at the front of the room.
"Soldiers, this is Colonel Lydecker from the Wyoming facility and of the Manticore project," They could hear her teeth grind together even from the back of the room. "He was interested in hearing your report."
"452?" The man nodded to Max and gave her a small smile.
To Max it was the same smile that he had given her when she received her pass out of Wyoming and away from Bulli; small, sincere and full of pride. Max had sweated blood to earn that smile and she was proud of it. It didn't mean that she wasn't still scared of him though!
"We achieved our mission aim, Sir! Retrieval was a success with only five casualties due to unfriendly fire. No fatalities and Unit 6, the hostages were released back to base at 1200 hours, Sir!"
Max's distaste of all things military had never been a secret. Her time in Wyoming pushing home to her the fact that the Trainers and organization weren't here for her benefit and she insinuated her attitude even in the smallest of ways. Her salutes and reports always almost bordered on insolence and sarcasm. She only got away with it because she masked it as well as she could and only those who knew her views could see it.
But now her report was text book perfect, her salute military standard and her posture remarkable. Unit 8 couldn't believe that it was their Max. Oh she was capable of it, but this man had wrenched her respect without saying two words. They looked at him differently.
"Well done units, now I'm sure that you have things that you would rather be getting on with. Dismissed."
The Units stood up and saluted, following Sunny and Pix's example and turned with precision and headed for the exit.
"Not you, 452."
Drew turned abruptly to see Max's shaken face meet Alec's. But she had to leave as Renfro's evil gaze flickered towards her.
Steve punched Alec's shoulder as he leaned against the wall across from the lecture hall.
"Come on man, we can celebrate the mission!" Steve beamed "Success and all around goodness," Biggs agreed jovially.
"If by success you mean that you are both still alive after the crap you pulled with Max; then congratulations you aren't dead." Alec gave them both a pointed look and they had the grace to look embarrassed.
"Max is okay with us isn't she?" Steve asked insecurely.
Alec shrugged.
"Don't know just yet, we haven't really had time to talk about it."
Alec looked at Steve who ducked his head "What?"
"It's just that Max was so quick to say yeah, okay, all is forgiven," Steve said uncertainly "But does she mean it?"
Biggs held up his hand. "I apologised to Max formally on all of our behalf. She said that it would take some time to get back to where we were but for now, she's prepared to let it lie."
"You said that to her?" Alec gave him a look and Biggs nodded and then held up a hand before he could ask.
"Yeah I did it because I wanted to and not just because you told me to."
"Good," Alec grinned.
Biggs smirked slyly at Steve "You should have seen her when she heard that Alec was injured."
Alec's head whipped around to face him "What?"
Biggs shrugged and Steve tried to hide a smirk behind his hand.
Alec tried to feign nonchalance and leaned against the wall.
"So what did she say?"
"Well she was going on about how there was no way on this earth she was going down into camp, nothing could make her. Then three magic words-" Biggs counted them off "Alec- is- hurt and bam couldn't see her for dust."
Alec's face split in the widest most satisfied grin that they had ever seen. He almost looked smug "That so?"
"Look at him!" Steve laughed slapping Alec on the back "Talk about the cat that got the canary!"
Alec shrugged "What can I say; it must be my animal magnetism!"
"What's taking her so long?" Steve asked and tried to see into the room.
"Dunno," Biggs said "but did you see the Wyoming guys when that Lydecker walked in?"
"Talk about scary!" Steve agreed "I didn't think Max could stand to attention like that."
"Me either. That guy is either one heck of a Colonel or-"
"They're scared of him," Alec finished.
Biggs scoffed "Max scared of some guy?"
None of them could see that happening.
"So we having a pool tournament tonight, Alec?" Biggs asked.
"Sure," Alec replied distractedly trying to see in the small window in the lecture hall.
Biggs laughed "Give it up Alec, you are gonna give us a bad reputation!"
Steve joined Biggs in laughing even as Alec frowned.
"Am not!"
"Are too, I mean you don't see me or Steve here mooning over some girl do ya?" Biggs rolled his eyes and slung his arm over Steve's shoulder "We are at the full disposal of all of the ladies at Manticore."
Alec paused to consider "See that's what I thought- you are fully disposable!"
Biggs nodded and then his brain caught up "Hey!"
Steve laughed "Oh like you didn't ask for-"
Alec turned when they heard the door behind them open and an ashen faced Max staggered out, her eyes immediately searching the hallway for Alec.
"Max?" he cut Steve off mid-sentence and blurred to her side. "What is it?"
Max said nothing and didn't even seem to see him. Steve and Biggs exchanged worried glances and they saw Alec's face tense in fear. He touched her cheeks with his fingertips and brought her eyes to his. She blinked like she didn't even see him.
"Max, hey you in there?"
"He's dead," her voice sounded far away "I didn't even get to say goodbye."
"Who?" Alec's bewildered voice was quiet and comforting but Biggs could see that Max needed her family right now. He came up behind her and touched her back, stroking her through the soft t-shirt just letting her know that he was there and that this time he wasn't going to let her down.
"Let's go to the Rec room, not in the hallway," he urged, ushering them away from the cameras in the hall and towards the Rec room.
~~
Sunny and Pix had marched ahead of the Units almost in unison and headed straight for the recreation room seemingly lost so deep in thought that they didn't even register the other's presence.
They stopped in the centre of the room and the rest of Unit 8 gathered around watching them almost warily. They stood like they were in drill or training, ram rod straight with face and eyes almost painfully blank. It was unnerving just how soldierly they appeared.
"Pix?" Chance hedged and as one both Sunny and Pix shivered and the tension left their shoulders. They looked almost bewildered as to how they were in the rec room and not in drill line.
"Are you guys okay?"
Sunny's breath shuddered out of her in one swoop and Pix grabbed her hand.
"Yeah, we're okay."
"What the hell was that?" Feen demanded staring between the two of them.
"That was Wyoming," Pix said with a wince.
"And Lydecker," Sunny added rubbing her arms as if she was cold. "Six years and he still has the ability to creep me out."
Aiden wrapped his arms around Sunny and rubbed her forearms "Better?"
Sunny smiled gratefully at him, her eyes starting to come back to normal. "Thanks Aiden,"
He rubbed his cheek against her hair and she leaned into his embrace. Chance, seeing that it was helping Sunny, walked up to Pix and ducked under his arm, pulling herself against his chest.
Pix nuzzled her hair and breathed in deeply of her scent. It comforted him and pushed back the memories that seeing Colonel Lydecker had inspired.
"Seriously, what was that?" Feen asked worriedly, touching Pix's arm to make sure he was okay.
"You guys heard what Max went through in Wyoming right? There was a reason that none of the Trainers blinked an eye," Sunny said slowly "It was common practice to be-" she trailed off.
"There was a thing called the pit, made by one of the guards," Pix pulled Chance and sat down on the sofa curling her against him like he was hugging a pillow. The rest of the transgenics followed suit and sat in the nearest chair.
"It was a small utility closet only about as deep as your arm," he carried on "He hollowed out the shelves and made the door of iron block, no sun light and no way out other than the handle on the outside of the door. It was just large enough for you to stand up in, which was all you could do."
"He'd jammed spikes into the door pointing inwards and cemented broken glass into the walls," Sunny shivered "You couldn't lean on the wall, or door and had to stand to perfect attention for as long as you were in there."
"Oh God!" Cece tucked her knees into her body her face set in horror.
"Max was in there once for a whole week, no food, no water. You couldn't sit down or lie down, sleep was out of the question and you couldn't use the bathroom. You just had to stand," Pix's voice faded.
"They used the tank as punishment, forcing you beyond what you could bear, waiting until you were taking in water before releasing you, then they'd wait for you to stop gasping and chain you to the bottom again, over and over for hours."
"We didn't have anything like that," Chance said hugging his arms tightly "We got put in solitary or reindoctrination. We had to do kitchen duty or sewage detail, scutty horrible jobs but not…nothing like that."
"We were all scared of Lydecker. See Manticore is his baby; he presided over all three bases until the X5's were designed. Then he settled in Wyoming, overseeing the units and training there, he was hard. Militaristic and always pushed you to do your best and beyond. It wasn't until the 09ers escaped that he really left and then he gave over the running of the place to the trainers."
"Sadistic bunch of psychotics," Sunny spat "They got off on torturing us. All the time they did it with Lydecker's blessing- although Max said that he didn't have much idea what went on after he left, what he did while we were there was enough."
"If you didn't snap to attention fast enough you didn't eat for the day," Pix continued "If you back chatted you were thrown into reindoc, if you screwed up a training mission you were thrown into the pit. If you were late you went to the tank, if you were untidy it was kitchen duty, if your equipment wasn't up to scratch it was the brig, one toe out of line and your ass was the Trainers."
"How the hell did you survive?" Drew said, her face set in pain for them "With your jokes and all-"
Pix grinned wryly, "I was in punishment most of the time- mostly solitary or the brig. But once I played this joke-" he shivered and clutched Chance tighter "It wasn't pretty."
"418!" Screamed McCarthy and the small boy winced.
"Sir?"
"Are you under the delusion that this is some freaking joker camp, do I look like I have a sense of humour?"
"No, Sir!"
"Good because I have ZERO tolerance for this shit soldier!" he bellowed right in the small boy's face.
"What the hell do you think you were doing huh? HUH I can't HEAR YOU?!"
418 chose to remain silent. Over the Trainer's shoulder he could see members of his unit staring straight ahead with no expression as their unit mate was chewed out.
"I overlooked you reassembling the Major's car inside the men's bathroom because it showed you were actually paying attention in mechanics. But it seems two days in the pit wasn't enough for you to learn after rewiring the sprinklers with orange dye and a week of extra drills after the incident with Trainer Nullies dentures wasn't enough to teach you that we aren't a Clown academy!" he began to pace and 418 winced wondering what was coming.
He only had time to brace himself as McCarthy spun back slamming his fist into 418's face, knocking him off his feet and sending him sprawling to the floor.
McCarthy knelt in the dirt and glared at the line of blood trickling from 418's jaw.
"I will teach you respect boy, if it is the last thing you ever frigging learn."
He grabbed 418 by the ear and yanked him to his feet slamming him against the wall. 418's head snapped back and he felt his head smack with a dull thud against the concrete.
McCarthy's fist went around 418's throat closing off his air supply and he leaned in close.
"Washing skivvies in meat just before animal training was funny 418, hilarious-- why I almost died," he clutched his meat-like fists tighter "So will you."
418 grabbed at his hand trying not to push it away as he fought for breath. McCarthy dropped him to the floor and kicked him in the stomach. 418 curled up tightly.
"Get to your feet, maggot." 418 staggered to his feet choking.
"You want to bond with animals so much, well we have the perfect place for you, you little shit. Adams?"
Trainer Adams stepped out "Sir."
"Move 418's bunk down to the basement, south side."
418's eyes went wide. South side was where they experimented on the anomalies. His frantic gaze caught his unit but they stared dead ahead, not saying a word.
Adams grabbed 418 by the ear and dragged him back into Manticore.
They went down the hallway and 418 was shaking already. Sometimes they could hear the screams from the anomalies from all the way over here and it frightened them, he didn't want to be down there.
"S-sir I," he started but was stopped by a stiff clout to his head making him spin.
"Shut up, freak," Adams hissed. 418 resigned himself and followed Adams. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Trainer Fuller dragging 452 by her hair and stopping outside the Pit door.
"Get in there you prissy little bitch!" he demanded.
"Hey, Ryan," Adam's greeted like they were on a golf course, instead of in a military installation participating in child abuse.
418 met 452's eyes, he'd only heard a few things about her since she had been out of Psy-Ops and most of that was bad. But now that he looked, she didn't seem defiant and traitorous; in fact she looked like him- kind of resigned and bitter. He stared at her and they shared a look of pain and hatred for their tormentors.
"Gerry!" Fuller looked down. "I see you have our own 418, what did he do this time?"
"Tell you later, what about her?" he gestured to 452.
"She's an 09er, she have to do something?"
They shared a laugh and Fuller threw 452 into the pit "See you in a few days, bitch!"
The iron door slammed and 418 felt a pang for her, she hadn't even done anything. 09er or not, no one deserved that. Maybe she wasn't as bad as they said she was. It was something to think about anyway.
Adams pushed him and they continued down the hall and down into the basement on the south side. The basement was black, The lighting was dull, economy bulbs that made about as much difference to the light as a politician. They rarely needed to put the lights on as no one really came down here, except to pick up or drop off a test subject. The ground was gritty and 418 felt loose dirt beneath his feet as he edged slowly down the hallway.
All along the walls were small cells no more than six feet square with small bar covered windows so you could see what was in each cell. As their footsteps echoed, snarls and screams started up, almost as if they saved their pain until someone could hear them.
418 shook as arms reached out from each cell to grab whoever was going by, begging for food, water, release or just a bullet to end the pain.
"Help me!"
418 jumped back as a face pressed against the cell, its eyes were sewn shut and teeth, sharper than knives pricked at an already sore and bleeding mouth, rivulets of blood dripping down its chin like wine dribbling from a baby. Hands reached out, claws scratching for the boy.
"Meat!"
The call echoed along the line until the chant rang out from every cell "Meat, meat, meat." Arms, tentacles, claws and appendages reached out grasping for the small boy to take, to consume, to destroy.
418 whimpered in fear and he spun to Adams.
"Please!"
"You are no better than these mutants and mistakes down here," Adams spat "You are not human no matter what you look like."
"I don't want to be here," 418 cried but Adams laughed and pushed him into an empty cell.
"Sleep well!" the door clanged shut and he heard the echo of footsteps as Adam's walked away.
"Feed us!"
"Meat!"
"Stop it, it hurts!"
"The pain, stop the pain."
"Why?"
"I want to die!"
418 clutched his hands over his ears but the enhanced hearing that was usually a gift became a curse as each and every sound filtered in as clear as if they were standing next to him.
418 curled up into a ball and hugged his legs tightly to his body.
"HELP!"
"FEED!"
"KILL!"
418 held his hands tighter over his ears to block out the screams
"PAIN!"
"KILL!"
"WHY?"
418 started to rock backwards and forwards, tears spilling down his cheeks.
"Pix are you okay?" Pix came back to the present with Chance looking at him in concern.
"Y-yeah sure," It took two tries to get his voice working again.
"Well Lydecker must be pleased as punch that we completed the mission," Drew tried to get Pix's mind away from whatever had caused that expression.
"We kicked ass!" Feen enthused and everyone laughed at her exuberance.
The door to the rec room pushed open and they turned to see Max walk in, helped by Alec and Biggs with Steve bringing up the rear.
The look on Max's face was of devastation and anguish and they all stood up.
"Max, honey what is it?" Skye urged rushing forward to take Max's shaking hands in her own.
"Seth-- my brother. He was," she couldn't finish the sentence and tears sprung into her eyes. She tried to turn her face away to hide the weakness but there was no need.
Her family surrounded her, hugging her close, petting her to let her know that she wasn't alone in this.
Sunny patted her back and Coco pulled Max into the curve of her warm body letting her head fall onto her strong shoulder, silent tears slipping down her cheeks.
Drew pulled them back until they reached the sofa and then drew Max down into her lap with her stroking her hair in comfort. Dek came over and slipped in behind Drew so she rested between his legs. Emma curled around Max kissing her back and Chance curled up on Max's legs her cheeks against her thigh. Anna leaned on the arm of the sofa, her head resting on Emma's hair, her hand idly stroking Max's face. Feen sat in front of the sofa, taking Max's hand and rubbing her cheek against Max's soft palm. Cece hesitated but moved in behind Feen, wrapping her legs around the girls back and laying her head on Feen's shoulder, her hand touching Max.
The males stared at the pile for a second and then Alec moved in pushing Emma gently out of the way and curling up against Max's back, his arms securing her against his body. He murmured in her ear, soothing her and she grabbed at his arms pulling him in tight.
Pix leaned over and ducked under Sunny's arm, Techie knelt by Emma and she pulled him in tight to her. Aiden laid his head next to Chance's on Max's knee and Flex nudged Skye over, his legs stretched over Feen and Cece. B.J, Steve and Biggs joined the pile, curling around a warm female, not interested in sex but in giving and receiving comfort and warmth, that familiar scent of home lulling them all to sleep.
~~~
Drew edged across the hall and stopped in front of Max's cell biting her lip.
She wanted- no, needed-- to talk to Max but after the shock that Max had had today maybe this wasn't the best of times. She turned to leave and stopped again sighing to herself.
She rapped quietly on the iron door and heard a small;
"Yeah?"
Drew took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Max lay on her bunk, her thick dark hair loose down her shoulder, her arms wrapped around her knees and a blanket thrown over her legs. She was staring at the opposite wall lost in thought.
Drew felt like an intruder and was about to just go when Max looked up.
"Hey Drew."
"Max. I just wanted to see if you were okay," she smiled "I'll scat."
"No, stay!" Max urged "I kinda don't wanna be alone right now."
Drew edged into the room and closed the door behind her. She sat down on the edge of the bed and Max smiled.
"You didn't come in here just to see if I was okay."
Drew gave a short laugh, there was no pulling one over on Max.
"It doesn't matter, you had a rough few weeks, the last thing you need is me burdening you with my petty problems."
Drew reached up and brushed Max's hair away from her face "How you doing?"
"I suck," Max said honestly. She always felt that, although she loved Sunny, she was much closer to Drew. They were so similar, both tough chicks trying to get through in a world where they had to be twice as good as everyone else to feel half as useful. They'd grown up around males and were more comfortable with violence and action than vanity and accessories. Maybe it was something to do with their DNA because Sunny didn't feel that way, or maybe it was because Max and Drew had just been more at home with the guys. After all Drew's best friend had always been Dek and Max's had been Zack and Ben. Whereas most of the females at least had other females with whom they felt comfortable. Okay so Max had Jondy but she hadn't been as close to her as she had to Ben. Another reason why she and Drew got on so well was that they hated the sensitivity and emotional crap that Manticore hadn't taught them to deal with and had forged a bond in total clueless-ness over that incomprehensible love thing.
"His name was Seth?" Drew asked and Max nodded pulling the blanket aside. Drew crawled under it and snuggled against Max's side. Max draped it over them both and huddled close.
"My brother, I miss him so much. And now he's gone and I didn't even get to say goodbye, didn't get to see him grow up. Was he afraid when he died? What was he like? Did he have brown curly hair, did he like motor racing? It hurts that I could go on a mission and be sat next to one of my brothers and wouldn't even know it."
"You'd know it," Drew said softly "Something inside of you would tell you."
Max thought about that for a second and she smiled "You're right."
"Damn straight!" Drew mocked and they giggled.
"So what's with you?"
Drew sighed heavily and tried to think of a way to start.
"You know that we kicked unit 6's ass?"
"Yeah, although I'm a little pissed that I didn't get to join in. I know you guys wanted to make stuff up to me but I would have liked the closure."
Drew pulled away to look Max in the face, "Are you mad?"
Max thought about it for a second "No, not anymore. You did that for me. I'm pleased. Really. So you kicked butt?" she prompted.
"I was whaling on Simper, kicking her ass big time and then," she paused trying to collect her thoughts "It was like I lost control. I wanted her in pain and I wanted her dead. Maxie, I was ready to snap her neck and I would have done. No remorse, no nothing."
"Like Manticore taught us," Max said carefully.
"Right, all was well and good, I was following orders like a good little soldier and then Sunny stopped me and I was annoyed that she had but also-"
"What?" Max asked when she trailed off.
"I enjoyed it, Max. I liked feeling in control of her life; I liked the fact that I held the power of life and death over the bitch. For a second I felt-"
"Powerful." Max finished and they shared a look. "Manticore made us so we'd enjoy the kill, Drew."
"But not all of us feel that, Max. Mets doesn't. When I defended you during the whole Alec thing he was almost disgusted that I revelled in the fight, in the violence. If some of us have it and some don't- if they had to put that into us, it wasn't supposed to be there?" Drew's words were measured and Max followed just as carefully.
"What do you feel?"
"Is that how we're supposed to be?" Drew swallowed "Assassins with no conscience? Dammit, Max, Manticore hasn't even said anything about a conscience but I've read these books about what is classed as monstrous by humans and …and…I think we're it."
Her voice got small "I don't want to be a monster. I'm not sure that I want to enjoy the violence and the blood."
Max stroked her hair "We have no choice about what they put into our cocktails. Shark, cheetah, ant, feline, canine whatever. But what we do have is free will. That's the human part of us, Drew."
Max bit her lip debating and then decided to let Drew in on her secret.
"Me and Alec were up on the roof and we both wondered if we…if Manticore, is the right side. Are they the 'good guys' really?"
"That's treason, Max." Drew reminded her and Max nodded.
"Punishable by disassembly- not execution but dismantling. Are you a machine or a person?"
Drew thought about her words and rested her head back on Max's shoulder pulling the blanket closer.
"So what do we do?"
Max draped an arm over Drew's shoulder and stroked her hair "You know how this feels?"
"Safe?"
"That's part of our animal instincts that lets us know when something is right. I guess we listen to that and the part of us that is human that lets us know when we reach our boundaries- that's who we are. We're not in the world Drew, we're not human. We can't live by their laws and rules no matter how much we read. What we have to live by is the rules of Manticore- the rules of the jungle."
"Survival of the fittest," Drew nodded with understanding and Max shrugged.
"That's all we have."
"We have each other," Drew offered and Max smiled at her.
"That we do." Max and Drew stayed silent for a moment absorbing Max's words and then Max changed the subject- her voice teasing "So you and Mets?"
"Urgh!" Drew rolled her eyes and sat up.
"What?" Max asked amused.
"Just urgh!" Drew motioned with her hands "Ok so he was shot and I was worried okay and we… kinda have a…thing but he's weird."
"Weird how?" Max couldn't keep the amusement off her face.
They paused when there was a knock on Max's cell door.
"Yeah?" Max called and the tousled blonde hair of Tara peeked around the corner.
"Oh sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Tara bit her lip "I just wanted to see how Max was."
Max and Drew exchanged glances, "Come on in and tell me what's wrong." Max offered and Tara closed the door behind her.
Tbc…..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~# Thanks to Isabella Garlén too!
Geminangel- Drew's issues are to be decide, poor girl like she hasn't got enough to deal with! With Dek and Mets!
Sigma1- Disturbingly delightful? Oh I like that. J
Mely's the name- well that's one for Drew and Mets. That Dek part made my sister laugh so hard she fell off her chair.
Stormvind- I so refuse to get into trouble for you skipping class!!! Damn girl, the chapter will still be there an hour later. But strangely I am so damn pleased that you like it that much.
Talichernin- LOL, right! So glad you haven't imploded yet too! Anyway are you feeling better now?
Moonlite Star- Would you want to waste your medical rations on those losers? Nah me neither!
Fangedangel- Tara is such a good girl isn't she? I would have left them to it- or substituted anaesthetic with iodine or something evil like that!
1red1- It made sense, I don't think Alec realised exactly how territorial he was being, nor how close he came to fighting with Zan. When it comes to Max Alec has a bit of a blind spot! The whole Dek/Drew/Mets thing is really really up for debate- I have no idea what they are doing. How often do I update? Once a week, twice if I can push it. if the chapter has to be split in two then max four days between postings. I try to post on Wednesdays but hey I'm early this week!
Poo- I am corrupting people all over the place!! Maybe I should only update over the weekend? Glad you like my fights they were fun to do as well as being a bitch! As for the talk- look for part two!
Nora- well it was well used! Did you see the tissue warning in Moving Ahead? Surprise you with Chapter 17- yeah it will be!
Cheeza- oh for a second there I thought you had trouble getting into the story! LOL, review before the chapter- now that is praise!! Who would you like to see more of?
Ganko- Longer? If only I had the time, I would! Thanks, I thought the disclaimer fit well! Drew is very scary but the guys are so damn funny!!
Elizabeth Annette- Simper really did deserve what she got didn't she? No Jace didn't take Max's place. The 09ers will be discussed in later chapters so eyes open.
Chaosti- Poor Biggs, LOL, he really wanted to watch that Jungle action!
Feenian- thanks pet, glad you liked.
SGOU- LOL, glad to see someone else as confused as me about the whole, Dek/Drew/Mets thing! He was supposed to be her best friend and then he comes over and now I have no idea what he wants me to do pouts. Carrot is getting sweet isn't he, originally I planned to give him more screen time but sadly it hasn't quite worked like that. The black book! Ah I so wish I could read it but Pix keeps it hidden, maybe I could sneak a peek? Flex's comment really was just me all over- I loved that! She is a true medic, gotta love the girl! watch for her!
Kat461- wordless but reviewed, gotta love a girl like that!
GivenAlias- I let slip that Ben made a cameo in Chapter 17 and now that is all people talk about! LOL, me and my mouth. Chance will get a chance to redeem herself soon.
Lynn- LOL, you like dancing then! Thanks for that, I like the fight scene too this time. plus going over the same material gives me a chance to add things I missed first tiem round. Dek is your fave? Oh you will love and adore chapter 15 of this!! Forget about the bad spelling- I am just so glad that I have spell check and grammar!
Nat452- there are a lot more stories to tell with this lot so chapters abound!
Raven- Gotta love a well aimed cliché, they really did deserve to get their asses kicked in so many ways!!! Carrot and Tara are adorable!
Jade-K- Storm brewing but damn if I can't wait to get wet, who is gonna end up with who? Hey maybe Dek and Mets will go off together…or maybe not. Aww sweetheart I get my own romance fix through this. It may be sad but at least its satisfying! Drew need a break!
Darkangel562- Hey! Mindblowing huh? I like that too! Any review is good and lets me know that its being read and appreciated.
Restive Nature- Thank you. The girl fight was so much harder to write. Exactly hopw do girls fight in large groups? Kitty scratches or full out punches? But like you said the female of the species is more deadly and felines are notoriously matriarchal so it fit somehow, especially with Drew losing control.
Stormvind- LOL, you can always email me a reply a day until I review- I know one girl who did that. it was funny as hell! Every day I got an email saying. Update. Update now. update please. I laughed so much I had to update.
Kim- cheers pet, the fight5s are fun to do!
dokushoka79- They really are reaching out as characters and everyone has someone to respond to which is great for the author- me! Drew was a surprise wasn't she, especially since she was s cool headed about the Alec thing. Coco and Flex? No sorry I have other plans for our resident Lothario.
Jenna- Not so sure about the mates fights part. That really isn't my story, I know Zabele and I think Fergus makes them have mate fights. As for Dek- what about Mary?
Wendy10- Thank you, I must admit that I love doing it now, sometimes it gets hard to think up the story for the other side but thus far it has paid off! I know what you mean about having it from another POV, I'd love to see what some of my fave caharecters are thinking sometimes rather than another person.
Marielle- So you want more to do with Pix? Ok then.