Wow, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry about that, but a girl's got to get a vacation every now and then. I worked on this chapter at camp, and some of my friends who are reading this were begging me for clues. They also offered a few suggestions.... I can't remember if I'm using some or not. Anyway, here is chapter 13, enjoy.
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Chapter 13
Eve's POV
Zack stared at me for a long minute, emotions racing in his eyes. I already had a damn good idea of what he was about to say. Thinking back to what I just said, I would have to admit it did sound crazy. An alliance between X8 and X5 is so complicated the logistics of it are dizzying. Regardless of my prominent self-doubt, I awaited his answer silently.
"Eve, what the hell are you talking about?" Ok, that was a lot calmer than I would have expected. Maybe he thinks he miss heard me, or I'm joking. I just simply sighed and gave him a meaningful look.
"You are crazy! If we teamed up with them, we might as well just hand our asses over to Manticore!" He sat there for a moment, eyes wide with confused shock, raking his hair with his fingers. I waited a few seconds, letting him get his head straight.
"Ok, I realize how incredibly stupid that just sounded." He nodded his head vigorously at my comment. "But I'm saying that we should start considering it, keep it as a back-burner idea, you know. It is possible, with their genetic independence that they are just like you X5s. they hate Manticore and want out."
"Eve, come on. These kids have been brought up since birth to hate and kill all rogue X5s. They don't just change their minds like that. It is not going to happen. He is trying to draw you in and trap you. If we did team up with them, when we headed on back to Manticore and got inside to get the X8s, 405 could just close the door and he'd have us. Whether or not he truly does hate Manticore, he would still see X5 as a threat-"
"Wrong, there is a chance you could see us as an advantage. Think about it, Zack. The X5s already made their way out of Manticore, and they have experience and the sources to survive undetected on the outside."
"That kid can more than plan a perfect escape. He has everything we didn't, he can do whatever he wants. He has more than enough knowledge and supplies to escape, if he truly wanted to escape he would have long ago."
I nodded, absorbing the information. "But not all of his siblings would be ready, he'd have to wait for most of them, or all, to get ready. Plus, his probation just ended recently, he probably was waiting for that, once he gets clearance for outside missions." I paused, watching Zack shaking his head slowly. "It's what I would do, Zack." I shrugged, watching him intently. He raised his eyes to meet my gaze.
"The answer is no, Eve." I bit my lip in defeat. I understood fully what Zack was telling me. I was sure I didn't fully trust the kid yet. I searched my mind for some small way to sway my distressed uncle. I stood up straight and headed out of the room. Before leaving, I turned and leaned slightly on the doorframe. I watched as Zack just sat there, his forehead resting on his palms.
"By the way, he told me what his brothers and sisters named him." Zack rose his head to give me a confused look. "His real name is Leo." With that said, I left.
I wasn't quite sure how to feel at the moment. Aimlessly I walked around the penthouse, my head down, eyes searching the wooden floor. I passed by Leo's room without even glancing in his direction, and could feel him watching my every move. I didn't really care that much, just concentrated on the grain on the floor underneath my feet. As I walked into the living room, I saw Max staring out the window. She glanced in my direction giving me an unsure smile. She saw that we were alone in the room, and grew tense. She turned around to face me, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the glass. I gazed at her, my mother. Feeling more at ease for a moment, I approached her and leaned on the glass next to her, copying her stance unknowingly. She breathed out a sigh, a piece of her dark hair quivering with the light breeze.
"So what's your take on this situation?" She asked me in an attempted nonchalance. I bit my lip, giving her a side-glance and noticed her doing the same. I quickly released my flesh, and thought up an answer.
"I'm confused. The guy was talking about some of his family being ready for an escape, and he seemed to be already planning something along those lines." She snapped her head up, staring at me in disbelief. I chose to just ignore her reaction. "Part of me is saying, 'Trust him, help him,' but a second part is screaming paranoia. He told me his name." I returned her gaze, giving her a meaningful look.
"He told you his name? It didn't occur to me that they would name each other, so what is his name?" She cocked her head, curls bouncing with the moment. I couldn't help but smile at her childish aura. I lowered my gaze, still displaying a small grin.
"His sisters named him Leo." I caught a short laugh from her. She must understand why. "They found it in the horoscope section of a woman's magazine." She laughed lightly, giving me a big smile.
"That probably will help us if we are going to attempt to wean him off Manticore. I..." She shot her eyes down.
"What?" I questioned playfully. She was still smiling, and looking around the room trying to decide to tell me what ever she was about too.
"It's just that I think you are probably the only one here who could ever get that out of him. If he would tell anyone, it would be you and only you." I considered this, slightly confused at what her meaning might be.
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" She looked at me for a second with a sideways grin, then shook her head.
"Never mind."
"No, tell me." She shook her head again, then sighed wistfully, gazing at the Baste statue across the room. I had heard the story of how the two met many times, and could see both happiness and sadness in her eyes. I was about to ask her what she was thinking, but stopped as I picked up footsteps outside the apartment door. I recognized the pattern, and light mechanical whirring as I realized Dad must be home. I had barely noticed how many hours had passed since he left. There was a soft jingling at the knob, and I strode over to the door, swiftly opening it up to reveal a slightly surprised father.
"Hey there, sweetie." He said with a grin, taking a step inside catching sight of Max by the window. I watched as his face lit up at her. She gave him a similar look, but didn't move from her position. Returning his eyes to me, he asked where Zack was. I pointed to the kitchen, but Zack emerged a second later.
"Did you do everything I told you too?" Zack asked sharply, eyeing my dad aggressively.
"No, I drove to the arcade and spent my life savings." Dad shot back, Zack and him engaging in a small staring contest. I tensed, looking over to Max. She simply rolled her eyes at their attitudes.
"So Logan," Max began, walking over to the two, breaking up their petty fight. "You missed quite a lot it seems while you were gone."
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Two Days Later
Logan's POV
Leo hadn't spoken at all today. He wouldn't even look at Max, Zack or me. I caught him every now and then watching Eve when she came into his room. I shook it off, reassuring myself that his stares were defensive due to the fact that she was the only true threat to him in his eyes, and he wanted to be aware of all his surroundings constantly. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling that his looks were... Well, never mind that, he's Manticore, they don't act like that.
Bling and Cindy have mentioned a few times before that I have started acting more protective towards Eve recently. I usually deny it, but how could they possible blame me? She has inherited Max's body, and I remember rather vividly how most men reacted to her, and evidently still do. That's another thing. Max is back in my life, and I most certainly noticed how beautiful she looks, even after sixteen years. I would still have loved her if she came back as an eighty-year-old woman, but she came back and aged extremely well. I expected that, Manticore would want their kids to last as long as possible. I can tell she still feels everything I feel for her, but I fell insecure at the fact that I aged sixteen years, and I was already about twelve years older than her to begin with.
I shook off my thoughts, and walked into the room we were holding "Leo" in. He just raised an uncaring eyebrow at me, then went back to staring at the wall opposite of him. For a long while I didn't exactly know what to do next, considering I have never been in this sort of situation before. I shrugged to myself, ignoring any hostile thoughts at the moment, and pulled up a nearby chair.
Seemingly annoyed, Leo sighed and turned his head to me as if it was some sort of chore to acknowledge my existence. I studied him for a moment, then searched his eyes for some sort of readable emotion. Too bad there was none to speak of.
"So..." He didn't seem surprised that I was talking to him. I desperately searched for the right words to use. "Do you want our help with escaping from Manticore? Because I think you could handle it pretty well on your own. Plus if you really wanted to, you would have been free by now." He just sat there, brown eyes staring me down, challenging me to be aggressive. "I mean, come on, you guys are X8. That report said you were the most powerful and independent yet." He rolled his eyes, then licked his lips, casting his eyes down to the blanket on the foot of the bed.
"Just because we are the best independent, doesn't mean that the X9 are horrible with their hive minds." He gave me a meaningful look, and for a moment I could have sworn that I saw a human emotion inside those young eyes. Then just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished behind his steely gray military shell. His eyes shot to the door, and by reflex mine followed. I smiled lightly as Max stood there proudly, one hand on her hip, the other hanging loose at her side. Glancing quickly over at the X8, I caught a glimmer of recognition in his eyes at the sight of my reaction to Max. He smiled oddly for a moment, and I chose to ignore it. I stood to greet her, watching her grin at me then take in Leo. Max seemed a bit uneasy, then sort of shook her head a little, turning her attention back to me. I wordlessly snaked a hand around her waist and led her out of the room. She leaned against my shoulder and my entire body warmed at the small gesture. It felt so right in this atmosphere, with Max at my side and Eve as our daughter. It was my fantasy for a long time, just the three of us in our high penthouse, living happily ever after. Granted my fantasy didn't include Zack storming around and a Manticore soldier tied down in the next room, but I'd take it as opposed to no Max at all, and Eve without a mother. I had noticed earlier that Eve wasn't really seeing Max as a mother, the way she talked and acted around her. They acted more like old friends then anything else, just trying to catch up on things.
"Max." I whispered, watching her gorgeous face turn to me awaiting my words. "I want you to stay, I won't let you leave. After getting a taste of what our life should have been, I can't even think of giving you up." I bowed my head, emotions becoming too much for me to handle.
I felt a feather light touch under my chin, and I obediently raised my gaze to her own. "Logan..." Her voice was also coming in whispers, but still hung heavy with meaning and purpose. "I won't let myself leave." She never broke our gaze as she grasped my hand in hers and brought it to her beautiful lips. She turned it and placed a gentle kiss in my open palm. I smiled happily and turned my hand to her cheek, cupping her jaw lovingly. Her fingers lightly played against my knuckles, and even after nearly three days, I was still amazed that she was back in my arms again.
There was a slight creak in a floor board at the end of the hall we were standing in, and I turned suddenly to see Eve standing there looking uncomfortable. I reluctantly dropped my hand from Max's face, taking a deep breath. Eve stood there for a moment, looking almost dumbfounded. She must not be used to seeing me being intimate with Max yet. I stored it away in my mind that I need to save touching Max for when we can be alone. Last thing I want to do is hurt Eve in any way.
"I got bored, and made some oatmeal raisin cookies, if you guys want some." Eve said hesitantly. I caught Max's eyes widen for a moment.
"You can cook?" She said with unconcealed amazement. Eve cocked her head, before nodding with a small smile.
"Um, yeah, is it really that amazing?"
Max paused before shaking her head, laughing softly. "Well, considering my talents in the food area, I am amazed you can boil water." Eve shrugged while Max glanced at me. "Thank God that the Cale genes got in there some where. Sure, we'd love some cookies. I was starting to get hungry anyway." We followed Eve into the kitchen, where Zack was entering also, sniffing the air curiously. Eve laughed suddenly, looking over at Zack.
"What?" Asked Max, now staring at a hungry Zack.
"Nothing," Eve replied with a playful grin. "It's just that Zack's stomach just growled pretty loudly." He mock glared at her, the glanced down at the plate of delicious looking cookies. Yes, thank God Eve has my cooking skills. She picked it up, and shoved it in Zack's direction. He gratefully took one of the larger ones before she handed the dessert to Max and I.
The four of us stood in companionable silence for a few minutes, enjoying the spontaneous treat from my daughter. I looked out the window, suddenly noticing it was dark. I checked my watch, seeing it was about ten at night, and I was already getting tired. I chose not to let anyone know, since undoubtedly all three of these people could stay up the entire night. For some odd reason I felt as if I could not show any weaknesses. We all knew I was the weakest one in the apartment by far, yet there was a feeling I had to prove my worth to them all. Even though Eve loved me and looked up to me, Max loved me and vowed to never leave, and Zack had long since excepted that I was in his life for good, I couldn't help feeling the need to display a strength.
After cleaning up the dishes, Eve decided to sit on the counter with Zack leaning next to her, Max and I sitting on stools opposite of them on the counter. We made small talk for a while, and Max checked Eve's back to see how she was healing. I took a look myself, surprised to see that the smaller cuts had disappeared and the larger ones were nearly faded away. Eve proclaimed that none of her previous wounds hurt anymore, and she had been very angry that she had to throw away her favorite shirt. I remembered seeing it bloodstained and ripped, and anger rose in my chest, reminded that the offender was mere walls away and I was nursing him back to health. I better get a free ticket to heaven for this one.
"I'm bored, I think I'll go get some shuteye, and try to hack some more into Manticore tomorrow. I might find some stuff on the rest of his class, and who of his brothers and sisters were rebellious. It might help us in the long run." Zack merely nodded and I didn't bother to respond to Eve's words. I was sort of off in my own world at the moment, Max seeming to be in a similar state. Eve jumped down onto the floor, making her way to the door. I watched her, becoming more and more aware of Max's similarities to her now that both of them were here for comparing.
After a few steps, Eve collapsed o the floor convulsing. Letting out a short noise of surprise, I lunged to the ground by her side, mechanical legs aiding in the move. Zack shot to her side also, fear evident in his eyes while we all looked down at her in concern.
Max was kneeling next to me, her eyes wide while she placed her hand on Eve's shaking legs, her hands also trembling, but I was unsure of whether they were shaking from Eve's sudden seizure or her own fright. I held my daughter's right hand, and propped her head up. She had a look of confusion and fear on her face, and I felt my heart swell.
"God, what's happening? I thought you said she didn't have seizures!" Max exclaimed, I almost detected a bit of accusation in her words.
"I don't know! She has never had a seizure before in her life! I have no idea!" We were all yelling by now, frantic in worry.
"I'm going to get some tryptophan." Zack announced to us, swiftly standing trying to hide his rushing emotions. I caught his eye. "I don't think so, but it's worth a try, Logan." I nodded, Zack's expression mirroring my own.
"God Eve, hang on, please be ok..."
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YIPES! *Red dodges various spears, arrows, and bullets shooting towards her* I'm so sorry for ending it there, and I'm so sorry for making you wait! *The crowd all lets out a sigh and yells "FINALLY!"* So sorry, but please review anyway, because I still love you, and I hope you love me too! AAA! That sounded way too much like the Barney song for my liking. Anyway, I will defiantly try not to make you wait that long again. But warning! Band is starting next week, and I might be busy, but it's only a couple hours a day, so it shouldn't be a problem. So R/R and I luv ya !