A Family Affair
Chapter 19: Rescue
A/N: Flashbacks are in italics
Max panted hard as she stumbled along the dark corridors. The ground shook with every explosion. Concrete and pipes broke off from ceilings and walls every now and then. The place went up in a swarm of activity and violence only minutes ago. Max winced and cried out as she felt a sharp kick in her stomach.
"Not now baby," said Max to her unborn child, "not time yet, let mommy get out of here first."
She closed her eyes but quickly snapped them open when another explosion rumbled and voices of Familiar soldiers started to get closer. Max sucked in a deep breath and started moving again. Whatever had set off Cerberus was a God send. Max kept praying that it was Alec who had finally found her. But how could it be? The compound wasn't where it was supposed to be. He had no way of finding her...
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"I'm going to find her," said Alec gearing up.
"Would you stop your stupid mantra?" asked White snapping his vest into place.
"The two of you are insane."
Brin finished lacing up her boots and stared at them.
"What a group we make huh?"
Max's rescue squad consisted of Alec; her beloved, yet irritating husband and soon-to-be-father, Brin; her newly turned brainwashed sister who tried to kill her eight months before, and White; her mortal enemy, irritating bad guy in her life, trying to find his son, never brainwashed or so he thinks, who's been trying to kill her since they first met.
"I am such a traitor..." muttered White.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, the Conclave betrayed you first," said Alec.
"My son for your family?"
"That's the deal."
"I've already been screwed over once, don't want it happening again."
Hours later, the three finally arrived to the Priddis site, a huge cylinder of metal stood like a fortress in the middle of the flat prairie setting. Small circles of trees made up the rest of the area. It wasn't hard to find a place for the vehicle near their entry point. After Brin took care of the grate, the three slipped into the access pipe and hurried along the tunnel.
"So the basic plan is we're all counting on Cale to loop their mainframe so we can get in and out of a heavily fortified Familiar compound?" asked White.
"If you're just going to nag all the way why are you here?" asked Alec.
"My son remember? The Conclave wants me dead, without the resources I'll never find him on my own, and also if I die here at least it was doing something worthwhile."
"Here, here," said Brin.
Alec and the other two jumped over debris and dodged falling cement. Who knew a Familiar guard would end up tripping their getaway exit's explosives? That one explosion set off all the other ones Mole and company had set up, turning Cerberus into a decaying time bomb of cataclysmic proportions. Who knew how long they had to find Max before a spark hit the oil lines nestled far below the compound.
Mole and the rest...trust Logan not let them go in alone....
The guard was knocked over the head with such force that he hit the other wall.
"What are you guys doing here?!" yelled a surprised Alec as Mole and a few other transhumans came around the corner.
"Helping out, like we were going to let you kill these bastards by yourself? This is Transgenic payback. By the way, wave to Logan," said Mole indicating to a camera above their heads.
"He's in?"
"Couple minutes before we followed you in. Said he was looping video feed and coasting or something. Not in control but not out of control. Can help us if need be, something like that. Computer junk."
"What did you do?"
"Explosions around the base and as high as we could go undetected. Someone's bound to notice the drop in guards. Rigged around our exit too, though separate. I'll set 'em off when we're out of here, so no one can follow. Gem, Tawny, and Lonna are out with the vehicles. Tree cluster just north east a ways from the sewer."
Unfortunately that wasn't how things were going to be. The explosions hit a few minutes after that brief conversation. Familiar soldiers started to swarm only to have their majority taken out by the transhumans they ran across.
The three jumped over destroyed debris and dodged falling cement. Brin pirouetted to avoid nearly getting hit by the flying rubble.
"Any idea where we're going?"
"White?"
"Didn't you look at the fucking maps?" demanded the Familiar. All he got though was a glare from Alec. "100 feet and to the left should be a side staircase somewhere."
"Was that so hard?"
"Shut up."
Once there White went to open the door. His eyes only had time to widen as the X38 grabbed him by the shoulders, pulled him through the door and shoved him down the stair flights. Eve kicked Alec in the stomach which sent him crashing into the opposite far wall. Brin looked at her as she walked into the corridor and shut the door softly behind her.
Eve opened her arms to the side and cocked her head before giving a taunting smirk.
"Shall we?" she asked as Alec got up and lunged.
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Max slammed her fist into the head of a guard that came around the corner. She was en route to the Med. Bay when the place started going berserk. Familiars running everywhere gave her ample opportunity to get out of holding, taking the keys off her guard she uncuffed herself.
This had to be Alec's doing. It had to be, if he had managed to find her she was going to take back every stupid comment she ever made to him. Guess those extra ten years at Manticore had taught him something after all. The explosions, the shaking, the soldiers. Hopefully she'd be out of here in no time. Running down the corridor Max stopped suddenly and grabbed her stomach. The kicks and pains were sharper than they had ever been and were coming more frequently.
"OH! oh no, don't let this be labour, please do not let me go into labour here!" Max took a deep breath and forced herself to keep moving. Wherever she was headed had to be better than where she was now.
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Their arms locked and Eve took the opportunity to pull back and head butt Alec before kicking her leg out into his stomach, sending him flying and sprawling on the ground. Another explosion sounded as this time the floor just behind him ripped away into nothing. A gaping hole now lay beyond. Getting back up he lunged at Eve. Punches were blocked, kicks disabled. They seemed a stalemate until Alec's foot slipped on a loose piece of ruble. Eve took the opportunity to grab him by the front and throw him face first into a wall where she reeled back and slammed her fists hard into his back time and time again. Alec thought he head something crack as he shoved his head back into her face and elbowed her hard with both arms. He turned and backhanded her to which it seemed didn't affect her at all. Eve grabbed his arm and fell to the ground, casually flipping Alec over her and onto his back. The X38 rolled back so that she was straddling Alec, her hands went to his neck and she started to squeeze.
All he could think of and see was Max. Ignoring the pain in his joints and the threatening dots of black threatening to overwhelm him. Alec managed to break Eve's grip and throw her over his shoulder. He quickly crawled up and away from the recovering hybrid. As she came towards him again, she was stopped as Brin kicked her in the stomach and attempted a hit. Eve blocked her and grabbed her arm throwing her around and into the wall. Her arm around the transgenics throat as Eve held Brin high off the ground. Alec joined the fray gripping his arms around Eve's neck trying to haul her off.
Eve dropped Brin as she knocked Alec off of her, she hit him in the face then shoved her hand into his chest as hard as she could, which sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, chipping the cement floor before tumbling over the edge of the hole. Brin watched as Eve followed his path ready to go down and finish the X5. She grabbed a piece of cement and threw it at Eve's head. As she snapped around to look at Brin, the transgenic got to her feet.
"Yeah come on! Just you and me bitch...over here..." Brin started backing up leading Eve away from the hole in the floor. When she was ten feet from it, Eve started in a run at Brin, knocking them both through the wall behind. Brin flipped Eve off her and was on her feet. Before Eve could get up the X5 kicked her in the face and pulled her up by the hair before digging her knee into the clone's unprotected stomach. Eve recovered by shoving Brin hard in the middle prying her off and away. Several kicks, punches, and rooms later, the two X's went through another wall which took them dangerously close to the hole Alec had previously fallen into.
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Max collapsed against the wall and slide to the floor groaning. She tilted her head back against the wall and placed one hand on her stomach. The contractions were getting stronger as was the crumbling compound threatening to fall down around her. What was happening up there?
Max closed her eyes only to reopen them quickly when the ceiling in front of her collapsed. Along with the cement and concrete came a body. He rolled, coughed, and slowly got up.
"Alec?"
Alec looked to his left, he froze hardly believing what he was seeing, "Max?"
The both started moving towards each other to meet in the middle to grab each other in a tight hug.
"Alec..."
"God Max, I'm right here, I'm right...AH! Ribs!" Alec winced as Max's arms moved from his neck down his back. It felt like Eve had done some damage.
"We have to get out of here."
"I'm not having this baby here so you're damn right we are!" yelled Max.
"...what?"
"Contractions...idiot...OW! Ahhh...." Max leaned her head on Alec's shoulder.
"Let's go, let's go then. Come on."
After a few attempts Max and Alec finally got to standing and went to find a way out. Leaning through corridors and under bursting pipes and vents, they came through another door only to stop dead in their tracks.
"The Conclave was looking forward to taking you apart." Prager was walking slowly towards them, his gun drawn.
"This all because of you, I thought Eve would have stopped your...husband...and the others on their way here but no of course not. She likes to wait for the finale. The Conclave didn't bother with you because they moved Cerberus, were sure you wouldn't find it."
"Things chance," said Alec.
"I don't know why we just didn't shoot you, 452, along with 210, save us the trouble of worrying about your escape."
"Stay away from her."
"The ever threatening 494, I don't think either of you are in a position to try anything."
"Get out of our way."
Prager laughed, "Eve tossed you around, the other X5 took your spot with her, God knows where Ames is, those trannies of yours are wrecking chaos up in the labs, and your struggling with a woman in labour. I don't see you getting out of this."
"I'd get your eyes checked if I were you."
Prager spun around as both he and White now had their guns trained on each other. Alec took Prager's lapse in attention to him and Max to start looking for their escape route. There was a stairwell to their right.
"Take her and go," White nodded to Alec who moved with Max to the stairs. When they were gone and the metal door behind them closed, Prager and White shot.
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"What the h-hell is going on?" demanded Max as she and Alec reached the main level, "Was that White? White?! What was he..."
"Long story, and we don't have time right now. I promise I'll tell you everythng once we get out of here."
"You had better...have a damn good...explanation..."
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One bullet missed its target, the other struck a hand and a gun went flying.
"Ever the traitor," said Prager looking at his bloody hand.
"The Conclave betrayed me first," said White advancing on him.
"Why bother with guns, let's settle this like Familiars."
"What? I drop my gun and you pull out your spare?"
"That was my spare I'm unarmed."
Taking the clip out of his gun, White threw the pieces in opposite directions. The two Familiars walked towards each other before they started circling. Prager moved in first feinting a left then kicking at White's right, the Familiar blocked and slammed a first into the side of Prager's face. He retaliated by getting White heavy in the side. Soon their fight was a blur of choreographed combat, they were thrown around as bits of the ceiling fell down around them.
White hit the ground hard when something heavy knocked him down. He felt the something sprawled on top of him before looking up and seeing it was Brin.
"What are you..."
"Eve."
Brin had been fighting with Eve upstairs before they had both fallen down into the sub-level, they went through some walls until they ended up in one with a viewing window. White and Prager had been fighting on the other side. It seemed like the two were following the others moves as Eve sent Brin flying through the glass right on top of White.
White looked past the body on top of him and saw the X38 stalking towards them. Brin rolled off of him and slowly stood, the Familiar was up by her side soon after.
Prager and Eve.
Wonderful.
"So the basic plan is we're all counting on Cale to loop their mainframe so we can get in and out of a heavily fortified Familiar compound?" asked White.
"If you're just going to nag all the way why are you here?" asked Alec.
"My son remember? The Conclave wants me dead, without the resources I'll never find him on my own, and also if I die here at least it was doing something worthwhile."
"Here, here," said Brin.
Wonderful.
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A/N: This has FINALLY gotten out, so very sorry that I kept you waiting for so long but there were just other things that had to be put ahead of this story. I also started losing interest in writing this but since going back re-editting and scutting things that didn't need to be said. This is a lot better than the mess I was trying to sort though before. I wasn't too happy about how Eve was introduced in this chapter though. It seemed to quick...Wish I could have done more there but I was at a loss. I'm also sorry if it seems choppy and short, I just felt that I should get it out rather now than later. If I had to change it I'd end up rewriting the entire thing over.
The next chapters shouldn't take as long as this one did.
I know exactly what's going to happen to end this story. Just as long as I don't get side-tracked or bored. About 2 chapters left give or take ;)
Thanks to everyone who have stuck with this fic.
-v